:00:12. > :00:18.Hello and welcome to live coverage from the House of Commons. David
:00:18. > :00:22.Cameron will sooner face Ed Miliband in the first Prime
:00:22. > :00:27.Minister Question Time since the new report on the help bail. A
:00:27. > :00:33.Andrew Mitchell will make a statement on Britain's response to
:00:33. > :00:43.disasters. MPs will then move on to the remaining stages of the well
:00:43. > :00:49.for -- Welfare Reform Bill. Join me for a round-up of the day at
:00:49. > :00:58.11:00pm tonight. But first we have questions for the cabinet officer
:00:58. > :01:08.and his ministerial team. We are investing �40 million over the next
:01:08. > :01:11.
:01:11. > :01:15.two years in infrastructure and social action. The people in a
:01:15. > :01:21.voluntary service in my constituency what to expand their
:01:21. > :01:25.services as part of an action plan. Can the Minister tell me whether
:01:25. > :01:35.the new local infrastructure fund will support this kind of
:01:35. > :01:38.
:01:38. > :01:42.initiative? I was in Wiltshire on Friday and I realise that date for
:01:42. > :01:48.-- that they have many organisations and infrastructures
:01:48. > :01:53.and I am delighted about the this a fund because it will try and help
:01:53. > :01:56.existing infrastructure assets become more efficient in supporting
:01:56. > :02:04.for a line of voluntary organisations and encourage a local
:02:04. > :02:14.people to get involved. -- frontline. Does the Minister share
:02:14. > :02:17.our concerns about the proposals in which individuals who are barred
:02:17. > :02:23.from working with children can volunteer in the schools and
:02:23. > :02:33.without the knowledge of those schools? That piece of legislation
:02:33. > :02:43.contains very important reforms to the CRD process. This has been a
:02:43. > :02:44.
:02:44. > :02:54.source of considerable frustration. I totally agree with the reforms
:02:54. > :02:54.
:02:54. > :02:57.that to make the process more effective and simple. We are
:02:57. > :03:05.committed to a maximum engagement with the unions to seek an
:03:05. > :03:10.agreement on reforms to make public sector pension sustainable as the
:03:10. > :03:15.previous Labour Secretary has recommended. The handful of unions
:03:15. > :03:20.are hell-bent on pursuing a disruptive industrial action while
:03:20. > :03:26.those discussions are continuing. We have continue -- contingency
:03:26. > :03:31.plans to manage this destruction in the event of industrial action.
:03:31. > :03:37.Does the Minister have a message for those contemplating a strike
:03:37. > :03:41.action on June 30th? I strongly recommend that they should not go
:03:41. > :03:46.in for industrial action. It is called close as a result of
:03:46. > :03:55.teachers going on strike, -- if a school's close as a result of the
:03:55. > :04:04.teachers going on strike, the livelihoods of children and their
:04:04. > :04:08.parents... Other taxpayers in the private sector have seen hits to
:04:08. > :04:12.their own pension schemes and I think people will be fed up if
:04:12. > :04:19.industrial action goes ahead. should the government be surprised
:04:19. > :04:24.that public sector workers, many who are poorly paid, face frozen
:04:24. > :04:30.pay and decide to fight back? It would be dispatched -- surprising
:04:30. > :04:34.if they did not. If the Government had not inherited the biggest
:04:34. > :04:43.budget deficit in the developed world we might not have to take
:04:43. > :04:50.these steps. I would just remind the Honourable Gentleman that is
:04:50. > :04:55.also event retiring after a 40 year career will have a pension that
:04:55. > :05:00.will cost half a million pounds to buy in the private sector. No one
:05:00. > :05:07.in the private sector has access to pensions like that. Can I commend
:05:07. > :05:14.my Right Honourable Friend for his engagement with the unions. He has
:05:14. > :05:19.made it clear that he does not rule out changes. Can I plead with him
:05:19. > :05:22.on behalf of my committee that we do this in an orderly fashion and
:05:22. > :05:26.he should publish a Green Paper to consult about what changes should
:05:26. > :05:35.be made so we can have a proper debate about them rather than
:05:35. > :05:40.finding ourselves propelled into an emergency. I do not have
:05:41. > :05:45.responsibility for changes in the law regarding a industrial action.
:05:45. > :05:50.We do not rule out changes. A number of proposals have been made
:05:50. > :06:00.from the outside. We think that industrial action law needs to be
:06:00. > :06:06.
