23/05/2016

:03:22. > :03:27.Hello and welcome to BBC Parliament's live coverage of the

:03:28. > :03:32.House of Commons. The first item of business today is an urgent question

:03:33. > :03:37.tabled by Labour's Keith Vaz on the childhood obesity strategy. After

:03:38. > :03:42.that the Conservative MP Bernard Jenkin will ask another urgent

:03:43. > :03:48.question on a post-EU rum assessment of the UK economy. The Chancellor of

:03:49. > :03:55.the Exchequer publish as Treasury analysis saying a Leave vote will

:03:56. > :04:00.cause a profound economic shock, with growth lower. MPs will spend

:04:01. > :04:04.the rest of the day debating last week's Queen's Speech, focusing on

:04:05. > :04:08.public services. Remember to join me for a round-up of the day in both

:04:09. > :04:15.Houses of Parliament at 11 o'clock tonight. First we can now cross live

:04:16. > :04:15.to the chamber for that urgent question on childhood obesity

:04:16. > :04:38.strategy. THE SPEAKER: Order. Urgent question,

:04:39. > :04:42.Mr Keith Vaz. Thank you Mr Speaker, will the Secretary of State provide

:04:43. > :04:49.an answer to the urgent question of which I have given him notice?

:04:50. > :04:53.THE SPEAKER: Minister of State, Mr Alastair Burt. Can I thank the right

:04:54. > :04:59.honourable gentleman for the question and in the absence of the

:05:00. > :05:04.Minister responsible for this, who is on Government business in Geneva,

:05:05. > :05:07.a cruel twist of fate, I am pleased to respond to the question from the

:05:08. > :05:11.right honourable gentleman. Tackling the unacceptable level of childhood

:05:12. > :05:15.obesity in this country is a major priority for all of us in this House

:05:16. > :05:19.and Government. We know obese children are much more likely to

:05:20. > :05:26.become obese adults. In adulthood it is a leading cause of serious

:05:27. > :05:32.diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, and some cancers. Tackling diet in

:05:33. > :05:36.children is one of our mainly priorities. Evidence shows that

:05:37. > :05:43.obesity is a complex issue to which there is no single solution.

:05:44. > :05:46.Tackling childhood obesity needs collective action by Government,

:05:47. > :05:47.businesses, health professionals and individuals. Our comprehensive

:05:48. > :05:52.childhood obesity strategy, which is being launched this summer, will be

:05:53. > :05:55.a key step forward in helping our children live healthier lives. It

:05:56. > :06:00.will look at the range of factors that contributes to a child becoming

:06:01. > :06:07.overwait and obese, and set out what more can be done by all. It is a

:06:08. > :06:13.cross-Government preach led by the Department of Health, based on the

:06:14. > :06:18.scientific evidence of Public Health England. On the views on how to

:06:19. > :06:22.prevent obesity and Type 2 Dubai business public health England has

:06:23. > :06:27.described this as irresponsible, as they don't reflect the totality of

:06:28. > :06:31.the evidence base. Public Health England's dietary advice is based on

:06:32. > :06:38.advice from independent experts, which is based on all available

:06:39. > :06:42.evidence. SSCN conducts full scale consultation on reports and goes to

:06:43. > :06:48.great lengths to ensure no bias. International health organisations

:06:49. > :06:53.agree that too much saturated fat raises cholesterol, increasing the

:06:54. > :06:56.risk of heart disease and obesity, and is caused by consuming too many

:06:57. > :07:02.Kabul lis. THE SPEAKER: For the avoidance of

:07:03. > :07:12.doubt and particularly for those attending our proceedings not within

:07:13. > :07:21.the chamber, these matters should be self contained and relatively

:07:22. > :07:25.intelligible. Mr Keith Vaz. Can I thank you Mr Speaker for granting

:07:26. > :07:30.this urgent debate and the Minister for his answer to the question? The

:07:31. > :07:35.National Obesity Forum's report published today has led to public

:07:36. > :07:40.outcry and conclusion. The conclusions of this report

:07:41. > :07:45.contradict much of the health style advice issued by the Government and

:07:46. > :07:51.the NHS over the last decade. Ordinary people are caught in a

:07:52. > :07:55.whirlwind of advice when they desperately need clarity,

:07:56. > :07:59.consistency and straight talk. They don't know where the turn. The Royal

:08:00. > :08:02.College of Physicians, the Faculty of Public Health and the British

:08:03. > :08:05.Heart Foundation have raised concerns about this report. Some

:08:06. > :08:10.have claimed that local authorities, schools and the NHS are receiving

:08:11. > :08:15.guidance from organisations whose funding and motivations are not

:08:16. > :08:18.known. I welcome the use by the Minister of the word irresponsible

:08:19. > :08:21.in respect of this report. The critical issue however is the

:08:22. > :08:27.delayed publication of the childhood obesity strategy. We were first told

:08:28. > :08:32.this would be published in December 2015, and then February 2016. It is

:08:33. > :08:35.now expected at the end of summer. You, Mr Speaker, will know doubt

:08:36. > :08:43.confirm there is no clear indication from the Government as to what the

:08:44. > :08:49.end of summer actually will be. Other voices are filling the void. A

:08:50. > :08:52.strategy is clearly required on what steps are needed to prevent and

:08:53. > :08:58.tackle the growing levels of obesity which at current rates are expected

:08:59. > :09:04.to reach 60% of the adult population by 2015. We need a definitive date

:09:05. > :09:11.for the publication of the strategy. Will the Minister give us a date?

