Emergency Workers (Obstruction) Bill

My Lords, as I make my first contribution in your Lordships’ House, I take the opportunity to place on record my sincere thanks for the help, kindness and support that I have received from all sections of the House. This includes all those who work so diligently to support the activities of this House. I have received a great deal of advice, on which I have reflected. I can inform your Lordships that I am now much better informed, but none the wiser. This morning, I am not sure whether I am blessed or cursed, but I have the full weight of the Trades Union Congress behind me. I am told that I should avoid being controversial. I readily accept this advice for two reasons: first, I am never controversial—controversy comes only when others fail to agree with me; secondly, I believe that the matter before this House this morning engenders unity, not controversy. Like the noble Lord, Lord Anderson of Swansea, I too have followed the debate on this issue in another place, and I feel sure that there is no controversy about the fundamental aims of the Bill. We all agree that workers attending an emergency have the right not to be impeded or assaulted. Yet, sadly, assaults in many forms do occur on a regular basis. It is to be regretted that there are no reliable national statistics recording these assaults. In the West Midlands, however—an area with which I have a close association—the fire service records 64 incidents that occurred between 1 January and 20 September this year. Bricks, bottles and even a machete have been thrown at fire crews. Various explosive materials have been thrown on to fires. The path of fire engines has been blocked. Threatening behaviour has sometimes included knives. How on earth have we ended up with a society in which emergency workers become the target of abuse and attack while carrying out their duties as public servants? These attacks are not only a danger to the emergency workers, but also to the people they seek to help. Why are our public servants victims, attacked and obstructed while serving the community? I suggest one cause; we as a society have systematically devalued our public services and disrespected our public servants for years, and we are now paying a very heavy price. While I support the Bill in principle, I would ask a number of questions, which I hope my noble friend will address. First, are there not a range of laws in place which would allow for the arrest and prosecution of anyone involved in violent, threatening behaviour, criminal damage, hoax telephone calls and so on? Why are these laws not properly enforced? Where do they fall short? Secondly, if existing laws are not being properly enforced, what measures should be made or taken to ensure that they are? Finally, would the proposed law make it even harder to secure a prosecution by raising the burden of proof needed? I would suggest that one additional matter needs attention. I note from the debate in the other place that the Manchester fire service has estimated that there have been 200 attacks or attempts to obstruct emergency workers, yet government statistics suggest that there have been only nine incidents for the same period. I would urge the Minister to ensure that there is a systematic collection of national statistics to identify and publicise the scale of the problem. It has been pointed out that many of these incidents, although not all, are in areas of social deprivation. It has also been argued that many of the perpetrators are young. But poverty, social deprivation and age can never be an excuse for crime. I was brought up in a small, rural community, a village, in Jamaica. As it happens, my father was a part-time police officer. The villagers shared collective responsibility for all aspects of community life, which included the right of every adult to discipline the children in that village. They also had a duty to protect all the children. Never would a villager have failed to support and protect those people who gave their time as public servants. So, if in the 21st century we cannot get universal support for the work of our emergency workers, the law has a duty to protect them.