01/03/2016

:00:21. > :00:28.GROANS FROM CROWD Order.

:00:29. > :00:42.This government is clear that the broad shoulders of this United

:00:43. > :00:49.Kingdom are 100% behind the oil and gas industry and the thousands of

:00:50. > :00:55.families it supports. We have announced a wide-ranging fiscal

:00:56. > :01:01.package. That was further expanded at the summer budget, to drive

:01:02. > :01:08.investment. Oil and gas UK have highlighted that headline tax rates

:01:09. > :01:12.of 50% or 67.5% for those companies being PRT are no longer sustainable,

:01:13. > :01:18.as the UK CS enters a ever more mature phase, and the oil price

:01:19. > :01:20.remains low offer longer, this needs to be reflected by changing

:01:21. > :01:22.circumstances and be permanently reduced, will the government listen

:01:23. > :01:31.to the industry, what fiscal support will they bring forward. In this she

:01:32. > :01:35.is budget. In the driving investment paper, the government recognised the

:01:36. > :01:39.need overtime to change the fiscal strategy, and that is why the scale

:01:40. > :01:46.of what my right honourable friend was as it was at one point ?1.3

:01:47. > :01:50.billion, the recent delays, the headline tax reductions took effect

:01:51. > :01:55.on the 1st of January this year. Can I just echo those points, the North

:01:56. > :01:58.Sea oil and gas industry is facing very serious challenges, working

:01:59. > :02:02.together with the industry and with the oil and gas authority, the

:02:03. > :02:08.Treasury can help overcome these problems. Can I urge to be included

:02:09. > :02:11.in the budget, tax cutting initiatives and support that build

:02:12. > :02:16.on last year 's measures, and will help attract investment to this and

:02:17. > :02:22.will ease the worries of many very worried people at this time. My

:02:23. > :02:25.right honourable friend, intervening in this way, highlights that there

:02:26. > :02:28.are so many jobs supported by the sector which are in England and in

:02:29. > :02:34.Scotland, I commend the work that he has been doing with the new Anglian

:02:35. > :02:41.supporting companies that have found themselves in difficulties, working

:02:42. > :02:44.on skills, and I will assure him that we will continue working hard

:02:45. > :02:52.with individual companies to see what can be done to support this

:02:53. > :02:58.vital sector. In North Tyneside, oh GN has shed all of its 2000 jobs.

:02:59. > :03:07.The company has been in touch with the government to ask the help. --

:03:08. > :03:11.OGN. It has heard nothing about the development of wind farms and help

:03:12. > :03:15.that can be given. Will the Minister say whether there is going to be any

:03:16. > :03:19.help? Will you meet with myself and representatives for the jobs? I

:03:20. > :03:23.thank the honourable lady, I would be very happy to meet with her and

:03:24. > :03:29.with that company to see what proposal they would put forward.

:03:30. > :03:32.There is an application for shale gas exploration in my constituency

:03:33. > :03:36.which may result in many millions of pounds in community benefits. Does

:03:37. > :03:40.the Minister agree that those community benefits should go to

:03:41. > :03:46.those communities most affected by developments? My right honourable

:03:47. > :03:52.friend the Chancellor has said that the shale wealth fund could deliver

:03:53. > :03:55.up to ?1 billion of benefits, this is in addition to the industry

:03:56. > :03:59.scheme itself, my honourable friend is entirely right that it is

:04:00. > :04:03.important that community see the benefits and have the reassurance of

:04:04. > :04:09.additionality. Doctor Roberta Blackman Woods. With your permission

:04:10. > :04:13.I would like to answer this question together with question number 12, my

:04:14. > :04:16.responsibility as Chancellor is for jobs, livelihoods and living

:04:17. > :04:20.standards, it is clear to me that a UK exit from the EU would be a long,

:04:21. > :04:25.costly and messy divorce, that would hurt all of those things. We have

:04:26. > :04:30.already seen sterling fall and HSBC yesterday predicted a further 15 to

:04:31. > :04:35.20% slump in the event of a vote to leave, the finance ministers,

:04:36. > :04:38.central-bank governors, concluded at the weekend that British exit would

:04:39. > :04:44.cause an economic shock, not just of UK but Europe and the world, what's

:04:45. > :04:46.people are asking for in this referendum is a serious, sober and

:04:47. > :04:50.principled assessment from the government setting out the facts, I

:04:51. > :04:54.can announce today that the Treasury will publish before the 23rd of June

:04:55. > :04:59.combines analysis of membership of a reformed EU, and the alternative,

:05:00. > :05:03.which will include the long-term economic costs and benefits of EU

:05:04. > :05:12.membership and the risks associated with an exit. Given that up to

:05:13. > :05:15.140,000 jobs in the North East region export rely upon membership

:05:16. > :05:19.of the European Union, does the Chancellor agree with me and the

:05:20. > :05:24.majority of the Northeast of commerce members who say that an

:05:25. > :05:31.exit from the would be extremely damaging for north-east economic

:05:32. > :05:34.growth, and regeneration. I do agree with both the honourable member and

:05:35. > :05:39.the businesses in the north-east, of course, the north-east has thrived

:05:40. > :05:43.by a attracting big inward investment into car manufacturing

:05:44. > :05:47.and train manufacturing, most recently, at Newton Aycliffe, one of

:05:48. > :05:51.the things that those who are advocating exit from the year must

:05:52. > :05:55.answer is, what is the alternative arrangement, what is the alternative

:05:56. > :05:59.arrangement for a large car factory in the north-east of England, could

:06:00. > :06:03.it export cars into mainland Europe without tariffs? It is not obvious

:06:04. > :06:09.that you can do that without paying towards the EU budget, and accepting

:06:10. > :06:14.free movement of people. Will the UK steel industry have a brighter

:06:15. > :06:19.future if we remain in the EU or if we leave the EU? I believe that the

:06:20. > :06:23.best way to help the UK steel industry is to take action at home,

:06:24. > :06:27.and through being part of a large economic bloc, in other words, the

:06:28. > :06:31.European Union, raise concerns with Chinese steel dumping, and frankly,

:06:32. > :06:36.our voice will be amplified as part of the EU when we make that argument

:06:37. > :06:41.with China, then if we were just making that argument alone. In the

:06:42. > :06:46.event of a no vote, the government has committed itself to triggering

:06:47. > :06:53.article 50 straightaway. I cannot see the point of that, why doesn't

:06:54. > :06:58.the government give some time between the no vote and the

:06:59. > :07:00.triggering of article 52 unable a discussion to take place with

:07:01. > :07:05.counterparties, and see the extent to which good faith can be

:07:06. > :07:09.established with the countries of the European Union. It seems

:07:10. > :07:16.illogical to restrict ourselves in that way. It is not illogical that

:07:17. > :07:20.if the country votes to leave, then we leave the European Union. That is

:07:21. > :07:25.the choice for all of the people of the country. The only available

:07:26. > :07:28.mechanism is the triggering of article 50, that puts a two-year

:07:29. > :07:33.time-limit, of course we would try to negotiate in good faith, and

:07:34. > :07:38.extension can be achieved, but only with the consent of 27 other

:07:39. > :07:42.nations, people must be aware, there will not be to referendums, this is

:07:43. > :07:47.decision day on the 23rd of June, people need to choose, voting to

:07:48. > :07:52.remain in the EU is the best outcome for the economic and national

:07:53. > :07:57.security. Isn't it extraordinary that the Chancellor asked the G20 to

:07:58. > :08:01.make that statement and he made the request to them in order that they

:08:02. > :08:07.could tee up this element of Project fear. The idea that the US Treasury

:08:08. > :08:12.Secretary, the head of the IMF, indeed, the central bank governor of

:08:13. > :08:17.China dances to a British tune, I'm afraid, is a bit fanciful. The

:08:18. > :08:23.central-bank governors, and the finance ministers of the G20 are

:08:24. > :08:27.saying what frankly every major independent economic institution is

:08:28. > :08:32.saying, which is that a British exit would both cause an immediate

:08:33. > :08:37.economic shock, and have longer economic costs. Frankly, many of the

:08:38. > :08:42.people advocating exit, I totally understand why they want to do that,

:08:43. > :08:45.but they accent that there is a short-term and long-term economic

:08:46. > :08:49.cost, intensely, and I think that we should have that on the table, that

:08:50. > :08:56.is what the Treasury will produce this analysis. Despite the recent

:08:57. > :08:58.gulag debacle, does that Chancellor agree that the UK membership of the

:08:59. > :09:02.European Union should make it easier to clamp down on immoral tax

:09:03. > :09:11.avoidance by multinational companies? I know that Russia today

:09:12. > :09:19.is the favourite channel of the Labour leadership... LAUGHTER

:09:20. > :09:22.These are Treasury questions(!) what we are raising at the European

:09:23. > :09:27.Union, and this is another example of where being part of a bigger club

:09:28. > :09:34.helps, is precisely trying to get a pan-European agreement to country by

:09:35. > :09:36.country public reporting so that we can see what multinational companies

:09:37. > :09:40.are paying in different countries. -- Russia Today. Our ability to

:09:41. > :09:48.achieve that is amplified by being part of the EU. Jacob Rees Mogg. In

:09:49. > :09:51.my right honourable friend 's rather apocalyptic view of the European

:09:52. > :09:57.Union, if that is correct, was it not both either irresponsible or

:09:58. > :10:00.inaccurate of the priming astir to say that he ruled nothing out prior

:10:01. > :10:07.to the completion of the most unsatisfactory renegotiation. --

:10:08. > :10:09.friend's. We have secured a renegotiation which I think

:10:10. > :10:14.addresses the principal British concerns about our membership of the

:10:15. > :10:19.European Union. Now we can advocate membership of the reform EU, we will

:10:20. > :10:25.be stronger, safer and better off in the European Union. Between 2007 and

:10:26. > :10:31.2013, over 8000 businesses in the North West were able to start access

:10:32. > :10:33.to EU funding, we welcome the Chancellor's comments this morning

:10:34. > :10:36.about the analysis that he will put forward before the 23rd of June,

:10:37. > :10:43.will that include specific detail on the impact of leaving BA you on the

:10:44. > :10:47.economy to the Northwest? I am happy to take on board her request for

:10:48. > :10:51.more information about what the impact of exit would have on the

:10:52. > :10:57.north-west of England. I am a north-west MP. -- leaving the EU. I

:10:58. > :11:00.know that there is a lot of businesses which have access to the

:11:01. > :11:03.free trade single market, largest market in the world, all of the

:11:04. > :11:07.alternatives on offer, whether you go for Norway, Switzerland, Canada,

:11:08. > :11:11.the WTO, all of these different approaches, and of course, those who

:11:12. > :11:15.advocate withdrawal have not been able to set along one, all of them

:11:16. > :11:20.involve some kind of barrier to entry, or, you have to pay into the

:11:21. > :11:23.EU budget, as Norway does, and accept free movement of people,

:11:24. > :11:26.which is one of their complaints about membership. Examining the

:11:27. > :11:28.alternatives which we will do in the coming days will throw a spotlight

:11:29. > :11:39.on the choice facing the country. Should the British people decide to

:11:40. > :11:45.vote to leave on June 23, what arguments would you deploy on June

:11:46. > :11:51.24 two attract those investors wishing to invest in Europe, what

:11:52. > :11:57.arguments in favour of the UK rather than other countries in Europe? I

:11:58. > :12:00.will always fight and this Government will always fight for the

:12:01. > :12:04.best interests for the United Kingdom and we will do whatever we

:12:05. > :12:08.can in response to the verdict of the people. But the recommendation

:12:09. > :12:14.of the British Government and my recommendation is we are better off

:12:15. > :12:18.in the reformed EU. The point I make is this, of course we will have to

:12:19. > :12:22.handle the situation if the British people choose to exit and I would

:12:23. > :12:28.always stress we are a great country to invest in but I think that

:12:29. > :12:34.argument we are weaker if we are not in the EU. We must attend to the

:12:35. > :12:38.questions and in a timely way because this is desperately slow. We

:12:39. > :12:45.can do desperate -- better than that, one would hope. Would there

:12:46. > :12:49.not be a double whammy? The risk of depreciation leading to high

:12:50. > :12:54.inflation and interest rates. And any motion exporters will benefit

:12:55. > :12:58.from a cheaper pound is more than offset by additional tariff barriers

:12:59. > :13:05.those firms will encounter worldwide. I think the honourable

:13:06. > :13:09.gentleman, the former Shadow Chancellor, is right to point to

:13:10. > :13:13.both the immediate economic shock which I think it's generally

:13:14. > :13:17.accepted. Even those advocating withdrawal for honourable reasons

:13:18. > :13:22.would accept there is an immediate economic dislocation, and longer

:13:23. > :13:27.term costs. But if you say the Bretton to make this leap in the

:13:28. > :13:31.dark, what is the Trinity? -- to Britain. How do you assure the

:13:32. > :13:37.company fracture in the North East of England they will have no

:13:38. > :13:43.tariffs? These are the questions for this big national debate. Those who

:13:44. > :13:47.wish to state in the European Union say we are an insignificant and

:13:48. > :13:52.small economy but on the other hand, if we leave the European Union, it

:13:53. > :13:58.would cause an economic meltdown around the world. They both cannot

:13:59. > :14:05.be true, Chancellor. Our argument is that we will be stronger, better off

:14:06. > :14:09.inside a European Union. That is the sort of positive choices we face as

:14:10. > :14:14.a country and I do not think this is the right time. I do not think we

:14:15. > :14:19.should leave the EU but even those who contemplate it should think

:14:20. > :14:24.about this. With the economic situation the world faces, with the

:14:25. > :14:28.geopolitical situation in Europe with Putin on our doorstep and the

:14:29. > :14:33.crisis in the Middle East, is this the right moment to leave? My strong

:14:34. > :14:37.advice and the advice of the British Cabinet and British Government is we

:14:38. > :14:42.remain in this reformed EU. The Scottish First Minister Nicola

:14:43. > :14:51.Sturgeon was in London yesterday but making the case for the UK to remain

:14:52. > :14:56.in the EU. It supports 300,000 jobs in Scotland and 3 million in the UK.

:14:57. > :14:59.Can I ask the Chancellor to agree that in terms of EU membership,

:15:00. > :15:05.trade deals will be easier to agree as a block, harmonised regulation

:15:06. > :15:08.helps businesses to export and notwithstanding there are always

:15:09. > :15:16.improvements to be made, being a member of the EU edifice consumers

:15:17. > :15:21.as well? -- benefits. Scotland benefits from both being part of the

:15:22. > :15:25.United Kingdom and part of the European Union. And he is right to

:15:26. > :15:28.highlight the fact EU agreements on things like air travel and mobile

:15:29. > :15:34.phone chargers have reduced costs for consumers. It is also the case a

:15:35. > :15:42.depreciation in Stirling leads to increased inflation. In terms of

:15:43. > :15:48.free trade, free movement which we think is a boom and the projections

:15:49. > :15:53.in terms of the environment, social interaction and employment rights.

:15:54. > :15:58.These are substantial achievements of the European Union. To be

:15:59. > :16:02.celebrated and not renounced. That is the positive case we are making.

:16:03. > :16:08.Can I ask the Chancellor and the Prime Minister to make a positive

:16:09. > :16:17.case because the inner campaign does not have a 20 point lead to squander

:16:18. > :16:21.with a negative campaign. I am making the positive case we would be

:16:22. > :16:27.stronger, safer and better. Those are positive outcomes. And there

:16:28. > :16:30.are? Over the alternatives and we do not know what the leap in the dark

:16:31. > :16:36.would entail and that is reasonable to point out. I want to do this in a

:16:37. > :16:42.positive way and that is a healthy debate. I take the Ronald Reagan

:16:43. > :16:52.11th Commandment, I will not speak ill of a Conservative! Mr Speaker...

:16:53. > :17:00.The national living wage will mean a full-time minimum wage and it will

:17:01. > :17:03.earn over ?4000 more by 2020 in monetary terms, a rise of more than

:17:04. > :17:08.34% due to the ripple effects on those on higher incomes up to 6

:17:09. > :17:13.million workers will benefit, the national living wage will drive

:17:14. > :17:17.productivity, make sure work pays. Progressive and fair and I am proud

:17:18. > :17:22.it is being introduced by a Conservative government. I thank him

:17:23. > :17:26.for his response. I am delighted the national living wage comes into

:17:27. > :17:33.force from April the 1st Southampton has a number of low paid workers

:17:34. > :17:37.which this policy addresses. What assurances can he make to my

:17:38. > :17:40.constituents their jobs will be protected as a consequence of this

:17:41. > :17:48.wage rise and a stronger local economy? The assurance I can give is

:17:49. > :17:53.alongside the national living wage, we have cut taxes for businesses so

:17:54. > :17:57.they have more money to invest in their workforce. We have introduced

:17:58. > :18:01.and increased the employment alone is helping small businesses

:18:02. > :18:06.especially in used that at the same time as announcing the national

:18:07. > :18:09.living wage. And we are making big investments in the Southampton

:18:10. > :18:14.economy so this is a great place to grow business and employee people,

:18:15. > :18:19.all helping this hard-working people. Wage growth matters. Surely

:18:20. > :18:25.it is the bottom line of your payslip that counts. That is why he

:18:26. > :18:28.is wrong to say this is progressive when the Resolution Foundation finds

:18:29. > :18:32.over the next Parliament, those in the top half of the income

:18:33. > :18:37.distribution will benefit more than those at the bottom. How can the

:18:38. > :18:43.Chancellor say what he has done will help those with the least? I think

:18:44. > :18:49.she seems to be opposing the national living wage. I think it is

:18:50. > :18:53.a progressive policy and it was based on work by the Resolution

:18:54. > :18:58.Foundation. If you want a regressive policy, how about increasing the

:18:59. > :19:02.basing great -- basic rate of income tax? That is what the Labour Party

:19:03. > :19:06.is proposing in Scotland, the first sign of what an economic policy

:19:07. > :19:10.would look like under this New Labour leadership. How could an

:19:11. > :19:14.increase in the basic rate of income tax hitting people earning over

:19:15. > :19:21.?11,000 be remotely progressive or fair? Most businesses as well as

:19:22. > :19:25.workers in my constituency warmly welcomed the introduction of the

:19:26. > :19:29.national living wage and the increased spending power it

:19:30. > :19:32.delivers. Will the Chancer and his team heavily monitored the

:19:33. > :19:37.implementation to see if any unintended consequences happen

:19:38. > :19:43.particularly where margins are small set of bombing, social care and

:19:44. > :19:48.hospitality? -- Chancellor. Of course we will monitor the impact of

:19:49. > :19:54.our policies on the economy, especially sectors in the social

:19:55. > :19:57.care sector, that is one reason why alongside introducing the national

:19:58. > :20:03.living wage, we have introduced a new council tax supplement. The

:20:04. > :20:07.analysis when we announced this is while in theory 60,000 jobs could be

:20:08. > :20:15.lost in the future, that might otherwise not have been created, or

:20:16. > :20:19.the policies we will see creating over 1 million jobs so the overall

:20:20. > :20:24.effect is an increase of employment. How can the Treasury ensure

:20:25. > :20:32.employers do not reduce the hours of work to employees? Many of those in

:20:33. > :20:38.receipt of low incomes. What I would say is many different employer

:20:39. > :20:42.organisations and businesses have welcomed the national living wage

:20:43. > :20:48.will stop and many studies suggest having a higher ceiling, a higher

:20:49. > :20:57.law on wages drives up productivity which is one of the Great British

:20:58. > :21:03.economic challenges. Number four. As part of our long-term economic

:21:04. > :21:09.plan, the government's Charter for budget responsibility was approved

:21:10. > :21:14.by Parliament on October 15 2015. It sets a path to this country's

:21:15. > :21:18.long-term financial help to deliver a surplus and unlike other parties

:21:19. > :21:22.in this House, we will be strong and consistent in our support for the

:21:23. > :21:26.charter. The budget is on much the 16th.

:21:27. > :21:32.I am grateful to my honourable friend. In 2010, but budget deficit

:21:33. > :21:37.was 11.1% of GDP and this year will be down to third at 3.9% which is a

:21:38. > :21:42.remarkable achievement given the economic headwinds outside the UK.

:21:43. > :21:48.Could he tell the House what discussions he is having with other

:21:49. > :21:53.parties, in particular the shadow frontbench, in order to reduce the

:21:54. > :21:58.deficit? I thank my honourable friend for his

:21:59. > :22:01.support. I have had noes to discussions so far. Or any

:22:02. > :22:08.submissions from the frontbench opposite. -- no discussions. I have

:22:09. > :22:14.had as a mission from Ed Balls's, head of policy who said of the

:22:15. > :22:20.Shadow Chancellor's changing position, this kind of chaos less

:22:21. > :22:23.than a month into the job is the kind of low ease and significant

:22:24. > :22:32.political figures struggle to recover from. I agree that we need

:22:33. > :22:38.to reduce the debt and the deficit but with interest rates at record

:22:39. > :22:45.lows, and with the IMF forecasting investment in public and private

:22:46. > :22:51.investment will fall in the league table, should we not take advantage

:22:52. > :22:54.of low interest rates to in best in the creaky infrastructure, airport

:22:55. > :23:00.capacity and road and rail and flood defences? -- to invest. And I

:23:01. > :23:05.welcome her support for deficit, -- reduction and it is good to have her

:23:06. > :23:08.back but I remind her in the last Parliament, she voted against

:23:09. > :23:13.virtually every single measure of deficit reduction this Government

:23:14. > :23:18.took. In terms of investment, we have a big programme of

:23:19. > :23:21.infrastructure investment, 100 billion over this Parliament,

:23:22. > :23:23.including transport infrastructure and other measures to help her

:23:24. > :23:28.constituents and those across the country. As the IMF has been

:23:29. > :23:33.mentioned, would the Minister agree the statement last week we have

:23:34. > :23:39.delivered robust growth, record employment, is it never could

:23:40. > :23:43.reduction in the fiscal deficit and increased financial sector

:23:44. > :23:52.resilience is to be welcomed? I wonder if there is more to calm. --

:23:53. > :23:58.two, now. I thank my honourable friend for that supplementary and

:23:59. > :24:03.the IMF have been clear in their endorsement of the charter for

:24:04. > :24:07.budget responsibility. I say for example the transparency of the new

:24:08. > :24:12.rule with a focus on headline balances and simple and well defined

:24:13. > :24:17.escape clause is welcome. It commends the appropriate level of

:24:18. > :24:22.flexibility in the charter. In terms of external advice taken on by the

:24:23. > :24:28.party opposite, I am quite clear and it would appear from this morning's

:24:29. > :24:34.session Labour MPs are extremely helpful. Sit down, a terrible waste

:24:35. > :24:43.of time, long wounded, boring and unnecessary! -- long-winded. In the

:24:44. > :24:46.debates at the time of the charter, I am many others warned the

:24:47. > :24:52.Chancellor of the potential impact of global adverse headwinds. The

:24:53. > :24:56.Chancellor responded by posting and I quote, of having an economic plan

:24:57. > :25:02.that actually produces better results than forecast. Since then,

:25:03. > :25:06.we have seen business investment falling, his export target receding

:25:07. > :25:10.into the distance, trade deficit widened, manufacturing and

:25:11. > :25:13.construction and the recession, the productivity gap the biggest in a

:25:14. > :25:18.generation and last week the Chancellor tells us the economy is

:25:19. > :25:24.smaller than we thought. Can I say if his economic plan is now

:25:25. > :25:28.producing worse results than forecast, imposing more stealth

:25:29. > :25:36.taxes and cuts in the budget will only make matters worse! We need a?

:25:37. > :25:40.! Order. I said what I said because ministers responsible for answering

:25:41. > :25:44.for government policy and not that of the opposition and people who ask

:25:45. > :25:50.questions, from the front and backbench, pithy replies! Can I

:25:51. > :25:55.thank the Shadow Chancellor for that question. The forecasts at the

:25:56. > :25:57.moment still showed the UK performing extremely well with very

:25:58. > :26:08.strong rates of the Chancellor was right to say over

:26:09. > :26:12.the weekend we may need to undertake further reductions in spending with

:26:13. > :26:17.us this country can only afford what it can afford. He said, I am

:26:18. > :26:22.determined in this uncertain time we have economic security. That is what

:26:23. > :26:26.people rely on. But I am equally clear it would be a fundamental

:26:27. > :26:30.disaster for this country to pursue the policies he has been promoting

:26:31. > :26:34.in the six months he has been Shadow Chancellor.

:26:35. > :26:39.Can we address one of the domestic threats to the economy, this week,

:26:40. > :26:42.the former governor of the Bank of England has warned that bankers have

:26:43. > :26:50.not learned the lessons from 2008, and without reform, the financial

:26:51. > :26:53.system and another crisis is certain. Will the Chancellor take

:26:54. > :26:56.responsible do for the domestic responsibilities within the economy

:26:57. > :27:00.that have built up under his watch, will he withdraw his proposals to

:27:01. > :27:06.water down the regulatory receiving for senior bankers? -- regulatory

:27:07. > :27:10.regime. Can I remind the Shadow Chancellor that over the last five

:27:11. > :27:15.and a half years, it has been this government, that has been fixing the

:27:16. > :27:18.problems in our banking system, and that the poor regulation, the

:27:19. > :27:22.tripartite regime that we inherited from the government deviously, it is

:27:23. > :27:27.us taking action. In terms of economic policy, I have to look

:27:28. > :27:33.around at the Labour Party, and see what kind of reactions there are.

