23/02/2016 Tuesday in Parliament


23/02/2016

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Hello and welcome to Tuesday in Parliament.

:00:12.:00:14.

Condemnation of Russia's role in the Syria conflict.

:00:15.:00:23.

Now is not the time to talk about weakening EU sanctions against the

:00:24.:00:29.

Vladimir Putin regime. There's another row in the Commons

:00:30.:00:29.

over just how much money is paid A minister announces a new name

:00:30.:00:33.

for a new rail line. From December 2018 the across a

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route will be known as the Elizabeth line.

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The Foreign Secretary has told MPs that a ceasefire in Syria will not

:00:46.:00:49.

hold unless the level of Russian airstrikes falls dramatically.

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Philip Hammond's comment came at Foreign Office Questions,

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where there was some fierce criticism of the Russia's role

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The US and Russia have announced that a planned cessation

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of hostilities in Syria will come into effect at midnight

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Their statement said the truce did not include so-called

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Islamic State and the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front,

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but scepticism remains over the plan.

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More than 250,000 Syrians have been killed in the conflict which began

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Some 11 million others have been forced from their homes,

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of whom four million have fled abroad.

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A Labour MP took up the questioning with the Foreign Secretary.

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The bombing of two hospitals and other health facilities in northern

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Syria is completely unacceptable and a clear breach of international

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humanitarian law. Does the Minister agree that those responsible must be

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brought to justice and that this reinforces the need for a United

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Nations Security Council to refer this situation to the International

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criminal Court? The honourable lady of course identifies an incident

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that has caused widespread outrage across the world but in her question

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she has put her finger on the problem, a referral to the

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International criminal Court requires a resolution of the United

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Nations Security Council one feet to holding member of whom is the

:02:18.:02:20.

Russian Federation so I think it is unlikely that we went to succeed

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going down that route. The American Secretary of State has a close

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working relationship with the Russian Foreign Minister talking to

:02:29.:02:33.

him nearly every week. When did the Foreign Secretary does talk to the

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Russian Foreign Secretary and what is he doing to improve the personal

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relationship with them? Our relationships are difficult with our

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Russian counterparts. I just spoke to him on the 11th of February

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during the Munich ISS G where he and I had some prolonged and robust

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exchanges around the table during that evening but I do speak very

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regularly to the US Secretary of State most recently on Saturday

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morning so I am very much aware of the discussion that he is having

:03:04.:03:07.

with our mutual Russian counterpart. The problem is that Russian policy

:03:08.:03:13.

on Syria is not made in the Russian Foreign Ministry but inside a tiny

:03:14.:03:17.

cabal around President Putin at the heart of the Kremlin. With the

:03:18.:03:23.

Russian indiscriminate bombing of civilians in Syria driving the

:03:24.:03:28.

refugee crisis and deliver it foreign policy tool to destabilise

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and weaken Europe, will he agree with me that now was not the time to

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even talk about weakening the EU sanctions against the Vladimir Putin

:03:37.:03:40.

regime? I very strongly agree with him that now is not the time to send

:03:41.:03:45.

Russia any signals of compromise or pulling back. The only language he

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understands is the language of strength and I am afraid the line

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which a confrontation. The report of the UN commission on Syria on human

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rights published earlier this month found that, fragrant violations of

:04:00.:04:04.

human rights and in a humanitarian law continue unabated. Ceasefire due

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to come into effect this Saturday is desperately needed but will only

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relieve suffering if it is adhered to. What does he says are the

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prospects for ensuring that response respects it is fire by ending its

:04:17.:04:20.

attacks on the Syrian people and office does not, further pressure

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can be put on President Putin to do so? As I have already said, the

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issue is going to be this, the Russians will say that they are

:04:31.:04:34.

complying with the ceasefire and they will say that continued attacks

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and air strikes are justified by the terms of the ceasefire and there

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will be a necessity to pore over individual attacks between the US

:04:45.:04:48.

and Russia in the coordination cell to identify exactly what happened

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but whatever the technicalities of the thing the big picture is this,

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unless the level of Russian air strikes dramatically decreases, the

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ceasefire will not hold because the moderate armed opposition cannot lay

:05:03.:05:05.

down their weapons and will not lay down their weapons while they are

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being annihilated from the error by Russian aircraft. -- from the error.

