:00:07. > :00:10.My honourable friend has put his finger on the Mail about the
:00:10. > :00:15.problems of programmes that have gone on before. They didn't offer
:00:15. > :00:20.real choice and were not open to real competition. The Green deal
:00:20. > :00:26.will change all of that. It will bring it real opportunities for
:00:26. > :00:30.local players to come to this market. The Secretary of State will
:00:30. > :00:37.know that for energy security and diversity, we have got to invest
:00:37. > :00:41.now in big infrastructure projects, and he knows of that name deism, so
:00:41. > :00:47.rampant in questions in this chamber, is a great barrier to
:00:47. > :00:52.planning permission. What will he do about planning permission to
:00:52. > :00:56.achieve these objectives? honourable gentleman will know that
:00:56. > :01:03.this has passed a planning statement relevant to this issue.
:01:03. > :01:07.We have brought forward the National Framework. We need to make
:01:07. > :01:12.sure that the local democratic voices heard, but we do need to
:01:12. > :01:17.source investment that we all support. So there is a balance, but
:01:17. > :01:24.we are determined to see the investment this country needs.
:01:24. > :01:32.now come to business questions. Could the Leader of the House
:01:32. > :01:39.please give us the business for next week. The business the next
:01:39. > :01:44.week will be: Monday made 21st, remaining stages of the Finance
:01:44. > :01:49.Bill. Tuesday May 22nd: Financial services bill followed by a third
:01:49. > :01:54.reading of the Civil Aviation Bill. Wednesday made 23rd, second reading
:01:54. > :01:58.of the electoral registration and administration bill. Followed by a
:01:58. > :02:05.European document relating to the proceeds of crime. Thursday 24th
:02:05. > :02:09.May, motion on the Whitsun recess adjourned. Thank you, Mr Deputy
:02:09. > :02:14.Speaker. Can I thank the Leader of the House for his statement and
:02:14. > :02:24.financing business. We can also congratulate our noble friend the
:02:24. > :02:26.
:02:26. > :02:29.Member for North East Derbyshire on her re-election. Last week's
:02:29. > :02:34.Queen's speech demonstrated this government has already run out of
:02:34. > :02:39.ideas. Only 19 announced bills, and have them, three are career overs
:02:39. > :02:42.from last session. Now as many as five of the new bills may have
:02:42. > :02:46.their passage delayed until the next session, making this the
:02:46. > :02:53.slimmest Queen's Speech in living memory. Can the Leader of the House
:02:53. > :02:59.tell us why? Today is the International Day against
:02:59. > :03:03.homophobia and Trans phobia. It is right that we market in this House.
:03:03. > :03:08.There are five countries where you can still be sentenced to death for
:03:08. > :03:12.being a lesbian or gay, and 76 where it is still illegal. We
:03:12. > :03:19.should pray tribute to all those who are bravely campaigning for
:03:19. > :03:23.equality around the world -- paid tribute. Can we have a statement on
:03:23. > :03:27.the Government's proposal for equal marriage. The Education Minister
:03:27. > :03:30.said he was totally opposed. But across the country there are
:03:30. > :03:36.couples who want to know whether do have a civil partnership or wait
:03:36. > :03:38.until the law is changed. What they don't want is to be in limbo while
:03:38. > :03:42.Conservative MPs fight among themselves and the Government
:03:42. > :03:48.prevaricates. The Prime Minister has said it is an important matter
:03:48. > :03:52.of equality, and I agree. Will the Government now commit to quickly
:03:52. > :03:57.bringing forward legislation on equal marriage? The whole House
:03:57. > :04:00.will be concerned about the eurozone crisis. On Monday, the
:04:00. > :04:05.Chancellor said to be open speculation from some members in
:04:05. > :04:11.the eurozone about the future of some countries in the eurozone is
:04:11. > :04:14.doing real damage across the whole European economy. Only for the
:04:14. > :04:22.Prime Minister to indulge in precisely the same speculation two
:04:22. > :04:26.days later. We have been pushed back into recession. This method
:04:26. > :04:32.has failed in Britain and it is failing across Europe. The Prime
:04:33. > :04:37.Minister should be pushing for a solution to the eurozone crisis. Mr
:04:37. > :04:40.Speaker, Deputy Speaker, at the election, members opposite promised
:04:41. > :04:46.not to cut a frontline services, but that is exactly what the Home
:04:46. > :04:49.Secretary has done. More than 5,000 police officer jobs have been cut.
:04:49. > :04:52.When she spoke to the Police Federation conference yesterday,
:04:52. > :04:57.she insisted they shift the podium because she didn't want to be
:04:57. > :05:02.filmed in front of or conference slogan opposing police cuts. Mr
:05:02. > :05:09.Speaker, you can shift the podium and the camera angle, but you can't
:05:09. > :05:11.shift the responsibility. So could the Leader of the House explained -
:05:11. > :05:14.- arranged the the Home Secretary to make a statement on police
:05:14. > :05:18.numbers so she can explain to the House what has happened to their
:05:18. > :05:22.manifesto promise not to cut frontline staff. And while she is
:05:22. > :05:28.at it, she could also explain the ongoing immigration shambles at
:05:28. > :05:32.Heathrow. Every week we have reports of thousands of people
:05:32. > :05:36.stuck at immigration, passengers queuing for hours while immigration
:05:36. > :05:39.desks are closed. It takes something when even Joan Collins
:05:39. > :05:45.feels the need to tweet from the queue saying that the Home
:05:45. > :05:52.Secretary should get a grip. The immigration Minister's
:05:52. > :05:56.justification for the shambles was it was the wrong type of wind. Mr
:05:56. > :06:00.Deputy Speaker, what is it about this Government and the weather?
