16/01/2017 Monday in Parliament


16/01/2017

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Hello and welcome to Monday In Parliament -

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our look at the day at Westminster.

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MOs from across the Commons call for action to streamline

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the Health Service and Social Care in England.

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The local government agree they need help. The health service agrees they

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need help. But the health service and local government blame each

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other. Warnings that a skills shortage

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in the housing industry is leading The pressure that the trades have

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had up to it means we have substandard building going on.

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And, in the Lords, the Government gives assurances

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workers' rights won't be damaged by Brexit.

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But first, the Government's been warned by MPs on all sides

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of the House of the need for better communication between the Health

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Conservative backbenchers were among those who told ministers

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about hospital beds being taken up and constituents finding themselves

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caught between health and social care providers,

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Local Government Association have been

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through increasing the social care precept will not be nearly enough

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to address the ?2.6 billion gap facing adult social care by 2020.

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Instead of exacerbating the existing postcode lottery, will the

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Secretary of State not commit to additional ring-fenced

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resources into social care, to tackle this crisis?

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Mr Speaker, in the last spending review,

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government allocated an additional ?3.5 billion a year till 2020.

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to adult social care and just a few weeks ago,

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I announced additional help of ?900 million over

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Now, local councils do have to play a role in this.

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I note that in Sunderland the average council tax bill is down

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And in Sunderland, if local councillors want to

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For many of my constituents, the fundamental problem in all

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too many cases is that we still we still separate health care funding

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Can I, therefore, urge the Secretary of State to speed up the integration

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of health and social care provision, so that we can deal

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with patients' needs in the round and put those first,

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Between 2010 and 2020, around ?40 million will

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have been taken out the adult social care budget in Hull.

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And you could see the effect of that just this weekend, when you

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can see what is happening in our local NHS hospitals.

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Will the minister think again and make sure

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that the problems the local authorities are facing are

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addressed by central government ring-fenced money?

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Mr Speaker, I am sure the honourable lady would welcome

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the announcement that was made a few weeks ago, which is trying to

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recognise those pressures she identifies.

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That is additional funding. That is on top of the ?3.5 billion.

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?900 million over the next two years.

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But what she rightly highlights is that this

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is a situation we need to keep looking at to see what more can

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Most members will have had in their constituency surgeries,

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The local government agree they need help.

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The health service agrees they need help.

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But the health service and local government blame each other

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Would it not be a good idea, on a cross-party basis,

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to look at a new model for social care?

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Mr Speaker, my honourable friend is right, firstly,

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I have seen many situations like that in my own

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He also highlights the need for all of us to

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talk more about this issue and see what we can do working together.

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Having spent a day with carers just before Christmas, seeing what

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amazing work they do, they feel frustrated because they are

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Will the minister look at what can be done for increasing funding

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to social care in addition to what we already done.

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And make sure that is subject to a cast-iron ring fence, to ensure

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the money goes where it is needed most.

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Mr Speaker, I can assure my honourable friend that we will

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continue to look at the resources applied to adult social care, both

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from local councils and from central government, to make sure they

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Also, we will continue to push the case for reform, to also

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make sure all councils realise there is more more that can be done

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The House of Commons library figures show that, in

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the period from November 2013 to November 2016,

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instances of bed blocking where social care was solely

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In the 12 months to November 2016, bed

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Does the minister recognise that the precept

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package brought forward by the government in December is

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insufficient to solve the crisis in our social care system and is

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putting further pressure on our already-stretched NHS?

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Mr Speaker, for the Minister recognises is that

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the additional funding announced in December will make a

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There is ?240 million additional coming in from the

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There is an additional ?600 million - it is new money.

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An additional ?600 million coming in from the precept changes.

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When it comes to using that money, we all want to see a reduction

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She will be aware of big differences between local

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councils in delayed transfers of care and I think some councils can

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The Communities Secretary, Sajid Javid.

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The author of a report into the construction industry

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says a shortage of skills is leading to sub-standard building.