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The head of the Metropolitan Police has told MPs he won't be "bullied"

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into apologising to high profile people investigated over allegations

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Sir Bernard Hogan Howe was questioned about

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the investigation of the former head of the army Lord Bramall.

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His home was searched in April 2015, but it was only last month

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that he was told the case was being dropped.

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Sir Bernard was also asked about the investigation

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into the former Home Secretary Lord Brittan.

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Were you able to see Lady Brittan? I was. What this Committee recommended

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was one of the things, whether to apologise and we would have a little

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earlier but I am afraid we couldn't arrange it any earlier. I think we

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started to try it in November and it has only been possible the last two

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weeks. That took place last week. But was it a full apology? I think

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she and her family expect it. It was certain a full apology from the fact

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that we hadn't advised Lady Brittan early enough that her husband. We

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prosecuted. At the very least in April 2015 that was possible. We

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still hadn't done it until I think September 2015, so for that delay I

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apologise. Moving on to the Lord Bramall case -

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the committee chair asked if the investigation

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was heavy-handed. Do you think that over the last few

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months there has been an attempt by the Metropolitan Police to in some

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way compensate for their failure to investigate more thoroughly it Jimmy

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Savile case and as a result you have had a number of high-profile cases

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where perhaps in the past they wouldn't have done the kinds of

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things that they had done, for example in the Bramall case, sending

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22 police officers to be very small village in Hampshire to go into his

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property, move his very ill wife from room to room and started to

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investigate in such a public way a case against a man of 90 foot stop

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were subsequently there was time to -- weather was found to be no true

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evidence to support it. The idea is not to warn the local people or

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anybody that a search is carried out. It is the complexity of the

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search, first of all we wanted it quickly and once you have if you

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search as it will take longer. At the property is large then it will

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take longer and if you're looking for a very small things which we

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often do, disks, digital data, documents, any house contains a lot

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of it. If he did incompletely, we don't look in the silver and you put

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it back together in disrepair, we are criticised for that also. The

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number of searches was not to do was trying to alert anybody to the event

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but it was to do with doing something thoroughly and

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efficiently. Many feel that the Metropolitan Police do oh my

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constituent and apology for the heavy-handed approach, that was

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taken towards him during the investigation. Over 20 officers

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searching his home. The length of time that it took to notify him that

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he faced no charges and everything in between, what is your response to

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that? I express regret. That is not an apology. I was going to go on to

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say... I think there are differences, in making an apology to

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a suspect which I will differentiate from the number of apologies I have

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used in the last 4.5 years. It is not that we are arrogant and don't

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apologise for failure. We intend to apologise to Lord Bramall? Say any

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more. But I am not acting one. You're not intending to? I have said

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that at least four times today and I have said it publicly. So why did

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Lady Brittan Merit and apology? I thought I had explained that

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earlier, but it is because there is something to apologise for an

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orderly in telling her about the outcome of the enquiry and in Lord

:09:32.:09:37.

Bramall's case we will see what the review finds but at the moment there

:09:38.:09:41.

is nothing clearly to apologise for. Throughout all the media circus

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there has been around this... Are, the media circus! If you want me to

:09:46.:09:53.

be bullied into apologising, that won't happen.

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You're watching Tuesday in Parliament here on BBC Parliament

:09:56.:09:58.

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said policymakers are "not making

:09:59.:10:05.

a judgment" on the outcome or consequences of the

:10:06.:10:11.

Mr Carney told the Treasury Committee that the Bank was treating

:10:12.:10:17.

the June vote as it would "every other political event." The Governor

:10:18.:10:20.

faced questions about the impact of the referendum on the pound,

:10:21.:10:23.

after Sterling fell to its lowest level against the dollar

:10:24.:10:25.

since Spring 2009 at the start of the week.

