14/12/2017 Business Questions

the House has not been met in this

case. I do not judge that points of

order can arise from these rulings.

Business question, Valerie Vaz 's

topic at the Leader of the House

please update the House on the

forthcoming business. Leader of the

House Andrea Leadsom.

Thank you Mr

Speaker. The business for the week

commencing the 18th of December will

be Monday the 18th of December

consideration in committee of the

Finance Bill Day one. Tuesday the

19th of December, continuation of

consideration in committee of the

Finance Bill Day two, followed by a

motion to approve a statutory

instrument relating to terrorism,

followed by a motion to approve

European documents relating to the

Schengen information system.

Wednesday the 20th of December,

conclusion of continuation of

committee of the European Withdrawal

Bill Day eight. Thursday the 21st of

December, General debate on Russian

interference in UK politics and

society followed by a general debate

on matters to be raised before the

forthcoming adjournment. The

subjects for these debates were

determined by the Backbench Business

Committee. Friday the 22nd of

December the House will not be

setting. The business of the week

commencing the 8th of January will

include on Monday the 8th of January

the second reading of the taxation

cross-border trade Bill. Colleagues

will also wish to know that

remaining stages of the European

Union Withdrawal Bill will take

place on Tuesday the 16th and

Wednesday the 17th of January 2018.

Mr Speaker, six months have passed

since the awful tragedy at Grenfell

Tower. Our hearts go out to those

who suffered such trauma and have

had to rebuild their lives after

such terrible loss. This was a truly

unimaginable tragedy and it should

never have happened. Today's

memorial service will remember those

we lost and will thank the emergency

services, the recovery team, the

community, public support workers

and volunteers who did everything

they could on that terrible night.

Valerie Vaz.

Thank you. Can I thank

the Leader of the House for the

future business. I note cheese only

gone as far as the 8th of January so

I'm not sure with a date for the

restoration renewal has also been

fixed for the 11 or if it's going to

be moved. Mr Speaker, they say good

things come in threes. Firstly

tomorrow it is Save the Children

Christmas Jumper Day. Secondly, we

congratulate the new member of the

Alabama the Democrat Doug Jones on

his victory that politics is about

hope and not division. Thirdly, the

matter of yesterday. We are very

pleased that finally Parliament has

been recognised as being sovereign.

It brings back to Parliament the

final vote on the deal so Parliament

can have a say, just as every

Parliament in the EU will have a say

on the deal. It enables us to do our

job. Mr Speaker, you thought three

was the magic number, actually four

is the magic number. Before anything

happens to those MPs who voted to

bring sovereignty back to

Parliament, let's remember there are

many rebels still sitting in this

House. One of the things that are

going to flow from the EU Withdrawal

Bill are the many SIs which will be

coming out. The government has

conceded the amendment from the

procedure committee so can I ask

when will the new committee be set

up, the sifting committee? Can she

ensured the cheque comes from the

opposition? Mr Speaker I've heard

what you said about the content and

the sexual analysis of the

assessments. I have seen the

documents. We have to almost sign a

note to say we cannot reveal what's

in it. We are democratically elected

members of Parliament, we cannot

share that information with our

constituents, I don't think that is

acceptable. If there is any

commercial information in there that

may or may not be excluded, and if

it's just a matter of fact, I can

see no reason why members can't see

the documents in the reference

library and why it can't be

published. I'm not sure if I can

reveal this bit but in the

footnotes, many of the footnotes,

from the office of National is to do

so it is in the public domain in any

event. -- Office of National

Statistics. Having undertaken the

biggest reorganisation in the NHS

the government has embarked on

another one with transformational

plans. They now intend to bring

forward regulations to support the

setting up of accountable care

organisations, an idea imported from

the United States. It's not clear

how the ACOs will be accountable to

the public and what level of private

sector involvement there will be and

what implications that will be for

NHS staff. We've had CCG 's, STP 's,

ACOs, it's becoming an anachronism

of incompetence from this

government. The Shadow Secretary of

State for help has written to the

leader to ask whether the

regulations will be published in the

New Year. Can I ask is that the

government's intention to do so and

if so when? Can the leader reassure

the House there will be adequate

time for a debate and vote? Again

we've got a government that cannot

make a decision. We've got a new

industrial strategy but made a

decision on the Swansea tidal

lagoon. There was a letter on the

20th of November signed by 100

businesses. We've had adjournment

debates from members on our side,

we've had oral questions, written

questions on the latest one says a

decision will be made in due course.

Could the Leader of the House please

say what that means, or is it the

case the government don't want to

make an investment in Labour Wales?

Turning to the motion of the

opposition day and how the

information has been dealt with,

it's crucial for us, the opposition

and members of Parliament to hold

the government to account. We've got

a situation where the Leader of the

House said on the 26th of October

that the relevant Minister will

respond to opposition Day motion is

no later than 12 weeks. There was a

point of order last week by my

honourable friend the shadows

negative state of education. She

said she received a response on the

tuition fee motion that had no

bearing on the motion. It was done

in a written statement on the last

day so it didn't give us an

opportunity to question the Minister

on that. Could the Leader of the

House meet with me and perhaps

discuss with the House authorities

how we can take this forward and

have proper information so that we

can hold the government to account

which is what our job is. Mr

Speaker, I fail to mention

previously the passing away of Jimmy

Hurd MP. He was a good servant of

this House, he was chairman of the

European scrutiny select committee

and the panel of chairs for 14

years. He served this House well. I

want to honour his memory just as

I've joined the Leader of the House

in honouring the memory of those who

died at Grenfell Tower. There was a

memorial yesterday which you

attended and there will be a

memorial in St Paul's Cathedral

today attended by the Prime Minister

and the Leader of the Opposition.

