19/05/2016

:00:12. > :00:19.Good morning and welcome to BBC Parliament's live coverage of the

:00:20. > :00:22.House of Commons. Later, an urgent question by Steve double regarding

:00:23. > :00:27.the rights of parents to take their children on holiday during term

:00:28. > :00:32.time. That will be followed by a statement from Jeremy Hunt on the

:00:33. > :00:37.junior doctors contract. The main business is the continuation of the

:00:38. > :00:41.debate on the Queen's speech. It will concentrate on transport and

:00:42. > :00:45.infrastructure. Among the measures announced, a modern transport Bill

:00:46. > :00:51.covering new technology including driverless cars and the UK's

:00:52. > :01:03.possible first spaceport. And a bill to change the planning process and

:01:04. > :01:07.tackle the housing deficit. Before that, the leader of the house Chris

:01:08. > :01:08.Grayling will outline forthcoming business in the chamber and take

:01:09. > :01:39.questions from MPs. Order, order. Business question, Mr

:01:40. > :01:46.Chris Bryant. Will the leader of the house givers the business for next

:01:47. > :01:50.week. You will notice a notice of commonality in business next week.

:01:51. > :01:58.We will debate the Queen's speech. We will continue on Europe's human

:01:59. > :02:04.rights, keeping people safe home and abroad. Following, a debate on the

:02:05. > :02:10.Queen's speech on education, skills and training and finally an economy

:02:11. > :02:14.and work. Next Friday, the house is not sitting. The provisional

:02:15. > :02:19.business for the week commencing six to June will start on Monday with

:02:20. > :02:24.the remaining stages of a bill, one of the two main carry-over bills, to

:02:25. > :02:28.be confirmed next week. I should also inform the house that the

:02:29. > :02:35.statement on Syria that we had to move at the last moment will take

:02:36. > :02:44.place alongside the foreign affairs debate next Tuesday. The business

:02:45. > :02:52.for Westminster hall for 6th of June will include a debate on the

:02:53. > :02:58.restriction of the use of fireworks. If only the rules allowed me to take

:02:59. > :03:01.some interventions. I'm sure the thoughts of the whole house will be

:03:02. > :03:07.with the families and friends of those on the Egyptair flight 804

:03:08. > :03:12.which has disappeared over the Mediterranean. People will want to

:03:13. > :03:16.know what has happened. I hope that the leader will make sure the house

:03:17. > :03:23.is updated on all events because as I understand it, not least, because

:03:24. > :03:29.one Briton is on board. I think that was a sort of an apology for not

:03:30. > :03:35.given as the statement on Syria which was promised. Will it be

:03:36. > :03:39.separate from the debate? He has nodded, so we can move on. Can we

:03:40. > :03:44.have statement from the Foreign Secretary explaining he wanted

:03:45. > :03:52.General Sir Richard Sheriff court-martialed? As the general

:03:53. > :03:55.reports to Nato and not to him surely he should have been

:03:56. > :04:00.congratulated for stating that slashing troop numbers was a hell of

:04:01. > :04:08.a gamble and not threatened. I love a bit of dressing up, just as much

:04:09. > :04:19.as any other defrocked vicar. Almost as much as you, Mr Speaker. I did

:04:20. > :04:30.think yesterday it was a case of all fur coat and knickerbockers. The

:04:31. > :04:36.Queen announced that the government intended to tackle poverty to a room

:04:37. > :04:42.of Baroness 's and Countess is all dressed in ermine and jewels. The

:04:43. > :04:47.government announced that they would put the national citizen service

:04:48. > :04:51.which works six weeks a year on a statutory footing, while the nation

:04:52. > :05:03.youth service which works all year round has been slashed losing 2000

:05:04. > :05:07.workers, Kahlo 's is 350 youth centres -- closing 350 youth

:05:08. > :05:12.centres. Why not put the youth service on a statutory footing as

:05:13. > :05:17.well? That is what was truly awful about yesterday's Queen 's speech.

:05:18. > :05:21.It was pretending to be a one nation speech, it was dressed up as such. A

:05:22. > :05:26.Candy Frost reach if ever there was one. All sugar, whipped up with a

:05:27. > :05:31.hint of pink to make sure that we believe that passionate

:05:32. > :05:37.conservativism is still alive. The truth is, the Chancellor puts a

:05:38. > :05:41.stake through the heart of compassionate conservatives every

:05:42. > :05:45.time he stands at the dispatch box. Yes, let's reform the prison service

:05:46. > :05:51.but don't pretend that the horrendous state of our prisons with

:05:52. > :05:55.the rate of suicides, murders and nonnatural deaths at a high, with

:05:56. > :05:59.daily violence and drugs freely available as nothing to do with this

:06:00. > :06:06.government's assault on the prison service budget and the loss of 7000

:06:07. > :06:10.prison officers since 2010, largely on his watch. Let's improve adoption

:06:11. > :06:14.but let's not pretend that social services budgets in the poorest

:06:15. > :06:21.local authorities in the land are not so stretched that children are

:06:22. > :06:25.being put at risk every day. I'm sorry, Mr Speaker, you can say you

:06:26. > :06:29.want to tackle social problems in society until you are blue in the

:06:30. > :06:34.face but when you have paired public services to the bone, when you have

:06:35. > :06:38.inflicted the toughest cuts on the poorest communities and when you

:06:39. > :06:43.have systematically undermined the concept of public service, all your

:06:44. > :06:50.blandishments are nothing but a sugar-coating for a cyanide pill. I

:06:51. > :06:54.don't know what time you got up yesterday morning so I don't know if

:06:55. > :07:00.you caught the leader of the house on the today programme. He was

:07:01. > :07:09.trying to defend the former Mayor of London. He described him as a

:07:10. > :07:14.historian of making a historian's comment, as if it let them him get

:07:15. > :07:20.away with anything he wanted. The former mayor does have a habit of

:07:21. > :07:25.making up historical fact. My favourite one was his assertion that

:07:26. > :07:31.King Edward the second end joined a range of dissolution with his

:07:32. > :07:37.catamite Piers Galveston. I don't doubt that he liked a bit of Royal

:07:38. > :07:42.rumpy pompey but since he was beheaded 12 years before the palace

:07:43. > :07:46.was built it is pretty unlikely that he did so there. My only explanation

:07:47. > :07:50.for this so-called fact of the former Mayor of London was that he

:07:51. > :07:53.was a member of the Piers Galveston Society at Oxford with the Prime

:07:54. > :08:01.Minister where they got used to porkies. The short answer is, if the

:08:02. > :08:06.leader of the house was doing his business on the Today programme

:08:07. > :08:14.between six and 7am, I was in the swimming pool at the time. The

:08:15. > :08:20.Honourable gentleman is in danger of beheading himself because he has had

:08:21. > :08:25.five minutes. I think he is in his last sentence. Certainly in his last

:08:26. > :08:34.paragraph. I believe that the Prime Minister is going to the United

:08:35. > :08:39.States next week. I'm sure Donald Trump has a ticker tape welcome for

:08:40. > :08:47.him. When an international statesman like the leader of the house goes on

:08:48. > :08:52.international business. They always get hail to the Chief but I believe

:08:53. > :09:00.they have you Cadee sacks ready for him. A very serious point, all our

:09:01. > :09:05.good wishes go to the families who must be beside themselves with worry

:09:06. > :09:10.about what happened to the passengers on the Egyptair plane. A

:09:11. > :09:14.deeply worrying situation. If it turns out to be more than an

:09:15. > :09:19.accident, we will want to discuss that matter in the house. It is

:09:20. > :09:22.important to wait to see what the outcome of the investigations and

:09:23. > :09:30.our hearts go out to everyone involved. On the statement, it will

:09:31. > :09:33.be a separate statement we put it alongside the foreign affairs debate

:09:34. > :09:38.because those most likely to be concerned are likely to be there for

:09:39. > :09:46.the debate as well. Mr Speaker, he's such an old misery. Yesterday was

:09:47. > :09:49.Britain at its finest. Strong institutions, great tradition,

:09:50. > :09:54.things that make this great city one of the finest is not the finest in

:09:55. > :09:58.the world, a monocle should be proud of and a programme for government

:09:59. > :10:03.that is fulfilling the commitments me made to the elected last year. In

:10:04. > :10:09.an election that they lost and we won. We set out 21 new bills. It

:10:10. > :10:13.completes most of the manifesto we won the election on. It helps as

:10:14. > :10:17.achieve financial targets, to balance the books and complete the

:10:18. > :10:23.sorting out of the mess we inherited from the members opposite. Inc

:10:24. > :10:29.includes measures on prisons, is boosts the Digital economies and

:10:30. > :10:36.helps tackle terrorism. First of all, in the first 12 months, we have

:10:37. > :10:40.introduced a national living wage. We have seen unemployment at its

:10:41. > :10:47.lowest level since the 1970s. We have seen a fall of more than

:10:48. > :10:53.750,000 in the number of workless households. A change that means a

:10:54. > :10:56.transformational difference to many of our most deprived communities.

:10:57. > :11:00.The Conservative government sorting out the mess we inherited. He spoke

:11:01. > :11:06.about interventions and I have sympathy with him. He did better

:11:07. > :11:11.than his leader did yesterday. I thought, there is a man who spent 41

:11:12. > :11:17.minutes looking at the shoes of The People on this site rather than

:11:18. > :11:22.looking at his party leader making such an awful speech yesterday. Mr

:11:23. > :11:26.Speaker, I'm not sure he actually raised any other questions. I was

:11:27. > :11:30.grappling with trying to understand what he was going on about in the

:11:31. > :11:35.middle. We are at the start of a where we will deliver measures that

:11:36. > :11:38.will make a transformational difference to this country and a

:11:39. > :11:42.difference to our deprived communities making this country more

:11:43. > :11:46.secure economically and more secure against the national threats we

:11:47. > :11:51.face. I think it is worth, in a week when the YMCA named their latest

:11:52. > :12:02.building, Chris Bryant house after the famous Chris Bryant, not this

:12:03. > :12:11.one. I think we should pause for a moment to praise... LAUGHTER

:12:12. > :12:15.We should pause for a moment to praise the shadow leader. Here's a

:12:16. > :12:20.great champion of equalities in this place and he and I shared the

:12:21. > :12:24.ambition seeing more women elected to office. I'm delighted to see that

:12:25. > :12:31.his constituency is doing his bit by electing a woman to represent in

:12:32. > :12:35.Cardiff. In 2020, we might see a further step in that direction as

:12:36. > :12:39.well. On the subject of the shadow leader, can I congratulate him for

:12:40. > :12:49.stepping in to save the local calendar in Rhondda after the defeat

:12:50. > :12:50.of Leighton Andrews, perhaps he does have his own calendar girl in Leanne

:12:51. > :13:03.Wood. The controversial age tests -- HS2

:13:04. > :13:07.budget has been in the media over potential cuts to the scope of the

:13:08. > :13:11.project and the costs. The announcement for finalised phase two

:13:12. > :13:14.will not be until at least September, one your plate, is out of

:13:15. > :13:18.Italy blight on my constituents, can have an update on the progress of

:13:19. > :13:24.HS2 so that this house can get to know how big the white elephant has

:13:25. > :13:30.grown? I understand my honourable friend concern. His consistency

:13:31. > :13:35.faces challenges and benefits from HS2, which all parts of the economy

:13:36. > :13:39.in a way through infrastructure that will make a difference to jobs and

:13:40. > :13:42.the prospects of business. I understand the concerns. We have a

:13:43. > :13:45.debate today on transport but I will also make sure the secretary of

:13:46. > :13:51.state is aware of the has raised today. Thank you. Can I also think

:13:52. > :13:55.he would of the housework and is in the business for next week and pass

:13:56. > :13:57.on our best wishes for those caught up in the dictionary line issue and

:13:58. > :14:03.hope there is some sort of positive resolution. What a few weeks. We

:14:04. > :14:09.will have to spend most of our Times discussing this anaemic stuff in the

:14:10. > :14:12.Queen's speech when all they want to do is knock lumps out of each other

:14:13. > :14:17.for the EU reference. The debate in the Tory party is hardly reaching

:14:18. > :14:23.Churchillian standards of discourse, it is apparently all but insults,

:14:24. > :14:28.personal attacks and tabloid smears according to the member for Wycombe

:14:29. > :14:30.this morning on the radio. I know my friends are already considering our

:14:31. > :14:35.amendments for the driverless cars built, most involving blocking this

:14:36. > :14:40.Tory Government into that vehicle and heading towards the nearest

:14:41. > :14:45.cliff edge. The Scotland Bill yesterday in the Queen's speech got

:14:46. > :14:52.22 words. That is doing quite well for what we usually get. It might be

:14:53. > :14:57.a one nation Queen's speech, but one of these nations are certainly is

:14:58. > :15:00.not Scotland. We still have not secured a statement from this

:15:01. > :15:03.governance concerning all of the quite explosive evidence about the

:15:04. > :15:06.Conservative Party submission to the mission on the conflict between

:15:07. > :15:10.national and local spending when it comes to the last election campaign.

