21/03/2018

0:00:37 > 0:00:40Morning, folks.

0:00:40 > 0:00:42Welcome to The Daily Politics.

0:00:42 > 0:00:45The magic money tree has been shaken, as the government is poised

0:00:45 > 0:00:48to announce a significant pay rise for a million NHS staff

0:00:48 > 0:00:49in England.

0:00:49 > 0:00:52We'll be speaking to the Chief Secretary

0:00:52 > 0:00:55to the Treasury, Liz Truss, about where the money is coming from.

0:00:55 > 0:01:00There's something very fishy on the River Thames.

0:01:00 > 0:01:03Politicians throw fish from a trawler outside Parliament

0:01:03 > 0:01:04saying fisherman have been betrayed by the Brexit

0:01:04 > 0:01:12transition deal.

0:01:13 > 0:01:17It is compromising with people's livelihoods. The idea you cannot

0:01:17 > 0:01:21make an omelette without breaking eggs until you are potentially

0:01:21 > 0:01:24dealing with people's livelihoods and putting them out of business.

0:01:24 > 0:01:26And there's plenty for Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn to discuss

0:01:26 > 0:01:28at Prime Minister's Questions today.

0:01:28 > 0:01:31We'll be live for all the action at noon.

0:01:34 > 0:01:41All that in the next hour and a half.

0:01:41 > 0:01:43And with me are the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Liz Truss,

0:01:43 > 0:01:45and Shadow Treasury Minister, Anneliese Dodds.

0:01:45 > 0:01:46Welcome back to the programme.

0:01:46 > 0:01:49First, I can't imagine Theresa May will be over the moon

0:01:49 > 0:01:51about Donald Trump's decision to ring Vladimir Putin personally

0:01:51 > 0:01:55about his election victory.

0:01:55 > 0:01:58The Washington Post reports that the President ignored

0:01:58 > 0:02:06a briefing note that said in capital letters "DO NOT CONGRATULATE"

0:02:06 > 0:02:10and he also chose not to heed talking points from aides

0:02:10 > 0:02:13instructing him to condemn the poisoning of a former

0:02:13 > 0:02:21Russian spy in Britain with a powerful nerve agent.

0:02:21 > 0:02:27He didn't raise that either, but he did congratulate. Not the best

0:02:27 > 0:02:32support from our major ally, is it? We have had fantastic support from

0:02:32 > 0:02:37all of our allies including the US, France, Germany in making it clear

0:02:37 > 0:02:43that this was a state-sponsored attack on British soil that has

0:02:43 > 0:02:50followed the Prime minister's strong leadership on the issue.But there

0:02:50 > 0:02:54is no appetite for further collective ear -- action?I don't

0:02:54 > 0:02:58think that is the case. We are seeing increasing concern about

0:02:58 > 0:03:02Russian activities. Not across the whole of British politics and there

0:03:02 > 0:03:07is a concern about the Leader of the Opposition.But Mr Trump has called

0:03:07 > 0:03:12to congratulate him, and so has Angela Merkel and Jean-Claude

0:03:12 > 0:03:14Juncker has written to congratulating, so where is the

0:03:14 > 0:03:18evidence that either America or the European Union is up for more

0:03:18 > 0:03:24sanctions?The joint statement that was put out by all of those people

0:03:24 > 0:03:30was extremely strong.It made no mention of sanctions.I personally

0:03:30 > 0:03:33wouldn't congratulate Vladimir Putin with what he has done and the

0:03:33 > 0:03:38policies he is pursuing our disgraceful, but it's up to those

0:03:38 > 0:03:40individuals, President Trump, Jean-Claude Juncker, what they

0:03:40 > 0:03:45decide to do.No, that is collective action. I'll try again. Can you

0:03:45 > 0:03:49provide is with a scintilla of evidence that either the US or the

0:03:49 > 0:03:55EU is up for more collective action? The joint statement...It didn't

0:03:55 > 0:04:00mention collective action.But it was very clear that the attack was

0:04:00 > 0:04:02carried out.That is what I'm asking. It didn't mention collective

0:04:02 > 0:04:10action. Jeremy Corbyn, he once asked to send the of this nerve agent to

0:04:10 > 0:04:15Moscow. What would be the point of that?He said there should be

0:04:15 > 0:04:19cooperation.No, he said there should be a Sample of the nerve

0:04:19 > 0:04:27agent sent three times tomorrow -- to Moscow. Why?That is part of the

0:04:27 > 0:04:31international prohibition for chemical weapons.No, it's not. It's

0:04:31 > 0:04:36descended to the OP CW, the organisation for the Prohibition of

0:04:36 > 0:04:39chemical weapons and they are getting at. That is the process.

0:04:39 > 0:04:45What would be the point of sending it to Russia?What I believe he said

0:04:45 > 0:04:51is that it is important to stick to the rules and conventions.No, I'm

0:04:51 > 0:04:56sorry. He said several times we should send it to Moscow. You are

0:04:56 > 0:05:00denying the question. He said we should send it to Moscow. What would

0:05:00 > 0:05:05be the point back?I was trying to respond. If it is usually the

0:05:05 > 0:05:08convention that countries which are being investigated have the ability

0:05:08 > 0:05:13to look at those kinds of substances, then that should be

0:05:13 > 0:05:17followed, and what he has said consistently and surely no one can

0:05:17 > 0:05:20disagree, is that we have do follow international conventions.And we

0:05:20 > 0:05:24are doing that.To be fair, Jeremy was criticised the saying we should

0:05:24 > 0:05:29be doing that in the house, which was not right. We have to keep the

0:05:29 > 0:05:35moral high ground on this.Right, let me come back to this. We are

0:05:35 > 0:05:37using the organisation and they are getting the nerve agent and they

0:05:37 > 0:05:43will examine it. That was always on the cards. But the policy of your

0:05:43 > 0:05:50leader is that we serve, send this nerve agent to Moscow. This is

0:05:50 > 0:05:54something the Russians hid from us and did not tell us they were

0:05:54 > 0:05:57developing. When they were rumbled that they had, they said they had

0:05:57 > 0:06:01got rid of it all and it had all been destroyed under OPCW rules. Are

0:06:01 > 0:06:07you expecting them if we send them a sample to say, yes, that was ours,

0:06:07 > 0:06:12we had it all along?That is mad. Jeremy has been absolutely clear all

0:06:12 > 0:06:19along. The Russian state, he has agreed with Theresa May.You are not

0:06:19 > 0:06:23answering the question.I tried to. If the convention is that is the

0:06:23 > 0:06:30process that is followed, he is right to say he is following it.The

0:06:30 > 0:06:35convention is to send it to the OPCW. You really think that the

0:06:35 > 0:06:38Russians would admit that this was their nerve agent?I'm sure they

0:06:38 > 0:06:45won't.So why send it?I used to work in the Western Balkans and I

0:06:45 > 0:06:49know how they operate, and they don't follow international law, but

0:06:49 > 0:06:52this country always should and that is where we have the moral high

0:06:52 > 0:06:55ground and we should not surrender that. I don't think Theresa May has,

0:06:55 > 0:06:59I think she has followed the right procedures and Jeremy is right to

0:06:59 > 0:07:03say we should keep doing that because that is the soft parallel,

0:07:03 > 0:07:09is our commitment to the rules.I still don't understand what good is

0:07:09 > 0:07:10certain -- sending the agent to Moscow would do.

0:07:10 > 0:07:12Despite the Chancellor saying last week that austerity

0:07:12 > 0:07:14was still the watchword for government finances it seems

0:07:14 > 0:07:18nearly all NHS staff in England, apart from doctors, could be in line

0:07:18 > 0:07:19for a bumper pay rise.

0:07:19 > 0:07:22The BBC has learnt that over one million health service

0:07:22 > 0:07:24workers could expect an increase of more than 6%

0:07:24 > 0:07:25over three years.

0:07:25 > 0:07:27It's expected the deal will be formally agreed later today

0:07:27 > 0:07:30with the lowest earners getting the most - some could

0:07:30 > 0:07:38see their pay packet rise by £4,000.

0:07:52 > 0:07:54Of course this won't come cheap, it's believed the cost

0:07:54 > 0:07:56to the taxpayer could be around £4 billion.

0:07:56 > 0:07:57Things have clearly changed,

0:07:57 > 0:08:00have a listen to the Prime Minister being grilled by a nurse

0:08:00 > 0:08:01during the 2017 election.

0:08:01 > 0:08:04My wage slips from 2009 reflect exactly what I'm earning today.

0:08:04 > 0:08:07So how can that be fair in light of the job that we actually do?

0:08:07 > 0:08:12And I recognise the job that you do but we have had to take...

0:08:12 > 0:08:12Why hasn't it changed before now then?

0:08:12 > 0:08:15We have had to take some hard choices across the public sector

0:08:15 > 0:08:17in relation to public sector pay restraint.

0:08:17 > 0:08:20We did that because of the decisions we had to take to bring public

0:08:20 > 0:08:22spending under control because it wasn't under control under

0:08:22 > 0:08:24the last Labour Government.

0:08:24 > 0:08:26And I'm being honest with you in terms of saying

0:08:26 > 0:08:29that we will put more money into the NHS, but there isn't

0:08:29 > 0:08:31a magic money tree that we can shake that suddenly provides

0:08:31 > 0:08:36for everything that people want.

0:08:36 > 0:08:41But it turns out there is a magic money tree.That is not true.Where

0:08:41 > 0:08:46has the money come from?It's because we had careful stewardship

0:08:46 > 0:08:51of the economy...Where was the money and where did it come from?It

0:08:51 > 0:08:54was in the budget, and the Chancellor was clear that if there

0:08:54 > 0:09:01were productivity improvements in the NHS because of the special

0:09:01 > 0:09:05circumstances that the NHS faces, we would be able to look at pay rises.