The shadow Housing Minister has

asked the Prime Minister why, when

she said I have fixed deadline of

three weeks everyone affected to be

found a home nearby, but that hasn't

taken place. Mr Speaker, as you let

the hammock candle yesterday in

Speaker 's house, candles will be

lit to remember the innocent dead at

St Paul's which will take place any

minute now -- Hannukah candle.

One-minute people watching TV or

doing their homework, the next

minute they are dead. The light has

gone out of their lives but the

flame of remembrance will continue

to burn as we remember them today

and always.

Thank you Mr Speaker and certainly I

share in the great tribute from the

lady opposite to those who suffered

in the Grenfell Tower tragedy. Our

thoughts with them today and all the

time. The government has been

committed in the last six months,

all the way through, that the

families and survivors will have

needs taken care of. Something the

government remains committed to. I

also want to pay tribute to Jamie

Hood, a great servant to the house.

The honourable lady asks about the

scheduling of the debate on

restoration, she will be were a

number of representations have been

made from members across both sides

of the house. Looking into options

other than those before the debate

to take place. A number of

priorities to consider. We are

listening to representation being

made on the debate. Future of

business will continue to be

announced in the usual way. The

honourable lady asks about the issue

of the shifting committee. I want to

pay tribute to my honourable friend,

proposing amendments that I have

been happy to confirm I will propose

changes to standing orders once the

bill has received Royal assent. The

honourable lady asks about viewing

the analysis and you yourself have

just confirmed that after taking

advice from the Brexit select

committee you are satisfied that

they are satisfied, this is a very

important point. Addressing the

major challenges facing the hills

give challenge system. Improving

integration. I think we can all

agree, it is vital that we focus on

making the most productive use, out

of the resources available. On the

subject of opposition day debates,

when a motion has been approved by

the house, the relevant Minister

will respond to the resolution by

making a statement no more than 12

weeks after the debate.

We will be able to open any actions

that have been taken. It is a very

complex and the track record is

excellent, 26% of electricity

derived from renewables, improving

low carbon and electricity resources

should not be ignored. I just want

to reiterate that we are working

closely with the Royal Borough of

Kensington and Chelsea to provide

that we can provide social housing.

It may be sensible to have another

Grenfell Tower United meeting in six

months. We will not forget what we

heard this week, so we can learn

more from those who have life after

death. Remembering the Foreign

Secretary's visit to Iran, it could

be a good idea that the relevant

ministers look back into deportation

from this country and ask if it is

seriously sensible to try to expel

somebody who has been living here

for most of their life, after

criminal attack has lost hands and

feet. And also to review the case,

when someone who has not lived in

Ghana for more than a year since he

was four. Up for deportation.

The

only thing missing in that

fascinating essay, request for a

statement or debate.

Next week.

Referred to the first week back.

Zero statement or debate. It is not

beyond the competence. Can I gently

say to other members, if they wish

to imitate the right honourable

member, this should not seek to

imitate him in length today.

Thank

you Mr Speaker. I absolutely share

my right honourable friend's for the

review of the experience of

survivors six months on from today.

With regards to his point on

deportation I am not aware of the

specific keys but Foreign Office

ministers will discuss those with.

Can I thank the leader of the house

for announcing next week, and thank

you for the helpful statement and I

fully appreciate but in the wider

context something has to change. We

have to get back onto an even keel,

these difficulties are down to the

fact that these governments are not

prepared to participate fully in the

Democratic stature is of this house.

We have satisfactory, contrary to

all democratic instincts, badly

letting down constituents that we

represent and serve. When government

diminish, bad start happens and bad

stuff happens in the context of

this. It has to stop. Return the

house to the conditions prior to the

last election, diminish democracy we

can proud of. I know it is party

season, but today few site the

morning after the night before. You

can almost feel the groggy heads,

defeat for Brexit plans. Hopefully

this is going to be the first steps

of the brakes on sanity. I think one

of the lessons from last night has

to be that it is conclusive that you

have cross-party talks across the

house about the Brexit process and

that must involve the democratic

assemblies across the United

Kingdom. Mr Speaker, can we have a

debate on trading standards. I think

the feeling in Scotland is that we

have been sold a Tory pup. Scottish

Conservative MPs said they would

come down here, proudly and

defiantly, taking on the Scottish

Government. Nothing other than the

conservative lobby for this. Down to

the whip. Scotland is demanding the

money back. If we cannot get the

money back, can we at least have

these honourable gentleman replaced

by champions for Scotland who will

act for the entries in this house.

Thank you Mr Speaker. The honourable

gentleman is obviously on good form

this morning. He made a slip up,

calling my friends, gentlemen. A

lady or two among them. I take that

seriously. They make an enormous

contribution to the constituencies

in Scotland. Regularly attending

this, so that they can't raise

particular issues. I encourage them

to do that. The honourable gentleman

does not mention the two billion

additional funding for Scotland that

was announced by the Chancellor in

the recent budget that should be a

very good boost to Scottish

finances. That should actually

enable the Scottish Government not

to take the step of making Scotland

the most highly taxed part of the

United Kingdom. Also raising the

question of democracy and listening.

