Extract from Commons motion to approve the draft Social
Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2018 Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East
and Saddleworth) (Lab):...More than half a million people currently
have their pensions frozen, mostly in Commonwealth countries such
as India, Australia, Canada, parts of the Caribbean and New
Zealand, and in countries with strong family and historical links
to the UK such as Pakistan and parts of Africa. The Opposition
believe that their pensions should be...Request free trial
Extract from Commons
motion to approve the draft Social Security Benefits Up-rating
Order 2018
(Oldham East and Saddleworth)
(Lab):...More than half a million people currently have
their pensions frozen, mostly in Commonwealth countries such
as India, Australia, Canada, parts of the Caribbean
and New Zealand, and in countries with strong family and historical
links to the UK such as Pakistan and parts of Africa. The
Opposition believe that their pensions should be protected in the
same way that the pensions of other UK citizens living abroad are
in the future, yet the Government are choosing to withhold the
pension uprating in this order from 550,000 recipients living
outside the UK. This is a chance for the Government to make an
historic change to our pension system and support our policy to end
future arbitrary discrimination against some British pensioners
living overseas by uprating in line with inflation from this point.
Will the Minister look again at that issue and take action to
address that inequality?
To read the whole debate, CLICK HERE
Extract from oral
question (Lords) on Recycling: Chinese Import Ban
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Gardiner of Kimble)
(Con):..My Lords, there obviously need to be alternatives
and we are looking at them. Nothing is exported in the way that the
noble Lord describes—there are very strong and strict requirements.
I agree with him about wanting to recycle more at home but a number
of countries—Turkey, Taiwan, Vietnam and India—all have resources and are taking more
waste. However, we certainly want to work more on recycling at
home...
To read all the exchanges, CLICK
HERE
Modern Slavery: Indian Supply Chains
Question
2.59 pm
Asked by
-
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many British businesses
have taken action and reported their efforts to prevent
modern slavery in supply chains from India.
-
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Williams of
Trafford) (Con)
My Lords, the UK is the first country to require businesses
to report on the steps that they have taken to tackle modern
slavery. Thousands of businesses have published transparency
statements, with many examples of good practice emerging
in India across a range of industries,
from textiles to landscaping materials. I encourage
businesses to stay vigilant and to work with local NGOs to
understand the risks in their supply chains.
-
(CB)
I thank the Minister for her Answer. According to the
Government’s estimates, between 9,000 and 11,000 businesses
with a turnover of more than £36 million a year are required
to submit these statements, but the Government have not been
willing to set up a central register. Groups of NGOs have set
up two websites. According to them, less than 4,000
businesses have so far set up statements. Only 14% of these
conform fully with the law. The NGOs further add that there
is particular complacency among certain high-risk industries,
which might also point to high-risk groups such as the Dalits
and Adivasis in India. If the Government are still not
willing to set up a central register, what steps will they
take to ensure that all businesses comply with the law and
provide a statement?
-
The noble and right reverend Lord gives a figure of 14%, but
two independent NGOs have collated statements and found that
between 32% and 50% of eligible companies have produced a
statement. Clearly there is further to go. The legislation is
relatively new. On compiling a register, we have considered
in detail whether the Government could publish a list of
businesses covered by the Modern Slavery Act. It is not easy
to do so because it is not currently possible to filter the
databases of Companies House by turnover size, but the
Government are looking at this.
-
(CB)
My Lords, it is not easy to find out whether the companies
that are required to provide the annual report are complying.
The companies we are concerned about operate right across the
world, not just in India, although India is clearly very important. The
Government really do need to take some action to ensure that
there is pressure on these companies to comply with the
Modern Slavery Act.
-
My Lords, part of the pressure is from the public, because
the public are more and more concerned that their clothes are
produced ethically—or whatever goods and services. The Home
Secretary can apply for a court injunction requiring
businesses to comply. If they still refuse, they will be
liable to an unlimited fine for contempt of court.
