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Lord Davies of Oldham: Most good things in this country are a matter of government policies, as the noble Baroness will recognise.
Of course I recognise the Government's responsibility in this area. I merely suggest that this is not the burden of the amendment, nor indeed this dimension of the Bill. In fairness to the mover of the amendment, it is only right to point out that, valuable though the noble Baroness's contribution to our cultural well-being always is, it is not strictly relevant to the amendment.
Lord Redesdale: This is a probing amendment. Finding a slot in the Bill in which to place it was difficult enough. I realise that in its present form it is flawed. I welcome the positive response by the noble Lord, but it is a matter that will need to be reviewed on a regular basis, considering the workload that could be envisaged in such a growing field. On that basis, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.
Amendment, by leave withdrawn.
Clause 6, as amended, agreed to.
Baroness Miller of Hendon moved Amendment No. 35:
- After Clause 6, insert the following new clause—
The noble Baroness said: The amendment is intended to correct a serious problem faced by the defence industry. As was mentioned at Second Reading, major delays are being incurred in the granting of export licences. Only 57 per cent are dealt with within the agreed target date. However, the situation is even more serious when it comes to granting the licences for exports governed by the present legislation for the purposes of taking part in exhibitions or of demonstrating defence material and technical material to potential customers. Timing in such matters is critical. Delay can prevent the applicant from participating in a trade show or demonstrating a particular piece of equipment to a potential customer before a competitor can jump in and get the business.
Very simply, the amendment defines a temporary export licence and then stipulates that it must be granted or refused within 20 working days, which is the
The amendment is essential for the benefit of an important export trade, which has repercussions not merely on an order that may be lost, but also on the decisions of other governments, which may follow the lead of one customer. I also remind your Lordships that the issue has repercussions on the unit price of similar equipment purchased by our forces. I beg to move.
Lord Sainsbury of Turville: The amendment would add a new clause requiring orders under Clause 1 specifically to provide for authorisation under a temporary export licence to cover short-term, temporary exports for exhibition or demonstration overseas. Such temporary export licences would be deemed to have been granted if they had not been refused within 20 days of application, unless the period was extended by agreement with the applicant.
As I explained on Amendment No. 33, the Government consider that detailed procedural matters do not need to be set out in primary legislation. More importantly, the amendment would be wrong in principle. It would have similar consequences to part of Amendment No. 33, in that it would require the granting of a temporary licence after a specified period—in this case 20 days. Such licensing by default would result in the Government turning down applications in borderline cases. I therefore refer to the points that I made on Amendment No. 33.
The published dummy draft orders relating to the Bill include broad provisions for the Secretary of State to grant export licences, which would allow the granting of temporary licences. It is the Government's practice to grant temporary licences in appropriate circumstances, including to cover exports for exhibitions and demonstration. The annual report on strategic export controls, in reporting on licensing decisions, indicates where temporary licences have been issued. The Government have no plans to stop issuing temporary licences. I therefore urge the noble Baroness to withdraw the amendment.
Baroness Miller of Hendon: The Minister said that the amendment would be wrong in principle. That makes me realise that he is not going to suggest that the provision might go into the regulations instead. I understand that temporary licences are granted from time to time to meet certain needs. The fact is that licences are supposed to be granted within 20 days. It is important for the DTI to realise that time is essential for a temporary licence. As 20 days is the specified time, there ought to be a mechanism to ensure that 20 days will be sufficient for temporary licences for exhibitions and the other purposes that I mentioned. There is no point in having a target of 20 days if it cannot be met even for temporary licences for specific purposes. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.
Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns moved Amendment No. 36:
The noble Baroness said: I shall speak also to Amendments Nos. 39 and 40. These are probing amendments about two issues. First, will the new format for annual reports have a constructive result? If so, how? I ask that in a positive frame of mind. I expect there to be an advantage to Parliament in the change of format for the report. Secondly, what are the implications of the provisions for the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art?
Clause 9 requires the Secretary of State to publish an annual report on controls of objects of cultural interest. On Second Reading, the Minister said:
Will the Secretary of State make a Statement to the House and be subject to questions when the report is presented or will that document merely be laid before the House? What else will be in the report? Will it be a report by the Secretary of State in addition to the annual report of the reviewing committee or will the annual report to Parliament merely serve as a substitute for the report of the reviewing committee that is currently published? Will the report be available free of charge to the public on the department's website?
