Contribution
My Lords, the amendments in this group relate to the operation of the Crown Estate in Wales under the newly devolved approach. I should say at the outset that on this side of the House, we are opposed to the Bill in principle. I know that the noble Lord, Lord Wigley, tabled amendments to the Crown Estate Act during its passage through your Lordships’ House. The Official Opposition were clear at that point that the Government should resist those amendments. As my noble friend Lady Vere of Norbiton said then, we have set the Crown Estate on a very different path as a result of that legislation, and now is not the time to frustrate that process with a very different proposal on the direction of the Welsh part of the Crown Estate. That argument was right then; it is right now.
Amendments 1 and 6 in the name of my noble friend Lord Harlech would require the revenues of the Welsh part of the Crown Estate to be paid to the Exchequer after the devolution and transfer of functions to a new body. This would ensure that the existing revenues go to the Exchequer, which, as we all know from the rumours about the spending review next week, is already in great need of income. If control of the functions of the Welsh Crown Estate were to be devolved but the revenues continued to be paid to the Exchequer, that would at least achieve part of the aim of the noble Lord, Lord Wigley, without depriving the Exchequer of much-needed revenue. Perhaps the noble Lord is open to that.
My noble friend Lord Harper raised interesting and cautionary points about the Barnett formula more generally. Amendments 2 and 8 in the name of my noble friend Lord Moynihan seek to ensure that the Welsh Crown Estate is bound by the same borrowing limits as the Crown Estate itself. As noble Lords will recall from the passage of the previous Bill, my noble friends Lady Vere of Norbiton and Lord Howard of Rising spoke at length and pressed Ministers to secure that borrowing limit. We were pleased that Ministers accepted those calls and implemented a borrowing limit, even though this was placed on a statutory footing. The amendment which my noble friend Lord Moynihan has sensibly tabled seeks to ensure that the Welsh Crown Estate is similarly bound by an appropriate limit on its borrowing. Here I should mention, of course, the important points that he made about the impact that this transfer would have on the future of energy, in this country as a whole and in Wales in particular, and the difficulties in apportioning that.
Amendment 3, in the name of my noble friend Lord Moynihan, seeks to establish a backstop to prevent mismanagement of the Welsh Crown Estate. We know how poorly Wales is served by her current devolved Government. Whether it is education, healthcare or economic outcomes, Wales consistently underperforms, so much of this is the responsibility of the Welsh Government. Given that backdrop, it is understandable that noble Lords are a little more than reticent about proposals to take another step down that road, with a body as important as the Crown Estate and with such big assets. We on these Benches share the concern that motivates my noble friend in his amendment, and we would be interested to hear from the Minister whether the Government might consider some form of backstop such as that proposed by this amendment.
Amendments 4 and 7, in the name of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, reflect legitimate concerns about the untimely transfer of these powers in the event that the Bill is passed. Clearly, a sudden change so soon after we passed the Crown Estate Act, which sets a very different direction of travel for the Crown Estate, would be very disruptive to that new direction. Perhaps the noble Lord, Lord Wigley, would respond to that point in his remarks at the conclusion of this group.
In summary, we have serious concerns about the transfer of the Welsh parts of the Crown Estate to a devolved framework. There are many important issues that must be addressed before this proposal could go forward. We look forward to hearing from the noble Lord, Lord Wigley.