10/03/2016

:00:11. > :00:21.Good morning and welcome to live coverage of the House of Commons. In

:00:22. > :00:35.one hour, an urgent question is being asked concerning the first

:00:36. > :00:42.pub's attributed the macro educateds attributed. Then, a statement from a

:00:43. > :00:48.minister for skills, Nick Bowles, on apprenticeships. MPs then move on to

:00:49. > :00:50.debate more of the details on the Northern Ireland hell, and later MPs

:00:51. > :00:54.return to the debate on keeping copies of legislation. The motion

:00:55. > :00:59.regrets the Lord's decision to discontinue the use of Val, the

:01:00. > :01:06.parchment made from calfskin. Don't forget to join me for a round-up of

:01:07. > :01:08.the day at 11pm. First, questions to the Secretary of State for

:01:09. > :01:24.Transport, Patrick MacLachlan and his ministerial team.

:01:25. > :01:36.-- vellum. Questions to be Secretary of State for Transport. Highways

:01:37. > :01:43.England's delivery plans set out how it would deliver the ?15 billion

:01:44. > :01:47.road investment strategy. Work is underway on 19 major schemes,

:01:48. > :01:53.several of which started this financial year as planned. Chronic

:01:54. > :02:00.congestion causes delays to thousands of commuters on the 27 at

:02:01. > :02:05.junctions nine and iron, and with Fareham set to C 6000 new homes at

:02:06. > :02:10.Welbourne and thousands more at North Whiteley, what steps are you

:02:11. > :02:15.taking to ensure vital upgrades to this piece of infrastructure are

:02:16. > :02:19.carried out as a matter of priority? I know this particular scheme is of

:02:20. > :02:22.interest to my honourable friend. The departments is working with

:02:23. > :02:29.highways England and Hampshire County Council on a way forward is

:02:30. > :02:35.to improvements to junction nine on the M25 in. I will ensure you are

:02:36. > :02:40.kept informed of progress. A separate scheme to improve junction

:02:41. > :02:44.ten of the M27 is being funded by private developer and the local

:02:45. > :02:47.enterprise partnership, but I am more than happy to continue keeping

:02:48. > :02:59.my honourable friend updated on this matter. Is the Minister will know,

:03:00. > :03:02.junctions 12 to 14 of the M26 have seen accidents in recent years and

:03:03. > :03:06.there is a need for some form of managed motorway so do you share

:03:07. > :03:11.disappointment that a publication this week makes no mention of this?

:03:12. > :03:18.When will his department to take action? I will look at the

:03:19. > :03:24.individual points you have raised but I think the very fact that we

:03:25. > :03:27.have a road investment strategy far superior to anything that existed

:03:28. > :03:32.before 2010, I would have thought you would have welcomed that was not

:03:33. > :03:38.will my right honourable friend except that my constituents are

:03:39. > :03:47.warmly welcoming the investment being made in upgrading the A12 to

:03:48. > :03:53.three lanes? -- accept. Can you advise me when you expect phase one

:03:54. > :04:02.from the M25 to the southern border of Chelmsford to commence progress?

:04:03. > :04:07.I am grateful for his point. In December 2014, the government

:04:08. > :04:20.announced a scheme to widen the A12 from junction 20 82 Chelmsford. --

:04:21. > :04:25.28th. The scheme will be developed until 2020 and we expect the next

:04:26. > :04:33.period to be developed until March 20 25. What assessment he has the

:04:34. > :04:42.departments made of the M66 and M6 is south of that, which is called

:04:43. > :04:48.the busiest road? It is jam-packed from 6am until 10am every morning,

:04:49. > :04:51.what is being done to resolve this situation? Investment on a far

:04:52. > :05:01.greater scale than ever imagine by the party he supported in government

:05:02. > :05:04.is the simple fact. The ?16 billion is greater investment than we have

:05:05. > :05:12.seen in our road network for a number of years. One of the critical

:05:13. > :05:16.parts of the road investment strategy is to improve safety and on

:05:17. > :05:18.that note could I ask the secretary of state to look at safety

:05:19. > :05:25.particularly over the last few months at the junction of the A303

:05:26. > :05:31.and A34, and there have been a number of accidents there and I

:05:32. > :05:34.believe safety can be improved. I am more than happy to ask officials to

:05:35. > :05:41.look at that and I will report back to you. The road investment strategy

:05:42. > :05:46.is really important but we know that every journey begins on a local road

:05:47. > :05:51.and the vast majority of journeys are made on local roads and some are

:05:52. > :05:55.in quite a state. Last November, two great fanfare, the pothole fund was

:05:56. > :06:00.announced, and we hope it is permanent action on potholes. Can

:06:01. > :06:04.you tell us how much is being drawn down by councils on that pothole

:06:05. > :06:12.front? How many have been filled in so far? He wants devolution and then

:06:13. > :06:19.he once the government to say exactly what is local authorities

:06:20. > :06:24.should do in every circumstance. The simple fact is that between 2015 and

:06:25. > :06:31.2020, allegations have been made to local authorities of ?6 billion.

:06:32. > :06:35.Between 2010 and 2015, that was ?4 billion. Between 2005 and 2010, the

:06:36. > :06:40.amount allocated to local authorities for road maintenance was

:06:41. > :06:44.?3 billion. I think he will see from that a significant increase in what

:06:45. > :06:51.this government is giving for road maintenance. I thought he would have

:06:52. > :06:54.welcomed it. Will my right honourable friend recognise the

:06:55. > :07:00.urgent need for clarity about the capacity of junction eight on the

:07:01. > :07:06.M11 motorway and the possibility of there being a junction seven hey

:07:07. > :07:11.because these have a bearing on decisions being made against a

:07:12. > :07:20.deadline by local authorities on local plans? -- 7A. I am grateful he

:07:21. > :07:23.raised the case and I will write to my honourable friend on what

:07:24. > :07:34.progress is being made on the exact location. This department is

:07:35. > :07:37.providing over ?7 billion to the devolved local road fund which will

:07:38. > :07:42.fund over 500 local transit or projects by the end of this

:07:43. > :07:46.Parliament. It includes ?475 million for transformational schemes that

:07:47. > :07:53.are too large for the devolved allegations. We will provide further

:07:54. > :08:03.details very soon. May I make a plea to the Minister, when will some of

:08:04. > :08:08.the ?75 million be used to reduce noise pollution, identified by

:08:09. > :08:18.Highways England on the A47 through Peterborough? It is part of the

:08:19. > :08:23.strategic road network so it is not part of the money I just announced

:08:24. > :08:28.but in November 2014, the Chancellor announced money for the A47,

:08:29. > :08:32.including the section between the A1 and Peterborough. In terms of noise

:08:33. > :08:36.pollution, the government has challenged Highways England to

:08:37. > :08:44.mitigate noise in 1000 locations, and reductions could mean barriers

:08:45. > :08:47.and new services. Transport North published a report this week which

:08:48. > :08:51.looks at both local and regional links and act is to the national

:08:52. > :08:57.network and it puts forward ambitious schemes for improvements

:08:58. > :09:01.to rail transport between Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds, and better

:09:02. > :09:08.access to the high-speed network, what kind of coordination will there

:09:09. > :09:11.be to make sure it happens? Eight road and rail, particularly in terms

:09:12. > :09:17.of freight and HS2 will open up new freight part which can be used to

:09:18. > :09:25.take the pressure of the roads, so coordination on that is vital and

:09:26. > :09:35.wee -- and we are working with Transport North, and I am unliveable

:09:36. > :09:39.later on today. -- paths. It is easier to access the tens of

:09:40. > :09:44.thousands of jobs travelling from the East End, what support can the

:09:45. > :09:48.Minister give my residence on Canvey Island who have been campaigning for

:09:49. > :09:57.a third road for many decades? New road infrastructure can warm the

:09:58. > :10:00.economy and prove like macro -- and provide access to jobs and we will

:10:01. > :10:04.announce further funding options is very soon. I hope the honourable

:10:05. > :10:08.lady will continue to make the coast case for this project with the local

:10:09. > :10:12.enterprise partnership and County Council. The port facilities are

:10:13. > :10:19.superb and it is important we give them the infrastructure to back them

:10:20. > :10:22.up. Large infrastructure projects have been the hallmark of the

:10:23. > :10:26.Scottish Government since they came to power in 2007, too many to list

:10:27. > :10:34.here. Issues such as the Borders rail link, the trunk Link road, and

:10:35. > :10:40.the Pope to Inverness a nine Juli Inkster. Scotland is investing twice

:10:41. > :10:45.as much on transport as England and this includes active travel projects

:10:46. > :10:52.like cycling. -- A9. Last year, the government made an announcement of a

:10:53. > :10:55.new access funds, up to 2021. Can the government clear up the

:10:56. > :11:01.confusion by when this fund is going to go ahead? It is interesting you

:11:02. > :11:05.did not mention the high-speed rail line between Edinburgh and Glasgow

:11:06. > :11:11.which has been conveniently shelved. SNP control Perth and Kinross

:11:12. > :11:17.Council and they have decided that potholes have to be 60 millimetres

:11:18. > :11:22.deep before they fill them in. That indicates what their priorities

:11:23. > :11:26.might be in some cases. The Minister and I may disagree on many things

:11:27. > :11:31.but one of the things we agree on the benefits of cycling. The cycle

:11:32. > :11:35.to work scheme has been a popular and progressive policy and credits

:11:36. > :11:41.to the government for continuing with that. In the summer budget, the

:11:42. > :11:46.treasurer said it was monitoring sacrifice arrangements because they

:11:47. > :11:50.were becoming increasingly popular. Aggressive policies in Scotland are

:11:51. > :11:54.something the government support there. Can the Minister confirm that

:11:55. > :11:59.he is working to make sure the Chancellor protects cycling to work

:12:00. > :12:02.schemes in the forthcoming budget? I think you may have to be patient and

:12:03. > :12:07.wait for the budget but I feel the cycle to work scheme is a good

:12:08. > :12:12.scheme and large numbers of people are using the cycle is to get to

:12:13. > :12:23.work and it is a good way to reduce congestion on our roads.

:12:24. > :12:29.The Government understands the importance of affordable transport,

:12:30. > :12:33.and we have capped rail fares at the level of RPI for two years running,

:12:34. > :12:39.and will do so for the life of this Parliament. Decisions regarding the

:12:40. > :12:42.setting of fares are by merrily a decision for commercial operators.

:12:43. > :12:47.Almost ?1 billion is provided each year to fund concessionary travel

:12:48. > :12:55.including free bus travel for the elderly and disabled. More than 2500

:12:56. > :13:00.people commute into Bradford, and 7000 commute out of Bradford by

:13:01. > :13:03.rail. Fast, cheap and efficient connections with the rest of the

:13:04. > :13:10.region are vital for jobs and the local economy. What is the minute --

:13:11. > :13:14.what is the minister doing to make sure that this happens, considering

:13:15. > :13:21.that rail fares across the country have gone up by 25%, while

:13:22. > :13:26.punctuality has deteriorated? Well, I know the city of Bradford very

:13:27. > :13:30.well, having got to school there and I lived just outside it for many

:13:31. > :13:32.years. I would have thought the honourable gentleman would be

:13:33. > :13:36.welcoming the investment we are seeing in rail. Apperley Bridge

:13:37. > :13:41.railway station only just opened in his constituency. So we are seeing

:13:42. > :13:45.investment right across the north, including in West Yorkshire,

:13:46. > :13:49.including the ability to keep fares down for the Metro region. I will

:13:50. > :13:58.repeat my point about how we have regulated and capped rail fares. One

:13:59. > :14:02.of the problems for local bus passengers is congestion and delays.

:14:03. > :14:07.People in Kettering always say that when the traffic lights stop

:14:08. > :14:12.working, the traffic flows much better. Given that the minister is

:14:13. > :14:15.responsible for local roads, will he consider undertaking a pilot where

:14:16. > :14:23.we can switch traffic lights off and get traffic and buses flowing more

:14:24. > :14:26.freely? That is a very ingenious link into the cost of public

:14:27. > :14:30.transport, Mr Speaker. I hear it quite regularly in my own area as

:14:31. > :14:35.well that traffic is said to flow more freely when traffic lights do

:14:36. > :14:42.not work. I have major reservations on this argument, I have to say. At

:14:43. > :14:46.the same time, we are seeing initiatives to keep traffic flowing.

:14:47. > :14:50.I will have a look at what my honourable friend says, but traffic

:14:51. > :14:57.lights are a key ingredient in road safety. People in Yorkshire would

:14:58. > :15:02.not mind paying the fares on a good trans pen I link. Indeed ministers

:15:03. > :15:06.have already said they will be using that kind of transport tomorrow. I

:15:07. > :15:10.hope they will stop off in Huddersfield to celebrate the

:15:11. > :15:15.centenary of Harold Wilsons's berth, which is tomorrow. We would not mind

:15:16. > :15:22.paying the fares if the delivery of the service was fast, efficient and

:15:23. > :15:25.comfortable. The honourable member has forgotten I think the investment

:15:26. > :15:31.which is being made and the improvements which are coming

:15:32. > :15:36.through the franchise. Both of those see significant improvements for

:15:37. > :15:43.Huddersfield, including London connections. Would he agree that

:15:44. > :15:46.thanks to the governments action to increases, wages are now rising

:15:47. > :15:54.faster than rail fares for the first time since 2003? He makes as wise a

:15:55. > :15:57.point as ever. We are trying to make sure that regulator rail fares are

:15:58. > :16:01.affordable. We are seeing a wide range of tickets on offer, including

:16:02. > :16:06.some very low-priced fares which can be bought in advance, allowing more

:16:07. > :16:11.people to travel by rail. You only have to look at passenger number

:16:12. > :16:17.grows to see how it is working. Figures for Northern Ireland show

:16:18. > :16:27.that passenger numbers have fallen. Outside of London, numbers have

:16:28. > :16:31.fallen. Can I ask the minister, what steps can he take to encourage more

:16:32. > :16:34.people to cycle or walk to work where possible and encourage

:16:35. > :16:40.healthier lifestyles? Well, we have an element in the road investment

:16:41. > :16:43.strategy to promote cycling. We have our own cycling and walking

:16:44. > :16:56.strategy, which the minister has already referred to.

:16:57. > :17:02.Telford has more than 1 million passengers each year. I was pleased

:17:03. > :17:08.to negotiate services with virgin trains in 2014 from Shrewsbury to

:17:09. > :17:12.London via Telford and Birmingham. We are currently running a public

:17:13. > :17:16.consultation to help specify the next West Midlands franchise. We

:17:17. > :17:28.will launch a consultation on the new west coast franchise in June. I

:17:29. > :17:34.thank the minister for his reply. Telford is a rapidly growing new

:17:35. > :17:38.town and it is 26 miles from Birmingham, and yet it takes 51

:17:39. > :17:41.minutes to get there. Will the minister continue to work with me to

:17:42. > :17:49.make sure we have a 21st century rail system for Telford? I most

:17:50. > :17:53.certainly will. I recognise the growing importance of connectivity

:17:54. > :17:58.between cities. The point which my honourable friend makes about

:17:59. > :18:03.Telford and the relationship with Birmingham is very, very important

:18:04. > :18:06.indeed. The Secretary of State knows Wolverhampton well because of his

:18:07. > :18:11.youth and because he fought a Parliamentary seat there. He will

:18:12. > :18:14.know that trains from Telford to Wolverhampton to Birmingham to

:18:15. > :18:17.London are far slower than trains from Stafford to London because of

:18:18. > :18:28.the bottleneck through the West Midlands. When will the government

:18:29. > :18:34.get around to quad-tracking the commentary to Birmingham corridor? I

:18:35. > :18:37.do know the area well, but we have seen major investment in the West

:18:38. > :18:43.Midlands. The new service which I have just referred to, which is

:18:44. > :18:46.re-establishing a service from Shrewsbury via Telford, was very

:18:47. > :18:52.welcome. But he is right, there are always demands for extra investment,

:18:53. > :18:58.and that has to be measured with the record investment we are putting

:18:59. > :19:04.into our railways. Cannock Chase is also connected to Birmingham with a

:19:05. > :19:07.local line via Telford. It is a service which my right honourable

:19:08. > :19:13.friend knows incredibly well. Users of that line report multiple issues

:19:14. > :19:19.including late, overcrowded and cancelled trains. Can my right

:19:20. > :19:25.honourable friend confirm that the electrification project is on course

:19:26. > :19:30.for completion by 2017? I am grateful. I was in her constituency

:19:31. > :19:39.just a few weeks ago. I had noticed on that occasion how the line which

:19:40. > :19:45.runs through Hednesford to Cannock has already had its work started on

:19:46. > :19:50.electrification, not least in Stafford lane and down by Brinley

:19:51. > :20:01.Heath. I do know the area very well. It is where I grew up. The

:20:02. > :20:04.governments ambition is for the UK to have the facilities and

:20:05. > :20:14.regulatory environment in place for commercial space in this Parliament.

:20:15. > :20:22.There is the aim of announcing the process for spaceport selection

:20:23. > :20:31.later this year. As the member for Argyll and be, I will continue to

:20:32. > :20:36.champion the location in my constituency to be the UK spaceport.

:20:37. > :20:41.It has considerable advantages, including a three kilometre runway

:20:42. > :20:45.and the backing of the community. When will the next stage of this the

:20:46. > :20:51.announced, and can hear sure all of those working so hard to bring this

:20:52. > :20:58.project that the government is still 100% committed to the creation of a

:20:59. > :21:02.UK spaceport? I can certainly confirm that. The Department of

:21:03. > :21:11.Transport has made an initial allocation of ?5 million to fund it.

:21:12. > :21:19.I think it is a great opportunity. We are already world leaders in

:21:20. > :21:22.space technology. This is a further step in pushing forward the barriers

:21:23. > :21:34.of Jewish involvement in the space race. -- of British involvement. Can

:21:35. > :21:37.I thank the minister for his recent visit to Cornwall and Newquay

:21:38. > :21:42.airport? Can he confirm that he went away with a clear message, that not

:21:43. > :21:45.only can Cornwall accommodate the spaceport but is very ambitious to

:21:46. > :21:50.be the English bid for the spaceport? Suddenly I got a clear

:21:51. > :21:55.message and was taken up by the enthusiasm of the people at new K. I

:21:56. > :22:01.know there are other airports interested in this. I did notice

:22:02. > :22:12.when I was at Prestwick, it seemed quite quiet when I was there. We are

:22:13. > :22:17.very aware of the importance of bus services to rural communities. We

:22:18. > :22:20.were able to protect the bus service operators grant funding as part of

:22:21. > :22:25.the spending review last year. The government paid out ?250 million

:22:26. > :22:31.last year to support bus services, of which around ?40 million is paid

:22:32. > :22:35.directly to local authorities. I think the minister for that

:22:36. > :22:40.response. Will you agree to look into the provision of buses in rural

:22:41. > :22:44.parts of my constituency for local students travelling to school,

:22:45. > :22:50.compared with national averages, and advise on how we can improve this?

:22:51. > :22:54.All children aged between five and 16 qualifying for free school

:22:55. > :22:57.transport if they attend their nearest school and it is

:22:58. > :23:01.sufficiently far from their home. The decision to provide further

:23:02. > :23:05.services would be a matter for the local authority, and some do, such

:23:06. > :23:09.as the Stafford Justine. But there is an issue which is concerning my

:23:10. > :23:16.honourable friend and I would be happy to meet with him to explore it

:23:17. > :23:26.further. One section of our population which is disadvantaged by

:23:27. > :23:32.poor rural services is young people. What is the government doing on

:23:33. > :23:35.this? There is a mixture of support coming through national government

:23:36. > :23:39.and through local government. Individual local authorities decide

:23:40. > :23:45.their funding priorities, but local authorities in England spent an

:23:46. > :23:49.average of ?330 million per year over the last three years supporting

:23:50. > :23:59.bus services. 42% of bus income comes from public funds. Could I

:24:00. > :24:04.invite the minister to look at rural bus service provision in eddies

:24:05. > :24:08.brief, where cuts have meant that apprenticeships cannot access

:24:09. > :24:19.apprenticeships and college students cannot get to the local college

:24:20. > :24:26.without having to change two buses? -- Eddisbury. I would be very happy

:24:27. > :24:32.to meet with my honourable friend. Access to bus services is very

:24:33. > :24:37.important to all. Government tax makes up 70% of the cost of fuel.

:24:38. > :24:43.Does the minister agree there should be a continued freeze in fuel duty

:24:44. > :24:47.to help improve costs for bus services in rural areas? Fuel duty

:24:48. > :24:53.itself might be something which the Chancellor would wish to consider. I

:24:54. > :24:58.can highlight the bus service operators grant, which used to be

:24:59. > :25:04.caught the fuel duty rebate, which provides 34.5p subsidy per litre of

:25:05. > :25:13.fuel used. So we are supporting local authorities and bus companies

:25:14. > :25:16.through that mechanism. Subsidy for all 118 supported bus routes in

:25:17. > :25:24.Oxfordshire is being withdrawn. Earlier this week I travelled on the

:25:25. > :25:26.popular 215 service along with the excellent Labour and co-operative

:25:27. > :25:30.councillors who are campaigning to protect their local bus networks.