0:09:05 > 0:09:12Let's look at this in detail. In the budget, in November, health spending

0:09:12 > 0:09:18was increased for this financial year by £3 billion, just shy of 3

0:09:18 > 0:09:22billion. Does that include the pay rise?No, the pay rises in addition

0:09:22 > 0:09:27to that.So it wasn't decided in December.We put the money aside on

0:09:27 > 0:09:31the Chancellor was very clear that additional money would be made

0:09:31 > 0:09:35available if we could do a deal with the unions that would include

0:09:35 > 0:09:39productivity improvements. That is very important because we want to

0:09:39 > 0:09:44see better outcomes for patients while we also want to see NHS staff

0:09:44 > 0:09:47properly rewarded, so he was very clear that any money that was part

0:09:47 > 0:09:53of the deal would be additional, and he said that in the budget.To

0:09:53 > 0:09:57clarify, the 3 billion increase planned for this financial year, and

0:09:57 > 0:10:00the 2 billion increase for the next financial year does not include the

0:10:00 > 0:10:06pay rise?That is correct.So I ask again, where will this money come

0:10:06 > 0:10:12from?We have put money aside. From where? From part of the overall

0:10:12 > 0:10:17budget, factored into the plans to deal with the pay rise.Where is

0:10:17 > 0:10:22that? I have the departmental resources budgets here?It is not in

0:10:22 > 0:10:27the NHS budget.This is the NHS budget, it's the resource planning

0:10:27 > 0:10:31for all departments, so where did you put this aside?The money is not

0:10:31 > 0:10:37in the Department of Health budget. This is all of the budgets.There

0:10:37 > 0:10:42would be extra money forthcoming from the Treasury if we were able to

0:10:42 > 0:10:49do a deal to reform the way that the pay works within the NHS. At the

0:10:49 > 0:10:53moment their automatic pay and it's a complicated system that doesn't

0:10:53 > 0:10:58work for nurses or other NHS staff, and it doesn't work on the employers

0:10:58 > 0:11:02either, so we want to reform that. We are on the way to getting that

0:11:02 > 0:11:06really positive reform so we can make sure people are paid well.Are

0:11:06 > 0:11:14the pay rises conditional... Are they

0:11:14 > 0:11:19they conditional on productivity improvements?They are part of an

0:11:19 > 0:11:23overall deal which includes productivity improvement.But are

0:11:23 > 0:11:30they conditional? If they are not improved, do the play -- does the

0:11:30 > 0:11:34pay rise not happen?All of this will be outlined later today, but

0:11:34 > 0:11:37essentially changes in the contractual terms are part of the

0:11:37 > 0:11:41deal and that will help improve productivity, so that is the way it

0:11:41 > 0:11:46works.But if you don't get it, do the pay rises still take place? I

0:11:46 > 0:11:49used to be an industrial correspondent and have lived through

0:11:49 > 0:11:52more productivity agreements than you have had a hot breakfasts and

0:11:52 > 0:11:57I've never seen one that actually worked and paid for itself, so I ask

0:11:57 > 0:12:02again, if this costs £4 billion, and you don't get 4 billion savings, do

0:12:02 > 0:12:09the pay rises happen?The pay rises will happen.Regardless? In line

0:12:09 > 0:12:15with the deal, if it is signed off. It is the reform of those increments

0:12:15 > 0:12:20that is the thing we are agreeing. Let me try one more time. Are these

0:12:20 > 0:12:25pay rises of 6.6% over three years, are they conditional on these

0:12:25 > 0:12:30improvements happening, or do they happen anyway?They are part of a

0:12:30 > 0:12:34deal on increment reform, so they are agreed at the same time. There

0:12:34 > 0:12:40isn't some subsequent year when we will claw money back. It isn't -- it

0:12:40 > 0:12:43is an exchange or contractual changes that benefit people working

0:12:43 > 0:12:49in the NHS and the employers and the patients, so that is the deal.This

0:12:49 > 0:12:54has shot your fox, hasn't it? Even the unions seem happy.We are

0:12:54 > 0:12:58pleased the government is listening. In terms of whether the deal will be

0:12:58 > 0:13:01good for nurses, I've had a number saying they don't feel that cutting

0:13:01 > 0:13:05some of their annual leave will be helpful.That is not going to

0:13:05 > 0:13:10happen. There is no cut in annual leave.That is great and I will look

0:13:10 > 0:13:13at the deal closely when it comes in front of as later today. What

0:13:13 > 0:13:16frustrates me is that we've had a long period when government is not

0:13:16 > 0:13:20made the change and the Labour Party has said for months that we can pay

0:13:20 > 0:13:24for this by reversing some of those tax cuts that the government decided

0:13:24 > 0:13:29to impose for the best of people and profitable corporations. We spelt it

0:13:29 > 0:13:32out a long time ago how we could paper this and in the meantime they

0:13:32 > 0:13:37have lost so many experienced staff in the NHS who are fed up with their

0:13:37 > 0:13:43pay...Would you want a bigger pay rise or is 6.6% fair enough?We have

0:13:43 > 0:13:48said it's got to keep track with inflation and that means, is that 6%

0:13:48 > 0:13:52doesn't keep track with inflation you have a problem further down the

0:13:52 > 0:13:56line.But do you want more or are you happy with the rov broad

0:13:56 > 0:14:02approach?We hope that that approach has been informed by discussions

0:14:02 > 0:14:06between them and the pay review bodies, and if that is what the pay

0:14:06 > 0:14:11review bodies are suggesting is necessary for retention and

0:14:11 > 0:14:14recruitment, it seems sensible. It's disappointing it's taken so long to

0:14:14 > 0:14:17get here.Of course, the health service will store the under huge

0:14:17 > 0:14:22pressure and these rises I have spoken about, even if they don't

0:14:22 > 0:14:27include pay are still historically low in spending, lower than Mrs

0:14:27 > 0:14:33Thatcher in the 80s, way lower than John Major in the 90s and much lower

0:14:33 > 0:14:36than Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. There is still talk there must be

0:14:36 > 0:14:42more money not just for pay, but the care services themselves. Would you

0:14:42 > 0:14:46offer an extra penny on national insurance?No. We are not looking at

0:14:46 > 0:14:51that proposal that has been floated in the papers, and what we are doing

0:14:51 > 0:14:55is talking about how we can get better value for money, and we have

0:14:55 > 0:14:58a spending review next year where we will look across government spending

0:14:58 > 0:15:02as a whole.

0:15:02 > 0:15:07It would not be the overall strategy of the Government to look at extra

0:15:07 > 0:15:13taxes to find extra money for the NHS?Obviously I can't say what's

0:15:13 > 0:15:19going to happen in future.You are ruling out national insurance?What

0:15:19 > 0:15:25I can say is we are spending above the European average on health, we

0:15:25 > 0:15:31are getting...Are we? When did that happen?We are getting better value

0:15:31 > 0:15:36for money. We have been doing that for some years.Actually, I don't

0:15:36 > 0:15:41think on OECD figures we have at all.If you include health and

0:15:41 > 0:15:43social care, we are. Across-the-board.That's because

0:15:43 > 0:15:48they cant social care different in other ways. On health itself, we

0:15:48 > 0:15:54spent less than Germany, less than France, Sweden, Norway, Holland,

0:15:54 > 0:16:00Belgium, would you like me to go on? The Nuffield trust recently did a

0:16:00 > 0:16:04report which said we are spending in line on our health service and

0:16:04 > 0:16:12social care...That is wrong, I will tell you.Andrew, we recognise...

0:16:12 > 0:16:16There are issues in the health service.Do you rule out tax rises

0:16:16 > 0:16:20to make about a gap and bring us up to the European total?I'm not

0:16:20 > 0:16:25talking about the future budget. We can't do that. What I'm saying is we

0:16:25 > 0:16:29are spending in line with other European countries.I'm questioning

0:16:29 > 0:16:34that quite seriously. Would you be up for what Gordon Brown did a while

0:16:34 > 0:16:38back, another penny on national insurance?We want the same

0:16:38 > 0:16:41progrowth which is progressive to this, so we set out at the last

0:16:41 > 0:16:44election, we stick by those plans we should be reversing some of the tax

0:16:44 > 0:16:50cuts for the best off people and for profitable corporations. In our

0:16:50 > 0:16:55manifesto we said we have got 48.6 billion spending commitments, 48.6

0:16:55 > 0:16:59billion tax cuts, largely, we would have reversed so we were quite

0:16:59 > 0:17:05explicit about that.That is not all for the NHS?No comets for a whole

0:17:05 > 0:17:08range of social services including social care, and for the worst

0:17:08 > 0:17:15winter crisis, in my memory,...The problem is if you concentrate your

0:17:15 > 0:17:20tax rises on the very highest paid, people already account for by far

0:17:20 > 0:17:23the biggest chunk of income tax, you can't be sure you would get that

0:17:23 > 0:17:30many.We have seen the rates of income tax, the best earners, going

0:17:30 > 0:17:35down under this Government and lots of other changes too.The top 1% of

0:17:35 > 0:17:42income tax payers account for almost 30% of income tax.Yes, but you know

0:17:42 > 0:17:45that part of the reason why they had that huge share is because their

0:17:45 > 0:17:50incomes are so high now.But my point is you can't be sure, unlike a

0:17:50 > 0:17:55penny on national insurance which is a slam dunk 5 billion it raises, you

0:17:55 > 0:18:01can't be sure if you start to raise taxes on people who are mobile and

0:18:01 > 0:18:03internationally employable, you will get the money.You can't be sure.

0:18:03 > 0:18:10What I would ask is when we had those levels previously, I'm not

0:18:10 > 0:18:13talking 30 years ago, but under the previous Labour Government, when we

0:18:13 > 0:18:16didn't have those cuts to the top rate, did you see huge droves of

0:18:16 > 0:18:21people saying I'm getting squeezed out and moving to other countries?

0:18:21 > 0:18:26No, they accepted this was the tax system.We had then a deficit which

0:18:26 > 0:18:34we had to sort out.OK, we have to move on. We are now seeing the

0:18:34 > 0:18:37lowest... Hold on, you said you would keep taxes low but you as

0:18:37 > 0:18:41Chief Secretary will no as a percentage of GDP taxes are already

0:18:41 > 0:18:46at their highest for 40 years.We have reduced taxes. Not as a

0:18:46 > 0:18:50percentage... That is where we are getting the money. That's why the

0:18:50 > 0:18:54economy is doing better.We need to move on.

0:18:54 > 0:18:57Now this morning, a publicity stunt was arranged on a trawler

0:18:57 > 0:19:00on the River Thames which involved flinging fish overboard.

0:19:00 > 0:19:07Elizabeth Glinka went along to this most bizarre of protests.

0:19:07 > 0:19:13It is 8:30am, and absolutely gorgeous day in London. That is the

0:19:13 > 0:19:17River Thames. We are waiting for a fishing trawler. Yes. A fishing

0:19:17 > 0:19:20trawler.

0:19:26 > 0:19:33The boat in question, comes from with stubble on a voyage to

0:19:33 > 0:19:37Westminster to symbolically dump fish in protest at the UK's Brexit

0:19:37 > 0:19:41transition deal which this week learned would keep the British Fleet

0:19:41 > 0:19:44bound to European fishing quotas for another 21 months after we leave the

0:19:44 > 0:19:50EU. And who should be fined?People are promised we would take back

0:19:50 > 0:19:53control in 2019, and that has now been delayed and that could

0:19:53 > 0:19:56potentially be disastrous for the fishing communities but of course

0:19:56 > 0:20:03the biggest losers on the day we joined the EU, back in 1973, and it

0:20:03 > 0:20:06ought to have been the first beneficiaries from our departure.

0:20:06 > 0:20:10You know this is part of a transition deal and you also know

0:20:10 > 0:20:15that the Prime Minister made it very clear they would have to compromise.

