:00:00. > :00:00.fellow, we can hear from him later. There will be some anticipation in
:00:00. > :00:10.the House over what he's planning to raise! Business question. Thank you.
:00:11. > :00:17.Could the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business for next
:00:18. > :00:20.week? The business for next week will be as follows. Monday 24th of
:00:21. > :00:27.April, consideration of a business of the House motion followed by all
:00:28. > :00:32.stages of the Northern Ireland ministerial appointments and
:00:33. > :00:36.regional rates bill, followed by, if necessary, consideration of Lords
:00:37. > :00:44.amendments. Tuesday the 25th of April, committee of the whole House
:00:45. > :00:50.and the finance number two bill, followed by consideration of Lords
:00:51. > :00:53.amendments to the health service medical supplies costs bill,
:00:54. > :00:58.followed by, if necessary, consideration of Lords amendments.
:00:59. > :01:05.Wednesday 26th of April, a motion to approve a ways and means resolution
:01:06. > :01:09.on the digital economy Bill, followed by consideration of Lords
:01:10. > :01:14.amendments to this. Followed by, consideration of Lords amendments to
:01:15. > :01:18.the criminal of finances Bill, followed by, if necessary,
:01:19. > :01:25.consideration of Lords amendments. Thursday 27 people, consideration of
:01:26. > :01:30.Lords amendments. A House may also be asked to consider any Lords
:01:31. > :01:36.messages that may be received. The House will not adjourn until Royal
:01:37. > :01:48.assent has been received to all acts. Since this is probably going
:01:49. > :01:53.to be the last regular weekly business statement in this
:01:54. > :01:58.parliament, could I simply take the opportunity to thank first of all
:01:59. > :02:05.the staff of the House for the service they provide every one of us
:02:06. > :02:08.throughout the course of Parliament, and wish them a happy opportunity to
:02:09. > :02:20.put their feet up a little bit over the forthcoming weeks, and secondly,
:02:21. > :02:23.to wish particular good fortune to those honourable members on all
:02:24. > :02:33.sides who have decided that they will not seek election. Each of them
:02:34. > :02:35.in their own way has striven to represent the interests of their
:02:36. > :02:41.constituents during the years here. Each of them has brought particular
:02:42. > :02:45.experiences, particular political commitments, to the causes for which
:02:46. > :02:52.they have fought, and all of them have contributed to the building of
:02:53. > :03:00.democracy in this country, and I would like to place our banks on
:03:01. > :03:05.record. Can I thank the Leader of the House for the business of the
:03:06. > :03:09.last week, and I will save my thanks to the end of my response. It was an
:03:10. > :03:17.eventful parliament not least because of the death of PC Keith
:03:18. > :03:21.Palmer, Lesley Rhodes, and now Andrea Christie, and others who were
:03:22. > :03:32.cathedral said at the memorial injured. As
:03:33. > :03:33.service, a clock that counts the service, a clock that counts the
:03:34. > :03:37.minutes, hours and years of lives. And of course, our beloved colleague
:03:38. > :03:44.Jo Cox, who should be fighting this election. We need to remember them
:03:45. > :03:48.as we campaign for a country that is tolerant and just. The Prime
:03:49. > :03:52.Minister wants stability and to strengthen her hand in negotiations,
:03:53. > :03:56.but blames the opposition parties for calling a general election. But
:03:57. > :04:04.it is her dithering and confusion and watching her back, firstly what
:04:05. > :04:06.an arrogant statement she should presume to know the outcome of an
:04:07. > :04:09.election. Secondly, what has her government been doing for the last
:04:10. > :04:12.nine months, and thirdly can the Leader of the House confirmed that
:04:13. > :04:24.if the government wins, we're entering into a rolling programme of
:04:25. > :04:28.snap during rogue ... We live under the rule of law, and parliament
:04:29. > :04:35.should have a say. This is democracy. Then there was silence
:04:36. > :04:43.from the government since July 2016. Her Majesty's opposition called for
:04:44. > :04:47.a report on Brexit, silence and a speech to Lancaster House. But not
:04:48. > :04:53.to this House. I found you very personable, but I think others are
:04:54. > :04:58.scared of making a statement in this House!
:04:59. > :05:04.LAUGHTER Only when you say or do! Only then setting out 12 points of
:05:05. > :05:09.principle. Finally, the White Paper in February. Her Majesty is
:05:10. > :05:12.opposition insisted there should be a final thought on the deal, and
:05:13. > :05:14.force the government to agree because we are representative
:05:15. > :05:19.democracy. As the prime ministers sat in front of the great portrait
:05:20. > :05:28.of Robert Walpole twos signed the letter to Donald Tusk, she forgot to
:05:29. > :05:31.mention Gibraltar, 96 of whom voted to remain. No wonder she forgot to
:05:32. > :05:34.mention them. The government seems to be speaking for the 52%, while
:05:35. > :05:41.Her Majesty's opposition will balance the views of the 52% and to
:05:42. > :05:47.speak for the country. The confusion lies within her party, not the
:05:48. > :05:52.opposition. Of course the government wants a general election because it
:05:53. > :06:03.needs a new manifesto. Everyday the government breaks the manifesto
:06:04. > :06:08.pledge. Grammar schools, no mention of... In case of National Insurance
:06:09. > :06:11.contribution for self-employed workers. Ruled out of the manifesto
:06:12. > :06:17.then became government policy, then a U-turn. The manifesto said nothing
:06:18. > :06:45.cannot make a decision for the good vulnerable, yet there are cars
:06:46. > :06:46.looks like? Because we on this side of the country. So, could we have
:06:47. > :06:51.looks like? Because we on this side of the House... For students, no
:06:52. > :07:03.increase in tuition fees. For society, an investment in public
:07:04. > :07:07.services or local government grants are based on needs for local
:07:08. > :07:11.services, protecting police forces and libraries, not special deals for
:07:12. > :07:17.special friends. Ensuring small businesses thrive, supporting those
:07:18. > :07:23.who care for others by an increase in carers allowance, and protecting
:07:24. > :07:27.pensions and compensating women affected by an increase in the state
:07:28. > :07:31.pension. Policies for the seven stages of life, that is what the
:07:32. > :07:35.country needs. No dithering or confusion, but vision and strong
:07:36. > :07:40.leadership. Her Majesty is opposition and government will work
:07:41. > :07:48.for a tolerant, fare and dynamic United Kingdom. Finally, to echo
:07:49. > :07:52.what the Leader of the House said, can I thank all of the House staff
:07:53. > :07:55.for the brilliant supported me, you, Mr Speaker and your office, the
:07:56. > :08:02.Leader of the House, his erstwhile deputy and his office blogger help,
:08:03. > :08:05.my office, and everyone who has made my job easier, including my Chief
:08:06. > :08:15.Whip, who tells me to stop the jokes! If
:08:16. > :08:27.enough can I also mention the fact that tomorrow with a Majesty her
:08:28. > :08:32.Queen's 91st birthday, one that she also shares with the honourable
:08:33. > :08:39.member for Gateshead. It's a significant day. If he doesn't mind
:08:40. > :08:47.me saying... If he doesn't mind me saying it, it's his 60th. And can I
:08:48. > :08:54.say that rights oh, the honourable member as well. I won't say what the
:08:55. > :08:58.age is, if she doesn't mind. 21! As are we all. And finally, to echo
:08:59. > :09:01.what the leader of the houses, to all those people who are standing
:09:02. > :09:06.down, who have given their life to public service, thank them all. And
:09:07. > :09:12.finally, it's been an absolute privilege to be the Shadow Leader of
:09:13. > :09:24.the House. Can I associate myself both with the honourable lady's
:09:25. > :09:27.the tribute she paid at the start of the tribute she paid at the start
:09:28. > :09:32.colleague Jo Cox and I hope it is her remarks, both to those who lost
:09:33. > :09:39.colleague Jo Cox and I hope it is not long in the life of the new
:09:40. > :09:42.parliament before the permanent memorial to Jo Cox can take its
:09:43. > :09:46.place in the House of Commons, I know that is something that will be
:09:47. > :09:53.supported by and welcomed by every single member of his house and the
:09:54. > :09:59.next House Commons as well. I join her, obviously, in wishing that many
:10:00. > :10:04.happy returns to Her Majesty and also to the honourable member for
:10:05. > :10:09.Gateshead and my right honourable friend, the Member for animation. I
:10:10. > :10:15.can say as my right honourable friend's constituency neighbour that
:10:16. > :10:19.whatever number may be pinned to the years, nothing diminishes her vigour
:10:20. > :10:24.or commitment to working on behalf of her constituents. And I have
:10:25. > :10:29.equally, like the honourable lady, always enjoyed and appreciated my
:10:30. > :10:34.relationship with my other constituency neighbour, The Right
:10:35. > :10:37.Honourable member for Buckingham and indeed, following the last boundary
:10:38. > :10:45.change in the Buckingham constituency, I have a particular
:10:46. > :10:55.interest in the outcome. The honourable lady... I think if the