:09:12. > :09:16.Today. In the Queen's Speech last week the introduction of a sugar tax

:09:17. > :09:22.was confirmed, which I welcome. This could prevent 2.7 million people

:09:23. > :09:27.from being obese by 2025. Finally, Mr Speaker, obesity is a leading

:09:28. > :09:29.cause of Type 2 diabetes, as the Minister indicated. Just as the

:09:30. > :09:35.rates of obesity are set to increase, the number of people with

:09:36. > :09:42.diabetes is expected to rise to 5 million by 2025. As a Type 2

:09:43. > :09:48.diabetic and Chair of the ATP for diabetes I live with how stark the

:09:49. > :09:50.situation is. Sadly today's information soon amy has

:09:51. > :09:53.demonstrated a lack of leadership in public health. Although the Public

:09:54. > :09:57.Health Minister should be commended for all the work she has done, the

:09:58. > :10:02.Government must go further. A failure to act now will jeopardise

:10:03. > :10:10.the future of our nation's health and the solvency of our NHS. Can I

:10:11. > :10:13.again thank the right honourable gentleman for taking the opportunity

:10:14. > :10:20.of the publication of this report to give the Government a chance to

:10:21. > :10:24.respond? And hopefully to try and put in the public realm a degree of

:10:25. > :10:29.concern about the report in order to back up the sort of comments that

:10:30. > :10:35.he's been making. I think I can do no better at this stage than to

:10:36. > :10:39.quote from what the chief knowledge officer of Public Health England,

:10:40. > :10:45.Professor John instituteton said today. Suggesting people should eat

:10:46. > :10:49.more fat, cut out carbs and eat more calories conflicts with the broad

:10:50. > :10:55.evidence base and internationally agreed interpretations. He goes on

:10:56. > :11:00.to say, this opinion paper from the National Obesity Forum is mot a

:11:01. > :11:05.systemic review of all the rel ant elements. It does not include the

:11:06. > :11:11.methodlogical studies and should not be confused with the evidence

:11:12. > :11:13.produced by our process. This paper highlights one trial suggesting high

:11:14. > :11:21.dairy intake reduced the incidents of obesity while ignoring

:11:22. > :11:25.29 trials which concluded that increasing dairy did not increase

:11:26. > :11:28.the risk of weight gain. I am pleased he has provided the

:11:29. > :11:31.opportunity for us to agree with him and others that have said this

:11:32. > :11:39.report is irresponsible. To turn, if I may, to his questions in relation

:11:40. > :11:43.to Government, it is absolutely clear that the childhood obesity

:11:44. > :11:47.strategy will be much welcomed, has got to be soundly based. I have much

:11:48. > :11:51.as I would like to give the right honourable gentleman a date, I have

:11:52. > :11:56.to say that its launch will indeed be in the summer. The summer is

:11:57. > :12:01.indeed in parliamentary terms a flexible period. I shouldn't in

:12:02. > :12:06.saying that in any way minimise the importance of it to my right

:12:07. > :12:10.honourable gentleman. The presence of the honourable gentleman for

:12:11. > :12:14.Crewe and Nantwich demonstrates this is a cross-Government strategy.

:12:15. > :12:18.Strategy. We know it will be much looked at by many different parties

:12:19. > :12:22.in order to give the guidance that the right honourable gentleman was

:12:23. > :12:26.talking about. You can look at any national newspaper any day in the

:12:27. > :12:30.week, one in particular, and get regular conflicting advice on what

:12:31. > :12:35.is good and what is bad. While that might be a source of amusement at a

:12:36. > :12:38.news programme, for parents looking at what's right for their children,

:12:39. > :12:42.it is important they have advice they can trust. That's why the

:12:43. > :12:47.childhood obesity strategy, much commented on in this place, is so

:12:48. > :12:50.important. In relation to diabetes and the right honourable gentleman

:12:51. > :12:56.is an important voice in terms of dealing with diabetes, just to say

:12:57. > :12:59.that the healthier you, the national diabetes prevention programme, based

:13:00. > :13:03.on international evidence, will start this year in 27 areas,

:13:04. > :13:09.covering approximately 45% of the population and making up to 10,000

:13:10. > :13:13.places available to people at high risk of developing diabetes, and

:13:14. > :13:16.will roll out to the whole country by Twenty20. The right honourable

:13:17. > :13:19.gentleman is right to raise the importance of diabetes. I hope he

:13:20. > :13:23.will recognise that it is recognised very much by the Government.

:13:24. > :13:32.THE SPEAKER: Mr David Nuttal. Thank you. Does my right honourable friend

:13:33. > :13:36.agree instead of having this conflicting nanny state advice it

:13:37. > :13:45.would be far better if children were simply advised to move about more

:13:46. > :13:49.and eat less? Well, I am delighted to welcome the question from my

:13:50. > :13:53.honourable friend for Bury North, may God bless all who live there. I

:13:54. > :13:57.had a short bet with the Secretary of State how long it would be before

:13:58. > :14:02.the words nanny state emerged. I wasn't disappointed. But just to

:14:03. > :14:05.say, my honourable friend's question is absolutely right. We still want

:14:06. > :14:09.to encourage children to move more and eat less. That's nothing

:14:10. > :14:13.contradictory. But there are, it is clear that it is important, a

:14:14. > :14:17.Government that takes the issue of its children's health importantly,

:14:18. > :14:21.whether it is in relation to dentistry, in relation to

:14:22. > :14:25.deprivation and environment, or in relation to their physical health,

:14:26. > :14:29.weight and wellbeing, it is everybody bit as entitled to make a

:14:30. > :14:32.comment on this as anybody else. Whilst encouraging that physical