:10:26.:10:32.

Were not making a judgment about the potential outcome of the referendum.

:10:33.:10:43.

Which side will win, or an assessment or of the potential

:10:44.:10:47.

consequences of a leave vote. We are this felt exactly how we treat any

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other political event which is not to make a judgment on the outcome

:10:55.:10:58.

and assume status quo continues. It appears that recent moves had been

:10:59.:11:04.

influenced by the upcoming vote. Secondly that what matters for

:11:05.:11:10.

monetary policy is not just a move in the exchange rate but the

:11:11.:11:14.

persistence of that move and the reasons behind it. We don't think

:11:15.:11:19.

about it as just the isolated effect of a weaker exchange rate. Obviously

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everything else equal the weaker exchange rate boosts growth and

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inflation but we have to think of the governor said about why the

:11:28.:11:31.

exchange rate fell and in this case we think the exchange rate is

:11:32.:11:34.

falling because of increased uncertainty about what is going to

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happen in the period leading up to or following the referendum. It is

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possible that at some point increased uncertainty from foreign

:11:43.:11:46.

exchange investors also ends up manifesting itself in increased

:11:47.:11:49.

uncertainty by households and businesses which may or may not do

:11:50.:11:56.

they were their spending. -- reduce their spending.

:11:57.:11:59.

There was renewed anger in the Commons over Government plans

:12:00.:12:01.

The funding is an annual payment made to opposition parties

:12:02.:12:05.

at Westminster to help them with the costs of carrying

:12:06.:12:08.

It takes its name from former Labour MP Ted Short who was instrumental

:12:09.:12:12.

In November, the Chancellor proposed reducing the payments by 19% -

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in line with the average savings in unprotected

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Whitehall departments - then freezing the sum in cash terms

:12:19.:12:22.

Answering an urgent question, a Cabinet Office minister

:12:23.:12:26.

The cost of short money has gone up by 50% since 2010.

:12:27.:12:33.

And by a whopping 68% by the end of this Parliament

:12:34.:12:36.

At a time when everybody else outside of

:12:37.:12:40.

Westminster has had to tighten their belts,

:12:41.:12:42.

why should politicians expect to be treated differently?

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Feathering their own nests at taxpayers' expense?

:12:46.:12:49.

Short money is also notably un-transparent.

:12:50.:12:53.

It is taxpayers' money after all, but

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there is no requirement to publish details of how it's spent.

:12:57.:12:58.

There are, rightly, requirements on the parallel policy development

:12:59.:13:02.

grants and on pretty much every other area

:13:03.:13:05.

How can it be right, in the modern age, for politicians

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to be expect to be bunged a load of taxpayers' hard earned cash,

:13:11.:13:15.

more than ?35 million in total since 2010 for the Labour Party,

:13:16.:13:21.

for example, without at least explaining how it gets spent?

:13:22.:13:25.

But the opposition was furious with the proposals.

:13:26.:13:28.

This is the shoddiest so-called consultation

:13:29.:13:32.

It deliberately forgets to mention that short money is linked to how

:13:33.:13:38.

many seats and how many votes all the opposition parties got

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So the main reason that short money has increased in 2015

:13:43.:13:48.

is because this Government has a much smaller majority

:13:49.:13:51.

than the Labour Government or the Coalition Government

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and the opposition parties got more seats and more

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Fair-minded people will conclude that this Government is developing

:13:58.:14:03.

a nasty authoritarian streak, and its

:14:04.:14:06.

overweening executive wants to crush all opposition because they're

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There's nothing wrong in principle with reducing the cost of politics.

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Therefore, can we get some assurances in the reducing

:14:17.:14:19.

the number and cost of special advisors, and indeed

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This is actually about gagging the opposition.

