01/02/2018 Business Questions


01/02/2018

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Chancellor, the Business Secretary

and myself, and leading businesses

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representative organisations.

Thank

you. Order. Urgent question, Rachel

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Reeves.

To ask the Minister of the

Cabinet Office to make a statement

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on the risk to public finances and

public services as a result of the

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serious financial concerns at capita

and the government's contingency

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plans.

Minister Oliver Dowden.

I

have been asked to comment on the

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stock market update issued by capita

plc yesterday and its impact on the

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delivery of public services. I

completely understand that this is a

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matter of significant interest to

many in the House following the

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recent failure of brilliant but I

can assure members that this company

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is in a very different situation. To

be clear, this was primarily a

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balance sheet strengthening

exercise, not Peter Willey a profit

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warning, and as has been widely

recorded, we do not believe it is in

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a comparable position. Indeed, it

has a very different business model

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and I will update the House on that.

The issues that led to the

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insolvency previously will come out

in due course but our current

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assessment is that they primarily

flowed from difficulties in

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construction contracts, including

overseas. By contrast, Capita is

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primarily a services business and 92

present of revenues come from within

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the UK. As members would expect, we

regularly monitor the financial

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stability of all our strategic

suppliers, including Capita, and we

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do not believe that any of them are

in a compatible position. The

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measures that Capita have announced

are designed to strengthen its

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capital sheet, reduce its debt,

arguably these are exactly the

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measures that could have prevented

the other company from getting into

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the difficulties they did. The

impact of these measures has

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actually been to reduce dividends

and shareholder returns in favour of

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others. So this is further evidence

of shareholders and not the taxpayer

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taking the burden on this. My

officials met with senior executives

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of Capita yesterday to discuss the

impact of the announcement. We

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continue to work closely with the

company to monitor the execution of

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this plan and to ensure the

continued delivery of public

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services and we continue to engage

with all

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our strategic suppliers and make

continuing assessments as

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appropriate of our contingency plans

where necessary. It would not be

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appropriate for me to comment in any

further detail on the specifics of

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those plans, given the commercial

sensitivity of them. But to

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reiterate, the priority of this

government and the reason why we

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contract with these companies is to

deliver public services. Our

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priority is the continued delivery

of those public services. As members

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will have seen in respect of the

collapse, whatever the shortcomings

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of air, public services continue to

be delivered and we are confident

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that public services will continue

to be delivered as provided by

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Capita.

Rachel Reeves.

I can't help

but conclude that the government's

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thinking on this is both muddled and

complacent. The Minister has told us

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that the situation that completely

different but let's look in more

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detail at the circumstances of both

companies. Both have debts of more

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than £1 million and pension deficit

in the hundreds of millions. They

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both paid dividends of more than £1

billion in the last five years. They

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rely on the public purse for half of

their contracts. Both were audited

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by KPMG. Both grew through

acquisition and not through organic

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growth. Mr Speaker, it seems there

are more similarities than

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differences between these two

companies. I joined the minister in

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welcoming the decision by the new

CEO to face up to some of these

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problems. But can the Minister

honestly say that Capita could not

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come to the same fate? And can he

honestly say that those people

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working for Capita have nothing to

fear? And can he honestly say that

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those saving prudently for a pension

with Capita can rely on that pension

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paying out fully on the time it? And

can he say to people who rely on

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Capita who rely on public services,

can rely on Capita to fulfil its

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contractual obligations for the life

of those contracts? And let me ask

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questions about what happens now.

What is the contingency planning and

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do the government have

representatives in the business? How

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long have the government been aware

of the problems at Capita? And how

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many contracts have been issued to

Capita since then? What risk

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assessment has the government made

of other large outsourcing firms?

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They are currently bidding for the

defence fire risk management

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contract. Will the government now

revealed that process? And, Mr

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Speaker, will the government commit

to urgently review what looks like a

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cosy relationship between the big

accountancy firms, the financial

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reporting Council and the caucus

they are supposed to be auditing. Is

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it not time to split up the big

accountancy firms and stop auditors

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from being paid for other

consultancy work at the firms they

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are supposed to be auditing? Capita

have announced they will be having a

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fire sale of assets. Will the

Minister confirm that capita are in

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consultation with the trade unions

about redundancies and should be

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arrangements in the event that

services are sold off. Jobs,

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pensions and small businesses and

vital public services now depend on

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these outsourcing companies but it's

time we rethought the old strategy

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for public service provision. How

many more warning signs does this

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government need?

I thank the

honourable lady for her questions

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and I know she takes a very close

interest in this very important

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issue. She has raised a very large

number of questions. I shall seek to

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address as many of them as I can. I

am pleased that she has acknowledged

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the fact that Capita is facing up to

its problems. The effect of Capita

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facing up to its problems will

create a contrast. For example, she

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talked about the financial situation

and the fact that the chief

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Executive has faced up to this, he

has strengthen the balance sheet, it

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is widely reported that Capita now

has over £1 billion on its balance

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sheet. That gives us confidence in

their ability to continue to deliver

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services. She talked about the

issuing of dividends. Again, as a

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result of this announcement, Capita

will not be issuing dividends, so

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many will be able to go back into

the pension scheme, allowing £200

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million extra to be spent in

relation to those core services

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rather than being given out in

dividends. I think it is evident

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that the Chief Executive is creating

a different situation to that which

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retained in respect to currently in.

She referred to the accountancy

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firms such as KPMG, and that is

being looked into, which we expect

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to hear run in about six months'

time and we will respond as

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appropriate to that. She mentions

whether there is a Crown

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representative for Capita. I can

assure her that there is a Crown

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representative for Capita. And as I

said to honourable members in my

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original answer, the role of the

Cabinet Office and the role of the

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government and the reason why we are

contracting with private companies,

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just as the previous Labour

government did, just as others have

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done, this has been reported many

times, why do those companies do

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that, why do the governments do

that, to deliver public services. So

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our role as a government is to

ensure the continued delivery of

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those public services. The test for

me and the test for my colleagues

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and officials in the Department are,

are those companies capable of

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delivering those public services and

can we ensure that if there is an

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interruption to the delivery, if

there is a problem with that

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company, will public services

continue to be delivered? All those

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public services have continued to be

delivered and I am confident it will

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continue to be delivered.

Will my

right honourable friend look at the

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total contempt which the Labour

Party has today for the private

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sector? And will he take on time to

actually published in due course a

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full list of all those contracts

which were entered into with the

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private sector between 1997 and

2010? That will give a fine example

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as to how the Labour Party of today

is nothing like the Labour Party of

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that particular period.

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I think he makes a very important

point here. This government and the

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last government have engaged with

private sector companies for the

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delivery of public services. This is

what Gordon Brown said. He was your

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last successful Prime Minister.

Well, the last person to hold the

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office. The last person to hold the

office. He said this. It simply

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would not have been possible to

build or refurbish such a number of

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schools and hospitals without using

the PFI model. Why is it we use

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these contractors? Because we know

with bacon delivered it. Frankly,

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Labour's position is confusing. Are

they seriously saying to us now, is

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that their position that we will not

use the private sector at all? Is

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the state going to start building

roads again? Or do they draw the

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line?

It's complete confusion. I'm

keen to accommodate the substantial

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interest in this matter, but can I

remind the house that there is a

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business question to follow and

thereafter to debates to take place

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under the auspices of the backbench

business committee, and I am anxious

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that time for those debates should

not be artificially truncated. Pithy

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answers, pithy questions and we'll

make progress.

Only two weeks ago I

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warned that this whole outsourcing

problem was in danger of becoming a

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set of dominoes, one of which would

fall after another. But the

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government behaviour in response

that and the minister's response

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today has been marked by

indifference to corporate

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mismanagement, incompetence and

offers an complacency in the face of

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a crisis. The Minister will not tell

the house, but I will, Capita were

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given 154 government contracts last

year. And only last week, Carillion

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contracts were being brokered to

Capita. And yet, the company was

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clearly in trouble, share values

were plummeting. Profit warnings

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were being issued. Short selling on

the stock market, allegations of

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fraud against M1 in the handling of

public contracts. Yesterday, the

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total value on the exchange was

barely more than the total debt. The

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company is in serious trouble. Is a

familiar tale of war with strong

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echoes of Carillion. We need to know

that government contingency plans

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will assure drops from employees,

protect the pensions of those

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employed there and that their

pensions of public sector workers

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will be managed. Will he confirm

that the public service which Capita

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managers will be protected in the

face of disaster and does the

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government contingency plan allow

for that? What will be the combined

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impact of Carillion and now Capita

on the spiralling cost of each is

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too? Does he agree that not a single

penny should be used to prop up

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outsourcing companies? This

government is blinded to the

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corporate greed of these outsourcing

companies. Will he agreed, isn't it

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clear that the justice minister

himself said that the government

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should be driven by evidence about

outsourcing, not by dogma?

I thank

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him for his questions. I think the

cord of his questions was in

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relation to support for these

outsourcing companies. He said, will

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be not provided any more to prop up

outsourcing companies? That is

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exactly what we did in respect of

Carillion. We took the decision that

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this was a private company and it

should bear the loss. That is why

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shareholders in Carillion are

unlikely to get more than a few

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pennies in the pound back for that

investment. The private sector has

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taken a risk. But the job of the

government to is to ensure the

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continued delivery of those public

services, to ensure that the dinner

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ladies get paid, that the hospitals

get cleans, that the railways

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continue to be built.

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That is exactly what we did in

respect of Carillion and that is

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exactly what our contingencies

involved in respect of all of our

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strategic suppliers. That is the

test for the government. The test

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for the government is can be ensure

the continued delivery of those

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public services? Those public

services continue to be delivered.