:06:06. > :06:10.reviewed. Does the Mester agreeing -- the Minister agree that people
:06:10. > :06:16.in the public sector are seeking to protect their income is? That is
:06:16. > :06:24.why we are having these discussions with the TUC. There is much to be
:06:24. > :06:31.sorted out. It was the previous Labour pensions secretary who made
:06:31. > :06:35.these pension schemes affordable for the future. That is what we are
:06:35. > :06:45.determined to achieve. Any union contemplating strike action at the
:06:45. > :06:50.
:06:50. > :06:54.moment is jumping the gun. We are ambitious to encourage more giving.
:06:54. > :06:58.On 23rd May we set out a White Paper which included a range of
:06:58. > :07:07.ways that we can offer a better support for community groups and
:07:07. > :07:13.social enterprises. The rate of a charity giving in the UK is barely
:07:14. > :07:22.half of that in America. What steps will the Minister take to up that
:07:22. > :07:28.of our American cousins? We are a generous country. We do not accept
:07:28. > :07:32.that as inevitable. We want to help people give more. The Chancellor
:07:32. > :07:36.announced generous than centres in the last Budget. The White Paper
:07:36. > :07:45.includes ideas for a social action find that will support a new models
:07:45. > :07:52.for people to give up. People should be encouraged to give it to
:07:52. > :08:02.health care charities. Are there -- can the Minister ensure that these
:08:02. > :08:09.
:08:09. > :08:14.will be expedited? VAT continues to rumble on. We have had many
:08:14. > :08:20.discussions with the Chancellor on this issue. Having spent 16 ears in
:08:21. > :08:29.the fund raising sector, which he agreed -- 16 years in the
:08:29. > :08:39.fundraising sector, would he not agree with me? I know this is
:08:39. > :08:43.
:08:43. > :08:48.something that's requires a lot -- that requires a lot of debate.
:08:48. > :08:52.house will let that the White Paper states that the Government aims to
:08:52. > :09:02.support opportunities for giving but can the Minister tell us what
:09:02. > :09:05.
:09:05. > :09:14.he will do to monitor this and if it is -- it is his intention to...
:09:14. > :09:17.Is it a sensible strategy to fill gaps in public funding? We see a
:09:17. > :09:27.substantial opportunity to encourage more giving in this
:09:27. > :09:32.country. She asked about money in more deprived areas. That is the
:09:32. > :09:39.explicit focus of our programme that is worth around �80 million in
:09:39. > :09:49.total. It is a result of rising local people to give time and
:09:49. > :09:52.
:09:52. > :09:58.support in -- to projects. As my honourable friend knows we are
:09:58. > :10:08.offering... Are you seeking to group this question with questions
:10:08. > :10:13.
:10:13. > :10:17.six? We are offering every 10,000 places for 16 year olds. Our
:10:17. > :10:23.Minister is working hard and I hope that he has as much success with
:10:23. > :10:27.the Prince's Trust in his area. encourage full participation in the
:10:27. > :10:35.scheme, how can parents get involved to encourage youngsters to
:10:35. > :10:40.take up the challenge? providers are working very hard to
:10:40. > :10:48.engage schools and work with local media and use social network
:10:48. > :10:56.excites including a dedicated Facebook page. There will be
:10:56. > :11:02.details for every MP on how to fully support their constituency.
:11:02. > :11:07.There are many exciting opportunities for young people.
:11:07. > :11:12.Would the Minister agree with me that we need to find ways of
:11:12. > :11:21.increasing access to the scheme in the most deprived areas in
:11:21. > :11:26.constituencies by using innovative ways and means? He raises an
:11:26. > :11:31.important point. One of the key benchmark saying this scheme is
:11:31. > :11:37.about creating the right social mix. It is about creating a budget fees
:11:37. > :11:41.for young people to meet people -- creating opportunities for young
:11:41. > :11:48.people to meet other young people they may not have had an
:11:48. > :11:53.opportunity to meet before a. the Minister agree that his
:11:54. > :11:59.government needs to do much more to prevent a repeat of the 80s so near
:11:59. > :12:06.Rio where so many loyal people ended up on the scrapheap? -- the
:12:06. > :12:12.80s situation where so many young people ended up on the scrapheap?
