:00:00. > :00:00.and the support given to local to deliver immediately for their
:00:00. > :00:00.immediate needs and recovery following thereafter. We have
:00:00. > :00:00.continued to make funds available to do it, we have made that commitment
:00:00. > :00:09.and we will stick to it. Business question, Mr Chris Bryant. Will the
:00:10. > :00:15.Leader of the House give us the future business? Mr Speaker, next
:00:16. > :00:18.week, Monday the 29th of February, we will start with a motion to
:00:19. > :00:22.approve a statutory instrument relating to the European Union
:00:23. > :00:27.referendum and there will then be an opposition half day debate on the
:00:28. > :00:32.UK's steel industry. Tuesday the 1st of March will be the first allotted
:00:33. > :00:36.day of estimates. There will be a debate on the foreign Commonwealth
:00:37. > :00:40.Office and the 2015 Spending Review, followed by a debate on the reform
:00:41. > :00:46.of the police spending for Miller. On the 2nd of March, the second
:00:47. > :00:51.allotted this village today for estimates, followed by a debate upon
:00:52. > :00:55.end of life car. The House will then be asked to agree all outstanding
:00:56. > :01:00.estimates, followed by proceedings on the appropriation and adjustments
:01:01. > :01:05.bill. Further details will be in the report. That may if necessary be
:01:06. > :01:08.considered by of loot followed by considerations of Lords amendments.
:01:09. > :01:12.On the 3rd of March, a debate on the motion of gangs and serious youth
:01:13. > :01:15.violence, followed by a general debate on Welsh affairs, subjects
:01:16. > :01:18.brought forward by the backbench business committee. On the 4th of
:01:19. > :01:23.March, we will be considering Private members alter macro bills.
:01:24. > :01:26.The provisional business for the week commencing the seventh of will
:01:27. > :01:32.include a second reading of the policing and crime Bill. The 8th of
:01:33. > :01:35.March, remaining stages of the enterprise Bill, Lords, day one,
:01:36. > :01:40.followed by a debate on the motion for International Women's Day,
:01:41. > :01:44.determined by the backbench business committee. On the 9th of March, we
:01:45. > :01:49.have the conclusion of the remaining stages of the enterprise Bill,
:01:50. > :01:53.Lords. Followed, if necessary, by consideration of Lords amendments.
:01:54. > :01:56.On the 10th of March, consideration in committee and remaining stages of
:01:57. > :02:01.the Northern Ireland Stormont agreement and implementation plan
:02:02. > :02:05.Bill, followed by business to be nominated by the business backbench
:02:06. > :02:08.committee. On the 11th of March, Private members bills. I would also
:02:09. > :02:13.like to inform the House that the business in Westminster Hall for the
:02:14. > :02:18.3rd of March and the 7th of March will be on the third, a debate on
:02:19. > :02:23.the offshore oil gas industry, and on the 7th of March, relating to
:02:24. > :02:31.income thresholds relating to non-EU citizens and settling in the UK. As
:02:32. > :02:37.I'm sure you are away... Aware, rather! It has not started very
:02:38. > :02:41.well, has it? As I'm sure you are aware, today is Saint Ethelbert's
:02:42. > :02:45.day. I hope you are not confusing him with the other Saint Ethelbert,
:02:46. > :02:54.King of East Anglia, or any of the other Anglo-Saxon saints like, sent
:02:55. > :03:01.birth, or sex Wolf, who was the Bishop of Murcia who founded Peter
:03:02. > :03:08.Borren Abbey. -- Peterborough Abbey. It is particularly relevant today
:03:09. > :03:12.that we commemorate Saint Ethelbert, that is because it was the first
:03:13. > :03:18.king to establish laws in this land planning back banning blood feuds. I
:03:19. > :03:22.suspect the ad campaign and the Conservative Party have need of him.
:03:23. > :03:27.When George Galloway turn up at an ad campaign, half the room left.
:03:28. > :03:30.Nigel Farage thing sad Michael Gove and Boris Johnson are too clever by
:03:31. > :03:32.half and has sacked all of his deputies and the Prime Minister is
:03:33. > :03:38.furious with the Justice Secretary for saying his deal on the EU isn't
:03:39. > :03:41.legally binding. The Johnsons are engaged in a full-blown family bust
:03:42. > :03:46.of Adam mayor of London seems to be feuding with himself. Only this
:03:47. > :03:49.month he wrote that leaving would mean diverting energy from the real
:03:50. > :03:53.problems of the country but now he wants to do precisely that. Not so
:03:54. > :03:59.much veering around like a shopping trolley, more off his trolley, if
:04:00. > :04:03.you ask me. The Prime Minister and the mayor maintained that they are
:04:04. > :04:08.still friends. Well, as Saint Ethelbert might have said, greater
:04:09. > :04:16.love has no man for himself than this, that a man lay down his friend
:04:17. > :04:20.for a chance of getting his job. Talking, Mr Speaker, of mother's
:04:21. > :04:26.advise, my mother told me three things. First, if it is free, take
:04:27. > :04:31.two. Second, never take a man home who is wearing a hat until you have
:04:32. > :04:36.seen him without the hat. And third, much more important I see the Leader
:04:37. > :04:47.of the House agrees with that one... And third, never trust a man wearing
:04:48. > :04:53.slip on shoes. I merely point out... I merely point out, Mr Speaker, that
:04:54. > :04:59.the Prime Minister was wearing slip on shoes yesterday. Now, Mr Speaker,
:05:00. > :05:08.now we know the referendum period will run from the 15th of April to
:05:09. > :05:11.the 23rd of June... Do keep calm. Now we know that the referendum
:05:12. > :05:16.period will run from the 15th of April two the 23rd of June, would it
:05:17. > :05:21.not make sense for the Queen's Speech to be delayed until after the
:05:22. > :05:26.referendum in late June or early July? And secondly, the House did
:05:27. > :05:30.not sit in the immediate run-up to the referendums in 1975 and 2014
:05:31. > :05:33.because they coincided with normal recess dates, but should we not do
:05:34. > :05:38.the same in relation to this referendum in June, rise on the 16th
:05:39. > :05:44.of June and return on the 27th of June? I know what you're thinking,
:05:45. > :05:46.Mr Speaker, the Government's business is so threadbare, halal
:05:47. > :05:52.nerd could we keep this session going all the way through to July --
:05:53. > :05:57.how on earth? I have a suggestion, the Government could just hand the
:05:58. > :06:03.rest of the business over to us. We could first of all abolished the
:06:04. > :06:07.Bedroom Tax, secondly save our steel, repeal the gerrymandering of
:06:08. > :06:12.Parliamentary boundaries and force Google to pay their fair share of
:06:13. > :06:17.tax. Just as the French Socialist Government are doing, who are
:06:18. > :06:20.charging Google ?1.3 billion in tax as opposed to this shabby little
:06:21. > :06:28.Tory Government who are letting them get away with a 10th of that, ?130
:06:29. > :06:32.million. Now, Mr Speaker, I welcome that nearly St David's day debate
:06:33. > :06:36.next week on Welsh affairs. It will give members a chance to welcome the
:06:37. > :06:41.750 new jobs just announced by Aston Martin thanks to the work of the
:06:42. > :06:44.Labour Government in the National Assembly and to point out that
:06:45. > :06:50.cancer survival rates have improved faster in Wales than anywhere else
:06:51. > :06:55.in the UK and most importantly, to congratulate subzero, whose new ice
:06:56. > :06:59.cream parlour in the Rhondda has served 10,000 customers in just 11
