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PRESS RELEASE : Statement by the High Representative on behalf of the EU on the execution of Mr Alireza Akbari [January 2023]

The press release issued by the Council of the European Union on 15 January 2023.

The European Union condemns in the strongest terms the execution in Iran of Iranian-British national Alireza Akbari and recalls yet again its strong opposition against the application of capital punishment in any circumstance.

The European Union offers its condolences to Mr Akbari’s family and expresses its full solidarity with the United Kingdom. The execution of a European citizen is an appalling precedent that will be followed closely by the EU.

The death penalty violates the inalienable right to life enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.

The European Union calls on Iran to refrain from any future executions and to pursue a consistent policy towards the abolition of capital punishment.

16/01/2023
PRESS RELEASE : Households across Northern Ireland to start receiving £600 UK Government energy support [January 2023]
The press release issued by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on 16 January 2023.

Support for energy bills coming to Northern Ireland, with vouchers beginning to reach people today, and delivery continuing over the next few weeks.
Customers who pay for their energy using prepayment meters (keypads) or quarterly standard credit will receive £600 vouchers from today, with delivery continuing throughout January and February

Vulnerable customers eligible for vouchers will receive support first, with the UK Government urging people to redeem them at Post Office branches as soon as possible

Customers who pay via Direct Debit will receive £600 directly into their bank account via their supplier from this month

From today, households across Northern Ireland will start to receive £600 worth of support with their energy bills under the UK government’s energy support schemes, with help already reaching a number of vulnerable households last week.

This follows the UK government’s announcement on Monday 19 December that all households across Northern Ireland will receive a single £600 payment, made up of £400 through the Energy Bills Support Scheme Northern Ireland (EBSS NI) and the £200 Alternative Fuel Payment (AFP). The £200 AFP is being provided to all households given the high proportion of households who use alternative fuels to heat their homes. A further update on 30 December set out how and when households would receive support in January. The one-off £600 payment means households are due to receive the full amount of energy bills support from the UK Government before households in Great Britain.

Starting from today, with delivery phases continuing throughout January and February, customers who use a prepayment meter (keypad) or who pay their bills quarterly via standard credit will receive a voucher worth £600. People due to receive support in the form of a voucher are encouraged to look out for them arriving in the post, and to redeem the voucher as soon as possible once they receive them. This will help make sure support is delivered to all households as promptly as possible.

The voucher will come in the form of a letter, will carry the badge of the relevant electricity supplier and the UK government, and will contain a barcode. Customers will not be asked to go online or to provide any details, with ministers urging the public to stay vigilant of scams. For customers who pay by standard credit, vouchers will be addressed to the account holder, while customers who pay via a keypad meter will receive a voucher addressed to “the occupier” of their property.

All customers who are classed as vulnerable by their supplier have been prioritised to receive support first. This includes people who are of pensionable age, disabled or chronically sick, and are already listed on their supplier’s Customer Care Register.

The easiest way for people to redeem their voucher is by paying the money directly into their bank account. To do this, customers need to take the following items with them to the Post Office:

their voucher (addressed to the account holder or occupier of their home)

the letter from their supplier

proof of address (dated between 1 January 2022 and 1 January 2023)

photo ID

bank card

Customers who use a keypad will also need to take their keypad card or app to the Post Office to redeem the voucher.

People who do not have a bank or credit union account will also be able to redeem their vouchers for cash at the Post Office, subject to the branch having the cash available. Householders are strongly advised to open an account as this is the safest way to receive the £600.

Customers with a Direct Debit arrangement with their energy supplier will automatically receive the £600 payment directly to their bank account, without any action required, and will not be provided with vouchers.

Regulations were recently introduced to make sure support is passed on to households who pay for their energy via an intermediary, such as a landlord.

Energy and Climate Minister, Graham Stuart, said:

We’ve been working flat out to make sure households across Northern Ireland get the support they’ve been promised this winter, so it’s great to see this landing where it’s needed, with vulnerable customers first in line. The coming weeks will see each household in Northern Ireland receive £600 to help with their energy bills, so they can keep safe and warm this winter without worrying about the cost.

I urge all customers due to receive vouchers to look out for them and redeem them as soon as possible, so they can benefit from this support worth hundreds of pounds. This is the latest step we’re taking to help households in the face of global strains on the energy market.

Northern Ireland Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris said:

This is much needed and welcome support for Northern Ireland households, with vouchers beginning to reach people today, and delivery continuing over the next number of weeks. If you’re a customer that pays by direct debit, you will receive the £600 payment directly to your bank account.

I’m grateful to all those who have been working hard to deliver this support for Northern Ireland but it is disappointing that this was not able to be delivered sooner by the Northern Ireland Executive.

Peter McClenaghan, Director of Infrastructure and Sustainability at the Consumer Council, said:

It is very welcome news that the first of the £600 payments are now being made to consumers in Northern Ireland. While it may take a few weeks for consumers to receive the vouchers, the important thing to know is that you don’t need to do anything to receive the voucher, it will be posted to you directly. There is no need to contact your energy supplier, Post Office, or the Consumer Council as direct debit customers will have the money paid into their bank account and everyone else will be sent a voucher letter in the post.

Details of how households in Northern Ireland can expect to receive the support are set out below:

Customers who pay by Direct Debit

Direct Debit customers will receive the payment directly to their bank account or if suppliers have been unable to complete a direct payment for a Direct Debit customer into their bank account, then they will receive a voucher from the Post Office in the name of the electricity account holder.

These payments will be made from 16 January onwards.

Direct Debit customers do not need to contact their supplier to receive this payment – it will be credited to their bank account automatically.

Only the account holder can access the £600 payment. There should be no need to contact your supplier to receive this payment.

Customers who pay by Cash, Cheque or Bank transfer (standard credit)

Customers who pay for their electricity by cash, cheque or bank transfer will receive a voucher from the Post Office in the name of the electricity account holder.

Deliveries of vouchers will begin on 16th January, with delivery phases continuing throughout January and February.

Customers do not need to contact their supplier to receive this voucher – it will be sent to homes automatically.

Customers who pay via a keypad meter

Customers who pay for their electricity via a keypad meter will receive a voucher in the mail from the Post Office addressed to “the Occupier”.

Deliveries of these vouchers will begin on 16th January, with delivery phases continuing throughout January and February.

Customers do not need to contact their supplier to receive this voucher – it will be sent to homes automatically

Equivalent payments will be made through the EBSS Alternative Funding scheme at a later date to households without a domestic electricity contract, such as residents of park homes, care homes, tenants in certain types of private and social rented homes, and residents of caravans and houseboats on registered sites. Further details will be set out in coming weeks, ahead of the scheme’s launch in February.

In addition to the discounts provided through EBSS NI and Alternative Fuel Payments, the UK Government’s Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) is expected to save the average UK family £900 over this winter.

Further support in direct payments is being provided to vulnerable households this year, including cost of living payments for pensioners, people receiving disability-related allowances and those on means-tested benefits. The Household Support Fund provides additional assistance for those most in need and £26 billion worth of targeted support will help protect the most vulnerable over the next financial year.
16/01/2023
Rishi Sunak – 2023 Comments on the Right to Protest

The comments made by Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, on 16 January 2023.