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He made a point about pensions. The

fact that Capita has embarked on

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this course of restructuring means

they are effectively choosing to

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switch resources away from the

continued payment of dividends

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towards their pension funds. That

should give pensioners confidence in

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respect of that pension funds. He

also asked in relation to jobs.

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Again, in respect of jobs, because

the restructuring, we can give

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confidence on the continued delivery

of those jobs. But I keep coming

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back to the same point, this is a

private company, the interest from

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the government is to ensure the

delivery of public services. I come

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back to Labour's position. What they

seem to be suggesting is that the

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private sector has no role in public

life. If that's not their position,

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are they going to tell us where they

choose to draw the line? They have

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gone from pumping billions of pounds

to private companies for the

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delivery of public services when

Gordon Brown and Tony Blair were

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Prime Minister, to the position now

where they're saying they shouldn't

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have a penny. Some clarity would be

helpful, because otherwise people

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may draw the conclusion that there

is more than an element of

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opportunism to this.

Would he agree

with me that it would be

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irresponsible of this government to

cancel private companies' contracts

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simply on the basis of a single

profit update?

This is an important

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point about profit warnings. A

profit warning does not mean that

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accompanies imminently going to

collapse. It's a warning to the

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market that its results will not be

in line with what they had

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previously thought. If we are in the

position where every time it company

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issued a profit warning, we as a

government said we will cease to

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contract with them, they would be

very few companies we could contract

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with. I will not name leading

companies, because I do not want to

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influence their market value, but I

could name a huge list of FTSE 100

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companies that routinely issued

profit warnings. That does not mean

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these companies are about to

disappear.

The second time in two

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weeks, we are discussing a private

firm, responsible for the delivery

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of vital services, which has issued

a profit warning. Will the Minister

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now acknowledge that that is a role

for a proper public sector? Will the

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government now start rolling back on

the privatisation agenda that it the

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last Labour government have obsessed

about? Can we look forward to a

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proper plan for taking public

services back into the public

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sector? And will he now acknowledge

that public sector employees should

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public services?

Of course we

acknowledge there is a proper role

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for the public sector. That's why,

for example, this government has

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committed £8 billion more for the

NHS, a further 6 billion for the

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NHS. Took all of her argument, the

reason why successive governments of

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all political persuasions have

chosen to engage with the private

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sector for the delivery of services

is because those companies have a

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speciality in it. They have a

speciality in delivering the

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services and as a result, they can

deliver them more efficiently. That

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means there are savings for the

taxpayer. If the SNP position is

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seriously that we should not have

any outsourcing, they need to

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explain to taxpayers why they are

choosing, instead of using those

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efficiency savings to plough back

into our schools and hospitals, they

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are using them to pay far less

efficient ways of delivering public

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services.

Would the Minister agree

with me that the biggest risk to

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jobs and pensions and the delivery

of public services would be to

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withdrew draw support for Capita on

the basis of a reactionary profits

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warning?

He is absolutely right. If

we were to choose overnight in the

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face of one profit warning to stop

contracting with that company, there

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would be a significant risk of the

delivery of public services falling

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over. The objective of the

government is the continued delivery

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of public services, and we have

continued to pay the cleaners, we

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have continue to have the dinner is

served, we have continued to make

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sure that what the people out there

in the country came about, which is

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either Bob and services being

delivered, they are being delivered.

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Yesterday, the chief executive of

Capita said his organisation was far

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too complex. If he finds it

difficult to understand how his own

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organisation works, how does the

government monitor the stability and

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performance of these very large

complex outsourcing companies like

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Capita and cervical and others?

He's

absolutely right about what the

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chief executive said and that's why

he has embarked on this

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restructuring. Is precisely because

of that complexity. I well remember

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working with the honourable

gentleman when I was an adviser in

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Downing Street and Hugh was there.

He will have knowledge of that, that

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a third of the contracts with the

Carillion were agreed by the

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coalition. The process we have then

and we continue to strengthen is

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twofold. First of all, we look at

the published results of these

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companies and use third parties to

properly understand and verify them

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and secondly, we continue to engage

on a one on one basis with each of

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those companies, through the Cabinet

Office, to understand their

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financial position in order to make

sure that we deliver what the public

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expects, which is the continued

delivery of public services.

The

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honourable lady for Leeds West has

raised concerns on the failure of

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regulation. Does the Minister agree

with me that the answer to this

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dilemma is not to nationalise those

companies but to make sure those

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bodies do the job for the taxpayer

and the public service user?

She is

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correct. That is why we welcome the

fact that the FRC is looking into

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the four major accountancy firms and

see what lessons we need to learn

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from that. We will respond to that

and act appropriately.

Can I bring

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him back to the core issue, which is

that there are two separate but

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linked problems, the business

problem and the performance of these

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companies. Like Carillion, Capita

seems to be part of the over

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concentrated dividend and bonus

exploiting culture, which relies on

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the state to bail out failure.

Capita incompetence is only too

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clear from its lamentable

performance on the recruitment

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contract for the armed services.

When is this government going to

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finally get a grip?

He raises,

behind the question, an important

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point about the diversity of

supplies on this market. I think we

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do need to look to diversify

further. That's why we set up target

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of 33% of our government contracting

going to small and medium-sized

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enterprises, precisely to make sure

we have greater diversity. We have

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done precisely the opposite of a

state bailout. Because Carillion

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went into liquidation, its

shareholders paid the price. Because

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Capita has decided to stop paying

dividends, its shareholders are

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paying a price. It's not correct to

say the state is booming about the

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situation.

The government rule here

is to continue to act as a prudent

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customer, to continue to monitor its

suppliers and the services they

0:23:360:23:40

provide. The best thing the

government can do right now is to

0:23:400:23:43

allow the company to get on with its

plan to restructure its business.

He

0:23:430:23:50

is right. Capita and its executives

and shareholders are responsible for

0:23:500:23:56

Capita. Our responsibility as the

government is for the continued

0:23:560:24:00

delivery of public services, to make

sure the services on which the

0:24:000:24:04

public rely, continue to be

delivered. This is exactly what we

0:24:040:24:07

did in respect of Carillion and that

is what we are doing for all our

0:24:070:24:11

strategic supplies including Capita.

The Minister said that Capita has a

0:24:110:24:18

positive record of delivery, but

Capita has been responsible for the

0:24:180:24:23

£1 billion contract for the delivery

of NHS England's primary care and

0:24:230:24:27

support services from 2015. From the

outset, GPs and local medical

0:24:270:24:33

committees identified serious issues

with the service, including patient

0:24:330:24:36

safety, GP workload and GP finances

being affected. While some progress

0:24:360:24:41

has been made, two and a half years

on, the service short of what is

0:24:410:24:46

acceptable and there's still an

urgent need to resolve these to give

0:24:460:24:50

practices and GPs across this

country confidence in the service.

0:24:500:24:54

What is he and his government doing

to improve the quality of the

0:24:540:24:57

service provided by Capita?

0:24:570:25:12

The Department of Health have to

ensure that Capita or any other

0:25:120:25:16

contractor delivers on what is has

promised to deliver. The function of

0:25:160:25:23

the Cabinet Office in respect of

this is to ensure if there is a

0:25:230:25:27

failure of the company, that the

overall public services continue to

0:25:270:25:30

be delivered.

If I understand the

Minister correctly, this company is

0:25:300:25:36

raising funds from its shareholders

in order to strengthen its balance

0:25:360:25:39

sheet, strengthen its pension fund,

and these actions should be

0:25:390:25:44

welcomed. Will you share my

frustration that the attitude of the

0:25:440:25:47

opposition seems to be to the

private sector, you are dammed if

0:25:470:25:50

you do and dammed if you don't.

He

is precisely right. It would be

0:25:500:25:58

helpful if Carillion had considered

these actions, it would not have got

0:25:580:26:01

these position. You can't say the

government is bankrolling these

0:26:010:26:07

companies and at the same time the

government is allowing these

0:26:070:26:09

companies to go bust if things go

wrong with them and the shareholders

0:26:090:26:17

pay the price. You can't accept two

propositions at once.

Does the

0:26:170:26:23

Minister agree with me that with

Carillion and now Capita,

0:26:230:26:28

outsourcing our services has failed?

So instead of expensive bailouts,

0:26:280:26:34

they should be brought back into

public ownership.

Well, the

0:26:340:26:39

government has not bailed out a

single supplier. It is the

0:26:390:26:47

shareholders who have paid the

price. It is the shareholders of

0:26:470:26:51

brilliant who will not be receiving

the money -- of Carillion, will not

0:26:510:26:58

be receiving their money back,

depending on what the outcome of the

0:26:580:27:01

liquidation is.

Can my right

honourable friend assure the House

0:27:010:27:07

that the confident steps the

government has taken up to date in

0:27:070:27:11

relation to Carillion have protected

services and make sure there is

0:27:110:27:15

minimal disruption to citizens and

that the government is taking a

0:27:150:27:19

similar competent approach to the

Capita situation so that we can

0:27:190:27:23

protect services like NHS admin,

which are so important to us all?

0:27:230:27:31

Yes, my honourable friend is

absolutely right. Our focus has been

0:27:310:27:33

to make sure -- ensure the continued

delivery of public services and in

0:27:330:27:40

respect of all these key suppliers,

we make sure that we are confident

0:27:400:27:43

if there is an interruption to those

companies, public services continue

0:27:430:27:49

to be delivered. That is what the

House saw in respect of ebony macro

0:27:490:27:54

and that is exactly what we are

preparing for all the time in

0:27:540:27:57

respect of all of our strategic

suppliers.

This is a very worrying

0:27:570:28:06

time for Carillion employees in

Wales, including hundreds employed

0:28:060:28:10

in a call centre in my constituency.

