argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Agriculture Bill — House of Lords, 2020-09-22
Topic: Foreign Trade
Christopher Suenson-Taylor (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the noble Lords who have returned with these amendments from the debates in Committee on provisions in Part 5, Clauses 35 to 37, on marketing standards. Regulations around marketing, labelling, traceability, country of origin and GI schemes remain critical to providing accurate and appropriate information to the consumer The complexities behind the list of EU Commission delegated directives cover various product sectors, including wine, and are the subject of Amendment 89A, in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Holmes. These regulations under the withdrawal Act also include country of origin, protection of designations of origin and geographical indicators, and traditional terms are important to facilitate frictionless trade with the EU and enhance the future of UK exports, which have been established so successfully The noble Lord, Lord Tyler, and the noble and learned Lord, Lord Wallace, return with their Amendment 92A on the importance of geographical indicator schemes not only for fantastic products for Cornwall but for many artisan food products, such as Lincolnshire Poacher cheese and Melton Mowbray pies. The House also discussed these schemes on the Trade Bill proceedings in the last Session, as spoken to by the noble Lord, Lord Tyler. The adding of value to local specialisms is a crucial element in encouraging skill, pride and prestige in rural entrepreneurship. We agree that it is of considerable importance that a successful trade deal is concluded with the EU. It is also great that my noble friend Lord Foulkes is able to be with us in the Chamber; his words were gin-clear on the merits of Scottish produce These regulations will be subject to the affirmative approval procedure, which should not only contain an impact assessment but be subject to consultation. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Neville-Rolfe, the noble Earl, Lord Lindsay, and the noble Lord, Lord Curry, for highlighting the importance of a widespread and exhaustive consultation on their Amendment 91. Alteration of existing requirements should proceed only on the basis of proper and widespread consultation with producers, the supply chain and the consumer to ensure an appropriate balance I am sure that the Government appreciate the merit behind these amendments and that the Minister will provide additional reassurances to satisfy the House.
Agriculture Bill — House of Lords, 2020-09-22
Topic: Foreign Trade
George Foulkes (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, in moving Amendment 92B, for which I have the welcome support of the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh of Pickering—it is nice to get the support of a Scots advocate for this amendment—I will speak briefly about a matter I raised in Committee relating to Clause 40. It concerns powers for the Secretary of State "to make regulations for securing compliance with WTO Agreement on Agriculture" As presently drafted, there is no requirement in the Bill for the Secretary of State to consult any parties prior to making regulations under this clause. The purpose of this amendment is to impose a requirement on the Secretary of State to consult relevant stakeholders if making regulations under this clause As I have highlighted on other aspects of the Bill and previously, it is important to provide an additional layer of scrutiny of the Government’s actions by stakeholders who have a direct interest and a relevant responsibility. This is particularly pertinent, with respect, given the Government’s lack of formal consultation during the ongoing trade negotiations and their seemingly taking action behind closed doors. Incidentally, I wonder what has happened to the joint ministerial committees, which were set up to ensure consultation between the UK Government and the devolved Parliaments and Governments The requirement I am seeking, to consult on intended regulations under this clause, will help to ensure openness and transparency and also ensure that any draft regulations are exposed to critical comment from stakeholders. That might actually improve the instrument. Perhaps the Government do not fully appreciate that such scrutiny is not always critical; it can be helpful Looking more widely at the WTO provision in the Bill, I understand that the Scottish Government intend to recommend that the Scottish Parliament withhold consent to amended provisions. While I understand that Scottish government officials are content with the amendment to Clause 42, it is almost irrelevant, as the Scottish Parliament’s consent to the whole of Part 6 of the Bill is required. With no more amendments to that part of the Bill, consent is likely to be withheld. Therefore, I ask the Minister whether the Government will now consult the Scottish Government to try to ensure that this consent is not withheld. It would be much better to go forward with agreement than with conflict. I beg to move.