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Mark Farmer was one of the witnesses giving evidence

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to MPs on the Communities and Local Government committee

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He said the industry was going to have to do more with less -

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What we have in construction is an ageing workforce.

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One of the most advanced, in terms of age, of all the

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What that suggests, based on census data

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and looking at the level of new entry into the industry, that we are

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going to lose 20-25% of our workforce over the next decade.

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With Brexit overlaid on that, whether it is a

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hard or soft Brexit - there are variations on the theme -

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but it is undoubtedly going to add more pressure to that.

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I could easily see a situation where we are moving towards a

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situation where about one-third of our workforce is lost over

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Mark Farmer said it was partly skills and training,

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It is massively important that we get it into

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schools earlier and to influence thinking.

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To change their perception perception of the

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My view is that you have to do the innovation piece first

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and profile what skills we need in the future.

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I think for us to have a more productive modern industry, it is a

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mixture of traditional site-based working -

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Artisan, Biblical skills, whatever you want to call it -

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alongside approaches which may be factory-based, maybe hybrid.

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Then, you stand more chance of attracting youngsters.

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The youngsters are wanting something more around

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the 21st century, not something from the Dark Ages and,

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unfortunately, part of our industry still has that stigma

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attached to them, rightly or wrongly.

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We need to move the dial towards creating a different offer.

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But in doing that, not only are we increasing the productivity

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of being able to to do more with less -

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it is an absolute certainty that that is what we are going

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to have to do to stand more chance of

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increasing new entrants into into the industry,

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because it is more attractive to them, in terms of

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They are not necessarily working on a cold and wet building site.

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or carpenter, they could do it in a factory.

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The committee wanted to know what impact Brexit may have. It will have

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a big impact. Over the last few months, the value of the currency a

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lot of foreign workforce are taking home is not as big. That is having

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an impact. In London, 40 to 50% of the workforce is fallen. That is

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about ten to 15% in other parts of the country. Attention how many

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houses would have to be built. I do not think it is a matter of

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political debate. It is a case of seeing, we need to do it. Is there

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encouragement and stability to the industry for doing it. What has been

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missing from the market is simply buying rented homes. You have had

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between 15 and 25,000 purchased by associations. And shared ownership.

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But since we have stopped building these forms, the market has not

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worked. That is when it stops functioning. When we stop building.

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In the last week two, quite unknown well-known house-builder had

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problems with regard to property and this growing feeling that

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traditional building in the house-building world is not

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delivering the quality that is expected, in terms of the legacy of

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defects. We are on the tip of the a spare the. The tradition and trades

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are coming under very pressure -- a lot of pressure and we are building

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a legacy issue downstream of defects and other issues which could be

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serious. I do not want to over generalise. Most of the people are

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very well trained and very complement -- competent, but that

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has been diluted. The competence levels are not as high as the rear.

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It needs to be of solutions, such as quality control.

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Now, the case of Noel Conway, a terminally ill patient who wants

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the right to end his life, was raised in the House of Lords.

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who is chair of the pressure group Dignity in Dying,

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asked if the Government might consider changing the law.

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Lord Keen of Elie said this would be a conscience

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vote for individual MPs, who had rejected a change

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The short answer to the question is no. Like previous governments, we

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have always made clear that this was a matter for Parliament, not

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government. The other house consider the bill in 2015, but rejected it by

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330-118. I thank the Minister for that reply. There has never been a

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government supported Bill with relation to assisted dying. He will

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be aware of Noel Conway who is taking this challenge to the High

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Court. He thinks his individual human race have been breached when

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the pain becomes unbearable. Does the Minister agree that 86% of

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disabled people support Noel Conway and want a change in the law so that

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when the town comes to face their own death, they can live there last

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month 's safe in the knowledge that if they are suffering becomes

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unbearable level of professional help to end it. Can we seek an

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ethical bill on these lanes in the future. It remains the government

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view that any change to the law is an issue for individual conscience

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and a matter for Parliament rather than one of government policy. I am

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aware of the case of Noel Conway. As it is no court, it would not be

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appropriate for me to comment on that case.