-
(Lab)
My Lords, does the Minister realise how weak her answers
sound? In response to the noble and right reverend Lord, Lord
Harries, she said that it is for NGOs to keep a list; to the
noble and learned Baroness she said that the public have to
put on pressure. There has to be a little bit more action
from the Government. They have this requirement, so they have
to get behind it to make sure it happens. We understand, as
we heard earlier, that the Government set their face against
any statutory regulation in this regard, but will the
Minister tell us what action the Government will now take to
do their utmost to ensure that these companies register and
understand the risk in their supply chain, as has been
highlighted by the Corporate Responsibility Coalition, which
recognises that many companies just are not looking at this
and taking it seriously? The Government have to step up to
the plate.
-
My Lords, I did not absolve the Government of responsibility
by saying that it is up to the NGOs to produce a list. I
outlined the difficulties of producing a list, because of
filtering by turnover size. The idea of public pressure is a
strong one. In addition, I outlined the remedies available to
the Home Secretary, which include applying for a court
injunction requiring businesses to comply. They are liable to
an unlimited fine for contempt of court if they do not.
-
(LD)
My Lords, I believe that the Government have not yet taken
the step, which I accept is something of a nuclear option, of
applying for an injunction. Is the Minister aware that the
National Audit Office, in its report in December on modern
slavery, commented on the fact that,
“the Home Office does not produce a list of businesses that
are expected to comply with the legislation and cannot say
how many companies that should have produced a statement have
done so”?
It also says:
“The Home Office has acknowledged that to date the quality of
statements has been variable. Statements therefore do not
provide equal levels of assurance to those scrutinising
them”—
that is, the NGOs and members of the public. Do the
Government have any ideas as to how to assist those who would
wish to scrutinise them?
-
My Lords, in terms of the Government, all government
departments require their suppliers to tell them whether they
are compliant with the transparency requirement of the Modern
Slavery Act. I accept the noble Baroness’s point that some of
the statements vary in terms of the quality and the
information that they provide, but I reiterate that the
legislation is relatively new and I expect that the whole
system will see improvements.
-
(Con)
My Lords—
-
(CB)
My Lords—
-
My Lords, because two noble Lords were speaking I did not
hear my noble friend’s question.
-
My Lords, the person who has done more than anybody else to
further this cause is Mr . Should not
something be done to recognise that fact?
-
My Lords, that decision is probably above my pay grade, but I
congratulate anybody who is helping to make improvements in
this area. It is a major priority of this Government.
Extracts from Lords
debate on Role of Women in Public Life
(Lab):...We have
heard lots of very good speeches, especially reminiscences and
examples of people who are not in the public eye. I want to make a
suggestion which has not been made so far. I think that we need a
museum for the women’s franchise and their struggle for the vote. I
have recently been associated with another museum which my wife has
set up, the theme of which is the partition of Indiaand Pakistan. Memories are still alive
there—they have been recorded. We can still record people’s
memories about their mothers and other people they knew. Those
memories of women who were local councillors, mayors and so on need
to be preserved for posterity. If we do not do so, they will be
lost. It would involve a lot of work and a lot of money, which I am
sure could be raised from private donations. I urge not necessarily
the Government but people here to make a concerted effort to set up
a museum to pay tribute to women’s progress in our society. Of
course, there has not been enough progress, as we all know...
...Let me add one more thing. The impact of 1918 and 1928 was even
more profound on the Commonwealth. All the countries that became
independent from the Commonwealth had, at the outset, universal
adult franchise. India had universal franchise for men and
women in 1950, upon its birth. That would not have happened without
1918. That is a tribute to what was achieved...
(Con):...Her
achievements were remarkable. She is credited with getting family
allowances introduced—the Family Allowances Act was enacted shortly
before she died—but she did much else beside. She was amazingly
prescient in recognising the dangers posed by Nazi Germany. Six
weeks after Hitler became German Chancellor, she was on her feet in
the House, warning of the dangers. She fought hard for refugees:
with three other MPs, she set up a Parliamentary Committee on
Refugees. She fought to improve the condition of women
in India. She became a champion for the
creation of what became the State of Israel. She demonstrated real
stamina in pursuing her goals—all the more remarkable for the fact
that she was first elected to the House of Commons at the age of
57. According to one of her biographers, she was the most
significant woman in British politics in the first half of the 20th
century. As I said in my lecture, one can identify a “look at me”
politician, driven by ego, and an “I want to get things done”
politician, driven by values. The two types are not mutually
exclusive, but Eleanor Rathbone was a pristine example of the
latter...
To read the whole debate, CLICK
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