0:20:15 > 0:20:17There's compromising the People's livelihoods and the argument you

0:20:17 > 0:20:20can't make an omelette without breaking eggs is all very well until

0:20:20 > 0:20:22you are doing the People's livelihoods and potentially putting

0:20:22 > 0:20:29them out of business.The stunt was organised to gain maximum attention

0:20:29 > 0:20:32ahead of today's Prime Minister's Questions was supposed to start with

0:20:32 > 0:20:39a riverside media conference. So that is the boat and it has arrived

0:20:39 > 0:20:44at embankment, but it turns out it's not allowed to stop, so they are

0:20:44 > 0:20:49doing a sale by and then they will carry up to Westminster and stop at

0:20:49 > 0:20:55Parliament. Best laid plans. A little further up the river they

0:20:55 > 0:20:59were finally able to pull in and we are told a certain Nigel Farage got

0:20:59 > 0:21:03on board in time for some high-profile fish dumping. Right in

0:21:03 > 0:21:07front of the Palace of Westminster. That was it, they made it to the

0:21:07 > 0:21:11Houses of Parliament. Nigel Farage got on the boat, they threw some

0:21:11 > 0:21:19fresh off the boat and now they are failing off. Up the river.

0:21:20 > 0:21:23failing off. Up the river.There we go. Fun on the Thames this morning.

0:21:23 > 0:21:28They were trying to make an important point. We don't now leave

0:21:28 > 0:21:34the common fisheries policy until 2021. That is what we have agreed.

0:21:34 > 0:21:41The EU man did it and we agreed it. What did we get in return?We are

0:21:41 > 0:21:45keeping the British catch. At the same levels as what it is, so we are

0:21:45 > 0:21:49not allowing the European Union to reduce our catch during that period.

0:21:49 > 0:21:54We stay within the policy.We are staying within the overall quota

0:21:54 > 0:22:01regime during that period.So what did we get in return?We got a good

0:22:01 > 0:22:06transition deal overall. We got the catch protected which is incredibly

0:22:06 > 0:22:08important for British fishing communities. We've also got the

0:22:08 > 0:22:14ability to negotiate a good deal once we leave the EU. I recognise

0:22:14 > 0:22:18people are disappointed. No doubt about that. The big prize here is

0:22:18 > 0:22:23getting the long-term deal force up where they write to concede this?It

0:22:23 > 0:22:26highlights the fact there's not been a clear direction from the

0:22:26 > 0:22:29Government not just on the transition deal but on the future as

0:22:29 > 0:22:32well. I'm originally a long time ago my family where fishing people and

0:22:32 > 0:22:36we need to have a long-term stability to buy the boats and all

0:22:36 > 0:22:40this kind of things. They've just found out what the transition

0:22:40 > 0:22:45situation is going to be.It's basically the status quo. Where they

0:22:45 > 0:22:55write to agree that? After January the 1st 2021, assuming the process

0:22:55 > 0:23:01continues, we become known as an independent coastal state. Where

0:23:01 > 0:23:06they write, though, to agree to the status quo up until that happening?

0:23:06 > 0:23:09The problem is people don't know what it's for and what the future

0:23:09 > 0:23:12will be after that so yes we need to talk about what the transition

0:23:12 > 0:23:17period is going to be like, but people don't know. We will put up

0:23:17 > 0:23:21with it for this period but what will it be like in the future?You

0:23:21 > 0:23:26raise an important point. I suspect Liz Truss, this is why a lot of

0:23:26 > 0:23:30fisherfolk are angry that it's not so much the status quo continues and

0:23:30 > 0:23:36they don't get out of the common fisheries policy. They've never

0:23:36 > 0:23:40liked it since we joined the Common Market. It's not so much we are in

0:23:40 > 0:23:45it until the end of 2020. They don't trust you to do a proper fisheries

0:23:45 > 0:23:50policy once we leave. They think, looking at your Government, when it

0:23:50 > 0:23:56comes to giving concessions to fund managers to trade in Europe, they

0:23:56 > 0:24:02will do that before they will stand up for fishermen.They have a

0:24:02 > 0:24:08champion in Michael Gove. I'm sure we will make sure that the fishing

0:24:08 > 0:24:14communities do get what they have been promised, which is taking back

0:24:14 > 0:24:17control of the waters, being able to control our own fishing industry

0:24:17 > 0:24:21which we have not been able to do. So we will have nothing to do with

0:24:21 > 0:24:27the common fisheries policy gesture Mark after January the 1st 2021?We

0:24:27 > 0:24:34are leaving the common fisheries policy fault we will be an

0:24:34 > 0:24:37independent coastal state. We will be doing bilateral negotiations with

0:24:37 > 0:24:42all the different parties including the EU.So we will negotiate?

0:24:42 > 0:24:51Quotas?Yes and we always have done. Fishing waters are issues where you

0:24:51 > 0:24:56have negotiations and we have done that.That's why the fishing

0:24:56 > 0:25:01communities are worried I would suggest.It's not been clear

0:25:01 > 0:25:05throughout this period even who is leading on this for the Government.

0:25:05 > 0:25:08Michael Gove the Environment Secretary but it's not clear in

0:25:08 > 0:25:12terms of Brexit negotiations who is leading on this? I think there's

0:25:12 > 0:25:19been a huge amount of confusion. He is responsible for this. Has he been

0:25:19 > 0:25:23arguing about this in Brussels? I have not seen it.The answer is,

0:25:23 > 0:25:31yes, he has.If the EU says, right, we are going to give the City of

0:25:31 > 0:25:35London more access than we have planned to European financial

0:25:35 > 0:25:41services, but in return we want to keep broadly the same fishing quotas

0:25:41 > 0:25:44as currently exist under the Common fisheries policy, what will the

0:25:44 > 0:25:51Government do?We are leaving the common fisheries policy. We want to

0:25:51 > 0:25:55implement our own fishing policy. It is a massively complex issue.

0:25:55 > 0:26:02There's myriad parts of this.You see my point.But we cannot sell

0:26:02 > 0:26:07fishing communities down the river. We won't do it.That's why they are

0:26:07 > 0:26:10worried and were on the River Thames today, worried that if the choice

0:26:10 > 0:26:15comes between the Government looking after the City of London, which is

0:26:15 > 0:26:18financially far more important to the economy than fishing, but

0:26:18 > 0:26:22fishing is still an important part of what makes this an island race,

0:26:22 > 0:26:26and they are worried as I say, the fund manager will get precedence

0:26:26 > 0:26:32over the fishermen.One of the clear messages from the referendum is that

0:26:32 > 0:26:38we cannot neglect parts of the country that feel cutout of

0:26:38 > 0:26:42decisions and feel left behind and we will not do that. We need to make

0:26:42 > 0:26:48sure that we treat our fishing industry, which is actually very

0:26:48 > 0:26:51important economically, with the respect it deserves and we are

0:26:51 > 0:26:55committed to doing that by the way, just to respond quickly, all of

0:26:55 > 0:26:59these discussions are taking place across Government all the time and

0:26:59 > 0:27:02Michael Gove is very closely involved in those negotiations.

0:27:02 > 0:27:07Briefly.On this, those directly involved, they don't know what's

0:27:07 > 0:27:11going on, they are not being communicated with.Which is why they

0:27:11 > 0:27:17were on the Thames this morning.

0:27:17 > 0:27:29Check out the website for more on this. Let's see where we are. I have

0:27:29 > 0:27:36forgotten what the areas. I have now found it. -- year is.

0:27:36 > 0:27:38Now, a commitment to free markets has rather gone out of fashion

0:27:38 > 0:27:40in British politics of late.

0:27:40 > 0:27:43But our guest of the day, Liz Truss, is doing her utmost to put free

0:27:43 > 0:27:44markets back in vogue.

0:27:44 > 0:27:47On Monday night she attended the launch of a new group designed

0:27:47 > 0:27:49to promote Tory free-market thinking to younger voters.

0:27:49 > 0:27:53It's called Freer.

0:27:53 > 0:27:55Must have taken them a while to come up with that.

0:27:55 > 0:27:58At the event Liz declared that her party needed to be "Tories

0:27:58 > 0:28:02with attitude" and that Labour are "a bunch of humourless,

0:28:02 > 0:28:09po-faced, hat-wearing socialists".

0:28:10 > 0:28:16I'll take my hat off.We photo shopped the hacked out.

0:28:16 > 0:28:19Anyway, we're down with the kids here at the Daily Politics,

0:28:19 > 0:28:22so we've got some advice for Liz on how to engage the young.

0:28:22 > 0:28:25What you need to do is offer them free stuff,

0:28:25 > 0:28:28rather than blathering on about free markets.

0:28:28 > 0:28:34The kids want free stuff.

0:28:34 > 0:28:35But this isn't a something-for-nothing society.

0:28:35 > 0:28:38If you want one, you have to enter our Guess

0:28:38 > 0:28:39The Year competition.

0:28:39 > 0:28:41Just tell us when this happened.

0:28:41 > 0:28:48MUSIC: Children Of The Revolution by T-Rex.

0:28:48 > 0:28:51The final stages of the burning of the British Embassy

0:28:51 > 0:28:53did see the arrival of the Government Dublin

0:28:53 > 0:28:54Fire Brigade at last.

0:28:54 > 0:28:57Earlier their efforts to reach the flames had been prevented

0:28:57 > 0:29:01by the huge crowd gathered in Merrion Square.

0:29:01 > 0:29:08MUSIC: Starman by David Bowie.

0:29:08 > 0:29:09# There's a star man

0:29:09 > 0:29:10# Waiting in the sky. #

0:29:10 > 0:29:12It's unquestionably the most fabulous exhibition ever mounted

0:29:12 > 0:29:15at the British Museum.

0:29:15 > 0:29:17The value of the gold alone would more than pay

0:29:17 > 0:29:23for a Treasury of western art.

0:29:23 > 0:29:24MUSIC: Lean On Me by Bill Withers.

0:29:24 > 0:29:27# Just call on me, brother, when you need a hand

0:29:27 > 0:29:32# We all need somebody to lean on. #

0:29:32 > 0:29:33How do you feel?

0:29:33 > 0:29:36Fine, great to be home.

0:29:36 > 0:29:37MUSIC: You're So Vain by Carly Simon.

0:29:37 > 0:29:39# You're so vain

0:29:39 > 0:29:42# You probably think this song is about you

0:29:42 > 0:29:45# You're so vain

0:29:45 > 0:29:49# You're so vain, I bet you think this song is about you

0:29:49 > 0:29:53# Don't you, don't you?

0:29:53 > 0:29:57# You had me several years ago

0:29:57 > 0:30:02# When I was still quite naive. #

0:30:02 > 0:30:05To be in with a chance of winning a Daily Politics mug,

0:30:05 > 0:30:08send your answer to our special quiz email address -

0:30:08 > 0:30:13that's dpquiz@bbc.co.uk.

0:30:13 > 0:30:19Entries must arrive by 12.30 today, and you can see the full terms

0:30:19 > 0:30:27and conditions for Guess The Year on our website.

0:30:27 > 0:30:30I find it helps me to get to sleep at night!

0:30:30 > 0:30:32I find it helps me to get to sleep at night!

0:30:32 > 0:30:33That's bbc.co.uk/dailypolitics.

0:30:33 > 0:30:37It's coming up to midday here.

0:30:37 > 0:30:42Big Ben is there behind the scaffolding just peeking through.

0:30:42 > 0:30:45Prime Minister's Questions coming up in a few minutes. Laura Kuenssberg

0:30:45 > 0:30:51is here. Unsure what the Leader of the Opposition will talk about

0:30:51 > 0:30:57today. He's got many things to choose from.