:25:31. > :25:33.Will the minister join me in welcoming the fact that some

:25:34. > :25:37.additional funding has now been secured for local transport on a

:25:38. > :25:43.cross-party basis? And does he agree that when the Buses Bill is

:25:44. > :25:46.published, it must address the severe challenges facing rural bus

:25:47. > :25:52.services, including in the Prime Minister's in situ and see? I would

:25:53. > :26:00.just like to remind the honourable lady -- constituency -- that this

:26:01. > :26:02.service has been protected. I am always lead to hear that local

:26:03. > :26:11.authorities are supporting their bus services. We should be supporting

:26:12. > :26:19.local authorities in deciding their funding priorities. Mr Speaker, I am

:26:20. > :26:23.really proud that under Conservative-led governments since

:26:24. > :26:26.2010, my department has made almost ?400 million available through

:26:27. > :26:35.programmes like the national stage and improvement programme, the New

:26:36. > :26:38.Stations Fund the Access For All scheme. In addition, we have

:26:39. > :26:45.franchise commitments and substantial growth funding. What is

:26:46. > :26:51.she doing to make sure that the rail franchise holders bear their fair

:26:52. > :26:54.Chair to maintain the rail structure wallet but will show we should look

:26:55. > :26:59.at how the project in Coventry is working out regarding the frequency

:27:00. > :27:05.of train stops at the Ricoh Arena. Will she have a look at that?

:27:06. > :27:12.Improvements to stations are part of the projects. The honourable

:27:13. > :27:15.gentleman has benefited locally with Virgin West Coast installation of

:27:16. > :27:20.automatic ticket machines in commentary. I was pleased to

:27:21. > :27:24.participate in the opening of the Coventry Arena which the DFT

:27:25. > :27:29.contributed ?5 million, the first stage of the vital knuckle scheme,

:27:30. > :27:33.and that scheme was 14 years on paper under Labour, delivered under

:27:34. > :27:44.this government, Angstrom the amazing efforts of the MP for

:27:45. > :27:46.Nuneaton. -- thanks to. When we consider railway station

:27:47. > :27:53.refurbishment is, we should prioritise disabled access. In my

:27:54. > :27:57.constituency, there is not a single accessible rail station so in the

:27:58. > :28:02.renewal of the South Western Route franchise, would the consider

:28:03. > :28:07.prioritising disabled access at our train stations? I am glad you share

:28:08. > :28:18.my excitement about improvements. We set up the the funds and I am happy

:28:19. > :28:26.to meet with my honourable friend to discuss. I have nine train stations

:28:27. > :28:33.in my agency and half of them are completely unacceptable or people in

:28:34. > :28:35.wheelchairs -- for people in wheelchairs. The funding has been

:28:36. > :28:43.cut in half, are we doing enough on this? I dispute that the funding has

:28:44. > :28:46.been cut in half, the first phase, ?400 million, was delivered, and I

:28:47. > :28:49.am keen to look at cost effective ways to improve access for disabled

:28:50. > :28:57.people and young mothers with babies for whom a flight of stairs can be a

:28:58. > :29:05.real drag. I am happy to discuss it further. Residents in Torbay have

:29:06. > :29:13.welcomed investment at Torquay station but a station in Paignton

:29:14. > :29:17.was an old good steads shed converted into a station. Will you

:29:18. > :29:24.meet to decide how we can make it a terminus for the 21st centric? The

:29:25. > :29:27.best way to deliver station improvements is to get together

:29:28. > :29:33.local groups, businesses and communities. The government money is

:29:34. > :29:40.best spent when it is called through to support local needs. -- century.

:29:41. > :29:44.What assurance can the Minister give that on the refurbishment of railway

:29:45. > :29:47.stations, the objective of gaining full accessibility for passengers

:29:48. > :29:52.with disabilities is embedded within the process is a priority so where

:29:53. > :29:59.there are stations without access provision or where the needs are

:30:00. > :30:03.central to the refurbishment of the station? How can that be achieved

:30:04. > :30:11.given the 40% cut to access for all funding? I sometimes wonder if we

:30:12. > :30:16.are reading the same papers and this government is spending more on the

:30:17. > :30:19.railways, ?38 billion, and has been spent at any time since the

:30:20. > :30:24.Victorian era. You are right to point out that accessibility is

:30:25. > :30:29.important, and all of the train fleet will be compliance within the

:30:30. > :30:33.next few years. It is important to stop we have a limited amount of

:30:34. > :30:42.money to spend, and upgrading the railway which was woefully neglected

:30:43. > :30:48.under his last government. There is already legislation prohibiting the

:30:49. > :30:52.use of lasers on aircraft. It is an offence to direct or shine any

:30:53. > :30:56.lights at any aircraft in flight so as to dazzle or distract the pilot.

:30:57. > :31:03.Anybody found guilty of the offence could be liable for a fine of a

:31:04. > :31:06.maximum of ?2500. Anybody found guilty of endangering an aircraft

:31:07. > :31:12.could also be liable for five years in prison but we will keep this

:31:13. > :31:17.under review of course. I welcome the previous changes that I backed

:31:18. > :31:22.but the fact is that more needs to be done. Half of pilots over the

:31:23. > :31:31.last year have reported a laser pen attack. Perhaps licensing or

:31:32. > :31:36.classification should be considered to put a stop to these dangerous

:31:37. > :31:40.practices. A number of measures are being considered across government

:31:41. > :31:46.departments, it is something I take very seriously, particularly in

:31:47. > :31:50.light of recent events reported. Following my conversation with the

:31:51. > :31:53.secretary of state for just this, I put forward a Bill to make sure

:31:54. > :31:58.high-powered laser pens are prohibited item. Will the secretary

:31:59. > :32:03.of State speak with him to see if the Bill can be taken forward? The

:32:04. > :32:08.member opposite makes the point that it is about the accessibility of

:32:09. > :32:12.certain types of laser pens which should be controlled. I'm aware of

:32:13. > :32:16.the Bill and I can assure him that not only will I talk to the

:32:17. > :32:20.Secretary of State for Justice but we are talking to other departments

:32:21. > :32:25.as well. This issue is something which is taken very seriously

:32:26. > :32:33.indeed, and I will also listen to representations made to the

:32:34. > :32:39.Department by the CAA. This issue has had coverage in the media over

:32:40. > :32:42.the last few months, the number of incidents has rocketed and no more

:32:43. > :32:47.so than in my neighbouring Glasgow where there were more are aircraft

:32:48. > :32:53.targeted in the first two months of this year than the whole of last

:32:54. > :32:56.year. Have you made any representations to the Scottish

:32:57. > :33:02.Government and can you show it to the House? I am more than happy to

:33:03. > :33:05.ensure the Scottish Government is consulted if further measures are

:33:06. > :33:09.taken. This is something that is taken seriously by all sides of the

:33:10. > :33:24.House, and I welcome the point the honourable lady has made. I have no

:33:25. > :33:30.plans. The secretary of state will be aware that Treasury backed sure

:33:31. > :33:39.reports, the final version published next week about the financing of

:33:40. > :33:43.railways has made it clear that full privatisation of Network Rail is on

:33:44. > :33:47.the table. -- Shaw. I am sure the Minister will agree that we do not

:33:48. > :33:53.want to go back the dark chaotic days of the private management of

:33:54. > :33:59.our rail system under Railtrack and will he commits himself to reject

:34:00. > :34:06.any new recommendations that leads to the privatisation of Network

:34:07. > :34:08.Rail? I would like to congratulate the honourable member of seeing a

:34:09. > :34:17.report which has not been published yet X macro how he knows what the

:34:18. > :34:21.content is is beyond me! I am proud with what we have achieved with the

:34:22. > :34:24.rail industry in this country, it has been a fantastic success with

:34:25. > :34:29.the franchising that takes place, I am very sorry that the only people

:34:30. > :34:34.putting it at danger are not the government that the opposition. Does

:34:35. > :34:37.my right honourable friend agree that evidence from other sectors

:34:38. > :34:44.shows that privatisation has the potential to increase efficiency and

:34:45. > :34:50.improve performance? Ie Do agree but I also think there is obviously

:34:51. > :34:56.responsibility the four a system of railway maintenance and improvements

:34:57. > :35:02.that is very important, and we have seen through the private sector,

:35:03. > :35:05.vast improvements. At the time of radicalisation of our railways,

:35:06. > :35:09.there were 700 and million people using trains and last year there

:35:10. > :35:13.were 1.6 billion and that figure is growing year on year so I do not

:35:14. > :35:19.have to be convinced about the advantages of the system which has

:35:20. > :35:23.evolved over a number of years of using the private sector, and I will

:35:24. > :35:26.look at other ways we can involve the private sector in providing a

:35:27. > :35:33.better railways nervous for our constituents. Network Rail has

:35:34. > :35:39.confirmed it has considered selling up to 18 major stations and a number

:35:40. > :35:44.of other asset as it struggles to plug the 2.5 billion budget black

:35:45. > :35:47.hole, would you like to comment on that? The way you talk about the

:35:48. > :35:56.black hole, we are investing over this way away period some ?38

:35:57. > :36:04.billion in Network Rail. -- railways. I don't see anything wrong

:36:05. > :36:08.with that and indeed there were a number of asset sales which took

:36:09. > :36:17.place under the last government as well. When the secretary of state

:36:18. > :36:21.reads the Shaw report, I hope he recognises the words of the great

:36:22. > :36:25.railway manager who said that when you reorganise you bleed, and for

:36:26. > :36:28.many months, the few top people who keep their momentum up are

:36:29. > :36:35.distracted from their proper job, punctuality goes to hell, said he

:36:36. > :36:40.slips, don't reorganise, don't, don't, don't. There is broad

:36:41. > :36:45.cross-party support for investment in railways, maintaining the safety

:36:46. > :36:48.record and delivering projects like HS2, so will he give me reassurance

:36:49. > :36:54.that the progress that has been made will not be jeopardised by pursuing

:36:55. > :37:00.a needed, unneeded, and unwonted plans to privatise Network Rail? I

:37:01. > :37:06.can tell you with absolute certainty there are no plans to continue a

:37:07. > :37:10.disastrous policy of nationalising the railways, which is one she puts

:37:11. > :37:15.forward and her party leader puts forward. She talks about all the

:37:16. > :37:18.investment going on and she has seen quite a bit of it in her own

:37:19. > :37:24.constituency, not least at Nottingham station and which she

:37:25. > :37:28.welcomed that investment, of course she did, I welcome investment in our

:37:29. > :37:33.railways, but it is also worthwhile asking how we carry on that level of

:37:34. > :37:44.investment, an investment at a level which she would only have dreamt of

:37:45. > :37:47.when she was in government. Mr Speaker, in the north-west, the

:37:48. > :37:51.first ever electric trains are running between Liverpool and

:37:52. > :37:56.Manchester and between Liverpool and Wigan, and the tunnel is now open,

:37:57. > :38:00.further proof that this government's commitments to electrification, part

:38:01. > :38:04.of the biggest investment since Victorian times. Network Rail last

:38:05. > :38:09.month marked a milestone with the introduction of brand-new trains

:38:10. > :38:16.which completed 1377 foundations needed for the overhead line

:38:17. > :38:22.electrification towards Didcot. Thank you for the answer. I have to

:38:23. > :38:27.note that in the Transport for the North document, the focus is on

:38:28. > :38:32.large cities. If the fast-growing regions of Cheshire should not be

:38:33. > :38:35.squeezed out, would you look again at the possibility of better

:38:36. > :38:42.electrification programme that includes areas not mentioned? I

:38:43. > :38:47.thought I mention quite a few. The truth is that the investment which

:38:48. > :38:52.is taking place in the northern hub, the redevelopment of Manchester

:38:53. > :38:54.Victoria station, does do a lot to increase connectivity across the

:38:55. > :38:58.North West and that links up a number of the towns which the

:38:59. > :39:04.honourable member refers to directly into our northern cities. Rail

:39:05. > :39:13.commuters in my constituency have put up with severe overcrowding or

:39:14. > :39:16.many years. Because of the delay, can the government examine whether

:39:17. > :39:26.there is any rolling stock available to alleviate overcrowding? We are

:39:27. > :39:30.looking at all problems relating to rolling stock as a result of any

:39:31. > :39:34.delays in the finalisation of electrification. There is a large

:39:35. > :39:40.amount of new rolling stock coming onto our railways over the next five

:39:41. > :39:44.years, not used the new trains but also the new trains on Thames Link,

:39:45. > :39:49.the Siemens contract which is being developed at the moment and coming

:39:50. > :39:54.into operation later this year. There was an awful lot of

:39:55. > :39:56.engineering work to be carried on in Manchester and that will almost

:39:57. > :40:02.certainly require the re-routing of trains through to big Tory while

:40:03. > :40:07.that work takes place. When that happens and we consider using the

:40:08. > :40:11.line through reddish South and Denton stations which are currently

:40:12. > :40:16.served by one train a week in one direction only? If it can be

:40:17. > :40:24.re-routed can they please stop at the stations so we can assess the

:40:25. > :40:31.passionate Amant there is there? -- passenger demand. If it is such a

:40:32. > :40:38.bad experience, I am sorry that you have not got better services in the

:40:39. > :40:42.past. I am always willing to look at any suggestions but can I make the

:40:43. > :40:44.point that the first point you made was a serious point, about the

:40:45. > :40:52.problems... LAUGHTER The point that he makes

:40:53. > :40:57.about the problems as far as work being carried out on the railways,

:40:58. > :41:00.engineering work, which does lead to inconvenience while the work is

:41:01. > :41:05.carried out, and that is something we do address, and is something I

:41:06. > :41:14.readily talk to the chief Executive and chairman of network rail about.

:41:15. > :41:16.No progress has been made on the electrification in Northern

:41:17. > :41:21.Lincolnshire which is probably one of the reasons why the recent

:41:22. > :41:28.railway magazine had headlines saying railways truly bad for

:41:29. > :41:33.Grimsby. The transport for the North publication this week does not even

:41:34. > :41:37.include northern Lincolnshire routes on its map. Can you assure me that

:41:38. > :41:45.more will be done to improve services to my constituency? Indeed.

:41:46. > :41:49.After a successful campaign, we did manage when we renegotiated the

:41:50. > :41:54.franchises or his area, to protect the services in his area, and I know

:41:55. > :41:59.he has always pressed for greater services to his constituency. It is

:42:00. > :42:01.something I will look up, particularly when the new franchise

:42:02. > :42:14.starts operating later in the year. A great deal of work has already be

:42:15. > :42:19.completed. Actual construction will start next year. Tempted as I am to

:42:20. > :42:23.propose that the government build HS2 some time in the Parliament

:42:24. > :42:27.after next, when it will be seen for the white elephant that it is, then

:42:28. > :42:31.he just reassure me that there is time enough to deal with all the

:42:32. > :42:34.environment of impacts of HS2, for example the construction impact, in

:42:35. > :42:41.the historic village of West Wycombe in my constituency? He did promise

:42:42. > :42:46.me an impatient supplementary question and I was not disappointed.

:42:47. > :42:49.We will have no net environmental loss during the construction.

:42:50. > :42:53.Indeed, 2 million trees will be planted as part of the phase one

:42:54. > :42:57.construction. This is a project that we can be proud of and which people

:42:58. > :43:04.up and down the country will value as part of our economic plans. I

:43:05. > :43:09.rather like elephants, white or otherwise. Let's look at the

:43:10. > :43:12.building of phase two of HS2. Secretary of State has said in the

:43:13. > :43:15.past that serious consideration would be given to the possibility of

:43:16. > :43:21.beginning construction on the northern part of HS2 phase two

:43:22. > :43:27.between Sheffield and Leeds in parallel with work on the southern

:43:28. > :43:31.part? How far has that serious consideration now got, and is there

:43:32. > :43:35.a real positivity that work between Sheffield and Leeds could begin

:43:36. > :43:39.before the very end of the project? It is important that we prioritise

:43:40. > :43:44.the Birmingham bit because that is where the congestion is and that is

:43:45. > :43:47.where the real benefits are. Those trains will run through two stations

:43:48. > :43:53.in the north, and to Scotland, from day one. It is important that we

:43:54. > :43:56.look at how we can deliver this. Indeed, some of the investment at

:43:57. > :44:01.the station locations in the north can go ahead even before the trains

:44:02. > :44:07.reach those locations. Demand for driving tests has increased, and

:44:08. > :44:11.with it, waiting times. The driver and vehicle standards agency is

:44:12. > :44:14.recruiting more examiners, improving its forecasting model to match

:44:15. > :44:24.resources with demand, and redeploying examiners appropriately.

:44:25. > :44:30.We have a particular local problem in the driving centre in my

:44:31. > :44:35.constituency for motorcyclists, where the motorcycle area is

:44:36. > :44:40.regularly covered in moss. Can the minister look into, make sure every

:44:41. > :44:45.effort is taking to ensure that motorcyclists are not disadvantaged?

:44:46. > :44:52.I will look into it and I will respond to the honourable gentleman.

:44:53. > :44:56.What assessment has the minister made of cancellations? I have been

:44:57. > :45:00.made aware of a number of cases where people have received them just

:45:01. > :45:04.minutes before a test has been due. I would be interested to know what

:45:05. > :45:08.assessment he has made of that and the impact it is having on waiting

:45:09. > :45:13.times? I will not enter the points my honourable friend is making. The

:45:14. > :45:29.challenge faced by the devious a is really one of increasing demand. --

:45:30. > :45:33.by the DVSA. The DVSA is responding with more people, but they also need

:45:34. > :45:40.to respond in a customer friendly way. It is an important point and I

:45:41. > :45:44.will look into it. Mr Speaker, we have continued to make progress on

:45:45. > :45:48.transport infrastructure schemes across the country. In the north,

:45:49. > :45:51.the northern transport strategy Spring report has set out more

:45:52. > :45:56.details on how we are building the northern powerhouse. In the east, we

:45:57. > :45:59.are evaluating bids for the East Anglia franchise, which will start

:46:00. > :46:06.in October this year. In the south-west, highways England has

:46:07. > :46:10.started community engagement on the work for the A303 and the A358

:46:11. > :46:15.improvement plans. The select committee has published its final

:46:16. > :46:19.report after 17 months of hard work. I would like to thank all members

:46:20. > :46:24.who were involved in that work for their significant time and effort

:46:25. > :46:30.over the course of those hearings. The businesses and residents in my

:46:31. > :46:37.area have longed for a new road linking the town to the A30. A new

:46:38. > :46:45.road would provide relief for the villages on that route. Can I ask

:46:46. > :46:49.the Secretary of State if he would confirm the governments continued

:46:50. > :46:52.support for this new road and if his department will continue to work

:46:53. > :46:56.with me to make sure it is delivered as soon as possible averaged my

:46:57. > :47:00.honourable friend has made the case for this road to me on many

:47:01. > :47:04.occasions, not least when I was in Cornwall, when he took me around the

:47:05. > :47:07.area that we are talking about. The government is making funds available

:47:08. > :47:12.through the local growth fund for such schemes. It will be up to

:47:13. > :47:17.Cornwall council to prepare and submit the bid for funding in the

:47:18. > :47:20.normal way. But Cornwall has had a very successful history of obtaining

:47:21. > :47:32.funds through this grant and I wish you well on this scheme. Mr Speaker,

:47:33. > :47:37.the board investigated 23 near misses between aircraft and drones

:47:38. > :47:45.in six months last year. Of those, 12 were deemed to involve a serious

:47:46. > :47:48.risk of collision. BALPA wants the government to run tests on what

:47:49. > :47:53.would happen if there was a collision. The government has had a

:47:54. > :47:57.working grip on this since 2013. So why is it only this summer that

:47:58. > :48:02.ministers will say anything? Should we note know already what tests have

:48:03. > :48:04.been done, what options are being considered, regulatory and

:48:05. > :48:11.otherwise, and when would any agreed option we put into practice? We take

:48:12. > :48:15.this matter very seriously indeed, the risk of a collision with a drone

:48:16. > :48:19.is one which we are aware of you. Yesterday I met with representatives

:48:20. > :48:26.of the British airline pilots Association and this was one topic

:48:27. > :48:30.which came up. There are very severe penalties in place for people who do

:48:31. > :48:32.get involved with this. And there are technologies such as geo-

:48:33. > :48:36.fencing which would prevent these aircraft entering sensitive

:48:37. > :48:43.airspace. We are considering what action to take. On a different but

:48:44. > :48:49.also topical subject, I was in Kent yesterday speaking to businesses who

:48:50. > :48:59.had felt first-hand the traffic chaos surrounding 33 days of

:49:00. > :49:04.operation started last year. -- Operation Stag. What is the

:49:05. > :49:14.government going to do to prevent a repeat of last year's seems?