All PIP assessments in Wales are

0:28:100:28:18

carried out by them. Can the

Minister give a cast iron guarantee

0:28:180:28:22

that their jobs are safe and that

the benefit assessments will be

0:28:220:28:26

carried out properly and accurately?

I believe the honourable gentleman

0:28:260:28:33

was referring to Capita, not

brilliant. I can assure him that the

0:28:330:28:40

-- not Carillion. I can assure him

that there will be no interruption,

0:28:400:28:49

whatever happens, to the delivery of

those services. That is what

0:28:490:28:53

happened in respect of Carillion.

The very day it was announced in the

0:28:530:28:59

morning that Carillion was going

into liquidation, those people

0:28:590:29:03

delivering public services could

continue to turn up to work,

0:29:030:29:08

continue to be paid and the public

services continued to be delivered.

0:29:080:29:12

Before any new government contracts

are awarded to Capita, will the

0:29:120:29:17

government seeks fresh assurances in

respect of existing and future

0:29:170:29:23

pension obligation to its employees?

I can assure the honourable

0:29:230:29:28

gentleman that in fact officials

from my department met with Capita

0:29:280:29:33

just yesterday. This is an ongoing

process of engagement with all the

0:29:330:29:38

strategic suppliers asking exactly

those sort of questions to ensure

0:29:380:29:40

that we have public services

delivered and we are cognisant of

0:29:400:29:45

things like the public fund --

pension fund as well.

One of the

0:29:450:29:51

real issues that comes through with

Carillion and Capita is this growth

0:29:510:29:57

of the conglomerate structure is

that these countries are vulnerable

0:29:570:30:02

when any part begins to fail and

that puts at risk the whole. Where

0:30:020:30:05

is the risk assessment that his

Minister has done?

As I have said,

0:30:050:30:16

there is a continuing process of

engagement. Over the years, the

0:30:160:30:21

government commercial services has

been beefed up. We have brought in

0:30:210:30:26

people with expertise who understand

these companies, who are engaging

0:30:260:30:29

with those companies on a day-to-day

basis to understand their business

0:30:290:30:34

models. But as I say, the purpose of

doing that is to understand those

0:30:340:30:39

business models and ensure we are

confident that we can continue to

0:30:390:30:42

deliver those public services.

Can

my honourable friend confirmed that

0:30:420:30:47

what matters to this government is

what delivers the best public

0:30:470:30:52

service outcomes to our constituents

in terms of quality and value for

0:30:520:30:56

money, exactly the same

considerations that motivated the

0:30:560:30:59

party opposite.

Yes, the party

offices -- opposite leg many

0:30:590:31:13

contracts to private companies and

the reason they did that was because

0:31:130:31:16

they believed they had expertise to

deliver them. That is exactly what

0:31:160:31:20

we are doing. But interestingly,

since the surge in the use of PFI

0:31:200:31:25

which took place under Gordon Brown,

we have tightened up the terms of

0:31:250:31:33

PFI so we are learning the lessons

from some of those excessive PFI

0:31:330:31:37

contracts that we saw. We had a

ludicrous service fees for some of

0:31:370:31:41

the services being derided

underneath them.

A significant

0:31:410:31:47

employer of mine in Huddersfield in

the shared transport business as a

0:31:470:31:51

very important role and they are a

very important company. Nobody on

0:31:510:31:58

this side wants to see it fail. Like

all businesses, we wanted to

0:31:580:32:02

succeed. There is nothing wrong with

a Private partnership. Getting the

0:32:020:32:07

contract and the relationship right

is what is important. What went

0:32:070:32:11

wrong in many PFI will rot in

contracts which still bedevil local

0:32:110:32:15

hospitals and local schools.

I think

the honourable gentleman raises a

0:32:150:32:20

very important point. He is

precisely right, there is nothing

0:32:200:32:25

wrong per se with engaging with the

private sector for the delivery of

0:32:250:32:29

public services, but we need to

ensure there is rigour in those

0:32:290:32:32

contracts. Many contracts in the

past have not been properly

0:32:320:32:36

negotiated and they have not

delivered value for the public

0:32:360:32:38

sector. They will continue to burden

as for many decades to come but that

0:32:380:32:46

is not an invalidation of the model,

that is problems with specific

0:32:460:32:50

contractual negotiations.

It is

quite clear that Capita is unique

0:32:500:32:56

because it grew out of outsourcing

from the public sector, but as it

0:32:560:33:01

grew, the structures have

outstripped its proper corporate

0:33:010:33:05

responsibility. It is clear we also

need to argue the case for

0:33:050:33:13

outsourcing to the public sector and

can we outline the benefits of

0:33:130:33:19

outsourcing and give a couple of

examples of where it has been a

0:33:190:33:22

success in delivering better public

services.

I am very happy to do so

0:33:220:33:26

and that is precisely why private

sector companies use outsourcing.

0:33:260:33:30

Every company engages in outsourcing

because they recognise there are

0:33:300:33:35

some areas where there are greater

expertise than can be delivered by

0:33:350:33:41

our companies. Exactly the same with

the public sector. We focus on what

0:33:410:33:47

actually works, what delivers for

the public sector, and what delivers

0:33:470:33:50

at the best price and the best

value. I can tell the honourable

0:33:500:33:53

gentleman that over 4500 project

have been delivered since 2010 and

0:33:530:34:00

over a quarter of £1 trillion has

been invested in infrastructure and

0:34:000:34:08

over 70% of our long-term projects

identified are now complete, under

0:34:080:34:13

construction or part of the

programme being delivered. This is

0:34:130:34:16

delivering the public services

people want.

Capita employs 450

0:34:160:34:22

people in my constituency,

principally engaged in administering

0:34:220:34:24

public sector pensions. When he has

met with Capita, what discussions

0:34:240:34:29

did he have about the pensions

function and about that site

0:34:290:34:34

specifically and will he meet with

me to discuss it?

I would be very

0:34:340:34:38

happy to meet with the honourable

lady to discuss all those points.

0:34:380:34:41

Alan Brown.

What is the size of the

pension deficit and what has that

0:34:410:34:53

arrangement has the government put

in place to cover that black hole?

0:34:530:34:59

Capita is a private company and

Capita is responsible for the

0:34:590:35:02

running of its business. But if the

honourable gentleman looks at the

0:35:020:35:09

announcement that was made yesterday

by Capita, the fact they have chosen

0:35:090:35:13

not to issue a dividend and release

more cash which means they can shore

0:35:130:35:20

up their pension fund, so it is a

positive announcement in that

0:35:200:35:22

respect.

Will the government review

all major outsourced contract as a

0:35:220:35:27

matter of urgency and in particular

the contracts awarded to Capita for

0:35:270:35:34

Personal Independence Payments for

disabled people who have come in for

0:35:340:35:40

criticism for the way it treats

disabled people during the process?

0:35:400:35:44

The government routinely publishes

all significant outsourcing

0:35:440:35:49

contracts and I would be happy to

provide the website and a link to

0:35:490:35:53

the honourable lady so she can get a

full list of all of those. That is

0:35:530:35:57

the process for doing it.

Isn't it

time that private companies

0:35:570:36:03

providing public services were

subject to the same rules of

0:36:030:36:07

openness and transparency as the

public sector so that they can no

0:36:070:36:10

longer hide behind the cloak of

commercial confidentiality?

Of

0:36:100:36:17

course there are lessons to be

learned from this and this is

0:36:170:36:22

exactly what things like the Public

Administration Committee is looking

0:36:220:36:25

into, but there is a distinction

between a private sector and a

0:36:250:36:28

public body, and I don't think it

would be appropriate to extend the

0:36:280:36:31

full provisions of FOIA to all

private companies.

Drew Henry.

If

0:36:310:36:42

the Minister is serious about

getting the best value for the

0:36:420:36:45

public, will the Minister committed

to learning from the Scottish

0:36:450:36:48

Government, with the Scottish

futures trust latest independently

0:36:480:36:51

audited statement has recorded over

£1 billion in savings since being

0:36:510:36:57

established?

Of course I welcome his

question and of course we will

0:36:570:37:03

learned those lessons but it is

worth noting that the Scottish

0:37:030:37:06

Government gave a contract to Capita

in 2015. Capita was appointed by the

0:37:060:37:12

Scottish Government pensions agency

to deliver its integrated pensions

0:37:120:37:15

IT software solutions. An example of

how the government is choosing to

0:37:150:37:22

use the expertise of the private

sector.

There are echoes of Corporal

0:37:220:37:27

Jones from Darren Sammy from the

Minister's response this morning --

0:37:270:37:33

Dad's Army. Can I ask him why does

he think that Barnet Council, a

0:37:330:37:40

flagship Tory council, known as easy

council because of its extreme

0:37:400:37:46

outsourcing, has put in place

contingency plans based on the

0:37:460:37:49

possible failure of this company?

I

can assure the honourable lady that

0:37:490:37:56

we are not in any way complacent,

that is why we continue to engage,

0:37:560:38:01

and I believe Barnet councillors

will be doing the same thing in

0:38:010:38:04

ensuring there are contingency plans

in place. Indeed, those contingency

0:38:040:38:09

plans have worked in respect of the

collapse of the one company we have

0:38:090:38:15

seen, Carillion, those public

services continue to be delivered.

0:38:150:38:19

Carillion has got a £1 billion

contract in the primary sector of

0:38:190:38:23

the NHS. The Minister has sought to

minimise... Don't you think this

0:38:230:38:32

House and the general public deserve

to know exactly what plans the

0:38:320:38:35

government have in the situation

that Capita cannot deliver the

0:38:350:38:41

services to the public?

I have given

that reassurance and I can give the

0:38:410:38:46

reassurance to the House again that

we, in respect of all our strategic

0:38:460:38:52

suppliers, including Capita, we are

understanding their financial

0:38:520:38:57

position and taking appropriate

contingency measures. I hope the

0:38:570:39:01

honourable lady will understand that

all these things are very

0:39:010:39:03

commercially sensitive and it would

not be helpful to go into excessive

0:39:030:39:08

detail on that.