:15:11. > :15:16.There are 14 police forces investigating this alleged electoral

:15:17. > :15:20.Ford Dott fraud but would not read anything from the Government. In the

:15:21. > :15:25.Telegraph they said why the Tories won, the inside story of the 2015

:15:26. > :15:28.election, which said buses were critical to moving party troops from

:15:29. > :15:33.where they live to where the swing voters could be found. The central

:15:34. > :15:36.party paid for all the buses and trains as well as hotels and

:15:37. > :15:39.hostels. We know after year and urgent statement from this, about

:15:40. > :15:45.what they do when it comes to this and lastly, can we perhaps have a

:15:46. > :15:51.debate on World War II? Then it would allow all the senior vendor 's

:15:52. > :15:55.-- members to indulge their passion in talking about Hitler because

:15:56. > :15:59.you're about all of the dodgiest trees and the spurious examples and

:16:00. > :16:05.perhaps it would take my eyes off the raging civil wars. -- dodgy

:16:06. > :16:09.histories. Come first thing the honourable gentleman for his

:16:10. > :16:17.comments about the Egyptian plane. At all of us wait with hope and

:16:18. > :16:20.trepidation about what has happened. I am really not sure this is the

:16:21. > :16:27.week for the Scottish National Party to be talking about stories in the

:16:28. > :16:32.tabloids. I have read the news, there has to be something in the

:16:33. > :16:36.water in Scotland. As you remember me telling the house a few months

:16:37. > :16:39.ago, the honourable member for the Western Isles wrote about recess

:16:40. > :16:46.dates because he wanted to quickly ran in with the news. At that time I

:16:47. > :16:56.thought he was talking about sheep. Mr Speaker, the Queen's speech was a

:16:57. > :17:03.powerful package for this country. It is a powerful package that will

:17:04. > :17:06.deliver change to Scotland and the entirety of the UK, including

:17:07. > :17:13.important measure of our economy and security. The SNP cannot have it

:17:14. > :17:18.both ways. It cannot come on the one hand, demand and secure for greater

:17:19. > :17:22.powers for the party in Edinburgh and a far greater powers for the

:17:23. > :17:26.nation of Scotland and complain it is not actually getting a huge range

:17:27. > :17:30.of measures in the Queen's speech. We are looking to how the SNP are

:17:31. > :17:33.actually going to use the powers. Yesterday we heard a leader of

:17:34. > :17:37.Westminster was up again saying we want more powers from Scotland,

:17:38. > :17:42.perhaps they might like to use the powers they got the first place? I

:17:43. > :17:45.would on the subject of Scottish assembly and Scottish Parliament and

:17:46. > :17:47.the Scottish administration, I would like to congratulate the First

:17:48. > :17:52.Minister of Scotland on a real election and I would like to

:17:53. > :17:55.congratulate Ruth Davidson on depriving the Scottish National

:17:56. > :17:59.Party of their majority in the Scottish Parliament and we will be

:18:00. > :18:03.an effective opposition to the SNP and an effective unionist opposition

:18:04. > :18:07.to the SNP and we want told them to account to use the they've been

:18:08. > :18:15.given in the interests of Scotland and if they don't do so we will

:18:16. > :18:17.defeat them. The last point is, he raises about election matters, they

:18:18. > :18:26.are for the appropriate authorities, not for the Government. Can we have

:18:27. > :18:28.a debate on the BBC and its relationship with the European

:18:29. > :18:33.Union, particularly in relation to its coverage of the European Union?

:18:34. > :18:41.It was revealed in which the magazine this week that the BBC has

:18:42. > :18:48.received ?2.1 million from the EU between April 2013 and September

:18:49. > :18:54.2015, this is on top of at least ?141 million in soft loans from the

:18:55. > :18:56.European investment bank and on the European investment bank's website

:18:57. > :19:02.it says the European investment bank is the European Union's bank and we

:19:03. > :19:05.work closely with other EU institutions to implement EU policy.

:19:06. > :19:10.That is the only basis on which you get one of these loans. Surely these

:19:11. > :19:14.things should be declared by the BBC whenever they do anything to cover

:19:15. > :19:17.the EU referendum. Can we have a debate on this and perhaps a little

:19:18. > :19:23.of the house can tell us if he's agreed to BBC staff to -- should

:19:24. > :19:27.have to declare this? My honourable friend made his point with his

:19:28. > :19:29.customary effectiveness. I've no doubt the BBC will be listening

:19:30. > :19:34.carefully to this comment and if nothing else will ensure they go

:19:35. > :19:40.even further out of their way to try and make sure they are impartial in

:19:41. > :19:43.this referendum campaign. Can the leader explained perhaps we can have

:19:44. > :19:48.a statement the difference between the way in which the 1975 referendum

:19:49. > :19:55.was held in which ministers disagrees, there was no bitterness,

:19:56. > :19:59.it was argued on very important grounds and, as I say, without

:20:00. > :20:06.personal attacks. And the present way in which Government members,

:20:07. > :20:08.cabinet members and other members of the Government and its supporters

:20:09. > :20:16.have such bitterness and strife and rancour between them over the

:20:17. > :20:22.question of whether we Remain Leave. It is uncivilised and totally unlike

:20:23. > :20:25.in 1975. I found myself this morning sitting and writing a short piece

:20:26. > :20:29.about social reform alongside my deputy from a different side of the

:20:30. > :20:32.arguments, and I can assure you we are still best friends, unlike both

:20:33. > :20:38.people in the Labour Party who appear to be buried to know if their

:20:39. > :20:42.leader in the back. -- appear to be prepared to knife. Can we have a

:20:43. > :20:46.debate on the extremely important antimicrobial resistance report that

:20:47. > :20:50.came out this morning. This report was initiated by the Prime Minister

:20:51. > :20:56.and Chancellor and is vital. I know my honourable friend from your cows

:20:57. > :20:59.as a spoken eloquently on this but it is vital and we need to discuss

:21:00. > :21:05.the terrifying prospect of antimicrobial resistance increasing

:21:06. > :21:10.over the years as soon as possible. Can I just say my honourable friend

:21:11. > :21:14.makes a very important point indeed. We this house on political matters,

:21:15. > :21:17.this is something that affects all of us and it's a matter of great

:21:18. > :21:23.concern to country and the world as a whole. It is a serious issue and

:21:24. > :21:26.we will debate on Monday on public services and much the option to

:21:27. > :21:31.discuss this in this house with the section of state. If not, something

:21:32. > :21:39.that we should certainly look to return to. In the last month there

:21:40. > :21:44.have been 11 serious stabbings involving young people in my

:21:45. > :21:52.borough. There have been 114 incidents of serious youth violence

:21:53. > :21:57.in Lambeth and 2300, over that, across London. This is a crisis

:21:58. > :22:01.situation. It is nationwide, it has been occurring for several months

:22:02. > :22:05.and yet it did not merit a single mention by the Prime Minister in his

:22:06. > :22:10.remarks in this house yesterday in respect of the forthcoming agenda of

:22:11. > :22:13.this Government. With the leader of the house arrange for a statement to

:22:14. > :22:16.be given now on whether the Government will agree to what will I

:22:17. > :22:20.and many members of his house on both sides have been calling for,

:22:21. > :22:24.proper independent cross-party commission into this issue, because

:22:25. > :22:27.right now to many of my constituents it does not look like this

:22:28. > :22:32.Government cares about what is happening on our streets. Firstly, I

:22:33. > :22:40.agree with the honourable gentleman about this seriousness. I disagree

:22:41. > :22:44.with not taking it seriously we have sought to both tighten the law, and

:22:45. > :22:47.I did some of that myself when I was just a section we are seeking during

:22:48. > :22:54.gays young people. Yesterday's Queen's speech included are plans to

:22:55. > :23:00.extend and solidify the National citizens survey. -- to engage young

:23:01. > :23:04.Biba. The no young people. I want to pay to be to the voluntary sector,

:23:05. > :23:08.some part -- fantastic project in London sing to engage young people.

:23:09. > :23:11.This is an issue we will come back to and I will make sure the onset is

:23:12. > :23:18.aware of the requests made this morning and I can only assure that

:23:19. > :23:24.we take it seriously indeed. I am the chairman of the all-party

:23:25. > :23:32.Parliamentary group and earlier this month the peninsular real task force

:23:33. > :23:35.ended publishing its initial proposals and is available for

:23:36. > :23:40.public consultation into the 27th of May. Can we have a debate after that

:23:41. > :23:43.has happened so that Southwest members of Parliament can make sure

:23:44. > :23:49.that the apartment of transport understands excelling what we want

:23:50. > :23:53.in the south-west. I am well aware of the challenge that we face with

:23:54. > :23:57.rail in the South West, had the difficult experience a couple years

:23:58. > :24:01.ago of the line being washed away and extended period when it was

:24:02. > :24:04.closed. I know this is something transport planning to take seriously

:24:05. > :24:07.and I pay tribute to the work he is doing is making sure this is kept

:24:08. > :24:12.firmly on the desk of ministers. I would remind him that there is offer

:24:13. > :24:15.the statement this morning an opportunity for him to raise that

:24:16. > :24:21.issue in the debate on transport and I were advising to do that. Last

:24:22. > :24:25.Thursday after Parliament had been prone to the Government published

:24:26. > :24:30.the pure review reports on the deaths of 49 Social Security

:24:31. > :24:35.claimants who died between 2012 and 2014. This was after ministers had

:24:36. > :24:40.denied they had any records on people whose deaths had been linked

:24:41. > :24:44.to the Social Security system. Given the gravity of this matter and that

:24:45. > :24:49.this is the second time that data has been released on the deaths of

:24:50. > :24:55.Social Security claimants well Parliament was in recess when will

:24:56. > :24:58.the leader of the house arrange for a statement to this house on what

:24:59. > :25:04.action has been taken to address the recommendations in these reports? Of

:25:05. > :25:08.course, she will have the option to to raise this issue next Thursday

:25:09. > :25:10.when there is a debate on work and welfare matters in this house, then

:25:11. > :25:20.sure she will take option to do that. -- take the opportunity. In

:25:21. > :25:23.yesterday's speech I was pleased to see a higher education Bill

:25:24. > :25:26.announced in enabling more universities to be built, increased

:25:27. > :25:32.participation from deprived families and also increase diversity

:25:33. > :25:37.reporting as well. Can my honourable friend update house as to when the

:25:38. > :25:40.technical consultation on the Dott this will be announced, particularly

:25:41. > :25:44.for the university sector and timescales for the debate other than

:25:45. > :25:48.Wednesday next week? I do not know the dates of the technical

:25:49. > :25:52.consultation, but what I can tell my honourable friend is that the higher

:25:53. > :25:57.education Bill will be brought before this house shortly and it

:25:58. > :26:01.will be one of the early bills to come for debate in this session and

:26:02. > :26:05.I've no doubt one of my -- Mike honourable friend will want to make

:26:06. > :26:08.debate in this discussion. Can we have a statement from the old sexy

:26:09. > :26:17.next week on the plight of the brain family from Dingwall. -- Home

:26:18. > :26:19.Secretary. They have been threatened with deportation. This young family

:26:20. > :26:25.came to Scotland five years ago under the fresh talent initiative,

:26:26. > :26:28.they have contributed massively of the money and efforts to the

:26:29. > :26:32.community, self-supporting, contributing to community efforts

:26:33. > :26:36.including the young son Loch Long, seven years old, who has known no

:26:37. > :26:44.other war between what is first language is Scots Gaelic. Does the

:26:45. > :26:52.net two member of the house feel no shame that his family -- party's

:26:53. > :26:55.committee a huge disservice against this young family and the B+

:26:56. > :27:00.coloured? On the individual case I do not know the circumstances and

:27:01. > :27:04.and I will draw his commerce to the Home Secretary's comments this

:27:05. > :27:08.morning. I would say it's important to remember that if people do, for a

:27:09. > :27:12.temporary period it does not automatically mean that the end of

:27:13. > :27:15.that period they will have the right to stay. That is an important thing

:27:16. > :27:24.to remember when we deal with these cases.

:27:25. > :27:32.I wish to raise the case of a 38-year-old student from Lahoz who

:27:33. > :27:39.wants to leave her family to complete her Ph.D. At the London

:27:40. > :27:44.School of theology. Her Visa has been turned down despite the backing

:27:45. > :27:49.of her bishop in this country. Will the leader make time for a statement

:27:50. > :27:54.for these processes for genuine academic candidates so these can be

:27:55. > :28:00.resolved. It seems to be a pattern of Middle Eastern Christians put

:28:01. > :28:04.into bad circumstances and not evaluated very well. I cannot

:28:05. > :28:08.comment on the individual case because I don't know the

:28:09. > :28:12.circumstances. We don't have home of his questions for a little while so

:28:13. > :28:16.the best thing for me to do is to draw the Home Secretary's attention

:28:17. > :28:23.to the case and asked the Home Office to deal with him directly on

:28:24. > :28:27.it. The leader of the house has said that the government's intention is

:28:28. > :28:32.to make the UK more secure economically and in light of that

:28:33. > :28:37.could we have a debate in this house on farm gate prices in relation to

:28:38. > :28:43.the regional differentials between farm gate prices in Northern Ireland

:28:44. > :28:50.and in Britain. Farmers in Northern Ireland are being placed at a severe

:28:51. > :28:55.financial disadvantage. Mr Speaker, I don't know enough about the detail

:28:56. > :28:59.of the case she has raised. Perhaps she would write to me and I will

:29:00. > :29:02.make sure she gets a proper response. I don't have detailed

:29:03. > :29:06.knowledge of the farm gate situation in Northern Ireland but I will be

:29:07. > :29:13.happy to give a proper response to that question. On the front line of

:29:14. > :29:16.security in this nation armed police officers are put in dangerous

:29:17. > :29:21.circumstances and have to make a decision in a split second. If they

:29:22. > :29:25.are forced to make that decision, Babin face months of scrutiny on

:29:26. > :29:30.whether that decision was right or wrong. Can we have a debate on the

:29:31. > :29:36.process of analysing those decisions under scrutiny officers are put

:29:37. > :29:41.under. My honourable friend makes an important point. We are currently

:29:42. > :29:46.recruiting 1000 new armed officers as an essential part of the strategy

:29:47. > :29:54.we have two, terrorism in this country. It is really important that

:29:55. > :30:03.we make sure that if an incident does take place involving an armed

:30:04. > :30:07.officer, we must check the circumstances, we must not get into

:30:08. > :30:10.a situation where people do not want to be armed officers because they

:30:11. > :30:21.are worried about the consequences for themselves. The NHS action plan

:30:22. > :30:26.on hearing loss, does the leader of the house have an idea when that

:30:27. > :30:31.might be published. A number of hours will be bidding for an

:30:32. > :30:36.adjournment debate to debate this. It is good news for the 3 million

:30:37. > :30:41.hard of hearing or deaf people in the UK. It would be really good to

:30:42. > :30:45.see the government leading from the front on this. I know the government

:30:46. > :30:50.is working on this. I don't have a date yet but I'm sure he will want

:30:51. > :30:58.to fully update the house. I suspect it will be the Department of Health

:30:59. > :31:06.who will inform Parliament as widely as possible. It may well end up

:31:07. > :31:12.being debated. I should just, actually, if I might, to the future

:31:13. > :31:14.chairman of the backbench business committee of the commiseration for

:31:15. > :31:24.the events of the last couple of weeks. We knows? You may bounce back

:31:25. > :31:30.quickly. The humanitarian crisis in north-east Syria is becoming worse

:31:31. > :31:42.with age unable to reach the region. A kilo of sugar is ?1000. Isis,

:31:43. > :31:46.while on the back foot and Daesh while on the back foot still

:31:47. > :31:54.controls the only road with access to the region. Would the leader of

:31:55. > :32:01.the house allow a debate or a statement on this vital matter.