:49:15. > :49:18.Operation Stack is a critical part of controlling access to the ports,

:49:19. > :49:22.and trying to make the ports flowed more smoothly. We had exceptional

:49:23. > :49:30.circumstances last summer, with strikes and challenges with migrants

:49:31. > :49:38.closing the tunnel. The proposal, which is effectively to create an of

:49:39. > :49:43.the highway holding area, is a significant investment, it is a ?250

:49:44. > :49:47.million project. The closure of the consultation is only a few days away

:49:48. > :49:52.I think. I have met with highways England and with local providers of

:49:53. > :50:02.highways, doing all we can do in the short-term. I will keep local

:50:03. > :50:06.members informed of progress. On the 4th of February this year, hundreds

:50:07. > :50:12.of my constituents were gridlocked on the M6 and M42 for an entire day

:50:13. > :50:20.following and accident. Will he examine proposals to open the M6

:50:21. > :50:25.toll road when such circumstances occur? Certainly there is an

:50:26. > :50:29.agreement in place where M6 tolls can be lifted in such an

:50:30. > :50:33.extraordinary circumstance. The government is looking at options

:50:34. > :50:37.over this agreement but there are substantial cost, policy and value

:50:38. > :50:41.for money indications involved with removing the tolls. As part of the

:50:42. > :50:49.process I am more than happy to meet with my honourable friend to discuss

:50:50. > :50:51.it. With an estimated skills gap of some 50,000 HGV drivers predicted by

:50:52. > :50:54.the end of this Parliament, would the minister agree that it makes

:50:55. > :50:59.sense for the government to contribute towards the ?3500

:51:00. > :51:07.training fee required for licences? It would mean more people working,

:51:08. > :51:11.and reducing welfare? Mr Speaker, I am looking at various options to

:51:12. > :51:15.help as far as this issue is concerned, along with other

:51:16. > :51:20.departments. But it is also for the industry to step up to the mark in

:51:21. > :51:23.its training programme. Will the minister join me in welcoming the

:51:24. > :51:28.report published earlier in the week by the independent transport

:51:29. > :51:31.commission, which set up way the mental impact of expansion at

:51:32. > :51:35.Heathrow can be mitigated? Given the weight of opinion included in the

:51:36. > :51:39.Davies report, when can we look forward to a statement of progress

:51:40. > :51:43.on this issue? I have noted the publication of the report by the

:51:44. > :51:49.independent transport commission. That obviously feed into the

:51:50. > :51:53.considerations we are making. As far as the wider issue of airport

:51:54. > :51:57.capacity and making a decision on the location, as I have said before,

:51:58. > :52:03.I hope to be able to do that later this year. I have been contacted by

:52:04. > :52:07.one of my constituents, who has described the impact of late running

:52:08. > :52:11.trains on her job and her income. She says, please understand that I

:52:12. > :52:17.am so employed and I cannot call in sick if I am late for work. This

:52:18. > :52:22.means that the job worth ?5,000 to me personally would be affected.

:52:23. > :52:26.Turning up 30 minutes late would cost me my work. Does the rail

:52:27. > :52:30.minister accept that late running trains and lamentable performance of

:52:31. > :52:33.southern rail, is having an impact on the productivity of the South of

:52:34. > :52:39.England? The gentleman knows I absolutely accept that. Over the

:52:40. > :52:43.country, rail passenger satisfaction is actually up three percentage

:52:44. > :52:46.points. But I think the challenge we have got is that there are some

:52:47. > :52:51.lines, like the one he mentions, where customers are not getting the

:52:52. > :52:53.punctuality and the service they deserve. That's why we are so

:52:54. > :52:57.committed to getting Network Rail and the franchise holder working

:52:58. > :53:03.together. There is no blame but we want them to work together. Does the

:53:04. > :53:10.rail Minister agree that improvements to the north junction

:53:11. > :53:12.are crucial to securing improved services on the King's Cross-

:53:13. > :53:16.Kingsley line and thus unlocking more economic growth? Will she and

:53:17. > :53:22.her colleagues work with me to help secure this crucial investment? The

:53:23. > :53:27.honourable gentleman and others have left me in no doubt as to the value

:53:28. > :53:31.of this Ely north junction work and I am disappointed that this work

:53:32. > :53:34.will not be completed until after 2019. But as a result of the

:53:35. > :53:39.discussions which he and others have organised, I am now confident that

:53:40. > :53:46.the preparatory work can go ahead sooner, with funding coming from a

:53:47. > :53:53.variety of sources. Can I ask what progress there has been with the top

:53:54. > :53:56.three projects recommended by the northern electrification task force,

:53:57. > :54:03.which was chaired by the honourable member for Harrogate and Nesbitt? Mr

:54:04. > :54:08.Speaker that was a cross-party report, chaired by my honourable

:54:09. > :54:13.friend. A lot has been learned about since then. That report will form

:54:14. > :54:16.part of the foundation for how we move forward with further

:54:17. > :54:23.electrification and how we prioritise those schemes. I know the

:54:24. > :54:30.government keeps under review the status of trust ports. Poole has

:54:31. > :54:34.that status. It has the support of the local community. I hope the

:54:35. > :54:39.shipping minister understands that. Can I first of all put on record our

:54:40. > :54:41.gratitude for the very hard work that my honourable friend has

:54:42. > :54:48.carried out as part of the HS2 committee. We do ask trust ports

:54:49. > :54:52.occasionally to review their status. But certainly all the feedback I

:54:53. > :54:57.have had is that the trust board model is working well in his case

:54:58. > :55:01.and we would not wish to interfere. Whilst it is clearly in the public

:55:02. > :55:05.interest that a person reporting somebody as being unfit to drive has

:55:06. > :55:09.anonymity, does the minister agree that where it appears that the

:55:10. > :55:13.abrogation is malicious, anonymity should be rescinded, and the

:55:14. > :55:17.reporting form should clearly state that if false Accies Asians are made

:55:18. > :55:26.about an individual, the accuser would be liable to prosecution? --

:55:27. > :55:29.false accusations. I think that is a matter for the Secretary of State

:55:30. > :55:34.for Justice but I will reflect on the question. Could my right

:55:35. > :55:47.honourable friend update the House on the reinstatement of the Holton

:55:48. > :55:50.Curve, which is so important for my part of the country. That's right.

:55:51. > :55:53.It is a vital link. I understand that the business case will be

:55:54. > :55:59.considered by the combined authorities in April. If approved,

:56:00. > :56:02.and I hope it is, it should be completed by 2018. It would be a

:56:03. > :56:14.pleasure to meet with the honourable gentleman. I would be very grateful

:56:15. > :56:17.to feed him some buns to keep up his weight during his marathon training!

:56:18. > :56:22.It is always useful to have some additional information! May I thank

:56:23. > :56:30.the minister of State for transport for his visit to Northern Ireland.

:56:31. > :56:34.He visited Belfast international airport as well as the air sea

:56:35. > :56:39.rescue. But will he help influence various projects which we saw at the

:56:40. > :56:44.time of road, rail, air passenger duty, enterprise zone, and of

:56:45. > :56:49.course, one day, a new runway here to help the links to Northern

:56:50. > :56:54.Ireland? It was certainly great to visit Ulster and to see some of the

:56:55. > :56:57.good news in terms of the 300 new jobs at Belfast international

:56:58. > :57:00.airport. And indeed the fact that Ryanair are now based at that

:57:01. > :57:05.airport, with flights to Gatwick and new routes including Milan and

:57:06. > :57:06.Berlin in the pipeline. I will look forward to coming to Northern

:57:07. > :57:16.Ireland again. In my constituency we have a link

:57:17. > :57:23.road going to he should import that is going to be open in the next six

:57:24. > :57:30.months. This is a strategic route. Is there any plan to open a trunk

:57:31. > :57:36.road? I visited the site with my honourable friend not long ago and

:57:37. > :57:42.it is a major piece of new infrastructure that will serve his

:57:43. > :57:46.area well. It has not been raised before but I will consider it. I'm

:57:47. > :57:50.very pleased that my honourable friend and his constituents will see

:57:51. > :57:58.the benefit of our massive road investment scheme in the near

:57:59. > :58:04.future. When I raised some time ago the need for a road tunnel between

:58:05. > :58:11.Sheffield and Manchester, many thought I was kite flying. Some

:58:12. > :58:17.thought this was going to be a desk top study. Will the Secretary of

:58:18. > :58:26.State confirm that this proposed tunnel might become a reality. I'm

:58:27. > :58:31.not sure whether the honourable member is asking me to comment on

:58:32. > :58:39.his demise at this particular stage but I will resist from doing so. He

:58:40. > :58:44.may be right that, past governments have raised this issue and been a

:58:45. > :58:50.desktop job, this is a proper serious of work that is going on.

:58:51. > :58:54.This infrastructure isn't just for 30 years, it is the kind of

:58:55. > :58:59.infrastructure that will be around for 100 years and very important to

:59:00. > :59:07.the area and therefore will certainly see the demise of both

:59:08. > :59:11.others. The government is making welcome investment in rail in the

:59:12. > :59:17.North with electrification bringing huge benefits to constituencies like

:59:18. > :59:21.mine. What is the government doing to improve disabled access at

:59:22. > :59:27.stations like Morley and Will the Secretary of State meet with me to

:59:28. > :59:32.discuss improvements at Morley station? It is right to raise this

:59:33. > :59:37.but there are many other stations ahead of it in the queue in terms of

:59:38. > :59:40.passenger fought for. We are catching up after decades of

:59:41. > :59:52.neglect. It would be a pleasure to meet with her and discuss disabled

:59:53. > :59:58.access in particular. The re-routing of services that is necessary in

:59:59. > :00:02.Piccadilly and Oxford Road which will utilise the line in my

:00:03. > :00:05.constituency so can I have a meeting with them so I can explain to him

:00:06. > :00:11.the importance of being able to assess whether Denton and Reddish

:00:12. > :00:19.South stations can make a business case for future investment? Topical

:00:20. > :00:23.questions seem to have given him the chance to raise a question again for

:00:24. > :00:31.which he wasn't happy with the first answer. I understand that he is

:00:32. > :00:36.meeting my honourable friend the Parliamentary under Secretary of

:00:37. > :00:45.State in 30 minutes and no doubt he might want to add this to the

:00:46. > :00:50.discussing. I recently visited a company that are refurbishing trains

:00:51. > :00:56.for mainline use. These would make an excellent replacement for the

:00:57. > :01:05.decrypted rolling stock on the line to Boston. There are fantastic

:01:06. > :01:15.innovations with rolling stock made from aluminium. In future successful

:01:16. > :01:18.bidders will be required to be innovative regarding rolling stock.

:01:19. > :01:25.We want to improve the rolling stock in his region. The proposed

:01:26. > :01:29.trans-Pennine tunnel that has just been mentioned would be

:01:30. > :01:34.transformative, not just for congestion in my constituency but

:01:35. > :01:40.for the local economy. It is an ambitious project but the North is

:01:41. > :01:46.worthy of that level of ambition. Will the Secretary of State urge the

:01:47. > :01:50.Chancellor to support it as well. I don't need to encourage the

:01:51. > :01:55.Chancellor at all in infrastructure spending. I have been incredibly

:01:56. > :01:59.successful in securing funding for infrastructure from the Chancellor

:02:00. > :02:04.who gets the importance of investment, not least in the north.

:02:05. > :02:07.His policy has been pursuing the whole question of the Northern

:02:08. > :02:12.powerhouse and taking forward transferred for the North which will

:02:13. > :02:15.have a transformative effect on transport between northern cities

:02:16. > :02:21.and it is something that other parts of the country are looking to

:02:22. > :02:26.follow. The minister will recall the Shaw show crash which tragically

:02:27. > :02:30.claimed the lives of 11 men in my constituency last August. I have

:02:31. > :02:35.been asked by the media for my comments on the report on the air

:02:36. > :02:40.crash which apparently is being published today. Why was I not aware

:02:41. > :02:48.of that and what plans do the governments have two respond to it?

:02:49. > :02:51.I am not sure that we do preview notification of the Branch report

:02:52. > :02:58.before they are published. It is part of the reported that is being

:02:59. > :03:08.published today but by no means is it the full report, a parliament

:03:09. > :03:15.investigation will be updated and they are notifying people where they

:03:16. > :03:20.have got to so far. Demand today has heavily outstripped supply and we

:03:21. > :03:33.must now move on. Urgent question. Mr Greg Mulholland. Will the

:03:34. > :03:44.Minister of State make a comment on the appointment of the pub code

:03:45. > :03:50.adjudicator? Mr Paul Newby has been appointed. I hope you will be

:03:51. > :03:55.congratulated on the role and thanks to all those who applied for this

:03:56. > :04:01.important position. An excellent and very strong field. Mr Newby will

:04:02. > :04:08.start full-time on May two and has already started work and has been

:04:09. > :04:13.very helpful with my officials. In making sure we have the pub code up

:04:14. > :04:19.and running and ready for the house. Paul Newby is a chartered surveyor

:04:20. > :04:24.with particular expertise in valuation and arbitration. Key

:04:25. > :04:28.skills of the pub code adjudicator. He has 30 years experience of the

:04:29. > :04:34.pub trade working with pub company landlords and pub tenants and I

:04:35. > :04:41.think going to be an excellent adjudicator. That is not a view

:04:42. > :04:46.shared by tenants groups who have been astonished by this appointment.

:04:47. > :04:54.Let's be clear, this appointment is of someone who is of our director --

:04:55. > :04:59.who is a director of a company who derives the vast majority of its

:05:00. > :05:11.income from the sources it is being required to regulate. In particular

:05:12. > :05:16.he has acted for Enterprise Inns, Marstons and punch. These companies

:05:17. > :05:21.are bullying and coercing tenants into signing away their rights to

:05:22. > :05:25.their pubs and the company is actively involved in selling of

:05:26. > :05:34.pubs. How can he be trusted to be impartial given that his Surrey for

:05:35. > :05:42.20 years has been dependent on those he is expected now to a --

:05:43. > :05:51.adjudicator pun. -- his salary for 20 years. Did he as a director

:05:52. > :05:56.declare how much of the income of the company he works for has been

:05:57. > :06:04.derived from the companies he will be adjudicated upon. How can tenants

:06:05. > :06:08.have any confidence in this appointment? Why has a chartered

:06:09. > :06:17.surveyor been appointed rather than someone from a legal background or

:06:18. > :06:20.an independent adjudicator will stop we don't know how great candidates

:06:21. > :06:26.there were and who made the final decision. This is a very worrying

:06:27. > :06:38.appointment, once again demonstrates either composite seat with pub:

:06:39. > :06:48.interest or a lack of understanding of the role. If this appointment is

:06:49. > :06:53.allowed to stand, this statutory reform will go the same way as the

:06:54. > :06:56.failed self-regulatory. It is a clueless appointment and it needs to

:06:57. > :07:06.be properly scrutinised by this house. I have to say, that was a

:07:07. > :07:09.disgraceful set of slurs and I would appreciate it if the honourable

:07:10. > :07:15.gentleman would be good enough to listen. Paul Newby was appointed

:07:16. > :07:20.absolutely in accordance with the usual ways of public appointments

:07:21. > :07:27.and I take very grave exception to any allegation that either me or

:07:28. > :07:37.anybody else has acted in anyway in properly or competently. Mr Newby

:07:38. > :07:46.hasn't just represented pub trade companies but also tenants. He has

:07:47. > :07:54.30 years of experience, effectively representing both sides. He is an

:07:55. > :08:00.experienced arbitrator and the great skills he brings to the position are

:08:01. > :08:09.not only his extensive experience of the pub trade industry but like many

:08:10. > :08:15.professionals he has the absolute ability to be fair and arbitrate

:08:16. > :08:21.fairly and the fact that he might be representing somebody does not mean

:08:22. > :08:27.to say that he is in their pay. He can act independently. Oh no. The

:08:28. > :08:33.honourable gentleman absolutely doesn't understand how professionals

:08:34. > :08:43.work and many of ours would take great exception in any event. This

:08:44. > :08:47.man, honourable members opposite would do better rather than to

:08:48. > :08:53.hackle about somebody they don't even know. They haven't looked at

:08:54. > :08:57.his anti-seed and is and I made the announcement only yesterday in this

:08:58. > :09:01.place at about seven o'clock. I have no doubt that Mr Newby's

:09:02. > :09:07.considerable experience and abilities to be able to do this job

:09:08. > :09:12.are first rate and I take great exception at the idea there has been

:09:13. > :09:19.any impropriety at all. Somebody from a sedentary position said, do

:09:20. > :09:27.you know him? No, I don't know him. I didn't meet him until... I met him

:09:28. > :09:33.at the end of the procedure, as this house would expect after he was one

:09:34. > :09:39.of three names put forward quite properly by a full process which has

:09:40. > :09:43.been open and fair and I object very strongly on behalf of Mr Newby who

:09:44. > :09:54.will do this job with propriety and all things will be done properly.

:09:55. > :09:59.The Minister has behaved absolutely correctly and properly and what

:10:00. > :10:04.matters is Paul Newby's ability rather than anything else. Would she

:10:05. > :10:08.agree that he should look at the loophole that allows retailers and

:10:09. > :10:12.shop owners to buy a pub that requires planning permission but on

:10:13. > :10:17.the other hand if it reverts back to being a pub in those actually

:10:18. > :10:21.require planning position. His primary job is to implement and make

:10:22. > :10:28.sure the pub code is being complied with. When people invoke the pub

:10:29. > :10:35.code, his job will to be acting as a fey arbitrator. I have no doubt that

:10:36. > :10:43.he has those skills and experience. -- fair arbitrator. He has had

:10:44. > :10:47.experience of the pub companies but also tenants so he sees things from

:10:48. > :10:54.both sides and has all the skills and his appointment was made with

:10:55. > :10:58.great care and total propriety. The way the Minister announced the

:10:59. > :11:03.appointment yesterday didn't exactly inspire confidence as part of the

:11:04. > :11:07.shambolic proceedings that we experienced on the enterprise Bill

:11:08. > :11:13.on Sunday trading. She announced it in an intervention in the third

:11:14. > :11:18.reading after the Secretary of State could have mentioned it in his third

:11:19. > :11:21.reading speech. If nobody had mentioned the pub 's code at third

:11:22. > :11:27.reading, the announcement wouldn't even have been made then. Turning to

:11:28. > :11:31.the appointment of Paul Newby, I look forward to meeting him to look

:11:32. > :11:37.at the concerns raised by the honourable member for Leeds North

:11:38. > :11:41.West and by the pub 's tenants about the relationship between his current

:11:42. > :11:45.employers and large pub owning businesses. I don't think tenants

:11:46. > :11:53.will be at all reassured by what she said and I think the challenge for

:11:54. > :11:58.Mr Newby will be maintaining a level playing field between tenants and

:11:59. > :12:07.pub companies. How does she feel he can do this given the concerns

:12:08. > :12:10.raised by tenants? Somebody who has acted for companies such as Punch

:12:11. > :12:18.Taverns, Enterprise Inns and Marstons will act on their behalf in

:12:19. > :12:21.the future. She will be aware of concerns that the adjudicator should

:12:22. > :12:26.not be a chartered surveyor. Could she tell a house that she will be

:12:27. > :12:30.pursuing concerns about the attitude of the Royal Institute of chartered

:12:31. > :12:39.surveyors about Parolo rent assessment? -- parallel rent

:12:40. > :12:44.assessments. Concerns have been raised in the Lords and here and

:12:45. > :12:48.will she really raise those concerns with the adjudicator about pub

:12:49. > :12:52.companies offering shorter leases to make it impractical for the tenants

:12:53. > :13:03.to take up the market went only option. Will she raise the date for

:13:04. > :13:07.taking that opportunity up? We saw a shambolic approach to the initial

:13:08. > :13:11.consultation on the pub 's code which undermined trust from pub

:13:12. > :13:20.tenants. Back on track, concerns were raised by tenants associations.

:13:21. > :13:27.I should say to the House that I did advise the principal actors on this

:13:28. > :13:33.stage that on this occasion, I was really quite insistent that the time

:13:34. > :13:38.limits be kept. To be fair, the minister was well within her time.