Mr Speaker, Capita's

stock has dropped 84% since its 2015

0:39:080:39:20

peak. Are there plans for a

ministerial task force to grip this

0:39:200:39:23

situation should it worsen?

Well, it

is worth noting with respect to the

0:39:230:39:30

drop in the share price, a large

chunk of that came yesterday and was

0:39:300:39:34

in respect of the restructuring of

the business so it was a consequence

0:39:340:39:38

of the rights issue, but we are

engaging and I, alongside my

0:39:380:39:44

honourable friend the Minister for

small businesses, have established a

0:39:440:39:47

task force in respect of Carillion

and we are ensuring that in relation

0:39:470:39:52

to the private sector side of

Carillion's delivery, we are

0:39:520:39:57

providing all the support we can.

For example, we are ensuring that

0:39:570:40:03

HMRC is showing flexibility in

relation to payments, the banks are

0:40:030:40:08

showing some flexibility, and should

the need arise in respect of

0:40:080:40:11

capital, we would do exactly the

same thing.

0:40:110:40:17

Poor service delivery is often an

early warning sign of financial

0:40:170:40:22

difficulties. GP practices in my

constituency have been complaining

0:40:220:40:25

for at least two years about the

poor service are receiving. We know

0:40:250:40:29

the contract that the assessment of

personal independence payments has

0:40:290:40:34

been failing. We've heard other

examples. Shouldn't the Cabinet

0:40:340:40:39

Office, rather than leaving this to

end dependent individual government

0:40:390:40:43

departments, have been overlooking

to to see services failing?

Yes, we

0:40:430:40:52

should be we take an overall view in

respect of the delivery of those

0:40:520:40:58

public services, the financial

position and contingency. Clearly,

0:40:580:41:02

in respect of the specifics of

public service delivery, that has to

0:41:020:41:05

be contracted by the relevant

department, because the relevant

0:41:050:41:09

department has a deeper

understanding of the need, like

0:41:090:41:14

health and education, they're in a

better position to negotiate

0:41:140:41:17

contracts.

Last year a press

Association investigation revealed

0:41:170:41:23

that Capita received £200 million

more than originally planned from

0:41:230:41:28

the Department for Work and Pensions

for PIP payments. Can he is surely

0:41:280:41:38

the government would be rewarding

public recklessness?

-- corporate

0:41:380:41:47

recklessness. Now, we would be

rewarding corporate recklessness and

0:41:470:41:52

the Carillion shareholders have paid

the price by not getting their

0:41:520:41:55

investment back. That is correct.

The role of government is to make

0:41:550:42:00

sure public services continue to be

delivered, and the private sector

0:42:000:42:03

bears the risk.

Business question.

Can he update the house on the

0:42:030:42:12

forthcoming business.

The business

for next week will include, on

0:42:120:42:21

Monday the 5th of February, motions

related to the draft Social Security

0:42:210:42:29

benefits and the draft guaranteed

minimum pensions increase order

0:42:290:42:32

2018. Followed by the remaining

stages of the Smart Meters Bill.

0:42:320:42:40

Tuesday, remaining stages of the

Space Industry Bill in the Lords,

0:42:400:42:46

followed by housing, planning and

the green belt. The subject was

0:42:460:42:50

determined by the backbench business

committee. Wednesday, motions

0:42:500:42:55

related to the police grant and

local government finance reports.

0:42:550:42:59

First the 8th of February, debate on

a motion on community bank closures,

0:42:590:43:05

followed by a debate on matters to

be raised before the forthcoming

0:43:050:43:10

adjournment. The subject for this

debate was determined by the

0:43:100:43:14

backbench business committee. Friday

the 9th of January, the house will

0:43:140:43:17

not sitting. The provisional

business for the week commencing the

0:43:170:43:27

19th of February will include, on

Monday the 19th of February, the

0:43:270:43:31

house will not be sitting. On

Tuesday the 20th of February, the

0:43:310:43:37

second reading of the Sanctions And

Anti-money Laundering Bill, Lords.

0:43:370:43:44

The house to the historic decision

to choose action to restore and

0:43:440:43:48

renew the Palace of Westminster. And

I would like to congratulate all

0:43:480:43:53

members and right Honourable members

across the house for their attention

0:43:530:43:56

to this debate and for their

contributions to it. I will now be

0:43:560:44:02

taking forward the decision of this

house, following a debate as to take

0:44:020:44:06

place in the other place as soon as

one can be arranged. Thank you.

I

0:44:060:44:15

thank her for next week's business.

A robin in the chamber, a blue blood

0:44:150:44:24

Moon, but I will not mention the

other thing that you weren't happy

0:44:240:44:29

about and that is Swansea beating

Arsenal. Can I start by thanking the

0:44:290:44:35

Honourable member for Gainsborough

and other members and the backbench

0:44:350:44:39

business committee, for suggesting

that the debate could take place

0:44:390:44:45

today. If it wasn't for them

agreeing that debate, we wouldn't

0:44:450:44:48

have had it yesterday. They wouldn't

have bridged the government into it.

0:44:480:44:51

As the later rightly said, a

decision has been made. I also want

0:44:510:44:56

to make my thanks to everyone who

took part as signed the amendments.

0:44:560:45:02

It was well tempered, people made

their points and now we have made a

0:45:020:45:05

decision. Can I also note that the

reader mentioned the adjournment

0:45:050:45:11

debate. I hope she will get her

deputy very soon, because her hands

0:45:110:45:15

are full with restoration and

renewal. I know she has been

0:45:150:45:19

assiduous in trying to engage

members, particularly on the

0:45:190:45:22

northern estate programme, and I

know she will do the same with

0:45:220:45:26

restoration and renewal. Can I

pressed her on the date for the

0:45:260:45:30

summer recess? Is only one date,

sorrow she can give is that date

0:45:300:45:33

very soon. The leader mention the

Sanctions And Anti-money Laundering

0:45:330:45:39

Bill, which provisionally will come

to those in February. It started in

0:45:390:45:43

the other place, so can she confirm

if there are any plans for other

0:45:430:45:49

bills to start on the other place?

It was published on the same day of

0:45:490:45:53

the first reading, so can she

reassure the house that this will

0:45:530:45:56

not be the case for the other 15

Brexit bills when they are

0:45:560:45:59

published? Is one year since the

speech on the government negotiating

0:45:590:46:05

objectives were exiting the EU, but

the government appeared to have

0:46:050:46:09

abandoned the financial sector.

They've shelved a position paper and

0:46:090:46:13

setting out its trade calls for

financial services after Brexit. As

0:46:130:46:16

the leads are aware that the policy

chair at the City of London

0:46:160:46:21

Corporation said, the sectors is

counting on the position paper to

0:46:210:46:24

cook clarified the government

position and the city is left in the

0:46:240:46:27

dock. And so say all of us. When can

we expect publication of the

0:46:270:46:32

position paper on financial

services, which affects 1 million

0:46:320:46:36

people. It seems the government has

annoyed the city and have also

0:46:360:46:40

annoyed the Secretary of State were

exiting the European Union and all

0:46:400:46:44

the opposition. I know the

government has said the briefing

0:46:440:46:48

will be published, could the Leader

of the House say exactly when it

0:46:480:46:51

will be provided to the committee

and to members, but not on a

0:46:510:46:56

restricted basis? The minister said

that civil servants who do their

0:46:560:46:59

work over was wrong. The Minister

appears to have a bizarre

0:46:590:47:03

understanding of what the civil

servants do. They are independent.

0:47:030:47:08

They follow government instructions

and government policy. Could we have

0:47:080:47:11

an apology from the Minister to the

civil service. Next week also there

0:47:110:47:16

will be a motion on the police

grant. Quarterly police figures show

0:47:160:47:21

with 14% rise in recorded crime in

England and Wales. Domestic

0:47:210:47:26

burglaries up by 32%, exactly

mirrored in my constituency. A young

0:47:260:47:30

couple just married at their wedding

jewellery stolen. Another

0:47:300:47:34

constituent has actually given me a

video of the gang entering their

0:47:340:47:44

house, a home and actually matching

people upstairs to rob them. There

0:47:440:47:46

was only one police station in my

constituency and that is now

0:47:460:47:49

closing, despite being upgraded.

It's not fair to say that the

0:47:490:47:54

government is protecting the police

budget. Could we have an urgent

0:47:540:47:58

debate, maybe the Minister can make

a statement on how much more money

0:47:580:48:03

will be given to local councils to

protect local services? It's not

0:48:030:48:07

right and it's not fair that the

government is shifting the burden on

0:48:070:48:10

taxes on local councils. I know you

allowed an urgent question on Capita

0:48:100:48:18

earlier, but I do want the leader's

reassured and says that the

0:48:180:48:23

government is jobseeker's allowance

helpline and the helpline that

0:48:230:48:27

administers the teachers pension

scheme is also going to be

0:48:270:48:30

protected. Also a statement of how

much the government has outsourced

0:48:300:48:35

to Capita. Finally, we are

celebrating the centenary of the

0:48:350:48:39

representation of the people act

1918, which gave 6 million women the

0:48:390:48:43

right to vote. We still have to put

up with men only clubs, and the test

0:48:430:48:48

should be, would the Prime Minister

have been invited to the President's

0:48:480:48:52

club? And the answer is no. But the

Prime Minister has been invited to

0:48:520:48:56

give a speech on Tuesday Westminster

Hall and 730, which will watch the

0:48:560:49:08

UK Parliament's vote 100 campaign.