He will be aware... In this place we

have had countless opportunities to

discuss Briggs, the government has

been listening and I myself have

taken part in a number of

discussions about how we can more

carefully accommodate the views of

this house, we have been listening

carefully and I have been delighted

to accommodate the effort and

procedures of the committee,

something that the house was keen to

see. We have had eight hours of

protected debate every day, eight

days of the committee. Exhaustively

looking at every aspect. This is

certainly not evidence of a failure

to communicate or engage. The

government is listening and we are

keen to engage across the house.

That is good to continue to be the

case as we seek to leave the

European Union with a good deal for

all parts of the native kingdom. --

United.

Before the debate announced, will

she reflect on the fact that many of

Winston Churchill's greatest war

time speeches, were made from Church

House. Would she consider that would

be an appropriate location?

Well...

My honourable friend will no doubt

want to take part in the debate on

the question of restoration but it

is vital that we focus on the key

issues. Protecting the Paris for

future generations. It is a heritage

site, 1 million visitors every year.

The future is paramount. So to,

costs to taxpayers. We absolutely

have to focus on the best value for

money that we can.

Can I thank the

leader of the house for the business

statement, and also for the meeting

that she had with me last week to

discuss a range of issues. Can I as

again for early notice of any time

allocation for the backbench

business committee for January so

that members can have ample notice

for times. How the chamber and

Westminster Hall. A little gripe...

The backbench business committee has

a membership of eight. Usually,

four. Can I ask that we actually

looked at that in standing orders.

Possibly a similar forum, could she

possibly have a word with her

colleague, with the committee of

selection and ask him not to pick

members of the backbench business

committee for the statutory

instrument committee at the same

time.

I am always very happy to

address representations from the

honourable gentleman. I will look

into the point that he has

mentioned.

Last week, the general

electorate announced the loss of

1000 jobs in my constituency and

could we have a statement from the

government both on the support that

will be provided to those trained

and excellent workers to find other

work but also to show how the United

Kingdom government will support

power engineering saw that it can

maintain and grow the position in

research, manufacturing and export?

I am very sorry to hear of these

potential losses. My honourable

friend is absolutely correct to

support constituents. The government

meets with the general electorate to

discuss business and November

announced plans for the global

restructuring. Consultation under

way on the redundancies and the

timescale is yet to be announced.

The government stands ready to

support anyone who loses their job

through the DWP rapid response

service.

I want to raise the issue

of rough sleeping. My constituents

are contacting me, very concerned

especially in this weather weather

rapid rise of people sleeping on the

streets. Hull council have done good

work to prevent 500 cases of

homelessness but a 75% increase and

I wanted to know if we can get the

government debate on why it has

since 2010 rough sleeping has

doubled in this country,

particularly the last year.

The honourable lady is right to

raise the subject. It is extremely

disturbing to see anyone sleeping

rough in our country. The government

is investing a significant sum to

eliminate rough sleeping altogether

by 2027 but the Harvard by 2022.

Certainly in my own area, the Hope

centre in Northampton is doing

excellent work as are so many

homeless charities around the

country to ensure that during this

cold patch nobody is having to sleep

rough. I shared the honourable

lady's concern and she may wish to

seek a backbench debate to discuss

this concerning issue.

Following on

from my colleague, this week to bury

vulnerable people were driven from

Taunton Deane and left in Bridgwater

on an excuse which I find

unacceptable in the 21st century.

They unfortunately were left to

tonight 's fending for themselves

and a tragedy could have occurred.

If it wasn't very kind people we

would have had a nightmare on our

hands. Can I follow my Labour

colleagues to say can we please have

a debate in this House and homeless

people and people who are vulnerable

in our society. Can we please have a

debate in government time to talk

about this.

Just before the Leader

of the House responds I listened

most attentively to what the

honourable gentleman said, but can I

just very politely say to him that

if he is going to refer to another

honourable member's constituency it

would be a courtesy to notify that

member in advance. That's all I want

to say. Matters should be sorted out

between colleagues but I think that

that is what I would call a point of

courtesy rather than a point of

order.

I completely share the

concern about homelessness and rough

sleeping. It is something that is a

huge worry across the House and died

in courage all members to consider

combining to have a backbench debate

on the subject. We have implemented

the Homelessness Reduction Act.

We've allocated £550 million to

tackle homelessness and Rob sleeping

through to 2020 and also 10 million

of funding to support eight new

social impact project so we can give

targeted support of the most

difficult issues around rough

sleeping.

I'm grateful to the Leader

of the House that she is thinking

about moving the date of the debate

because it is better not to have it

on a Thursday. Can I ask whether we

can have a debate on Ipsa,

specifically because of the way I

will stop treated. Most employers

bring forward the December staff and

salary payment before Christmas. Why

can't Ipsa do that?

The honourable

gentleman raises a very interesting

point which I am happy to look into

and his behalf.

Mr Speaker, East Worthing will be

briefer than West Worthing. When we

going to have a debate on the

parlous state of children's social

care?