0:31:28 > 0:31:33choose from. We know he raised the issue of NHS pay. And wearing

0:31:33 > 0:31:33government

0:31:37 > 0:31:40There's an urgent question after PMQs today and it's possible that

0:31:40 > 0:31:46someone raise this whole brew around Cambridge analytic. This huge story

0:31:46 > 0:31:50relating to Facebook which has been dominating across the Atlantic and

0:31:50 > 0:31:54also a big part of the discussions at Westminster this week.So Jeremy

0:31:54 > 0:31:58Hunt, the Secretary of State for Health, it is post-PMQ 's Govan to

0:31:58 > 0:32:04make a statement on the health proposal settlement deal?He will

0:32:04 > 0:32:07answer an urgent question from the Shadow Health Secretary John

0:32:07 > 0:32:13Ashworth and also during PMQs the unions and NHS employers will be

0:32:13 > 0:32:16unveiling the specific details of the deal. So what we have been

0:32:16 > 0:32:20reporting this morning is over a three-year period it will be worth

0:32:20 > 0:32:25more than £4 billion but when we get a written statement from the

0:32:25 > 0:32:31Government, of course we will look very carefully at the details.Let's

0:32:31 > 0:32:37go to the Commons.

0:33:50 > 0:33:59Series to ten, Merseyside Police have lost 1084 police officers.

0:33:59 > 0:34:04Crime went up by 18 and a half percent and there were 21 firearm

0:34:04 > 0:34:11discharge is, one of which resulted in a fatality. Across the forces,

0:34:11 > 0:34:17there were 94 firearm discharges with four fatalities. Local MPs have

0:34:17 > 0:34:22met Home Office ministers, but no extra resources have been provided.

0:34:22 > 0:34:26Will the Prime Minister arrange for the Home Secretary arrange with

0:34:26 > 0:34:32local MPs to discuss the additional support with this serious problem.

0:34:32 > 0:34:36Can I say to the honourable gentleman that in the safety

0:34:36 > 0:34:40partnership with Merseyside Police, crime statistics in the constituency

0:34:40 > 0:34:49have fallen since 2010, but can I say to the Right Honourable

0:34:49 > 0:34:54gentleman that he obviously mentions incidents that are of real concern.

0:34:54 > 0:34:58And I'm sure the police are giving their attention to those incidents.

0:34:58 > 0:35:02What we are doing is ensuring that overall, antique points at my right

0:35:02 > 0:35:07honourable friend to ensure that overall in the next year, not only

0:35:07 > 0:35:14are we protecting police budgets we could see 450 million extra pounds

0:35:14 > 0:35:24being available to the forces across the country.

0:35:24 > 0:35:27the country.Can I associate myself with the prime Mr's earlier

0:35:27 > 0:35:33comments. Britain's ability to trade with the world has been curtailed by

0:35:33 > 0:35:37the EU for over 40 years -- Prime Minister. We have now won the

0:35:37 > 0:35:45ability to sign our own trade agreements around the world. And as

0:35:45 > 0:35:50the Prime Minister agree with me that this is Britain's greatest

0:35:50 > 0:35:54opportunity in Brexit and ensures we can embrace the globe as a truly

0:35:54 > 0:36:00proud international country once again.My honourable friend raises a

0:36:00 > 0:36:06very important point. And it is something I agree with him when this

0:36:06 > 0:36:13is an important opportunity for the UK posts Brexit.

0:36:14 > 0:36:20UK posts Brexit. And we need to forge our own way by signing trade

0:36:20 > 0:36:26deals with old friends and new allies alike.

0:36:27 > 0:36:33allies alike. And has he knows we can bring into force new trade

0:36:33 > 0:36:39arrangements around the rest of the world a clue truly global Britain.

0:36:39 > 0:36:42-- for a truly global Britain.I to join the primer listing

0:36:42 > 0:36:47commemorating the attacks that took place in Westminster a year ago and

0:36:47 > 0:36:50I will be some of the events tomorrow. We should all remember

0:36:50 > 0:36:55this as an attack on democracy within our society -- join the Prime

0:36:55 > 0:37:01Minister. I also join in sending condolences to the family of the Red

0:37:01 > 0:37:03Arrows engineer who sadly died yesterday and we wish the pilot well

0:37:03 > 0:37:13in his recovery. Mr Speaker, I had the pleasure of meeting Andria who

0:37:13 > 0:37:16won the global teacher award and we should congratulate and the school

0:37:16 > 0:37:21in Brent for the great work she does there. Mr Speaker, today is the

0:37:21 > 0:37:26Kurdish New Year, so can we wish all Kurdish people around the world a

0:37:26 > 0:37:29happy day, and particularly for those suffering so much in the

0:37:29 > 0:37:34conflict in Syria, a hope of peace in the year to come. Mr Speaker,

0:37:34 > 0:37:37does the Prime Minister believe that the collapse of Northamptonshire

0:37:37 > 0:37:43Council is the result of Conservative incompetence at a local

0:37:43 > 0:37:54level or conservative incompetence at an national level.Can

0:38:00 > 0:38:08I first joined the honourable gentleman in those

0:38:08 > 0:38:10gentleman in those celebrating Kurdish people around the world are

0:38:10 > 0:38:14happy day. There has been a report into Northamptonshire County

0:38:14 > 0:38:21Council, but let's look at what we see across the board in counsels. --

0:38:21 > 0:38:25in local councils. If you look at what is happening in councils up and

0:38:25 > 0:38:29down this country there is one message for everybody, and that is

0:38:29 > 0:38:36the Conservative councils cost you less.Mr Speaker, my question was

0:38:36 > 0:38:40actually quite specific to Northamptonshire. And the Tory

0:38:40 > 0:38:47leader of the council said we had been warning the government since

0:38:47 > 0:38:512013/14 that we could not cope with the level of cuts we were facing.

0:38:51 > 0:38:57Three years ago Mr Speaker, that Council, Brent, it was pioneering an

0:38:57 > 0:39:02easy council model. It then proceeded to outsource 96% of its

0:39:02 > 0:39:05council staff and transferred them to News service providers run by

0:39:05 > 0:39:12private companies paying dividends. Now that counsel has gone bust. So

0:39:12 > 0:39:16does the Prime Minister really believe that the slash and burn

0:39:16 > 0:39:23model for local government is really a good one?

0:39:23 > 0:39:26a good one?Can I say to the right honourable gentleman it would be

0:39:26 > 0:39:31helpful if he first accurately reflected the independent statutory

0:39:31 > 0:39:36inspection which concluded last week where the report was clear that

0:39:36 > 0:39:44Northamptonshire's failure was not a case of underfunding. So his

0:39:48 > 0:39:50case of underfunding. So his claims, indeed Northamptonshire's core

0:39:50 > 0:39:56spending power is set to rise by £14.5 million. I say to the right

0:39:56 > 0:40:01honourable gentleman the attack that he is making that this is all about

0:40:01 > 0:40:05the amount of money that government is providing is not correct. What we

0:40:05 > 0:40:14are ensuring is that councils are able to provide good service is up

0:40:14 > 0:40:20and down the country that is what we see with councils, Conservative

0:40:20 > 0:40:29councils, up and down the country costing people less than Labour.

0:40:29 > 0:40:29costing people less than Labour.The problem is that Northamptonshire has

0:40:29 > 0:40:38gone bust and it is caused by the Conservative government and counsel.

0:40:38 > 0:40:45And it is a model used by Barnett counsel, until recently run by the

0:40:45 > 0:40:51Conservatives, where capita holds councils with an estimated value of

0:40:51 > 0:40:58£500 million.

0:40:58 > 0:41:06£500 million. Government cuts mean councils across England face a 5.2

0:41:06 > 0:41:12million funding gap by 2020, so does the government believe it was right

0:41:12 > 0:41:29to prioritise tax cuts for the super-rich and big business.

0:41:30 > 0:41:31super-rich and big business.The house is becoming overexcited. I say

0:41:31 > 0:41:34that the Prime Minister's answer must be heard, and the right

0:41:34 > 0:41:40honourable gentleman must also be heard, and it will be, however long

0:41:40 > 0:41:47it takes. Mr Snell you are behaving in a most undignified manner.There

0:41:47 > 0:41:51seems to be a lot of concern among Conservative members about my

0:41:51 > 0:42:01suggestion that the government had prioritised.

0:42:01 > 0:42:07prioritised. And put it as something more than funding for social care

0:42:07 > 0:42:12for bin collection or street cleaning.Can I say to the right

0:42:12 > 0:42:15honourable gentleman he talks about bin collection, but people in

0:42:15 > 0:42:20Birmingham living under a Labour council saw thousands of tonnes of

0:42:20 > 0:42:23waste on the street because they were failing to collect the bins.

0:42:23 > 0:42:30And we all know he talks about payments, but we all know he talks

0:42:30 > 0:42:35about tax, and the top 1% of taxpayers are paying the highest

0:42:35 > 0:42:41burden of tax than they ever paid under Labour. And we all know what

0:42:41 > 0:42:44Labour would mean for council taxpayers, because just this week,

0:42:44 > 0:42:51the Shadow Communities Secretary.

0:42:59 > 0:43:03Could it be that he does not want people to know he is supporting? He

0:43:03 > 0:43:10has supported a plan to stop local taxpayers to have the right to stop

0:43:10 > 0:43:19tax hikes. He supported a plan. To have a land value tax, tax on your

0:43:19 > 0:43:23home and garden, and wants to introduce a new hotel tax and we all

0:43:23 > 0:43:25know what would happen under Labour, more taxes on ordinary working

0:43:25 > 0:43:28people and they would pay the price.

0:43:32 > 0:43:36Mr Speaker, the shadow Secretary for local government supports councils

0:43:36 > 0:43:40and thinks they should be properly funded and doesn't think they should

0:43:40 > 0:43:46be a vehicle for privatisation. Mr Speaker, the leader of Surrey County

0:43:46 > 0:43:50Council, who just happens to be a conservative says, we are facing the

0:43:50 > 0:43:54most difficult financial crisis in our history and he did not mince his

0:43:54 > 0:44:00words. He went on to say that the government cannot stand idly by

0:44:00 > 0:44:07while Rome burns. Council funding has been cut by half since 2010.

0:44:07 > 0:44:15Households in England now face council tax rises of £1 billion. The

0:44:15 > 0:44:18Tory leader of the local government Association says councils will have

0:44:18 > 0:44:22to continue to cut back services or stop some altogether due to

0:44:22 > 0:44:29government cuts. So, as people open their council tax bills, isn't it

0:44:29 > 0:44:36clear what the Conservative messages? Pay more to get less.

0:44:36 > 0:44:41The average council tax for bands deep property is £100 less and

0:44:41 > 0:44:46Conservative than Labour. He says his Shadow Local Government

0:44:46 > 0:44:51Secretary is supporting councils foresaw I wonder if he is supporting

0:44:51 > 0:44:57these councils, Haringey, whether Labour leader was forced out?