:27:34. > :27:37.Sits down, sit down, this is about government policy, progress is

:27:38. > :27:41.slower than at previous Treasury questions, please do try to stick to

:27:42. > :27:49.government policy upon which briefly you can and should speak. Hugh

:27:50. > :27:52.Merryman. Question five. Mr Speaker, the government wants to make

:27:53. > :27:56.homeownership a reality for as many people as possible, that is why we

:27:57. > :28:00.are building 400,000 new homes with extended help to buy, I can tell the

:28:01. > :28:03.house that the new help to buy ice launched one year ago at the budget

:28:04. > :28:08.and has been used by almost a third of a million families for saving for

:28:09. > :28:11.the first time. -- ISA. That is confirmation that as a Conservative

:28:12. > :28:14.government, we are on the side of the working family and home

:28:15. > :28:17.ownership. 82% of buyers are using help to buy, they would not have

:28:18. > :28:22.been able to buy their home without that skin, would my right honourable

:28:23. > :28:25.friend agree with me that it is the Conservatives helping hard-working

:28:26. > :28:27.people realise the dream of home ownership, is he aware of

:28:28. > :28:35.alternative economic policies and the risks they pose to families in

:28:36. > :28:40.my constituency? My honourable friend is absolutely right, 130,000

:28:41. > :28:43.people have made use of the help to buy schemes, helping people in his

:28:44. > :28:46.constituency and elsewhere ago on the housing ladder, at the same time

:28:47. > :28:50.we are seeking to increase supply, by building more homes that people

:28:51. > :28:55.can buy, it is worth noting that first-time buyers were down under

:28:56. > :29:01.50%, over 50%, over the last Labour government, 60% with us. Mr Speaker,

:29:02. > :29:05.the Chancellor makes great claims for policy but in inner London, in

:29:06. > :29:10.my constituency, it is a crisis, I met with the head of the CCG, we

:29:11. > :29:14.have a crisis in GP recruitment, hospital doctor appointments, even

:29:15. > :29:19.highly paid doctors cannot afford to get on the housing ladder, in my

:29:20. > :29:20.constituency, which is causing a crisis in public services, what is

:29:21. > :29:27.he going to do about that? We are doing two things about that,

:29:28. > :29:30.building more homes in London than were ever built under the last

:29:31. > :29:34.Labour government, and we have just introduced help to buy London so

:29:35. > :29:42.that we help Londoners specifically deal with the very high cost of

:29:43. > :29:48.houses in the capital. After six years as Chancellor, that he

:29:49. > :29:55.confirmed, from 2010 to 2015, whether home ownership was up or

:29:56. > :29:57.down? When I first became Chancellor, we were in the aftermath

:29:58. > :30:00.of a collapse in the housing market, so it took a couple of years to get

:30:01. > :30:05.the house-building going again, I can tell you that the house-building

:30:06. > :30:10.stats are up, and the number of first-time buyers has risen by 60%

:30:11. > :30:17.since I was Chancellor, down by 50% under the last Labour government.

:30:18. > :30:23.There you have it, we know from the English housing survey that there

:30:24. > :30:27.were 201,000 fewer households owning a home in 2015 than five years ago,

:30:28. > :30:34.compare to a million increase under Labour. By 2025, nine out of ten

:30:35. > :30:38.Britons under 35 on modest incomes in Britain will not be able to

:30:39. > :30:42.afford a home, renting in the private sector is soaring, the

:30:43. > :30:47.housing benefit bill is now likely to be 350 million more than he

:30:48. > :30:51.forecast last year. Isn't it true, Mr Speaker, that his record on

:30:52. > :30:55.housing investment is one of failure, with British families now

:30:56. > :31:00.literally paying the price? Housing stats are higher than when I became

:31:01. > :31:05.Chancellor but what people need above all as homeowners or people

:31:06. > :31:09.building houses is economic security, and that is what this

:31:10. > :31:12.government is seeking to deliver. Frankly, the fact that the Labour

:31:13. > :31:15.Party is now getting its advice from Yanis Varoufakis, and the

:31:16. > :31:20.revolutionary Marxist broadcaster Paul Mason does not suggest me that

:31:21. > :31:24.they have got an answer to economic security, presumably they chose

:31:25. > :31:32.those two because Chairman Mao was dead and Mickey Mouse was

:31:33. > :31:39.Tax treaties provide protection for UK citizens from discriminatory tax

:31:40. > :31:43.in other countries, we have one of the largest treaty networks, with

:31:44. > :31:48.over 220 in force, HMRC cannot intervene where a taxpayer is in

:31:49. > :31:53.dispute with a foreign entity on domestic issues, but where a treaty

:31:54. > :31:57.may not apply, and is not apply properly, they can request HMRC to

:31:58. > :32:02.raise the issue with the other revenue authority. My constituent,

:32:03. > :32:05.David Duncan, currently being pursued by the meat and assistance

:32:06. > :32:09.in the recovery of debt for a tax payment related to a time when he

:32:10. > :32:17.was residing in Germany. He was working in South Korea. He had been

:32:18. > :32:21.-- assured by his employer... This is a story, not a question, taking

:32:22. > :32:27.far too long, one sentence: what is it?! Will the Minister advise what

:32:28. > :32:31.help is available to my constituent, in terms of resolving this issue

:32:32. > :32:38.between Germany and South Korea, thank you. In Minister! It depends

:32:39. > :32:42.upon the nature of the dispute, if the honourable gentleman wishes to

:32:43. > :32:50.write for me -- to me, I will get back to him. Alistair Carmichael.

:32:51. > :32:53.Damian Hinds. The 2% duty cut in the March budget, 2015, continue to

:32:54. > :32:58.support 259,000 people across the sector, including Highland park, in

:32:59. > :33:02.the honourable gentleman's constituency. I thank the Minister

:33:03. > :33:09.for that answer, last year, you may recall that the cuts in alcohol

:33:10. > :33:13.duties would lead to a reduction of ?180 million in revenue, but in

:33:14. > :33:18.fact, since April, through to January of this year, we have seen

:33:19. > :33:24.?190 million increase in revenues, will he therefore look carefully at

:33:25. > :33:31.the request from the Scotch whiskey industry this year for a further 2%

:33:32. > :33:36.cut in duties? I know how much the sector values the cut in the duties,

:33:37. > :33:40.the first since 1996, it is great to see the industry in good health with

:33:41. > :33:44.a number of distilleries growing strongly and exports in other parts

:33:45. > :33:48.of the world, I have received representations from the SWI, of

:33:49. > :33:54.course among others in relation to the budget. Spirits, Andrew

:33:55. > :33:57.Griffiths. Any change reduction in spirit duty will impact on the

:33:58. > :34:08.market and other drinks such as beer! This is the government, this

:34:09. > :34:13.Chancellor scrapped Labour's hated Bill yesterday, and cut it three

:34:14. > :34:17.times, cut beer duty three times, more revenue for the Treasury, more

:34:18. > :34:22.beer sales, and saving hundreds of pubs, will he continue that

:34:23. > :34:28.supported the future? Mr Speaker, my honourable friend speaks in exactly

:34:29. > :34:33.the right spirits(!)... BOOING Use the representative Burton, the

:34:34. > :34:37.of beer, and nobody has done more to advocate for that particular

:34:38. > :34:43.industry, that important industry, the budget is on March 16, my right

:34:44. > :34:48.honourable friend makes any and all changes to duty at that such a

:34:49. > :34:52.school event. Scotch whiskey is the biggest main contributor to UK trade

:34:53. > :34:59.and goods, without it, the trade deficit would have been 11% larger,

:35:00. > :35:02.manufacture across, including in my constituency, have experience of

:35:03. > :35:05.exporting, they know that the domestic rates of tax have an impact

:35:06. > :35:09.on the attitude of international markets. What consideration has the

:35:10. > :35:15.Chancellor given to industry called to reduce the Excise in the upcoming

:35:16. > :35:17.budget? My right honourable friend is always very alive to

:35:18. > :35:22.representations from the Scotch whiskey industry, that product

:35:23. > :35:27.accounts for 25% of UK food and drink exports, Japan has been a

:35:28. > :35:31.strong market again for the sector. Others have not worked out so well,

:35:32. > :35:38.but we always continue to listen to what that important sector has to

:35:39. > :35:43.say. The employment level stands at 31.4 million, this represents more

:35:44. > :35:49.people in work in the UK than ever before. Over the past year,

:35:50. > :35:53.employment growth has been driven by full-time workers, and by high and

:35:54. > :35:57.medium skilled occupations. This demonstrates we are now moving into

:35:58. > :36:01.the next phase of our recovery, with high-quality employment, helping to

:36:02. > :36:06.boost productivity, and raise living standards across the country. The

:36:07. > :36:09.number of people in my constituency relying upon the other web benefits

:36:10. > :36:15.in Cheltenham has fallen by 70% since 2010. Does he agree with me

:36:16. > :36:19.that continuing to invest in GCHQ is key to safeguarding that progress,

:36:20. > :36:26.as it supports the high-value cyber jobs in the state and crucially in

:36:27. > :36:31.the civilian sector? The Chancellor announced at the spending review

:36:32. > :36:34.that we would be investing in cyber, quite a lot more, and Cheltenham

:36:35. > :36:39.would be seeing those benefits. Quite right to praise the employment

:36:40. > :36:44.picture and performance in Cheltenham, it has seen more than

:36:45. > :36:48.4000 people get into work, as well as 3000 fewer people in

:36:49. > :36:52.unemployment. Across the UK as a whole, the OBE forecast an increase

:36:53. > :36:58.of employment of 1.1 million, over the course of the parliament.

:36:59. > :37:03.Christians against poverty have found that 72% of people who are

:37:04. > :37:07.often working and on payment meters will behind on council tax and other

:37:08. > :37:14.bills, what assessment has been made of the impact of this type of tariff

:37:15. > :37:19.on household debt? We monitor household debt on an ongoing basis,

:37:20. > :37:24.and if she has some specific cases that she would like to show me, I am

:37:25. > :37:28.sure we can look at those and pass those onto DWP and others. I do have

:37:29. > :37:33.to say that overall, the point picture remains extremely strong. We

:37:34. > :37:37.have unemployment rate of 74.1%, and since the first quarter, UK

:37:38. > :37:45.employment rate has grown more than in any other G-7 country. What more

:37:46. > :37:48.support than the Chancellor given terms of pension to the

:37:49. > :37:51.self-employed, given recent trends suggest that in five years' time,

:37:52. > :37:59.4.7 million people will be self-employed and will not benefit

:38:00. > :38:04.from further involvement. That is an interesting point, and in terms of

:38:05. > :38:08.helping the self-employed, that is one of the key priorities of this

:38:09. > :38:15.government, and we will have to see what is in the budget on March 16.

:38:16. > :38:19.Is the Minister aware that I, like many members here, represent a

:38:20. > :38:23.university town, and the University is one of the best employers and the

:38:24. > :38:26.biggest employers in my constituency, universities up and

:38:27. > :38:31.down the country are terrified that if we left the EU, the amount of

:38:32. > :38:35.grant, we get most money for research, any country in Britain,

:38:36. > :38:38.full research, and research collaboration, our universities

:38:39. > :38:45.would be destroyed by leaving the EU. I join the honourable gentleman

:38:46. > :38:49.in campaigning for the UK to remain a member of the EU, and that is the

:38:50. > :38:56.right thing for us to do, both for the public finances overall and for

:38:57. > :39:00.the future of the UK economy. As the 220 communique made their over the

:39:01. > :39:03.weekend. It may also have an impact on university sector, which I'm sure

:39:04. > :39:08.will be one of the questions that will feature in the forthcoming

:39:09. > :39:15.debate leading into the referendum. Lawrence Robinson Battenberg

:39:16. > :39:20.Robertson. Question number nine. Equitable Life payment scheme has

:39:21. > :39:24.now successfully traced and paid 90% of eligible policyholders. Payments

:39:25. > :39:30.will continue for the life of these annuities. -- Laurence Robertson.

:39:31. > :39:37.Laurence Robertson. I thank the Minister for that response but given

:39:38. > :39:40.because of regulatory failure many policyholders lost out, that should

:39:41. > :39:44.be overseen by government, any government, not just this

:39:45. > :39:47.government, isn't it fair that those policyholders should receive

:39:48. > :39:50.compensation and if they do not, how can any invest in the future have

:39:51. > :39:55.any confidence in the regulatory system which is put in place. Of

:39:56. > :40:00.course, this Chancellor has done more than anyone else to tackle the

:40:01. > :40:04.regulatory failure of the 1990s with regards to Equitable Life, for

:40:05. > :40:08.example, with profits in your attention will receive full

:40:09. > :40:11.compensation for the life of the annuity, and pre-1992 NU attends

:40:12. > :40:19.will receive excavation payments of up to ?10,000, and ?775 million has

:40:20. > :40:26.been paid out tax-free to others despite the constraint public

:40:27. > :40:33.finances. -- annuitants. Those on pension benefit got a doubling. What

:40:34. > :40:37.about the ?1.5 billion that has been delivered by the government, has it

:40:38. > :40:40.been handed over? I regularly update Parliament in terms of those precise

:40:41. > :40:46.figures, and so far, we are at almost ?1 billion, the payments in

:40:47. > :40:56.terms of the new attends will continue for the lives of those

:40:57. > :40:58.annuitants. -- annuitants. The government is cutting taxes to

:40:59. > :41:03.encourage small businesses to grow, corporation tax will fall to 19% in

:41:04. > :41:09.2017, 18% 2020, the lowest energy 20, employed allowance will rise by

:41:10. > :41:12.15% this April, giving a 3000 discount on the national insurance

:41:13. > :41:16.contributions, and the seed enterprise investment scheme will be

:41:17. > :41:22.investing in early-stage companies, helping more than 2900 companies

:41:23. > :41:25.raise over ?250 million. Does them and is to agree, that impressive

:41:26. > :41:28.package for small business will equip them to benefit from the

:41:29. > :41:32.ascension of the single market, as negotiated by the Prime Minister,

:41:33. > :41:36.including energy and services, and that is even more of an emphatic

:41:37. > :41:39.case to remain in the European Union? What I would say demand for

:41:40. > :41:46.friend: -- what I would say to my honourable

:41:47. > :41:51.friend, there is more than 100,000 firms employing fewer than 50

:41:52. > :41:55.people, exporting goods to the European Union, we want to assist

:41:56. > :41:58.them, access to the single market is important to them and to those

:41:59. > :42:02.businesses and the 800,000 people they employ.

:42:03. > :42:07.Plans to move toward quarterly online tax reporting are proving to

:42:08. > :42:10.be deeply unpopular with small businesses. Can the Chancellor

:42:11. > :42:19.confirmed the impacts on administration costs?

:42:20. > :42:27.Overall, the government is clear HMRC's target is to reduce the

:42:28. > :42:31.burden on businesses by ?400 million by the end of this Parliament and

:42:32. > :42:37.moving towards a digital taxation system can help businesses reduce

:42:38. > :42:41.costs. We are consulting on the details but I want to make it

:42:42. > :42:53.absolutely clear there will be no quarterly tax returns. This has been

:42:54. > :43:00.wrongly reported in some cases. The government has committed to

:43:01. > :43:04.raise the personal allowance to ?12,500 and the higher rate

:43:05. > :43:07.threshold to ?50,000 by the end of this Parliament. At the summer

:43:08. > :43:11.budget, the gunman took the first steps by increasing the personal

:43:12. > :43:17.allowance to ?11,000 and raising the higher rate threshold to ?43,000 in

:43:18. > :43:22.2016-17, less people will pay tax after these charges and 570,000 will

:43:23. > :43:28.be taken out of income tax altogether. Does the Chancellor

:43:29. > :43:34.agree it is better to encourage saving by increasing the tax limit

:43:35. > :43:39.on pensions rather than reducing it, especially when savings struggle to

:43:40. > :43:45.get decent returns? As a government, we want to encourage more saving. We

:43:46. > :43:49.have taken steps for reforming our tax system so pensions become more

:43:50. > :43:53.attractive, but we also need to ensure the cost of pension tax

:43:54. > :44:01.relief is targeted in the right direction.

:44:02. > :44:06.Number 14, please. Mr Speaker, on productivity, the blood has product

:44:07. > :44:11.-- has published its plan, fixing the foundations. The plan outlines

:44:12. > :44:16.the steps to encourage further investment in the drivers of

:44:17. > :44:20.productivity growth including science, education, skills and

:44:21. > :44:24.infrastructure. It also sets out the way the government promotes a

:44:25. > :44:31.dynamic economy through reforming planning laws, boosting competition

:44:32. > :44:41.and creating a Northern powerhouse. According to the latest figures from

:44:42. > :44:44.the ONS, UK productivity measured by output 18 percentage points below

:44:45. > :44:50.the average for the rest of the G-7 economies. The widest gap since

:44:51. > :44:57.records began. Which is productivity deteriorating under this Chancellor?

:44:58. > :45:03.I do not accept that, we do except productivity is a problem. But

:45:04. > :45:09.productivity output per hour is 0.7% higher than its precrisis peak. I do

:45:10. > :45:14.improving at the moment. We do need to do more which is why we have laid

:45:15. > :45:22.out a national productivity plan with a set of key targets and areas

:45:23. > :45:24.like research of infrastructure, and infrastructure Commission, cutting

:45:25. > :45:30.corporation tax and a lot more besides.

:45:31. > :45:39.Topical questions, Kirsten Oswald. Number one, Mr Speaker. The purpose

:45:40. > :45:42.of the Treasury is to ensure the productivity and stability of the

:45:43. > :45:48.economy. Did he have a chance to read the

:45:49. > :45:51.Audit Office report on financial services miss selling and is it a

:45:52. > :45:56.missed opportunity to deliver a financial advice sector protecting

:45:57. > :46:02.small sale investors when things go wrong as they did with a number of

:46:03. > :46:05.issues for my constituents. We have tried to increase consumer

:46:06. > :46:10.protection by increasing the powerful detection agency and

:46:11. > :46:15.providing greater financial advice to individuals like the money advice

:46:16. > :46:20.service and pension wise but if she has specific further ideas, I would

:46:21. > :46:24.be happy to look at them. With the government making some of

:46:25. > :46:28.the biggest investments in road and rail in history, is my right

:46:29. > :46:32.honourable friend aware of any alternative investment policies and

:46:33. > :46:37.the impact it would have on economic security, in particular the Southern

:46:38. > :46:41.powerhouse? She is right to draw attention to the big investment in

:46:42. > :46:45.our nation's infrastructure, especially transport, with the

:46:46. > :46:50.biggest rail programme since the Victorian age and biggest road

:46:51. > :46:55.programme since the 1970s. She has seen that in her area. Having an

:46:56. > :46:59.economic policy destroying confidence in the British economy

:47:00. > :47:08.would mean no investment. The OECD have estimated tax havens

:47:09. > :47:12.cost developing countries three times the global aid budgets. Does

:47:13. > :47:16.the Chancellor share my frustration that the UK overseas territories

:47:17. > :47:20.have ignored the pleas of the Prime Minister to introduce beneficial

:47:21. > :47:24.ownership registers? What more can be done to end the secrecy and lack

:47:25. > :47:29.of action? It is the case the UK is leading the

:47:30. > :47:34.way in terms of a public register of beneficial ownership. Other

:47:35. > :47:38.countries including the overseas territories have not committed to

:47:39. > :47:41.that and we engage with them. We do believe they should follow in the

:47:42. > :47:47.direction we have as other country should do.

:47:48. > :47:51.Tackling the deficit should rightly be a priority for the country. Can

:47:52. > :47:56.my right honourable friend say what steps he is taking to ensure

:47:57. > :48:01.everybody pays that their share in meeting the objectives?

:48:02. > :48:04.He is absolutely right that we want to make sure this is done fairly and

:48:05. > :48:06.under this Government, the richest pay a higher proportion of income

:48:07. > :48:12.tax than under the last Labour government. The numbers have come

:48:13. > :48:18.out this morning which for the first time showed the income tax data for

:48:19. > :48:27.the year 2013-14 when the 50p rate was reduced to 45p, which shows

:48:28. > :48:29.there was an ?8 billion increase in revenues and additional rate

:48:30. > :48:36.taxpayers. Which defies the predictions made by the Labour Party

:48:37. > :48:40.at the time. It shows what we have is lower competitive taxes paid by

:48:41. > :48:47.everybody. Figures from the PCS union showed

:48:48. > :48:52.2,000 HMRC staff in Scotland face redundancy including 150 experienced

:48:53. > :48:58.and dedicated people in Inverness. At the same time, the overtime bill

:48:59. > :49:01.is around ?6 million per month. Can the Chancellor explain to my

:49:02. > :49:09.constituents how this makes any sense at all? HMRC are engaged in

:49:10. > :49:15.changes to focus on 13 regional centres across the UK. The same

:49:16. > :49:19.proportion of the workforce will continue to be in Scotland, as is

:49:20. > :49:25.the case now. A larger percentage than the population of Scotland.

:49:26. > :49:30.What we look to do with HMRC is to improve efficiency. We do believe

:49:31. > :49:34.regional centres will enable it to achieve more for less. It already

:49:35. > :49:41.gets more money in and a better rate of return than ever before.

:49:42. > :49:43.Around 40,000 people in my constituency had benefited from the

:49:44. > :49:48.rise in the personal allowance since 2010, can he confirm the government

:49:49. > :49:51.will continue to help hard-working people keep all of the money they

:49:52. > :49:55.earn? That is what this Government was

:49:56. > :49:59.elected to deliver and we have manifesto commitments to deliver not

:50:00. > :50:04.just a ?50,000 threshold for the higher rate but a ?12,500 personal

:50:05. > :50:11.allowance so more people can see the benefit of either paying no tax or

:50:12. > :50:17.less tax if they are better paid. Can the chance lack advise when he

:50:18. > :50:20.will publish the proposals for the distribution and calculation of the

:50:21. > :50:25.apprenticeship Levi to devolved nations and whether the nations have

:50:26. > :50:30.agreed to its -- levy. We are working to get those big O Shea she

:50:31. > :50:34.was right and they are complex because of the single levy rate. We

:50:35. > :50:39.are having good discussions with the Scottish government and with the

:50:40. > :50:43.fiscal charter, we can work together for the benefits of the United

:50:44. > :50:46.Kingdom. I welcome the fact my constituents

:50:47. > :50:50.have been given more control over their finances thanks to changes

:50:51. > :50:54.implemented by the government. Can the Minister advise what steps will

:50:55. > :50:57.be taken to ensure regulation the small High Street financial advisers

:50:58. > :51:02.and insurance brokers is both there and proportion at giving the

:51:03. > :51:08.important services they provide? -- there. Can I thank him for raising

:51:09. > :51:11.this point? We have launched the financial advice market review the

:51:12. > :51:17.report around the time of the budget. We will make financial

:51:18. > :51:23.advice more affordable and available. And we will get the right

:51:24. > :51:26.regulatory balance for small firms. With reports include points the

:51:27. > :51:34.basis that the delays, will he be visit his decision to write the

:51:35. > :51:38.French and option and return with fallback options? We are working

:51:39. > :51:43.with the French government and the signs are they are committed to this

:51:44. > :51:48.project. I think this is a very good example of how the UK working with

:51:49. > :51:53.friends and attracting investment from Asia is getting a new

:51:54. > :51:56.generation of nuclear power under way -- brands. That was promised for

:51:57. > :52:00.more than 20 years and has not happened and will now take place in

:52:01. > :52:03.Somerset. Proud to have been part of a

:52:04. > :52:08.government which introduced the national living wage but I wonder if

:52:09. > :52:14.he has looked at the British Retail Consortium report, retail Twenty20,

:52:15. > :52:21.which talks about that and the impact of internet shopping? I did

:52:22. > :52:25.see that report yesterday and I think we have to accept in this

:52:26. > :52:28.House the retail industry faces an enormous amount of change especially

:52:29. > :52:31.because of what is happening on the in the net and the way people have

:52:32. > :52:37.been shopping online. One of the biggest changes we can make is to

:52:38. > :52:41.allow stores to open on a Sunday which is the biggest single day for

:52:42. > :52:47.internet shopping. We cannot at the same time say we want to protect our

:52:48. > :52:50.High Street and say they cannot open on one day of the week when the

:52:51. > :52:58.internet is open 24 hours a day. We will vote on that next week. The

:52:59. > :53:03.statement referred to the UK seeking a multilateral agreement on making

:53:04. > :53:09.tax paid by companies publicly available. Can he say what measures

:53:10. > :53:13.he will take to achieve that and on what timetable? And will he admit

:53:14. > :53:18.his Google Tech still was not a great success and accept the Public

:53:19. > :53:24.Accounts Committee call for full transparency? The Public Accounts

:53:25. > :53:29.Committee have investigated deals and they welcome to so again. They

:53:30. > :53:34.gave the HMRC a clean bill of health on its approach. We are introducing

:53:35. > :53:37.the country by country reporting, regulations came into force last

:53:38. > :53:42.week. They only happen because this Prime Minister put it on the agenda

:53:43. > :53:48.in this country and internationally and I have been calling both for the

:53:49. > :53:51.EU and at the due 24 that be an international agreement so we know

:53:52. > :53:59.what companies pay in different jurisdictions rather than just

:54:00. > :54:03.reading reports. -- and at the G20. The local economy in my constituency

:54:04. > :54:05.comprises thousands of small businesses, can he offer

:54:06. > :54:09.encouragement to the Federation of Small Businesses which is pressing

:54:10. > :54:18.for tax amplification to reduce the burden of tax administration on

:54:19. > :54:25.small businesses? What I would say is one of the areas I do think we

:54:26. > :54:30.can make progress on is in terms of the digitalisation of the tax system

:54:31. > :54:33.which can help a lot businesses. And the office of tax and publication

:54:34. > :54:38.has been strengthened, looking forward to seeing a couple of

:54:39. > :54:46.reports over the next days in terms of what we can do to help small

:54:47. > :54:50.businesses in particular. When services have been removed from

:54:51. > :54:55.local authority control and centralised in England, they had

:54:56. > :54:59.been granted the right to claim VAT. Does the Chancellor not accept that

:55:00. > :55:04.the refusal to grant that rate the Police Scotland, leaving them as the

:55:05. > :55:12.only UK force that pays VAT, just looks vindictive? To be fair, it was

:55:13. > :55:18.made perfectly clear what the position was in terms of reclaiming

:55:19. > :55:22.VAT. When the decision was made by the Scottish government to go down

:55:23. > :55:29.this course. The UK government is simply pursuing a policy that we

:55:30. > :55:33.always said we would pursue. The Chancellor will be aware debates

:55:34. > :55:36.have been held and questions in the House regarding serious allegations

:55:37. > :55:40.of collusion between banks to deliberately undervalued assets

:55:41. > :55:45.overseas. Has my right honourable friend considered the current

:55:46. > :55:50.regulations and whether there needs to be a broader remit for the SFO

:55:51. > :55:57.and other organisations to investigate the serious and growing

:55:58. > :56:01.number of allegations? I am aware of the points he is raising in

:56:02. > :56:08.Westminster Hall. And I am very keen in our system that we have a tough

:56:09. > :56:11.set of rules in terms of conduct in the banking system. And I would

:56:12. > :56:16.welcome the opportunity to meet with him and to discuss these specific

:56:17. > :56:22.allegations in more detail. If the Chancellor believes that

:56:23. > :56:26.strong steel sector is fundamental to a strong Northern powerhouse,

:56:27. > :56:30.what steps is he taking the level the playing field for the steel

:56:31. > :56:33.industry, the foundation of our manufacturing and defence industries

:56:34. > :56:37.so we can have a prosperous future to match a prosperous past?

