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Baroness Blatch: My Lords, first, I refer to a piece of information given by the noble Baroness which is simply wrong. My noble friend's Amendment No. 13--a test of the teaching and materials--relates to whether the information is accurate and objective. That is the amendment on the Marshalled List.
Secondly, I believe that we live in a democracy and that all Members of this House have the right to vote. I would have had to live with the vote had it gone the other way and I should have accepted that as the will of this House. I am sorry that the noble Baroness does not feel able to do the same.
Finally, I respect the views of the noble Baroness, which are shared by many of her friends, including the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Blackburn and the majority of his colleagues who are here today. I believe that they had every right to speak and vote, just as my noble friends and I have views which I hoped the noble Baroness would respect. In the past, mutual respect of all the Benches has always been a hallmark of this House. Of course, it is the Government's prerogative to seek to overturn the amendment. But I thought the words of the noble Baroness in defeat were churlish.
Lord Carter: My Lords, it may be for the convenience of the House if I explain what will happen now. The Government will accept all the amendments in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Young. I understand that the noble Earl, Lord Ferrers, does not intend to press his amendments, so I suggest that when we reach them he says "Not moved" and that the noble Baroness formally moves all those in her name.
Earl Ferrers: My Lords, perhaps I may ask the Government Chief Whip whether it is a fact that the views of your Lordships' House--after all, the composition of this House has been made by the Government--are to be disregarded to such an extent that a prepared statement was written in advance of the Division and read out immediately afterwards so that the Government apparently take no notice at all of what your Lordships have said.
Lord Carter: My Lords, the Government have made the position entirely clear. The words which my noble friend used were very careful. She said that the Government will "seek" to overturn the amendment in the Commons.
Baroness Young moved, as an amendment to Amendment No. 7, Amendment No. 9:
- Leave out lines 15 to 17 and insert--
On Question, amendment agreed to.
[Amendments Nos. 10 to 12, as amendments to Amendment No. 7, not moved.]
Baroness Young moved, as an amendment to Amendment No. 7, Amendment No. 13:
On Question, amendment agreed to.
[Amendments Nos. 14 to 16, as amendments to Amendment No. 7, not moved.]
Baroness Young moved, as an amendment to Amendment No. 7, Amendment No. 17:
On Question, amendment agreed to.
[Amendment No. 18, as an amendment to Amendment No. 7, not moved.]
Baroness Young moved, as an amendment to Amendment No. 7, Amendment No. 19:
On Question, amendment agreed to.
On Question, Amendment No. 7, as amended, agreed to.
Baroness Blatch moved Amendment No. 21:
On Question, amendment agreed to.
An amendment (privilege) made.
Baroness Blackstone: My Lords, I beg to move that the Bill do now pass. In doing so, my noble friend Lord Bach and I would like to say how grateful we are to all noble Lords who have contributed to the debates on the Bill. Those debates have been in the very best traditions of this House and have helped the Government to ensure that an improved Bill now passes to another place. I commend the Bill to the House.
Moved, That the Bill do now pass.--(Baroness Blackstone.)
On Question, Bill passed, and sent to the Commons.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Lord Whitty) rose to move, That the draft regulations laid before the House on 9th March be approved [13th Report from the Joint Committee].
The noble Lord said: My Lords, pollution is still a serious problem. Medical estimates suggest that it leads to as many as 24,000 people dying prematurely every year. In our heavily congested areas, industrial pollution has been replaced by traffic pollution.
The Environment Act 1995 required the Government to prepare a national air quality strategy setting objectives for improving air quality. It also gave local authorities a role to identify where poor air quality means that prescribed air quality objectives will not be met and to draw up action plans to address that problem. In January this year, we published the air quality strategy for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which replaces the 1997 strategy published by the previous administration. Our strategy sets overall tighter objectives and identifies the actions needed at international, national and local level to meet them.
National measures will go a considerable way--or, in some cases, such as benzene, all the way--to meeting the objectives. But there is a significant local dimension to air quality which local authorities are best placed to tackle. We are required by the 1995 Act to set the strategy's new objectives in regulations if local authorities are to play their full part in meeting them. The Air Quality (England) Regulations 2000 before us do that and will replace the existing Air Quality Regulations 1997 in England. We are confident that those objectives are based on the latest and best scientific and health information. I commend the regulations to the House. I beg to move.
Moved, That the draft regulations laid before the House on 9th March be approved [13th Report from the Joint Committee].--(Lord Whitty.)
Viscount Simon: My Lords, the only reason I wish to speak this evening is to address and dispel some of the
The only emissions which remained constant throughout the 1990s were those of CO 2 , which can be reduced only by either introducing alternative methods of propelling vehicles or by promoting the greater use of diesel cars. It should be noted that 27 per cent of the UK's annual emissions of CO 2 is produced by the use of energy in the home, compared with 14 per cent from car use. Notwithstanding what I have said, the regulations are to be met with approval, certainly from me and hopefully from all people living in this country.
Lord Brabazon of Tara: My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for introducing the regulations and for doing so with a great degree of brevity, which I hope that I may have been to some extent responsible for encouraging.
I have quite a long speech to make on the regulations, but noble Lords will be glad to know that I shall not make it because all the points were made by my honourable friends in another place only yesterday.
The Minister will acknowledge that the regulations stem from an Act introduced by the previous government. Therefore, we can hardly oppose them from this side of the House. They are excellent in principle. I have only one question. I gather that £12 million is being set aside for local authorities to implement the regulations. I hope that it is enough. Will the Minister explain how that figure breaks down among local authorities and whether it is in fact enough for them to carry out implementation? In many cases, local authorities have been given powers and duties but they always complain that they do not have quite enough money to fulfil them. I hope that the Minister will assure me that that will not be the case here. Otherwise, we entirely endorse the regulations.
("( ) learn about the significance of stability in family relationships;").
Leave out lines 19 to 23 and insert--
("( ) are protected from teaching and materials which a reasonable person would regard as inappropriate having regard to--
(i) whether information is accurate and objective;
(ii) the language and images used;
(iii) the age of the pupils; and
(iv) the provisions of section 403, this section and section 403B.").
Leave out lines 42 and 43 and insert--
("(6) No guidance under subsection (1) shall be issued or substantially revised unless a draft of the guidance has been laid in draft before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.").
Line 50, at end insert--
("Curriculum etc. for sex education: Consultation and approval.
403B.--(1) No curriculum, syllabus or teaching material may be used for the purpose of giving sex education to registered pupils at a maintained school unless--
(a) reasonable steps have been taken to ensure that the parents or guardians of the relevant pupils have been consulted about its nature and content; and
(b) the governing body of the school has approved its use.
(2) In this section--
"maintained school" has the meaning given in section 403A, and
"relevant pupils" means pupils to whom the education in question is to be given.").
Page 91, line 29, column 3, at beginning insert--
The noble Baroness said: My Lords, this is consequential on my grammar school amendment. I beg to move.
("In section 104, subsection (4).Sections 105 to 108.In section 109, subsections (3)(b) and (4).")
8.19 p.m.
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