:06:00. > :06:05.First they blame the performance of the economy on the snow. Then they
:06:05. > :06:10.say it was the wrong type of rain. Now we have the wrong type of wind.
:06:10. > :06:19.Mr Speaker, could we have a statement on the ministerial code?
:06:19. > :06:22.Does the Minister it -- does the House in tend to amend it so that
:06:22. > :06:26.they can say that Ministers are responsible unless it can be blamed
:06:26. > :06:31.on the weather? Neither the Secretary of State nor his deputy
:06:31. > :06:35.were President -- present at questions this week. They should at
:06:35. > :06:40.least turn up for departmental questions and not leave it to
:06:40. > :06:43.junior Ministers and whips to do their work for them. Could the
:06:43. > :06:49.Leader of the House undertake to make sure senior Ministers are
:06:49. > :06:52.present for all questions in future? Mr Deputy Speaker, justice
:06:53. > :06:57.Ministers and dodge their responsibilities to this House. The
:06:57. > :07:01.Home Secretary refuses to take responsibility for her police cuts.
:07:01. > :07:05.The Immigration Minister refuses to take responsibility for the
:07:05. > :07:09.shambles at Heathrow, and the Chancellor refuses to take
:07:09. > :07:17.responsibility for a double-dip recession made in Downing Street.
:07:18. > :07:21.What a way to start the new Parliamentary session. Can I begin
:07:21. > :07:27.in a conciliatory way and congratulate the honourable lady on
:07:27. > :07:34.her promotion to the chair of a party's and national policy forum.
:07:34. > :07:38.We hope she can do this without becoming a part-time Shadow Leader.
:07:38. > :07:41.I know she will bear in mind what her leader said and generate 10th:
:07:41. > :07:45.In these times, with less money, spending more on one thing means
:07:45. > :07:51.finding the money from somewhere else, something her colleagues seem
:07:51. > :07:53.to have forgotten. Her previous job as shadow chief secretary, she will
:07:54. > :07:58.want to bring some financial discipline to her party Bosman
:07:58. > :08:02.policies if they are to have any credibility with the electorate.
:08:02. > :08:06.Turning to the Queen's Speech, she asserted that we didn't have enough
:08:06. > :08:10.bills in the Queen's Speech. If she looks at the earlier Queen's
:08:10. > :08:20.speeches, she will find that the number of Bills introduced in this
:08:20. > :08:24.session is not dissimilar from those in the 2005, six and seven
:08:25. > :08:27.sessions. And if she looks at the Bill's we are carrying over, she
:08:27. > :08:30.will find there are three Bills carried over from the last session.
:08:30. > :08:34.What we are going to do is what the last government did which is to
:08:34. > :08:39.bring too much legislation to the House of Commons so that they
:08:39. > :08:49.weren't able to process it properly -- what we are not going to do. We
:08:49. > :08:52.
:08:52. > :08:56.are not going to make that mistake. She mentioned that today was a day
:08:56. > :09:00.to celebrate equality. If Mr Speaker had been in the chair, I
:09:00. > :09:05.would have commended the article which he wrote in today's copy of
:09:05. > :09:10.the Independent. Today is International they against
:09:10. > :09:18.homophobia and Trans phobia. The Government is strongly committed to
:09:18. > :09:23.making sure that all groups are free from discrimination. The ban
:09:23. > :09:27.has been lifted a missable partnership taking place a
:09:27. > :09:31.religious premises. We are continuing to remove barriers to
:09:31. > :09:41.tackle prejudice, and we are continuing to consult on the
:09:41. > :09:49.
:09:49. > :09:53.quality of marriage. -- Equality. On policing, can I just remind her
:09:53. > :10:03.that before the last election, the then Home Secretary was asked
:10:03. > :10:10.whether he could guarantee police numbers. He said no. The department
:10:10. > :10:14.has also endorsed cuts of 3.1 billion to the police budget. The
:10:14. > :10:17.effectiveness of policing cannot be measured by the number of officers
:10:17. > :10:21.a loner by reductions in crime and increases in public confidence. It
:10:21. > :10:24.is an inconvenient truth for the honourable lady that while she may
:10:24. > :10:32.suggest that crime is going up, official figures show that police
:10:32. > :10:35.recorded crime showed -- fell by 3%. Turning to immigration, we
:10:35. > :10:38.inherited a shambles at the UK Border Agency which we are in the
:10:38. > :10:42.process of putting right, and she will welcome the announcement by
:10:42. > :10:47.the immigration Minister before the Home Affairs Select Committee that
:10:47. > :10:52.an additional mobile unit is being put in at Heathrow to cope with the
:10:52. > :10:56.delays that she has referred to. I am astonished that she mentioned
:10:56. > :10:59.the absence of the Lord Chancellor at all the questions. She will know
:10:59. > :11:06.that occasionally Ministers have responsibilities other than at the
:11:06. > :11:14.House. As a former Minister, she will be familiar with that. In line
:11:14. > :11:17.with President, he wrote to say that he would be at an
:11:17. > :11:25.international legal forum in Russia. I'm sure that he would have
:11:25. > :11:29.preferred to be here, because he enjoys his time at the despatch box.
