06/07/2017 Business Questions

about it in terms not just of what we ourselves hold as an opinion but

what other people might think and we'll leave it there for now. We now

come to business questions. Valerie vows.

Could the Leader of the House please give us the forthcoming business?

Thank you, Mr Speaker. The business for next week will be Monday 10th of

July, second reading of the relief from non-domestic rate is built. 11

of July, consideration in committee and remaining stages of the

organising bill following by the bill procedure. Wednesday 12 July, a

general debate on the Grenfell Tower Fire enquiry and Thursday 13th July,

general debate on the commemoration of Passchendaele. 14 July, the House

will not be sitting. I would also like to inform the House that the

business at Westminster Hall for the 13th of July, will be Thursday 13th

July, debate on the supply of homes and affordable homes to buy followed

by a debate on the introduction of an opt out system for organ donation

in England. Colleagues will want to be aware that the election of select

committee chairs will take place on Wednesday 12 July from 10am until

4pm in committee room eight. Finally, Mr Speaker, I was delighted

to hear of the hard work that both you and the lord Speaker have put in

to ensure the parliament properly marks pride weekend. Among other

activities, the rainbow coloured flag will be projected onto the

Palace for the duration of the weekend and I am sure members from

across the House in this, the most diverse parliament ever, will join

me in sending our best wishes to all those celebrating this weekend and

the rest of pride month. Thank you. Thank you, Mr Speaker and can I join

the Leader of the House and her good wishes for everyone taking part in

pride week and know that we are in the business of equality for

everyone. Maybe you need to wear a rainbow tie next week. I probably

want require any encouragement. Can I thank the Leader of the House but

she made no mention of the specific debate I asked for last week on the

judgments that were made in the High Court, particularly on the plan for

clean air and the benefit caps. She also made no mention of any

opposition dates. The last time we had an opposition date was in

January. She also made no mention of when she is going to schedule the

debate on the instruments on tuition fees regulations. It is important,

Mr Speaker, particularly as the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the

latest report said that students in England are going to graduate with

an average debt of ?50,800 after interest rates are raised on student

loans to 6.1% in September. Interest rates, they say, are very high

compared with the current market rate. The report also goes on to

state that with a higher debt, students from the purest 40% of

families now accrue around 6500 in interest during the study. The first

Secretary of State in a speech at earlier, said there was a national

debate we need to have about university tuition fees. I do not

know where he was from May until the 8th of June but he is the got an

answer, a minority Government. Could the Leader of the House please

honour that parliamentary convention and let's debate that Dutch cherry

instrument. It seems young people are being rejected by this minority

Government. Can we also have a debate about women against eight

pensions inequality. It is so far been signed by 124 honourable

members from all parties. There was a debate in Westminster Hall

yesterday, which was oversubscribed. Standing room only. Could the Leader

of the House please find time to debate this injustice to 1950s

women. Or are those 1950s women also rejected by the minority Government?

So far the financial Hall is ?1.5 billion for the deal, the National

U-turn has left a 2 billion hole in public finances over the next five

years. The concession last week in support of women in Northern Ireland

quite rightly was made, but has not been costed. Many other Secretary of

State had been acting for extra money, 1 billion for education,

Secretary of State has also asked for money. The financial Hall is

getting bigger. The Government announced in the Queen's speech that

the world have refinanced bills over the course of this Parliament. Could

she say when we will have the summer Finance bill, which I think has been

suggested by the Treasury and picked up by the shadow Treasury team?

Unless there is going to be no in Parliament, just an announcement in

October in Manchester. Guess who said this, tell the others who have

got their own opinion to shut up. There is a sense you have at the

moment of everybody doing their own thing, nobody asserting what they

want to do in the national interest. We cannot go on living from hand to

mouth in this sort of shambolic way. Former Tory party chairman lord

Patten. He said that, Mr Speaker, because of this... On the 3rd of

July, in response to the honourable member's written question, the

Government's manifesto had a free vote on the hunting bill. A U-turn.

Free school meals, the Minister has responded this week. The Government

has decided it is right to retain the existing universal infant free

school meal provision. A U-turn. Grammar schools, the Secretary of

State for Education confirmed any written to the honourable member

there is no education bill in the Queen's speech and therefore, the

ban on opening new grammar schools will remain in place. Another

U-turn. The triple lock on pensions. The Government wanted to scrap the

loch by 2020 because of their deal to stay in Parliament. Another

U-turn. Winter fuel allowance. The Government's means testing has been

dropped. Another U-turn. Everything in their manifesto, all dropped. No

policy. What is left? Strong and stable. I think that is another

U-turn. Mr Speaker, you will remember that the Prime Minister was

billed as the second incarnation of another female Prime Minister, whose

nickname for those of us who can remember was Jena. There is no

alternative. We say, in Her Majesty's opposition, here we are,

there is an alternative. -- nickname was Tina.

