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Committee of the Whole House (HL) and Debate on bill on Tuesday, 8 March 2011, in the House of Lords.

Postal Services Bill

Postal Services Bill. Lords committee stage first day. Clause 1: Removal of restrictions on ownership of Royal Mail holdings plc etc, debated and agreed to. Clause 2: Report on decision to dispose of shares in a Royal Mail company etc, under consideration when House adjourned.

Secondary information

Type
Parliamentary proceeding
Reference
725 c1521-68 
Session
2010-12
Department
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Legislative stage
Committee stage
Procedure
New clauses
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords chamber
Related items
Proceeding contributions
Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall | 725 c1560 (Link to this contribution) I should tell the Committee that, if Amendment 5 is agreed to, I shall not be able to call Amendment...
Lord Young of Norwood Green | 725 c1558-60 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I am sure that a number of amendments to the Bill will come from all sides of the House as...
Show all contributions (79)
Viscount Eccles | 725 c1564-5 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, we can only admire the way in which the noble Baroness, Lady Drake, put forward her amendm...
Baroness Wilcox | 725 c1565-6 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, this group of amendments seeks to add to the Bill a requirement for the Secretary of State...
Lord Young of Norwood Green | 725 c1566 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I thank the Minister for her response to the contributions. It was another interesting deb...
Baroness Wilcox | 725 c1557 (Link to this contribution) I can only repeat that, as we all know, the previous Bill failed. We hope that this Bill will succee...
Lord Young of Norwood Green | 725 c1557-8 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, it has been a fascinating debate; I did not expect quite as much of a debate as this. This...
Lord Young of Norwood Green | 725 c1558 (Link to this contribution) 5: Clause 2, page 1, line 16, leave out from ““after”” to end of line 3 on page 2 and insert ““ident...
Lord Young of Norwood Green | 725 c1568 (Link to this contribution) I thank the Minister for her response. I must admit that had I known that the blandishments of the n...
Viscount Eccles | 725 c1568 (Link to this contribution) I must say that the noble Lord, Lord Hoyle, said that with great charm. However, what will we do in ...
Baroness Wilcox | 725 c1568 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, the amendment seeks to ensure that the Secretary of State lays a report before Parliament ...
Lord Young of Norwood Green | 725 c1567 (Link to this contribution) 7: Clause 2, page 1, line 16, after ““decision,”” insert ““before any sale,””
Lord Stevenson of Balmacara | 725 c1543-4 (Link to this contribution) 3: Clause 2, page 1, line 15, at end insert— ““( ) Before making a decision referred to in subsectio...
Lord Stevenson of Balmacara | 725 c1544-5 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I was sorry to hear the Minister say a few moments ago that she was looking forward to deb...
Baroness Wilcox | 725 c1543 (Link to this contribution) I am much supported by my noble friends on this side. They have given every answer that I could give...
Lord Skelmersdale | 725 c1543 (Link to this contribution) Not only that, but the Post Office could do the same thing under the current arrangements and no one...
Baroness Kramer | 725 c1543 (Link to this contribution) Is it not correct that in negotiating the sale of the shares, the value of property that could be di...
Viscount Eccles | 725 c1542 (Link to this contribution) Many of us would describe it as a very sensible piece of business.
Viscount Eccles | 725 c1542 (Link to this contribution) Perhaps I might ask the noble Lord whether he would describe that as asset-stripping.
Baroness Wilcox | 725 c1542 (Link to this contribution) I am sorry. Ofcom has the power under Clause 35 to impose designated USP conditions akin to conditio...
Lord Lea of Crondall | 725 c1542 (Link to this contribution) That point covers the universal service. The question of sovereign funds, and the other questions, a...
Lord Hoyle | 725 c1541 (Link to this contribution) I am listening intently to the Minister, but there is a whining noise and I cannot hear clearly what...
Baroness Wilcox | 725 c1541-2 (Link to this contribution) I think that it was someone's hearing aid that they have now switched off. I will return to the spec...
