23/02/2016

:00:16. > :00:28.Order, order. Questions to the Secretary of State for Foreign and

:00:29. > :00:33.Commonwealth Affairs. We oppose the use of the death penalty in all

:00:34. > :00:37.circumstances and advocate global abolition. The Government supports

:00:38. > :00:41.programmes around the world to promote abolition and Eamonn Tory on

:00:42. > :00:49.executions in those countries where the death penalty is still on the

:00:50. > :00:52.statute book. Can I ask if he will resent a new strategy for the

:00:53. > :01:00.abolition of the death penalty following on from the 2010, 2015

:01:01. > :01:07.strategy and will it include Saudi Arabia? We oppose the death penalty

:01:08. > :01:12.in every country including Saudi Arabia and other states where that

:01:13. > :01:17.is still part of the criminal law. The abolition of the death penalty

:01:18. > :01:22.remains integral to all human rights work that this department does. I

:01:23. > :01:26.welcome the fact that the trend is for reducing the number of

:01:27. > :01:30.executions and the number of states carrying out executions. When he

:01:31. > :01:33.joined me in expressing concern in areas where that is not the case and

:01:34. > :01:39.does he agree that if it is wrong to take a life, it is wrong for the

:01:40. > :01:46.state to take a life in revenge? That is certainly my view and it is

:01:47. > :01:50.the Government's position to oppose capital punishment. We need to

:01:51. > :01:55.bearing in mind that while capital punishment exists, it means it is

:01:56. > :01:57.potentially a risk for a British citizen anywhere in the world who

:01:58. > :02:07.might be found guilty of a criminal offence. Does he share my horror

:02:08. > :02:09.that on the top five countries which execute people come remains the

:02:10. > :02:14.United States of America, despite a reduction in the number of

:02:15. > :02:19.executions last year? Where did the last speak to his American

:02:20. > :02:26.counterpart about their record in executing people? As I am sure she

:02:27. > :02:30.knows, in the US, this is largely a matter for state legislature 's and

:02:31. > :02:39.state governments rather than the ferret -- Federal Government. We to

:02:40. > :02:44.take up, when appropriate, the particular cases with the relevant

:02:45. > :02:49.authorities. Belarus is the only country still executing its

:02:50. > :02:54.citizens. Does my right honourable friend share my concern that in the

:02:55. > :02:58.last three months, two Belarus citizens have been sentenced to

:02:59. > :03:01.death? If they want to become a full member of the Council of Europe,

:03:02. > :03:12.they should abide by international laws and the European ledgers --

:03:13. > :03:18.European legislation is? We, in all our dealings with the Government

:03:19. > :03:23.there, we make clear the need for them to move to international and

:03:24. > :03:30.European standards on capital punishment, but also to take action

:03:31. > :03:34.to improve what is frankly still a dismal human rights record in that

:03:35. > :03:41.country. Further to the answer from the honourable member from Slough,

:03:42. > :03:49.is he aware of the organisation that drugs companies exported to the

:03:50. > :03:56.state of Arkansas for use in lethal injections? They say they don't

:03:57. > :04:01.export for this purpose but go on to say any sales usually occur through

:04:02. > :04:05.the use of distributors. It seems an obvious loophole. Why is nobody

:04:06. > :04:10.closing it? I will look into the particular case at -- that he

:04:11. > :04:22.describes and try to him in due course. -- and write to him in due

:04:23. > :04:29.course. Humanitarian assistance was sent to besieged communities in

:04:30. > :04:33.Syria. The first deliveries of aid have now been made and yesterday

:04:34. > :04:36.there was an announcement of agreement between Russia and the

:04:37. > :04:41.United States on the detailed arrangements for the sentenced --

:04:42. > :04:48.for the hostilities which will come into force on midnight on Saturday.

:04:49. > :04:52.If that is implemented by all the parties, this could be an important

:04:53. > :04:59.step towards a lasting political settlement in Syria. The bombing of

:05:00. > :05:04.two hospitals and other health facilities in northern Syria is

:05:05. > :05:08.completely unacceptable and a clear breach of international humanitarian

:05:09. > :05:13.law. Does the Minister agree that those responsible must be brought to

:05:14. > :05:17.justice and that this reinforces the need for United Nations Security

:05:18. > :05:24.Council to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court?

:05:25. > :05:32.The Honourable Lynne de -- Lady raises an incident that has caused

:05:33. > :05:37.widespread outrage. It requires a resolution of the United Nations

:05:38. > :05:41.Security Council, one veto holding member of whom is the Russian

:05:42. > :05:47.Federation. It is unlike -- it is unlikely that we will succeed going

:05:48. > :05:51.down that route. Turkish policy towards Syrian Kurdish forces seems

:05:52. > :05:57.inconsistent with our own, inconsistent with the prospect of

:05:58. > :06:00.supporting Syrian peace talks and inconsistent with the opportunity to

:06:01. > :06:08.form a united front against die -ish. This Syrian Kurds are an

:06:09. > :06:17.important part of the equation and have to be brought into any enduring

:06:18. > :06:24.solution. Turkey has a problem with links with the PKK and other Syrian

:06:25. > :06:28.groups. PKK is a terrorist group designated in Turkey and indeed in

:06:29. > :06:37.the UK. There are overlaying conflicts here. It is a major

:06:38. > :06:42.complicating factor. What we have seen is very disturbing evidence of

:06:43. > :06:45.coordination between Syrian Kurdish forces, the Syrian regime and the

:06:46. > :06:49.Russian air force which are making us distinctly uneasy about the

:06:50. > :07:03.Kurds's role in this. The bombings are driving the refugee

:07:04. > :07:08.crisis and destabilising and weakening Europe. Now is not the

:07:09. > :07:13.time to even talk about weakening the EU sanctions against the Putin

:07:14. > :07:19.regime. I agree with the honourable gentleman that now is not the time

:07:20. > :07:26.to send Russia any signals of compromise or pulling back. The only

:07:27. > :07:33.language Putin accepts is that of confrontation. We have to stand up

:07:34. > :07:40.and be counted, how ever inconvenient that might be for some

:07:41. > :07:43.that have to be counted. Whether we like it or not, Russia is a

:07:44. > :07:49.prerequisite to the successful talks if they are going to be successful.

:07:50. > :07:53.The American Secretary of State has a close working relationship with

:07:54. > :07:57.the Russian Foreign Minister, talking to him nearly every week.

:07:58. > :08:00.Whether the Foreign Secretary will speak to the Russian Foreign

:08:01. > :08:04.Secretary and what is he doing to improve his personal relationship

:08:05. > :08:12.with him? Our relationships are difficult. I spoke to Sergei Lavrov

:08:13. > :08:18.on the 11th of February in Munich where he and I had some prolonged

:08:19. > :08:24.and robust exchanges around the table during that evening. I do

:08:25. > :08:29.speak regularly to the US Secretary of State and am aware of the

:08:30. > :08:33.discussions he is having with our mutual Russian counterpart. The

:08:34. > :08:39.problem is that Russian policy on Syria is not made in the Russian

:08:40. > :08:42.Foreign Ministry comment is made inside a tiny cabal around President

:08:43. > :08:48.Putin around the heart of the Kremlin. What dialogue has the

:08:49. > :08:53.minister had with French counterparts as a result of the

:08:54. > :08:56.Syrian crisis regarding the safety and protection arrangements for

:08:57. > :09:02.unaccompanied children refugees that are at grave risk and due to be

:09:03. > :09:06.disbursed from the jungle camp? I have had discussions with my former

:09:07. > :09:14.French counterpart who retired the week before last and indeed my new

:09:15. > :09:19.French counterparts. The issues relating to would-be migrants

:09:20. > :09:23.accumulated around Calais after the Home Secretary and she has very

:09:24. > :09:33.regular discussions with her counterpart. The Russians are a key

:09:34. > :09:37.part to establishing a meaningful political settlement in Syria. Would

:09:38. > :09:41.he agree that it doesn't mean we give in to the Russians across the

:09:42. > :09:44.rest of Europe and that the Nato commitment in the Baltic states is

:09:45. > :09:50.just as important a counterbalance whatever partnerships we use the

:09:51. > :09:58.Russians for in Syria? We are dealing with a raised level of

:09:59. > :10:02.Russian assertiveness in many areas. In the Baltic, in Ukraine and now in

:10:03. > :10:09.the Middle East. We have to be robust in all areas. He is right

:10:10. > :10:13.that Russia holds the key to the situation in Syria. I have said in

:10:14. > :10:17.this house before that there is one person in the world who has the

:10:18. > :10:21.power to bring the misery in Syria to an end by picking up the phone

:10:22. > :10:28.and making one phone call and that person is Vladimir Putin. The whole

:10:29. > :10:32.house will welcome the ceasefire agreement which is so badly needed.

:10:33. > :10:36.However, there have been promises from Russia before. They have been

:10:37. > :10:41.claiming to be attacking terrorist groups when they have been attacked

:10:42. > :10:45.in moderate opposition forces and civilians. Can the Foreign Secretary

:10:46. > :10:46.set out how breaches of the ceasefire agreement will actually be

:10:47. > :10:54.assessed? She has put her finger on the

:10:55. > :10:59.problem. The ceasefire agreement will allow continued operations

:11:00. > :11:05.against Daesh and associated terrorist groups submitted by the UN

:11:06. > :11:09.Security Council, and nobody would disagree with that. The problem is,

:11:10. > :11:15.the Russians claim that the date, all of their action has been against

:11:16. > :11:19.those groups. So on the face of it, the Russians could be entering onto

:11:20. > :11:23.this arrangement on the basis of not changing their behaviour. This

:11:24. > :11:32.cessation of hostilities will fail before it has got off the ground if

:11:33. > :11:36.that is their intention. Can the Foreign Secretary explain what

:11:37. > :11:38.consideration has been given to a UN resolution to strengthen the

:11:39. > :11:45.ceasefire agreement and support the peace talks? Yes, first of all,

:11:46. > :11:49.there is an arrangement agreed between the Russians and Americans

:11:50. > :11:54.for investigating alleged breaches of the ceasefire, and there is a

:11:55. > :12:00.commitment on both sides to working out a coordination cell between US

:12:01. > :12:05.and Russian sides to try to identify legitimate targets that can be

:12:06. > :12:11.structuring the ceasefire. In terms of UN dimensions to this, we are

:12:12. > :12:17.looking at that, we would welcome a UN resolution behind the ceasefire,

:12:18. > :12:23.we already have the resolution 2254 which we did on the 18th of December

:12:24. > :12:34.in New York, but that can only happen if the Russians are prepared

:12:35. > :12:41.to work with us. Number three. Mr Speaker, Daesh is presently being

:12:42. > :12:46.defeated in Iraq, as the competence of Iraqi security forces improves,

:12:47. > :12:49.specifically writing to Kurdistan, we are providing the peshmerga with

:12:50. > :12:57.air power, logistical support and training. I thank him for that

:12:58. > :13:04.answer. Report suggest that 45% of Kurdish forces are composed of

:13:05. > :13:08.women. A commander recently said, we do this not to protect ourselves but

:13:09. > :13:12.to change the way of thinking of the army, not only to gain power but to

:13:13. > :13:16.change society and develop it. What steps is the government taking to

:13:17. > :13:22.ensure their participation in regional diplomatic talks, post

:13:23. > :13:26.Daesh? Can I just paid should be to be quite she has given and the work

:13:27. > :13:31.she has done in pioneering the role that women can play. This is

:13:32. > :13:39.something of the UN envoy recognises and is trying to include the bosses

:13:40. > :13:45.of women. We have British training taking place in northern Iraq and we

:13:46. > :13:53.have training teams that will be training female units in the

:13:54. > :13:56.peshmerga itself. What is the minister's current assessment of the

:13:57. > :14:04.relations between the government of Turkey and the Kurdistan regional

:14:05. > :14:11.government? It is important Russian ship that they are developing, not

:14:12. > :14:17.just for economic reasons, but as he has just outlined, the there are

:14:18. > :14:20.concerns by Turkey because of the role and involvement and influence

:14:21. > :14:27.of the PKK, we will be monitoring that carefully. Since the breakdown

:14:28. > :14:31.of the peace process in summer last year, they have been reports of an

:14:32. > :14:36.escalation of violence and reports of a breach of human rights in

:14:37. > :14:44.south-eastern Turkey, in the Kurdish areas. There have been the deaths of

:14:45. > :14:48.hundreds of innocent civilians, curfews, imprisonment of democratic

:14:49. > :14:55.re-elected politicians who would be key interlocutors in future

:14:56. > :15:03.negotiations. Can he assure me that it will form part of the peace

:15:04. > :15:08.process talks in Syria? I'm grateful for her question, it is something I

:15:09. > :15:14.was able to raise during my visit to the north of Iraq, at the end of

:15:15. > :15:18.last year. We are concerned about the reports of human rights abuses

:15:19. > :15:30.and it's something we need to make sure is not overlooked. Question

:15:31. > :15:39.number four. Mr Speaker... The pleasure is entirely mutual! Let me

:15:40. > :15:44.say to the Minister of State, I much appreciate his courtesy in notifying

:15:45. > :15:47.me of his travel plans, I know he has only recently got off a plane so

:15:48. > :15:53.we're delighted to have him here, especially in view of the fact of

:15:54. > :15:59.which he has previously informed the house, that he is responsible for

:16:00. > :16:06.three quarters of the world! You have just stolen my first line

:16:07. > :16:10.again. On this important subject, I would repeat, for India and

:16:11. > :16:16.Pakistan, they need to find a lasting resolution to the situation

:16:17. > :16:20.in Kashmir, taking into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people. It is

:16:21. > :16:27.not for the UK to prescribe a solution. And tragically, this house

:16:28. > :16:31.has a great deal of respect for UN resolutions, and I'm sure that the

:16:32. > :16:36.Minister will be aware that in 1948 the UN Security Council passed

:16:37. > :16:42.resolution 47, instructing the government of India and Pakistan to

:16:43. > :16:46.prepare for a plebiscite to decide the future of Kashmir. Now almost 70

:16:47. > :16:50.years have passed, thousands of Kashmiri men, women and children

:16:51. > :16:54.have been slaughtered and atrocities are committed on a daily basis and

:16:55. > :16:58.there is still no sign of any action to allow these people to vote on

:16:59. > :17:03.this most important issue. Does he agree with me that the people of

:17:04. > :17:05.Kashmir should have the right of self-determination and will he give

:17:06. > :17:16.an assurance that the British government... I hope she is near the

:17:17. > :17:20.end of the sentence? Finish the sentence. That the British

:17:21. > :17:27.government will do everything in its power to make this happen. We don't

:17:28. > :17:31.intend to support an international conference or put the site on

:17:32. > :17:36.Kashmir, our long-standing position is this is a matter for India and

:17:37. > :17:40.Pakistan to find a resolution. We are acutely aware of the human

:17:41. > :17:48.rights allegations in Kashmir, this was discussed when Prime Minister

:17:49. > :17:57.Modi was here in 2015, and we continue to monitor the situation

:17:58. > :18:01.closely. Many of my constituents, who are of Kashmiri origin and

:18:02. > :18:08.heritage, take the view that this entire problem was left behind by

:18:09. > :18:13.the UK will be ruled in that area. Does not the Minister feel that

:18:14. > :18:16.there is a real obligation on the UK to actually take a more proactive

:18:17. > :18:26.role in this, and do something positive to bring about a resolution

:18:27. > :18:31.to this long-running problem? We are talking about two sovereign

:18:32. > :18:35.countries, India and Pakistan, it is not for the UK to come between them

:18:36. > :18:41.other than to urge them to talk and to ask them, good moves and

:18:42. > :18:43.communications between the leaders, they are discussing the subject

:18:44. > :18:49.among other things and that we very much welcome. I would say that this

:18:50. > :18:55.has been going on for decades and decades and the UK does have some

:18:56. > :18:59.expertise in building more peaceful settlements. Isn't there a bit more

:19:00. > :19:03.that the UK could do to promote confidence building measures between

:19:04. > :19:07.India and Pakistan and are very least raise this as a priority with

:19:08. > :19:14.the youth special representative so that our allies know it's more of a

:19:15. > :19:17.priority? I just said to the Right Honourable gentleman, we do things

:19:18. > :19:22.as best we can without getting directly involved and we welcome the

:19:23. > :19:29.fact that on the 25th of November they visited each other, the

:19:30. > :19:34.leaders, but I would repeat again, he knows full well the long-standing

:19:35. > :19:39.position of the government and when he was in government, it was no

:19:40. > :19:48.different, this is a matter for the Indians and Pakistanis to resolve.

:19:49. > :19:52.Number five. The UK is committed to strengthening engagement with the

:19:53. > :19:56.Commonwealth, the Prime Minister, the member for Whitney, led a strong

:19:57. > :20:02.delegation to the Commonwealth summit in November where Lord Maud

:20:03. > :20:10.and I promoted trade opportunities within the Commonwealth. The

:20:11. > :20:14.reticence in British manufacturing and engineering is not only a

:20:15. > :20:19.testament to this government's determination to rebalance the

:20:20. > :20:24.economy but has also contributed to 62% employment in my constituency.

:20:25. > :20:30.Does he agree with me that our historic links, especially trade

:20:31. > :20:32.links with other Commonwealth countries, are vital to the

:20:33. > :20:37.continued success of these sectors and the jobs they support? I'm

:20:38. > :20:41.pleased to hear the figures coming in from my honourable friend's

:20:42. > :20:49.constituency, they can be echoed around the country, I would say we

:20:50. > :20:53.are an open, free trading state, we trade around the world and trade

:20:54. > :20:56.within the Commonwealth is extremely important and we need to do more to

:20:57. > :21:01.promote it to stop it clear that trading between two Commonwealth

:21:02. > :21:06.countries is 19, 20% cheaper than trading outside the Commonwealth, it

:21:07. > :21:15.is something we need to do. We need to engage trading ministers more

:21:16. > :21:19.formally. Last year, Prime Minister Modi and our Prime Minister

:21:20. > :21:25.designated next year as the year of culture between India and the United

:21:26. > :21:27.Kingdom. Will they join me in welcoming the British Curry

:21:28. > :21:33.Festival, taking place in New Delhi in March of this year, when British

:21:34. > :21:37.chefs from Leicester, London and Reading, will be going to Delhi to

:21:38. > :21:40.make curry there? That he not agree this is a real example of good

:21:41. > :21:47.relations between Commonwealth countries? At the risk of seeking to

:21:48. > :21:55.curry favour with the right honourable gentleman... We must all

:21:56. > :21:59.wish our curry chefs every successfully travelled to India and

:22:00. > :22:06.hope that they have a speedy return, because we would all miss our curry

:22:07. > :22:14.wedding at home. -- -- were they not at home. It was this point, as well

:22:15. > :22:19.as talking about trade between the UK and Commonwealth countries, the

:22:20. > :22:24.functioning of the Commonwealth will surely be enhanced if there is more

:22:25. > :22:27.trade between Commonwealth countries, and to what extent can

:22:28. > :22:34.the UK play a role in trying to enhance that ensure trade,

:22:35. > :22:40.particularly in areas where we have substantial representation? It's as

:22:41. > :22:44.well to remember that we are an equal partner within the

:22:45. > :22:49.Commonwealth, we don't run it, and we wish Baroness Scotland every

:22:50. > :22:55.success in so doing, and we want... She has the universal support of

:22:56. > :23:01.this house, clearly! We want her to refocus the Commonwealth, we want to

:23:02. > :23:04.spend more time... There are similar issues going on elsewhere in the

:23:05. > :23:11.world but we want to spend more time boosting trade, and getting rid of

:23:12. > :23:17.tariffs and promoting intra- Commonwealth trade, and that we can

:23:18. > :23:25.do. I know the business and investment Council is doing a great

:23:26. > :23:31.job, business will play a large role in the Commonwealth conference in

:23:32. > :23:35.2018. Can I ask is serious question about the Commonwealth and the

:23:36. > :23:43.dramatic relations. How may members of the Commonwealth don't have an

:23:44. > :23:47.extradition agreement with this country? Increasingly be find people

:23:48. > :23:51.commit ghastly crimes, they need to Pakistan and we can't get them back

:23:52. > :23:58.to face justice. What is he doing about that? I say that is a very

:23:59. > :24:01.wide-ranging accusation and if he will write to me or come and see me

:24:02. > :24:11.on a specific case, I will be happy to look at this, we deal with these

:24:12. > :24:16.things on a case-by-case basis. Mr Speaker, with permission I will

:24:17. > :24:19.answer this question together with question 14. The conduct regulations

:24:20. > :24:23.which said that the detailed framework of how the referendum poll

:24:24. > :24:28.will be administered have now been agreed by both Houses of Parliament.

:24:29. > :24:31.The date of the referendum must now be agreed by Parliament in the

:24:32. > :24:39.further statutory instrument, laid before both houses in draft

:24:40. > :24:44.yesterday. A record number of people registered to vote in the Scottish

:24:45. > :24:47.independence referendum, 97% of the adult population. What efforts as

:24:48. > :24:55.the UK Government taking the match that success? This, as he will know,

:24:56. > :25:01.is the responsibility of the electoral commission, and they are

:25:02. > :25:02.planning a campaign to raise awareness of the need to register in

:25:03. > :25:14.good time for the referendum. Can the Minister give comfort to

:25:15. > :25:18.those Scottish students who are studying across Europe and can he

:25:19. > :25:24.provide the House with details of what contingency plans are in place

:25:25. > :25:28.should there be a no vote in the EU Referendum Bill? My advice to

:25:29. > :25:34.Scottish students studying in universities elsewhere is to ensure

:25:35. > :25:38.that they are registered to vote so that their votes to count along with

:25:39. > :25:43.everybody else in the referendum. You put your finger on one of the

:25:44. > :25:48.uncertainties about eight potential access from the EU because it is,

:25:49. > :25:53.after all, treaties that give British citizens the right to live,

:25:54. > :25:58.study and work in other EU countries. The Minister may recall

:25:59. > :26:01.that in response to my amendments to the Finance Bill, the Government

:26:02. > :26:12.promised to negotiate with the European Commission for zero VAT for

:26:13. > :26:15.sanitary products. As the Prime Minister used his recent

:26:16. > :26:22.negotiations to raise this issue and what progress has been made? The

:26:23. > :26:29.question of value added tax was already part of the EU system before

:26:30. > :26:37.the United Kingdom ever joined the European communities in the 1970s.

:26:38. > :26:41.There is a review of the current EU directives on value added tax that

:26:42. > :26:45.is due to take place this year and that is the appropriate forum in

:26:46. > :26:50.which to raise this issue and it is something the Government hopes to

:26:51. > :26:54.secure the reforms about which she is speaking. A successful UK

:26:55. > :27:00.Government has signed up to a range of agreements with regards to

:27:01. > :27:06.protecting our environment, and ensuring EU wide energy markets. The

:27:07. > :27:11.removal of environmental controls would be a backward step. I am sure

:27:12. > :27:15.the Minister for Europe will agree with me that a membership of the EU

:27:16. > :27:22.is vital in promoting the interests of people in Scotland and across the

:27:23. > :27:26.UK. However, the Minister will be aware that the Justice Secretary

:27:27. > :27:34.said last week, that our membership of the European Union prevents us to

:27:35. > :27:42.change law and stops us from choosing critical decisions which

:27:43. > :27:48.affect all of our lives. Can he confirm... Finish the sentence, very

:27:49. > :27:52.quickly. Can he confirm how his Government's plans have been

:27:53. > :28:03.constrained by European legislation or regulations? Like every member

:28:04. > :28:10.state of the EU, there will be particular issues that come up,

:28:11. > :28:15.particular measures where we find some of the ruling irksome. On

:28:16. > :28:18.balance, as the Prime Minister set out clearly yesterday, the

:28:19. > :28:22.Government is convinced membership of a reformed European Union will

:28:23. > :28:27.make the British people more prosperous, more secure and more

:28:28. > :28:31.influential in the world than any of the alternatives so far proposed. It

:28:32. > :28:37.is important that voters have the full fax at their disposal when

:28:38. > :28:41.making a choice in June. Can the Minister confirmed to the House that

:28:42. > :28:45.the Government has calculated the cost of implementing the proposals

:28:46. > :28:49.agreed at the EU Council last week, in particular those relating to the

:28:50. > :28:58.administration of the new benefits rules. What will be savings to the

:28:59. > :29:00.Treasury be? Some of this will be a matter for the implementation of

:29:01. > :29:05.regulations that will now follow both at European level and at

:29:06. > :29:10.national level. The answer to the honourable lady's question will

:29:11. > :29:14.depend upon what the level of benefits and tax credits is at the

:29:15. > :29:20.appropriate time in the UK. Those matters will become clear as time

:29:21. > :29:24.goes on. I wish the Minister great success in trying to alter the level

:29:25. > :29:31.of VAT on sanitary towels but could he confirm that if the British

:29:32. > :29:35.people decided to leave the European Union, could he confirm that will be

:29:36. > :29:40.up to the British Government to decide the level of VAT on sanitary

:29:41. > :29:47.towels and other products? That would depend upon the nature of the

:29:48. > :29:52.subsequent relationship because the reason why value-added tax has since

:29:53. > :29:59.before our membership of the EU, been something dealt with at EU

:30:00. > :30:03.level, is because the price at which goods are sold as a direct impact

:30:04. > :30:08.upon the notion of a single market and free trade within Europe will

:30:09. > :30:11.stop the issue that my honourable friend raises would have to be

:30:12. > :30:22.tackled in the course of negotiations about such a future

:30:23. > :30:28.relationship. As the House is aware, all prices are hovering around $30 a

:30:29. > :30:33.barrel, the lowest in 13 years and this is a consequence of lower

:30:34. > :30:40.global demand, continued production and the resilient production in the

:30:41. > :30:43.USA. Countries are taking action and they are diversifying their

:30:44. > :30:47.economies and removing subsidies. In reference to Russia, around half of

:30:48. > :30:57.the Government revenues have come from oil and gas and the GDP has

:30:58. > :31:02.declined by 4% last year. Clearly, foiling -- falling oil prices are

:31:03. > :31:09.having an effect on many countries. I was part of a delegation visiting

:31:10. > :31:12.Saudi Arabia last week. What encouragement is our Government

:31:13. > :31:16.doing to other countries to help and support them diversify and what

:31:17. > :31:23.opportunities does the Minister Seif British companies to assist in that?