:32:02. > :32:05.Could I say that I was cheering for Newcastle on Sunday and how

:32:06. > :32:10.magnificent it was to see them beat Tottenham 5-1 in sure that Arsenal

:32:11. > :32:22.finished above Tottenham on the last day of the season. Mr Speaker,

:32:23. > :32:25.you've made yourself in normal enormously popular with one part of

:32:26. > :32:30.north London and enormously unpopular with another. I suspect

:32:31. > :32:34.you knew that. We will have a statement on north-east Syria next

:32:35. > :32:38.Tuesday. If there are areas not satisfactorily covered in the eyes

:32:39. > :32:43.of the honourable gentleman in that debate, we have the foreign affairs

:32:44. > :32:47.debate that follows. There will be an opportunity to raise what are

:32:48. > :32:51.immensely serious issues. They are difficult to address from here but I

:32:52. > :32:57.remind him that we are the second largest international donor to the

:32:58. > :33:00.different groups providing humanitarian support to those

:33:01. > :33:07.affected by the Syrian war. As football seems to be the theme, I'm

:33:08. > :33:13.sure the leader of the house would congratulate Partick Thistle on

:33:14. > :33:19.their 140th anniversary. When will the government published its

:33:20. > :33:22.response to the select committee's report on private members bills.

:33:23. > :33:28.When will we have a debate on the recommendations of that report? I am

:33:29. > :33:32.very happy to congratulate Partick Thistle on their anniversary. I'm

:33:33. > :33:35.sure he will be looking forward to a successful season next season,

:33:36. > :33:43.probably in the stands many Saturdays. In response to the

:33:44. > :33:48.procedure committee report on private members bills, we will be

:33:49. > :33:57.responding in the appropriate time frame which I think is by the 12th

:33:58. > :34:03.of June. According to Samaritans, 4722 people took their life in

:34:04. > :34:08.suicides in England in 2015. Whilst this trend is in a 30 year decline,

:34:09. > :34:15.in recent years it has worryingly been rising again to the highest

:34:16. > :34:19.levels since 2004. Can we have a debate on the implementation of the

:34:20. > :34:25.government's suicide prevention strategy for England and how the

:34:26. > :34:31.government might assist further the prevention of people taking their

:34:32. > :34:35.lives in suicide? This is, of course, a very serious issue,

:34:36. > :34:40.particularly among young men where we are seeing a real upwards trend

:34:41. > :34:42.in recent times. It is a focus for the government and one of the

:34:43. > :34:49.reasons we are putting more resources into providing a per medal

:34:50. > :34:54.haul -- proper mental health support. The Health Secretary will

:34:55. > :34:58.be here on Monday for the public services debate and I encourage him

:34:59. > :35:03.to bring up the subject in that debate so it remains in the sight of

:35:04. > :35:09.the Department of Health. Was the honourable gentleman here at the

:35:10. > :35:20.start of business? I was answering a call of nature, Mr Speaker. They

:35:21. > :35:26.give me. -- forgive me. I was at Saint James 's Park for the calamity

:35:27. > :35:32.on Sunday. Forgive him, he's a Tottenham supporter. Can we find

:35:33. > :35:38.time for debate on garden waste collection. In the borough of

:35:39. > :35:44.Harrow, the council has decided to charge the resident ?40 for six

:35:45. > :35:48.months and the collections aren't even being made. I receive

:35:49. > :35:53.complaints on a daily basis about this. It is time we raised the issue

:35:54. > :35:58.in the house so we can comment on the calamity of some of the rubbish

:35:59. > :36:02.collections in this country. I understand how frustrating it is for

:36:03. > :36:06.him and constituents but in his guise as the deputy chairman of the

:36:07. > :36:09.backbench business committee he is better placed than anyone to bring

:36:10. > :36:18.forward such a debate and I'm sure he will do. Kirsty Osborne. People

:36:19. > :36:24.are concerned about the new body armour that they are being issued.

:36:25. > :36:31.They can't get up if they fall down. They can't get it in on in the dark.

:36:32. > :36:37.Why issue kit to soldiers in the first place that puts soldiers in

:36:38. > :36:41.jeopardy? Can we have a system question on how systems have been

:36:42. > :36:46.failed. Can we have a procurement changed to stop this happening

:36:47. > :36:54.again? The honourable lady raises a serious issue. Apart from the Syria

:36:55. > :36:59.statement, there will be a defence debate on Saturday afternoon. It is

:37:00. > :37:06.something she may wish to bring to their attention at that point. I

:37:07. > :37:09.find myself in the curious position of echoing the honourable member for

:37:10. > :37:18.Shipley. It is entirely coincidental. Can we have a debate

:37:19. > :37:22.on the BBC White Paper. The statement took place before

:37:23. > :37:25.publication last week and there is considerable disquiet about the

:37:26. > :37:32.government's ideological moments and the ability to pack the unitary

:37:33. > :37:37.board with friends who could have a direct influence on the editorial

:37:38. > :37:43.policy of the BBC. The proposed unitary board of the BBC is not

:37:44. > :37:46.responsible for editorial policy. The director-general remains

:37:47. > :37:52.responsible for editorial policy. The impact and influence of the

:37:53. > :37:55.board is after broadcast and not before broadcast which is a weight

:37:56. > :38:00.has been in the past and should continue. Legislation will be

:38:01. > :38:03.debated in this house and there will be plenty of opportunities to

:38:04. > :38:09.question the Secretary of State before we get anywhere near

:38:10. > :38:12.chartering Newell. My local authority Cheshire West, along with

:38:13. > :38:16.Warrington and Cheshire East councils is currently locked in

:38:17. > :38:21.talks about a devolution deal for the area. I welcome it in principle

:38:22. > :38:26.but there seems to be a strange insistence on elected mayors. The

:38:27. > :38:29.area we are talking about is so broad and large, bordering North

:38:30. > :38:33.Wales on one side and greater Manchester on the other and I

:38:34. > :38:40.question the suitability of a mayor for an area so large. Can we have a

:38:41. > :38:50.debate on the need for elected mayors in areas quite so large? We

:38:51. > :38:58.are offering additional powers for devolved communities but we need

:38:59. > :39:02.them to come forward with proposals for structures for local government.

:39:03. > :39:05.The one thing they have in common is that we have to have confidence they

:39:06. > :39:13.can deliver what is necessary and I'm sure that's no different in

:39:14. > :39:20.Cheshire. I have a constituent Elaine who has a hereditary muscle

:39:21. > :39:31.wasting paraplegic condition. Despite being in her early 20s, she

:39:32. > :39:34.didn't qualify for PRP. Half of all awards like this are for three years

:39:35. > :39:40.or less. People with muscle degenerative diseases undergo

:39:41. > :39:52.continuing assessment which is cruel and a waste of money. Can we have an

:39:53. > :39:56.impact on PRP and its distribution? Issues like this are immensely

:39:57. > :40:00.serious and problematic for those affected. I would remind him that in

:40:01. > :40:09.Scotland of these are devolved matters and perhaps this is the

:40:10. > :40:18.wrong forum for debate. Urgent question, Steve double. To ask the

:40:19. > :40:21.secretary of education where the should be a debate on the right of

:40:22. > :40:31.parents to take their children on holiday during term time. The High

:40:32. > :40:35.Court judgment represents a significant threat to one of the

:40:36. > :40:38.government's significant achievements in education, improving

:40:39. > :40:42.school attendance. For this reason, the government will do everything in

:40:43. > :40:47.its power to allow headteachers to keep children in school. There is

:40:48. > :40:50.abundant academic evidence that says that one of the single strongest

:40:51. > :40:55.determinants of academic success is attendant in school. Even a week off

:40:56. > :41:02.in school at secondary school can have a significant impact on GCSE

:41:03. > :41:08.grades. This can have a great damage to life chances. That is why we have

:41:09. > :41:12.pursued a zero tolerance policy on unauthorised absence. We have

:41:13. > :41:18.increased fines, issued summons on parents with continued absences.

:41:19. > :41:23.Crucially, we have clamped down on the practice of taking term time

:41:24. > :41:27.holidays. These measures have been a striking success. The number of

:41:28. > :41:34.persistent absentees in this country's schools has dropped by

:41:35. > :41:40.over 40% from 433,020 ten to 246,020 15. Some 4 million fewer days were

:41:41. > :41:46.lost due to unauthorised absences today compared to 2012-2013. Overall

:41:47. > :41:53.absence rates have followed a significant downward trend from 6.5%

:41:54. > :41:59.in the academic year ending 2000 and in the academic year ending 2015.

:42:00. > :42:03.These mean that pupils are spending many more hours in school being

:42:04. > :42:10.taught the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in life. For this

:42:11. > :42:15.reason we amended the 2006 attendance regulations in 2013.

:42:16. > :42:22.Previously, special circumstances could permit a holiday in term time

:42:23. > :42:25.for up to ten days per year. Of course, the need to take time off

:42:26. > :42:31.school in exceptional circumstances is important but there are no

:42:32. > :42:35.circumstances in which a 10-day holiday to Disney World should trump

:42:36. > :42:41.the importance of school. The rules should apply to everyone. Parents

:42:42. > :42:44.are being come to take their children out of school and go to

:42:45. > :42:47.Florida it sends a message to everyone that school attendance is

:42:48. > :42:51.not important. This is a measure that has been welcomed by teachers

:42:52. > :42:56.and schools, unauthorised absences don't just affect the child that is

:42:57. > :43:00.absent, they damage everyone's on education as teachers find

:43:01. > :43:03.themselves having to play catch-up. For the absent children themselves

:43:04. > :43:08.because learning is cumulative, you cannot understand the division of

:43:09. > :43:15.fractions if you have not understood their multiplication. You can't

:43:16. > :43:17.understand why World War I ended if you don't know why it started and

:43:18. > :43:21.you can't enjoy the second half of the novel if you haven't read the

:43:22. > :43:24.first. If a vital block of proves -- prerequisite knowledge is lost in

:43:25. > :43:37.April it won't be understood in May. That is the recently given the

:43:38. > :43:40.schools the power to set their own term dates in a way that works for

:43:41. > :43:46.their parents and local communities. Already schools such as Hatton

:43:47. > :43:50.College in London are doing just this. In areas of the country such

:43:51. > :43:53.as the south-west were large number of the local population are employed

:43:54. > :43:58.in the tourist industry is nothing to stop schools from clubbing

:43:59. > :44:04.together and collectively change or extending the dates of their summer

:44:05. > :44:06.holidays or doing so as part of the multi-cabinet trust, and that the

:44:07. > :44:14.Government would encourage them to do so. Just about to conclude? We

:44:15. > :44:17.are now awaiting me were written judgment from the High Court that

:44:18. > :44:21.will outline our next steps in due course. The house should be assured

:44:22. > :44:25.we will seek to take whatever measures are necessary to give

:44:26. > :44:28.schools and local authorities the power and clarity to ensure that

:44:29. > :44:36.children attend school when they should. I do thank the Minister for

:44:37. > :44:42.his answer, however there is another aspect of this policy that sadly, to

:44:43. > :44:46.date, has been ignored, the economic impact this policy is having an

:44:47. > :44:51.poorest areas, particularly in Cornwall. In 2014 report published

:44:52. > :44:55.indicated the tourist industry in Cornwall had lost ?50 million as a

:44:56. > :44:58.result. I would say to the Minister that there is nothing socially more

:44:59. > :45:02.well for a family if your parents lose their job or have their hours

:45:03. > :45:07.cut because of the downturn in the tourist industry and the way it

:45:08. > :45:12.affects their job. I would also put the Minister that is another case

:45:13. > :45:16.that only 8% of school absentees is a result of family holidays at when

:45:17. > :45:21.you look at the attainment of those children, there is no drop-off in

:45:22. > :45:25.the attainment and family holidays are good for children, they widen

:45:26. > :45:29.their knowledge of the world and expose them to new experiences and

:45:30. > :45:33.children his family taken on holiday often perform better as a direct

:45:34. > :45:37.result. Can I ask the Minister to please look at this again and if he

:45:38. > :45:40.is going to bring forward measures to tighten these rules or strengthen

:45:41. > :45:44.them, can you assure the house there will be a full debate in this

:45:45. > :45:47.chamber on this occasion that it will not be secondary legislation

:45:48. > :45:53.and this time there will be a fool impact assessment carried out

:45:54. > :45:58.including the economic impact on the tourist industries is antifamily

:45:59. > :46:03.test will be applied to this measure and that a full public consultation

:46:04. > :46:06.will take place that considers the impact on all stakeholders, not just

:46:07. > :46:17.education, but the wider society and families especially. Thank you. In

:46:18. > :46:22.answer that two to that specific question, before 20 31st family

:46:23. > :46:29.holiday is made up between five and 6% of people absences. That figure

:46:30. > :46:38.has dropped to 2.3% in 2013-14 and 1.2% in 2014-15. I don't believe,

:46:39. > :46:42.with the greatest of respect, that we should be returning to the

:46:43. > :46:46.Dickensian world where the needs of industry and commerce take

:46:47. > :46:53.precedence over the education of children. Mike honourable friend's

:46:54. > :46:58.constituency is in the beautiful county of Cornwall and has accuses