:14:33. > :14:34.activity that the honourable gentleman talks about, the childhood

:14:35. > :14:40.obesity strategy won't contradict that. I hope there'll be parts in

:14:41. > :14:45.this he and everyone in Bury North will genuinely welcome. Thank you Mr

:14:46. > :14:48.Speaker, obesity and in particular childhood obesity is one of the

:14:49. > :14:52.biggest public health challenges facing our country. So today's

:14:53. > :14:57.report not only questions official Government advice but it says that

:14:58. > :15:02.it may have had disastrous consequences. Whether that is right

:15:03. > :15:07.or wrong is a matter for debate. So let me start by asking the Minister

:15:08. > :15:12.about today's report. It makes a number of recommendations, but

:15:13. > :15:14.perhaps the most credential has been the call to stop recommending the

:15:15. > :15:15.avoidance of foods with a high saturated fat

:15:16. > :15:28.content. And I am pleased he has also

:15:29. > :15:35.reaffirmed the evidence on the current dietary advice remains

:15:36. > :15:39.valid, but does he share the views of experts including the British

:15:40. > :15:45.Heart Foundation who have today stressed the importance of official

:15:46. > :15:50.guidance being informed by" robust evidence free from interference by

:15:51. > :15:53.industry"? Turning to the childhood obesity strategy, as my right

:15:54. > :15:59.honourable friend has said, in September we were told it would be

:16:00. > :16:02.published book for -- before Christmas and then at the New Year,

:16:03. > :16:06.then in the New Year we were told it would be published in the spring,

:16:07. > :16:11.and now we are told it will not be published until the summer. Can the

:16:12. > :16:15.Minister come to the dispatch box and explain this delay? Can we now

:16:16. > :16:21.have a cast-iron guarantee that the strategy will be published before

:16:22. > :16:26.the House prizes for the summer recess, so members will have the

:16:27. > :16:31.chance to question ministers on the contents of that strategy? We

:16:32. > :16:35.welcome the recent announcement of a sugar tax but does the Minister

:16:36. > :16:39.agree that alongside action on cost we also need action on advertising

:16:40. > :16:44.and labelling because perhaps the real cause of rising childhood

:16:45. > :16:47.obesity has not been the Government's dietary guidance but

:16:48. > :16:51.their failure to take tough action on the marketing and packaging of

:16:52. > :16:53.unhealthy products? Will the Minister confirm the strategy will

:16:54. > :16:59.contain comprehensive and quarter native action to tackle this growing

:17:00. > :17:05.public health challenge? -- coordinated action. Some of the best

:17:06. > :17:09.advances in public health have been because past ministers have shown

:17:10. > :17:17.leadership and vision. Enough of the delay. It is now time to act. Well,

:17:18. > :17:22.Mr Speaker, I am quite sure my honourable friend, the member for

:17:23. > :17:26.Battersea, will be able to pick up a number of issues that honourable

:17:27. > :17:30.gentleman has made, but in response to some, firstly, in relation to the

:17:31. > :17:33.report itself, as I emphasised by putting the remarks from Public

:17:34. > :17:38.Health England, it is absolutely essential that any advice that goes

:17:39. > :17:42.out into the public domain, which is to have any credibility and upon

:17:43. > :17:47.which people should want to rely, it has got to be fully evidence -based

:17:48. > :17:52.and researched as thoroughly as possible. If there is any doubt

:17:53. > :17:56.about that, if the evidence appears scant, it is quite right such advice

:17:57. > :17:59.should be dismissed as a responsible and we should continue to urge

:18:00. > :18:06.people to look at for more in-depth studies and that generally -- into

:18:07. > :18:10.generally accepted international views on health and well-being. I

:18:11. > :18:13.made that point and I am pleased that honourable gentleman agreed. In

:18:14. > :18:21.relation to the Government's activity, as I said, the childhood

:18:22. > :18:26.obesity report will come forward and the strategy will come forward in

:18:27. > :18:29.due course. But in the meantime, the sugar tax has been taken forward,

:18:30. > :18:35.and I can assure the honourable gentleman that looking at

:18:36. > :18:39.advertising, labelling and promotion definitely comes into the strategy

:18:40. > :18:43.and will be looked at. I am quite sure, having spoken to my right

:18:44. > :18:48.honourable friend the Secretary of State, the intention is to get this

:18:49. > :18:51.report out at a time when the House will be able to consider it and

:18:52. > :18:55.there is little likelihood of the house not having an opportunity to

:18:56. > :18:58.discuss and debate such an important matter but it is important to get it

:18:59. > :19:03.right. It is important it needs exactly the challenges the

:19:04. > :19:06.honourable gentleman has made from across the dispatch box because if

:19:07. > :19:09.it is not seem to be thorough, well researched and well evidenced, it

:19:10. > :19:12.would fall foul of the sort of concerns were dealing with in

:19:13. > :19:17.dealing with this irresponsible report today. I am grateful for the

:19:18. > :19:25.honourable gentleman's support of something we all want to see and I

:19:26. > :19:32.can assure my honourable friend we will be studying his remarks

:19:33. > :19:36.closely. Can I join my honourable friend from Bury North in urging to

:19:37. > :19:40.curb the Department of Health's natural nanny state instincts when

:19:41. > :19:45.it comes to childhood obesity strategy? If they sugar tax is part

:19:46. > :19:48.of that childhood obesity strategy, perhaps he can explain why the tax

:19:49. > :19:52.is being directed at a certain number of products when other

:19:53. > :19:58.products with far more sugar in them are not going to be covered by the

:19:59. > :20:00.sugar tax? Can I ask him to abandon this policy and encourage the