:31:24. > :31:27.There are enormous opportunities as my honourable friend outlined is not

:31:28. > :31:34.just in Saudi Arabia but across the golf -- golf. We are working to

:31:35. > :31:38.diversify to help these countries with renewables, green energy and

:31:39. > :31:43.also Saudi Arabia has expressed an interest in opening up tourism.

:31:44. > :31:51.These are important aspects that Britain can play an important role

:31:52. > :31:56.in. I will is the eight and nine together. Britain was a driving

:31:57. > :32:01.force between -- behind the creation of the global coalition. We hosted

:32:02. > :32:05.the first meeting in January 2015 in London. I discussed the campaign

:32:06. > :32:09.against Daesh with other international partners including at

:32:10. > :32:20.a coalition small group meeting in Rome earlier this month. The Army in

:32:21. > :32:25.-- the Kurdish army has been battling since 2014. When he paid

:32:26. > :32:34.tribute to the Peshmerga and Seymore as to what role they may play no

:32:35. > :32:38.liberation. I am happy to pay tribute to the Peshmerga. They have

:32:39. > :32:42.proved themselves to be a resilient fighting force and the most

:32:43. > :32:47.effective force operating against Daesh. The UK's training and

:32:48. > :32:55.providing equipment to the Peshmerga. I had an opportunity to

:32:56. > :33:01.meet with the President of the KR G2 talk about the liberation of Mosul

:33:02. > :33:06.and be the role the Peshmerga might pay -- play. The Kurdish regional

:33:07. > :33:12.Government is more open to the idea that the Peshmerga will play a role

:33:13. > :33:22.in the liberation of Mozilla. They have also agreed to Iraqi security

:33:23. > :33:29.forces being based in the KR G in order to prepare for the assault on

:33:30. > :33:35.Mosil. It is more likely that we will see a successful assault on

:33:36. > :33:40.Mosil sooner rather than later. Seeking a solution in Syria has gone

:33:41. > :33:45.hand-in-hand with our humanitarian aid in the region. When he set out

:33:46. > :33:49.how increased diplomatic cooperation will improve and assist our

:33:50. > :33:53.humanitarian aid in the region, specifically neighbouring countries

:33:54. > :34:00.such as Jordan and Lebanon? We hosted a successful Syria and

:34:01. > :34:04.regional conference on the 4th of February raising $11 billion in a

:34:05. > :34:08.single day. The real significance of that meeting was that we moved on

:34:09. > :34:11.from the idea of simply collecting money and distributing it, to

:34:12. > :34:17.working with host countries in the region, to ensure that refugees are

:34:18. > :34:21.able to access the labour market, can get education for their children

:34:22. > :34:25.and can access health care, making them less likely to feel the need to

:34:26. > :34:34.decamp and become regular migrants heading towards Europe. King

:34:35. > :34:44.Abdullah of Jordan asks that we reach out to areas like Bosnia which

:34:45. > :34:50.may be the next trouble spots. Are we making any progress? We should be

:34:51. > :34:53.very much focused not only on those countries that are already facing

:34:54. > :35:01.this challenge, but the countries that are next in line for the

:35:02. > :35:04.challenge, seeking to enforce them. The Prime Minister's of all Western

:35:05. > :35:09.Balkan countries were in London yesterday and I had been Minister to

:35:10. > :35:14.meet the President of Bosnia-Herzegovina over. We're

:35:15. > :35:22.working closely with them to ensure the resilience and the European

:35:23. > :35:27.trajectory of that region. On the issue of Daesh fighters returning

:35:28. > :35:30.home to countries within Europe, whatever its have been made in terms

:35:31. > :35:35.of diplomatic coordination to ensure there is a more common response

:35:36. > :35:39.among countries in Europe to ensure we keep our citizens here safe and

:35:40. > :35:44.prevent these people coming back to wreak havoc through terrorism on

:35:45. > :35:49.towns and cities in the UK? Different countries in Europe have

:35:50. > :35:54.different domestic legislation around this issue. We have some of

:35:55. > :36:00.the most robust measures available to us to deal with returning

:36:01. > :36:04.fighters. It is precisely because of the importance of exchange of

:36:05. > :36:08.information between European partners, that the Prime Minister

:36:09. > :36:15.was able to confirm that we believe Britain is safer and more resilient

:36:16. > :36:27.against the threat of terrorism by its cooperation with EU. If

:36:28. > :36:40.operations against Daesh are successful... Thank you, I hope the

:36:41. > :36:45.gentleman will not be deflected. What is the threat of them moving to

:36:46. > :36:51.Libya and has the Foreign Secretary made an assessment of that

:36:52. > :36:59.eventuality? There is clearly a risk that as Daesh is defeated in Iraq

:37:00. > :37:06.and Syria, the embryonic presence in Libya, particularly around one area

:37:07. > :37:11.could be a base for operations 100 miles off the coast of Europe. That

:37:12. > :37:14.is why we are working with our partners and allies to encourage the

:37:15. > :37:20.formation of a Libyan Government of National cord that we can work with

:37:21. > :37:28.to start stabilising the country and pushing back on those Daesh

:37:29. > :37:31.footholds in Libya. Could the Secretary of State say how far ahead

:37:32. > :37:36.we are in terms of bringing about that coordination and bringing a

:37:37. > :37:40.stable authority within Libya to take on Daesh? We have seen an

:37:41. > :37:45.increasing Daesh activity and there is still a lot of disconnect between

:37:46. > :37:49.different bodies in Libya. What progress has been made? There is

:37:50. > :37:56.progress being made among European partners and with the US preparing

:37:57. > :37:59.the support we can give to a Government of National cord in Libya

:38:00. > :38:04.when and if it is formed. The problem is that several months after

:38:05. > :38:07.we first expected to happen, it still not been formed. We are

:38:08. > :38:11.working closely with the parties in Libya and with the regional powers

:38:12. > :38:16.who have influence, particularly Egypt, to encourage Prime Minister

:38:17. > :38:21.-- the Prime Minister to get that Government formed an approved so we

:38:22. > :38:25.can engage. There is a strong commitment by the European partners

:38:26. > :38:32.to engage once that Government is created.

:38:33. > :38:39.Much does get said during the election of cycles and we were

:38:40. > :38:44.concerned by some of the statements that have been made during the

:38:45. > :38:50.Israeli election. I was in Israel last week and I can confirm that I

:38:51. > :38:57.had meetings with Prime Minister Netanyahu. He remains committed to

:38:58. > :39:01.the two state solution. It has been over 20 years since Oslo and there

:39:02. > :39:05.are more than 350,000 illegal Israeli settlers in the occupied

:39:06. > :39:11.West Bank. 300,000 Israeli settlers in east Jerusalem and the Government

:39:12. > :39:14.continues to announce the building of more illegal settlements. Does he

:39:15. > :39:26.believe this will aid the priest process and if not, what is he doing

:39:27. > :39:30.about it? -- peace process. This is unhelpful and takes us into the

:39:31. > :39:34.wrong direction. Through my visit, I visited some of the settlements

:39:35. > :39:38.developing there and while announcing when new settlements have

:39:39. > :39:40.slowed down, we are seeing the existing settlements are starting to

:39:41. > :39:46.grow and that happens without people seeing this. We have an area to the

:39:47. > :39:53.north of Jerusalem and if that continues to grow in the method that

:39:54. > :39:56.it does, it will link up towards the north of Jericho. It will

:39:57. > :40:02.essentially say there are no two state solutions. We need Israel to

:40:03. > :40:05.show it is committed to this and stop the settlements. On the issue

:40:06. > :40:10.of words, something that is rubbished is the issue of incitement

:40:11. > :40:15.and the increasing amounts of incitement we're seeing from the

:40:16. > :40:19.Palestinian Authority 's and media. Some has been referenced by those

:40:20. > :40:24.committing knife attacks on innocent civilians. Last week I said -- spent

:40:25. > :40:27.a visit to a school in Brussels where I had appalling stories of

:40:28. > :40:33.anomie -- anti-Semitism in Europe where people deliberately conflate

:40:34. > :40:36.Jews and Israel. The Minister condemned not only the incitement

:40:37. > :40:38.we're seeing outside of the Palestinian Authority, but the

:40:39. > :40:44.attacks which we are seeing in Europe as a result of this?

:40:45. > :40:54.I agree that what we are seeing, Israelis, subject to brutality and

:40:55. > :41:00.murder, is unacceptable and Israel has the obligation to defend its

:41:01. > :41:06.citizens. But we are seeing is the anti-Semitism there, the reaction

:41:07. > :41:11.often through websites, reappearing in Europe or closer to home and we

:41:12. > :41:14.have been working hard with international colleagues, to make

:41:15. > :41:24.sure that we stamp out anti-Semitism, no matter where full.

:41:25. > :41:29.A clear majority of Israelis support the setting up of a Palestinian

:41:30. > :41:37.state but as the Minister agree that actions like how mass, mounting

:41:38. > :41:48.attacks on Israel from Gaza, makes it less attainable? She is right,

:41:49. > :41:52.what we are seeing is some of the developments, it is like deja vu,

:41:53. > :41:57.we're going round again, the rebuilding of the tunnels

:41:58. > :42:01.themselves, the missiles start to fly, where does it take us? This is

:42:02. > :42:04.not a confidence building measure, in the same way that building

:42:05. > :42:09.settlements is not a confidence building measure. We need to make

:42:10. > :42:13.sure we empower the Palestinian Authority so it has the ability to

:42:14. > :42:24.look after and take responsibility for the governments of Gaza, that is

:42:25. > :42:27.the way forward. I'm sure there is a big contrast in the growth of

:42:28. > :42:37.extremism, Israeli authorities deal with Jewish extremism, they

:42:38. > :42:41.investigate, prosecute and condemn. Whereas violent extremists, so far

:42:42. > :42:45.as the Palestinian Authority, the name schools after them, sporting

:42:46. > :42:53.events after them, they glorify them on television. Will they take the

:42:54. > :42:55.opportunity to condemn absolutely the attitude of the Palestinian

:42:56. > :43:02.Authority and urge them to cease this senseless encouragement to

:43:03. > :43:07.violence? He makes a powerful argument, and it's important that we

:43:08. > :43:09.actually see that there are affirmative actions on both sides to

:43:10. > :43:15.reduce tensions, but I raise the specific matter of inflaming, of

:43:16. > :43:22.using words, health Minister in the Palestinian Authority was unhelpful

:43:23. > :43:26.in the comments she made recently in condemning the attacks taking place.

:43:27. > :43:31.This takes us into the wrong direction. We should be doing

:43:32. > :43:37.things, making steps that encourage others to act in consequence of

:43:38. > :43:44.that. I wish we had more time but we haven't. Question number 11. I had

:43:45. > :43:48.productive discussions at the joint ministerial Council with other

:43:49. > :43:51.overseas Territory leaders in December, we agreed progress on in

:43:52. > :43:57.permitting central registers, a system should be kept under

:43:58. > :44:02.continuous and close review, discussions are ongoing but I want

:44:03. > :44:05.to see significant progress ahead of the anti-corruption Summit being

:44:06. > :44:10.hosted by the Prime Minister in May. Will he confirm that the overseas

:44:11. > :44:15.territories and Crown dependencies will be at the summit and will we do

:44:16. > :44:19.our part to make sure that we secure commitment from them to clean up

:44:20. > :44:25.their act and make company on this public? Final in bytes for the

:44:26. > :44:32.summit have not yet gone out of the discussions are ongoing, -- invites.

:44:33. > :44:37.The director is currently visiting the Cayman Islands and British

:44:38. > :44:43.Virgin Islands, thrashing out some of the details. Does the Minister

:44:44. > :44:47.expect those registers will be publicly available all of close to

:44:48. > :44:57.one, to gain access to relevant authorities? I am sorry, I was

:44:58. > :45:01.strong to follow his question as to whether they would be open or

:45:02. > :45:08.closed. They will be open registers available for law enforcement

:45:09. > :45:11.agencies to interrogate, not publicly open registers. That is a

:45:12. > :45:16.long-term aspiration but initially we want to get that access for law

:45:17. > :45:24.enforcement agencies, which will create greater transparency and

:45:25. > :45:29.reduce corruption. In April 2014 the Prime Minister said that, I believe

:45:30. > :45:32.the beneficial ownership and public access of a central register is key

:45:33. > :45:36.to improving the transparency of company ownership and vital to

:45:37. > :45:41.meeting the urgent challenges of tax evasion. Nearly two years have

:45:42. > :45:44.passed and there still appears to be no time table for transparency

:45:45. > :45:49.arrangements in regard to the financial centres, why is this?

:45:50. > :45:55.There has already been much progress. I think she dismisses that

:45:56. > :46:01.progressed to regulate. There are checkpoints, last week we were

:46:02. > :46:04.speaking with overseas territory leaders, there are people there at

:46:05. > :46:09.the moment and we hope to crystallise some of these

:46:10. > :46:12.improvements before them summit in May on corruption, which was brought

:46:13. > :46:19.by the Prime Minister and will be held in London, demonstrating their

:46:20. > :46:25.commitment to this important issue. Can the Minister told the house the

:46:26. > :46:29.exact date by which he expects overseas territory financial centres

:46:30. > :46:32.to ensure proper transparency arrangements, or are we going to

:46:33. > :46:39.continue to hear more excuses for inaction in the years to come? This

:46:40. > :46:44.is an area of direction rather than an ultimate direction, and we will

:46:45. > :46:48.constantly be asking the international community to do more

:46:49. > :46:53.to create greater transparency but it is crucial that the international

:46:54. > :46:55.community, whether the Crown dependencies, overseas territories,

:46:56. > :47:00.are moved together on this, because we want to eliminate the problem of

:47:01. > :47:07.corrupt money rather than shift it from territory to territory. It is

:47:08. > :47:16.the best bit quickfire questions, quickfire answers. Number one. The

:47:17. > :47:20.Foreign Office's mission is to protect our values through our

:47:21. > :47:25.diplomacy and the Prime Minister's deal with the EU but offers the

:47:26. > :47:31.basis for Britain's feature prosperity and future in Europe. The

:47:32. > :47:34.crisis in Syria, the result in migration to Europe, the levels of

:47:35. > :47:39.Russian aggression and the Terror is the threat from Islamist extremism

:47:40. > :47:44.remain the principal threats to the security of the UK and UK citizens

:47:45. > :47:50.around the world. I should recommend this to the register of interests,

:47:51. > :47:54.as we know from Northern Ireland, conciliation is only possible if

:47:55. > :48:00.both sides want it to move forward. Will he recognise efforts made by

:48:01. > :48:03.the Sri Lankan sides in building a strong democracy and unite the

:48:04. > :48:09.island, and will he encourage them to continue? I was in Franco last

:48:10. > :48:14.month and I was able to meet the Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and

:48:15. > :48:20.travel to the north -- I was in Sri Lanka. I have spoken to the High

:48:21. > :48:24.Commissioner in Geneva, who has been there, he was there in February, we

:48:25. > :48:31.are looking forward to his update on Sri Lanka at the UN human rights

:48:32. > :48:35.Council in June. As events in the Ukraine and Middle East have

:48:36. > :48:39.reminded us, nations committed to peace, security and democracy need

:48:40. > :48:42.to stand together in the face of aggression. Our membership of the US

:48:43. > :48:46.is one of the most important ways in which we do this and the Foreign

:48:47. > :48:51.Secretary knows that ending our alliance with the Ewart sent a

:48:52. > :48:56.dangerous signal, including two Daesh and President Putin. Why does

:48:57. > :48:59.he think that's his cabinet colleagues cannot see this and are

:49:00. > :49:06.intent on a course of action that would weaken's voice in the world

:49:07. > :49:08.and undermine our security? Each person in this country will have to

:49:09. > :49:12.make up their own mind about the questions before them in the

:49:13. > :49:16.forthcoming referendum and I have always said this is a balancing

:49:17. > :49:21.equation, there are pluses and minuses in every international

:49:22. > :49:24.relationship but I agree that on the question of Britain's security and

:49:25. > :49:27.influence in the world, there is no doubt we are stronger, safer and

:49:28. > :49:34.more influential as part of the European Union. I'm grateful to the

:49:35. > :49:38.Foreign Secretary for that reply. The report of the UN human rights

:49:39. > :49:44.Council enquiry on Syria, published this month, found that, "Flagrant

:49:45. > :49:47.politicians of human rights and international humanitarian law

:49:48. > :49:55.continued unabated. " The ceasefire is needed but it will only relieve

:49:56. > :49:59.suffering if it is adhered to. What a CSS are the prospects for ensuring

:50:00. > :50:03.that Russia respects the ceasefire by ending its attacks on the Syrian

:50:04. > :50:10.people and if it does not, what further pressure can be put on

:50:11. > :50:14.President Putin to do so? The issue is going to be this, the Russians

:50:15. > :50:19.will say that they are complying with the ceasefire, and they will

:50:20. > :50:24.say that continued attacks, air strikes, are justified by the terms

:50:25. > :50:30.of the ceasefire and that they will be a Mrs D to pour over individual

:50:31. > :50:37.attacks by the US and Russia in the coordination sought to identify what

:50:38. > :50:41.happened. The big picture is this. Unless the level of Russian air

:50:42. > :50:44.strikes tragically decreases, this ceasefire will not hold because the

:50:45. > :50:50.moderate armed opposition cannot lay down their weapons and will not,

:50:51. > :50:57.while they are being annihilated from the air by the Russian

:50:58. > :51:00.aircraft. The Tanzanian electoral commission announced the general

:51:01. > :51:03.election results in Zanzibar at the end of last year and there has been

:51:04. > :51:09.increased electoral violence in Zanzibar as we head to the poll on

:51:10. > :51:13.March 20. What representations on making the 10th union government to

:51:14. > :51:21.make sure we do not return to the violence of the thousand and 2001?

:51:22. > :51:24.-- the Tanzanian government. We are concerned by the decision to annul

:51:25. > :51:29.the elections for the Zanzibar Presidency and the house of

:51:30. > :51:33.representatives on the 28th of October. Our position will set out

:51:34. > :51:37.in the statement by the British High Commissioner on the 29th of October

:51:38. > :51:39.and we have raised these concerns at the highest level, including the

:51:40. > :51:46.Foreign Secretary in his telephone call to the then Prime Minister, my

:51:47. > :51:50.telephone call to be Foreign Minister in December and my right

:51:51. > :51:55.honourable friend in his meeting with the same individual in January.

:51:56. > :52:00.I hope to visit Tanzania in the coming months and raised these pods

:52:01. > :52:06.personally. Given his response to earlier questions rating the benefit

:52:07. > :52:09.to the UK of remaining in the Yukon is it not a real concern that many

:52:10. > :52:19.of his colleagues in the government would put our security at risk by

:52:20. > :52:22.Brexit? This is a referendum in which members of Parliament will

:52:23. > :52:27.each have one vote, along with every member of the UK electorate. In my

:52:28. > :52:32.experience, there are deeply held views both for and against petition

:52:33. > :52:40.on the ship in both my party and the Honourable Lady's party. My view is

:52:41. > :52:43.clear that this country is going to be more prosperous, more secure,

:52:44. > :52:51.more influential in the world through continued EU membership.

:52:52. > :52:57.Given the ongoing Russian incursion into Georgian sovereign territory,

:52:58. > :53:03.but he absolutely condemn the situation in the southern Caucasus,

:53:04. > :53:10.and does he think the situation in South city must now be regarded as

:53:11. > :53:15.the new norm? We should be alert to Russia's aggressive actions in

:53:16. > :53:19.former Soviet Union countries, wherever they are, not just in

:53:20. > :53:24.Ukraine and arguably we were too slow to recognise what was happening

:53:25. > :53:28.in Georgia was the beginning of a new mention the Russian foreign

:53:29. > :53:34.policy, we should have resisted it robustly and we should push back

:53:35. > :53:40.wherever we can. Can he confirm whether or not his discussions with

:53:41. > :53:43.the US about Libya have included the possibility of UK military action

:53:44. > :53:49.and can confirm there will be none without approval from this house?

:53:50. > :53:54.Have a long established convention which he knows that before

:53:55. > :54:00.committing UK come back forces to combat, in all situations where it

:54:01. > :54:04.is possible, other than the direct emergency, or where considerations

:54:05. > :54:07.of secrecy make it impossible, the Prime Minister is committed to bring

:54:08. > :54:14.the issue to the house and allowing the house and opportunity to

:54:15. > :54:19.discuss. What have they made of the securities situation in Burundi and

:54:20. > :54:24.what steps have been taken to bolster Her Majesty's government's

:54:25. > :54:29.presents there? In response to the crisis, we have stepped up military

:54:30. > :54:35.and support to people fleeing Burundi, abiding money, the

:54:36. > :54:40.parliamentary under Secretary of State for International Development

:54:41. > :54:45.has decided to recruit a full-time coordinator, based in Bujumbura,

:54:46. > :54:50.this will be good news, they have been pressing the government to do

:54:51. > :54:54.this and we will commit on both sides of the house. On the 4th of

:54:55. > :54:59.January the Secretary of State told the house that China's claim to be

:55:00. > :55:04.treated as a market economy should be judged through the prism of

:55:05. > :55:08.steel. Given that 70% of the Chinese steel industry is owned by the

:55:09. > :55:10.Chinese government, can the Secretary of State confirm that

:55:11. > :55:16.China should empathic they not be granted market economy status? What

:55:17. > :55:20.I said in January, he will find if he checks the record, is I had come

:55:21. > :55:26.back from China, where I had conveyed the message to the Chinese

:55:27. > :55:29.that there claim to market economy status and the consideration of the

:55:30. > :55:34.claim would be judged through the prism of their actions in the nation

:55:35. > :55:37.to steal, they gave me assurances then and in October that they are

:55:38. > :55:42.seeking to address overcapacity in the Chinese market will stop we have

:55:43. > :55:45.just had discussion about this this morning and I've learnt that there

:55:46. > :55:49.protests going on in China about loss of steel jobs just as there are

:55:50. > :55:54.in the UK and other places throughout Europe. The reality is we

:55:55. > :55:56.have a massive surplus of steel capacity throughout the world and we

:55:57. > :56:07.have to address it. Following the action against Daesh,

:56:08. > :56:18.what are the plans to make a permanent memorial? There is a

:56:19. > :56:23.migration and a concern that Daesh is moving out under pressure in Iraq

:56:24. > :56:26.and Syria to other parts of the world, including Libya. He is right

:56:27. > :56:32.to make the connection between what happened in Libya, the terrorist

:56:33. > :56:38.attack that took place killing many Britons. We all hold a memorial

:56:39. > :56:47.service on the 12th of April to mark this event. A recent UN report

:56:48. > :56:51.suggested Saudi Arabia's military operation Yemen is targeting

:56:52. > :56:56.civilians. Is the minister confident that the UK Government is fulfilling

:56:57. > :57:04.its obligations under the arms trade treaty in relation to Saudi Arabia

:57:05. > :57:09.in this case? We have discussed the expert's panel for the UN on this

:57:10. > :57:14.report. We are looking at the report in detail. It was done by satellite

:57:15. > :57:17.evidence. The experts didn't visit the country itself and we have to

:57:18. > :57:23.bear that in mind. We have passed the information on and are

:57:24. > :57:27.discussing it with Saudi Arabia. I had a letter from the ambassador

:57:28. > :57:30.this week confirming that every effort is made to follow human

:57:31. > :57:44.rights law in the support of the President and UN resolution 2216.