:46:59. > :47:03.zestful and thriving tourist industry. -- hugely successful. It

:47:04. > :47:08.generates about ?2 billion of income for the UK economy. I doubt that the

:47:09. > :47:15.Cornish tourist industry will be best pleased by my honourable

:47:16. > :47:21.friend's assertion that tourism in Cornwall is dependent on treating

:47:22. > :47:27.children for its survival. -- true wanting. Another week, another

:47:28. > :47:31.crisis for the Department Frederick. Ministers need to get a grip. Their

:47:32. > :47:36.with school structures means they focus on the wrong issues mean they

:47:37. > :47:40.failed to deal with the bread-and-butter issues that matter

:47:41. > :47:45.to parents. All evidence shows that regular attendance is crucial to

:47:46. > :47:48.ensuring children fulfil their potential, 100% attendance records

:47:49. > :47:52.should be the ambition of all children in schools but this problem

:47:53. > :47:56.is of the Government's on making. Changing the diet instead teachers

:47:57. > :48:01.back in 2013, they should have done a fool impact assessment much

:48:02. > :48:04.earlier and acted to address concerns. The honourable member

:48:05. > :48:07.letter Westminster debate on the 50,000 strong position in the

:48:08. > :48:11.autumn, the Government said then they would look at the concerns

:48:12. > :48:14.raised, they've known this ruling is coming for a long time, they could

:48:15. > :48:18.have clarified the drop and they haven't. This ruling is now the

:48:19. > :48:22.worst of both worlds, it puts parents and head teachers in a

:48:23. > :48:26.difficult position and is not the best interests of children. By and

:48:27. > :48:31.large the system to 2012 with head having some discretion was working

:48:32. > :48:36.welcome parents and headteachers had a clear signal children should be in

:48:37. > :48:42.school. Headteachers know their parents and school community well

:48:43. > :48:44.and they are accountable for their children and school should have

:48:45. > :48:49.appropriate discretion. Will the Minister pledged to work with all

:48:50. > :48:54.interested parties across this house and outside this house to clarify

:48:55. > :48:58.the law in the interests of pupils, schools and parents. We pledge to

:48:59. > :49:01.work with him on that. The reality is that ministers have been asleep

:49:02. > :49:07.at the wheel, focusing on the wrong issues when we have teacher

:49:08. > :49:11.shortages and problems in primary assessment and it is time to the

:49:12. > :49:14.ministers to take their heads out of the sand and deal with these

:49:15. > :49:18.fundamental issues rather than fixating on school types and the

:49:19. > :49:26.expense of raising schools to hundreds. Will he do that now? I

:49:27. > :49:29.listen carefully but I feel that this is not on the same side as we

:49:30. > :49:36.are when it comes to raising schools to hundreds and improving school

:49:37. > :49:40.attendance is absolutely key to raising academic standards. What

:49:41. > :49:43.happened under the last Labour Government that it became accepted

:49:44. > :49:48.wisdom that parents could take their children out of school for term temp

:49:49. > :49:52.holidays throughout the ten days a year. Those numbers were causing an

:49:53. > :49:58.issue for us, we have to address the problem that we inherited from last

:49:59. > :50:03.Labour Government. Order. Let me say the Minister of State is going about

:50:04. > :50:09.his duty in the conscientious way we've come to expect. There is a

:50:10. > :50:14.significant number of young children observing our proceedings this

:50:15. > :50:19.morning and I doubt rather whether they will be greatly impressed by

:50:20. > :50:25.the deputies on each side of the house conducting a kind of a verbal

:50:26. > :50:28.tug of war from which each of them should desist. Partly in

:50:29. > :50:32.consideration of the children and partly out of respect for the

:50:33. > :50:40.Minister of State from whom we should hear! I am most grateful. As

:50:41. > :50:44.I was saying, under the last Labour Government it had become accepted

:50:45. > :50:47.wisdom that parents could take their children out of school for term temp

:50:48. > :50:51.holidays for up to ten days a year and we had to address that popular

:50:52. > :51:00.perception. That's why the regulations were changed in 2013. In

:51:01. > :51:05.2012 32.7 million people days were lost due to authorised absences,

:51:06. > :51:10.which is formed 28.6 point 6,000,020 14-15, that some 4 million fewer

:51:11. > :51:14.people school days lost as a consequence of those changes to the

:51:15. > :51:22.2013 make relations. That is a huge success that I wish the honourable

:51:23. > :51:26.gentleman would support that change. Can I ask the minister if he would

:51:27. > :51:31.agree with me that taking children out of school to come to the mother

:51:32. > :51:37.of all parliaments and learn about our democracy as one thing but

:51:38. > :51:44.taking them to land, Florida, in another. And, well, the work --

:51:45. > :51:49.rigger he's broken two brought to the subject of education and does he

:51:50. > :51:54.agree that if this country will succeed it needs to take education

:51:55. > :51:59.seriously. My honourable friend is right. This is about social justice.

:52:00. > :52:03.When parents with income take their children out of school to go to

:52:04. > :52:06.Florida, it sends a message to everyone that school attendance is

:52:07. > :52:10.not important. There is no circumstance in which a trip to

:52:11. > :52:16.Disney World can be regarded as educational. Can I asked the

:52:17. > :52:20.minister, I'm very fond of him and I thought he had a bit of a touch of

:52:21. > :52:25.the dickens about him, but isn't the fact that this is a serious

:52:26. > :52:29.fundamental problem that we still squeeze the summer holidays into

:52:30. > :52:32.about a six-week period that British Airways charge the earth to going

:52:33. > :52:38.round Center Parcs treble their rates. It is a serious problem that

:52:39. > :52:42.we should tackle for everyone possible benefit. I am on the side

:52:43. > :52:48.of being tough. I have constituents with great pressure from the Muslim

:52:49. > :52:51.community, especially Pakistan, to take their children out and they are

:52:52. > :52:56.the children that have been suffering. I am on the side of being

:52:57. > :53:00.tough, but let's look at this in a more fundamental way, please. The

:53:01. > :53:03.honourable gentleman who I have a huge admiration for the former chair

:53:04. > :53:08.of the educational select committee, is right. We need to look at this

:53:09. > :53:14.issue are more fundamental win that's we've given schools the

:53:15. > :53:23.freedom to set their term dates. They should be helping to coordinate

:53:24. > :53:30.schools so that they set different candidates that help their own

:53:31. > :53:34.tourist industries. Is the Minister agreeing with me that educational

:53:35. > :53:38.attainment is directly correlated to attendance and that narrowing the

:53:39. > :53:41.attainment gap and raising standards must be a priority for any

:53:42. > :53:47.Government that cares about the future of our children? Honourable

:53:48. > :53:53.friend is right. There is ample evidence that even taking a few days

:53:54. > :53:58.off school can have a serious effect on child's education. Particularly

:53:59. > :54:03.those secondary school years leading up to GCSE but also in primary

:54:04. > :54:07.education. Where the pattern of attendance is set. Charlie Taylor,

:54:08. > :54:10.our behaviour expert in the last Parliament, took a view that it's

:54:11. > :54:14.more important to set the precedent in Primary School so that children

:54:15. > :54:24.can enter secondary school are already in the habit of attending

:54:25. > :54:27.school every day. The Government is underlying the importance of giving

:54:28. > :54:30.head, and I support that in almost all cases with the exception of the

:54:31. > :54:34.opt out in religion to sex education, which I think are

:54:35. > :54:40.unacceptable. English and to turn time absences does the Minister

:54:41. > :54:44.agree that some holidays or the attendance of family funerals are

:54:45. > :54:47.both can be informative, educational or research at the autonomy and the

:54:48. > :54:52.discretion to decide whether in those exceptional circumstances

:54:53. > :54:57.should children be allowed to random absences and shouldn't the law

:54:58. > :55:00.reflect that? The honourable gentleman accurately reflects the

:55:01. > :55:04.law as it stands, that editors do have the discretion to grant term

:55:05. > :55:09.time absence in exceptional circumstances and the examples he

:55:10. > :55:13.cited court for example, funerals, is an example of the exceptional

:55:14. > :55:22.circumstance. Term term holiday to take advantage of lower prices would

:55:23. > :55:26.not be regarded as exceptional. Following on the same theme, the

:55:27. > :55:31.Government has been very consistent in saying it believes that a school

:55:32. > :55:36.should have more freedom from the state in making decisions. Does the

:55:37. > :55:38.Minister believe that this particular case you doesn't believe

:55:39. > :55:43.that schools should have those freedoms ordered two or is it that

:55:44. > :55:47.the schools have asked him to relieve them of the particular

:55:48. > :55:51.freedoms in these case? Whatever the rights and wrongs of the particular

:55:52. > :55:56.issue, it is clearly inconsistent with the Government's believe in

:55:57. > :56:02.giving schools greater freedoms? The schools themselves have increased

:56:03. > :56:05.freedoms if they adopt those academy status. They have freedom of the

:56:06. > :56:09.curriculum and turned it that these rules apply to individuals, there is

:56:10. > :56:13.no freedom for an individual not to educate their children. Have to

:56:14. > :56:18.attend school or attain education otherwise, which is I think the law.

:56:19. > :56:22.This is about the law applying to parents. We want a society where

:56:23. > :56:28.education is compulsory for all Tiltman in our country. -- for all

:56:29. > :56:32.children. The Minister must acknowledge the limbo that schools

:56:33. > :56:37.now find themselves in, the head teachers know precisely what the

:56:38. > :56:41.regulations say, but they also know what the High Court ruling is. Can

:56:42. > :56:47.the Minister clarify for the benefit of the headteachers who might be

:56:48. > :56:51.listening in on this statement what he thinks it should take precedent,

:56:52. > :56:54.the High Court judgment or the rulings as they stand? And if it is

:56:55. > :56:59.the High Court judgment on how quickly is the Government come to

:57:00. > :57:07.this house to reassert what it wants in terms of the judgment? We are

:57:08. > :57:13.still waiting to receive the written judgment of the local and as soon as

:57:14. > :57:14.we receive that we will refer that the honourable gentleman

:57:15. > :57:25.. Honourable gentleman and the house.

:57:26. > :57:34.The High Court judgment used in 90% threshold, where Ofsted will

:57:35. > :57:40.criticise those with an attendance below 95%? A 10% absence rate

:57:41. > :57:45.equates to one day off a fortnight. I don't think we should be

:57:46. > :57:50.encouraging that sort of attendance records in our schools. Thank you,

:57:51. > :57:54.Mr Speaker. We have heard a lot of talk from the minister about

:57:55. > :57:58.tackling the symptoms, I don't believe enough has been done to

:57:59. > :58:05.tackle the cause, which are these companies which can get away with

:58:06. > :58:10.charging astronomical prices during holiday time. When will the

:58:11. > :58:15.Government do something to tackle this rip-off culture in our society?

:58:16. > :58:20.This wassen issue can examined some -- which was examines some years

:58:21. > :58:23.ago. It is not an issue of the holiday companies ripping off

:58:24. > :58:27.consumers. It is the case that hotels around the world and in this

:58:28. > :58:33.country charge higher rates during the summer months and peek seasons

:58:34. > :58:38.than they do out of peek. Of peak. That is a question of market

:58:39. > :58:44.economics. Mr Platt is a resident of my island and it is the Isle of

:58:45. > :58:48.Wight council's decision to take him to court which has brought about

:58:49. > :58:54.this situation. It seems to me that the legislation is quite clear, it

:58:55. > :58:57.is for the head teacher to decide what constitutes exceptional

:58:58. > :59:01.circumstances. The head is undoubtedly to the best position to

:59:02. > :59:07.take account of the full picture in any request for absence. It is hard

:59:08. > :59:12.to envisage legislation, or even guidance, devised here or in

:59:13. > :59:16.Whitehall, that could probably take account of all possible exceptional

:59:17. > :59:23.circumstances. Does the Government intend to take away these decisions

:59:24. > :59:29.from the person who is ultimately responsible for the performance of

:59:30. > :59:32.their school? No, my honourable friend explains the situation

:59:33. > :59:37.accurately. It is a question for the head teacher to determine. And they

:59:38. > :59:40.should determine whether there are exceptional circumstances to grant

:59:41. > :59:47.authorised absences. It does rest with the head teacher. The current

:59:48. > :59:52.situation is obviously lacking in clarity after this judgment. My

:59:53. > :59:55.concern was there was a lack of clarity beforehand, that perhaps the

:59:56. > :00:00.minister might turn his attention to. I had a case where a family

:00:01. > :00:07.whose grandmother was Spanish were denied the opportunity to go to her

:00:08. > :00:12.funeral in Spain. I wonder if the minister would consider providing

:00:13. > :00:15.greater clarity to head teachers to ensure that kind of travel is

:00:16. > :00:20.considered exceptional circumstances? Well, I think the

:00:21. > :00:24.situation was before the High Court judgment was very clear that the

:00:25. > :00:28.head teacher has discretion whether or not to grant authorised absence

:00:29. > :00:34.and can do so only in exceptional circumstances. The NAHT have

:00:35. > :00:38.produced a two-page guidance which sets out what they believe their

:00:39. > :00:42.members should decide when determining whether an about sense

:00:43. > :00:47.should be authorised. The issue of funerals, it makes it clear in this

:00:48. > :00:53.guidance that fun would be regarded -- that funerals would be regarded

:00:54. > :00:58.as an exceptional circumstance. People now feel frustrated by term

:00:59. > :01:04.times and holidays based in an agrar Ryan past. Would my honourable

:01:05. > :01:11.friend agree that communities based in rural locations often have small

:01:12. > :01:14.village schools which stand to suffer disproportionately when there

:01:15. > :01:18.are absences from the sort that he has described? Yes, my honourable

:01:19. > :01:24.friend makes a very valid point. This is not just about pupil's

:01:25. > :01:29.education, which it is. It is also about the challenge it presents to

:01:30. > :01:34.teachers as they seek to deliver catch-up lessons to the pupils who

:01:35. > :01:36.were absent. In a small school with small class sizes it is doubly

:01:37. > :01:45.difficult for the teacher. THE SPEAKER: Mark Spencer. What

:01:46. > :01:48.assistance can the minister give to parents, to give them the education

:01:49. > :01:52.they might require when making decisions whether to take their

:01:53. > :01:55.children out of school or not? It seems that a minority of parents are

:01:56. > :01:58.making the wrong decision. Can he supply any more information on the

:01:59. > :02:04.impact of removing those children from school at the time they choose

:02:05. > :02:09.to do that? My honourable friend makes a good point. We need to

:02:10. > :02:13.emphasise the evidence that even small absences from school will have

:02:14. > :02:19.a long-term impact on a child's education, as I set out in my

:02:20. > :02:22.opening comments. A lot of education is that you need to learn one thing

:02:23. > :02:28.before another. If a teacher is not able to provide a catch-up lesson

:02:29. > :02:32.for that child they will permanently miss out on a crucial part of

:02:33. > :02:37.education. Does my honourable friend agree that this Government has taken

:02:38. > :02:44.positive steps to reduce the cost of family holidays and therefore reduce

:02:45. > :02:52.the financial incentive to reduce term time absence. Last year

:02:53. > :02:58.four-and-a-half million under 12 flews tax free.