:20:01. > :20:09.Chancellor to abandon this policy before it becomes the new pasty tax

:20:10. > :20:13.policy? Tempting though it is to use my temporary position for a whole

:20:14. > :20:17.range of announcements in relation to this area, I think it would be

:20:18. > :20:22.unwise. I have my honourable friend on an accumulator with his

:20:23. > :20:26.honourable friend and I am not saying who is the final part of

:20:27. > :20:30.that... But the Government will stick to its declared policy in

:20:31. > :20:33.relation to sugar Ray drinks but I should also say perhaps he might

:20:34. > :20:37.welcome that all the money for that -- from that is going into physical

:20:38. > :20:44.activity and sports in schools which I know it's something he is really

:20:45. > :20:49.keen on as well -- sugary drinks. Thank you, Mr Speaker. The

:20:50. > :20:54.honourable member mentioned the importance of evidence -based

:20:55. > :21:02.research in the strategy put forward. Can I ask, when this was

:21:03. > :21:05.last debated on the 20th of January, it was brought up that it looked at

:21:06. > :21:08.evidence breast-feeding can contribute, because the evidence is

:21:09. > :21:11.there and makes as it never can contribute I would like to ask the

:21:12. > :21:18.Minister if this will get prominence in the report when it comes to

:21:19. > :21:22.published? Yes, I am very conscious of the issues surrounding this and I

:21:23. > :21:26.know the honourable lady already has a meeting with the Minister

:21:27. > :21:35.responsible for this area when these issues can be furthered. Height I

:21:36. > :21:37.welcome the Government's words on the childhood obesity strategy and

:21:38. > :21:41.the necessity to make sure it is authoritative when it is published,

:21:42. > :21:46.but is the real point in the light of today's unhelpful reports not

:21:47. > :21:51.that it is absolutely critical that that strategy actually deals with so

:21:52. > :21:56.many of the myths out there? That it is truly authoritative and

:21:57. > :22:01.conclusive when it does report? My honourable friend is absolutely

:22:02. > :22:04.right. It is important. The strategy has been awaited and we know this.

:22:05. > :22:10.If it is to do the job and wanted to do, it should also deal with the

:22:11. > :22:12.myths and concerns raised and do so any proper evidential manner so I

:22:13. > :22:20.thank my honourable friend for his question. -- do so in a proper. Can

:22:21. > :22:24.I join any partial and rather surprising alliance with the member

:22:25. > :22:29.opposite in questioning the sense in taxing just one particular type of

:22:30. > :22:35.product? Would the Government not instead, and this is where I part

:22:36. > :22:40.company with the honourable member opposite, consider taxing sugar as

:22:41. > :22:43.an ingredient for reformulation of products to reduce sugar content

:22:44. > :22:50.across the rather than just picking on one thing? I thank the right

:22:51. > :22:52.honourable gentleman. He was not immaculate as that has gone down.

:22:53. > :22:57.LAUGHTER Just to see, this is exactly what

:22:58. > :23:01.the strategy does, what he is calling for. It is designed to be

:23:02. > :23:05.quite wide and take into account the possibility of other actions in

:23:06. > :23:14.other places. He is absolutely correct on that. Far from the nanny

:23:15. > :23:18.state situation, I welcome the Government's proposals regarding

:23:19. > :23:22.sugar and actually there is a difficult issue, not only about

:23:23. > :23:26.child obesity but actually around the industry, around the shocking

:23:27. > :23:28.information and shocking evidence showing young children today have to

:23:29. > :23:36.go through procedures they should not have to, and in the late of that

:23:37. > :23:40.with the Minister reissue that guidance today and warning to all

:23:41. > :23:45.parents? I have a son who is 19. Many people, Mr Speaker, will be

:23:46. > :23:52.shocked to hear that. He was 16 and had not had fizzy pop. By the age of

:23:53. > :23:57.18, having had them for two years, he had had 12 fillings in that time.

:23:58. > :24:02.With the Minister reiterate the dangers of fizzy pop? Dangerous

:24:03. > :24:05.territory as I am the Minister responsible for dentistry and I can

:24:06. > :24:08.thoroughly concur with what the honourable lady has said whilst

:24:09. > :24:14.sharing their House's astonishment at her news. The issue of clearances

:24:15. > :24:21.of young children of their teeth is a scandal. I will be speaking about

:24:22. > :24:23.this. There is a conference of the British dental Association on Friday

:24:24. > :24:29.in Manchester that I am going to and this will form a part of my speech.

:24:30. > :24:31.The question on how to reach those parents and carers who have charge

:24:32. > :24:35.of their children to make sure they have access to the sort of treatment

:24:36. > :24:39.is available and how we work through schools and also through dentistry

:24:40. > :24:44.itself to try to make more provision available for those who can be

:24:45. > :24:47.reached, so that we deal with this terrible problem. There are some

:24:48. > :24:52.good experiments going on, in Nottingham, the honourable gentleman

:24:53. > :24:55.for Nottingham North, I think he is partly responsible for those, so

:24:56. > :24:58.that honourable lady is right, dental issues are a serious matter

:24:59. > :25:03.to be dealt with in the overall health strategy. , first of all

:25:04. > :25:07.declare myself a believer in the nanny state. It was the nanny state

:25:08. > :25:20.that stopped children being sent to the mains and up the chimneys. --

:25:21. > :25:23.can I first of all declare. -- mines. One eating peanut butter

:25:24. > :25:26.sandwich I found rather sweet I checked the jar and found it had

:25:27. > :25:32.sugar in it. Can there be some means of stopping sugar being put in