The right to protest is a fundamental principle of our democracy, but this is not absolute. A balance must be struck between the rights of individuals and the rights of the hard-working majority to go about their day-to-day business.

We cannot have protests conducted by a small minority disrupting the lives of the ordinary public. It’s not acceptable and we’re going to bring it to an end.

The police asked us for more clarity to crack down on these guerrilla tactics, and we have listened.

16/01/2023
PRESS RELEASE : Rishi Sunak takes action to stop disruptive protests [January 2023]
The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 16 January 2023.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is backing the police to clamp down on highly disruptive and dangerous protests, under plans announced today.
Through an amendment tabled to the Public Order Bill, the Government will broaden the legal definition of ‘serious disruption’, giving police greater flexibility and clarity over when to intervene to stop the disruptive minority who use tactics such as blocking roads and slow marching to inflict misery on the public.

While the Government has already given police additional powers to prevent protesters using guerrilla tactics, police chiefs have told the Prime Minister that there is some uncertainty over what reaches the threshold of ‘serious disruption’.

The changes introduced today will give police officers absolute clarity over when they should step in. In practice, this will mean:

police will not need to wait for disruption to take place and can shut protests down before chaos erupts

police will not need to treat a series of protests by the same group as standalone incidents but will be able to consider their total impact

police will be able to consider long-running campaigns designed to cause repeat disruption over a period of days or weeks

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

“The right to protest is a fundamental principle of our democracy, but this is not absolute. A balance must be struck between the rights of individuals and the rights of the hard-working majority to go about their day-to-day business.

“We cannot have protests conducted by a small minority disrupting the lives of the ordinary public. It’s not acceptable and we’re going to bring it to an end.

“The police asked us for more clarity to crack down on these guerrilla tactics, and we have listened.”

Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service, Sir Mark Rowley said:

“The Met has a long history of policing protests, responding quickly and effectively to incidents involving crime and where serious disruption is caused, often in challenging situations. We have specialist officers trained to deal with a range of tactics, but this is complex, time-consuming work.

“It is clearly understood that everybody has the right to protest. Increasingly however police are getting drawn into complex legal arguments about the balance between that right to protest and the rights of others to go about their daily lives free from serious disruption. The lack of clarity in the legislation and the increasing complexity of the case law is making this more difficult and more contested.

“It is for Parliament to decide the law, and along with other police chiefs, I made the case for a clearer legal framework in relation to protest, obstruction and public nuisance laws. We have not sought any new powers to curtail or constrain protest, but have asked for legal clarity about where the balance of rights should be struck.

“I welcome the government’s proposal to introduce a legal definition of “serious disruption” and “reasonable excuse”. In practical terms, Parliament providing such clarity will create a clearer line for the police to enforce when protests impact upon others who simply wish to go about their lawful business.”

National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Public Order and Public Safety, Chief Constable BJ Harrington, said:

“We welcome the constructive conversations with government over more clearly defining serious disruption. This will support officers in confidently and quickly taking action and making arrests where appropriate.

“Policing is not anti-protest, but there is a difference between protest and criminal activism, and we are committed to responding quickly and effectively to activists who deliberately disrupt people’s lives through dangerous, reckless, and criminal acts.

“Police have a responsibility to appropriately balance the rights of the public who are going about their daily business lawfully and the rights of those protesting.”

The College of Policing have confirmed today that they will produce guidance outlining the additional powers given to officers over the last year.

National Highways is also reviewing its guidance, taking learnings from previous protests to ensure that roads are reopened as quickly as it is safe to do so.

Today’s announcement is the latest step in the Government’s continued commitment to tackle the highly disruptive protests that the British public have been increasingly subjected to over the last few years.

Through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, the Government introduced a statutory offence of public nuisance and created powers for the police to place conditions on unjustifiably noisy protests and increased the sentences for obstructing the highway. Measures already announced in the Public Order Bill include creating a new criminal offence for interfering with key national infrastructure and for ‘locking-on’.

The Prime Minister also sat down with the Home Secretary and police chiefs in December to give a clear message that the Government expects protesters who disrupt the lives of others to be swiftly removed and arrested.

Further supportive quotes

Matthew Scott, Kent’s Police and Crime Commissioner said:

“When Police Leaders were summoned to No. 10 last month, the Prime Minister made it absolutely clear that the law-abiding public must be protected from disruptive illegal protests. The Prime Minister promised to give policing the powers needed to end disruptive protests faster.

“Today, the Prime Minister has delivered on his promise to PCCs and Police Leaders to aid police forces by clarifying the law governing disruptive protests. This is in addition to the steps the Government has already taken to give policing more powers in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act.

“Kent Police was robust in dealing with these activists during last year’s disruption. This new clarity is welcome and should mean no more excuses from any agency for not clearing up disruption effectively.”

Nick Harris, National Highways’ Chief Executive, said:

“The strategic road network is the backbone of the country, supporting the movement of trade, the daily commute and connecting friends and families, so people have a right to expect it to operate efficiently.

“We’ve already obtained civil injunctions to deter reckless and dangerous protests on these busy roads. When they do occur, our guidance will help keep disruption to a minimum by ensuring that the carriageway is opened as quickly as it is safe to do so.”
16/01/2023
Stuart Andrew – 2023 Speech on Sport in Schools and Communities

The speech made by Stuart Andrew, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, in the House of Commons on 10 January 2023.

I beg to move,

That this House has considered sport in schools and communities.

I am really pleased to open this general debate on this important topic. We will all agree that sport has a vital role to play in all of our lives, through its power to be a force for good that brings communities together and as an important tool in improving the health of the nation. The topic of today’s debate brings together multiple areas of work from multiple Departments and arm’s length bodies, which is why I am so pleased to be joined by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Schools, who will be closing this debate. The work of both of our Departments, as well as many others, contributes to the overall Government mission to support everyone, especially children and young people, to be able to enjoy sport and be more active. As a Government, we are fully committed to supporting sport in schools and communities.

I wish to take a moment briefly to reflect on the power that sport has to bring us together. Last year, we again saw so many unforgettable moments that transcend beyond just the single match or competition, such as the fantastic success of our Lionesses winning at Euro 2022. That inspirational tournament was a truly ground-breaking moment for the sport and has supercharged interest in the women’s game.

We also hosted the Commonwealth games in Birmingham that saw more women’s medals awarded for the first time and truly showcased the fantastic region of Birmingham and the west midlands. We saw success at the men’s T20 world cup and at the rugby world cup. We also hosted a fantastic rugby league world cup tournament here in the UK, with victory for our fantastic wheelchair team. I was very lucky and fortunate enough to be there and see that fantastic victory in person.

The benefits of participating in sports and doing regular exercise are well known. Undertaking regular exercise helps mitigate a wide range of health conditions, both physical and mental, vitally easing the pressure on our NHS. For example, sport and physical activity directly prevents 150,000 cases of heart disease and stroke and 900,000 cases of diabetes per year.