:13:39. > :13:44.The honourable gentleman exceeded it by a small number of seconds. But he

:13:45. > :13:48.was closer than he has been in the past! No discourtesy is intended to

:13:49. > :13:52.the honourable gentleman. I think he has got the thrust of it across. But

:13:53. > :13:59.we really must from now on stick to the limits because otherwise it is

:14:00. > :14:01.not fair on backbench members. I think we are very clear what the

:14:02. > :14:07.honourable gentleman has got to say. Minister. Mr Speaker, we are

:14:08. > :14:10.confident that the pub code will be in its proper form and it will be

:14:11. > :14:15.laid at the appropriate time and that it will be up and running by

:14:16. > :14:18.June the 1st. Yesterday a press release had been prepared for

:14:19. > :14:21.publication today. I took the opportunity as you know to tell this

:14:22. > :14:27.House first. I thought that was a courtesy to the House and I thought

:14:28. > :14:31.the honourable gentleman had a proper interest in pubs and I

:14:32. > :14:36.thought he might be in some way grateful. But there you go, you live

:14:37. > :14:40.and learn. I very much welcome the governments action on this issue. As

:14:41. > :14:47.someone who represents a number of pubs which I have dealt with over

:14:48. > :14:52.the years, and having problems with the large pubcos that own them. When

:14:53. > :14:55.appointing the adjudicator, is it not important to have someone who

:14:56. > :14:58.understands both sides of the argument so that they can adjudicate

:14:59. > :15:04.fairly between them? Absolutely I agree. Paul Newby is not only a

:15:05. > :15:07.chartered surveyor locking he has this ability, he is a very

:15:08. > :15:11.experienced arbitrator, but it is his knowledge from both sides, and I

:15:12. > :15:20.know that he will be fair. I have complete confidence in him. He is

:15:21. > :15:25.very good news. We know the pubs adjudicator is effectively classed

:15:26. > :15:30.as England only, but just like Sunday trading, it could have an

:15:31. > :15:33.effect in Scotland, because pub companies made direct investment

:15:34. > :15:41.towards pubs in England and Wales. The Scottish Government... Could the

:15:42. > :15:51.minister make sure going forward but she takes effect of the possible

:15:52. > :15:54.effect of the proposals on Scottish pubs? I don't think there was a

:15:55. > :16:02.question but I am sure we can have a chat about it afterwards and discuss

:16:03. > :16:06.all these things. Can my honourable friend confirm that this appointment

:16:07. > :16:10.has been made absolutely on merit, fairly and without interference from

:16:11. > :16:13.government whatsoever? And the most important thing about this is how

:16:14. > :16:20.the person does the job and implements the pub code? I am

:16:21. > :16:24.grateful for his comments. He is absolutely right. It is an insult to

:16:25. > :16:27.the civil servants and all those who took part in the process, because

:16:28. > :16:31.they exercised the greatest care in making sure that the very best

:16:32. > :16:35.candidates were put forward to the final seven and then the next three

:16:36. > :16:42.before coming to the minister with a recommendation in relation to one. I

:16:43. > :16:47.take this not personally against me but against my civil servants and

:16:48. > :16:51.all that team, because this has been done. And he is very good news. He

:16:52. > :16:58.is fair and he knows what he is talking about. I have a recorded

:16:59. > :17:03.interest in a pub. I Chair a trust which owns the pub which John Clare

:17:04. > :17:08.played and sang in. It is not operating at the moment but it will

:17:09. > :17:14.be. Let's depersonalise this. I work very closely with The Pub Is The

:17:15. > :17:19.Hub. I do not know this man, I hope he does a good job, but unlike the

:17:20. > :17:23.supermarket person, I hope this man has teeth to do something about a

:17:24. > :17:26.vigorous brewing and pub industry in this country. It is all about

:17:27. > :17:32.getting the balance right. I must take exception about Christine, the

:17:33. > :17:37.grocery code June eight, who now has exactly the teeth he would like. She

:17:38. > :17:41.has not held back in her criticism as we saw recently. -- the grocery

:17:42. > :17:46.code adjudicator. She is doing a great job. In any event, the most

:17:47. > :17:50.important thing is that it was actually naming and shaming, as the

:17:51. > :17:54.honourable gentleman will know, that is sometimes the most powerful tool.

:17:55. > :17:58.But the code adjudicator is just that, an adjudicator to ensure

:17:59. > :18:04.fairness, and Paul Newby will do that. What involvement if any has

:18:05. > :18:08.the industry had on both sides in this selection process? I can assure

:18:09. > :18:14.my Noble Friend that no influence at all. We sought to someone with the

:18:15. > :18:19.right skills set, someone with experience as an arbitrator and who

:18:20. > :18:22.understood the trade and had the ability to see things from both

:18:23. > :18:32.sides. Paul Newby has all those skills and more. As a member of the

:18:33. > :18:39.business select committee which initiated one of the earlier

:18:40. > :18:44.inquiries, and Chair of the select committee, the report of which

:18:45. > :18:48.informed this particular piece of legislation, can I say to the

:18:49. > :18:53.minister, and I would not wish to prejudge the performance of Paul

:18:54. > :18:57.Newby, however, I would like to emphasise that there is huge

:18:58. > :19:02.disquiet amongst the tenants that I think the government, and I would

:19:03. > :19:05.ask the minister if she would look at that, would review the

:19:06. > :19:11.performance of the adjudicator after a certain period of time and keep up

:19:12. > :19:14.a dialogue with the tenants to ensure that their concerns are met.

:19:15. > :19:23.Otherwise this issue will not go away. I am grateful and I am pleased

:19:24. > :19:29.he has got an open mind. I think he will be impressed by Paul Newby. He

:19:30. > :19:32.is absolutely right. If anybody is not performing, then obviously that

:19:33. > :19:37.is concerning and measures can be taken. I think we also have to say,

:19:38. > :19:41.there are many tenants throughout England and Wales of pubs and we

:19:42. > :19:47.have got to be careful to make sure that groups genuinely represent the

:19:48. > :19:51.voice of all tenants. We must not let a few dominate the debate. It is

:19:52. > :20:01.important to be fair to both sides and make sure that all those tenant

:20:02. > :20:04.groups... Which is why I am a great fan of Camra, because I think they

:20:05. > :20:09.represent a large proportion of tenants. The pub is at the heart of

:20:10. > :20:14.many communities. I am really hoping that the appointment of Paul Newby

:20:15. > :20:22.will normalise these relationships and that we do not see, especially

:20:23. > :20:25.in the case of a pub near me, which suffered under an overbearing pub

:20:26. > :20:30.company, where you get a new tenants tempted in, running well, but then

:20:31. > :20:33.the prices escalate until they are forced to closure. And then we see a

:20:34. > :20:38.planning application for alternative use. I am really hoping this will

:20:39. > :20:42.normalise those relationships. I could not agree more. It is that

:20:43. > :20:46.change of culture which is so important. I agree with the

:20:47. > :20:49.honourable gentleman. We have all had examples in our own

:20:50. > :20:54.constituency. I have also fought to keep open pubs. I have not been

:20:55. > :21:01.successful in one instance although I was in another. It is about

:21:02. > :21:04.changing the atmosphere and making sure that pubcos act in a

:21:05. > :21:12.responsible manner not just to their tenants but to the broader

:21:13. > :21:16.community. I understand that the chartered surveyors Institute failed

:21:17. > :21:29.to respond on rent assessment guidance. Can the minister confirm

:21:30. > :21:33.how the adjudicator reconciles his position with that of such a

:21:34. > :21:39.professional bodies which I hear what my honourable friend says. But

:21:40. > :21:44.I think Paul Newby is going to be his own man. If I may say, as

:21:45. > :21:48.somebody who was a member of a professional body, the Bar Council

:21:49. > :21:52.often had a point of view which I personally completely disagreed

:21:53. > :21:56.with. He is a good man, he will be his own man, he will be fair, and he

:21:57. > :22:01.comes with a huge skill set. I am rather staggered that the honourable

:22:02. > :22:08.gentleman the member for Kilmarnock seems to have disappeared from the

:22:09. > :22:12.Chamber. The question is ongoing! The honourable member is the front

:22:13. > :22:15.bench spokesman for his party. He should stay for the exchange, he

:22:16. > :22:19.should not be tunnelling out of the Chamber in the middle of the

:22:20. > :22:29.exchanges. These courtesies really must be observed. It really want to

:22:30. > :22:32.do, obviously. Mr Speaker, the appointment brief for this role,

:22:33. > :22:42.which was issued in July last year, stated that...

:22:43. > :22:46.CHEERING It is very good that the honourable

:22:47. > :22:49.gentleman has been pulled back into the Chamber. I want the honourable

:22:50. > :22:57.member to have his question heard without intervention. The

:22:58. > :23:00.appointment brief for this role, which was issued in July last year,

:23:01. > :23:04.stated the appointment would be announced in January. Can my right

:23:05. > :23:09.honourable friend say why the announcement was delayed by two

:23:10. > :23:13.months? I think if I am right, and if I am wrong, I will apologise

:23:14. > :23:19.profusely, but if my memory is correct, it was because Mr Newby had

:23:20. > :23:26.to serve a period of his contract before he could give notice and so

:23:27. > :23:29.forth. But actually I believe the decision was made just before

:23:30. > :23:30.Christmas, but we could not announce it until now because of his

:23:31. > :23:56.relationship with his employer. That is inexplicable to me! Really

:23:57. > :24:00.inexplicable. But I am sure that nobody is laughing at the honourable

:24:01. > :24:07.lady whom I take extremely seriously and I want to hear what she has got

:24:08. > :24:14.to say. In my constituency, one brewery effectively has a monopoly

:24:15. > :24:17.with only 30 tied houses. This blocks local producers from selling

:24:18. > :24:22.to pubs on their doorsteps, and across Wales, more than 100 small

:24:23. > :24:26.breweries are in a similar position. Could the canonic context of Wales

:24:27. > :24:30.be considered by the newly -- by the newly appointed pubs adjudicator? I

:24:31. > :24:35.don't think that is really in his win it. He is really to ensure that

:24:36. > :24:38.anybody who raises a complaint under the pub code is able to be heard

:24:39. > :24:44.fairly. But the honourable lady raises an important point. We all

:24:45. > :24:46.know the huge importance of our pubs to communities. It is also

:24:47. > :24:54.absolutely the case that they should trade fairly. Can the minister tell

:24:55. > :24:58.us how many years this initial appointment is for? If it is a short

:24:59. > :25:03.period of time, there will be understandable concern that the

:25:04. > :25:15.adjudicator will not want to burn bridges with the pubco industry.

:25:16. > :25:17.Four years is the answer. Does this appointment by by the principles of

:25:18. > :25:24.the Committee on Standards in Public Life? Yes. Thank you. Order,

:25:25. > :25:27.business question, Mr Chris Bryant. Will the Leader of the House give us

:25:28. > :25:35.the forthcoming business? The Leader of the House. Mr Chris Grayling. Mr

:25:36. > :25:38.Speaker, can I start by in forming the House that the State Opening of

:25:39. > :25:45.the next session of Parliament will take place on Wednesday the eighth

:25:46. > :25:48.info of May. -- the 18th of May. I am also very pleased to announce the

:25:49. > :25:55.calendar for this House for the remainder of the year. The House

:25:56. > :25:58.will rise for the early May bank holiday on Thursday the 20th of

:25:59. > :26:05.April and return on Tuesday the 3rd of May. For the Whitsun recess, the

:26:06. > :26:08.House will rise at the conclusion of business on Thursday the 26th of May

:26:09. > :26:14.and will return on Monday the 6th of June. Members will wish to know that

:26:15. > :26:17.additionally, the House will rise at the conclusion of business on

:26:18. > :26:20.Wednesday the 15th of June and return on Monday the 27th of June.

:26:21. > :26:25.The House will rise for the summer recess at the conclusion of business

:26:26. > :26:35.on the 21st of July and will return on Monday the 5th of December. --

:26:36. > :26:38.Monday the 5th of September. The House will then return on Monday the

:26:39. > :26:44.10th of October. The House will rise on the 8th of November and return on

:26:45. > :26:47.the 14th of November. And finally, for the Christmas recess, the House

:26:48. > :26:51.will rise at the conclusion of business on Tuesday the 20th of

:26:52. > :26:57.December and return on Monday the 9th of January 20 17. All dates are

:26:58. > :27:02.as usual, as they have been in the last few weeks, Mr Speaker, subject

:27:03. > :27:05.to the progress of business. On that question, next week, on Monday the

:27:06. > :27:06.14th of March, we will have the remaining stages of the energy bill

:27:07. > :27:24.in the Lords. On Wednesday 16th of March the

:27:25. > :27:29.Chancellor of the Exchequer will deliver his Budget Statement is. On

:27:30. > :27:35.Thursday 17th of March, continuation of the budget debate. 18th of March,

:27:36. > :27:42.the house will not sit. For the week commencing 21st of March, a

:27:43. > :27:55.continuation and conclusion of the budget debate. On Wednesday and

:27:56. > :28:01.Thursday, the high-speed rail is built. My thanks on behalf of the

:28:02. > :28:05.house to all of those who have been involved in the extended considering

:28:06. > :28:13.phase of the committee stage of that bill. On Friday the 25th of March,

:28:14. > :28:19.the house will not be sitting. The business in Westminster Hall for the

:28:20. > :28:26.17th-21st of March will be a general debate on cabin air safety and aero

:28:27. > :28:34.toxic syndrome. A debate on contract did go see Asians with the British

:28:35. > :28:36.Medical Association. Mr Speaker, I am delighted that the leader has

:28:37. > :28:42.confirmed the recess dates which I announced three weeks ago. I'm glad

:28:43. > :28:50.he is catching up. I have to say, the decision to hold the Queen 's

:28:51. > :28:55.speech on the 18th of May is a profound mistake. Whatever the

:28:56. > :28:59.government's intentions, they will be misconstrued. We have already

:29:00. > :29:09.seen that the Brexit campaign are so desperate that they are trying to

:29:10. > :29:14.claim members of the Royal family to their cause. Lay off the Queen and

:29:15. > :29:22.think again. The delay on the decision on Heathrow is hurting

:29:23. > :29:29.business. The longest delayed child obesity campaign is hurting

:29:30. > :29:33.children. The Prime Minister even mentioned the bill on phone masts

:29:34. > :29:39.yesterday but we have been calling it for years. Why don't they publish

:29:40. > :29:43.the electronic Communications code tomorrow? Has the government learned

:29:44. > :29:52.anything from yesterday? How to count, perhaps? The way ministers

:29:53. > :29:57.handle the enterprise Bill was a classic case of how not to do it.

:29:58. > :30:02.They let it go through the Lords without mentioning Sunday trading

:30:03. > :30:10.which they inserting upstairs in committee and at one point ministers

:30:11. > :30:14.forgot to vote. They were generously allowed a second chance. They tabled

:30:15. > :30:20.a manuscript amendment to their own amendment. Some people have said

:30:21. > :30:26.they are being too clever by half. To be honest, I think they are just

:30:27. > :30:31.a little dim. There were many managements to rebels yesterday,

:30:32. > :30:35.arms were twisted, the Chief Whip explained the facts of life to

:30:36. > :30:41.recover to members. The Cabinet secretary tried to be charming. That

:30:42. > :30:46.was so terrifying that one rebel turned company a grey and may never

:30:47. > :30:52.gain the power of speech again and after all that they lost. Can you

:30:53. > :30:58.hear that sound? It is the sound of the slow ebbing out down the beach

:30:59. > :31:06.of the authority of the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the

:31:07. > :31:10.X. I offered this advice for free, this house doesn't like sharp

:31:11. > :31:16.practice. Stop trying to pull a fast one and do things the proper way.

:31:17. > :31:21.Isn't it time we abandoned evil. Last night we had the hilarious

:31:22. > :31:27.sight of government ministers staring at you in blank amazement

:31:28. > :31:31.when you suspended the house. When the member for North Perthshire

:31:32. > :31:35.asked the chairman 's former ways and means who should know the answer

:31:36. > :31:40.if he could explain, he made it clear he didn't have the foggiest

:31:41. > :31:46.idea. Looking at the Minister for small business, there was a desert

:31:47. > :31:52.of vast eternity between their ears. Nobody understands it. It wastes

:31:53. > :32:00.time and hasn't made a difference to a single decision. It is time to

:32:01. > :32:07.abandon it. I note that the leader is giving a Brexit speech today. We

:32:08. > :32:11.are agog. Did he get approval from the Prime Minister or from the

:32:12. > :32:17.actual leader of the out campaign, the Justice Secretary? Can he

:32:18. > :32:21.guarantee that his special advisers were not involved in briefing papers

:32:22. > :32:26.on his speech and won't be attending the speech because the cabinet

:32:27. > :32:34.secretary has explicitly instructed that specialist advisers may not do

:32:35. > :32:37.so during office hours. He and I have one thing in common, the Labour

:32:38. > :32:45.Party auctioned the opportunity to swim with sharks with me on Tuesday

:32:46. > :32:50.night instead of attending a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party, I

:32:51. > :33:00.fear he may be swimming with the fishes after the 23rd of June. The

:33:01. > :33:10.Business Select Committee has two Mike Ashley demanding that he gave

:33:11. > :33:16.evidence on his company's decidedly shady practices which he has refused

:33:17. > :33:23.to do. This is a hideous company. 80% of staff in one warehouse is an

:33:24. > :33:32.zero hours contract. Staff are subjected to a 50 minute search on

:33:33. > :33:40.paid -- 15 minute search on paid at the end of every day. Can the

:33:41. > :33:46.committee ordered Mr Ashley to appear and they can force him if

:33:47. > :33:51.necessary to be arraigned before the bar of the house. He might be the

:33:52. > :33:55.22nd richest man in Britain but he is running a modern day sweatshop

:33:56. > :34:03.and this house will get to the truth. Surely, if we are to

:34:04. > :34:11.criticise the working practices of sports direct, we should put our own

:34:12. > :34:17.house in order. The cost of agency staff in this house has quadrupled.

:34:18. > :34:23.They represent one in 12 members of staff. That means that the house is

:34:24. > :34:28.paying substantially more than the employee gets and the employee will

:34:29. > :34:32.get no share in the tips. Should we not bring the staff in-house and

:34:33. > :34:36.make sure that everyone gets a fair share of the tips when we give them.

:34:37. > :34:46.Finally, happy birthday to my father for tomorrow. Delighted to send many

:34:47. > :34:49.happy returns to the honourable gentleman's father and also to

:34:50. > :34:54.celebrate another important occasion. Tomorrow is the centenary

:34:55. > :35:03.of the birth of Harold Wilson. I think it is worth marking that. I

:35:04. > :35:07.think a lot of people made the case for having a statue of him in this

:35:08. > :35:10.place and there is a lot to be said for this. I hope they work about

:35:11. > :35:18.committee will give consideration to it. At the moment we celebrate his

:35:19. > :35:21.life because 41 years ago he was the first person to give others a

:35:22. > :35:30.referendum on the membership of the European Union. I hope to be part of

:35:31. > :35:36.a winning side as well. Mr Speaker, the other thing about Harold Wilson

:35:37. > :35:40.is that he is a former Labour Prime Minister that they are still happy

:35:41. > :35:48.to talk about. In today's world, that is a rarity. The shadow leader

:35:49. > :35:54.went on about the Queens speech. I don't understand what he is talking

:35:55. > :35:59.about. He is talking on one hand about a zombie parliament with

:36:00. > :36:02.nothing to do but now he is complaining about important measures

:36:03. > :36:07.that will help reform the country. When they talk about a zombie

:36:08. > :36:11.parliament, last Monday, we brought forward the policing and crime Bill,

:36:12. > :36:15.an important set of measures that will make a difference to policing

:36:16. > :36:20.in this country. We were here debating it. Where were the Labour

:36:21. > :36:26.Party? They Bailey turned up and business finished early. We do not

:36:27. > :36:33.have a zombie parliament but a zombie opposition. -- they barely

:36:34. > :36:38.turned up. He spoke about the authority of the prime ministers

:36:39. > :36:43.seeping away. Coming from the Labour Party today with the authority of

:36:44. > :36:48.their leader seeping away, it is frankly unbelievable. We sit here in

:36:49. > :36:52.prime ministers questions each week and look at the faces of the party

:36:53. > :37:00.opposite as their leader asks questions. The shadow leader's base

:37:01. > :37:05.is a picture because we know what he thinks about is leader. They are

:37:06. > :37:12.profoundly depressed, miserable. To the extant that the day we have the

:37:13. > :37:17.first speech in the next Labour ship leader contest. The shadow leader

:37:18. > :37:20.axed about the speech I am going to be given today. I have already given

:37:21. > :37:37.it. He clearly wasn't paying attention. Surprisingly enough, I'm

:37:38. > :37:44.not after his support. LAUGHTER The evil procedure he talked about,

:37:45. > :37:49.we stood on a manifesto of giving the British a share in the

:37:50. > :37:57.devolution settlement. If it is now the Labour Party's policy to say to

:37:58. > :38:00.English voters, we will take a way you're part of the devolution

:38:01. > :38:05.settlement, I look forward to having that debate on the doorsteps and at

:38:06. > :38:08.the ballot box. On the question of Mike Ashley and the Business Select

:38:09. > :38:14.Committee, it should always be the case that this house seeks to bring

:38:15. > :38:19.somebody before it, and they should be free to do so and it should

:38:20. > :38:25.happen unequivocally. On the subject of employees in this house, I

:38:26. > :38:28.remember that the honourable gentleman is a member of the

:38:29. > :38:32.committee that discusses how we spend money in the house. I'm sure

:38:33. > :38:40.he will bring the matter to the commission and we will discuss it.

:38:41. > :38:48.This weekend is the denoument of the Rugby six Nations between England

:38:49. > :38:53.and Wales at Twickenham. I say, may the best team win. The one thing we

:38:54. > :38:59.can be sure about is that although he will not be singing Delilah this

:39:00. > :39:03.weekend, as a Republican, I look forward to a good old blast of God

:39:04. > :39:13.Save The Queen and I am sure you will be joining the amp on Saturday.