:57:45. > :57:51.Immigration controls in Calais are governed by the Treaty of Le

:57:52. > :57:54.Touquet. He will also know that the treaty can only be broken if the

:57:55. > :57:57.British or the French choose to do so and it has nothing to do with

:57:58. > :58:05.whether we are members of the European Union or not. We ask, which

:58:06. > :58:09.ever person said it, to stop talking this nonsense, that if we leave the

:58:10. > :58:16.EU, we are suddenly going to find a massive refugee camp in the heart of

:58:17. > :58:23.Kent? The Treaty of Le Touquet is certainly vital to this country's

:58:24. > :58:26.border security of the 100,000 people who have been stopped from

:58:27. > :58:32.entering the UK in the past five years, roughly a quarter were

:58:33. > :58:39.stopped at Calais. We cooperate closely with the French Government

:58:40. > :58:41.but I fear my honourable friend underestimates the extent of

:58:42. > :58:47.domestic French opposition and protest against the controls, that

:58:48. > :58:53.if we left the EU, the stock of goodwill towards the Treaty of Le

:58:54. > :58:58.Touquet would be severely depleted. On the Foreign Office website, there

:58:59. > :59:04.is advice to companies thinking of doing business with illegal Israeli

:59:05. > :59:06.settlements. It says financial transactions, investments,

:59:07. > :59:10.procurements as well as other economic activities in Israeli

:59:11. > :59:16.settlements and tell legal and economic risks. We do not encourage

:59:17. > :59:20.or office opposed to such activity. Does the Government give the same

:59:21. > :59:24.advice to public bodies including loud -- local councils with regard

:59:25. > :59:31.to their procurement assistance? We are clear with local authorities

:59:32. > :59:36.that they should not be bound by -- that they are bound by procurement

:59:37. > :59:39.rules. We do not support boycott movements and the Minister for the

:59:40. > :59:44.Cabinet Office was in Israel last week and made that abundantly clear

:59:45. > :59:51.them. With the US wishing to continue for a further 20 years, is

:59:52. > :59:54.military presence on Diego Garcia, what discussions are the Foreign

:59:55. > :00:05.Office planning to have with Washington about facilitating

:00:06. > :00:08.bringing them back? We made it clear we wanted the US presence to

:00:09. > :00:13.continue but the Government has not held discussions with the US about

:00:14. > :00:18.continuing that arrangement. I very much welcome his discussions if you

:00:19. > :00:22.weeks ago at the Foreign Office as part of the all-party group visit to

:00:23. > :00:27.the Foreign Office. I will continue to liaise with him when the

:00:28. > :00:35.Government does come to a conclusion following the report and following

:00:36. > :00:38.the consultation. Following on from yesterday's dropping the value of

:00:39. > :00:42.sterling, implication does the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

:00:43. > :00:49.office anticipate for Britain and Northern Ireland as a result of the

:00:50. > :00:54.uncertainty around the referendum? Uncertainty always has a cost to

:00:55. > :00:59.business. Business hates uncertainty and the markets will reflect that

:01:00. > :01:04.uncertainty. That is why it is right to hold the referendum at the

:01:05. > :01:10.earliest possible date, 23rd of June, so people can get on with

:01:11. > :01:12.their business. When I canvassed the streets of Newark for local

:01:13. > :01:19.elections, people asked me what the views of my local councillors are

:01:20. > :01:24.refuse collection or potholes. I rarely hear them ask their views on

:01:25. > :01:27.foreign policy. What my right honourable friend agree that foreign

:01:28. > :01:31.policy is set by the Foreign Secretary and by the Government and

:01:32. > :01:35.debated in this house, not by our town halls and we should all

:01:36. > :01:41.therefore support the Government's action against boycotts and

:01:42. > :01:45.sanctions? One of my colleagues has reminded me he is not the only one

:01:46. > :01:52.who pounded the patents of Newark. Everybody on these benches did so.

:01:53. > :01:57.Foreign policy is a matter for the Government of the United Kingdom and

:01:58. > :02:00.is the business of this Parliament and it is important we have a single

:02:01. > :02:03.foreign policy which is clearly projected so Britain's position in

:02:04. > :02:09.the world is understood and strengthened. Demand always

:02:10. > :02:18.massively exceeds supply at Question Time. We haven't time but I am

:02:19. > :02:24.allowing time for one last question. , Press the Foreign Secretary

:02:25. > :02:28.further on and they gave to my honourable friend from Sheffield

:02:29. > :02:34.South East? Is there anything in the rules which feted as a public

:02:35. > :02:42.institutions ability to act on the advice that his website puts out my

:02:43. > :02:46.honourable friend quoted? Public bodies in this country are bound by

:02:47. > :02:52.the EU procurement directive in their purchasing activity and must

:02:53. > :02:55.follow those rules. I am sorry to disappoint colleagues. There is huge

:02:56. > :03:07.interest in what the Foreign Office does and says. We'll have to leave

:03:08. > :03:11.it there for today. Urgent question. To ask the Secretary of State for

:03:12. > :03:14.Health to make a statement on the Government's responds to the final

:03:15. > :03:26.report of the independent mental health task force.

:03:27. > :03:34.Achieving parity of esteem for mental and physical health remains a

:03:35. > :03:38.priority for this Government and I appreciate the honourable lady in

:03:39. > :03:41.raising the question this afternoon. We welcome the independent mental

:03:42. > :03:45.health task force launched by the NHS England last year with every

:03:46. > :03:50.minute to explore the variation in the availability of mental health

:03:51. > :03:54.services across England. Look at the outcomes for people using services

:03:55. > :04:00.and identify key priorities for improvement. The task force, chaired

:04:01. > :04:05.by Paul Farmer, I want to thank him and his vice chair and all their

:04:06. > :04:09.team for the remarkable work they did. Also considered ways of

:04:10. > :04:14.promoting positive wealth fund -- positive health and well-being, and

:04:15. > :04:19.whether we are spending money and time on the right things. The

:04:20. > :04:23.publication of the task force's report marked the first time a

:04:24. > :04:27.national strategy had been designed in partnership with all the

:04:28. > :04:35.health-related bodies in order to live a change across the system. It

:04:36. > :04:39.demonstrated a way in which society and the NHS and this house now holds

:04:40. > :04:43.mental health and how it is to be seen and how it is to be approached.

:04:44. > :04:46.This Government has made great strides in the way we think about

:04:47. > :04:50.treatment will help in this country. We have given the NHS more money

:04:51. > :04:54.than ever before and are introducing access and waiting time targets for

:04:55. > :04:58.the first time. We have made it clear NHS services must follow our

:04:59. > :05:06.lead by increasing the amount they spend on mental health and make sure

:05:07. > :05:10.bets are always. Despite these improvements, the task force pulled

:05:11. > :05:13.no punches and gave a frank assessment about the state of

:05:14. > :05:17.current mental health care across the NHS. Highlighting the one in

:05:18. > :05:22.four people were experiencing mental health problem in their lifetime and

:05:23. > :05:26.the cost of mental ill health to the economy, NHS and society is ?105

:05:27. > :05:31.billion a year. We can agree that the human and financial cost of

:05:32. > :05:34.inadequate care is an acceptable. Therefore, we welcome the

:05:35. > :05:37.publication of the task force report and the Department of Health will

:05:38. > :05:42.work with NHS England and other partners to establish a plan that

:05:43. > :05:45.progresses the recommendation for improving mental health. To make

:05:46. > :05:52.these recommendations are reality, we will spend an extra ?1 billion on

:05:53. > :05:55.mental health by 20 20/20 one, improve access to services that

:05:56. > :05:58.people receive the right care in the right place when they need it the

:05:59. > :06:07.most. This will mean increasing bin amount of people from 468,002 agent

:06:08. > :06:11.of thousands. Doubling the amount of pregnant women or new mothers

:06:12. > :06:16.receiving mental health support from 12,000 to 42,000 year. Training 1700

:06:17. > :06:20.U therapists and helping 29,000 more people to find or stay and work

:06:21. > :06:25.through individual placements are bought and talking therapies. I can

:06:26. > :06:28.assure all members of the House that they will have ample opportunity to

:06:29. > :06:35.ask questions and debate issues as we work together to progress the

:06:36. > :06:39.task force's recommendation. The final report of the mental health

:06:40. > :06:44.task force commissioned by NHS England gives a frank assessment of

:06:45. > :06:48.the state of mental health care today and describes a system which

:06:49. > :06:52.is ruining some people's lives. It makes a number of recommendations

:06:53. > :06:57.which, if implemented in full, could make a difference to services which

:06:58. > :07:00.have had to contend with funding cuts and staffing shortages at a

:07:01. > :07:05.time of rising demand and stop too many from people without the right

:07:06. > :07:09.care and support. It is extremely disappointing that the opposition

:07:10. > :07:13.has had to compel the Minister to come to the Chamber today to insure

:07:14. > :07:16.Parliament can give the report and the Government's responds to it the

:07:17. > :07:21.attention and scrutiny it deserves. This is all the more regrettable

:07:22. > :07:26.because the Prime Minister himself chose to announce their response to

:07:27. > :07:29.the media during recess last week. A courtesy which had it not been for

:07:30. > :07:35.this urgent question today, would still not have been afforded to this

:07:36. > :07:39.house. The apparent announcements from the Government include an

:07:40. > :07:43.additional ?1 billion worth of investment by 2020, get a number of

:07:44. > :07:47.vital questions remain unanswered. Will the Minister explain why the

:07:48. > :07:51.report was delayed and published in recess? Did ministers have a say

:07:52. > :07:55.over the timing and if so does the Minister access that this level of

:07:56. > :07:59.interference by ministers raises questions over the independence of

:08:00. > :08:04.this report? Can the Minister confirm that no additional money

:08:05. > :08:08.will be allocated from the Treasury to fund their announcements and that

:08:09. > :08:12.they will be funded from the pre-existing ?8 billion that has

:08:13. > :08:17.been set aside for the NHS by 2020? Given that mental health receives

:08:18. > :08:20.just under 10% of the total NHS budget, surely mental health

:08:21. > :08:25.services would have been expecting to receive much of this additional

:08:26. > :08:30.money as part of the NHS settlement anyway. Can the Minister explain how

:08:31. > :08:34.this money can be expected to deliver the transformation in our

:08:35. > :08:38.mental health services, that the task force says is urgently

:08:39. > :08:42.required? Can the Minister confirm that he is accepting all of the

:08:43. > :08:47.recommendations relating to the NHS? Does he intend to respond to the

:08:48. > :08:52.other recommendations and when can we expect that response? We don't

:08:53. > :08:54.solve the challenges of our nation's mental health from the Department of

:08:55. > :08:57.Health. For the many thousands of people who have been let down by

:08:58. > :09:01.this Government who are desperate to see a change in how we approach

:09:02. > :09:05.mental health and who are owed a full explanation from the Government

:09:06. > :09:15.on the response to this damning report, I look forward to the

:09:16. > :09:21.Minister's reply. I thank the honourable lady for her questions

:09:22. > :09:25.and the opportunity it presents to say more about what we are doing in

:09:26. > :09:30.relation to mental health and how far it has come since 2010. The

:09:31. > :09:36.honourable lady could have said 1400 more people a day or having access

:09:37. > :09:39.to mental health treatment than in 2010. A comparison in what was done

:09:40. > :09:43.then and what is being done now. The central point is there is more to be

:09:44. > :09:48.done which is a common view that we share and that is right to bring it

:09:49. > :09:52.out and what this report did. The timing was not up to Government.

:09:53. > :09:56.This is an independent report commissioned by the NHS of an

:09:57. > :10:02.independent task force and the timing and the content was decided

:10:03. > :10:05.by them. I have the occasional meetings with Paul Farmer about it

:10:06. > :10:11.and made sure I have spoken to him and said it is your report. Forget

:10:12. > :10:16.the papers and who wants what in the report. This is yours and it has to

:10:17. > :10:19.be yours and it is clear that it was. The decision to publish it was

:10:20. > :10:25.theirs and the Prime Minister was able to respond. It emphasises the

:10:26. > :10:31.importance that is given to this issue, compared with times past.

:10:32. > :10:38.In relation to the finance, the important thing to note is the Prime

:10:39. > :10:43.Minister announced in January how the ?600 million in the spending

:10:44. > :10:48.review, which is included in the NHS Bottom Line until 2021, was going to

:10:49. > :10:56.be spent. That included mental health, crisis care and psychiatric

:10:57. > :11:01.liaison in A and the crisis care community work. What was said by the

:11:02. > :11:06.Prime Minister in relation to the task force report represents a new

:11:07. > :11:12.money available for the NHS and mental health by 2021. Which will be

:11:13. > :11:17.a billion pounds extra by 2021 than it is spending at the moment. With

:11:18. > :11:23.the additional number of people to be treated that I outlined. In terms

:11:24. > :11:28.of how that will be handled by ourselves, I spoke to the task force

:11:29. > :11:35.after the issuing of the report. What I don't particularly want to do

:11:36. > :11:40.is produce a response to the task force report. What I'd prefer to do

:11:41. > :11:44.is have a series of rolling responses, which, when we have

:11:45. > :11:48.responded to a recommendation and when we are moving on and delivering

:11:49. > :11:54.on the recommendation, I will say so. It will be related back to what

:11:55. > :12:00.the task force has done. Some of those may involve announcements in

:12:01. > :12:06.parliament or written statements. But I don't want a Big Bang in terms

:12:07. > :12:14.of a response, because the Prime Minister has already said we will

:12:15. > :12:19.accept these recommendations. Instead of report being produced and

:12:20. > :12:24.sitting on the shelf, by constant reference to it by doing something,

:12:25. > :12:30.saying this is a response to what the task force said we should be

:12:31. > :12:34.doing towards 2021, it can get the stamp of support and recognition,

:12:35. > :12:39.which I think is important. In relation to what the honourable lady

:12:40. > :12:43.claims is the thousands let down. I would gently remind the honourable

:12:44. > :12:46.lady, it was this government who was the first government to set waiting

:12:47. > :12:51.times for physical and mental health. A chance missed by her

:12:52. > :12:56.government when they were in government. It is this government

:12:57. > :13:01.that has made the commitment of ten billion pounds extra to the NHS,

:13:02. > :13:06.which was never a commitment made a her or her party. It is easy to talk

:13:07. > :13:10.about new things in mental health when you don't have a budget or an

:13:11. > :13:13.economic team producing anything of any credibility, but this government

:13:14. > :13:19.has the responsibilities and is doing the work. But we are agreed

:13:20. > :13:24.the state of mental health services cries out for more to be done. That

:13:25. > :13:28.is what we are doing. The direction of travel and physical delivery is

:13:29. > :13:38.happening on a day by day basis. We will do more and we will continue to

:13:39. > :13:41.do more and I welcome her team's pressure on me and my right

:13:42. > :13:49.honourable friend to continue to do more. We will meet that challenge

:13:50. > :13:57.but we meeting it like no government has done before. Can I congratulate

:13:58. > :14:01.my honourable friend on his personal commitment towards this issue. Will

:14:02. > :14:06.he accept those who suffer from mental health or often poor

:14:07. > :14:11.advocates for their own cause and it is easy for money to be diverted

:14:12. > :14:16.into other areas of health care spending, when others are able to

:14:17. > :14:19.shout louder for that money. Will he and his front bench team consider

:14:20. > :14:25.whether it is possible to ring fence inside the NHS budget, this money

:14:26. > :14:27.from mental health care, so it doesn't become the Cinderella

:14:28. > :14:36.subject in the future that it has been in the past? I thank my

:14:37. > :14:43.honourable friend but his interest and he liked me, has come across

:14:44. > :14:47.this conundrum. We talked from the dispatch box about more money going

:14:48. > :14:52.into mental health and in areas they say, it is not happening here. It

:14:53. > :14:59.has been a genuine reality we need to do something about. What we need

:15:00. > :15:02.to do, by being more directive to clinical groups and examining their

:15:03. > :15:09.finances and the guidance from the NHS that says they expect the

:15:10. > :15:11.proportional increase in finance in the NHS going appropriately to

:15:12. > :15:16.mental health services and the specific commitments we have even to

:15:17. > :15:20.the series of services announced by the Prime Minister, we hope to make

:15:21. > :15:26.sure that diversion of funds in the future will not sorry, the diversion

:15:27. > :15:38.of funds in the past will not happen in the future. I think all of us in

:15:39. > :15:42.the House welcomed the strides that have been made in changing the

:15:43. > :15:48.stigma around mental health. The people who have been brave enough to

:15:49. > :15:58.speak out. The campaign we had in Scotland, which was See Me. Often

:15:59. > :16:03.the money has not gone to the services. Mental health trust

:16:04. > :16:07.suffered a 2% cut between 2013 and 2015 in their budget. The number of

:16:08. > :16:13.psychiatric nurses went down by 1.4%. As he mentioned about money

:16:14. > :16:20.often ending up somewhere else is something that must be avoided. I

:16:21. > :16:24.think we would need to focus on children also. One in ten of

:16:25. > :16:29.children are suffering from mental health problems between the ages of

:16:30. > :16:33.five and 16. They are waiting a very long time to get help. We have the

:16:34. > :16:38.same challenge in Scotland, we measure it and know how difficult it

:16:39. > :16:45.is. We have managed to improve it by increasing staff and funding. But we

:16:46. > :16:49.also have a long road to walk. We're not thinking about the whole spread

:16:50. > :16:55.of mental health support in the community. The way people work,

:16:56. > :17:01.insecure jobs, people struggling to keep a roof over their head. We will

:17:02. > :17:05.later debate welfare reforms and the mental health issues coming from

:17:06. > :17:09.that. Three times the number of poor children will have a mental health

:17:10. > :17:14.issue as children in a stable and well financed family. I would like

:17:15. > :17:18.to ass, are we not going to try to join up our decisions and look at

:17:19. > :17:21.other policy areas in how people work, in how people are supported

:17:22. > :17:27.and the mental health suffering that comes from that? Can I thank the

:17:28. > :17:34.honourable lady for her usual well-informed contribution to the

:17:35. > :17:38.debate on these issues. I thank her for what she said about stigma and

:17:39. > :17:43.the general approach the government has been taking. Absolutely right,

:17:44. > :17:48.we have supported the time to change the anti-stigma campaign. We have

:17:49. > :17:54.got to do more. She is right about children and wider cross government

:17:55. > :17:58.work. In relation to children and young people we have a minister in

:17:59. > :18:02.the Department for Education in England with responsibilities for

:18:03. > :18:04.mental health. In terms of cross government work, my honourable

:18:05. > :18:08.friend from the Home Office is here to demonstrate we do take those

:18:09. > :18:13.cross government responsibilities seriously. One of the ways we will

:18:14. > :18:20.manage the response to the task force is there will be a cross

:18:21. > :18:24.governmental team to make sure departments are joined up, housing

:18:25. > :18:29.has something to do with this as well as education. Work and pensions

:18:30. > :18:33.has something to do with this, as the honourable lady said. We will

:18:34. > :18:37.make sure it is done. I should have said in my remarks of course, but

:18:38. > :18:41.didn't for reasons of time, what has been said in the task force on what

:18:42. > :18:47.the Prime Minister said is in addition to the one .5 billion

:18:48. > :18:51.pounds that was announced in March for the mental health service the

:18:52. > :18:54.children in England and the 30 million pounds a year eating

:18:55. > :19:02.disorder work to recognised increased pressures on children,

:19:03. > :19:08.because she is right, the earlier help the children do better. Can I

:19:09. > :19:11.join the minister in thanking the Independent mental health task force

:19:12. > :19:18.for the work they have done, but can I ask him to go further in how we

:19:19. > :19:21.are going to track with greater transparency, this money is spent in

:19:22. > :19:25.the right place, not just within health but social care as well. He

:19:26. > :19:29.will know those suffering from mental health problems, are cared

:19:30. > :19:40.for in the community and the social care. It is vital we have parity

:19:41. > :19:45.across social care. Can I thank my honourable friend and recognise the

:19:46. > :19:48.work of the Royal College, it's President, Simon Wesley, was

:19:49. > :19:52.involved in the report and they were closely involved, so I thank them

:19:53. > :19:58.for that. It is important to track this. The clinical commissioning

:19:59. > :20:03.groups assessment framework will help us do this through the health

:20:04. > :20:08.service. The money that Prime Minister announced in relation to

:20:09. > :20:11.community crisis, the extra 400 million pounds announced in January,

:20:12. > :20:17.will be spent throughout the community. It is essential we do

:20:18. > :20:25.track it. There has been a lack of data. The honourable lady away

:20:26. > :20:28.victory knows about this. I answer questions to her saying this

:20:29. > :20:36.information is not collect it centrally. I have noticed this. We

:20:37. > :20:41.are in the process of changing that. The data was in process of being

:20:42. > :20:46.changed and more information will be available. In order to track

:20:47. > :20:50.properly, we need the information. We are improving the data, but it is

:20:51. > :20:58.important to track it both in local authority work as well as community

:20:59. > :21:05.work. It is immensely encouraging he notices his own answers. Mr Kevin

:21:06. > :21:12.Jones. Extra resources are important, but what are the main

:21:13. > :21:17.messages from this report is we need to hard-wire mental health and

:21:18. > :21:20.well-being into public policy. Twice as many people take their own lives

:21:21. > :21:24.and are killed on our roads every year. With the Minister agree with

:21:25. > :21:33.me it is time for a national campaign to address this issue? Yes,

:21:34. > :21:36.Mr Speaker and I thank the right honourable gentleman for his

:21:37. > :21:42.comments and his own work in this area. Included in the

:21:43. > :21:46.recommendations is a national ambition to reduce, by 10%, the

:21:47. > :21:53.number of suicides, which will be a reduction of 400 a year. There are

:21:54. > :21:58.some areas that are piloting what is called a zero suicide ambition

:21:59. > :22:02.strategy. Three areas piloting this and this needs probably more

:22:03. > :22:07.prominence than it has got. There is an national suicide prevention

:22:08. > :22:12.strategy. I am reviewing that and seeing how it can be better

:22:13. > :22:15.implemented locally. Not all local areas have a similar strategy. It is

:22:16. > :22:20.right it gets better prominence. We had a debate on it not too long girl

:22:21. > :22:25.at Westminster Hall and it is a significant issue for men in

:22:26. > :22:28.particular. Three times as many men take their own lives, as women.

:22:29. > :22:32.Although the increase in the number of women, which was noticed a few

:22:33. > :22:39.weeks ago, is significant. It is important we talk about this more,

:22:40. > :22:42.recognise suicide is not inevitable, have an ambition to challenge that

:22:43. > :22:47.and do more and I'm confident the honourable gentleman can do that, as

:22:48. > :22:53.he has done other things. It is a sad fact that in health care, those

:22:54. > :22:57.professionals who at the most to the service do not necessarily receive

:22:58. > :23:01.the same level of acclamation of those working in more glamorous

:23:02. > :23:04.specialties. What does the Minister think can be done to improve the

:23:05. > :23:07.status of those working within mental health care and thus mental

:23:08. > :23:15.health care as an attract career option? Good question. It is

:23:16. > :23:23.important true value is given to those who work in such an area. At

:23:24. > :23:27.all levels. When we have seen some of the examples of poor quality care

:23:28. > :23:31.and the tragedies that have occurred, we realise the value is

:23:32. > :23:37.placed on those who display a kindness as well as skill, and

:23:38. > :23:42.demonstrate their qualifications. We need to talk about the quality of

:23:43. > :23:46.good care. We need to make sure people who go into these professions

:23:47. > :23:49.have a career path from what other entry level they have. We want to

:23:50. > :23:53.encourage greater psychiatric awareness in medical training and

:23:54. > :23:59.clinical, medical political training for those leaving medical schools. I

:24:00. > :24:04.know Simon Wesley from the Royal College has done much work relating

:24:05. > :24:07.to this. But emphasising those who care for those in the most

:24:08. > :24:13.distressed situations, whether it is hospital or in the communities,

:24:14. > :24:17.deserve our thanks, encouragement and proper training. Increased money

:24:18. > :24:20.for training is included in the package the government will be

:24:21. > :24:28.working on, will be a vital part of that. Two weeks ago the minister

:24:29. > :24:31.came to talk to parents who are campaigning to get an inpatient

:24:32. > :24:34.facility for children and young people in the Hull area, as the

:24:35. > :24:40.previous one was closed several years ago. I wonder if the minister

:24:41. > :24:43.could update my constituents about any progress and whether any of the

:24:44. > :24:50.money allocated to mental health services will be used in Hull? I

:24:51. > :24:57.thank the honourable lady for her question. It was good to see her

:24:58. > :25:00.there with her constituents. I don't think there is any new money

:25:01. > :25:09.specifically needed in order to deliver the commitment in providing

:25:10. > :25:13.inpatient care for young people in Hull and the surrounding area. It

:25:14. > :25:17.seems it was already agreed right people, the problem was the

:25:18. > :25:22.delivery. She will recall the frustration I expressed sitting

:25:23. > :25:26.round a table, there where trust representatives, but for some reason

:25:27. > :25:32.it was impossible for people to come to a decision. The update is, I have

:25:33. > :25:36.taken that away with some degree of concern on how we resolve the issue,

:25:37. > :25:40.whether has to be a national decision on the allocation of

:25:41. > :25:44.finance and priorities, where you have a clear, local need which does

:25:45. > :25:50.need to be dealt with. And we will make progress on this. On bird 's

:25:51. > :25:54.generally, we have more beds the young people than ever before, 15

:25:55. > :25:58.more since I came into my role, but they are not always in the right

:25:59. > :26:01.places. Her area demonstrated that. But I don't think there is anything

:26:02. > :26:03.in the announcement that affected the importance of it that had

:26:04. > :26:16.already been recognised. I warmly welcome the initiative,

:26:17. > :26:19.Eiffel this area was cross-party. Can I make two brief pleas to the

:26:20. > :26:25.Minister, one is that we mustn't lose sight of acute mental health

:26:26. > :26:30.episodes, for children and young people out of hours and weekends

:26:31. > :26:33.which is an issue that has been long-standing, for instance in my

:26:34. > :26:38.constituency and the other issue is to ret syndrome, it falls between

:26:39. > :26:43.the strategies of education and health. One in 100 children are

:26:44. > :26:47.diagnosed with it, it is an important neurological decision that

:26:48. > :26:58.we need to address. Will he deal with it as part of his wider mental

:26:59. > :27:03.view. I thank the honourable gentleman, indeed, the attention

:27:04. > :27:07.that is now being paid, recognising people who need urgent treatment

:27:08. > :27:10.will go to accident and emergency, it has been recognised by the

:27:11. > :27:17.government 's determination to ensure emergency access 24-7 by

:27:18. > :27:20.placing more psychiatric liaison in hospitals and in improving crisis

:27:21. > :27:25.care in the community, so my honourable friend is right to

:27:26. > :27:28.recognise that. There are a number of syndromes and issues that have

:27:29. > :27:31.particular qualities associated with them that need individual care and

:27:32. > :27:38.my honourable friend is right to raise those who suffer from

:27:39. > :27:43.Tourette's. Thank you Mr Speaker, the task force recognises the

:27:44. > :27:47.importance of housing, and I think it is right that his department made

:27:48. > :27:51.no representations to the Treasury before the changes to housing

:27:52. > :27:55.benefit for tenants in supported housing was announced and they have

:27:56. > :27:59.made no official representations to other departments as recently as

:28:00. > :28:03.three weeks ago. Will the minister now make the case to his colleagues

:28:04. > :28:10.in the Department for Communities and Local Government and the

:28:11. > :28:18.Department for work and pensions, to exempt people. I understand, the

:28:19. > :28:22.honourable Lady's point, and I know that such issues are being

:28:23. > :28:26.considered extremely carefully by those who are responsible for

:28:27. > :28:30.developing the policy, but I will make sure that her further concerns

:28:31. > :28:36.are noted and that the department's interest is already recognised.