Can I start by replying to the honourable lady on the subject of,

as she puts it, U-turn is. Just explain to her that, as she knows,

as all honourable members know, this result of the journal collection was

not as we would have wished it. We do not have the majority we would

have wished for. All members can satisfy themselves that therefore,

the measures that are being brought forward by this Government are

focused on those measures that we can all support. Making a success of

leaving the European union, making sure that we can continue to trade

and collaborate with our EU friends and partners. Secondly,

strengthening the economy. New measures on being a world leader in

autonomous vehicles, commercial space flights, industries of the

future that will create the jobs of the future. Thirdly, improving our

society. We went to see strength and support for the mental health

problems in our society and measures to protect people from domestic

violence. These are measures the whole house can get behind. More

measures to strengthen the United Kingdom, to prevent extremism and to

protect us from terrorism. These are the sorts of measures that this

Government will be bringing forward that I do urge all members to look

at and take very seriously. This will represent real progress in this

Government. Specifically on her points on some of the court

judgments that are before us, those remain with judges and so, as she

will know, we do not comment on judgments, as she would wish is to

do. On opposition days and sitting Fridays, Private member Hills days

and so on, those will be brought on in due course. They will be at least

in line with the number of days provided in standing orders but

there will be other days provided in addition to that through the usual

channels. Then she talks about the debate on student fees. She points

out the interest rates on student fees. I do need to set clear for the

House that student debt is not like normal commercial loans. Student

fees are made available to all students, regardless of their

financial history. The repayable according to income, not according

to the amount due. Of course, the off by the taxpayer after 30 years.

They are not like normal commercial loans. The act more as a

contribution, only a contribution because the taxpayer continues to

pacing of the concerns, towards the cost of receiving a degree that

means that individual will earn more during their career. Erin more than

those taxpayers who do not have the benefit of a degree. It tends to be

fair to the student and fear to the taxpayer. I want to point out our

measures to improve apprenticeships, nearly 3 million in the last

Parliament and a commitment to many more millions of apprenticeships in

this Parliament offer real alternatives to young people who do

not want a good university. Finally, the point made by the University --

the point made by the Prime Minister, that should be a good

thing, celebrated by the whole house. Thank you. I am sure the

Leader of the House will agree that the House would want an early debate

on any Government programme where the costs are rising, where it is

looking like it is not good money for a value for the taxpayer, where

senior personnel are leaving, where procurement processes are down and

where technology is being overtaken by other more moderate developments.

Can we have an early debate on the phase one of the high-speed rail

before we enter into the folly of entering into phase two. Can we see

whether if it is going ahead, it could be used for another form of

transport, perhaps for those autonomous vehicles on which the

Leader of the House is so keen. Well, my right honourable friend and

I have worked for a very long time on representing both constituencies

of hours in every way we possibly can. My constituents are to Iraq

have grave concerns about the impact as it passes through our

constituencies. -- have grave concerns. I am sympathetic to her

cause. She knows as well as I do, that is a commitment to the

high-speed rail. These one has received a cent. We will continue to

look at the construction phase and what more can be done to compensate

our constituents. A lot of my constituents are very hacked off

about the matter as well. I thank the House for what passes for

business for next week. Can I join her in wishing well all of those

participating in pride week. There are no this week. Anon next week

probably no votes before we get into the summer recess. This is quickly

becoming the zombie cop flicks Parliament -- Apocalypse Parliament

where they look for brains only to seek the help all left the country,

like everybody else. I wonder how long they will be able to pad out

the business. The will of this house will have to be tested. We are all

going to be deciding the chairs of the select committee. It is good to

see the select committees up and running but what is happening with

the standing committees of this house? They have already passed

secondary bills and another one next week, they have to have a

conversation and discussion about them because they are important than

the passing of legislation. I have looked at the arithmetic and I have

figured out they should be nine Conservative members, seven Labour

members and to SNP members. The reader of the House can correct me

if I have that wrong but when will we see in Motion coming to this

house. When will be standing committees be up and running? Can I

support the shadow Leader of the House on having a full debate on the

50s women issue. There are so many members of Parliament wanted to

represent their view my constituents born in the 1950s. We have to have

the debate here on the House and noticed there is a cooling in the

mid and Conservative members of this. We saw that ?1 billion bill

for the DP. Let's have a vote here. Lastly, it was one year ago before

we had the Chilcott report. I remember we debated this for two

days. Today, Sir John Chilcott said that Tony Blair was not straight

with the nation. Is it now not time for a parliamentary committee to

investigate this properly and take appropriate action against the

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I encourage the honourable gentleman to

consider, perhaps in Hansard, if he wasn't listening, the strong case

and made for the measures this government will be taking to

significantly take steps forward for our country to improve the situation

for all of our residents across the UK. He says there have been no

votes, and that is testament to the agreement across the House that's

what we are doing is right. I encourage him and his honourable

friends to continue to support the government efforts. His comments on

standing committees are being looked at. They will be appointed in due

course and those issues will be resolved. On the Waspi issue, we

have had five debates on this, and as with all high-profile and very

concerning issues, the government continues to look at these issues.