:10:56. > :10:58.honourable gentleman peruses Mr Speaker's previous election
:10:59. > :11:04.material, he may find the answer he is seeking. The honourable lady
:11:05. > :11:13.asked me a number of questions. I have two say to her that when it
:11:14. > :11:19.comes to Gibraltar, the front bench really does have a very short
:11:20. > :11:22.memory. People in Gibraltar have not forgotten how the last Labour
:11:23. > :11:29.Government tried to sell that territory down the river, how they
:11:30. > :11:33.sought a joint sovereignty agreement, something that was
:11:34. > :11:44.rejected by the people of Gibraltar by a margin of well over 90% in a
:11:45. > :11:48.subsequent referendum. She also made a number of assertions about
:11:49. > :11:55.policies that will, I'm sure, be debated in the country in the weeks
:11:56. > :11:59.to come. I would simply say to her this - that I think all of us in the
:12:00. > :12:06.House, whatever political perspective we bring to these
:12:07. > :12:11.matters, want to see public services of our kind in which we can all take
:12:12. > :12:17.pride and which we think and work effectively for our constituents who
:12:18. > :12:21.are vulnerable and in need of help. It is the belief of this Government
:12:22. > :12:30.and this party that the foundation for effective public services has to
:12:31. > :12:34.be a strong and growing economy, and the plans put forward by the right
:12:35. > :12:41.honourable gentleman, the Leader of the Opposition, would render any
:12:42. > :12:45.such chaotic Government incapable of funding public services because they
:12:46. > :12:50.would have bankrupted the British economy, raised taxes on ordinary
:12:51. > :12:53.working families and piled yet more public debt onto the next
:12:54. > :13:01.generation, a betrayal of young people. I would say to her finally
:13:02. > :13:08.this- she said she looked forward to the Leader of the Opposition being
:13:09. > :13:14.in a position to form a Government and yet we know that three quarters
:13:15. > :13:17.of her own Parliamentary colleagues had no confidence in his ability to
:13:18. > :13:23.continue as the leader of the Labour Party. I think that very few Labour
:13:24. > :13:28.members of this outgoing parliament will be able to stand up and with a
:13:29. > :13:31.straight face say that they really have confidence that the Leader of
:13:32. > :13:36.the Opposition should be entrusted with the Government and leadership
:13:37. > :13:40.of this country. I should just advise the House, pursuant to what
:13:41. > :13:44.the Leader of the House said about our late and esteemed colleague Jo
:13:45. > :13:51.Cox, that the memorial to her had been scheduled to be installed in
:13:52. > :13:59.the chamber next month. That date fell within what will now be the
:14:00. > :14:03.election campaign and therefore a rescheduling is essential, but I
:14:04. > :14:08.would want the House to know that this matter was discussed by
:14:09. > :14:12.relevant colleagues, the Jo Cox foundation and me yesterday and it
:14:13. > :14:21.is fully intended that the installation will take place very
:14:22. > :14:25.soon. Mr Speaker, notwithstanding my advanced years, I have appeared to
:14:26. > :14:29.have gained no more wisdom because I'm going to ask the Leader of the
:14:30. > :14:35.House for a debate on my favourite subject, and your favourite subject
:14:36. > :14:37.know that, and the Leader of the House's favourite subject, HS2, but
:14:38. > :14:41.I do think we need to consider whether we can have an emergency
:14:42. > :14:45.debate on hay jested next week because the boss of HS2 David
:14:46. > :14:48.Higgins, in evidence to the transport select committee
:14:49. > :14:53.yesterday, indicated that their failure to consider conflicts of
:14:54. > :14:58.interest led to the fiasco of a key contract withdrawing from a ?170
:14:59. > :15:05.million contract. I want to know who is going to take responsibility for
:15:06. > :15:08.this, as it is a massive project, the largest infrastructure project
:15:09. > :15:11.in this country and I also think we need to examine whether senior
:15:12. > :15:15.management is fit for their role and should be in charge of such large
:15:16. > :15:20.when we all going to be away from when we all going to be away from
:15:21. > :15:24.this place and not able to scrutinise it. Could we have an
:15:25. > :15:28.emergency debate next week, please? My honourable friend is quite right
:15:29. > :15:32.to pursue this matter that is of great importance to her constituents
:15:33. > :15:38.and mine and those in other constituency is along the proposed
:15:39. > :15:43.line of route. Clearly the failures of juju religions that Sir David
:15:44. > :15:48.Higgins acknowledged had taken place ought not to have happened. I'm
:15:49. > :15:51.therefore glad that our honourable friend the Secretary of State for
:15:52. > :15:55.Transport made it very clear in his evidence to the transport select
:15:56. > :16:01.committee yesterday that he gave a very high priority to the issue of
:16:02. > :16:04.fair and transparent procurement within HS2 and within all such
:16:05. > :16:16.projects for which he has responsibility.
:16:17. > :16:26.Can I... This will be the last business arts questions are very
:16:27. > :16:28.parliament, it has been a pleasure working with the right honourable
:16:29. > :16:32.gentleman and not extend that to the honourable leader and I will give my
:16:33. > :16:35.thanks at the end of my contribution. Could we have a big
:16:36. > :16:41.shout out for all of these members of Parliament that are competing in
:16:42. > :16:45.the London Marathon on Saturday, particularly my honourable friend,
:16:46. > :16:50.who has the distinction of being the first SNP member of Parliament to be
:16:51. > :17:02.competing in the London Marathon. It is on Sunday, he is shouting. This
:17:03. > :17:07.sometime over the weekend, Mr Speaker. Can I just say, high pity
:17:08. > :17:13.her political opponents when she laps on the leaflet run during the
:17:14. > :17:17.general election. We have to have an urgent statement on the status of
:17:18. > :17:21.all of the Conservative members of Parliament currently under police
:17:22. > :17:26.investigation for electoral fraud. It seems there may be up to two
:17:27. > :17:29.dozen Conservative MPs facing the possibility of being prosecuted
:17:30. > :17:32.while we are in the middle of an election campaign. The public
:17:33. > :17:36.deserves to know what will happen under these circumstances that will
:17:37. > :17:40.it be possible for them to continue as candidates in this general
:17:41. > :17:47.election if that was to pass? A lot of people suspect with the first
:17:48. > :17:50.charging decision to be made on the 20th of May, this is the real reason
:17:51. > :17:52.for the snap election and we need to hear from the Government if this
:17:53. > :17:55.played any feature in the deciding of determining this date of
:17:56. > :18:00.election. I would like to hear from the Leader of the House on this
:18:01. > :18:07.issue. And can we have a debate about debates, and particularly our
:18:08. > :18:09.Prime Minister who seems fair to participate in the television
:18:10. > :18:15.variety. She unilaterally called this election but will not debate
:18:16. > :18:18.with other litter colour balance and it is absolutely right that
:18:19. > :18:22.broadcasters are considering empty chairing the prime ministers a
:18:23. > :18:26.maximum embarrassment is achieved. And finally, I wish members of
:18:27. > :18:29.Parliament, nearly all members of parliament, a good election and can
:18:30. > :18:34.I also pay my tributes to the members of Parliament who will be
:18:35. > :18:37.standing down. And also to thank the staff who have served us diligently
:18:38. > :18:41.during the course of these past two years, to you and your office Mr
:18:42. > :18:45.Speaker and I echo the words of the honourable lady. I think as we leave
:18:46. > :18:50.today, we all remember Jo Cox and wish she was out there on the stumps
:18:51. > :18:56.fighting with us for the election and it is so tragic that it has been
:18:57. > :19:01.taken away from this House. I join the honourable gentleman in wishing
:19:02. > :19:06.every success both to his colleague, the honourable lady from Livingston,
:19:07. > :19:09.and to all colleagues from all political parties in the House as
:19:10. > :19:14.they make their final preparations for the London Marathon on Sunday. I
:19:15. > :19:19.am sure the honourable gentleman is right in suggesting that the
:19:20. > :19:27.Marathon training will serve them all in good stead for the seven
:19:28. > :19:30.weeks that now beckon us all. It may give the rest of us the opportunity
:19:31. > :19:36.to wear out some shoe leather as well, though not I suspect quite as
:19:37. > :19:39.well as well have been done by those competing on Sunday. And I hope as
:19:40. > :19:44.well all those members are successful in raising large sums of
:19:45. > :19:48.money for the various charities for which they are supporting in the
:19:49. > :19:56.marathon. The honourable gentleman made a serious point to me about the
:19:57. > :20:00.police investigations. I want to reiterate, Mr Speaker, what the
:20:01. > :20:03.Prime Minister said yesterday, that we stand behind all our candidates
:20:04. > :20:06.at the forthcoming election, who will be out campaigning for a