:28:37. > :28:41.There is so much good stuff in this report that I would also like to

:28:42. > :28:46.congratulate the authors of the report and my honourable friend for

:28:47. > :28:49.the interest he has taken in it. I particularly welcome the recognition

:28:50. > :28:52.of psychiatric liaison in the report, the gap in the provision and

:28:53. > :29:00.the commitment to having psychiatric liaison services at the core level,

:29:01. > :29:03.in half of hospitals by 2020. Could my honourable friend tell me whether

:29:04. > :29:07.this is fully funded and given the difficulties in getting the services

:29:08. > :29:12.in place, will he take a close interest in the plan to make this

:29:13. > :29:16.happen in practice? I thank my honourable friend for her interest

:29:17. > :29:21.in the subject which he had expressed to me previously, and her

:29:22. > :29:26.work in relation to this. Yes, how determination is that the extra ?1

:29:27. > :29:30.billion a year that will be spent on mental health services, will cover,

:29:31. > :29:39.training and the commitment that we have made in elation to this 24-7

:29:40. > :29:43.cover. -- made in relation. It was identified, in the crisis care can

:29:44. > :29:48.call that, that was so successful in the first 12 or 18 months, and I

:29:49. > :29:56.determination is to make sure that these facilities are provided. The

:29:57. > :30:01.report adds to the consensus, led by Lord crisp's commission, and led by

:30:02. > :30:11.my right honourable friend from North Norfolk, ending out of

:30:12. > :30:18.practice out of area treatment. Would the Minister, put a timetable

:30:19. > :30:23.on that process? Mr Speaker, the task force recommendation is that

:30:24. > :30:28.out of area placement should be entered by 2020, Lord crisp's report

:30:29. > :30:33.said 2017. I would like to see it done soon as is reasonably

:30:34. > :30:37.practicable, because we want to make sure, that where people can be

:30:38. > :30:40.treated locally it makes a real difference and the Honourable Lady

:30:41. > :30:46.for Hull North, who was talking just a moment ago, there have been one or

:30:47. > :30:49.two cases there that have been treated further away than they

:30:50. > :30:56.should. They lose the local community links, to assist them. We

:30:57. > :30:59.all want to see an end to that. I wanted to be done as soon as

:31:00. > :31:02.possible and it will certainly be done within the task force

:31:03. > :31:06.recommended timescale and if it can be done any quicker locally, area by

:31:07. > :31:13.area then I will be very much welcoming that. Thank you Mr Speaker

:31:14. > :31:18.and I welcome the government's positive response to the task force.

:31:19. > :31:23.While effective acute care is vital, and prevention is better than two,

:31:24. > :31:27.will the government look at ongoing training for all GPs in mental

:31:28. > :31:32.health, so that all patients can have access to early diagnosis, care

:31:33. > :31:40.and treatment, to prevent problems escalating. Yes, my honourable

:31:41. > :31:48.friend again makes a good point, GPs will very often be contacted first

:31:49. > :31:53.about some of these issues, wearing problem Mr burping. I know from my

:31:54. > :31:57.contacts with the BMA and the Royal College, and the Royal College also

:31:58. > :32:01.was very involved and interested in the task force report, it want to

:32:02. > :32:05.make sure that the doctors have enough training. Because it there is

:32:06. > :32:08.according to interest, but I know that all GPs are very concerned

:32:09. > :32:12.about this. They want to make sure that they have got the skills, but

:32:13. > :32:18.equally, they need to know that they can refer in the right place, that

:32:19. > :32:21.is where the increase in support for emergency and community services is

:32:22. > :32:25.about. That there are proper pathways so that people don't get

:32:26. > :32:32.stuck in any particular stage. White my 15-year-old constituents, Matthew

:32:33. > :32:35.Garnet who has autism has spent the last six months in psychiatric care

:32:36. > :32:40.30 miles from home. This unit does not have the specialism to meet his

:32:41. > :32:43.needs and he has to tear rate significantly, the specialist that

:32:44. > :32:47.he needs is in Northampton, where Matthew's family have been told that

:32:48. > :32:51.there are five young people ready for discharge but his ongoing care

:32:52. > :32:55.cannot be arranged. There is clearly a crisis on mental health care for

:32:56. > :33:01.children and adolescents, when will the Minister bring a plan to the

:33:02. > :33:03.house to address this and will he intervene to secure Matthew Garnett

:33:04. > :33:07.the bed that he so desperately needs? I thank the Honourable lady

:33:08. > :33:11.for her question, and of course if she wants to make a particular

:33:12. > :33:18.approach on that case, I am ready to listen. It is already in the works.

:33:19. > :33:23.To say a couple of things about it, in talking about specialist care,

:33:24. > :33:28.even though we want most young people to have access to get close

:33:29. > :33:32.to home, there will always be some particular specialist care that will

:33:33. > :33:35.require out of area treatment and that is perhaps the circumstance is

:33:36. > :33:41.that the honourable lady is referring to. It is then a question

:33:42. > :33:44.of getting the place, that requires, that emphasises why it is so

:33:45. > :33:48.important to have community care available so that there is discharge

:33:49. > :33:53.possible, proper care package and the like. That is precisely what the

:33:54. > :33:58.task force looked at and made recommendations, that way is already

:33:59. > :34:01.ongoing. As my timing of this has shown me, there are variations in

:34:02. > :34:05.practice in different places to make sure that discharges are handled

:34:06. > :34:09.better in some areas than others, the practice of the best has got to

:34:10. > :34:12.become the practice for all and everything is done to make sure that

:34:13. > :34:16.people are treated in the appropriate place at the appropriate

:34:17. > :34:20.time. Keeping people in hospital is not what everyone wants, that work

:34:21. > :34:25.is already going on, and I will make sure that the honourable lady gets

:34:26. > :34:30.an answer to her question. Thank you, I welcome his personal

:34:31. > :34:33.commitment to this issue, in this area. Because it demonstrates the

:34:34. > :34:39.importance of mental health issues in the NHS. Would he be able to

:34:40. > :34:43.clarify how he is going to be able to hold the NHS to account so that

:34:44. > :34:49.this money is spent on additional mental health, as opposed to just

:34:50. > :34:52.frittered away? Mr Speaker I think the engagement of the NHS with his

:34:53. > :34:57.task force needs to be recognised and emphasised, this was a task

:34:58. > :35:02.force that will see the NHS itself set up, because it wanted to be very

:35:03. > :35:06.clear about the state of mental health services and take a five-year

:35:07. > :35:10.forward view which is what the task force is about. And the task force

:35:11. > :35:17.went beyond that to say it has got a 10-year vision which I welcome. But

:35:18. > :35:21.everything can be done in meek -- not everything can be done in the

:35:22. > :35:26.Parliamentary cycles. I think that the certainty that he wants, is

:35:27. > :35:29.demonstrated in the NHS's own involvement and the endorsement of

:35:30. > :35:32.the recommendation and the work on transparency that is so important to

:35:33. > :35:36.us to make sure that we can all see where the money is gone and spent.

:35:37. > :35:46.That is what should hold them to account on the expenditure issue.

:35:47. > :35:52.Rachel. The report highlights that 50% of diagnosis for mental health,

:35:53. > :35:58.by the age of 14, 70 5% by the age of 24. Yet he also said in his

:35:59. > :36:04.report, most children and young people get no support. I want to ask

:36:05. > :36:07.the minister what specific work will be put in place to look at

:36:08. > :36:14.prevention and early intervention including early diagnosis? Again, I

:36:15. > :36:16.thank the honourable lady for her interest and her considerable

:36:17. > :36:23.knowledge in these issues that she has raised a number of times before.

:36:24. > :36:28.As an example, two things, we need increased expenditure on children

:36:29. > :36:32.and Young People's of services, the 1.25 billion that will be spent over

:36:33. > :36:35.the next five years, that is improving the baseline which

:36:36. > :36:40.includes early prevention. I would also mention the full roll-out of

:36:41. > :36:45.the services to children by 2018. That is already in place for 70% of

:36:46. > :36:50.the country and it will be completed by 2018. That ensures that children

:36:51. > :36:52.get early access to the psychological therapies that they

:36:53. > :36:59.need and I think it is an important development which I hope that she

:37:00. > :37:02.welcomes. As chairman for the all Parliamentary party group for mental

:37:03. > :37:05.health by very much welcome this report and I think it should be

:37:06. > :37:11.welcomed on all sides of the house. With the Minister agree with me that

:37:12. > :37:14.we actually have now a unique opportunity, we have a high-quality

:37:15. > :37:19.public debate in mental health where we are addressing the stigma. We

:37:20. > :37:22.have a government, with the Prime Minister who has made speeches in

:37:23. > :37:27.the last three weeks about mental health setting out the government's

:37:28. > :37:30.priorities. This is a unique opportunity for him and this

:37:31. > :37:37.change in mental health. And to change in mental health. And to

:37:38. > :37:41.deliver real quality change. I thank my right honourable friend, can I

:37:42. > :37:44.pay tribute to his own work as chair of the committee, and indeed to all

:37:45. > :37:48.colleagues in the house who have raised these issues over a period of

:37:49. > :37:50.time and partly through their own personal experiences and bravery in

:37:51. > :37:55.talking about them have helped them in a process that we are engaged on.

:37:56. > :38:00.Yes we have a great opportunity, we have got a 10-year vision set out by

:38:01. > :38:04.the task force, we have got a commitment from the NHS. We have a

:38:05. > :38:08.top level, on all sides of the house, a commitment to this. I hope

:38:09. > :38:11.that we will see an opportunity to develop services as people would

:38:12. > :38:18.have wanted and for which in all honesty they have waited too long.

:38:19. > :38:23.Can I welcome the task force report and also can I welcome the

:38:24. > :38:29.government's reaction to it, the minister, of state did indicate that

:38:30. > :38:32.there was ?1 billion being made available by 2021, I'm wondering

:38:33. > :38:34.what relationship there will be with that and the devolved institutions

:38:35. > :38:41.in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. And if there is any

:38:42. > :38:45.consequences for finances there? Although Mr Speaker I read the

:38:46. > :38:51.answers to my own questions, I can't recall on this, the honourable

:38:52. > :38:55.gentleman has caught me out on something I don't generally know the

:38:56. > :38:59.answer to. I will write to him or put an answer in the library dealing

:39:00. > :39:02.with devolved administrations, I think we're talking about

:39:03. > :39:07.responsibility for England because this is a devolved matter. In terms

:39:08. > :39:09.of the development of the mental health services, there is good close

:39:10. > :39:13.cooperation between officials and that will certainly continue. I will

:39:14. > :39:21.make sure that there is an answer in the finances in the library. Mr

:39:22. > :39:25.Speaker, the work that the Minister is outlining, has in my mind being

:39:26. > :39:28.one of the most important pieces of work in this Parliament and I

:39:29. > :39:33.welcome the investment, can I just build on the comment from Mike on

:39:34. > :39:38.the wall friend -- from my honourable friend, on this stigma

:39:39. > :39:41.side of mental health. With depression being one of the most

:39:42. > :39:48.terrible diseases someone could suffer from. Can I also congratulate

:39:49. > :39:53.the writers of Coronation Street, with the Steve Magoffin all

:39:54. > :39:56.storylines that has addressed some stigmas and stereotypes that come

:39:57. > :40:00.with that. I urge my right honourable friend to make sure that

:40:01. > :40:03.as much effort is put into tackling the stigma of mental health as well

:40:04. > :40:09.as the practical investment in services that can also be offered.

:40:10. > :40:16.I thank my honourable friend for his question. I do praise the storyline

:40:17. > :40:24.in Coronation Street, just as much as East Enders who have done a

:40:25. > :40:30.tremendous job in the perinatal story with Stacey over the past few

:40:31. > :40:34.weeks. We much informed, particularly by young people

:40:35. > :40:40.themselves we have worked with, in relation to change. It is a terrible

:40:41. > :40:43.thing. It has been partly responsible for the breaking of the

:40:44. > :40:48.link between physical and mental health. One of the things the task

:40:49. > :40:52.force recommended and the government is going to deliver on, is to make

:40:53. > :40:56.sure more people with mental health problems have their physical issues

:40:57. > :41:01.related to, so we can have this terrible issue of a different

:41:02. > :41:04.mortality ratio between those with mental health difficulties and

:41:05. > :41:13.others. And dealing with stigma to make sure people can come forward. I

:41:14. > :41:18.thank the Minister for his statement and acknowledged the work of the

:41:19. > :41:22.task force report. Can I encourage the Minister, along with his

:41:23. > :41:28.colleague, take a particular interest in mental health in-school

:41:29. > :41:31.training programme, which has been specifically developed by a number

:41:32. > :41:36.of practitioners to ensure schools are better equipped to support the

:41:37. > :41:41.mental health and well-being needs of pupils. And to help to safeguard

:41:42. > :41:45.those interests in a system that is designed to run similarly to that of

:41:46. > :41:54.child protection, which schools are obviously well familiar? I know of

:41:55. > :42:01.his long-standing interest on these issues. In England there is a pilot

:42:02. > :42:03.project of 27 schools being run by the Department for Education to

:42:04. > :42:07.locate and identify a single point of contact in those schools for

:42:08. > :42:11.mental health issues for young people. And depending on the results

:42:12. > :42:15.of that, more can be rolled out. Early identification support in

:42:16. > :42:21.school is essential. Artwork is going on. There is a number of

:42:22. > :42:24.different initiatives, sometimes inspired by people who have seen

:42:25. > :42:29.personal tragedies in their families. I have seen some of those,

:42:30. > :42:32.where people have realised a tragedy that has befallen their young

:42:33. > :42:36.person, might not have happened if their friends had been more aware of

:42:37. > :42:41.the circumstances, if school or college had been more aware. We are

:42:42. > :42:45.looking at all of these different initiatives in terms of West

:42:46. > :42:50.practice, but the honourable gentleman was right to raise it. Can

:42:51. > :42:55.I congratulate the Minister for his commitment to this and the

:42:56. > :42:58.government. As he spoke about best practice in his last answer, in

:42:59. > :43:05.Stafford last month we held a round table about mental health. One of

:43:06. > :43:11.the issues that came of local initiatives, both in the public and

:43:12. > :43:15.the NGO sector, but sometimes they didn't know about each other. Could

:43:16. > :43:26.he point us to best practice in this sector? I am happy to do so. As I

:43:27. > :43:30.indicated earlier, one of the things that has perplexed me since being in

:43:31. > :43:32.the role is the variation of practice in different places. At the

:43:33. > :43:38.time when it has never been easier through a lack Nick means to

:43:39. > :43:43.transfer information, get people aware of best practice, it is still

:43:44. > :43:47.difficult to move things around. We need to make sure there is a

:43:48. > :43:55.clearing house, a website of clearing house ideas in areas like

:43:56. > :44:02.this. Sorry? Absolutely. We need to make sure we have got a proper ways

:44:03. > :44:06.to access all the different ideas. I know a lot of work is already put

:44:07. > :44:10.into this and we need to make sure it is easier to access different

:44:11. > :44:15.ideas, but there is a lot going on and a lot can be done in relation to

:44:16. > :44:19.spreading of practice. Exchanges here are not a private conversation.

:44:20. > :44:25.It is quite important from the vantage point of those who take a

:44:26. > :44:26.full and complete record of all proceedings, they can hear what is

:44:27. > :44:43.being said. The Minister has welcomed the work

:44:44. > :44:47.of the task force and its report is very comprehensive. I agree with him

:44:48. > :44:52.entirely. He has said he will look to implement these measures on a

:44:53. > :44:57.rolling programme. Will he, and can we infer from that, he is committed

:44:58. > :45:04.to implementing all of the measures and accepts all of the

:45:05. > :45:09.recommendations? Yes, I think we have indicated we accept all of the

:45:10. > :45:14.recommendations by the task force. What I'd like to do is roll out

:45:15. > :45:19.responses to them over a period of time so very regularly back to the

:45:20. > :45:22.House. But the commitment he have, both in expenditure, training and

:45:23. > :45:29.dealing with the recommendations is clear. Mr Speaker, you wouldn't want

:45:30. > :45:34.to hear all of the private conversations on the floor of the

:45:35. > :45:37.House, nor would be upstairs, but I see the honourable lady quite often

:45:38. > :45:42.over this, it is not unnatural we have the odd exchange over the

:45:43. > :45:47.dispatch box. I must declare an interest as a registered clinical

:45:48. > :45:51.psychologist and I thank the Minister for his commitment and the

:45:52. > :45:54.task force for their report. Considering mental health, the

:45:55. > :46:00.report highlights 40% of people living in care homes after two by

:46:01. > :46:03.depression. This contributes to morbidity. Alongside medical and

:46:04. > :46:12.social care, will the Minister commit to funding for older adults

:46:13. > :46:17.to address the growing older mental health needs? I thank the honourable

:46:18. > :46:22.lady for both her work in relation to this area, her commitment to this

:46:23. > :46:29.area since she has been in the House and being at a National Autistic

:46:30. > :46:32.Society event last night. Can I look at that particular suggestion? It is

:46:33. > :46:36.recognised with the growing incidence of dementia and other

:46:37. > :46:41.issues, those in care homes increasingly frail, of course there

:46:42. > :46:46.will be need for further specialised work. Can I look at that area in

:46:47. > :46:54.particular and come back to her in due course. Urgent question, Mr

:46:55. > :46:57.Chris Bryant. Mr Speaker, Wilbur leader of the House make a statement

:46:58. > :47:07.on the government consultation on shorter money? Minister, John

:47:08. > :47:10.Penrose. I am happy to confirm since we last discuss this topic on the

:47:11. > :47:15.day the House rose the recess, we have completed the steps I promised

:47:16. > :47:21.at the time. On the 12th of February I tabled the statutory implements to

:47:22. > :47:25.change policy development grants in line with the recommended changes

:47:26. > :47:29.put forward by the Independent electoral commission. Last Thursday,

:47:30. > :47:34.the deputy leader of the House and myself tabled a request for views

:47:35. > :47:39.about potential similar changes to short money. Therefore I hope the

:47:40. > :47:45.how's and appreciate why I am responding. Both forms of taxpayer

:47:46. > :47:49.funding for political parties are strong and since short money is more

:47:50. > :47:54.valuable, it seems sensible to take a similar approach. The request for

:47:55. > :48:00.views asks important questions. The cost of short money has gone up why

:48:01. > :48:06.50% since 2010. And by a whopping 68% by the end of this Parliament,

:48:07. > :48:09.if nothing is done. At a time when everybody else outside Westminster

:48:10. > :48:14.has had to tighten their belts, why should politicians expectedly

:48:15. > :48:18.treated differently, feathering their own nests at the tax payer's

:48:19. > :48:23.expense. The rises in short money are linked to the retail price index

:48:24. > :48:27.inflation every year. Benefits claimants get rises linked to the

:48:28. > :48:32.lower consumer price index inflation each year. So how can any politician

:48:33. > :48:35.look their constituents in the eye and say they deserve a bigger rise

:48:36. > :48:41.every year and someone who is looking for a job or on a pension,

:48:42. > :48:44.or living with a disability? The rises in short money also linked to

:48:45. > :48:54.the number of votes cast at elections. This is contributed this

:48:55. > :49:00.year to an enormous 30% increase from 7.4 quarter of ?1 million to

:49:01. > :49:04.almost 9.5 million pounds earlier this year. How can this be justified

:49:05. > :49:10.when many vital public services of having to cope with cuts of 19%.

:49:11. > :49:14.Short money is also notably and transparent, it is tax payer's money

:49:15. > :49:20.after all, but there is no requirements to publish details on

:49:21. > :49:23.how it is spent. There are, rightly, requirements on the development

:49:24. > :49:27.grants and pretty much every area of government funding. How can it be

:49:28. > :49:37.right in the modern age, the politicians do expect to be given a

:49:38. > :49:42.load of hard earned taxpayer's cash, more than ?35 million in total since

:49:43. > :49:46.2010 for the Labour Party, without at least explaining how it gets

:49:47. > :49:51.spent? And finally, the distribution of short money between parties

:49:52. > :49:55.throws up some odd results. Ukip, with one MP gets 688 thousand

:49:56. > :50:01.pounds, although the honourable gentleman has, in a principled

:50:02. > :50:06.stand, turned it down. While the Green party, also with one MP get

:50:07. > :50:10.less than a third of that. It makes sense to ask if this can be

:50:11. > :50:15.improved. These are important questions which need to be answered.

:50:16. > :50:20.The request for views runs until March the 7th, so there is plenty of

:50:21. > :50:24.time for all sides of the House to submit their views and opinions.

:50:25. > :50:27.There will be plenty of time to debate these issues here or in

:50:28. > :50:33.Westminster Hall. We are off to a flying start and I will take

:50:34. > :50:36.contributions from everybody here today in the spirit of constructive

:50:37. > :50:42.submissions and suggestions in answer to the questions, which the

:50:43. > :50:48.request for views has raised. That is all very well, at short money has

:50:49. > :50:52.absolutely nothing to do with the Cabinet Office. It is House

:50:53. > :50:56.business, not government is must. The point is it enables Parliament

:50:57. > :51:00.to do it is in this properly. The accounting officer is not the

:51:01. > :51:05.permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Office, it is the clerk of this

:51:06. > :51:09.House. And the leader of the House should be doing his job properly and

:51:10. > :51:13.answering questions. Can this minister confirm that any changes

:51:14. > :51:19.will have to be debated and voted on the floor of this House? Can he

:51:20. > :51:25.confirm that big cars this is House business, it will not subject to a

:51:26. > :51:29.government whip? This is the saltiest so-called concentration I

:51:30. > :51:33.have ever come across. It deliberately forgets to mention that

:51:34. > :51:37.short money is linked to how many seats and how many votes all the

:51:38. > :51:43.opposition parties got at a general election. So the main reason short

:51:44. > :51:47.money has increased in 2015, is because this government has a much

:51:48. > :51:49.smaller majority than the Labour government or the Coalition

:51:50. > :51:56.Government and the opposition party has got more seats and votes than in

:51:57. > :52:00.previous parliaments. Can the Minister confirm, contrary to what

:52:01. > :52:06.he says, this isn't an 19% cut, with inflation it is a 24% cut. How can

:52:07. > :52:09.that be right when the Chancellor has increased the cost of his

:52:10. > :52:16.political office to the taxpayer, by 204%? Or is there one rule for the

:52:17. > :52:21.opposition and quite another for the government. The minister said last

:52:22. > :52:26.time, the cost and number of taxpayer Tory special advisers, the

:52:27. > :52:30.only bitty is responsible for, is coming down. But that is not true

:52:31. > :52:37.either. Since the general election, that figure has gone up. Will the

:52:38. > :52:41.government be taking an 19% cut on the 1st of April? No, I don't

:52:42. > :52:47.suppose they will. The consultation published in the half term recess,

:52:48. > :52:50.he should be ashamed of himself, and allows 11 working days for responses

:52:51. > :52:55.and then seems to intend to implement a decision less than three

:52:56. > :53:03.weeks later. The lack of time to the two Conservative chaired select

:53:04. > :53:07.committees that have expressed an interest in an enquiry, complete

:53:08. > :53:12.those enquiries? People will conclude this government is

:53:13. > :53:15.developing a nasty, authoritarian streak and an overweening executive

:53:16. > :53:20.wants to crush all opposition because they are afraid of scrutiny.