:11:29. > :11:39.Can I commend my a horrible Friend the Member for North West
:11:39. > :11:41.
:11:41. > :11:43.Cambridgeshire, who not -- my Al- Finally, can I just say to the
:11:43. > :11:49.honourable lady that it is a fortnight since the Labour Party
:11:49. > :11:53.candidate was defeated in the election for mayor of London. It is
:11:53. > :12:01.less than two months since her party lost Bradford West. So any
:12:01. > :12:04.triumphalism on the part of the honourable lady is very premature.
:12:04. > :12:09.A new report by previous president of the British Veterinary
:12:09. > :12:16.Association says that more than 25% of meat sold in our shops is coming
:12:16. > :12:20.from animals that have not been Prix stunned before slaughter. This
:12:20. > :12:24.figure exceeds easily the needs of some of our communities that have
:12:24. > :12:30.special religious requirements. It suggests that some abattoirs are
:12:30. > :12:35.cutting corners and costs. Could we please have a statement from Defra
:12:35. > :12:42.on what measures are in place to protect animals, and what measures
:12:42. > :12:46.are in place to make sure they are enforced? That is a sensitive issue.
:12:46. > :12:50.Obviously are ideally, all animals should be stunned before slaughter,
:12:50. > :12:55.but people have a preference to have their meat presented in a
:12:55. > :12:57.different way. But I can tell her that we are going to consult on
:12:58. > :13:04.measures to improve the welfare of animals slaughtered in accordance
:13:04. > :13:09.with a religious rights when we consult on measures to implement
:13:09. > :13:11.regulation which comes into effect on 1st January next year. That
:13:11. > :13:16.specifically deal for the Protection of animals at the time
:13:16. > :13:26.of killing, so there will be an opportunity for her to influence
:13:26. > :13:29.
:13:29. > :13:37.the decision-making process later this year. We are all on your side!
:13:37. > :13:47.I would like to thank the leader... Both sides are getting irritated,
:13:47. > :13:49.
:13:49. > :13:54.Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I think the Leader of the House for
:13:54. > :13:57.the announcement of the Prix recess journalist debate next Thursday.
:13:57. > :14:07.Had the backbench business committee been in existence, I am
:14:07. > :14:10.
:14:10. > :14:14.sure we would have looked at scheduling a pre- recess debate. I
:14:14. > :14:18.would like to pay a brief tribute to the outgoing members of the
:14:18. > :14:24.backbench business committee, the members for Kettering, Shipley and
:14:24. > :14:29.especially Wellingborough. Without them, the committee would not be
:14:29. > :14:33.what it is today, and I am sad to see them leave. I welcome the
:14:33. > :14:36.Member for a Nuneaton, Harrow East, and the Member for Southend West
:14:36. > :14:42.who is himself the greatest champion in that house of the Prix
:14:42. > :14:45.recess adjournment debate. There would also just like to say that by
:14:45. > :14:49.the end of the session, I hope that given that the committee is still
:14:49. > :14:52.entirely English in composition, that we can look at having
:14:52. > :14:56.membership from the minority parties in order that we can become
:14:56. > :15:06.a UK backbench business committee rather than just be entirely
:15:06. > :15:08.
:15:08. > :15:12.Can I repeat what I said last night in congratulating the Honourable
:15:12. > :15:18.lady on her re-election. I am grateful for her to endorse the
:15:18. > :15:21.decision about this debate next Thursday, which my Honourable
:15:21. > :15:25.Friend will responsive. She paid tribute to the outgoing members. I
:15:26. > :15:28.am not sure if it would enhance her reputation a fine dust that,
:15:28. > :15:33.because the whole point of the backbench committee is to choose
:15:33. > :15:37.subjects that the Government would not normally have chosen. They did
:15:37. > :15:42.that up until the last regime. I look forward to working with there
:15:42. > :15:46.and the newly elected colleagues over the next -- over the course of
:15:46. > :15:49.this session. Also, to take forward some of the ideas that we have
:15:49. > :15:54.shared in how we can get some certainty in the conventional
:15:54. > :15:59.debates. As far as Scottish members are concerned, her party has better
:15:59. > :16:04.place than my party Tippett members from Scotland on of the backbench
:16:04. > :16:08.business committees. But we have changed the standing orders to
:16:08. > :16:14.enable other members to attend. I hope that is a mood in the right
:16:14. > :16:16.direction. In a written parliamentary answer
:16:16. > :16:20.on eighth March from the independent parliamentary stands
:16:20. > :16:26.authority, I was told that under our publications game, we pro
:16:26. > :16:34.actively publish the minutes of meetings of it so's board. 30
:16:34. > :16:39.minutes ago, the transparency minutes of board meetings revealed
:16:39. > :16:44.that the last recorded public accessible minutes were on 30th
:16:44. > :16:49.January. Knowing how keen it Sir is on every I being dotted and every
:16:49. > :16:52.tee being crossed, and either they have not met for three months or
:16:52. > :16:55.are there not honouring what they should do. Bearing in mind there is
:16:55. > :17:02.a public consultation going on at the moment as to what the public
:17:02. > :17:08.feel the will of an MP is, should we not have a debate?