:39:14. > :39:17.Next week I will be going to read Brock Hayes community primary School

:39:18. > :39:21.in Brereton which has been rated good following a couple of years of

:39:22. > :39:26.hard work and commitment from the headteacher Chris Gaffney and his

:39:27. > :39:29.team. Can we have a debate in government time about the progress

:39:30. > :39:36.being made in terms of improving school standards? My honourable

:39:37. > :39:45.friend makes an important point. And happy birthday for Saturday, as

:39:46. > :39:50.well. We have made enormous progress on improving educational standards.

:39:51. > :39:54.I pay tribute to the headteacher she makes reference to an all of those

:39:55. > :40:04.in her constituency who are making a difference for the young people of

:40:05. > :40:07.Cannock Chase. Let's see if we can get through this business quite

:40:08. > :40:12.quickly so the house can resume its core business of slapping off the

:40:13. > :40:21.Right honourable friend the Prime Minister. I have an elegant solution

:40:22. > :40:38.how we discover whether the Queen is for Brexit or not? Yesterday the

:40:39. > :40:43.government were defeated... He said what he said but for the benefit of

:40:44. > :40:51.the house and new members, we don't discuss the views of the monarch in

:40:52. > :40:55.this chamber. There have been debates occasionally on matters are

:40:56. > :40:58.pertaining to the Royal family but we don't discuss that matter and

:40:59. > :41:05.it's better that we leave it there. Please continue. Absolutely right.

:41:06. > :41:11.We will leave it to government figures to do that. Yesterday, the

:41:12. > :41:17.government were defeated and it was the SNP what won it. We can't take

:41:18. > :41:22.exclusive credit for that incredible victory. We did have some friends

:41:23. > :41:30.who also helped. THEY TALK OVER EACH OTHER

:41:31. > :41:35.We really enjoyed the wailing and gnashing of conservative teeth.

:41:36. > :41:40.There was something almost delicious about the ways the Tories lashed out

:41:41. > :41:44.at the SNP after this government having imposed English votes for

:41:45. > :41:49.English laws criticised our temerity for getting up and supporting

:41:50. > :41:53.Scottish workers. Does the government believe for a minute that

:41:54. > :42:04.normal rules stand when it comes to issues like that? What about this

:42:05. > :42:10.rule? Nobody had a clue what was going on yesterday. I asked the

:42:11. > :42:18.Deputy Speaker what was going on and he didn't have a clue. You would

:42:19. > :42:22.need an advanced degree in madness to understand what is going on with

:42:23. > :42:27.the dog 's breakfast that is English votes for English laws. The time has

:42:28. > :42:31.come to abandon the plan that doesn't work. If there was some

:42:32. > :42:35.accidental consequence for the support of the European leave

:42:36. > :42:43.campaign it will be his legacy. What a legacy to leave this house?

:42:44. > :42:51.I want to support the calls yesterday for my right honourable

:42:52. > :42:53.friend the member for Moray on the treatment of asylum seekers in this

:42:54. > :43:00.country. Perhaps we could have a proper look at the use of private

:43:01. > :43:04.services when it comes to the treatment of asylum seekers in this

:43:05. > :43:09.country. Lastly, we are also grateful to the Leader of the House

:43:10. > :43:13.for announcing the recess dates and the announcement that there will be

:43:14. > :43:17.after all a Queen's Speech in advance of the referendum. But once

:43:18. > :43:20.again what we find with the recess dates, they do not cover the

:43:21. > :43:25.Scottish National Party conference. We are the third largest party. It

:43:26. > :43:29.covers the Liberal conference, Mr Speaker. So can I get a guarantee

:43:30. > :43:33.from the Leader of the House that the 14th of October will be a norm

:43:34. > :43:38.sitting day so that the second party of this House can also get to its

:43:39. > :43:42.conference. Once again, what we find with all this time off that we have

:43:43. > :43:47.in the summer, we find that it does not include the Scottish school

:43:48. > :43:51.holidays once again. My honourable friends, they want to spend time

:43:52. > :43:55.with their families, as honourable members across there will be able to

:43:56. > :44:05.do from other parts of the United Kingdom. We need to get this sorted

:44:06. > :44:09.for next year, Mr Speaker. First of all, can I thank you for what you

:44:10. > :44:13.have just said about the Queen and the Royal Family, Mr Speaker. The

:44:14. > :44:17.one thing which it is always appropriate to say in this House is

:44:18. > :44:21.how much we value our monarchy and we appreciate the magnificent job

:44:22. > :44:26.she does for our nation. With regard to the events yesterday, phrase, it

:44:27. > :44:30.was the SNP what one it. I have a high regard for my honourable

:44:31. > :44:33.friend, but yesterday was one of those occasions where it is very

:44:34. > :44:38.clear how far away from political principle the SNP can find itself.

:44:39. > :44:44.You cannot on the one hand talk about the importance, as they have

:44:45. > :44:47.always done, of standing aside from matters which are England only, and

:44:48. > :44:52.then diving in when it is opportunistic for them to do so.

:44:53. > :44:57.That is a party of opportunism, I'm a friend, not a party of principle.

:44:58. > :45:01.And I listen and again to the honourable gentleman's words about

:45:02. > :45:05.English votes for English laws. As he knows, I was in Scotland last

:45:06. > :45:09.week supporting our fine team campaigning in the Scottish

:45:10. > :45:14.elections there. One of the Scottish members said to me, that Mr Wishart,

:45:15. > :45:18.he is very hysterical, isn't he? I had to reassure him and say, he is

:45:19. > :45:22.actually a nice guy behind the scenes. But when I hear comments

:45:23. > :45:25.like his ones this morning, I can understand why some of the people in

:45:26. > :45:30.Scotland get the wrong idea about him. On the asylum seekers, it is a

:45:31. > :45:34.matter the Home Secretary takes seriously. We will always do our

:45:35. > :45:41.best to make sure that people in this country are treated humanely.

:45:42. > :45:45.Clearly I owe him an apology regarding the SNP conference. I had

:45:46. > :45:49.thought that making sure he had the opportunity to be here on the first

:45:50. > :45:53.day of the SNP conference was a help to him rather than a hindrance,

:45:54. > :45:56.because I never had the sense that he was desperate to get there. I

:45:57. > :45:59.thought that as this year, we would enjoy being here on the first day of

:46:00. > :46:05.conference. Clearly we will have to look at whether we do the same thing

:46:06. > :46:13.next year. And finally, I have some bad news for him. He has

:46:14. > :46:17.competition. As he may know, there are people on this side of the House

:46:18. > :46:23.who are also now making some fine music and I have to say, I think the

:46:24. > :46:26.honourable member looks like being tough competition for him when it

:46:27. > :46:34.comes to Eurovision next year. May the best man or woman win. Mr

:46:35. > :46:37.Speaker, it will not have escaped the Leader of the House that

:46:38. > :46:41.depending on how the business pans out today, in particular the

:46:42. > :46:44.Northern Ireland business, there is a likelihood that the very important

:46:45. > :46:48.debate at the end of the day on the way in which our acts of Parliament

:46:49. > :47:02.are recorded may be squeezed out, possibly completely. Will the Leader

:47:03. > :47:05.of the House now find government time for substantive debate on the

:47:06. > :47:09.matter so that we can let the House of Lords know what we think about

:47:10. > :47:13.it? This is of course a subject which has been brought forward on a

:47:14. > :47:18.backbench day. I think it is appropriate to be a matter for the

:47:19. > :47:22.House and not something which government time is made available

:47:23. > :47:27.for. And so as the Chair of the backbench committee is here today,

:47:28. > :47:30.if he is not able to move his debate today, then the opportunity will be

:47:31. > :47:37.found to bring that matter to the House. I am sure that that will be

:47:38. > :47:41.the case. I am grateful also to the Leader of the House for the

:47:42. > :47:45.announcement of the future business. And with the date of the State

:47:46. > :47:50.Opening be announced for the 18th of May, can I remind the Leader of the

:47:51. > :47:53.House that it is a standing order the House that the backbench

:47:54. > :47:57.business committee be awarded 27 days of business time within a

:47:58. > :48:00.session. We are still some way short of that. And we are expecting a glut

:48:01. > :48:06.of backbench business in the five weeks which remain after Easter and

:48:07. > :48:11.the State Opening. I would add one personal thing - if we do get this

:48:12. > :48:14.to Mike Ashley into This Place, can we also question him about the

:48:15. > :48:19.terrible running of Newcastle United Football Club at the same time? I do

:48:20. > :48:24.not want to diminish the importance of the employment practices of

:48:25. > :48:28.Sports Direct, but I'm afraid to say that based on the management of

:48:29. > :48:33.Newcastle United, I do not expect a very big party at a brewery any time

:48:34. > :48:38.soon. It is tough being a Newcastle supporter at the moment. I wish him

:48:39. > :48:42.and his team well for the rest of the season. There is time to escape

:48:43. > :48:54.the relegation zone and I have no doubt he will be cheering from the

:48:55. > :48:57.stands. I have no doubt that he is going to be seeking more time over

:48:58. > :49:01.the next few weeks. I am not sure we are quite in agreement on the

:49:02. > :49:05.numbers. But we will have a proper discussion about that. I hope he

:49:06. > :49:09.would note that in response to his request we did make a protected time

:49:10. > :49:12.available for a debate on Tuesday. We will obviously look at doing that

:49:13. > :49:21.in the future where it is important to do so. On Saturday, I joined the

:49:22. > :49:24.Dartmoor search and rescue team and learnt that 70% of calls to the

:49:25. > :49:29.service come from within the boundaries of Plymouth, many in Home

:49:30. > :49:35.Park, due to elderly people getting lost. Can we have a debate on how we

:49:36. > :49:40.might support these excellent volunteers, who get no money from

:49:41. > :49:43.central government? Mr Speaker, my honourable friend makes an important

:49:44. > :49:47.point. One thing I have suggested before is that the back edge

:49:48. > :49:50.business committee might consider holding a four-day debate when one

:49:51. > :49:54.is available on volunteering in this country. There are a large number of

:49:55. > :50:00.members who would like to pay tribute to the work done in their

:50:01. > :50:03.constituency. I cannot resist simply drawing attention to a news story

:50:04. > :50:17.this week that a council in East Anglia has appointed the first

:50:18. > :50:21.hedgehog tsar. It is clear that his campaign is already making a

:50:22. > :50:25.difference. Last week I was approached by retailers facing an

:50:26. > :50:29.affordable business rates due to the end of the business rates retail

:50:30. > :50:33.relief. Can we have a debate to discuss whether the government plans

:50:34. > :50:39.to subsidise these retailers, many of whom would have to close as a

:50:40. > :50:42.result of the rises average Mr Speaker, of course we are all very

:50:43. > :50:47.concerned about the future of the high street. This is a matter which

:50:48. > :50:51.certainly can be brought up during the debate on the budget next week.

:50:52. > :50:55.I do not yet know whether the Chancellor has any plans in this

:50:56. > :50:57.area, but she will want to make the case for her constituency in the

:50:58. > :51:05.four days of debate which followed a budget. It is very much one of the

:51:06. > :51:08.matters on the agenda. Today we are starting a consultation on the

:51:09. > :51:17.designs following the terrible flooding we had in 2011 on the River

:51:18. > :51:22.Parrett. I am grateful for the support from across the House. This

:51:23. > :51:26.is massively important. 12% of my district council were underwater in

:51:27. > :51:31.2011. The history and the lessons we are learning in the south and the

:51:32. > :51:36.north of the UK, is there a time to have a statement in this House?

:51:37. > :51:40.First of all, pay tribute to buy honourable friend, who has been a

:51:41. > :51:45.more than effective advocate for his constituency and for the areas of

:51:46. > :51:47.Somerset affected by flooding. I know lessons have been learned and

:51:48. > :51:54.some significant steps have been taken since. There will be another

:51:55. > :52:03.occasion next Thursday to question the Environment Secretary, which I

:52:04. > :52:13.am sure he will do. When can we discuss early day motion 1182, which

:52:14. > :52:16.takes us into the forbidden area that the views of the monarchy

:52:17. > :52:19.cannot be discussed in This Place, and only in This Place - it can be

:52:20. > :52:23.discussed everywhere else. But it does raise the conduct of a

:52:24. > :52:30.well-documented conspiracy between Sir Jeremy Heywood and Sir

:52:31. > :52:33.Christopher guide at a time when the Scottish referendum appeared to be

:52:34. > :52:37.in trouble from the governance Ali point of view. And it is alleged

:52:38. > :52:42.that these two gentlemen conspired to put the Queen'sopinion into the

:52:43. > :52:46.public domain. Is it not important that we discuss those who give

:52:47. > :52:53.advice to the Royal Family, because their main function is to act in

:52:54. > :53:00.situations where a Prime Minister is acting in her or his own interests

:53:01. > :53:02.against the interests of the country, and then, the

:53:03. > :53:06.politicisation of the monarchy would mean that they could not act in

:53:07. > :53:11.those situations, and any exposure of the Royal Family 's views

:53:12. > :53:19.threatens the and continuation of the institution? There are rather

:53:20. > :53:23.large numbers of conspiracy theories in this world. If we spent all that

:53:24. > :53:26.time in this House discussing them, we would not get around to

:53:27. > :53:29.discussing the serious business of the nation. Therefore I regret I

:53:30. > :53:35.think we will not be discussing that particular issue. Can I say, right

:53:36. > :53:39.honourable friend how pleased I am that the House will be sitting on

:53:40. > :53:43.the 26th of May, because that will be the seventh anniversary of the

:53:44. > :53:46.Prime Minister's famous speech on fixing broken politics, in which he

:53:47. > :53:53.called for more backbench power, more free votes and less pudding.

:53:54. > :54:05.Cowie on that occasion have a debate -- less whipping -- on the progress

:54:06. > :54:07.made on those principles?! Independent spirit on the

:54:08. > :54:13.backbenches is certainly not something which is lacking in this

:54:14. > :54:19.Parliament. This day week is St Patrick's Day. Yesterday I tabled a

:54:20. > :54:22.request that the government bring forward legislative proposals

:54:23. > :54:26.because it is not a devolved matter, to make St Patrick's Day a public

:54:27. > :54:33.holiday in Northern Ireland. Will the Leader of the House facilitate a

:54:34. > :54:37.debate about this important issue? Well, Mr Speaker, of course it is a

:54:38. > :54:41.subject she feels strongly about. I think we always have to be careful

:54:42. > :54:44.about granting too many extra bank honoured a is because of the

:54:45. > :54:48.economic impact on the areas. I am sure she will bring forward an

:54:49. > :54:50.adjournment debate and bring a minister to the House to make the

:54:51. > :54:55.point which she has raised this morning. Would my right honourable

:54:56. > :55:00.friend find time for a debate on the practice of big businesses trying to

:55:01. > :55:04.stop members of Parliament doing their democratic duty and raising

:55:05. > :55:11.constituentss' concerns in This Place? Outrageously, national

:55:12. > :55:14.express group plc has written to the Noble Lord Fellman, the chairman of

:55:15. > :55:17.the Conservative Party, complaining that I have been raising in This

:55:18. > :55:27.Place issues regarding my constituents' anxieties over CQC

:55:28. > :55:29.timetable changes. Mr Speaker, I suspect that National Express May

:55:30. > :55:34.Need A New Political Advisers. One Thing You Can Be Certain Of Is That

:55:35. > :55:37.Writing A Letter Of Complaint About My Honourable Friend Is Likely To

:55:38. > :55:49.Make Him More Zealous, Rather Than Less Zealous. And rightly so! At

:55:50. > :55:53.seven a this morning, a report was produced on the energy market

:55:54. > :55:59.investigation. I welcome this report. It focuses on prepayment

:56:00. > :56:04.users and the hashtag prepay rip-off. I have had an adjournment

:56:05. > :56:07.Abate, I have written to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State

:56:08. > :56:10.and the response has been inadequate. Will the Leader of the

:56:11. > :56:13.House make government time so that we can have a proper discussion,

:56:14. > :56:16.which is urgently needed in this House, to explore the CMA's

:56:17. > :56:21.recommendation, which the minister said that she will in ferment? Of

:56:22. > :56:26.course, the Energy Secretary will be here in ten days to do just that. If

:56:27. > :56:29.she wants to raise matters before that, I suggest she writes and I

:56:30. > :56:34.will make the Energy Secretary aware that she will be raising the issue

:56:35. > :56:39.at that point. In the first half of last year, six cyclists were fatally

:56:40. > :56:43.injured in London following collisions with HGV four. Would he

:56:44. > :56:47.find time in the Parliamentary calendar to debate the costs and

:56:48. > :56:53.benefits of restricting HGVs from city centres at rush-hour times?

:56:54. > :56:58.This is a deeply important matter. We have seen far too many tragedies

:56:59. > :57:01.in recent times, sometimes deaths are sometimes serious injuries. The

:57:02. > :57:05.issue has been widely raised as a matter of concern, including by the

:57:06. > :57:09.Times newspaper, which tragically saw one of its members of staff

:57:10. > :57:13.seriously injured in an accident with an HGV. We want to take all

:57:14. > :57:16.possible steps to improve the situation. The Mayor of London has

:57:17. > :57:18.taken a lead on this. We will continue to look at different ideas

:57:19. > :57:28.on improving the situation. This week we saw the Premier League

:57:29. > :57:38.make the good announcement that all clubs will cap the cost of away

:57:39. > :57:40.tickets at ?30. More pressing for fans, particularly Middlesbrough

:57:41. > :57:45.fans who will be watching their team at Charlton is the changing of

:57:46. > :57:54.fixtures. Their recent game was supposed to be on Saturday. Many

:57:55. > :57:58.fans made arrangements and will not be able to attend due to changing

:57:59. > :58:03.those arrangements. With television coverage having such dominance over

:58:04. > :58:14.coverage, can we have a debate about that? TV coverage has brought the

:58:15. > :58:21.ability to watch matches to a much broader audience but I absolutely

:58:22. > :58:26.understand the point he is making. I do not support last-minute changes

:58:27. > :58:45.to arrangements. Can we have a debate on oral

:58:46. > :58:50.payments agency? Does the leader share my constituency concerns that

:58:51. > :58:59.some small shrubs up our farmers -- some small Shropshire farmers have

:59:00. > :59:07.still not been paid causing great hardship. It is not acceptable for

:59:08. > :59:13.small farmers to be left in a position where their cash flows are

:59:14. > :59:19.left inappropriately stretched. A series of payments have been made

:59:20. > :59:28.covering the full range of small and medium-sized farm businesses across

:59:29. > :59:31.the industry. 83% of medium farm businesses have received payments

:59:32. > :59:35.but the Secretary of State is well aware of the need to complete this

:59:36. > :59:41.job and we do not want to see farmers under undue pressure and it

:59:42. > :59:47.is not fair for them to be left high and dry. As chairman of the

:59:48. > :59:56.all-party kidney disease group, can I say, welcome to world kidney Day.

:59:57. > :00:01.Polycystic kidney disease accounts for one in four kidney dialysis

:00:02. > :00:05.patients and transplants. I know that the leader of the house is

:00:06. > :00:12.allergic to anything to do with Brussels but the polycystic kidney

:00:13. > :00:18.disease Association do have a Brussels declaration which calls for

:00:19. > :00:24.a coordinated approach to the disease, funding of research,

:00:25. > :00:32.patient centre care parts ways as well as to those knowledge --

:00:33. > :00:38.knowledgeable about this disease. Can we have a debate about this

:00:39. > :00:43.matter? I understand the need to provide high-quality services to

:00:44. > :00:47.patients affected. To my mind, the important thing is to take the right

:00:48. > :00:52.decisions for patients in this country which is what the government

:00:53. > :01:01.is doing through Investment In Health Care. Can we have a vote on

:01:02. > :01:08.English votes for English laws. The farce that we had yesterday showed

:01:09. > :01:13.that we don't have English votes for English laws and it was made

:01:14. > :01:19.abundantly clear yesterday. Can we have a debate to get it straight and

:01:20. > :01:23.out once and for all to find out what the English public think is

:01:24. > :01:31.meant by English votes for English laws? Can we have a policy on the

:01:32. > :01:39.fact that every time the SNP vote on an issue that only effects England,

:01:40. > :01:46.we deliver it Act two Holyrood for them? My honourable friend has

:01:47. > :01:56.innovative ideas to deal with the situation. He is right to talk about

:01:57. > :02:05.principles and the SNP. We said that they would have the ability to say

:02:06. > :02:13.no to measures enforced upon them by other parts of the UK. We now know

:02:14. > :02:16.that they not only want to interfere in matters like those discussed

:02:17. > :02:20.yesterday but they also want to team up with the Labour Party and impose

:02:21. > :02:30.an England solution is that the English do not want. I have been

:02:31. > :02:36.approached by small businesses in my area regarding the Chancellor's

:02:37. > :02:41.decision to end the business rate relief scheme for small businesses

:02:42. > :02:48.from April this year. Around 1000 small shops in the borough of

:02:49. > :02:54.Rochdale will face extra bills of up to ?1500. For many small shops, that

:02:55. > :02:58.is the difference between survival and going bust. Can we have an

:02:59. > :03:06.urgent debate on government time on this important subject? The answer

:03:07. > :03:10.is yes. It will start next Wednesday and the party opposite will have the

:03:11. > :03:17.chance to speak and vote on these matters if they choose to do so.