0:44:57 > 0:45:02Brighton, where the Labour leader was forced out? Cornwall, where the

0:45:02 > 0:45:06Labour group leader was forced out? What are these people done? They

0:45:06 > 0:45:12have supported building more homes, providing good local services, and

0:45:12 > 0:45:20tackling anti-Semitism in the Labour Party. So the message is clear. If

0:45:20 > 0:45:25you believe in good local services, if you want to see more homes built,

0:45:25 > 0:45:29and if you want to tackle anti-Semitism, there is no place for

0:45:29 > 0:45:43you in the Labour Party.Jeremy Corbyn.Mr

0:45:43 > 0:45:45Corbyn.Mr Speaker, Labour councils build houses. Conservative councils

0:45:45 > 0:45:50privatise.

0:45:50 > 0:45:55privatise.Order. Order. There is a very raucous atmosphere. I will say

0:45:55 > 0:46:02it again. Backbench members should seek to imitate the Zen like calm of

0:46:02 > 0:46:09the father of the House, an example to us all. Jeremy Corbyn.We all

0:46:09 > 0:46:16admire Zen, Mr Speaker. Pay more for less is what the Conservative

0:46:16 > 0:46:21message is. In Leicestershire, the County Council is pushing through

0:46:21 > 0:46:30£50 million worth of cuts. And cancel increases of 6%. -- council

0:46:30 > 0:46:34tax increases. They blamed chronically low Government funding.

0:46:34 > 0:46:39That is the message, pay more to get less. It's not just households. The

0:46:39 > 0:46:46average small shop will see their rates bill increase by £3600. Empty

0:46:46 > 0:46:54shops suck the life out of the high streets and local communities. So

0:46:54 > 0:46:57why is the Prime Minister presiding over a Government that is tearing

0:46:57 > 0:47:04the heart out of our local high streets?First of all, we have

0:47:04 > 0:47:08provided extra support for small businesses in relation to business

0:47:08 > 0:47:11rates. Secondly, it talks about Labour councils building homes but

0:47:11 > 0:47:17actually we have built more homes under this Government run under 13

0:47:17 > 0:47:23years of a Labour Government. And he talks about local level councils.

0:47:23 > 0:47:27Yesterday two Labour councillors from Ashfield joined the

0:47:27 > 0:47:36Conservatives. What did one of them say? They said both locally and

0:47:36 > 0:47:40nationally, the Labour Party has been taken over by the hard left.

0:47:40 > 0:47:47They are more interested in fighting internal ideological battles than

0:47:47 > 0:47:51standing up for the priorities of working men and women. Conservatives

0:47:51 > 0:47:55will always welcome people who care about their local area at and we

0:47:55 > 0:48:02will always stand up for people in their local area.Jeremy Corbyn. Mr

0:48:02 > 0:48:05Speaker, half a million businesses will see their rates rise this year,

0:48:05 > 0:48:12some by 500%. Even Mary Porters, who led the Government's says the

0:48:12 > 0:48:15high-tech campaign, said it was simply a PR campaign which looked

0:48:15 > 0:48:20like we are doing something and hoped it might kick-start something,

0:48:20 > 0:48:25but it didn't.

0:48:25 > 0:48:27but it didn't. This Conservative Government has slashed public

0:48:27 > 0:48:32services. They cut funding and expect councils to build up the

0:48:32 > 0:48:36pieces. The result of this is children's centres are closing,

0:48:36 > 0:48:39schools are struggling, fewer police on the streets, older people and

0:48:39 > 0:48:47left without care and dignity. And refugees turning women away. --

0:48:47 > 0:48:52refuges. It's unsustainable. And doesn't that tell you everything you

0:48:52 > 0:48:59need to know? Doesn't that tell you everything you need to know about

0:48:59 > 0:49:04this Government, that it demands households and businesses to pay

0:49:04 > 0:49:12more to get less?This Government is spending more on our schools and our

0:49:12 > 0:49:18NHS than ever before. We are able to do that because of a balanced

0:49:18 > 0:49:23approach we take to the good economy and because of the strong economy we

0:49:23 > 0:49:26see under the Conservatives. But I notice the right Honourable

0:49:26 > 0:49:28gentleman in his six questions is not mentioned today's unemployment

0:49:28 > 0:49:37figures. Employment is at a joint record high. Unemployment has not

0:49:37 > 0:49:44been lower since 1975. Economic inactivity is at a record low. That

0:49:44 > 0:49:53is a strong jobs market. Utilising benefits for a market, Labour

0:49:53 > 0:50:00members of Parliament?

0:50:00 > 0:50:04members of Parliament?Thank you, Mr Speaker. I can only assume that the

0:50:04 > 0:50:06Leader of the Opposition has not read the report but Northamptonshire

0:50:06 > 0:50:12County Council. Worldwide, I want to focus on a different issue today.

0:50:12 > 0:50:16Worldwide, every minute millions of throwaway paper copy cups go to

0:50:16 > 0:50:21landfill in order to solve it we need industry consumers and

0:50:21 > 0:50:26Government to work together. In that spirit, a company in my constituency

0:50:26 > 0:50:31have developed a fully recyclable alternative cap that can be easily

0:50:31 > 0:50:36recycled, unlike the current option. Will my right honourable friend join

0:50:36 > 0:50:41me in welcoming that innovation and perhaps I might be able to give one

0:50:41 > 0:50:48to her if she's around afterwards? LAUGHTER

0:50:48 > 0:50:59Well... I'm very happy... I'm very happy to say to my honourable friend

0:50:59 > 0:51:01that if you would like to come along and see me afterwards...

0:51:01 > 0:51:05LAUGHTER He has raised an important point

0:51:05 > 0:51:09and, as he knows, we are committed to wanting to leave our environment

0:51:09 > 0:51:15in a better state than we found it and I would like to congratulate the

0:51:15 > 0:51:18innovation. This is an important example of working with industry to

0:51:18 > 0:51:23ensure that we are dealing with this issue of plastic waste. We are clear

0:51:23 > 0:51:28in our environment plan we want to do and that's a very good example of

0:51:28 > 0:51:36that.Thank you. Can I also talk about the remarks about the

0:51:36 > 0:51:39terrorist atrocity in Westminster a year ago, our thoughts are with

0:51:39 > 0:51:44those who gave their lives and of course the work of the emergency

0:51:44 > 0:51:48services. I want to associate myself with the remarks. Does the Prime

0:51:48 > 0:51:55Minister agree that subverting the democratic political process in any

0:51:55 > 0:52:05country is totally unacceptable? Well, we certainly believe in

0:52:05 > 0:52:09ensuring that democratic processes are able to continue, people seek

0:52:09 > 0:52:13free and fair elections and I think that everybody in this House would

0:52:13 > 0:52:20accept.Can I thank the Prime Minister for that answer? The parent

0:52:20 > 0:52:28company of Cambridge analytic is to check laboratories, run by a

0:52:28 > 0:52:32chairman of Oxford Conservative Association, and its founding

0:52:32 > 0:52:39chairman was a former Conservative MP. A director appears to have been

0:52:39 > 0:52:45donated over £700,000 to the Tory party. A former Conservative Party

0:52:45 > 0:52:50treasurer is a shareholder. We know about the links to the Conservative

0:52:50 > 0:52:54Party and they go on and on. Will the Prime Minister confirmed to the

0:52:54 > 0:53:02House her governments connections to the company?Can I say, the right

0:53:02 > 0:53:05honourable gentleman has been talking about two companies, the

0:53:05 > 0:53:10parent company and he also referred to Cambridge analytic, and I can say

0:53:10 > 0:53:13as far as I'm aware the Government has no current contracts with

0:53:13 > 0:53:20Cambridge analytic or the other group. What we have seen in

0:53:20 > 0:53:24Cambridge analytic are the allegations clearly very concerning,

0:53:24 > 0:53:29and it absolutely right that they should be properly investigated. It

0:53:29 > 0:53:32is right that the information Commissioner is doing exactly that.

0:53:32 > 0:53:35People need to have confidence in how their personal data is being

0:53:35 > 0:53:41used. And I would expect Facebook, Cambridge analytic and all

0:53:41 > 0:53:44organisations involved to comply fully with the investigation taking

0:53:44 > 0:53:50place. I'm pleased to say of course the bill we are bringing forward on

0:53:50 > 0:53:53data protection will strengthen legislation on this and give the ICO

0:53:53 > 0:53:56the information Commissioner office tougher powers to ensure

0:53:56 > 0:53:59organisations comply and I hope it will be supported from everybody

0:53:59 > 0:54:03across this House.We have a lot of backbenchers questions to get

0:54:03 > 0:54:10through. Gordon Anderson.Some London boroughs are renting houses

0:54:10 > 0:54:14in Kent including Sittingbourne for use as temporary accommodation for

0:54:14 > 0:54:19homeless families. My local authorities are then expected to

0:54:19 > 0:54:24provide those families with the support they need. This is putting a

0:54:24 > 0:54:28strain on Kent's schools, hospitals and social services who receive no

0:54:28 > 0:54:32extra funding to provide that support. Would my right honourable

0:54:32 > 0:54:36friend agree with me that the London Mayor and London boroughs should

0:54:36 > 0:54:40provide more homes in the capital so London families can be looked after

0:54:40 > 0:54:45by them instead of placing the burden on hard-pressed council

0:54:45 > 0:54:51taxpayers in Kent?Can I say to my honourable friend that he is right

0:54:51 > 0:54:56to speak up on behalf of his constituents on this issue for some

0:54:56 > 0:54:57London authorities must secure temporary accommodation within their

0:54:57 > 0:55:03own borough as far as is reasonably practical. But we've also change the

0:55:03 > 0:55:06laws so the council must take into account the impact a change in

0:55:06 > 0:55:10location would have on a household. He's absolutely right, we do want to

0:55:10 > 0:55:15see the London Mayor and boroughs being able to build more homes. The

0:55:15 > 0:55:19London Mayor has had money provided to him to build affordable homes.

0:55:19 > 0:55:27It's a pity he has not been building as many as we would like to see.

0:55:27 > 0:55:30Thank you, Mr Speaker. School cuts in Portsmouth under this Government

0:55:30 > 0:55:36will reach 3.3 by 2019 and classrooms will be starved of

0:55:36 > 0:55:40resources they need including textbooks and basic stationary. At

0:55:40 > 0:55:45the same time, 40,000 children in the south-east rely on food banks.