:02:59. > :03:06.My honourable friend make the point better than I could have done. Thank

:03:07. > :03:10.you, Mr Speaker. Whilst I agree with the Government's response and their

:03:11. > :03:13.determination to raise standards, I do have some sympathy with my

:03:14. > :03:17.honourable friend, and the situation where we have a number of schools

:03:18. > :03:21.with a high concentration of people in the tourist industry, where they

:03:22. > :03:25.are relatively low pay, where there has not been a significant enough

:03:26. > :03:30.change in the cost of holidays and when there is not momentum around

:03:31. > :03:40.changes in Terims, there are a number of -- of term time and there

:03:41. > :03:44.is a number of to get into regional dialogue for economies where there

:03:45. > :03:49.could be a significant effect. I am happy to have a dialogue with my

:03:50. > :03:55.honourable friend. We have given discretion to academies to set their

:03:56. > :03:59.own term dates. I would urge all honourable friends representing

:04:00. > :04:02.areas with high levels of tourism to work with their schools, with their

:04:03. > :04:07.local authority, with other local authorities, to find a way in which

:04:08. > :04:10.they can set term dates which do reflect the needs of their local

:04:11. > :04:14.communities. Thank you, Mr Speaker. My honourable friend will know that

:04:15. > :04:19.actually in terms of children being absent from school it is disruptive

:04:20. > :04:23.to the child who is missing school but also to the class when they try

:04:24. > :04:29.to catch up. One of the experiments tried at the moment is to extend the

:04:30. > :04:33.school day by 30 minutes and extending the half term from one

:04:34. > :04:40.week to two weeks in certain areas now to aa position where parents can

:04:41. > :04:44.take their children on holiday for a two-week period. What does my

:04:45. > :04:49.honourable friend think of that idea? It is precisely the kind of

:04:50. > :04:54.idea we hope and expect will come out of the discretion that we have

:04:55. > :04:59.granted to academies in this country. There are many schools that

:05:00. > :05:08.are taking advantage of that particular freedom. Statement, the

:05:09. > :05:10.Secretary of State for Health. Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

:05:11. > :05:18.Thank you. For the last three years there have been repeated attempts to

:05:19. > :05:24.reform the junior doctor's contract to support better patient care seven

:05:25. > :05:29.days a week, culminating in a dispute which has lasted over 10

:05:30. > :05:34.months after ten days of discussion under the au pishs of ACAS, the

:05:35. > :05:39.dispute was resolved yesterday with an historic agreement between the

:05:40. > :05:44.Government, NHS employers, acting on behalf of the employers of doctors

:05:45. > :05:48.and the BMA which will modernise the contract making it better for

:05:49. > :05:52.doctors and patients. The new contract meets all the Government's

:05:53. > :06:00.red lines for delivering a seven-day NHS and remains within the existing

:06:01. > :06:03.pay envelope. We will publish an equallied analysis alongside a

:06:04. > :06:07.renewed contract. It will be put to a ballot of the BMA membership next

:06:08. > :06:13.month with the support of the leader, the chair of the committee.

:06:14. > :06:19.Mr Speaker, I would first of all like to express my thanks to the BMA

:06:20. > :06:22.for the leadership they have shown in returning to talks, negotiating

:06:23. > :06:30.in good faith and making an agreement possible. I would like to

:06:31. > :06:38.put on record my thanks to Sir Barber for his excellent stewardship

:06:39. > :06:44.and to Sir Dalton for his wisdom and insight.

:06:45. > :06:49.The agreement will facilitate the biggest changes to the junior

:06:50. > :06:57.doctors' contract since 1999. It will allow the Government to delive

:06:58. > :07:00.a seven-day NHS, improve patient safety, support productivity

:07:01. > :07:04.improvements and impoveing the morale of junior doctors with a

:07:05. > :07:08.modern contract fit for a modern health service. The contract,

:07:09. > :07:13.inherited by this Government, had a number of features badly in need of

:07:14. > :07:19.reform, including low levels of basic pay as a proportion of total

:07:20. > :07:25.income, making doctors rely on unpredict Kabul supplements to boost

:07:26. > :07:29.their income, automatic annual pay rises even when people take

:07:30. > :07:35.prolonged periods of leave from the NHS. An unfair banded system which

:07:36. > :07:40.triggers premium rates to every team member, even if only one person has

:07:41. > :07:45.worked the extra hours. High premium rates for weekend work which make it

:07:46. > :07:48.difficult tos are ter staff in line with patient need and risks to

:07:49. > :07:53.patient safety with doctors sometimes required to work seven

:07:54. > :07:56.full days or seven full nights in a row, without proper rest periods.

:07:57. > :08:01.This Government has always been determined that our NHS should offer

:08:02. > :08:05.the safest, highest quality of care possible, which means a consistent

:08:06. > :08:09.standard of care for patients admitted across all seven days of

:08:10. > :08:13.the week. So, the new contract agreed yesterday makes the biggest

:08:14. > :08:18.set of changes to the junior doctor's contract forren 17 years,

:08:19. > :08:23.including establishing the principal that any doctor who works less than

:08:24. > :08:29.an average of one weekend day per month, Saturday or Sunday, should

:08:30. > :08:35.receive no additional premium pay, compensated by an increase of basic

:08:36. > :08:38.pay between 10-11%. Reducing the marginal cost of employing

:08:39. > :08:45.additional doctors at the weekend by a third. Supporting all hospitals to

:08:46. > :08:51.meet the clinical standard, by establishing a new role for

:08:52. > :08:55.experienced junior doctors, a senior clinical decision makers, able to

:08:56. > :08:59.make expert assessments of vulnerable patients who may be

:09:00. > :09:03.admitted or staying in hospitals over weekends and removing t

:09:04. > :09:08.disincentive tos are ter sufficient number of doctors at the weekend by

:09:09. > :09:14.replacing a banding system with a fairer system which values week

:09:15. > :09:19.yeend work by paying social hours -- unsocial hours worked with more pay

:09:20. > :09:22.to those who worked the most. The Government recognises that safer

:09:23. > :09:25.care for patients is more likely to be provided by well-motivated

:09:26. > :09:30.doctors who have sufficient rest between shifts and work in a

:09:31. > :09:34.family-friendly system. So, the new contract and ACAS agreement will

:09:35. > :09:38.improve the well being of our critical junior doctor workforce by

:09:39. > :09:43.reducing the maximum number of hours a doctor can be asked to work in a

:09:44. > :09:49.week from 91-72. Reducing the number of nights a doctor can be asked to

:09:50. > :09:53.work in a row to four. And reducing the number of long days a doctor can

:09:54. > :09:57.be asked to work to five. Introducing a new post, guardian of

:09:58. > :10:04.safe working in every trust to guard against doctors being asked to work

:10:05. > :10:08.excessive hours. Introducing a new catch-up programme for doctors who

:10:09. > :10:13.take community leave or other time off for caring responsibilities.

:10:14. > :10:18.Establishing a review to see how best to allow couples to train in

:10:19. > :10:21.the same areand a offer training placements for those with caring

:10:22. > :10:27.responsibilities close to their home. Giving pay protection to

:10:28. > :10:30.doctors who switch specialities and establishing a review to inform a

:10:31. > :10:34.new requirement on trusts to consider caring and other family

:10:35. > :10:40.responsibilities when designing rotas. Taken together, these changes

:10:41. > :10:45.show the Government's commitment to safe care for patients and the value

:10:46. > :10:51.we attach to the role of junior doctors. Whilst they do not remove

:10:52. > :10:54.every bug bear or frustration, they will significantly improve

:10:55. > :10:58.flexibility and work life balance for doctor, leading, we hope, to

:10:59. > :11:04.improved retention rates, higher morale and better care for patients.

:11:05. > :11:08.But whatever the progress made with today's landmark changes it will

:11:09. > :11:12.always be a matter of great regret it was necessary to go through such

:11:13. > :11:17.disruptive industrial action to get there.

:11:18. > :11:21.We may welcome the destination, but no-one could have wanted the

:11:22. > :11:24.journey. Today, I say to all junior doctors, whatever our disagreements

:11:25. > :11:29.about the contract may have been, the Government has heard and

:11:30. > :11:34.understood the wider frustrations that you feel about the way you are

:11:35. > :11:40.valued and treated in the NHS. Our priority will always be the safety

:11:41. > :11:45.of patients, but we also recognise that to deliver high-quality care we

:11:46. > :11:48.need a well-motivated and happy junior doctor workforce, putting a

:11:49. > :11:52.new modern contract in place is not the end of the story. We will

:11:53. > :11:59.continue to engage constructively with you to try and resolve

:12:00. > :12:03.outstanding issues, as we proceed on our journey to tackle head on the

:12:04. > :12:07.journey the NHS faces and make it the highest quality health care

:12:08. > :12:11.system in where in the world. Today's agreement shows we can make

:12:12. > :12:17.common cause on that journey w a contract better for patients, for

:12:18. > :12:25.doctors and better for the NHS and I commend it to the House.

:12:26. > :12:33.I want to start by putting on record our thanks to Sir Brendan Barber and

:12:34. > :12:38.the cars for the role they've played in fighting agreements between the

:12:39. > :12:42.two sides in this dispute. -- finding agreement. I want a good

:12:43. > :12:46.pitch to the Academy of red medical Royal colleges who proposed these

:12:47. > :12:52.further talks and encourage the Government and the BMA to pause and

:12:53. > :12:57.think about patients. I have not been shy in telling the house

:12:58. > :13:01.secretary what I think about his handling of this dispute. That today

:13:02. > :13:08.is not the day to repeat those criticisms. I am pleased and

:13:09. > :13:13.relieved that an agreement has been reached, but I am sad that it took

:13:14. > :13:20.an all-out strike of junior doctors to get the Government back to the

:13:21. > :13:25.table. What is now clear, if it wasn't already, is that a negotiated

:13:26. > :13:31.agreement was possible all along. So I have to ask the house secretary:

:13:32. > :13:38.Why couldn't this deal had been struck in February? Why did he allow

:13:39. > :13:44.his pride back then to come before sensible compromise and constructive

:13:45. > :13:48.talks? When he stands up, he might try to blame the BMA for the

:13:49. > :13:55.negotiations breaking down, but he failed to say what options he was

:13:56. > :14:01.prepared to consider in order to ensure that the junior doctors who

:14:02. > :14:09.work the most unsociable hours are fairly awarded. It was a computer

:14:10. > :14:14.says no attitude and that is no way to run the NHS. Why did he ignore my

:14:15. > :14:19.letter to him on the 7th of February on which I asked him to make an

:14:20. > :14:24.explicit and public commitment to further concessions on the issue of

:14:25. > :14:29.unsociable hours. I was clear that if he had done that then I was

:14:30. > :14:38.having courage to BMA to return to talks. Why did he instead insist

:14:39. > :14:41.upon trying to bulldoze and impose the contract through when virtue

:14:42. > :14:46.everyone told him not to and the consequences of doing so were

:14:47. > :14:50.obvious fraud to see, protracted industrial action, destroyed morale

:14:51. > :14:57.and eight complete Britain in trust. -- for all to see. Can it house

:14:58. > :15:01.secretary say more about the changes agreed that can undo the

:15:02. > :15:07.discriminate effects on women of the last contract he published? Does he

:15:08. > :15:14.now accept the previous contract discriminated against women? Will he

:15:15. > :15:18.be clear for the record that he note two now understands that this was

:15:19. > :15:23.never just about pay, can he confirm the concessions have been made not

:15:24. > :15:28.only in respect of the mechanism for enforcing hours worked and breaks

:15:29. > :15:32.taken, but also in ensuring that those specialities with the biggest

:15:33. > :15:38.recruitment problems have decent incentives built into the contract.

