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  • Robin Hodgson – 2022 Parliamentary Question on Retailers Accepting Cash (Baron Hodgson of Astley Abbotts)

    Robin Hodgson – 2022 Parliamentary Question on Retailers Accepting Cash (Baron Hodgson of Astley Abbotts)

    The parliamentary question asked by Robin Hodgson, Baron Hodgson of Astley Abbotts, in the House of Lords on 15 December 2022.

    Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts

    To ask His Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with retailers and other outlets concerning their acceptance of cash as legal tender.

    Lord Harlech (Con)

    My Lords, Ministers and officials have meetings with a variety of organisations in the public and private sectors, including on access to cash and related issues. Details of ministerial meetings are published on a quarterly basis. Regarding cash acceptance, it should remain the choice of organisations whether to accept or decline any form of payment. The Government’s legislation in the Financial Services and Markets Bill intends to support cash acceptance by ensuring that businesses have reasonable access to deposit facilities.

    Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Con)

    My Lords, I am very grateful to my noble friend, in particular for standing in at short notice when the noble Baroness, Lady Penn, was delayed. I think that this is the first time that he has answered a Question; can I be the first to congratulate him? However, are the Government aware of the scale of the problem faced? Some 5 million people—some of the most vulnerable in our society—depend on cash. Forcing such people to use plastic cannot be a good idea. Some 20 million of us use cash more than twice a week, and on average three cash machines are taken out of service every day. If my noble friend and his officials think that I am exaggerating, they might care to read the article in the Financial Times last week about offering lifelines to people struggling in a cashless society.

    Lord Harlech (Con)

    The Government want to ensure that people have appropriate access to financial products and services, which includes bank accounts, payment services and cash. LINK, the operator of the UK’s largest ATM network, has established a number of initiatives to protect the broad geographic spread of free-to-use ATMs. LINK has committed to protecting free-to-use ATMs more than a kilometre away from the nearest free ATM or post office, and is held to account against this commitment by the Payment Systems Regulator.

    Baroness Kramer (LD)

    My Lords, I also welcome the Minister to his role. Thanks to the excellent work of the Access to Cash Action Group and LINK, new banking hubs are planned where a community is bereft of bank branches, which will permit the kind of deposits that the noble Lord named in his Question. Since the scheme is vital for access to cash, should the banks be permitted to veto approval of a hub in an area that meets the criteria?

    Lord Harlech (Con)

    Following the Government’s commitment to legislate, industry is working together to develop new initiatives to provide shared access to cash services. This includes a process for LINK to access a community’s cash needs in the event of a closure of a core cash service or a request from a local community. In circumstances where LINK considers that a community requires additional cash services, industry will ensure a suitable shared solution in that community.

    Baroness Bryan of Partick (Lab)

    My Lords, the Cash Census report published earlier this year warned:

    “While a cashless society would feel like progress for some … for millions it would lead to anxiety, economic exclusion, isolation, exploitation, debt”

    and “rising costs”. Does the Minister accept that cash is still the major means of spending for a substantial proportion of our society, and that retailers should be required to accept legal currency?

    Lord Harlech (Con)

    The definition of “legal tender” is quite narrow. However, the ongoing trend in payments in the UK has been away from cash and towards card payments and other digital transactions. However, cash continues to be used by millions of people across the UK, including those in vulnerable groups. The Government are legislating to ensure reasonable provision of cash withdrawal and deposit facilities.

    Lord Sandhurst (Con)

    Following that answer, I say that there is a real problem with the non-acceptance of cash. We all find it at different times. It is not a problem for me, but it is for those who do not have bank accounts, debit cards and credit cards. Will the Government consider having a proper review to address this, so that small businesses that find cash a nuisance can manage and that everyday people can use cash when they want to?

    Lord Harlech (Con)

    As my noble friend will know, technology and consumer behaviour are changing and it remains the choice of individual organisations whether to accept or decline any form of payment, including cash or card, based on a consideration of factors, such as customer preference and cost. However, the Government consider that their legislation in the Financial Services and Markets Bill will support organisations, including local businesses, to continue accepting cash by ensuring that they have reasonable access to deposit facilities. As I said, legal tender has a narrow technical meaning: it means that if you offer to fully pay off a debt to someone in legal tender, they cannot sue you for failing to repay.