0:55:45 > 0:55:50If the Prime Minister was a teacher, who had been under a pay cut for

0:55:50 > 0:55:55eight years, what would she buy a struggling child in one of my city's

0:55:55 > 0:56:01classrooms, a textbook or a square meal?Can I say to the honourable

0:56:01 > 0:56:06gentleman, he raises the issue of school funding. As I said earlier,

0:56:06 > 0:56:09actually, the amount of money we are spending on schools is greater than

0:56:09 > 0:56:17it has ever been before. What matters is the quality of education

0:56:17 > 0:56:20provided in schools for Sabato is why I'm sorry he didn't welcome the

0:56:20 > 0:56:26fact that we now see over 20,000 children at a good school in his

0:56:26 > 0:56:36area, 9000 more than in 2010.We should all recognise and welcome the

0:56:36 > 0:56:41employment figures announced today. I'm sure we all welcome that, but

0:56:41 > 0:56:47given the latest report that there are an acceptably high levels of

0:56:47 > 0:56:50youth unemployment among ethnic communities in Britain, will my

0:56:50 > 0:56:55right honourable friend explained to the House what the new 19 limp and

0:56:55 > 0:57:01fund will do to help young people into work?He raises are very

0:57:01 > 0:57:05important point. We know these figures because of the racial

0:57:05 > 0:57:09disparity ordered which I commissioned when I became Prime

0:57:09 > 0:57:13Minister, it shows there's been progress, but we do need to do more

0:57:13 > 0:57:18because 16-24 -year-old in ethnic groups are likely to be twice

0:57:18 > 0:57:22unemployed than their white peers. And £90 million I have announced

0:57:22 > 0:57:24will help to tackle those inequalities in youth unemployment

0:57:24 > 0:57:28and it is an initiative which will be run by the big lottery fund, and

0:57:28 > 0:57:31it will identify the barriers to employment for those young people

0:57:31 > 0:57:37and help them to overcome those barriers. I think that is incredibly

0:57:37 > 0:57:42important and I was very pleased to visit Birmingham, which is doing

0:57:42 > 0:57:48excellent work in this area.Thank you, Mr Speaker. The war in Syria

0:57:48 > 0:57:53has now entered its eighth year. In recent weeks, over 1000 people have

0:57:53 > 0:57:59been killed in eastern provinces and hundreds of Kurds lie dead and

0:57:59 > 0:58:05200,000 civilians are fleeing for their lives. Even the hospital has

0:58:05 > 0:58:09been attacked. What will the Government do to help ring urgent

0:58:09 > 0:58:16humanitarian relief to those in such despair?Can I say that we take the

0:58:16 > 0:58:21situation in eastern provinces in Syria very seriously indeed and it

0:58:21 > 0:58:25is an issue which has been raised at the United Nations Security Council.

0:58:25 > 0:58:30The Foreign Secretary has raised this issue with others as well. We

0:58:30 > 0:58:35need to ensure that we are very clear about what needs to happen to

0:58:35 > 0:58:40ensure people could be protected, humanitarian aid could get in and

0:58:40 > 0:58:45for those whom it was necessary, for them, because of their condition, to

0:58:45 > 0:58:52be given a safe passage to do so and we will continue to press this case.

0:58:52 > 0:58:57We recently interviewed a panel of university vice chancellors on the

0:58:57 > 0:59:00education select committee who failed to recognise their salaries

0:59:00 > 0:59:03are outrageous, being twice that of the Prime Minister, and mainly

0:59:03 > 0:59:06funded by the taxpayer and student debt. Given that these outrageous

0:59:06 > 0:59:11salaries are paid in the poorest performing universities, were the

0:59:11 > 0:59:14Prime Minister confirmed this will be looked at in the post education

0:59:14 > 0:59:17review

0:59:17 > 0:59:23I think she has raised a point others are concerned about as well.

0:59:23 > 0:59:25Universities are autonomous from governments and with up to them how

0:59:25 > 0:59:32they set their pay levels but they should recognise students and

0:59:32 > 0:59:36taxpayers are continued into the higher education system and expect

0:59:36 > 0:59:38value for money. The office of students which has been set up will

0:59:38 > 0:59:43be acting to ensure greater transparency in relating to senior

0:59:43 > 0:59:47staff pay full stop and requiring a justification for total enumeration

0:59:47 > 0:59:52package awarded to the providers most senior staff so we will start

0:59:52 > 1:00:00to see a light beam shone very clearly on the issue.

1:00:02 > 1:00:06Last week, the agriculture and fisheries secretary, and Ruth

1:00:06 > 1:00:09Davidson said that the Prime Minister has been clear, Britain

1:00:09 > 1:00:17will leave the CFP as of March 20 19. Now the UK is staying in the

1:00:17 > 1:00:23fisheries policy but with no say on quotas. The worst deal imaginable.

1:00:23 > 1:00:29What changed between last week and this week?Can I say to the

1:00:29 > 1:00:34honourable gentleman that we will be working with the fishing industry,

1:00:34 > 1:00:39both fishermen and fish processors, that we do see a bright future for

1:00:39 > 1:00:43the freshening industry -- fishing industry. We will take back control

1:00:43 > 1:00:48of the waters and make sure we do not see British fishermen unfairly

1:00:48 > 1:00:53denied access to other waters and we want to rebuild our fishing

1:00:53 > 1:00:58industry. That is a Conservative Party that is committed to coming

1:00:58 > 1:01:02out of the Common fisheries policy. His party wants to stay in the

1:01:02 > 1:01:10Common fisheries policy.

1:01:10 > 1:01:12Common fisheries policy.Mr Speaker, char well is really proud to be

1:01:12 > 1:01:17building three houses a day, and construction traffic is playing

1:01:17 > 1:01:23havoc with our road surfaces. Will the Prime Minister meet with me to

1:01:23 > 1:01:26discuss what more national government can do to help with

1:01:26 > 1:01:30inevitable growing pains

1:01:31 > 1:01:38can either say to my honourable friend to congratulate Charwell for

1:01:38 > 1:01:41the homes they are building.I recognise that this brings with it

1:01:41 > 1:01:46other challenges and at budget we more than doubled the housing

1:01:46 > 1:01:50infrastructure fund with another £2.7 billion, and earlier today my

1:01:50 > 1:01:58right honourable friend, the Housing Secretary announced a further 44

1:01:58 > 1:02:02areas for infrastructure projects with the potential to deliver

1:02:02 > 1:02:05400,000 more homes, so I recognise the important role infrastructure

1:02:05 > 1:02:10plays.

1:02:10 > 1:02:13The Prime Minister was right to prevent members of the Royal family

1:02:13 > 1:02:18and government ministers from attending the football World Cup in

1:02:18 > 1:02:23Russia. But what is being done to safeguard everyday football fans in

1:02:23 > 1:02:30what was in my view is already a dangerous place to watch football.

1:02:30 > 1:02:35Even before the incident in Salisbury. What advice will be given

1:02:35 > 1:02:39to travelling English supporters, many of whom have already bought

1:02:39 > 1:02:43their tickets? And if she confident that adequate cooperation between

1:02:43 > 1:02:49our police and the Russian police will protect English fans?I

1:02:49 > 1:02:52recognise the important issue the honourable gentleman has raised

1:02:52 > 1:02:56because we want British football fans to be able to be safe when they

1:02:56 > 1:02:59are enjoying watching the England team. And we are currently working

1:02:59 > 1:03:04with the police and they are looking closely at what arrangements will be

1:03:04 > 1:03:08in place to support the England football fans who travelled to

1:03:08 > 1:03:11Russia and the Foreign Office will be carefully monitoring the

1:03:11 > 1:03:15situation to make sure advice is available to football fans so they

1:03:15 > 1:03:18are aware of the circumstances that will be in Russia and what support

1:03:18 > 1:03:25will be available.My right honourable friend will be aware that

1:03:25 > 1:03:30I mentioned Jackie Woodcock, a terminally ill constituents of mine

1:03:30 > 1:03:34who set up the dying to work campaign. Santander, her mortgage

1:03:34 > 1:03:39brokers have been incredibly helpful in freezing her payments and will

1:03:39 > 1:03:43take it from her estate when she dies, but now they have gone even

1:03:43 > 1:03:48further and are not increasing the interest payments either. So would

1:03:48 > 1:03:52my right honourable friend agree that other banks should follow the

1:03:52 > 1:03:58cover -- caring and compassionate example set by Santander and

1:03:58 > 1:04:02encourage them to look after terminally ill people in the same

1:04:02 > 1:04:07way?Can I say to my honourable friend that she has raised an issue

1:04:07 > 1:04:12about which she cares deeply, and I'm certainly happy to join her in

1:04:12 > 1:04:16congratulating Santander and the support they have provided to Jackie

1:04:16 > 1:04:21Woodcock. Obviously she has raised a wider issue and it is important for

1:04:21 > 1:04:26employers to be aware of and to fulfil their legal obligations

1:04:26 > 1:04:28towards their employees, including the terminally ill employees, and

1:04:28 > 1:04:35I'm sure others will look at the excellent example Santander has set.

1:04:35 > 1:04:42The Sunday Times said this week that affordable housing and easy access

1:04:42 > 1:04:47to London in Bedford has made it one of the best places to live in the

1:04:47 > 1:04:50UK. But Bedford constituents are worried about and concerned about

1:04:50 > 1:04:59the school funding cuts and services cuts, the impending closure of the

1:04:59 > 1:05:03only walk-in centre, the big increase in homelessness and the

1:05:03 > 1:05:07loss of peak-time rail services to London. My question to the Prime

1:05:07 > 1:05:11Minister is, why is the government ruining the prospects of our great

1:05:11 > 1:05:18town?I can say to the honourable gentleman that the prospects of his

1:05:18 > 1:05:23great town are being improved by the fact we see thousands more children

1:05:23 > 1:05:27in good and outstanding schools in Bedford and we have in the local

1:05:27 > 1:05:29authority than we have gone before and when we came into power and it's

1:05:29 > 1:05:38being improved, and then more funding in Bedford, but it's also a

1:05:38 > 1:05:41government that is ensuring we have a strong economy providing jobs for

1:05:41 > 1:05:48people in his constituency.

1:05:48 > 1:05:50people in his constituency.Thank you, Mr Speaker. Financial services

1:05:50 > 1:05:54are of critical importance both to thousands of my constituents in

1:05:54 > 1:05:58Hitchin and Harpenden and also to the country as a whole. Will the

1:05:58 > 1:06:02Prime Minister take this opportunity to update the house on progress made

1:06:02 > 1:06:07on ensuring that our future trade deal with the European Union

1:06:07 > 1:06:13includes an agreement on financial services?

1:06:13 > 1:06:17services?Can I say to my honourable friend that I'm well aware of the

1:06:17 > 1:06:21importance of financial services both for the United Kingdom and

1:06:21 > 1:06:25constituents in his constituency and elsewhere but also the important

1:06:25 > 1:06:28role the City of London plays in terms of the financial sector for

1:06:28 > 1:06:34the whole of the European Union. This is a matter in which we are in

1:06:34 > 1:06:36discussion with the European Union about and there is a recognition of

1:06:36 > 1:06:40the significant role the City of London plays and the importance of

1:06:40 > 1:06:47ensuring that we may access to finance across the European Union.

1:06:47 > 1:06:52Mental health issues affect one in ten children who on average have to

1:06:52 > 1:06:57see their GP three times borate -- before referral with many waiting

1:06:57 > 1:07:02for up to 18 months for treatment. At a time when national funding in

1:07:02 > 1:07:08the area is being constantly cut, including a 5% reduction in funding

1:07:08 > 1:07:12to Lewisham, is this not another example of the government saying one

1:07:12 > 1:07:18thing but doing another with our NHS?May I say, that the government

1:07:18 > 1:07:22is putting more funding into mental health provision and have already

1:07:22 > 1:07:26made available an additional £1.4 billion to improve children and

1:07:26 > 1:07:30young people's mental health services. And we have committed that

1:07:30 > 1:07:3770,000 more people will have access to mental health care. I will say

1:07:37 > 1:07:43this to the honourable lady that she rightly raises mental health issues,

1:07:43 > 1:07:47particular she is raised if young people, but across the board we need

1:07:47 > 1:07:49to give more attention to mental health. We are putting more money

1:07:49 > 1:07:53into it and we want to see parity of esteem between mental and physical

1:07:53 > 1:07:56health in the National Health Service. It is something the Labour

1:07:56 > 1:08:03Party in 13 years of government have failed to do.