:56:38. > :56:43.Of course, the steel industry faces a big challenge at the moment, and

:56:44. > :56:47.that is true in many other countries in the world, as the price of steel

:56:48. > :56:51.has collapsed, we have taken a number of steps to ensure a level

:56:52. > :56:55.playing Friel that piece speaks of, taking them out of the energy

:56:56. > :57:01.levies, proposing additional costs on them, making sure that local

:57:02. > :57:05.areas that have had redundancies get the support they need. -- level

:57:06. > :57:08.playing field that he speaks of. Making sure that we are buying

:57:09. > :57:12.British Steel and taking into account the social impact of the

:57:13. > :57:15.steel purchases in making value for money assessments. Full, as I have

:57:16. > :57:19.said in reply to an earlier question, working through partners

:57:20. > :57:22.in the you to make it clear that we do not and cannot support Chinese

:57:23. > :57:27.steel dumping and we need to take action against it. My right

:57:28. > :57:30.honourable friend the Chancellor is well aware of the widespread and

:57:31. > :57:34.cross-party support for a children's specialist accident and trauma

:57:35. > :57:38.department at Southampton General Hospital, can I urge him to give

:57:39. > :57:41.careful consideration to what is being put together by clinicians, I

:57:42. > :57:47.know they have sent to him, they are looking for support from a match

:57:48. > :57:51.funding bid. I am aware of the case being made, a very strong case, in

:57:52. > :57:56.my view, for the children's facilities at the Southampton

:57:57. > :57:59.hospital, the case advanced by her and other colleagues of mine

:58:00. > :58:02.including notably the member for Winchester that has boosted

:58:03. > :58:06.alongside her, it is something we are looking closely at and I will

:58:07. > :58:14.make an announcement into course. If I can follow the member in raising

:58:15. > :58:18.the key on the apprenticeship levy, the devolved governments are moving

:58:19. > :58:21.towards elections, we need to know as soon as possible, and will there

:58:22. > :58:27.be a Barnett Formula consequential on the back of it as well? Our

:58:28. > :58:31.intention is to use the principles of the Barnett Formula, to make sure

:58:32. > :58:34.that the devolved administration not just in Scotland but in Northern

:58:35. > :58:38.Ireland get the resources they need. We would urge them to spend those

:58:39. > :58:46.resources on training, ultimately it is a matter for them and the people

:58:47. > :58:48.they are accountable to. Given the importance of family investment in

:58:49. > :58:54.start-up business, particularly science and technology business are

:58:55. > :58:56.often a leap of faith is required, will the Chancellor consider lifting

:58:57. > :59:01.the restrictions on family investment in the EE ISN SCIS

:59:02. > :59:05.scheme, so that mother and father can invest alongside everybody else

:59:06. > :59:11.on the same terms. I'm happy to take that as a budget representation, I'm

:59:12. > :59:21.sure that he will say that if it ends up on budget day, he will see.

:59:22. > :59:23.-- EIS and SCIS. They are schemes that have been enormously

:59:24. > :59:27.successful, we need to make sure that they are tight enough, rather

:59:28. > :59:31.than used as a vehicle for tax avoidance, we have the balance right

:59:32. > :59:35.so far, but I'm aware of good positive proposals that people have

:59:36. > :59:43.put forward to improve it. Mr Skinner? Not at the moment, no?

:59:44. > :59:47.No... Fair enough. Helen Goodman. The Chancellor chose to give a path

:59:48. > :59:50.to his desire to Sunday trading liberalisation, I would like to ask

:59:51. > :59:57.him if he is aware of the study produced yesterday, which showed

:59:58. > :00:00.that all that there will be is a switch of activity from small shops

:00:01. > :00:05.to big shops, meaning a loss of thousands of jobs. The honourable

:00:06. > :00:10.member the Litchfield says that he has already done that question, as I

:00:11. > :00:12.have often had cause to observe, repetition is not a novel

:00:13. > :00:20.phenomenon! LAUGHTER To repeat myself... I do not think I

:00:21. > :00:25.agree with the honourable lady. It has been the case that when we have

:00:26. > :00:30.extended opening hours, we have not seen a displacement of jobs, we have

:00:31. > :00:34.seen an increase, that is the response from the retail industry.

:00:35. > :00:39.These arrangements exist in Scotland and many European countries and the

:00:40. > :00:45.US. Many which are countries with strong Christian faiths. I do not

:00:46. > :00:50.think there is a contradiction and we worry about our high street, and

:00:51. > :00:53.then do not allow high street stores to open on the day when you have the

:00:54. > :00:56.biggest Internet shopping taking place of all. It is one of the

:00:57. > :01:03.answer to helping the high street, not the only one, but it is an

:01:04. > :01:05.important one. North and North East Lincolnshire councils are currently

:01:06. > :01:10.preparing detailed regeneration plans. Can the Chancellor assure me

:01:11. > :01:14.that he will give serious consideration to these, so that my

:01:15. > :01:21.constituents can gain maximum benefit from the northern powerhouse

:01:22. > :01:25.initiative. We will give careful consideration, as I always do, to

:01:26. > :01:28.the proposals that he comes forward with, to support North Lincolnshire

:01:29. > :01:32.and his own constituency. And of course, we have been able to make

:01:33. > :01:36.investments in new roads, and make the tolls on the Humber Bridge,

:01:37. > :01:44.enterprise ends, any new ideas he has got I would love to see them!

:01:45. > :01:49.Happy Saint Davids Day to you. The Chancellor often talks about

:01:50. > :01:53.repairing the roof when the sun is shining, amassing $810 billion in an

:01:54. > :01:57.oil fund when the sun shone, in Scotland, how much did the broad

:01:58. > :02:02.shoulders of the UK say for moments like this to help the north-east of

:02:03. > :02:06.Scotland, is the figure indeed zero! We are providing support to

:02:07. > :02:12.Scotland, support that is entrenched in the fiscal framework that we have

:02:13. > :02:15.agreed with the government. He cannot duck his responsibilities, he

:02:16. > :02:20.wanted Scotland to be independent on the 24th of March, this month. And

:02:21. > :02:23.if we had gone ahead with that, if the Scottish people had voted for

:02:24. > :02:29.it, there would have been a fiscal catastrophe in Scotland, because oil

:02:30. > :02:32.revenues have fallen by over 90%. We had a question from an earlier

:02:33. > :02:37.Scottish nationalist... Order, order... It is a very unseemly

:02:38. > :02:45.mystic elation from the honourable gentleman... I remind him of his

:02:46. > :02:49.status in this house, as the chair of a select committee! He is an

:02:50. > :02:59.aspiring statesman, and he must conduct himself accordingly. --

:03:00. > :03:01.gesticulation. In response to an earlier question about productivity,

:03:02. > :03:04.the right honourable member mentioned the drivers of growth

:03:05. > :03:09.being investment in science and technology, does he, like me,

:03:10. > :03:14.welcomed the government commitment to train 17 and a half thousand more

:03:15. > :03:19.teachers in stem, and also, does he think that there is no time to waste

:03:20. > :03:26.in recruiting those teachers. -- 17,000 500. -- in STEM. This is one

:03:27. > :03:33.of the big national challenges, to get more children studying STEM and

:03:34. > :03:40.the key is to get more STEM teachers and we need more girls studying STEM

:03:41. > :03:46.as well. Schools have the tools to recruit teachers themselves. We must

:03:47. > :03:52.move on, demand invariably exceeds supply, nobody is keen to facilitate

:03:53. > :03:55.questions than I, but we do need pithy questions and pithy answers.

:03:56. > :04:12.Urgent question, Joe Cox. I call the Parliamentary

:04:13. > :04:17.undersecretary of state, Tobias Ellwood. Thank you, Mr Speaker, the

:04:18. > :04:21.Syrian conflict is now almost in its sixth year, as a result of the

:04:22. > :04:25.brutality of Bashar al-Assad and the terror of Daesh, over 250,000 people

:04:26. > :04:30.have lost their lives, half of the population has been displaced, over

:04:31. > :04:37.13 million people are in need of humanitarian aid. Russia's military

:04:38. > :04:41.intervention last autumn has compounded the violence. Russia's

:04:42. > :04:45.claims to be targeting terrorists have carried out strikes on moderate

:04:46. > :04:50.opposition groups and civilians. Over 1300 civilians have been

:04:51. > :04:55.killed, over 5800 have been injured by Russia, or regime air strikes,

:04:56. > :05:02.since the start of Russia's campaign. Our goal is that Syria

:05:03. > :05:07.becomes a stable, a peaceful state, with an inclusive government,

:05:08. > :05:11.capable of protecting its people from Daesh and other extremists.

:05:12. > :05:16.Only when this happens can stability be returned to the region, when this

:05:17. > :05:23.is necessary, to stem the flow of people fleeing Syria, and seeking

:05:24. > :05:25.refuge in Europe. The last few months have seen some progress

:05:26. > :05:33.towards this, the International Syria support group them together at

:05:34. > :05:36.the end of 2015, in Vienna, to help facilitate a return to the process,

:05:37. > :05:43.leading to a political transition in Syria. In December, opposition

:05:44. > :05:46.groups came together to form the high negotiations commission,

:05:47. > :05:49.representing the widest possible range of opposition views, and has

:05:50. > :05:57.nominated a team to negotiate with the regime. But omitted talks

:05:58. > :06:02.between the regime and opposition began under UN auspices in January.

:06:03. > :06:08.They will pause as a result of the deteriorating situation on the

:06:09. > :06:12.ground. The ISS G met again, in Munich, at the Munich Security

:06:13. > :06:15.conference, on the 11th of February, agreeing that there should be a

:06:16. > :06:21.cessation of facilities, and humanitarian access, to named

:06:22. > :06:28.locations, in Syria. Since then, the US and Russia has agreed at the

:06:29. > :06:32.highest levels on the terms of hesitation of hostilities. This

:06:33. > :06:42.agreement was codified in the UN Security Council is resolution. --

:06:43. > :06:44.cessation of hostilities. -- UN Security Council resolution. This is

:06:45. > :06:48.an important step to ending the terrible violence in Syria and

:06:49. > :06:52.bringing a lasting political settlement. The cessation came into

:06:53. > :06:57.force on the 27th of February, since then, we have seen a reduction in

:06:58. > :07:02.violence, which is of course a huge step forward. We need to see this

:07:03. > :07:09.sustained, and to see a reduction in the number of reported violations.

:07:10. > :07:14.We have received reports of a number of violations, which we have passed

:07:15. > :07:21.on the UN, and ISS G co-chairs in Vienna. We need swift action to

:07:22. > :07:26.reduce these violations, and we look to Russia, in particular, to use its

:07:27. > :07:31.influence with the regime, to insure that the cessation endures, and that

:07:32. > :07:37.there is no further violations. -- ISSG. It is crucial that the

:07:38. > :07:39.opposition see action being taken in response to allegations of

:07:40. > :07:44.violations to ensure their commitment, and that of their Syrian

:07:45. > :07:50.constituents to the process. It is essential that the cessation of

:07:51. > :07:56.facilities supports the wider political process. We support the UN

:07:57. > :08:02.special envoy, and his plans to resume peace negotiations on the 7th

:08:03. > :08:08.of March. These negotiations must deliver a political transition away

:08:09. > :08:13.from Bashar al-Assad to a legitimate government that is able to support

:08:14. > :08:16.the needs and aspirations of all Syrians and put an end to the

:08:17. > :08:21.suffering of the Syrian people. At the same time, we call for complete

:08:22. > :08:27.and unfettered human Terry and access across Syria and an end to

:08:28. > :08:31.all violations of international humanitarian law. As set out in the

:08:32. > :08:37.United Nations Security Council resolution to 254. We are relieved

:08:38. > :08:41.that desperately needed aid convoys are now arriving in some besieged

:08:42. > :08:46.areas of Syria, including those named in the Munich ISSG agreement

:08:47. > :08:51.of the 11th of February. -- UN Security Council resolution 2254. It

:08:52. > :08:56.is important that this continues. Russia has a unique influence,

:08:57. > :08:59.pressure must be put on the regime of Bashar al-Assad to lift sieges

:09:00. > :09:05.and grant full and sustained humanitarian access. -- imperative

:09:06. > :09:09.that this continues. There must be a political solution to the rises in

:09:10. > :09:14.Syria, it is imperative that these steps that I have described are then

:09:15. > :09:18.fermented by all parties and that the cessation of hostilities in

:09:19. > :09:21.jurors. The UK is working strenuously to make sure this

:09:22. > :09:32.happens and will continue to do so. -- endures. Thank you for granting

:09:33. > :09:35.this update to the house on such a vital issue, the cessation of

:09:36. > :09:40.facilities, which began on Friday, is a much-needed ray of hope in this

:09:41. > :09:45.tragic Civil War, as the minister has set out, it faces serious

:09:46. > :09:49.challenges after growing reports from international NGOs and the

:09:50. > :09:54.media of numerous violations of the truce, it was close to collapse on

:09:55. > :09:58.the weekend apparently, and the French government has asked for a

:09:59. > :10:00.meeting of the monitoring group, amid allegations that Syrian and

:10:01. > :10:05.Russian forces have breached its terms. In this context, can and is

:10:06. > :10:08.to set out specifically what action the UK is taking, within the

:10:09. > :10:12.international support group, to ensure there is robust and

:10:13. > :10:17.transparent monitoring of the cessation agreement? Secondly, is

:10:18. > :10:21.the UK joining efforts led by France, for urgent action within the

:10:22. > :10:24.ISSG, on the growing reports of violations of the cessation

:10:25. > :10:28.agreement, by Bashar al-Assad and Russia. Indeed, can the Minister

:10:29. > :10:31.address how it is even conceivable that the monitoring of this

:10:32. > :10:36.agreement is being jointly conducted by Russia, the same part of it

:10:37. > :10:40.responsible for the vast majority of recent civilian deaths. If the

:10:41. > :10:45.reports of Russian and regime violations are verified, what

:10:46. > :10:48.measures will the UK pursued to force a change in the calculations

:10:49. > :10:53.of both Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad, the UK has a critical

:10:54. > :10:58.role, Mr Speaker, to play in giving everybody confidence in this system,

:10:59. > :11:02.in particular, violations will be called out and agreements protected.

:11:03. > :11:05.Is the government considering further targeted sanctions against

:11:06. > :11:10.Russian entities, in the event of further violations? Further, what is

:11:11. > :11:15.the UK's assessment of the mobilisation of Bashar al-Assad's

:11:16. > :11:18.forces and militias to encircle Aleppo is this a direct violation of

:11:19. > :11:24.the cessation agreement? And can the Minister confirm that those areas

:11:25. > :11:26.where al-Nusra, or any other Security Council designated

:11:27. > :11:31.terrorist group, are mixed with the moderate opposition, these areas are

:11:32. > :11:35.covered by the cessation agreement. And if this is Asian holds this

:11:36. > :11:40.week, can you also confirmed that negotiations on political transition

:11:41. > :11:44.will be at the very top of the agenda at the meeting in Geneva next

:11:45. > :11:48.week. And finally, in light of the reduction of islands, it is still a

:11:49. > :11:52.matter of deep concern to many members of the house at the lack of

:11:53. > :11:58.access to besieged areas, inside Syria, in particular, just outside

:11:59. > :12:03.of Damascus, where people are starving to death. There is no Isil

:12:04. > :12:06.or al-Nusra in that town, it is unacceptable that the Bashar

:12:07. > :12:10.al-Assad regime with the backing of Russia is preventing this

:12:11. > :12:13.life-saving aid, paid for by the taxpayer to get to the most

:12:14. > :12:16.vulnerable. Does the government or its partners have a deadline by

:12:17. > :12:25.which aid will reach that town and other besieged areas?

:12:26. > :12:35.Can I pray tribute to her, then -- can I pay tribute to her

:12:36. > :12:43.commencement? I pay tribute to the work she does and the way she raises

:12:44. > :12:49.these matters. I will do my best and I will write to her with more

:12:50. > :12:55.detail. I am pleased to see I am joined and supported by Mike

:12:56. > :13:00.colleagues and from the Ministry of Defence colleagues. They hosted the

:13:01. > :13:05.Syria conference a couple of weeks ago to make sure that funds were

:13:06. > :13:09.available for the United Nations organisations to get to the

:13:10. > :13:16.necessary areas to provide the aid and assistance once the cessation of

:13:17. > :13:19.hostilities has taken place. There has been different levels of success

:13:20. > :13:25.and trucks getting through. We have two get confirmation from the regime

:13:26. > :13:30.itself that the trucks can get safe passage. There has been the use of

:13:31. > :13:36.air drops for the first time which has been less accessible for obvious

:13:37. > :13:43.reasons, who receives the kit on the ground, the weather conditions,

:13:44. > :13:46.where they land, ownership is difficult but further drops will

:13:47. > :13:52.take place in the future as well. What more can be done? It is

:13:53. > :13:57.imperative that those putting together the ceasefire itself which

:13:58. > :14:03.is at the highest levels, from telephone calls between President

:14:04. > :14:06.Putin and President Obama, coordinating and creating the

:14:07. > :14:11.verification model itself. That is not fully in place and this is

:14:12. > :14:15.highly complex because of the number of players involved across Syria.

:14:16. > :14:22.And the challenges of making sure verification is can take place. The

:14:23. > :14:27.UK is pushing the co-chairs to investigate all allegations and

:14:28. > :14:32.using our own capabilities to feed any violations we have become aware

:14:33. > :14:35.of so they can be investigated. We have said additional staff to the UN

:14:36. > :14:42.in Geneva to assist in this advert as well. And negotiating and

:14:43. > :14:47.discussing these matters with our UN Security Council colleagues as well.

:14:48. > :14:51.She talks about the difficulties in Aleppo and this is concerning, and

:14:52. > :14:54.what is happening in the build-up to the cessation of hostilities, people

:14:55. > :15:01.taking advantage before the cessation came into place on

:15:02. > :15:06.February 27. As I said, it is imperative that Russia shows this

:15:07. > :15:14.leadership and that it recognises it has a unique place and influence

:15:15. > :15:20.with the Assad regime to make sure the purpose is to allow that

:15:21. > :15:23.political transition. She asks about the talks taking place, that is on

:15:24. > :15:28.the 7th of March and is critical to get those parties together. They

:15:29. > :15:33.broke apart last time because of the bombing that took place. It was the

:15:34. > :15:37.UN envoy that closed the meeting down before somebody walked out

:15:38. > :15:41.again. We do not want to see that repeated and we encourage parties to

:15:42. > :15:47.resume those discussions and take advantage of the truce in place at

:15:48. > :15:52.the moment and we hope they are successful.

:15:53. > :15:57.Notwithstanding the honourable lady's and central -- understand or

:15:58. > :16:02.scepticism about Russian intentions, this ceasefire would not have

:16:03. > :16:09.happened if it had not been pushed for hard by the Russians alongside

:16:10. > :16:13.the United States. The Minister referred to verification methods,

:16:14. > :16:19.what practical military to military coordination is going on between the

:16:20. > :16:23.Russians and the coalition to ensure any breaches of the ceasefire will

:16:24. > :16:27.be immediately understood and brought to an end as soon as

:16:28. > :16:31.possible so the ceasefire is correctly observed without accidents

:16:32. > :16:38.and either side not knowing what the other is doing? The chairman of the

:16:39. > :16:42.Foreign Affairs Select Committee raises an important point which I

:16:43. > :16:48.can divide into two. There is a deep conviction system which makes sure

:16:49. > :16:55.coalition aircraft and involvement is separated from that of Russian

:16:56. > :16:59.involvement and that has been in place some time. This is a

:17:00. > :17:03.verification mechanism of the cessation of hostilities. The

:17:04. > :17:09.process has yet to be put in place. It is still being agreed between the

:17:10. > :17:15.co-chairs, between Russia and the United States and details will

:17:16. > :17:19.emerge soon. I very much welcome the urgent

:17:20. > :17:22.question by my right honourable friend and I would like to pay

:17:23. > :17:28.tribute to her excellent work in this area. The world community is

:17:29. > :17:34.watching this ceasefire very closely and we want it to be successful, not

:17:35. > :17:38.least to allow humanitarian aid into areas blighted by the conflict. And

:17:39. > :17:42.to give a boost to the tentative peace talks. As the ceasefire has

:17:43. > :17:46.been in operation a couple of days, I would like to ask a number of

:17:47. > :17:51.questions. The letter from the Syrian higher national council to

:17:52. > :17:58.bank e-mailing alleges 15 breaches of the ceasefire by Russia and the

:17:59. > :18:02.Assad regime. France called for an urgent meeting of the Syrian

:18:03. > :18:06.national support group, when will this group B meeting and what powers

:18:07. > :18:10.does it have to make a ruling on breaches of the ceasefire and does

:18:11. > :18:16.it need unanimity to do so? Amongst reported breaches, the most worrying

:18:17. > :18:21.was a report of a gas attack in the urban area with indications of a

:18:22. > :18:25.link to the Assad regime. Can he confirm whether the UK government is

:18:26. > :18:28.aware of the attack and what special provisions are in place to

:18:29. > :18:34.investigate chemical weapons attacks? One key problem is a lack

:18:35. > :18:38.of agreement on which groups are terror organisations and what action

:18:39. > :18:44.is allowed. Can he explain whether this will be discussed at the Syria

:18:45. > :18:48.international support group. And to address the humanitarian system, we

:18:49. > :18:50.need accessed areas without hostilities so can the Minister

:18:51. > :18:57.explain what steps have been taken to establish the geographical

:18:58. > :19:01.demarcation of the ceasefire? Over the past six months, Russia have

:19:02. > :19:05.repeatedly acted to prolong this conflict so can I ask the Minister

:19:06. > :19:08.what discussions there have been with allies in the EU to put

:19:09. > :19:15.pressure on Russia to abide by the ceasefire? And Saudi Arabia also has

:19:16. > :19:20.a key position of influence. It especially concerning to hear of a

:19:21. > :19:24.possible Saudi response to Russian action. Has the Minister made any

:19:25. > :19:32.representations to the Saudi government about this? And can I ask

:19:33. > :19:36.about the status of the group which were not a signature to the

:19:37. > :19:40.ceasefire but had indicated they would abide by it? They now claim

:19:41. > :19:47.their headquarters were attacked by Russian air strikes. A claim backed

:19:48. > :19:51.up by several sources. Can the Minister confirm whether this group

:19:52. > :19:59.is considered to be outside of the terms of the ceasefire by the UK and

:20:00. > :20:03.the US? The honourable lady asks a series of

:20:04. > :20:11.questions. This week, the purpose of this latest UN Security Council

:20:12. > :20:16.resolution to 268 was confirmed and underlines the importance of a

:20:17. > :20:20.previous resolution about the access and ability to gain access into

:20:21. > :20:26.different areas where ownership is sometimes confusing. What happens is

:20:27. > :20:31.it is done on a very local basis to make sure agreements have taken

:20:32. > :20:35.place so UN convoys can go through and they have the series of

:20:36. > :20:39.permissions and do not get stopped by the checkpoints, and the food is

:20:40. > :20:45.used as a weapon of war and taken away. It is difficult to give a

:20:46. > :20:50.comprehensive reply. But it is done on an area by area basis. And the

:20:51. > :20:57.method the delivery is taken is done by the threat level. There are areas

:20:58. > :21:00.surrounded by Daesh and it is impossible to have these agreements.

:21:01. > :21:06.She spoke about the chemical weapons attack. There is a number of UN

:21:07. > :21:12.organisations looking into a wider use of chemical weapons across

:21:13. > :21:17.Syria. They just in the of completing a report which will

:21:18. > :21:21.appear at the United Nations shortly and I will contact her with more

:21:22. > :21:28.details on that. In relation to the works being done in order to provide

:21:29. > :21:32.international humanitarian aid, I go back to the conference we had where

:21:33. > :21:37.we were able to garner a lot of support including from Saudi Arabia

:21:38. > :21:41.to make sure money is filtered through to the UN organisations, to

:21:42. > :21:47.make sure they have access to get through to the various locations.

:21:48. > :21:53.The agreements she mentions, a number of other organisations and

:21:54. > :21:58.groups she mentions. These have not been considered as part of the

:21:59. > :22:02.moderate packages. They have not been included in the discussions and

:22:03. > :22:13.will not be represented as part of the talks when the Saudis brought

:22:14. > :22:17.the moderate groups together. May I ask where the Foreign Secretary is?