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Will the Minister scrap this rushed consultation,

:14:26.:14:28.

abandon the attack on the scrutiny of Government, and look again at how

:14:29.:14:31.

the cost of politics can be reduced, including, for instance,

:14:32.:14:35.

by dropping the budget for special advisers?

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This needs to be reconsidered, This decision for such

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It does seem to be unacceptable that it's being introduced in one year.

:14:42.:14:50.

Everybody understands the need for financial stringency

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and the need for this House to take its share

:14:55.:14:56.

But could the Minister at least look to whether

:14:57.:15:02.

And could the Minister also pick up carefully the point that's been made

:15:03.:15:09.

Could the Minister tell the House what effect he supposes a cut

:15:10.:15:14.

in short money would have on scrutiny and the comfort

:15:15.:15:17.

or discomfort that the executive feels as it goes

:15:18.:15:19.

Mr Speaker, as I mentioned before, the amount of short money has

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So opposition parties have a great deal more money with which to do

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But there was one opposition party that gave the proposed

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Can I urge ministers to stick to your guns, don't retreat.

:15:46.:15:49.

The sight of special pleading from political parties wanting

:15:50.:15:51.

to get their hands on taxpayers' cash is disgraceful.

:15:52.:15:53.

Can I urge ministers not only to slash short money,

:15:54.:15:56.

but to insist that all political parties publish fully audited

:15:57.:15:58.

accounts on what they spend that short money on,

:15:59.:16:00.

as my party will be doing at the end of this year.

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So we can see the hotel bills and what it is they spent taxpayer

:16:04.:16:06.

Douglas Carswell giving his full backing to Government plans

:16:07.:16:10.

Later in the day, ministers set about trying

:16:11.:16:14.

to reverse two defeats inflicted on the

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Welfare Reform And Work Bill by peers.

:16:17.:16:20.

The Lords voted to keep targets aimed at reducing child poverty,

:16:21.:16:23.

forcing the Government to reconsider its plan

:16:24.:16:26.

Peers also threw out plans to cut ?30 a week

:16:27.:16:30.

from the benefits of sick and disabled people who have been

:16:31.:16:33.

But when the Bill return to the Commons, the Employment Minister

:16:34.:16:39.

argued those cuts to the Employment Support Allowance -

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I want to stress that this Government is fully focused

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on getting people who can work into work.

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We want to end a broken system that is patently failing those it

:16:54.:16:56.

And to ensure that a good proportion of the savings are recycled

:16:57.:17:01.

into practical support, long-term practical support that

:17:02.:17:04.

will have a transformation affects on people's lives.

:17:05.:17:08.

Some charities we that are working with agree

:17:09.:17:12.

that work can be right for some people after a diagnosis.

:17:13.:17:15.

And that improved employment support is crucial to helping people

:17:16.:17:19.

with health conditions and disability

:17:20.:17:21.

move into work, to get closer to the labour market.

:17:22.:17:25.

People in ESA group have gone through the capability assessment

:17:26.:17:30.

This includes 5000 people with progressive conditions,

:17:31.:17:36.

A survey conducted by the charity MacMillan Cancer Support

:17:37.:17:46.

found that one in ten cancer patients would struggle

:17:47.:17:50.

to pay their rent or mortgage if ESA was cut.

:17:51.:17:54.

The key issue is that they are not fit for work.

:17:55.:17:58.

So suggesting that removing financial incentives

:17:59.:18:01.

will somehow make them fit for work is quite frankly ridiculous.

:18:02.:18:05.

We must remember at this stage that the Prime Minister commited

:18:06.:18:09.

before the election last year not to cut benefits to disabled people.

:18:10.:18:13.

Politics Home website quotes an interview with the Prime Minister

:18:14.:18:17.

that he gave to BBC Breakfast where he said that his Government

:18:18.:18:20.

would protect disabled people from welfare cuts.

:18:21.:18:24.

This cut to ESA, affecting nearly 500,000 disabled recipients,

:18:25.:18:27.

makes an absolute mockery of that pre-election pledge.

:18:28.:18:31.