Agriculture Bill — House of Lords, 2020-09-22
Topic: Foreign Trade
Deborah Wilcox (Labour, Centre-left): I am grateful to my noble friend Lord Foulkes for tabling the amendment to probe the process envisaged by the Government when they use the powers under Clause 40, and, in particular, for his suggestion to consult with the Scottish Government and go forward with agreement. Of course, I add that consultation with Wales and Northern Ireland is also necessary As we have seen in relation to certain powers within the internal market Bill, the Government seem to exercise, let us say, a degree of discretion when it comes to their understanding of compliance with international law. While the amendment presents a perfectly sensible proposal, there is a serious worry that the Government’s approach to trade matters—and with it the future prosperity of the United Kingdom—is largely driven by ideology rather than evidence from stakeholders. Indeed, in the Commons yesterday, the former Prime Minister, Theresa May, said she would not back the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill, which contains the provision, and gave a strong warning that it would "lead to untold damage to the United Kingdom’s reputation"—[Official Report, Commons, 21/9/20; col. 668.] and threaten the union I therefore hope that the Minister can give some indicative examples of how the powers may be used, as well as providing an estimate of how frequently the Government expect to make such regulations. Ultimately, while it is not much of a safeguard and may not be a completely acceptable substitute for meaningful engagement with affected stakeholders, the regulations will at least be subject to parliamentary scrutiny via the affirmative procedure.
Agriculture Bill — House of Lords, 2020-09-22
Topic: Agriculture
George Foulkes (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for a very comprehensive and indeed helpful response. I just want to make two points. First, this is one of many debates that I have been involved in in which Liberal Democrat, Labour and Conservative Members have all raised issues in relation to the devolved Parliaments, the consultation and the roles and responsibilities. That issue comes up more in the House of Lords than anywhere, and it is not always appreciated in the devolved Administrations. Secondly, I have sat through only a small number of the debates on the Agriculture Bill, but I would personally like to pay tribute to the Ministers and their staff and to the shadow Ministers and their staff for doing a huge amount of work on this very important issue. I hope that that is recognised not just in the parties and in the House of Lords but well beyond this place. Therefore, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.
Agriculture Bill — House of Lords, 2020-09-22
Topic: Foreign Trade
Barbara Young (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, I support Amendment 101 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Curry of Kirkharle. It ensures that the Trade and Agriculture Commission that the Department for International Trade has established will not be toothless, transitory and a bit of a fig leaf. Your Lordships can hear that I am being rather less complimentary about the establishment of the commission than many other noble Lords. In my view, it defies description that it can be expected to carry out this valuable role in the time it has been given. I will come on to talk about the inadequacies of its composition We absolutely need the amendment from the noble Lord, Lord Curry, to ensure that the commission has an ongoing, effective role in ensuring standards and holding the Government to account through all the successive trade negotiations, that it has that valuable, essential ability to report openly to Parliament and that Parliament has the opportunity to influence successive agreements I also support Amendment 102 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Randall of Uxbridge, which provides criteria for appointment to the commission. One of the reasons I am anxious about the nature of the commission is its reporting arrangements. At the moment it reports to the Department for International Trade and is a bit of a poodle body of that part of government I know the Minister will tell us that Defra is fully involved and working jointly with the Department for International Trade, but the impression I get is that the environment is very much an afterthought. There is only one environmental member of the commission, and there has been very little discussion of any environmental issues in the commission’s two meetings so far. The noble Lord, Lord Trees, has just admirably demonstrated how the arrangements for oversight of issues such as animal welfare and the environment are inadequate in its current construction I support the amendment from the noble Lord, Lord Randall of Uxbridge, because it clearly lays out the criteria for membership of the commission and would help plug the gap that very much exists at the moment, in that consumer and environmental organisations and experts are, if not underrepresented, totally missing. It would mean that the commission has the right range of skills to go with the full set of teeth that the amendment from the noble Lord, Lord Curry, would give it. I think we should support both those amendments.
Agriculture Bill — House of Lords, 2020-09-22
Topic: Agriculture
Frank Ashcroft Judd (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, it really is quite obvious that this amendment is vital, and I congratulate my noble friend on having introduced it We talk a good deal about the impact of climate change on farming and all the difficulties and challenges that it presents, but we do not talk enough about the negative impact of farming on the climate and the acceleration of climate change that results from such negative realities. We also know that that need not be so and that a great deal can be done in farming at least to ameliorate the negative contribution but also to find ways of not contributing at all to the negative impact. From that standpoint, I believe it is essential that we have in place real and effective arrangements to measure and monitor changes in agricultural performance, habits and styles to meet the challenge that we are talking about.