But he will appreciate that unfortunately, we are still trying

to deal with the problems in our economy left to us by the last

Labour government. No, you might groan on the opposition benches, but

the reality is that this government is still clearing up the mess from

the last Labour government. Therefore, we have had to take tough

decisions across those people coming up to retirement age as well as

those of working age. His final point about the Chilcot Inquiry,

that was a seven-year long inquiry. The government has looked at this in

great length and it has been discussed. And the government

continues to learn the lessons from the Chilcot Inquiry and will be

committed to continuing to do so. But it doesn't have plans at the

moment to reopen a further inquiry. Can we have a statement from the

Secretary of State for the environment about dog thefts and

dogfighting? There are far too many dog thefts in my part of the world

and probably others, many of which are used as bait for dogfighting,

which is disgusting. There appears to be not enough done about this by

the law enforcement agencies and animal welfare agencies. Can we have

a statement from the Secretary of State as to what he intends to do to

clamp down on this disgusting practice? Right honourable friend

raises an important point. There is no doubt that we are a nation of dog

lovers. As Secretary of State for Defra, I did spend a lot of time

trying to improve the rules on puppy licensing, to get backstreet

breeders out of the way and improve the issues around animal welfare and

training. But he raises an important point and I encourage him to get in

touch with Defra again on what is an important matter for all of us.

South Yorkshire has lost over 400 police officers since 2010. Can I

ask the Leader of the House if we could have a debate on what extra

resources can be made available to make people in Barnsley safe? I

would like to welcome the honourable lady to her place and wish her

success in her new role in this House. She raises an important

matter across the country, that of policing. She will know the

government has protected police funding in real terms. I met my own

police and crime commission only yesterday to talk about the

difference in the way that policing is happening. She will be pleased to

know that crime has fallen by a third since 2010, enabling police

forces to put more into cyber crime and crime prevention and online

crime. Nevertheless, the relevant minister will have heard her points.

With my honourable friend find time for a debate on the criteria for

awarding city status? In every respect, Southend-on-Sea, with its

many qualities, should already be a city. I believe it is an oversight

which attention could be drawn to in a general debate. My honourable

friend is a huge supporter of his constituency in Southend. I am sure

all members will have spent happy hours on the beaches there.

Nevertheless, he will appreciate that city status is a rare privilege

to be conferred by Her Majesty on advice from ministers and not

something for this House. In the last Parliament, I rose to seek the

support of the then Prime Minister for a constituent who has been

missing in Spain since November 2015, Lisa Brown. I now found myself

having to rise again in relation to an additional constituent, Caroline

Hope, who in travelling to Turkey on personal matters before returning

home to Scotland has been diagnosed with cancer and sought emergency

surgery and has now been infected with E. Coli and is now having to

rely on the support of family and friends and strangers to raise over

?30,000 to bring Caroline home to Scotland to West Dunbartonshire.

Could I impress upon the Leader of the House to seek from the Foreign

Commonwealth Office and the Foreign Secretary a quick response to a

letter I have sent to them this week in terms of both Caroline's

situation and for further support in terms of Lisa being missing in

Spain? I am obviously incredibly sympathetic. That sounds like a

terrible situation. He will be aware that there are oral questions to the

Foreign Office next week and he may wish to raise it then. My village is

lucky in the sense that it had flood defences put in place before the

Boxing Day flood. But the water still got within one inch of

people's doorstep and my village nearby had similar problems. The

devastation has been huge and there has been a rush to put bigger flood

defences in column but could I have a statement from the relevant

minister in relation to the flood strategy for Leeds and with specific

mention unconcern of what modelling has been done to ensure that more

water is not coming down to my villages, which already have flood

defences in place, but came close to being breached. I had the great

pleasure as Environment Secretary to go to Leeds last year to see the new

proposed move weirs, which should make a big difference to the ability

to prevent water becoming overwhelming. The Environment Agency

is working with Leeds City Council and the local flood groups to

understand the latest flood modelling results and identify the

most appropriate options. But there is a lot of work including ?3

million of additional government funding to try and address the leads

flood alleviation scheme. In west Yorkshire, our bluelight services

and those who represents rank and file staff are clear that our

emergency services are in crisis and staff are struggling. West Yorkshire

has lost more than 1200 police officers since 2010 and 554

firefighters. It is no wonder my constituents feel less safe. Given

that we haven't had an opposition day since January, will the Leader

of the House allow government time for this important debate before the

summer recess? I refer the honourable lady to what I said to

her honourable friend. Crime is down. This government has protected

police funding. She may wish to raise the specific issues from her

constituency by applying for an adjournment debate or a Westminster

Hall debate. At the weekend, I joined a group of volunteers from

the heart of Hednesford group who were planting hay racks on the

platforms of the nearby rail station to give passengers a colourful

welcome to the town. Will my right honourable friend join me in

congratulating and thanking this group of volunteers, but could we

also have a debate in government time about the role of volunteers

and community groups in their local communities? I am delighted to share

in her congratulations to her volunteers. We all appreciate the

amazing work done by volunteers, whether it is litter picking,

planting flowers, supporting vulnerable people and so on. We have

frequent debates in this place on the subject of volunteers. I

encourage her to have a further want to show our appreciation. Would the

Leader of the House arrange for a statement to clarify the position of

who is responsible for dealing with the increasing problem of urban

foxes? This is something I have had huge buzz of complaints about

recently. It is an area where no one takes responsibility. I am not

suggesting the setting up of a Vauxhall hunt! But I am looking to

help those constituents who are finding their lives not just

intolerable in their homes, but what can be done and who takes

responsibility? The more time the honourable lady is in her

constituency, the more terrified the foxes will be! I think they have a

cheek, going to Vauxhall with the honourable lady's views of foxes!