    The Lord Bishop of St Albans

    My Lords, this is a problem that particularly affects rural areas, where there are far fewer cash-dispensing machines. Also, there are many parts of rural areas where there is no internet, so even if you want to pay by BACS or direct transfer, you just cannot do it. Will the Minister assure us that the Government will properly rural-proof this discussion so that we are able to ensure that rural areas can still function effectively?

    Lord Harlech (Con)

    As someone who comes from a rural community, I know only too well the trials and tribulations of getting a good connection. The Government recognise that digital inclusion needs to be promoted alongside financial inclusion. That is why we are committed to ensuring that everyone has access to digital infrastructure and the skills necessary to participate fully in society, and that very much includes rural areas. In 2021, the Government launched Project Gigabit, which committed a landmark £5 billion to support the rollout of gigabit connectivity in the hardest-to-reach areas.

    Lord Tunnicliffe (Lab)

    I too welcome the Minister to his place. I remember in similar circumstances when I was on that Front Bench explaining to the civil servants that Question Time is a blood sport—and you, my friend, are the fox. When a shop opts not to accept cash, in most cases customers are able to go elsewhere. However, when it comes to services such as car parks, there is often no alternative available. Many are happy to pay for parking on apps or over the phone, but a sizeable number are not. What does the Minister suggest that those people do when they arrive and find, without any consultation, that the pay machines have been decommissioned?

    Lord Harlech (Con)

    I have suffered that situation myself. A customer intending to park who has not been warned that payment has moved from a cash or coin system to digital-only should take that up immediately with the council or whoever is administering that parking space on behalf of the local council.

    Baroness Butler-Sloss (CB)

    My Lords, there is another problem. Because so many banks are closing their branches, one of the shopkeepers in my part of east Devon says that he cannot accept cash because he has to go seven or eight miles to the bank and cannot get there because his shop is open until six in the evening. Could the Minister look at the issue of bank branch closures set beside the question of cash?

    Lord Harlech (Con)

    Since 2019, the Government have chaired the Financial Inclusion Policy Forum, bringing together the financial services industry, consumer groups, the regulator and the third sector. We have also published an annual report on the Government’s work on financial inclusion. The most recent report was published in December 2021. Since 2019, the Government have allocated £100 million of funding from dormant assets towards financial inclusion.

    Lord Pickles (Con)

    My Lords, I too congratulate my noble friend on his first appearance at the Dispatch Box, and I assure the House that he is also an excellent Whip. I served on the House’s Select Committee on post-Covid recovery. We received evidence on this from retailers and individuals. The substantive point is that, if you do not have a bank account, you are excluded from shops and cafes that you have visited for many years. You are forced to go into other shops where the choice is not as great. What happens is a very strange and unusual piece of social exclusion in which you find yourself paying more for less choice. What discussions has my noble friend had with the banking industry to increase the availability of accounts for people who do not have them? Will he give us his best estimate of the number of households that do not have a single bank account?

    Lord Harlech (Con)

    My noble friend makes an excellent point that, to be fully included in society, a working bank account is essential. I will certainly take that back to the department to ensure that the Treasury communicates with the banking and financial services sector to make the opening of a bank account as easy and accessible as possible. I will try to write to him on the number of households which do not currently have a bank account.

  • PRESS RELEASE : North Korea missile launches – Foreign Office Statement [December 2022]

    PRESS RELEASE : North Korea missile launches – Foreign Office Statement [December 2022]

    The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 18 December 2022.

    A Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office spokesperson said:

    North Korea continues to violate UN Security Council Resolutions by launching two medium-range ballistic missiles on 18 December.

    We call on North Korea to prioritise the well-being of their people instead of the illegal pursuit of nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. The UK, alongside our allies and partners, is committed to peace on the Korean Peninsula, the upholding of the rules-based international system and securing an end to North Korea’s illegal activities.