:03:18. > :03:20.Following yesterday's deliberations on Sunday trading, can I

:03:21. > :03:32.congratulate the government on the precedent they have set with the

:03:33. > :03:38.family test alongside legislation conceding the negative impact on the

:03:39. > :03:42.family. Can they confirm that all primary and secondary legislation

:03:43. > :03:44.will have a family test at the beginning of proceedings and what

:03:45. > :03:51.will happen when legislation does not pass the family test? Of course,

:03:52. > :03:57.the purpose of impact assessments and family tests is to enable the

:03:58. > :04:03.house to take an informed decision. These tests are less about an

:04:04. > :04:07.individual bar over which a measure need to jump and more about a

:04:08. > :04:12.package of information that can inform decisions. We intend to keep

:04:13. > :04:21.the house as fully informed as possible so they can take decisions.

:04:22. > :04:24.I raised the question of a constituent who was imprisoned in

:04:25. > :04:50.Israel. What action is the government taking

:04:51. > :05:04.regarding the worrying rise in blasphemy charges in Egypt? I

:05:05. > :05:12.commend his stand in protecting the Christian faith. I am aware of the

:05:13. > :05:19.concerns he has raised today. Following Tim Peake's call for

:05:20. > :05:26.pupils in Brecon and Radnorshire, can I ask my right honourable friend

:05:27. > :05:31.if we can have a debate on promoting the sciences as an option to pupils

:05:32. > :05:37.so that Britain can capitalise on our Peking interest it in science so

:05:38. > :05:44.we continue to lead the world in research and development for years

:05:45. > :05:47.to come? An important point. We celebrated Tim Peake going into

:05:48. > :05:54.space and we should also celebrate the contribution he has made since

:05:55. > :05:57.having regular interactions with the International Space Station, talking

:05:58. > :06:03.about the work he has done and inspiring young people. Long may

:06:04. > :06:11.that continue and long may there be role models like him contributing to

:06:12. > :06:17.our innovative future. Contact the elderly is a small national charity

:06:18. > :06:22.in Scotland which helps old people who live alone by funding monthly

:06:23. > :06:26.get-togethers. This kind of community support initiative is

:06:27. > :06:33.excellent and inspiring. Can we have a debate to discuss these selection

:06:34. > :06:40.initiatives? I very much support the idea of session debates. It is a

:06:41. > :06:45.real opportunity. We have had fixed moments in the past two debate

:06:46. > :06:49.things like veterans's issues and now there is a real opportunity to

:06:50. > :06:57.have debate across the United Kingdom. I forgot to say earlier, I

:06:58. > :07:03.hope the committee will give judo consideration -- due consideration

:07:04. > :07:11.in the form of a pre-recess adjournment debate. I welcome the

:07:12. > :07:16.Premier League announcement on capping away tickets at football

:07:17. > :07:22.next season but is the leader of the house aware that might seem others

:07:23. > :07:29.feel town will be offering a season ticket for just ?179 next season. ?7

:07:30. > :07:34.80 per game, great value in the championship. Will he allow a debate

:07:35. > :07:38.on the cost of football which is so important for fans across the

:07:39. > :07:44.country? I applaud what others feel town are doing. The point is that

:07:45. > :07:48.clubs like that play such an important community role and I know

:07:49. > :07:52.they are very involved in charitable activities across the town. I pay

:07:53. > :07:57.tribute to the club for playing that role in the community and doing what

:07:58. > :08:01.they can to give fans the opportunity to see them play and

:08:02. > :08:08.affordable basis. May they succeed on the pitch as a result. Happy

:08:09. > :08:14.birthday to my daughter next Tuesday. On the matter of Wales

:08:15. > :08:21.against England, made a better team win and may it be Wales. Couldn't we

:08:22. > :08:36.use the annunciator to have subtitles when we go

:08:37. > :08:43.into the 10th one procedure so they can explain the impossible task of

:08:44. > :08:48.describing what is going on. What I am not doing is reversing the

:08:49. > :08:52.gesture we made to the English of saying you have got a part of the

:08:53. > :08:59.devolution package as well. I don't think that a position that says that

:09:00. > :09:07.the Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish can have devolution without the

:09:08. > :09:12.English having it is something we can go back on. West Berkshire

:09:13. > :09:18.Council has been forced by bizarre funding to do a very unconservative

:09:19. > :09:28.thing which is to raise taxes and cut services to those in need. We

:09:29. > :09:31.have the perverse actions of the office which can wipe millions of

:09:32. > :09:36.pounds of business rates from a small unity authority for large

:09:37. > :09:42.sites. Can we have a debate about the actions of the valuations office

:09:43. > :09:52.agency about how small councils are funded? An excellent point. I will

:09:53. > :09:55.draw attention to his concerns to the Secretary of State. It is likely

:09:56. > :10:02.that the issue of business rates will be addressed next week as well.

:10:03. > :10:06.On the 2nd of December, the Prime Minister promised this house that he

:10:07. > :10:13.would make quarterly statements on the involvement of British military

:10:14. > :10:18.forces in Syria. That should have happened by the 2nd of March. Can we

:10:19. > :10:23.have an urgent statement of when we are going to have these vital

:10:24. > :10:27.quarterly updates? What I said last week is that we would be holding

:10:28. > :10:36.such statements and it would happen before the Easter recess. Can I add

:10:37. > :10:44.my voice to the calls for a debate on having genuine English votes for

:10:45. > :10:49.English laws, despite the recent reforms, yesterday proved that the

:10:50. > :10:52.votes of Scottish MPs are still able to stop my constituents from

:10:53. > :11:00.enjoying the same freedoms that their own constituents enjoyed. An

:11:01. > :11:06.important point. We should remember that the SNP when we were debating

:11:07. > :11:10.EVEL said that we don't need this because we don't take part. That

:11:11. > :11:21.promise was shown yesterday to be paper-thin. We celebrated

:11:22. > :11:27.International Women's Day with a superb debate in the chamber. I

:11:28. > :11:34.pointed out that only fathers names appear on birth certificates and not

:11:35. > :11:41.mothers named. I have a private members bill that will add mothers

:11:42. > :11:52.marriage names -- names to marriage certificates. Can we please have a

:11:53. > :11:56.debate in government time? Can I say to her, I'm afraid that she is

:11:57. > :11:59.running into a long queue at the end of the session for private members

:12:00. > :12:06.bills but the commitment that the government made stamps.

:12:07. > :12:13.As this is English Tourism Week, could we find time for a debate on

:12:14. > :12:18.the important contribution of tourism to the English economy? A

:12:19. > :12:24.record 35mm as it is came last year, but we need to get them out of

:12:25. > :12:27.London to visit other areas of the country, and maybe visit the fleece

:12:28. > :12:34.Inn, which was named Pub of the year recently?! Indeed, I hope that the

:12:35. > :12:38.announcement of the recess dates will give a moment for honourable

:12:39. > :12:40.members to pay ever visit to Worcestershire and take advantage of

:12:41. > :12:44.the fine hospitality you will find there. I am sure he would be

:12:45. > :12:51.delighted to have the whole house visit. The Leader of the House will

:12:52. > :12:57.know that I have been calling for support on all sides of this House

:12:58. > :13:00.to address the root causes of serious youth violence. We had a

:13:01. > :13:04.backbench debate on the issue last week. Earlier this week, the

:13:05. > :13:08.Secretary of State adjusters confirm that he will report back to the

:13:09. > :13:12.House on progress made on this issue. Can the leader of the explain

:13:13. > :13:20.how this will happen and when we can expect that report? My right

:13:21. > :13:23.honourable friend has these matters under review all the time. We have

:13:24. > :13:27.made significant changes for example to the laws on live crime. We have

:13:28. > :13:31.taken through the work which has been done with the Home Office on

:13:32. > :13:36.gangs, to try to break them up. And of course the Justice Secretary is

:13:37. > :13:44.before this House regularly and will provide regular updates. Can

:13:45. > :13:49.a debate on the importance of raising the profile of dyslexia

:13:50. > :13:56.teacher training, which many people are concerned is not getting the

:13:57. > :14:00.sort of focus which it should be? Mr Speaker, my honourable friend makes

:14:01. > :14:04.a very, very important point. It is certainly the case that many young

:14:05. > :14:08.people who struggle at school do so because they are dyslexic. I have

:14:09. > :14:12.already discussed this with the Secretary of State, who assured me

:14:13. > :14:19.that part of the training manoeuvre teaches does contain help on the

:14:20. > :14:32.understanding of dyslexia. We will do everything we can. I'm sure the

:14:33. > :14:34.House will want to join me in welcoming the two defeats last night

:14:35. > :14:37.in the Other Place on the Immigration Bill? Could he make a

:14:38. > :14:42.statement to confirm whether the government will use last night's

:14:43. > :14:47.vote as motivation to start treating asylum seekers with the respect and

:14:48. > :14:49.dignity that they deserve? That is a first, I cannot remember the

:14:50. > :14:53.Scottish National Party praising what happened in the House of Lords.

:14:54. > :14:57.But what I would say to him is that I think we have a record of treating

:14:58. > :15:01.asylum seekers which bears comparison with anywhere in the

:15:02. > :15:04.world. I will not hear anybody say otherwise. Can I congratulate my

:15:05. > :15:09.right honourable friend for his excellent contribution to Radio 4

:15:10. > :15:12.and for his excellent speech? And can we ask for a speech in

:15:13. > :15:23.government time on the merits of leaving the EU, which I suggest

:15:24. > :15:28.should have a project title Hope? He tempts me but he must bear in mind

:15:29. > :15:33.that the governments position is to recommend that Britannia Stadium the

:15:34. > :15:35.European Union. We will have debates in the country and ultimately in

:15:36. > :15:48.June, the British people will decide. Three days, the

:15:49. > :15:52.institutional investors group which represents ?13 trillion of assets

:15:53. > :15:55.under management wrote to the Chancellor to ensure mandatory

:15:56. > :16:00.corporate disclosure of climate risks. Could we have a debate in

:16:01. > :16:04.government time on the mandatory reporting of climate risks, so that

:16:05. > :16:08.there is transparency about the financial health of our corporate

:16:09. > :16:12.and that the confidence of such an enormous body of investment funds

:16:13. > :16:17.can be increased? He is another person we need to wish a happy

:16:18. > :16:21.birthday to. We are at the leading edge in this country in combating

:16:22. > :16:25.climate change. We have adopted targets which stand comparison with

:16:26. > :16:29.anywhere in the world. But I do think simply putting additional

:16:30. > :16:32.reporting requirements and the sleep on to business leads to us having

:16:33. > :16:42.fewer jobs in this country, and not more. -- requirements endlessly on

:16:43. > :16:47.to business. As tens of thousands of people arrived in Cheltenham for the

:16:48. > :16:50.superb jump racing festival, we are reminded how necessary have been the

:16:51. > :16:57.upgrades at the railway station. Can we have an announcement on the

:16:58. > :17:00.delivery of station funding pledges? Of course we have just missed

:17:01. > :17:04.transport questions, which took place this morning, but I'm sure he

:17:05. > :17:08.will be able to raise an adjournment debate if he wants. Can I wish him

:17:09. > :17:13.and his constituents well for what is one of the best racing events in

:17:14. > :17:20.the country - perhaps not quite as good as the Epsom Derby. Tomorrow I

:17:21. > :17:25.will be visiting my constituent Walter Brown from Duckinfield, who

:17:26. > :17:30.is 90 years of age but who has just been awarded an award from France

:17:31. > :17:37.for his role in the liberation of France in 1944 as a Marine

:17:38. > :17:40.commander. Can I request a debate on what a privilege it is to request

:17:41. > :17:44.somebody like Walter Brown in the House of Commons and request the

:17:45. > :17:48.whole house put on record it's thanks? I absolutely agree with him.

:17:49. > :17:51.I have a gentleman in my constituency in the same position. I

:17:52. > :17:55.think it is a real tribute to the government of France but they have

:17:56. > :18:00.seen fit to honour in this way the grip of people who risked their

:18:01. > :18:04.lives to try to save France from the Nazis, and did so successfully. We

:18:05. > :18:10.should always remember them and be grateful to them and I am very glad

:18:11. > :18:14.the French have recognised that. You will be aware that on previous

:18:15. > :18:18.occasions I have raised the issue of literally hundreds of casual

:18:19. > :18:22.labourers congregating outside the queue in Queensbury, on the border

:18:23. > :18:26.between my constituency and that of the honourable member for brand

:18:27. > :18:29.north. I am pleased to say that Harlow Council and Brent Council

:18:30. > :18:34.have introduced a public space protection order under which anyone

:18:35. > :18:38.that picks up those casual labourers will be liable for a fixed rate

:18:39. > :18:41.penalty of ?100. Could we find time for a debate in this House, because

:18:42. > :18:47.this is a problem which emanates across the country? So that public

:18:48. > :18:50.space protection orders can be put in place to stop this unauthorised

:18:51. > :18:56.activity? It is a very important issue. The Business Secretary is

:18:57. > :19:03.here on Tuesday and I will ask him to be prepared to address the issue.

:19:04. > :19:06.All too often these people are operating within a gang master

:19:07. > :19:11.culture which is below the radar and is not within the legal framework of

:19:12. > :19:17.work in this country. And where those people are very likely to be

:19:18. > :19:20.exploited. Last year, Sir Nicholas McPherson said he would not hesitate

:19:21. > :19:24.to call in the police if the budget was leaked. Should any stories about

:19:25. > :19:30.this year's budget appear in the papers this weekend, will the Leader

:19:31. > :19:33.of the House join this most senior official in calling for the police

:19:34. > :19:39.to come and investigate and give time for this House to debate it?

:19:40. > :19:41.I'm not sure that if the civil service think anything untoward has

:19:42. > :19:50.been done, we will take appropriate action. Last Saturday I joined

:19:51. > :19:55.hundreds of residents at the only municipal golf course in our area to

:19:56. > :19:59.protest against plans by the council to close the facility. The Lib Dem

:20:00. > :20:04.run council claimed that getting the course would save ?50,000 a year and

:20:05. > :20:11.blamed cuts in government funding. However the same month, the council

:20:12. > :20:15.spent an estimated ?300,000 on a now unused health centre and admitted

:20:16. > :20:20.they have no plans for what they intend to do with it. Can we have a

:20:21. > :20:25.debate on the shocking mismanagement on my local council? As ever, my

:20:26. > :20:29.honourable friend is a very articulately presented if of his

:20:30. > :20:33.constituents. He is an appropriate critic of his Labour council. Around

:20:34. > :20:38.the country, where difficult decisions are having to be taken by

:20:39. > :20:42.councils, one finds Conservative ones taking a thoughtful approach

:20:43. > :20:52.whilst Labour councils take dumb decisions like the one he has just

:20:53. > :20:57.mentioned. As my honourable friends have referred to, the Chancellor

:20:58. > :21:00.Sunny decision to remove retail rate relief is causing great

:21:01. > :21:07.consternation for small businesses, having to find an extra ?1500 a

:21:08. > :21:12.year. In the area of Chester, 472 businesses will have to find an

:21:13. > :21:15.extra ?1.8 million next year. Can the leader assured us there will be

:21:16. > :21:19.sufficient time over the next few weeks to debate whether this is

:21:20. > :21:23.really the right time to start clobbering small businesses with

:21:24. > :21:27.more taxes? Mr Speaker, I can assure him that time will be available next

:21:28. > :21:31.week. We have four days available for the post-budget debate. When he

:21:32. > :21:34.talks about clobbering businesses, for 13 years in this country,

:21:35. > :21:38.businesses and suffered at the hands of a government which did not

:21:39. > :21:41.understand them, regulated in a way which caused them deeper problems

:21:42. > :21:48.and led to the halving of our manufacturing sector. Ministers have

:21:49. > :21:51.been very willing to engage on the steel issue. But in advance of the

:21:52. > :21:54.budget next week, will there be the opportunity to put the case for a

:21:55. > :21:58.business rates holiday for the injury to the Chancellor on the

:21:59. > :22:04.floor of this House? Mr Speaker, there will be that, at the Business

:22:05. > :22:08.Secretary is here on Tuesday, and he has been working with the steel

:22:09. > :22:17.industry. Can I suggest that he raises it with him then? Apologies

:22:18. > :22:25.for leaving the Chamber earlier on. It was somewhat ironic, a number of

:22:26. > :22:29.SNP members actually got a cheer from the office in the last ten

:22:30. > :22:35.days. Will the Leader of the House make a statement outlining that the

:22:36. > :22:39.title is not a complete misnomer? During the enterprise built, the

:22:40. > :22:43.second reading, the House was asked to vote on amendments which had not

:22:44. > :22:51.been seen. The government took a view on the SNP position Joseph

:22:52. > :22:54.Tuite now know was wrong. A government minister was pleading the

:22:55. > :22:59.House to vote with them because he was not going to implement what was

:23:00. > :23:03.on the bill. It was a farce from start to finish. Can we get a

:23:04. > :23:10.statement from the Leader of the House and the government? I am sorry

:23:11. > :23:13.but I think the only farce around here is the approach the SNP has

:23:14. > :23:17.taken to this. I did not vote in amity. They then decided to vote

:23:18. > :23:28.against it later, and we know it was for reasons of opportunism, not

:23:29. > :23:32.principle. -- in amity. He may know this week we had a serious outbreak

:23:33. > :23:39.of Stockholm syndrome in the east of England, as eight local leaders

:23:40. > :23:42.backed the remaining campaign in the press. Is it not important that

:23:43. > :23:47.voters know what level of funding from all forms of the European Union

:23:48. > :23:52.has induced this self-interested plea to hand more powers and money

:23:53. > :23:57.to Brussels? Mr Speaker, we have well established principles in this

:23:58. > :24:00.country of transparency in our political system. I think it is

:24:01. > :24:03.important in the coming months, whichever side of the argument we

:24:04. > :24:07.may be on, that people who have a financial link to the European Union

:24:08. > :24:19.make that clear as they make their arguments. Statement, the minister

:24:20. > :24:23.of State for Skills. With permission, I would like to make a

:24:24. > :24:27.statement about apprenticeships. As you know, Mr Speaker, I am

:24:28. > :24:30.evangelical about apprenticeships. While we do not always agree with

:24:31. > :24:35.each other on every question, I know that to a woman and to a man, all My

:24:36. > :24:38.Honourable and Right Honourable Friends share this passion. We

:24:39. > :24:41.believe in apprenticeships because they are one of the most powerful

:24:42. > :24:47.motors of social mobility and productivity growth. An

:24:48. > :24:53.apprenticeship represents opportunity, aspiration, ambition,

:24:54. > :24:56.things which we conservatives cherish. It makes us more

:24:57. > :25:01.competitive. 70% of employers report that apprentices help improve the

:25:02. > :25:05.quality of their product or service. They offer people a ladder to climb,

:25:06. > :25:11.with both higher pay and a sense of fulfilment at the end of it. A level

:25:12. > :25:17.to apprenticeship raises people's incomes by an average of 11% 3-5

:25:18. > :25:22.years later. -- a level two apprenticeship. Apprenticeships

:25:23. > :25:27.improve the diversity of the workplace. 53% of people starting an

:25:28. > :25:35.apprenticeship in 2013-14 were women. 10.6% were from a black or

:25:36. > :25:43.other ethnic minority background, up from 8% three years earlier. 8.8%

:25:44. > :25:47.had a disability or learning difficulty. Sir Alex Ferguson did

:25:48. > :25:56.one, so did Jamie Oliver and Karen Millen and Sir Ian McKellen. So did

:25:57. > :26:00.the Chair people of great businesses. The government has great

:26:01. > :26:04.ambitions for our apprenticeships programme. In the last Parliament,

:26:05. > :26:09.2.4 million people started an apprenticeship. By 2020, we want a 3

:26:10. > :26:13.million to have that opportunity. We do not just wanted to see more

:26:14. > :26:17.apprenticeships. We want better apprenticeships in more sectors

:26:18. > :26:21.covering more roles. The first thing we need to do is persuade more

:26:22. > :26:26.employers to offer apprenticeships. At the moment only about 15% of

:26:27. > :26:33.employers in England do. In Germany it is 24%. In Australia, 30%. So we

:26:34. > :26:37.are introducing a new apprenticeship levy which will be paid by all

:26:38. > :26:42.larger employers, those with an annual payroll bill of ?3 million or

:26:43. > :26:45.more. This will help us increase our spending on apprenticeships in

:26:46. > :26:52.England from ?1.5 billion last year to ?2.5 billion in 2019-20.