:07:00. > :07:03.days, proving that all those blasted migrants who came to the valleys
:07:04. > :07:06.from Italy in the 19th century did us a big favour by giving us
:07:07. > :07:13.properly copy and the best ice cream in the country. -- Coffey. Isn't it
:07:14. > :07:17.time that you made sure we had Subzero here in Westminster? I also
:07:18. > :07:21.welcome the International Women's Day debate on the 8th of March, when
:07:22. > :07:25.I hope we can raise important questions such as the horrifying
:07:26. > :07:30.statistic that violent crime, including domestic violence, has
:07:31. > :07:36.risen by 23% in south Wales in recent years. However, Mr Speaker,
:07:37. > :07:39.can we have a statement from the DCM as secretary on the Dame Janet Smith
:07:40. > :07:45.review into sexual abuse by Jimmy Savile? Something was terribly,
:07:46. > :07:49.terribly wrong at the BBC for a long, long time. Staff knew what was
:07:50. > :07:53.going on but were terrified to say anything. Auntie lost her wake,
:07:54. > :07:59.children were abused and the victims were badly let down -- lost their
:08:00. > :08:07.way. We must make sure this never, ever happens again. Private Acts of
:08:08. > :08:10.Parliament, as you know, have been published on archival paper rather
:08:11. > :08:14.than vellum since 1956 and now the House of Lords has recommended that
:08:15. > :08:20.public acts follow suit is to save money. As you will recall, our
:08:21. > :08:23.administration committee published a report agreeing with the Lords and
:08:24. > :08:27.the Leader of the House agreed with the report that the members all tee
:08:28. > :08:32.estimate committee you chaired on the 2nd of November. Yet during the
:08:33. > :08:35.recess, for some bizarre reason, the Minister for the Cabinet of us stuck
:08:36. > :08:41.his oar in saying he was going to pay to keep on using vellum. But
:08:42. > :08:43.this is a Parliamentary decision, it has nothing to do with the
:08:44. > :08:49.Government or frankly the Cabinet Office, so should the leader... Will
:08:50. > :08:52.the leader please tell the Cabinet Office to butt out and will he allow
:08:53. > :09:02.a vote on this so that all members can then make their views known?
:09:03. > :09:07.If I was the shadow leader, I do not think I would have picked today to
:09:08. > :09:13.bring up the issue of the European Union referendum. All Labour MPs on
:09:14. > :09:16.Saturday are being asked to take to the streets to campaign to keep
:09:17. > :09:22.Britain in the European Union. You may not be surprised that on the
:09:23. > :09:30.side there are campaigners to leave the European Union. And what about
:09:31. > :09:37.the Leader of the Opposition? He is going on a CND antinuclear march.
:09:38. > :09:44.Even though his deputy said yesterday he will vote to keep it.
:09:45. > :09:47.You really could not make it up. Another two weeks have passed, the
:09:48. > :09:52.shadow leader is still in his place, Stella Read up member of the Jeremy
:09:53. > :09:57.Corbyn Fanclub. I knew his leader was a disciple of Marx, I did not
:09:58. > :10:02.know he was. Not Karl Marx, Groucho Marx, who said these are my
:10:03. > :10:08.principles. If you do not like them I have others. He asked a question
:10:09. > :10:13.about the Queen's Speech and the flow of business. I can assure him
:10:14. > :10:19.that this House will continue to consider the extreme important --
:10:20. > :10:24.extremely important that agenda that we have brought forward, and we will
:10:25. > :10:28.have a further second reading in ten days, on reforms of the police Bill.
:10:29. > :10:32.Will bring forward the investigatory Powers Bill. He need have no fears
:10:33. > :10:38.that this government has a strong agenda for this country and we will
:10:39. > :10:43.continue to it. He raised the question of Aston Martin. I am
:10:44. > :10:48.delighted about Aston Martin's decision in Wales, it is good news
:10:49. > :10:55.for the people in Wales and the United Kingdom, and as a tribute to
:10:56. > :10:57.the way the country is being run. It is good news for the economic
:10:58. > :11:00.climate, which is why big and small businesses are investing in this
:11:01. > :11:07.country. I agree with what he said about the report at the BBC, about
:11:08. > :11:11.what has been said this morning. What to lace was clearly shopping.
:11:12. > :11:21.Lessons need to be learned, not just in the BBC but in -- what took place
:11:22. > :11:26.was shocking. We must not think this could not happen today, and we must
:11:27. > :11:29.make sure it never happens today. Secretary of State will be here on
:11:30. > :11:33.Thursday and he will want to discuss the issue then. On the question of
:11:34. > :11:48.Belle, it is a question for the House of Lords, and they will reach
:11:49. > :11:56.the final decision. -- vellum. For beer drinkers, the ?6, you can now
:11:57. > :12:01.drink your favourite paint out of a Jeremy Corbyn glass. I do not know
:12:02. > :12:04.if the shadow Minister has it, but he will be rushing out to buy one.
:12:05. > :12:07.What he did not do this morning is ask for the debate on the public
:12:08. > :12:10.spending in the economy, perhaps because he agrees with the former
:12:11. > :12:14.Shadow Chancellor that the approach for public spending is to place all
:12:15. > :12:28.the faith in a magic money tree, promising to reverse every cut and
:12:29. > :12:30.spend, spend, spend. Can we wish a happy birthday to the former Shadow
:12:31. > :12:32.Chancellor, Ed Balls. I never imagined the Labour Party would miss
:12:33. > :12:35.him so much. I'm sure the Scottish Nationalists could be excluded, but
:12:36. > :12:42.I am sure the shadow leader can join me in congratulating Wales in their
:12:43. > :12:52.victory over Scotland in the six Nations over the recess period. I
:12:53. > :12:55.did still hear the tone is of Delilah coming from the fans.
:12:56. > :13:01.Obviously the Welsh bands pay no more attention to what the shadow
:13:02. > :13:11.leader says than anyone here does. -- the Welsh fans. On Monday, the
:13:12. > :13:15.Minister said the government would be publishing more documents
:13:16. > :13:21.relating to the European Union. Can my right honourable friend tell the
:13:22. > :13:24.House what those documents are likely to be, when they are going to
:13:25. > :13:31.be published, and can he guarantee that those documents will be subject
:13:32. > :13:40.to independent audit scrutiny by the House? This House will have plenty
:13:41. > :13:42.opportunity discuss what has been and will be published. Anything
:13:43. > :13:45.published by the government will have to go through the appropriate
:13:46. > :13:52.checking by the civil service and are subject to all the rules set out
:13:53. > :13:55.in the European referendum debate. Can I thank the Leader of the House
:13:56. > :14:02.for announcing the business for next week. I think it would be
:14:03. > :14:08.appropriate to congratulate Adele for her BRIT Awards last night, and
:14:09. > :14:15.for Coldplay for becoming the winner of the most BRIT Awards. We have
:14:16. > :14:17.been short-changed here. We have heard a business statement from the
:14:18. > :14:22.outside of the Cabinet, but there is no statement from inside the
:14:23. > :14:29.Cabinet. Leader of the House has got this opportunity to spread his
:14:30. > :14:34.pernicious no agenda for the next hour and a half. When will we hear
:14:35. > :14:38.the business statement from inside? This week marked the end of
:14:39. > :14:43.collective Cabinet responsibility, particularly for the next few
:14:44. > :14:46.months. The nasty civil war in the Tories is starting to get serious.