:53:21. > :53:25.When we were in government we troubled short money and the Tories

:53:26. > :53:30.didn't hesitate to bank ?46 million. So we won't take any lessons from

:53:31. > :53:36.the Minister. When I was deputy leader of the House, some people

:53:37. > :53:45.suggested the we should cut short money. We said no, democracy is

:53:46. > :53:49.worth protecting. This isn't a consultation and cutting the cost of

:53:50. > :53:53.politics, we would welcome that. It is a pernicious ultimatum and the

:53:54. > :53:57.government should withdraw it and let it is prepared to put spuds on

:53:58. > :54:00.the table as well. To quote the Minister himself, why should the

:54:01. > :54:04.government be treated any different from the opposition, feathering

:54:05. > :54:15.their own nest West remarked that is what they are doing. Mr Speaker, I

:54:16. > :54:20.am happy to reassure the honourable gentleman the cost of Spads has

:54:21. > :54:25.fallen since the general election. I would also point out to him at the

:54:26. > :54:29.request for views is entirely clear about the various different causes

:54:30. > :54:35.of the rise in short money. It also asks for consultation, views and

:54:36. > :54:40.expressions of how it might be amended point, by point. You are

:54:41. > :54:46.wrong about the way the request for views is done. I would further point

:54:47. > :54:51.out, even if there are no changes to some of the proposals in the request

:54:52. > :54:56.for views, the Labour Party will still receive more funding in real

:54:57. > :55:02.terms, than the Conservative Party did in 2009, 20 ten. They will

:55:03. > :55:06.receive an estimated ?11 million of taxpayer's money over this

:55:07. > :55:12.Parliament. There will be no real reduction in cash terms, in fact a

:55:13. > :55:17.small increase in cash terms even after a 19% cut compared to 2014, 20

:55:18. > :55:23.15. Mr Speaker, I was hoping for a more construct of response. I was

:55:24. > :55:27.hoping for a more balanced response, I was hoping for something I could

:55:28. > :55:32.use as a set of proposals to respond to the request for views. That has

:55:33. > :55:36.not in what we have had and I deeply regret it. My hope there is time for

:55:37. > :55:44.us to move forward in a constructive pattern. Can I thank my honourable

:55:45. > :55:50.friend for launching a consultation which we have to confess seemed to

:55:51. > :55:56.be lacking earlier in this process. That is obviously a step forward. It

:55:57. > :56:02.is legitimate to ask the question as to whether it costs more or less to

:56:03. > :56:06.run an opposition on how big the majority of the government is the

:56:07. > :56:13.official opposition is a function that can be carried out regardless

:56:14. > :56:17.of the number of seeds that it has. Can I assure my honourable friend,

:56:18. > :56:21.my committee will continue to take an interest in this matter. Although

:56:22. > :56:22.I hope it can be resolved rather more consensually than today's

:56:23. > :56:32.exchanges. I thank durable friend for his

:56:33. > :56:39.comments, particularly about resolving things more consensually.

:56:40. > :56:43.I await the conclusions of this community, and it must make us at

:56:44. > :56:48.least ask the question about what the proper cost of running an

:56:49. > :56:52.opposition should be. The official opposition or indeed some of the

:56:53. > :56:55.other opposition parties. They do not necessarily vary depending on

:56:56. > :57:00.election which the current system election which the current system

:57:01. > :57:05.does require for example. Mr Speaker Ida Keren interest as the national

:57:06. > :57:10.secretary of the SNP. It is a good thing, that a consultation is

:57:11. > :57:15.happening, but why just among MPs, what about the public? While there

:57:16. > :57:19.is nothing wrong in principle of reducing the cost of politics, could

:57:20. > :57:22.we reduce the cost and number of special advisers and the house of

:57:23. > :57:27.lords. Given the proximity to the end of the financial year, when will

:57:28. > :57:32.the government confirmed the position of when they employ, what

:57:33. > :57:37.the settlement will actually be. Mr Speaker, the conclusions of the

:57:38. > :57:43.views will depend on what views are expressed. I don't want to prejudge

:57:44. > :57:49.that, they will have a want to promptly move, so that they have

:57:50. > :58:01.maximum time for planning and certainty. I regard short money as a

:58:02. > :58:04.critical part of our democracy, but given the comparison, the realistic

:58:05. > :58:09.comparison with special advisers and the steps that this government is

:58:10. > :58:14.taken to have transparency of senior special advisers, does the Minister

:58:15. > :58:17.not think that it is appropriate for the opposition to have greater

:58:18. > :58:26.transparency around the salaries of their senior appointed researchers.

:58:27. > :58:30.Mr Speaker, my honourable friend who was involved with administering both

:58:31. > :58:34.short money and policy development grants before he came into this

:58:35. > :58:39.house knows what he speaks of. I think he is absolutely right that it

:58:40. > :58:43.is essential that we demand the same degree of transparency on taxpayers

:58:44. > :58:47.money for all areas and that should include the cost that is already

:58:48. > :58:54.transparent but also what money is being spent by both positive grants

:58:55. > :58:57.and also short money equally. I have no problem at all about the

:58:58. > :59:02.transparency that has just been asked for, the Minister is a decent

:59:03. > :59:06.man, I think he has been tasked with doing somebody else's business. What

:59:07. > :59:10.he is proposing is not actually the cost of politics because if it was,

:59:11. > :59:14.he would also be proposing the cut in the budget for special advisers.

:59:15. > :59:18.This is actually about gagging the opposition. Would the Minister scrap

:59:19. > :59:22.this rushed consultation, abandon the attack on the scrutiny of

:59:23. > :59:28.government and look again at how the cost of politics can be reduced, by

:59:29. > :59:35.including for instance chopping the budget for special advisers. I thank

:59:36. > :59:40.the rubble gentleman for his kind comments about me, and as a member

:59:41. > :59:43.of the whips office in the last government, I reciprocate of course.

:59:44. > :59:49.I would say that there are other ways of cutting, he is right,

:59:50. > :59:53.debility juju is the number of MPs in this house. There is another

:59:54. > :59:59.example. -- the ability to reduce the number. I would not want to

:00:00. > :00:03.limit to just this but I don't think that should be the enemy of doing

:00:04. > :00:10.this either. I think it is sensible and I hope that we can rely on his

:00:11. > :00:14.support for this. Having a hand in the creation of the grant and also

:00:15. > :00:20.arguing vigorously for short money increases when we were in

:00:21. > :00:26.opposition, I feel that, I have had to look carefully before arguing for

:00:27. > :00:30.anything other, that this needs to be reconsidered, this decision for

:00:31. > :00:37.such a substantial cut. It does seem to be, unacceptable that it is being

:00:38. > :00:43.introduced in one year. Everybody understands the need for financial

:00:44. > :00:48.stringency and for this house to take its share of those reductions,

:00:49. > :00:53.but could the Minister at least look to whether that reduction can be

:00:54. > :00:57.phased, and could the Minister also pick up carefully the point that has

:00:58. > :01:03.been made about special advisers, which have grown enormously, both

:01:04. > :01:08.under the Labour government, we got in the Coalition Government up to

:01:09. > :01:12.about 110 and it has been reduced a little bit recently. But still these

:01:13. > :01:17.numbers are very large and do provide a lot of assistance, to the

:01:18. > :01:21.government, and I think, there is although not asymmetry, elation ship

:01:22. > :01:28.between those two numbers. To look at short money would be a stake in

:01:29. > :01:33.isolation. Can I start by reassuring my honourable friend, we are not

:01:34. > :01:38.talking about a cut but a slower rise, the cost of short money has

:01:39. > :01:43.already risen by 50% since 2010, this is a very significant amount of

:01:44. > :01:46.money already. And also we are talking about reducing the amount of

:01:47. > :01:51.rise that would otherwise if nothing else was done, continue to be

:01:52. > :01:56.ratcheted up between now and the end of the parliament. I would also say

:01:57. > :02:01.to him that the cost of special advisers is still lower than the

:02:02. > :02:03.total cost put together of government funding from positive

:02:04. > :02:08.development grants, short money from other sources. Therefore I think

:02:09. > :02:12.that while I agree with him that it is not directly compatible, and

:02:13. > :02:18.there is some kind of symmetry, I'm sure that he is reassured that this

:02:19. > :02:22.bad salary bill is lower than the funding of opposition parties. --

:02:23. > :02:26.the special adviser salary bills. Can the Minister qualified as

:02:27. > :02:29.regards policy development grants and how it ties in with the

:02:30. > :02:39.proposals and use of the electoral commission? The Independent

:02:40. > :02:42.electoral commission has undertaken a fairly careful consultation over

:02:43. > :02:47.some period of time and has made some recommendations. The statutory

:02:48. > :02:52.instrument that I mention in my remarks, deals with some of those

:02:53. > :02:56.but not all of them. How we perceive with the remainder of the electoral

:02:57. > :03:02.the fact that the obvious parallels the fact that the obvious parallels

:03:03. > :03:09.between short money, we thought it was sensible to have one set of

:03:10. > :03:16.answers before we did the others. Policy money, has increased by 60%

:03:17. > :03:21.since 2010 -- short money. Is that really justifiable when councils of

:03:22. > :03:23.all colours are making very large efficiency savings, surely taxpayer

:03:24. > :03:32.funded political parties can do the same. It is absolutely right that

:03:33. > :03:36.people outside this place, the Westminster bubble, we'll look at

:03:37. > :03:39.our discussions today and they will not understand why politicians feel

:03:40. > :03:43.that they should be treated separately, why they think that the

:03:44. > :03:46.politicians should treat themselves as a special case. They will look at

:03:47. > :03:50.what has happened to their budget and will say that what is sauce for

:03:51. > :03:56.the goose should be sauce for the political gander as well. Setting

:03:57. > :04:03.aside for the moment, the detail for the request for views, can he say

:04:04. > :04:06.what the effect would have on scrutiny and the comfort or

:04:07. > :04:11.discomfort that the executive feels as it goes about its business? Mr

:04:12. > :04:16.Speaker has mentioned before, the amount of short money has already

:04:17. > :04:20.gone up by 50% since 2010, so opposition parties have a great deal

:04:21. > :04:24.more money in which to do the job than they had before. I would just

:04:25. > :04:32.referring back to the comment, the lady from Ukip, he has pointed out

:04:33. > :04:36.that the costs of research and many other political functions are now

:04:37. > :04:39.potentially lower, and it is certainly reasonable to expect given

:04:40. > :04:43.what has been asked of many other government departments and local

:04:44. > :04:49.authorities, for people to work more efficiently in future. I think the

:04:50. > :04:53.public will be astonished that full accounts do not have two be

:04:54. > :04:58.published, in the age of transparency. How is the minister

:04:59. > :05:03.going to put that right? I devoutly hope that the response of this will

:05:04. > :05:07.be an increase of transparency. We already have an improvement in

:05:08. > :05:10.transparency on taxpayer funded spending, we already had

:05:11. > :05:17.transparency that is far better for short money on policy development

:05:18. > :05:21.grants, a very similar to find -- similar kind of grant so it is out

:05:22. > :05:29.of step to assume that short money should be magically exempt. Thank

:05:30. > :05:33.you very much Mr Speaker, I would challenge the minister if I might Mr

:05:34. > :05:38.Speaker because identity this money is being for politicians, it is for

:05:39. > :05:42.our staff and support teams. It is essential that we have the staff and

:05:43. > :05:46.support teams so that we deliver well for our constituents and the

:05:47. > :05:51.people that we serve. Transparency is not an issue, none of us that I

:05:52. > :05:54.am aware of in this house would dispute transparency. Any move

:05:55. > :05:58.towards transparency would be broadly supported but the problem is

:05:59. > :06:04.this, my arithmetic seems to have gone awry here. Because my figures

:06:05. > :06:15.tell me that in 2010, the Chancellor employed for special advisers at a

:06:16. > :06:23.total cost of 2000 -- 230,000 to day he has ten special advisers, how can

:06:24. > :06:29.the Minister defend a 24% cut for those of us trying to make things

:06:30. > :06:35.work, and a 204% rise for those in the Chancellor 's office? The chance

:06:36. > :06:38.lap spikes special advice team is to speak now costs more than the total

:06:39. > :06:46.cost of policy development grants for all of us here, the TU P, Playa

:06:47. > :06:54.Comrie, Scottish National party, the Chancellor gets more than we do. As

:06:55. > :06:57.I have mentioned before, the cost of special advisers has fallen since

:06:58. > :07:01.the last general election, and Gordon Brown when he was Chancellor

:07:02. > :07:08.had more special advisers than the current Chancellor, he had more

:07:09. > :07:14.Spads, and the average salary of a special adviser is currently ?2000

:07:15. > :07:22.less than under Gordon Brown's government in 2009. Short money

:07:23. > :07:25.quite rightly exists to enable opposition parties to undertake

:07:26. > :07:29.scrutiny and Parliamentary duties therefore many of my constituents

:07:30. > :07:33.will find it hard to understand the funding received by Sinn Fein men

:07:34. > :07:35.are members neither attend this house nor participate in its

:07:36. > :07:42.activities, will my honourable friend undertake to look at this

:07:43. > :07:49.anomaly? The funding received, by Sinn Fein has for a long time been

:07:50. > :07:53.looked at as a separate and parallel consideration subject to a separate

:07:54. > :07:59.resolution of this has and I would expect that to continue to have

:08:00. > :08:02.special separate consideration. Could the government's that

:08:03. > :08:07.announcement it will be cutting short money, can I urge them to

:08:08. > :08:11.stick to guns. Don't retreat, the signs special pleading from critical

:08:12. > :08:15.parties wanting to get their hands on taxpayers cash is disgraceful.

:08:16. > :08:19.Can I urge my ministers not only to slash short money but to insist that

:08:20. > :08:25.all put to good parties publish fully audited accounts on what they

:08:26. > :08:33.spend that money on, as my party will be, so we can see what they

:08:34. > :08:40.spend their money on. Mr Speaker I find myself in strong agreement with

:08:41. > :08:44.the honourable gentleman's point. It is a timeworn phrase but it bears

:08:45. > :08:50.representation, sunlight is the best disinfectant. I'm sure that the

:08:51. > :08:53.Minister would agree that it is vital that the government secures

:08:54. > :08:57.value for money and given the purpose of the short money, to

:08:58. > :09:01.provide a credible opposition, would he agree that what we have seen

:09:02. > :09:04.today, the announcement of nuclear submarines without nuclear missile

:09:05. > :09:13.shows that much of it has been completely squandered. I hesitate to

:09:14. > :09:18.follow my honourable friend down that path. But if short money has

:09:19. > :09:25.gone up by 50% since 2010, we now have an incredible opposition

:09:26. > :09:28.instead. Since with one exception of what we have just heard there is

:09:29. > :09:33.such a strong feeling on opposition benches for what the government is

:09:34. > :09:37.intending to do is to undermine the work of opposition, would it not be

:09:38. > :09:41.sensible to do what was done originally when short money was

:09:42. > :09:46.introduced, namely to have constructive talks with the

:09:47. > :09:54.opposition. With no ultimatum in the beginning or in order to reach a

:09:55. > :09:57.fair settlement. I rather hope that it would elicit a strong and

:09:58. > :10:02.constructive response. I am afraid that has not been visible so far.

:10:03. > :10:07.Nonetheless, I hope that it perhaps may change between now and the end

:10:08. > :10:11.of the period of the request. I would also point out that because we

:10:12. > :10:22.are facing a deficit, time is pressing, and we have less fiscal

:10:23. > :10:25.slack. Will this short money reforms mean that the opposition parties

:10:26. > :10:31.will have two name and give the salaries of their special advisers?

:10:32. > :10:40.Although I don't know their renewed oration, I think they are hugely

:10:41. > :10:47.overpaid! Mr Speaker, given the level of transparency, which is

:10:48. > :10:52.rightly expected when employing spads, it is reasonable to answer an

:10:53. > :10:57.equivocal level of transparency on how Short Money is spent on people

:10:58. > :11:00.like Damien Wright, who I understand has just rejoined the Labour Party's

:11:01. > :11:09.payroll and also Seamus Milne as well. The Minister talks about

:11:10. > :11:12.savings to the taxpayer, but can he confirm any savings that will be

:11:13. > :11:16.made by these proposals be dwarfed by the extra cost to the public

:11:17. > :11:22.purse as a result of the Prime Minister's prolific rate of

:11:23. > :11:27.appointment to the other place? Actually, the cost of the House of

:11:28. > :11:31.Lords is falling, I am told, even while its numbers are rising. So the

:11:32. > :11:35.cost to the public purse will be reduced as a result of the changes

:11:36. > :11:40.happening at the other end. However, on his broader point about whether

:11:41. > :11:46.or not this amount of money is worthwhile, at the risk angering my

:11:47. > :11:51.colleagues from Scotland, it matters what we save and it matters we pay

:11:52. > :11:54.attention to every single detail, given the scale of the deficit we

:11:55. > :12:01.inherited from the last Labour government. Mr Speaker, the Minister

:12:02. > :12:06.will recognise that these to be consensus in the House around

:12:07. > :12:09.transparency. Would it be fair, given the government has reduced its

:12:10. > :12:15.travel costs within its time in government, the opposition should

:12:16. > :12:21.publicise its travel costs and the amount they pay the special advisers

:12:22. > :12:28.of and down the country? I will take it as a constructive request in

:12:29. > :12:35.request for views. Given the increase in costs since 2009 of

:12:36. > :12:41.spads by 56%, the proposed cut in the Short Money of 24% over four

:12:42. > :12:49.years is disgraceful. Isn't the Minister ashamed of his government's

:12:50. > :12:53.attack on democracy? I think we have already covered these points. The

:12:54. > :12:59.level of Short Money has gone up by 50% already, gone up by 30% in the

:13:00. > :13:04.last year. I think people listening to these exchanges will be asking

:13:05. > :13:07.is, how much does it cost to run an opposition and why do politicians

:13:08. > :13:15.feel they are so much more deserving of cash van example benefits

:13:16. > :13:22.claimants, whose money has not risen by nowhere near as much speed. Given

:13:23. > :13:28.the performance of the Leader of the Opposition, maybe we should take the

:13:29. > :13:33.opposition money away completely? Mr Speaker, I will take that as a

:13:34. > :13:38.suggestion and a proposal. I suspect the weight of views across the House

:13:39. > :13:43.may be rather against that and people do feel there is a place for

:13:44. > :13:53.Short Money if it is properly reformed, in the same way there is

:13:54. > :13:58.proper funding and it can function. Again, I will ask the question, with

:13:59. > :14:05.the cost of government spads rising, will the Minister concede a

:14:06. > :14:08.disgraceful 24% cut to opposition party's scrutiny funds is a case of

:14:09. > :14:16.double standards and an impediment to the scrutiny, by the opposition

:14:17. > :14:20.is of the executive? I would respectfully disagree with the

:14:21. > :14:24.honourable lady. If only because the cost of spads has fallen since the

:14:25. > :14:28.general election. And the cost of spads will still remain lower than

:14:29. > :14:36.the total funding for opposition parties. Spending Short Money is

:14:37. > :14:41.unnecessarily opaque. It needs consultation. Will my honourable

:14:42. > :14:47.friend seek representation from senior and numerous members of the

:14:48. > :14:53.opposition, as to whether they think the taxpayer, and indeed their own

:14:54. > :14:59.party, gets value for money for the likes of Seamus Milne? Mr Speaker, I

:15:00. > :15:05.will take submissions from any member of this House, on any side of

:15:06. > :15:09.this House, as to what would involve good value for money. But he is

:15:10. > :15:14.right to question, what is value for money, how much does it cost to run

:15:15. > :15:18.an opposition of this and can we make sure it is done as efficiently

:15:19. > :15:25.as possible with taxpayer's cash? The fact is the number of special

:15:26. > :15:31.advisers has gone up to 96. The Prime Minister has appointed a

:15:32. > :15:36.record 236 peers to the other place. Meanwhile, the government has

:15:37. > :15:39.introduced the lobbying act, is attempting to gag the trade unions

:15:40. > :15:46.and is cutting the Short Money. This shows the government is not

:15:47. > :15:48.interested in cutting the cost of politics, it is absolutely clear,

:15:49. > :15:56.they want to silence any opposition in this country! I am afraid I don't

:15:57. > :16:01.accept the premise of the honourable lady's question. We are, at the same

:16:02. > :16:06.time, proposing to cut the number of MPs in this place. We are very

:16:07. > :16:10.serious about putting the cost of politics and I therefore hope,

:16:11. > :16:15.people will, in that spirit contribute to this request for views

:16:16. > :16:20.in a constructive fashion. Does the Minister agree with me that my

:16:21. > :16:23.constituents at least have the right to see as much transparency as

:16:24. > :16:28.possible in how Short Money is being spent. For all they know it could be

:16:29. > :16:33.being used by honourable members to help them right there but is? I'm

:16:34. > :16:41.sure the opposition, any of the opposition parties would not spend

:16:42. > :16:45.taxpayer's money in such a disrespectful fashion. I'm sure they

:16:46. > :16:47.have nothing to hide and sure they will not be concerned about

:16:48. > :16:55.increased proposals for transparency. Can the Minister

:16:56. > :17:00.confirm this will have to be done by a resolution of the whole House? If

:17:01. > :17:08.so, does he have a date in mind for such a resolution? It is as usual on

:17:09. > :17:14.these things, there will have to be a proposal which has already been

:17:15. > :17:20.laid for policy development grants. And we will come a proposal the shot

:17:21. > :17:25.money, it has to be passed by a resolution in this House. She is

:17:26. > :17:29.absolutely right. Will the Minister confirm during the consultation he

:17:30. > :17:34.will specifically look at protect Ding and supporting the interests of

:17:35. > :17:38.minority parties? He have a huge, important role to play in this

:17:39. > :17:43.Parliament, especially when we have such a divided and weak official

:17:44. > :17:46.opposition? I gave in my initial remarks, an illustration of some of

:17:47. > :17:51.the peculiarities and distribution of Short Money. I illustrated by

:17:52. > :17:56.comparison is received by Ukip and the Greens, but there are other

:17:57. > :18:00.examples and members from smaller opposition parties will be able to

:18:01. > :18:06.say why they feel they are being over remunerated or under. It is

:18:07. > :18:09.sensible to ask the question how it can be improved and whether the

:18:10. > :18:18.basis of allocation can be made that. Cutting the cost of politics,

:18:19. > :18:23.the minister says. Cutting the number of elected MPs whilst I think

:18:24. > :18:27.the other place full of his mates. Cutting support to opposition

:18:28. > :18:31.parties whilst greatly increasing the number of special advisers in

:18:32. > :18:34.government. If he wants to cut the cost of politics, can he tell this

:18:35. > :18:40.House, why the Conservative Party has claimed one point 27 million

:18:41. > :18:50.pounds since 2010 in policy development grants? The allocations

:18:51. > :18:55.of money are based on recommendations from the independent

:18:56. > :18:59.electoral commission, not by proposals from the government. I

:19:00. > :19:04.would also point out to him, we are practising what we preach because in

:19:05. > :19:07.previous years the allocation of policy grounds has been scaled back.

:19:08. > :19:18.We have handed some of the money back, about wanting to cut the cost

:19:19. > :19:22.of politics. With a national debt of ?1.5 trillion, ?24,000 for every

:19:23. > :19:27.man, woman and child in this country and some government departments

:19:28. > :19:31.making heroic efforts to curb back-office functions, like the

:19:32. > :19:35.Ministry of Justice cutting 50% of its back office functions, what

:19:36. > :19:39.possible signal does it send out to the country and the civil servants

:19:40. > :19:44.doing those jobs, to see some political parties are refusing even

:19:45. > :19:52.to engage with sensible reforms of their own funding? I couldn't agree

:19:53. > :19:56.more. The general public will not understand why politicians feel we

:19:57. > :20:00.should be a special case. They will listen to this debate and say, why

:20:01. > :20:03.should they think they are in any way deserving of better treatment

:20:04. > :20:08.than people on benefits and struggling with the budget. Why

:20:09. > :20:12.should they get a special deal? I don't think the general public will

:20:13. > :20:18.understand why in the Cabinet Office, there are 50 press and

:20:19. > :20:21.communication of this. In the Ministry of Justice there are 42

:20:22. > :20:28.external commissioners. Shouldn't the government tighten its own belt

:20:29. > :20:31.and cut its own cloth first? The government is putting its own House

:20:32. > :20:36.in order, we have made dramatic savings over the course of the last

:20:37. > :20:40.Parliament and we continue to make further savings across the whole of

:20:41. > :20:47.government. 19% for unprotect did departments in this Parliament. I

:20:48. > :20:51.would respectfully refused the honourable lady's starting

:20:52. > :20:55.assumption. In the last Parliament I was an adviser to the then shadow

:20:56. > :21:01.secretary of state along with one other part-time member of staff. The

:21:02. > :21:04.government ministered had for special advisers, a series of

:21:05. > :21:08.private offices and hundreds of press officers and policy advisers.

:21:09. > :21:13.Will he accept Short Money is the minimum requirement for opposition

:21:14. > :21:20.in a healthy parliamentary democracy? If it is the minimum

:21:21. > :21:24.requirement, perhaps he can answer why it is so much higher now than it

:21:25. > :21:31.was five years ago in real terms, and why is it so much higher than

:21:32. > :21:36.would be, still higher than it was in 2014, 15. If the costs of running

:21:37. > :21:39.an opposition are consistent and maybe even potentially lower than

:21:40. > :21:43.they used to be, the current levels of Short Money, having risen so far,

:21:44. > :21:47.must be an over budget on something which can be saved. Statement, the

:21:48. > :21:53.Parliamentary undersecretary of state this transport. Minister,

:21:54. > :21:57.Claire Perry. With permission, I would like to make a statement to

:21:58. > :22:04.the House. I am delighted to announce today that from December

:22:05. > :22:07.2018, the Crossrail route will be known as Elizabeth line. It will be

:22:08. > :22:13.marked on the nation's transport maps in royal purple. Today, Her

:22:14. > :22:17.Majesty took part in a naming ceremony at Bond Street station

:22:18. > :22:21.where she met some of those responsible for delivering your's

:22:22. > :22:28.most complicated engineering project, now more than 70% complete

:22:29. > :22:34.and running on budget and on time. Her Majesty has served our country

:22:35. > :22:39.for over 60 years. She has been a symbol of wisdom, of continuity and

:22:40. > :22:42.of stability in an age of unprecedented change. She has long

:22:43. > :22:48.been associated with many aspects of this nation's transport. Our Queen

:22:49. > :22:55.opened the Victoria line service in 1969. The fleet line was renamed the

:22:56. > :23:01.Jubilee line in honour of her first 25 years on the throne in 1979. She

:23:02. > :23:05.is the first reigning Monarch to travel on the London Underground.