My honourable friend and I

share a deep interest in the plight

of the earliest years and the

importance of secure early

attachment for the future mental and

emotional well-being of children,

right the way through their lives. I

certainly and always happy to

support in his efforts to achieve

debates in this House on that

subject.

I have details here from

Norfolk police of regular occasions

when people are held unlawfully by

the police while they are waiting

for mental health services to

respond. In one case someone was

detained for 68 hours in police

custody. We know this is now

happening around the country quite

readily. Will the Leader of the

House arrange for the Health

Secretary to make a statement to

this House? It is surely intolerable

that the police are put into a

position where they are having to

detain people unlawfully because of

failures of mental health services.

Well, what I can say to the

gentleman is the government has

shown a huge commitment to mental

health services. I share his concern

about the specific point he raises

and I do encourage him to try and

attend health questions next Tuesday

where he will get the opportunity to

ask ministers directly.

Thank you Mr

Speaker for your words about the

courtesies of this House and the way

we should conduct ourselves. I

wanted to say that last week I met

with the Taunton Chamber of Commerce

and most of the members of that

chamber are small and medium-sized

businesses and are the backbone of

our thriving economy in Taunton and

Wellington. Enabling them to grow is

really important as we move forward,

especially with Brexit. Could we

have a debate on how to benefit this

sector in the south-west with

specific reference on how to unlock

opportunities through the government

is commendable industrial strategy?

I totally agree with my honourable

friend. SME's are the lifeblood of

our economy and they deserve our

praise and support. Taunton Chamber

of Commerce are putting some

incredibly smart measures in place

to support local businesses and I

congratulate them for that. Our

industrial strategy will support

businesses. The retail sector will

benefit from business rate relief,

cutting £10 billion of red tape and

improving access to finance.

LAUGHTER

Thank you Mr Speaker. Let

me tell the House about my

constituent. He wasn't allowed to

take breaks. He was then refused

annual leave and was prevented from

carrying annual leave over. Due to

the tribunal fees he wasn't able to

take them to court. I've managed to

get him some money back but they

haven't engaged in any meaningful

way with myself to get him full

compensation. Can I get a statement

confirming the Leader of the House

will review how they treat employees

and advise how I can get that

settlement back?

As he often does

the honourable gentleman raises a

very serious constituency issue and

I recommend to him that he seeks an

adjournment debate so he can address

this directly with ministers.

This

evening I'll be joining the upfield

Chamber of Commerce that their

Christmas dinner celebrating small

businesses across my constituency

providing opportunity and security.

In fact, since 2010 1000 jobs have

been created every day. Will the

Leader of the House provide time for

debate on the government's success

in employment?

Well, I'm very

pleased to join my honourable friend

in welcoming the latest employment

figures and in congratulating

upfield Chamber of Commerce that the

work they do to support businesses.

There are 325,000 more people in

work than this time last year. Youth

unemployment is down 416,000 since

2010. Figures I'm sure the whole

house will welcome.

Last night we

had the unedifying sight of a

government Minister frantically

coming to the dispatch box to give

concessions to his own backbenchers

to push through government policy.

Last week we had clause 11 of the EU

Withdrawal Bill where many of the

backbenches on the government side

said it was deficient but amendments

were brought forward. Can we have a

statement or debate when the

government will bring forward

amendments to crawl seven which her

side says is deficient in the Bill?

-- clause seven.

The honourable

gentleman will be aware that they

ate as I've just announced of the EU

Withdrawal Bill will be debated next

week so he may wish to raise his

point Ben -- day eight will be

debated next week the whole house

will agree constituency thought to

be equalised but the departure.

--

we will be cutting the cost of

governance. Can she make sure any

private members Bill coming along

that my correct this debate gets the

money billet needs? -- Bill that it

needs.

I will look closely at what

might honourable friend suggests.

Can if I may declare an interest. I

travel to Bangladesh to see the

Rohingya refugee camps. Can I ask

the Leader of the House, can we have

a debate on the situation of the

Rohingya? I know there have been a

number of debates focusing on the

crisis as people fled Myanmar. The

situation of 800,000 people living

in camps and 36,000 unaccompanied

children, 30,000 women who have been

raped and are now pregnant, the need

for clean water, the need for

refugees, we need to know what the

ongoing commitment about our

government and ministers will be to

help the plight of the Rohingya.

Festival I commend the honourable

gentleman who are going to see fit

himself, I know a number of

honourable members from all sides of

the House have been to lend their

own personal support and I commend

all of them for that. It is a

harrowing case. We've had three

debates and questions on this

subject in September and I know the

government is watching it incredibly

closely. My right honourable friend

the International Development

Secretary has announced further UK

aid of £12 million to try and help

support the Rohingya people,

bringing the UK's total support of

£59 million. I also want to commend

the generosity of the British people

who have personally contributed

millions of pounds to helping

support the plight of the Rohingya

people.

According to the latest

Office of National Statistics

figures, unemployment in Crawley has

reduced by 59% since 2010. Can we

have a debate early in the New Year

and continuing economic policies

that increase employment and

therefore more revenue for our

important public services?

I'm

delighted to hear about the

employment statistics in my

honourable friend's constituency. I

know he shares my enthusiasm for the

fact employment is up more than 3

million since 2010. That's more

people than ever before with these

security of a pay packet to support

themselves and their families.

