20 October 2016
Week in Brief: UK
Government
BREXIT: In the course of litigation over whether Parliamentary approval is needed before giving notice under article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon, the Government has said that Parliament will have to approve any deal when negotiations are complete. That is because the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 gives Parliament the power to ratify or reject new treaties. However the choice is simply to ratify or not to ratify. There is no power to amend. If the proposed treaty is rejected, the Government will either have to call a general election, thus putting the matter to the public, or exit without a trade treaty and fall back on the World Trade Organisation restrictions on tariffs.
Those campaigning for Parliamentary input into the Brexit process say that this is insufficient and that there should be an earlier debate.
See comment The Brexit Debate.
ENQUIRY INTO CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE: Once something is off balance, it is notoriously difficult to get it back under control. The Enquiry Into Child Sexual Abuse is off balance with a vengeance, with three chairwomen already gone and the resignation of its senior lawyer last week. You wouldn’t have thought it could get more embarrassing than that but it certainly has, as the Home Office Select Committee tries to force the last chairman, New Zealand judge Lowell Goddard, to give evidence about the circumstances of her resignation. That had been billed as being because she felt “lonely and a long way from home” but there are now suggestions that her behaviour was aggressive and that her leadership of the enquiry was catastrophic. Whether that is the case or not, we have now got to the stage where the blame-storming into the shortcomings of the enquiry is taking place before it is held, and the new chairman, Alexis Jay, is going to have to show the judgement of Solomon if she is going to make a success of it.
Part of the problem seems to be that the enquiry has the dual role of ensuring that complaints are heard and coming to useful conclusions. There is talk of cutting down its scope. Whether that would be a good thing or not remains to be seen but clearly the Select Committee will want a very clear statement of its objectives.
NEW SCOTTISH REFERENDUM: The SNP are said to be preparing draft legislation for a second referendum on Scottish independence in the light of the Brexit vote. The Government’s view is that the 2014 vote was a once in a generation event and should not be repeated.
See comment Broad Kilts.
HEATHROW: The Prime Minister, Theresa May, has given ministers opposed to the expansion of Heathrow freedom not to support the proposal, and also to restate contrary views. A decision on the preferred scheme, expected to be Heathrow, will be taken next week. A national policy document is to set out the scope of the development and to open a public consultation on local impact, with a final Parliamentary vote in about a year’s time. It is expected that the new runway will come into use in about 2026. A number of members of the Cabinet, including the Prime Minister, have opposed the expansion of Heathrow in the past. Mr Johnson has indicated that he does not regard it as a resigning issue. Zac Goldsmith has said that if the expansion of Heathrow is approved he will resign his seat and re-fight it as an independent.
FOREIGN STUDENTS: According to reports in The Times a study carried out by the Home Office and not yet released by them, demonstrates that the number of non-EU students who overstay after courses at British universities is only about 1%, a total of some 1500 a year, although it is possible that the figures for language schools and private colleges are higher. The figure, if correct, could undermine the government’s proposals for tighter controls.
The Migration Watch campaign suggests that the real number is 110,000 once you have included over-stayers, those who find work here, those who marry here and those who enrol for further study. Presumably the question of which figures are correct will be debated in the course of the consultation on the government’s proposals.
WALLOONS: The trade deal between the EU and Canada has been blocked by the Parliament of Wallonia whose consent is required before Belgium can ratify the treaty. Like the trade deal with the US, which is also in difficulties, the treaty had to be approved by all EU member states. Commentators point to the corresponding difficulty of pushing through any deal between the UK and the EU.
Health
PHARMACIES: According to the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, the review of the plans for reducing government subsidy to pharmacies, which will be published next week, is unlikely to reduce the number of closures. Critics say that the closures sit oddly with the government’s view that people should go to pharmacies when they suffer from minor ailments.
BED BLOCKING: A number of NHS hospitals are opening nursing homes into which they can place patients who are unable to return home. Moving an elderly patients into a nursing home is cheaper than blocking a bed in the hospital itself.
NHS FUNDING: In his evidence to the House of Commons Select Committee, Simon Stephens, chief executive of NHS England, has said that the funding for their five-year plan is below what is needed, particularly in years three, four and five. The Committee told Mr Hunt, who also appeared before it, that government claims to have given the health service an extra £10 billion were misleading and that the figure was about half that.
General News
NATIONAL TRUST: The accounts of the National trust show an 18% drop in the level of donations since 2010, and a large growth in rental income. At the same time, wages at the Trust have risen, as has membership. The Trust is currently being criticised for raising rents and then converting properties to holiday lets. It has been suggested that its approach is generally too commercial.
RAPE CASE: Footballer Ched Evans was acquitted of rape at a retrial after evidence was admitted of the complainant’s sexual activity with other men. It is unusual for evidence of sexual history to be admitted but an exception is made where the issue is one of consent and similar behaviour on other occasions throws light on whether consent was given. Mr Evans had previously been convicted of rape at a trial where the evidence was not admitted. The organisation Women Against Rape said that “the trial should not be about who she slept with in the past, but whether she consented on that occasion.” It seems that they may have missed the point.
CALAIS JUNGLE: There is concern that men are posing as unaccompanied minors with relatives in the UK in order to get into Britain. Last year the age of 574 asylum seekers was disputed and 65% of those challenged were found to be adults.
ROTHERHAM RAPES: Eight members of a sex gang in Rotherham have been convicted of nineteen charges including rape, indecent assault and false imprisonment following a one-month trial. The defendants, all of Pakistani descent, face lengthy sentences.
UKIP: Stephen Woolfe, the MEP who alleges that he was knocked down by a fellow member of UKIP has now left the party, describing it as ungovernable. He had been a leading contender for the leadership but his position had been eroded by holding talks with the Conservatives. He has made a complaint to the police regarding his fracas with Mr Hookem.
HATE: 5468 hate crimes (including assaults, criminal damage and harassment) were reported to the police in July. That is up 41% on the 3886 in July last year. Hate crimes include those relating to religion and sexual orientation. The Home Office has suggested that much of the increase may be down to more reporting of crimes and better police recording.
STOP THE WAR: The deputy leader of the Stop the War Coalition has described the deployment of NATO to Baltic states to counter Russian activity in the Ukraine as provocative. Rejecting Boris Johnson’s suggestion that his organisation should be demonstrating against Russian action in Syria he admitted on radio that their aim was to oppose the West.
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