:23:06. > :23:09.More recently, Her Majesty has opened the redeveloped Redding and

:23:10. > :23:18.Birmingham new Street stations and Heathrow Airport's new terminal two

:23:19. > :23:22.building. I am told trains are Her Majesty's favourite form of travel

:23:23. > :23:27.and she is a frequent user of the Royal train, but also scheduled

:23:28. > :23:30.train services. I hope Her Majesty will consider an invitation to

:23:31. > :23:36.travel on the first passenger train that will pass through the Elizabeth

:23:37. > :23:40.line's tunnels in December 20 18. Even before that date, this project

:23:41. > :23:45.is breaking new ground, it is not just the largest infrastructure

:23:46. > :23:50.project in Europe, it is the most technically challenging and the most

:23:51. > :23:52.ambitious. In a little over three years, working through night and

:23:53. > :23:58.day, the thousands of members working on the project, have dug 26

:23:59. > :24:03.miles of tunnels under London. And thanks to their work, the line is

:24:04. > :24:10.now over 70% complete. In May of this year, sorry, of lush, Transport

:24:11. > :24:15.for London began operating the first section of what will become the

:24:16. > :24:18.Elizabeth line route to Shenfield. Network Rail has completed most of

:24:19. > :24:25.the work to connect to this line to the existing rail network. In Derby,

:24:26. > :24:27.as I have seen for myself, bombarding is building the first

:24:28. > :24:34.carriage of the first Crossrail train. A British built train for a

:24:35. > :24:39.great British rail line. When the Elizabeth line fully opens in

:24:40. > :24:43.December 2018, it will change dramatically, the way people travel

:24:44. > :24:49.round London and the south-east. It will ring annex 1.5 million people

:24:50. > :24:54.within a 45 minutes commuting distance of London's key business

:24:55. > :25:00.areas. It will increase the total railway capacity by 10% in the South

:25:01. > :25:05.East, adding much-needed capacity to some very crowded lines. It will

:25:06. > :25:09.support our ambition of citywide regeneration and faster and better

:25:10. > :25:15.journey times for passengers. I am pleased to confirm that all 40

:25:16. > :25:20.Elizabeth line stations will be step free, so they are access the ball to

:25:21. > :25:24.all. We are very proud of this investment, but it is not just about

:25:25. > :25:29.the current project work. This project will bring a lasting skills

:25:30. > :25:36.legacy to Britain. And in particular skills legacy that will benefit many

:25:37. > :25:39.thousands of women. As Terry Morgan, the current project chairman has

:25:40. > :25:44.said, Crossrail has always been more than a transport project. It has

:25:45. > :25:47.been a blueprint on how infrastructure should be built in

:25:48. > :25:53.this country in the future. This construction site is a sophisticated

:25:54. > :25:57.place requiring communication skills, the ability to multitask and

:25:58. > :26:02.manage complex project, working teams and win the trust of clients

:26:03. > :26:03.and site neighbours. All skills that make these projects natural projects

:26:04. > :26:17.for women to work. And so as a result of this project,

:26:18. > :26:21.it has broken new ground in a diversity of its workforce. Women

:26:22. > :26:24.make up almost called from those in his graduate programme and these are

:26:25. > :26:29.people who will go on to become the future leaders in this industry. Of

:26:30. > :26:34.the 10,000 people working on cross well, nearly one third are women. So

:26:35. > :26:38.through Crossrail, we are now forging careers that we never full

:26:39. > :26:43.possible fact we were able to celebrate here and in a cross-party

:26:44. > :26:50.reception which we called she is building it. Mr Speaker, Crossrail,

:26:51. > :26:54.soon to be called Elizabeth line. The Olympics, Reading and Birmingham

:26:55. > :26:59.new Street Station is our rid jubilate in the image and economic

:27:00. > :27:02.sob British engineering. -- jubilate in the image. And opening up

:27:03. > :27:09.opportunities for the best and the brightest among women. I know people

:27:10. > :27:12.working on the Crossrail project are already immensely proud of the

:27:13. > :27:17.legacy they are helping to create and I have to believe that their

:27:18. > :27:21.pride can only be enhanced by the announcement today, that this

:27:22. > :27:26.amazing ground-breaking engineering project will for ever be known by

:27:27. > :27:28.the name of our sovereign, Queen Elizabeth. Mr Speaker with

:27:29. > :27:40.permission I commend this statement to the house. Mr Speaker, I'm very

:27:41. > :27:45.grateful to the Minister, on my own behalf and Her Majesty 's opposition

:27:46. > :27:51.I am happy to be able to welcome this announcement today. Crossrail

:27:52. > :27:55.has had cross-party support over its lengthy gestation period, and they

:27:56. > :27:58.will be considerable benefits. The naming of the line as the Elizabeth

:27:59. > :28:05.line is very much welcomed by members of this, we have been very

:28:06. > :28:13.used to the title Crossrail, of itself the renaming is a significant

:28:14. > :28:21.improving on cross London Railways Limited. Elisabeth is a much more

:28:22. > :28:25.fitting title, which will so benefit better transport of millions of

:28:26. > :28:30.passengers from Reading in the West to Shenfield in the east, given the

:28:31. > :28:35.enormous public commitment that has gone into developing the Crossrail

:28:36. > :28:40.brand, will she give us an assurance that the Crossrail brand and livery

:28:41. > :28:47.will continue to be used? Mr Speaker I would like pay tribute, to the

:28:48. > :28:49.last Labour government that took forward the Crossrail plan, that

:28:50. > :28:58.decided that the rail link should go ahead. Alistair Darling who is the

:28:59. > :29:03.Secretary of State, announced, that Labour supported the East- West

:29:04. > :29:07.roadway link, to enable Crossrail to proceed, which was critical in

:29:08. > :29:12.turning the aspiration and ambition of Crossrail to reality. One of the

:29:13. > :29:15.first considerations of the previous Coalition Government was to consider

:29:16. > :29:19.cancelling the Crossrail project altogether so we on this side of the

:29:20. > :29:24.house are delighted not only that the project is back on track so to

:29:25. > :29:28.speak but that the government's conversion in support of Crossrail

:29:29. > :29:34.was embracing, so they have not just given the project its full backing

:29:35. > :29:39.but dedicating the project to Her Majesty and we give our support. We

:29:40. > :29:43.all expect, the Elizabeth line, to change the face of the Southeast so

:29:44. > :29:48.I would like to draw the Minister's focus, it is largely on-time and on

:29:49. > :29:51.budget, can the Minister confirm that Crossrail will indeed open on

:29:52. > :29:56.schedule, will she inform the house of what lessons have been learned

:29:57. > :30:00.from the successes of Crossrail that can be applied to HS two. The

:30:01. > :30:05.Crossrail service will share the great Western name line to Reading

:30:06. > :30:09.but sadly the electrification has slipped and will cost more than

:30:10. > :30:16.first estimated. Will the Minister take this opportunity to confirm to

:30:17. > :30:18.the house, that the rescheduling of electrification, to Reading will be

:30:19. > :30:26.completed in time for the opening of the Elizabeth line? Finally Mr

:30:27. > :30:31.Speaker I'm delighted that after 35 years of planning and abandonment,

:30:32. > :30:37.Crossrail finally broke ground on the 15th of May 2009 at Canary

:30:38. > :30:49.Wharf, the Mayor of London, and the noble Lord Adonis, sunk the first

:30:50. > :30:53.bit. As we come to a conclusion to one of undoubtedly the most

:30:54. > :30:57.magnificent engineering, we can remember the name Crossrail with

:30:58. > :31:00.much affection, and while Crossrail is not dead, I wish the Elizabeth

:31:01. > :31:08.line a great long and successful life. Thank you very much Mr

:31:09. > :31:12.Speaker, it is a delight to share has we often do a cross-party view

:31:13. > :31:16.that is in total agreement break comes to transport infrastructure. I

:31:17. > :31:20.would like to answer some of the questions, Crossrail branding will

:31:21. > :31:24.apply for now, the intention is from December 2018 that Elizabeth line

:31:25. > :31:29.branding will come to pass. Particularly with the trains

:31:30. > :31:33.currently under construction, it is not an expensive item to repaint and

:31:34. > :31:38.rebrand. There are no costs associated with this welcome

:31:39. > :31:41.decision. He asked me about lessons that have been learned, by all

:31:42. > :31:45.associated with Crossrail that can be applied to Network Rail, I would

:31:46. > :31:49.argue that they are lessons that can be applied more broadly because some

:31:50. > :31:57.things that work very well is that the project has stuck to its guns,

:31:58. > :32:00.to its knitting. It has resisted demands for changes, deviations, it

:32:01. > :32:05.has proceeded with an original plan and has liver that plan very

:32:06. > :32:09.effectively. It crucially has led I think, blazed a trail in terms of

:32:10. > :32:14.engagement both with communities who worry affected by the work, it is

:32:15. > :32:17.surprisingly few go and visit a station how little people around

:32:18. > :32:22.that station actually realise that work is going on. That is a tribute

:32:23. > :32:29.to the care and consideration and engagement. And of course, it has

:32:30. > :32:34.enormously important things with the supply chain because the majority of

:32:35. > :32:39.the supply contracts are being let to companies outside of the

:32:40. > :32:43.Southeast and in many cases to SMEs, two very important lessons for the

:32:44. > :32:47.future. He is right to talk about the questions of bringing it on

:32:48. > :32:52.budget and on time, I wanted to emphasise that this is part of the

:32:53. > :32:55.careful planning, his question about the vital linkage, between the

:32:56. > :33:00.Crossrail lines and the great Western main lines to the West, I am

:33:01. > :33:04.happy to confirm that that work is happening on time and again on

:33:05. > :33:09.budget, that will absolutely be in place in order to make sure that

:33:10. > :33:12.this line is running well. It is an enormous priority to make sure that

:33:13. > :33:20.those first trains can run from December 20 18. Mr Speaker I

:33:21. > :33:25.strongly welcome the Minister statement today, can she guarantee

:33:26. > :33:28.that this final 30% of the construction process, we will be

:33:29. > :33:36.trumpeting the use of British Steel wherever possible? I'm happy to

:33:37. > :33:40.confirm that absolutely, 85% of the supply chain providing steel is

:33:41. > :33:45.UK-based and the 57 kilometres of rails that run through the central

:33:46. > :33:50.tunnel are 100% provided by UK steel suppliers, and I'm not sure that the

:33:51. > :33:54.honourable gentleman also welcome the fact that 61% of the firms that

:33:55. > :34:02.have one work associated with him tire project are based outside of

:34:03. > :34:05.London. Can I also thank the Minister for an advanced copy of the

:34:06. > :34:12.statement. Can I welcome and increased opportunity, to support

:34:13. > :34:17.it, women, it is a message that we need more opportunities for them. I

:34:18. > :34:21.would also welcome the aspects of welcoming, it is an important

:34:22. > :34:25.factor. This to Speaker, a change of name can be a very invigorating

:34:26. > :34:28.thing, we found in Scotland that a change in the name of the Scottish

:34:29. > :34:34.pig exited to the Scottish Government gave a sense of purpose,

:34:35. > :34:40.-- the Scottish executive to the Scottish Government. The royal theme

:34:41. > :34:44.I think is continued in Scotland by the Queensferry Crossing, a name

:34:45. > :34:48.change that was done by public vote and I wonder if the Minister could

:34:49. > :34:52.tell us how the name, the mechanism that we got two for renaming

:34:53. > :35:00.Crossrail today because the public certainly embrace that with some

:35:01. > :35:05.figure. The Minister also describes that as a great British rail line,

:35:06. > :35:09.can she guarantee that all of the ticket machines on the new Elizabeth

:35:10. > :35:15.line will be able to accept Scottish notes so that we can actually do

:35:16. > :35:18.that. Mr Speaker the Scottish Government according to figures

:35:19. > :35:22.announced just last weekend is investing twice as much per person

:35:23. > :35:26.in transport as in England and has spent more per head in improving

:35:27. > :35:31.infrastructure than all of the other nations in the UK since the SNP came

:35:32. > :35:36.to power in 2007. I'm glad to see some ambition coming for, can we see

:35:37. > :35:43.some more of it, to make sure that the people of the nations of the UK

:35:44. > :35:46.are better connected? I thank the ruble gentleman for a very important

:35:47. > :35:49.list of questions, he is right to focus as we are doing about the

:35:50. > :35:58.diverse city opportunities that have opened up. Too often I think that

:35:59. > :36:02.people think of engineering skills, involving joining a club, it is not,

:36:03. > :36:07.it is a high-tech world where you will spend more time with a laptop

:36:08. > :36:11.than a spanner. It is thanks to the record investment entrance port

:36:12. > :36:15.infrastructure going forward. It is one where we would like to attract

:36:16. > :36:23.more women. There are subtle changes, the so-called man cage, has

:36:24. > :36:33.been renamed at the suggestion of a very feisty woman, as a people

:36:34. > :36:41.basket. The honourable gentleman has asked me about it, I'm sure, that if

:36:42. > :36:44.we put it to the British people in a referendum, if they have not got

:36:45. > :36:49.referendum fatigue, that this decision will be overwhelmingly

:36:50. > :36:53.supported. Of course, the Queen did approve the decision. I think the

:36:54. > :36:57.genesis of this is that she is our longest serving monarch, she has

:36:58. > :37:00.been on the throne for 64 years and it is a very fitting tribute that

:37:01. > :37:05.this name change will coincide with the length of that rain. The

:37:06. > :37:08.honourable gentleman asked me about Scottish pound notes, based on my

:37:09. > :37:12.experience with Scottish cabbies, many people do not believe that it

:37:13. > :37:17.is legal tender south of the border I had to say but I will look into

:37:18. > :37:24.it, what I would like is for there to be a revolution in ticket vending

:37:25. > :37:27.machine so that we can use mobile and smart. He raised the question

:37:28. > :37:31.about the importance of infrastructure north of the border,

:37:32. > :37:36.I'm sure like me that he is the light that the West Coast mainline,

:37:37. > :37:41.the vital freight route, has been opened after the devastation at

:37:42. > :37:44.lambing to an viaduct two weeks earlier. I went to see it in the

:37:45. > :37:48.snow with the transport minister from north of the border, it was a

:37:49. > :37:51.difficult site and I think we would all like to pay tribute to the

:37:52. > :38:00.Orange army that delivered that result. I welcome this announcement,

:38:01. > :38:04.and the Minister rightly praises Crossrail the Elizabeth line. De she

:38:05. > :38:10.think that this is a suitable model for rail North, and indeed, the new

:38:11. > :38:16.Northern transport that has just been set up. So that there can be

:38:17. > :38:23.investment in new lines right across the north of England to make the

:38:24. > :38:28.northern Powerhouse a reality. I thank the honourable lady for her

:38:29. > :38:33.support, I think she's right to focus on the parallels here, clearly

:38:34. > :38:37.transport money is best spent when it is to satisfy local demand and

:38:38. > :38:41.drive local economic growth and as this government has done which I'm

:38:42. > :38:44.sure she welcomes, we have setup transport for the north on a

:38:45. > :38:48.stand-alone basis. We have funded it and we have asked that devolved

:38:49. > :38:52.authority to really work on the plans and proposals to drive forward

:38:53. > :38:57.infrastructure and investment. The honourable gentleman, in his opening

:38:58. > :39:08.comments, has referenced Lauderdale is, who I would like to pay tribute

:39:09. > :39:12.to, -- Lord Adonis. Often in the face of other investments. He is now

:39:13. > :39:19.facing up infrastructure commission, which is tasked with looking at, how

:39:20. > :39:27.we best spend, the ongoing investment in infrastructure, for

:39:28. > :39:29.the benefit of the British economy. Crossrail is a complex project,

:39:30. > :39:42.especially wet interchanges with other lines, with an underground, of

:39:43. > :39:45.course HS two. Will the Minister look at that interchange where every

:39:46. > :39:52.company is doing their own thing, it is very poor. Perhaps she might like

:39:53. > :39:57.to get Lord Adonis, if he does what she is talking about.

:39:58. > :40:04.He is right to point out the complexities, some of these tunnels

:40:05. > :40:07.have been tunnelled 30 centimetres away from existing infrastructure

:40:08. > :40:13.under the streets of London. He is right to point out the complexities

:40:14. > :40:20.of these interchanges. But TEFL, the government and Network Rail working

:40:21. > :40:22.closer with the Park Royal development Corporation, devolved

:40:23. > :40:29.authority to make sure they understand their aspirations for the

:40:30. > :40:33.land on old oak common. It is a balancing act and difficult to get

:40:34. > :40:39.it right for the future, but we will continue to invest on this vital

:40:40. > :40:42.rail infrastructure and make it work for the British economy and Braille

:40:43. > :40:49.passion is across the UK. I agree with what the rail Minister said

:40:50. > :40:55.about Her Majesty and also our brilliant railway staff. As a former

:40:56. > :40:59.Network Rail stuff myself, I work with some fantastic women engineers.

:41:00. > :41:05.Can I offer some constructive criticism? Her statement made more

:41:06. > :41:11.references to Liverpool Street and Liverpool itself. Can I ask the

:41:12. > :41:15.minister now Crossrail is moving towards completion, can she turned

:41:16. > :41:18.her attention is northwards and when will she meet with the delegation

:41:19. > :41:24.from Merseyside to discuss rail services there? The only mention of

:41:25. > :41:29.Liverpool Street is because Crossrail doesn't go north at the

:41:30. > :41:33.moment. The honourable lady, I have great respect for. She will know

:41:34. > :41:36.from her own constituency we have let trick trains running for the

:41:37. > :41:41.first time ever between Manchester and Liverpool. Tangible evidence the

:41:42. > :41:45.government is delivering both on the infrastructure promises in the North

:41:46. > :41:51.but also on rolling stock. She, like me, this should have been phased out

:41:52. > :41:55.a long time ago because it is not fit for purpose to move people

:41:56. > :42:01.around what is a vibrant and growing part of the country, the North. It

:42:02. > :42:05.is this government taking those investment decisions and my door is

:42:06. > :42:11.always open for any delegate who would like to talk on how rail can

:42:12. > :42:15.transform their local economy. Can I add my congratulations to the whole

:42:16. > :42:18.Crossrail team this remarkable feat of engineering and the benefits it

:42:19. > :42:23.will bring to my constituents in Ilford. Paying tribute to the

:42:24. > :42:27.honourable member for Ilford South, chair of the all-party Crossrail

:42:28. > :42:31.route, has uttered strongly for residents in Ilford in terms of

:42:32. > :42:38.longer term benefits. -- batted. I will be joining residents in

:42:39. > :42:41.Aldeburgh hatch to clean for the Queen. So on behalf of my

:42:42. > :42:46.constituents, can I commend those who have come up with this fitting

:42:47. > :42:51.tribute to our longest reigning Monarch for more than 60 years of

:42:52. > :42:54.dedicated public service. I rang him for highlighting the clean for a

:42:55. > :43:00.queen which will have us all putting on rubber gloves in the next few

:43:01. > :43:04.months. He raises an important point, when this House is at its

:43:05. > :43:07.best is when we come together to invest in major pieces of

:43:08. > :43:12.infrastructure we know will transform the lives of those we know

:43:13. > :43:18.it directly benefits, but those who are working for that construction

:43:19. > :43:26.project and supplying into it. An outbreak of cross-party consensus is

:43:27. > :43:30.what we need. We have one with HS2, which came out of committee stage

:43:31. > :43:37.yesterday. That committee has been a labour of love, I think. I am not

:43:38. > :43:41.going to comment on that. But one where spades will be in the ground

:43:42. > :43:45.from 2017 and all these people who have built up the skills of these

:43:46. > :43:49.hundreds of men and women, we now lead the world in soft ground

:43:50. > :43:59.tunnelling. How useful it would be with the Thames Tideway Tunnel and

:44:00. > :44:02.also HS2 work coming on. Can we apply some of the efficiency the

:44:03. > :44:08.minister has spoken about with regards to the Crossrail project, to

:44:09. > :44:11.south-eastern rail, which has been providing an appalling service? Will

:44:12. > :44:16.she agree to meet with the delegation of MPs to discuss how we

:44:17. > :44:21.might be able to do this? He is a long campaign for improved rail

:44:22. > :44:25.services, I hope he received a letter from me a few weeks ago

:44:26. > :44:30.saying I hope to make a decision shortly on the longer went at

:44:31. > :44:34.capacity increases. I know crowding are no strangers something he is

:44:35. > :44:40.concerned about. I hope to have good news on that shortly, but he knows

:44:41. > :44:44.my doors are always open. I am sure if the honourable gentleman received

:44:45. > :44:48.her letter, his happiness will be as unalloyed as hers obviously is

:44:49. > :44:54.today. We are extremely grateful to her.

:44:55. > :45:00.Yes, point of order. Mr Alex Cunningham. They're pleased to be

:45:01. > :45:04.confusion in the government over which department is responsible for

:45:05. > :45:07.making an application to be used Solidarity fund for assistance for

:45:08. > :45:14.the flood hit communities across the North of England. I have found out

:45:15. > :45:20.in December 20 15th, they said it was a DC LG issue. Then it was

:45:21. > :45:25.supposed to be a death threat issue. The deaf secretary said she hadn't

:45:26. > :45:31.ruled out making an application. A week later a civil servant wrote to

:45:32. > :45:33.me saying it was a DC LG matter. Whoever is responsible, the deadline

:45:34. > :45:39.for an application to be made is just days away. The government's

:45:40. > :45:42.confusion and subsequent failure to act will deny communities

:45:43. > :45:47.potentially hundreds of millions of pounds in much-needed help. Could

:45:48. > :45:50.you encourage the government to sort this out, get the minister here and

:45:51. > :45:56.make a statement to be held accountable? Certainly it would help

:45:57. > :45:59.if there were clarity. The honourable gentleman knows it is not

:46:00. > :46:06.a matter for the chair to adjudicate as between what one department might

:46:07. > :46:11.say and what might you said by another. But it is very important

:46:12. > :46:17.members should know which department is responsible and from whom they

:46:18. > :46:21.can expect an authoritative answer. My request therefore to the Treasury

:46:22. > :46:29.bench with be to ensure this matter is clarified, authoritative leak,

:46:30. > :46:32.sooner rather than later. Pursuant to that objective, it might help if

:46:33. > :46:36.the honourable gentleman is in his place for the business question

:46:37. > :46:42.tomorrow in order that he can himself probe the leader of the

:46:43. > :46:48.House about it. Point of order, Mr Gavin Robinson. It was devastating

:46:49. > :46:56.news last week for the Northern Ireland economy to find 1080 jobs

:46:57. > :47:03.lost in bombard EA and in Derby in mainland GB as well. Is it in order

:47:04. > :47:07.to enquire of you whether there have been approaches made by government

:47:08. > :47:11.departments to come to this House, not only to raise a consequence of

:47:12. > :47:18.such a decision but seek assurance that support is there for innovation

:47:19. > :47:24.and aviation in our society? I have received no approach thus far. As

:47:25. > :47:27.far as I am aware. From any member of the government asking to make a

:47:28. > :47:32.statement on the matter. The honourable gentleman can news the

:47:33. > :47:41.order paper in order to pursue his object. Moreover, seized of the

:47:42. > :47:45.importance as he seeded, as the urgency of the matter, he wishes to

:47:46. > :47:49.debate it on the floor of the chamber, he will be aware of the

:47:50. > :47:54.opportunities provided by adjournment debates. I have a hunch

:47:55. > :48:00.he will be seeking to take advantage of those opportunities. Point of

:48:01. > :48:05.order, the shadow leader of the House, Mr Chris Bryant. It is a two

:48:06. > :48:10.headed point of order. It refers to exchanges we had earlier with the

:48:11. > :48:16.Minister for the and is in regards to Short Money. Can you confirm it

:48:17. > :48:19.is true the accounting officer in the Short Money is the clerk of the

:48:20. > :48:26.House, not the permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Office? Has the clerk

:48:27. > :48:31.of the House been consulted in relation to Short Money? This is

:48:32. > :48:36.still the first head... Why is it the vote office was not provided,

:48:37. > :48:40.still hasn't been provided with copies of the consultation when it

:48:41. > :48:45.pertains directly to the House of Commons? And the second point of

:48:46. > :48:48.order is really to say, can you confirm that is a process for

:48:49. > :48:54.ministers correcting the record when they have inadvertently made a

:48:55. > :48:58.mistake? The Cabinet Office minister made about 18 factual errors. But he

:48:59. > :49:05.said there was no cut planned. This is despite the fact his actual

:49:06. > :49:09.document says, by contrast, a 19% reduction will take Short Money

:49:10. > :49:13.back. I don't know what the difference is between a reduction

:49:14. > :49:17.and the cut. I'm sure there is a means of correcting the record. I

:49:18. > :49:21.wonder if we can make a special exemption in the terms of the number

:49:22. > :49:26.of special advisers for the Minister, he is clearly making so

:49:27. > :49:32.many mistakes, it might have been corrected by proper research. Let me

:49:33. > :49:37.answer his two enquiries. First, I can indeed con firm in respect of

:49:38. > :49:45.the Short Money, the accounting officer is the clerk of the House.