:25:33. > :25:34.inappropriate foodstuffs? What we have is no sugar at which means the

:25:35. > :25:48.next time the honourable gentleman is going the supermarket -- what we

:25:49. > :25:51.now have is a sugar app, and the honourable member can use that and

:25:52. > :25:55.my own family have used it and found it is an product in which they never

:25:56. > :25:58.expected. Yes, it is making sure there is a reduction in sugar

:25:59. > :26:01.content where that is possible and appropriate but also making sure

:26:02. > :26:04.consumers can be alerted to the amount of sugar is really important

:26:05. > :26:08.and I shall make sure my honourable friend gets the details about the

:26:09. > :26:13.app that he can use. I know the Minister is a very reasonable man so

:26:14. > :26:18.can he explain to my constituents how it is reasonable that the public

:26:19. > :26:27.health budget in Hull has been cut by 1.56 million pounds per year.

:26:28. > :26:31.Local authorities lead on obesity public-health issues, do they not?

:26:32. > :26:35.Yes, and I just have to see all parts of Government are making the

:26:36. > :26:41.sort of efficiencies they need to make in relation to these areas and

:26:42. > :26:44.that there can be no different. Could the Minister, prior to the

:26:45. > :26:48.reported publication in the summer, make sure he discusses very

:26:49. > :26:52.carefully with the Welsh assembly the coordination of the strategy

:26:53. > :26:56.because in border areas such as mine advertising crosses the border,

:26:57. > :27:01.labelling crosses the border, and people from my constituency will

:27:02. > :27:05.find themselves having their resources put into sport in England

:27:06. > :27:10.but not necessarily in Wales. It is important we consult with the

:27:11. > :27:15.assembly. Height Mr Speaker, that follows on from the last answer I

:27:16. > :27:34.gave when I was last at the dispatch box. The answer is yes. Where is the

:27:35. > :27:35.fellow? I find it very hard to believe the honourable gentleman is

:27:36. > :27:44.in Brussels! LAUGHTER

:27:45. > :27:47.It is a considerable discrepancy when I grant the honourable

:27:48. > :27:51.gentleman's urgent question application and he is not here at

:27:52. > :27:57.once. He should be in the chamber. This must not happen again. The

:27:58. > :27:59.honourable gentleman is a very conscientious and serious

:28:00. > :28:06.parliamentarian but if you put a question in, man, be your! I am

:28:07. > :28:16.sorry to be annoyed but I am annoyed because the House's interests are

:28:17. > :28:20.involved. -- be here. It is not just about the honourable gentleman but

:28:21. > :28:26.the rest of the House. Who have bothered to beer. Let's hear from

:28:27. > :28:31.the honourable gentleman. Thank you, Mr Speaker, and I accept that

:28:32. > :28:39.admonish and with good grace. Following the result of the EU

:28:40. > :28:43.referendum, on that report published today, would he make a step in? Last

:28:44. > :28:47.month the Treasury published a detailed report on the long-term

:28:48. > :28:49.impact of EU membership and our economy. Today the Treasury has

:28:50. > :28:53.published a full assessment of the immediate impact of leaving the EU.

:28:54. > :28:58.It provides yet further evidence to support the Government's firm belief

:28:59. > :29:02.this is in Britain's best interest to remain in the European Union. Mr

:29:03. > :29:09.Speaker, this analysis makes clear that a vote to leave would cause

:29:10. > :29:13.profound economic shop providing on stability and uncertainty and would

:29:14. > :29:16.only be compound it by the negotiations that would follow --

:29:17. > :29:21.economic shock. The effects of this would be to push the UK into

:29:22. > :29:27.recession and lead to a sharp rise in unemployment. Two scenarios have

:29:28. > :29:31.been brought up to provide analysis of the adverse impact on the commie,

:29:32. > :29:35.a shock and a severe shock. In the shock scenario of vote to leave

:29:36. > :29:38.would result in your long recession, a spike in inflation and a rise in

:29:39. > :29:44.unemployment. >> anchor-2-mac: Years our economy

:29:45. > :29:51.would be around 3.6 times -- 3.6% smaller than if we remained a member

:29:52. > :29:55.-- the second scenario is that our commie would be around 2.6% smaller.

:29:56. > :29:58.Unemployment would rise by around half a million affecting people in

:29:59. > :30:02.the regions of the United Kingdom. If we look at the severe shock

:30:03. > :30:08.scenario the effects are even starker. GDP is 6% lower than it

:30:09. > :30:11.would otherwise be, if of 15% in the value of sterling and unemployed up

:30:12. > :30:14.by more than 800,000. If negotiations with the EU were to

:30:15. > :30:18.take longer than two years to conclude, or if the outcome were to

:30:19. > :30:21.be less favourable than expected, the UK economy could be subject to

:30:22. > :30:24.further instability which would depress further UK economic

:30:25. > :30:28.prospects. This would undermine the hard work of the British people in

:30:29. > :30:33.forging an economic recovery since the crash of 2008. Mr Speaker, as I

:30:34. > :30:37.set out at the start, today's paper forms part of the case the

:30:38. > :30:41.Government is making that Britain is stronger, safer and better off if we

:30:42. > :30:44.stay in the European Union. It is based on serious evidence -based

:30:45. > :30:47.analysis and I commend this document are the House.

:30:48. > :30:54.THE SPEAKER: In fairness to the honourable gentleman for Harwich, he

:30:55. > :31:01.is at least here, which is more than could be said than the Chancellor of

:31:02. > :31:03.the Exchequer, to whom the question was directed.