:14:47. > :14:50.It looks like the poor Justice Secretary will be first for the bit.
:14:51. > :14:53.I do not know whether the honourable gentleman will rush to his defence
:14:54. > :15:05.to save him, but even friendships that go right back to the playing
:15:06. > :15:10.fields of Eton... It is time for popcorn as we observe a civil war in
:15:11. > :15:17.the Tory party and the ongoing civil war in the Labour Party. I am going
:15:18. > :15:26.to do something radical on Tuesday. It is not announcing Univision
:15:27. > :15:29.participation, I will do something much more radical. On the debate
:15:30. > :15:38.about the estimates, I am going to attempt to debate the estimates. --
:15:39. > :15:41.Eurovision. I have had some conversation with the clerics, and
:15:42. > :15:46.it is more than likely I will be ruled out of order for attempting to
:15:47. > :15:51.debate the estimates. One thing you have not to debate on estimates they
:15:52. > :15:59.is the estimates! What other place in the world other than this absurd
:16:00. > :16:04.House can this possibly be the case? Just to remind the House what the
:16:05. > :16:07.estimates are. This is the consolidated spend of departments of
:16:08. > :16:11.this nation. We have no opportunity to debate this. During the debates,
:16:12. > :16:14.and the Leader of the House will remember this, during the debate
:16:15. > :16:18.about English votes for English laws, he made a weird to ask that
:16:19. > :16:24.all issues of Barnet consequential is where to be bound up in the
:16:25. > :16:30.debate about the estimates. You would be right and proper to rule me
:16:31. > :16:37.out of order, but we have two end this absurd notion that we cannot
:16:38. > :16:40.even debate the departmental bend within the House. We have a deal on
:16:41. > :16:44.fiscal framework this week, and everyone is delighted. I would want
:16:45. > :16:54.to congratulate First Minister for stopping the Treasury trying to
:16:55. > :17:04.peddle Scotland out of ?7 billion. -- diddle. But where will this end?
:17:05. > :17:07.I do not mind scrutiny of the fiscal framework, I think that is right and
:17:08. > :17:12.proper, but can the Leader of the House rule out today that this House
:17:13. > :17:16.will not have a veto in the fiscal agreement that the fiscal framework
:17:17. > :17:20.was agreed by this House and with the Scottish Government? Lastly, I
:17:21. > :17:27.do not know if he is on speaking terms with his no longer friend, the
:17:28. > :17:30.right honourable member, the Prime Minister, but if he is, could he
:17:31. > :17:37.please stay to him to please stay away from Scotland -- say to him,
:17:38. > :17:40.please stay away from Scotland? We value our European membership in
:17:41. > :17:45.Scotland, so please stay away. In the meantime there is invitation to
:17:46. > :17:50.the Justice Secretary, the Leader of the House and the Mayor of London to
:17:51. > :17:53.come to Scotland any time. I am coming to Scotland and about ten
:17:54. > :17:56.days, and I will look forward to whipping up support for the
:17:57. > :18:00.Conservative campaign that I think has a really good chance of
:18:01. > :18:03.consigning the Labour Party to third place in the Scottish elections,
:18:04. > :18:07.which would give us enormous pleasure, but I have a sneaking
:18:08. > :18:10.suspicion that might give the honourable gentleman leisure as
:18:11. > :18:17.well. This may surprise some, but we have the same view on Europe. I want
:18:18. > :18:22.him to succeed in the Eurovision Song Contest. Whether it is this
:18:23. > :18:30.year, whether it is next year, I want to see MP for go all the way.
:18:31. > :18:33.There is even a new scoring system that might give the British entry a
:18:34. > :18:39.better chance. If at first you do not succeed, keep trying. We are
:18:40. > :18:42.with him all the way. I hate to disappoint him on the European
:18:43. > :18:44.referendum. He will not find any nastiness, because we're all friends
:18:45. > :18:55.and get on with each other. LAUGHTER
:18:56. > :19:01.The differences, they all hate each other, split down the middle.
:19:02. > :19:04.That is the Labour Party. We are going to have a grown-up, sensible
:19:05. > :19:08.debate, the country will decide and then we will work together to
:19:09. > :19:11.implement what the country decides. In the meantime they will run around
:19:12. > :19:16.like headless chickens to work out what they do about the mess they are
:19:17. > :19:20.in at the moment. On the estimates issue, I remind him that he is a
:19:21. > :19:27.member of the liaison committee, which has estimates they've at its
:19:28. > :19:33.disposal to decide what subject to debate and consider. He may have
:19:34. > :19:37.lost the argument in the liaison committee, or maybe he did not bring
:19:38. > :19:41.it forward, but we decide what is to be debated on these two days, and if
:19:42. > :19:49.they choose not to debate a particular issue, that is up to
:19:50. > :19:53.them. There will be other times to raise issues regarding public
:19:54. > :19:58.spending. In the Scotland Bill, we are delighted agreement has been
:19:59. > :20:04.reached on fiscal framework, and it is progressing through the other
:20:05. > :20:06.place. I think all of us want to get it on the statute bill, so we are
:20:07. > :20:13.seen to have fulfilled the promises we made at the time of the
:20:14. > :20:18.referendum in implementing all of the recommendations of the Smith
:20:19. > :20:20.report. Regarding the Prime Minister, I am sure he will be
:20:21. > :20:22.spending time in Scotland campaigning for the Conservative
:20:23. > :20:33.victory at the Scottish elections in May. It has been a criminal offence
:20:34. > :20:36.to shine a laser at an aircraft since 2010, but over the last five
:20:37. > :20:42.and a half years there have been nearly 9000 incidents of lasers
:20:43. > :20:45.being aimed at military and civilian, mostly civilian, aircraft.
:20:46. > :20:51.Can we have a debate on what more the government can do to protect
:20:52. > :20:56.civilian and military aircraft, protecting passengers and pilots,
:20:57. > :21:03.making sure is that -- making sure that the skies are safe to fly in?
:21:04. > :21:06.He raises an important point. It is a matter of great concern,
:21:07. > :21:12.particularly the recent incident of an aeroplane turning back after a
:21:13. > :21:15.laser attack. None of us would wish to see an aviation disaster as a
:21:16. > :21:20.result of this behaviour. Transport Secretary will be
:21:21. > :21:26.week. I will make sure he is aware of the concerns today, but my
:21:27. > :21:31.honourable friend can raise this as well. Lord Adonis made his most
:21:32. > :21:37.interesting promise suggesting that the government should prioritise a
:21:38. > :21:48.number of early investments in the railway infrastructure. I have
:21:49. > :21:52.proposed changes to various lines, and others will no doubt have the
:21:53. > :21:58.wrong proposals. So could the leader make time for an early full debate
:21:59. > :22:02.on railway investment? I have a lot of sympathy with what he says and
:22:03. > :22:07.Lord Adonis says. One of the things that characterised the approach of
:22:08. > :22:11.the government is that it also characterised the railways since
:22:12. > :22:14.privatisation, we have seen the opening of new stations, the
:22:15. > :22:23.reopening of new lines, and we have seen a second route open from London
:22:24. > :22:25.to Oxford. This is a sign for a flourishing industry that we want to
:22:26. > :22:28.see grow and develop. The Secretary of State will be here in ten days to
:22:29. > :22:37.make that point. But we believe in the future of the railways. Is the
:22:38. > :22:41.Leader of the House aware that the renegotiation package for the EU
:22:42. > :22:46.referendum is based on an international agreement? It lacks
:22:47. > :22:52.the enforcement mechanisms of both EU and domestic law. Is it correct
:22:53. > :23:01.that any such agreement must conform to EU law and to the extent that it
:23:02. > :23:05.doesn't, then EU law will prevail? This is a matter that will be
:23:06. > :23:12.subject to lively debate this afternoon and over the coming weeks.
