Lord Williamson of Horton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total amount of the rebate on the United Kingdom's contribution to the European Union budget from the commencement of that rebate until the year in which the United Kingdom Government agreed its reduction; and what was the total amount of the rebate from that year to date.
Lord Williamson of Horton: My Lords, I declare an interest which is in the register. Because of the advisory time limit I intend to speak as fast as Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays Sherlock Holmes on the television. I shall speak separately about the opt-out—the Government’s decision to exclude the application to the UK of some 130 measures, which of course the UK is entitled to do under the Lisbon treaty—and the...
Lord Williamson of Horton: My Lords—
Lord Williamson of Horton: My Lords, I have a favourable approach to this amendment, which would be a substantial change in practice. However, it is important that we do not present the question of short custodial sentences and community sentences simply in terms of hard or soft sentencing, although that is what actually happens in the media comment on some of these issues. For me, the real question is what arrangement...
Lord Williamson of Horton: My Lords, I declare an interest as I spent a large part of my career in the British public service on European Union affairs and some part of it at the European Commission. I am extremely grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Northover, in her role as “super sub”, for her introduction to the debate, given that the statement on the Government’s international position in the gracious...
Lord Williamson of Horton: My Lords, I have been invited by the Convener of the Cross-Benches to join all the tributes to Baroness Thatcher, as I worked closely with her for some years. My memories of those years are vivid-not surprisingly, as Margaret Thatcher was never in the half light but always in the full light of events. My admiration for her is as strong as ever. There are many noble Lords whose political...
Lord Williamson of Horton: My Lords, I declare an interest, which is in the register. I want to say one word first about the exercise on the balance of competencies currently being worked on by practically all government departments. Evidence and opinions have been called for in a wide consultation, with a deadline of 28 February for sectors including foreign policy, the internal market and animal health and welfare....
Lord Williamson of Horton: I comprehend that point, but we have our own Constitution Committee, which has stated: "We are concerned about whether a referendum on independence will be intelligible unless it specifies that the consequence of independence is Scotland leaving the United Kingdom". What comment does the Minister have to make on that point, which is the view of our Constitution Committee? I understand the...
Lord Williamson of Horton: My Lords, I declare an interest in that I spent a good part of my career in the British public service on European affairs and some part of it in the European Commission. I am sure that the Minister will agree with me that the wisdom of ancient China sometimes has a lesson for us today. For example, on the current soul-searching about the economic state of the eurozone, I have in mind the...
Lord Williamson of Horton: My Lords, the monitoring and supervision of the large banks within the eurozone is coming in the so-called European banking union. It is obviously imperative that the group of 17 eurozone members cannot take over, in effect, the European Banking Authority which sets standards for the 27. In order to avoid that and to protect the EBA from risk, will the noble Lord comment on how watertight is...
Lord Williamson of Horton: My Lords, I declare an interest in that I spent a good part of my career on European affairs in the British Government and some part of it in the European Commission. It is difficult to comment decisively on a negotiation that is not finished but will apparently be resumed in January in order to seek to agree on a multiannual budget framework for the EU. I know of course that, if agreement is...
Lord Williamson of Horton: I have a particular interest in the Mental Health Act 1983, because I played some role in getting some provisions on to the statute book. I am normally very against any retrospective legislation, but in this particular case I strongly support the view taken by the Government, because it is absolutely essential to avoid a situation in which we impose disruption and distress on a large number...
Lord Williamson of Horton: My Lords, I recognise that the so-called banking union involving monitoring and in some cases intervention in banks within the eurozone but not in the UK could be advantageous if it helped to stabilise the financial situation in the eurozone, although some related issues could give rise to problems. It was expected earlier that the European Council would decide to complete the banking union...
Lord Williamson of Horton: My Lords, this Bill is intended to deal with a number of problems and injustices which have arisen at the interface between actions, whether formal or informal, by Sharia bodies and the application of UK law. The Bill is particularly important for the protection of women; it would be morally indefensible to turn a blind eye to this. The first point which the Bill deals with is arbitration...
Lord Williamson of Horton: My Lords, I do not think that this is a high-risk strategy as has been suggested by others. We negotiated in the Lisbon treaty the right, if we so decided before the end of May 2014, to opt out en masse of the EU police and criminal justice measures adopted before the entry into force of the treaty. As for the treaty, it is a case of all in or all out. That is what the treaty says. It is the...
Lord Williamson of Horton: My Lords, in this House we are perhaps tempted to call for reviews of many things that we have slight doubts about, and sometimes we have too many of these reviews. However, in this case I support the amendment. I note that later on the Order Paper we have Amendments 79 and 81, which go further than this. They would involve a three-year repeating look at the situation, whereas this amendment...
Lord Williamson of Horton: My Lords, as is normal, I declare an interest in that I spent a large part of my career dealing with European affairs in the UK Civil Service and part of it in the European Commission, and that I have pensions from my work. The House is of course already aware of the problem identified in the two draft EU regulations to which this Motion relates-namely, the backlog of cases and consequent...
Lord Williamson of Horton: My Lords, I am aged 78 and I expect personal decomposition before we ever agree on the composition of this House. I welcome what is in the Bill about the independent Members and the statutory commission but I raise one single question. How can the noble Lord the Leader of the House justify the phrase in the Bill that, "present party political activity or affiliation does not necessarily...
Lord Williamson of Horton: It was a rather broad interpretation: the size of the Atlantic.
Lord Williamson of Horton: My Lords, as is always my practice when I see "European Union" on the Order Paper, I declare my interest. I spent the greater part of my career in United Kingdom public service on European affairs, and a smaller part of my career in the European Commission, and I have pensions from my work. Before coming briefly to the purpose of the Bill-namely, the approval of an EU decision to amend...