In the other place on 8th November, the Parliamentary Secretary gave outline information on the publication of reports, saying that the Government will ensure that the annual report on strategic exports will be available free of charge from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website. He did not make the same commitment with regard to the art report. Why not? Was that an oversight?
As a result of the plans to bring forward the annual report, what will be the role and remit of the Advisory Council on the Export of Works of Art after the Bill is enacted? I am aware that the department is currently undertaking a quinquennial review of the reviewing committee's work, for completion by 30th June. Will that review be published or will it be an internal document—as is often the case with quinquennial reviews?
Amendment No. 36 inserts in the Bill that the annual report would cover the period 1st January to 31st December to provide consistency in the presentation of reports—a bit of a straitjacket, to make sure that we receive them. Amendment No. 39 requires the report to be published three months after the end of the report year at the latest. It would be better if the report were published earlier. At present, the Government simply say that the report will be published as soon as practicable. That seems sloppy and could encourage delay.
The reviewing committee's latest report should cover the period to the end of last June. I am intrigued that it appears not to have been published. It may be that the Library and I have committed an oversight. The department's website—which has never published the report but has always mentioned it in the past and presented extracts—makes no reference. We were told that the report would be published by the end of January at the latest. When might that report appear?
Amendment No. 40 would encourage the Secretary of State to produce the report in proper time. The amendment requires the Secretary of State to give an explanation in person to Parliament if the report is published late—or, in ministerial terms, very late. I beg to move.
Baroness Miller of Hendon: Clause 9 provides for the Secretary of State to make an annual report to Parliament on the workings of the Act. Subsection (1)(a) refers to the export of objects of cultural interest, whereas Clause 9(1)(b) refers to
I find that funny. I am curious as to why those two aspects are separate, rather than covered by a simple requirement to report on all orders under subsection (1). Is it significant that items of cultural interest come first and defence equipment second? Given the Bill's purposes following the Scott report, that seems the wrong way round. If the Minister cannot deal with the point right away, I should be happy for him to write to me between now and the next stage.
On the substance of the amendment, however, I have to point out that the clause is not specific about what the report must say. I remember when I was in a business partnership with a multinational American company which demanded that I send it a monthly report on the operation that I was running. My first succinct report read, "Everything is going OK". That was factually correct and fully comprehensive, but the lack of detail did not please that company in the least. Nevertheless, it never again asked me to submit such a report. So there is something to be said for such an approach.
This amendment requires the Secretary of State to report on a matter that is of vital interest to exporters of defence equipment and technology. It would also be an indicator of the department's speed and performance in handling licence applications. As your Lordships are aware from earlier debates on the Bill, the DTI's performance has fallen woefully below the targets, to the detriment of exporters, both in the delays in their being able to accept orders and in losing business altogether to overseas competitors. Being required to place their performance on the record in their report will, I am sure, concentrate the minds of those charged with the responsibility for dealing with applications for export licences.
Paragraph (b) of the amendment stipulates that no details of temporary export licences shall be included, which is a separate issue from that raised in paragraph (a). The provision is included at the specific request of
I have often been accused by Ministers opposite of proposing amendments that are too prescriptive. In this case, I plead guilty to being prescriptive—but not too prescriptive. The public and exporters are entitled to know how well the department is doing, and, armed with the facts, Members of both Houses must be able to call the Secretary of State to account. Perhaps Ministers will bear in mind that if they do not accept the statutory obligation that the provision calls for, they will have to answer in a different way, at Question Time.
I hope that the Minister will either accept this constructive amendment as it is drafted or say that the Government can do much better and will table their own amendment on Report.
"TEMPORARY EXPORT LICENCES
(1) Any order which is made under section 1 shall include provision for the activity to be authorised by a temporary export licence.
(2) A "temporary export licence" is one which authorises goods to leave the United Kingdom on a short-term temporary basis for the purposes of exhibition or demonstration during which time the goods remain under the control of the UK exporter.
(3) Any application for a temporary export licence shall be granted within 20 working days from the lodging of the application (or such extended time as the applicant may agree) and if it shall not be so granted, unless it is refused it shall be deemed to have been granted and the provisions of section 6(5) shall apply."
10.30 p.m.
Page 6, line 8, at end insert "ending 31st December"
"That report will cover cases considered by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art which are currently presented by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport in a separate annual report to Parliament".—[Official Report, 8/1/2002; col. 464.]
"other matters relating to the operation of this Act".
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