Agriculture Bill — House of Lords, 2020-09-22
Topic: Agriculture
Margaret Beryl Jones (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, I also thank the Minister for that helpful clarification, and thank him very much for listening in Committee, when devolved issues were given a thorough airing. We certainly were made very much more aware of some of the issues and challenges that we will face on agriculture going forward, in trying to reach agreement between the devolved Administrations It was helpful that he clarified those famous words, "appropriate authority", which seem to be peppered throughout all our legislation and which always leave us with the question of what the appropriate authority is, but he has very helpfully clarified that now. It was also helpful that he clarified that this was a recent request, which explains why this has come back at a fairly late stage I thank the Minister; he will be pleased to know I do not have any questions. Following on from the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell, as this is the end of Report stage, I would just like to thank both Ministers for their enormous patience and courteousness throughout the whole process. Although we did not always agree, I thought we disagreed with particular aplomb and understanding, so I thank them very much. I know that we will have the opportunity to make more formal thanks at a later stage. It has been a long process, and I think it is time to wrap up at this point.
Economy — House of Lords, 2020-09-28
Topic: Labor
John Stephen Monks (Labour, Centre-left): I welcome the fact that we will have a short-time working scheme, which the TUC has been pressing for for some time, and that we have learned something from the successful scheme in Germany. Can we be assured that this scheme, while not protecting every job, will be adequate to avoid cliff-edge surges in unemployment at the end of October and at the end of the Brexit transition period? Otherwise, British workers will face a double whammy, and it seems to me important that the Chancellor is open-minded about taking further measures. Finally, how do the Government define "viable" jobs which need support? How is that done and how is it to be carried through?
Economy — House of Lords, 2020-09-28
Topic: Foreign Trade
Joyce Gwendolen Quin (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, at a time of great difficulty for so many of our citizens, do the Government agree with the British Retail Consortium that a no-deal Brexit at the end of this year would add over £3 billion to the cost of importing food and drink, making life even more difficult for those on low incomes? If the Government do not accept the British Retail Consortium’s figures, what is their own assessment of the effect?
Economy — House of Lords, 2020-09-28
Topic: Labor
Rita Donaghy (Labour, Centre-left): The Government modelled this scheme on those adopted in France and Germany, but in a rather half-hearted way. The German scheme is set to last for two years, compared with six months for the UK scheme. How did the Government reach that decision, when it would have added stability to employers’ plans to have two years?
Economy — House of Lords, 2020-09-28
Topic: International Affairs
David Edward Lea (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, as has been said by the noble Lord, Lord Monks, and the noble Baroness, Lady Kramer, there is a need to integrate policy that arises from Covid and policy that arises from Brexit. Does the Minister agree? This is described as a plan for the winter, and there is the danger of a Brexit without even a framework agreement with the European Union, as is the case with Switzerland.
Liaison Committee Report — House of Lords, 2020-07-29
Topic: International Affairs
John McFall (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, I beg to move that the Fourth Report of the Liaison Committee be agreed to As a consequence of the UK leaving the European Union, powers previously exercised at an EU level that intersect with devolved competences will flow back directly to Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast. In a number of areas, the UK Government and the Scottish and Welsh Governments agree that it is necessary to maintain UK-wide approaches, or common frameworks. These frameworks will require parliamentary scrutiny and a committee should be established to begin scrutinising them as soon as possible. The preliminary documentation for the first framework has already been brought forward for scrutiny, with more expected to arrive shortly Our expectation is that the new committee will focus on detailed scrutiny of common frameworks and on maintaining relations with other UK legislatures in relation to this scrutiny. The duration of the work required is uncertain but is expected to persist for at least 12 months. Around 40 detailed and technically complex framework documents are expected to be submitted for parliamentary scrutiny, and some of these are likely to be handled concurrently by the new committee. We have recommended an initial appointment for the duration of the present Session, with regular review by the Liaison Committee of its work during that period The new committee will play an important role in giving the House the capacity for detailed focus on an important part of the post-Brexit landscape. The work undertaken will be detailed, complex and technical but will, I am sure, allow us to utilise the best qualities of the House in delivering expert scrutiny on matters of vital importance to our economy and society. I beg to move.
UK Internal Market: White Paper — House of Lords, 2020-07-29
Topic: Foreign Trade
Jack Wilson McConnell (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for his courtesy on the day the White Paper was launched. I hope that over the coming months, we in both Houses of Parliament will apply rigour to the debates on these proposals, because they are absolutely vital, economically as well as politically, for the United Kingdom I will ask the Minister two questions. I am impressed with the idea of the market access guarantee, which is the most novel and interesting proposal for the way we work inside the UK since the Fresh Talent visa of 2004. However, I would like to know how that and the subsidy control proposals that will come forward will be overseen. Will the Government consider an independent mechanism for both or either, and if so, would they give an opportunity to the devolved Governments in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, to nominate individuals to sit on any body that oversaw that independent mechanism for compliance?
Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020 — House of Lords, 2020-07-29
Topic: International Affairs
Peter Hain (Labour, Centre-left): I thank the Minister for his introduction, wish him a well-deserved break and again press him about sanctions against key individuals over escalating human rights violations in Zimbabwe and corruption in South Africa In Zimbabwe, three women have recently been abducted and tortured: opposition MP and former Canon Collins scholar Joana Mamombe, together with Netsai Marova and Cecilia Chimbiri. On 20 July, highly respected journalist Hopewell Chin’ono was arrested and denied bail for supporting an anti-corruption protest and faces 10 years in jail. Opposition leader Jacob Ngarivhume was arrested, and youth leader Takunda Madzana abducted and tortured by state security agents on 26 July. As well as rampant corruption, there is a pattern of ongoing human rights violations under the cover of Covid-19 crackdowns. Can the Government update their sanctions to cover more Zimbabwean Ministers and security chiefs Why are not British sanctions also being applied to the Gupta brothers over their role in a massive corruption and money laundering operation linked to the former South African President, Jacob Zuma, which robbed taxpayers of over £500 million—billions of rands? What have the British Government done about my letter to the Chancellor on 11 October 2019, in which I gave identification details of Rajesh, Atul and Ajay Gupta, who escaped South Africa to live freely in both Dubai and India? They used a corrupt network of their own companies, buttressed by shadowy shell companies. Surely, just as the United States Treasury sanctions forbid US entities from doing business with this Gupta family or handling their assets, so all UK entities should face the same ban, including London-based banks such as HSBC, Standard Chartered and the Bank of Baroda, which in recent years facilitated money laundering by the Gupta brothers on a grand scale.
Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020 — House of Lords, 2020-07-29
Topic: International Affairs
Desmond Browne (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, I support this instrument and the introduction of sanctions The House will be aware that, in 2016, the Colombian Government reached a landmark peace accord with the FARC. To their credit, successive British Governments have supported peace in Colombia. Sadly, there are many actors in Colombia who, for corrupt motives, oppose peace. On 6 July, 94 members of the US Congress signed a letter to their Secretary of State including the recommendation that he: "Swiftly hold accountable Colombian Army intelligence members, including at the highest ranks, who ordered and carried out mass surveillance on 130 journalists (including U.S. reporters), human rights defenders, political leaders, and military whistleblowers." Sadly, few are surprised that a Colombian army unit used American surveillance equipment, provided to fight drug traffickers, in this illegal manner. On 30 June, along with the noble Lord, Lord Alderdice, and the noble Baronesses, Lady Coussins, Lady Hooper and Lady Stern, at a virtual briefing organised by ABColombia, we heard first hand from Danilo Rueda of the Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission what it means to be a human rights defender and live with the daily threat to his life The Government have reassured me that they are aware of these allegations, they expect state authorities to comply fully with their human rights obligations and are committed to protecting human rights in Colombia. The Government of President Iván Duque has directed the Defence Minister to investigate. However, corruption in Colombia is systemic. Action is needed to address the culture of abuse and the sense that the army is above the law. For example, it makes little sense to denounce human rights violations and simultaneously appoint an officer with General Martínez Espinel’s history to lead their army. Will the Minister agree to a meeting with a delegation of parliamentarians and representatives of NGOs who support peace and the protection of human rights in Colombia? This would allow them to make the case for the powers in these regulations to be considered for use in respect of identified public officials and other actors there?
Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020 — House of Lords, 2020-07-29
Topic: International Affairs
Alicia Kennedy (Labour, Centre-left): My Lords, I am delighted to support this statutory instrument. In the words of Bill Browder, this is a great milestone in the campaign for justice. I pay tribute to Bill Browder and the Magnitsky family who have been working together for 10 years, leading the international effort to establish Magnitsky style laws around the world. Now, in honour of Sergei Magnitsky, the UK has taken a significant first step towards dealing with the global corruption he exposed that cost him his life. I hope it is just a first step. We need co-ordinated action to accompany these sanctions if they are going to have an impact. They must be consistent with our wider foreign policy In welcoming this SI, I would like to ask the Minister three things. First, is it applicable to individuals from any country, not just on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office list of countries of concern? Secondly, will Government consider including as criteria the repression of democracy and the rights of assembly and freedom of speech Finally, it would be remiss of me not to add my voice to that of other noble Lords calling for action against Chinese officials over the persecution of the Uighur people. Does the Minister agree that the UK should sanction the Chinese officials responsible for this genocide and expand the list so that many more people in China who are responsible for perpetrating these abuses are indeed held responsible?