My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend Lord Stevenson and all those who have spoken in this debate, beginning with my noble friend Lady Ritchie, who speaks with authority as someone affected daily by our decisions in this Parliament. She spoke eloquently about the intricate relationships so carefully and painstakingly built over decades to break down barriers. We must not do anything that reverses that process.
The noble Lord, Lord Lansley, said that he agrees with Amendment 58, but that it is not necessary because it is already in the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020. The noble Baroness, Lady Suttie, rightly argued that in the internal market Bill a part of the protocol is being repudiated. I say with some sensitivity and moderation to the noble Viscount, Lord Younger, that there is a lack of trust regarding the Northern Ireland-Irish protocol situation that has been engendered by the Government themselves.
The Government signed up to a protocol that they are now seeking to undermine through the internal market Bill, breaching international law and breaching trust with Dublin so painfully built over careful decades of negotiation and relationships. The relationship between Dublin and London now is terrible, and I can totally understand that as a former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. We should never have got into this situation. As the noble Baroness rightly says, it is ironic that a group of cross-party Peers is having to defend what is nominally the Government’s own policy but which they are undermining. That is why these amendments are absolutely necessary.
The noble Baroness, Lady Noakes, said the Trader Support Service would be extended if needed, so why not put it in the Bill through the amendments concerned? If there is a technical issue, the Minister can come back on Report and propose the addition of a regulation allowing the Government to extend it. Presently, it is limited to two years. I am puzzled about the Minister’s response. Effectively, he is saying that he agrees with these amendments in principle, but that on the one hand there is no need for them and on the other there is an opportunity for them later. I say gently to him that there is always supposed to be an opportunity later, but the reality is that by the time later comes it is too late. A trade deal may not have been struck with the EU and the consequences will already be a fait accompli.
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I say again to the noble Baroness, Lady Noakes, that Northern Ireland is unique, and because it is unique these provisions need to be placed in statute in a way in which they would almost certainly not in other parts of the UK. It is Northern Ireland’s tangled history, bitterness and bloodshed, and all the complex
relationships built to overcome that make these amendments absolutely necessary. The Minister promises that there will be no barriers to the intentions behind these four amendments. If so, why not agree to them? Why not remove any distrust and uncertainty by agreeing to them going into the Bill?
On the Trader Support Service, the Minister did not address the uncertainties felt particularly by Northern Ireland businesses and businesses trading into Northern Ireland from the UK. The situation feels extremely fluid to them, as it does to me. No one knows how all this will fall out. No one know the relationships, checks and customs arrangements that will be across the Irish Sea and what burdens they will put on people. As the Government have conceded, despite the Prime Minister’s initial denials, there will be processes involved, compliance required and forms to fill in, albeit online. This will require time and resource from Northern Ireland businesses already hard-pressed and under pressure from the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit.
The Minister says the situation will be constantly reviewed, but there are lots of uncertainties about trade into Northern Ireland from the rest of the world, including the UK. The purpose of the amendments, particularly Amendments 65 and 82, is to nail down those uncertainties. If the TSS might need to be extended, why not make it indefinite? What are we not being told?
There is a real question of trust which the Government needs to address, not to noble Lords who have supported the amendments but to businesses in Northern Ireland that feel extremely uncertain presently and are very worried about their future. This is especially the case for those who trade across the Irish Sea and are worried about the extra cost burdens at a time when they can least afford it. I therefore hope that the Minister will reconsider these amendments. I would be very happy to take a phone call from him about any technical changes that he might want in order for the Government to agree to the amendments and avoid a Division on them on Report.