Baroness Butler-Sloss: I very much support what the noble Lord, Lord Pannick, said, and add that it seems quite astonishingly narrow-minded and short-sighted to want to be rid of the European court in these circumstances. We heard at length last week about the effect on electricity, but there is a wider effect. May I just put in a word of defence of the European court? I happened to visit it on numerous occasions....
Baroness Butler-Sloss: My Lords, I wonder whether we should stop and think for a moment. The electricity issue that has just been raised is the most serious—but not the only—disastrous situation that will occur if this Bill is passed in its present form. Since we appear to be having the opportunity for constructive discussions between the United Kingdom—or parts of it—and Ireland and the EU, rather than...
Baroness Butler-Sloss: My Lords, is there not a very short answer to all of this: not to proceed with the Bill?
Baroness Butler-Sloss: My Lords, is there a Minister for older people? If so, what does the Minister do, and if not, should there not be one?
Baroness Butler-Sloss: My Lords, I am a patron of a secure unit down in Exeter. One of its main concerns is a lack of funding to get sufficient staff and sufficient training. What will the strategy do about that?
Baroness Butler-Sloss: My Lords, there was a disturbing discussion on the “Today” programme today about the parents of disabled children. What are the Government doing about that? It sounds as though they are in deep trouble.
Baroness Butler-Sloss: My Lords, does the Minister agree that there is a particular group of young mothers with very young children who are quite unable to understand how to bring them up, and what can the Government do to help that group?
Baroness Butler-Sloss: My Lords, as a family judge I tried a very considerable number of end-of-life cases, in relation to both children and vulnerable adults, so I hope this review will take into account that when the parents and the medical profession are locked in disagreement, there is a way out, where the judge who tries the case actually looks exclusively at the best interests of the child—taking into...
Baroness Butler-Sloss: Why have the Government reduced the number of doctors being trained and when will this be changed?
Baroness Butler-Sloss: My Lords, is the Minister not being somewhat complacent? Beaches across the country have been unusable in this hot weather. Should the noble Lord not be worried about that?
Baroness Butler-Sloss: My Lords, I recognise of course that some adults pretend to be children, and therefore there must be some sort of age assessment process. However, listening to the noble Lord, Lord Lilley, I was reminded of when I too went to Calais and met Afghan boys. Those looking after them were absolutely satisfied that the half-dozen I met were all under 18, and mostly around 16. They all had...
Baroness Butler-Sloss: My Lords, I am not at all sure that I am allowed to speak, and I seek the approval of the House. The reason that I arrived late was that I was having an MRI scan for a bad back. Am I too late to speak?
Baroness Butler-Sloss: I am very grateful and it was only because I had a bad fall last week and went for an MRI scan. I took the first taxi back to be here. What saddens me is that this Government are enormously to be praised for the Modern Slavery Act. It was the work really of the then Prime Minister Theresa May and we should be grateful to her that we have led the way across the world. That makes these...
Baroness Butler-Sloss: My Lords, I cannot resist saying that the Temple Church held a service last Sunday commemorating the close relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom, and we had the president-elect of the American Bar Association to give the address. Might the Minister encourage other organisations, not necessarily churches, to take part so that it is not just a parliamentary or government...
Baroness Butler-Sloss: My Lords, is there not a way around this? It seems to me extraordinary that we cannot cut through this.
Baroness Butler-Sloss: My Lords, fruit and vegetables are rotting in the fields. What on earth are the Government doing to get enough seasonal workers to pick them?
Baroness Butler-Sloss: Slavery has become one of the really important issues which is discussed generally. I am hoping that the Government might encourage schools to cover slavery. If they do, would they please include modern slavery, which is rife, and not just the slavery of the past?
Baroness Butler-Sloss: My Lords, I wonder if the Minister has taken on board—I am sure she has—a recommendation from the report that more senior social workers should carry on having case loads. My experience as a family judge was that senior social workers were completely divorced from the sorts of cases that were actually coming before the courts. I would be grateful to know if the Government will take that...
Baroness Butler-Sloss: My Lords, I am co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Religion in the Media. The element of literacy in relation to the media with regard to religion is deplorable, and it needs very seriously to be considered.
Baroness Butler-Sloss: My Lords, will the Minister take this back to the department and say how strongly the House of Lords feels about it?