:20:07. > :20:11.strong, stable Government in the national interest. A number of
:20:12. > :20:15.police forces have conducted investigations and many have been
:20:16. > :20:19.dropped. It is right these matters are investigated properly but the
:20:20. > :20:24.battle bus was directed by the National party, as was the case with
:20:25. > :20:31.other political parties, and we are confident that individual colleagues
:20:32. > :20:35.acted properly. First way I commend my right honourable friend for being
:20:36. > :20:39.an exemplary Leader of the House. He is widely regarded as someone of
:20:40. > :20:44.impeccable integrity and he has conducted the office impeccably
:20:45. > :20:52.during this parliament and I hope nothing will change. May I also just
:20:53. > :20:56.draw his attention and put down a marker about select committee
:20:57. > :21:01.staffing. We have one double staff, they work incredibly hard, but the
:21:02. > :21:05.committee specialists tend to change too often. This doesn't happen in
:21:06. > :21:09.the library, where specialists sometimes remain in post for a
:21:10. > :21:11.decade or more and this would strengthen the role of select
:21:12. > :21:17.committees if we could look at changing the nature of this tapping,
:21:18. > :21:21.rather than the turbulence we put up with at the moment -- of this
:21:22. > :21:23.staffing. I appreciate this is for the next parliament but I wonder if
:21:24. > :21:29.he could leave something on his file to remind him when he gets back. I'm
:21:30. > :21:34.grateful to my honourable friend for his kind remarks. Clearly there is a
:21:35. > :21:38.balance to be struck between the value of continuity that my
:21:39. > :21:43.honourable friend described and also, on the other side of the
:21:44. > :21:49.balance, the need to ensure that individuals have the opportunity to
:21:50. > :21:52.develop their careers in service through a variety of different
:21:53. > :21:57.experiences and occupations, but I will make a note and whether it is
:21:58. > :22:01.high or somebody else who has these duties when the new parliament
:22:02. > :22:08.assembles, I'm sure they will want to take a close look at this. I'm
:22:09. > :22:11.very grateful, Mr Speaker. The backbench business committee in this
:22:12. > :22:16.Parliament has concluded its business and I'm very grateful to
:22:17. > :22:20.the Leader of the House as in this last Parliamentary session, we have
:22:21. > :22:26.had our full allocation of backbench time and we are very grateful for
:22:27. > :22:29.that. We have offered outstanding debate applications which are lying
:22:30. > :22:35.unheard and if it is all right with the Leader of the House, I will ask
:22:36. > :22:37.our committee Clerk to write to his office to seek an airing of those
:22:38. > :22:46.debates in the new parliament, possibly before the time when the
:22:47. > :22:49.new backbench business and new parliament is established, because
:22:50. > :22:52.that happened in the last Parliament, General debates put down
:22:53. > :22:56.by the Leader of the House and some of those subjects could be debated
:22:57. > :23:01.in that time. Mr Speaker, could I also place thanks on record to the
:23:02. > :23:07.members of the committee, the ever presents, the members for Harrow
:23:08. > :23:11.East, Paisley and Renfrewshire North, Birmingham and Yardley, later
:23:12. > :23:15.arrivals from Torbay, Hazel Grove and Whitney, members who departed
:23:16. > :23:22.during the term from Wellingborough and catering and those who had more
:23:23. > :23:28.than a cameo appearances from Aldwych and Brownhills and Ipswich.
:23:29. > :23:35.Can I thank you, that is me done for this Parliament. Thank you. Mr
:23:36. > :23:40.Speaker, can I thank the honourable member for Gateshead and the members
:23:41. > :23:46.of his committee for the sterling work that they have done during this
:23:47. > :23:50.Parliament. I think that backbench business does provide members in all
:23:51. > :23:56.parts of the House to raise issues that are of importance to our
:23:57. > :24:00.constituents but may well not be the subject of Government legislation at
:24:01. > :24:03.any particular time. I will take careful note and obviously consider
:24:04. > :24:08.very carefully the particular point he made to me about the scheduling
:24:09. > :24:27.of debates, general Today I will desist from illicit
:24:28. > :24:33.--... I would return to pursue an appalling company here, and I will
:24:34. > :24:38.be asking you, Mr Speaker, if you received an apology from the company
:24:39. > :24:41.for misleading myself. But can I turn to the Leader of the House,
:24:42. > :24:47.does he agree with me that early in the next parliament, the committee
:24:48. > :24:50.needs to revisit standing order an hundred and 202A, to ensure it
:24:51. > :24:53.reflects the reality of contested elections for select committee
:24:54. > :24:58.chairs, and the expectation of the House that those elected into these
:24:59. > :25:08.roles will serve the full term of the parliament in which they are
:25:09. > :25:13.elected? I am grateful for giving the notice of this issue, has given
:25:14. > :25:17.me the unexpected opportunity to study standing order 120 28, and
:25:18. > :25:24.associated standing orders of the House. I concede that the standing
:25:25. > :25:27.orders relating to the election of select committees is capable of
:25:28. > :25:34.being construed in a number of different ways. It seems that the
:25:35. > :25:38.way forward would be for the committee in the new House of
:25:39. > :25:40.Commons when that is constituted to take this issue away, examine the
:25:41. > :25:52.current standing orders, consult across parties and come back with
:25:53. > :25:55.recommendations in due course. Can I thank members of the House are
:25:56. > :26:02.making clear we will remember Jo Cox at the earliest opportunity, and
:26:03. > :26:05.wishes that she could be on the campaign train with us. I shall not
:26:06. > :26:09.be returning to this House, so can I thank you and everyone here for the
:26:10. > :26:13.20 years of the privilege to represent them in Edgbaston, it has
:26:14. > :26:16.been a privilege. The next Parliament has a very difficult
:26:17. > :26:21.task, the government has to implement the well of the people as
:26:22. > :26:26.expressed on the 23rd of June last year. -- the will of the people. The
:26:27. > :26:39.government has two ensure that we get the best deal. Finally, can I
:26:40. > :26:42.just paraphrase, I shall miss this House, but I shall miss this House
:26:43. > :26:51.more than the House will miss me. LAUGHTER.
:26:52. > :26:54.The honourable lady was characteristically self-deprecating
:26:55. > :26:59.and her remarks. Those of us who have served with her in this House
:27:00. > :27:06.will remember her and her contributions for a very long time.
:27:07. > :27:10.Thank you very much. I appreciate that we have very little time left
:27:11. > :27:16.of this Parliament, but nevertheless I would still like to request that
:27:17. > :27:21.consideration be given for debate on the additional ?10 billion this
:27:22. > :27:26.government have committed to the NHS until 2020, that is certainly
:27:27. > :27:32.starting to see results in my constituency, with the opening of
:27:33. > :27:37.new units at Crow hospital. -- Crawley Hospital. I am grateful to
:27:38. > :27:40.my honourable friend for raising this point, and would join him in
:27:41. > :27:47.welcoming these new units. It seems to me that the commissioning
:27:48. > :27:52.authorities in his part of the country have taken advantage of the
:27:53. > :27:56.record government spending on our National Health service, to the
:27:57. > :27:59.configure services in a way that will provide better services for his
:28:00. > :28:09.constituents and those in neighbouring constituencies in the
:28:10. > :28:13.future. Can I try again with the Leader of the House. Is it possible
:28:14. > :28:19.in the next few days to have an urgent debate about the appalling
:28:20. > :28:25.state of our roads? In Nottinghamshire, there's a ?320
:28:26. > :28:27.million bill regarding repairs to roads, and some of the roads are
:28:28. > :28:32.shocking. The response of the government is to give the Council
:28:33. > :28:36.?40 million. It would take 30 years to repair all of the roads at that
:28:37. > :28:43.rate. It is not good enough, the government has to do something about
:28:44. > :28:50.it. The government set aside ?23 billion but infrastructure in the
:28:51. > :28:55.Autumn Statement, and we are investing a record ?15 billion on
:28:56. > :28:58.road schemes. The amount we are spending on roads include
:28:59. > :29:02.allocations to local authorities, to fill in potholes and carry out other
:29:03. > :29:05.essential road maintenance, as well as providing for the central
:29:06. > :29:10.government spending on motorways and trunk roads. But regarding the point
:29:11. > :29:17.I made to the honourable lady earlier, the ability of any
:29:18. > :29:20.government to provide for increases in public expenditure, the kind that
:29:21. > :29:27.the right honourable gentleman is seeking, rests on the capacity of
:29:28. > :29:33.our economy to create wealth and increase employment. And the
:29:34. > :29:38.policies, which I'm afraid his party at its pricing in this general
:29:39. > :29:41.election campaign, will saddle future generations with debt.