:17:08. > :17:13.My Honourable Friend is a member of skips there and he will know that
:17:13. > :17:20.on Tuesday, there is a meeting between the two companies. I'm
:17:20. > :17:24.sorry about all these initials! He will have an opportunity on Tuesday
:17:24. > :17:29.morning to put to the chairman of the question that he has just put
:17:29. > :17:33.to me. The chairman will have advance notice of what is coming
:17:33. > :17:38.and he will have in his breast pocket the answer to the question,
:17:38. > :17:42.with specific details as to when his board last met.
:17:42. > :17:47.Whatever happened to the Tory announcement of the school building
:17:47. > :17:57.programme? Several months ago, the State Secretary for Education in
:17:57. > :18:03.answer to me said that the state and would be made -- a statement
:18:03. > :18:05.would be made. Several months have passed and nothing has happened. Is
:18:05. > :18:11.this programme in the long grass with the quality programme, care of
:18:11. > :18:16.the elderly, building houses, the green deal and all the rest of it?
:18:16. > :18:20.We intend to announce which schools will be rebuilt through the
:18:20. > :18:23.priority school building programme by us month. It has been necessary
:18:23. > :18:28.to make specific sex on the building conditions of all schools
:18:28. > :18:33.that have applied, making site visits and we want to get it right.
:18:33. > :18:39.-- specific checks. The schools rebuild through this programme will
:18:39. > :18:42.open as Scheduled and 2014. Is the leader of the house aware
:18:42. > :18:47.that the 44th meeting of the British-Irish Parliamentary
:18:47. > :18:51.Association took place in Dublin for two days this week, attended by
:18:51. > :18:59.many Honourable Members from this house and another place, and indeed
:18:59. > :19:03.from the Irish Parliament, including their leader? The Dail is
:19:03. > :19:07.discussing that meeting to discuss trade, environment, transport,
:19:07. > :19:11.Northern Ireland and environmental policies. We did not be helpful to
:19:11. > :19:14.this house and to another place if time were made available for us to
:19:14. > :19:19.report on the proceedings of the British-Irish Parliamentary
:19:19. > :19:22.Association? I have lots of work my Honourable
:19:22. > :19:27.Friend does as chair of the Northern Ireland Select Committee.
:19:27. > :19:31.He is also involved in the grip he has just mentioned. I don't know
:19:31. > :19:36.whether there is a brick through the Northern Ireland Select
:19:36. > :19:39.Committee and doing a report on these issues which could then find
:19:39. > :19:43.a or whether he could apply to the newly-established backbench
:19:43. > :19:47.business committee, or whether next Thursday, when we have the Prix
:19:47. > :19:50.recess adjournment debate, he would find it possible to speak on this
:19:50. > :19:55.subject and get a response from my Honourable Friend, the deputy
:19:55. > :20:00.leader. Answer the leader of the house
:20:00. > :20:08.would agree that it is important to keep good communications between
:20:08. > :20:14.members and their constituents. The last three days, the telephone has
:20:14. > :20:20.been out of action and my office. I don't know if anybody else has had
:20:20. > :20:25.the exasperation of trying to contact British Telecom recently. I
:20:25. > :20:30.spent 45 minutes on the telephone yesterday trying to get hold of
:20:30. > :20:34.somebody I could stop to about the problems. My Office spent three
:20:34. > :20:39.days trying to get hold of a person to correct the fault. British
:20:39. > :20:46.Telecom was privatised by this Government in 1984. It made a
:20:46. > :20:50.profit last year of �2.4 billion. Surely, somebody can look at this
:20:50. > :20:58.problem, given the difficulties it is probably -- causing both members
:20:58. > :21:04.and their constituencies I am sorry to hear about your problems.
:21:04. > :21:10.I have always find clover Fife, who works for BT, enormously helpful in
:21:10. > :21:13.solving constituency problems. I will bring to her the difficulties
:21:13. > :21:20.that you face in your constituency office and see if they can be put
:21:20. > :21:24.right. The wants to get everyone in.
:21:24. > :21:32.Speedy questions and shorter answers may be a quick way of doing
:21:32. > :21:36.I am sure I am not alone in having to deal with the significant amount
:21:36. > :21:39.of constituent casework concerning the family court system and a
:21:39. > :21:43.feeling that my constituents find when they are dealing with such
:21:43. > :21:47.service. Could the leader find time for an urgent debate on this topic
:21:47. > :21:52.to reassure my constituents that all that can be done has been done
:21:52. > :21:55.to reform the system? We will be introducing a family and
:21:55. > :22:01.children's Bill which will be introduced -- addressing some of
:22:01. > :22:04.these issues. It will take six months for care cases to be
:22:04. > :22:08.completed and focus on issues which are essential to decide whether a
:22:08. > :22:11.court order is made. I would be testing the patience of a read out
:22:11. > :22:15.the other issues in the bill. But this is a priority for this
:22:15. > :22:20.Government and it is in the Queen's Speech.
:22:20. > :22:25.Can we have a debate about military procurement in Government? In
:22:25. > :22:31.particular, about how resourced -- bust the tendering processes and
:22:31. > :22:34.out due diligence is progressed. This has been prompted by the
:22:34. > :22:38.experience of the company in my constituency who made military
:22:38. > :22:43.comments. They tend to be significantly lower contract price
:22:43. > :22:47.than a Spanish company. The Spanish company won a contract. They then
:22:47. > :22:51.offered to sub-contract the entire business to the company in my
:22:51. > :22:55.constituency at that significantly lower price.