But there was a warning shot for the Government

:18:32.:18:33.

From 2017, in the region of 270 disabled

:18:34.:18:39.

people in my constituency alone in South Cambridgeshire will stand

:18:40.:18:44.

to lose ?30, or 29% of their weekly income, if we accept this Bill

:18:45.:18:48.

in its original form and ignore the Lords.

:18:49.:18:53.

For these people, I need to see more detail of the contents of the White

:18:54.:18:58.

Paper, and hear about the financial support too that will be made

:18:59.:19:02.

available before I can fully support the Government.

:19:03.:19:06.

Let's be a Government of sweeping strategic change,

:19:07.:19:13.

but also lets be one with the compassion

:19:14.:19:15.

and the dexterity to look after the little man too.

:19:16.:19:20.

An extra ?1 billion to plug gaps in mental health services in England

:19:21.:19:23.

has been confirmed in the Commons by the Health Minister.

:19:24.:19:27.

Last week, an independent review by a Ttskforce concluded that

:19:28.:19:30.

"under-funded and inadequate care" had led to thousands

:19:31.:19:33.

It found that three quarters of people with mental health

:19:34.:19:39.

problems had received no help at all.

:19:40.:19:42.

We'll spend an extra ?1 billion on mental health by 2021

:19:43.:19:45.

to improve access to services, so that people receive the right

:19:46.:19:50.

care in the right place when they need it most.

:19:51.:19:54.

This will mean increasing the number of people completing talking

:19:55.:19:56.

therapies by nearly three quarters, from 468,000 to 800,000.

:19:57.:20:01.

More than doubling the number of pregnant

:20:02.:20:03.

women or new mothers receiving mental health support,

:20:04.:20:06.

Training around 1700 new therapists, and helping 29,000 more people

:20:07.:20:12.

to find or stay in work through individual placement support

:20:13.:20:16.

Given that mental health receives just

:20:17.:20:20.

under 10% of the total NHS budget, surely mental health services

:20:21.:20:24.

would have been expecting to receive much of this additional money

:20:25.:20:27.

as part of the NHS settlement anyway?

:20:28.:20:30.

Therefore, can the Minister explain how this money can be expected

:20:31.:20:35.

to deliver the transformation in our mental health

:20:36.:20:37.

services that the task force says is urgently required?

:20:38.:20:41.

What was said by the Prime Minister in relation to the task force

:20:42.:20:44.

report represents new money that will be available for the NHS

:20:45.:20:47.

I think we also need to also focus on children.

:20:48.:20:53.

One in ten of our children are suffering from mental health

:20:54.:20:57.

problems between the age of five and 16.

:20:58.:21:00.

And they're waiting a very long time to get help.

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We have the same challenge in Scotland, we measure that,

:21:04.:21:06.

we know how difficult that is, and we've managed to improve it

:21:07.:21:09.

With depression being one of the most terrible

:21:10.:21:15.

diseases someone can suffer, not only because of the disease,

:21:16.:21:19.

but also because of the stigma attached.

:21:20.:21:21.

Can I also congratulate the writers of Coronation Street

:21:22.:21:23.

for their storyline which was dealt with sensitively and which addressed

:21:24.:21:27.

some of the stigmas and stereotypes that come with that.

:21:28.:21:29.

So can I urge my Right Honourable friend to make sure that as much

:21:30.:21:33.

effort is also put into tackling the stigma of mental health,

:21:34.:21:35.

as well as the practical investment in services that can

:21:36.:21:39.

What did you do last time you had to get rid of an outdated mobile

:21:40.:21:45.

In the Lords, there were calls for the Government to do more

:21:46.:21:49.

to stop electronic goods ending up in landfill sites.

:21:50.:21:53.

Couldn't the Government be doing more to set

:21:54.:21:55.

minimum standards and incentives to business so that product

:21:56.:21:59.

longevity and reuse cecome the norm rather than the exception

:22:00.:22:04.

which is what is the case at the moment?

:22:05.:22:06.