Very brave of them. There are obviously strict rules around

dealing with wildlife in urban as well as rural areas and keeping the

fox population down is an important issue. I suggest that she writes to

the Secretary of State for Defra. Gosh, just as we are talking about

foxes, who should come into the chamber but the Secretary of State

for International Development! How very timely. Given the number of

terrorist acts carried out in the UK by people who are prevented from

going to the Middle East, may we have a statement from an appropriate

government minister setting out the arguments for and against preventing

would-be jihadists who are adults from travelling abroad and keeping

them at home when we know that they cannot all be monitored at home

around the clock? My honourable friend raises an important issue.

Approximately 850 UK linked individuals of national security

concern have travelled to engage with the Syrian conflict. We think

about half have returned to the UK and over 15% have subsequently been

killed in fighting in the region. Our priority is of course to

dissuade people from travelling to areas of conflict and our Prevent

strategy includes a lot of work to support individuals at risk of

radicalisation. This is clearly something for the commission of

countering extremism which is being set up. And I am sure the foreign

affairs select committee will also be interested. The Leader of the

House mentioned in her opening remarks extremism. Will the Leader

of the House make time available for us to have a debate on the report

into extremism and the funding of extreme activity in the UK which has

not yet been published by the government? Members are entitled to

know, for instance, whether it is because there are many references to

the activities of the Saudis in this report. Can we have time for such a

debate? The honourable gentleman will appreciate that this is clearly

something for the commission for countering extremism. It will be

looking at reports of what has gone on already and they will be keen to

take up. ChildLine, which is now part of the NSPCC, was founded 30

years ago and over that time has helped more than 4 million children.