:15:39. > :15:45.Moving on to what happens next, can he tell us what he will do if junior

:15:46. > :15:52.doctors vote against this offer? Will he still impose a contract? And

:15:53. > :15:59.which version of the contract will he impose? His preferred version or

:16:00. > :16:05.this compromise one? Can he say whether the possibility of losing a

:16:06. > :16:10.case in the High Court about his power to impose a contract had

:16:11. > :16:17.anything to do with his recently discovered eagerness to return to

:16:18. > :16:21.talks? We all know it High Court told him he had acted above the law

:16:22. > :16:26.when he tried to take the axe to my local hospital, so I can understand

:16:27. > :16:33.why he does not want that embarrassment again, and finally,

:16:34. > :16:41.can I caution him on his use of language both in this chamber and on

:16:42. > :16:46.the media. His loose words and implied criticism of junior doctors

:16:47. > :16:53.is partly the reason why this has ended up being such an almighty

:16:54. > :16:56.mess. Can I suggest a degree of humility on the part of the

:16:57. > :17:03.secretary of the state wouldn't go amiss. And can I encourage a period

:17:04. > :17:09.of radio silence from him to allow junior doctors to consider the new

:17:10. > :17:17.contract with a clear mind and without his spin echoing in their

:17:18. > :17:21.ears? Let me remind the house secretary that he still needs to get

:17:22. > :17:28.a majority of junior doctors to vote for this contract for this dispute

:17:29. > :17:35.to be finally over. Mr Speaker, I hope with all my heart that the

:17:36. > :17:39.agreement yesterday may offer a way forward. Junior doctors will want to

:17:40. > :17:45.consider it, trust needs to be repaired and that will take time. I

:17:46. > :17:51.hope for the sake of everyone patients and doctors that we might

:17:52. > :18:03.see an end to this very sorry episode in NHS history. Mr Speaker,

:18:04. > :18:09.she is wrong today as she has been wrong throughout this dispute. She

:18:10. > :18:13.spent a lot of time in the last ten months criticising the way the

:18:14. > :18:18.Government has sought to change this contract. What she did not dwell on

:18:19. > :18:22.was why it needed to be change in the first place, namely the four

:18:23. > :18:28.flawed contract put in place in 1999, we have major screamers with

:18:29. > :18:33.the BMA but once we agree on was Labour's contract was not fit for

:18:34. > :18:37.purpose. -- many disagreements. Could size and the contract right is

:18:38. > :18:44.like could sizing the mechanic making the car you just crashed and

:18:45. > :18:47.it's time she polished the contract changes -- acknowledged the contract

:18:48. > :18:50.changes have led to the number of the five day care problems were

:18:51. > :18:56.trying to sort out. She was also wrong to say that an all-out strike

:18:57. > :19:01.was necessary to resolve this dispute. The reason that the talks

:19:02. > :19:07.were not in the last ten days, the meaningful talks that we had, is

:19:08. > :19:12.because the BMA changed its position and agreed great goal sheet is

:19:13. > :19:17.wrecked to negotiate an weekend pay. She told the house four times before

:19:18. > :19:21.that change of heart that we should not impose a new contract. What

:19:22. > :19:24.would have happened if we have followed her advice? Quite simply

:19:25. > :19:30.today we would not have had the biggest single step towards a

:19:31. > :19:36.seven-day NHS for a generation. The biggest reforms Don social hours for

:19:37. > :19:39.17 years, with the extra cost of employing a doctor at the weekend is

:19:40. > :19:44.going down by one third. We would not have had the reductions in

:19:45. > :19:48.maximum working hours or many other changes that improve the safety for

:19:49. > :19:54.patients and quality of life for doctors. She was wrong to say that

:19:55. > :19:57.the previous contract was discriminatory against women, it

:19:58. > :20:04.removes discrimination, but does that mean there are a lot of things

:20:05. > :20:10.that we can do to support women who work as junior doctors? There are,

:20:11. > :20:14.and that is why the new Deal announced yesterday has an important

:20:15. > :20:17.and new character clause for women who take time off from maternity

:20:18. > :20:20.leave him they can get back to the position they would have been in if

:20:21. > :20:27.they had not had to take time off to have children. And she asked what

:20:28. > :20:32.happens if the ballot goes the wrong way. What she failed to do was to

:20:33. > :20:38.say whether she was encouraging junior doctors to vote for that

:20:39. > :20:44.ballot, and I say to her that on the 28th of October she has told this

:20:45. > :20:48.house that she supported the principle of seven-day services, but

:20:49. > :20:52.as Tony Blair once said, you cannot will the end without willing the

:20:53. > :20:57.means, and in this dispute shows refused to say that she was spot --

:20:58. > :21:01.supports the withdrawal of emergency care if you report -- supports

:21:02. > :21:05.contentious changes to reform we can premium pay and now she won't even

:21:06. > :21:10.say doctors should vote for the new agreement. Leadership is facing up

:21:11. > :21:14.to difficult decisions, not ducking them. I say to her this Government

:21:15. > :21:18.is prepared to take difficult decisions and fight battles that

:21:19. > :21:23.improve quality and safety of care in the NHS. She's not willing to

:21:24. > :21:26.fight them that is fine, but she shouldn't stand dispatch box and

:21:27. > :21:30.claim Labour stands up for NHS patients. If she doesn't want to

:21:31. > :21:34.listen to me perhaps she should listen to former Labour Minister Tom

:21:35. > :21:39.Harris, who said strategically Labour should be on the side of the

:21:40. > :21:49.patients and we aren't. If Labour isn't, the Conservatives are! Mr

:21:50. > :21:53.Speaker, could I add my congratulations on both sides for

:21:54. > :21:57.turning to constructive negotiations and far reaching an agreement and I

:21:58. > :22:00.would like to pay particular tribute to Professor Sue Bailey in the

:22:01. > :22:04.Academy of Medical Royal Colleges for their role in bringing both

:22:05. > :22:10.sides together. I welcome the particular focus on all the other

:22:11. > :22:13.aspects that are blighting the lives of junior doctors alongside

:22:14. > :22:17.negotiations around weekend pay and recognising we need to focus on

:22:18. > :22:21.those specialties which is hard to recruit two and those of junior

:22:22. > :22:26.doctors who are working the longest hours of folks of patient safety.

:22:27. > :22:32.We're not out of the woods yet, we need junior doctors to vote for this

:22:33. > :22:38.in a referendum. And could I add my voice to the voices of the Leader of

:22:39. > :22:43.the Opposition spokesman of health to say that I think what is needed

:22:44. > :22:46.now is a period of calm reflection and to build relationships with

:22:47. > :22:50.junior doctors going into the future. I wonder if this act of

:22:51. > :22:56.state could comment on his plans for building a relationship with our

:22:57. > :23:01.core workforce? Firstly I would like to very much agree with the

:23:02. > :23:04.honourable lady in her thanks to Professor Dame Sue Bailey and the

:23:05. > :23:10.leadership the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges has shown in making

:23:11. > :23:12.the initiative that in the end made this detox possible and the

:23:13. > :23:15.agreement is possible and I know it's been a difficult and

:23:16. > :23:17.challenging time for the Royal colleges but I think Professor

:23:18. > :23:23.Bailey showed real leadership in turn should have and I also very

:23:24. > :23:27.much agree with her about the need to sort out some of the issues that

:23:28. > :23:31.have been frustrations for junior doctors, not just in the last few

:23:32. > :23:36.years, but going back decades in terms of the way their training work

:23:37. > :23:40.and in terms of the flexibility of the system of six-month rotations

:23:41. > :23:44.that they work in actually operates and this is an opportunity to look

:23:45. > :23:47.at those wider issues, think we have started looking at some of them

:23:48. > :23:52.yesterday and think there is more we can do and I think it is very

:23:53. > :23:57.important that this is seen not as one side winning and the other side

:23:58. > :24:03.losing, but as a win-win. But the last ten days it showed is that if

:24:04. > :24:07.you sit around the table you commit real progress in a better deal for

:24:08. > :24:19.patients and doctors and that is the spirit we want to go forward. I

:24:20. > :24:24.absolutely welcome this agreement and I pay tribute to the Royal

:24:25. > :24:29.Academy of Royal colleges for bringing this about. I do wish there

:24:30. > :24:34.had been some response to the latter that we sent before the all out

:24:35. > :24:39.strike. Simic letter. That was the attempt we were trying to make to

:24:40. > :24:43.create a space that both sites could step into Britain that we got to it

:24:44. > :24:48.now. I welcome the recognition the quality issues to us and many junior

:24:49. > :24:54.doctors appear to be dismissed in the impact assessment, the idea of

:24:55. > :24:58.flexible training champions in each trust, I myself was a flexible

:24:59. > :25:02.training senior surgeon, the first one in Scotland at the time, and I

:25:03. > :25:07.think that is really important. The idea was celebrated -- of

:25:08. > :25:13.accelerated training that one concern I have is the issue of

:25:14. > :25:17.childcare, if women, junior doctors, will be working longer shifts and

:25:18. > :25:21.more anti-social shifts, I remember myself when I had to fork out for

:25:22. > :25:27.childcare, I would like to know, will the NHS respond to that? Is

:25:28. > :25:32.that in question are as -- crash hours or support? I welcome the

:25:33. > :25:37.hours Guardian will also be linked to the Director of medical education

:25:38. > :25:40.and they will be an elected junior doctors for. That was one of their

:25:41. > :25:44.concerns that they would have no voice in relation to the Guardian. I

:25:45. > :25:51.also welcome the idea of using modern technology in rota creation.

:25:52. > :25:55.At the moment rodders are sheets of paper and often no one looks at the

:25:56. > :26:01.shoulder of one closer to the next and people can end up with very long

:26:02. > :26:06.periods on call. I do welcome that but one concern that remains is the

:26:07. > :26:10.issue of rota gaps, we actually don't have enough junior doctors and

:26:11. > :26:15.we don't have enough junior doctors in the most acute specialties. I

:26:16. > :26:20.would ask, how is the Secretary of State planning to re-establish a

:26:21. > :26:25.relationship? How will he recruit people to fill that gap? Because

:26:26. > :26:29.that was actually the coffee of junior doctors, lack of doctors

:26:30. > :26:34.simply being spread further. How will we recruit and retain after all

:26:35. > :26:40.of the painful clash that has been going on for the last year? I

:26:41. > :26:45.welcome the tone of her comments, which I might say could have been

:26:46. > :26:51.the tone we might have wanted from the Shadow Health Secretary. Let me

:26:52. > :26:54.address constructively her comments as she made them constructively to

:26:55. > :26:59.me that she is right about flexible training, we have to recognise that

:27:00. > :27:05.we have a junior doctor workforce that is now majority female, that

:27:06. > :27:10.has a number of family and caring pressures that need to be taken

:27:11. > :27:11.account of and we need to do this for the NHS as well as because it is

:27:12. > :27:23.the right thing to do. I think we have to look at

:27:24. > :27:27.particularly the east Responsibilities of doctors with

:27:28. > :27:34.young children and one of the things we anoinsed yesterday was an

:27:35. > :27:39.obligation on trusts to take account of caring responsibilities. If you

:27:40. > :27:44.have a doctor who wants to work less time during school holiday ands more

:27:45. > :27:48.and during term time. The needs of patients have to come first. It

:27:49. > :27:52.could be something which could be taken account of, in the way that

:27:53. > :27:56.many other industries which operate 24/7 do. She's right to say that

:27:57. > :28:05.modern technology is key for this. If you are an air steward working

:28:06. > :28:08.for basmt, you can go on to an electronic system yourself and

:28:09. > :28:17.choose the hours you wish to work. We have seen a lot of low come work

:28:18. > :28:19.which is partly driven because they offer the flexibilities that people

:28:20. > :28:25.need. These are important changes and we intend to take them forward.

:28:26. > :28:30.May I tell my Right Honourable friend that the actions of him and

:28:31. > :28:35.his department and the BMA in reaching an agreement will be warmly

:28:36. > :28:41.welcomed, but will be met with a sigh of relief. Will he accept that

:28:42. > :28:45.the fact that the BMA were prepared to think again on crucial issues

:28:46. > :28:51.like overtime at weekends, should not be seen as a sign of weakness,

:28:52. > :28:58.but of maturity in working the Government to ensure a seven-day NHS

:28:59. > :29:06.that is for the benefit of patients and patient safety? I agree with

:29:07. > :29:09.that wise comment, as befits someone who is in fact experienced and

:29:10. > :29:13.working in the Department of Health. You always get further if you sit

:29:14. > :29:19.around the table and talk about these issues and it is much better

:29:20. > :29:23.when you have a Government that is determined to improve the quality

:29:24. > :29:28.and safety of care for patients, it is also better to recognise that if

:29:29. > :29:32.the Government is successful that will also be better for the morale

:29:33. > :29:36.of doctors because the happiest, most motivated doctors are working

:29:37. > :29:44.in the hospitals which are giving the best care for patients. That is

:29:45. > :29:49.why it is a win win. It was the refusal for many wreers of the BMA

:29:50. > :29:53.to discuss the issue that my Right Honourable friend referred to meant

:29:54. > :29:57.we did reach a deadlock. It was the fact this Government was willing to

:29:58. > :30:02.proceed with important reforms on our own f we had to, which meant in

:30:03. > :30:06.the end everyone came together and got a sensible negotiation. Everyone

:30:07. > :30:09.would have wished we did haven't to go on the journey we did to get

:30:10. > :30:14.there. Now we have got there it is the time for being constructive on

:30:15. > :30:19.all sides. Can I thank the minister and the BMA for coming to an

:30:20. > :30:23.agreement. It is a win win for everyone. Talk dialogue does bring

:30:24. > :30:28.results. It happened in Northern Ireland and in the conclusion of

:30:29. > :30:33.this process as well. 45,000 junior doctor BMA members will now be asked

:30:34. > :30:39.to vote in this and a date has been reached. We've had eight days of

:30:40. > :30:44.strikes since January. A cancellation of who,000 planned

:30:45. > :30:51.operations -- 40,000 planned operations what will be done to

:30:52. > :31:01.catch up with those cancelrationlations? We are in

:31:02. > :31:06.constant touch with the devolved regions to make sure they know of

:31:07. > :31:09.the changes we are making and to share any learn from the pro-ess

:31:10. > :31:13.ises we have been through. We -- processes we have been through. We

:31:14. > :31:19.are across the country now doing everything we can to catch one the

:31:20. > :31:25.back log of all the things which have been affected by the industrial

:31:26. > :31:28.relations dispute. Trust will always priority the areas where clinical

:31:29. > :31:34.need is the greatest. I know that work is on going across the country.

