Contributions
187 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDTrade BillI am happy to take that back. I have heard the point. I asked whether there was a practice and was advised that this was the view we had arrived at, but I will certainly reflect…04 Feb 2019HANSARDTrade BillI thank the noble Lord for that clarification. My noble friend also raised the economic interest and public interest tests and how they would be interpreted by the courts. The…04 Feb 2019HANSARDTrade BillMy Lords, I thank the noble Lords, Lord Stevenson and Lord McNicol, and the noble Baroness, Lady Brown, for tabling these amendments. I take the opportunity to clarify initially…04 Feb 2019HANSARDTrade BillMy Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, for providing this opportunity to discuss these issues by tabling her amendment. With regard to the World Trade Organization, we…04 Feb 2019HANSARDTrade BillMy Lords, I think I have reiterated just how important climate change is to the Government’s priorities. The question is: what is the appropriate and most effective way to discuss…04 Feb 2019HANSARDTrade BillI thank the noble Lord for his intervention. Absolutely; I hope I restated that the WTO needs reform in areas such as digital, speed of processing and a number of others. We will…04 Feb 2019HANSARDTrade BillMy Lords, I thank all noble Lords for their contributions to this debate. In particular, I thank my noble friend Lady McIntosh for the first grouping, and the noble Lord, Lord…04 Feb 2019HANSARDTrade BillI confess that I am unaware of the protocol in this regard. It is a ways and supplies Act and was deemed by the Speaker to be such, but I will leave that point to those who are…04 Feb 2019HANSARDTrade BillMy Lords, before addressing the amendment directly, I too warmly welcome the noble Lord, Lord McNicol of West Kilbride, who is making his first contribution at the Dispatch Box…30 Jan 2019HANSARDTrade BillI will try. First, the UK is already a member of the WTO; it was a founder member and it is a member. When its schedules have been lodged, they become the schedules, and even if…30 Jan 2019HANSARDTrade BillI said that I will write to the noble Lord. I tried to address that in my first answer, and this is an inevitable follow-on question from that, should my answer not have been…30 Jan 2019HANSARDTrade BillMy understanding—again, I will write to the noble Lord if this is not the case—is that the apportionment approach that was being used is utterly within WTO provisions and normal…30 Jan 2019HANSARDTrade BillMy Lords, I thank the noble Lords, Lord Grantchester and Lord Purvis, for tabling Amendments 34 and 54 and for giving this House the opportunity to discuss this important area. I…30 Jan 2019HANSARDTrade BillMy Lords, I thank the noble Lords, Lord Stevenson and Lord Purvis, for tabling Amendments 32 and 52. I note the noble Lord’s statement that we should not focus too much on…30 Jan 2019HANSARDTrade BillThe Government do not endorse the wording of the amendment, and consider that the wording has legal and technical difficulties, so we are reflecting on what should be done.30 Jan 2019HANSARDTrade BillI thank my noble friend for that clarification. I should have said that it was not a government amendment. But I take the point. I meant to respond to that question. We are trying…30 Jan 2019HANSARDTrade BillI stress one more time that this legislation is not about no deal. It is about making sure that we have the capability and powers to implement, whatever happens. Plan A is for a…30 Jan 2019HANSARDTrade BillMy understanding is that, because it would be part of an overall agreement with the EU, it would therefore be a trade agreement under WTO terms and the same rules that apply to…30 Jan 2019HANSARDTrade BillAs the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, will be aware, that was an opposition amendment, with which the Government did not agree. The Government are reflecting on those words and I do not…30 Jan 2019HANSARDTrade BillThat is exactly why the Government are clear that the preference is for a deal. That is what we are trying to achieve, because it is in the best interests of the UK. Amendment 31…30 Jan 2019