The Government supports the Electrical and Electronic

:22:07.:22:16.

Equipment Sustainablity Action Plan, esap.

:22:17.:22:17.

This agreement has 74 signatories, including

:22:18.:22:19.

global manufacturers who represent 66% of UK TV sales,

:22:20.:22:21.

55% of washing machines and 49% of fridge freezers.

:22:22.:22:26.

We believe that esap will have a significant impact

:22:27.:22:30.

Is the Minister aware that there are people who recycle

:22:31.:22:36.

Some years ago I went to see a man who had set up a business at that

:22:37.:22:44.

time, very successfully, and the equipment, when recycled

:22:45.:22:49.

was sent to Africa and countries who were

:22:50.:22:51.

Why is there not more encouragement for

:22:52.:22:55.

providing these bits of equipment that are still valuable to other

:22:56.:22:58.

My Lords, I think my noble friend is right.

:22:59.:23:03.

That not only are they valued around the world, but also

:23:04.:23:06.

The whole point of esap is to ensure that the products last longer

:23:07.:23:11.

This is the whole thrust of what we want to do.

:23:12.:23:17.

I think these are early beginnings, but there is a great potential,

:23:18.:23:20.

not only for the environment, but for the economy too.

:23:21.:23:23.

Nothing exemplifies our society's throwaway attitude

:23:24.:23:27.

more than modern smartphones which are almost impossible to get

:23:28.:23:31.

repaired at a reasonable cost, with batteries that are fixed

:23:32.:23:34.

in them and processers which are designed to not

:23:35.:23:37.

In contrast, there now are some social

:23:38.:23:45.

enterprises which are producing phones, such as Fairphone,

:23:46.:23:49.

Where they are using ethically sourced materials,

:23:50.:23:57.

where every part can be replaced or upgraded when necessary.

:23:58.:24:00.

I wonder if the noble lord and Minister would

:24:01.:24:02.

agree with me that this sort of initiative needs to be held up

:24:03.:24:05.

to the technology industry as a good example of a way forward to find

:24:06.:24:09.

My Lords, I endorse all that the right reverend

:24:10.:24:14.

The whole thrust of what we want to achieve is better

:24:15.:24:19.

design for waste prevention, reuse and recycling.

:24:20.:24:21.

I think Fairphone is in good example, and if the Dutch can

:24:22.:24:25.

Finally, a new railway line to run under London is to be named

:24:26.:24:31.

Crossrail will be known as the Elizabeth Line once it opens

:24:32.:24:36.

The announcement was made as the Queen visited

:24:37.:24:41.

the under-construction Bond Street station.

:24:42.:24:44.

She unveiled the purple Elizabeth line logo which will feature

:24:45.:24:48.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said that as well as radically

:24:49.:24:53.

improving travel right across the city,

:24:54.:24:56.

the Elizabeth line will provide a lasting tribute to our

:24:57.:24:59.

The new name was officially announced to MPs in the Commons.

:25:00.:25:06.

Our Queen opened the Victoria line service in 1969.

:25:07.:25:12.

The Fleet line which we named the Jubilee line in honour

:25:13.:25:15.

of her first 25 years on the throne in 1979.

:25:16.:25:19.

And she is the first reigning monarch,

:25:20.:25:21.

Mr Speaker, to travel on the London Underground.

:25:22.:25:25.

I am told that trains are her Majesty's favourite

:25:26.:25:27.

And she is a frequent user of both the royal train,

:25:28.:25:32.

And I hope that Her Majesty would consider an

:25:33.:25:42.

invitation to travel on the first passenger train that will pass

:25:43.:25:44.

through the Elizabeth line's tunnels in December 2018.

:25:45.:25:46.

And that invitation from Claire Perry brings us

:25:47.:25:48.

to the end of this edition of the programme, but do join me

:25:49.:25:51.

at the same time tomorrow, when among other things we'll

:25:52.:25:54.

have the highlights from Prime Minister's Questions.

:25:55.:25:58.

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