:26:53. > :26:56.Employers who pay the levy will see the money they have paid any English

:26:57. > :26:59.apprenticeships appear in their digital account. They will be able

:27:00. > :27:04.to spend it on apprenticeship training, but only on apprenticeship

:27:05. > :27:06.training. As the Chancellor has emphasised, employers will be able

:27:07. > :27:25.to get out more than they put in. We are making sure that including

:27:26. > :27:34.the Armed Forces that employs up to 1000 apprenticeships at any one

:27:35. > :27:41.time. At least 2.3% of staff will be apprenticeships. Procurement rules

:27:42. > :27:45.now stipulate that bidders for central government contracts worth

:27:46. > :27:50.more than ?10 million and lasting over 12 months must demonstrate

:27:51. > :27:55.their commitment to apprenticeships. We are not only committed to greater

:27:56. > :27:59.quantity, we want to see greater quality. We have stopped the

:28:00. > :28:06.short-term, low quality, programme led apprenticeships developed by the

:28:07. > :28:12.last Labour government which tarnished the brand. We are asking

:28:13. > :28:18.new groups of employees to develop apprenticeships that will fill the

:28:19. > :28:27.skills needs created. We have published ten new standards so far

:28:28. > :28:31.with a further 150 in development. We are establishing an employer led

:28:32. > :28:37.Institute for apprenticeships to ensure quality is maintained. 60 of

:28:38. > :28:41.these new standards are higher and greet apprenticeships. We want

:28:42. > :28:46.everyone making a choice about their next step after 16 or 18 to know

:28:47. > :28:52.that the decision to do an apprenticeship is not to cap your

:28:53. > :28:57.ambition but simply a decision to progress in a different way, to

:28:58. > :29:03.learn while you earn and take more time but bring home a wage and avoid

:29:04. > :29:15.large student loans. Next week is National apprenticeship week. I hope

:29:16. > :29:23.that the house of Commons will let everyone know that an apprenticeship

:29:24. > :29:31.can take you every where. I commend this statement to the house. I thank

:29:32. > :29:37.the gentleman for a limited advance site at his statement, I suppose

:29:38. > :29:42.after the turmoil of yesterday we should be thankful it didn't just

:29:43. > :29:48.turn up in manuscript. It seems to be a dance of the seven veils. What

:29:49. > :29:54.he said today is simply a rehash of much of what was already said in the

:29:55. > :30:00.English apprenticeship occupant and that is what concerns the sector.

:30:01. > :30:07.Fine words but no parsnips. This is a pale shadow of what we proposed in

:30:08. > :30:14.our 2010 manifesto. Most crucially, there is no clarity to universities

:30:15. > :30:21.and large employers about what their responsibilities will be. Can I ask,

:30:22. > :30:26.will this levy be extra money or a substitute for government funding?

:30:27. > :30:35.Extra resources or an Osborne payroll tax? Whether the amount

:30:36. > :30:41.raised will be more less than the ?1 billion extra spend that he has said

:30:42. > :30:45.he hopes to add to spending on apprenticeships in England? He was

:30:46. > :30:53.supposed to respond to the targets for apprenticeships by March four.

:30:54. > :31:03.Have they done so? When will he do so? Will he spell out far more than

:31:04. > :31:07.he has so far how S MEDs are going to benefit from the process and what

:31:08. > :31:14.does he say to the chartered Institute for taxation who are

:31:15. > :31:21.worried that businesses will not be able to use their ?15,000 allowance?

:31:22. > :31:25.What members of the business sector want to know is will he be too

:31:26. > :31:35.catholic in his definition of apprenticeships? Will he stop

:31:36. > :31:42.sounding like a Soviet five-year plan on track to targets? With

:31:43. > :31:45.concerns about the quality of these apprenticeships, will he tell others

:31:46. > :31:54.who will supervise the operation of the apprenticeships levy will it be

:31:55. > :31:58.the delivery board or the board of the Institute for apprenticeships?

:31:59. > :32:03.What has he to say to the business select committee chair who has said

:32:04. > :32:08.this morning, I'm told, no one knows what the apprenticeship levy is

:32:09. > :32:13.going to look like. I am concerned it is just a numbers game. What is

:32:14. > :32:17.he to say to the Public Accounts Committee who are so concerned about

:32:18. > :32:22.the direction of his department that they have recalled him and the

:32:23. > :32:28.secretary for a second grilling before Easter. Perhaps he would like

:32:29. > :32:34.to tell others how he anticipates delivering that 3 million target

:32:35. > :32:39.over a short period of time and implementing the levy over a very

:32:40. > :32:46.short period of time with staffing levels down since 2011 by 40%, more

:32:47. > :32:49.cuts to come and an exhilarating decline in the numbers of people in

:32:50. > :32:57.the national apprenticeships service? It is amusing to be accused

:32:58. > :33:04.in a relatively short statement from the gentleman of both being

:33:05. > :33:13.Catholic, a Soviet planner and a dancer with seven veils. I will put

:33:14. > :33:17.it on my epitaph. In the last year of the last Labour government,

:33:18. > :33:22.public spending an apprenticeship training was ?1 billion. It is now

:33:23. > :33:29.?1.5 billion and by the end of this parliament it will be ?2.5 billion.

:33:30. > :33:34.That is extra money by anyone's book. There isn't a single public

:33:35. > :33:39.service budget that is increasing as fast. To answer the question about

:33:40. > :33:48.how much the levy is going to raise and how much is going to be spent,

:33:49. > :34:02.in 20 19-20, the levy will raise half ?1 billion. It will raise

:34:03. > :34:09.enough to give funding to the Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish

:34:10. > :34:14.governments. All the remaining ?2.5 billion will be spent on English

:34:15. > :34:17.apprenticeships. He asked how small and medium-sized businesses who are

:34:18. > :34:22.not paying the levy will get to benefit from government funding for

:34:23. > :34:25.apprenticeships. We expect them to carry on spending money on

:34:26. > :34:31.apprenticeships, receiving government money for

:34:32. > :34:35.apprenticeships, as they do now. We don't anticipate that all companies

:34:36. > :34:40.that pay the levy will use up all of the money in their digital accounts

:34:41. > :34:44.and there will be a great deal more money to go around. We are

:34:45. > :34:51.determined that the level of apprenticeships provided by small

:34:52. > :34:59.and medium-sized businesses will continue as now. The operation of

:35:00. > :35:04.the digital system that will be used to give employers control of the

:35:05. > :35:08.apprenticeship levy money that they have contributed will be the

:35:09. > :35:15.responsibility of the skills funding agency and the Institute for

:35:16. > :35:19.apprenticeships will have complete responsibility for overseeing

:35:20. > :35:24.standards and quality control. There are many more questions that the

:35:25. > :35:27.honourable gentleman would like answers to and indeed the chairman

:35:28. > :35:32.of the Business Select Committee who I look forward to hearing from. They

:35:33. > :35:38.will have to wait just a little. The Chancellor is going to be making his

:35:39. > :35:41.budget statement next week and after the Budget Statement, more technical

:35:42. > :35:48.details will be provided so everybody knows in advance how the

:35:49. > :35:53.levy is going to work. I welcome the statement from the minister. Since

:35:54. > :35:59.the election, more than 4000 apprenticeships have been created in

:36:00. > :36:04.my constituency. Will the Minister join me, particularly this week in

:36:05. > :36:08.the run-up to national apprenticeship week, in thanking

:36:09. > :36:11.those businesses, organisations and colleges who have helped deliver

:36:12. > :36:18.those apprenticeships and will he reassure me that we will continue to

:36:19. > :36:28.make sure the public sector give all their opportunities to those who

:36:29. > :36:33.need them, including women. The public sector has not up to this

:36:34. > :36:39.date been pulling its weight. The proportion is not the same as in the

:36:40. > :36:46.hole so we are going to impose the target on larger public sector and

:36:47. > :36:53.employers. We know that apprenticeships will help them do a

:36:54. > :36:57.better job. Can I thank the Minister for an advanced copy of his

:36:58. > :37:04.statement. Surprised by the time of it. Apprenticeship week was in

:37:05. > :37:09.Scotland last week, it would have been beneficial to have it then. The

:37:10. > :37:15.Scottish Government has committed to creating 25,000 modern

:37:16. > :37:19.apprenticeships per year which encompass 80 different types of M

:37:20. > :37:27.as. What consultation has there been with the Scottish Government on this

:37:28. > :37:35.important issue. I question the method used to raise the money and

:37:36. > :37:41.its sustainability. Apprenticeships remain a matter of fundamental

:37:42. > :37:46.concern. If it in Cridge is on our devolved responsibilities and has

:37:47. > :37:49.come in criticism from a wide variety of organisations, including

:37:50. > :37:54.CBI and the Chartered Institute of Taxation. The levy will have a

:37:55. > :38:00.knock-on effect in Scotland and I call the government to consider its

:38:01. > :38:08.economic impact in Scotland. Police Scotland will have to pay up to ?4.5

:38:09. > :38:15.million per year under UK Government plans for an apprenticeship levy.

:38:16. > :38:20.The UK Government has still to provide clarity on how Scotland's

:38:21. > :38:23.share of the levy will be calculated and transferred to the Scottish

:38:24. > :38:34.Government. When will that clarity come? It is great to hear about the

:38:35. > :38:41.Scottish Government's committee to -- commitment to apprenticeships and

:38:42. > :38:47.because they will have a substantial contribution to the levy, I hope

:38:48. > :38:52.they will be able to increase their rate to the levy. I think on the

:38:53. > :38:56.whole it would be fair to say that the level of the apprenticeship levy

:38:57. > :39:05.is not the greatest problem facing police Scotland. Thanks to my right

:39:06. > :39:09.honourable friend for coming down to Weymouth College to launch our third

:39:10. > :39:22.apprenticeship. I look forward to seeing him. As a conservative, I

:39:23. > :39:28.don't like levys instinctively. Does he have any fears for the future if,

:39:29. > :39:34.heaven forbid, a socialist government could take over as it

:39:35. > :39:41.might be an area of taxation that they would like to increase for

:39:42. > :39:49.other reasons. Any excuse to come to Weymouth, I am very happy. I thank

:39:50. > :39:53.him for inviting me. I feel innate scepticism about a new levy on

:39:54. > :39:59.business but if you talk to large businesses, what they say, the ones

:40:00. > :40:07.investing in apprenticeships is that some of their competitors don't and

:40:08. > :40:15.it is strange is the -- strains the overall pressure on business by some

:40:16. > :40:23.because others are taking a free ride. If you have to have a new levy

:40:24. > :40:26.and I agree that you only do so as a last resort, it is best to have one

:40:27. > :40:34.that employers control and can benefit from it is always nice to

:40:35. > :40:41.see the Minister and it is always nice to discuss apprenticeships in

:40:42. > :40:45.the house. Given that the house discussed the enterprise Bill

:40:46. > :40:48.yesterday and the day before, why wasn't the public sector

:40:49. > :40:54.apprenticeship target mentioned? Will there be a need for new

:40:55. > :41:03.legislation? The levy will be the means by which we need to increase

:41:04. > :41:10.apprenticeships. Will he give us any information about the 98% of

:41:11. > :41:13.employers who won't pay the levy. He seemed to indicate that things won't

:41:14. > :41:20.change or that a large number of employees would give this levy

:41:21. > :41:26.really. Can he provide clarity as to if not, what is the point of the

:41:27. > :41:33.statement? I'm grateful to the honourable gentleman for returning

:41:34. > :41:38.to this subject of the public sector target. It gives me a chance to

:41:39. > :41:44.respond to a front bench question. We weren't due to respond to the

:41:45. > :41:48.consultation by the 4th of March, it was that the consultation closed on

:41:49. > :41:55.the 4th of March. It does take more than six days to go through the

:41:56. > :42:01.consultation responses and decide our response. We do not need

:42:02. > :42:07.legislation to create that target. That is why it wasn't necessary to

:42:08. > :42:12.include it in the enterprise Bill. I understand his impatience and to

:42:13. > :42:17.some extent change it -- share it as to how the levy and the accounting

:42:18. > :42:21.system is going to work for employers. I can assure him that

:42:22. > :42:25.more than 12 months notice will be given to everyone so we will be

:42:26. > :42:29.publishing very soon and he will be aware that there is a budget next

:42:30. > :42:33.week and he knows it would be a career limiting move for me to

:42:34. > :42:40.anticipate the Chancellor in that Budget Statement.

:42:41. > :42:51.The Prime Minister came to my constituency last August to launch

:42:52. > :42:55.the consultation on the levy. And I would like to give the minister my

:42:56. > :42:59.support for the way in which we are looking to increase quality by

:43:00. > :43:03.asking employers to make their own choices through the digital

:43:04. > :43:08.apprenticeship service. Can he give us a further update on the progress

:43:09. > :43:13.of making that system ready? Yes, and it gives me an opportunity to

:43:14. > :43:20.put on record my thanks to my boyfriend the member for Stratford,

:43:21. > :43:24.which unfortunately not able to be with us today, who is the Prime

:43:25. > :43:28.Minister's adviser on apprenticeships and who has a great

:43:29. > :43:31.deal of experience in business of leading major technology projects.

:43:32. > :43:34.He has been immensely helpful in working with the skills funding

:43:35. > :43:39.agency and officials in my department to create a system which

:43:40. > :43:42.is going to be very simple and user-friendly for businesses and

:43:43. > :43:45.give them absolute transparency about how much money they have

:43:46. > :43:52.contributed and what they can spend it on, and will also enable training

:43:53. > :43:54.providers to continue to take responsibility for ensuring that any

:43:55. > :44:01.promised training is in fact delivered. The member responsible

:44:02. > :44:07.for the apprenticeships public procurement bill for 2013, can I

:44:08. > :44:12.welcome the governments conversion to using the benefits of public

:44:13. > :44:16.procurement to secure additional apprenticeships? I know that it was

:44:17. > :44:20.his parties backbenchers who talked out my bill when it was going

:44:21. > :44:26.through the Commons. Can I just refer to his statement where he says

:44:27. > :44:30.that the public procurement rules now stipulate that bidders for

:44:31. > :44:32.government contracts must demonstrate their commitment to

:44:33. > :44:37.apprenticeships - precisely what does that mean? I would like to pay

:44:38. > :44:43.tribute to his leadership on this issue. And sometimes, we on this

:44:44. > :44:47.side of the House take awhile to be persuaded of the merits of an

:44:48. > :44:52.intervention, but once persuaded we are determined to fulfil it. He is

:44:53. > :44:57.right to ask a question about the mechanics. We have been advised by

:44:58. > :45:01.not least Terry Morgan, the chairman of Crossrail, who led the way on

:45:02. > :45:05.this by instituting a similar kind of expectation for all

:45:06. > :45:08.subcontractors to Crossrail, that it was dangerous, with the variety of

:45:09. > :45:16.public procurement, infrastructure and services, to impose a single

:45:17. > :45:20.mechanism of either a number of apprentices per million pounds of

:45:21. > :45:25.spend or a percentage of employers on a project. So what we have

:45:26. > :45:29.decided to do is to mix and match, to make the requirement depending on

:45:30. > :45:33.what the liqueur and procurement processes. Buckley will be

:45:34. > :45:39.transparent about how we do that. -- on what the procurement process is.

:45:40. > :45:44.I would like to say that I agree with him. I am also an Evangelical

:45:45. > :45:48.supporter of apprenticeships. We have a young apprentice in the

:45:49. > :45:52.office who is doing an amazing job. Would he agree that the

:45:53. > :45:57.apprenticeships form a valuable role in protecting our country, not only

:45:58. > :45:59.with our sovereign defence capability, also with the many

:46:00. > :46:05.number of apprenticeships in the Armed Forces? Yes, Madame Deputy

:46:06. > :46:09.Speaker. The Armed Forces are really leading the way on, have done for a

:46:10. > :46:12.long time. I would like to put on record my thanks to my right

:46:13. > :46:18.honourable friend Secretary of State for Defence, which takes a keen

:46:19. > :46:21.interest. The Armed Forces are confident that between them they

:46:22. > :46:26.will be able to create 100,000 apprenticeships in the life of this

:46:27. > :46:29.Parliament, contributing massively to our target. As so often, where

:46:30. > :46:38.the Armed Forces lead, we should follow. The minister should have the

:46:39. > :46:42.grace to which that it was Labour England which saved apprenticeships

:46:43. > :46:46.from the oblivion to which his parties previous governments had

:46:47. > :46:50.consigned them. It is an example of the kind of intervention which his

:46:51. > :46:54.party has been slow to acknowledge. He will know of the concern amongst

:46:55. > :47:00.employers that his 3 million target will only be achieved if the quality

:47:01. > :47:07.of what is on offer is reduced further. And can he give us some

:47:08. > :47:11.further reassurance on that point? I am happy to place on record that it

:47:12. > :47:16.was indeed I think perhaps mainly Lord Mandelson who reintroduced the

:47:17. > :47:22.idea of apprenticeships., I am not going to shy away from pointing out

:47:23. > :47:25.that some of the particular policy measures were apprenticeships where

:47:26. > :47:30.you did not have to have an employer and which only lasted a few months,

:47:31. > :47:34.which somewhat undermined the quality and the brand of the

:47:35. > :47:38.programme. And we have got rid of those. We have now introduced some

:47:39. > :47:42.very, very simple minimum standards. And apprenticeship must be a job. It

:47:43. > :47:49.must last at least 12 months. And it must have at least 20% of the job

:47:50. > :47:53.training content. -- off the job training content. That is why in

:47:54. > :47:56.some categories we have had a short-term dip in the number of

:47:57. > :47:59.apprenticeship starts passing me by getting rid of some of the slightly

:48:00. > :48:10.Mickey Mouse apprenticeships which had been on offer. Come I and say

:48:11. > :48:14.when the institute will be opened running, and specifically, will it

:48:15. > :48:20.have any role in resolving problems which may occur in apprenticeships?

:48:21. > :48:24.Thank you, the Institute for apprenticeships will come into being

:48:25. > :48:30.in shadow form this spring, and therefore will have 12 months to

:48:31. > :48:35.begin to take over its responsibilities before formally

:48:36. > :48:40.taking over in April 20 17. Specific points around training provision,

:48:41. > :48:44.which do sometimes occur, will continue to be dealt with in part by

:48:45. > :48:48.Ofsted through their inspections and in part by the schools funding

:48:49. > :48:55.agency, who will manage the relationship. At broader complaints

:48:56. > :49:03.will indeed be the responsibility of the Institute for apprenticeships.

:49:04. > :49:07.Last month it was announced that bomb RDA would lose 1080 jobs and

:49:08. > :49:13.that it's apprenticeship programme would suffer as a result. -- bomb

:49:14. > :49:19.RDA. It is one of the most impressive apprenticeship schemes

:49:20. > :49:26.that there is in Northern Ireland. -- Bombardier. What for has he given

:49:27. > :49:28.to consider some kind of co-operation between Northern

:49:29. > :49:33.Ireland and the rest of the UK in apprentices? As the honourable

:49:34. > :49:40.gentleman knows, this is a devolved matter. But I am happy to reassure

:49:41. > :49:41.him that I have had a meeting with ministers responsible for

:49:42. > :49:45.apprenticeships in all of the devolved administrations, and we

:49:46. > :49:49.have made a commitment to meet every six months to talk through these

:49:50. > :49:53.issues and try and learn from each other what works and what does not

:49:54. > :49:55.work. And also to ensure that the introduction of the levy actually

:49:56. > :50:03.boosts apprenticeship activity in all parts of the United Kingdom, not

:50:04. > :50:08.just in England. Last Friday, I was very pleased to host an

:50:09. > :50:11.apprenticeship and jobs fair in my constituency. I commend my

:50:12. > :50:19.honourable friend for his statement. Will he join with me in thanking

:50:20. > :50:24.employers waste in Crawley, such as Virgin Atlantic, C Geagea and others

:50:25. > :50:33.for sponsoring the apprenticeship fair and all they do in this sector?

:50:34. > :50:36.I am delighted to do that, not least because the employers that he

:50:37. > :50:40.mentioned demonstrate that apprenticeships are no longer

:50:41. > :50:43.narrowly confined to any traditional industries of construction or

:50:44. > :50:48.engineering. You can be an apprentice lawyer, accountant,

:50:49. > :50:59.digital creator. You can even probably some day be an apprentice

:51:00. > :51:05.politician. The minister will know that 96% of apprenticeships are

:51:06. > :51:08.delivered at levels two and three. Clearly it is very good that young

:51:09. > :51:11.people and others are getting those qualifications. But is he confident

:51:12. > :51:17.that enough apprenticeship opportunities exist at levels four

:51:18. > :51:25.and above, so there are clear progression routes? And I would

:51:26. > :51:30.briefly say to the minister, who I have some time for, that a lot of us

:51:31. > :51:34.on this side of the Chamber worked very hard, not least my honourable

:51:35. > :51:39.friend on the front bench, and the Chair of the select committee, to

:51:40. > :51:45.rescue apprenticeships from oblivion under a Labour government. Perhaps

:51:46. > :51:50.it would be better not to make this such a party political issue.

:51:51. > :51:54.Funnily enough, Madame Deputy Speaker, I was an apprentice

:51:55. > :51:58.politician to the honourable lady when I shadowed her as planning a

:51:59. > :52:03.list and I learnt a great deal in the process. She is right that there

:52:04. > :52:06.are currently too few higher and degree apprenticeships. And we would

:52:07. > :52:15.like to see many more of them. We are making reasonably good progress.