Can we have a debate about how the government could work more closely

with ChildLine and the NSPCC, particularly in areas such as online

abuse and children's mental health? My honourable friend has been a huge

advocate of the work that ChildLine do and everybody across the House

would want to congratulate them on show appreciation for the excellent

work they do. He will be aware that teachers and school staff across the

country have started training to be able to identify and respond to

early signs of mental health problems among pupils, which is a

very good thing. He may want to expand on that discussion in

applying for a debate. I would encourage him to look at the early

years infant mental health, which is so important is that young people up

with lifelong emotional well-being. The M56 is the printable economic

artery not just for West Cheshire, but large parts of north Wales and

continues to jam up regularly, at which point all the roads around it

jam up as well. Can we have a debate on why the Reg Treasury has failed

to find any investment for the M56 in the last 20 years -- the road

strategy has failed to find investment. This government has

significantly invested in roads and continues to do so. If he has

specific issue about the M56, I encourage you to apply for an

adjournment debate, but this government is committed to improving

on our infrastructure to get the economy going and boost even more

jobs for people in this country. We share a strong interest in giving

babies the best start in life. I am greatly encouraged by the government

's's commitment to a mental health Bill in the green's speech and

particularly for the amendments to an equalities Bill to reduce any

discrimination against people with mental ill-health. Can she give us a

timeline for that legislation and what it may cover, to promote

perinatal mental health in giving our children the very best start in

mental health in their lives? I am very grateful to him for raising

that issue, very dear to his heart and mind, giving babies the best

start in life through secure early bonding is absolutely vital, and I'm

sure it will be part of our new Mental Health Act that was mentioned

in the Queen's speech, and that there will be members right across

the house keen to put forward their views. That's timing will be decided

in due course. After Home Office questions on Monday, when the Home

Secretary claimed police funding had been protected, although it has not

been on Merseyside, there was yet another firearms discharge in my

constituency. That makes over 100 shootings across Merseyside in the

last 18 months, involving five murders. Can we have a debate about

the increasing gun crime happening across Merseyside, and what the

government will do better to equip our police to deal proactively with

the serious threat to public safety that it represents? She is exactly

right to raise this issue, in her constituency, it's very serious. She

will be pleased to know that since 2010, there have been over 370,000

fewer violent crimes a year, but that doesn't help at all, when in

her constituency, there have been many of them, and I do suggest she

takes that up via a Westminster adjournment debate. Could we have a

debate on the accountability of local councils? Taunton Deane

council have given permission for 17,000 houses. One company alone has

built up a multi-million pound land bank on the assumption that the

council will be giving them permission. Could we please have the

tightening of rules on that before that is a serious situation, where

councils are accused of all sorts of things that I suspect they don't

want to be. He raises an important point, which is that housing needs

to be sited in an appropriate place and there needs to be clear and

transparent rules around planning. But there is a balance, because we

desperately need to be building more houses. We have a great record of

building over 800,000 new homes since 2010 in this country, which is

a very good contribution. More needs to be done. He may want to raise his

specific point at the questions that will happen before the end of this

summer session. Further to the point made just a moment ago, and in light

of the recent terrorist attacks in London and Manchester, and

yesterday's report by the Henry Jackson Society on foreign funding

of extremism in the UK, can I ask when the Prime Minister will either

publish the report into the foreign funding of terrorism that was

commissioned when she was Home Secretary, or make a statement to

this house on foreign funding to extremist groups in the UK? In

answer, he will know that this is an enormously important issue for the

Prime Minister personally, and that she has committed to doing

everything possible to keep our people safe. She is setting up the

commission for countering extremism and she is fully occupied in

resolving this issue, so I'm sure he can rely on the fact that she will

be doing everything possible to stamp out extremism in all its

forms. One of the regular issues to land in my inbox is litter and

fly-tipping, and I'm sure it lands in many other members' inboxes as

well. Fly-tipping alone costs local authorities in England ?49.8 million

in 2015/2016, that's on top of the cost of litter clean-ups. Family

have a debate on more can be done, how effective the enforcement of

fly-tipping and Leicester is, and how we can encourage members of the

public to dispose of the litter and waste properly? I'm very happy to

encourage everybody to take their litter home with them, but she is

right, this cost of street cleaning costs local government nearly ?800

million in 2015/ 2016. There's a huge amount of money that could be

better used to doing other things. I was very pleased to launch our

national litter strategy for England, looking at the areas,

enforcement, infrastructure for bins and also education. That

consultation has finished and there will be further announcements coming

forward very soon. Today is a sad day for Glasgow politics, as this

morning is the funeral of Councillor Alistair Watson, whose life was

celebrated in an early motion, a gentleman to give 22 years of

service to the communities of Donald. I would like to send my

condolences to his family and the members of the Glasgow Labour

family. I would like to share with him in offering condolences to the

family of the council that he mentions. And there are, right

across the country, people who written many, many years of public

service, trying to improve their own local community or indeed, the

country that they live in, and that's absolutely vital to of us. I

think he makes a very good points, that we should have a debate to try

and encourage more people to get involved, but also to celebrate

those who have, and I do encourage him to apply for a debate on that

subject. As Daesh have failed to do love the caliphate, they grow more

desperate. Maybe have an early debate on the application of

international law to bring prosecution against Daesh fighters,

those who choose to partner with them and even marry them, to make

sure that every terrorist is held accountable for their barbaric

crimes. We are very concerned about the appalling crimes committed by

Daesh against Christians and other minorities, as well as against the

majority Muslim population in Iraq and Syria. Ultimately, the only way

to stop the abuse is to defeat Daesh and establish a long-term political

settlement in Iraq and Syria. So we continue to work closely with the

government of Iraq and the United Nations to do just that, but she

should be reassured that any Daesh supporters returning to the UK will

face the whole force of the law. Developers in London routinely use a

variety of methods to aggressively drive down levels of affordable

housing. The recent Battersea Power Station development being the most

recent and high profile example. Can we have a debate about what more

needs to be done to make sure that private development includes

sufficient public gain an adequate levels of affordable housing? We all

share the desire to see more affordable housing. There's a big

commitment on the part of this government. More than 300,000 new

affordable homes have been built since 2010. Of course, it is a

matter for local planning authorities to make sure that the

right proportions are built in new development. I heard what the Leader

of the House said earlier about student loans. While the original

policy introduced by the Coalition Government was widely supported and

remains progressive, things have changed slightly, because the level

of interest at which both living costs and studies will be repaid,

rises to 6.1% this September, and that, allied with compound interest

over a 30 year period, is what gave the IDF S in their reports yesterday

the calculation of total debt being ?55,000. A number of us are very

concerned about this. Could I urge you to find government time for that

debate, which the first Secretary of State intimated he would like to see

as well? Of all people, I think my honourable friend would recognise

that student finance is not like a normal commercial loan. The taxpayer

contributes significantly still to the cost of higher education for

university students, and it's right that those who will benefit from the

higher earnings attractive undergraduate rules should

contribute to that cost. However, I think the mood of many colleagues

has been heard, and I'm quite sure at the Department for Education are

considering this. Gun and knife crime is up across London, and this

month marks the two-year anniversary of the high-profile trial by

mistaken identity shooting in Wood Green. And despite a number of

representations, this homicide remains unsolved. Could we have a

debate in government time around resources, particularly for London

boroughs, where there is this increase in gun and knife crime, and

in the light of Grenfell Tower, where 200 officers have now been

moved over to the important work, that we can still rely on the fact

that there will be enough detectives working to solve what is now a

two-year-old crime? I do think it's very important to be clear that

there are of course pockets, and there are terrible incidents that

take place, and this sounds like a really awful experience in her

constituency. But nevertheless, there are 370,000 fewer violent

crimes since 2010, I do think it's important we speak in measured

terms, because it's very easy to scare people into thinking things

are getting worse when they are getting better. It has been made

very clear that police funding has been protected, but the police

themselves are changing the way they manage things operationally to put

more money into cyber policing and dealing with online crime and into

counterintelligence and so on. Nevertheless, she may wish to raise

the specific issues in her constituency through an adjournment

debate. She may be aware of the problems which writing schools up

and down the country are having with the valuation office agency and

their valuations ascribed to their premises. Some are now closing

because of this, and this will undoubtedly have an effect on

writing for the disabled. Could we have a debate on the subject, and

perhaps she could raise it with her colleague in the cabinets? I'm very

much aware of the issue for riding schools and other large premises in

rural areas with rates. He may know that as part of the package of

support lunched at the budget, the Chancellor announced a ?300 million

discretionary relief funds to 2018 so that local authorities could

provide additional support to local businesses. I encourage him to

suggest his constituents that they apply to the local council to see

whether they are eligible for this discretionary relief. Following the

revelation contained in the independent audit on loans to state

owned companies in Mozambique, those loans are now falling on the

shoulder of any man, woman and child in the country. What measures are

the UK Government considering to make sure that loans given to

governments are transparent? The issue of transparency in government

loans and indeed in overseas aid, is very important to the government.

