My Lords, I thank all noble Lords for these amendments. I must admit that, as we reach the end of Committee, I find myself in a somewhat novel position as the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Minister to your Lordships’ House, talking to some amendments which have been raised in other departments. I am grateful to all noble Lords who have engaged directly with my noble friend Lord Callanan, my noble friend Lady Williams and me on various issues.
I thank all Front-Benchers for their direct engagement. It was an intense weekend of toing and froing for many people, but again, it shows the best of your Lordships’ House when we come together on such an important issue. Talking more broadly as the Sanctions Minister and the FCDO Minister, everyone understands the importance of getting the Bill through at the earliest opportunity, and I am grateful for noble Lords’ engagement in Committee.
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I thank my noble friend Lady Neville-Rolfe for tabling Amendment 91. This seeks confirmation that an impact assessment will be prepared before sanctions regulations are laid, and proposes that sunset clauses are included in the sanctions regulations. On her first point, I reassure her that the FCDO conducts impact assessments in appropriate cases. An impact assessment was carried out and published for the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018, for example, and others have been published directly for the autonomous sanctions regulations. These include those for the Global Anti-Corruption Sanctions Regulations 2021, and those specifically in relation to certain recent changes to the Belarus and Russia sanctions regimes.
Let me turn now to my noble friend’s second point. The noble Baroness, Lady Smith, and the noble Lord, Lord Fox, have also pointed to this issue—sunset clauses. While I thank my noble friend for her recommendation, foreign policy and national security objectives do not neatly fall within defined periods. Our sanctions need to be sufficiently flexible to respond to changes in circumstances. The inclusion of a sunset clause could also reduce the impact of sanctions if it implied that there might be an automatic expiry unrelated to achieving the purposes of a given sanctions regime. In addition, ongoing certainty in our sanctions legislation is needed in respect of our ongoing United Nations and international obligations. I assure my noble friend, however, that there are routes for designated individuals to seek review of their designations at any given time. The amendments brought forward by the Government in the Bill will allow for maximum impact to be brought on Mr Putin and those who support him. I hope that, in outlining our current policy, I have been able to reassure my noble friend as to the Government’s intention, and I hope she will be minded to withdraw her amendment.
Amendments 93 and 96 seek to place an obligation on the Secretary of State to provide an annual report on the operation of the Bill and its impacts. Let me say from the outset that I agree very much with noble Lords who, throughout this Bill, as the noble Lord, Lord Fox, pointed out, have called for its scrutiny. However, as my noble friend Lord Callanan explained earlier today, the entirety of the measures in the Bill will of course be subject to the usual post-legislative scrutiny process. This is a proportionate approach and, as such, it is unnecessary to include additional reporting requirements.
Companies House also publishes an annual report covering performance, accountability, financial statements, a trust statement, and late filing penalties. As the registrar’s role expands to deliver on the Bill and the
one to follow, the Government will expect Companies House to expand the coverage of its performance-reporting accordingly. I am sure that this will be a point very much debated in ECB 2, as it has come to be known. However, I stress that I very much agree with my noble friend’s amendment that the new register of overseas entities needs to support a clampdown on the misuse of UK property as a means to launder illicit funds while protecting the ease of doing business. I assure my noble friend that this has been central to our considerations.
The vast majority of overseas entities will be owned by entirely legitimate individuals, and it is important that the Bill respects their existing rights and secures their compliance at the minimum additional burden. That means having only requirements that are strictly necessary and providing adequate transition time for legitimate entities. I also assure noble Lords that we have consulted extensively on this package, and it has won broad stakeholder support from businesses, professional groups and, importantly, law enforcement agencies and civil society for the balance it is striking.
Turning to Amendment 94, I am grateful for the typically considered views expressed by the noble Lord, Lord Cromwell, during Second Reading. As he pointed out on a lighter note on a serious issue, it seems interesting that, while we are talking about sanctions, we come up with the acronym “SLAPPs”, which is appropriate in its intent. “Strategic litigation against public participation” is a mouthful but, as he pointed out, the Government are already seized of the importance of this importance. This issue applies more widely than just to this Bill, and it is important that the Government take a strategic approach to addressing it.