:12:12. > :12:19.reject that thesis. I would point the minister to our apprenticeship
:12:19. > :12:29.schemes. We want to transform young people's cent of what they can
:12:29. > :12:34.achieve. -- sense of what they can achieve. I would like to ask about
:12:34. > :12:40.the pilot projects were young people have been charged �99 in
:12:40. > :12:47.some of the cases. Would he agree that charges of this level would be
:12:47. > :12:52.a disincentive to people in some We have made it a very clear to
:12:52. > :12:58.every single provider that money should not be a barrier to pass if
:12:58. > :13:02.patients. We are doing it has pilots. We're experimenting with a
:13:02. > :13:10.range of people's willingness to put a value on it. Money should not
:13:10. > :13:15.be a barrier to participation. national fraud Authority has
:13:15. > :13:20.estimated that �21 billion is lost to fraud and the public sector each
:13:20. > :13:27.year. The counter fraud task force has overseen a serious in recent
:13:27. > :13:32.months of small-scale pilots that have made immediate savings of �12
:13:32. > :13:38.million and when rolled out will save �1.5 billion a year over the
:13:38. > :13:42.future years. I thank the Minister for his response. In comparison to
:13:43. > :13:47.the previous Labour governments targets, the Bennett -- the benefit
:13:47. > :13:52.fraud reduction, the minister's reply signals an unambitious
:13:52. > :13:58.approach to tackling this serious problem. Why is that? There's one
:13:58. > :14:03.thing to have a target but another to do it. I would point out to the
:14:03. > :14:07.honourable gentleman that the �21 billion of public sector fraud
:14:07. > :14:12.which the national fraud Authority has identified is after the
:14:12. > :14:17.Government of the party which he is a member of has had its ambitious
:14:17. > :14:22.target. We are doing things which are identified where there is fraud,
:14:22. > :14:26.where there is error, stopping it going out of the door so hard and
:14:26. > :14:32.taxpayers' money goes to the vulnerable people and the important
:14:32. > :14:39.public services where it is needed. It does not sound like a modest
:14:39. > :14:44.savings, it sounds an extremely worthwhile saving, everything comes
:14:44. > :14:48.out of people's pockets. How soon will he take forward savings
:14:48. > :14:54.towards the 21 billion total, we need this in the public sector,
:14:54. > :14:57.what can we do about it? I should make it clear this is only the
:14:57. > :15:03.beginning. It is not just about benefit fraud, not just about tax
:15:03. > :15:09.fraud, there is procurement fraud and the transport secretary is
:15:09. > :15:15.undertaking a pilot on supply of fraud in the Department for
:15:15. > :15:21.transport which is already yielding significant returns. If the last
:15:21. > :15:26.Government had been as concerned as a red kicking -- a red the crating
:15:26. > :15:31.fraud as we are we would not be in the mess we're ring. -- eradicating.
:15:31. > :15:35.I hope to take the this in conjunction with Number 11. And
:15:35. > :15:42.delighted to say we are making good progress in establishing the Big
:15:42. > :15:46.Society bank. Sir Ronald Curran and Nick Donohue have put an outline on
:15:46. > :15:50.the website and working with the finance secretary and the
:15:50. > :15:54.administration of dormant accounts and in order not to waste time will
:15:54. > :15:56.wait for state aid clearance, we have established a high calibre
:15:56. > :16:02.investment committee in the big lottery fund to begin work
:16:02. > :16:06.immediately. Could he add to it and tell me what
:16:06. > :16:11.safeguards are in place so that once more charities seek to access
:16:11. > :16:16.funds on intermediaries, they will be making it worthwhile investments
:16:16. > :16:22.and not causing charities to fall into significant and debt.?
:16:22. > :16:27.point he makes is a good one. It is important that the voluntary
:16:27. > :16:33.charitable sector does not get into debt spiral and the Big Society
:16:33. > :16:38.bank's plans involve trying to promote risk capital which will
:16:38. > :16:41.allow the Trinity sector to expand its activities without being in
:16:41. > :16:47.financial peril. Does the Minister agree with me that the Big Society
:16:47. > :16:51.bank will provide the vital backing required to investors in our social
:16:51. > :16:57.sector organisations so they can continue to support local people
:16:57. > :17:01.dedicated to making kiwi cities better places to live? Are I agree.