There are Foreign Office questions next week, I believe, and he will

wish to raise that they are, I'm sure. There is some concern about

broadcast media's coverage of the Brexit negotiations. You may have to

watch Newsnight from last night to see why. One of my constituents has

e-mailed me to say, I need to know whether I made the right decision,

but the mainstream media just do not cover EU developments. Good the

minister come to the dispatch box and justified that the BBC is

continuing to comply with its Royal Charter? I think what we all want to

see is balance in reporting. And giving as much time to the

opportunities of leaving the EU as is given to the other side of the

argument. I think a number of people expressed concerns that the balance

isn't there. All of us across this house would wish to see that very

closely. Will the Leader of the House provide temporary debate on

local government funding. Kirklees Council, which covers my

constituency, is losing ?1 million a week. Services are close to breaking

point, with vulnerable people suffering the most. As the Cabinet

now seem to be conducting a debate on a story ditty in the tabloid

front pages, could we also have one in this house? I would remind her

that it is this government that is sorting out our public finances. It

is under this government that we have seen employment up by 2.9

million people. Over 800,000 fewer workless households. A pay rise by

30 million people through income tax cuts. Basic rate tax payers are

?1000 a year better off under this government, so to suggest everything

is falling apart is simply not true. Opposition members need to stop

scaremongering. And I do urge her to look at the facts.

Hamble lane, Eastleigh town centre and Berkeley sent to leave

consistent queues and jams on the resultant air pollution which

remains a key concern for my constituents, particularly parents

of children with asthma. Will the Leader of the House can define time

for a debate on air pollution so that we can tackle and really talk

about this growing public health concern? Air quality is a serious

public health issue, as she is right to point out that one of the major

links is to asthma and that is a serious condition in itself. The

honourable lady will have many opportunities to raise this in the

future, when we have the judgment from the High Court and when our

proposals from our consultation are published later in the summer. 200

staff were let go on Sunday. There were supposed to be working at a

Green Day concert which was cancelled at short notice by the

promoters. And they were only offered their bus fare by their

employer. Can we have a debate on contracts and workers' rights, and

does she agree in this case that clearly, these workers have been

exploited and that is unacceptable? I certainly agree that that does not

sound acceptable if it is the case. On the wider point about zero hours

contracts, there has been a lot of discussion in this House about the

measures this government has taken to stamp out abuse of those

contracts. It is the fact that for many people, they are content with

their zero hours contracts and it works for them. So the honourable

lady raises an important specific point, but the broader point has

been well debated across this chamber. Some travel camps in Dudley

have left behind them criminal damage and large clean-up bills for

council tax payers. Could we have a debate on the use of police powers

to remove illegal camps and also on proposals to allow combined

authorities to pull provision for authorised travellers' sites, rather

than insisting that each local authority has their own provision?

My honourable friend raises a subject that has already been raised

that every business questions so far, which highlights what an

important issue this is for every member of Parliament. Local

authorities and the police have a wide range of powers to help them

take action, including being able to direct trespassers to leave the

land, removing any vehicles and property from the land when there is

a suitable pitch elsewhere in that authority area. I hear his point

about pooling local authority resources. That is not something

that is currently able to be done, but it is something he may wish to

raise directly with ministers. Could I also raise with the Leader of the

House the question of the need for a debate on illegal encampment is? In

South Birmingham, the past few months have seen an unprecedented

rise in the number of those encampments in their scale and

frequency, often with public concern made worse by the anti-social

behaviour associated with them and the level of mess that is left

behind. Often, they will leave one place and be evicted, only to

reappear down the road. So we need an early debate. We should review

the status of the existing powers, review where best practice can be

applied and if the powers that are available need further review, to

set the ball rolling. Could we have short questions in order to get

everybody in? I do not want to miss anyone out. Everybody has been

standing. I say to the honourable gentleman again, there are already

strong police powers. There are occasionally issues with

enforcement, but where travellers fail to comply with a police

direction, it is a criminal offence which is punishable by up to six

months imprisonment. So is re-entry onto land by a person that is

subject to that direction within three months afterwards. He should

be aware that 84% of traveller caravans are now on authorised land

compared to 77% in 2007. The government is committed to reducing

the number of unauthorised sites by making sure there is reasonable

provision for travellers that takes account of their cultural

requirements to enable them to avoid being on unauthorised sites. The

rugby club in Brecon and Radnorshire recently completed a sponsored bike

ride in Wales, raising ?45,000 towards the cost of purchasing their

rugby pitches from the local authority. Would my right honourable

friend join me in congratulating all of the town on this outstanding

achievement and also allow a debate on what more could be done to

transfer assets to local community groups without exceptionally high

costs to those groups? I certainly congratulate all of those involved.