1:08:04 > 1:08:06failed to do.The EU agreement published this week has left

1:08:06 > 1:08:12fishermen from Amble and the north-east anxious. Why we will gain

1:08:12 > 1:08:16control in the fermentation period, which is great news, there is real

1:08:16 > 1:08:19concern in case EU colleagues try to take advantage of us losing our

1:08:19 > 1:08:25voice in the CFP bike changing quota rules during the implementation

1:08:25 > 1:08:31period, so will the Prime Minister consider asking deference to prepare

1:08:31 > 1:08:33a financial mitigation plan to protect the fleet should we need to

1:08:33 > 1:08:38do so?

1:08:43 > 1:08:45do so?There needs to be the certainty to operate on the same

1:08:45 > 1:08:50basis until we reach a new partnership we are renegotiating. As

1:08:50 > 1:08:54I said earlier, the new partnership means we want to take back control

1:08:54 > 1:08:58of the waters and ensure British fishermen are not unfairly denied

1:08:58 > 1:09:04access to other waters and ensure that we cannot -- we can rebuild the

1:09:04 > 1:09:09fishing industry, which I think is important. What has been agreed is

1:09:09 > 1:09:14the stability key not being changed, so the quotas that British fishermen

1:09:14 > 1:09:18will operate under will not be changed. I know that deaf are

1:09:18 > 1:09:23looking actively at how we can ensure that we are not only

1:09:23 > 1:09:27maintaining the fishing industry but that and rebuild it -- I know that

1:09:27 > 1:09:32Defra are looking actively.This week every party in Westminster took

1:09:32 > 1:09:37part in an international summit to challenge violence against women in

1:09:37 > 1:09:40politics. Online abuse dominated discussions. Last year her

1:09:40 > 1:09:45government considered a statutory practice for social media

1:09:45 > 1:09:49corporations for the abuse of content they publish. Will the Prime

1:09:49 > 1:09:53Minister say if she remains content with a toothless, voluntary code, or

1:09:53 > 1:09:59will she give it a digital guard dog that both barks and bites?Can I say

1:09:59 > 1:10:03to the honourable lady that she raises an important point. On all of

1:10:03 > 1:10:06these issues we have taken the view that we sit down with the industry

1:10:06 > 1:10:09and work with them to see what they are willing to do on a voluntary

1:10:09 > 1:10:12basis but they know if that doesn't actually work we will look at

1:10:12 > 1:10:21legislation. The abuse that was undertaken, she referred to the

1:10:21 > 1:10:23abuse and political campaigning. I'm afraid that is a sorry state of

1:10:23 > 1:10:26affairs we have reached in this country and we want to see the free

1:10:26 > 1:10:30and fair election and people having the confidence to be to go out and

1:10:30 > 1:10:37put their views forward without feeling they will be abused.

1:10:37 > 1:10:40feeling they will be abused.The clinically led future fit programme

1:10:40 > 1:10:45for Shropshire seeks to improve and modernise hospital services across

1:10:45 > 1:10:48Shropshire and we have been waiting for a decision on this issue for

1:10:48 > 1:10:52many years. Could the Prime Minister use her good offices to ensure that

1:10:52 > 1:10:57this vital scheme is supported in the coming weeks so we can secure

1:10:57 > 1:11:02the vital investment for Shropshire NHS?My honourable friend is right

1:11:02 > 1:11:05to speak up for Shropshire in the way he has done and he will be

1:11:05 > 1:11:11pleased to see that the Right Honourable friend the Secretary of

1:11:11 > 1:11:15State for Health and social care purred to his comments and we will

1:11:15 > 1:11:21contact him about this issue.Mr Speaker, the review made a big

1:11:21 > 1:11:26difference in improving services for children with communication needs.

1:11:26 > 1:11:32Communication is the key life skill for children to learn and thrive,

1:11:32 > 1:11:37yet a decade on, the latest report shows much more needs to be done. So

1:11:37 > 1:11:41will the Prime Minister commit to a cross government strategy that puts

1:11:41 > 1:11:46this issue at the heart of policy and gives all our children the best

1:11:46 > 1:11:52possible start in life?My honourable gentleman has raised an

1:11:52 > 1:11:55important issue and the Department for Education will be considering

1:11:55 > 1:11:58the report carefully because we do not want to see any child held back

1:11:58 > 1:12:03from achieving their potential which includes ensuring those children

1:12:03 > 1:12:05with speech, language and communication needs are given the

1:12:05 > 1:12:10support that they need and that there has been particular training

1:12:10 > 1:12:13for teachers to support children who require additional help to

1:12:13 > 1:12:17communicate. But we will introduce the education health and care plans

1:12:17 > 1:12:21to make sure children with additional needs receive the right

1:12:21 > 1:12:25support to succeed in school in the future but we will look carefully at

1:12:25 > 1:12:30the report and respond in due course.Unlike the SNP, I do not

1:12:30 > 1:12:41want to see Britain rejoin the disastrous Common fisheries policy.

1:12:45 > 1:12:47But I do have some concerns about the fisheries aspects of the

1:12:47 > 1:12:54transitional agreement which has been provisionally agreed with the

1:12:54 > 1:12:57European union. Before she travels to the European Council, can the

1:12:57 > 1:13:03Prime Minister assure the house and fishing communities around the UK

1:13:03 > 1:13:09that we will absolutely and unequivocally take back full control

1:13:09 > 1:13:19of our waters from 2021?As I said earlier, the point about the

1:13:19 > 1:13:25fermentation period is that it is the period during which people are

1:13:25 > 1:13:27allowed to move to make the changes that the new economic partnerships

1:13:27 > 1:13:31we have and it will ensure that businesses, fishermen included,

1:13:31 > 1:13:36don't face to changes on the cliff edge in the way that they are

1:13:36 > 1:13:39operating. By definition because it is maintaining the status quo so

1:13:39 > 1:13:44people don't have to make those extra changes, it is, I recognise

1:13:44 > 1:13:49not the same and won't be the same as the end state when we have a

1:13:49 > 1:13:52future economic partnership and have that new relationship. As I said

1:13:52 > 1:13:56earlier one of the elements we will be looking for in reassuring the

1:13:56 > 1:14:01visiting industry is to ensure that we do take back control of our

1:14:01 > 1:14:09waters.Thank you, Mr Speaker. Can I associate with myself with the Prime

1:14:09 > 1:14:12Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the leader of the SNP

1:14:12 > 1:14:16by offering condolences to the family of the RAF engineer who was

1:14:16 > 1:14:21killed tragically in my constituency yesterday. The RAF has been part of

1:14:21 > 1:14:25my constituency for over 75 years and they are a tight-knit group of

1:14:25 > 1:14:29aircraft men and support staff on the ground. And whilst they are

1:14:29 > 1:14:35grieving, will the primaries to join with me in paying tribute to the

1:14:35 > 1:14:37Royal Air Force and whilst they commemorate their century of

1:14:37 > 1:14:44dedicated service to our country.I am very happy to join the honourable

1:14:44 > 1:14:49gentleman in saying what a great job the Royal Air Force does for us, and

1:14:49 > 1:14:52he sees it at first hand in its connection with his constituency,

1:14:52 > 1:14:59but we should recognise the valour of all of those serving in our Armed

1:14:59 > 1:15:02Forces, and particularly in this 100th year of the Royal Air Force,

1:15:02 > 1:15:08those who serve in the Royal Air Force, and we thank them for it.

1:15:08 > 1:15:11May I welcome the government's decision to create a medical school

1:15:11 > 1:15:17at Canterbury in East Kent but to clean my honourable friend the

1:15:17 > 1:15:21Member for Faversham who has been indefatigable in the fight for this.

1:15:21 > 1:15:25Does not underline the importance of training more doctors and nurses to

1:15:25 > 1:15:28ensure our health services in the region is well staffed and well

1:15:28 > 1:15:34looked after?My honourable friend is right. I'm pleased to welcome the

1:15:34 > 1:15:38new medical school in Canterbury and the four other schools set up around

1:15:38 > 1:15:42those parts of the country and he's also right this is about ensuring we

1:15:42 > 1:15:50are training a workforce for the National Health Service and we have

1:15:50 > 1:15:52raised significantly the number of training places, the biggest the NHS

1:15:52 > 1:16:04has ever seen.Thank you. Given that mesh can shrink in a woman's body,

1:16:04 > 1:16:14will she supported

1:16:14 > 1:16:17will she supported proposals to this?This is a very important issue

1:16:17 > 1:16:22and this has caused concern to women. And I will look in detail at

1:16:22 > 1:16:25it. I'm happy to write to her about it but I recognise the concern is

1:16:25 > 1:16:29about this particular issue and I will write about what the NHS will

1:16:29 > 1:16:38be doing on it.Thank you. Will she congratulate the remarkable start of

1:16:38 > 1:16:41Prince Alexander Hospital in Harlow to ensure they are out of special

1:16:41 > 1:16:46measures today? Will she support our campaign for a new hospital to

1:16:46 > 1:16:53ensure the staff is fit for the 21st century?Can I congratulate the

1:16:53 > 1:16:58local hospital in Harlow he is referring to four coming out of

1:16:58 > 1:17:02special measures? That's very important and I know will give added

1:17:02 > 1:17:07confidence to his constituents. He tempts me to support a new hospital

1:17:07 > 1:17:11in his area and I'm sure as he will know the Secretary of State has

1:17:11 > 1:17:17heard his request in relation to that. What we do know is we are

1:17:17 > 1:17:20putting more money into the NHS to ensure we get the best possible

1:17:20 > 1:17:23services provided to people through the National Health Service.Just

1:17:23 > 1:17:27before we...

1:17:40 > 1:17:45Earlier this morning, the major unions were on board for that. No

1:17:45 > 1:17:52doubt more will be revealed in the next couple of hours. Mr Corbyn went

1:17:52 > 1:17:56on local governments, specifically on Northampton, the Council there,

1:17:56 > 1:18:00which has gone bust, and had to be wound up. A Conservative councillor.

1:18:00 > 1:18:06He said was that caused by Tory incompetence at local level or

1:18:06 > 1:18:13national level? The rest of the PMQs we're all about local Government,

1:18:13 > 1:18:17about spending, quality of services, and of course the reason for that is

1:18:17 > 1:18:22that the local elections are now looming. On May the 3rd. Campaigns

1:18:22 > 1:18:28are getting under way. A highly political robust exchange between

1:18:28 > 1:18:34the two frontbenchers on this. The leader of the SNP in Parliament in

1:18:34 > 1:18:41Westminster went on Conservative connections with the parent company

1:18:41 > 1:18:43of Cambridge analytical, something we could be hearing more about as

1:18:43 > 1:18:53the week goes on. Still with me is Liz Truss.