The

government's draft ombudsman Bill is

of great interest to many of my

constituents who are victims to the

attacks of the technology pension

scheme which cannot be investigated

due to a loophole in the law. Will

the leader find the time for this

important Bill to come to the House

in the New Year?

The honourable lady

will be aware that the government

considers carefully all of the

potential different bills and tries

to accommodate as far as possible

those important bills that improve

the lives of all of our

constituents. She raises an

important issue and I will look at

it.

Can we have a debate in this

House and very damaging policies

being pursued by the SNP with regard

to taxation which will have a huge

impact on my constituents and across

Scotland? Does my right honourable

friend agree with me that the SNP

should stick with their manifesto

commitment of not raising the basic

rate of income tax which they went

to the Scottish public with, to stop

Scotland being the highest taxed

part of the UK?

My honourable friend

continues to be a champion for his

constituents and he's absolutely

right to raise his concerns. Income

tax powers were an important part of

the Smith commission recommendations

and we have devolved them through

the Scotland Act of 2016. It does

say a lot about the priorities of

the Scottish Government that within

just a year of having these powers

they are threatening to renege on a

manifesto commitment. As I said

earlier, it would be a great shame

that if Scotland were to become the

highest taxed part of the UK.

Mr

Speaker, does the Leader of the

House understand that 1,300,000

people will be killed this year by

road death? Does she understand also

that this week we have had global

legislators from all over the world

in this Parliament including the

Speaker of the Moldovan Parliament

here debating the auspices of the

zero foundation that we will

actually tackle this? It's the

greatest epidemic of our time, can

we have a debate on it in the New

Year?

I'm certainly aware that the

government have tried hard to insert

year -- ensure that we reduce

incidence of road traffic accidents

and tried to provide all drivers

with the right know-how to be able

to drive safely and carefully. He

will be aware of legislation coming

forward for driverless vehicles and

that is an opportunity to improve

road safety. But nevertheless he may

well wish to seek an adjournment

debate so you can discuss the

specific and good work of the

organisation he mentions.

Thank you.

The government is committed to

helping at least another 11 million

children in the poorest countries

get a decent education by 2020. Will

the leader find the time to hold a

debate on the importance of

investing in education as a means to

helping children out of poverty?

My honourable friend raises

something the Government is

extremely proud of and that is our

efforts at international aid support

all young people everywhere to get a

decent education and I do encourage

him to seek an adjournment debate or

perhaps a backbench debate so all

colleagues can celebrate the

contribution of the UK people

towards ensuring education for all.

With an estimated 1400 people with

dementia stuck in hospital on

Christmas Day, dementia patients

will make up a quarter of people who

will spend this Christmas Day in

hospital because of delays in

finding them care. The Alzheimer

Society described hospital wards as

being turned into waiting rooms...

I

think we all share in the desire to

see, particularly at Christmas, as

many people as possible receiving

the right sort of care and

protection and also some company. I

think the issue of loneliness is

also something that's been raised in

this chamber a great deal. We all

know that the NHS faces increased

pressures at wintertime and that's

why we have put in place an extra

£335 million on top of the

previously announced 100 million for

A&E departments. Beds have been

freed up since February and areas

continue to work to increase that

number to 3000 extra beds over the

winter period. Really important for

those who find themselves in

hospital during the Christmas

period.

Will the Leader of the House

join me in congratulating the Cancer

Research UK committee for launching

Cancer Research UK hat and scarf.

Some colleagues are in the gallery

today showing off the wonderful

staff. Will the leader consider

calling a debate on the excellent

work of charities in fighting cancer

and will the right honourable friend

agree with me it is a fetching item

that will no doubt raise lots of

money for Cancer Research UK?

By

sheer coincidence, this morning I

decided to wear a pink jacket, and

when my honourable friend presented

me with one of these wonderful

scarves that Elaine and her

colleagues have produced for Cancer

Research UK I was absolutely

delighted to find the chill in this

chamber could be offset by something

warm from Scotland. I'm absolutely

delighted with the contribution of

all of those volunteers to come

Syriza, having had family members

suffer from this terrible disease

myself. We should all celebrate the

excellent work of volunteers.

If I

had known of the intention of the

honourable gentleman in advance and

of the sartorial plans of the Leader

of the House, I would myself have

worn a pink tie of which I'm proud

to say I have several. Nevertheless

the important point is the great

cause has been eloquently

highlighted and that is what this

place exists to do.

Could she asked

the Department for Work and Pensions

to come before the House to talk

about personal independence

payments. I had a case of a lady

recently who had cancer which has

had life changing effects on Earth.

When I challenged the case, they

said it had been below standard. Can

she ask them to come urgently and

make a statement?

The honourable

gentleman raises concerning case and

I'm sure ministers would be happy to

talk to him about this. In fact if

he wants to e-mail me I can take it

up on his behalf but I would say

this Government has been committed

to helping those with disabilities

to take control of their own care

and to be able to be funded to meet

their own needs and also to help

them get into work, which for many

people gives them the opportunity to

contribute and have the

self-confidence that arises from

being able to work within their

capability to do so.

On one of the

and busiest Saturdays in the run-up

to Christmas in Totnes, local

activists decided to parade with a

real coffin and leave a large

carefully constructed model of a

coffin at my constituency office.

Does the Leader of the House feel,

particularly in light of the report

on intimidation in public life, this

overstepped the line of decency and

there are real dangers in using the

imagery of death directed against

individuals to whip up hatred and

most importantly of all this kind of

thing deters good candidates from

applying for public life.