:22:18. > :22:22.I know he is very busy but the House of Commons must come first. We are

:22:23. > :22:28.in need of an explanation. Make a suggest the Labour and Conservative

:22:29. > :22:35.establishments, whether we are talking about Qaddafi or Assad, have

:22:36. > :22:38.merely provided an opening for four worst totalitarian movements. It is

:22:39. > :22:42.arguable we have had little influence at all in this latest row

:22:43. > :22:46.in peace negotiations as the Americans cosy up to the Russians.

:22:47. > :22:51.So will the Foreign Office except now there is some merit in Assad

:22:52. > :22:56.being allowed to go gracefully although elections are never

:22:57. > :23:01.perfect? Firstly, Mr Speaker, can I say I will not take it personally my

:23:02. > :23:07.honourable friend feels I am not adequate to respond to the questions

:23:08. > :23:10.today. I would say this has been an urgent question. The Foreign

:23:11. > :23:14.Secretary was not able to get here but I will certainly do my best to

:23:15. > :23:18.convey the fact my honourable friend would love to have been in place

:23:19. > :23:25.instead of myself. With regards to the transition process, we ended the

:23:26. > :23:29.year in 2015 after five years of hostility were for the first time,

:23:30. > :23:33.we had opposition groups coming together. For the first time, we had

:23:34. > :23:38.the international stakeholders including Saudi Arabia and Iran

:23:39. > :23:43.around the table discussing these matters at the Vienna talks. First

:23:44. > :23:48.time a transition process was to Scotland. The first time an 18 month

:23:49. > :23:54.process was being put into place and the first time life after Assad was

:23:55. > :23:58.considered. It is important to recognise it must be for the people

:23:59. > :24:11.of Syria to decide their fake. All the people of Syria, Kurds, soon

:24:12. > :24:16.ease. -- Sunnis. 80% of the deaths in Syria have been caused by Assad

:24:17. > :24:19.and his regime and so we say it would be inappropriate for him to

:24:20. > :24:24.participate in the long-term of the country, but it will be, the purpose

:24:25. > :24:29.of bringing these organisations together to discuss the Democratic

:24:30. > :24:35.process, they will decide the process which will be a transition

:24:36. > :24:39.away from Assad. Can I join the chairman of the

:24:40. > :24:46.Select Committee in urging that the correct policy of the government is

:24:47. > :24:50.to give every facility to the rapid establishment of verification

:24:51. > :24:53.regime? We can engage in the foot at allegations about who is breaching

:24:54. > :24:59.what but this is the only ceasefire we have got. Repair -- reports this

:25:00. > :25:05.morning from Kurdish forces about our Nato Allied using the

:25:06. > :25:08.opportunity to build forces against them, so establishment of

:25:09. > :25:13.verification process is key. Can the Minister tell us in more detail

:25:14. > :25:17.about the urgency of attempts to bring humanitarian relief, which

:25:18. > :25:20.convoys have been allowed, which had been stopped, which air strikes have

:25:21. > :25:25.been successful and not? Given the overwhelming urgency of the

:25:26. > :25:28.humanitarian crisis, the House would appreciate the exact detail and if

:25:29. > :25:37.he could find a way to facilitate that for members.

:25:38. > :25:41.I have gone into detail, Mr Speaker, about the urgency of the

:25:42. > :25:44.humanitarian relief and this is one reason why a cessation of

:25:45. > :25:49.hostilities was needed. We have seen in places like the day, people have

:25:50. > :25:58.resorted to eating pets and animals, such is the plight of their concern.

:25:59. > :26:02.Thanks to the first agreements arranged by John Kerry at the Munich

:26:03. > :26:08.Security conference which led to discussions between Putin and

:26:09. > :26:12.President Obama, we have seen this build-up in cessation of austerity

:26:13. > :26:17.is. I was cautiously optimistic when I saw President Putin break into and

:26:18. > :26:23.make a row live television appearance on Russian television

:26:24. > :26:28.stating his commitment to ensuring a cessation of hostilities came into

:26:29. > :26:33.place. However, experience shows and I am sure the right honourable

:26:34. > :26:36.gentleman is aware that whenever you ceasefire and cessation of

:26:37. > :26:42.hostilities, when a deadline is put in, there is a measure, an effort by

:26:43. > :26:46.hardliners and opportunists to take advantage of the time period before

:26:47. > :26:54.the deadline is in place to gain territory, to further their lines

:26:55. > :26:59.and make a greater impact. So when the hostilities cease, they are in a

:27:00. > :27:03.stronger position, and that is what we have seen. What we require is

:27:04. > :27:09.every country, Turkey, Russia, the Assad regime, to hold fast, to allow

:27:10. > :27:15.and recognise the world is watching. The humanitarian situation is dire

:27:16. > :27:19.but there is an international community that wants to help. That

:27:20. > :27:20.can only help if it has access to the areas I have articulated

:27:21. > :27:30.earlier. Is there any evidence whatsoever

:27:31. > :27:35.that Bashar al-Assad would be willing to go graciously or not, and

:27:36. > :27:38.is not all of the evidence showing that he is determined to stay in

:27:39. > :27:45.power? As far as Russia is concerned, again, would it not be

:27:46. > :27:49.right to come to the conclusion that it has never been interested in

:27:50. > :27:53.using its military might against Daesh, first and foremost, it wants

:27:54. > :27:57.to consolidate in every possible way regime of Bashar al-Assad, which as

:27:58. > :28:02.ministers say has been responsible for some of the worst crimes which

:28:03. > :28:07.have been committed in the last 25 or 30 years, Russia has a large

:28:08. > :28:14.moral responsibility for what is a caring on the ground. -- occurring.

:28:15. > :28:19.I partly agree with the honourable gentleman, he makes it very clear as

:28:20. > :28:22.I have done, the atrocities that Bashar al-Assad has incurred, that

:28:23. > :28:29.is why we believe there is no long-term place for him in this.

:28:30. > :28:33.What has happened is a recognition that there must be a transition

:28:34. > :28:37.process, it must be clear, it is not just Bashar al-Assad we should be

:28:38. > :28:41.talking about, it is Bashar al-Assad and his cohorts, his family and so

:28:42. > :28:46.on, they have a firm grip at the top of the regime itself, it simply is

:28:47. > :28:49.not possible to remove the individual man and assume that life

:28:50. > :28:53.can move on, it is far more complex. As I'm sure the honourable gentleman

:28:54. > :28:57.will be aware. We should also recognise, and this is no excuse for

:28:58. > :29:02.the behaviour of Russia, it has had a long-term interest in the country

:29:03. > :29:07.since 1946, when it began to train the new Syrian army, when Syria

:29:08. > :29:11.gained independence. Syria backed the Soviets during the Cold War,

:29:12. > :29:14.Bashar al-Assad's father trained as a Mick pilot, there is a bond

:29:15. > :29:27.between the country we cannot ignore.

:29:28. > :29:34.The people of Syria deserve better than this. Dodgers won grouping, all

:29:35. > :29:41.of the area, not just one specific sectarian area. Government has

:29:42. > :29:44.placed importance on the moderates taking an Bashar al-Assad to swing

:29:45. > :29:51.around and take the ground battle to Daesh, given that we all accept air

:29:52. > :29:55.strikes. It is becoming increasingly evident that there is too many

:29:56. > :29:59.aircraft chasing too few targets. What progress for those blinds, and

:30:00. > :30:07.is the government still convinced that there is 70,000 moderates left.

:30:08. > :30:11.This question has been raised before, about the 70,000, and it is

:30:12. > :30:18.an estimate, we can understand that this is a very divisive group of

:30:19. > :30:22.people that have been standing up to Bashar al-Assad since the Arab

:30:23. > :30:30.Spring. Pockets of resistance which have a choice, when Bashar al-Assad

:30:31. > :30:34.began to bomb and kill his own people, to go extremist,

:30:35. > :30:38.fundamentalist, or say, no, I want something different, I do not want

:30:39. > :30:43.to be part of this party, I want the freedoms that I am seeing developing

:30:44. > :30:49.in other parts of the other arable world as well. They are distant,

:30:50. > :30:53.from Aleppo to Idlib through parts of Damascus, to Dara town, these are

:30:54. > :30:57.pockets of elements, people who stood up, and they are the ones that

:30:58. > :31:00.need to come together and have come together through the talks that have

:31:01. > :31:03.taken place, thanks to the leadership of Saudi Arabia. --

:31:04. > :31:07.Daraa. And they are now participating in the Geneva talks as

:31:08. > :31:10.well. They are not united in the sense we would like them to be, but

:31:11. > :31:13.they are moving forward, and they need to be part of the process that

:31:14. > :31:19.works out what the country looks like post-Bashar al-Assad. The

:31:20. > :31:24.people of Syria have paid a dreadful price, in my view, for our failure

:31:25. > :31:27.to act, both three years ago, after Bashar al-Assad use chemical weapons

:31:28. > :31:34.against his own people, but even sooner. Want to ask about another

:31:35. > :31:37.glimmer of hope, elections in Iran, and the impact they may have, in

:31:38. > :31:40.particular in the Middle East, and whether or not he thinks that what

:31:41. > :31:43.has happened in Iran indicates the policy that he and the previous

:31:44. > :31:50.Labour government and Europe have pursued with the rainy and regime.

:31:51. > :31:54.-- Iranian regime. Many of us will look back, there is no point in

:31:55. > :32:00.saying so, how different life could have been had we taken a different

:32:01. > :32:05.action on that punitive strike. How things would have changed. The

:32:06. > :32:09.reason Bashar al-Assad is back in play now is because Russia has

:32:10. > :32:13.backed Bashar al-Assad, he was falling, he was slowly on the

:32:14. > :32:17.demise. They have come back in, Russia has come back in to support

:32:18. > :32:21.their person, that is why we are in the position we are in today. He

:32:22. > :32:26.asks a relevant question, slightly outside of the scope of this, I hope

:32:27. > :32:29.that with your permission I will simply say, we are cautiously

:32:30. > :32:34.optimistic, welcoming what has happened in terrain, the early

:32:35. > :32:41.results, yet, but both on the committee of experts and indeed on

:32:42. > :32:44.the list itself, to see the moderates -- Tehran. . The first

:32:45. > :32:48.indication, the first opportunity for the people of Iran to have a say

:32:49. > :32:51.in the future of their country. They will be judged by their actions,

:32:52. > :32:58.because their proxy involvement, with Hezbollah, in Lebanon, in

:32:59. > :33:04.Damascus, in Syria, in Baghdad, in Iraq, in Senna, in Yemen, and in

:33:05. > :33:07.Bahrain as well, if we see changes there, then we know that we're

:33:08. > :33:16.working with different Iran. -- Senaa. Until then we should expect

:33:17. > :33:20.the same. Can I begin by paying tribute to the honourable member who

:33:21. > :33:24.brought this up, following the statement by John Kerry that it may

:33:25. > :33:27.be too late to keep it as a whole, then Minister update the house on

:33:28. > :33:28.any conversations he has had with his American counterpart on the

:33:29. > :33:39.possible partition of Syria. It is for the people of Syria to

:33:40. > :33:43.determine their future, as to how the country needs to be managed, how

:33:44. > :33:47.it should be governed itself. We are at very early stages. I think it

:33:48. > :33:51.would be wrong, and history shows Britain has not always been best

:33:52. > :34:00.placed to make its assessments, not least in this particular patch of

:34:01. > :34:04.the world. Russia has absolutely no desire to bring hope or humanitarian

:34:05. > :34:09.relief, I am sure, to many areas of Syria, what they want is to increase

:34:10. > :34:17.fear, despair, and the collapse of the opposition. They also hope that

:34:18. > :34:22.the peace period will bring a greater influx of refugees, fleeing

:34:23. > :34:27.from Syria, towards the West, can I ask the Minister, are we monitoring

:34:28. > :34:33.when that is happening, and are we using our intelligence and

:34:34. > :34:38.surveillance capabilities as part of the monitoring of the apparent need

:34:39. > :34:44.for observation of what the Russians and Bashar al-Assad are doing and

:34:45. > :34:49.the violation of the peace process. The honourable lady, who I know

:34:50. > :34:53.personally, the number of committee she is involved with, puts her

:34:54. > :34:58.finger on an important point, it is not just Syria, it is about the

:34:59. > :35:04.wider strategic implications of what is happening, not just here, but the

:35:05. > :35:07.role that Russia is playing on the international stage, not least with

:35:08. > :35:16.Ukraine and Crimea, and the consequences of the influx of

:35:17. > :35:20.refugees, and that political impact. That is all the more reason why we

:35:21. > :35:24.need to continue that pressure. Making sure that the verification

:35:25. > :35:33.mechanism comes into play as soon as possible. It is a moral outrage to

:35:34. > :35:38.take the life of any nonconfidence, what estimate has been made of the

:35:39. > :35:42.number of noncombatants made by Russia, and can we be sure that the

:35:43. > :35:46.royal air force is not responsible for any deaths of noncombatants? --

:35:47. > :35:49.it is amoral outrage to take the life of any noncombatant. I can

:35:50. > :35:55.confirm that, the rules of engagement that we follow are very

:35:56. > :36:02.robust, as I said in opening remarks, over 1300 civilians, we

:36:03. > :36:06.have estimated, have been killed by Russia or supported Russian regime

:36:07. > :36:11.air strikes, and over 5800 have been injured.

:36:12. > :36:16.On the subject of air drops, can the Minister confirm first of all

:36:17. > :36:22.whether the RAF have been involved, whether they are taking place with

:36:23. > :36:25.the formal agreement or just the acquiescence of the Russians and

:36:26. > :36:29.Bashar al-Assad, and finally, if they could be scaled up, if Bashar

:36:30. > :36:36.al-Assad and Vladimir Putin continue to starve Syrian civilians. The

:36:37. > :36:42.coalition does a lot of planning in order to establish what is the best

:36:43. > :36:47.mechanism to provide the aid relief in any particular area, the RAF

:36:48. > :36:51.itself has not been involved in air drops per se, the United States has

:36:52. > :36:54.been leading on that. As I say, it has been with marginal effect,

:36:55. > :37:02.subject to weather conditions, subject to who is on the ground, the

:37:03. > :37:07.areas of who receives the age, and then it is luck, as to how it is

:37:08. > :37:11.distributed, often it is unfairly distributed, because it is the

:37:12. > :37:14.strongest that ends up grabbing the kit, and taking it away with them.

:37:15. > :37:18.That is why the preferred mechanism is getting permission to go through

:37:19. > :37:25.the various checkpoints, and indeed, deliver this by truck. May I also

:37:26. > :37:29.paid tribute to the honourable member, who has done a lot of work

:37:30. > :37:33.on this area over the past few months, and indeed, in her previous

:37:34. > :37:36.incarnation, over many years. Cannot also paid tribute to the minister

:37:37. > :37:39.who has done a lot of work the region, we have spoken a lot about

:37:40. > :37:44.the pressure the Russians have brought to bear on the opposition to

:37:45. > :37:47.the regime, could you also tell us about the pressure that the Russians

:37:48. > :37:50.have brought to bear on allies in the region, and what he's doing,

:37:51. > :37:54.working with the Lebanese, the Iraqis, the Jordanians, and the tax,

:37:55. > :38:00.to ensure that we deliver a peaceful solution to Syria, and not a

:38:01. > :38:06.wasteland made by Russian bombs. Firstly, I am grateful for his

:38:07. > :38:12.comments, and his right to outline or remark upon the impact, firstly,

:38:13. > :38:17.that Syria's situation is having an its neighbours, and we should all

:38:18. > :38:23.pay tribute to the generosity of countries such as Jordan and Lebanon

:38:24. > :38:27.that have taken in so many refugees. The whole house can appreciate and

:38:28. > :38:32.support that much of the funds we provide our going to other countries

:38:33. > :38:38.as well. One of the great changes that took place was to change the

:38:39. > :38:43.employment opportunities for those Syrian refugees, so that they are

:38:44. > :38:48.not a burden on the domestic employment situations. That is

:38:49. > :38:51.partly because of the funding coming through, the opportunities being

:38:52. > :38:55.made, other countries. We are doing our best to make sure that Turkey

:38:56. > :38:59.plays its role, a very complicated role that it has, with its racing

:39:00. > :39:04.chip with the Kurds as well, to moderate its actions, and make sure

:39:05. > :39:15.that cessation of hostilities is able to last. Russianaggression has

:39:16. > :39:20.made bilateral relations rightly strained and limited over recent

:39:21. > :39:25.years. -- Russia's aggression. The government says that it is urging

:39:26. > :39:30.Russia to play a more constructive role in the Syria conflict. Can he

:39:31. > :39:37.outline for the house in what ways the government has contact with the

:39:38. > :39:41.Russian Federation at present? Firstly he is very aware of these

:39:42. > :39:47.matters, travelled to Kiev with him on a visit, a couple of years ago,

:39:48. > :39:51.and so I am very familiar with his knowledge, his understanding in

:39:52. > :39:57.these matters, and again, I think that is very important to recognise.

:39:58. > :39:59.There are a series of opportunities where the international community

:40:00. > :40:06.comes together, Foreign Minister said Guy love wrath, along with John

:40:07. > :40:08.Kerry and our Foreign Secretary, unable to meet with a regular

:40:09. > :40:20.drumbeat. -- sur bilateral. There was the Munich Security

:40:21. > :40:28.conference, not only was the public statement, made, but also private

:40:29. > :40:32.bilateral that has taken place. This year was different, it was important

:40:33. > :40:39.to recognise the involvement of president Makro Barack Obama -- the

:40:40. > :40:45.involvement of president Barack Obama and president Vladimir Putin.

:40:46. > :40:48.I would like to pay tribute to my near neighbour, for continuing to

:40:49. > :40:52.bring the plight of the Syrian people to this chamber, all sides

:40:53. > :40:56.must respect this ceasefire. What discussions has the Minister had

:40:57. > :41:07.with the Turkish government, about reports that Turkish forces have

:41:08. > :41:13.been shelling Syrian Kurds. I'm aware of those reports, and we have

:41:14. > :41:17.encouraged Turkey to recognise the importance of the cessation of

:41:18. > :41:19.hostilities, the opportunity it brings to further political

:41:20. > :41:26.engagement which will be an opportunity to solve some of the

:41:27. > :41:31.problems that it is enduring. What we do not want to see is people

:41:32. > :41:35.being advantageous in this manner, and actually compounding the

:41:36. > :41:41.problem, by taking advantage of the cessation of hostilities to gain

:41:42. > :41:43.ground. We have been working with Turkey to encourage them to

:41:44. > :41:51.recognise this cessation of facilities as well.

:41:52. > :41:57.There have been serious offences to human dignity and the people of

:41:58. > :42:03.Syria must know that we see what is happening to them. The Minister, on

:42:04. > :42:07.previous occasions, indicated a timescale that the international

:42:08. > :42:14.community was working too. Could he update us on that timetable?

:42:15. > :42:18.This is not for me to bring the parties together, they will

:42:19. > :42:22.recommence discussions on the 7th of March, so this was not my timetable.

:42:23. > :42:28.It was first agreed at the Vienna talks as a tentative idea that an 18

:42:29. > :42:32.month transition programme would come through, but this was prior to

:42:33. > :42:37.the bombings that had taken place by Russia which unfortunately led to

:42:38. > :42:41.the January talks falling apart. So I hope we will still be on a

:42:42. > :42:46.programme of transition in 18 months but it is for the UN merger talks to

:42:47. > :42:54.confirm if that is still on track or not.

:42:55. > :43:03.Consistently effective ground forces against Daesh and -- in Syria and

:43:04. > :43:07.Iraq are the Kurds but Turkey uses any excuse including the present

:43:08. > :43:13.ceasefire to attack them and the greater them. When is her Majesty's

:43:14. > :43:19.government going to take this issue seriously -- degrade. He needs to

:43:20. > :43:25.call in the Turkish Ambassador said this behaviour is not acceptable on

:43:26. > :43:28.any level and will not defeat Daesh in Syria and Iraq without the Kurds

:43:29. > :43:34.and Turkey needs to seriously think again.

:43:35. > :43:39.My honourable friend articulates the complexity of the challenge we face

:43:40. > :43:44.in Syria, with so many moving parts and organisations and entities

:43:45. > :43:48.pursuing quite separate agendas which makes it very difficult

:43:49. > :43:52.indeed. The situation between Turkey and the PKK, which is a listed

:43:53. > :43:57.terrorist group from a British perspective as well, is well

:43:58. > :44:02.recognised I've is House and we do encourage Turkey to recognise the

:44:03. > :44:06.cessation of hostilities -- recognised by this House. But I

:44:07. > :44:14.recognise the incredible work the Kurds in Iraq have done to liberate,

:44:15. > :44:18.to hold back Daesh and liberate territory, and they will play a

:44:19. > :44:28.pivotal role in the eventual operation of Mosul -- liberation.

:44:29. > :44:32.Which is significant. Last week, the defence let the committee went to

:44:33. > :44:37.the Middle East and the discussions were focused on Syria and a peace

:44:38. > :44:42.process and agreement and we welcome the peace agreement as it is. But

:44:43. > :44:48.the one thing that came up was the position of Turkey. And very

:44:49. > :44:51.clearly, their position to destabilise the cessation in the

:44:52. > :44:56.Middle East. They have a truly head a mystic attitude embedded

:44:57. > :45:00.politically and military with some very strange bedfellows. What

:45:01. > :45:05.discussions have taken place with Turkey so they stop buying oil from

:45:06. > :45:09.Daesh controlled territories and selling it for them, and to stop

:45:10. > :45:15.Turkey attacking coalition forces? If they want to be part of the

:45:16. > :45:19.coalition, we need the help. Turkey does not purchase oil from Daesh.

:45:20. > :45:27.There is a movement of black-market oil, no doubt. And what is it porous

:45:28. > :45:32.market. Every effort is made by Turkey to make sure that is cut

:45:33. > :45:38.down. Not so long ago, there was a terrible attack in Istanbul which

:45:39. > :45:41.was committed by Daesh so Turkey is as committed as everybody else to

:45:42. > :45:49.make sure they participate in the coalition's efforts to defeat the

:45:50. > :45:53.Daesh. After five years of death and

:45:54. > :45:57.destruction, it is welcome there is a ceasefire and hope for the future,

:45:58. > :46:00.but can he reassure me that given the levels of war crime and

:46:01. > :46:07.brutality, anybody involved in the transitional process, that will not

:46:08. > :46:11.mean they do not face justice at a later stage? That is an important

:46:12. > :46:16.point and efforts have been made to make sure all war crimes will be

:46:17. > :46:20.collated and this will not be forgotten and we will return to the

:46:21. > :46:25.subject in a very serious way once cessation of hostilities takes place

:46:26. > :46:30.and we are able to move forward. The Minister is right to say the

:46:31. > :46:34.statement by the international Syrian support group was very

:46:35. > :46:37.welcome, but it flies in the face of the actions of the Russians that

:46:38. > :46:41.they are signing up to the transition plan when at the same

:46:42. > :46:46.time they bolstering the Assad regime. What is the extent to which

:46:47. > :46:50.he believes the Russians understand the level of transition that is

:46:51. > :46:55.required and that there is a recognition amongst them the Assad

:46:56. > :47:01.regime needs to come to an end for peace in Syria? He makes a very

:47:02. > :47:05.important point as to making sure there is a verification process in

:47:06. > :47:09.place and we are doing our part to make sure we pass information to the

:47:10. > :47:14.United Nations. There will be a report going to the Secretary

:47:15. > :47:19.general of the UN in 15 days and day intervals after that, confirming the

:47:20. > :47:24.situation of the cessation and any breaches that take place. This is

:47:25. > :47:28.very important for the United Kingdom, America and other countries

:47:29. > :47:32.to keep the pressure on Russia, to make sure they recognise their

:47:33. > :47:37.unique decision in making sure we do on this so that we can expedite the

:47:38. > :47:43.political process and alleviate the humanitarian situation in this

:47:44. > :47:50.country. If cessation holds and continues to hold, could he explain

:47:51. > :47:55.what impact he thinks cessation will have on the flow of displaced people

:47:56. > :48:02.within Syria and Syrian refugees, and maybe he could collaborate maybe

:48:03. > :48:08.a bit premature on what role Britain could play in making sure those

:48:09. > :48:13.Syrian refugees can return home? Emigrate for for the question

:48:14. > :48:15.because it allows me to express, I think, the success of the Syrian

:48:16. > :48:23.conference that took place in Kabul of weeks ago -- am grateful for. The

:48:24. > :48:26.London conference. In a day, we gained a record amount of pledges

:48:27. > :48:33.from across the world, over $11 billion. That is important to the

:48:34. > :48:37.Syrian people recognise the international community is ready to

:48:38. > :48:41.support them. Once they see a cessation is likely to pass and a

:48:42. > :48:48.transition is likely to take place, that is when they do make the

:48:49. > :48:55.decision not to turn their back on their country and not want to find a

:48:56. > :48:58.better life in Europe. The right to unimpeded humanitarian

:48:59. > :49:02.aid is set in international law but as the Minister has pointed out, it

:49:03. > :49:05.depends on the assessment of the situation on the ground. And in a

:49:06. > :49:10.number of cases, the Minister has said the assessment of the Assad

:49:11. > :49:15.regime itself as to whether convoys even leave. Can he assure me he will

:49:16. > :49:21.express to the Assad regime and the Russians the high importance the

:49:22. > :49:25.wider international community places on dealing with this humanitarian

:49:26. > :49:29.crisis, which is urgent, in the next couple of weeks? Happy to do that

:49:30. > :49:36.and that will be articulated through the UN special envoy at the talks

:49:37. > :49:40.that recommence on the 7th of March. Can I draw his attention to the

:49:41. > :49:44.reports from the very few international journalists on the

:49:45. > :49:48.ground in Aleppo and Syria saying that many people, especially rebels

:49:49. > :49:52.fighting against the regime, they are not in favour of a ceasefire,

:49:53. > :49:57.precisely because they believe it will just be used by the regime and

:49:58. > :50:01.Russia to take ground by stealth, which emphasises the importance of

:50:02. > :50:05.getting aid into those communities and holding the regime to account.