:31:35. > :31:41.Thank you, Mr Speaker. I very much welcome the agreement that has been

:31:42. > :31:46.reached. We know that the Secretary of State recognises the important of

:31:47. > :31:50.having a happy and well-motivated workforce and this contract

:31:51. > :31:55.addresses many of the causes of unhappiness for junior doctors. It

:31:56. > :31:58.is particularly good to see addressing the problems of couples

:31:59. > :32:02.who are both junior doctors. There is more to do, has been

:32:03. > :32:08.acknowledged, especially on the reasons why junior doctors feel

:32:09. > :32:14.unsupported and not valued by their employers. My honourable friend

:32:15. > :32:17.commissioned a report and a review from Sue Bailey, underlining the

:32:18. > :32:25.problems of junior doctors in training. Can he advise us whether

:32:26. > :32:29.this review will proceed? The request from the BMA was to find a

:32:30. > :32:33.way of proceeding with that very important work and we will do it

:32:34. > :32:37.with the input of Professor Bailey because she has an important

:32:38. > :32:42.contribution to make. She is right to say that as well as the issue of

:32:43. > :32:45.more flexible working for people with family commitments, the big

:32:46. > :32:49.issue for many junior doctors is the way the training process happens. In

:32:50. > :32:54.particular the way that continuity of training has been undermined by

:32:55. > :33:00.the new shift system, which we need for reasons of patient safety. That

:33:01. > :33:03.often means that you can have a different consultant giving advice

:33:04. > :33:08.on different aspects of care from day-to-day. That is frustrating. We

:33:09. > :33:11.will look at all those issues with Professor Bailey, with health

:33:12. > :33:16.education England and with the BMA to see if we can find a better way

:33:17. > :33:23.forward. Will the Secretary of State be aware

:33:24. > :33:30.that even my constituents struggling the possible closure of the A in

:33:31. > :33:34.Huddersfield will otherwise welcome and say thank you to everyone who

:33:35. > :33:38.has brought this about. Including, I have to say, the leaders of the

:33:39. > :33:45.opposition parties, our spokeses people who have done so much to help

:33:46. > :33:49.a positive spirit? Will he just not glout about that or keep that period

:33:50. > :33:55.of silence because out there, this is part of the phenomenon of the

:33:56. > :34:02.deep unhappiness about the NHS and problems will arise again because so

:34:03. > :34:06.many people work in the NHS service, know it has been privatised by the

:34:07. > :34:10.back door, know that the clinical commissioning system is not working

:34:11. > :34:15.and that problems will come back again and again unless he confronts

:34:16. > :34:20.that. Weshlings it would have been a

:34:21. > :34:24.constructive contribution to this morning's debate if he had not

:34:25. > :34:29.started to descend into totally false slurs about this Government's

:34:30. > :34:32.commitment to our NHS. I say to him, if you support the NHS, if you are

:34:33. > :34:37.passionate about it as this Government is, you put the money in

:34:38. > :34:41.- ?5.5 billion more than his party was promising at the last election

:34:42. > :34:46.and you make the difficult reforms necessary to make sure that NHS care

:34:47. > :34:49.is as good or better than anything which can be provided in the private

:34:50. > :34:54.sector. That is what this Government is doing. We believe in our NHS and

:34:55. > :34:58.we are backing it to give it the best care anywhere in the world. I

:34:59. > :35:02.strongly welcome this important statement and the leadership from

:35:03. > :35:06.the Secretary of State and congratulate all those involved in

:35:07. > :35:12.the discussions. On Tuesday, in Eastly, I spoke with a constituent,

:35:13. > :35:18.a junior doctor and new mum married to a senior nurse at my advice

:35:19. > :35:23.surgery. She's unable to fast track into GP working and future care

:35:24. > :35:28.around her four-month-old baby is part of the concerns she has, and

:35:29. > :35:32.around these negotiations and it weighs heavily on this family,

:35:33. > :35:36.particularly around on-call working. Can I ask that agile working and

:35:37. > :35:40.those family first issues are truly taken into account where there are

:35:41. > :35:44.nurses and doctors trying to bring up families together?

:35:45. > :35:49.My honourable friend gives one example. I think there are thousands

:35:50. > :35:55.of examples of people like that who are totally committed to the NHS,

:35:56. > :36:00.have a bright future and can make a huge contribution to the success of

:36:01. > :36:03.the NHS in doing a good job looking after patients, but also have home

:36:04. > :36:08.responsibilities, which are difficult to fulfil when you have

:36:09. > :36:17.very inflexible Ross tering systems. This is one of -- rostering systems.

:36:18. > :36:22.We will look at how it brings in that flexibility. If we don't do

:36:23. > :36:27.that we will see more and more doctors saying they will work to

:36:28. > :36:33.work as locums or want to work for an agency. That is why we have an

:36:34. > :36:36.urgent need from the perspective of patients and doctors to address that

:36:37. > :36:40.issue. I am interested in the Secretary of

:36:41. > :36:45.State's thoughts about the serious impact on morale that this dispute

:36:46. > :36:49.has had. I was talking to a junior doctor in Sheffield this-the-other

:36:50. > :36:54.day who said priority to -- prior to the dispute he did not look at his

:36:55. > :36:59.contract, he simply got on and did whatever was needed. Does the

:37:00. > :37:04.Secretary of State realise even if this is settled there's been a

:37:05. > :37:08.serious impact on goodwill in the health service which could affect

:37:09. > :37:15.service delivery going forward? I would say to him that if he looks at

:37:16. > :37:18.the latest NHS staff survey we actually see higher staff

:37:19. > :37:21.motivation, better communication and more staff recommending their

:37:22. > :37:29.organisation as a place to work or be treated. I also do accept that

:37:30. > :37:35.when you make big changes to a contract like the junior doctor's

:37:36. > :37:39.contract they can be contentious and have an impact on morale. Morale

:37:40. > :37:45.goes up when doctors are able to give better care for patients and

:37:46. > :37:50.this is what this will require. The Secretary of State I think has done

:37:51. > :37:54.a very good job in explaining today. Look, let's look at this, the BMA

:37:55. > :37:58.caused a problem which should have been resolved a long time ago thasmt

:37:59. > :38:03.decided they would make a political point. That is fair enough.

:38:04. > :38:06.Conversely the opposition should have actually been big enough to

:38:07. > :38:12.say, look, we want to cause political trouble on this. A lot of

:38:13. > :38:17.this has been caused by political shenanigans. The failure of this is

:38:18. > :38:22.the junior doctors themselves have lost prestige throughout the UK

:38:23. > :38:29.because they were used by political pawns as two organisations. Well, I

:38:30. > :38:33.think it is a great tragedy that the dispute unfolded in the way it did.

:38:34. > :38:38.I am sure there are people with different agendas who have not

:38:39. > :38:44.played constructive roles at various points. Given we now have an

:38:45. > :38:48.agreement I want to look forward and say the lesson of the last ten days

:38:49. > :38:53.is when you sit down and negotiate about all the outstanding issues

:38:54. > :38:56.with a Government that is trying to make care better and safer for

:38:57. > :39:00.patients then you get a result which is good for everyone.

:39:01. > :39:05.It is not the time to be claiming victory. This negotiated agreement

:39:06. > :39:09.now has to be put to the members of the British Medical Association.

:39:10. > :39:18.Will the Secretary of State acknowledge that his own refusal to

:39:19. > :39:22.negotiate easts a sister baiteded this crisis? Will he heed my

:39:23. > :39:26.honourable friend, the Shadow Secretary's call for a period of

:39:27. > :39:31.silence in order to avoid antagonising the junior doctors

:39:32. > :39:36.still further? Let 's be absolutely clear there was never a refusal to

:39:37. > :39:41.negotiate on the Government's side. You know, we have now, I think,

:39:42. > :39:46.developed a lot of trust between the Government and the BMA leadership.

:39:47. > :39:48.Until that point, they balloted for industrial action without even

:39:49. > :39:52.sitting down and talking to the Government and they refused to

:39:53. > :39:57.discuss the issue of weekend pay premium, which is the crucial change

:39:58. > :40:00.we needed for a seven-day NHS. It is when they changed their position on

:40:01. > :40:05.those areas that we were able to have constructive talks and that is

:40:06. > :40:09.why they deserve great credit for coming to the table and negotiating

:40:10. > :40:15.on things they did not want to previously.

:40:16. > :40:18.I would like to say thank you to the Secretary of State for bringing hard

:40:19. > :40:23.to bring about this resolution and always putting users of the NHS at

:40:24. > :40:30.the heart of everything he does. Will he join me in urging junior

:40:31. > :40:33.doctors to consider it with an open mind and strip out some of the

:40:34. > :40:38.politics we have heard. And let's consider what is best for patients,

:40:39. > :40:43.for the NHS and then what is best for the junior doctors? She speaks

:40:44. > :40:49.very wisely. All I would say is that I understand in a very contentious

:40:50. > :40:52.industrial relations dispute that junior doctors will not necessarily

:40:53. > :40:57.look to me for advice as to which way they should vote, but it wasn't

:40:58. > :41:00.just me doing this agreement, it was a negotiated agreement and the

:41:01. > :41:04.leader of the junior doctors committee said it is a good

:41:05. > :41:09.agreement, he will support people to support it and he thinks it is a

:41:10. > :41:12.good way forward for doctors and patients T people closest to the

:41:13. > :41:16.detail, to the negotiations think it is the right step forward for junior

:41:17. > :41:24.doctors and that is something I want to take account of. Thank you, Mr

:41:25. > :41:28.Speaker. I don't wish to invite the Secretary of State to provoke by

:41:29. > :41:32.presumption. If this changes the shape of services it will have

:41:33. > :41:37.implications for other health professions. Is he prepared to have

:41:38. > :41:42.further conversation that needs to be had there and with counterparts

:41:43. > :41:48.across these nationals to professional education and training?

:41:49. > :41:53.We are of course willing to have those discussions with colleagues in

:41:54. > :41:59.other parts of the UK. But he is right that to have a seven-day

:42:00. > :42:03.service doesn't just involve junior doctors, it involves widespread

:42:04. > :42:07.changes across the service. I would say for nurses, health care

:42:08. > :42:13.assistants, porters, cleaners, others who work in hospitals, they

:42:14. > :42:16.already operate on 24/7 shifts. So the changes necessary to contracts

:42:17. > :42:21.are much less profound than they are to some of the doctors' contracts,

:42:22. > :42:26.which is why it is important that we change not just the junior doctors'

:42:27. > :42:30.contract but the consultants' contracts and the fact we have an

:42:31. > :42:32.agreement bodies well for the consultants' contract, which is the

:42:33. > :42:42.next step. Can I congratulate my honourable

:42:43. > :42:49.friend and all honourable friend the member for switch for his hard work

:42:50. > :42:54.in dealing with the dispute with the BMA. Patients up and down the

:42:55. > :42:57.country, including mine, were somewhat concerned about the

:42:58. > :43:01.cancelled operations but I'm delighted that the deployment will

:43:02. > :43:07.try and make sure this gets caught up with. -- department. One of the

:43:08. > :43:11.things come out of it was that some senior consultants had to end up on

:43:12. > :43:15.the front line for the first time in a long time and can I ask what can

:43:16. > :43:18.be done to make sure this happens on a regular basis so they are getting

:43:19. > :43:28.experience on the front line as well? Think I will dig myself into a

:43:29. > :43:36.deep old answer that directly. I would like to echo his thanks to my

:43:37. > :43:42.honourable friend the member for Ipswich, who has done an outstanding

:43:43. > :43:46.job at every stage throughout this very difficult period and I can

:43:47. > :43:49.certainly say we would not have had yesterday's agreement without his

:43:50. > :43:59.very strong help and support at every stage. I think it's true that

:44:00. > :44:02.there are A departments that have to plan for the withdrawal of

:44:03. > :44:08.emergency care and they found that having consultants more visible to

:44:09. > :44:11.patients had some positive impact and I know studies are going on to

:44:12. > :44:18.see what lessons can be learned going forward. I too welcome the

:44:19. > :44:24.opportunity for a negotiated settlement, but let us take a moment

:44:25. > :44:29.to reflect on one of the fundamental principles of the NHS about

:44:30. > :44:33.providing high quality patient care, and to that end, Woody section of

:44:34. > :44:37.state figures opportunity to offer our heartfelt and sincere apology

:44:38. > :44:41.for the significant and severe distress that has been caused to

:44:42. > :44:47.patients as a result of this prolonged dispute? With the gift

:44:48. > :44:53.greatest of respect it was not my decision to take industrial action,

:44:54. > :44:57.to ballot without him in being prepared to sit around the table and

:44:58. > :45:01.talk to the Government, and with respect to patient safety we seemed

:45:02. > :45:05.about improvements in beige and safety under this Government as we

:45:06. > :45:13.face up to the many problems in care that we inherited, not just miss

:45:14. > :45:16.staffs and many other places that option should welcome the changes

:45:17. > :45:24.we've made in one of those it have a seven-day NHS. Like many colleagues

:45:25. > :45:29.in the house, wrote visit to stick on numerous occasions over the last

:45:30. > :45:31.six months to express concerns of local junior doctors so,

:45:32. > :45:35.congratulate him on reaching this and I hope the new doctors in

:45:36. > :45:38.Wimbledon will wholeheartedly support this deal. Can I say we

:45:39. > :45:43.spoken about the Guardian and the ability of it and its role to

:45:44. > :45:48.safeguard and have safe working hours per patients and doctors. Can

:45:49. > :45:51.have more details about how that should work? I'm happy to do that

:45:52. > :45:56.and I thank him for his correspondence. The principle is

:45:57. > :46:00.that junior doctors want to know that there is someone independent

:46:01. > :46:05.that they can appeal to the think they are being asked to work hours

:46:06. > :46:08.that are unsafe the spin they cannot work -- after patients how they

:46:09. > :46:13.wanted because they're physically or mentally too exhausted. That is

:46:14. > :46:19.something we would all want to make possible but it means they need to

:46:20. > :46:22.have someone who is the -- is not their line manager, someone

:46:23. > :46:27.independent and separate. One of the areas we made the most progress in

:46:28. > :46:32.the last few months, even before the last ten days, is establishing how

:46:33. > :46:39.these guardians can work in a way that has the of the hospitals the

:46:40. > :46:43.doctors working there. The section of state is right when he says you

:46:44. > :46:48.always get further if you get around the table. I ask him why in response

:46:49. > :46:52.to the cross-party initiative back in February to get everyone around

:46:53. > :46:57.the table didn't he do that and save us all this trouble rather than

:46:58. > :47:00.finding both the contract? The cross-party initiative was in for a