:23:13. > :23:15.I would simply say that the view of the Attorney General is that the
:23:16. > :23:22.agreement reached in Brussels last week is indeed legally binding on
:23:23. > :23:26.all members of the European Union. The leader will be aware that I have
:23:27. > :23:33.written to him on this issue. Earlier this week we saw very
:23:34. > :23:35.important debate on knife crime and gang crime being bumped by
:23:36. > :23:46.government business and urgent questions and a statement. We have
:23:47. > :23:52.rescheduled that debate for next Thursday, 3rd of March. On the 8th
:23:53. > :23:54.of March, we have international women's day and a debate sponsored
:23:55. > :23:59.by the backbench business committee. I am wondering if the Leader of the
:24:00. > :24:01.House would allow us protected time so that such an eventuality would
:24:02. > :24:06.not happen on that occasion, particularly since international
:24:07. > :24:09.women's day debate is time specific because the 8th of March is
:24:10. > :24:16.International women's Day. On a second issue, many hundreds of
:24:17. > :24:19.thousands of people are now missing from electoral registers around the
:24:20. > :24:28.country. Yesterday the Office of National Statistics found on what
:24:29. > :24:36.size constituencies should be by population. That is also a drive for
:24:37. > :24:40.people to register which is the referendum for the European Union. I
:24:41. > :24:43.wondered if he would take back to the Cabinet question of whether the
:24:44. > :24:46.boundary commission should be put on hold to see if these hundreds of
:24:47. > :24:49.thousands of people who have not registered will registered in time
:24:50. > :24:56.for the referendum then boundaries can be drawn up on the real elect of
:24:57. > :24:57.it rather than it was in December. -- electorate.
:24:58. > :25:02.Well, on those two points, I will take away his point about
:25:03. > :25:05.International Women's Day, as it is time sensitive that day that I
:25:06. > :25:09.continue to bear in mind what he has asked the bird protected time. At
:25:10. > :25:14.the moment, it doesn't feel as though there was a long pipeline of
:25:15. > :25:17.debate is being delayed -- about the protected time. I think it was
:25:18. > :25:21.better that the debate was moved rather than severely curtailed. With
:25:22. > :25:24.regards to boundaries, the Boundary Commission takes place over two
:25:25. > :25:27.years and there will be plenty of time for the Boundary Commission to
:25:28. > :25:31.adapt and indeed for individual members to come back and make
:25:32. > :25:35.representations for changes if they do not believe the particular
:25:36. > :25:40.situation is right, the particular recommendation is correct. And I
:25:41. > :25:44.hear the Shadow leader chuntering in his place as usual, I hope from his
:25:45. > :25:48.point of view that his members in the Rhondda, like him -- members of
:25:49. > :25:52.the Rhondda like him as much as his backbenchers do whether it
:25:53. > :25:57.determines him getting a seat in the changes or not. I was perturbed
:25:58. > :26:03.today to hear that BBC Radio Foyle Clive could be moved to online
:26:04. > :26:10.content only. -- 5 Live. Whilst it would relieve the nation of
:26:11. > :26:16.colleagues in the House playing Kiss, Marry Or Avoid, it could
:26:17. > :26:20.otherwise the notion an outstanding news and sports broadcaster, so
:26:21. > :26:24.could we hold a debate in this place to address the need for the BBC to
:26:25. > :26:29.be continued to be funded as befits the nation's broadcaster. Of course,
:26:30. > :26:33.the subject of the BBC charter renewal is a very live one at the
:26:34. > :26:38.moment, many of us have had about it. It is the Government's view that
:26:39. > :26:42.we want to preserve the BBC as a high-quality public service
:26:43. > :26:46.broadcaster but it will be a matter for the BBC to decide how best to
:26:47. > :26:49.deploy its resources and we have to make sure that given the fact it is
:26:50. > :26:53.a levy on household from all different circumstances up and down
:26:54. > :26:58.the country that the BBC operates in a cost-effective way and keeps the
:26:59. > :27:02.licence fee as low as possible. I notice that the leader of the has
:27:03. > :27:08.failed to respond to my honourable friend's very sensible suggestion
:27:09. > :27:15.that the recess and the Queen's Speech be scheduled in order to take
:27:16. > :27:17.account of the EU referendum. Can the Leader of the House give a
:27:18. > :27:24.proper response, especially given that the outcome of the referendum
:27:25. > :27:27.itself could have a major impact on the legislative programme? The point
:27:28. > :27:30.I made in my remarks as this Government has a full programme and
:27:31. > :27:34.will continue to have a full programme. It is important that we
:27:35. > :27:37.do not allow the EU referendum to divert us from the very important
:27:38. > :27:40.task of governing the country. We will continue to deliver the right
:27:41. > :27:44.solutions for the country and continue to bring forward the right
:27:45. > :27:48.legislation for the country and of course, we will consider how best to
:27:49. > :27:51.ensure that honourable members have the right opportunity to participate
:27:52. > :27:55.in the referendum. We also need to make sure the doubling of the
:27:56. > :28:02.country is not diverted by what is happening. My constituents Mr and Mr
:28:03. > :28:06.Vaughan have been waiting for years for an assessment of their
:28:07. > :28:09.continuing health care costs for a deceased relative, despite an
:28:10. > :28:13.assurance that the CCG had made attempts with extra resources to
:28:14. > :28:17.clear backlog. Could I ask the Leader of the House, will he make
:28:18. > :28:24.time for a statement from the Secretary of State help on the
:28:25. > :28:29.delays to retrospective see -- CHC assessments, because it is causing
:28:30. > :28:32.much distress. My honourable friend speaks with his customary
:28:33. > :28:35.effectiveness of behalf of his constituents and I know it affects a
:28:36. > :28:38.number of constituents down the country and I will make sure the
:28:39. > :28:44.Health Secretary is aware of the concerns he has raised and to reply
:28:45. > :28:48.to him. What is the Leader of the House's view of the legal status of
:28:49. > :28:52.the Prime Minister's European agreement? Does he agree with his
:28:53. > :28:55.successor as Justice Secretary, or does he agree with the Attorney
:28:56. > :29:02.General, whose view he mentioned earlier? It was the only Lord
:29:03. > :29:07.Chancellor not to be a lawyer, he is therefore at an advantage on terms
:29:08. > :29:13.of plain speaking. So who does he agree with? The Justice Secretary or
:29:14. > :29:16.the Attorney General? Well, Mr Speaker, fortunately I am not a
:29:17. > :29:20.lawyer and will not give the honourable gentleman legal advice. I
:29:21. > :29:23.will say what I said earlier, it is the view of the Attorney General on
:29:24. > :29:27.behalf of the Government that has legal force but I am sure it will be
:29:28. > :29:32.a matter of lively debate in the weeks ahead. The Leader of the House