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But a former President and current patron

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of the Royal College of Surgeons sounded a note of caution.

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Should it ever be considered again, the medical profession has to be

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excluded. They will not want to be associated with the taking of life.

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They are there to save lives. Pilot is possible there are those who meet

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volunteers to undertake the task, it is important and should not be

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legislated because the majority of them would even be legislated to

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undertake the south that was the case. I hear what he is seeing and

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understand his reasoning behind his observations. I can only rephrase

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that this government does not intend to legislate in respect of this

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matter. Do not like this matter, give people the opportunity to make

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this important decision about how they die.

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Again, I can understand the noble lord's interest and concern in

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respect of this matter. I will observe that Parliament has twice

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addressed this issue in the recent past and has determined not to make

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commitments to the suicide act. It is not supported by one single

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organisation for people with progressive conditions. The very

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people who would be the main beneficiaries of assisted buying.

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Growing numbers of disabled people in their organisations are

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campaigning against such a Bill because they feel it is desperately

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unsafe. The CPS that that this in February

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2010 and again in 2014. I understand the reluctance to change particular

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legislation, may I ask whether the minister in consultation with his

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colleagues and the CPS would consider whether reforms are

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necessary with regard to CPS policy on assisted dying? My Lords, the

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matter is CPS policy must be left to the CPS to determine independently

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of Parliament. It is not for government to dictate what that

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policy should be. It is regularly reviewed and I can say that, for

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example, in the period from 2090 2016 -- 2009 two 2016. Many cases

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were not proceeded with in the case of the prosecution.

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You're watching Monday in Parliament.

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The Government has been pressed by its own back benchers

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to speed up efforts to reform health and social care.

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The biggest threat to safety on the railways is terrorism,

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according to the deputy chief constable

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He told MPs on the Transport Committee the danger

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was unpredictable, but there were others too.

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The challenge from protecting the network that is wide and open, and

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the risks being so I'm predictable, that is the greatest level of

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concern. We have seen that recently in North Greenwich. It is a real

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threat that we have to counter. In terms of more traditional crime,

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protecting vulnerable people, I know it was a theme of the previous

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committee, but focusing on effort and those people in crisis or at

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risk on the network and then can be fun aboard the crime is where we are

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putting our effort. Those types of offences that really cause people

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the most physical harm and impact on the confidence to travel, so

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predatory sex offending, levels of violence, particularly where that

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affects railway workers. We have is seen across Europe recently

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terrorist attacks involving domestic vehicles. We have seen trucks and

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lorries. The biggest thing that concerns me is level crossings. We

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have traced that carry up to 1000 people at peak times that are

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hurtling at huge speeds with level crossings where we have flimsy

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barriers. That is a major concern as far as I'm concerned. From your

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perspective, what can be done to mitigate the risk but what training

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is being provided to those in the control centre to try and spot some

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of the signs that may be able to stop such an attack happening in

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future? Absolutely. I wish it was an easy one to answer because it is

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often described as Martini terrorism, because it can happen at

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any place at any time. We cannot predict, as you will be familiar

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with. Having an open network in the way we do and the way our running

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lines cross a small country, it opens up those wonderful points. We

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do a lot around level crossings. We have a large number of Network Rail

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funded mobile safety vehicles that can allow us to target different

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hotspots or risk locations so that we can put those preventative and

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disruptive mitigations in, not just for terrorism but for trespassing

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and people who are offending by not abiding by crossings. There is an

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increase in sexual offences, is that people feeling more confidence or

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more actual offences? How can we tell which it was? This is where we

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were out of kilter with other police forces. We have recorded a greater

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increase in sexual offending, and that you are right to suggest there

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is a greater confidence in victims to tell us. We actively promoted our

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interests and concerns. We had a number of significant initiatives in

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the last two years. Worst of all, in London, there was project Guardian,

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which is a collaboration. It encourages people who feel

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accountable about behaviour on the Tube. That morphed into a national

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campaign. If I give you a brief example, why is that important?