  • OBITUARY : David Ramsbotham, Baron Ramsbotham (1934-2022)

    OBITUARY : David Ramsbotham, Baron Ramsbotham (1934-2022)

    OBITUARY : David Ramsbotham, Baron Ramsbotham (1934-2022)

    David Ramsbotham was born on 6 November 1934, the son of John Ramsbotham who later went on to become the Bishop of Wakefield. He served in the army between 1953 and 1993, later serving as the Adjutant-General to the Forces between 1990 and 1993. He was appointed as Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons in 1995, serving in that role until 2001. The Guardian newspaper noted in 2001 that he had clashed numerous times with the Home Office:

    “Ramsbotham’s direct, military approach ruffled the mandarins. They confined him to talking to junior ministers, which, in the case of the then prisons minister Paul Boateng, could be regarded as a different form of penal servitude.”

    In  2005, Ramsbotham was elevated to the House of Lords as Baron Ramsbotham of Kensington and he sat as a crossbencher. He continued an involvement with the Prison Reform Trust who issued a tribute to him saying:

    “He was literally and metaphorically a towering figure in our world — instantly recognisable for his bearing and the meticulous care with which he framed his devastating critique of all that needed changing in our prison system.”

    Ramsbotham died following a fall on 13 December 2022, at the age of 88.

    Speeches by David Ramsbotham, Baron Ramsbotham

    Prisongate: The Shocking State of Britain’s Prisons and the Need for Visionary Change (Amazon Link) by David Ramsbotham and published in 2003.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Tribute to Lord David Ramsbotham [December 2022]

    PRESS RELEASE : Tribute to Lord David Ramsbotham [December 2022]

    The press release issued as a tribute to Lord David Ramsbotham by the Prison Reform Trust on 16 December 2022.

    Lord David Ramsbotham — as good as it gets

    Everyone at the Prison Reform Trust, and everyone with an interest in prison reform, will have been saddened by the news of David’s passing this week. He was literally and metaphorically a towering figure in our world — instantly recognisable for his bearing and the meticulous care with which he framed his devastating critique of all that needed changing in our prison system.

    Indefatigable is probably the best the dictionary can offer to describe his persistence and energy, but it feels completely inadequate. Until a very short time before his death, he was as active and as sharp as ever; a fount of wisdom and a polite but incessant reminder to those in authority about where their duty lay in  the care of the people we choose to imprison.

    He never forgot the gap that can exist between what the policy says should happen and the real experience of people on the ground.

    David set a standard for prison inspection — and the personal courage of the Chief Inspector — that has long outlived his tenure of that office. Whatever the Home Office expected when he was appointed in 1993, it got a good deal more than it had bargained for. Prisons are a secret, forgotten world for most of the time, and can suffer political neglect as a consequence. David recognised that he could change that, bringing the work of the inspectorate firmly into the public eye as a means to force change in a public service that desperately needed it. I first came across him when I was a young policy civil servant in the prison service, and I suspect he would have been quietly pleased to know that I and my colleagues found ourselves irritated and frequently wrong footed by him. But face to face he was unfailingly generous and quick to assume that, whatever your role, you would be as enthusiastic to change things for the better as he was. If a little fur needed to fly to achieve that, there was no need to take it personally.

    David set a standard for prison inspection — and the personal courage of the Chief Inspector — that has long outlived his tenure of that office.

    After entering the House of Lords, David developed a mastery of the parliamentary process to match his skill in navigating Whitehall. He co-chaired the All Party Parliamentary Group for Penal Affairs for many years until very shortly before his death. His presence undoubtedly encouraged a steady stream of ministers and other senior office holders to expose themselves to the careful scrutiny of that group, and most would leave both challenged and better informed about the history of the problems which they were charged to solve. David’s support of many and varied charities devoted to helping people in prison said much about his passion, but also meant that he was continually one of the best informed people in any room. He never forgot the gap that can exist between what the policy says should happen and the real experience of people on the ground.