:29:42. > :29:50.we have a debate on hospital services in Shropshire. With the
:29:51. > :29:57.reader in the Hayes -- the Leader of the House join me in welcoming the
:29:58. > :30:00.recent comments of the leader of the hospital trusts, that the children
:30:01. > :30:06.and women's unit in Telford is now safe and indeed new services such as
:30:07. > :30:11.cancer care patient services will be introduced over the coming months.
:30:12. > :30:14.Is it not more evidence that the NHS is safe in Conservative hands
:30:15. > :30:22.locally and nationally? I very much welcome the news from Telford and
:30:23. > :30:24.Shrewsbury, I think it is important that these detailed decisions about
:30:25. > :30:29.the configuration of services are taken at local level and driven by
:30:30. > :30:37.the assessment of those in charge of our NHS at local level, what is
:30:38. > :30:41.needed for their particular communities. One particular setup is
:30:42. > :30:44.not going to work equally well in every part of the country. There
:30:45. > :30:49.needs to be local sensitivity, and I am pleased that is what seems to be
:30:50. > :30:56.happening in Shropshire. The reputation of politics was rock
:30:57. > :31:00.bottom, now it is subterranean. We've done nothing to reform the
:31:01. > :31:06.deep corruption at the heart of our political system by doing nothing
:31:07. > :31:12.about the revolving door. What the country needs is a leader of
:31:13. > :31:17.integrity, a man not mired in corruption and not dedicated to
:31:18. > :31:21.seeking office in order to gain insider knowledge that they can then
:31:22. > :31:25.prostitute to the highest bidder when they leave office. We need a
:31:26. > :31:30.man who is different to what we have had. That is what the country is
:31:31. > :31:40.looking forward to. When can we investigate the activities between
:31:41. > :31:45.previous ministers and Blackstone investments? These are unresolved
:31:46. > :31:53.problems where we have people leaving this House, but they have
:31:54. > :31:58.the consolation of our salaries of up to ?650,000 for a part-time job.
:31:59. > :32:04.This does not honour politics, it drags politics down into the gutter.
:32:05. > :32:16.What we need is a new Prime Minister of integrity. The honourable
:32:17. > :32:21.gentleman, as always, speaks with passion and in this case on the half
:32:22. > :32:30.of the 25% of Labour MPs who support the Leader of the Opposition. I say
:32:31. > :32:33.to him that... Put it this week, I think he may not have meant it in
:32:34. > :32:41.this fashion, but I think he was being extremely unfair to successive
:32:42. > :32:43.prime ministers on both the breath -- from both the main political
:32:44. > :32:47.parties in this country and those who have served in the governments
:32:48. > :32:52.who have gone on after leaving office and membership of this House,
:32:53. > :32:56.to work in other capacities in our country. These are men and women,
:32:57. > :33:01.whether Conservative, Labour road Liberal Democrats, who have things
:33:02. > :33:04.to offer, and it is right that subject to codes and rules that
:33:05. > :33:11.applied, but when they leave office and membership of the House of
:33:12. > :33:15.Commons, they should be free to pursue those new avenues. The
:33:16. > :33:19.honourable member for Birmingham Edgbaston is wrong. She will be
:33:20. > :33:24.missed by the House. Will my right honourable friend find time for a
:33:25. > :33:28.debate on the persecution of Christians throughout the world,
:33:29. > :33:34.given that we start proceedings each day with prayers, I think if we held
:33:35. > :33:42.such a debate it will send out an extremely strong message. I cannot
:33:43. > :33:50.talk my honourable friend the debate, I think every member of the
:33:51. > :33:56.House will have been shocked by the attacks on Coptic churches in
:33:57. > :34:01.particular in the jute during holy week, and that will reinforce and
:34:02. > :34:09.all our minds the importance of the points he has made. -- in particular
:34:10. > :34:11.in Egypt. The Prime Minister and her Easter message spoke up strongly
:34:12. > :34:19.about the need to defend religious freedom around the world,
:34:20. > :34:26.particularly with reference to Christians and religious minorities
:34:27. > :34:30.we do not -- who do not have the same freedoms we can cherish in the
:34:31. > :34:33.UK. One month ago I asked the leader for a debate on female
:34:34. > :34:37.representation in politics. Two weeks from today, the voters of
:34:38. > :34:42.Renfrewshire will elect a new councillor, and at best will offer
:34:43. > :34:47.50-50 split among its candidates. Only 29% of Labour, and 17% of
:34:48. > :34:52.Conservative candidates are women. Flavour is doubly fortunate to
:34:53. > :34:55.return to the House -- if the leader is fortunate enough to return to his
:34:56. > :35:04.role, can we have a debate on the subject? I would say, this
:35:05. > :35:12.government could not have been clearer about our wish to encourage
:35:13. > :35:15.more women to take part in public life, both in seeking membership of
:35:16. > :35:22.the House of Commons and local authorities and in many other forms
:35:23. > :35:26.of public service, and successive leaders of my party have worked very
:35:27. > :35:29.hard to promote that, not least my right honourable friend the Prime
:35:30. > :35:34.Minister. I would say to the honourable gentleman, unlike his
:35:35. > :35:43.party, my party has a woman leader in Holyrood and Westminster. Can I
:35:44. > :35:46.start that I seeing the honourable member for Edgbaston has been an
:35:47. > :35:54.outstanding member of Parliament, and her successor has an incredibly
:35:55. > :35:57.difficult act to follow. Can the Leader of the House confirmed that
:35:58. > :36:00.the prison and courts Bill has now been abandoned in this Parliament
:36:01. > :36:04.and will have to start its passage into the House in the next
:36:05. > :36:09.Parliament, and can he tell us which bills will go through the rather
:36:10. > :36:17.grubby process of the wash-up, which is an unsatisfactory way to pass
:36:18. > :36:23.laws? The bills that would introduced to this House quite late
:36:24. > :36:29.in the current parliamentary session and which received carry-over motion
:36:30. > :36:35.Sodhi could be debated in what would have been the third session of the
:36:36. > :36:40.current Parliament, including the prisons and Courts Bill. In my
:36:41. > :36:46.statement I referred to some of those measures we will be addressing
:36:47. > :36:51.during the wash-up period next week. As my right honourable friend knows,
:36:52. > :36:56.there are discussions going on through the usual channels about how
:36:57. > :37:02.to handle particular pieces of legislation, and I do not want to
:37:03. > :37:07.prejudice the outcome of those discussions. Can I thank you and the
:37:08. > :37:13.Leader of the House for your kind remarks about my neighbour and
:37:14. > :37:21.friend, Jo Cox. She will be an all our minds as we fight the election.
:37:22. > :37:23.She was a radical underperformer, she cared about their size, but she
:37:24. > :37:30.was discontent with the House because she thought it was not as
:37:31. > :37:32.accountable for a modern age as it could be. Could we think about this
:37:33. > :37:42.during the election period and when we come back could we have an early
:37:43. > :37:47.debate, whoever is the Leader of the House, I fancy it for myself!
:37:48. > :37:53.LAUGHTER There is no ageism here. Could we have a serious debate about
:37:54. > :37:55.we can make this place more accountable. Many of my constituents
:37:56. > :37:58.find that the call for an early election has gotten the way of
:37:59. > :38:03.accountability for people like me, who have wanted to stay in the
:38:04. > :38:07.European Union, accepted the will the people, but are going to fight
:38:08. > :38:12.like mad to make sure we get a good deal. If we have money for public
:38:13. > :38:15.services he mentioned, surely we should have a good deal, and this
:38:16. > :38:20.House will now have a weakened position in terms of making
:38:21. > :38:27.I simply don't see the connection that he asserts between their being
:38:28. > :38:32.a general election and this has being in a weak position. I would
:38:33. > :38:35.have thought the fact that we had a house of Commons charged with a new
:38:36. > :38:41.mandate from the people to carry through the referendum outcome would
:38:42. > :38:45.mean that there was greater strength of purpose in this House, as indeed
:38:46. > :38:49.on the part of the Government in going forward to what will be very
:38:50. > :38:55.challenging negotiations and I would say to him there is absolutely no
:38:56. > :39:01.doubt in my mind about my right honourable friend the Prime
:39:02. > :39:04.Minister's utter determination to secure the best possible deal for
:39:05. > :39:08.all the people of every part of the United Kingdom at the end of those
:39:09. > :39:14.negotiations. Would the Government be able to make time for a statement
:39:15. > :39:18.or North Korea? Whilst security concerns are currently uppermost in
:39:19. > :39:23.many people's minds, would the Government convey the concern of
:39:24. > :39:27.many of us in this House at the possibility of the Chinese
:39:28. > :39:34.Government of returning refugees from North Korea back to the North
:39:35. > :39:36.Korean regime, to near certain death or lifetime imprisonment, sometimes
:39:37. > :39:42.going on for three generations of their families. It is not something
:39:43. > :39:47.many of us as has want to be silent about. My honourable friend makes a
:39:48. > :39:57.very cogent point the Government is concerned that China continues
:39:58. > :40:04.regard North -- both Korean refugees as migrants rather than refugees and
:40:05. > :40:07.as we all know, the scale of human rights abuses in North Korea is too
:40:08. > :40:11.severe for the international community, including China, to
:40:12. > :40:18.ignore. We have repeatedly called upon the Chinese authorities to at
:40:19. > :40:22.the very least is Makovich respect the fundamentals built into the
:40:23. > :40:30.United Nations conventions and we did this in our recent UK - China
:40:31. > :40:34.human rights dialogue. I recently met with the father of toddler Harry
:40:35. > :40:39.Studley who honourable members may remember was shot in the head with
:40:40. > :40:43.an air rifle in South Bristol last July. Harry's dad has impressed me
:40:44. > :40:48.with not only his resilience in the face of this adversity, he has told
:40:49. > :40:51.me Harry is doing well, but also his determination as a nation that we
:40:52. > :40:56.learn something from this incident. So can we have a debate about what
:40:57. > :41:01.measures the Government can put in place to improve air rifle safety?