:47:01. > :47:05.new contract, it was to abandon plans for a new contract and just

:47:06. > :47:09.have pilots in a few limited places and if we had followed that advice

:47:10. > :47:14.we would not now today had the biggest changes in junior doctor

:47:15. > :47:19.contracts for 17 years agreed with the BMA, and that was why the call

:47:20. > :47:24.we wanted was to get the agreement yesterday, safer carefully NHS and

:47:25. > :47:32.better deals for doctors. That is what we got and we wouldn't have if

:47:33. > :47:37.we listen to that advice? Can I join in the welcome for the agreement and

:47:38. > :47:41.the persistent and patients that eventually paid off. In previous

:47:42. > :47:48.statements I've raised with the sexual state this problem of married

:47:49. > :47:52.couples, both of whom are doctors, -- secretary of state. If they have

:47:53. > :47:56.roasters that clash, can he say a word about the progress made in this

:47:57. > :48:08.important area of making work more family friendly. I'm happy to do

:48:09. > :48:12.that. Is not easy dissolved because junior doctor at training places

:48:13. > :48:20.operate on six-month locations and are competitive. You get many more

:48:21. > :48:25.up applicants than there are posts available, so we have to find a way

:48:26. > :48:27.of balancing the need to respect family responsibility, something we

:48:28. > :48:31.would all want to do, with the need to have a fair process for the most

:48:32. > :48:39.competitive positions. I think we have not got the balance right to

:48:40. > :48:41.date, so we said cells Dott health education and where we decide people

:48:42. > :48:45.will go on rotation will have a duty to consider family response but is

:48:46. > :48:55.when they make decisions about those locations. I welcome the potential

:48:56. > :48:59.resolution, thank the Government for negotiation at the doctors having

:49:00. > :49:03.the courage to go on strike, which no one does likely to get a better

:49:04. > :49:08.deal for the NHS. I would ask the secretary of state to reflect on

:49:09. > :49:13.this and take further steps to build on his difficult relationship with

:49:14. > :49:15.NHS staff and stop resenting NHS policy and false dichotomy between

:49:16. > :49:23.the interests of patients and interests of NHS staff. If he had

:49:24. > :49:26.listened to what I said, for we said Beasley I don't think that the cost

:49:27. > :49:32.me exists, the false dichotomy as he says in the end what is right for

:49:33. > :49:36.patients is also right doctors, the thing that demoralises doctors and

:49:37. > :49:39.nurses and everyone working in hospitals and different part of the

:49:40. > :49:44.Ayrshires is when they are not able to give the care they want what they

:49:45. > :49:49.think is appropriate to the patients in front of them, which is why we

:49:50. > :49:51.see hospitals that have moved closes towards a seven-day services are

:49:52. > :49:56.also some of hospitals with the highest levels of morale in the NHS.

:49:57. > :50:02.He is right, it's not a false dichotomy and we need to do both

:50:03. > :50:05.together. As the sexual note, my brother and his wife were junior

:50:06. > :50:10.doctors when they made the decision to move over to New Zealand a long

:50:11. > :50:13.while ago. That was because of the long-standing cultural problems in

:50:14. > :50:20.the NHS. They will be pleased indeed about the announcement yesterday

:50:21. > :50:23.around the couples being able to work together in hospitals

:50:24. > :50:30.potentially. I have a question for my mother and it relates around what

:50:31. > :50:39.can you do now in order to encourage them and their friends back into the

:50:40. > :50:45.NHS? Let me say to your mother that I hope the message of this new

:50:46. > :50:51.agreement will go brightly way around the world and any doctors who

:50:52. > :50:54.have moved to New Zealand or Australia are always welcome to come

:50:55. > :51:01.back, and I think the thing that must unite this Government and the

:51:02. > :51:04.good doctors who work in the NHS is our commitment to making NHS care

:51:05. > :51:09.the safest and best in the world, and I think we had a terrible shock

:51:10. > :51:14.with what happened at mid-staffs, but we're using it as an moment of

:51:15. > :51:17.change, decisive change, NHS and were on the way to higher standards

:51:18. > :51:23.of care that are available in many other countries. Mother Howlett is

:51:24. > :51:29.satisfied, or idea we shall hear about it. -- or IDSA.

:51:30. > :51:35.Congratulations Government and everyone on getting this in place,

:51:36. > :51:38.it will have a knock-on effect in Northern Ireland into my

:51:39. > :51:42.constituency, when I went around Antrim area hospitals their concerns

:51:43. > :51:48.the number of doctors and how you get a seven day a week cover from

:51:49. > :51:51.everything else that needs to go on in the health service, which, and

:51:52. > :51:58.how we will deal with that and we will work with parliaments? I do

:51:59. > :52:01.agree, we need more doctors and more nurses and by the end of this

:52:02. > :52:05.parliament will have 1 million more over 70s in England alone and I know

:52:06. > :52:09.the demographic effect in Northern Ireland will be equivalent. Globally

:52:10. > :52:16.we have a shortage of about 7 million doctors, so we need to train

:52:17. > :52:20.more. We are training an extra 11,420 doctors over this parliament

:52:21. > :52:23.as part of the spending review. Because the training is done on the

:52:24. > :52:29.UK wide basis it is something we will need to work closely with all

:52:30. > :52:33.of the devolved regions. I warmly welcome this draft agreement and it

:52:34. > :52:36.will be met with some relief in Cheltenham. Whatever article the

:52:37. > :52:40.health concerns about the behaviour of the BMA in the past, does the

:52:41. > :52:43.Secretary of State agree it should be an admission that this should be

:52:44. > :52:48.part of the beginning of a more constructive future and will you

:52:49. > :52:51.join me in congratulating the BMA negotiations for being able to

:52:52. > :52:58.address constructively issues like Saturday pay. I'm happy to do that,

:52:59. > :53:01.and I recognised it was not easy for them because they are still

:53:02. > :53:07.involving changing the position that had for over three years. The result

:53:08. > :53:10.we got to admit that at the details was actually something that was not

:53:11. > :53:14.difficult for them to sign up to because they could see it really was

:53:15. > :53:18.better for their members as well as better for patients. I think the

:53:19. > :53:21.lesson is that the NHS faces huge challenges and can only be right to

:53:22. > :53:27.deal with these challenges by sitting around the table as

:53:28. > :53:31.negotiating constructively. I also warmly welcomed the news of the

:53:32. > :53:37.agreement and I hope it feeds into a settlement. Can I ask the Secretary

:53:38. > :53:41.of State if it is his intention to create a seven-day NHS, that will

:53:42. > :53:45.require the participation of more than just the junior doctors, will

:53:46. > :53:49.he bring forward a new contract for consultants? Or will he bring

:53:50. > :53:57.forward a new contract for hospital lab walkers or Amazon 's workers or

:53:58. > :54:03.nurses or indeed for catering staff? He is right. A seven-day NHS is not

:54:04. > :54:07.just or even mainly about junior doctors, their important part of the

:54:08. > :54:10.equation but we will need a new contract for consultants and we are

:54:11. > :54:15.having constructive negotiations with consultant about that. For

:54:16. > :54:21.other people working in the NHS, many are already or seven-day

:54:22. > :54:26.contract, so he is right to say that we are going to have to have

:54:27. > :54:30.diagnostic services operating across seven days so junior doctor working

:54:31. > :54:33.at the weekend will be up to get the result back for a diagnostic test

:54:34. > :54:41.the weekend and those are all part of the changes that we will make to

:54:42. > :54:45.make and it is safer for patients. Can I warmly congratulate both sides

:54:46. > :54:53.on reaching this agreement. Our NHS is different at weekends and my

:54:54. > :54:58.honourable friend is right to bring in the four key clinical standards

:54:59. > :55:03.on Sunday and Saturday. Would he agree it's important not simply to

:55:04. > :55:06.rely on mortality data, which are often difficult to interpret in

:55:07. > :55:09.underpinning the case for the seven-day NHS and will he look

:55:10. > :55:13.closely at other metrics based on clinical standards around things

:55:14. > :55:19.like endoscopy and routine lists on Saturday and Sunday and periods of

:55:20. > :55:27.care particularly, which does not feature in any hospital mortality

:55:28. > :55:30.data? He speaks very wisely on medical matters and I particularly

:55:31. > :55:36.agree when he speaks about palette of care, which has got better, but

:55:37. > :55:39.nonetheless there is a long way to go and we had recent evidence that

:55:40. > :55:47.it is particularly in need of improvement where we are not able to

:55:48. > :55:53.offer a seven-day part of support. I welcome this settlement and thank

:55:54. > :55:57.everyone involved for securing it. Many junior doctors remained

:55:58. > :56:04.concerned that as you increase the hours worked over a weekend you

:56:05. > :56:07.inevitably produce cover during the week -- Regis cover unless you buy

:56:08. > :56:13.more junior doctors to bridge that gap. With many rotors of ready on

:56:14. > :56:16.filter does not until around the country during the week how can he

:56:17. > :56:23.guarantee we will not make the situation worse during the week,

:56:24. > :56:27.thereby impacting on patient safety? I understand the concern and the

:56:28. > :56:30.short answer is that we need to increase the NHS workforce, which we

:56:31. > :56:33.are doing and we will see more doctors going into training during

:56:34. > :56:36.the course of this parliament, as were somewhat doctors going into

:56:37. > :56:40.training over the course of the last Parliament. More doctors in the

:56:41. > :56:48.workforce will be an important part of the solution. At the start of the

:56:49. > :56:52.recent negotiations appears that the payment for Saturday working was the

:56:53. > :56:57.main sticking point from the BMA but it appears from this negotiation now

:56:58. > :57:02.that the issue of weekend pay has been resolved, can my honourable

:57:03. > :57:07.friend confirmed that the position now is that this can lead for the

:57:08. > :57:11.doctors that are working extended hours for the weekend will get extra

:57:12. > :57:19.pay and patients can see a seven-day week NHS, which we all want to see?

:57:20. > :57:26.It is much fairer for doctors than the current system. We are giving a

:57:27. > :57:30.pay rise of between 10-11%, for which we are saying people are

:57:31. > :57:37.expected to work one weekend day a month. The doctors who work more

:57:38. > :57:40.than that get more and it goes up T more weekends you work the more

:57:41. > :57:45.extra pay you get. That is one of the reasons the BMA was prepared to

:57:46. > :57:50.sign up to this agree. It does value the people who give up the most

:57:51. > :57:55.weekends. I was contacted by a constituent,

:57:56. > :58:01.who told me how his four-year-old daughter fell through a pane of

:58:02. > :58:06.glass, severely cutting her face. Unfortunate natly this accident --

:58:07. > :58:10.unfortunately this accident had on a Friday evening because there were

:58:11. > :58:16.insufficient doctors working she could not have on operation until

:58:17. > :58:20.the Monday. That four-year-old girl will now suffer severe facing

:58:21. > :58:25.scarring for the rest of her life. Does my friend agree with me, that

:58:26. > :58:29.is the republic why we need a seven-day NHS. I couldn't have put

:58:30. > :58:32.it better myself. Those are the stories we hear from our

:58:33. > :58:37.constituents, from our families. That is why yesterday was an

:58:38. > :58:42.important step forward in terms of that seven-day agenda. I must

:58:43. > :58:46.confess to being puzzled because the BMA have said all along this strike

:58:47. > :58:51.and dispute was nothing to do with weekend pay and terms. Yet, after

:58:52. > :58:57.discussions, negotiations which were limited simply to weekend pay and

:58:58. > :59:02.terms, the BMA have now come to a deal and advised against strike

:59:03. > :59:05.action. Can we take it despite much huffing and puffing this was about

:59:06. > :59:11.the future of the NHS and the rest of it, at the end of the day it was

:59:12. > :59:16.all about weekend pay and terms? I think he is right that was the big

:59:17. > :59:22.sticking point and their willingness to be flexible and the goshiate on

:59:23. > :59:27.that which made -- and negotiate on that which made it possible. There

:59:28. > :59:31.are many other noncontractual issues in the way that doctors are trained

:59:32. > :59:38.and treated by the NHS. We want to use this as an opportunity to put

:59:39. > :59:43.that right. Can I congratulate on the Secretary of State op putting

:59:44. > :59:55.patients first. Those people who had their operations cancelled during

:59:56. > :00:01.industrial action. Looking at people on the back-burner or poss pope

:00:02. > :00:07.their medical -- or postpone their medical care? That is a view some

:00:08. > :00:13.share. Doctors have obligations now under the Medical Act not to take

:00:14. > :00:17.action which would harm patients and under their responsibilities to the

:00:18. > :00:21.General Medical Council. They have to be aware of those. What I hope is

:00:22. > :00:24.that question does not arise again, we are having constructive

:00:25. > :00:29.discussions with the BMA. It is the way forward and I hope that neither

:00:30. > :00:36.myself or any future Health Secretary has to go through what we

:00:37. > :00:40.have during the last ten months. I explored the tone and content of the

:00:41. > :00:44.remarks today. It will go down as a break through in the NHS. It has

:00:45. > :00:48.been very uncomfortable to have dialogue with constituents who are

:00:49. > :00:52.junior doctors who have felt aggrieved. So, I have particularly

:00:53. > :00:55.welcomed the way he's been able to look at noncontractual issues. I

:00:56. > :01:02.would urge him to look very strongly at the issue of -- the outcome of

:01:03. > :01:06.the Bailey review so he can move forward on morale and the wider

:01:07. > :01:14.issues which have been raised. Well, I just finish by saying I

:01:15. > :01:18.complete aagree with him. It's been a very sad dispute. We recognise

:01:19. > :01:22.that junior doctors are the back bone of the NHS. They work very

:01:23. > :01:26.hard. They often work the most weekends already. I think it is

:01:27. > :01:30.therefore a brilliant step forward that we have an agreement. But the

:01:31. > :01:34.constituents that he talks about and that we all have who work hard for

:01:35. > :01:41.the NHS are the people we want to value. Therefore, dialogue,

:01:42. > :01:43.constructive discussion must be the way