    As a consequence he leaves something of a chasm in our world. But he will also be remembered with huge affection at a personal level. He had an astonishing memory for people, perhaps especially for those at the bottom of the pile. It would be inconceivable for David to treat a prisoner with any less respect or attention than a secretary of state, and his recall not just of individuals, but of their achievements and opinions, was extraordinary. It is easy to conjure up an image of David speaking in the Lords, chairing meetings or being interviewed on the TV, but I think that stored knowledge of people speaks to someone who listened as brilliantly as he spoke.

    We have lost a great man.

    Peter Dawson
    Director

  • David Ramsbotham – 2020 Speech on the Medicines and Medical Devices Bill (Baron Ramsbotham)

    David Ramsbotham – 2020 Speech on the Medicines and Medical Devices Bill (Baron Ramsbotham)

    The speech made by David Ramsbotham, Baron Ramsbotham, in the House of Lords on 11 November 2020.

    My Lords, I must declare two interests in explaining why I have put my name to the amendment—first, as co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Speech and Language Difficulties, and secondly, as an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists. As always, it is a great pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Thornton, and the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, both of whom know a great deal more about this subject than I do.

    As I reported on Second Reading, on 12 August the Minister in the other place wrote that the Bill would allow the Government to update those professional organisations that can prescribe medicines when it was safe and appropriate to do so. This is in line with what the Minister said on Second Reading, which was quoted by the noble Lord, Lord Hunt. If the experience of dieticians, orthoptists, diagnostic radiographers and speech and language therapists is anything to go by, the role of such people has expanded considerably during the pandemic, during which there has been ever-increasing pressure on health professionals.

    Prescribing responsibilities would enable allied professions to share the burden with their NHS colleagues and avoid unnecessary delay and duplication for patients. Their call for increased prescribing responsibilities is backed up by hard-pressed NHS trusts, which have identified a means of increasing their capacity. Therefore I hope that, on the basis of experience during the pandemic, the Minister will be able to announce proposals and a timetable for extending prescribing rights for certain carefully chosen health professional organisations within three months of the Bill being passed, as part of the NHS long-term improvement plan.

  • David Ramsbotham – 2021 Speech on the Substance Testing in Prisons Bill (Baron Ramsbotham)

    David Ramsbotham – 2021 Speech on the Substance Testing in Prisons Bill (Baron Ramsbotham)

    The speech made by David Ramsbotham, Baron Ramsbotham, in the House of Lords on 16 April 2021.

    My Lords, I strongly support the intention behind the Bill and am glad that the noble Baroness, Lady Pidding, began her excellent introduction with a tribute to the late Dame Cheryl Gillan, whose Bill it is, but I admit to being worried about the practicalities of delivery.

    I have always thought that the Ministry of Justice and Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service set too much store by the effectiveness of mandatory drug testing, which, far from being the important tool that they claim, proves nothing except how many people test negative and has always been capable of manipulation.

    To illustrate how easy manipulation is, when I was chief inspector, I once went into a cell and noticed some certificates on the wall. On asking the prisoner what they were for, I was told that they were for testing drug-free, which it was known he was, and that if I came back the next month, there would be another one. Another time, I went into a prison where there were alleged to be no drug users, which I simply did not believe. I found that the prison made a practice of testing only vulnerable prisoners, who were notoriously drug-free. I ordered an immediate test of the whole prison, which found that 47% were users.

    The effects of apparently freely available psychoactive and other substances have been well documented, including increased violence against staff and other prisoners. The absence of, or the inability of many prisoners to access, treatment programmes is also a worry. I would be happier if, in addition to trying to prevent substances getting into a prison, there was evidence of a desire to achieve better testing and more access to treatment.

  • David Ramsbotham – 2021 Comments on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (Baron Ramsbotham)

    David Ramsbotham – 2021 Comments on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (Baron Ramsbotham)

    The comments made by David Ramsbotham, Baron Ramsbotham, in the House of Lords on 26 April 2021.

