Week beginning 19 January 2015

Whats Coming Up

Quote of the Week

Monday: Baroness Benjamin will be asking the Government what measures they
are taking to ensure that servicemen and women are given the opportunity and
support to spend sufficient time with their children and families.

I see that the Prime Minister is

with President Obama today. Can
you now send an urgent message
to make sure this visit is a triumph
by having a private word with the
President to make sure this
[Haggis] ban is now lifted?"

Baroness Hamwee is asking an oral question on the potential

impact on students, universities and international relations by
requiring overseas students to leave the UK immediately after
graduating. Theresa May has announced her intention to
include the proposal in the next Conservative Manifesto. Lib
Dems have made clear we do not support the plan, which
makes zero- economic sense and would deprive the UK of
highly-skilled graduates.
The idea that you have people from abroad studying in this country and they
become engineers or scientists of huge practical value to the economy and
rather than have them stay here you immediately turf them out makes zero
economic sense.

Lord Purvis of Tweed makes

representations to the
Government on behalf of Haggii*
everywhere
(*this is apparently the correct
plural of Haggis)

Tweet of the Week

Lord Wallace of Saltaire will take the Recall of MPs Bill through its second day of
Committee.
______________________________

Tuesday: Lord Sharkey will ask a question about increases in the amount the
NHS spends on potential liabilities for clinical negligence. The Coalition has
sought to improve training of NHS staff through significant changes to the role
and responsibilities of Health Education England as part of the Care Act.
Baroness Kramer will lead a debate on the National Policy Statement for
National Networks. The Government response to the public consultation can be
found at: http://bit.ly/1zitEEs
______________________________

Wednesday: Lord Lee will be asking what the Government figures are for the
number of people employed in the tourism and hospitality sector.
With 1495 Parliamentarians the UK

______________________________

has the biggest national parliament

in Europe. Something where it is
not necessarily best to be biggest.

Thursday: Lord Palmer will be asking what assessment the Government have
made of local government finances in relation to libraries across the UK.
Next weeks bills
Baroness Falkner is asking what the Governments assessment of the UN
Secretary-General selection procedure is.
Baroness Pinnock will be making her maiden speech in the
debate on the Local Finance Settlement and its implications
for the future of local government. Kath Pinnock is a sitting
Councillor, and former Leader of Kirklees Council.

______________________________

Friday: Lord Purvis will be taking the International

Development (Official Development Assistance Targets) Bill
through its Second Reading in the House of Lords. The Bill
(known commonly as the 0.7% Bill) seeks to establish a
commitment to spending 0.7% of the UK budget on foreign aid.
Currently the Foreign Aid budget is so variable year-to-year that
forward planning for long term international projects is often
put in jeopardy. The Bill comes to the Lords having been piloted
through the Commons by Mike Moore MP, in the face of an attempted filibuster
by UKIP and right-wing Conservative MPs.

Full schedule here

Recall of MPs Bill

Committee Stage

Small Business, Enterprise and

Employment Bill
Committee Stage

Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill

Committee Stage

National Insurance Contributions

Bill
Third Reading

Criminal Justice and Courts Bill

Ping Pong

Small Business, Enterprise and

Employment Bill
Committee Stage

Specialist Printing Equipment and

Materials Bill
Second Reading

International Development Bill

Second Reading

Medical Innovation Bill

Third Reading

Lib Dem Lords

in Government
Baroness Kramer made a number of announcements in the last week including the fact that 4 million is
being made available to pilot new and better ways of delivering joined-up local transport in rural and
isolated areas, and a 5 million scheme to get ultra-low emission vehicles into the fleets of public sector
organisations.
Susan also answered questions in the chamber on the dangers to young drivers. She highlighted that Britain
has some of the safest roads in the world. However, young drivers are disproportionately involved in
collisions. There is a difficult balance to strike between promoting young drivers safety and their freedom to
access work and education. As part of the debate she highlighted the key role that Telematics (the use of
date on driving habits to improve safety, traffic control and insurance premiums) will play in the future to
make driving safer for this at risk group.
______________________________
Baroness Northover answered questions on Government assistance to Syrian refugees. She highlighted the
work being done through Governments and partners in the region to meet the needs of Syrian refugees and
their host communities, including for food, shelter and education. In the current financial year the UK has
committed over 62 million to activities in Lebanon, 39 million for activities in Jordan and 53 million for
activities undertaken at a regional level, including in Iraq and Turkey.
As part of her answers Lindsay spoke about the leading role the UK is playing stating It is because [Syrians]
are in dire difficulty now that we are putting in our bilateral support of 700 million, which is way ahead of
most other countries. We have also taken more refugees and asylum seekers here than most other EU
countries.
______________________________
Lord Wallace of Saltaire commended Sri Lankas electoral commission for its conduct of the election and all
Sri Lankas political parties and people for accepting the final result and committing to the peaceful transfer
of power. However, he also noted that in the view of Commonwealth observers the election contest fell short
of key benchmarks for democratic elections.