Jonathan Gullis (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con)

I am delighted to see both my right hon. Friend and the Minister for Schools on the Front Bench. My only regret is that a relevant Minister from the Department of Health and Social Care is not here, as they also put money into the PE and sport premium. Can the Minister reassure us that the Department of Health and Social Care are as engaged in this agenda as are the Departments for Education and for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport?

Stuart Andrew

Absolutely. I am happy to confirm that. One thing on which I am focused, and I know that my right hon. Friend the Minister for Schools agrees with me, is that we do work across Government, as there are benefits for all Departments in getting this area of work right.

Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)

The Minister opened this debate by recognising all the brilliant English and British sporting achievements in 2022. I am sure that he will join me in congratulating the four Lionesses who were honoured in the new year’s honours list, which was much deserved. I wish that it had been the whole squad, but we will leave it at that. He will recall that I led a Westminster Hall debate last November on girls and women’s participation in sport following the Lionesses’ success. He promised to work with the Department for Education on ensuring that every child gets at least two hours PE a week. I would welcome an update on those discussions. Perhaps the Minister might mention that in his wind-up.

Stuart Andrew

I will certainly join the hon. Lady in congratulating those members of the team who were awarded honours in the new year’s honours list. Indeed, since that Westminster Hall debate, both the Secretary of State for Education and I have met with members of the Lionesses team and gone through further details. We hope to make more statements certainly by April of this year, because we recognise the importance of the suggestions that she has made.

Paul Holmes (Eastleigh) (Con)

The Minister has mentioned a number of great sporting moments over the past year. May I put it on record that one of the great sporting moments was the stance that he took over Qatar, and that many of us appreciated that stance?

My hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent North (Jonathan Gullis) mentioned the PE and sport premium for schools. I have seen the advantages that that brings to disadvantaged children in my community. Can my right hon. Friend confirm whether the Government intend to continue funding that project? If he cannot confirm that now, will he write to me, because that project really does make a difference to those in local communities in my constituency of Eastleigh.

Stuart Andrew

I appreciate the kind words that my hon. Friend said at the start of his intervention. He is right to highlight the success of the PE and sport premium funding, which is exactly why the Government have doubled that funding. We are considering the arrangements at the moment for the academic year 2023-24, and I hope that we will be making an announcement as soon as possible.

John Redwood (Wokingham) (Con)

Does the Minister agree that a good way of promoting sport within the public sector and in public facilities is a joint use of facilities between schools and the wider community, so that, with the right maintenance and support staff, those facilities can be used at weekends and during the holidays?

Stuart Andrew

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. Our Departments are working on that; it is going well in some areas, but we need to see it improve right across the country so that those great facilities are available to as many people as possible.

Kim Leadbeater (Batley and Spen) (Lab) rose—

Stuart Andrew

I will take one more intervention and then I really must crack on.

Kim Leadbeater

The Minister has made some excellent opening remarks and there have been some excellent interventions already. Less than half of all children currently meet the daily guidelines for sport and physical activity, but 54% of children would like to do more of it. I hope the Government will commit to giving PE and physical literacy the focus and time in the curriculum that it needs, with properly trained and resourced staff who can inspire pupils to embed sport and physical activity as lifelong habits and, in the long term, to save our NHS.

Stuart Andrew

The hon. Lady is right to identify that the earlier we get people involved in sport, the longer they will hopefully continue to participate and live healthier lives. That is why we are working on developing the sport strategy, as part of which I will be working with my colleagues across Government to ensure we are maximising every possible opportunity to get people into sport and physical activity.

James Sunderland (Bracknell) (Con)

Will the Minister give way once more?

Stuart Andrew

I will do once more, but I am conscious there is not much time for Back Benchers to speak.

James Sunderland

The active lives survey published recently showed that in Bracknell only 41% of children are classed as being active. We are not entirely sure why that is; we are working with schools to try to remedy the issue, and with the fantastic sporting facilities in schools locally I am confident that we will do so. One issue raised by teachers is that the annual sports premium is only ever announced late in the financial year. Will Minister please make sure that we get early notification of that funding so that schools, teachers and clubs can plan ahead for the forthcoming year?

Stuart Andrew

This is the moment where I am glad that my right hon. Friend the Schools Minister is sitting by my side, so he can hear those messages and take them back to his Department. To be fair, he is already aware of those issues and will consider them when future announcements are made.

Sport also has the power to bring communities closer together through fostering social cohesion. It gives young people essential leadership and teamwork skills and has the power to tackle loneliness, reduce inequality, increase youth engagement and tackle youth violence. It is an essential part of a healthy and happy life. Research commissioned by Sport England shows that for every £1 invested in community sport there is a return of £4 in wider social economic value. That is why as a Government we are so committed to ensuring that everyone across the country has access to high-quality provision.

Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD)

Will the Minister give way on that point?

Stuart Andrew

One more time—I keep saying one more time.

Jamie Stone

The Minister is being very generous. I represent the most remote part of the UK mainland, and young people in Wick High School and Thurso High School find it very difficult to travel to Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Perth to participate. It is tough on school finances and tough on family finances. I understand completely that sport is devolved, but I hope that the Government are going to look at some scheme to help parents and children in the most remote parts of England to access sport so that they are not disadvantaged because of inequality—and, since he mentioned cross-Government working, could he then share that best practice with the Scottish Government?

Stuart Andrew

Always happy to give advice to the Scottish Government. The hon. Gentleman is right to highlight those points and that is exactly what we will focus on in the sport strategy. There are hard-to-reach areas, more rural areas and areas of deprivation in other parts of the country too, so that will be a focus of the strategy that we are currently developing.

Seema Malhotra (Feltham and Heston) (Lab/Co-op)

Will the Minister give way just one more time?

Stuart Andrew

I am just going to carry on a bit, because I am conscious that we do not have much time and many Members want to take part.

We know that there are significant disparities across the country, from Southall to Sunderland, and we are committed to tackling them. I make clear that it is my personal priority to do so. Through our arm’s length body, Sport England, we invest more than £250 million of public and lottery funding annually. Over the past 12 months, 19.2% of Sport England’s local-level investment has been for projects in indices of multiple deprivation or IMD 1 areas, providing direct support to organisations and communities in the areas that need it most.

Having the right facilities of the right quality is fundamental to a strong sporting community. That is why we are acting to deliver the facilities that every community needs, right across the UK. We are investing a total of £230 million between 2022 and 2025 in all four home nations. That includes an existing £18 million annual commitment in England, delivered via the Football Foundation in partnership with the Football Association and the Premier League. We hope that that investment will build or improve up to 8,000 facilities across the country, especially in the most deprived areas, and not just for football—40% of our investment will deliver facilities that support multiple sports. We are also investing £30 million, together with the Lawn Tennis Association, to renovate and repair thousands of public park tennis courts.