:41:02. > :41:06.For example, the introduction of compulsory trigger locks on these
:41:07. > :41:16.lethal weapons. Well, first of all, can I wish Harry a full recovery and
:41:17. > :41:21.express my best wishes to those caring for him and those who are
:41:22. > :41:36.treating his injuries. The Government keeps the legislation and
:41:37. > :41:36.At present, we have -- at present, At
:41:37. > :41:36.using those weapons do so we have no plans to license or
:41:37. > :41:39.using those weapons do so responsibly and safely. High-powered
:41:40. > :41:44.air weapons do require a firearms licence and even low powered air
:41:45. > :41:48.weapons are subject to a range of controls, including restrictions
:41:49. > :41:51.around their sale. I mean, the problem about introducing further
:41:52. > :42:02.restrictions on low powered air weapons is that it would involve a
:42:03. > :42:05.small minority of people who misuse, sometimes tragically, this use of
:42:06. > :42:12.air weapons in England and Wales and it would, by introducing a further
:42:13. > :42:16.set of controls, divert police resources from controlling the other
:42:17. > :42:22.higher risk firearms such as rifles and shotguns, where we think the
:42:23. > :42:27.police ought to give priority. I am sometimes asked by constituents,
:42:28. > :42:30.when they have seen our proceedings on television, do you really hate
:42:31. > :42:35.one another? They see as shouting at one another over the dispatch box
:42:36. > :42:41.and they say, what are they like after you have done battle with
:42:42. > :42:44.them? And then I is when the reality, that I had difficulty
:42:45. > :42:50.sometimes more with people on my own side than the people opposite. They
:42:51. > :42:54.know who they are. And they know who they are! But the reality is of
:42:55. > :42:57.course we build a lasting and enduring friendships with members of
:42:58. > :43:04.Parliament from all parties and none more so than the honourable member
:43:05. > :43:08.for Edgbaston. She will leave an enduring legacy in the work that she
:43:09. > :43:13.did on Brexit and I am grateful to her and with your end of term
:43:14. > :43:20.latitude, Mr Speaker, I will say I will miss you, Gisela and I will
:43:21. > :43:23.issue in the future and it wouldn't be business questions if I didn't
:43:24. > :43:30.say, there is an issue with potholes in the Ribble Valley. I'm going to
:43:31. > :43:35.spend the next seven weeks driving around looking at them as I visit
:43:36. > :43:41.towns, hamlets and villages and I do hope that as part of our imaginative
:43:42. > :43:44.manifesto for the future that we can think of ways whereby district
:43:45. > :43:47.authorities are able to bid for some of that money made available by
:43:48. > :43:51.central Government in order that we can fill those holes. Mr Speaker, I
:43:52. > :43:57.wish you and all the parliamentary staff well for the dissolution and
:43:58. > :44:04.also for preparation for the hard work that will come ahead in the new
:44:05. > :44:11.parliament. I think my honourable friend makes a point of that it is
:44:12. > :44:16.sometimes quite hard for people outside this House, who only see the
:44:17. > :44:20.moments of high drama on their TV screens, to understand that actually
:44:21. > :44:23.we all come into this phase with equal electoral mandate, we all come
:44:24. > :44:29.in with passionately held political views about how best to make things
:44:30. > :44:35.better for the people who we represent, but actually, there is a
:44:36. > :44:37.certain amount of camaraderie that transcends party political
:44:38. > :44:43.differences and friendships that can be built up across party lines over
:44:44. > :44:50.very many years. On his policy point about the Ribble Valley, the idea of
:44:51. > :44:54.having a system for bids, additional bits from local authorities, is an
:44:55. > :44:57.interesting one and I will make sure that that is passed on and placed in
:44:58. > :45:05.the in tray for the incoming transport minister after the
:45:06. > :45:09.election. The Leader of the House didn't clarify, the 2nd of May? I
:45:10. > :45:13.wondered if we could have some information about that but what I
:45:14. > :45:16.really wanted to ask, is the Leader of the House aware that the families
:45:17. > :45:20.of the victims of the Hyde Park bombings have been denied Legal Aid
:45:21. > :45:25.to fund their pursuit in the civil action against the chief suspect?
:45:26. > :45:28.Could the Minister look at meeting with the members and peers who
:45:29. > :45:32.support the victims' campaign, in order to consider the Government
:45:33. > :45:39.making exceptional funding available so the justice they have been denied
:45:40. > :45:41.for 35 years can be delivered? As a Ulster Unionist Party may I
:45:42. > :45:44.associate myself with all the remarks everyone else has made and
:45:45. > :45:48.thanking all of those who have helped us over the period we have
:45:49. > :45:52.been here and it is good to hear that we are marking the Jo Cox but
:45:53. > :45:56.also the strength of her husband has been quite fantastic, the same time,
:45:57. > :46:01.and may I wish all the best to those who standing down and may I just
:46:02. > :46:04.share with you, because it is such good wording, from an Irish
:46:05. > :46:08.blessing, for all of you when you are knocking on the doors, made a
:46:09. > :46:13.road rise to meet you, May the wind be always at your back, made the
:46:14. > :46:16.sunshine warm upon your face, the rain fall soft upon your fields and
:46:17. > :46:24.until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand. Thank
:46:25. > :46:29.you. The whole house warmed to the honourable gentleman's concluding
:46:30. > :46:39.comments. And I join him in his salute to Brendan Cox, who has shown
:46:40. > :46:46.the most inspiring courage and fortitude over the months since Jo's
:46:47. > :46:50.murder. But who has also spoken out fearlessly in defence of democracy
:46:51. > :46:52.and human rights and against extremism at a time when he must
:46:53. > :47:00.have been under the most appalling personal stress. The honourable
:47:01. > :47:04.gentleman asked me two specific questions. On his point about Legal
:47:05. > :47:09.Aid, I think implicit in his question to me was the fact that
:47:10. > :47:12.these decisions are taking at arms length from ministers but I will ask
:47:13. > :47:17.the minister responsible for Legal Aid to make contact with him and
:47:18. > :47:25.other interested colleagues in both houses. On his point about Tuesday
:47:26. > :47:29.the second, the... While the working assumption at the moment is that the
:47:30. > :47:35.House will not sit then, that data is available should it be needed, to
:47:36. > :47:38.ensure that business is completed. By law, the dissolution of
:47:39. > :47:46.Parliament must take place at one minute past midnight on the third,
:47:47. > :47:51.so Tuesday will be the last day on which members of this parliament
:47:52. > :48:02.will have access to their offices in the House of Commons. I was somewhat
:48:03. > :48:05.disappointed and dismayed to hear that Walsall Borough Council has
:48:06. > :48:10.declined to take part in the Government's pilot scheme on voter
:48:11. > :48:14.ID at polling stations. Is the Leader of the House aware of any
:48:15. > :48:19.advice for presiding officers at the forthcoming local mayoral elections
:48:20. > :48:22.and the general election to deter impersonation at polling stations?