That is an impressive sum for a sponsored bike ride. If he was

involved, I commend him for that. As he will know, responsibility for

grass-roots sport is devolved in Wales. Sport Wales are the

organisation with responsibility for investing in and supporting

grassroots sport. Sport England this year have launched a community asset

fund worth up to ?15 million. He might want to talk to sport Wales

about whether they have any similar schemes. I know the Leader of the

House likes to be patriotic, like many of us, and used our national

carrier airline, British Airways. But can we have a debate about the

shameful way they are treating their cabin crew and the fact that the

government has given permission to British Airways to do a wet lease,

ie the planes on the stuff of cat are Airways, in order to keep

flights going during the current industrial dispute, despite the

terrible record that airline has with its female worker -- Qatar

Airways? The honourable gentleman raises an important point about

workers' rights. He will know that a good opportunity to raise that would

be through applying for a debate in Westminster Hall or for an

adjournment debate. However, it is important in all industrial disputes

that the considerations for passengers are also taking into

account. I am sure he would agree that that would be the right balance

in all disputes. I welcome the government's commitment to expanding

investment in our road networks such as the A303 in my constituency. I

wonder if we could find time for a debate on how we can capitalise on

that investment to deliver jobs, housing and skills development in

association with that? My honourable friend is a great champion for his

constituency and having spent many hours queueing patiently on the

A303, I can understand his desire to see it upgraded. And also for the

jobs and growth that new infrastructure brings in every

constituency. It is something this government is committed to, with new

investment in capital infrastructure spending. He may well wish to raise

that through the usual channels to give all colleagues the opportunity

to talk about the work this government is doing to build the

economy. The Leader of the House will have heard, I hope, my question

to the Prime Minister yesterday about my constituent and her

daughter who is under threat of FGM. Unfortunately, the Prime Minister's

reply was almost as bad as the letters I have had from the Home

Office. Can we have a debate on the processes of the Home Office and the

measures that are in place to protect women suffering from

domestic violence on women and girls under the threat of FGM? There is

nobody in this House would for a moment condone or have anything

other than disgust and abhorrence at the whole subject of FGM. It is an

appalling abuse of young girls and women and nobody would condone it.

This government has made a huge effort to try and stamp out FGM. It

is extraordinarily difficult, but we are getting breakthroughs. At least

through her question today, we can highlight again the plight of those

suffering this appalling abuse. The honourable lady raises a

constituency point and I urge her to raise that in Home Office questions

or to continue to raise it in PMQs. She has the support of the whole

House in seeing this stamped out. Colin Smith received contaminated

blood in 1983 when he was just eight months old. That blood turned out to

be from Arkansas prison and he died aged just seven, his whole life

spent fighting illness. So for Colin's family and all those

affected, can we have an opportunity before recess to debate the new

reports that suggest that risks of contaminated blood were known from

1980? Those affected need a public inquiry to get to the truth. I agree

that the contaminated blood situation over several decades,

affecting people in so many ways, was a terrible thing to happen. She

will appreciate that successive governments over decades have

reviewed the situation and made compensation available to the

victims. I am aware that the last review in 2015 has made further

recommendations and that there are concerns about the possibility that

there was some cover-up. I encourage the honourable lady to seek an

opportunity for a debate to try and air that issue further. As we have

already heard, the broken business rate system is so judgmental to

business and is frankly a shambles. In fact, this is echoed in

businesses across Europe including those trading in the shambles Luke

Shambles. Can we have the consultation brought to this house?

We were promised this in February and has not seen the light of day,

so I would like to know why not. The honourable lady will know that

rateable values are set independently by the VOA and reflect

open market rental value. The government doesn't intervene in the

independent exercise, but I understand that if the market rent

for the area has changed, then rateable values change with them.

She will be aware that the Chancellor announced a ?300 million

discretionary fund over four years from 2017-18 to deal with issues of

rates changing for particular businesses. That has been made

available to local authorities so that at their discretion, they can

support individual businesses with their issues. The companies and

markets page of the Financial Times had an article this Monday talking

about how investment in the car industry has slumped amidst Brexit

concerns. This was raised with me numerous times during the election,

as I have a large Ford plant in my constituency. What is clear from the

article and the experience of Ford workers is that new investment is

not coming into the plant. It has slumped by 30% across the UK. The

Association of automotive traders and manufacturers have said that it

would be a devastating impact and permanent damage to the UK car

industry if, when the UK leads the customs union and the single market,

this is not addressed. Can we have an impact on the impact of Brexit on

the automotive industry? The honourable lady raises an important

issue for her constituency. The UK has a thriving automotive industry

and I am sure she will be delighted that we are bringing forward

measures to support electric vehicles and be a world leader in

that area. She may also be pleased to know that the department for

industry and trade figures released today show a record-breaking number

of foreign direct investment projects coming into the UK, up 2%

on 2015-16. So the direction is in the right place. But she may wish to

raise specific issues for Ford in her constituency through a

Westminster Hall debate. Before 2015 general election, Chancellor Osborne

made a commitment with the residents of Warrington that the Runcorn

Bridge would be toll-free. Earlier this year, the junior transport

minister broke that promise. Can I request that the Leader of the House

arrange for the Secretary of State for Transport to come here and make

a statement and inform when the government will announce that they

will keep the promise, or arrange a debate? This issue is affecting the

whole region. The honourable gentleman raises an important point

for his constituency. He will be pleased to know that transport

questions are on Thursday the 13th of July and I am sure he will be

able to raise that with ministers then.