Lord Christopher | 725 c1542 (Link to this contribution) I hear what the noble Baroness says, and I will certainly have another look at the Bill. However, it...
Lord Lea of Crondall | 725 c1542 (Link to this contribution) Perhaps it would be convenient if I asked for confirmation from the noble Baroness at the same time ...
Baroness Wilcox | 725 c1540-1 (Link to this contribution) Amendment 2 seeks to keep Royal Mail in public ownership and reflects the position set out in the pr...
Lord Christopher | 725 c1542 (Link to this contribution) I will put it in simple terms. If I owned a big sorting office in Oxford, I could sell the site at a...
Lord Young of Norwood Green | 725 c1533-8 (Link to this contribution) Under Clause 1, the Government have made it clear that they propose to sell off 100 per cent, albeit...
Lord Young of Norwood Green | 725 c1532-3 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I have obviously reflected on the range of answers and it is no surprise that I do not agr...
Lord Young of Norwood Green | 725 c1533 (Link to this contribution) 2: Before Clause 2, insert the following new Clause— ““Royal Mail companies to be publicly owned (1)...
Baroness Turner of Camden | 725 c1538-9 (Link to this contribution) I support my noble friend who introduced this amendment. He is quite right: we are talking about a m...
Lord Hoyle | 725 c1539 (Link to this contribution) Does my noble friend not press all the right buttons when she addresses the House? I cannot understa...
Lord Cotter | 725 c1538 (Link to this contribution) This amendment is a direct attack on the fundamental principles of the Bill and, indeed, on the nece...
Lord Lea of Crondall | 725 c1539-40 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, following on the same theme as my noble friend Lord Hoyle, it is pertinent to point out th...
Lord Jones of Birmingham | 725 c1527-8 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I concur with the noble Baroness. If this amendment was passed, there would be no activity...
Lord Skelmersdale | 725 c1528 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I must be the only person in this Committee, certainly in the House, who regrets not havin...
Lord Borrie | 725 c1528 (Link to this contribution) Like the noble Lord, Lord Skelmersdale, I have been interested to read Clause 1(2). It seems to be i...
Viscount Eccles | 725 c1528-9 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I, too, apologise for not having been present at Second Reading, but I support my noble fr...
Lord Christopher | 725 c1529 (Link to this contribution) I was not going to speak on this amendment, but I have been provoked. I hope that the Minister will ...
Baroness Wilcox | 725 c1529-30 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I wonder whether it would be okay with your Lordships if I deal with the question put by m...
Lord Skelmersdale | 725 c1530 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I would not put it quite as rudely or as crudely as the noble Lord opposite has just done....
Lord Lea of Crondall | 725 c1530 (Link to this contribution) As someone who is not directly involved in this, perhaps I may make an observation. It is plain comm...
Baroness Wilcox | 725 c1530-2 (Link to this contribution) I thank my noble friend and of course I will be happy to speak to him afterwards, at any time that i...
Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe | 725 c1553-4 (Link to this contribution) I, too, support the amendment and agree with the line taken by the noble Lord, Lord Cotter. As the M...
Lord Cotter | 725 c1553 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Turner, and others for raising an issue whose importance ...
Baroness Turner of Camden | 725 c1552-3 (Link to this contribution) I support the amendment and have put my name to it. When the Bill was discussed previously, concern ...
Viscount Eccles | 725 c1555 (Link to this contribution) Employee participation is indeed a big subject, and I have no quarrel or difficulty with many of the...
Lord Hoyle | 725 c1555 (Link to this contribution) I agree with those who have spoken in support of the amendment, and particularly with the comments o...
Lord Myners | 725 c1557 (Link to this contribution) The Minister started her answer by saying that as things were as they are, and there was no good rea...
Baroness Wilcox | 725 c1555-6 (Link to this contribution) The Government recognise the important role that employees will play in the modernisation of Royal M...
Baroness Wilcox | 725 c1548-9 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Stevenson, for being as succinct as he was in proposing Amend...
Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe | 725 c1548 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, if the Royal Mail had gone bankrupt as so many people predicted it would, a value would ul...