:31:04. > :31:23.K the G August, k. -- uncork the Gauk. Mr Speaker, can I just first

:31:24. > :31:30.of all say to the Minister that we all know these forecasts are

:31:31. > :31:37.rubbish, produced by a Government now obsess by producing propaganda

:31:38. > :31:43.to get its way in the vote rather than enlightening the public? Has

:31:44. > :31:47.this been produced by the professor? Will he confirm that the so-called

:31:48. > :31:52.shock scenario suggests nothing more serious than the economy will remain

:31:53. > :31:57.the same size as it was last year? Does this not demonstrate how

:31:58. > :32:02.Ministers have become preoccupied with dossier honestly talking down

:32:03. > :32:08.Britain's economic prospects, which is irresponsible. Why doesn't the

:32:09. > :32:12.Government agree with Lord rose, who says nothing is going to happen if

:32:13. > :32:17.we come out of Europe in the first five years. There is will be no

:32:18. > :32:21.change, unquote. The Business Secretary in February last year

:32:22. > :32:25.said, and I quote, as I said before, a vote to leave the EU is not

:32:26. > :32:29.something I'm afraid of. I would embrace the opportunity such a move

:32:30. > :32:32.would create and I have no doubt that after leaving, Britain would be

:32:33. > :32:38.able to secure trading agreements not just with the EU but many others

:32:39. > :32:43.too. And what does the Minister say in response to Lord Lamont, who

:32:44. > :32:46.said, quote, a lot of the Government's so-called forecasts

:32:47. > :32:50.depend on so-called business confidence, which is the Government

:32:51. > :32:54.is doing with its best to undermine. We have nothing to fear but fear

:32:55. > :32:58.itself, which the Government is doing its best to stir up, unquote.

:32:59. > :33:02.The Government says that wages will fall, so why did Lord Rose tell the

:33:03. > :33:07.Treasury Select Committee that wages would rise if we leave the EU? Is

:33:08. > :33:11.this produced by the same Treasury which failed to foresee the banking

:33:12. > :33:15.crisis and the recession which followed that? Why don't the

:33:16. > :33:24.Government's post-referendum assessments look at the risks of

:33:25. > :33:29.remaining in the EU? In 2014 the United Kingdom contributed to

:33:30. > :33:34.failing economies. What effect would the collapse of the economies have

:33:35. > :33:37.on the EU Budget as a whole and the net contribution in particular?

:33:38. > :33:39.Doesn't the Government's entire campaign reinforce the unfortunate

:33:40. > :33:43.impression that today's political leaders will say anything they think

:33:44. > :33:48.will get them get what they want, whether it is true or not? Does he

:33:49. > :33:52.not realise that my right honourable friends the Chancellor and the

:33:53. > :33:56.reform are contributing to cynicism about politics and a sense that

:33:57. > :34:00.voters should not trust their rulers but should make their own choice and

:34:01. > :34:08.their own judgment, which is why they will vote Leave on 23rd June?

:34:09. > :34:13.THE SPEAKER: Minister Gauke. Mr Speaker, the economy is a key issue

:34:14. > :34:18.in terms of the debate and the choice the people will make on 23rd

:34:19. > :34:22.June. This analysis is an attempt to help the British people make an

:34:23. > :34:25.informed decision based on the likely consequences of the United

:34:26. > :34:30.Kingdom leaving the European Union. Indeed there've been many supporters

:34:31. > :34:35.of the Leave campaign who've been prepared to acknowledge that leaving

:34:36. > :34:39.the European Union will at the very least have a short-term impact upon

:34:40. > :34:44.our economy. It would create a shock. Now, in terms of the analysis

:34:45. > :34:49.that's been produced by the Treasury, as my right honourable

:34:50. > :34:56.friend has alluded to, it has been signed off by a former Deputy

:34:57. > :35:00.Governor of the Bank of England. A very distinguished macroeconomist.

:35:01. > :35:05.He has said in respect of this analysis this comprehensive analysis

:35:06. > :35:07.by the Treasury which employs best practice techniques, provides

:35:08. > :35:14.reasonable estimates of the likely size of the short-term impact of a

:35:15. > :35:18.vote to leave on the UK economy. Let us be clear, Mr Speaker, this is not

:35:19. > :35:22.the United Kingdom's Government alone highlighting the risks of

:35:23. > :35:31.leaving the European Union. It is the IMF. It is the OECD. It is the

:35:32. > :35:38.leadership of pretty well every ally that we have. It is the business

:35:39. > :35:42.groups and many respected independent economists have all made

:35:43. > :35:47.it clear that this country would lose out from leaving the European

:35:48. > :35:53.Union, and however one wants to look at it, that's the central fact that

:35:54. > :35:59.we cannot get away from in this debate. Well, unusually perhaps I

:36:00. > :36:05.find myself agreeing with a great deal of what the Minister has said

:36:06. > :36:09.to the House today. The honourable member for Harwich tries to rubbish

:36:10. > :36:12.this report and refers to trade agreements. If we were to leave the

:36:13. > :36:15.European Union we would have to negotiate in short order trade

:36:16. > :36:19.relationships with the rest of the world, including over 50 other

:36:20. > :36:23.countries. Rome was not built in a day. There would be huge uncertain.