:49:46. > :49:50.Whether the clerk has been consulted as the honourable gentleman

:49:51. > :49:59.enquires, I am not at all sure the clerk is well aware, as I am well

:50:00. > :50:04.aware, of the consideration of policy on this matter. Moreover, I

:50:05. > :50:14.have seen a copy of the consultation document. But beyond that, I

:50:15. > :50:19.wouldn't go. Secondly, there is indeed any number of opportunities

:50:20. > :50:25.for a minister, if he believes, or she believes, the record needs to be

:50:26. > :50:29.corrected as a result of an inadvertent misstatement, to be so

:50:30. > :50:34.corrected. Knowing the honourable gentleman as I do, I feel sure he

:50:35. > :50:40.will be looking to see the development of events. And if he is

:50:41. > :50:43.dissatisfied, I have a hunch his dissatisfaction will percolate

:50:44. > :50:53.through his contribution at Isner 's questions tomorrow. Thursday, I am

:50:54. > :50:57.getting ahead of myself. We can just about weight. It will be difficult

:50:58. > :51:01.but we can just about weight for his contribution at this must question

:51:02. > :51:06.on Thursday. Not to say the matter will be raised before them, but it

:51:07. > :51:09.can be on Thursday. I hope that is helpful for an. If there are no

:51:10. > :51:19.further points of order, we come to the ten minute rule motion. Mr Gera

:51:20. > :51:23.rank Davis. I beg to move that leave be given to bring in a bill to make

:51:24. > :51:27.provision about urban air quality targets, to require vehicle

:51:28. > :51:33.emissions targets and testing to reflect on road driving conditions,

:51:34. > :51:37.to provide powers the local authorities to establish lobe diesel

:51:38. > :51:41.emission zones and pedestrian only areas, to restrict the use of roads

:51:42. > :51:45.and urban centres by the use of diesels and make a vision about the

:51:46. > :51:52.promotion and development of electric tram systems, buses and

:51:53. > :52:00.taxis powered by liquid petroleum gas in urban centres as on the order

:52:01. > :52:06.paper. Mr Deputy Speaker, the whole hand of diesel fumes is prematurely

:52:07. > :52:11.killing some thousand people a week in the UK. This air quality bill is

:52:12. > :52:16.designed to put the death by diesel academically face into reverse, save

:52:17. > :52:22.thousands of lives and billions of pounds. The Royal College of

:52:23. > :52:28.physicians and the Royal College of paediatrics and Child health, have

:52:29. > :52:33.published a paper, joint report that shows the killing by diesel is on an

:52:34. > :52:39.industrial scale. 40,000 premature deaths each year. This bill is

:52:40. > :52:42.supported by them, this bill is supported by the British Lung

:52:43. > :52:49.foundation, the British Heart Foundation. Because as we know, and

:52:50. > :52:53.it is becoming aware to all others, air pollution is killing us through

:52:54. > :52:58.lung cancer, diseases like bronchitis, asthma, two strokes and

:52:59. > :53:06.heart attacks, heart disease. Linked to diabetes, obesity and dementia.

:53:07. > :53:10.It is a public health disaster. And losing 6 million working days a

:53:11. > :53:16.year, it is costing our economy 20 billion pounds a year, costing the

:53:17. > :53:25.European economy 240 billion euros a year and killing 380,000 people.

:53:26. > :53:30.Diesel, particulars are absorbed to harm and heard the foetus of

:53:31. > :53:35.pregnant women. It is undermining and affecting low birth rate, organ

:53:36. > :53:44.damage, premature birth and stillbirth. Children in urban areas

:53:45. > :53:48.and polluted areas suffer from lung capacity, children's lung capacity

:53:49. > :54:02.is 10% lower. They suffer lower lung function in later life. Diesel

:54:03. > :54:07.particular 's cause asthma, and they exacerbate asthma. Coughing, asthma

:54:08. > :54:10.attacks, wheezing, worst concentration and memory and worse

:54:11. > :54:14.physical and mental development. They nearer the ground and they

:54:15. > :54:19.more. The first duty of parents is to protect their children. They are

:54:20. > :54:27.unable to protect their children from this poisonous torching they

:54:28. > :54:32.face. In 1952, of course 12,000 people died in the London smog. Yet

:54:33. > :54:39.only today, similar numbers are dying every year due to be

:54:40. > :54:43.invisible, industrial scale fumes being emitted by diesel powered

:54:44. > :54:51.vehicles. Instead of coal fires, the new killer is diesel. Traffic has

:54:52. > :54:57.grown in volume, tenfold in the last 60 years. Much has been done to stop

:54:58. > :55:00.carbon monoxide, sulphur and that, despite the protestations of the

:55:01. > :55:05.motor manufacturers who said it was impossible. Now we face a situation

:55:06. > :55:12.when nitrogen dirk side and particulates of a new catastrophic

:55:13. > :55:17.threat to human life and life expectancy and that threat has grown

:55:18. > :55:26.exponentially. After all, in the 1980s, diesel cars were only 10% of

:55:27. > :55:32.new cars. By 2000 they were 14%. But between then and now, 14% has now

:55:33. > :55:40.become 50% of new cars pumping out diesel particulates. Nitrogen

:55:41. > :55:46.dioxide is. The government wanted and want to reduce carbon outside

:55:47. > :55:49.and that is what the motor Manufacturers took as a pretext to

:55:50. > :55:54.encourage diesel instead of trams or hydrogen or basically green

:55:55. > :56:00.transport. Similar to the fact after the Second World War, the motor and

:56:01. > :56:02.oil manufacturers took the trams out of our city centres for their own

:56:03. > :56:14.commercial The diesel contribution to climate

:56:15. > :56:19.change is no better and arguably worse than petrol and we are

:56:20. > :56:29.passively smoking diesel emissions, they cost 40,000 jobs. Taxation

:56:30. > :56:33.levels between diesel and petrol are on a par, they don't reflect the

:56:34. > :56:38.cost, in terms of the environment, in terms of health. And laboratory

:56:39. > :56:43.testing across the EU is systematically understating the

:56:44. > :56:48.amount of emissions in the air that we breathe so that in terms of

:56:49. > :56:54.carbon monoxide, emissions are two thirds higher than actually in the

:56:55. > :57:03.case of much can die like, it is for five times higher. Things made a lot

:57:04. > :57:08.by the revelation that bolts Bagan -- VW were caught cheating, and the

:57:09. > :57:16.difference when they had the device on, is twentyfold. It is 20 times

:57:17. > :57:19.the emissions belching into the lungs. When they are out on the road

:57:20. > :57:25.than when they are inside the laboratory. Clearly this situation,

:57:26. > :57:32.where this is sorted out. Mr Deputy Speaker, we have had the growth of

:57:33. > :57:39.diesel pollution and the mushrooming of costs to public health. We have

:57:40. > :57:45.had the disaster of industry saying they will self regulate but doing

:57:46. > :57:49.the opposite. Our duty is to protect our Georgian, our nation, our first

:57:50. > :57:54.duty as a government is to protect the people. This air quality bill,

:57:55. > :58:03.firstly ensures that vehicle emissions testing in 2017, reflects

:58:04. > :58:07.on road driving conditions. Such as accelerating, the Seller rating,

:58:08. > :58:17.standing stationary. It is devices such as the one using bolts -- using

:58:18. > :58:22.Wolkswagen. It restricts diesel vehicles, that failed the emission

:58:23. > :58:27.standards, into the most old and polluting diesel cars. Some of which

:58:28. > :58:31.are worse than lorries incidentally in terms of impact. It encourages

:58:32. > :58:37.the development of green transport including tram systems including the

:58:38. > :58:41.one I pioneered in Croydon. It encourages, hydrogen powered or

:58:42. > :58:46.electric powered buses and taxis, and in turn encourages walking and

:58:47. > :58:50.cycling because they will be Tina Herrera and less congestion. We also

:58:51. > :58:58.in my view need pollution warnings as we do with flood warnings.

:58:59. > :59:03.Because the Met office have been told to shut up since last Sunday

:59:04. > :59:09.gave a pollution warning in April 2014, the public have a right to

:59:10. > :59:13.know, so that Rose can be closed with excessive pollution. I hope

:59:14. > :59:18.that the house will support extra measures and I hope that the

:59:19. > :59:21.Chancellor, will support the opportunity to support green

:59:22. > :59:26.transport and to ensure that the polluter pays principle is carried

:59:27. > :59:31.through to taxation so that signals to consumers who have bought diesel

:59:32. > :59:36.cars, will see a transmitted into behaviour as they were in previous

:59:37. > :59:40.signals. We need the right signals, so that we do satisfy our

:59:41. > :59:44.fundamental ambition, fundamental duty to protect the lives of our

:59:45. > :59:48.citizens, to ensure that the air that we breathe in our cities is

:59:49. > :59:56.clean, and a life that we lead is sustainable. The question is, does

:59:57. > :00:09.the honourable member have leave to bring in the bill? Those happy say

:00:10. > :00:16.I. The eyes have it. Who will bring in the bill? Doctor Sarah Wollaston,

:00:17. > :00:21.Andrew Brin, Stuart Donlan, John McNally, Jonathan Edwards, Chris

:00:22. > :00:26.Stevens, Rob Marys, Albert Owen, Margaret Ritchie, Gareth Thomas, and

:00:27. > :01:05.myself. Air quality diesel emissions in

:01:06. > :01:09.urban centres bill. Second reading what day? Friday the 4th of March Mr

:01:10. > :01:20.Deputy Speaker. Friday the 4th of March. Programme motion to be moved.

:01:21. > :01:30.The question is as on the order paper, as many of that opinion, say

:01:31. > :01:38.Aye. Aye extra measure Mark we will now read the orders of the day.

:01:39. > :01:44.Consideration of Lords amendments. I must draw the house 's attendance,

:01:45. > :01:51.that financial provisions, are in certain amendments. I will cause an

:01:52. > :01:57.appropriate amendment to be made in the journal. This is Lords amendment

:01:58. > :02:01.one, for which it would be convenient to take amendments eight

:02:02. > :02:05.and nine. I call the Minister to move to disagree with Lords

:02:06. > :02:11.amendment one. Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker, I beg to move that we

:02:12. > :02:15.disagree with the Lords amendment one. This bill is a vital part of

:02:16. > :02:20.the government's reports that are moving this country to a high wage,

:02:21. > :02:25.low tax low welfare economy. It is fundamental to our commitment to end

:02:26. > :02:28.child poverty and improve children's life chances to insure that work

:02:29. > :02:33.always pays more than life on benefit and that support is focused

:02:34. > :02:37.on the most vulnerable. As is right and proper, its provisions have been

:02:38. > :02:39.carefully scrutinised by both houses, both this house and the

:02:40. > :02:51.other place. Where appropriate the

:02:52. > :02:53.government has made amendments to remove unintended consequences and

:02:54. > :02:55.has made some important commitments on supported housing and the social

:02:56. > :02:58.rents measure, on kinship parents and social adoption. And on guardian

:02:59. > :03:02.'s allowance and carers allowance in relation to the benefit cap. The

:03:03. > :03:09.government remains firmly committed to the aims of the bill, and for

:03:10. > :03:14.that reason, we wish to resist the non-government amendments. Before I

:03:15. > :03:18.address in each detail, in detail each area, allow me to set out the

:03:19. > :03:25.key principles underpinning how disagreements with the Lords. On the

:03:26. > :03:29.addition of the child poverty, our view is that this is unnecessary as

:03:30. > :03:32.we have already committed to publishing statistics on children in

:03:33. > :03:39.low income families to the households below average income, it

:03:40. > :03:42.also reintroduces a failed approach to tackling child poverty, focused

:03:43. > :03:47.on tagging the symptoms rather than the root causes of child poverty. It

:03:48. > :03:51.rise perverse behaviour to let people just above the poverty line

:03:52. > :03:57.rather than on a life chances strategy that could transform

:03:58. > :04:04.children's lives, I will give way. Does she accept that income has a

:04:05. > :04:07.huge impact on life chances? I say to the right on the wall gentleman

:04:08. > :04:12.that income is one of many factors that has an impact on life chances

:04:13. > :04:16.and on property. Which is why this government is very much focused on

:04:17. > :04:23.tackling the root causes of child poverty and I will during the course

:04:24. > :04:28.of this debate talk about this further. I know that the party

:04:29. > :04:32.opposite disagree with this, but on the change to the work-related

:04:33. > :04:36.activity component, and the limited capacity for the work element in

:04:37. > :04:40.universal credit, I want to stress that this government is fully

:04:41. > :04:45.focused on people who can, just bear with me for a second, who can get

:04:46. > :04:49.into work and we want to end a broken system which is patentee

:04:50. > :04:54.failing those who should be helping and ensure that a good proportion of

:04:55. > :04:57.those savings are recycled into a practical support, long-term

:04:58. > :05:03.practical support that will have a transformation effect on people's

:05:04. > :05:09.lives. I will give way. She mentions the fact that income is a factor in

:05:10. > :05:13.poverty but her own government report, and I quote from these

:05:14. > :05:19.edited summary, says the main factor is the lack of sufficient income

:05:20. > :05:24.from parental employment, it is not just a factor. It is fundamental.

:05:25. > :05:29.What I would say to the honourable gentleman and to all members of this

:05:30. > :05:33.house, when it comes to poverty, work itself remains the best route

:05:34. > :05:38.out of poverty. Importantly, moving into work and supporting, once

:05:39. > :05:42.people are in work, moving people into work and helping their income

:05:43. > :05:49.growth is exactly our focus. It really is. What would she say to

:05:50. > :05:54.those constituents of mine who may have limited abilities, would she

:05:55. > :05:58.say it is better to try and help and support them into some form of

:05:59. > :06:03.employment albeit reduced hours, or to write them off and say that they

:06:04. > :06:07.cannot contribute to society at all? My honourable friend is absolutely

:06:08. > :06:11.right, it is the fundamental difference between how party in

:06:12. > :06:14.government and the party opposite. We are committed to supporting

:06:15. > :06:18.people to get into work and to help them with sustained employment in

:06:19. > :06:23.particular rather than consigning people to a life of dependency and

:06:24. > :06:25.benefits which has a counter-productive consequence. I

:06:26. > :06:30.will give way to the honourable lady. Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker

:06:31. > :06:35.and I thank the Minister for giving way but she is wrong because the new

:06:36. > :06:39.Deal, got more people into new work than ever before this country. And

:06:40. > :06:44.this government is taking money out of the pockets of working families,

:06:45. > :06:47.so how can she say that she wants working people to feel the benefit

:06:48. > :06:52.when universal credit will make them poorer. I would say to the

:06:53. > :06:56.honourable lady that she is wrong in many ways, for a start this

:06:57. > :07:01.government has supported more people to get back into work than ever

:07:02. > :07:07.before. It is our welfare reforms that are helping through universal

:07:08. > :07:10.credit, but also giving dedicated support to individuals to help them

:07:11. > :07:15.not just getting to work but remain in work as well. I will come back to

:07:16. > :07:20.him shortly but I would like to make a bit of progress. I was Mr Deputy

:07:21. > :07:24.Speaker just briefly before I come on to discuss the child poverty

:07:25. > :07:27.income measures, just touching on the essay points in particular and I

:07:28. > :07:33.will come back to some of the detailed questions. When the party

:07:34. > :07:38.opposite designed the work activity component it was intended to act as

:07:39. > :07:42.an incentive for people to take part in work-related activity and move on

:07:43. > :07:46.to work quicker, and just one in a hundred work activity group

:07:47. > :07:49.claimants, leading benefits each month, it is not working. It is

:07:50. > :07:54.crucial to make sure that we have the right support in place, to help

:07:55. > :07:57.move people closer to the labour market. There is as we all know a

:07:58. > :08:02.large body of evidence showing that work is generally good for physical

:08:03. > :08:06.and mental well-being as well as a growing awareness that long-term

:08:07. > :08:12.worklessness, is hard on physical and mental health. Indeed, some of

:08:13. > :08:17.the major charities say that work can be right for some people after a

:08:18. > :08:20.diagnosis and improved employment support is crucial to helping people

:08:21. > :08:25.with health conditions and disability move into work and get

:08:26. > :08:28.closer to the labour market. As we speak, the government is working on

:08:29. > :08:32.a white Paper this year, that will set out plans to improve support

:08:33. > :08:36.with people in such conditions, including the role of employers and

:08:37. > :08:40.improved integration between health and employment, and I will come on

:08:41. > :08:47.to expand on this later on. But I will, just bear with me. I will

:08:48. > :08:53.begin by dressing amendment number one in detail. Which is firstly,

:08:54. > :08:56.this amendment is wholly unnecessary, as low income

:08:57. > :09:01.statistics, as I briefly summarised already are already published, this

:09:02. > :09:06.information is available for all to see and will continue to be so. The

:09:07. > :09:10.party opposite, they will get their chance to speak shortly and I think

:09:11. > :09:13.they should give me the courtesy to make my point. Ministers in both

:09:14. > :09:18.houses have committed to the continued publication of information

:09:19. > :09:23.contained in I hope it is getting honourable members that we have more

:09:24. > :09:26.than adequate safeguards, already in place to secure the continued

:09:27. > :09:33.publication of this note income data. I will give way. -- low income

:09:34. > :09:37.data. Li I thank the Minister for giving way, McMillan Cancer support

:09:38. > :09:40.says that people may be at risk of losing their homes if the cuts go

:09:41. > :09:45.ahead. Does the Minister have anything to say to McMillan. What I

:09:46. > :09:49.will say is that McMillan have also said that many people who are

:09:50. > :09:53.working when they are diagnosed with cancer, would prefer to remain in

:09:54. > :10:01.real work will return to their job during and after treatment.

:10:02. > :10:06.interests if the honourable gentleman would like to intervene,

:10:07. > :10:11.he is welcome to get up at the dispatch box, but he should let me

:10:12. > :10:15.finish my points before he starts chuntering. It is essential people

:10:16. > :10:25.suffering with cancer get the right support. When people are in the

:10:26. > :10:32.support group of the ESA support group and they are unable to work,

:10:33. > :10:38.then they remain on the ESA and are supported. Is this for amendment

:10:39. > :10:43.number one? I am grateful to the Minister for giving way, but could

:10:44. > :10:50.she confirm Maka mil and are opposed to the reduction by ?30 a week the

:10:51. > :10:56.members of the ESA group. They are not in favour of it, they are

:10:57. > :10:59.opposed to it. Jack Miller and, alongside the government have

:11:00. > :11:03.recognised that those who are on the support group will rightly, not be

:11:04. > :11:06.affected and will be supported because they are in the support

:11:07. > :11:14.group because they are ill. I am going to come back, I am speaking

:11:15. > :11:21.about amendment number one. Let her make some progress. I am going to

:11:22. > :11:24.make some progress on amendment number one. Turning secondly as to

:11:25. > :11:29.why this approach has failed. Measures are flawed because they

:11:30. > :11:36.don't drive to transform children's lives. This government is

:11:37. > :11:41.undertaking crucial reforms to improve children's life chances, as

:11:42. > :11:45.introducing the National living wage. These policies will support

:11:46. > :11:50.those hard-working families who need the support the most. Debt under

:11:51. > :11:56.Labour's failed approach, their introduction would have supposedly

:11:57. > :12:00.led to an increase in child poverty. This failed approach incentivises

:12:01. > :12:05.the wrong actions. It led the previous Labour governments to

:12:06. > :12:11.tackle the symptoms of property through expensive income transfer,

:12:12. > :12:17.spending over 300 billion pounds on working, age and welfare tax credits

:12:18. > :12:22.between 2003, 2004, 2008 and 2009 with little return. It didn't make

:12:23. > :12:27.long-term differences to children's prospects. I will give way shortly.

:12:28. > :12:34.The number of children in relative poverty remained broadly unchanged.

:12:35. > :12:38.There are fundamental weaknesses in that system which this government is

:12:39. > :12:43.seeking to put right through our new life chances measures. I will give

:12:44. > :12:48.way. She would lapse want me to remind her that child poverty fell

:12:49. > :12:55.by a million under the last Labour government and that is something we

:12:56. > :12:59.should be rightly proud of. Her own advisers have advised against

:13:00. > :13:04.removing the child poverty indicators. So, why is she so

:13:05. > :13:08.headstrong at ignoring the advice, not just of the other place but of

:13:09. > :13:19.her own commission, who have said this is wrong. We have discussed

:13:20. > :13:27.this in committee, but I will reiterate the point. We are focused

:13:28. > :13:31.on tackling the root causes of poverty and ultimately, at the end

:13:32. > :13:34.of the day and as the Prime Minister said in his recent life chances

:13:35. > :13:40.speeches, we are here to make sure we can tackle these long-term. It is

:13:41. > :13:44.tackling the root causes of poverty. The economy cannot be secure if we

:13:45. > :13:49.spent Ilion 's pounds picking up the pieces of social failure. Economic

:13:50. > :13:55.and social reform are not two separate agendas. They are connected

:13:56. > :13:59.to one another and therefore it is imperative that we focus resources

:14:00. > :14:07.on how we transfer lives, through tackling the root causes. I would

:14:08. > :14:11.encourage the House to take the right action to make the biggest

:14:12. > :14:17.difference to children's life chances. That is why the government

:14:18. > :14:21.are seeking to introduce the life chances in the bill today. It is

:14:22. > :14:24.combined with the non-statutory measures in the life chances

:14:25. > :14:33.strategy, including family breakdown, problem, debt drug and

:14:34. > :14:37.alcohol dependency will drive the right action to transform lives. I

:14:38. > :14:44.will take the intervention over there. I am grateful and surprised

:14:45. > :14:50.the Minister has given way. I am sure the Prime Minister is delighted

:14:51. > :14:55.to see her so back on message today, as she hasn't been in the last few

:14:56. > :14:59.days. How can she go against the advice of her own government's

:15:00. > :15:02.commission when they say it is not credible to try to improve the life

:15:03. > :15:06.chances of the poor without acknowledging the most obvious

:15:07. > :15:14.symptom of uppity, lack of money. When is she going to listen? We are

:15:15. > :15:17.still continuing to publish low income data on households below

:15:18. > :15:22.average income. This information is still being published. It may not be

:15:23. > :15:27.the information he wants to know about, but we are publishing this

:15:28. > :15:30.alongside doing something previous Labour governments have failed to

:15:31. > :15:35.do, which is transforming lives, addressing the root causes of

:15:36. > :15:39.poverty and making sure we absolutely tackle these causes that

:15:40. > :15:45.have led to child poverty in the long run. We have all heard the

:15:46. > :15:48.arguments... The honourable gentleman opposite he made a point

:15:49. > :15:52.about child poverty who has left his seat, seemed to indicate that due to

:15:53. > :15:58.the recession under the last Labour government, child poverty fell.

:15:59. > :16:02.Doesn't it show the fallacy of the arguments opposite and we are trying

:16:03. > :16:08.to seek the root causes of poverty, not a measure that simply doesn't

:16:09. > :16:13.work? It is absolutely clear that when children are the future of our

:16:14. > :16:17.country, it is right we focus on delivering better life chances for

:16:18. > :16:22.them. When we publish the life chances strategy we will make the

:16:23. > :16:26.biggest difference to children's life chances, now and in the future.

:16:27. > :16:31.We must seek to rescue a generation from poverty by extending life

:16:32. > :16:34.chances across the country. We must build a country where opportunity is

:16:35. > :16:38.more equal with stronger communities are young people who can face the

:16:39. > :16:43.world with a background of experiences and characteristics we

:16:44. > :16:46.know are vital for their success. As the Prime Minister said, we must

:16:47. > :16:50.seek to transform the life chances of the poorest in our country and of

:16:51. > :16:58.every child who has had a difficult start in life, with the promise of a

:16:59. > :17:03.brighter future. I will give way. I wonder whether she saw the report

:17:04. > :17:06.published by the scent for social justice last month, setting out a

:17:07. > :17:12.way of combining the life chances indicators, and there is interesting

:17:13. > :17:15.information in those, with income indicators as well, so we don't

:17:16. > :17:20.ignore the income, which is clearly a key aspect of this whole issue? I

:17:21. > :17:26.thank the right honourable gentleman for his intervention. We will be

:17:27. > :17:30.publishing the life chances strategy in the spring and it is us the

:17:31. > :17:33.opportunity to consider, holistically, the fact is that can

:17:34. > :17:41.lead to better outcomes for children and families. I recognise the point

:17:42. > :17:46.he makes. Just finally, I would, on the back of the remarks I have made,

:17:47. > :17:52.urge members to support the government's motion and reject the

:17:53. > :17:57.Lord's amendments. Turning to amendment is eight and nine, which

:17:58. > :18:02.indicated by you, Mr Deputy Speaker, impinge on the financial fringe of

:18:03. > :18:07.the House. They delete clauses 13 and 14 from the bill. Reverse the

:18:08. > :18:10.plan announced in the summer budget to line the amount paid to

:18:11. > :18:13.employment support allowance claimants in the work-related

:18:14. > :18:19.activity group to that which is paid to JS say claimants and to align the

:18:20. > :18:24.amount paid to universal credit limited capability for work payments

:18:25. > :18:28.to that of UC basic rate. I would like to take this opportunity to

:18:29. > :18:31.stress the government's strong belief that this reform is the right

:18:32. > :18:36.thing to do and part of efforts to improve, not just like chances, but

:18:37. > :18:41.to support them going into work so they can reach their full potential.