:50:06. > :50:11.Can I ask, take this opportunity to make a request to the government

:50:12. > :50:17.that as we move into territory, territory previously held by Daesh,

:50:18. > :50:23.but are at least 35 mass graves we are already discovering in those

:50:24. > :50:27.communities. The UK is a world leader in forensics technology and

:50:28. > :50:31.many groups would like to see the Foreign Office funding and

:50:32. > :50:36.encouraging those frantic experts to get on the ground where it is safe

:50:37. > :50:43.to do so and uncover and record the terrible crimes of Daesh and the

:50:44. > :50:47.Syrian regime. -- forensic experts. He is absolutely right and we pay

:50:48. > :50:51.tribute to the British capability, I have seen it in shrubbery meats and

:50:52. > :50:56.other places and it is very important to gain the intelligence

:50:57. > :51:02.to hold these people to account, that the verification process takes

:51:03. > :51:08.place. We saw it in Ramada, that can take place once the area is made

:51:09. > :51:17.safe, which is commencing as we speak -- Ramada E. He has commended

:51:18. > :51:25.himself. If there is not a cessation of violence, is there a Plan B? It

:51:26. > :51:30.is best to avoid discussions of that, we need to make this work. It

:51:31. > :51:35.has gone on too long. This is our sixth year. There is a recognition

:51:36. > :51:40.that international community is coming together for the first time

:51:41. > :51:44.round the table. We have not had a situation where Iran and Saudi

:51:45. > :51:49.Arabia have been at the table before, and United States and Russia

:51:50. > :51:51.as well. We no doubt will face a number of difficulties and

:51:52. > :51:56.complexities but that should not mean we do not try to find the

:51:57. > :52:03.solutions to the stability of Syria in the longer term.

:52:04. > :52:08.Happy St David's Day. Yesterday, Reuters reported two weeks ago in

:52:09. > :52:15.Brussels, defence ministers in the US-led coalition met to discuss

:52:16. > :52:21.ground operations against Daesh, update the House on those

:52:22. > :52:28.coalitions? Huge success has been made, it has been progressive in

:52:29. > :52:32.Iraq. We can create an indigenous capability and support and build an

:52:33. > :52:40.Iraqi force able to liberate Ramada E, the next step is the liberation

:52:41. > :52:44.of Mosul. Peshmerga is doing that and it is working well. Stopping the

:52:45. > :52:49.movement of foreign fighters and funding getting into Daesh. It is

:52:50. > :52:53.getting squeezed and the consequence we should be concerned about is as

:52:54. > :52:57.we squeeze it in Iraq and Syria, it is popping up in other parts of the

:52:58. > :53:05.world, no list Libya, and we need to be aware of that.

:53:06. > :53:10.Order. Sir Edward Leigh. You are the for most Guardian of the convention

:53:11. > :53:13.the House of Commons must come first. My honourable friend is a

:53:14. > :53:17.most charming and honourable Minister but I did as quite the

:53:18. > :53:21.Foreign Secretary was not here. I understand he is a busy man and

:53:22. > :53:25.abroad or ill, but we must establish a convention that when there is an

:53:26. > :53:29.urgent question or statements, as it deals with a small part, the

:53:30. > :53:32.Secretary of State should be here and I would hope that you would make

:53:33. > :53:38.it clear to your government departments.

:53:39. > :53:42.The position is, I must say to the honourable gentleman, that it is for

:53:43. > :53:49.the government to decide who the field. My responsibility is to

:53:50. > :53:54.adjudicate upon applications for permission to put urgent questions,

:53:55. > :53:57.and I do that every week, sometimes several times a week. I cannot

:53:58. > :54:05.require any particular Minister to attend. And it must remain for the

:54:06. > :54:08.government to make a judgment. That said, the honourable gentleman is a

:54:09. > :54:13.very senior and respected figure in this House. And he has just made a

:54:14. > :54:19.point which increasingly I have heard made recently by others. I

:54:20. > :54:24.have not made a statistical study, but there are suggestions that the

:54:25. > :54:29.frequency with which senior ministers appear in order to answer

:54:30. > :54:35.Benson -- urgent questions is declining. And it is in no sense to

:54:36. > :54:39.cast an aspersion upon the honourable gentleman who does know

:54:40. > :54:44.his brief and has assiduously attended to the matters today,

:54:45. > :54:51.simply to note that point in passing. I would hope senior

:54:52. > :54:58.ministers would want and feel a duty to answer questions from Members of

:54:59. > :55:04.Parliament. We do not have a separation of powers, as in the

:55:05. > :55:13.United States. Ministers sit in and they are answerable to this House.

:55:14. > :55:17.And not of them, frankly, should ever forget it.

:55:18. > :55:21.Point of order, Mr Tom Watson. Happy St David's Day, Mr Speaker.

:55:22. > :55:26.Yesterday, in a majestic performance at the dispatch box, Paymaster

:55:27. > :55:30.General and Cabinet Office Minister confirms to the House the Cabinet

:55:31. > :55:34.members who opposed the European referendum and will be supporting a

:55:35. > :55:40.No vote will be able to get access to government documents on the Assad

:55:41. > :55:44.referendum -- one referendum if they use the Freedom of information act.

:55:45. > :55:48.Today we see on the front page of the Daily Mail the Paymaster General

:55:49. > :55:52.will scrap the Commission looking at the Freedom of information act. Mr

:55:53. > :55:57.Speaker, have you had noticed that the Paymaster general will give a

:55:58. > :56:02.statement to the House to explain this very unusual behaviour of the

:56:03. > :56:09.government shelving their own Commission is, I am bound to say I

:56:10. > :56:15.have received most rich indication that any Minister has any such

:56:16. > :56:24.intention. -- indication. The matter is of ongoing interest. He and

:56:25. > :56:30.others who are notably terrierlike and tireless in their pursuit of

:56:31. > :56:33.their ends will require no encouragement from me to deploy such

:56:34. > :56:37.Parliamentary devices as are available to secure further

:56:38. > :56:45.attention to the matter, if that is what they want. If there are no

:56:46. > :56:50.further points of order, the House's palette has been satisfied at any

:56:51. > :56:55.rate on that front or today. Perhaps we can move to the presentation of

:56:56. > :57:08.the bill in the name of secretary Theresa May.

:57:09. > :57:15.The contention is that a minister not, I note that with some ceremony,

:57:16. > :57:19.we have received the Junot, from the Minister of State for security. My

:57:20. > :57:29.apologies for interrupting. Investigatory Powers Bill. Second

:57:30. > :57:35.Reading tomorrow, thank you. Order, ten minute rule motion, Mark

:57:36. > :57:38.Williams. I beg to move that leave be given for me to bring in a build

:57:39. > :57:43.to devolve to Welsh ministers responsibility for the termination

:57:44. > :57:48.of specified bank holidays in Wales and for connected purposes. And I'm

:57:49. > :57:52.lucky enough to be bringing this issue before the house on Saint

:57:53. > :57:56.Davids Day itself, a day in which people throughout Wales and the dire

:57:57. > :58:03.spread throughout the UK and indeed the world will be celebrating the

:58:04. > :58:11.life of Saint David and celebrating Welsh cultural identity. --

:58:12. > :58:17.diaspora. Happy Saint Davids Day to everyone. Saint David is a renowned

:58:18. > :58:18.and inspirational figure in Wales, responsible for spreading

:58:19. > :58:23.Christianity throughout much of western Britain, also the Archbishop

:58:24. > :58:28.of Wales, and a fundamental figure in the establishment of religion in

:58:29. > :58:32.our country. He also had particular links to my constituency, being a

:58:33. > :58:39.grandson of the founder of the kingdom, and his mother was born in

:58:40. > :58:46.a local village. It is also said that Saint David himself was

:58:47. > :58:57.educated at a local monastery, and it was in a village in 550 A.D., at

:58:58. > :58:59.a raucous meeting of the sin of the Welsh Church that finding it

:59:00. > :59:06.difficult to make himself heard, David placed a cloth on the ground

:59:07. > :59:11.and Earth formed to raise a mound on which he could stand and preach.

:59:12. > :59:25.This miracle put the village on the map, long before the contemporary

:59:26. > :59:27.Dafydd of Little Britain fame(!) and should be no surprise that in my

:59:28. > :59:32.constituency, the calls for Saint Davids Day becoming a national

:59:33. > :59:38.holiday are strong. Many people today will be publicly celebrating

:59:39. > :59:41.Saint Davids Day, with school pupils wearing traditional Welsh costumes,

:59:42. > :59:49.the singing of Welsh songs, the reciting poetry, people taking part

:59:50. > :59:52.in singing festivals, displaying some of the rich cultural tradition

:59:53. > :59:56.of Wales, we will see celebrations of Welsh culture in London as well,

:59:57. > :00:01.with countries from the London Welsh school, London Welsh centre, the

:00:02. > :00:06.Wales in London group doing their bit to promote Wales and the life of

:00:07. > :00:12.a saint. -- children. A few months ago, the service ended with Saint

:00:13. > :00:17.Mary undercroft, and I'm glad to see that the catering department at the

:00:18. > :00:20.House of Commons has risen to the occasion, providing wonderful Welsh

:00:21. > :00:24.cuisine, procured from Wales, which I would encourage all members to

:00:25. > :00:30.experience, it is no coincidence that I'm using this opportunity to

:00:31. > :00:35.pursue devolving power to set public policies on this very important day

:00:36. > :00:38.for Wales. Saint Davids Day and the ability of the assembly to designate

:00:39. > :00:43.public holidays has been an issue which has been raised many times

:00:44. > :00:47.over many years and by many people from across the political spectrum.

:00:48. > :00:53.I raised it in a Westminster Hall debate in 2011, it followed that by

:00:54. > :00:55.the Honourable member for Stratford-upon-Avon introduced a

:00:56. > :00:58.bill to make St George's Day and Saint Davids Day public holidays in

:00:59. > :01:03.England and Wales respectively during the same year. I want to make

:01:04. > :01:07.it clear that this bill does not ask this house to authorise or to

:01:08. > :01:12.designate Saint Davids Day a public holiday, however, as much as I hope

:01:13. > :01:17.it to become one, but in the spirit of devolution, to ensure that Aaron

:01:18. > :01:23.assembly has the power to decide on matters itself. Because despite the

:01:24. > :01:26.numerous calls to devolve this power, unfortunately it is not yet

:01:27. > :01:31.come to pass. This is in spite of the fact that responsibility for

:01:32. > :01:34.public holidays is devolve in Scotland, and Saint Patrick's Day

:01:35. > :01:41.has been a public holiday for Ireland since 1903. Saint Patrick's

:01:42. > :01:43.Day has been used to build island's profile to encourage tourism, which

:01:44. > :01:47.has provided a huge boost to their economy. Specifically the Irish

:01:48. > :01:51.government set up the same Patrick Festival group, which has aimed to

:01:52. > :01:56.make the celebration one of the finest in the world, encouraging

:01:57. > :02:00.innovation, and providing opportunity for those of Irish

:02:01. > :02:03.descent to become involved and project a positive, forward-looking

:02:04. > :02:05.image of Ireland to the rest of the world. Should the power be devolved,

:02:06. > :02:08.should the Welsh government make it should the Welsh government make it

:02:09. > :02:12.a public holiday, there is every reason to believe that our national

:02:13. > :02:18.festival can be very proactively marketed throughout the world, and a

:02:19. > :02:19.more robust way than it has been. It would provide a fantastic

:02:20. > :02:25.opportunity for a small country such as ours to make its mark, and it

:02:26. > :02:29.seems the Bosporus to me that it is not able to make this decision. Like

:02:30. > :02:32.knowledge there has been some concerns from parts of the business

:02:33. > :02:36.committee about the possible designation of Saint Davids day as a

:02:37. > :02:39.public holiday but this should not stop us from giving the

:02:40. > :02:43.responsibility to Wales, the Welsh government to consult on the issue,

:02:44. > :02:48.to come to a considered decision. We could follow the precedent of

:02:49. > :02:51.Scotland. In Scotland, for example, Saint Andrews Day was designated a

:02:52. > :02:58.public holiday in the Saint Andrew 's day bank holiday act of 2007, by

:02:59. > :03:01.the Scottish Parliament, at that time, concerns were raised about the

:03:02. > :03:06.possible negative impact that devolving power would have on

:03:07. > :03:10.businesses, and the Scottish economy, but that seemed to have

:03:11. > :03:14.been unfounded. And a strange they'd have affairs to hear for anyone to

:03:15. > :03:18.call the this to be reversed. The Scottish Government shows, after

:03:19. > :03:30.consultation, to allow banks to decide whether to close. There is

:03:31. > :03:33.growing support for businesses to recognise the holiday fully but

:03:34. > :03:37.critically, the decision was taken in Scotland. In Wales, we have

:03:38. > :03:40.similar levels of support for making a new public holiday, with a poll

:03:41. > :03:45.taken around the time of the Scottish decision showing that 87%

:03:46. > :03:50.of people in England and Wales -- in Wales wanted to see Saint Davids Day

:03:51. > :03:54.become a bank holiday, 65% of those survey stated they wanted to

:03:55. > :03:57.sacrifice another bank holiday to see Saint Davids Day officially

:03:58. > :04:02.designated. Indeed, my thanks should go to ITV Wales, in publicising this

:04:03. > :04:08.bill today, they have undertaken an online poll. As of ten o'clock this

:04:09. > :04:13.morning, over 90% of respondents agreed with Saint Davids Day being a

:04:14. > :04:21.bank holiday. This support is also seen in also parts -- all part of

:04:22. > :04:24.the National Assembly. They provided evidence to the silk commission,

:04:25. > :04:28.asking for power to be given to the Senate. From the very beginning of

:04:29. > :04:32.the life of the National Assembly, growing public opinion has been

:04:33. > :04:37.reunited in its call for Saint Davids Day to become a public

:04:38. > :04:41.holiday. In 2011, it looked as though the UK Government, after

:04:42. > :04:47.pressure from the Liberal Democrats, might finally consider giving the

:04:48. > :04:53.Welsh assembly power to move the Spring bank holiday from made the

:04:54. > :04:58.first, to March the 1st, as part of the UK Government's tourism

:04:59. > :05:07.strategy, nothing came of that, despite great political support.

:05:08. > :05:10.There were calls for the power to be revolved, but then they were

:05:11. > :05:19.rebuffed by the Secretary of State Wales. These calls are continued to

:05:20. > :05:24.fall on deaf ears, with successive UK governments refusing to devolve

:05:25. > :05:30.power to Wales, it seems unlikely that if this power continues to be

:05:31. > :05:34.preserved by Westminster, that we would see Saint Davids Day become a

:05:35. > :05:37.public holiday any time soon, despite huge support. Is it not now

:05:38. > :05:42.time that the Welsh people were able to decide whether it is right that

:05:43. > :05:46.Saint Davids Day came a public holiday in Wales, rather than it

:05:47. > :05:51.being decided and rejected in Whitehall? In the UK, and in Wales,

:05:52. > :05:54.with only eight public college days, we have among the fewest of any

:05:55. > :05:59.country in the world. Wales should have the choice to decide whether it

:06:00. > :06:03.creates a new public holiday, or whether it replaces another. That I

:06:04. > :06:09.believe is the decision that the people of Wales should make through

:06:10. > :06:12.our own Parliament. Let me finish by repeating the words of Saint David

:06:13. > :06:17.when he said, do the little things you have seen me do and heard about,

:06:18. > :06:23.I will walk the path that our fathers have trodden before us. Do

:06:24. > :06:30.the little things. It has become daily well-known phrase in Wales. It

:06:31. > :06:34.is all that many of us in Wales are asking, we are asking for Wales to

:06:35. > :06:38.be given the power that others already have, for Wales to be able

:06:39. > :06:42.to choose whether and how we make Saint Davids Day a public holiday,

:06:43. > :06:48.to be able to celebrate his life, and celebrate his Welsh national

:06:49. > :06:55.identity, how we choose. With this bill, we can do those little things

:06:56. > :07:04.that would have a very big impact on Wales, I urge the house to support

:07:05. > :07:13.this call. The question is that the honourable member have leave to

:07:14. > :07:24.bring in the bill, I think the ayes habit. Who will prepare and bring in

:07:25. > :07:25.the bill? Jonathan Edwards, Albert Owen, John Pugh, Carolyn Harris, and

:07:26. > :08:01.myself, among others. Devolution bank holidays Wales Bill.

:08:02. > :08:09.Seconded on what day? Friday, March 11. We come now to a motion on

:08:10. > :08:14.supplementary estimate, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the whip to

:08:15. > :08:22.move formally. The question is, as on the order paper. It is a pleasure

:08:23. > :08:27.to open the first debate in the new parliament, and I thank the liaison

:08:28. > :08:31.committee for selecting from the Foreign Affairs Committee for debate

:08:32. > :08:34.today. Let me at this point pay tribute to the work of the committee

:08:35. > :08:39.and the last Parliament, and of course, to my predator said, Sir

:08:40. > :08:44.Richard Ottaway. I was lucky enough to have him as a Parliamentary

:08:45. > :08:50.Labour for 18 years, and with that experience, I can well understand

:08:51. > :08:53.why he was so widely regarded. -- Parliamentary neighbour. Across the

:08:54. > :08:56.whole of the Foreign Office establishment, and all of those

:08:57. > :08:59.interested in foreign and Commonwealth affairs, or the way

:09:00. > :09:05.that he led the committee, in the last Parliament. One of their last

:09:06. > :09:09.reports, published in February, 2015, only weeks before parliament

:09:10. > :09:12.was resolved, took a detailed look at the impact of cuts on the Foreign

:09:13. > :09:16.Office budget, resulting from the 2010 spending review. It excepted

:09:17. > :09:20.that the Foreign Office needed to play its part, in the general

:09:21. > :09:23.retrenchment instituted by the review and it believe that Foreign

:09:24. > :09:29.Office ministers and senior management had on a whole fate a

:09:30. > :09:32.difficult and skilfully. It concluded, and I quote, the cuts

:09:33. > :09:36.imposed on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office since 2010 have

:09:37. > :09:43.been severe, and have gone beyond just trimming fat. Capacity now

:09:44. > :09:45.appears to be being damaged. Next government needs to protect future

:09:46. > :09:52.FCO budgets under the next spending review. The committee continued, if

:09:53. > :09:56.further cuts are imposed, the UK's do dramatic in print and influence

:09:57. > :09:59.will probably reduce, and the government will need to roll back

:10:00. > :10:03.some of its foreign policy objectives. And I remind the house

:10:04. > :10:08.that the reduction imposed on the Foreign Office in the four year

:10:09. > :10:12.period ending in March, 2015, amounted to 24% of its resource

:10:13. > :10:16.budget. However, the majority of the savings came from what amounted to a

:10:17. > :10:21.tangerine trick, funding for the BBC World Service, transferred from the

:10:22. > :10:27.Foreign Office to the licence fee payer, to the 1st of April, 2014.

:10:28. > :10:30.The apparent budget was reduced by 240 million, and the cuts which they

:10:31. > :10:36.had to make to its own budget savings amounted to just 10%. Even

:10:37. > :10:41.though the real reduction was just 10% over the fall is, it is hard to

:10:42. > :10:45.find anyone who does not believe that the FCO's capacity was damaged

:10:46. > :10:50.in the process. Our predecessors described the Foreign Office as a

:10:51. > :10:54.machine stretched to the limits. The posts left unfilled with the staff

:10:55. > :10:59.of the necessary calibre worth needed for more immediate crisis. --

:11:00. > :11:03.FCOs. Overseas posts at junior level lost, reducing the opportunity for

:11:04. > :11:06.staff to accumulate the sort of experience essential for service at

:11:07. > :11:10.higher levels within the organisation. And reductions in

:11:11. > :11:15.UK-based staff at many overseas posts, denied those that remain time

:11:16. > :11:20.to leave the diplomatic rubble to gather a sense of real currents in

:11:21. > :11:26.society around the country in which to serve. -- diplomatic bubble.

:11:27. > :11:30.Overall, the headcount was reduced by 10%, between 2011 and now. That

:11:31. > :11:34.seems perverse at a time when the Department was under such policy

:11:35. > :11:41.pressure and suffering such overstretch.

:11:42. > :11:48.This was mitigated by recruitment of locally engaged staff which brought

:11:49. > :11:53.local knowledge, difficult for a London-based employee to acquire.

:11:54. > :12:01.But much of the time, those people happen to be English people based

:12:02. > :12:06.overseas and become a formally locally engaged member of staff.

:12:07. > :12:13.While the average costs are apparently one third of somebody

:12:14. > :12:19.UK-based, that is not the strait staving because it does not come at

:12:20. > :12:25.zero cost. I have heard troubling reports of arming tended

:12:26. > :12:31.consequences from the fact that locally engaged staff are not

:12:32. > :12:37.cleared to the same security level -- alarming consequences. And in

:12:38. > :12:43.advance of the visit to Cairo and juniors next week, I applaud the

:12:44. > :12:47.swift response to the terrorist attack in June 2015 -- Tunis. I have

:12:48. > :12:55.heard the subsequent anti-terrorism and narratives that analysis was

:12:56. > :12:58.complicated either lack of staff cleared to the level necessary. It

:12:59. > :13:05.would have played a role in the offices decision to advise against

:13:06. > :13:08.all but essential travel, and tourism contributes directly and

:13:09. > :13:17.indirectly to a large proportion of GDP and is a major source of foreign

:13:18. > :13:20.currency. Tunisia is a volatile country and we all have an interest

:13:21. > :13:27.in nurturing the continued stability.

:13:28. > :13:32.He's making a very compelling case for investing in our diplomatic

:13:33. > :13:39.services. Does he not share my concern that it is not just the lack

:13:40. > :13:43.of spread across the world and the standing that the United Kingdom

:13:44. > :13:49.global league has, that these cuts are impacting on, but it is about

:13:50. > :13:53.the expertise and the analytical capabilities of the diplomatic

:13:54. > :14:02.service to feedback information to the United Kingdom. He is absolutely

:14:03. > :14:11.right. The point I have already made... I will make it further about

:14:12. > :14:16.for example in the enquiries into Libya, how deep was our knowledge?

:14:17. > :14:19.On the basis of which we made that intervention decision. It is that

:14:20. > :14:23.depth of knowledge that has been lost. There is another price being

:14:24. > :14:28.paid for having locally engaged staff, they do not understand the UK

:14:29. > :14:34.context. It has been put to me by previous ministers that the quality

:14:35. > :14:41.of reports coming through are not quite what we were because they are

:14:42. > :14:45.not addressing the needs of the ministers to whom they are aimed.

:14:46. > :14:51.And the difficulty is you have overstretched UK-based staff in that

:14:52. > :14:59.post having to oversee in addition the work of those locally engaged

:15:00. > :15:04.employees. But back to the issue of Tunisia. I accept that the security

:15:05. > :15:09.of citizens must be a government priority and it cannot commend

:15:10. > :15:14.travel unless it has confidence citizens will be reasonably safe.

:15:15. > :15:18.These decisions, this decision about Tunisia was of such serious

:15:19. > :15:23.consequence for its stability and the security of the region that we

:15:24. > :15:26.must be completely confident we can make informed decisions and not

:15:27. > :15:33.decision is to simply defensive in the absence of that capability.

:15:34. > :15:39.Reports are of course the standard mechanism by which committees

:15:40. > :15:43.express our views. And it is my belief committees can miss

:15:44. > :15:47.opportunities by not getting inside the decision-making cycle and

:15:48. > :15:52.devoting our energies to conducting retrospective analysis after policy

:15:53. > :15:57.has been formed and executed. And the government should welcome input

:15:58. > :16:01.at an early stage for an informed cross-party committee that could

:16:02. > :16:03.make practical, forward-looking suggestions, rather than just

:16:04. > :16:10.telling the government where it went wrong. And we published our report

:16:11. > :16:13.on the budget in October last year, almost exactly a month before the

:16:14. > :16:18.Spending Review, and we made just one recommendation. We recommend

:16:19. > :16:23.that the Treasury protects the budget for the period covered by the

:16:24. > :16:27.2015 Spending Review, with a view to increasing rather than cutting the

:16:28. > :16:30.funds available to support the diplomatic work on which the

:16:31. > :16:37.country's security and prosperity depend. I am the latest our

:16:38. > :16:39.recommendations in this report were accepted and the settlement

:16:40. > :16:45.reflected our Central recommendation. We spent much of our

:16:46. > :16:48.first evidence sessions looking at how the Foreign Office was preparing

:16:49. > :16:53.for the Spending Review and what scope there was to absorb further

:16:54. > :16:58.cuts of the scale already imposed over the previous four years.

:16:59. > :17:02.Foreign Secretary gave evidence twice and we tried to get a sense of

:17:03. > :17:06.his priorities and what he would preserve and we took evidence from

:17:07. > :17:10.some assignment McDonald, the new permanent undersecretary, and his

:17:11. > :17:17.senior management team, to understand the detail of what might

:17:18. > :17:23.be achieved. And how if savings of 25% or 40% were required, that

:17:24. > :17:27.gloomy environment reflected perhaps our defensive recommendation which

:17:28. > :17:34.was obviously designed to hold the current position, but it was

:17:35. > :17:42.the belief of the committee that more Reza also is -- resources are

:17:43. > :17:45.needed to support diplomacy. As a member of the previous

:17:46. > :17:49.committee, can I suggest my honourable friend that trying to

:17:50. > :17:55.make unnecessary savings can prove to be of false economy in the longer

:17:56. > :18:00.term because we do not invest in expertise and analytical skills and

:18:01. > :18:05.you can end up making errors that can cost a lot more than if you had

:18:06. > :18:11.a proper view of things in the first place. The extreme example in

:18:12. > :18:17.avoiding conflict, it is much cheaper than actual conflict itself.