:48:23. > :48:26.The electoral commission does provide such guidance to returning
:48:27. > :48:30.officers and their staff, including those running polling stations, and
:48:31. > :48:34.the handbooks from the commission specifically include a procedure for
:48:35. > :48:39.dealing with impersonation and guidance in how to deal with
:48:40. > :48:44.particular issues. I'm disappointed to hear my honourable friend say
:48:45. > :48:49.that Walsall Council does not wish to follow best practice and I hope
:48:50. > :48:59.that they might reconsider, following her representation. The
:49:00. > :49:04.coalition Government introduced a fund of 173.5 million for public
:49:05. > :49:09.transport in Leeds for a modern mass transit system. I was delighted that
:49:10. > :49:13.this Government has stuck to that commitment. Of course now, with the
:49:14. > :49:17.election, that is thrown into the air so can I ask the Minister what
:49:18. > :49:23.will happen and can he assure me there will be proper scrutiny of
:49:24. > :49:27.Leeds City Council's frankly unambitious and very poor plans for
:49:28. > :49:34.spending that money, when actually, this place is not sitting? Of
:49:35. > :49:40.course, first of all, there will be some election going on in Yorkshire,
:49:41. > :49:55.certainly the greater Leeds area, this year but the processes for the
:49:56. > :49:57.auditing and scrutiny of expenditure within Government continue,
:49:58. > :50:02.ministers remain in office. What they will not become until the new
:50:03. > :50:05.Parliament assembles, is the opportunity for members of
:50:06. > :50:10.Parliament in this House to raise matters where they think that money
:50:11. > :50:16.has not been spent to best effect. But we are talking only about a
:50:17. > :50:19.matter of seven weeks, so I think it will not be long before members
:50:20. > :50:26.representing Leeds and every other part of the country are able to
:50:27. > :50:31.raise all these points. Can I echo what was said earlier by my
:50:32. > :50:35.honourable friend in welcoming the Government's increased investment in
:50:36. > :50:40.the NHS and also in acknowledging what the Leader of the House said
:50:41. > :50:43.earlier about the need for local decision-making on Health Service
:50:44. > :50:47.matters. Can nonetheless seek his reassurance that in the next
:50:48. > :50:50.Parliament, we will have the opportunity properly to scrutinise
:50:51. > :50:55.any proposed changes that come forward as a result of NHS England's
:50:56. > :51:00.sustainability and transformation plans? There is, as he will know
:51:01. > :51:03.because I have raised it in the House before, considerable concern
:51:04. > :51:07.about services at North Devon hospital in my constituency, but the
:51:08. > :51:16.concern is any proposed changes might be hastily imposed by the
:51:17. > :51:18.local Health Service managers. Will he be able to reassure me that we
:51:19. > :51:21.will have an opportunity to scrutinise those matters? And before
:51:22. > :51:24.I take my seat, because it seems I have the privilege of being the last
:51:25. > :51:27.member on this side of the House to ask a business question in this
:51:28. > :51:32.parliament, can I echo all of the comments made about our colleague Jo
:51:33. > :51:35.Cox. Mr Speaker, I thank you and your staff and the staff of this
:51:36. > :51:41.House to help run the business of this has so smoothly and long may it
:51:42. > :51:46.continue. I am grateful to my honourable friend. I can assure him
:51:47. > :51:52.that the next House of Commons, both in the chamber, in Westminster Hall,
:51:53. > :51:57.and through the Health Select Committee, when that is
:51:58. > :51:58.re-established, will have the opportunity to consider
:51:59. > :52:03.sustainability and transformation plans as they come forward in all
:52:04. > :52:08.parts of the country, but any such plan has two major four tests for
:52:09. > :52:11.service change. They must be supported by GP commissioners, be
:52:12. > :52:13.based on clinical evidence, demonstrate public and patient
:52:14. > :52:19.engagement and consider patient choice. And the NHS organisations
:52:20. > :52:24.involved are obliged to consult the local authority's health overview
:52:25. > :52:29.and scrutiny committees, so any proposed changes to substantial
:52:30. > :52:32.changes on health services. Those committees can make a formal
:52:33. > :52:37.objection to such a substantial service change and referred the
:52:38. > :52:39.decision to the Secretary of State for a decision and the Secretary of
:52:40. > :52:46.State, local ministers, is accountable to this House. With your
:52:47. > :52:49.indulgence, just before I ask my question, I would like to put on
:52:50. > :52:52.record my sincere thanks for the honourable members of it we've about
:52:53. > :53:00.and Glasgow North West for assisting me when I was unwell yesterday. I
:53:01. > :53:03.would also like to extend my thanks to the wonderful staff and medics
:53:04. > :53:07.for their excellent usual care. In the culture, media and sport
:53:08. > :53:11.questions on the 16th of March, myself and the honourable member for
:53:12. > :53:18.North Ayrshire and Arran asked the undersecretary of state about a long
:53:19. > :53:20.campaign on betting terminals. We were promised a long-standing
:53:21. > :53:26.announcement by the Government would be made in the spring. Can the
:53:27. > :53:28.Leader of the House committed a that this firm commitment will be kept
:53:29. > :53:34.before the dissolution of Parliament?
:53:35. > :53:40.I cannot promise that for the reason that once the general election has
:53:41. > :53:45.been announced, the normal rules on government purdah start to apply
:53:46. > :53:50.fairly promptly, certainly from the end of this week. This is a matter
:53:51. > :53:59.to the Cabinet Secretary, rather than for ministers. And while
:54:00. > :54:07.ministers will be free in the next 24 hours to make a number of
:54:08. > :54:13.statements, as soon as the purdah rules come into play, which I expect
:54:14. > :54:15.to happen tomorrow, then the government machine is prohibited
:54:16. > :54:17.because it must maintain impartiality during an election
:54:18. > :54:26.period from making such announcements. We all know that to
:54:27. > :54:29.ensure constituents can get better paid better quality jobs and that
:54:30. > :54:35.businesses can compete better abroad, we must ensure our people
:54:36. > :54:40.have the skills. It is a disgrace therefore that in my area we are
:54:41. > :54:47.facing further savage cuts of beyond ?20 million per year to our local
:54:48. > :54:51.schools. So before the House is dissolved, can we have a statement
:54:52. > :54:56.from the Education Secretary on why this government is pulling the rug
:54:57. > :55:01.from under our young people and taking us back to mid-19 90s levels
:55:02. > :55:10.of Tory underinvestment in our schools? Our young people deserve
:55:11. > :55:15.better. I would point out first that the number of pupils attending
:55:16. > :55:23.schools which are rated as good or outstanding has risen since 2010 to
:55:24. > :55:27.the highest level ever. Some 89% of pupils attend such schools, and the
:55:28. > :55:35.number of individual schools that meet those Ofsted standards is also
:55:36. > :55:39.at a record high. He also chose not to mention this government's
:55:40. > :55:50.commitment to 3 million good apprenticeship starts, nor did he
:55:51. > :55:52.mention this government's renewed focus on technical and vocational
:55:53. > :55:56.education, which is something that is essential if we are to give young
:55:57. > :56:05.men and women the opportunities that he, like high, wishes to see them
:56:06. > :56:15.enjoy. His question was an attack on the proposed new funding for
:56:16. > :56:18.schools, but it has long been argued on both sides of this House that it
:56:19. > :56:29.was not tolerable to continue with the situation in which schools and
:56:30. > :56:37.almost geographical identical areas could receive almost half the money
:56:38. > :56:41.per pupil than the other comparable school was receiving. As the
:56:42. > :56:43.honourable gentleman knows, it is the subject of a public consultation
:56:44. > :56:46.that has just closed. The Secretary of State is considering her response
:56:47. > :56:54.to that and she will come forward with proposals. The Leader of the
:56:55. > :56:58.House referred to Gibraltar. Can I remind him Gibraltar have a Labour
:56:59. > :57:02.government and we know that any Labour government is always better
:57:03. > :57:07.than Tory Government. But I wasn't going to ask about that. I want to
:57:08. > :57:12.ask about why the government has broken its promise because Minister
:57:13. > :57:14.after minister has said in reference to secondary legislation that if the
:57:15. > :57:17.opposition demands a debate and vote, there will be a debate and
:57:18. > :57:25.vote. But for the last two years, successive leaders of the House have
:57:26. > :57:27.refused to allow us this. In particular, after dozens of
:57:28. > :57:32.constituents are worried about changes to independent payments,
:57:33. > :57:37.many of them with severe mental health problems concerned this will
:57:38. > :57:40.go through without any debate or vote, why will the government
:57:41. > :57:48.minister not say yes, we're going to have a debate and vote next week? He
:57:49. > :57:52.knows an election has been called which makes a difference to the
:57:53. > :57:55.allocation of time for business, particularly as we have to make
:57:56. > :57:59.provision, and I think this is appointed leader across the House.
:58:00. > :58:03.We have to make provision for emergency legislation in relation to
:58:04. > :58:10.Northern Ireland, which will take time that might otherwise have been
:58:11. > :58:12.available for other purposes. Regarding Personal
:58:13. > :58:15.Payment is, if you looks at what he Payment is, if you looks at what he
:58:16. > :58:24.is actually -- what is actually going on, the number of successful
:58:25. > :58:28.appeals against this is only 3% of cases that have reached a decision.