:17:01. > :17:07.It is extremely important to point out that the purpose the Big
:17:07. > :17:12.Society bank under Sir Ronald Cohen direction is to go beyond the
:17:12. > :17:17.traditional sources of finance and persuade those a larger charities
:17:17. > :17:21.that have considerable investments to start reinvesting those into the
:17:21. > :17:27.voluntary community sector so they can get the returns on things like
:17:27. > :17:31.social impact funds? How long will it take to get funds from the Big
:17:31. > :17:36.Society bank to reach the front line? That depends on the state a
:17:36. > :17:42.process which he will know from his own experiences, is not something
:17:42. > :17:45.we can totally determine. Not to waste time, the Investment
:17:45. > :17:49.committee set up in a big lottery funds will be able to dispose funds
:17:49. > :17:56.from the dormant accounts as soon as they are made available. I hope
:17:56. > :17:59.that will be happening in a few months. At the recently month --
:18:00. > :18:04.meeting of the public administration committee, so Ronald
:18:04. > :18:12.Cohen said the Big Society bank we have to change its name because it
:18:12. > :18:16.is not a bank. If it is not the Bank? What is it? A reminded of the
:18:16. > :18:19.dictum of a man has asked about the International Monetary Fund and
:18:19. > :18:24.World Bank and he said the World Bank is a kind of fund and the IMF
:18:24. > :18:31.is a kind of bank. There are these oddities in the naming of things,
:18:31. > :18:39.shall we call it the BSP and what about what it does rather than its
:18:39. > :18:42.name. We are better informed! bill has completed a tortuous but
:18:43. > :18:46.constructive passage through the House in the other place and were
:18:47. > :18:50.hoping for a second reading in this place soon and in the meantime the
:18:50. > :18:56.Cabinet Office and other relevant the Palmers are holding information
:18:56. > :19:00.sessions for colleagues who want to discuss this important bill.
:19:00. > :19:06.I thank the Minister for his reply and his hard work an excellent job
:19:06. > :19:10.he's doing on this bill. In this bill, corporations like British
:19:10. > :19:20.waterways will be reformed and become mutuals, have ministers
:19:20. > :19:25.
:19:25. > :19:32.concerned other public bodies, for inclusion in the bill? I understand
:19:32. > :19:42.talks about the pace of progress about people to take over the port
:19:42. > :19:42.
:19:42. > :19:50.of Dover. In large part to reflect the localism and Big Society
:19:50. > :19:55.agendas and it is right for that consultation to conclude. Thank you
:19:55. > :19:59.very much indeed, Mr Speaker. In March this year the Minister of
:20:00. > :20:05.Cabinet Office claimed he would make �30 billion worth of savings
:20:05. > :20:12.from his quango reform programme embodied in the public bodies bill
:20:12. > :20:20.and so that he could, protect jobs and front line services. However,
:20:20. > :20:25.my freedom of information request shows that nearly 25 bn-Pounds of
:20:25. > :20:31.this �30 billion is indeed from front line cuts to housing and to
:20:31. > :20:36.our universities, teaching and research. Will the Minister for the
:20:36. > :20:41.Cabinet Office apologise for these misleading statements about
:20:41. > :20:45.protecting front line services? No. I'm surprised by the line of
:20:45. > :20:50.questioning because this programme, and overdue from to the very
:20:50. > :20:54.complex landscape of Quangos goes exactly with the grain of the
:20:54. > :20:58.reforms proposed by the previous Government what we are doing is go
:20:58. > :21:02.further in trying to deliver much greater accountability in
:21:02. > :21:06.Government and on the way delivering what we believe would be
:21:06. > :21:15.around �2.6 million in administrative savings over the
:21:15. > :21:22.spending review period. Topical questions.
:21:22. > :21:25.As minister for the Cabinet Office I'm responsible for the public
:21:25. > :21:35.efficiency and reform group, industrial relations, Government
:21:35. > :21:36.
:21:37. > :21:40.transparency, civil contingencies, civil society and cyber security.