Yes, I was

disgusted, as I'm sure all

honourable and right honourable

members work to hear about the awful

experience of my honourable friend,

and really high at the time texted

heard to say I hope she was OK. That

must have been terrifying, truly

horrible. We should all condemn it

and call it out wherever we see this

kind of behaviour. I think the

report into the abuse and

intimidation of candidates

highlights that this is not a simple

matter of holding politicians to

account. This goes far beyond that

and it will be a deterrent to seeing

the calibre of candidates we want so

we all combine in condemning that

action against my friend.

Can the

Minister arrange for a debate in

Government time, and don't refer me

for an adjournment debate, on the

impact of Brexit on the national

health service and the threat of

privatisation?

Since this September,

the Department for exiting the EU

has answered departmental questions

on three occasions including just

before now. They have made several

oral statements. Deputy ministers

have appeared before the select

committee on three occasions and

that's in addition to the many hours

we have already spent discussing

legislation and we will of course be

discussing further legislation in

great detail over the next 18 months

so I'm sure the honourable gentleman

will have ample opportunity to raise

his specific interests.

Can we have

a debate on government time with

relation to dementia? Many members

in this House have family members

who suffer from this wicked and

cruel disease. Can we have a debate

where we look at not just the

disease itself, but the social care

system, the health service and all

other aspects of society that

touches on dementia and hopefully

let's take this action forward.

My

honourable friend raises an issue

that is of concern to all of us in

our constituencies and often also in

our families and it's certainly

something that is an increasing

problem in the UK and across the

world and something we should

regularly discuss so I do encourage

him to seek perhaps a backbench

debate on that subject so we can

look at exactly what further

measures can be taken to ensure we

do the best we can for those

suffering from dementia and their

families and friends.

As part of the

work of the cross-party commission,

looking into the root causes of

youth violence, this week we heard

from a panel of experts about the

public health approach to reducing

violence and the evidence -based

results they have achieved. Can we

have a debate on this extremely

important issue?

The honourable lady

has worked hard on this issue and I

commend her for that and I do

encourage her to seek an adjournment

debate on the subject. I'm sure it

would be of interest to a great

number of members.

On Tuesday night

members from across the House

attended the Grenfell United meeting

on which you made a deeply emotional

and moving introduction. But the

reality is that most survivors gave

stories that are truly harrowing.

The reality is that this Christmas

most of those survivors will still

be in hotels or bed and breakfast

accommodation. Equally, the people

of this country have very willingly

parted with huge amounts of money in

compensation for those victims. The

money can't bring their relatives

back but that money does not appear

to be going and reaching the victims

and those people last ill in

temporary housing. So could we have

two statements, Mr Speaker, one from

the Secretary of State on the

progress of rehousing the survivors,

but also from the Secretary of State

for Culture, Media and Sport who are

responsible I understand for the

money being distributed to the

victims on where the money is going

and how it will reach the victims so

they can live their lives at least

in some degree of comfort.

My

honourable friend raises some very

important points and I will very

happily go away and discuss that

with our honourable friends in the

DCLG. Latest figures I have are that

142 of the 151 households of

accepted an offer of either

temporary or permanent

accommodation, 99 of these have

moved in and of which 54 households

have moved into temporary

accommodation and 45 into permanent

accommodation. But I think is all

honourable members will know and

appreciate, we can move only at the

pace that those survivors wish to go

out and it's a very difficult area

and nobody wants to force anybody to

move at a pace they are

uncomfortable with. I hope all

honourable members will rest assured

the Government is utterly determined

to provide the right level of

support and care for all those who

are still very much suffering at the

present time.

Is it possible, given

the ongoing problems with the

roll-out, that we can have a

statement or an urgent debate on

Universal Credit? There's a family

in my constituency who were told to

claim Universal Credit and shut down

their child tax credit claim. That

was the wrong advice as they had

more than two children. They are now

being told to claim job-seeker's

allowance which HMRC won't backdate

or reinstate their tax credits. So

they are living on less than £1 60

per day. Given the UN's target of

nobody should be below two dollars

per day, how does that sit with the

Government's anti-poverty strategy?

The honourable gentleman raises a

very concerning constituency matter.

He may well wish to raise that

specific point on Monday. On

Universal Credit more generally, the

Government really has listened, this

is an attempt to ensure that

Universal Credit provides a good

solution for people that combines

six PVS benefits into one, that

improves access to childcare -- six

previous benefits into one, it

enables them to keep more of what

they earn as they move into work.

They can get 100% of their first

payment up front if they need to and

return it over 12 months. We have

introduced an overlap for those

already receiving housing benefit to

ensure a smooth transition onto the

new system, and really importantly

Universal Credit is expected to

boost employment by 250,000. Because

it is a simpler system that makes

sure work always pays.

A family run

high street shop in my constituency

recently received national and

international notoriety by taking on

the big hitting supermarkets and

produced the ultimate heart-warming

Christmas advert for the production

cost of just £7. I strongly

recommend all members of this House

to go online and look at it. But can

I ask my right honourable friend if

we can have a debate on how we

promote our independent high-street

shops, showing that through sheer

imagination and ingenuity, David

really can't take on Goliath.