Women have moved from their place

0:49:080:49:13

behind the grill up there to the

chamber. As we celebrate that, let's

0:49:130:49:18

all think of those unseen men and

women who speak out and fight every

0:49:180:49:22

day for equality for all.

Thank you.

I share her excitement about this

0:49:220:49:35

centenary of the representation of

the People's act, which is on next

0:49:350:49:39

Tuesday. I would just like to point

out to the chamber that 100 years

0:49:390:49:44

later, our head of state as a woman,

we have our second female Prime

0:49:440:49:49

Minister. The First Minister of

Scotland as a woman, our Home

0:49:490:49:52

Secretary is a woman, the leaders

and Shadow leaders of the House of

0:49:520:49:57

Commons and House of Lords are both

women. And the Commissioner of the

0:49:570:50:02

Metropolitan police is a woman. I

could go on. There have been some

0:50:020:50:07

changes for the better, but there is

so much more to do to make sure

0:50:070:50:11

women play an equal part in every

aspect of our society, both in the

0:50:110:50:16

United Kingdom and around the world.

I share her commitment to do

0:50:160:50:21

whatever we can to make sure that

comes to pass. She asks for a summer

0:50:210:50:26

recess date. That'll be provided as

soon as we can. I absolutely accept

0:50:260:50:32

honourable members want to get on

and think about what else they might

0:50:320:50:35

like to do with their lives other

than sit there. I share that

0:50:350:50:40

enthusiasm. She asks about Brexit

bills being introduced on the other

0:50:400:50:43

place. In my role as chairman of the

0:50:430:50:49

Parliamentary and business

Legislation committee, I have to

0:50:490:50:50

make sure that bills are ready to be

introduced and then we have to look

0:50:500:50:54

at the parliamentary timetable, to

look at what else is going on in

0:50:540:50:58

either house and make those

decisions based on the volume of

0:50:580:51:01

business that is available to go. So

is not possible to say with

0:51:010:51:07

certainty at any one time that it

will be this one about one. Through

0:51:070:51:12

the usual channels, we will all was

good as much notice as possible. She

0:51:120:51:16

talks specifically about the

financial sector. It's not 1

0:51:160:51:22

million, its 2 million people, if

you include all the professional

0:51:220:51:25

services that surround the financial

services sector, ranging from

0:51:250:51:29

Edinburgh to Bournemouth to

Birmingham to Manchester and of

0:51:290:51:32

course the City of London. It is a

blast and very successful sector for

0:51:320:51:38

this country. And recently was

declared to have extended our

0:51:380:51:43

pre-eminence over all other

financial services sectors in the

0:51:430:51:45

world. It is absolutely vital to the

UK and there will be positional work

0:51:450:51:53

going on and it will be announced in

due course when the moment is right

0:51:530:51:59

to do that. She asks me to confirm

that the government will comply with

0:51:590:52:04

the terms of the address and I'm

happy to do so. She asks about

0:52:040:52:09

economic forecast. If honourable

members want to ask the Bank of

0:52:090:52:12

England how many times their

forecasting is right, they will

0:52:120:52:16

demonstrate. Forecasting is not an

exact science, it is an art. It is

0:52:160:52:21

not a criticism of the civil service

to say that economic forecasts are

0:52:210:52:24

rarely correct, as is the case

pre-referendum. Certain forecasts

0:52:240:52:31

presumed our economy would be around

6% smaller than it is today. Those

0:52:310:52:35

were wrong. About the police grant,

real terms over police spending has

0:52:350:52:44

increased since 2015 by over £475

million, including increased

0:52:440:52:50

investment in transformation and

technology. In the settlement, we

0:52:500:52:54

propose to increase investment in

the police system by a further 450

0:52:540:52:58

million year-on-year. She's

absolutely right to point out the

0:52:580:53:09

very concerning rise in particularly

high impact crimes, such as knife

0:53:090:53:13

crime. Hope she welcomes an

operation many police forces are

0:53:130:53:18

joining in to try and tackle this

appalling crime that has such a

0:53:180:53:22

terrible impact on victims and their

families. Finally, she asks for

0:53:220:53:27

reassurance about Capita. I know

there has just been an urgent

0:53:270:53:30

question we are a number of points

have been answered about Capita and

0:53:300:53:35

Carillion. What can see is that

there is a web page set up by the

0:53:350:53:39

insolvency service for those

affected and seeking advice over the

0:53:390:53:43

failure of Carillion. There is a

dedicated website set up by PwC, as

0:53:430:53:49

well as a dedicated helpline. The

job centre rapid response service is

0:53:490:53:56

also available for advice and

support for those whose jobs may be

0:53:560:54:00

affected. In the case of Capita,

however, the government closely

0:54:000:54:05

monitors all of those firms to whom

it outsources contract and it does

0:54:050:54:10

not believe that Capita is unlike

anything like a similar situation to

0:54:100:54:14

Carillion.

Does my right honourable

friend agree there should be a

0:54:140:54:22

debate on government time to mark

International Women's Day on the

0:54:220:54:27

eight of March, to perhaps

demonstrate the respect that this

0:54:270:54:31

government has for the immense

contribution that women have made it

0:54:310:54:34

to this place over the last 100

years?

Can I first commend my right

0:54:340:54:43

honourable friend for all she does

to advance the cause of women and

0:54:430:54:47

equality. She's a real champion for

women's rights and she quite right,

0:54:470:54:52

the centenary of women's suffrage

year should ensure we mark this

0:54:520:54:57

important day. Time for this debate

is traditionally provided by the

0:54:570:55:00

backbench business committee, but I

have raised with the Chief Whip the

0:55:000:55:04

view is right across the house that

it would be good for the hosts to

0:55:040:55:08

have an appropriate opportunity to

mark International Women's Day, and

0:55:080:55:11

I'm optimistic.

0:55:110:55:17

Can I thank the leader of this

crumbling house for that. What a

0:55:170:55:20

week, Mr Speaker. They may or may

not be enough Conservative

0:55:200:55:26

backbenchers to trigger a challenge

and the party 's Civil War, they are

0:55:260:55:31

raging in the ranks over there. Can

we perhaps have a debate on peace,

0:55:310:55:37

love and understanding so all the

rest of us can wish all the best to

0:55:370:55:40

our conservative friends with their

current and faculties. And as they

0:55:400:55:44

are securing another defeat, this

government will go to the whole

0:55:440:55:48

business of trying to defy the will

of the House once again by revealing

0:55:480:55:52

as little as possible about these

latest disastrous Brexit papers.

0:55:520:55:57

After degreasing our opposition

debates, refusing to be held to

0:55:570:56:02

account, this government are now

making a mockery of these humble

0:56:020:56:04

addresses. If we can't get this

government to vote on humble

0:56:040:56:09

addresses, how about getting them to

change standing orders, because

0:56:090:56:13

there is one issue that unites this

whole house against this government

0:56:130:56:16

and that is opposition to the

procedure of English votes for

0:56:160:56:20

English laws, a procedure that is as

useless as it is divisive. No other

0:56:200:56:25

party in this House will support it.

They would look singly stupid if

0:56:250:56:31

they voted for a procedure that

continues to emasculate them in this

0:56:310:56:36

House. We may not be able to secure

the time for this but the Labour

0:56:360:56:40

Party has loads of time, why don't

you help this defeat this government

0:56:400:56:44

and get rid of this divisive

procedure in the House? And isn't it

0:56:440:56:51

delicious watching all these

Brexiteers rage about the unelected

0:56:510:56:54

House of Lords as it chews up the

pressure is hard Brexit. People who

0:56:540:56:59

have no second thought of going

there if it was offered, and now

0:56:590:57:07

they are starting to wail against

these unelected Lords. Mr Speaker,

0:57:070:57:11

you could not make it up.

It is just

as well I generally -- genuinely

0:57:110:57:21

like the honourable gentleman

because I do sometimes have to

0:57:210:57:25

extend my disbelief at some of the

remarks he makes, but if I can

0:57:250:57:29

gently correct him, this House is

not crumbling, the infrastructure

0:57:290:57:34

within it is the problem. The House,

as he will see, is beautiful and is

0:57:340:57:39

not crumbling. In terms of his

recommendation for lessons on peace,

0:57:390:57:43

love and understanding, I'm sure

you, Mr Speaker, would like to see

0:57:430:57:47

more of that in this place. We all

work together and I do whatever I

0:57:470:57:51

can as leader of this House to

ensure that we show each other that

0:57:510:57:57

love and understanding. He talks

about opposition debates and clearly

0:57:570:57:59

we set up a proposal that way there

is a motion approved by the House,

0:57:590:58:04

that the government would provide a

statement within 12 weeks of that

0:58:040:58:08

motion being passed to set out to

the House exactly what steps have

0:58:080:58:11

been taken to address the issues

raised by the House. That continues

0:58:110:58:14

to be the Blake -- case. He talks

about English votes for English laws

0:58:140:58:23

and is designed to stop Scottish

votes for English laws. It is very

0:58:230:58:28

important that members across this

House that as a consequence of

0:58:280:58:33

devolution, where many of the

nations that make up the United

0:58:330:58:36

Kingdom were quite keen and rightly

so to be able to manage their own

0:58:360:58:41

affairs more closely, it is

therefore right that the members who

0:58:410:58:45

come to this place should not then

be able to vote on laws that only

0:58:450:58:48

affect England or England and when.

And finally on the Lords, he laughs

0:58:480:58:55

at those who are frustrated by the

Lords, but nevertheless, surely he

0:58:550:58:59

can see their role as a revising

house with very useful expertise

0:58:590:59:04

that very often improves legislation

and makes a genuine contribution to

0:59:040:59:07

the work of this House.