:36:24. > :36:27.As the honourable member will know, and I know for having been in

:36:28. > :36:32.business myself, one of the key concerns of business always is

:36:33. > :36:37.uncertainty. But let's put this in the context of the economy at the

:36:38. > :36:43.moment. The economy in terms of jobs is in great shape. But terms of jobs

:36:44. > :36:45.is in great shape. But on almost any indicator - productivity, balance of

:36:46. > :36:48.payments, the housing crisis, investment in infrastructure, in

:36:49. > :36:53.terms of the national debt, up two thirds in the last six years, the

:36:54. > :36:57.economy is already got some red lights flashing, as almost every

:36:58. > :37:01.economist said. Were we to leave the European Union, that would become

:37:02. > :37:04.considerably worse. I welcome the fact that the Prime Minister and the

:37:05. > :37:09.Chancellor of the Exchequer are now recognising that the large majority

:37:10. > :37:13.of the problems we faced in 2008 and onwards were not caused by a Labour

:37:14. > :37:19.Government but by a world recession. But what we need now is not a Tory

:37:20. > :37:24.Brexit but we need an economy which is strong and will remain stronger

:37:25. > :37:29.if we stay in the European Union. But still needs considerable changes

:37:30. > :37:35.to take place, particularly in investment in infrastructure, in

:37:36. > :37:39.skills and so on, and our security both economically and militarily

:37:40. > :37:43.will be strengthened frontbench we remain within the European Union. We

:37:44. > :37:49.should build on a strong economy by investing, not by leaving the

:37:50. > :37:59.European Union. THE SPEAKER: Dr Liam Fox. If I may,

:38:00. > :38:04.Mr Speaker, I will do... Do... First of all, in terms of the honourable

:38:05. > :38:07.member's point about uncertainty, he is absolutely right. There is

:38:08. > :38:10.clearly uncertainty in the economy at the moment as a consequence of

:38:11. > :38:16.the referendum on Brexit. It is right that we have that referendum.

:38:17. > :38:23.But that uncertainty can resolve itself very quickly on 23rd June. If

:38:24. > :38:27.there's a Remain vote or a Leave vote we face at lowest two years of

:38:28. > :38:32.uncertainty, possibly longer. As far as the state of the economy

:38:33. > :38:36.is concerned. This is where perhaps the honourable gentleman and I may

:38:37. > :38:40.differ, we have taken steps to address the long-term challenges

:38:41. > :38:43.that the economy faces. But there is no doubt that the last few years

:38:44. > :38:48.have been difficult for the British economy. We are now one of the

:38:49. > :38:54.fastest growing major economies in the world. But the progress we have

:38:55. > :38:58.made over the last six years would be put at risk were we to vote to

:38:59. > :39:02.leave the European Union. THE SPEAKER: Dr Liam Fox. Thank you

:39:03. > :39:09.Mr Speaker. I'm sorry that my right honourable friend has had to come to

:39:10. > :39:11.the House to defend this disreputable, shabby and misleading

:39:12. > :39:15.report. In the last Treasury report there

:39:16. > :39:20.were three asks set out, including membership of the EEA. Why was it

:39:21. > :39:22.left out of this report? And was the Permanent Secretary in agreement

:39:23. > :39:30.with this major departure Well, in terms of membership of the

:39:31. > :39:35.E the EA, as I understood what the Leave campaign was saying, they have

:39:36. > :39:41.made it clear they want want to go down the Norway route. Be members of

:39:42. > :39:46.the EEA, balls that would require continued contributions to the EU

:39:47. > :39:50.Budget. Continued compliance with EU regulations. And continuing to be

:39:51. > :39:55.signed up to free movement of labour. Given that essentially the

:39:56. > :39:58.Leave campaign is focused almost exclusively on the issue of

:39:59. > :40:02.immigration, it would be strange to suggest that one of the options we

:40:03. > :40:10.would take would be one that's been dismiss bid the campaign to leave

:40:11. > :40:16.the European Union. THE SPEAKER: Roger mull in. Here we

:40:17. > :40:21.go again, the Government seems determined to recycle Project Fear,

:40:22. > :40:27.based on Treasury projections based on the back of its neoclassical fag

:40:28. > :40:31.packet. If they have nothing to offer by fear, they do the cause of

:40:32. > :40:35.the EU no favours. There are no possible reasons for staying in the

:40:36. > :40:38.EU. I asked the Minister, why is there noable sis of the emerging

:40:39. > :40:42.trading opportunities for business? Why is there no analysis of the

:40:43. > :40:45.value of appropriate immigration to the labour market? And why is there

:40:46. > :40:52.not more respect for those of us wanting to make a positive case for

:40:53. > :40:56.the European Union? Well, with I must admit I'm slightly confused by

:40:57. > :41:00.that contribution. I understood the position of the SNP was to favour

:41:01. > :41:10.remaining part of the European Union. If we want to poz it a case,

:41:11. > :41:15.in two years' time, according to the shock scenario we have put out,

:41:16. > :41:19.compared to that the UK economy will be 3.6% bigger than it would have

:41:20. > :41:24.been had we left the European Union. Can I also remind him, as he

:41:25. > :41:29.Christmases, wants to refight the referendum, can I remind him, not

:41:30. > :41:36.for the last time I suspect, that the unionists won the Scottish

:41:37. > :41:40.independence referendum? Why does the forecast leave out the very

:41:41. > :41:45.beneficial impact of spending another ?10 billion, which we would

:41:46. > :41:49.get back on contributions on our own priorities, jobs and services here,

:41:50. > :41:55.which would boost the economy, and why does he leave out the lower

:41:56. > :41:57.interest rates and big injection of liquidity which the Bank of England

:41:58. > :42:02.says it will grant the economy at the time of the vote? Well, first of

:42:03. > :42:06.all in terms of this report, this is a report for the next two years. As

:42:07. > :42:10.my right honourable friend will be aware, even if we vote to leave the

:42:11. > :42:16.European Union, we will continue to be members of the European Union for

:42:17. > :42:21.those two years as we would negotiate our departure. During that

