§ 7.40 p.m.
§ Viscount Montgomery of AlameinMy Lords, I beg to move that this Bill be now read a second time.
This measure was introduced by Michael Marshall, Chairman of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, in another place, where it was supported by officers of the British group of the IPU from all parties. Unfortunately, due to the procedures of another place which I must say amateurs like me sometimes find rather confusing and do not always understand, the Bill was not discussed in any detail, and was subsequently found to have technical defects, which I shall now attempt to explain and 1342 which will form the basis of amendments to be considered in Committee.
The objective of this small measure is defined in the title; namely,
to set up a register of publicly-financed international organisations".However, because of the way that those organisations are constituted and funded, three of those in the schedule—the Council of Europe, the North Atlantic Assembly and the Western European Union—should not been included in the Bill. It is proposed that they be deleted in Committee.It might be for the convenience of the House if I did not refer to them in my subsequent remarks but talked only about the IPU (the Inter-Parliamentary Union) and the CPA (the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association). One of the reasons for the deletion is that the register is intended to cover organisations which are in receipt of an annual grant in aid to fund both British and international secretariats. The words:
are in receipt of an annual grant in aid",will be added to the title and Clause 1(1) in Committee.The British secretariats of both the IPU and the CPU work to fixed budgets and receive funds from the Treasury which cover the costs of the British secretariat in London and their respective quota contributions to the international secretariats, which for the IPU is in Geneva and for the CPA is in London. I hope that that technical explanation will assist the House when it considers this small but important measure.
Perhaps I may say a word about the work of the IPU, of which I have the honour to be on the British executive committee. The Bill was the suggestion of the IPU, which this year celebrates its centenary. The centenary conference will take place in London in September. The IPU was formed 100 years ago by Britain and France. It is now comprised of 112 member nations, most of which will be present in London in September.
It would take too long to explain all the many useful activities undertaken by the IPU, which in London is served by a small but hard-working secretariat. It is interesting to note that neither organisation has any real power but they provide a forum for the meeting of parliamentarians from all over the world in the case of the IPU and within the Commonwealth of Nations for the CPA. They both promote the concept and the virtue of parliamentary democracy. Plenary conferences take place twice a year and specialist or regional meetings more frequently. There are inward and outward delegations on a bilaterial basis.
The most important aspect of the work is perhaps the bridge building that takes place between nations when government-to-government relations may be difficult. I should like to cite three examples. It is interesting to remember that Mikhail Gorbachev, now President of the Soviet Union, made his first visit to Britain in 1984 as the leader of a parliamentary delegation invited and hosted by the IPU.
1343 On a smaller scale, after the restoration of democracy in Guatemala, the first visit to Britain for many years was an IPU-sponsored parliamentary delegation. That led rapidly to the restoration of full diplomatic relations. Thirdly, in the case of Argentina, there has been an effective bilateral discussion between members of the two parliamentary delegations at every IPU conference since the restoration of democracy.
All those are important confidence creating activities. One could go on for a long time, but brevity is essential. I hope that what I have said will illustrate the importance of this measure, subject to the modificatons which I have already explained and which will be introduced in Committee. I beg to move.
Moved, That the Bill be now read a second time.—(Viscount Montgomery of Alamein.)
§ 7.45 p.m.
§ Baroness DavidMy Lords, I thank the noble Viscount, Lord Montgomery, for his explanation of the Bill and the reason for it. We are all aware of the excellent work done by the CPA and the IPU as worldwide organisations of parliamentarians. Many of us have experienced visits to other countries under the auspices of one or other of those organisations and have helped to receive visitors from other countries when they come here. The bridge building mentioned by the noble Viscount is important.
We should think especially of the IPU this year as it has its centenary conference. As the noble Viscount said, its membership has increased from nine countries 100 years ago to 112 this year.
There will be a women's conference attached to the centenary conference. I have attended two such conferences in Guatemala and Budapest. I shall be at the one in London on 3rd September. I should like to stress the importance of women parliamentarians, because there are far too few of them. The women's conference was set up to try to encourage more women to take part and to persuade men to accept the women gladly and give them a few more jobs. We now have two women members on the executive council of the IPU, so things are moving. As we shall have Miss Betty Boothroyd chairing the conference on 3rd September in London, it is almost bound to be an extremely successful day. I hope that we shall get things moving a little faster. It is a great opportunity to hear the views of women from all over the world and to learn what goes on in their countries.
Of course we do not have a good representation in the other place, and it is rather difficult to do anything about that at the moment, but we shall go on trying. It means that we do not have many women standing for the executive. In fact, I am the only woman on the IPU executive in London. That is a great shame. We should have more. That has nothing to do with the Bill, but I could not resist the opportunity to say it.
I wish the Bill a safe passage and a swift acceptance. We shall have to have a Committee stage to deal with the amendment that has been described. I should also like to wish the CPA and the IPU all 1344 success in the future, which I am sure that they will have.
§ Lord Cledwyn of PenrhosMy Lords, we are grateful to the noble Viscount for introducing the Bill, for his explanation of it and for his elucidation of the amendments which are to come. I hope that he is not creating a precedent for future Bills or the House would be in considerable difficulty.
I know that I speak for everyone when I say that we respect and admire the work of the IPU and the CPA. The noble Viscount and my noble friend Lady David have spoken eloquently about both organisations. I know that we appreciate the work that my noble friend Lady David does on the executive. It is said by its members that she is worth at least four men.
I have been a member of both organisations for nearly 40 years. I have been privileged on occasion to travel abroad as a member of the delegations and to welcome delegations here. These meetings between parliamentarians cover a wide spectrum; we must remember that the IPU now covers 112 parliaments, and over the century it has done nothing but good. We wish the IPU and the CPA continuing success over the next 100 years. The bridge building process to which the noble Viscount referred must go on and the Bill, which gives both organisations a recognised constitutional position, deserves our warm support.
§ The Minister of State for Defence Procurement (Lord Trefgarne)My Lords, it may be helpful if I say a few words about the Bill from the Government's point of view. As my noble friend Lord Montgomery has explained, it requires the Government to lay before Parliament each financial year a register of those international parliamentary organisations which are publicly financed. These organisations, which draw their membership from both Houses of Parliament, are at present funded by grants-in-aid from a Treasury Vote. The reasons for this are largely historical and were intended to reflect the independence of those bodies from government policy. The Bill, by creating a register showing the amounts of money actually allocated, aims to give legal embodiment to this publicly financed status.
I have listened with interest to what my noble friend has said about the Inter-Parliamentary Union and about the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. The IPU and the CPA are the two parliamentary organisations which will be affected by this Bill. I join with my noble friend and other noble Lords who have spoken during the course of the debate in paying tribute to their achievements. I congratulate my noble friend Lord Montgomery on having introduced the Bill and I wish it every success.
§ Viscount Montgomery of AlameinMy Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Cledwyn, and the noble Baroness, Lady David, very much for what they said. I was particularly interested in the remarks of the noble Baroness about the CPA, with which she is much more familiar than I. Having had the pleasure of travelling with her on an overseas delegation to 1345 an IPU conference, I can fully endorse her views on the subject of the role of women in parliament. Long may that role continue and go from strength to strength.
I am most grateful to my noble friend Lord Trefgarne. If I may say so, he has been more than usually helpful. I wish I could always say that that was the case, but this is a delightful occasion on which to say how grateful I am for his endorsement. With those words, I commend the measure to the House.
On Question, Bill read a second time, and committed to a Committee of the Whole House.
§ Moved accordingly, and, on Question, Motion agreed to.
§ [The Sitting was suspended from 7.53 to 8.40 p.m.]