It is vital

that the decal is as short as

0:59:070:59:15

possible, on that we are all agreed,

and I personally believe they should

0:59:150:59:20

work triple shifts and not do what

builders do and stay as long as

0:59:200:59:24

possible. Is it my friends

honourable opinion that these

0:59:240:59:27

sponsoring body should have MPs and

peers only voting so that we get a

0:59:270:59:32

grip on this?

So, I would like to

pay tribute to my honourable friend

0:59:320:59:39

because he has been a passionate

advocate for the restoration and

0:59:390:59:41

renewal of this place and I am sorry

because he will no doubt be

0:59:410:59:47

disappointed by yesterday's decision

because while it does confirm

0:59:470:59:51

action, it is not action along the

lines he would wish to see and I am

0:59:510:59:55

very sympathetic to his personal

view that in staying in this place,

0:59:550:59:58

we could do actually the job more

efficiently and effectively. In

0:59:581:00:02

direct response to his question

about how the sponsor body will be

1:00:021:00:07

set up, it will have a majority of

parliamentarians and their role will

1:00:071:00:11

be to reflect the views, the range

of views across both houses on

1:00:111:00:17

precisely what the delivery

authority should be tasked with

1:00:171:00:19

delivering.

Could I thank the leader

for the business statement and for

1:00:191:00:26

announcing that the business will

include a debate on housing planning

1:00:261:00:32

and the green Belt, which is

sponsored by the backbench business

1:00:321:00:35

committee. We note that the space

industry Bill isn't likely to go the

1:00:351:00:41

distance but we don't yet know how

many government statements or urgent

1:00:411:00:43

questions may be granted so could we

therefore ask for protection of

1:00:431:00:51

that, the housing planning and green

belt debate for 90 minutes or until

1:00:511:00:55

seven o'clock, so that we guarantee

it will get a good airing? Secondly,

1:00:551:01:01

could I bring all right honourable

members' attention to page 15 of the

1:01:011:01:08

order paper, which is application

for committee debates on the

1:01:081:01:12

estimates. In order to debate

estimates, members would have to

1:01:121:01:17

submit applications by the 16th of

February, which is during the

1:01:171:01:20

recess. I am just bringing attention

to that so members will be able to

1:01:201:01:25

debate in full estimates debates of

their choosing. And lastly, another

1:01:251:01:32

plea. The backbench business

committee is effectively now down to

1:01:321:01:35

five members. We have one member who

is out on a Bill committee and we

1:01:351:01:41

have the loss of two other members

do do promotions within the

1:01:411:01:45

government so we are effectively

down to five members but we have a

1:01:451:01:49

core of four. It is getting very

tight. If we can have a relaxation

1:01:491:01:54

of a forum or a quick appointment to

replace those who have been

1:01:541:01:57

promoted.

A&E ring the honourable

gentleman and I will absolutely take

1:01:571:02:03

that and see how we can support what

sounds like a very real threat and

1:02:031:02:11

practical problem. I urge all

colleagues on his behalf to look at

1:02:111:02:14

page 15 of today's order paper. This

is very important, that all

1:02:141:02:19

colleagues to set out their

applications for backbench committee

1:02:191:02:25

debates on the estimates. He is

absolutely right that the deadline

1:02:251:02:30

is during recess so with all

colleagues could look at that, that

1:02:301:02:34

would be extremely helpful. I will

also take away his request for

1:02:341:02:38

protected time during that

particular debate.

My honourable

1:02:381:02:42

friend will have seen early day

motion 783 and will also know about

1:02:421:02:50

the debate later this afternoon in

my name and that of other honourable

1:02:501:02:55

members. If the House passes the

motion this afternoon, will my

1:02:551:02:59

honourable friend arrange for a

government minister to make a

1:02:591:03:01

statement to the House about how we

will scrap those car parking

1:03:011:03:05

charges?

My honourable friend has

been a strong champion for resolving

1:03:051:03:11

the issue of hospital car parking

charges for a very long time and I

1:03:111:03:15

wish him well with his debate this

afternoon. I can assure him I will

1:03:151:03:20

write to the Secretary of State for

health and put forward his request.

1:03:201:03:29

The all-party group for suicide and

self harm prevention heard a

1:03:291:03:33

harrowing presentation this week

from two professes from the study of

1:03:331:03:40

self harm in England. We learned

that 200,000 hospital presentations

1:03:401:03:44

a year in England for self harm and

almost the same number two community

1:03:441:03:50

health facilities, particularly of

12-17 -year-olds. One in 100 of

1:03:501:03:56

those will die by suicide a year

after the presentation. 50% of those

1:03:561:04:02

dying by suicide have been involved

in self harm. This is an epidemic

1:04:021:04:07

that is hitting this country. Could

we have a statement from the

1:04:071:04:11

government expressing how they

intend to deal with the major risk

1:04:111:04:14

of self harm presentation in our

hospitals?

The right honourable lady

1:04:141:04:20

raises some very harrowing evidence

about the extent of self harming. It

1:04:201:04:24

is something the government is

extremely concerned about and in

1:04:241:04:29

particular the need to see more

support for those with mental health

1:04:291:04:33

issues. What I can say to the right

honourable lady about mental health

1:04:331:04:37

in the context of children is that

the government is investing a record

1:04:371:04:42

£1.4 billion into children and young

people's mental health, with a

1:04:421:04:46

record number of mental health beds

at 1440. What we are also doing,

1:04:461:04:53

importantly, by this time next year

we will have trained 2000 staff in

1:04:531:04:57

secondary schools in mental health

first aid to try and provide support

1:04:571:05:01

to young people. And by 2021, 70,000

additional children and young people

1:05:011:05:07

a year will be accessing NHS

specialist mental health services.

1:05:071:05:15

In the village in my constituency, a

company owning 70 rented homes has

1:05:151:05:20

put in for planning permission to

demolish these and make them into

1:05:201:05:24

private dwellings and on Friday I

met with some of my constituents who

1:05:241:05:27

may soon receiving eviction notices.

Could I ask for a statement from the

1:05:271:05:32

Housing minister to the power and

council may have to purchase these

1:05:321:05:37

homes, instead, and I kid you not,

wanting to build a lighthouse in the

1:05:371:05:41

landlocked city of Leeds.

Well, Mr

Speaker, that is an extraordinary

1:05:411:05:50

tale. Whether they are planning on

floods is anyone's guess, but my

1:05:501:05:54

honourable friend is a strong

champion for his community and he is

1:05:541:05:58

raising a very important issue. I

recommend that he seeks a debate so

1:05:581:06:03

that a minister can answer the

specific concerns he has.

Thank you

1:06:031:06:14

so much, Mr Speaker. You took me by

surprise. In the old days, less

1:06:141:06:20

enlightened days, when I went to

primary school, you could have a

1:06:201:06:24

good old bench and a pinch for the

first day of the month. Could we

1:06:241:06:28

have an early debate so many of us

can give a good pinch and a bunch to

1:06:281:06:34

the private sector partnerships that

absolutely blight so many hospitals

1:06:341:06:40

in our land. So many of us want a

new deal for our health sector, for

1:06:401:06:46

our hospitals, but we are dragged

down by PFI, badly negotiated many

1:06:461:06:51

years ago. Let's have a debate on

it, please.

I encourage the

1:06:511:06:57

honourable gentleman to seek a

debate on it. When I was on the

1:06:571:07:01

Treasury Select Committee about five

years ago, my honourable friend, the

1:07:011:07:08

member for Jesse Norman... I am

grateful to you, Mr Speaker.

1:07:081:07:15

Herefordshire. We had an enquiry on

the Treasury Select Committee into

1:07:151:07:23

PFI and it was quite clear that many

of those deals, the private sector

1:07:231:07:29

so the public sector coming, and

those deals have not been in the

1:07:291:07:32

best interests of the taxpayer or

the patient. Of course, the

1:07:321:07:37

honourable gentleman must reflect

that those PFI deals were signed up

1:07:371:07:41

under Labour governments and Labour

agreed to those... John Major did a

1:07:411:07:49

few of those PFI objects but the

vast majority were done under Labour

1:07:491:07:56

and now there is a much better track

record of ensuring that the interest

1:07:561:07:59

of the taxpayer are much more

closely cared for. But I absolutely

1:07:591:08:04

agree a debate would be a good break

to raise this issue again.

Mr

1:08:041:08:11

Speaker, I would like to share some

good news with you which we have

1:08:111:08:16

just heard this morning, that the

bid to the housing infrastructure

1:08:161:08:22

fund, more than £7.2 million to

build the spine Road in Taunton has

1:08:221:08:27

been successful and this will make

the building of 1600 houses in that

1:08:271:08:35

area viable. What the Leader of the

House join with me in welcoming this

1:08:351:08:40

announcement, which demonstrates

that this government fully realises

1:08:401:08:44

to make the delivery of much-needed

housing viable, we must have the

1:08:441:08:48

right infrastructure.

My honourable

friend is a fantastic champion for

1:08:481:08:55

the constituency and it is good news

that houses are being built. We are

1:08:551:09:01

committed to building homes so that

everyone can afford a safe, decent

1:09:011:09:06

place to live. Today, an extra £866

million has been confirmed for local

1:09:061:09:12

housing projects to unlock the

potential of 200,000 new homes. So I

1:09:121:09:16

am delighted that the road is one of

the beneficiaries.

77% of the

1:09:161:09:28

public, 98 MPs across this House,

over 20 national charities, new

1:09:281:09:39

figures this week show that one in

eight adults have gone the whole day

1:09:391:09:42

without food. UN estimates of UK

food and security staggering 8

1:09:421:09:48

million. Can we have a statement

from government explaining why their

1:09:481:09:51

position on this is one of total

silence?