:22:55. > :23:00.I take it this was a contract with which the Ministry of Defence was
:23:00. > :23:03.the prime purchaser. I will certainly raise this issue with the
:23:03. > :23:06.Secretary of State and see if there has been any irregularity had asked
:23:06. > :23:10.him to write to the Honourable Member.
:23:10. > :23:15.Can we have a debate on trade? In 30 years under the previous
:23:15. > :23:20.Government, the automotive sector was in a trade deficit. In just two
:23:20. > :23:24.years, it has become a trade surplus. With the very good news
:23:24. > :23:28.today of Vauxhall Motors further investment in UK manufacturing, it
:23:28. > :23:33.is important for this house to have a debate and understand how we are
:23:33. > :23:37.rebalancing the economy. I'm grateful to my honourable
:23:37. > :23:42.friend and I notice the Honourable lady did not mention the good news
:23:42. > :23:46.at Ellesmere Port tough, securing 2,100 jobs and paving the way for
:23:46. > :23:50.another 700 as they move from two sister three. My Honourable Friend
:23:50. > :23:54.makes a good point in that it emphasises in at how we are being
:23:54. > :23:57.successful in rebalancing the economy away from over-reliance on
:23:57. > :24:01.financial services back on to manufacturing. He makes the point
:24:01. > :24:05.that a number of other major motor manufacturers are investing in this
:24:05. > :24:09.country, but also, some of the up and component suppliers are also
:24:09. > :24:14.moving back to the UK so be get the benefit of the whole supply chain.
:24:14. > :24:19.I am sure the leader of the house will want to listen to the
:24:19. > :24:24.catalogue of disasters that have affected my constituents. He has a
:24:24. > :24:29.problem at the age MRC. They keep taking monies from two separate
:24:29. > :24:33.employer relationships he got. 31st January, I wrote to them. Eight in
:24:34. > :24:37.the report, no reply. I chase the game and they said there would be a
:24:37. > :24:44.reply in 20th April. No reply. I contacted the minister on the as of
:24:44. > :24:48.May. 16th May, still no response. My constituent is still having
:24:48. > :24:53.money withdrawn from his account. Can the leader of the house please
:24:53. > :24:56.ask the Treasury minister to come to the house of Commons and explain
:24:56. > :25:02.whether his department is simply incompetent or whether it does not
:25:02. > :25:05.care about my constituents. Of course Treasury ministers care.
:25:05. > :25:09.The Chancellor of the Exchequer will be at this dispatch box in a
:25:09. > :25:13.few moments time. Rather than waiting for a debate, if the
:25:13. > :25:17.honourable lady will that be have the details, I will see that the
:25:17. > :25:24.appropriate Treasury minister gets on to the case. If there is an
:25:24. > :25:27.injustice, we will see that it stops straight away.
:25:27. > :25:31.The Government is investing heavily in rail infrastructure across the
:25:31. > :25:36.North, with the electrification of the Trans Pennine route. The big
:25:36. > :25:39.decision is coming up about the big decision about the northern hub
:25:39. > :25:43.investment programme, which was simulate 20,000 jobs across the
:25:43. > :25:46.North. Could we have another debate on the fully funded northern
:25:46. > :25:49.harbour project, particularly focusing on the support the scheme
:25:49. > :25:55.is getting from local enterprise partnerships and the private
:25:55. > :25:57.sector? This is an important project and
:25:57. > :26:01.the Secretary of State for Transport was speaking about it
:26:01. > :26:05.yesterday. I cannot promise another debate in the very near future. But
:26:05. > :26:09.we have agreed to fund Network Rail up to �130 million to implement the
:26:09. > :26:13.package that he has just referred to. The increasing capacity on the
:26:13. > :26:18.Sheffield Manchester line, increasing the speeds on this line,
:26:18. > :26:22.and also the Manchester to Bradford and Manchester to Preston viable to
:26:22. > :26:25.lines. All these investments will be subject to value for money being
:26:25. > :26:31.confirmed, but it is a demonstration of our commitment to
:26:31. > :26:35.infrastructure. On 15th March, the Government
:26:35. > :26:39.tabled a series of changes to the immigration laws. Some of these are
:26:39. > :26:45.perfectly sensible, but some of them will lead to a new generation
:26:45. > :26:49.of domestic workers living in virtual servitude. These come into
:26:49. > :26:55.force if after 40 days there has been no motion in this house tabled
:26:55. > :27:00.to oppose them. I know the Government has difficulty working
:27:00. > :27:04.out when a 40 days laps, but they lapse tomorrow. The Government has
:27:04. > :27:07.already failed to provide an opportunity for us to debate this.
:27:07. > :27:14.Will the Minister delayed the introduction of the implementation
:27:14. > :27:19.of these until such time as we have a proper debate?
:27:19. > :27:24.The procedure that we are her opting for is the same procedure
:27:24. > :27:28.that he adopted when he was deputy leader of the house.
:27:28. > :27:32.The decision of the right honourable gentleman to re-order
:27:32. > :27:35.his priorities may or may not have been a welcome development to the
:27:35. > :27:40.opposition, but it is a welcome development for those of us who are
:27:40. > :27:45.concerned about making best use of tidal and hydro energy schemes.