    Lord Ramsbotham (CB) [V]

    My Lords, I declare two interests. First, I once had the honour and pleasure of serving with the King’s African Rifles and, secondly, as Adjutant-General I was an ex officio member of the council of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. When I was Chief Inspector of Prisons, I once noted in the chapel of a prison on the Isle of Wight a memorial to four people killed in the Great War. They were identified only by their prison numbers. In accordance with the motto of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission—

    “I will make you a name”—

    I set about discovering their names, which I succeeded in doing. Will the Minister please assure me that these forgotten casualties will soon, like them, be made names?

    Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)

    Indeed, and so they should be. I am sure that this is an important part of the ongoing work. One thing is very clear and it is the first recommendation of the report—which we have accepted, as we have accepted them all—that there is ongoing commitment to search for those who fell and to recognise the dead and find the names of those who died.

  • David Ramsbotham – 2021 Comments on the Treatment of Iraqi Interpreters (Baron Ramsbotham)

    David Ramsbotham – 2021 Comments on the Treatment of Iraqi Interpreters (Baron Ramsbotham)

    The comments made by David Ramsbotham, Baron Ramsbotham, in the House of Lords on 14 October 2021.

    Lord Ramsbotham (CB)

    My Lords, does the Minister agree that we have forfeited any right to have our word taken as our bond, through our shameful treatment of those whom we employed as interpreters in Iraq and Afghanistan?

    Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)

    My Lords, I would not use the word “shameful”. In total, from Iraq, we relocated, with their families, 1,328 people. Of course, 7,000 Afghan nationals have now been resettled in the UK under the Afghan relocations and assistance policy, otherwise known as ARAP.

  • David Ramsbotham – 2021 Speech on the Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Bill (Baron Ramsbotham)

    David Ramsbotham – 2021 Speech on the Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Bill (Baron Ramsbotham)

    The speech made by David Ramsbotham, Baron Ramsbotham, in the House of Lords on 15 November 2021.

    My Lords, I strongly support all the amendments in this group, not least because the cause of prisoners serving indeterminate sentences has been languishing ever since such sentences were formally abolished by LASPO in 2012.

    I commend the tireless work of my noble and learned friend Lord Brown of Eaton-under-Heywood on their behalf. For nearly 27 years, since my first inspection as Chief Inspector of Prisons, I have been campaigning for changes to be made to the operational management structure of the Prison Service to bring it in line with the practice in every business, hospital or school: to appoint named people responsible and accountable for particular functions within the organisation concerned.

    In the case of prisons, I have campaigned for separate directors to be appointed for every type of prison, and for certain types of prisoners—lifers, sex offenders, women, young offenders, the elderly, foreign nationals, and those serving indeterminate sentences. Imagine how easy it would be for Ministers interested in IPP, for example, to send for the relevant director and question him or her about what was happening or not happening to all prisoners in that category. I had hoped that somewhere in the 298 pages of this monstrous Bill, space might have been found for something so practical. However, as that is clearly not going to happen, I stringently commend the change to the Minister.

  • Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi – 2022 Comments on Expulsion from Labour Party

    Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi – 2022 Comments on Expulsion from Labour Party

    The comments made by Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi on Twitter on 16 December 2022.

    While celebrating my 70th birthday on December 15, I heard from friends that Jewish Chronicle reporter Lee @lmharpinwas claiming confirmation from “multiple sources” that I had been expelled from the Labour Party.

    Confidential email to me says my “membership of the Party stands terminated”. An NEC panel concluded I had “in its opinion, demonstrated the type of support for REIST (sic), LIEN and LAW prohibited by Chapter 2, Clause I.5.B.v of the Rules.”

    So, details of internal disciplinary cases continue to be leaked to external media in breach of @UKLabour rules. Factional abuses highlighted by Forde Report continue unchecked. Action Plan supposedly overseen by @EHRC to ensure independence/transparency is a sham.

    My treatment demonstrates the hostile campaign to which LW Labour Party members are being subjected, including disproportionate numbers of Jewish members. Expulsion follows my suspension in September, within weeks of being elected to Labour’s National Executive Committee.

    Charge was, by taking part in discussion a year earlier organised by proscribed groups, I had demonstrated support for them – a “prohibited act”. I dispute this interpretation and will appeal my expulsion. It disenfranchises 1000s of members who voted to put me on the NEC.