The honourable lady raises

1:09:511:10:00

an issue that is of concern right

across this House. Food insecurity

1:10:001:10:04

is a major challenge. What this side

of the House has done is to ensure

1:10:041:10:10

that more people get to keep more of

their hard earned cash, raising the

1:10:101:10:14

personal allowance so that a basic

rate taxpayer is £1000 better off,

1:10:141:10:20

raising the national living wage to

ensure that people are

1:10:201:10:24

significantly, thousands of pounds

better off than in 2010. It is

1:10:241:10:28

absolutely vital that the government

does everything we can to ensure

1:10:281:10:31

people can afford to live well.

1:10:311:10:42

In Taunton Deane, they borrowed a

fortune to do up their headquarters,

1:10:421:10:45

which affects my constituency. They

have not only not signed a contract,

1:10:451:10:50

which I think is illegal and pretty

silly, but they are pouring so much

1:10:501:10:54

money, it's only going to be valued

at what half what they borrowed.

1:10:541:11:01

Could we have a debate on borough

councils?

Can I ask if he consulted

1:11:011:11:07

the honourable member for Taunton

Deane in advance of asking this

1:11:071:11:10

question? If he didn't, it is rather

unseemly.

I did, I sent an e-mail.

1:11:101:11:21

Yes... I'm not sure that's very

collegiate, to be honest. But I will

1:11:211:11:26

have to leave members on the same

side of the house to sort these

1:11:261:11:29

matters out. Can I gently say, there

is genuinely a slight unseemly nurse

1:11:291:11:40

about continued reference to another

member's constituency. In the

1:11:401:11:45

politest possible way, I would

exhort the honourable gentleman, who

1:11:451:11:48

I'm sure has a fertile minds and a

wide range of potential political

1:11:481:11:52

interests, perhaps to focus on some

of the other interests, rather than

1:11:521:11:58

on those, which might affect his

constituency, I don't dispute that,

1:11:581:12:03

but which most certainly affect

those of his, if I could remind him,

1:12:031:12:10

honourable friend.

The Leader of the

House. Thank you. I encourage my

1:12:101:12:16

honourable friend to take this up

with GG LC ministers.

My constituent

1:12:161:12:24

was trafficked to the UK as a child

and forced to work in a cannabis

1:12:241:12:30

factory. But the Home Office want to

send him back to the Nam. So could

1:12:301:12:35

we please have a debate on the

interaction between the protection

1:12:351:12:40

of victims of modern slavery and the

Asylum and immigration system?

She

1:12:401:12:48

raises what sounds like a very

concerning case, and of course, for

1:12:481:12:52

all of us as constituency MPs, week

to raise particular cases with the

1:12:521:12:58

Home Office. I'm sure they will be

happy to look again at this case and

1:12:581:13:01

if she wants to e-mail me about it,

I can take it up with them on her

1:13:011:13:05

behalf.

The Community Security Trust

has published there are no report,

1:13:051:13:14

showing a growth of anti-Semitic

attacks in this country, and it's a

1:13:141:13:18

pernicious growth of anti-Semitism

generally. At the same time, the

1:13:181:13:21

chief inspector of schools is making

a speech today about the growth of

1:13:211:13:25

religious extremism in our schools.

Could we have a debate on how we

1:13:251:13:29

combat religious extremism and its

pernicious attacks on people's

1:13:291:13:34

religion?

He raises a very

concerning story. We will all have

1:13:341:13:41

heard in the press recently about

the rise in anti-Semitic attacks and

1:13:411:13:47

words, which can also be extremely

hurtful. He is right to suggest a

1:13:471:13:51

debate and I do encourage him to

perhaps topped the backbench

1:13:511:13:56

business committee about posting a

debate so all members can share

1:13:561:13:58

their views on this.

The government

has expressed its support for

1:13:581:14:08

refugees and I now support is being,

funding is being reviewed. I know

1:14:081:14:14

that time is running out for some

places. Could she allows government

1:14:141:14:20

time, so we have time to assess what

urgent steps can be taken to avoid

1:14:201:14:24

any closures?

What I can say is that

we have committed £40 million until

1:14:241:14:33

2020 and we have delivered support

to 80 domestic abuse refuges across

1:14:331:14:40

England. She's raising an issue that

is at the heart of government

1:14:401:14:45

priorities, which is why we've

committed to creating a draft bill.

1:14:451:14:51

We've created new stocking offences

and will continue to take action.

1:14:511:15:02

Next Tuesday is Safer Internet Day

and on Monday, I will be visiting a

1:15:021:15:09

primary school in my constituency to

find out more about promoting safe

1:15:091:15:17

use among pupils. That is concern

about what's happening online, so

1:15:171:15:20

could we have a debate to consider

what measures we can take to keep

1:15:201:15:23

our young people safe?

I

congratulate him for raising such an

1:15:231:15:29

important issue. I hope he enjoys

his visit to his school. The

1:15:291:15:33

government for the supporters Safer

Internet Day. Schools will be joined

1:15:331:15:42

by charities, businesses, football

clubs and police forces. The day is

1:15:421:15:44

marked in 100 countries worldwide to

help children everywhere remain safe

1:15:441:15:50

online.

I'm sure she will be aware

of what's been happening with equal

1:15:501:16:07

pay for women at the BBC. Will she

take the lead over pensions denied

1:16:071:16:13

to a woman over a certain age?

He

raises an issue that has been raised

1:16:131:16:21

in this house many, many times.

Conservatives and government

1:16:211:16:24

committed over £1 billion to

supporting those affected so that no

1:16:241:16:29

one will see their pension age

change by more than 18 months. The

1:16:291:16:33

new state pension is going to be

much more generous for many women.

1:16:331:16:38

By 2030, of 3 million women stand to

gain an average of £550 extra per

1:16:381:16:42

year.

1:16:421:16:52

I'm very grateful. I'm sure that my

honourable friend will share the

1:16:551:16:59

concern and the Saudis and we had

yesterday in Redditch that our local

1:16:591:17:03

Marks & Spencer is closing. I'm

delighted that those employees will

1:17:031:17:07

find alternative jobs, but it is

very sad, because it is the last

1:17:071:17:11

food shop in town centre and is

badly needed. Can we have a debate,

1:17:111:17:17

because how we work together with

council colleagues to create vibrant

1:17:171:17:21

town centres that are communities

where everyone to enjoy intimate and

1:17:211:17:24

to work? She's a huge champion for

her constituency and now she has her

1:17:241:17:31

own vision for a sustainable and

thriving town centre in Redditch.

I

1:17:311:17:36

do share her concern. It's always a

shame when a much loved and use

1:17:361:17:40

shock causes any town centre and I

encourage her to do all she can to

1:17:401:17:45

revitalise that time.

Nottingham was

not selected as one of Sport England

1:17:451:17:55

pilot areas for new models of

activity, but not in people have

1:17:551:18:00

developed lots of good ideas and

with their typical fortitude, we

1:18:001:18:03

will be making those ideas happen

anyway that we can. Will the Leader

1:18:031:18:09

of the House supporters in this

venture by accommodating a

1:18:091:18:12

discussion on parliamentary time?

I

congratulate him for the innovative

1:18:121:18:17

nature of the effort to raise

sporting activities in Nottingham

1:18:171:18:23

and also for his desire to see a

debate on government time. I

1:18:231:18:27

encourage him to seek an adjournment

debate with a sports Minister might

1:18:271:18:30

be able to give him some specific

tips.

Yesterday in Westminster Hall,

1:18:301:18:38

there was consideration given to the

terrible situation facing disabled

1:18:381:18:43

people in North West Durham and

across the UK, when being assessed

1:18:431:18:48

for their Personal Independence

Payments. Many members or not heard

1:18:481:18:54

at the debate because demand was so

high. That the Leader of the House

1:18:541:18:59

advise how we can have this urgent

situation facing disabled people

1:18:591:19:01

heard in government time?

I

understood that there was a fairly

1:19:011:19:09

well attended debate yesterday, and

it's quite right that there should

1:19:091:19:12

be. What I can say to the honourable

lady is that she should welcome the

1:19:121:19:16

fact that we have seen almost

600,000 more disabled people able to

1:19:161:19:22

come into the workforce over the

last four years, with 3.5 million

1:19:221:19:27

disabled people now in work. That is

good news, and what's that PIP

1:19:271:19:33

benefit is designed to do is to give

people more power over how the user

1:19:331:19:37

benefits to support their lifestyle

and their ability to make the most

1:19:371:19:40

of all the opportunities that they

have.

Can we have a debate on

1:19:401:19:50

banning the use of plastic straws. I

visited a primary school who are

1:19:501:19:56

doing sterling work to ban the use

of plastic straws. These people will

1:19:561:20:01

be here a lot longer than we will.

Will the government take action? I

1:20:011:20:07

certainly shared his enthusiasm for

doing more to reduce plastics in all

1:20:071:20:10

of the things we use, whether it's

recyclable cups, whether it's any

1:20:101:20:15

form of plastics. The government has

taken strong action in banning micro

1:20:151:20:19

beads in certain cosmetics and body

wash products. There is a lot more

1:20:191:20:23

to do in protecting our marine

areas, where 80% of our plastic

1:20:231:20:28

send-up, so this government will be

committed to doing everything we can

1:20:281:20:32

to our environment.

Nairn, Granton

and Aviemore in my constituency are

1:20:321:20:41

just three of the Highland towns

will be negatively affected by The

1:20:411:20:45

Royal Bank of Scotland's planned

branch closures. Given that the UK

1:20:451:20:49

Government is a major shareholder,

in addition to the plans debate, can

1:20:491:20:52

we have a statement on the

government's responsibility for the

1:20:521:20:57

range of responsibilities the

government has for holding shares on

1:20:571:21:00

behalf of the public?