:29:33. > :29:36.will no doubt be aware that over a very short time span, to separate
:29:37. > :29:43.debate in Westminster Hall over very serious allegations of collusion
:29:44. > :29:46.between banks to undervalue and seize assets. Numerous other cases
:29:47. > :29:49.have come to light and more than ten cross-party MPs have written to the
:29:50. > :29:53.Chair of Business, Innovation and Skills committee asking to
:29:54. > :30:00.investigate. In my constituency, this involved Barclays Bank and has
:30:01. > :30:04.led to one of my constituents losing everything he has worked for over
:30:05. > :30:07.many years, including his house. Is it their four-time pro debate on the
:30:08. > :30:12.floor of the House on these matters and whether the Government needs to
:30:13. > :30:17.act to ensure the is upheld? -- is it therefore time? My honourable
:30:18. > :30:20.friend is working hard on behalf of his constituents but I cannot
:30:21. > :30:26.comment on the details of the allegations. The solicitor general
:30:27. > :30:32.address Westminster Hall on this earlier this month and he is well
:30:33. > :30:38.aware of the conclusions reached from reports. If he is on bag of
:30:39. > :30:45.loot of the view that the remit of the SFO should be broadened to take
:30:46. > :30:50.matters further, we could possibly look to bring back to the floor
:30:51. > :30:59.debate on the broader remit of the SFO and other organisations to
:31:00. > :31:02.investigate matters like this. Is the Leader of the House aware that
:31:03. > :31:07.Huddersfield, a large university town, is likely, if the clinical
:31:08. > :31:14.commissioning group and the Government has its way, will be one
:31:15. > :31:17.of the only large towns to have no accident emergency facility within
:31:18. > :31:20.five miles of the town? Would he agree that an early debate on what
:31:21. > :31:23.is going on with clinical commissioning groups, what is going
:31:24. > :31:27.on with this pressure on the Health Service when the Prime Minister,
:31:28. > :31:34.during the General Election, said he would preserve A in the towns and
:31:35. > :31:37.cities of this country? Of course, this is something that has affected
:31:38. > :31:42.my own constituency where there has been debate for a while. What we
:31:43. > :31:45.have done is entrusted local doctors with decision-making about the
:31:46. > :31:50.configuration of services and certainly in my own area, it was the
:31:51. > :31:53.view of local doctors that prevailed over plans for reconfiguration 18
:31:54. > :31:57.months ago, so it really is going to be down to his local GPs and those
:31:58. > :32:00.who control commissioning in the area to decide what the
:32:01. > :32:04.configuration is. My advice, having been through this, is make sure he
:32:05. > :32:07.has discussed the issue with them and brought forward their views
:32:08. > :32:12.because that made the big difference in my area. Mr Speaker, you may like
:32:13. > :32:18.to know that my petition to save the hedgehog has now reached over 19,000
:32:19. > :32:24.signatures since it was launched two weeks ago. I am fully aware that
:32:25. > :32:28.this is just 80,000 short of us having a debate but would my right
:32:29. > :32:31.honourable friend like to just confirmed that because it has got
:32:32. > :32:37.over 10,000, the Government now has the right to me to say what it is
:32:38. > :32:43.they might actually do? -- has the right to me. I congratulate my
:32:44. > :32:46.honourable friend on his assiduous nose, he will receive a proper
:32:47. > :32:50.response from the Government and I have a sneaking suspicion he may
:32:51. > :32:53.make his way towards the 100,000 point to have a debate in this
:32:54. > :32:57.House, but of course we have had this week a cautionary tale linking
:32:58. > :33:03.some of the things that somehow appear at this session. We took
:33:04. > :33:07.those super foods, black puddings, berries, but we have learned that if
:33:08. > :33:11.you feed meat to hedgehogs, it can have a rather adverse effect, as we
:33:12. > :33:14.saw in the tragic case of the hedgehog that has become so fat from
:33:15. > :33:22.eating meat, it can't even roll itself up. We are all better
:33:23. > :33:26.informed than we were. Thank you Mr Speaker. My constituent and
:33:27. > :33:32.bombardier James Simpson sadly lost both legs in Afghanistan and has
:33:33. > :33:36.since inspired people by becoming the first double amputee to do an
:33:37. > :33:44.obstacle challenge. He and other brave injured servicemen have found
:33:45. > :33:48.that the NHS is not able to cope with their artificial limbs. Could
:33:49. > :33:51.we have a statement from the Secretary of State for Health as to
:33:52. > :33:56.how the NHS will solve this and come up with a better plan for how we
:33:57. > :34:00.help our brave servicemen and women? I wasn't aware of this and those who
:34:01. > :34:05.have served this country, those who have lost limbs in the service of
:34:06. > :34:07.this country, are people who we should all admire and without
:34:08. > :34:11.reserve and some of the achievements we have seen by those who have been
:34:12. > :34:14.injured in this way since they have returned from the front line have
:34:15. > :34:19.been simply awe-inspiring. I wasn't aware of the problem he has brought
:34:20. > :34:22.to the House today. My colleague the Secretary of State is here on Monday
:34:23. > :34:24.for defence but I will also make sure the health Department is aware
:34:25. > :34:30.of the concerns he has raised and respond to him. I hope the whole
:34:31. > :34:33.house without vote to join me in congratulating the Mayorova London,
:34:34. > :34:36.the honourable member for Uxbridge and south voice live, for his very
:34:37. > :34:40.wise decision, much-publicised this week, to name Crossrail the
:34:41. > :34:48.Elizabeth line to commemorate the Queen's 90th birthday. My patriotic
:34:49. > :34:50.residents in the village of Worthington would also like to
:34:51. > :34:56.commemorate this event but have been hit by the County Council with a
:34:57. > :34:59.?400 bill for road closure. Could we have a statement for the guide to
:35:00. > :35:05.County Council to waive such charges as we did during the Jubilee? Well,
:35:06. > :35:09.first of all, I was also delighted about the decision to name Crossrail
:35:10. > :35:14.the Elizabeth line, it is a fitting tribute to a magnificent monarch, as
:35:15. > :35:19.she approaches her 90th birthday and we should all celebrate the things
:35:20. > :35:22.she has done for this country. Mr Speaker, I think in terms of the
:35:23. > :35:26.celebrations we will be seeing this summer, I hope local authorities
:35:27. > :35:29.will be wise and sensible and will be encouraging communities to come
:35:30. > :35:32.together to celebrate them and I have to say this has been the week
:35:33. > :35:41.in which my honourable friend the Mayorova London has shown great
:35:42. > :35:45.wisdom. The North Middlesex Hospital on the 19th of February, more than
:35:46. > :35:49.100 point patients were informed over the tannoy, please go home
:35:50. > :35:56.unless you have a life-threatening illness. Of course, they would have
:35:57. > :35:59.to self diagnose to make that decision. Some patients had been