We are also working to ensure that major events have a significant and lasting impact on the communities in which they are held. During the summer, I was fortunate enough to visit the new facilities at Leigh Miners Rangers, which benefited from £350,000 as part of the rugby league world cup social impact programme. It is a thriving community hub that was galvanised and reinvigorated by that tournament. We recognise that we need to maintain progress, and, as I say, we will publish this year a new sports strategy that will set out how we will continue to support people, no matter who they are or where they are from, to enjoy the benefits of participating in sport.

Seema Malhotra

Will the Minister clarify whether the strategy he is referring to will be the updated school sport and activity action plan, which has been an area of concern, and whether there will be time for consultation before that plan is published so that voices can be heard as part of its development?

Stuart Andrew

The sport strategy that I am referring to is the wider, cross-Government one, but there will be the other report that the hon. Lady refers to. The Minister of State, Department for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton (Nick Gibb) will be able to give a bit more of an update about that in his closing remarks. Now that is dodging a question!

Ensuring that those from hard-to-reach communities get opportunities to play sport is really matters to me personally, and I look forward to working with Members across the House to make progress in this area.

Kim Leadbeater

Will the Minister give way?

Stuart Andrew

One more time and then I must finish.

Kim Leadbeater

I thank the Minister, who is being extremely generous with his time. He makes some valid points about community facilities. Yesterday, the Government announced changes to the energy bill relief scheme. I am really pleased that they are committed to providing additional support to organisations such as libraries and museums, but can the Minister tell the House why sport and leisure centres were not included on that list? Swimming pools in particular face incredibly high energy bills. Many are threatened with closure or have already closed, including Batley baths and recreation centre in my constituency, which is, sadly, temporarily closed. Those are hubs in the community, so this is not just about physical wellbeing but about mental wellbeing, social cohesion and lots of other things besides. Can he confirm whether that will be looked at and whether the Government will be able to provide such facilities with the support they need?

Stuart Andrew

I am acutely aware of the concerns of many hon. Members about leisure centres and costs. Of course, the scheme that was announced initially has helped a great deal in that area, but to recognise the importance of the matter, I am holding a roundtable with some interested bodies in the coming weeks to look at it in more detail and see what else we can do.

As a Government, we are focused on how we can support our children and young people to become more active. Quite simply, sport and physical activity are a lifelong habit that needs to be carefully nurtured. We are committed to ensuring that every child, regardless of their background, has access to and benefits from quality sporting opportunities. Dealing with this challenge has never been more important than when we are coming out of the pandemic. Some 2.2 million children—or 30%—are not meeting the chief medical officer’s guidance on levels of activity. I was pleased to see in the latest active lives survey for children, which was released in December, that children’s activity levels have recovered to pre-pandemic levels. There were particularly significant increases in the activity levels of teenage girls. Although that positive progress should be applauded, we know that more work needs to be done to ensure that every child realises the benefits of being active and playing sport.

We are taking action to tackle that challenge. In partnership with colleagues from the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Education, we continue to invest £320 million per year in the PE and sport premium to provide dedicated funding to primary schools to deliver high-quality PE provision. We also continue to fund the school games programme as a vital tool to encourage children to compete in competitive sport.

Damian Collins (Folkestone and Hythe) (Con)

Will my hon. Friend give way?

Stuart Andrew

Before I finish, I will take one more intervention.

Damian Collins

I am grateful. I declare my interest as a trustee of the Sports Trust in Folkestone and Hythe, which delivers a lot of primary school sport activity. Does my right hon. Friend agree that, in encouraging best practice, it is important to look not just at levels of activity in and out of school, but at the improvement in academic attainment in schools that do a lot of sport? It has much wider benefits than just physical health, including academic attainment.

Stuart Andrew

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The benefits of physical activity are widespread, as I mentioned at the beginning. He is right to highlight that point, and we will make sure to consider it as we develop the strategy.

Last year, we saw how sport has the power to inspire. The fantastic success of the Lionesses marked a step change for women’s sport in this country, and we are fully committed to ensuring that all girls have equal access to provision within schools and to looking at how PE can deliver that. As a Government, we are committed to publishing an update to the school sport and physical activity action plan this year, which will set out our ambitions and next steps to support more children to take part in sports.

In conclusion, I welcome this debate on such an important topic. As I have set out, we are already taking action, and as we look to publish our sports strategy later this year, and the updated school sport and physical activity action plan, we will set the blueprint for how the Government will continue to support more people to enjoy the benefits of sport and then take advantage of the many benefits that we know it brings for everybody.

15/01/2023
Debbie Abrahams – 2023 Speech on a Code of Conduct for Elected Representatives

The speech made by Debbie Abrahams, the Labour MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth, in the House of Commons on 10 January 2023.

I beg to move,

That leave be given to bring in a Bill to provide for a statutory code of conduct for Ministers of the Crown; for a statutory code of conduct for Members of the House of Commons and members of the House of Lords; for a statutory code of conduct for councillors in England; and for connected purposes.

Many, if not most of us, on all sides of this House became Members of Parliament because we wanted to help improve the lives of our constituents and all citizens across our great country and its nation states. As MPs, we have duties set out in our now updated codes of conduct, which also apply to Ministers and the Prime Minister. In addition to upholding the law and the general law about discrimination, these duties include:

“to act in the interests of the nation as a whole”,

with a “special duty” to our constituents; recognising the trust that has been placed on us as elected representatives; and to

“always behave with probity and integrity,”

including in our use of public resources. Within these duties we have the “General Principles of Conduct”, often referred to as the Nolan principles, which apply to all aspects of our parliamentary and public life: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership. But, as we know, too often over the last few years we have seen a small minority of Members pay scant regard to these duties and principles, even wilfully ignoring them.

The scandals of the last few years are not the issue of just one Administration. The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, who is responsible for regulating the Members’ code, was initially set up in 1995 to investigate the cash-for-questions affair, and there have been other scandals since then. These have usually resulted in changes to the Members and ministerial codes, as well as the business appointment rules which regulate the so-called “revolving door” employment between the public and private sector of former Ministers and senior officials.

The impact of these abuses cannot be underestimated. It may be a tiny minority who bend or break the rules, but we all become tarred by the same brush, corrupted by association. According to polling by Compassion in Politics, four in five people have no respect for politicians and 40% of parents would be concerned if their child expressed a desire to become a politician. Office for National Statistics data shows that only one in three people trust the Government and two in three think politicians are only out for themselves. Let us pause for a moment to consider what that tells us about the health of our democracy and the prospects for democratic engagement in Britain today and in the future.

Many hon. Members will have experienced at first hand the extreme effects of the steady disintegration in our social fabric. Too many voters have become apathetic; some have become actively hostile. Hate, intolerance and violence are all products of the escalating distrust and increasing disdain with which the public view the political class. Part of how we restore confidence in politics and politicians is by actively demonstrating that all elected representatives will abide by the rules and principles set out in our codes of conduct.