:18:18. > :18:20.My honourable friend next a valid point and he, working on the

:18:21. > :18:29.committee in the last Parliament and in this, we'll know that our

:18:30. > :18:33.expertise in Russia for example when he and I were soldiers in the

:18:34. > :18:39.1980s... I was a wealth of expertise about the Soviet Union that simply

:18:40. > :18:46.stripped away so faced with a crisis around the Crimea and the Ukraine,

:18:47. > :18:54.the level and depth of knowledge was certainly a handicap. But about

:18:55. > :19:00.looking forward for committee reports and how we might influence

:19:01. > :19:03.forward in fence, one area where I hope we will be able to report with

:19:04. > :19:10.authority and fulfil a much requested needed by the public is in

:19:11. > :19:15.respect of Brexit. The committee is conducting an enquiry into the costs

:19:16. > :19:19.and benefits of European Union membership for Britain's role in the

:19:20. > :19:26.world, whether we stay or whether we leave. And honourable members and

:19:27. > :19:29.right honourable members will have found people asking where they can

:19:30. > :19:36.turn to for Independent analysis, who will give people the facts? And

:19:37. > :19:41.unhappily, the government has placed itself in a position where it is not

:19:42. > :19:46.able to give an Independent view as the institution is placed firmly on

:19:47. > :19:51.one side of the campaign. Happily, I preside over a committee of 11 and

:19:52. > :19:57.the publicly expressed view of my committee is balanced at 5-5 on

:19:58. > :20:03.either side of the question. If he is seeking a cure for insomnia, may

:20:04. > :20:08.I refer him to my speech on Friday on the subject? I spoke for one

:20:09. > :20:13.hour. And to my honourable friend for Christchurch's bill to set up an

:20:14. > :20:19.Independent audit on the pros and cons of leaving the EU. We accused

:20:20. > :20:27.the Labour government of fiddling figures before the budget, why not

:20:28. > :20:30.have a body give a genuine order? He will be delighted to yet this is

:20:31. > :20:36.precisely what my committee is going to try to do. But given the way we

:20:37. > :20:43.are exquisitely balanced, it is my aim, disc -- supported in discussion

:20:44. > :20:47.with members of the committee who cannot be formally bound until the

:20:48. > :20:51.committee reports, but I think we all share the objective to produce

:20:52. > :20:57.is balanced a piece of work as possible, identifying factors the

:20:58. > :20:59.electorate should committee on both sides of the question. Without

:21:00. > :21:05.advising the electorate what weight to attack to those factors. I hope

:21:06. > :21:13.to complete this work two months before the referendum and for the

:21:14. > :21:17.committee to do that service to the public as well as to this House and

:21:18. > :21:23.the reputation of its committees. I am happy to give way. On the

:21:24. > :21:27.question of service to the public, would he agree with me that the

:21:28. > :21:32.public is very keen his committee and others re-establish the

:21:33. > :21:37.Committee on Arms Export Controls, could he explain why this has not

:21:38. > :21:42.happened yet? It has and I have already attended the first meeting.

:21:43. > :21:48.It has been well cared by the honourable member and I am now going

:21:49. > :21:55.to forget his constituency! -- Chad. I have every confidence in the new

:21:56. > :21:57.chairman of the committee, and when I recall his constituency, I will

:21:58. > :22:06.alert the House! And will give way. I will intervene

:22:07. > :22:09.in a separate way. Can I pay to be to his chairmanship of the

:22:10. > :22:15.committee? In the sense that he is absolutely correct that we split

:22:16. > :22:21.5-5. To whether or not we want the United Kingdom to pull out or remain

:22:22. > :22:28.in the European Union. And he is absolutely right to ensure that the

:22:29. > :22:33.report is balanced and that we do not come out either way. What a lot

:22:34. > :22:36.of my constituents want this more information and impartial

:22:37. > :22:38.information to be able to make their own critical assessment in this

:22:39. > :22:44.matter. I am grateful and I recall it is my

:22:45. > :22:53.honourable friend for Warwick and Leamington who served on the

:22:54. > :22:59.previous arms export committee under Sir John Stanley. And he is taking

:23:00. > :23:03.up that role and will do it extremely well. My honourable friend

:23:04. > :23:12.is absolutely right on the substance of the point. And honourable members

:23:13. > :23:15.in this House will know that if I can chair a committee which produces

:23:16. > :23:21.a unanimous report with the honourable member for Ilford North

:23:22. > :23:28.and Billericay agreeing a report on the factors around or European Union

:23:29. > :23:31.membership, we will have done a service producing an analysis of

:23:32. > :23:39.which everybody can have confidence in. I give way.

:23:40. > :23:42.Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. The chairman of the Foreign Affairs

:23:43. > :23:47.Select Committee raises an important point and I will forward to working

:23:48. > :23:52.with him to try to bring a five on either side together to produce that

:23:53. > :23:56.report. Does he agree one primary goal is to ensure people in this

:23:57. > :24:00.House and beyond this House will be as well informed as they possibly

:24:01. > :24:06.can be about this European Union referendum ahead of the 23rd of

:24:07. > :24:09.June? I absolutely agree. And the motivation of the Scottish National

:24:10. > :24:13.Party as to what they will do at the ballot box, given their differing

:24:14. > :24:20.attitudes to the different unions in which Scotland finds itself, that is

:24:21. > :24:28.something we can look forward to with interest. Anyone attending this

:24:29. > :24:31.debate might well ask that if the Foreign Office was a winner of the

:24:32. > :24:38.Spending Review or at least not a loser, why did we see this debate

:24:39. > :24:41.today? My reply is that nobody should underestimate the scale of

:24:42. > :24:46.the challenges the United Kingdom and its allies are facing in the

:24:47. > :24:50.world today. And even with a protected budget, the Foreign Office

:24:51. > :24:54.is going to struggle to address those challenges. Of course we have

:24:55. > :24:58.a range of capabilities to deal with direct threats to national-security,

:24:59. > :25:02.Armed Forces diplomacy, economic policy, cyber operations and covert

:25:03. > :25:08.means. But in terms of sheer value for money, diplomacy and the

:25:09. > :25:14.capacity to bring crises to babies for resolution in partnership with

:25:15. > :25:19.us must be the preferred solution -- crisis to a resolution. A diplomatic

:25:20. > :25:25.solution rather than one that descends into the use of armed force

:25:26. > :25:30.which saves a fortune as well as a huge humanitarian cost we can see

:25:31. > :25:33.that accompanies a failure of preserving the peace. And it is my

:25:34. > :25:40.view that we should be increasing the Foreign Office budget when hands

:25:41. > :25:45.that capacity. And to help head off these crisis before they flare-up.

:25:46. > :25:50.The threat to the United Kingdom security and its well-being are at

:25:51. > :25:55.an unprecedented level and as we said in our report, we cannot recall

:25:56. > :25:59.a more complex and challenging policy-making environment in recent

:26:00. > :26:05.decades. An environment that includes Syria, Daesh, Libya,

:26:06. > :26:12.Russia, the South China Sea, Israel, Palestine, North Korea, Israel and

:26:13. > :26:16.Turkey the name if you, and that is before the requirements of the other

:26:17. > :26:19.two pillars of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office agenda for

:26:20. > :26:24.responsibility and consular services. In its response, the

:26:25. > :26:27.office acknowledges there will be new work including increasing

:26:28. > :26:32.spending on the overseas territories and hosting the presidency of the

:26:33. > :26:38.European Union in 2017. That may be an interesting presidency if we are

:26:39. > :26:43.on the way out after the 23rd of June. But inexplicably, and on that

:26:44. > :26:50.issue, the response says nothing about potentially the greatest call

:26:51. > :26:53.on our resources, a British excerpt from the European Union. In the

:26:54. > :26:57.country boats out on the 23rd of June, a huge effort would mean

:26:58. > :27:01.needed to disentangle the United Kingdom from its existing

:27:02. > :27:09.commitments and to work on new trade arrangements.

:27:10. > :27:15.A very large part of that effort will fall on the Foreign Office yet

:27:16. > :27:18.the committee has found little or no evidence that the British civil

:27:19. > :27:24.service is making any contingency plans in the event of a British

:27:25. > :27:28.exit. We have a date for a referendum and exit is not a remote

:27:29. > :27:32.possibility, it's a very real prospect in the hands of the

:27:33. > :27:36.electorate and the competing campaigns and so I urge ministers

:27:37. > :27:42.and officials to begin planning not just an outline for the consequence

:27:43. > :27:46.of British people voting to leave. It's not a question of drafting in

:27:47. > :27:52.extra people to prepare new treaties, we will need to strengthen

:27:53. > :27:58.our lateral relationships, reopening subordinate posts which have been

:27:59. > :28:06.closed or downgraded over the last 5 years, and open up areas around

:28:07. > :28:08.trade that are now within the competence of the European Union and

:28:09. > :28:14.we should understand what the bill is going to be and prepare to

:28:15. > :28:24.address it if it happens. Turning to... I will give way. I thank the

:28:25. > :28:28.honourable gentleman. On the point of increasing the number of

:28:29. > :28:34.personnel who may be with the issue of exit, the foreign affairs select

:28:35. > :28:39.committee recently said that about a quarter of staff in the Middle East

:28:40. > :28:43.in Eastern Europe and Central Asia do not have the requisite language

:28:44. > :28:47.skills and that the number of people who have language skills is going

:28:48. > :28:52.down, that's another way that the Foreign Office strength has been

:28:53. > :28:57.reduced in being able to tackle international issues. The honourable

:28:58. > :29:01.lady is absolutely right and she understands these issues extremely

:29:02. > :29:06.well from her work on the committee and more widely before joining the

:29:07. > :29:12.committee. This loss of language skills is partly a reflection of

:29:13. > :29:18.just how stretched the office is in getting people into the right place

:29:19. > :29:23.to get the best people to cover the vacancies from all of these policy

:29:24. > :29:29.challenges we face. An office that is not stretched so tautly has the

:29:30. > :29:35.capacity to get the language skills of its staff up to the necessary

:29:36. > :29:39.standard, that, until now, have been the envy of every other diplomatic

:29:40. > :29:46.service in the world. And I know in the last parliament and was the

:29:47. > :29:51.priority of William Hague as Foreign Secretary to address this and

:29:52. > :29:55.measures were put in place, serious measures, to try and address this

:29:56. > :29:59.but the evidence we are taking is that if it is getting better, it's

:30:00. > :30:04.getting better in a minute way that does not reflect the actual need to

:30:05. > :30:07.get real improvement in this area, that reflects just how tautly the

:30:08. > :30:12.officers being managed under the current budget conditions. Turning

:30:13. > :30:17.to the capital budget there will be more pressure on that than usual and

:30:18. > :30:22.the government's response to a report points out that the Foreign

:30:23. > :30:26.Office capital budget will remain flat. It says the FCO will need to

:30:27. > :30:30.fund requirements which can be met from the capital budget I'd is

:30:31. > :30:34.posing of assets and at warns it may need to call them the Treasury

:30:35. > :30:38.reserve for large projects. The Foreign Office is rightly expecting

:30:39. > :30:42.to achieve value for money when disposing of assets but the ability

:30:43. > :30:47.to do so depends on market forces and as we know from the FCO

:30:48. > :30:50.supplementary estimate, the FCO has already had to call them the

:30:51. > :30:53.Treasury reserve to cover a shortfall which it says is due to

:30:54. > :31:01.adverse market conditions in the Far East. The FCO IT system is failing

:31:02. > :31:05.and presents a serious operational risk, major investment is needed but

:31:06. > :31:09.that has been stalled during the Spending Review process and the FCO

:31:10. > :31:13.will have to fund its tech overhaul programme from its existing

:31:14. > :31:16.programme. Difficult choices will have to be made on procurement

:31:17. > :31:20.bearing in mind the need for resilience under particular security

:31:21. > :31:23.requirements of the Department. Her full project management will be

:31:24. > :31:28.needed and I can only point out that the whole of the public service

:31:29. > :31:31.doesn't exactly have a shining record in this field. And I hope the

:31:32. > :31:39.Foreign Office can help redress that. The 2nd key point concerns ODA

:31:40. > :31:46.expenditure and the need to rationalise resource allocation. We

:31:47. > :31:51.highlight in the report our knees at the consequences of depending

:31:52. > :31:53.evermore on expenditure which qualifies as official development

:31:54. > :31:57.assistance and which therefore scores against the government

:31:58. > :32:01.commitment to invest at least 0 points 7% of gross national income

:32:02. > :32:05.in international development and that risks and is skewing the

:32:06. > :32:11.department expenditure way from countries not eligible for ODA

:32:12. > :32:15.spending regardless of where our foreign policy interests lie. For

:32:16. > :32:20.instance, 97% of the funds available under the new human rights funding

:32:21. > :32:24.programme, the Magna Carta fund, or for spending in ODA eligible

:32:25. > :32:28.countries and can be queried this in oral evidence with the Minister and

:32:29. > :32:31.officials were given the impression there was some flexibility to divert

:32:32. > :32:38.funding towards non- ODA countries but I think we need some clear

:32:39. > :32:41.answers. Trying to replace the significant sums the government puts

:32:42. > :32:44.forward for human rights and the Magna Carta fund was very

:32:45. > :32:52.constrained by lateral funds, I don't think is going to wash. It

:32:53. > :32:56.would be quite unacceptable and that for programme funding around human

:32:57. > :33:00.rights to be virtually denied in non- ODA eligible countries like

:33:01. > :33:03.Russia, it is real, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states and back-up

:33:04. > :33:08.minister can give me some reinsurance on this point. Human

:33:09. > :33:12.rights expenditure is not the only example of how ODA eligibility can

:33:13. > :33:19.determine for an Foreign Office activity. The chief operating

:33:20. > :33:22.officer said the non- ODA budget was under pressure and the workup acts

:33:23. > :33:25.of the overseas network they would have to look 1st at cup backs

:33:26. > :33:33.insubordinate posts in developed countries. -- cutbacks. But doesn't

:33:34. > :33:36.play well with the prosperity agenda if that's where we need to go in

:33:37. > :33:40.terms of trade and economic relations. The British Council which

:33:41. > :33:43.plays a unique role in promoting an understanding by different peoples

:33:44. > :33:47.and nations for the UK can offer faces the possibility of losing all

:33:48. > :33:53.grant aid for working countries which are not ODA eligible. It is

:33:54. > :33:57.looking to cross subsidise to some extent from other areas of its

:33:58. > :34:00.operation but the net effect is a decline of our soft power and

:34:01. > :34:05.influence in several growing economies and countries, not least

:34:06. > :34:09.where there are political and human rights concerns. I have similar

:34:10. > :34:13.concerns about the move within government to more pull funding

:34:14. > :34:18.between departments, the conflict stability and security fund

:34:19. > :34:23.currently worth 0 point to 3,000,000,000 a year will increase

:34:24. > :34:29.to over a billion a year by 2020 and a new prosperity fund worth over a

:34:30. > :34:34.billion. Substantial funds allocated following the process of negotiation

:34:35. > :34:37.between departments and I absolutely welcome the concept of a more

:34:38. > :34:40.holistic and integrated approach to funding for departments are working

:34:41. > :34:46.in different ways towards the same ultimate aim. But the committee

:34:47. > :34:49.should look carefully at how the FCO Ferris especially when sharing the

:34:50. > :34:58.conflict stability fund was departments whose budgets as I'm

:34:59. > :35:00.total funding are protected. Finally, the Foreign Office delayed

:35:01. > :35:05.its response to our report until after it received a settlement

:35:06. > :35:08.letter from the Treasury but I was disappointed the Foreign Office

:35:09. > :35:12.didn't supply the settlement letter which I understand sets out in more

:35:13. > :35:15.detail about the sums available to the Foreign Office from year to year

:35:16. > :35:19.within the period covered by the Spending Review. In fact, none of

:35:20. > :35:23.the departmental settlement letters have been published and at the

:35:24. > :35:29.moment we just have rounded figures for budgets for 201516 to 201920

:35:30. > :35:33.without any lower-level detail. Could the Minister undertake to

:35:34. > :35:38.supply the Foreign Office settlement letter to the committee so we may

:35:39. > :35:43.publish it and place this essential information the public domain? My

:35:44. > :35:46.conclusion is about the shape of the Foreign Office the years to come.

:35:47. > :35:51.The Foreign Office said in the letter was bonding to the report

:35:52. > :35:55.that there is more that can be done to strengthen the FCO and build its

:35:56. > :35:59.world-class capabilities, to help achieve this I have commissioned an

:36:00. > :36:03.internal review at the FCO exploring how we can be expert, agile and

:36:04. > :36:09.focused on key priorities, the review will set out a vision of the

:36:10. > :36:12.organisation the FCO should be by 2020 and I invite the Minister to

:36:13. > :36:17.tell us a little more about this review, will it be a fundamental

:36:18. > :36:19.review of how the officer structured, our priorities are

:36:20. > :36:25.ordered and staff deployed, or will it be a motherhood and apple pie

:36:26. > :36:31.statement of visions and aims which no 1 could disagree with? In

:36:32. > :36:35.conclusion Madam Deputy Speaker, the office remains overstretched and

:36:36. > :36:39.underfunded but the task that faces, its actual funding base is

:36:40. > :36:43.dysfunctional and if it does not actually distort policy decisions,

:36:44. > :36:51.it certainly means re- source allocation is no longer aligned with

:36:52. > :36:58.actual British interests. Pete Wishart. Thank you. Madam Deputy

:36:59. > :37:04.Speaker, I noticed something unusual, very different and possibly

:37:05. > :37:11.quite subversive in the speech and in 1 of the days set aside for the

:37:12. > :37:16.consideration of the estimates, I am going to actually speak about

:37:17. > :37:21.estimates. Of all the things I did when I was research searching this,

:37:22. > :37:29.the 1 thing I was told I must not do was to raise the issue of estimates

:37:30. > :37:33.during Esther McVey debates. What other house in this world would have

:37:34. > :37:40.something as absurd as that. -- estimate Dave. What other modern

:37:41. > :37:45.parliament would even start to consider doing its business on the

:37:46. > :37:51.basis of such an absurd and ridiculous ruling. Madam Deputy

:37:52. > :37:54.Speaker, the estimates isn't about the allocation of pencils and rulers

:37:55. > :38:01.to the civil service or perhaps the price of beer, the estimate process

:38:02. > :38:05.is offering this House has to give itself or take to the government

:38:06. > :38:11.spending plan. This is what we are doing in the 3 days according to the

:38:12. > :38:18.standing order of the House, standing order 54, that we have been

:38:19. > :38:28.given to debate this. And this... And this... But is the 1 thing that

:38:29. > :38:36.we are not supposed to debate. It's absolutely and utterly absurd and

:38:37. > :38:40.bizarre and it has to change. This cannot go on. Something as important

:38:41. > :38:45.as this has to be considered and how did we get here? 2 centuries ago

:38:46. > :38:48.this has debated and considered every single estimate in the House,

:38:49. > :38:55.every piece of departmental spent was debated to the nth degree and

:38:56. > :39:02.voted on. Now we do absolutely nothing. This House is just simply

:39:03. > :39:04.abrogated its responsibility, looking at departmental spending and

:39:05. > :39:10.that simply aren't utterly unsustainable. Could the honourable

:39:11. > :39:14.gentleman just mention the Foreign and Commonwealth Office expenditure

:39:15. > :39:18.or estimates, just before he carries on and try and fit his more general

:39:19. > :39:23.point about estimates into the specific estimate we are debating at

:39:24. > :39:29.the moment? Pete Wishart. Madam Deputy Speaker... I struggle to

:39:30. > :39:33.think when we talk about estimates that the Foreign Office budget would

:39:34. > :39:36.fit into what we are debating considering the day is set aside the

:39:37. > :39:42.consideration of the estimates and we have to debate is, we are

:39:43. > :39:46.abrogating our responsibility as parliamentarians if we fail to have

:39:47. > :39:51.some sort of say and discussion and debate about how this has doesn't

:39:52. > :39:59.business. Point of order... Edward Leigh. Point of order... I did

:40:00. > :40:03.report of the Chancellor on this. It's quite true, the honourable

:40:04. > :40:08.gentleman is doing a great service to the House, the fact is that we

:40:09. > :40:11.spend ?600,000,000,000 of people's money every year but the 1 thing we

:40:12. > :40:14.are not allowed top about an estimate stake is estimates of the

:40:15. > :40:18.honourable member for Perth and North Purser makes a fundamentally

:40:19. > :40:22.important point and then my honourable friend the Member for

:40:23. > :40:25.Southport tried to talk about estimates an estimate stake couple

:40:26. > :40:30.of years ago, unbelievably he was ruled out of order. You have the

:40:31. > :40:33.power, Madam Deputy Speaker to say on estimates day we are allowed to

:40:34. > :40:37.talk about estimates and you can give him authority to carry on

:40:38. > :40:40.giving his speech. I thank the honourable gentleman for that wider

:40:41. > :40:43.border but we are debating a specific motion on the order paper

:40:44. > :40:47.which is the Foreign and Commonwealth Office estimates and

:40:48. > :40:50.the honourable gentleman has been a parliamentarian for a long time and

:40:51. > :40:55.understands how this works in Mayfield this is an injustice and

:40:56. > :40:59.are the places this can be debated today, this is specifically about a

:41:00. > :41:02.very important estimate that as the expenditure of the Foreign and

:41:03. > :41:05.Commonwealth Office. What I want to say is that there are plenty of ways

:41:06. > :41:10.in which the honourable gentleman can debate estimates more generally

:41:11. > :41:16.within the framework of this but he must stick to what is on the order

:41:17. > :41:20.paper. It is a motion and it is very specific about the FCO expenditure

:41:21. > :41:23.and if you can do that he will not be ruled out of order, if he

:41:24. > :41:30.doesn't, I'm afraid he will. Pete Wishart.

:41:31. > :41:36.I will make the attempt to stay in order. According to a standing order

:41:37. > :41:44.three days of each Parliamentary session is to be allocated for the

:41:45. > :41:51.provision of estimates. I attempting to uphold that order in the House.

:41:52. > :41:58.Why can I not debate the estimates on one of the days that is set aside

:41:59. > :42:03.for estimates? This is not a debate generally on estimates either in

:42:04. > :42:08.particular or any specific one. This is a particular estimate on the FCO

:42:09. > :42:11.expenditure, therefore that is what we are debating here today. He also

:42:12. > :42:17.knows the procedure committee is the place to go to to answer these more

:42:18. > :42:23.specific questions. There are other ways of having debates on the

:42:24. > :42:28.principle of estimates debates, but today we have got on the order paper

:42:29. > :42:36.specifically the FCO estimate which is what we are here to debate today.

:42:37. > :42:42.Pete Wishart. Can I ask you, if I wanted to question the government on

:42:43. > :42:45.?600 billion worth of expenditure, and under the Barnett formula it

:42:46. > :42:49.affects what we spent in Scotland, how can I start about giving a

:42:50. > :42:57.speech on all the money we are spending? The honourable gentleman

:42:58. > :43:01.has been here a long time. There are Treasury question, budget Day,

:43:02. > :43:04.Parliamentary questions, letters to ministers, adjournment debates, any

:43:05. > :43:10.number of avenues in which to get these things debated. Today we are

:43:11. > :43:13.debating Foreign and Commonwealth Office expenditure on this

:43:14. > :43:20.particular estimate day and with that, that is enough. If he wants me

:43:21. > :43:25.to rule him out of order, I can do. If he can stick to the FCO

:43:26. > :43:32.expenditure, he will not be out of order. I would like to make more

:43:33. > :43:37.progress. The honourable gentleman for Gainsborough is utterly right.

:43:38. > :43:42.This house has to be given the opportunity to debate this. It is

:43:43. > :43:44.increasingly important. If we cannot do it on a day set aside for

:43:45. > :43:54.estimates, we have to determine when. You can rummy out of order if

:43:55. > :43:58.you want. This is important for the SNP because we have been invited by

:43:59. > :44:05.the government from the Leader of the House to investigate, debate and

:44:06. > :44:10.look at the estimates process to determine the issues for Barnett

:44:11. > :44:17.consequential which you... Order, I think that is enough. Order. I think

:44:18. > :44:21.we have had a debate now. The honourable gentleman has had a

:44:22. > :44:25.debate on the floor of the House about estimates in general. But we

:44:26. > :44:29.are looking at a very important particular assessment, and that is

:44:30. > :44:34.on foreign and Commonwealth of expenditure. If the gentleman can

:44:35. > :44:39.keep his debating points to that matter, I will allow them to

:44:40. > :44:45.continue. It is a particular estimate day. It is not estimates

:44:46. > :44:50.day. It is a particular date on which we are debating FCO estimates.

:44:51. > :44:57.If you would like to continue, I will allow him to do so, otherwise I

:44:58. > :45:00.will call the next speaker. There is an old army adage that says time is

:45:01. > :45:12.spent in reconnaissance is seldom wasted. I suggest it could serve

:45:13. > :45:21.this government while going forward when it comes to expenditure on the

:45:22. > :45:25.FCO office. Because cuts to this office, but by previous governments

:45:26. > :45:32.on both sides, and staff shortages, have led to a series of errors and

:45:33. > :45:37.contributed to those errors that has cost us dear. On the one hand I very

:45:38. > :45:40.much congratulate the government on actually protecting the budget in

:45:41. > :45:47.real terms, that is a backstop on which we have not had hitherto, and

:45:48. > :45:51.which is to be welcomed, but at the same time I would urge the

:45:52. > :45:57.government, as my honourable friend has already pointed out, to look to

:45:58. > :46:02.increase the actual budget in real terms. If the government seriously

:46:03. > :46:06.thinks that cost savings in this area work, I would suggest that all

:46:07. > :46:13.the evidence suggests this is a false economy in deed. It is a false

:46:14. > :46:18.economy for a variety of reasons. First and foremost perhaps, it does

:46:19. > :46:25.not reflect the importance of how we make foreign policy in this country.