:36:00. > :36:05.waiting on trolleys for more than five hours with no cubicle space and
:36:06. > :36:10.no beds to go to, while dozens were on a waiting room, faced with a
:36:11. > :36:16.weight of over eight hours to be seen. Now, this is a crisis in A
:36:17. > :36:20.provision, certainly for Enfield and Haringey, and I think it is wider
:36:21. > :36:24.spread than that. It is entirely predictable, particularly given that
:36:25. > :36:30.the Government closed the A at Chase farm in 2013. Many of my
:36:31. > :36:34.constituents were sat waiting that night and are outraged at this
:36:35. > :36:42.situation. Can we have an early debate in Government time about the
:36:43. > :36:45.A crisis affecting Enfield and Haringey and generally wider? I
:36:46. > :36:51.don't know about the individual circumstance. Clearly, pressures on
:36:52. > :36:53.A ebb and flow depending on local circumstance, particularly on this
:36:54. > :36:57.time of year but what I would say is this is one reason we continue to
:36:58. > :37:03.put additional funding into the NHS and I simply remember the former
:37:04. > :37:08.Health Secretary argued that putting more money into the NHS was not the
:37:09. > :37:13.right thing to do. I am sure the House will agree with me that you
:37:14. > :37:17.don't discuss Europe enough in this place and therefore, my helpful
:37:18. > :37:22.suggestion is that we alter the business of the House and have a
:37:23. > :37:25.weekly EU Question Time and my prejudice is the Leader of the House
:37:26. > :37:30.and says these questions. It would give me the opportunity to ask, for
:37:31. > :37:33.instance, should the British people in their wisdom leave the European
:37:34. > :37:38.Union? Would it be right that it would be this Government that would
:37:39. > :37:44.decide, for instance, the VAT rate on sanitary towels? It is certainly
:37:45. > :37:49.correct that the VAT on sanitary tolls is imposed by the European
:37:50. > :37:52.Union -- sanitary towels. I suspect it would not be enforced by this
:37:53. > :38:00.Government. The one debate I would love to have is with the Shadow
:38:01. > :38:06.leader: he is the one person who bitterly regretted that we didn't
:38:07. > :38:09.join the euro. Can the leader of his has cast his mind back to business
:38:10. > :38:13.questions on the 28th of January? You may recall he failed to answer a
:38:14. > :38:17.question from the Shadow leader for details of how he was going to
:38:18. > :38:23.arrange Parliamentary scrutiny of changes Cabinet office were
:38:24. > :38:25.intending to introduce for local Government and procurement
:38:26. > :38:30.guidelines for public institutions. He will also know that since then,
:38:31. > :38:33.the Minister for the Cabinet Office has decided to announce the second
:38:34. > :38:40.of those changes last week. Not to this House, but to Israel and a
:38:41. > :38:49.joint press conference -- with Benjamin Netanyahu. The difference
:38:50. > :38:53.between what the Cabinet sees as the target those guidelines and official
:38:54. > :38:57.Foreign Office advice regarding risk to business and legal action in the
:38:58. > :39:02.occupied territories, we are still waiting to hear how all of this can
:39:03. > :39:05.be scrutinised. So will the leader arrange for the Minister of the
:39:06. > :39:15.Cabinet Office finally to come to this House, make a statement and
:39:16. > :39:18.answer questions. He will be here on the 9th of March to make questions.
:39:19. > :39:21.You have been very fulsome in granting opportunities to member of
:39:22. > :39:24.this House who have concerns to bring forward urgent questions. But
:39:25. > :39:27.I can't remember this subject been brought forward as an urgent
:39:28. > :39:36.question so perhaps it isn't that urgent. When I heard from a
:39:37. > :39:41.constituent of mine that she had gone elsewhere in the country to
:39:42. > :39:45.volunteer as part of her Duke of Edinburgh award, I was, like I am
:39:46. > :39:50.sure, all honourable members, delighted at her commitment to this
:39:51. > :39:54.award scheme and volunteering. I was less pleased by the fact that she
:39:55. > :39:57.had to pay a rather large sum for her rail ticket and then she
:39:58. > :40:01.discovered afterwards that by splitting her tickets, she could
:40:02. > :40:04.quite legally have paid a lot less. Could we have a debate on how this
:40:05. > :40:08.could be much more publicised and whether rail companies should be
:40:09. > :40:09.obliged to show the cheapest possible way of getting from to B
:40:10. > :40:17.version The rail minister would be in
:40:18. > :40:23.agreement with what he says and is working to achieve that. All of us
:40:24. > :40:28.who travel by train find some bizarre structures of fares, finding
:40:29. > :40:37.that first-class fares are lower than standard class. It would be
:40:38. > :40:42.much easier if the information was available to the public of the
:40:43. > :40:47.cheapest way to travel. You will be aware that several times I have
:40:48. > :40:51.called for us to have a debate on youth violence, and my honourable
:40:52. > :40:54.member advised us to go to the backbench business committee. I was
:40:55. > :41:00.really pleased that the backbench business committee brought forward a
:41:01. > :41:05.debate on this. However, deeply disappointed that the time was not
:41:06. > :41:09.given to that this Tuesday. Many colleagues of mine came to the
:41:10. > :41:15.gallery to watch the debate, who were not able to engage in it. How
:41:16. > :41:19.are you going to ensure that next Thursday the time is protected and
:41:20. > :41:29.we debate this very, very important issue? It is a very important issue,
:41:30. > :41:33.and it was unfortunate on Tuesday that there was an extended statement
:41:34. > :41:35.on Monday from the Prime Minister, and the volume of additional
:41:36. > :41:40.subjects that people wanted to bring before the House, the debate ended
:41:41. > :41:43.up being squeezed out. We will make sure there is an opportunity to
:41:44. > :41:50.bring it back. When it comes back on that Thursday, it is much less
:41:51. > :41:59.likely to be under pressure than it was on Tuesday. This week has seen
:42:00. > :42:08.the welcome news that a trust has secured planning permission for the
:42:09. > :42:19.first state-sponsored Hindu through school. In Harrow, a school has
:42:20. > :42:23.secret approval, which will make sure people in Harrow will have a
:42:24. > :42:27.faith -based education if that's what they want for their children.
:42:28. > :42:34.Could be arranged for a debate in the House on the importance of faith
:42:35. > :42:38.-based education so parents can choose the education for children
:42:39. > :42:43.that they wish? I would congratulate all of those who have succeeded in
:42:44. > :42:46.bringing forward these new plans. It has always been my view that faith
:42:47. > :42:50.-based education is an important place that has an important place in
:42:51. > :42:55.our society, and while it is important that faith -based school
:42:56. > :43:00.is not a school of one faith, my experience is that the ethos it
:43:01. > :43:05.brings is a high-quality of education, and it is very exciting.