:58:29. > :58:35.And the number of people with mental health conditions who are getting
:58:36. > :58:40.additional help under PIP compared with DLA is significantly higher. So
:58:41. > :58:46.PIP represents a big improvement upon the situation that existed
:58:47. > :58:55.previously. Finally I will say this, he is on very dangerous ground
:58:56. > :59:01.regarding the Chief Minister of Gibraltar. One thing I know if at
:59:02. > :59:08.all political parties in Gibraltar detested and resented the previous
:59:09. > :59:13.Labour government's proposals. And I echo comments made about Jo Cox. She
:59:14. > :59:16.was a huge champion of International development, and while I am pleased
:59:17. > :59:20.to see the proposals going ahead for a memorial to her here in the
:59:21. > :59:23.Commons, I think one of the greatest memorials would be to see all
:59:24. > :59:27.parties recommitting to the cross-party agreement on 0.7% of
:59:28. > :59:32.international development. It would be a tragedy if that was abandoned.
:59:33. > :59:36.She was also a champion of the situation of older people in this
:59:37. > :59:39.country, and we have a surprise general election, I wonder if we
:59:40. > :59:44.might see a surprise statement from the government in the next few days
:59:45. > :59:52.about correcting the historical injustice regarding pensioners
:59:53. > :59:57.across this country, including mine workers who have been let down and
:59:58. > :00:03.not received what they were expected to lose even the retirement. It is
:00:04. > :00:09.going to be important as we leave the European Union that the United
:00:10. > :00:12.Kingdom is more outward looking in the world even than it is already. I
:00:13. > :00:18.am certainly proud of the way in which we use are very generous aid
:00:19. > :00:22.programme to bring humanitarian assistance to people in need at the
:00:23. > :00:29.moment in parts of central and eastern Africa, and to people inside
:00:30. > :00:34.Syria and those who have taken refuge in neighbouring countries.
:00:35. > :00:39.This point about the state pension age increase for women, transitional
:00:40. > :00:44.arrangements are already in place, and the last government committed
:00:45. > :00:48.more than ?1 billion to lessen the impact of those changes. No one will
:00:49. > :00:51.see their pension age change by more than 18 months compared with the
:00:52. > :00:58.previous timetable. The problem with what the honourable gentleman is
:00:59. > :01:02.seeking a fact to reverse the pensions act 2011 would cost more
:01:03. > :01:09.than ?30 billion, and neither he his party have any plan as to how they
:01:10. > :01:14.would find that money. Six innocent UK military veterans, including
:01:15. > :01:17.Billy Urban remain in jail in India. The Foreign Secretary has still not
:01:18. > :01:24.met with families. This government has been in a tizzy over Brexit and
:01:25. > :01:26.not focusing on these men. Now the selection means their perilous
:01:27. > :01:32.situation slips even further down the priority list. These military
:01:33. > :01:34.veterans deserve better. What is his government going to do to get Billy
:01:35. > :01:42.and his colleagues home where they belong with their families? She has
:01:43. > :01:49.raised this case before. But she knows therefore that the Prime
:01:50. > :01:54.Minister has raised the case with the Prime Minister of India. That
:01:55. > :02:00.Foreign Office ministers and our High Commissioner in New Delhi have
:02:01. > :02:03.raised this issue many times with their Indian counterparts, and
:02:04. > :02:09.representations continue to be made to the Indian High Commissioner here
:02:10. > :02:16.in London. The case is with the judicial system within India, which
:02:17. > :02:25.is a mature democracy, and we will continue to make or representations
:02:26. > :02:32.we can, and we're not giving up. It is wrong to suggest we have done.
:02:33. > :02:37.South Tees clinical commissioning group announced a fortnight ago that
:02:38. > :02:41.they medical Centre serving over 5000 people in the village, many of
:02:42. > :02:44.whom are elderly, will close at the end of June. NHS England provided
:02:45. > :02:49.emergency GP cover for the last year after the previous company went into
:02:50. > :02:55.liquidation. But not a single bed has been received, which are damning
:02:56. > :02:59.indictment of this government's approach to health care. I have
:03:00. > :03:02.written to the Secretary of State to step in urgently on the half of
:03:03. > :03:13.those patients who rely on the GP service. But can he bring this of
:03:14. > :03:16.the -- to the urgent attention... I will refer the particular case to
:03:17. > :03:23.the Secretary of State for health and his team. But I would say in
:03:24. > :03:27.respect of her strictures about the use of private sector contractors,
:03:28. > :03:31.that it was actually under the previous Labour government that
:03:32. > :03:39.there was a significant increase of four and a half percent of NHS
:03:40. > :03:43.spending being delivered through contracting out services. The
:03:44. > :03:53.proportion has grown only slightly since 2010. I return once again to
:03:54. > :03:57.the issue of the National shipbuilding strategy, which have
:03:58. > :04:07.been told since last summer is Imagen. -- is imminent. This
:04:08. > :04:10.parliament was ensured it would be published in the spring of 2017. So
:04:11. > :04:12.can the Leader of the House confirmed today that the
:04:13. > :04:16.shipbuilding strategy will not be published before the end of this
:04:17. > :04:20.Parliament, and does he accept that that will be seen by the shipyard
:04:21. > :04:24.workers on the Clyde and elsewhere as a complete betrayal and another
:04:25. > :04:32.gross dereliction of duty by this Conservative Government? We're not
:04:33. > :04:37.going to be shy, Mr Speaker, publishing the National shipbuilding
:04:38. > :04:44.strategy, but I would refer him to the answer he gave to his honourable
:04:45. > :04:47.friend about the impact of purdah rules, and I suspect the honourable
:04:48. > :04:54.gentleman and his party would be the first on the feet to complain if
:04:55. > :05:02.during a general election campaign we had announcements coming out of
:05:03. > :05:08.Whitehall which he would then argue work to help win the general
:05:09. > :05:12.election. The Conservative government in London has spent
:05:13. > :05:18.?7,000 per person on transport projects in the south-east for every
:05:19. > :05:23.?1 per person spent in the North. Meanwhile, schools in Sefton face a
:05:24. > :05:28.cut of ?518 per child and the loss of nearly 500 teachers, so before
:05:29. > :05:33.the election, can we have a statement about whether the people
:05:34. > :05:39.of Sefton Central have been let down by the government and why they have
:05:40. > :05:45.had such appalling treatment? The honourable gentleman looks back --
:05:46. > :05:51.if you looks back to the Autumn Statement, he will see there was ?13
:05:52. > :05:56.billion reserved for Northern England, and I could list some of
:05:57. > :06:02.the projects, improvements to Manchester Airport, 300 million for
:06:03. > :06:05.the time Wear Metro, benefiting northern cities and regions
:06:06. > :06:11.directly. In his question to me, he also ignored the fact that
:06:12. > :06:17.investment in London can bring direct benefit to centres outside
:06:18. > :06:21.the London -- outside London. Crossrail trains are being built in
:06:22. > :06:26.Derby and providing jobs there. Components for London buses are made
:06:27. > :06:35.in Falkirk and Ballymena. All parts of the United Kingdom are benefiting
:06:36. > :06:43.from this programme. On a similar point, can we have a statement on
:06:44. > :06:49.the procurement of type 26 frigates? The best shipbuilders in the world
:06:50. > :06:56.have waited now for two years for work to start on these frigates, and
:06:57. > :07:00.that the minimum, if we are not to receive a statement, to team sure
:07:01. > :07:09.the Ministry of Defence could write to me with an update? As I think I
:07:10. > :07:14.have said this dispatch box before, the government hopes that steel
:07:15. > :07:20.cutting can begin on that programme as soon as possible, and he will
:07:21. > :07:24.know that the two biggest warships ever built for the Royal Navy are
:07:25. > :07:30.being constructed in Scotland as we speak. Following the official
:07:31. > :07:36.opening of the power station in my constituency last month, attended by
:07:37. > :07:38.the Minister for South Herefordshire, a number of
:07:39. > :07:45.north-west businesses remain unpaid following the liquidation of the
:07:46. > :07:52.project contractor by its massive Spanish parent. It is disgraceful
:07:53. > :07:57.that our local businesses should lose out on major infrastructure
:07:58. > :08:01.projects that is contributing to our national energy security. With the
:08:02. > :08:05.leader arrange an urgent statement next week on a report made available
:08:06. > :08:09.to these businesses during the period of dissolution.
:08:10. > :08:16.It's clearly important, particularly for small businesses, that they are
:08:17. > :08:20.paid in full and on time within the terms of their respective contracts.
:08:21. > :08:26.As the honourable lady will know, if there is a liquidation involved,
:08:27. > :08:30.then a particular legal regime does kick in. If she would like to let me
:08:31. > :08:36.have some details, I will send those on directly to the energy minister.