I

congratulate Harford hardware on

their Christmas advert. It just goes

to show the kind of entrepreneurial

spirit in our businesses. We aim to

support businesses like this to

prosper and grow so they can compete

with the likes of Moz the monster

with their own successful Christmas

campaigns.

My constituent Matthew

pounder was served an eviction

notice when he chose to switch to a

month by month contract rather than

sign up to a 12 month tenancy. He

later discovered letting agents.

Told his landlords Matthew wanted to

leave the property. The agents try

to force him out of the home in

order to profit from the fees of a

new tenancy. Can we look at how we

can strengthen regulations on how to

protect renters.

Again, the honourable gentleman

raises an important and concerning

case. As I've mentioned there are

DWP questions on Monday. It may be

tricky but he may find a way to be

able to raise the question there.

More generally what I would say to

the honourable gentleman is the

government is looking at measures to

protect rental tenants better. The

draft measures coming forward and

consultations and wait to try and

ensure that people in rented

accommodation have protected

tenancies and more security in the

longevity of their ability to remain

in their home.

Good news, more

people are getting on their bike. In

my constituency for work or leisure.

That's a good thing because it's

very polluted in my constituency.

But a number of my constituents have

contacted me about shared spaces and

the danger of pedestrians mixing

with cyclists and the impact on

people with impaired vision. Could

the Leader of the House find time

for a debate on this safety issue?

I

know my honourable friend always

speaks up for her constituents and

particularly she is concerned about

congestion and a big fan of cycling

so I commend her for that. She's

right to raise the issue of sharing

pavements between cyclists and

pedestrians and I encourage her to

seek an adjournment debate so she

can talk about the specific concerns

she has.

I've recently been

contacted by five constituents who

have told me that the pain infusions

they need are being stopped because

of government cuts to East Riding

CCG. Please can we have an urgent

debate on the levels of funding for

the CCGs to provide therapeutic care

so these people can continue to have

some quality of life?

What I can say

is that NHS funding will be over

half £1 trillion from 2015 to 2020.

We have record funding for the NHS.

Record numbers of doctors, nurses

and midwives. Last year the NHS

treated more people than ever

before. The Commonwealth fund has

rated the NHS the number one health

system in the world for the second

time in a row. There is record

funding available to the NHS. Where

she has specific concerns she should

absolutely raise them with

ministers, but be in no doubt this

government is absolutely committed

to a successful NHS that protects

our people and the people of this

country benefit from the amazing

work done by all our NHS staff

country benefit from the amazing

work done by all our NHS staff.

Would the Leader of the House join

me in welcoming ID cards for

Britain's 2.5 million military

veterans and will she provide time

for a debate for our veterans and

the Armed Forces Covenant?

I do

commend the honourable friend to the

work he does as the treasurer of the

APPG on the Armed Forces Covenant.

As the Prime Minister has already

said, those who have served deserve

recognition for their sacrifice and

we will continue to make sure they

get it. As part of the government's

continued commitment to the veterans

card will ensure the public can

recognise our heroes when they are

accessing specific support such as

for health care, housing and the

charitable sector.

Tonight Cardiff

has been designated officially as a

music city and can I congratulate

the campaign and colleagues in

Cardiff for that achievement. In the

New Year when my honourable friend

brings in his ten minute rule Bill

on January the tent, will she take a

look at it and consider giving it

government time in order to make

sure that other parts of the country

can benefit from having great music

venues into the future?

I think

music brings enormous pressure right

across the UK and I congratulate

Cardiff for the opportunity to

celebrate musical achievements. I'm

not completely familiar with the

event that he is raising but I

congratulate them and wish them

every success with it. I will of

course look closely at the ten

minute rule Bill.

Enfield is very

fortunate to benefit from three

local theatres, the Millfield

chicken shed and the Birkdale. I'll

be taking my grandchildren to the

Millfield to enjoy Dick Whittington

over the Christmas period. These

kind of local facilities are very

important. Can we have a early

debating government time about how

the government's very deep cuts to

local authorities has affected the

ability of the arts venues to

provide these kind of events and

programmes for local people?

Certainly can I congratulate all

those taking part in those plays at

Christmas time. The pantomime is

such good fun, my family continues

to enjoy it. It is important we

continue to enjoy and support those

local venues and the arts are a

vital part of a thriving UK economy.

She will be pleased to know there

are these CMS questions next week,

she can raise how this government

supports the arts and she will have

the chance before Christmas to put

her questions to ministers.

May we

have a debate on the needful easylaw

lords etched by the all-party

Parliamentary Group -- Lucy's law.

Lucy was a black spaniel who was

puppy farms and sadly died.

I think

the honourable lady is absolutely

right to raise this issue. We are a

nation of animal lovers. I myself as

Defra Secretary was pleased to

change the rules on puppy licensing

and it's important we continue to do

everything we can to enhance our

already very high standards of

animal welfare.

Like many across

this House I'm becoming increasingly

concerned about the impact of

government policies on the mental

help of my constituents, especially

those moving onto Universal Credit

over Christmas. Can we have a debate

in government time on the impact of

government policy on mental health?

The honourable gentleman is right

that mental health is a very key and

important issue across the UK. He

will be pleased to know that around

1400 more people are accessing

mental health services every day

compared to 2010, that is up 40%.