:43:06. > :43:11.I'm sure he will take advantage of the opportunity express to the
:43:12. > :43:21.Secretary of State shortly how important this work is. The
:43:22. > :43:23.government has amended its own enterprise Bill to include
:43:24. > :43:32.provisions on Sunday trading. Can the leader please explain how
:43:33. > :43:35.backbenchers who are concerned about the Evel status being introduced to
:43:36. > :43:39.make representations within the standing orders concerning the
:43:40. > :43:47.effect of new proposals made by the government? These proposals will be
:43:48. > :43:54.subject to debate in committee, and if members choose to do so, on the
:43:55. > :44:02.floor of the House, but the advice he seeks is best obtained from the
:44:03. > :44:06.clerics. Can we have a minister make a statement to explain what action
:44:07. > :44:13.the government is taking to protect holders of the Lloyds bank enhanced
:44:14. > :44:15.capital is and forced early redemption? Several constituents
:44:16. > :44:20.have contacted me to say they have been forced to close this. It has
:44:21. > :44:24.had a great effect on their planned income, and they have received
:44:25. > :44:30.little protection on the financial -- from the financial authority. I
:44:31. > :44:37.am aware of these concerns and he is doing his usual effective job on
:44:38. > :44:43.behalf of his constituents. It is good with the re-met to do the job
:44:44. > :44:52.in a matter like this. The Treasury ministers on Monday have ultimate
:44:53. > :45:01.responsibility of setting the re-met of the authority. The Leader of the
:45:02. > :45:15.House may be aware of the horrible murder of a man in Egypt's, who is
:45:16. > :45:21.much missed in Cambridge where he was carrying out academic duties. I
:45:22. > :45:25.urge him to impress on the Egyptian authorities what has gone on. Can we
:45:26. > :45:34.discuss the situation in Egypt's soon? This was a horrible incident,
:45:35. > :45:39.and as a sign that although Egypt's is a great country, there are still
:45:40. > :45:44.some significant challenges for it. I will make sure the Foreign
:45:45. > :45:49.Secretary is reminded of these concerns, and I'm sure the
:45:50. > :45:57.government will set out an opportunity to discuss this in the
:45:58. > :46:02.near future. Tomorrow I will attend the residents meeting in Cleethorpes
:46:03. > :46:09.accompanied by the Humberside Police Commissioner. The Commissioner has
:46:10. > :46:15.been effective in representing its constituents. Could we have the
:46:16. > :46:20.debate on the role of the Commissioner and how the powers may
:46:21. > :46:30.be extended? He will always have a fond place in the conservative
:46:31. > :46:36.lexicon as the man who beat John Prescott. It is a matter of huge
:46:37. > :46:44.disappointment on that side of the House. The Deputy Leader is not a
:46:45. > :46:52.fan. But we will always regard him fondly. My constituency has
:46:53. > :46:55.benefited tremendously from European Union structural funding, but that
:46:56. > :47:03.will not be available if we leave the European Union. Can we have a
:47:04. > :47:12.statement of the advantages that EU structural funds have brought to the
:47:13. > :47:14.UK, and whether he will give such a statement personally? We have a
:47:15. > :47:21.debate this afternoon, so he can take part in that. Structural funds
:47:22. > :47:26.are important, and I am sure that those who agree with that would see
:47:27. > :47:32.that all we're doing is giving money to Brussels in order to give it back
:47:33. > :47:35.to us. Notwithstanding the debate we have had on flooding, there is
:47:36. > :47:40.another part of this that we do not discuss enough during this House,
:47:41. > :47:45.which is coastal erosion. This year we have seen more around the coasts
:47:46. > :47:49.of the UK because of the storms than we have for many years. Can we have
:47:50. > :48:03.time for a statement in this chamber on this? We need to make plans now,
:48:04. > :48:07.to be able to look to the future. The importance of this issue has
:48:08. > :48:11.been brought home to us by the extraordinary archaeology work round
:48:12. > :48:19.the port of Dunnett, which was one of England's largest towns, and has
:48:20. > :48:25.nearly disappeared. It shows how much difference coastal erosion can
:48:26. > :48:29.make. Perhaps you would like to join with others whose constituencies
:48:30. > :48:35.have been affected, and bring forward a debate through the
:48:36. > :48:40.backbench committee. Can we have a debate on the extraordinary
:48:41. > :48:44.allegations published by the London Times newspaper on the treatment of
:48:45. > :48:52.asylum seekers living in Glasgow, by Home Office providers circle.
:48:53. > :48:57.Allegations which include spraying air freshener towards asylum seekers
:48:58. > :49:05.and placing them in and then have up to housing. Does he agree with me
:49:06. > :49:11.that -- in uninhabitable housing. No one would condone that kind of
:49:12. > :49:15.treatment of any individual, no matter who they are. He makes an
:49:16. > :49:23.important point which will be noted by the ministers. Hull City
:49:24. > :49:31.councillors meeting to set its budget at the moment. Since 2010, it
:49:32. > :49:38.has had a cut of ?310 per person in the city, one of the steepest cuts
:49:39. > :49:52.in the country. In the same period, one of the least deprived areas,
:49:53. > :49:56.excellent, -- Epsom, has gained. Could we please have a debate about
:49:57. > :50:03.why the poorest areas of this country keep being cut by this
:50:04. > :50:09.government? She needs to remember the huge disparities that still
:50:10. > :50:17.exist on funding per head targeting cities like Hull, targeting towns
:50:18. > :50:31.and cities where there are big challenges, even with a substantial
:50:32. > :50:35.number of us... The government's mobile infrastructure project
:50:36. > :50:41.identified 600 potentially new mobile mast sites. Only 15 of them
:50:42. > :50:45.had been built by last year. Could we have a debate on the failure of
:50:46. > :50:52.the government's infrastructure project, and why so many communities
:50:53. > :50:57.that were promised mobile connectivity still do not have it?
:50:58. > :51:02.We are making real progress in spreading mobile coverage and
:51:03. > :51:07.high-speed broadband coverage. The government does not build the masts,
:51:08. > :51:10.it is the operators. We are doing as well as almost all of the major
:51:11. > :51:19.international competitors in making sure we have these connections. On
:51:20. > :51:23.the 7th of November last year I wrote to the BBC with asset of
:51:24. > :51:29.perfectly reasonable questions about their musical output and their
:51:30. > :51:33.relationship with universal music. Response times were disappointing.
:51:34. > :51:38.Not only did they fail to answer questions that said I was unhappy
:51:39. > :51:41.with the response, and that I should take it up with the information
:51:42. > :51:44.Commissioner. I value the work the BBC does, but they have to be open
:51:45. > :51:49.about how they operate, so can we have a debate about creating a
:51:50. > :51:55.transparent culture within the BBC and their publishers. The Culture
:51:56. > :52:01.Secretary is here next week to raise the issue with, but we are having
:52:02. > :52:05.such a debate at the moment on the renewal Charter, and it is for them
:52:06. > :52:07.as the public and members of this House to bring forward their
:52:08. > :52:12.thoughts about the future shape of the BBC, and despite the fact that
:52:13. > :52:17.the shadow leader is chuntering from his position, I have no doubt that
:52:18. > :52:21.he wants to bring forward further thoughts and present them to the
:52:22. > :52:25.Secretary of State, and they will be taken into account. It was welcome
:52:26. > :52:34.when the government agreed to change the rules to allow fear compensation
:52:35. > :52:40.for people suffering from mesothelioma. So can we have a
:52:41. > :52:53.debate about how a small number of veterans are not covered, and having
:52:54. > :53:04.more stress as a result. I will make sure the health minister will make
:53:05. > :53:08.-- is all we're. The childhood obesity strategy has been delayed
:53:09. > :53:15.not once, but I am now on the fifth time of counting. And the answers
:53:16. > :53:19.I'm getting from ministers and including the Prime Minister, who
:53:20. > :53:31.cannot even tell you whether or not he has seen a draft, copy -- seen a
:53:32. > :53:35.draft copy of this, so can we have a statement as soon as possible,
:53:36. > :53:40.outlining their intentions to publish the childhood obesity
:53:41. > :53:43.strategy and break this wall of silence from ministers? It is the
:53:44. > :53:47.government's intention to publish the childhood obesity strategy, but
:53:48. > :53:52.also working to get it right, and I can assure him that when we come to
:53:53. > :53:55.publish the document, when we are satisfied it is the right tool for
:53:56. > :54:04.the job, we will bring it to the House. The Prime Minister has made
:54:05. > :54:09.233 appointments to the unelected House of Lords that has been
:54:10. > :54:13.elected, making it a total of 826, and yet only yesterday many of us
:54:14. > :54:16.received an e-mail from the boundaries commission informing us
:54:17. > :54:21.of our review of the chamber to reduce the number of Scottish MPs
:54:22. > :54:26.from 59, 253. With the result of the House of Lords being 40% larger than
:54:27. > :54:29.this House, will he bring to this chamber and urgent debate of the
:54:30. > :54:34.rough wearing of democracy in Scotland, we will have more Tory
:54:35. > :54:39.Lords than MPs representing our country? This is the elected House,
:54:40. > :54:45.this is the House that ultimately has the final say on matters. It is
:54:46. > :54:48.right and proper that we have a structure of representation that
:54:49. > :54:53.represents the balance of population in the country. It is the case that
:54:54. > :54:56.the boundary commission has arena to align the size of constituencies
:54:57. > :55:01.across the country. This is not a matter related to the other place,
:55:02. > :55:05.it is related to ensuring that there is Furnace of representation in this
:55:06. > :55:13.elected House, which decides what happens. and is my constituent and
:55:14. > :55:18.he is afraid train driver. He and his colleagues across 11 depots in
:55:19. > :55:21.Yorkshire and the North of facing redundancy due to the downturn of
:55:22. > :55:26.coal traffic because of the closure of Ferrybridge, power stations and
:55:27. > :55:30.the pit. Can we have a debate in Government time on the secondary
:55:31. > :55:33.impact of these closures and what this Government has caused in
:55:34. > :55:39.supporting industries such as bread and how we might support those
:55:40. > :55:42.affected in finding new and appropriate jobs it is or is
:55:43. > :55:48.difficult when an individual change in an industry causes jobs to go.