As we have already heard, SLAPPs are typically brought against journalists, writers and publishers, although an action may be brought against any person or group perceived as a threat in exposing or criticising the claimant’s practices. The noble Lord, Lord Cromwell, acknowledged a letter which he has received about this. He is correct; I can confirm that the Deputy Prime Minister and the Justice Secretary announced on 4 March that the Government would launch an urgent call for evidence. This will enable us to follow up on a number of key areas. My noble friend Lord Wolfson will also be engaging with noble Lords on this very key issue directly. This means that we will be able to hear at first hand the personal and professional experiences of those who have been involved in SLAPPs. That includes those with expertise and experience in this field, whether from the media and publishing world, the legal profession, the judiciary or a campaign group.
The other aspect is the chilling effect of SLAPPs, and the perfectly appropriate news investigations that may be curtailed, or not even started, because of the fear or risk of incurring the crippling expense of High Court litigation. However, I assure noble Lords that we are clear that the call for evidence should not just be a listening exercise, something which I know concerns them. It will be critical that we move quickly on reforms to address the problem of SLAPPs. We will explore and consult on a range of measures. As the letter received by the noble Lord acknowledges, where
action is needed, we will take it quickly and effectively. Indeed, if legislation or changes to rules of court are required, we will pursue them. Given the wider action and assurances I have provided, I hope that the noble Lord, Lord Cromwell, will be minded to withdraw his amendment. As I said earlier, I know that my noble friend Lord Wolfson will engage on this very issue.
Amendment 95 concerns additional reporting on the funding of enforcement agencies in relation to this Bill and economic crime more generally. I agree with noble Lords, including my noble friend Lord Agnew, that we can make legislation and establish new departments and units. However, as the noble Baroness, Lady Smith, said quite appropriately and accurately, we need to ensure that they are effective and that they can do the work they are designed to carry out. The NCA, and other enforcement agencies like it, have a duty to be open and transparent in their deployment of public funds. As noble Lords know, these agencies publish annual reports on their expenditure, which can be found online. The Government have developed a sustainable funding model that demonstrates our commitment to tackling economic crime, a point made by a number of noble Lords in this debate. The combinations of this year’s spending review settlement and private sector contributions through the levy will provide economic crime funding totalling, as has been acknowledged, around £400 million over the spending review period.
I share with noble Lords that my noble friend Lady Williams and other Home Office Ministers have worked hard to increase the agency’s core baseline funding. It has risen from 62% to more than 80% following the findings of the cross-departmental review of the NCA’s funding model. Importantly, this will allow enforcement agencies to invest in their core infrastructure—a point made by a number of noble Lords—and provides them with increased stability of funding and improved operational flexibility to address changing priorities. I trust that noble Lords are assured, to this extent, that the Government remain committed to being transparent, and that the existing parliamentary oversight of the funding of enforcement agencies is currently sufficient.
In the assurances I have given in addressing the amendments, I hope that I have been able to address the questions raised by noble Lords, including my noble friends, during this debate. In this respect, I once again assure noble Lords that the intent behind bringing this Bill forward is very much to ensure that we can act quickly. I am sure that further discussions—both as we move forward in the implementation of aspects of this Bill, and indeed in our debates and discussions on ECB 2—will also return to some of the themes which have been raised during the passage of this Bill.
The noble Baroness, Lady Smith, raised a valid point about the timing of the new Bill. I am sure she will appreciate that I cannot confirm the specifics of that, but she has made that point and I assure her I will take it back—others have noted its importance. Equally, I respect and have regard for your Lordships’ House and all the contributions made during the course of the Bill, recognising the importance of holding the Government to account on these important issues. The passage of the Bill has demonstrated not just the
accountability of the Government to your Lordships’ House, but your Lordships’ House at its best in how we work together when it is required.