:27:45. > :27:49.Will the Government make time for her at a debate on the knees for
:27:49. > :27:54.investing in tidal and hydro schemes, not just like the ones
:27:54. > :27:57.that the Severn Estuary, but also such as that at Morecambe Bay. We
:27:57. > :28:03.need to create clean green energy on a massive scale and thousands of
:28:03. > :28:07.jobs. The sorrow important issues and part of our agenda to diversify
:28:07. > :28:12.supply of electricity generation. I say to my Honourable Friend that
:28:12. > :28:15.yesterday we did have a debate on that these issues. We just had
:28:15. > :28:20.questions to the Secretary of State and his team of ministers, so I
:28:20. > :28:26.cannot promise another immediate opportunity to address these issues.
:28:26. > :28:29.But later in the session, there will be a pill and electricity
:28:29. > :28:35.market fall and this may be an opportunity for him to develop his
:28:35. > :28:39.team. The leader of the house has already
:28:39. > :28:45.noted that today is the International Day against, phobia
:28:45. > :28:50.and Trans gender and transsexuals will be a. Can there be a debate on
:28:50. > :28:53.tackling homophobic bullying in schools?
:28:53. > :28:57.This is an important issue and I want to know whether it would be
:28:57. > :29:01.appropriate for the Honourable lady to make an early application for
:29:01. > :29:04.that backbench business committee to see if a debate on bullying in
:29:04. > :29:08.schools and the particular type of bullying she has referred to be
:29:08. > :29:13.something that we should take forward. Be can be proud that the
:29:13. > :29:18.UK has been recognised as the number one country in Europe for
:29:18. > :29:22.her rights for the International Lesbian and Gay Association.
:29:23. > :29:26.Car and we have a statement on how this Government is helping hard-
:29:26. > :29:30.pressed households by freezing council tax, something the last
:29:30. > :29:34.Labour Government completely failed to do. Council tax more than
:29:34. > :29:38.doubled during their term in office. Not only is this Government to
:29:38. > :29:42.living in council tax pledges, but so is by district councils. We are
:29:42. > :29:47.currently freezing council tax for the third successive year.
:29:47. > :29:52.I'm grateful to my Honourable Friend for reminding the house of
:29:52. > :29:55.the combined saving of this two years freeze of �147,000. I pay
:29:55. > :30:00.tribute to the local authorities to have made these difficult decisions
:30:00. > :30:03.to pass the benefits through and he does contrast the record of the
:30:03. > :30:13.first two years of the coalition Government with the previous record
:30:13. > :30:13.
:30:13. > :30:17.of the Labour Government when I wonder if the right honourable
:30:17. > :30:23.gentleman has seen the report by three independent housing
:30:23. > :30:27.organisations on the emerging housing crisis? That report
:30:27. > :30:34.confirms that last year, only 109,000 homes were completed, much
:30:34. > :30:39.less than the 140,000 on average of the last Government, and less than
:30:39. > :30:46.half the number that the Government nose needs to meet demand.
:30:46. > :30:53.Homelessness is up 27%. Overcrowding, over 600,000
:30:53. > :30:57.households affected. This is a win- win situation. The reality is that
:30:57. > :31:03.to build homes will increase growth over the Prime Minister is talking
:31:03. > :31:10.about. Will the right honourable gentleman to give government time
:31:10. > :31:17.for a debate on housing? As a former Housing Minister, I do take
:31:17. > :31:20.a close interest. When we came to office, we had the lowest peace
:31:20. > :31:26.time housing records since the 1920s, so what we inherited was not
:31:26. > :31:33.very positive. Am sure he will welcome are affordable homes
:31:33. > :31:37.programme, which is set to exceed expectations. I hope he would also
:31:37. > :31:41.welcome what we have done on the planning side to get decisions made
:31:41. > :31:43.more quickly, and what we've been doing in making public land
:31:43. > :31:49.available the House builders to build, what we have done to help
:31:49. > :31:54.first-time buyers, and also the fiscal decisions we have taken to
:31:54. > :31:57.allow interest rates to remain low and help first-time buyers.
:31:57. > :32:01.children and families Minister announced earlier this week her
:32:01. > :32:05.response to the green paper on special educational needs. His area
:32:05. > :32:08.of policy has been ignored for far too long, where parents have to
:32:09. > :32:12.battle for their children to receive the education they need.
:32:12. > :32:17.Can we have a debate on this important area of policy so that we
:32:17. > :32:21.can push progress much quicker? would welcome such a debate, and we
:32:21. > :32:26.are committed to a draft Bill on this matter, where there will be an
:32:26. > :32:30.opportunity to take it forward. We want to ensure that services for
:32:30. > :32:32.disabled children and young people and those of special educational
:32:32. > :32:37.needs are planned jointly by local authorities and commissioning
:32:37. > :32:46.groups, and we want to give our children who have challenges a
:32:46. > :32:47.fairer deal than they have at the moment. I'm sure everyone in the
:32:47. > :32:54.House would join me in congratulating the Glasgow Labour
:32:54. > :32:59.Party on their success in the elections last week, helping to
:32:59. > :33:03.crash the SNP juggernaut. One reason for that success is the
:33:03. > :33:07.policies that Glasgow Labour put forward, including the jobs
:33:07. > :33:12.guarantee scheme. In the ongoing unemployment crisis, can we have a
:33:12. > :33:15.debate in the House on that question? If he looks up in men
:33:15. > :33:17.under the Queen's Speech which has been tabled and which we are about
:33:17. > :33:22.to debate, he will see that unemployment is a specific issue
:33:23. > :33:25.which has been mentioned, so the answer is yes, I can gap grant the
:33:25. > :33:33.debate on the subject he had referred to, and it will start in
:33:33. > :33:39.20 minutes. Please can we have a debate on encouraging
:33:39. > :33:41.entrepreneurialism in young people in schools and colleges? I went to
:33:41. > :33:46.harried at college and was impressed by the pitches and
:33:46. > :33:49.ability of the people I met. Young people just need the opportunity in
:33:49. > :33:56.our education system to understand the excitement and rewards of a
:33:56. > :34:00.career in business. I commend what my honourable friend has done, and
:34:00. > :34:08.I can't think of anybody who looks less like a dragon! It is important
:34:08. > :34:13.to look that reward children for the financial challenges in life.