There is a fivefold increase in the

number of people accessing talking

therapies since 2010 and spending on

mental health has increased to a

record 11.6 billion. There is a long

way to go and I certainly was

delighted to see the government's

launch of the green paper on mental

health last week. I'm sure the

honourable gentleman will want to

take part in that discussion and

provide his input to it.

Mr Speaker,

this week the humanitarian

organisation the Enough Project

published a report which outlines

the government of Sudan's continued

oppression of religious minorities

and support for extremist groups.

Despite the Sudanese government

claims of improving human rights,

there is an ongoing campaign of

violence against Christians, Muslims

and other groups. The Leader of the

House agreed to a statement on this

matter?

The honourable gentleman

raises a very serious issue about

human rights and particularly the

rights of different religious

groups. As ever I encourage him to

seek an adjournment debate on the

very important points he raises.

There is her tanned the world are

meant amongst many disabled people

about the extraordinary statement by

the Chancellor of the Exchequer that

one of the reasons for Britain's low

productivity figures is the

excessive number of disabled people

in the workforce. This is the

reverse of the truth, because every

disabled person who comes from

benefits to full-time work improve

productivity figures. When can we

have a debate to celebrate the great

work of all governments and the

European Union in increasing

opportunities for disabled people to

get into the workplace, and to thank

them for their heroic contributions

to our economy?

The honourable

gentleman is raising a really

important point about the

contribution of disabled people to

our economy, and I'm absolutely

delighted to thank and praise them

from the dispatch box for the

contribution they make. There are

now more than 600,000 more disabled

people in work over the last three

years, 3.5 million people now in

work who have disabilities. This

government has a proud record of

supporting them and encouraging

them.

Following yesterday's victory

in Parliament over the meaningful

vote, will the Leader of the House

make time available for a DeXEU

ministered to set out the assessment

they have conducted over the impact

of Brexit?

As ever the honourable

gentleman uses terms that I would

not personally use. There will be

ample opportunities for him to raise

any questions that he has about the

arrangements of the UK as we seek to

leave the EU with the best possible

deal for all of the United Kingdom

and for our EU friends and

neighbours. That is what the

government is determined to do to

fulfil the referendum that took

place last year that took the very

clear decision that the UK will be

leaving the European Union.

Last

week I chaired an event has chaired

of the social enterprise all-party

group on Chris White a former Member

for Leamington and I mentioned this

to the current member earlier.

Chris's report reviewed the public

services value Act and recommended

to strengthen, extend social value

including to this praise. --

displays.

It sounds like a very

interesting report. Not one I'd seen

myself but I think the honourable

gentleman is right to raise it. We

need to look at ways to ensure we

get the best value for the public

purse than para gym to seek an

adjournment debate -- and I

encourage him.

I received

notification from the post office

that their branch in my constituency

was closing. I understand they were

aware for almost a year but they

just gave myself and constituents

three weeks notice. To rub salt in,

they also asked me if I had any idea

who might be interested in taking

over the branch. This is no way to

run a business let alone a public

servers. Can we have a debate on the

competence and accountability of

those running the post office?

I'm

genuinely sorry to hear that, I

think that is unusual. Normally with

post office closures all members

receive good prior notice in

colluding specific requests for

suggestions on who might be

interested in taking over, and

obviously quite often we as MPs are

in a position to suggest

individuals. I'm generally sorry to

hear about that. He may be

interested to know that next

Wednesday there is a debate on post

office closures in Westminster Hall

and he may wish to take part in

that.

One in ten fathers suffer with

postnatal depression and the suicide

rate rapidly increases in men

between the age of 30 and 43 after

having a child. My constituents Mark

Williams has been campaigning on

these subjects. Can I ask the Leader

of the House to find some time for a

government debate to bring new light

onto this part of mental health that

has a real impact on fathers across

the UK?

I'm absolutely sympathetic

to the honourable gentleman's point

and in fact I may even have heard a

speech by the gentleman he mentions.

This is a subject that I care

passionately about, the perinatal

period. Not least of which because

of pre-, Perry and postnatal

depression of both mothers and

fathers but of course the extremely

profound impact that can have on the

future long-term mental health of

their child. I am very sympathetic

to the honourable gentleman's point

and I positively encourage him to

seek a backbench debate on this

subject because I know there are

members who take a big interest in

early years.

The Leader of the House

will be aware of industrial action

by driving examiners this week and

the concerns of many bad management

of the DVLA are refusing to

negotiate. Can we have a debate and

ask the Department for Transport to

intervene in this matter?

I think

the honourable gentleman may wish to

take this up directly with the

Department for Transport ministers.

I think he will recognise that a

debate on this subject would be very

helpful to try and move things

forward. If there are good ideas

suggested by members of Parliament.

Nevertheless it would be the

ministers to intervene if there is

intervention necessary.

The people

in Syria were subject to a horrific

attack which killed 1700 people and

since then 400,000 civilians have

suffered constant artillery

bombardment and the blocking of

medical evacuations. May I ask for a

statement on the representations he

is making to help the people of

eastern Ghouta and what further

efforts can be taken to secure

peace?

This government has shown our

very strong commitment to bed

sharing in finding a solution to the

problems of Syria but also in

providing aid to alleviate the

suffering of so many who have been

displaced or driven away altogether

into neighbouring countries. I think

we can be proud of our contribution

but the honourable gentleman may

well wish to raise that adds