:21:40. > :21:44.Does he know why public sector unions have decided to ballot their
:21:44. > :21:51.members on strike action now when talks regarding reform are still
:21:51. > :21:55.ongoing? Only three of the unions have done
:21:55. > :21:59.that, the majority are continuing to engage in good faith with the
:21:59. > :22:04.discussions still going on and it is our determination that public
:22:04. > :22:07.sector pensions at the end of their reforms proposed by Lord Hutton,
:22:07. > :22:10.Labour pension secretary, will continue to be among the best
:22:10. > :22:15.available and we ask people to work longer because they are living
:22:15. > :22:23.longer and pay bit more to have a better balance between what they
:22:23. > :22:28.pay and what other tax payers pay. How can he possibly justified the
:22:28. > :22:36.announcement on the Number Ten transparency website that since
:22:36. > :22:40.November be spent over �5 million that in up offices in what whole,
:22:40. > :22:46.including �680,000 in Number 10 Downing Street. How can he justify
:22:46. > :22:49.that money when he is laying of nurses, policemen, servicemen and
:22:49. > :22:56.so on? Willie now publish a line- by-line account of how that money
:22:56. > :22:59.was spent? Number one, if we have not gone in
:22:59. > :23:06.for fall transparency in what the government is spending, he would
:23:06. > :23:10.not know anything about this. Number two, we inherited a massive
:23:10. > :23:16.programme of very wasteful refurbishment of Government offices
:23:16. > :23:21.from the last Government. It includes some unbelievably bad
:23:21. > :23:25.negotiated PFI contracts. If they had taken the same care we're
:23:25. > :23:28.taking with taxpayers' money we would not have the biggest budget
:23:28. > :23:32.deficit in the developed world which we inherited from his
:23:32. > :23:39.Government! Does my right honourable friend
:23:39. > :23:44.think that responsible members of this House, on all sides, should
:23:44. > :23:53.condemn irresponsible strike action that puts children's education at
:23:53. > :23:58.risk and diminishes public services? Order... It will be good
:23:58. > :24:02.to hear the opposition front bench joining us in urging the trade
:24:02. > :24:07.unions to stay up with the discussions which have a great
:24:08. > :24:12.distance to go to secure what will still be very best pension schemes
:24:12. > :24:16.available. If schools closed out it is not just children's indication
:24:16. > :24:20.that is disrupted, it is the livelihoods of millions of parents
:24:20. > :24:24.who depend on schools been open so they can go to work, to earn the
:24:24. > :24:30.money to pay the taxes and support public sector pensions. There is
:24:30. > :24:35.far too much noise in the chamber. Too many private conversations, I
:24:35. > :24:41.want to hear both the questions and Answers of the Minister. By 2014,
:24:41. > :24:48.civil society will be losing �2.9 billion a year in lost revenue. The
:24:48. > :24:52.same as the amount in corporation tax by big companies in the UK, why
:24:53. > :24:57.is the Government being so soft on big business and so tough on
:24:57. > :25:01.charities and voluntary sector? reject that statement. He is
:25:01. > :25:05.pulling number out of the air in terms of lost income to the
:25:05. > :25:11.charitable sector and ignores the volume of public sector contracts,
:25:11. > :25:15.not least the recent programme worth �100 million here and in big
:25:15. > :25:21.business, I would refer to a speech by the Prime is the called every
:25:21. > :25:25.business commit. He will be aware in my constituency we are holding a
:25:25. > :25:29.national sporting event in the next fortnight and the enjoyment of
:25:29. > :25:32.which will be undermined by strikes proposed by the unions. Would my
:25:33. > :25:37.right honourable friend agree the strikes are a necessary and confirm
:25:37. > :25:43.the Government's commitment towards, to ensure these strikes do not
:25:43. > :25:46.happen? We are committed to continuing these discussions and we
:25:46. > :25:52.had further discussions yesterday and there will be more next week,
:25:52. > :25:56.as much still to be resolved and it is Lord Hutton, the former pension
:25:56. > :26:00.secretary who recommended these changes and in order to make public
:26:00. > :26:10.sector pensions sustainable for the future, we need to drive these
:26:10. > :26:11.
:26:11. > :26:17.reforms through. Order! On what date did the government
:26:17. > :26:22.instruct Parliament council to draft amendments in connection with
:26:22. > :26:28.the NHS Health and Social Care Bill following the consequences of the
:26:28. > :26:33.NHS Future Forum? I would recommend the gentleman to
:26:33. > :26:38.ask the question of the Secretary of State for health.
:26:38. > :26:42.During 2011, I will be launching a new social enterprise, the
:26:42. > :26:46.Northamptonshire project, what assurances can my right honourable
:26:46. > :26:50.friend give me that commissioners will be encouraged to provide
:26:50. > :26:55.medium term contracts with charities such as this providing
:26:55. > :27:01.essential support services? I want to congratulate her on the
:27:01. > :27:07.fantastic work she do with that organisation. It is tackling natal
:27:07. > :27:11.depression and of course the gunmen provides formal the funding whether
:27:11. > :27:15.that is appropriate and local compacts are matter for local
:27:15. > :27:25.decisions but I strongly encourage her council to offer a multi-
:27:25. > :27:28.
:27:28. > :27:36.Will the Minister be making a statement on the neutral path
:27:36. > :27:41.finder? Wiener that there is -- we know that there is an opportunity
:27:41. > :27:49.for companies to come together to carry out and deliver public
:27:49. > :27:59.services. These deliver huge increases in productivity and lower
:27:59. > :28:06.
:28:06. > :28:13.To what extent does the Minister expect any strike action to have an
:28:13. > :28:19.impact on our vital services? will wait to see what the ballot
:28:19. > :28:27.this afternoon but I hope that civil servants that are imbued with