:34:13. > :34:16.Pupils are given a relatively small sum of money and challenged to let
:34:16. > :34:24.it grow. There has been an increasing self-employment young
:34:24. > :34:30.people, which is encouraging. I applaud his encouraging young
:34:30. > :34:37.people in his constituency to become attuned to financial matters.
:34:37. > :34:41.On Tuesday, the Member for carding Valley raise the issue of how the
:34:41. > :34:47.principles of the rehabilitation of offenders Act are being undermined
:34:48. > :34:53.by CRB Cech, whereby a people's lives are being blighted for ever
:34:53. > :34:57.by it cautions from decades before. In view of the utterly complacent
:34:57. > :35:02.reply from the Minister, can we have a debate to remedy this
:35:02. > :35:08.ongoing injustice? rehabilitation of offenders
:35:08. > :35:12.legislation has recently been reviewed. I was certainly take on
:35:12. > :35:14.board the. Do the right honourable member makes to see if any further
:35:14. > :35:17.tweaks are needed to the legislation to make sure that
:35:17. > :35:27.people are not unjustly penalised for relatively trivial offences
:35:27. > :35:28.
:35:28. > :35:33.that may have happened for some time ago when they seek employment.
:35:33. > :35:43.Given that politicians and the Congo -- Democratic Republic of
:35:43. > :35:47.Congo have claimed that payments offered foreign gilts payment to
:35:48. > :35:55.give foreign companies offshore mining activities, can we have a
:35:55. > :36:00.debate on overseas aid? My right honourable friend the Secretary of
:36:00. > :36:05.State debated this at some length in the House. On the specific issue
:36:05. > :36:08.mentioned here, it is not right to withhold support to the DRC. The
:36:08. > :36:13.aid which we give does reach some very poor people who would be
:36:13. > :36:19.deprived of the assistance that they need. But I will draw his
:36:19. > :36:24.concern to the attention of my right honourable friend. The Leader
:36:24. > :36:26.of the House will be aware that small and medium businesses in my
:36:26. > :36:34.constituency are eager to respond to the Government challenge to
:36:34. > :36:37.export more to Brazil, Russia, China and India, but did he also
:36:37. > :36:42.see Lord Digby Jones's remarks that the UK trade and investment arm of
:36:42. > :36:49.the Foreign Office has been devastated. What help can we give
:36:49. > :36:58.small and medium but as in -- businesses in constituencies like
:36:58. > :37:01.mine to export to these countries? They recently held a seminar in my
:37:01. > :37:05.constituency for small and medium- size enterprises wanting to export.
:37:05. > :37:12.It was well-attended and have found to be of great value. I couldn't
:37:13. > :37:19.praise more highly the input of the UK TI into that initiative. By
:37:19. > :37:24.encourage other members to contact them and have a similar conference.
:37:24. > :37:30.Another hidden a scandalous form of discrimination in this country is
:37:30. > :37:34.the reluctance of businesses, often small businesses, to hire women of
:37:34. > :37:38.child-bearing age because they fear that they may take maternity leave.
:37:38. > :37:41.Could we have a debate on shared parental leave, and the importance
:37:41. > :37:47.that this will halve in ensuring that that form of hidden
:37:47. > :37:52.discrimination ends? I applaud what a horrible friend has said, and it
:37:52. > :37:55.is indeed a policy to move towards more flexible parental leave so
:37:56. > :38:00.parents can share caring responsibilities. We are working
:38:00. > :38:03.with businesses to create a more flexible system of parental leave.
:38:04. > :38:08.Parents will be given the choice to determine how they take leave for
:38:08. > :38:12.child care, and they will be able to divide the majority of the lead
:38:12. > :38:19.into blocks and split it between both parents. I hope that will
:38:19. > :38:22.remove some of the barriers. Last year, I raised with the Leader of
:38:22. > :38:27.the House the tragic case of my constituent Joe Arthur who was
:38:27. > :38:31.killed on holiday in Greece in 2006, and the family's fight for justice.