:46:26. > :46:31.In contrast to the US where foreign policy-making is much more of a

:46:32. > :46:35.diffuse process, academics, career diplomats, think tanks and

:46:36. > :46:40.politicians are all much more widely involved when it comes to the

:46:41. > :46:46.formation of policy. In contrast in this country, the pyramid is much

:46:47. > :46:54.narrower. Policy-making is basically structured and put into place by a

:46:55. > :46:58.smaller number of people and organisations, primarily senior

:46:59. > :47:04.people at the top of the FCO, senior people at Number Ten and perhaps a

:47:05. > :47:09.few others. It is therefore terribly important that all those components

:47:10. > :47:15.of our foreign policy-making are firing on all cylinders because if a

:47:16. > :47:19.particular part is not working, given the smaller number of

:47:20. > :47:22.components in the process, it can have a disproportionate effect on

:47:23. > :47:28.the actual policy overall and its effects. There is no shortage of

:47:29. > :47:34.examples where perhaps we have not done as well as we should have in

:47:35. > :47:41.responding to international crises and other incidents which perhaps

:47:42. > :47:48.have left us floundering. When it came to the Arab Spring for example

:47:49. > :47:52.we had so few are experts in the FCO we had to call them out of

:47:53. > :47:58.retirement. When it came to Russia's annexation of the Crimea, I think I

:47:59. > :48:02.am right in saying, and my right honourable friend can correct me,

:48:03. > :48:09.but we did not have one expert in the FCO and that contributed to a

:48:10. > :48:13.somewhat unconvincing response. I would suggest to the government that

:48:14. > :48:20.our interventions over the last 12 years or so have suffered from a

:48:21. > :48:29.lack of analytical skill and expertise which has been very costly

:48:30. > :48:34.to this country. I will. Thank you, I know that member for Basildon and

:48:35. > :48:40.Billericay has a long track history and he will probably be more gentle

:48:41. > :48:45.on the government then I will, that if we look at Libya, Afghanistan,

:48:46. > :48:51.Iraq amongst others, that lack of interrogation of the facts has been

:48:52. > :48:57.a disaster in many cases. Next time I will finish my sentence. I was

:48:58. > :49:01.about to say the examples included Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and I would

:49:02. > :49:09.suggest Syria. In Iraq there can be no doubt now that we went to war on

:49:10. > :49:14.a false premise. There were no WMD. We were all deceived. The job of

:49:15. > :49:18.Chilcott is to determine whether Number Ten intentionally deceived

:49:19. > :49:23.us. When it came to Afghanistan I supported the initial deployment in

:49:24. > :49:27.2001 to rid the country of Al-Qaeda and we have strong evidence to

:49:28. > :49:31.suggest we succeeded in that objective very early on. Were it

:49:32. > :49:36.went disastrously wrong, and this takes us back to the fact that if we

:49:37. > :49:41.did not fully understand the events on the ground, is that we allowed

:49:42. > :49:44.the mission to morph into nation-building. We went into

:49:45. > :49:51.Helmand not fully realising what that involved and certainly under

:49:52. > :49:56.resourcing it. In Libya we knocked down the door, that was the easy

:49:57. > :50:00.bit, but Libya has turned out to be a complete shambles in part because

:50:01. > :50:10.we failed to understand that the opposition to Gaddafi would splinter

:50:11. > :50:13.into 100 plus groups with different objectives and law and order has

:50:14. > :50:21.been nonexistent in that country ever since. In a minute. This has

:50:22. > :50:27.led to more bloodshed. Also a vicious civil war. I give way. I am

:50:28. > :50:32.very grateful to my honourable friend and I must interject at this

:50:33. > :50:35.juncture when he is referring to Libya. He was the only Conservative

:50:36. > :50:40.member of Parliament at that time to speak out against British military

:50:41. > :50:44.involvement in Libya and if I recall correctly from his speech at that

:50:45. > :50:50.time, he was asking some of the rather important questions to the

:50:51. > :50:54.government with hindsight has proved him to have been very correct

:50:55. > :50:58.impressing those questions. He referred previously to the small

:50:59. > :51:04.number of people who make foreign policy in this country. Would he

:51:05. > :51:08.agree with me that went in advance of British military intervention

:51:09. > :51:14.overseas, as was the case in Libya, there may need to be in future a

:51:15. > :51:17.greater period of engagement and deliberation between those like

:51:18. > :51:23.himself who do not fully support such actions so that these problems

:51:24. > :51:26.can be avoided. I've had my honourable friend, a fellow

:51:27. > :51:32.committee member, for his kind words. I would agree with him. There

:51:33. > :51:37.needs to be more time for reflection on these things. But we need greater

:51:38. > :51:41.investment in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, we need greater

:51:42. > :51:46.expertise and analytical skills because we need to make sure we have

:51:47. > :51:54.analysed the situation correctly. Our system of government performs

:51:55. > :51:58.better when we have a well-informed executive being questioned by the

:51:59. > :52:02.legislative. What we have had is a series of errors where it has become

:52:03. > :52:07.increasingly evident that actually the executive does not have the

:52:08. > :52:11.expertise to handle and that is one reason why the legislative has

:52:12. > :52:14.raised the bar when it comes to military intervention, because it

:52:15. > :52:19.has lacked the trust in the executive to make its case, to

:52:20. > :52:24.analyse the situation correctly and to make sound recommendations. Once

:52:25. > :52:27.you lose that trust, the legislative will raise the bar when it comes to

:52:28. > :52:35.military intervention, as we have seen. If I may take us back to some

:52:36. > :52:39.of the other errors we have made. I would suggest there were errors in

:52:40. > :52:43.Syria. This government line that we did not intervene early enough on

:52:44. > :52:50.behalf of the rebels accounts for the mess that is then now is simply

:52:51. > :52:54.not correct. The government's intention was to arm the rebels in

:52:55. > :52:59.the hope that they could keep the weapons confined to the good rebels

:53:00. > :53:05.and not allow them to spread to the bad rebels, in other ways to track

:53:06. > :53:09.and trace them. If anyone knows anything about the reason or who has

:53:10. > :53:14.visited the country, you should know everything can be traded in the

:53:15. > :53:21.bazaar. Plus the situation was so fast moving, that the idea that it

:53:22. > :53:25.could stop this falling into the hands of Al-Qaeda or other

:53:26. > :53:30.extremists was pure make-believe. Then in a couple of years having

:53:31. > :53:37.stopped doing that by this house in a key vote in 2013, the government

:53:38. > :53:42.proposes to intervene basically against the rebels. I will not be so

:53:43. > :53:46.unkind as to suggest we swapped sides in the Civil War within two

:53:47. > :53:52.years, but to the public it down what looks like that. It illustrates

:53:53. > :53:59.very well just how we have failed to analyse the situation correctly. But

:54:00. > :54:04.I would argue in the brief time left to me that actually in many respects

:54:05. > :54:08.our interventions have been a distraction. I for one, and I know

:54:09. > :54:12.there are many others in both sides of the House and some are sitting in

:54:13. > :54:19.this chamber today, have long advocated the need to spend more on

:54:20. > :54:24.our defence spending. Because these military intervention in Iraq,

:54:25. > :54:29.Afghanistan, Libya and Syria have distracted us from the greater

:54:30. > :54:34.threat and that is nation state is not necessarily friendly to the

:54:35. > :54:40.West, both rearming and reasserting their power and their influence.

:54:41. > :54:44.What immediately thinks of Russia, one immediately thinks of China, but

:54:45. > :54:50.there are others as well. For those who suggest the states of Hormuz or

:54:51. > :54:55.the South China Seas are far away and of little significance to us, I

:54:56. > :55:03.would suggest being a country based to such an extent on maritime trade,

:55:04. > :55:07.90% comes through by sea, if the Straits of Hormuz or the South China

:55:08. > :55:11.Seas were ever to be blocked, we would know about it in this country.

:55:12. > :55:16.I suggest we have been distracted and I suggest it is partly a

:55:17. > :55:22.function of the fact we are not investing enough in what I call our

:55:23. > :55:26.ears and eyes, our ability to understand what is happening out

:55:27. > :55:34.there. I would suggest one other thing. We have got to have a margin

:55:35. > :55:39.of safety, a margin of conflict with regards our capability because no

:55:40. > :55:44.one, no one, can confidently predict where the next trouble spot is going

:55:45. > :55:49.to be. History is littered with examples of where we were facing the

:55:50. > :55:54.wrong way. I suggest without that margin of conflict, without that

:55:55. > :55:58.margin of safety in our analytical capability, we could very well be

:55:59. > :56:05.caught short again if we have not put in the necessary investment. So

:56:06. > :56:09.I suggest that without the investment we make expensive

:56:10. > :56:13.mistakes, we have made them and it is a false economy therefore to talk

:56:14. > :56:17.about savings, particularly when you consider the budget is so small

:56:18. > :56:25.relative to government expenditure generally. Putting the point to the

:56:26. > :56:29.extreme, avoiding unnecessary conflict is vastly cheaper than

:56:30. > :56:31.actually committing to conflict which is costly in lives and costly

:56:32. > :56:43.in treasure. If only finish on 1 further point.

:56:44. > :56:47.Perhaps we do not talk enough about soft power, it is increasingly

:56:48. > :56:56.important. In this information age... Those who win the argument

:56:57. > :57:01.are going to be just as important as those who win the conflict, it's

:57:02. > :57:09.about the battle of ideas, the Battle of ideology, about persuading

:57:10. > :57:13.others to want what you want rather than just rattling the Sabre which

:57:14. > :57:18.can often be counter-productive as we have seen so many times in recent

:57:19. > :57:22.history. We don't attach enough importance to soft power in this

:57:23. > :57:26.country, we certainly don't attach enough importance to it when it

:57:27. > :57:33.comes to foreign policy making and we have clear examples now, where we

:57:34. > :57:39.are putting at risk our soft power capability. The BBC World Service,

:57:40. > :57:43.cuts in the past, have hindered our ability to reach out to people, that

:57:44. > :57:50.budget has been transferred out of the FCO and that, if you like,

:57:51. > :57:53.scope, but that was 1 example prior to the transfer. An example but

:57:54. > :58:01.currently sits in the FCO is the British Council. A venerable

:58:02. > :58:06.organisation that is doing tremendous work in spreading the

:58:07. > :58:11.word in encouraging people to want what we want, in providing an

:58:12. > :58:15.educational service and in trying to bring peoples together to improve

:58:16. > :58:20.understanding for the benefit of all concerned. And yet, what are we

:58:21. > :58:25.doing? We are making cuts to the British Council and Ford is the

:58:26. > :58:27.British Council having to do? It is having to become even worth

:58:28. > :58:35.commercial in trying to make up for those cuts. If you think a small cut

:58:36. > :58:39.of 10% is very little, when you are talking about commercial activities

:58:40. > :58:44.to try to make up for those cuts, given a 10% is the profit margin

:58:45. > :58:47.sometimes, you are having to make 100% increase in revenue than it

:58:48. > :58:51.comes to commercial activities to make up for the cut. It is the sort

:58:52. > :58:56.of short-sighted this that we must look a game at as a country because

:58:57. > :59:00.it's not serving this country well and I would argue it's not serving

:59:01. > :59:07.the international community well. In conclusion, Madam Deputy Speaker, I

:59:08. > :59:13.think we need to ensure that our ears and eyes are working, if they

:59:14. > :59:20.are not in the world then we tend to make expensive mistakes, I suggest

:59:21. > :59:22.that because we haven't properly funded our analytical skills, our

:59:23. > :59:26.capabilities, we haven't been as well cited as we should've been, we

:59:27. > :59:31.have made and they have contributed, not the only reason but they have

:59:32. > :59:34.certainly contributed to a series of errors which proved exceedingly

:59:35. > :59:39.costly in lives, 1st and foremost but also exceedingly costly when it

:59:40. > :59:44.comes to Treasury and we come back to the point about false economies.

:59:45. > :59:52.It is a false economy to make cuts to your ears and eyes, the Foreign

:59:53. > :59:56.and Commonwealth Office capability if as a result we blunder into

:59:57. > :00:00.interventions that will cost us dearly in lives and treasure. I urge

:00:01. > :00:06.the government in conclusion, and I am pleased to see my friend, the

:00:07. > :00:09.banister, my right honourable friend, to increase in real terms

:00:10. > :00:18.the expenditure on the FCO, we will be better cited for it and will make

:00:19. > :00:22.less costly errors. Thank you Madam Deputy Speaker, it's a pleasure to

:00:23. > :00:25.follow the honourable member for Basildon and Billericay who makes a

:00:26. > :00:30.perceptive speech and I'm grateful to him. Madame DDB speaker am the

:00:31. > :00:37.cut in funding for the Foreign Office on top of the 10% budget

:00:38. > :00:42.since 2010 is directly contrary to the UK key strategic interest and

:00:43. > :00:45.may prevent it from effectively addressing serious organisational

:00:46. > :00:50.issues within the Department. The threat to security from Daesh can't

:00:51. > :00:54.be effectively addressed by dropping bombs on Syria, Libya or Iraq.

:00:55. > :00:57.Threats to the economy from events in China and the Eurozone can't be

:00:58. > :01:03.washed away by the Treasury. We need to equip the FCO not only to meet

:01:04. > :01:07.the challenges of today but to be able to rise to meet the unknown

:01:08. > :01:13.challenges of tomorrow and there must be a renewed focus on aid and

:01:14. > :01:19.diplomacy in all that the FCO doors. As a recent FCO report on the

:01:20. > :01:20.Spending Review stated, in an increasingly unstable world

:01:21. > :01:28.government relies on the FCO to have critical decisions sometimes do

:01:29. > :01:32.Mormons notice. Over the last Parliament the country was found to

:01:33. > :01:36.be lacking in expertise, and all article capability and language

:01:37. > :01:46.skills to manage the fallout from the Arab Spring and Ukraine crisis.

:01:47. > :01:49.In 2010, it might have been thought that the skills in Donetsk and Raqqa

:01:50. > :01:56.were surplus to requirement but now it evidences the real danger to an

:01:57. > :02:02.underfunded FCO. The honourable lady makes some excellent points but I

:02:03. > :02:10.promise I will pursue this in Hansard afterwards, which she

:02:11. > :02:17.forgive me if I left at this point? Thank you very much. On this

:02:18. > :02:22.occasion, I shall forgive him! The FCO must have the capacity to be

:02:23. > :02:28.able to extend further on a day-to-day basis. In a speech to the

:02:29. > :02:30.Institute of government last year the outgoing permanent

:02:31. > :02:37.undersecretary of state for the FCO Sir Simon Fraser supported the

:02:38. > :02:41.protection of UK aid spending and 2% commission to defence spending but

:02:42. > :02:44.lamented that the FCO relatively small budget was unprotected in the

:02:45. > :02:51.coming Spending Review. He referred to the FCO to the glue that holds

:02:52. > :02:55.everything together. He said the FCO arguably deserved similar protection

:02:56. > :02:58.to larger budgets like the Ministry of Defence whose operation overseas

:02:59. > :03:04.would only stand to benefit from a strong FCO. This being said, Madam

:03:05. > :03:09.Deputy Speaker, the FCO clearly needs to reform its overseas network

:03:10. > :03:15.and stem spiralling costs especially in the climate when cuts are being

:03:16. > :03:21.felt so hard by so many. The focus must be on efficiency and efficacy.

:03:22. > :03:25.Sir Simon said the FCO deserves similar protection to larger budgets

:03:26. > :03:28.and on this basis, in the face of planned cuts I wonder if the

:03:29. > :03:32.Minister would be so kind and his remark to address the following

:03:33. > :03:37.question. What changes will be made to the implementation of government

:03:38. > :03:41.Aussie outside the UK where this spans a range of departments? Who

:03:42. > :03:45.decides which department is best placed to coordinate joint action

:03:46. > :03:50.between the part is and how will funding to support this be secured?

:03:51. > :03:54.Will this mean du munitions of the role of the FCO within government

:03:55. > :03:57.and what impact will this have on the continue strategic role of the

:03:58. > :04:03.department within government and finally, is it not a concern that

:04:04. > :04:08.the UK international role will be stratified and then balanced as the

:04:09. > :04:12.MOD which has a protected budget will have a stronger role without

:04:13. > :04:18.the balancing mechanism that the FCO can bring to this work. Madam Deputy

:04:19. > :04:21.Speaker, human rights need to be re-established as a top priority.

:04:22. > :04:26.The permanent undersecretary knowledge to that human rights was

:04:27. > :04:32.not now 1 of the top try or at ease. This must be addressed again. Moving

:04:33. > :04:39.on to what the FCO looks like to the outside world. In the same speech I

:04:40. > :04:44.referred to, Fraser also conceded in the past the FCO culture had been

:04:45. > :04:49.too narrow, too white, and to mail. He argued this was improved on his

:04:50. > :04:52.watch but acknowledged there was much more to do to achieve a greater

:04:53. > :04:59.diversity in the full sense of the word. Cutbacks within the Department

:05:00. > :05:04.may threaten progress in this vital area of equality and diversity.

:05:05. > :05:08.There were no women on the short list to replace Fraser as permanent

:05:09. > :05:12.undersecretary. He also noted the FCO have yet to appoint a woman

:05:13. > :05:18.ambassador to its most prestigious post like Washington and Paris. But

:05:19. > :05:22.emphasised women were no ambassadors in Beijing and Kabul. He put this

:05:23. > :05:27.down to the pipeline of diversity in the organisation pointing out the

:05:28. > :05:31.FCO started further behind the rest of Whitehall, having been the last

:05:32. > :05:46.Department to abolish its marriage ban as late as 1973. -- marriage

:05:47. > :05:51.bar, should I say. On wider diversity, although 12% of the total

:05:52. > :05:53.workforce is from minority ethnic backgrounds at senior levels, FCO

:05:54. > :05:58.leadership is most exclusively white. Fraser said they'd been a

:05:59. > :06:03.cultural switched understanding diversity not only matters what is

:06:04. > :06:08.good for the FCO, leading to better decisions and outcomes. That spreads

:06:09. > :06:13.to the wider workplace whatever that might be and this very house itself.

:06:14. > :06:17.So how will these proposed changes to the budget the Department impact

:06:18. > :06:22.on the work of the FCO to address this very culture? What schemes

:06:23. > :06:26.within the department will be funded in the next year to specifically

:06:27. > :06:31.address these issues? An isolationist agenda in our

:06:32. > :06:36.international relations has already damaged the UK's image, at the very

:06:37. > :06:41.least let's make sure this is and reflect within this country in terms

:06:42. > :06:49.of our workforce diversity. This should be and is indeed our

:06:50. > :06:56.strength. Richard union. Madam Deputy Speaker. I contribute to this

:06:57. > :06:59.debate by starting and congratulating my honourable friend

:07:00. > :07:04.the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee and his committee, albeit

:07:05. > :07:08.in its previous form, making a recommendation which the government

:07:09. > :07:15.listen to. But I entirely agree with my friend. What the Chancellor did

:07:16. > :07:21.with his announcement on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office spending was

:07:22. > :07:29.to draw a line of reductions over many years which I believe, like so

:07:30. > :07:33.many who have spoken already, have had a damaging effect on bread and's

:07:34. > :07:38.ability to project self power. I have just come from a meeting of the

:07:39. > :07:41.Defence Select Committee and we heard an organisation called the

:07:42. > :07:45.conflict studies research Centre which is to be based within

:07:46. > :07:47.Whitehall and was a government organisation but in a similar way as

:07:48. > :07:52.described by my honourable friend in terms of other aspects of our

:07:53. > :07:57.ability to inform the executive of what is going on, was cut. I'm

:07:58. > :08:03.delighted to say it has re-emerged in the private sector and this may

:08:04. > :08:08.be clearest as to how London continues to be a major hub for

:08:09. > :08:12.international organisations, think tanks and other areas of expertise

:08:13. > :08:18.in foreign affairs and defence issues, we must be smarter and fleet

:08:19. > :08:23.of foot in using these resources much as they do in Washington,

:08:24. > :08:27.rather better than us. In my capacity as a minister and

:08:28. > :08:30.subsequently in roles on select committees and through the NATO

:08:31. > :08:34.Parliamentary assembly of the privileged to see posts in the

:08:35. > :08:39.Foreign Office working abroad and have huge respect for those that

:08:40. > :08:45.work in them. I think during the Coalition Government time, was

:08:46. > :08:51.appreciated was the programme of closures of posts was reversed and

:08:52. > :08:53.that was furry welcome. But I think what we have in the Foreign and

:08:54. > :08:59.Commonwealth Office is something that has become broad and shallow.

:09:00. > :09:02.-- very welcome. We need to concentrate on finding depth and I

:09:03. > :09:06.agree with many of the sentiments of been put forward. I believe it's

:09:07. > :09:12.fundamentally important that William Hague reopening of the language

:09:13. > :09:19.school is part of a welcome re-engage went on these important

:09:20. > :09:25.skills. -- re- engagement. Foreign Office posts abroad, the UK projects

:09:26. > :09:32.soft power and I see this as a trade envoy as much as anyone. And that is

:09:33. > :09:36.why cuts to the FCO or short-sighted because when we can engage with

:09:37. > :09:41.countries, build relationships over a long period of time, that is

:09:42. > :09:48.reflected in jobs at home, exports and helping our balance of payments.

:09:49. > :09:51.I have seen our influence way exceed expenditure because of the hard work

:09:52. > :09:55.put into relationships built with governments and people of influence

:09:56. > :10:01.in countries and at the moment and kicking the dust off my feet from a

:10:02. > :10:05.trip to Jordan and Lebanon last week with the Defence Select Committee

:10:06. > :10:09.and I would like to put on record my thanks to 2 outstanding posts, the

:10:10. > :10:13.ambassador to the defence of Tasha, the political officers and security

:10:14. > :10:17.staff operating in those countries, our stock is why as a country and we

:10:18. > :10:25.then e-fit in trying to keep to country stable in the face of an

:10:26. > :10:30.believable threats over the broader in Iraq and Syria. I would like to

:10:31. > :10:34.look at what I honourable friend from Basildon and Billericay

:10:35. > :10:40.referred to as trouble spots and he perhaps looked back with a degree of

:10:41. > :10:45.Jordan Freud which I think he is justified in some cases in

:10:46. > :10:49.expressing. In looking at trouble spots he said we should look forward

:10:50. > :10:55.and where are the trouble spots of the future and I suggest 1 very

:10:56. > :11:00.daring 1 is a resurgent Russia. And throughout the Cold War, as has been

:11:01. > :11:05.said by my honourable friend, the chairman of the committee, we had

:11:06. > :11:11.real experts across Whitehall on the Soviet Union. Many of them, the

:11:12. > :11:21.posts were stripped out as they retired or moved... The corporate

:11:22. > :11:26.knowledge fell to an alarming degree. I know I may be straining

:11:27. > :11:30.slightly but the defence intelligence service, for example,

:11:31. > :11:35.had no Ukraine desk officer at the time of the uprising, it had to

:11:36. > :11:40.borrow 1 from the South Caucasus. And I imagine the same problem was

:11:41. > :11:43.existing within the Foreign Office, suddenly, the glaring reality of a

:11:44. > :11:56.major threat to Britain's interests and to NATO was emerging.

:11:57. > :12:06.There is a real need to understand these threats and make resources for

:12:07. > :12:10.the future. In other days there was some group accountability in the

:12:11. > :12:15.Soviet Union and you did not feel it was run by one individual on their

:12:16. > :12:23.women. Now in Russia it is run by one autocratic Megan Heath, a klepto

:12:24. > :12:29.crap of quite staggering proportions who can annex the sovereign

:12:30. > :12:35.territory of another state, have people murdered on the streets of

:12:36. > :12:41.London and oversees a regime that sees lawyers murdered and in prison

:12:42. > :12:49.in Russia and one wonders how many more Litvinenkos there are. He can

:12:50. > :12:55.do to buyers of Syria what he did to Grozny and who can threaten states

:12:56. > :13:00.who we are a treaty bound to defend under our membership of Nato. This

:13:01. > :13:06.is an individual for whom rules -based governance is anathema. We

:13:07. > :13:12.should govern much of our thinking and much of the way we resources our

:13:13. > :13:17.foreign policy and our defence policy by one clear question. What

:13:18. > :13:23.would Vladimir Putin want? Certainly. And what does the

:13:24. > :13:27.honourable gentleman think that Vladimir Putin would want in

:13:28. > :13:32.relation to the UK's membership of the European Union? The honourable

:13:33. > :13:36.member has probably read the next page in my speech and I will come on

:13:37. > :13:44.and answer precisely that because I think he and I agree. The point I

:13:45. > :13:47.was about to make was that what President Putin would want would be

:13:48. > :13:51.a Foreign and Commonwealth Office budget curtailed. He would want a

:13:52. > :13:58.weaker Nato, and Nato that is riven by infighting and continues running

:13:59. > :14:05.down its armed forces and Nato that does not respond to an escalation of

:14:06. > :14:09.aggressive actions towards stays on Russia's western border. But there

:14:10. > :14:15.has been a reversal in decline of defence spending, not least by

:14:16. > :14:20.Britain, but also by a number of our allies. But this requires massive

:14:21. > :14:24.efforts of diplomacy, to keep our alliance moving in the direction it

:14:25. > :14:30.should be, showing the ability to stand up to the actions of this

:14:31. > :14:35.regime. But to answer the honourable gentleman's point, what Vladimir

:14:36. > :14:39.Putin wants is a West were influential countries like Britain

:14:40. > :14:46.are less influential. He can see where I am going. Yes, he wants a

:14:47. > :14:50.weekend European Union. It is the EU, not Nato, that can impose

:14:51. > :14:58.damaging sanctions against the regime. He hates having an economic

:14:59. > :15:02.rule set on his western border. As the leader of the UK delegation to

:15:03. > :15:10.Nato, I recently attended a meeting at the Nato headquarters and

:15:11. > :15:19.informally and formally our allies crossed the floor to say to me with

:15:20. > :15:24.varying degrees of incredulity whether Britain was going to leave

:15:25. > :15:29.the EU. I hope the report will not just look at the costs of a possible

:15:30. > :15:34.Brexit, but look at the impact of Britain leaving would have on the

:15:35. > :15:39.geopolitics of our European foreign policy. These people were coming up

:15:40. > :15:47.to me and saying, even America, they were saying now? At this time with

:15:48. > :15:52.all that threatens Europe economically, militarily and in

:15:53. > :15:55.society? There is much our diplomatic services have to do in

:15:56. > :16:01.coming years. They have to shore up our alliances in Nato and shore up

:16:02. > :16:05.spending on defence amongst our allies and they have to use all

:16:06. > :16:13.methods, both hard and soft power to deter Russia through our hard and

:16:14. > :16:17.soft power postures. How we invest and work with our allies and how

:16:18. > :16:28.would exercise as Armed Forces and show strength. When we met with Jens

:16:29. > :16:34.Stoltenberg in Russia last week, he concurred with a lot of what my

:16:35. > :16:38.right honourable friend is saying, but he also discussed the importance

:16:39. > :16:43.of dialogue with Russia. Would he agree with me that it is important

:16:44. > :16:48.despite these tensions to attempt to engage with Russia to try to defuse

:16:49. > :16:54.these issues? I entirely agree with my honourable friend and I am not

:16:55. > :16:59.somebody who believes in confrontation. I think he probably

:17:00. > :17:05.knows me well enough in how I operate in this house and exactly

:17:06. > :17:11.the same applies in how we deal with a potential aggressor. Yes, that is

:17:12. > :17:15.the purpose of what I am saying today. Not only should we be strong

:17:16. > :17:23.and show that our alliance is strong and we are not going to see Article

:17:24. > :17:27.five boost by people like resident Putin, but we will be engaged

:17:28. > :17:32.diplomatically with him and his regime and try and get common sense.