:18:42. > :18:45.It will allow me to explain why. Record employment levels and job

:18:46. > :18:53.growth in recent years has benefited many, but these benefits have yet to

:18:54. > :18:56.reach those on ESA. While one in every five JS say claimants moves of

:18:57. > :19:01.the benefit each month, this is true that just one in 100 ESA claimants

:19:02. > :19:07.in the world -- work-related activity group, people with health

:19:08. > :19:14.conditions and disabilities deserve better and more support. I

:19:15. > :19:17.appreciate the party opposite don't have any solutions to tackling the

:19:18. > :19:22.wider issues when it comes to welfare and would rather just

:19:23. > :19:26.continue to spend, in an unsustainable way, in terms of

:19:27. > :19:31.public spending. We have listened to the charities and campaigning

:19:32. > :19:34.organisations, who say improved employment support is key to helping

:19:35. > :19:38.people with health conditions and disabilities move closer to the

:19:39. > :19:45.labour market. And when they are ready, into work. I will give way. I

:19:46. > :19:51.look forward to the White Paper on this. Is she not doing this the

:19:52. > :19:54.wrong way round? Shouldn't she be introducing the White Paper first

:19:55. > :19:58.and then looking at the changes to ESA. What the she said to the

:19:59. > :20:06.honourable member from South Cambridgeshire, his third the beauty

:20:07. > :20:10.of this intermediate group is that it is just that intermediate. On the

:20:11. > :20:15.road to returning to work, but not quite there yet. I think the

:20:16. > :20:21.honourable gentleman is making my point for me in the sense that those

:20:22. > :20:24.on the work-related activity group need more support and covering a day

:20:25. > :20:29.have been getting too little support. That is the purpose of the

:20:30. > :20:33.reforms we are bringing in. We believe we must tackle this and

:20:34. > :20:38.provide the right financial security for individuals, but also look at

:20:39. > :20:41.the most effective ways to improve the well-being of individuals by

:20:42. > :20:46.giving them support to help them get back to work. There are almost half

:20:47. > :20:53.a million people in the work-related activity group getting too little

:20:54. > :20:56.support to move into work. We currently disincentive five them

:20:57. > :21:02.doing though. This government is determined to take the necessary

:21:03. > :21:05.steps to reform their life chances. The government is committed to

:21:06. > :21:10.showing disabled people are able to participate fully in society and we

:21:11. > :21:13.have set out our ambition to halve the disability employment gap. It is

:21:14. > :21:17.the duty of government to support those who want to work, to do so.

:21:18. > :21:21.Most people with disabilities and health conditions tell us they want

:21:22. > :21:25.to work, including the majority of ESA claimants, which 61% of those in

:21:26. > :21:31.the work-related activity group say they want to work and we mean to put

:21:32. > :21:38.their ambitions at the centre of achieving this. I will give way. We

:21:39. > :21:45.have established MacMillan Cancer Support disagrees with the Minister,

:21:46. > :21:50.Parkinson 's UK, mind, have said they disagree. Can the Minister say

:21:51. > :21:55.any organisation representing disabled people but agree with the

:21:56. > :22:01.position the government has taken on this? What I would say to the right

:22:02. > :22:03.honourable gentleman is we have been working with organisations and

:22:04. > :22:09.disability groups and we have been listening to them. Rather than

:22:10. > :22:13.making generalised comments, we are working with them. We are working

:22:14. > :22:20.with them on our white paper going forward as well. The ESA system was

:22:21. > :22:26.set up in Labour in 2008 is a bore people with health conditions and

:22:27. > :22:31.disabilities to work. It has failed the people it was designed to help.

:22:32. > :22:35.The original estimates were far more claimants would move into work. I

:22:36. > :22:39.white paper was published in 2008 and set out by the then Labour

:22:40. > :22:45.government, aim to reduce the number of people on incapacity benefits by

:22:46. > :22:52.1,000,020 15. We have spent 2.7 billion this year on the ESA work

:22:53. > :22:56.activity group. Only around 1% of people in this group move of the

:22:57. > :23:01.benefit every month. It is fair to say this benefit is not working as

:23:02. > :23:07.anyone intended. Most importantly, it is failing claimants badly. This

:23:08. > :23:11.government is committed to spending taxpayers money responsibly. We can

:23:12. > :23:16.improve life chances and help move them out of benefits and get them

:23:17. > :23:19.into work. Those in the work-related activity group given additional cash

:23:20. > :23:25.payments, but very little employment support. As the Prime Minister has

:23:26. > :23:30.stated, this fixation on welfare treat symptoms and not the causes.

:23:31. > :23:35.And it traps people into dependency, which is why we are proposing that

:23:36. > :23:39.through some of the money currently spends on cash payments, but are not

:23:40. > :23:42.actually achieving the desired effect of helping people move closer

:23:43. > :23:46.to the labour market, we will put this into practical support that

:23:47. > :23:51.will make a difference to people in these groups. In addition to the

:23:52. > :23:58.practical support, which is part of the real terms increase in the

:23:59. > :24:02.Autumn Statement, which is how the 60, to ?100 million of support which

:24:03. > :24:08.was set out in the budget, what we spend will be influenced not only by

:24:09. > :24:10.Whitehall, but by a task force of representatives from disability

:24:11. > :24:16.charities, disabled people's user groups organisations, employers,

:24:17. > :24:19.think tanks, provider representatives and global

:24:20. > :24:26.authorities and we're working with scope, Leonard Cheshire, the RNIB,

:24:27. > :24:30.the National Autistic Society and the disability action Alliance.

:24:31. > :24:35.Another issue raised in the passage of the bill by both members of this

:24:36. > :24:38.House and any other place, where concerns we were expecting claimants

:24:39. > :24:43.who had been found not fit for work to be able to work. This is not the

:24:44. > :24:47.case. I would like to clarify claimants in the work-related beauty

:24:48. > :24:53.group have been found to have limited edibility for work. This is

:24:54. > :24:57.different to being unfit for any work. There are many limitations on

:24:58. > :25:02.the type and the amount of work people in the work-related activity

:25:03. > :25:09.group can do, and may also need work Les adjustments. But employment

:25:10. > :25:14.isn't ruled out. That is why the ESA permitted work rules are there and

:25:15. > :25:17.why they are so important. It is an important distinction as this

:25:18. > :25:21.misconception helps drive people further away from the labour market,

:25:22. > :25:22.perpetuate the benefits trap and undermines the life chances of those

:25:23. > :25:35.claimants. She talks of fluctuating conditions

:25:36. > :25:40.but it is well-known that mental health causes fluctuating conditions

:25:41. > :25:44.which are very hard to deal with and yet 50% of the people affected by

:25:45. > :25:52.the cut in PSA have mental health conditions. Surely that is not being

:25:53. > :25:56.built into government thinking. I have just briefly touched on what we

:25:57. > :26:02.are doing in terms of looking for extra employment support and the

:26:03. > :26:06.fact we are working with other organisations, I have named some of

:26:07. > :26:10.them, but mental health in particular is crucial in terms of

:26:11. > :26:15.how we can connect our systems, working with the NHS, and we had a

:26:16. > :26:18.joint working group on the Department for Work and Pensions and

:26:19. > :26:27.the Department of Health looking at the support that people on the ESA

:26:28. > :26:31.with mental health conditions, how we can help them, signpost to them

:26:32. > :26:37.and help them get treatment. When the opposition talk about income,

:26:38. > :26:41.they mean welfare benefits. When we talk about income, in terms of

:26:42. > :26:46.children in relative poverty, the evidence shows 75% of those children

:26:47. > :26:53.will come of the poverty indicator if both parents are working. There

:26:54. > :26:58.are more children and families where people are working than ever before.

:26:59. > :27:04.An ESA, does she agree that those of us who have met people with

:27:05. > :27:10.significant disabilities who are now working, it is amazing what a

:27:11. > :27:17.difference it makes not just to income but life happiness? He is

:27:18. > :27:24.right to highlight the importance of work. To people who have been

:27:25. > :27:31.previously locked out of opportunities. This is a good

:27:32. > :27:33.example of working with employers to deliver sustained employment

:27:34. > :27:40.opportunities for people with disabilities. I think this gives me

:27:41. > :27:45.a good opportunity to reflect upon additional work taking place in

:27:46. > :27:48.government right now on a wide-ranging employer strategy,

:27:49. > :27:54.working with employers to look at how we can address the disability

:27:55. > :27:58.employment gap and work with employers so they can provide more

:27:59. > :28:03.structured opportunities to people with disabilities, and sustained

:28:04. > :28:05.employment. I think it is also important to recognise the changes

:28:06. > :28:11.to Employment Support Allowance and universal credit work together and

:28:12. > :28:16.cannot be taken forward in isolation. We have invested a

:28:17. > :28:22.significant amount in universal credits to make sure we keep people

:28:23. > :28:28.connected and engaged to the labour market from the outset of their

:28:29. > :28:35.claim. Unlike ESA, universal credit claimants with a health condition

:28:36. > :28:40.are offered support where it is appropriate at the start of their

:28:41. > :28:44.claim, helping them to remain closer to the labour market even if they're

:28:45. > :28:51.not immediately able to return to work but importantly it provides the

:28:52. > :28:56.support they need to get back into work which ultimately will help them

:28:57. > :29:03.get a job in the long run. I would like to stress that this change does

:29:04. > :29:07.not affect those in the ESA support group of the universal credit

:29:08. > :29:16.equivalent, or the agreements of the income related ESA. There will be no

:29:17. > :29:21.cash losers and this policy only applies to those who apply for ESA

:29:22. > :29:32.and subsequently enter it from April 20 17. We aim to protect those who

:29:33. > :29:41.move off ESA to look for work. People will be able to reclaim the

:29:42. > :29:48.ESA. Hopefully it will dispel the myth that everyone in that group

:29:49. > :29:51.will be affected by the change. Universal credit works differently

:29:52. > :29:58.from ESA but we aim to put similar protections in place. I would like

:29:59. > :30:01.to put on record that this reform is the first and a necessary step

:30:02. > :30:06.towards a wider reform package. In the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor

:30:07. > :30:10.of the Exchequer announced the Government will publish a White

:30:11. > :30:14.Paper this year to set out our plans to improve support for people with

:30:15. > :30:18.health conditions and disabilities including exploring the rules of

:30:19. > :30:22.employers and further reducing the disability employment gap, promoting

:30:23. > :30:31.integration across health and employment. Clauses 14 and 15 will

:30:32. > :30:34.provide the right support and incentives to help people with

:30:35. > :30:40.limited capability for work move closer to the labour market. In

:30:41. > :30:45.light of these arguments I hope honourable members will support the

:30:46. > :30:53.Government and I beg to move the motions. The question is that this

:30:54. > :31:00.House disagrees with the Lord's in their amendment. I would like to

:31:01. > :31:06.speak in support of the wards' amendment on and child poverty

:31:07. > :31:19.reporting obligations, and in addition amendments eight and nine.

:31:20. > :31:23.Amendment on places a reporting obligation on the Secretary of State

:31:24. > :31:29.requiring an annual report on child poverty is laid before the House.

:31:30. > :31:33.The amendment stipulates the report must include information on the

:31:34. > :31:41.percentage of children in poverty as originally described in the 2010

:31:42. > :31:45.child poverty act. The Bishop of Durham, who moved the amendment in

:31:46. > :31:49.the Lords, emphasised the importance of income in understanding child

:31:50. > :31:58.poverty and children's well-being and life chances. He says income

:31:59. > :32:02.measures would not supplant the Government's other measures relating

:32:03. > :32:06.to work as Miss and educational attainment but it ensures that

:32:07. > :32:08.income -based measures of child poverty is collected in the UK and

:32:09. > :32:15.other countries for decades are retained. Again, allowing year by

:32:16. > :32:24.year comparisons and holding the Government to account. Various

:32:25. > :32:29.charities have called on the Government not to abandon the income

:32:30. > :32:36.-based measure of child poverty, as has the equality and human rights

:32:37. > :32:41.commission. Today in a letter to The Times, 177 child health academics

:32:42. > :32:48.have written in support of retaining income -based measures for child

:32:49. > :32:55.poverty. Even Unicef urged the Government to retain the measures

:32:56. > :33:01.used across the 35 or ECD countries allowing intercountry comparisons.

:33:02. > :33:08.The Government's on 2014 evidence review of the drivers of child

:33:09. > :33:14.poverty towns like of -- found lack of significant income is the most

:33:15. > :33:20.important factor in lifting children out of poverty. Even the minister in

:33:21. > :33:24.a recent Westminster Hall debate acknowledged income is a significant

:33:25. > :33:30.part of the issue, but there are many other causes. The social

:33:31. > :33:33.mobility and child poverty commission in 2015, their annual

:33:34. > :33:38.report found 2.3 million children living below what is defined as the

:33:39. > :33:44.child poverty line and the resolution foundation estimates that

:33:45. > :33:48.in 2016 all on a further 200,000 children, predominantly from working

:33:49. > :33:57.households, will fall into poverty. This is on top of the ISS's

:33:58. > :34:00.projections that the files in child poverty at the beginning of the

:34:01. > :34:07.century at being reserved. -- reversed. It was estimated 200,000

:34:08. > :34:13.children will be pushed into poverty. It is entirely probable

:34:14. > :34:26.that the increase in child poverty will rise even more steeply. The all

:34:27. > :34:33.policies' recent inquiry showed clearly that it could lead to an

:34:34. > :34:37.increase in the number of children facing the misery and hardship of

:34:38. > :34:46.poverty by as many as 1.5 million by 2020. One or two things I'm sure my

:34:47. > :34:51.honourable friend will agree with me that we can't let the Government

:34:52. > :34:57.front bench get away with. Tax credits were introduced by a Labour

:34:58. > :35:00.government because the Conservative government of the 90s did nothing

:35:01. > :35:08.about child poverty. The Government says they want people to get into

:35:09. > :35:13.work but they get zero hours contracts and people can't get tax

:35:14. > :35:17.credits. In Coventry there are 18,000 people using feedback is.

:35:18. > :35:26.They are doing nothing about child poverty. Some very valid points. I

:35:27. > :35:32.will come onto them in an woman. The implication from these measures in

:35:33. > :35:38.terms of the future health and well-being of children is stark.

:35:39. > :35:42.There is overwhelming evidence child poverty has a direct impact on

:35:43. > :35:49.worsening children's social, emotional and cognitive outcomes.

:35:50. > :35:54.One witness to the inquiry told the inquiry that as children's lives

:35:55. > :35:57.unfold, the health associated with poverty limits their potential and

:35:58. > :36:03.development across a whole range of areas leading to her life chances in

:36:04. > :36:10.adult ad, with a knock-on effect on future generations. There was

:36:11. > :36:13.unanimous agreement from those providing evidence that although

:36:14. > :36:18.there is a positive correlation between work closeness and

:36:19. > :36:23.educational attainment with poverty, they are not indicators are measures

:36:24. > :36:35.of poverty. Two thirds of children in poverty are from working

:36:36. > :36:41.families. How does... ? I am grateful for giving way. She is

:36:42. > :36:52.making an excellent case. I wonder if she would agree with the IFS who

:36:53. > :36:57.say that the prognosis for child poverty under this government is

:36:58. > :37:01.bleak. We see the Government trying to hide information about what is

:37:02. > :37:05.happening to child poverty rather than trying to tackle the underlying

:37:06. > :37:14.causes which leads to it. That is disgraceful. That is an absolutely

:37:15. > :37:24.key point and I want to come onto some specifics in a little moment.

:37:25. > :37:28.She speaks about any work poverty but can she confirmed that under the

:37:29. > :37:42.last Labour government in the work poverty rose 20%? No. How does

:37:43. > :37:50.living in poverty affect children's development? Can I just make these

:37:51. > :37:58.points? People on low incomes are often juggling to heat or eat. As we

:37:59. > :38:02.heard this morning in the debate on the bedroom tax, paying the rent is

:38:03. > :38:12.an increasing issue for 42,000 people affected. Having a secure,

:38:13. > :38:16.warm home with a nutritious food are basic physiological needs. When

:38:17. > :38:18.these are not there, health sufferers physically and mentally,

:38:19. > :38:27.particularly for children as they develop. In work, or being

:38:28. > :38:36.well-educated does not guarantee these needs. Income does. The

:38:37. > :38:42.evidence my honourable friend alluded to, or the lack of it, is

:38:43. > :38:48.absolutely stark. Why was there no government impact assessment on the

:38:49. > :38:54.impact of these proposals? If we look at the evidence from the United

:38:55. > :38:58.States, when they analysed the effect of Social Security reforms,

:38:59. > :39:04.it shows that programmes focusing specifically on parental employment

:39:05. > :39:09.field. In fact, they had no effect or exacerbated children's health and

:39:10. > :39:15.conversely when programmes were about focusing on supplementing

:39:16. > :39:24.income of low income families, the improved health. Indicators are

:39:25. > :39:28.exactly that, not things that can be tackled, whereas this bill seeks to

:39:29. > :39:35.refocus the Government position on the underlying causes and symptoms.

:39:36. > :39:38.Would she agree that rather seeking to -- Rather than seeking to hide

:39:39. > :39:46.the figures, they will actually still be reported to? The point is

:39:47. > :39:49.about making the Government accountable for their policies that

:39:50. > :39:58.may in turn be affecting those measures. I know the honourable

:39:59. > :40:01.Jones and wanted to intervene. Both her party and hours are committed to

:40:02. > :40:06.ending child poverty saw the starting point is the same. The

:40:07. > :40:09.difference is the value of a relative indicator and she knows one

:40:10. > :40:14.of the difficulties with the relative indicator is that quite

:40:15. > :40:21.often it will apparently improve during times of recession but go

:40:22. > :40:28.down in times of crisis. How realistic to she think that is and

:40:29. > :40:34.how effective does she think the money was?

:40:35. > :40:40.If I could answer in this way, we know the value at having indicators

:40:41. > :40:45.that they can compare over a long period of time, and that is

:40:46. > :40:48.internationally recognised. What they provide is an opportunity for

:40:49. > :40:55.this covenant and future Government's, past Government's as

:40:56. > :41:08.well to be held to account for their policies and how they affect child

:41:09. > :41:15.poverty. -- Government's. It is important to remind the public

:41:16. > :41:23.benches that they had a persistent poverty measure and they material

:41:24. > :41:28.deprivation poverty measure. We are not relying on one matter. My

:41:29. > :41:33.honourable friend is spot on and this is what the award amendment is

:41:34. > :41:37.asking for. The exact same measures to be included. I just wanted to

:41:38. > :41:45.finish this bit, if I could. I think it sums up really, from one of the

:41:46. > :41:53.witnesses who is a clinical expert in child health. He said, "The

:41:54. > :41:57.Government is trying to refocus child poverty from Lincoln -based

:41:58. > :42:08.factors to family debt and addiction. -- income -based. A lack

:42:09. > :42:16.of material resources." I really think that sums it up so well. If we

:42:17. > :42:21.look. If we turn now to the UK's infant mortality rate. Approximately

:42:22. > :42:26.40 health of a nation, it is currently the highest quarter of all

:42:27. > :42:30.EU 15 countries. I have to say, I was shocked when I heard their spot

:42:31. > :42:36.for under five-year-olds, we have the worst mortality rate in all of

:42:37. > :42:41.Europe. We should be ashamed of that. We know that infant mortality

:42:42. > :42:43.is strongly linked to poverty and material deprivation. We know from

:42:44. > :42:49.National statistics that there is a five fold difference between the

:42:50. > :42:54.lowest and highest economic groups. There is not a law of nature that

:42:55. > :42:59.says that children from poor families have two die at five times

:43:00. > :43:10.the rate of children from rich families. -- have to die. I thank my

:43:11. > :43:15.honourable friend for giving way. She is giving very calm, realistic

:43:16. > :43:17.evidence of white money matters. Wiltshire grew me that it is

:43:18. > :43:23.disappointing to continually hear the myth from the other benches that

:43:24. > :43:26.it is educational attainment or will help that causes poverty, rather

:43:27. > :43:31.than poverty that causes those things? Again, my honourable friend

:43:32. > :43:40.sums it up perfectly. I absolutely agree. Because this is a serious

:43:41. > :43:43.question. If only one hand she is saying that the evidence shows that

:43:44. > :43:46.the mortality in broad children in this country is a tiny hole of the

:43:47. > :43:50.rest of Europe, and the benefits that we are giving our better than

:43:51. > :43:58.the rest of Europe, something is not working. What this evening has to be

:43:59. > :44:04.done to improve it? I think, again, the honourable gentleman is

:44:05. > :44:13.possibly... Has not got all the evidence here. Again, if we compare,

:44:14. > :44:22.for example, spending two GDP, we do and are particularly well. I'm going

:44:23. > :44:25.to move on. It is concluded that a quarter of all deaths under the age

:44:26. > :44:29.of one-year-old could potentially be avoided if all this at the same

:44:30. > :44:34.level of risks as for women with the lowest level of deprivation. Again,

:44:35. > :44:40.I think we should recognise that these are people living in our

:44:41. > :44:45.constituencies. Evidence to the all-party enquiry showed that

:44:46. > :44:52.eliminating UK child poverty would save the lives of 1400 children

:44:53. > :44:55.under 15 every year. Not just that, good early development is strongly

:44:56. > :44:59.associated with many positive outcomes in later life, including

:45:00. > :45:04.higher educational attainment and approved of one prospect in adult

:45:05. > :45:13.food. As another witness this right, we are facing a child prodigy

:45:14. > :45:16.crisis. -- poverty crisis. We must continue to invest in our children

:45:17. > :45:20.and support the most vulnerable in our society. The introduction of the

:45:21. > :45:26.so-called living wage, the increase in personal tax talent is as more

:45:27. > :45:34.free childcare, as the eye F F has clearly shown they will not offset

:45:35. > :45:38.the net was to households. -- IFS. Including from this bill. I urge you

:45:39. > :45:44.all to support this particular amendment. Our children was my

:45:45. > :45:54.future depend on it. -- children's features. If I could move on. Clause

:45:55. > :46:00.13 seeks to abolish the employment and support allowance component for

:46:01. > :46:04.new claimants from April 20 17th and replace it with a Universal Credit.

:46:05. > :46:09.The effects of this will mean that social security support for people

:46:10. > :46:18.with disability, developed a serious health condition will decrease by

:46:19. > :46:23.almost ?30 per week. If you want a wood at it annually, ?1500. The

:46:24. > :46:27.governor has argued that this will move the financial incentives that

:46:28. > :46:32.encourage claims to take that back to work. The Lords rejected this on

:46:33. > :46:42.a number of grounds. Firstly, people in the E F a -- ESA have gone

:46:43. > :46:48.through an assessment which found fit to work. This shows 5000 people

:46:49. > :46:51.with progressive conditions like multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's.

:46:52. > :46:54.It will not improve. It also includes the board cancer. A survey

:46:55. > :47:00.conducted by the charity MacMillan Cancer Support showed that one in

:47:01. > :47:04.ten cancer patients would struggle to pay their rent or mortgage if DES

:47:05. > :47:11.a was cut. The key issue is that they are not fit for work. -- ESA.

:47:12. > :47:18.Removing the financial incentives making them fit to work is a

:47:19. > :47:22.ridiculous notion. I am sorry, I have given the honourable gentleman

:47:23. > :47:28.a number of opportunities. Secondly, there is overwhelming evidence of

:47:29. > :47:31.extra costs faced by sick and disabled people. The associated

:47:32. > :47:37.poverty that they experience as a result and the clear implication

:47:38. > :47:41.that this has for their condition. We know, out of 12 million disabled

:47:42. > :47:47.people in the country, 5.1 million are living in poverty. We also know

:47:48. > :47:52.from the extra Corporation that disabled people are twice as likely

:47:53. > :47:55.to live in poverty. 80% of which is due to the extra costs and eight

:47:56. > :48:06.days because they are poorly. Because they have a disability.

:48:07. > :48:14.There was an excellent port harvesting the gap of real concerns

:48:15. > :48:19.of the Government's and the potential increase in people living

:48:20. > :48:25.in poverty was seen as inadequate. The cut in the financial support

:48:26. > :48:30.would have a detrimental impact to this group. The equal rights

:48:31. > :48:33.commission agreed. Their analysis said that this would cause

:48:34. > :48:39.unnecessary anxiety to people who have been independently found unfit

:48:40. > :48:45.for work. I am quoting that. My third point is that the scepticism

:48:46. > :48:49.of employment opportunities for sick and disabled people who may recover

:48:50. > :48:52.from their condition in the future. There are currently approximately

:48:53. > :48:56.1.3 million disabled people who are fit and able to work but are

:48:57. > :49:01.currently unemployed, accounting for the disability employment gap

:49:02. > :49:05.between disabled and non-disabled people. The covenant has rightly

:49:06. > :49:11.said that we need to have this but they have been left open in terms of

:49:12. > :49:16.how we can achieve this. -- got this in half. I agree with the honourable

:49:17. > :49:21.gentleman in terms of the disability White Paper. At the moment, we have

:49:22. > :49:26.a situation where there is one specialist disability employment

:49:27. > :49:34.adviser to 600 disabled people trying to get into work. I will. I

:49:35. > :49:37.am really grateful. She makes a very powerful point because she, like me,

:49:38. > :49:43.will see many of these people in surgeries on a regular basis. It is

:49:44. > :49:46.not me support. It is a very expensive support that is needed and

:49:47. > :49:50.the Government what's a good game and does not deliver. My honourable

:49:51. > :49:58.friend is absolutely right. I was going to move on to the support for

:49:59. > :50:05.disabled to work. Last year, only 36,800 people were supported. Again,

:50:06. > :50:12.I do support what is happening in terms of the disability confident

:50:13. > :50:21.scheme. We have to recognise that only 112... 112! Act of employers --

:50:22. > :50:25.acted employers. How are we meant to encourage and enable disabled people