Last Weeks Business

I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it
Lib Dem Lords stand up for civil liberties
Lib Dem Peers came out in force to stand up for civil liberties as the Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill came before
the Lords for its second reading. The debate followed a week of intense discussion nationally on liberty, freedom and
security in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo killings.
Lib Dem Home Affairs spokesperson in the Lords, Baroness Hamwee, on the importance of free speech, a
fundamental principle of liberalism and Liberal Democrat thinking. The Worlds greatest minds would be with the Lib
Dems on this one.
Lord Paddick, speaking about his experiences as a Met Policeman in the wake of the 7/7 bombings, stated that:
Increased powers for the security services and the police must be balanced against winning the confidence of
communities which fear that powers may be used against their innocent members. We cannot have, do not want and
cannot afford to have a police officer on every street corner and an intelligence officer in every community. Whatever
surveillance powers we might agree, if we have learnt one thing from the recent tragedies it is that there are too
many people who could potentially pose a threat to be able to monitor all of them. Community intelligence is as
important as any powers we give to the intelligence agencies.
Lord Roberts further argued that: The threats that face us are real; they are growing and they cannot be ignored. If
we are to remain a free society we must protect those cherished freedoms and not undermine them in any way.
Former MEP Baroness Ludford spoke about the lessons of this week saying: Nothing excuses violence and murder
by a fanatical cult such as ISIS, but that does not exclude the need to do more to integrate minorities, especially
Muslims, as well as to protect them from discrimination, persecution and threats.

Mental health problems affect one in four people in any given year
Baroness Tyler tells Lords
Lib Dem Peer Baroness Tyler led Thursdays House of Lords debate on mental health care provision. In her speech
Baroness Tyler quoted John Lucas, a mental health campaigner for MIND, who asked: Why does the NHS pull out all
the stops to stop me dying of physical health problems, but does not care if I die of mental health problems?
She went on to say: For too long, the subject of mental health has been ignored, marginalised, or left to the realm of
social experiment or institutional stigma.
Why does this matter? Well, just like physical health, we all have mental health. Mental health problems affect one
in four people in any given year, and the numbers continue to rise
The Liberal Democrats have announced investment in mental health to help bring treatment for mental health
problems in line with physical health, ending years of discrimination. The Party are using 400 million to help people
with mental health problems get the right support early on, such as talking or psychological therapies. We are also
introducing waiting limits, so people will know for the first time how long they have to wait for mental health
treatment.

Lord Storey argued that more needed to be done to promote the work of teachers. 54% of head teachers have been
found to agree that mental health services ineffective in supporting pupils. He stated It is our responsibility to
enable every child to receive the best possible start in life. The only way that we can safeguard this right is by
ensuring that education and healthcare services are equipped to tackle the underlying causes and contributory
factors of mental illness. In doing this, we can help pave the way for improved physical and mental health for our
children and, further still, support opportunities for all young people to learn effectively.

Lib Dems talk green issues in Lords

Baroness Bakewell led Thursdays debate asking how do we maintain our green environment for future generations
and how do we put in place the infrastructure to make the best use of green technology as it becomes available?
She opened the debate saying almost on a weekly basis we can see examples of global natural disasters on our
television screens. Whether it be excessive flood waters, extreme droughts or the melting of the Arctic Polar ice cap.
Last winter saw unprecedented rain fall in Britain resulting in distressing floods in Somerset, the land around the
Thames and many other areas.
I am delighted that my Noble friend, Ed Davey, the Secretary of State, has led the way on [Green] issues. The green
agenda has long been dear to the heart of Liberal Democrats and we have plans, in the next Parliament, to take this
further by setting legislative frameworks on five green laws
Baroness Miller highlighted the hard work of the EU in protecting the environment and promoting green causes
stating: I say to noble Lords who are Eurosceptics that without the EUs input into areas such as water pollution and
protection of species we would be in a much worse place than we are in now. The EU can claim enormous credit for
turning around what was a pretty grim picture in the 1960s and 1970s.
Lib Dem Transport Spokesperson in the Lords, Lord Bradshaw, argued that the importance of dealing with harmful
emissions. He argued that major sources of emissions will continue to damage the environment if we only focus on
vehicle exhausts. A great deal of the pollution in our towns and cities comes from the refrigeration and cooling units
on lorries that deliver food and other perishables to shops and airports. You might clean up the engine that is
propelling the lorry, but you have an extremely polluting cooling system attached.
Bristol Councillor and Peer Baroness Janke talked of the work being done in the town to promote locally grown
produce and educating people about local food. One example is the Severn Project, which works with socially
excluded individuals to reduce anti-social behaviour by using the production of food as a vehicle to provide
education, training and employment. The project has installed polytunnels and put down membranes to bring in
compost to grow salad crops, which are then sold on to local restaurants and businesses in the city.

Lord Avebury leads debate on chancel repairs

Lord Avebury spoke on Thursday on the need for reform of the law on chancel repairs. This ancient law allows
churches to go out to local residents to order them to pay money to maintain the church. Understandably, Eric
Avebury is calling for this law to be changed saying It is unreasonable for the owners of generally small plots of land
in some 2,500 Anglican parishes in Englandaround half of themto be potentially liable for the charge, which is
without limit. In the past people have been forced to sell their homes to cover costs levied upon them by local
churches

On the blog this week:

Susan Kramer Announces 4 Million For Local Transport In Rural And Isolated Areas

Roger Roberts: Mays Counter-Terror Powers Could Enable Her To Ban Liberalism

Cathy Bakewells Speech Opening Todays Debate On The Natural Environment, Green Transport And
Protecting Wildlife

Susan Kramer Announces Second Phase Of 5 Million Ultra-Low Emission Vehicles Scheme

Dominic Addington: Disabled Students Must Have An Equal Shot At Life

Paddy Ashdown: Paris attacks: we have experienced anarchy like this before. We should not over-react to it

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