1:18:55 > 1:19:02Liz Truss. Also Laura Kuenssberg. Local elections and their

1:19:02 > 1:19:06campaigning has begun. They were both prepared to be very political

1:19:06 > 1:19:10and Theresa May dug further than she ever has before in terms of trying

1:19:10 > 1:19:13to push back to Jeremy Corbyn some of the unhappiness and strife there

1:19:13 > 1:19:19has been in local Labour councils around the country. And the tensions

1:19:19 > 1:19:23between council leaders who have been here for a long time and knew

1:19:23 > 1:19:26whether Labour supporters were. She was making a full frontal political

1:19:26 > 1:19:33attack. Jeremy Corbyn started off with a real good question about it

1:19:33 > 1:19:37at local Tories or national Tories who are incompetent which is led to

1:19:37 > 1:19:41a council collapsing? I think by the end of the session, there'd been a

1:19:41 > 1:19:44role reversal and Jeremy Corbyn started strongly, the prime

1:19:44 > 1:19:47ministers seemed to be on the back foot but by the end it felt to me as

1:19:47 > 1:19:52if it was the other way.Yes, Jeremy Corbyn at the beginning was strong

1:19:52 > 1:19:55but it petered out a bit and the Prime Minister generalised things

1:19:55 > 1:20:03bye bye going into attack on Corbyn is over positions in the Labour

1:20:03 > 1:20:05Party, and what she regards as moderate Labour politicians

1:20:05 > 1:20:09resigning and so wonderful. It became much more a party political

1:20:09 > 1:20:14battle.There's no question that these issues around council

1:20:14 > 1:20:21pressures will be a huge feature of the council elections. No question

1:20:21 > 1:20:24about that. Elections in lots of different part of the country and

1:20:24 > 1:20:29London too. The context to all of that, both parties are in

1:20:29 > 1:20:32expectation management phases, the context is Labour particularly in

1:20:32 > 1:20:36London expects to make some pretty dramatic games and the Tories are

1:20:36 > 1:20:40braced for a difficult night.Liz Truss, the background to all of this

1:20:40 > 1:20:48is that there will be a £6 billion local Government funding gap by

1:20:48 > 1:20:562020. 6 billion. Is that the Government policy that that gap is

1:20:56 > 1:21:03left open or it is filled by local taxation?Our policy overall has

1:21:03 > 1:21:10been to shift from having local Government that was much funded by

1:21:10 > 1:21:12national Government, in 2000 and 1080% of Government expenditure came

1:21:12 > 1:21:19from central Government grant. Towards local taxation, so local

1:21:19 > 1:21:22politicians are accountable for what they spend too local electors, and

1:21:22 > 1:21:26that is the shift we have undertaken over the past eight years and I

1:21:26 > 1:21:29think that a good thing because it's about democracy, people choosing

1:21:29 > 1:21:34whether they want a local council that is a high spender, very much

1:21:34 > 1:21:37what Theresa May was talking about when she said Labour councils cost

1:21:37 > 1:21:42you more.All councils will cost us more than 6 billion funding gap.

1:21:42 > 1:21:50Everyone will have to put up tax.Of course any council can raise council

1:21:50 > 1:21:55tax more if they have a local referendum. We've always given

1:21:55 > 1:21:58councils that freedom. They do have that ability. One thing I would

1:21:58 > 1:22:02point out is local Government reserves have gone up over the past

1:22:02 > 1:22:09eight years to the tune of 8 billion, so local Government

1:22:09 > 1:22:12finances in terms of the reserves on their balance sheets are actually

1:22:12 > 1:22:18healthier than they were in 2010.If that is the case, why is it seven

1:22:18 > 1:22:21out of ten councils with the biggest rise in council tax been

1:22:21 > 1:22:25Conservative?That is a choice that those Conservative councils have

1:22:25 > 1:22:29made.They got all this money in the bank and are raising people's

1:22:29 > 1:22:34council tax?Often Conservative councils that are the lowest council

1:22:34 > 1:22:38tax, so there's a difference between the level they are charging, Andrew,

1:22:38 > 1:22:42and the rise they might be proposing, but I believe in local

1:22:42 > 1:22:46politicians making decisions about what is right for the local area and

1:22:46 > 1:22:50raising the taxes locally and what Labour want is they want a local

1:22:50 > 1:22:53Government system controlled by the centre where all the money is coming

1:22:53 > 1:22:56from the Government because all of their complaints about the cut in

1:22:56 > 1:23:01the central Government grant...What is wrong with switching the focus,

1:23:01 > 1:23:08there is still a lot of local money from central Government, but what is

1:23:08 > 1:23:11wrong with change in the focus on local Government is financed more

1:23:11 > 1:23:18locally?I'm sorry to use a very strong word here, but the hypocrisy.

1:23:18 > 1:23:23We've just had Theresa May criticising councils for increasing

1:23:23 > 1:23:27council tax. I'm sorry to be very personal. We will both in the

1:23:27 > 1:23:31chamber, Labour was saying about the cuts to local services and we had

1:23:31 > 1:23:34the Government minister shouting back at us from the Treasury, you

1:23:34 > 1:23:39can raise council tax, raise council tax, so we can't have it both ways.

1:23:39 > 1:23:42If we want to have local services properly funded, we either need the

1:23:42 > 1:23:48money to come under the current system from national Government? It

1:23:48 > 1:23:51has been cut by a third. We said previously you should not have got

1:23:51 > 1:23:54rid of the banking levy to the extent because that money could have

1:23:54 > 1:23:58gone into children's services. The alternative you have governors for

1:23:58 > 1:24:02councils to charge more council tax, so be open about it and call a spade

1:24:02 > 1:24:07a spade. If you want deserves to be maintained, actually say delays

1:24:07 > 1:24:11local council, not just the Labour...We have said that the

1:24:11 > 1:24:14local council. Now the majority of money is spent by local Government

1:24:14 > 1:24:18is raised locally and that is a good thing for accountability.So you are

1:24:18 > 1:24:24happy with council tax going up?The point is that Tory councils are more

1:24:24 > 1:24:28effective the way they spend money so they are getting better value for

1:24:28 > 1:24:31money for what they are spending but I totally support the idea that the

1:24:31 > 1:24:35money should be raised locally for services rather than nationally.

1:24:35 > 1:24:41Isn't the floor, it may be good for democracy but not for equity. Surely

1:24:41 > 1:24:48a lot of the areas which need the most money, the most help, are those

1:24:48 > 1:24:55areas that have the lowest tax base? They are poorer people and they

1:24:55 > 1:24:58don't have the property stock which is what local taxes are based on,

1:24:58 > 1:25:04property prices, and it's support tax base to raise money from.We do

1:25:04 > 1:25:08give extra money, and that is part of the formula, which goes into

1:25:08 > 1:25:15local Government.But you have cut by 6 billion?What we want is local

1:25:15 > 1:25:19councils to give planning permission to allow more businesses to open,

1:25:19 > 1:25:22have good policies to attract people to those areas, and if they retain

1:25:22 > 1:25:26more of their money was what we are doing under business rates

1:25:26 > 1:25:30retention, that's an encouragement for local councils to be

1:25:30 > 1:25:34pro-building more houses, pro-enterprise. That is how we are

1:25:34 > 1:25:36encouraging councils to be accountable for the money we are

1:25:36 > 1:25:43spending.Let's hear from Anneliese Dodds. We heard from the Secretary

1:25:43 > 1:25:46for Communities and Local Government admitting that the Government got

1:25:46 > 1:25:49this wrong in terms of the money they were giving back to local

1:25:49 > 1:25:54authorities involved in this pilot on business rates retention. It is a

1:25:54 > 1:25:57mess. Councils don't know whether they will be part of the system in

1:25:57 > 1:26:01the future or not. They don't know how it will be going across the

1:26:01 > 1:26:05country. You have potentially big spikes and troughs on business rates

1:26:05 > 1:26:10if one big firm moves away. This is a mess. People are suffering.Let me

1:26:10 > 1:26:19come to the issue that Jeremy Corbyn raised in Northampton. The Council

1:26:19 > 1:26:25is gone bust. I get no if the figures are right but the idea that

1:26:25 > 1:26:3196% of the services were outsourced. A remarkable way to proceed even if

1:26:31 > 1:26:35you were in favour of outsourcing, but the Prime Minister said that it

1:26:35 > 1:26:41had nothing to do with underfunding. If that's the case, why do the Tory

1:26:41 > 1:26:44leader of Northampton County Council say we could not cope with the level

1:26:44 > 1:26:49of cuts we were facing?The Independent report said that it had

1:26:49 > 1:26:51nothing to do with underfunding, which is what the Prime Minister

1:26:51 > 1:26:57pointed out.I think that could be a bit strong, nothing to do.There is

1:26:57 > 1:27:03a lot of opportunities to run things more efficiently and do things more

1:27:03 > 1:27:08efficiently and some councils have taken as but this is a Tory council

1:27:08 > 1:27:12and you just told us they have the lowest taxes on the best services

1:27:12 > 1:27:20and the best value for money.They said they could not cope with the

1:27:20 > 1:27:24level.I'm making a generalisation for them I'm not endorsing every

1:27:24 > 1:27:27policy pursued because ultimately this is a matter for local electors

1:27:27 > 1:27:31and it's quite dangerous for national politicians, and I very

1:27:31 > 1:27:35much avoid saying what my opinion is on things like planning, where local

1:27:35 > 1:27:37councils have the lead on that because otherwise you are

1:27:37 > 1:27:46undercutting local politicians.The SNP Parliamentary leaders,

1:27:46 > 1:27:50Conservative links to the holding company of Cambridge analytic, have

1:27:50 > 1:27:56you heard this? Is it serious? There's been significant supporting

1:27:56 > 1:27:59the last couple of days, people looking for clues and links wherever

1:27:59 > 1:28:04they can find them because of their overall she usually deafening

1:28:04 > 1:28:08controversy around the company. Clearly, people are trying to go

1:28:08 > 1:28:10through all the fingerprints about who might have been connected to

1:28:10 > 1:28:14this company. It does seem there are people who have held good positions

1:28:14 > 1:28:18in the Conservative Party over the years who have links to the holding

1:28:18 > 1:28:23company. Beyond that, in terms of strong direct links to people who

1:28:23 > 1:28:29are in power now, not so far, but there's more to come out.I think.

1:28:29 > 1:28:34The guess the answer was 1972. Anneliese Dodds, if you could press

1:28:34 > 1:28:42the red button. We could find out who the winner is. Philip,

1:28:42 > 1:28:44well done.

1:28:44 > 1:28:45That's all for today.

1:28:45 > 1:28:46Thanks to our guests.

1:28:46 > 1:28:49The One O'Clock News is starting over on BBC One now.

1:28:49 > 1:28:52Jo will be here at noon tomorrow with all the big political

1:28:52 > 1:28:55Bye bye.