Lord Brookman | 725 c1547-8 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I had no intention of making a contribution in this debate but as someone who was involved...
Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall | 725 c1552 (Link to this contribution) I should inform the Committee that if this amendment is agreed, I cannot call Amendments 5 to 7 incl...
Lord Young of Norwood Green | 725 c1551-2 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, postal workers already have a major stake in the company, and their livelihoods are depend...
Lord Young of Norwood Green | 725 c1551 (Link to this contribution) 4: Clause 2, page 1, line 16, leave out subsection (2) and insert— ““( ) A disposal of the Crown’s i...
Lord Stevenson of Balmacara | 725 c1549-51 (Link to this contribution) Dash it, I thought that the noble Baroness had forgotten that. I was going to enjoy wondering what t...
Lord Lea of Crondall | 725 c1552 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, perhaps I may make a point for clarity. The discussion we have just had about the wider pu...
Lord Lea of Crondall | 725 c1545 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, it is often said that it is a fallacy that the price is much lower than the value soon aft...
Viscount Eccles | 725 c1545 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, we are dealing with a very different situation here. Unless and until the Bill becomes an ...
Baroness Kramer | 725 c1546-7 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I fully understand the concern of the noble Lord, Lord Christopher, that Royal Mail fully ...
Lord Christopher | 725 c1545-6 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I do not understand what has just been said. However it is done, someone somewhere in Gove...
Baroness Kramer | 725 c1547 (Link to this contribution) Internally, due diligence is critical. The specifications and the instructions to the investment ban...
Lord Christopher | 725 c1547 (Link to this contribution) How would the noble Baroness value it? How would she put a price on it?
Lord Hoyle | 725 c1547 (Link to this contribution) The noble Baroness said that if we value it, we will not get a penny more. In past privatisations, i...
Baroness Kramer | 725 c1547 (Link to this contribution) I fully understand what the noble Lord is saying. In the past, privatisations have been naive. We ha...
Lord Young of Norwood Green | 725 c1521-6 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, the Government propose to sell off 100 per cent of Royal Mail, which may be regarded as on...
Lord Hunt of Wirral | 725 c1526 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, what a remarkable performance. I enjoyed the 14-minute speech by the noble Lord, Lord Youn...
Lord Hoyle | 725 c1526-7 (Link to this contribution) I was not going to rise, but I am going to rise and there may be other occasions when I rise when we...
Baroness Kramer | 725 c1527 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I should, I suppose, confess to something of a wicked past. Back when I was a banker in th...
Lord Young of Norwood Green | 725 c1521 (Link to this contribution) 1: Clause 1, page 1, line 7, at end insert ““but they shall come into force again if any sale is not...
Lord Hoyle | 725 c1567-8 (Link to this contribution) I am sure that the Minister will accept the amendment because it makes sense to have a report before...
Lord Young of Norwood Green | 725 c1567 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, Clause 2 relates to the Government reporting on their decision to dispose of shares in a R...
Lord Young of Norwood Green | 725 c1543 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I shall address a few of the points that were made. The noble Lord, Lord Cotter, and I do ...
Lord Skelmersdale | 725 c1538 (Link to this contribution) It strikes me that if you juxtapose the first amendment of the noble Lord, Lord Young of Norwood Gre...
Lord Myners | 725 c1554-5 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I add my support to the amendment and endorse the views expressed by my noble friend Lord ...
Baroness Drake | 725 c1560-4 (Link to this contribution) My Lords, I wish to speak to Amendments 6 and 17 in this group, which stand in my name. As currentl...
Baroness Wilcox | 725 c1542 (Link to this contribution) Perhaps I may deal with that when we get to Section 35. I turn to the point of noble Lord, Lord Chri...
Subjects
Industrial relations Finance Investment Privatisation Workplace pensions Parliamentary scrutiny Staff Pension funds Profit sharing Postal services Post Office Modernisation Shares Reform Shareholders Royal Mail Sunset clauses
Legislation
Postal Services Bill 2010-12
Link
View this Parliamentary proceeding on www.publications.parliament.uk