I want to acknowledge the role and work of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards and their office in regulating the Members’ code. I also recognise the work of right hon., hon. and noble colleagues on the Committee on Standards, the Committee on Privileges, the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee and the Committee on Standards in Public Life. I also pay tribute to their lay members. Those Committees’ recent reports and recommendations for changes to strengthen the various codes of conduct will, I believe, help in that regard. However, there is a need for much more significant reform in the accountability systems that regulate Parliament’s conduct. The current systems are spider’s webs, built up over the past 400 years or so, which interact and overlap. Inevitably, there are still issues.

My Bill cannot deal with everything that is needed for a whole-system reform, but it could tackle the most serious and urgent issues, the first and most egregious of which is the Prime Minister’s remaining the arbiter of the ministerial code. The terms of reference for the new so-called independent adviser to the Prime Minister on Ministers’ interests, appointed on 22 December last year, have not changed since the previous adviser under the former Prime Minister, the right hon. Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson). They still fail to give independence and autonomy to initiate new investigations into breaches of the ministerial code or to publish the findings of any investigations. That has to change.

My Bill proposes that, as in Northern Ireland, the ministerial code, including the seven Nolan principles, are put in statute, and that an independent commissioner on ministerial standards is established as a statutory office. His or her role would be: to advise the Prime Minister on all aspects of the ministerial code; to undertake investigations, both independently and referred, into potential breaches of the code; to appoint a panel of parliamentarians and lay members to take part in such investigations; to publish the findings of such investigations; and to make recommendations regarding sanctions for any breaches. He or she would also have the power to make a statement on ethical matters of general public interest affecting Ministers.

The second issue is how Members of Parliament are held to account outside of election time. The October 2022 code of conduct procedure set out what the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards can and cannot do to hold MPs to account on potential breaches of the code. It defines other regulatory systems that hold Members to account—for example, expenses are for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, and conduct in the Chamber is obviously the domain of Mr Speaker—but paragraph 17 expressly prohibits the Commissioner from investigating allegations solely about breaches of the seven principles of public life. Although it has been argued that that is because principles are not judiciable, for me, there is a gap. My Bill proposes that the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards should also become a statutory office and that, under their purview, in addition to investigating Members for potential breaches of code of conduct rules, Members could be investigated for serious and serial breaches of the seven principles of public life.

Thirdly, I turn to the important role that our local councillors play in our communities and in our democracy as a whole. Again, the vast majority of councillors work tirelessly at trying to make a difference in their communities, but unfortunately a minority use their positions for their own purposes and threaten our democracy as a result. Although there is a requirement for councillors to have a councillor code of conduct under the Localism Act 2011, such codes vary greatly between different local authorities. My Bill proposes a standardised statutory councillor code of conduct, which includes the Nolan principles and is accompanied by a statutory accountability system.

Finally, we need to review how our parliamentary system, and the elective representatives within it, are regulated in a way that reflects the modern, inclusive, empowering democracy that we want to become in the 21st century and beyond. Polling by Compassion in Politics found that 76% of people believe that they should have the right to influence our codes of conduct. As such, my Bill proposes that an independent ethics commission of constitutional legal experts is established by Parliament to advise on system reforms. The ethics commission would also work with a citizen’s assembly to come up with final recommendations to Parliament.

As co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group for compassionate politics, I have argued for the need to reform the culture of our politics. The Prime Minister and other Ministers and Members have talked about the need for compassion in politics. Good policies can come only from good politics. That must start with the conduct of those in high office. As such, I hope that the Government will support my Bill.

Finally, I extend my thanks to Matt Hawkins from Compassion in Politics, George Hulme in my office and Jolyon Maugham of the Good Law Project. I commend the Bill to the House.

Question put and agreed to.

Ordered,

That Debbie Abrahams, Kim Leadbeater, Caroline Lucas, Layla Moran and Dr Dan Poulter present the Bill.

15/01/2023
Selaine Saxby – 2023 Comments on Industrial Action and Minimum Service Levels

The comments made by Selaine Saxby, the Conservative MP for North Devon, in the House of Commons on 10 January 2023.

Selaine Saxby (North Devon) (Con)

Strikes have a disproportionate impact in rural Britain, where there are no other modes of public transport. The nearest alternative hospital may be more than 60 miles away and ambulances have already travelled far further to get there, and that is without mentioning the vacancy rates in public services, which are so high due to our housing crisis. Can my right hon. Friend confirm how these measures will help support rural communities?

Grant Shapps

My hon. Friend is right. These so-called forever strikes, which have continued for month after month on the railways, are particularly hurting rural communities. It is easy sometimes for people to imagine that those affected will just sit at home on Zoom or Teams and have those conversations. That view of the world is much easier for someone in a desk job, perhaps in management. It is much harder for someone in a rural community or for a hospital porter or cleaner who needs to get to the hospital. The very people being hurt most by these strikes that never seem to come to a conclusion on the railways are the hardest-up in society. This Government will stand behind them with minimum service levels.

15/01/2023
ISSUE OF THE WEEK 2 : The UK and Australia Trade Deal

This is the second in our ‘issue of the week’ series which are designed to collect information and resources together about specific matters of political debate. Although we are publishing a number of documents every week for each new issue, we will also continually add new resources to these pages to make them as comprehensive as possible. We also hope that students will find the topics useful as a starting point for research on matters of political interest.

Some of the interviews below were conducted for UKPOL, but there are also statements, speeches and contributions from politicians and other figures over the course of the development of the UK and Australian trade deal.

INTRODUCTION

The UK’s trade deal with Australia is the first that has been negotiated since Brexit and has been seen as politically important to prove that the country can secure beneficial agreements. Many other trade deals have been rolled over from the previous arrangements from when the UK was within the European Union, with a now growing political pressure to deliver some bespoke agreements although some large deals such as with the United States are making slower progress. The agreement in principle between the two countries was signed in June 2021, with the formal signing of the agreement taking place in December 2021, with the aim to implement the UK and Australia deal in the first quarter of 2023.

There are 32 different chapters within the agreement (the full text of the trade deal with all 32 chapters) which cover key markets such as agricultural products as well as digital and financial services. Government expectations are that the trade deal will increase UK GDP by 0.08% in the long-run, representing a sum of £2.3 billion a year by 2035. This is though only a fraction of the amount that the Government’s own figures suggest will be lost by leaving the European Union. The trade deal with Australia is relatively small given the size of the country’s economy and distance from the UK, but there are important historic links between the countries.

The UK Government gave 10 main advantages of the agreement:

– unprecedented access for British services and investors
– better business travel for British professionals
– tariff-free trade for British exports
– easier for young Britons to travel and work in Australia
– digital trade opportunities for a global tech superpower
– lower prices for British shoppers and manufacturers
– slashing red tape for entrepreneurs and small businesses
– access to billions of pounds worth of government contracts
– stronger cooperation on shared challenges
– a major step for UK-trade in the Indo-Pacific

Liz Truss, the then Secretary of State for International Trade, said in a Commons statement in June 2021:

“This gold-standard agreement shows what the UK is capable of as a sovereign trading nation: securing huge benefits such as zero-tariff access to Australia for all British goods and world-leading provisions for digital and services, while making it easier for Brits to live and work in Australia”.