:52:16. > :52:20.There were 19,800 starts on higher apprenticeships, which was 115% up

:52:21. > :52:23.on the previous year. Degree apprenticeships are a relatively new

:52:24. > :52:28.concept, we now have more than 1000 people who have started them. We

:52:29. > :52:34.have much further to go. I think there will always be more level to

:52:35. > :52:38.and level three apprenticeships. , we want everybody doing these to

:52:39. > :52:43.look up and see the higher and degree apprenticeship which they

:52:44. > :52:46.could move on to. I am happy to pay tribute to her role and that of the

:52:47. > :52:50.chairman of the select committee, and the honourable gentleman, in

:52:51. > :52:56.reviving the idea and the practice of apprentice ships. Can I thank the

:52:57. > :53:03.minister, who recently met with me and colleagues from the Humber to

:53:04. > :53:06.discuss the establishment of a National Wind College in the Hull

:53:07. > :53:10.region. Could he reaffirmed the governments commitment to our young

:53:11. > :53:16.people in the region, that they will have the maximum opportunity to take

:53:17. > :53:20.advantage of the new jobs which are being created in the offshore wind

:53:21. > :53:26.sector? Absolutely. One reason why we have established the national

:53:27. > :53:30.college programme is in order to have colleges which can take

:53:31. > :53:34.especially the higher and degree apprenticeships which we are so

:53:35. > :53:38.ambitious four. The only reason why there is not already a national

:53:39. > :53:41.college for wind in his region is because the partners were not quite

:53:42. > :53:46.yet ready. We are very happy to work with them to help bring a proposal

:53:47. > :53:53.to the Chancellor once they do get ready. Could I start by paying

:53:54. > :53:59.tribute to my apprentice, Callum, and if the minister is doling out

:54:00. > :54:03.praise for those who contributed to apprenticeships, I hope he would add

:54:04. > :54:07.Vince Cable to the list, who I think played a fantastic role in

:54:08. > :54:09.government. Currently, the Government has decided to include

:54:10. > :54:17.within the definition of payroll bonuses paid to employee owners,

:54:18. > :54:21.although dividend payments are not covered. Will this mean that people

:54:22. > :54:26.at John Lewis will end up paying more in the levy? If so, does this

:54:27. > :54:33.not add a disincentive to that model of enterprise? I am very happy to

:54:34. > :54:38.pay tribute to the work done by the former Secretary of State, with whom

:54:39. > :54:40.I worked, and he managed to increase the budget for apprenticeship

:54:41. > :54:45.training at a time when most other budgets were not increasing. And

:54:46. > :54:50.that was an admirable achievement. The question he asked, I can give

:54:51. > :54:55.him a general answer. I do not want to tread on the territory of the

:54:56. > :55:01.HMRC. The general answer is that the levy will be applied to all PAYE

:55:02. > :55:10.pay, and that is the question., I will get an answer to him either

:55:11. > :55:14.from myself or from HMRC. I welcome the minister's statement this

:55:15. > :55:18.morning. I am a big fan of apprentices myself and I am

:55:19. > :55:23.extremely proud of the fact that in Rochester and Strood, we have

:55:24. > :55:28.produced 7410 since 2010, the fourth-largest in the South-East. I

:55:29. > :55:33.was at a college this week and they told me that they have had more than

:55:34. > :55:37.100 new engagements with employers since September last year. Could the

:55:38. > :55:41.minister assure me that we will continue to work with our colleges,

:55:42. > :55:46.especially in-place is like Rochester and Strood, to make sure

:55:47. > :55:54.that we have the correct provision to keep up with the demand which we

:55:55. > :55:56.are seeing? My honourable friend makes a very good point. I was

:55:57. > :56:04.meeting with college leaders just the other day. At the moment,

:56:05. > :56:07.colleges between them only secure one third of the money spent on

:56:08. > :56:12.apprenticeship training. And that money as we have heard is going to

:56:13. > :56:15.be increasing substantially. I have challenged college leaders and will

:56:16. > :56:20.do everything in my power to help them to secure two thirds of that

:56:21. > :56:22.funding, because it is a great further education college which is

:56:23. > :56:29.the heart of a community which is investing in young people and in

:56:30. > :56:32.local employers. I welcome the statement from the minister. Of

:56:33. > :56:36.course I think we do need to encourage companies to take on more

:56:37. > :56:42.apprentices to get the statistics up. I'm he will welcome in my own

:56:43. > :56:48.constituency the further education colleges moving to level three

:56:49. > :56:53.apprenticeship, right up to diploma level, which is very welcome. Could

:56:54. > :56:56.he tell me how often he would meet with the business industry and with

:56:57. > :57:02.the colleges in order to encourage more apprenticeships? Madame Deputy

:57:03. > :57:08.Speaker, obviously, I meet with the English businesses and employers and

:57:09. > :57:12.colleges a great deal. But many of those are also employers elsewhere

:57:13. > :57:15.in the United Kingdom and want to be able to have integrated

:57:16. > :57:18.apprenticeship row comes. I will commit to him that I will work with

:57:19. > :57:21.the devolved administrations to make sure that apprenticeship standards

:57:22. > :57:33.are nice in all parts of the UK. I welcome the minister's clear

:57:34. > :57:37.passion for using apprenticeships to spread opportunity and raise

:57:38. > :57:46.aspirations in our nation. Tomorrow I am attending an event held by the

:57:47. > :57:53.fell mongers so witty join me in congratulating them on helping

:57:54. > :57:57.Richmond becoming 1 of the best performing constituencies in the

:57:58. > :58:01.United Kingdom? 1 of the curious things about this job is that you

:58:02. > :58:05.discover occupations that you had literally never heard of, and I have

:58:06. > :58:10.to admit that I still don't know what fell manga is. I am sure I am

:58:11. > :58:13.going to find out and maybe 1 day I can join an apprentice Belle Monger

:58:14. > :58:25.and understand the trade that he has learned. Can I point the minister

:58:26. > :58:29.towards the survey not that long ago that showed that only 9% of young

:58:30. > :58:33.people doing a level two qualification were doing it for the

:58:34. > :58:37.first time. Bearing in mind in his statement, he said most of his

:58:38. > :58:41.agenda was about social mobility, how is that the compatible if so few

:58:42. > :58:45.people are doing that level qualification for the first time and

:58:46. > :58:50.so few are coming out with a higher level qualification that they went

:58:51. > :58:53.in with in the first place? I think the honourable gentleman is right to

:58:54. > :58:58.point out that there is a problem with people starting courses and not

:58:59. > :59:02.completing them fundamentally because the courses were

:59:03. > :59:05.inappropriate for them. It is something we need to tackle and it

:59:06. > :59:09.is more a subject that we are tackling through the panel that Lord

:59:10. > :59:13.Sainsbury is chairing, which is looking at establishing much clearer

:59:14. > :59:17.and more directive routes through technical education, so that at 16,

:59:18. > :59:22.you start because that is right for you, you're going to complete it and

:59:23. > :59:27.it will lead you to a great apprenticeship, I hope. 370 new

:59:28. > :59:33.apprenticeships were started between August and October last year in

:59:34. > :59:37.Cannock Chase, topping the tables in Staffordshire, showing that local

:59:38. > :59:41.businesses are really embracing apprenticeships. Does my honourable

:59:42. > :59:43.friend agree that involving employers in designing the standards

:59:44. > :59:47.of apprenticeships will mean that apprentices get the skills

:59:48. > :59:51.businesses are looking for? Can he confirm that the employers involved

:59:52. > :59:56.from a broad range of different sectors so that all the different

:59:57. > :00:00.requirements are met? My honourable friend is absolutely right. It is

:00:01. > :00:03.extremely important that while we do want employees to be in charge of

:00:04. > :00:07.developing the standards so that they are directly relevant to

:00:08. > :00:10.current occupations, it is also important that it isn't just the

:00:11. > :00:16.larger employers who have HR departments and senior managers who

:00:17. > :00:20.can go to meetings to help develop those standards. We do insist that

:00:21. > :00:25.every standard before it is approved has demonstrated that it has the

:00:26. > :00:33.support of small and medium-sized employers in the industry. I welcome

:00:34. > :00:36.the fact that the minister has indicated that he meets his

:00:37. > :00:41.colleagues in the devolved administrations on a six monthly

:00:42. > :00:47.basis. Could he provide us with an estimate of what the likely amount

:00:48. > :00:50.of money is that would be allocated to the Northern Ireland Executive on

:00:51. > :00:56.a proportionate basis as a result of the increase in the apprenticeship

:00:57. > :01:02.levy? The honourable lady is tempting me towards the edge of the

:01:03. > :01:06.abyss! I can point out to her because it is a matter of public

:01:07. > :01:12.record that the apprenticeship levy is due to raise 3,000,000,020 19-20,

:01:13. > :01:18.and 2.5 billion will be spent on English apprenticeships, and the

:01:19. > :01:23.rest will go to the devolved administrations. How it divides up,

:01:24. > :01:29.I cannot tell her, but the Chancellor will have more to say on

:01:30. > :01:33.this soon. I wholeheartedly support the Government's promotion of

:01:34. > :01:36.apprenticeships and I have been in discussion with many local

:01:37. > :01:40.businesses and colleges about the opportunities for young people and

:01:41. > :01:44.while many businesses do get it, like the accountancy firms in the

:01:45. > :01:47.region, many don't. There is a lack of understanding and I am going to

:01:48. > :01:52.hold an event to that purpose to which I would really like to invite

:01:53. > :01:57.the evangelical minister to come to spread his passion to help the

:01:58. > :02:01.economy. Madam Deputy Speaker, I would be delighted to come. I am

:02:02. > :02:05.going this afternoon to Keighley to attend tomorrow morning and

:02:06. > :02:07.equivalent event organised by our honourable friend for that

:02:08. > :02:15.constituency and I would be delighted to return to the West

:02:16. > :02:19.Country where I am from. As part of my apprenticeship as an MP I have

:02:20. > :02:29.discovered that fell mongers deals in Scoones. Is that right? OK, onto

:02:30. > :02:33.the serious stuff. The minister said that the decision to take on an

:02:34. > :02:37.apprenticeship was a way of avoiding large student loans. Given that it

:02:38. > :02:42.was his Government that imposed these loans, wouldn't another way of

:02:43. > :02:45.helping young people avoid them beat to rethink replacing student

:02:46. > :02:53.maintenance grants with loans or will he accused me of shroud waving?

:02:54. > :02:57.Now that I know what TfL manga is, I hope and trust that my honourable

:02:58. > :03:01.friend the member for Richmond will be able to procure a sheepskin coat

:03:02. > :03:08.for me when I come and visit his local fell mongers. To answer the

:03:09. > :03:12.question, we want young people to have a choice between taking a

:03:13. > :03:15.full-time university course, understanding that they will have to

:03:16. > :03:23.fund that through student loans which they only have to pay back if

:03:24. > :03:26.they earn over ?21,000, but getting all the University experience and

:03:27. > :03:30.infringement that comes from that. We want to place no cap on a number

:03:31. > :03:35.of people that decide to go down that route. We also want there to be

:03:36. > :03:39.another route for those people who find that they learn better by

:03:40. > :03:43.combining study and work, who want to earn a wage and don't want

:03:44. > :03:47.particularly to have that full-time university experience. It is not

:03:48. > :03:55.about telling people what to do, it is about offering them a choice. I

:03:56. > :03:57.also welcome the progress made in apprenticeships today and the

:03:58. > :04:01.overall positive tone across the parties in support of them. The

:04:02. > :04:05.minister mentioned broadening out apprenticeships and I wonder what

:04:06. > :04:10.progress is being made in encouraging apprenticeships and

:04:11. > :04:13.highly seasonal industries like farming and tourism. I am grateful

:04:14. > :04:18.to my honourable friend for that question not least because I have

:04:19. > :04:22.been working with him and others on the possible establishment of a

:04:23. > :04:27.pilot. With our minimum requirement that an apprenticeship at last 12

:04:28. > :04:30.months, it does some problems for seasonal businesses who could employ

:04:31. > :04:35.people for six or nine months but not for a continuous period of 12

:04:36. > :04:39.months. With the tourism industry, which my honourable friend is

:04:40. > :04:43.particularly interested in, we are looking to establish a pilot whereby

:04:44. > :04:48.an apprenticeship can be set up by the apprentices employed 412 out of

:04:49. > :04:57.a period of 15 months and hopefully that would encourage more. -- the

:04:58. > :05:07.apprentice is employed for 12 out of 15 months. The Titanic project in

:05:08. > :05:10.Belfast took place nine years ago and apprenticeships were novel, but

:05:11. > :05:14.it became quickly clear that while the developer was happy to satisfy

:05:15. > :05:17.the required number of apprentices, they did nothing to sustain them, so

:05:18. > :05:22.when they became less inclined to remain as apprentice or they fell

:05:23. > :05:27.away, the numbers were not refilled, so the end outcome was the

:05:28. > :05:30.apprenticeships were not completed as promised. How do we make sure

:05:31. > :05:33.that while the apprenticeship must last 12 months, that those that

:05:34. > :05:38.enter the system must go through and complete the system? The honourable

:05:39. > :05:44.gentleman raises an important concern. The truth is that in most

:05:45. > :05:50.industries, not all but in most, they are all telling us that they

:05:51. > :05:53.have a huge skills need, though it is relatively unlikely that unless

:05:54. > :05:58.an employer lost a big contract or did not find a new contract to

:05:59. > :06:01.replace one that came to an end, it is relatively unlikely that they

:06:02. > :06:06.would want to lose an apprentice in whom they had invested quite a lot

:06:07. > :06:10.of the training. Most apprentices don't reach their maximum

:06:11. > :06:14.productivity until after they have completed the apprenticeship. I am

:06:15. > :06:18.hopeful that those employers, particularly those paying the levy

:06:19. > :06:20.every year, will want to create apprenticeships and invest in them

:06:21. > :06:28.because they will want to use those skills for the long-term. Bristol

:06:29. > :06:31.South sends the least number of young people to university in the

:06:32. > :06:36.country, so I see apprenticeships very much as the key to aspiration

:06:37. > :06:39.and I share the evangelicalism. On his way back to the West Country, if

:06:40. > :06:43.he wants to stop off in Bristol South via Taunton he would be

:06:44. > :06:47.welcome to see the work we are doing. Yesterday I asked the Prime

:06:48. > :06:51.Minister about whether his delivery plan, in fact if he had a delivery

:06:52. > :07:02.plan or whether he was making up the policy as he went along, as some

:07:03. > :07:05.have described the delivery policy as iterative and agile. We still

:07:06. > :07:07.await the details of the levy, how target will work in practice and how

:07:08. > :07:10.colleges and other providers will be supported to do the important work

:07:11. > :07:13.they need to do. Genuinely wishing to speak with one voice on this

:07:14. > :07:19.subject across the House, can he tell us more about when the delivery

:07:20. > :07:23.plan will be forthcoming? Madam Deputy Speaker, she is right. We do

:07:24. > :07:27.have a lot of questions that we need to answer because we are making some

:07:28. > :07:32.very substantial interventions in policy to try and make sure that we

:07:33. > :07:39.meet our target both of numbers and quality. If I can put it like this,

:07:40. > :07:42.those questions, if they have not been answered fulsomely in the month

:07:43. > :07:49.of April then I will be severely disappointed. The Government is

:07:50. > :07:52.doing fantastic work in promoting apprenticeships and the minister in

:07:53. > :07:56.particular has been very supportive in my constituency having visited

:07:57. > :08:00.apprenticeship providers in my area. He is welcome to come back again. I

:08:01. > :08:04.am facilitating a meeting with local businesses to set up an ambitious

:08:05. > :08:07.target of 50 new apprenticeships in 50 days. Apprenticeships are

:08:08. > :08:11.fantastic opportunity for young people to earn while they learn and

:08:12. > :08:15.making it far more likely for them to secure future climate. Will the

:08:16. > :08:27.ministers put me in this ambitious plan to get young people

:08:28. > :08:30.locally into good apprenticeships? I want to congratulate my honourable

:08:31. > :08:33.friend for everything this clause and setting herself and her local

:08:34. > :08:35.businesses the target of creating 15 new apprenticeships in 50 days. I

:08:36. > :08:42.know it will be of vast benefit to the people of her constituency. I am

:08:43. > :08:45.probably fairly unusual in being a former apprentice myself. I am now a

:08:46. > :08:50.current apprentice along with my new colleagues. I welcome the

:08:51. > :08:53.Government's commitment to another 3 million apprenticeships in this

:08:54. > :08:57.Parliament in addition to the 2 million in the last Parliament.

:08:58. > :09:02.Businesses in my constituency are doing their bit. Would the minister

:09:03. > :09:06.join me in congratulating and banking some of those businesses

:09:07. > :09:09.that are today creating opportunities for my constituents

:09:10. > :09:18.such as red roofs and this rate, rose Garth nursery and Crest

:09:19. > :09:24.Nicholson? How could be delighted to do that, Madam Deputy Speaker, and

:09:25. > :09:36.it gives me the opportunity to point out that we have a house-builder in

:09:37. > :09:39.that list. So we have architecture, bricklaying, childcare, and a whole

:09:40. > :09:46.range of industries, so apprenticeships really are the

:09:47. > :09:51.solution to every skills need. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. And then

:09:52. > :09:57.there was one. I greatly welcomed the statement from the minister this

:09:58. > :10:02.morning ahead of National Apprentice Week. Would you agree it is vital to

:10:03. > :10:05.encourage the participation of young women in traditionally male focused

:10:06. > :10:10.apprenticeships and join me in commending the 800 employers already

:10:11. > :10:16.working with easterly college, which he has visited, in my constituency,

:10:17. > :10:19.where I will be this evening? They are employing talented young women

:10:20. > :10:23.like Maisie who visited Parliament this week and currently undertaking

:10:24. > :10:28.an advanced apprenticeship in construction and the built

:10:29. > :10:31.environment. That is a great note to end on, a young woman who has

:10:32. > :10:36.decided that the opportunities for her future career lie in the

:10:37. > :10:41.construction industry and in an advanced set of skills. Last week I

:10:42. > :10:46.visited juice and Babcock and they introduced me to two young

:10:47. > :10:50.apprentices who were apprentice riggers, moving unbelievably heavy

:10:51. > :10:53.pieces of equipment for power plants, and both young women were

:10:54. > :11:00.absolutely delighted by what they were doing. I thank the minister for

:11:01. > :11:06.his evangelical statement. The clerk will now proceed to read the orders

:11:07. > :11:12.of the day. Northern Ireland, Stormont agreement and

:11:13. > :11:39.implementation plan bill, committee. Order. Northern Ireland, Stormont

:11:40. > :11:46.agreement and implementation plan bill. We begin with amendment one,

:11:47. > :11:52.with which it will be convenient to consider amendments seven and other

:11:53. > :11:57.clauses and amendments listed on the selection paper. Tom Elliot to move

:11:58. > :12:04.amendment one. Thank you, Mr Chairman. I move amendment one in

:12:05. > :12:06.the first group. Obviously this is around the independent reporting

:12:07. > :12:15.commission on paramilitary functionality. -- paramilitary

:12:16. > :12:19.activity within Northern Ireland and reporting back on it. Hopefully that

:12:20. > :12:20.report will see a move away from terrorist activity within Northern

:12:21. > :12:30.Ireland. We have made a huge progress in the

:12:31. > :12:34.last few years, but we want to see a total end to that campaign of

:12:35. > :12:41.paramilitary activity. You only have to look at the more recent and

:12:42. > :12:46.distant past to realise some of the murders that have taken place. I

:12:47. > :12:51.know we have heard of loyalist paramilitary activity, loyalist

:12:52. > :12:58.killings. The honourable member for North Down has made many

:12:59. > :13:04.representations about the disappearance of Lisa, and what

:13:05. > :13:13.impact it had on the family and the community. In recent times, we have

:13:14. > :13:20.seen IRA murders, we have looked to the murders of Robert McCartney,

:13:21. > :13:26.Denis Donaldson, Paul Quinn and Kevin McGuigan in Belfast. What

:13:27. > :13:30.strikes me is the brutality and the clinical way these murders were

:13:31. > :13:38.carried out. The hallmark of the IRA of the past. We have seen is the

:13:39. > :13:42.these murders are not carried out by amateurs, they are carried out by

:13:43. > :13:55.professional terrorists. In the way they have gone about that. It

:13:56. > :13:59.reminds us of the IRA and terrorist organisations of the past. The

:14:00. > :14:03.Police Service of Northern Ireland has said in recent times that the

:14:04. > :14:09.IRA and the Army council still exist. We need to deal with that,

:14:10. > :14:14.and asked the question if that army council is still inextricably linked

:14:15. > :14:22.to Sinn Fein, who are in government in Northern Ireland. What we have

:14:23. > :14:27.sought in this amendment one is the appointment of the two members

:14:28. > :14:31.proposed to be appointed by the First Minister and typically First

:14:32. > :14:37.Minister for the Independent reporting commission. I do accept

:14:38. > :14:42.that within the document it says the executive will appoint those two

:14:43. > :14:45.members. What we are seeking is a mechanism to move away from

:14:46. > :14:56.political appointments. We feel it would be helpful to be carried out

:14:57. > :14:58.by a more independent body. In the progress of the