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Quite another of the victims who converted us said, I experience this

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in our journey, I don't want you to do anything further, but I want you

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to know it happened. For a variety of reasons, they want to take that

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approach. Using that data, we were able to analyse trends. We saw that

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there was a spike in indecent assaults, touching, on a Tube line.

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We were able to put undercover officers on that line and they saw

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an offender who use the busy service and the nurturing of the train to

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bump into people. Those victims did not know they had been victims, but

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watching his behaviour and seeing him do that three or four times in a

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row without getting off the service and allowed us to intervene and

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arrest him. that Theresa May will signal

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a so-called "hard Brexit", the European single

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market and customs union. The prospect of leaving

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the single market has prompted

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concerns from trades unions that workers' rights

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could be undermined. But the Business Minister,

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Lord Prior, sought to lay

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those worries to rest. We do not need to be part of an EU

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single market to have strong protections for workers' rights. The

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Government will not roll back EU rights in the work ways or the

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workers' rights that are enjoyed, they will be brought across into UK

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law. I think he has indeed touched on this, would he go one step

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further and reassure the House and indeed the TUC that all the

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directives contained and that are relevant be contained in the great

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repeal Bill? The prime and Esther has said that under this government

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we will see workers' rights not eroded and not just protected but

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enhanced. The commitment of this government is clear. Obviously, for

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subsequent parliaments, as we we gain sovereignty over these issues,

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it will be up to individual parliaments to make those decisions.

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It is a sad day when the TUC no longer has faith in the Labour

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Party, the Liberal Party and this British Parliament to defend the

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rights of British workers. Is it not the case that workers enjoy rights

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far beyond the EU directives, especially with regard to maternity?

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For workers' rights enshrined in EU law will be transferred into UK law.

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But then it was added, where practical. Could the minister tell

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us which workers' rights cannot be practically transferred into UK law?

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I can't think of any rights that would fall into the lot practical

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area. The prime and Esther went further than that. She is committed

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and our whole industrial strategy is committed to bringing decent, well

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paid skilled jobs to Britain. It's not often that a piece

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of legislation is thought capable of helping to heal

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"divisions in society". But that's what

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the Labour MP Jon Cruddas thinks about the National

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Citizen Service Bill. The National Citizen Service -

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or NCS - was set up six years ago to give teenagers the chance

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to do community work on residential

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trips away from home. The Bill would give the service

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a permanent legal standing. It really focuses on how we live

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together. There is no more important issue addressing the country. How do

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we create a nation at ease with itself and foster a notion of

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service to others amongst our young people? Obviously, this is vital

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given the divisions in our society, so clearly exposed around last year

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around class, race geography and religion. These tensions might

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continue to escalate. The suggest a brittle country. Resolving this and

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healing division will indeed take time, but this Bill will help.

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A Conservative, James Berry, said the citizen service

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had many of the hallmarks of National Service,

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recalling the words of his father who did his national service

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in the 1950s with the Royal Marines and the Durham Light Infantry.

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He always would tell me what a great social leveller their National

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Service was, because in basic training you could be there in a

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dorm with people from Eton, with stockbrokers, Alec Trish and is,

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people from all different walks of life. Every conceivable background,

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but any pre-existing airs and graces would be squashed by a diet of

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exercise, hard work, learning new skills and having to live, eat,

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sleep and work, do everything together as a team. I want won to

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give young people an appetite for service, for opportunities and try

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new things. Our vision is for NCS to be a common experience for all.

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Scouts, cadets, people familiar with service in the same team, sharing

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their expertise with people who have never done anything like this

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before. NCS sees people with different background, faiths,

:25:21.:25:22.

interests coming together at a formative age and learning the

:25:23.:25:25.

impact they can have on the community around them.

:25:26.:25:27.

With wide support across the parties,

:25:28.:25:28.

the Bill was approved without a vote.

:25:29.:25:30.

Alicia McCarthy is here for the rest of the week,

:25:31.:25:35.

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