There has been opposition to the treaty from a number of organisations, including concerns about the agricultural trade terms and also animal rights issues in Australia. A number of political figures have also questioned whether there has been sufficient scrutiny of the trade agreement and claims that it was negotiated too quickly for political reasons leading to it not being as advantageous to the UK as it could have been. For example, the National Farmers’ Union argued that:

“There is little in this deal to benefit British farmers. When it comes to agriculture, it appears that the Australians have achieved all they have asked for and British farmers are left wondering what meaningful benefits have been secured for them. This will just heap further pressure on British farm businesses already facing serious challenges such as a squeeze on labour, the phasing out of support payments and rocketing input costs.”

The Labour Party said that they would support the trade bill in principle, but Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade, said that “notable from the outset is that the Government ‘list of benefits’ contains no mention of climate targets or the impact of the removal of import tariffs on UK agriculture”.

Sarah Green, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for International Trade, said about the negotiations that:

“The Government’s need to hurriedly chalk up trade deals meant the UK-Australia FTA was not only negotiated too quickly but also carelessly. Key stakeholders were ignored, Parliamentary scrutiny was denied and unnecessary concessions were made.”

The Government’s explainer to the trade deal and the Government’s details of the 10 key benefits. The Australian Government also has its own documents relating to the trade deal. The House of Commons Library has also published a research document into the trade deal.

THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Role created on 13 July 2016.

Liam Fox : 13 July 2016 – 24 July 2019

Liz Truss : 24 July 2019 – 15 September 2021

Anne-Marie Trevelyan : 15 September 2021 – 6 September 2022

Kemi Badenoch : 6 September 2022 –

The holders of the Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade from the Labour Party have been Barry Gardiner (14 July 2016 – 6 April 2020), Emily Thornberry (6 April 2020 – 29 November 2021) and Nick Thomas-Symonds (29 November 2021 – ). The Liberal Democrat spokesperson for International Trade is Sarah Green and the SNP spokesperson is Angus MacNeil.

ACCOUNTABILITY AND SCRUTINY

One of the areas of debate with the Australia Trade Deal is whether there has been sufficient time for scrutiny and accountability of what and how the Government has negotiated. There have been some controversial moments, including when the then Secretary of State Anne-Marie Trevelyan failed to attend a meeting of the International Trade Committee.

The International Trade Committee published their first report on 22 June 2022 and they noted that:

“We have been greatly disappointed that the Government has repeatedly failed to accede to our request that we be guaranteed a period of at least 15 sitting days between the publication of the section 42 report and the laying of the Agreement under the Act, to allow us to finalise and publish our report. Our request for this guaranteed period was not unreasonable. It would have ensured that we were able to identify and make recommendations on matters of interest to the House, thereby giving the Government due notice of any potential concerns, before the brief window of statutory parliamentary scrutiny commenced.”

The committee’s second report was published on 6 July 2022 and they noted in that report:

“The Secretary of State for International Trade failed to attend before us to answer questions on the Agreement on 29 June, despite a commitment to do so. This made it impossible for us to take into account her evidence on the new date agreed—6 July— and still publish our report before the very end of the scrutiny period. Consequently, we are obliged to publish our report now, before we have taken the Secretary of State’s evidence.”

Within a separate annex of this report the committee express concern not only about the lack of willingness of Anne-Marie Trevelyan to appear in front of the committee, but also comment on the lack of time that she is willing to spend when giving evidence. The Secretary of State responded to the first and second reports with an official reply which didn’t comment on the specific complaints, but that noted:

“We have provided extensive opportunity and time to scrutinise the agreement and do not believe it was necessary to extend the CRaG scrutiny period. The UK-Australia FTA cannot be ratified until all necessary primary and secondary legislation is scrutinised and passed by Parliament in the usual way, which will give the House opportunities to debate the implementing legislation.”

In an interview with us Sarah Green, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, criticised not just the speed and quality of the negotiations from the UK trade side, but also added that:

“The Government have rejected calls for the publication of sectoral and regional impact assessments, denying us the opportunity to gain a detailed understanding of the deal’s real impact”.

Richard Foord, the Liberal Democrat MP for Tiverton and Honiton, noted:

“The Government’s approach during negotiations with Australia and New Zealand seems to have been to sell out British farmers left and right—and then some—to try to clinch a deal. These trade deals are more about attempting to garner positive headlines than supporting our world-leading agriculture and fishing industries”.

Helen Liddell, Baroness Liddell of Coatdyke, a former Secretary of State for Scotland who has followed the Government’s recent trade deal progress commented to us that:

“I do not think there has been sufficient scrutiny of Trade Bills and that is not helped by the non availability of a trade strategy. This is the prevailing view of the International Agreements Committee of which I am a member. And a number of Peers from around the House shared that view”.

The Scottish Government said on their involvement in the trade agreement that:

“Scottish Government officials received regular briefings from DIT on the progress of negotiations, which were useful. However, as I have made clear to the UK Government, information is not the same as involvement, and we had no say in the decisions taken by the UK Government throughout the negotiations and saw no detail on key parts of the agreement, such as tariffs and tariff rate quotas (TRQs), until after they were agreed. Nor were we given the underpinning analysis or rationale behind the decisions”.

A spokesperson from the Department for International Trade didn’t directly answer our question on whether all information requested by members of the International Trade Committee would be provided to them, but they noted that:

“Parliamentarians have been able to scrutinise the full treaty text, a draft Explanatory Memorandum and independently Scrutinised Impact Assessment for the FTA since these were laid before Parliament in December 2021. We received advice from the independent Trade and Agriculture Commission and the Treaty and explanatory information have been available for Parliamentary scrutiny for more than eight months”.

Andrew Bowie, the International Trade Minister, defended the Government in the Commons in November 2022 on scrutiny, saying:

“I now briefly turn to scrutiny, which is incredibly important. Contrary to the description of the right hon. Member for Warley of the scrutiny process, and always remembering that CRaG was introduced by Labour, the Government have made extensive commitments to support robust scrutiny of all new free trade agreements. These commitments greatly exceed our statutory requirements and we have met every single one.

I hear and understand the concerns of the hon. Member for Rochdale and I accept the challenge to go further and do better, but the Australian FTA was examined by Parliament for more than seven months and the scrutiny period featured reports from three Select Committees”.

Speaking in the same debate, Gareth Thomas, the Labour spokesperson said that there was a danger in not accepting scrutiny that mistakes could be made in future trade deals:

“[George Eustice] underlined those criticisms by going on to point out that unless we recognise the failures of the Department for International Trade, we will not learn the lessons necessary for negotiations with other countries over other free trade agreements, such as, importantly, the CPTPP accession discussions. He rightly noted, as many others did—I will come back to the contributions of others—the weaknesses of the scrutiny process and crucially how it weakens the hand of British negotiators, which is a point we made during the passage of the Trade Bill back in 2020”.

Drew Hendry from the SNP said in the debate on the scrutiny argument:

“A general debate is no replacement for genuine parliamentary scrutiny. The Government have failed to provide that, even though it was promised. The deals, lumped together in the debate, are one-sided and a betrayal of farmers. They threaten food security and animal welfare, reduce consumer confidence, find climate change expendable and do nothing to mitigate the enormous losses of Brexit”.