Can be heavy debate on Home Office intransigence? Ten Minister come to

the size and explain why, despite following Home Office advice in

submitting his application for leave to remain, my constituents and his

wife have been stripped of their status, forced to quit their jobs

and let their children, British citizens, destitute. Can we have an

urgent debate on review of Home Office procedures that leaves many

vulnerable and in desperate situations? He raises a very

concerning case in his own constituency and I'm sure he will

want to raise that Adalat oral questions to the Home Office or

through writing to ministers, but as we all know, there is an MPs hotline

and they do deal with as matter of priority with MPs' cases, so he

might want to take that up with them. In 2015, the government

promised not to sell HMS Ocean and not to close a barracks in Plymouth.

The helicopter carrier and both pieces are no Brasil. Local region

agreed to debate on base closures and how we maintain helicopter

capability at Devonport? I welcome him and wish him success. He is

using something dear to all our hearts, which is the fortunes of our

military, whether Royal Navy, royal air force or the Army. Sadly, I feel

his views are not shared by many on his side of the house, who argue

against protecting our citizens, but nevertheless, his point has been

heard and I am sure he will be raising it with ministers whenever

he can. It has been common practice in the NHS for employees to be

required to repay redundancy payments if they secure another job

in the health service within a certain period of time, so given the

fact that several members who lost their seats at the last election

have now taken up page rules as government advisers, will use set

aside time for a debate on whether it's appropriate for members to

receive redundancy payments and then take up a page role as an adviser?

Sheep shouts from a sedentary position, named names! My concern

has been that members who lost their seats, particularly this time

around, have actually struggled in some cases, genuinely struggled.

With an ability to feed into the policies for members' pay and

expenses, he raises an important point, but I think he will find that

members across the house are concerned that members who loses

seats are not being fairly treated, quite the opposite to that point.

I'm remember a sample size of the house will want to wish a happy 69th

birthday to the NHS, which clocked up the milestone yesterday. But

local provision seems to be less healthy. We have lost to A and if

this continues, there will be hardly any beds left. Can we have a debate

on this cherished Labour created institution? She will know that this

government is totally committed to the NHS and is funding it to a far

greater extent than the Labour Party's on manifesto would have

pledged. Under this government, we have seen millions more operations,

A visits, we have seen enormous strides forward in medical science,

in technology, that enables people to have far better treatments. The

Commonwealth fund says the NHS is one of the best health services in

the world. We are absolutely committed to the success of the NHS

on this side of the house and I think all members should really do

more to support the excellent work of our NHS staff, who do so much to

support all of us. The shadow Leader of the House and other honourable

members have raised very important question is, why has there not been

an opposition day since the 25th of January? Given the scarcity of

substantive government business, given the huge red issues raised on

these benches, why is the leader of the highest refusing to schedule one

for the summer recess? Why does she want to commit to one now? I can say

that there are standing orders around opposition day, sitting

Fridays and back bench business days. The government, through the

usual channels, is working on setting out those days and the house

will be informed as soon as possible.

Last week, I mentioned just a few of the failings in the Scottish

Secretary of State and I challenged the Leader of the House to list some

of his achievements. She said that he has spoken up for energy in

Scotland and he's been an enormous advocate for Scottish agriculture.

When the government pulled the plug on carbon capture storage and

renewables, and the government has withheld nearly ?2 million of EU

funding meant for Scottish farmers, given that is his achievements, is

there any other outstanding achievements she colours that makes

my point for me that he is not standing up for Scotland? That is at

nonsense and not worthy of the honourable gentleman. Would you like

to mention the Secretary of State for Scotland's support for the oil

and gas sector in Scotland, where he gave hours and hours of permitted

time to discuss a package of fiscal relief to support the oil and gas

sector in Scotland? The hours he spent working with me as an energy

Minster, so I know very well what he did, working on a supply chain to

give Scottish fabrication yards the chance to the parts of the wind

sector, which this government has supported. We have half of the

world's offshore wind turbines. He not mentioning any of the Roses.

This is their petty and spiteful act of an opposition should be ashamed

of itself. The Secretary of State has spoken up at every opportunity

for the people of Scotland. In the last Parliament, the Public Accounts

Committee and a number of constituency members of all

parliaments raised concerns about the HMR see State reorganisation. It

appears major contracts were signed while this House was dissolved in

that appears to fly in the face of official guidance to the civil

servants about not making big decisions about commercial contracts

during that time. Would you look into this and make sure that a

minister reports back, and given that the HMR see is not led by a

minister, would she also grabbed a debate so that we can raise our

concerns very directly? If she would like to raise specific issues about

process for each MRC, I will certainly take them forward for her,

but I would like to use this opportunity to point out that since

2010, each MRC has secured ?150 billion for this country in

additional compliance revenues, as a result of their work to tackle tax

avoidance. In 2016 alone, HMRC collected record revenues of ?26.5

billion for compliance activities. We've secured nearly 3 billion from

offshore tax evaders. And in total, an additional 2.5 billion from the

very wealthiest since 2010. So if she or anyone else in the chamber

would like to praise HMRC for their contribution to sorting out our

economy and getting it back to living within our means, then I'd be

delighted to hear it. Earlier, the honourable member for Ealing Central

and actor described the NHS as the Leeper institution. It is not a

political institution, it does not belong to any party. There are

members on all sides of this house who have served the NHS as we have

the armed forces and other public services. If she was still in this

place I would ask her to withdraw it. And therefore be in order to ask

you that could be withdrawn? Your view is on the record and it is a

point of order for the chair. We now come to the general debate relating

to exiting the European Union