:38:31. > :38:36.This week the family have again been aired degrees, and yet again
:38:36. > :38:40.the trial has stalled. Can the Leader of the House arrange for me
:38:40. > :38:42.to meet urgently with a Minister from the Foreign Office to offer
:38:42. > :38:48.assistance to the family, because this situation cannot be allowed to
:38:48. > :38:51.continue. I'm sorry to hear of the problems which confront the
:38:51. > :38:59.honourable lady's constituents. It so happened that a constituent of
:38:59. > :39:02.mine was killed in Greece last year, and the family are having the same
:39:02. > :39:08.problems finding out whether they can play a role in proceedings and
:39:08. > :39:13.when the trial will be held. I will ask a friend in the Foreign Office
:39:13. > :39:18.and to contact her and see what assistance they can give to the
:39:18. > :39:21.family. I support the Government been putting public sector pensions
:39:21. > :39:26.on an affordable and sustainable footing, and in that spirit, could
:39:26. > :39:30.we have a debate on the pension contributions of judges? Judges are
:39:30. > :39:36.being asked to make a contribution of just 2% towards their pension,
:39:36. > :39:39.which can be neither affordable nor sustainable. Surely my right
:39:39. > :39:42.honourable friend must agree that it is wrong that judges should pay
:39:42. > :39:46.less intent towards their pensions than up of a public sector workers
:39:46. > :39:50.are being asked to pay an increased contributions. I can say that there
:39:50. > :39:55.will be an opportunity going to debate this. We are committed to
:39:55. > :40:02.producing legislation on public service pensions. There will be an
:40:02. > :40:10.opportunity for him if he finds to propose the necessary amendments to
:40:10. > :40:14.the legislation. Mr Deputy Speaker, yesterday the Prime Minister was
:40:14. > :40:19.asked about the cut in the number of frontline police officers, and
:40:19. > :40:21.answered by talking about the proportion. Can the Leader of the
:40:21. > :40:25.House impress on his colleagues the importance of asking the question
:40:25. > :40:30.asked and not one they would rather have been asked so that next and
:40:30. > :40:36.that question is asked, he gives the answer which a point of clarity
:40:36. > :40:42.is over 5,000? I think with respect of that is a game which we can play
:40:43. > :40:46.as well, having listened to the previous prime Minister for some
:40:46. > :40:50.Third genius. One of my colleagues actually read a book compiling not
:40:50. > :40:56.just the failure to answer but actually be inaccurate answers that
:40:56. > :41:02.the previous Prime Minister gave. The Prime Minister always answers
:41:02. > :41:08.questions as accurately and as honestly and has openly as he can,
:41:08. > :41:16.and I would rebut any criticism of his performance at this despatch
:41:16. > :41:20.box. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. Despite the the Scottish Parliament
:41:20. > :41:25.and the Welsh and Northern Irish assemblies, we continue to have
:41:25. > :41:29.questions in this House, often dominated by questions by English
:41:29. > :41:34.MPs provided by the whips office. If we are going to carry on with
:41:34. > :41:42.this, is it not time also to have English questions so that English
:41:42. > :41:45.MPs Ken raise questions that are important to the English people?
:41:45. > :41:49.The principle of oral questions are put a house should have opportunity
:41:49. > :41:53.to halt Secretaries of State and Ministers to account, and that is
:41:53. > :41:58.why there is a separate Northern Ireland, Scotland and Welsh
:41:58. > :42:02.questions. English Ministers have to answer for English related
:42:02. > :42:05.matters when they are at the despatch box. Of the House wants to
:42:05. > :42:10.hold the Government to account, the best way to do it is by a series of
:42:10. > :42:14.department are questions, which is what we have at the moment. With
:42:15. > :42:18.that the publication of the BBC Trust latest plans for savings,
:42:18. > :42:23.will the House have an early opportunity to debate these plans,
:42:23. > :42:27.and in particular the plans for local radio? The reason I ask is
:42:27. > :42:35.because of excellent services like Radio Humberside that covers my
:42:35. > :42:40.constituency, and this week we saw the radio show Beryl and Betty,
:42:40. > :42:44.where the two ladies are 86 and 90, winning the Sony Gold Award for the
:42:44. > :42:47.excellence of the programme. BBC is an independent organisation
:42:48. > :42:51.responsible for how they allocate their funds and where they have to
:42:51. > :42:55.find savings. If she wants to make an application to the backbench
:42:55. > :43:05.business committee for a debate on how the BBC is organised, I'm sure
:43:05. > :43:05.
:43:05. > :43:08.she would get a warm representative -- reception. Earlier this week,
:43:08. > :43:13.the All Party Parliamentary Group on pharmacy published its report
:43:13. > :43:17.after a six-month inquiry into medicine shortages where patients
:43:17. > :43:21.want to go and get their prescriptions are fulfilled. The
:43:21. > :43:26.difficulty which they have had is they can't always get them. Could
:43:26. > :43:29.we have a debate or at least a ministerial statement to make sure
:43:29. > :43:36.that we understand what the Government proposes to do about
:43:36. > :43:40.this position? I appreciate the work, are all friend does as the
:43:40. > :43:46.vice chair of this group. There are 900 million prescriptions issued
:43:46. > :43:55.each year for some 16,000 medicine's, and some of them are in
:43:55. > :43:59.short supply. -- some 16,000 medicines. If a pharmacy cannot get
:43:59. > :44:04.a medicine it needs from the wholesaler, it can go direct to the
:44:04. > :44:10.supplier. But we do want to response to the suggestions in the
:44:10. > :44:17.report. Please could we have the chance to debate the Government's
:44:17. > :44:20.thoughts on a regional pay? There what government last week produced
:44:20. > :44:28.a paper in response to the consultation, and it would be in
:44:28. > :44:34.port and to debate how unfair these proposals are to areas like Newport.
:44:34. > :44:38.It might be an order to raise the matter as an amendment to the
:44:39. > :44:43.debate. I welcome the contribution to the consultation process which
:44:43. > :44:48.she has referred to, they think the consultation ends later this year.
:44:48. > :44:51.At that point it might be sensible to have a debate to indicate