My Lords, the concept of common frameworks is notable for its absence from this Bill, as many noble Lords have said. For three years, they have been accepted as the way forward, on which the future operation of the UK internal market would be built. Now, they have been silenced.
I, along with a number of other noble Lords who have spoken on this and previous groups, am a member of the Common Frameworks Scrutiny Committee, ably chaired by the noble Baroness, Lady Andrews. I can report that common frameworks are alive and well and that a great deal of work has gone into them. There is general agreement from stakeholders, the devolved assemblies and UK Government representatives that they can provide a sensible and effective way forward. Amendment 6 seeks to flesh out the principles of co-operation on which they should work. That common frameworks process should be exhausted before the market access principles come into place.
The Government respond by saying that there is no need for common frameworks, as a concept, to be enshrined in legislation. I am sceptical. There are
already signs that the Government are attempting to sidestep common frameworks—for instance, on the emissions trading scheme, where they have announced their intention to consider replacing it with a carbon tax, which would be a UK responsibility and would effectively take away the devolved powers. That is despite the fact that the common framework on this issue—emissions trading—has just about got to the final point. Despite the Minister’s assurances, I fear that the Government are poised to put the principles in the Bill into effect with the excuse that common frameworks have not proved workable.
Amendment 6 has cross-party support. Noble Lords have emphasised that it has been designed in consideration with the Welsh Government and reflects the well-founded concerns of the devolved assemblies. As with a number of issues, there is a lack of clarity on how common frameworks will link with the market access principles. Common frameworks set up a system—a framework—for the operation of markets, complete with dispute mechanisms. They allow for changing standards over time. So, I ask the Minister: how does this fit in with the provisions in the Bill that remove the right of devolved Administrations to introduce new standards in many circumstances? If the Government genuinely support common frameworks as the fundamental building blocks of the way forward, will the Minister agree to accept Amendment 6, which states that the Bill’s market access principles apply only after the common frameworks process has been exhausted? Will she clarify the relationship of the Bill to common frameworks? Will she accept our assurances that the Welsh Government, for instance, want common frameworks in the Bill?
Will the Minister also explain precisely how the measures in the Bill will guarantee that the devolved Administrations will be able to experiment and develop novel approaches, as they have in the past? That is how a great deal of social and environmental progress has been made in the last two decades. I give the example, used earlier in the debate, of single-use plastic bags. Wales experimented with the concept of paying for single-use plastic bags and was dramatically successful in reducing their use. The English approach to this, taken by the UK Parliament, was very sceptical, but Parliament saw that it worked and, in due course, England followed suit. Wales is an ideal size as an experimental sounding board.
Amendment 44 to Clause 9 refers to the non-discrimination principle. For clarity, can the Minister spell out to us where the requirement for the provision of, for example, labelling in the Welsh language would stand in relation to that principle? There is a legitimate reason for the need for Welsh labelling in certain circumstances, and as policy in relation to the Welsh language matures, it is fairly certain that there will be increasing demand and need for labelling in the Welsh language. How will that fit with the Bill?
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In response to the noble Baroness, Lady Neville-Rolfe, there is no question of a delay to the operation of the single UK market. It is operating well now, and there is absolutely no reason why it cannot continue to operate well.
The noble Lord, Lord Naseby, was concerned about the time potentially taken for agreement of common frameworks. I can assure him that strict time limits are built into common frameworks in the way in which they would operate.
In summing up the previous group, the noble Lord, Lord True, emphasised the Government’s commitment to common frameworks. However, he also said that many businesses support the Bill because it will deal with uncertainty. I say to him that the uncertainty is caused not by the devolved Administrations but by the Government’s failure to secure a deal with the EU. He then went on to produce a hypothetical example of how common frameworks might not cover all eventualities. That is a prime example of how this Bill is a solution in search of a problem rather than the other way round.
Ever since the establishment of devolution, constitutional experts have warned about its flimsy foundations. However, it has continued to operate, largely on the basis of good will. This Bill is not offered in a spirit of good will. It also illustrates how easy it is to dismantle the process of devolution. My own experience of Welsh devolution—as a Member of the Welsh Assembly, as it then was; as a Welsh Minister; and, in this place, as a UK Government Minister—has brought home to me the importance of the detail of devolution powers. Welsh devolution powers came slowly and piecemeal, and only in the most recent Government of Wales Act were they given true coherence. I say to the Government: hollow out those powers now at your peril. A large majority support Welsh devolution, and it is cross-party support. There is also, to my regret, increasing support in Wales for independence. If the Government have any common sense, they will leave well alone. They will face renewed uncertainty in Northern Ireland with this, and will continue to face persistent problems in Scotland. They should concentrate on bridging the gaps with the devolved Administrations and not widening them.