ANIMAL RIGHTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS

An area of concern has been different environmental rules and animal rights regulations between Australia and the UK, with concerns from some organisations that goods with lower standards might be allowed into the UK. Natalie Bennett (Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle) said in the House of Lords that there were “atrocious animal welfare and environmental standards in Australian farming”.

The UK Centre for Animal Law stated that:

“Meat exported to the UK did not come from animals which had been subject to hot-iron branding or mulesing. Hot-iron branding is still permitted in all States and Territories of Australia but is banned in the UK. Mulesing is a painful procedure that involves cutting crescent-shaped flaps of skin from around the lamb’s breech and tail using sharp shears. The resulting wound, when healed creates an area of bare, stretched scar tissues which diminishes the attraction of blowflies thereby reducing the risk of fly strikes.”

The matter of mulesing has been frequently mentioned by politicians concerned about the variation in standards. Dominic Johnson (Baron Johnson of Lainston) speaking for the Government in the House of Lords said:

“I was told that 90% of all mulesing is done with pain relief. Yes, there are different practices and clearly, mulesing is not relevant in the UK because of flystrike and other conditions, but we have the ability to protect ourselves and we still have the ability to ensure that the food and goods we import conform to our standards.”

On environmental standards, the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) stated in a submission to the International Trade Committee that:

“The terms of the agreement do not create a level playing field in either animal welfare or environmental standards. The starting point of each party remains unaltered by the presence of the FTA commitments. However, what is foreseen is “non-regression and non-derogation” commitments that would prevent standards going backwards in a manner that affects trade, in either party. This is fundamentally different from whether there is a level playing field at the outset”.

In the same submission, the NFU added:

“Agricultural production in Australia, however, is not subject to the same environmental protections as in the UK. For example, a significant proportion of cattle in Australia are raised in feedlot systems. Australia’s feedlots have capacities ranging from 500 to over 50,000+ head of cattle. Over 60% of the cattle on feed in Australia (i.e. resident on a feedlot) as of June 2020 were located on feedlots with a capacity for over 10,000 head of beef animals. Feedlots are a feature of Australian beef production and are huge in size and scale. This compares to the average size of a beef cattle herd in England at 27 animals and whilst there will be larger farms in the UK, only 4% of English beef farm holdings have more than 100 beef cows. Furthermore, in comparison, 87% of UK beef is produced using predominantly forage based diets, a system which is not only more climate friendly, but also supports biodiversity and the natural environment through extensive grazing. The use of hormones as growth promoters are banned”.

They were also critical in their submission about the impact of climate changed, noting:

“The NFU has been clear that, for the UK to truly deliver on its ambitions for a more sustainable future and the goals of COP26, all aspects of policy, from domestic environmental and agricultural policies to international trade policy, must be joined up in their delivery of these aims. It is therefore disappointing to see the UK seeking to negotiate new free trade agreements with countries that are not taking a similarly ambitious approach to tackling the challenge of climate change without putting provisions that reinforce these ambitions in place”.

OTHER CRITICISMS OF THE TRADE DEAL

Although the animal rights and environmental standards questions have been those put forward perhaps the most frequently with regards to the deal, one of the most powerful criticisms of the trade deal has come from George Eustice, who was on the Cabinet sub-committee which negotiated the Australia deal. In November 2022, speaking in the Commons Eustice said:

“The first step is to recognise that the Australia trade deal is not actually a very good deal for the UK, which was not for lack of trying on my part. Indeed, as my right hon. Friend pointed out, there were things that we achieved, such as a special agricultural safeguard for years 10 to 15, staged liberalisation across the first decade and the protection of British sovereignty in sanitary and phytosanitary issues. It is no surprise that many of these areas were negotiated either exclusively or predominantly by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on behalf of the UK team, but it has to be said that, overall, the truth of the matter is that the UK gave away far too much for far too little in return.”

In the speech he said one of the major mistakes was:

“We should not set arbitrary timescales for concluding negotiations. The UK went into this negotiation holding the strongest hand—holding all the best cards—but at some point in early summer 2021 the then Trade Secretary my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Norfolk (Elizabeth Truss) took a decision to set an arbitrary target to conclude heads of terms by the time of the G7 summit, and from that moment the UK was repeatedly on the back foot. In fact, at one point the then Trade Secretary asked her Australian opposite number what he would need in order to be able to conclude an agreement by the time of the G7. Of course, the Australian negotiator kindly set out the Australian terms, which eventually shaped the deal. We must never repeat that mistake.”

Some politicians, such as Emily Thornberry who was then the Shadow Secretary of State for International Development, said that the deal was too beneficial for the Australians:

“What makes this deal all the more indefensible is that, while Australia is getting everything it wanted and more, we are getting next to nothing in return, with a miniscule 0.025% increase in UK growth the most optimistic projection the government can come up with”.

The Government also stated that they did not believe that the impact on agriculture would be substantial in terms of the size of the market and because UK consumers would prefer British products, but the Northern Ireland Executive noted:

“The UK Government has stated that Australia will not be exporting significant amounts of beef to the UK or that Australian imports will replace imports from other countries. Whilst recognising the appeal of Asian markets to Australian exporters, it is likely that Australia’s insistence on achieving a rapid and very sizeable increase in market access signals an intention of making significant use of it.”

Toby Perkins, the Labour MP for Chesterfield, asked the Prime Minister during PMQs whether he agreed with the comments that George Eustice made, with Rishi Sunak replying:

“All trade deals involve give and take on both sides. The Australia trade deal will open up new markets for 3 million British jobs, which is fantastic, reduce prices for Australian goods and make it easier for young people to move back and forth between the two countries. Going forward, we will ensure that our trade deals work for the UK. That is what we will deliver”.

BENEFITS OF THE TRADE DEAL

In addition to the Government’s ten benefits from the deal, a spokesperson from the Department for International Trade told us that:

“Our landmark trade agreement with Australia will unlock £10.4 billion of additional bilateral trade, eliminating tariffs on 100% of UK exports, support economic growth in every part of the UK and deliver for the 15,300 businesses already exporting goods to Australia”.

Speaking in the House of Commons in November 2022, the International Trade Minister Andrew Bowie said:

“Our deals include a range of protections that allow us to apply higher tariffs to protect UK farmers, including tariff rate quotas for a number of sensitive agricultural products; specific additional protective measures for beef and lamb products, which will provide further tariff protections to our farmers; and a general bilateral safeguard mechanism that will allow the UK to increase tariffs or suspend their liberalisation for up to four years in the unlikely situation that the farming industry faces serious loss from increased agricultural imports. On top of all that, there is still the option of global safeguards under the WTO”.

In the same debate, Greg Hands, the Minister for Trade Policy, said:

“The Australia and New Zealand free trade agreements are deals that will deliver for people, businesses and our economy. These are our first “from scratch” free trade agreements since we left the European Union, and they are deals of which this country can be proud. They demonstrate our ambition as an independent trading nation. They secure commitments that, in places, go above and beyond international best practice, and put us at the forefront of international trade policy”.