:17:33. > :17:37.Also to use resources like the World Service and the British Council as

:17:38. > :17:42.my honourable friend talked about earlier. At Nato last week a

:17:43. > :17:48.Romanian who works in Nato said it was for her the greatest treat of

:17:49. > :17:52.her day, to sit under her bed clothes listening to the British

:17:53. > :17:56.World Service. It kept her in touch with what was going on in the West

:17:57. > :18:01.and the freedoms that we enjoy and she wanted some of that. She has now

:18:02. > :18:07.got it and through such means we can also influence people in Russia. I

:18:08. > :18:13.am very grateful to him for giving way again. When I used to go back to

:18:14. > :18:19.Warsaw to see my grandfather in communist times we always listened

:18:20. > :18:23.to the BBC World Service very quietly with the curtains drawn

:18:24. > :18:29.because it was illegal to do so. But can I say the comfort that that gave

:18:30. > :18:32.to my grandfather and his generation, knowing that there were

:18:33. > :18:39.those outside beyond the Iron Curtain who were struggling and

:18:40. > :18:43.trying to keep them informed was a great comfort to him. My honourable

:18:44. > :18:47.friend makes a powerful point and he and his family understand this more

:18:48. > :18:53.than anyone else in this house. I conclude by talking about one

:18:54. > :19:02.concept in terms of foreign policy and that is our will. Our will to

:19:03. > :19:06.make a better world, to extol the virtues of the kind of society we

:19:07. > :19:12.enjoy in this country and that most of our European colleagues also

:19:13. > :19:18.enjoy and in the West. Of course we face difficulties. We get on with

:19:19. > :19:23.our lives as independent members of different alliances, with Nato or

:19:24. > :19:31.the EU, or with other arrangements we have. And aggressor like Russia

:19:32. > :19:35.is one country run pretty much by one individual and so our world is

:19:36. > :19:44.tested. On the face of it we should not be alarmed because we have

:19:45. > :19:52.across Nato 3.2 million troops under arms, the four largest members of

:19:53. > :20:00.Nato who spends $740 billion a year on defence as against Russia's 65.6

:20:01. > :20:05.billion. But that statistic, start as it is, does not describe the

:20:06. > :20:11.depth of the problem. The depth of the problem we are seen in places

:20:12. > :20:17.such as Ukraine, Georgia, and now in Syria, threats whether they are

:20:18. > :20:22.actual or subversive threat to Nato countries such as the Baltic states.

:20:23. > :20:25.We have to have a strong will and to prove that we have that will

:20:26. > :20:31.requires resources, commitment, the hard slog of soft power and

:20:32. > :20:37.diplomatic efforts. It requires language skills and the real depth

:20:38. > :20:42.understanding and of course there are other problems in the world in

:20:43. > :20:46.the South China Sea and Africa and elsewhere, which draw many of those

:20:47. > :20:51.resources away from a particular problem. As so many people have

:20:52. > :20:56.said, we do not know what is coming around the corner next. But I am

:20:57. > :21:02.certain about one thing. Russia will tweak Nato's nose and it will push

:21:03. > :21:05.the envelope of article five, whether it is playing on Russian

:21:06. > :21:08.speaking nationals in certain countries, or whether it is

:21:09. > :21:12.threatening countries who are friendly to us, but not members of

:21:13. > :21:21.Nato like Sweden, through incursions into their waters of airspace. Today

:21:22. > :21:24.we had, I quote, any weakness on our part Russia exploits. Making sure

:21:25. > :21:29.Russia understands that the West will respond, will punish them if

:21:30. > :21:33.they attack a Nato state, must remain a key foreign policy

:21:34. > :21:42.objective, but it is an objective that needs proper resourcing. I

:21:43. > :21:48.welcome the opportunity for this debate and it is a pleasure to

:21:49. > :21:51.follow the member for Newbury. I agree entirely with what he set

:21:52. > :22:02.about President Putin. As others have said today, perhaps I would

:22:03. > :22:08.address President Putin directly and say in Russian this. I hope he will

:22:09. > :22:12.have heard that message. I really hope that was in order because I

:22:13. > :22:16.have no idea what the honourable gentleman said. If he could

:22:17. > :22:21.translate for the benefit of those who do not speak Russian I would be

:22:22. > :22:26.very grateful. If he wants to talk to us, we will be very happy to talk

:22:27. > :22:31.to him. The member for Newbury talked about language skills and

:22:32. > :22:34.that is an important matter. Without those language skills it is very

:22:35. > :22:40.difficult to engage effectively with others. It is a pity that the member

:22:41. > :22:43.for Basildon and Billericay is no longer in this place because had he

:22:44. > :22:49.been, I would have disagreed with him on the subject of Syria. What we

:22:50. > :22:54.do know about Syria is since the UK Parliament decided not to take

:22:55. > :22:58.action some years ago, a quarter of a million people have died and over

:22:59. > :23:03.4 million people have become refugees and several million more

:23:04. > :23:09.have become refugees within Syria. Whilst we cannot know for certain

:23:10. > :23:13.what the impact of limited UK military involvement might have

:23:14. > :23:18.been, what we do know and what we can see is the consequences of the

:23:19. > :23:26.failure to take any action. Could you remind the House what we are

:23:27. > :23:34.being asked to take action for? Indeed, I welcome back to that. I

:23:35. > :23:38.will take another intervention. I was going to raise a similar point

:23:39. > :23:47.to the one raised by the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, which

:23:48. > :23:50.is what with the consequences of Russian action be? Does this not go

:23:51. > :23:57.to the heart of the debate about the need to fund the FCO properly?

:23:58. > :24:02.Indeed and to respond to the earlier point, what we were being asked to

:24:03. > :24:07.do was to leave open the opportunity of there being military action taken

:24:08. > :24:11.in the future. That is what the vote was about. It was not about whether

:24:12. > :24:15.we should take military action at that point, but it would have left

:24:16. > :24:27.open that opportunity and because they voted leaving against, taking

:24:28. > :24:32.action was closed down at that point. The whole purpose of this

:24:33. > :24:39.debate is to highlight the importance of funding the FCO

:24:40. > :24:44.adequately. We were being invited to take military action in order to

:24:45. > :24:48.deprive President Assad's regime of its chemical weapons. That is what

:24:49. > :24:52.we were being asked to do. If there was a proposition to do something

:24:53. > :24:56.much wider than that, that is the proposition that should have been

:24:57. > :25:01.put to the House. My recollection may be slightly different to his,

:25:02. > :25:06.but if I recall correctly, what the vote was about was about leaving

:25:07. > :25:10.open the option of the UK Parliament taking military action at a point in

:25:11. > :25:14.the future which would have required another vote. The UK Parliament

:25:15. > :25:18.decided to say we do not want to leave open the option of that future

:25:19. > :25:26.vote and I regret that decision was taken. In relation to the European

:25:27. > :25:34.Union, I do hope we will be able to engage in a positive campaign on

:25:35. > :25:38.this matter and I wonder whether, not that this is entirely related to

:25:39. > :25:43.the estimates, whether the Minister for Europe has a view about whether

:25:44. > :25:47.to go campaign is the campaign that we should be pushing forward as the

:25:48. > :25:52.campaign for Brexit on the basis that it is a good cross-party

:25:53. > :25:53.campaign. Perhaps they are best placed to represent the Brexit

:25:54. > :26:33.campaign. benefits of being in the EU because

:26:34. > :26:39.I think the difficulty that we have got in the next four months, many of

:26:40. > :26:44.those ministers who rightly stated on balance we are better off in the

:26:45. > :26:49.EU, have previously perhaps not highlighted some of the positives

:26:50. > :26:55.involved. That, I can give to the Minister, is a no cost to the FCO

:26:56. > :27:02.ministers speaking positively about the European Union. On the subject

:27:03. > :27:08.of Syria... It would be helpful to know from the Minister exactly what

:27:09. > :27:12.is being billed in in budgetary terms for what we hope will be

:27:13. > :27:18.happening post- cease-fire, if the cease-fire holds and we get to a

:27:19. > :27:25.position for there is a degree of stabilisation in Syria, there will

:27:26. > :27:28.clearly need to be from the FCO, I suspect, quite a substantial

:27:29. > :27:33.financial commitment to greater involvement in the stabilisation

:27:34. > :27:41.process that should then follow. I hope that is something that is being

:27:42. > :27:45.budgeted for. What I want to focus on perhaps in the next 3 or four

:27:46. > :27:49.minutes is more the issue of human rights and the importance of having

:27:50. > :27:58.an FCO policy that promotes human rights. The honourable lady who

:27:59. > :28:01.represent South Kircher rightly referred to what the permanent

:28:02. > :28:10.undersecretary had to say and I quote... Human rights is 1 of the

:28:11. > :28:14.things we follow but it is not 1 of our top priorities. And he then and

:28:15. > :28:17.on to say in response to subsequent question that right now the

:28:18. > :28:23.prosperity agenda is further up the list. -- South Perthshire. I wrote

:28:24. > :28:27.to the permanent undersecretary after he was quoted to get clarity

:28:28. > :28:33.from him as to exactly what he said in relation to human rights and the

:28:34. > :28:38.prosperity agenda and how those 2 things work together and 1 was a

:28:39. > :28:44.greater priority than the other. He replied and I am very grateful for

:28:45. > :28:51.that, he didn't actually comment on the court about whether human rights

:28:52. > :28:57.was 1 of our top priorities but what he provided was a useful breakdown

:28:58. > :29:00.about how many people within the FCO in full-time equivalent terms work

:29:01. > :29:06.on human rights versus the number of people working principally on

:29:07. > :29:11.prosperity and within the FCO, it is 240 people working on human rights

:29:12. > :29:18.and 2900 people approximately working on prosperity. I don't know

:29:19. > :29:25.precisely what, from a budgetary point of view, there is in the

:29:26. > :29:28.estimates looking forward but as the Minister can say anything about how

:29:29. > :29:34.he thinks that balance might change in terms of the number of people

:29:35. > :29:38.within the FCO working on human rights issues as opposed to working

:29:39. > :29:41.on the prosperity agenda, if there is already some sort of forward

:29:42. > :29:48.vision about how that will change because clearly, there is a great

:29:49. > :29:51.sheath of things here, the Minister will be pleased to know I won't

:29:52. > :29:55.refer to all of them but there are many issues, human rights issues

:29:56. > :30:02.around the world, that I want to know the FCO will be fully engaged

:30:03. > :30:07.in. And just to run through very quickly, for instance, the issue of

:30:08. > :30:12.Burma, clearly very pleasing that there are developments they are but

:30:13. > :30:17.certainly I know that some of the Burma campaign groups are very

:30:18. > :30:22.worried that even with Aung San Suu Kyi, the important role she plays,

:30:23. > :30:28.there are minority groups who are perhaps at greater risk now than

:30:29. > :30:33.they were before so that requires FCO attention. On the question of

:30:34. > :30:36.Bahrain, we know the UK Government is working with the prison

:30:37. > :30:44.authorities and the police, again, there are concerns that the impact

:30:45. > :30:51.of that which was supposed to improve... Perhaps the human rights

:30:52. > :30:54.regard played by prisoner 30s and the police in Bahrain, that is not

:30:55. > :30:58.yet delivering the goods so I would want to be certain that the FCO is

:30:59. > :31:03.sufficiently resourced to ensure that the case and I could say the

:31:04. > :31:08.same about China, for instance. Perhaps the most worrying

:31:09. > :31:13.development and 4 I think the FCO really needs to inventory heavily

:31:14. > :31:16.and make sure they have got the right number of people in place,

:31:17. > :31:21.that is the question of Saudi Arabia and Yemen. I am really concerned

:31:22. > :31:29.that at some point in your future, it will be confirmed that there have

:31:30. > :31:32.been breaches of international humanitarian law, there are enough

:31:33. > :31:36.organisations that I think produced evidence to suggest that is likely

:31:37. > :31:41.to be the case and therefore the FCO, I think they will be in a very

:31:42. > :31:47.difficult position for the Parliamentary Secretary as I think

:31:48. > :31:49.repeatedly said that there have been discussions with the Saudis and

:31:50. > :31:54.there have been assurances given but it seems to me as though the

:31:55. > :31:59.evidence points in the other direction and the FCO does need to

:32:00. > :32:05.monitor very carefully perhaps the activities of the MoD who are

:32:06. > :32:10.responsible for assessing whether IHL has or has not been broken.

:32:11. > :32:15.Because I don't think it would be to know 1's interest to find out

:32:16. > :32:23.subsequently that infect ie Chel had been broken in relation to the

:32:24. > :32:34.activities of the Saudis in Yemen. -- that in fact ie Chel. I hope

:32:35. > :32:37.perhaps as its 1st inquiry it will look at the question of UK arms

:32:38. > :32:41.sales to Saudi Arabia because I think that is, for them, I would

:32:42. > :32:47.think, the most pressing problem. I could also mention human rights

:32:48. > :32:53.issues in Sri Lanka which remain a priority for the Tamil community or

:32:54. > :32:58.indeed, the human rights of the anti Moslem community in various

:32:59. > :33:00.countries around the world 3rd they are often put under pressure so

:33:01. > :33:07.Madam Deputy Speaker, I would like to speak by saying the investment we

:33:08. > :33:11.make in the FCO, whether it's hard investment in terms of presence

:33:12. > :33:15.around the world or indeed, the soft power, the number of members that

:33:16. > :33:19.have referred to this, must be a priority for us. It helps a sponge

:33:20. > :33:24.above our weight and I think it helps ensure that the UK, whether

:33:25. > :33:27.it's through things like the British Council or our embassy presence

:33:28. > :33:31.around the world, is a major player on the world stage and that is

:33:32. > :33:38.something that certainly I would like to insure continues. Patrick

:33:39. > :33:42.Grady. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker and I congratulate 1st of

:33:43. > :33:46.all, a cherub of foreign affairs select committee and his colleagues

:33:47. > :33:49.including my honourable friend for north-east Fife on the important job

:33:50. > :33:53.they've done in producing the report and are quite considerable success

:33:54. > :33:57.they have achieved in persuading the Chancellor to at least maintain the

:33:58. > :34:01.Foreign Office budget more or less at what was in the face of very

:34:02. > :34:07.great treasure and I will come back to some of those points as we go on.

:34:08. > :34:10.As my honourable friend for Perth and North Perthshire quite rightly

:34:11. > :34:14.pointed out this is a debate on the estimates and of course, Madam

:34:15. > :34:17.Deputy Speaker, you were only doing your job to call him to order

:34:18. > :34:22.because of the rules and conventions of this House by which you as the

:34:23. > :34:27.chair are bound but it serves to demonstrate a complete inadequacy of

:34:28. > :34:33.the estimates process that we have. The motion in front of us today

:34:34. > :34:38.authorises in clauses 2 and 3 D expenditure of more than ?50,000,000

:34:39. > :34:41.of public money and yet, look how empty the chamber is, not even a

:34:42. > :34:46.contribution from the backbenches of the official opposition party on

:34:47. > :34:51.this matter and it speaks to the broader estimates contained in the

:34:52. > :34:55.mighty House of Commons paper 747 named after a jumbo jet no doubt due

:34:56. > :34:59.to it's not inconsiderable size and yet... Here we are, barely an hour

:35:00. > :35:04.and 20 minutes after starting, moving to the wind-up speeches. All

:35:05. > :35:10.kinds of important government expenditure having no kind of real

:35:11. > :35:14.in-depth scrutiny. Page 407 includes a payment from the resources

:35:15. > :35:19.reserves programme budget in respect of the Battle of New Orleans

:35:20. > :35:26.commemoration, an increase of ?142,000, page 410, are transferred

:35:27. > :35:30.to the Cabinet office capital budget in respect of the foxhound project,

:35:31. > :35:35.whatever that is. The chamber may never know, perhaps the Minister can

:35:36. > :35:40.tell us. A decrease of ?3,000,000 to the government budget and on page

:35:41. > :35:44.410, cost neutral transfer of the older plurality building, much, I'm

:35:45. > :35:49.sure, appreciated by FCO officials to be transferred to the Department

:35:50. > :35:54.of Education and of course I will give way. I have some sympathy for

:35:55. > :35:59.the honourable gentleman and the arguments made over estimates and

:36:00. > :36:02.since he raised it, I wonder if I could give notice to the Minister

:36:03. > :36:08.and his officials, perhaps they could give an explanation as to why

:36:09. > :36:10.we have given that money to celebrate a British defeat which

:36:11. > :36:16.happened after the peace treaty had actually been concluded around the

:36:17. > :36:20.war in which to place. Perhaps we can also have an explanation of the

:36:21. > :36:25.biggest number of all in the Foreign Office estimates which is the budget

:36:26. > :36:31.neutral increase in programme expenditure fully offset by an

:36:32. > :36:37.increase in receipts in respect and advised government charging, a sum

:36:38. > :36:40.of ?220,000,000, either way, if the Minister could explain that to us,

:36:41. > :36:45.then we might at least have had some focus on the actual estimates

:36:46. > :36:49.themselves. I thank the honourable member for his point and I think he

:36:50. > :36:53.makes my point for me. It goes to demonstrate the complete lack of

:36:54. > :36:58.scrutiny and of course, Madam Deputy Speaker, you said earlier on there

:36:59. > :37:01.are other mechanisms through Select Committee and Question Time

:37:02. > :37:05.statements and we can discuss different aspects of expenditure but

:37:06. > :37:08.the estimate process itself is clearly inadequate and it's

:37:09. > :37:12.particularly inadequate for those members from Scotland who were told

:37:13. > :37:16.during the debate that this was the way you which we could discuss

:37:17. > :37:21.Barnett consequentials on the impact of legislation for which we cannot

:37:22. > :37:24.afford participate due to the evil procedures, this would be our

:37:25. > :37:28.opportunity and it seems as if that opportunity is being denied to us.

:37:29. > :37:31.As a member of the procedure committee I look forward to our

:37:32. > :37:36.inquiry into the estimates procedure and look forward to questioning

:37:37. > :37:39.government and the stress, Treasury ministers in particular and members

:37:40. > :37:43.from across the House on how we can make this procedure fairer but at

:37:44. > :37:46.the risk of deviating too far from the motion in front of us on being

:37:47. > :37:48.called out of order myself, I'll turn to the more general themes of

:37:49. > :37:54.the debate contained in the committee report and the broader

:37:55. > :37:59.issue of the FCO role and function. From the tone of the debate, it

:38:00. > :38:04.seems that the FCO is in something of a precarious situation. It is a

:38:05. > :38:07.thick like so many other departments, people, communities,

:38:08. > :38:12.across this country, of the government's ideological commitment

:38:13. > :38:17.to swingeing public service cuts no matter what the cost. In the SNP

:38:18. > :38:22.manifesto we shall did was possible to modestly increased public

:38:23. > :38:27.services and over the long term, still balance the books, pay down

:38:28. > :38:30.the public debt. This is 1 of the more on proceding and probably

:38:31. > :38:34.slightly less concerning aspects cos it's not impinging on people's

:38:35. > :38:39.day-to-day lives in the way so many other cups or nevertheless, it's an

:38:40. > :38:44.impact of an ideological drive from the government and at the same time,

:38:45. > :38:50.it's leading to an increasingly ideological and almost isolationist

:38:51. > :38:53.narrowing of focus and interest and diverging so away from what should

:38:54. > :38:55.be priority areas, the protection of human rights and the promotion of

:38:56. > :38:59.peaceful and sustainable development. Some of that has been

:39:00. > :39:06.alluded to in the discussion about the role of the FCO and its

:39:07. > :39:09.expenditure on overseas and official development assistance, we in the

:39:10. > :39:14.SNP have long welcomed the commitment to 0 points 7% of GNI to

:39:15. > :39:17.be spent on ODA and the government commitment to this, meeting the

:39:18. > :39:21.target isn't a blank cheque to spend it on whatever it can cram into the

:39:22. > :39:25.definition, I raised several times on the floor of has seen increasing

:39:26. > :39:29.overlap between expenditure of the target and the 2% NATO target which

:39:30. > :39:31.might be allowed in principle but I don't that what people expect in

:39:32. > :39:38.practice and the government committed to those. The honourable

:39:39. > :39:42.member for Barbara Keeley touched on the use of ODA and the World Service

:39:43. > :39:47.and the number of concerns that he raised on my honourable friend from

:39:48. > :39:50.South Perthshire talked about the importance of effective Corporation

:39:51. > :39:56.across government so it'll be interesting to hear the ministerial

:39:57. > :39:59.response to your points. The budget is 1 of the smallest in government

:40:00. > :40:02.but it doesn't mean it's necessarily the most effective or efficient, the

:40:03. > :40:07.discussion as I said is in the context of the pressure felt across

:40:08. > :40:11.public spending, so if the FCO budget is to be protected and it

:40:12. > :40:15.must be used efficiently and we heard from the Liberal Democrat

:40:16. > :40:19.member some statistics about the number of people employed. I've had

:40:20. > :40:24.over my lifetime, the opportunity for various reasons to visit 3 of

:40:25. > :40:29.her Majesty's embassies and high commissions around the world. In

:40:30. > :40:33.Malawi, despite 2,000,000 people in the country not having access to

:40:34. > :40:37.clean water, the High Commissioner has at his disposal a swimming pool

:40:38. > :40:40.in his residence in Zambia and a tennis court provided in the country

:40:41. > :40:44.for most children probably play football without shoes and read

:40:45. > :40:48.before I was in Berlin to find the embassy takes up an entire street

:40:49. > :40:53.blocked and practically stopped the traffic through 1 of the main

:40:54. > :40:57.thoroughfares right next to it so undoubtedly, there are efficiencies

:40:58. > :41:00.to be found. We were told during the independence referendum Scotland

:41:01. > :41:04.could never afford a network of global embassies and outposts and it

:41:05. > :41:08.would be 1 of the crippling costs of independence and to be fair if we

:41:09. > :41:12.tried to replicate what the FCO has, it might well be true but I think a

:41:13. > :41:15.country like Scotland could probably manage more modestly in considering

:41:16. > :41:20.the role we play in the world today, so could the United United Kingdom

:41:21. > :41:24.and for that matter, the United States. There are other issues

:41:25. > :41:29.touched on another debates and I think the FCO needs to consider

:41:30. > :41:33.those, I debate in Westminster Hall while ago about consular assistance

:41:34. > :41:40.for families but people who are briefed by loved ones overseas. And

:41:41. > :41:44.I wrote to the Minister's collie, the Parliamentary and circuitry

:41:45. > :41:49.provides support for people who are victims of terrorist attacks, or in

:41:50. > :41:52.her case he witnessed the Tunisia tax and she feels furry concerned

:41:53. > :41:56.about the lack of information and communication. I touched on that in

:41:57. > :42:04.a letter and Parliamentary questions. We have also heard about

:42:05. > :42:10.the downgrading of human rights in the FCO. And the director of Amnesty

:42:11. > :42:15.International says the UK is setting a dangerous precedent to the world

:42:16. > :42:18.and human rights, the downgrading of human rights by this government as a

:42:19. > :42:22.gift to dictators the world over and undermines our ability to collar the

:42:23. > :42:26.country is too appalled rights and laws, a serious concern I've heard

:42:27. > :42:29.from a number of civil society organisations and I think it's

:42:30. > :42:36.important it is addressed. No-frills is that more true than in Yemen and

:42:37. > :42:41.Saudi Arabia. UK planes with pilots trained in the UK, bombs made in the

:42:42. > :42:44.UK, Courtney did in the presence of UK military advisers are being used

:42:45. > :42:45.in the war in Yemen and at some point the governorate has to tell us

:42:46. > :42:57.when that adds up to complicity. In conclusion, this ought to be a