He will be

aware that the Secretary of State

1:21:001:21:09

for Scotland has raised the concerns

of the house in his meeting with RBS

1:21:091:21:12

recently. You will also be aware, as

has been mentioned in this house

1:21:121:21:15

many times, that we have established

the access to banking standard to

1:21:151:21:20

make sure that is proper

consultation before there is any

1:21:201:21:24

closure of any branch. He will also

be aware that the government has

1:21:241:21:28

invested significantly in the post

office network, and that around 99%

1:21:281:21:33

of personal customers will be able

to carry out their day-to-day

1:21:331:21:36

banking at a post office as a result

of new agreements facilitated by

1:21:361:21:40

government.

We know it is government

policy to replace sold council

1:21:401:21:50

houses need a one-to-one basis. A

three bed semi in my constituency

1:21:501:21:55

was recently sold for just £27,000.

The council possibly replace a house

1:21:551:22:01

with that much money, unless it is

made of Lego. Across the country, or

1:22:011:22:06

make one in five council houses are

sold in being replaced. Can we have

1:22:061:22:12

a statement about how this policy

can be put into practice?

What I

1:22:121:22:18

would say is that it is important

that any money raised goes back into

1:22:181:22:24

social housing and affordable

housing, but what I can reassure him

1:22:241:22:28

is that the government's own

investment in social, council and

1:22:281:22:33

low-cost homes is no more than £9

billion. We have delivered about

1:22:331:22:40

350,000 new affordable homes. That

number needs to continue to rise,

1:22:401:22:44

but the government is committed to

making sure that everybody has a

1:22:441:22:47

secure a decent home to live in.

Companies like Bright house charge

1:22:471:22:56

eye watering interest rates when

essential goods. The financial

1:22:561:23:02

conduct authority have just revealed

that the average debt for their

1:23:021:23:06

customers has doubled. Can we have a

statement and real action from the

1:23:061:23:11

government and the FCA to keep this

sector in check?

He raises a very

1:23:111:23:18

concerning point about the debts

that people get into by using these

1:23:181:23:23

high-cost lenders to facilitate the

purchase of essential white goods

1:23:231:23:26

and furniture and so on. I know from

my time as city minister that the

1:23:261:23:32

FCA takes this incredibly seriously.

They have capped the interest rates

1:23:321:23:37

such companies are allowed to charge

and they are doing further work to

1:23:371:23:40

make sure we protect consumers from

the practices of some of those

1:23:401:23:44

companies.

Now that the house has

maybe in principle decision on what

1:23:441:23:52

we're going to do about restoration

and renewal, can I ask the reader to

1:23:521:23:57

get together her ministerial

colleagues in the Department for

1:23:571:24:00

business and work and pensions, to

put together the parliamentary

1:24:001:24:03

skills strategy, because we will

meet thousands of people working on

1:24:031:24:06

this building, who will meet

high-tech engineering skills and

1:24:061:24:12

craft trade schools, which presently

are not available in this country.

1:24:121:24:15

This is an opportunity for every

single constituency to have

1:24:151:24:19

apprenticeships working here on the

building.

Firstly, I would like to

1:24:191:24:26

congratulate him for his tenacity

and also I'd like to congratulate

1:24:261:24:30

his honourable friend, the chairman

of the Public Accounts Committee for

1:24:301:24:35

succeeding in her amendment

yesterday. I'm delighted the house

1:24:351:24:39

voted to take action. There are huge

opportunities, already been

1:24:391:24:44

fulfilled in some cases. For

example, as he will know, the

1:24:441:24:48

reverse of the cast iron roofs being

carried out in the United Kingdom.

1:24:481:24:52

There will be lots of opportunities

for new apprenticeships. I can

1:24:521:24:56

assure him that I will be taking

every opportunity to create jobs for

1:24:561:25:01

young UK people.

1:25:011:25:05

With £15 million available in year

one, Scottish organisations were

1:25:091:25:13

given just two weeks notice before

the fund closed and Sport Relief

1:25:131:25:19

invited 45 institutions to a

meeting. With the year three

1:25:191:25:25

criteria making it almost impossible

for Scottish organisations to apply,

1:25:251:25:29

isn't it time this fund was

devolved?

I think the honourable

1:25:291:25:34

gentleman raises an important point.

If he would like to e-mail me with

1:25:341:25:38

details about that, I could write to

the Department on his behalf.

On the

1:25:381:25:47

3rd of November, I wrote to the

Secretary of State for communities

1:25:471:25:50

and local government about the gas

storage facility plans in my

1:25:501:25:54

constituency. I am still waiting on

a reply to this letter. Will the

1:25:541:25:58

Leader of the House look into this

on my behalf?

Yes, I will certainly

1:25:581:26:02

do so.

Today, BT open Reach

announced plans to roll out fibre

1:26:021:26:11

broadband to 3 million homes by

2020. Far too often slow action is

1:26:111:26:17

followed by a new announcement and

this is an issue of growing urgency.

1:26:171:26:20

Not just outside London but pockets

of my constituency suffer from very

1:26:201:26:25

slow broadband speeds. It is having

a huge impact on businesses and also

1:26:251:26:31

students wanting to study at home.

Could we have an urgent debate on

1:26:311:26:38

government time to focus on how we

move from announcements to outcomes,

1:26:381:26:43

which will hugely impact the

prosperity, well-being and quality

1:26:431:26:46

of life of all of our constituents?

I certainly share the honourable

1:26:461:26:52

lady's concerned about pockets with

no broadband. It is absolutely

1:26:521:26:56

devastating for people who work from

home, people who just want to study

1:26:561:27:00

and so on. It is extremely

difficult.

However, it is now

1:27:001:27:09

available to 95% of UK homes and

businesses, and that is up from 45%

1:27:091:27:15

coverage in 2010. It is not really a

case of action -- announcements with

1:27:151:27:19

no action. There is a plan. I share

your frustration and she may wish to

1:27:191:27:24

seek a debate so she can hear

first-hand the prospects for the

1:27:241:27:27

constituents.

A number of residents

in the town of Llangollen in my

1:27:271:27:36

constituency are concerned that

there is no Department for Work and

1:27:361:27:40

Pensions or careers Wales present in

that town. This means that residents

1:27:401:27:45

must travel some considerable

distance. This is not just a problem

1:27:451:27:50

for Llangollen, I think it is

nationwide, for many of our rural

1:27:501:27:54

communities and small towns across

the UK. Can the Leader of the House

1:27:541:27:59

provides time for a debate where we

might seek to persuade the minister

1:27:591:28:01

of our case?

The honourable lady is

raising an important point for the

1:28:011:28:12

constituents. In my constituency,

quite often, there are online

1:28:121:28:17

opportunities in libraries and in

town councils to be able to gain

1:28:171:28:22

support from DWP, but I can take it

up with the Department or she might

1:28:221:28:28

want to seek an adjournment debate.

On the 19th of January, the

1:28:281:28:37

Parliamentary Undersecretary of

State for education told a house

1:28:371:28:40

that the government is launching

local pilot schemes to combat

1:28:401:28:44

holiday hunger amongst our poorest

children. As proposed by my right

1:28:441:28:48

honourable friend, the member for

Birkenhead, using a small fraction

1:28:481:28:52

of the £530 million the Treasury

expects to raise from April from the

1:28:521:28:58

sugary drinks levy would be an

excellent use of this money in

1:28:581:29:01

places like my constituency. Given

the obvious merits of getting pilots

1:29:011:29:05

and way as quickly as possible for

this summer's long holidays, can we

1:29:051:29:08

please have a statement on how you

apply for these pilots from the

1:29:081:29:14

Department for Education?

I think

members across the House will be

1:29:141:29:20

delighted to hear of those pilot

schemes and I do pay tribute to the

1:29:201:29:25

right honourable member for

Birkenhead for his commitment to

1:29:251:29:27

making progress in that area. I will

certainly ask the Department her

1:29:271:29:32

question and see whether they can

provide a further update to the

1:29:321:29:35

House.

In Bristol, a case has arisen

of restaurant owners charging their

1:29:351:29:43

waiters and waitresses to work by

demanding that their waiters

1:29:431:29:49

themselves pay a percentage of the

total price of orders that they sell

1:29:491:29:53

to customers regardless of tips

received. This employer 's tax on

1:29:531:29:58

working is then being used to pay

their wages. Remarkably, I'm into

1:29:581:30:02

right that this is legal. Can we

have a debate to decide whether this

1:30:021:30:06

needs to change.

Well, that sounds

quite extraordinary and I would

1:30:061:30:13

encourage the honourable gentleman

to take that with the Home Office in

1:30:131:30:19

terms of whether it is actually

legal or not. That seems to me to be

1:30:191:30:23

an extraordinary account.

It is a

great privilege with many members of

1:30:231:30:32

this House to represent Britain's

great cities in this House but I was

1:30:321:30:36

alarmed to read a recent report by

the new statement -- new statesman

1:30:361:30:43

that many cities are lacking

significantly behind our European

1:30:431:30:47

peers in terms of productivity.

Sometimes half the rate of cities

1:30:471:30:51

like Munich, Seville or Barcelona.

Will the leaders of the House call a

1:30:511:30:55

debate to work out what the

government is doing to address this

1:30:551:30:58

in balance and make sure our cities

are competing with their European

1:30:581:31:01

peers.

The honourable gentleman

raises an important point and he

1:31:011:31:06

will be please no doubt that in the

budget we announced a £1.7 billion

1:31:061:31:10

investment in the transforming

cities fund, specifically develop

1:31:101:31:16

transport infrastructure which adds

so much to productivity. He may be

1:31:161:31:20

aware that the north-eastern

Scotland have seen faster

1:31:201:31:23

productivity growth than London

since 2010 and so while there is a

1:31:231:31:28

long way to go, it is quite clear

that to our initiatives, such as the

1:31:281:31:34

northern Powerhouse, we are

committed to ensuring that we see

1:31:341:31:36

growth and a

1:31:361:31:37

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