:55:49. > :55:52.But she has to understand that under this Government, Railfreight has
:55:53. > :55:56.continued to grow, the freight network has continued to receive new
:55:57. > :55:58.investment and for those in the industry, there are more
:55:59. > :56:06.opportunities perhaps than there has been provided long time. Mr Speaker,
:56:07. > :56:10.Edward Padden, the son of my constituents Fiona and Scott, was
:56:11. > :56:14.just nine days old when he died, in part because of group B
:56:15. > :56:20.Streptococcus ascending infection. Instead of looking forward to what
:56:21. > :56:23.would have been his second birthday, his parents are campaigning so
:56:24. > :56:29.others do not suffer as they have. Can we have an urgent debate to see
:56:30. > :56:33.what can be done with urgent screening to prevent deaths of
:56:34. > :56:37.newborn babies? This issue is obviously a very sensitive and
:56:38. > :56:41.important one. It is one where there are many opportunities in the House
:56:42. > :56:45.to bring forward debates both through the backbench business
:56:46. > :56:49.committee, the German debate system. What I would also say which I should
:56:50. > :56:52.have mentioned earlier, we now have the largest petition we have now
:56:53. > :56:55.seen to this House for a debate on the floor of this has related to
:56:56. > :56:59.meningitis in childhood and it is something I will be discussing with
:57:00. > :57:02.the Chair of the backbench business committee, because I hope when that
:57:03. > :57:09.petition is brought before this has, it is debated on the floor rather
:57:10. > :57:14.than Westminster Hall -- this House. Can we please have a statement on
:57:15. > :57:18.today's Ofcom review into Britain's broadband needs? It pointed out that
:57:19. > :57:29.too many rule all communities have a very poor broadband service -- rural
:57:30. > :57:33.communities. There is still work to do. We have done work back to live
:57:34. > :57:40.good work so far but there is still some to do and there will be
:57:41. > :57:43.progress. I think as far as rural committees that do not have access
:57:44. > :57:50.to high-speed broadband and modern communications, we continue to have
:57:51. > :57:56.a job to do. Two weeks ago, the Leader of the House was unable to
:57:57. > :58:04.answer if legislation to ratify the convention citing the Queen's
:58:05. > :58:09.Speech. Would he be able to tell us if the Government would still be
:58:10. > :58:13.able to ratify this convention that aids the protection of women or are
:58:14. > :58:16.there plans to suspend that also? I have no doubt that of the people of
:58:17. > :58:19.this country vote to leave the European Union, we will continue to
:58:20. > :58:22.play a very active role in the international bodies of which we are
:58:23. > :58:26.part, very active role in the international community as a whole.
:58:27. > :58:29.Whatever happens in the future of this country, we will always be
:58:30. > :58:36.internationalist and always will do right thing by this country on the
:58:37. > :58:39.international stage. The incompetent Tory Labour administration the
:58:40. > :58:42.coalition of Stirling Council will present its budget this evening.
:58:43. > :58:47.That will include savage cuts to social care across the Stirling
:58:48. > :58:49.area. Government pressure has been put on local Government financed by
:58:50. > :58:53.the austerity agenda of his Government and welfare reforms.
:58:54. > :58:59.Could we have a debate on this urgent matter? Well, of course, the
:59:00. > :59:04.overall framework for economic success and for funding in Scotland
:59:05. > :59:07.rests with the SNP. The interesting thing about this week with the
:59:08. > :59:11.fiscal framework is they are now going to have to take decisions in
:59:12. > :59:15.the future about the right balance between lower taxes, public spending
:59:16. > :59:21.and they will find it a whole lot more difficult than they think.
:59:22. > :59:28.Farmers in my constituency tell me that the basic payment scheme, as
:59:29. > :59:32.delivered late, is somewhat chaotic. Can we have a statement from the
:59:33. > :59:39.relevant Secretary of State about the performance of the ruble
:59:40. > :59:43.payments agency? -- rural payments agency? I am happy to draw his
:59:44. > :59:46.concerns to the Secretary of State and if you would like to write with
:59:47. > :59:50.some more specific examples, it makes it easier for ministers to
:59:51. > :59:57.look at what is going wrong. Could we have a debate or a statement on
:59:58. > :00:02.EDM 1138 regarding the anti-lobbying or gagging Clause, which was
:00:03. > :00:06.announced that the Cabinet office just before recess with little or no
:00:07. > :00:09.scrutiny or consultation. It threatens the ability of
:00:10. > :00:13.organisations and charities in receipt of Government grants from
:00:14. > :00:18.speaking out campaigning either for or against Government policy and it
:00:19. > :00:21.be scrapped immediately. Mr Speaker, the honourable gentleman has do
:00:22. > :00:25.understand that in Government, we find on a number of occasions bodies
:00:26. > :00:28.that are being funded by us are using the money that we are
:00:29. > :00:32.providing from the taxpayer to lobby us. That makes no sense at all. The
:00:33. > :00:35.Cabinet Office is trying to deliver sensible regime and when it comes
:00:36. > :00:42.before this House, he will be able to debated the way he wishes. --
:00:43. > :00:48.debate it. Point of order, Joanna Cherry. On a point of order, I would
:00:49. > :00:51.like to seek your assistance in relation to a matter of some concern
:00:52. > :00:56.to me. It has been brought to my attention that on Monday the 22nd,
:00:57. > :00:59.out with my presence and without notifying me in advance, the
:01:00. > :01:01.honourable member for South Leicestershire raised what he
:01:02. > :01:06.described as a point of order during which he said I had misled the
:01:07. > :01:09.House. I should make it clear that notwithstanding his conduct, I have
:01:10. > :01:11.afforded him the courtesy of notifying him I would be raising