Anthony Mangnall, the Conservative MP for Totnes, said in the Commons that it was important to consider the financial services industry, noting:

“We need to look at where the Australia trade agreement benefits us. As the Minister for Trade Policy, who is no longer in his place, said, 82% of our workforce and 80% of GDP are in financial services. That is where this deal strikes incredibly well and effectively. We will have greater access—more than ever before—to Australian markets. From architecture to law to financial services, we will be on an equal footing. That could increase UK service exports to Australia by £5 billion. Additionally, it cuts the bureaucracy that so many small businesses have been frustrated about”.

Paul Beresford, the Conservative MP for Mole Valley, noted that he felt there was also potential for British companies to increase the number of goods which they could sell into Australia:

“The UK needs to push its goods in both countries. For example, New Zealand and Australia’s roads are currently dominated by Asian-manufactured vehicles. I have asked people there why they are not buying British. The answer is “We will when the prices come down and the tariffs come down.” With this tariff reduction, we have a chance to take our share and more, but we have to use it. We have to get out there, and we have to push our products in those two countries”.

HOUSE OF COMMONS INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMITTEE

Witness Evidence of Lorand Bartels, Chair of the Trade and Agriculture Commission

Witness Evidence of Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Secretary of State, and Crawford Falconer, Second Permanent Secretary

International Trade Committee’s First Report

International Trade Committee’s Second Report

Response to the First and Second Reports from the Department for International Trade

SPEECHES IN LORDS DURING THE TRADE BILL DEBATE IN JANUARY 2023

Lord Johnson of Lainston – Minister of State at the Department for International Trade

Lord Johnson – Concluding Speech in Debate

Baroness Liddell of Coatdyke

Lord Goodlad

Lord Frost

Baroness Young of Old Scone

Lord Kerr of Kinlochard

Lord Swire

Lord Howell of Guildford

Lord Liddle

Lord Marland

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

Lord Udny-Lister

Earl of Sandwich

Lord Lansley

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering

Lord Inglewood

Lord Hannan of Kingsclere

Lord Purvis of Tweed

Lord Lennie

PRESS RELEASES

UK agrees historic trade deal with Australia [Downing Street, June 2021]

New era of free trade with the UK [Australian Government, December 2021]

UK trade deal with Australia will create opportunities for the legal profession [Law Society, December 2021]

Australia and the United Kingdom Announce Signed Free Trade Agreement [Australia-United Kingdom Chamber of Commerce, December 2021]

Aussies to toast tariff-free British G&Ts [Foreign Office, December 2022]

COMMENTS FROM BUSINESSES, ORGANISATIONS AND PRESSURE GROUPS

Accolade Wines

City of London Corporation

Federation of Small Businesses

Friends of the Earth

National Farmers’ Union

Northern Ireland Executive

Scottish Government

Trades Union Congress

UK Centre for Animal Law

UK Trade Policy Observatory

15/01/2023
House of Commons Library – 2022 Report on the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement

The document published by the House of Commons Library on 8 November 2022, written by Dominic Webb.

Text of Report (in .pdf format)

15/01/2023
PRESS RELEASE : UK trade deal with Australia will create opportunities for the legal profession [December 2021]

The press release issued by the Law Society on 17 December 2021.

A free trade agreement (FTA) was reached last night between the UK and Australia that reflects the importance of market access for services for both economies, as the UK continues to forge new trade relationships after Brexit.

“The UK-Australia FTA provides certainty and creates opportunities for our legal professions to work together towards smoother trade in legal services, which will make doing business easier for clients,” said Law Society of England and Wales president I. Stephanie Boyce.

“We believe that legal and other professional services should be at the forefront of the UK’s forthcoming trade discussions. Services, and in particular legal services, play an important role in facilitating the globalised market directly and indirectly.

“We are delighted to see this reflected in the articles on legal services and welcome the opportunities this agreement creates for both countries’ legal professionals.

“However, ensuring these opportunities are fully realised will take time. We look forward to continuing to work together with our counterparts for the benefit of both our professions.”

Latest figures show the legal sector contributed £29.6bn to the UK in 2019, equivalent to 1.5% of gross value added (GVA), and posted a trade surplus of £5.6bn in 2020.*

This makes the UK the largest legal services market in Europe – valued at £36.8bn in 2019 – and second only to the US globally.

The FTA responds to the Law Society’s key asks for legal services in trade agreements: greater recognition of qualifications, availability of a larger range of business structures – namely the UK LLP – and eased mobility options.

The agreement confirms the existing right for UK and Australian lawyers to advise clients and to provide arbitration, mediation and conciliation services in the other country’s territory, using their original (home) qualifications and title.

I. Stephanie Boyce added: “Enshrining the right to advise on home-country laws and public and private international law where they’re entitled to practise in their home jurisdiction in the FTA is an important achievement as it recognises the specificities of home title practice in international legal practice, without the need for mutual recognition procedures and/or requalification in the host country.

“Many barriers facing legal services providers are ‘behind the border’ and not suitable for an FTA, such as permitted business structures for law firms.

“However, provisions of the agreement establish and drive collaboration between relevant bodies – including the Law Society of England and Wales and the Law Council of Australia – through a bespoke legal services regulatory dialogue, and will help address some of the barriers that can’t be dealt with in the FTA.

“The FTA also creates new opportunities by providing UK law firms with legally guaranteed access to Australian government contracts for legal services that are covered by the agreement.”

The new agreement will also help legal professionals hoping to provide cross-border services, by making it easier for lawyers to train in Australia.

“Mobility is one of the biggest issues facing our firms. We are pleased to see the agreement comes with several eased mobility options for legal service providers. Companies will be able to sponsor visas committed in the FTA without an economic needs test and there will be no limitations on the number of visas granted to business persons.

“Junior lawyers will also be given greater mobility through unprecedented changes to the UK and Australia’s Youth Mobility Schemes – now available to nationals up to 35 years of age for a stay of up to three years, without having to undertake specified regional work in Australia.

“We will also discuss with the UK government what opportunities may be available for the legal sector in the pilot new visa scheme for UK citizens that allows early career workplace exchanges for graduates.”

The FTA also commits to increasing opportunities for digital trade across all sectors of the economy, while ensuring standards for personal data protection and for legitimate public policy objectives.

Digitisation is already one of the most important factors in the evolution of the legal profession and legal services and will continue to become more so, as reflected in how the profession moved online during the COVID-19 pandemic.

I. Stephanie Boyce added: “Currently, lawyers, law firms and workplaces operating internationally must deal with a regulatory patchwork of data and digital provisions.

“Therefore, provisions – such as those guaranteeing the validity of electronic transactions and contracts – that provide greater clarity and certainty for businesses operating internationally in the digital sector are a welcome development.

“We look forward to continuing to work with government and our counterparts to realise the benefits of the agreement and help our members make use of the new opportunities in the New Year.”

15/01/2023