:08:37. > :08:40.In the remaining days that we have of this parliament, can we please
:08:41. > :08:44.have a debate about the Northern Powerhouse? Particularly because
:08:45. > :08:48.London gets ten times as much per head of population to spend on
:08:49. > :08:54.transport than Yorkshire and the Humber. Schools in my patch of
:08:55. > :08:58.facing cuts of up to ?400 per pupil. The NHS, under the sustainability
:08:59. > :09:03.and transformation plan, are said to see cuts of 328 million. The council
:09:04. > :09:06.budget has been slashed by 50% and we have the lowest number of police
:09:07. > :09:12.officers since the 1970s in Humberside. So can we please have a
:09:13. > :09:20.debate about what the your Mac to lead Tories have against Yorkshire
:09:21. > :09:27.and Hull in particular? Is she looks at the record, she will see large
:09:28. > :09:33.sums of money and that money mentioned in the Autumn Statement
:09:34. > :09:38.being used in Yorkshire, the Humber and northern England and she will
:09:39. > :09:41.see that more than 60% of the increase in private sector
:09:42. > :09:47.employment since the 2010 general election has been in parts of the
:09:48. > :09:54.United Kingdom outside London and the south-east, so I think if she
:09:55. > :09:57.looks at the record, she will say that Yorkshire and Humberside are
:09:58. > :10:03.benefiting from the sound economic policies the Government are
:10:04. > :10:07.pursuing. Yesterday, the Prime Minister said she would be out there
:10:08. > :10:11.campaigning in every part of the United Kingdom in the coming
:10:12. > :10:14.election. Can I help police suggest she visits the Stirling
:10:15. > :10:17.constituency, where the presence of a hard Brexit, hard right,
:10:18. > :10:24.pro-restorative touristy Prime Minister will do nothing but good to
:10:25. > :10:27.determine winning the SNP campaign. I know my right honourable friend
:10:28. > :10:36.the Prime Minister is looking forward with relish to coming to
:10:37. > :10:42.Scotland and making the positive case for a Conservative Government
:10:43. > :10:45.and also pointing out that after ten years of SNP stewardship, we see a
:10:46. > :10:52.decline in the national Health Service in Scotland and standards in
:10:53. > :11:02.Scottish schools overtaken by those in England, in Wales, in Poland and
:11:03. > :11:09.in Stonier. -- in Estonia. I am proud to be part of a final
:11:10. > :11:11.Caledonian flush in this last business questions although
:11:12. > :11:19.hopefully on Sunday, it will be more of a Caledonian flash and all of you
:11:20. > :11:22.are in a sprint to the election, but some of us have a marathon to run
:11:23. > :11:27.and I wish the other 30 members of the House of Commons well in their
:11:28. > :11:31.endeavours. It is in one of those occasions where politics aside, we
:11:32. > :11:34.stand together and run together for those local charities first and
:11:35. > :11:38.foremost as members of Parliament, we are there to stand up for our
:11:39. > :11:46.local charities and organisations. I will be representing money in --
:11:47. > :11:52.raising money for Jack Truman, who died from a rare form of cancer in
:11:53. > :12:03.2015, his mother and family do a huge amount of work in our community
:12:04. > :12:12.and Michelle Henderson, who was in the year below me at school and died
:12:13. > :12:15.and it will be a proud moment for me running those grid that marathon and
:12:16. > :12:22.I wish all of those well who are also running it. I reared charade
:12:23. > :12:25.the wishes I gave to those earlier to those running in a marathon and
:12:26. > :12:33.salute the work of the charity she is supporting. Many of my
:12:34. > :12:39.constituents will be affected by recent changes to welfare policy
:12:40. > :12:42.brought about by this Government. Considering we will soon be left
:12:43. > :12:47.without a member of Parliament for over a month due to purdah, will the
:12:48. > :12:50.Leader of the House make provision for urgent business next week to
:12:51. > :12:57.reverse these iniquitous changes until after the general election?
:12:58. > :13:03.No, Mr Speaker, the changes to welfare policies that the Government
:13:04. > :13:06.has brought in have contributed towards a significant growth in
:13:07. > :13:12.employment, which is at record levels in this country, including a
:13:13. > :13:19.big increase in the number of disabled people who are now in work
:13:20. > :13:22.and gaining the dignity, the self-respect, that they want to have
:13:23. > :13:28.through participating in the Labour market, while at the same time, we
:13:29. > :13:31.have increased and protected those benefits that are received by the
:13:32. > :13:42.most disabled people in the United Kingdom. Can I thirsty echo the
:13:43. > :13:45.comments the backbench business committee and as for some clarity
:13:46. > :13:48.about whether or not there will be debates in Westminster Hall next
:13:49. > :13:52.Thursday and your business will be carried over? He said a few moments
:13:53. > :13:56.ago that we are elected with an equal mandate. Even Margaret
:13:57. > :14:00.Thatcher recognise that the return of a majority of SNP MPs from
:14:01. > :14:04.Scotland would be a mandate to take forward our policies on independence
:14:05. > :14:07.and yet the current Prime Minister doesn't seem to respect the mandate
:14:08. > :14:10.of the Scottish Parliament to give Scotland a choice, so could we
:14:11. > :14:20.perhaps have a debate on which Prime Minister was right? I think that the
:14:21. > :14:26.mandate that was given by the people of Scotland in 2014 was that
:14:27. > :14:29.Scotland should remain in the United Kingdom. I wish the honourable
:14:30. > :14:39.gentleman and his party would respect that. Mr Speaker, our
:14:40. > :14:46.families sacrificed a lot for all of us to be in this House and over this
:14:47. > :14:49.parliament, the family of Jo Cox gave the ultimate sacrifice. I know
:14:50. > :14:53.personally that I couldn't undertake this role without the love and
:14:54. > :14:57.support of my husband John and also my family and I'm sure that is the
:14:58. > :15:02.same for every member of this House with families, partners and spouses.
:15:03. > :15:05.On the 27th of March this year, the Prime Minister stated to the staff
:15:06. > :15:11.of the International development team in a school bride "Because of
:15:12. > :15:17.what you do every day, the United Kingdom and the values at its heart
:15:18. > :15:20.is one of the greatest forces for good in the world today." Put the
:15:21. > :15:25.Leader of the House intimate if they will be having a debate after the
:15:26. > :15:31.general election in this House to ensure that this Government and any
:15:32. > :15:34.future Government retain its commitment to 057% of GDP on
:15:35. > :15:42.international aid and do not push it into budget headings of other
:15:43. > :15:46.departments. The honourable gentleman knows that the 0.7% is
:15:47. > :15:52.coveted by the OECD's definition of overseas development expenditure,
:15:53. > :15:57.which is not confined purely to expenditure programmes controlled by
:15:58. > :16:01.the Department for International development, but to Government
:16:02. > :16:10.spending that meet those criteria. What I can assure him of is that
:16:11. > :16:15.there will continue to be, if is re-elected, a strong United Kingdom
:16:16. > :16:20.commitment to an active and generous fallacy of international
:16:21. > :16:24.development, because it is right that we continue to help the
:16:25. > :16:32.poorest, most vulnerable people in the world and Wright also that we
:16:33. > :16:38.contribute also towards better governance and the long-term
:16:39. > :16:43.stability of countries that are at risk, because that helps us to
:16:44. > :16:46.tackle some of the broader international problems that we in
:16:47. > :16:55.the United Kingdom and our European neighbours face. To follow an answer
:16:56. > :17:02.to Arthur Scargill, Mr Speaker, with a bit of Glasgow fitness, no less.
:17:03. > :17:05.It has been two years since getting elected this parliament and I have
:17:06. > :17:10.to say at the start of it, I didn't think that two using, we would have
:17:11. > :17:14.left the European Union, I would be on my second Prime Minister and
:17:15. > :17:18.hopefully in a few weeks, my third Government but they say a week is a
:17:19. > :17:21.long time in politics. All of the time he has been Leader of the
:17:22. > :17:26.House, I have asked about many issues before the last six months, I
:17:27. > :17:30.have consistently raise the issue of job centre closures in Glasgow.
:17:31. > :17:35.Given what he has said two other colleagues on other announcements,
:17:36. > :17:40.would I be right in thinking he expects Glaswegians to go to the
:17:41. > :17:45.pool is not -- the poll not knowing which job centres his Government
:17:46. > :17:49.intends to close? I see that he is wishing for a change in Government
:17:50. > :17:54.and confirms that his party wishes to prop up the Right Honourable
:17:55. > :18:00.member for Islington North as a leader of a putative coalition or
:18:01. > :18:08.minority Government, and it is good to have that confirmation on the
:18:09. > :18:14.record. On the point he makes on the provision of job centres in Glasgow,
:18:15. > :18:21.as he has heard me say before, Glasgow had a greater concentration
:18:22. > :18:26.of offices, of job centres, than any other major city in Scotland, what
:18:27. > :18:32.we have seen is a proposal from the DWP to rationalise the estate in
:18:33. > :18:38.Glasgow, so that his constituents and others in Glasgow can have a
:18:39. > :18:44.better quality service in future, because all of the expert staff who
:18:45. > :18:46.are needed will be concentrated on a smaller number of locations, but
:18:47. > :18:48.which will be fully accessible to his