:42:22. > :42:26.two-year period, we would continue to make contributions to the EU

:42:27. > :42:32.Budget. Can I point out to him what the IMF have said, which was

:42:33. > :42:37.essentially if the economy shrinks by 1% or more, any fiscal gain from

:42:38. > :42:42.seeking to make any contributions to the EU would be wiped out by

:42:43. > :42:47.smaller, lower tax receipts and greater costs. Died, under the

:42:48. > :42:53.central scenario, set out in this report, the public finances will be

:42:54. > :42:58.?24 billion worse off as a consequence of us leaving the EU. In

:42:59. > :43:02.terms of his point on interest rates, it's the case that the

:43:03. > :43:09.assumption within this report is there to be no changes in miscal or

:43:10. > :43:16.monetary policy. I do point out to him that one of the predictions

:43:17. > :43:20.within the report is we would see the pound falling in value and

:43:21. > :43:24.inflation increasing. As the MPC have made it clear, they would have

:43:25. > :43:30.a difficult trade-off in terms of trying to get the economy going at a

:43:31. > :43:33.time when there would be clearly a slowdown, while at the same time

:43:34. > :43:38.seeing the pound falling and inflation rising. In those

:43:39. > :43:42.circumstances, the safest thing is to make no assumptions as to what

:43:43. > :43:48.monetary policy would be. Thank you Mr Speaker. Can I ask the Minister

:43:49. > :43:54.whether any assessment has been made around the impact of companies like

:43:55. > :44:01.Siemens if we were to leave the EU on 23rd June? The honourable member

:44:02. > :44:04.raises an important point. It is a point particularly significant in

:44:05. > :44:11.terms of the long term impacts. It has to be said, it is very clear to

:44:12. > :44:17.any of us who engage with those who invest in the UK, businesses that

:44:18. > :44:20.make decisions as to where to locate investment, that access to the

:44:21. > :44:24.single market is an important attribute for the UK. It is very

:44:25. > :44:28.clear within the report that we've set out that business investment

:44:29. > :44:36.would fall significantly as a consequence of leaving the EU. Both

:44:37. > :44:42.in the short term and the long term. Mr Speaker, leaving aside the

:44:43. > :44:44.Treasury's notorious incompetence at forecasting, would my right

:44:45. > :44:50.honourable friend, for whom I have friend, for whom I have a lot of

:44:51. > :44:53.time - normally - not agree that this document really does plumb new

:44:54. > :44:58.depths in Project Fear? What the Government is trying to do is scare

:44:59. > :45:03.the public wit.less? If the consequences are so dire, why did

:45:04. > :45:08.the Prime Minister say on record that Britain could prosper perfectly

:45:09. > :45:12.well outside the EU? And why has the Government produced in this report

:45:13. > :45:16.saying that as our economy transitions to a worse trading

:45:17. > :45:21.arrangement with the EU, does my right honourable friend not accept

:45:22. > :45:25.that is utterly dishonest, that with the Europeans exporting ?72 million

:45:26. > :45:31.more to us than we export to them, it will be in their interests to do

:45:32. > :45:34.a deal with us and we'll have a Government capable of negotiating

:45:35. > :45:40.more capably than the current Government has been able to do? I

:45:41. > :45:45.have a lot of time for my honourable friend, normally, but I do disagree

:45:46. > :45:49.with the points that he is making here. In terms of a trading

:45:50. > :45:53.arrangement, it is impossible to see how we could negotiate a trading

:45:54. > :45:57.arrangement as strong as the one we have at the moment. Access to the

:45:58. > :46:01.single market and the benefits, particularly in the context of

:46:02. > :46:05.non-tariff barriers are very important. Therefore we are

:46:06. > :46:10.undoubtedly going to be a lows-open economy as a consequence of leaving

:46:11. > :46:15.the European Union. But in terms of this report and trying to scare

:46:16. > :46:21.people, it is worth pointing out what the assumptions are and what

:46:22. > :46:25.the Treasury is not suggesting is underlying what's going to happen.

:46:26. > :46:30.We are not putting forward a view there is going to be an immediate

:46:31. > :46:36.financial crisis, a current account crisis for example. We are saying

:46:37. > :46:42.that we can reach a deal within two years, which is ambitious. We are

:46:43. > :46:46.not saying under the shock scenario that there would be any economic

:46:47. > :46:53.contagion as a consequence of the UK leaving the European Union. If we

:46:54. > :46:56.wanted to put a much more dramatic, scary report together, there are a

:46:57. > :47:03.number of things we could have included which we did not. This was

:47:04. > :47:06.a cautious, careful, small c conservative report and it has been

:47:07. > :47:08.signed offer by perhaps the leading authority in this area in this

:47:09. > :47:22.country. Isn't the premise that the Treasury

:47:23. > :47:27.spokesman is trying to convince people of that the economy under

:47:28. > :47:36.this Government is doing exceptionally well, yet in reality

:47:37. > :47:41.most of the people that are actually, that actually have a job,

:47:42. > :47:52.several million are on zero our contracts, they don't know which way

:47:53. > :47:55.to turn, there are a hell of a lot of people now borrowing money on

:47:56. > :48:01.loans they can't afford -- zero-hour. Many people are going to

:48:02. > :48:06.food banks in order to make ends meet each week. The whole idea that

:48:07. > :48:13.this Treasury announcement is now trying to convey that everything in

:48:14. > :48:22.the garden is lovely but it will all be thrown away if you do something

:48:23. > :48:31.else, the truth is it is based on a pony premise. We differ in our

:48:32. > :48:36.assessment as to the state of the UK economy, but whether he takes the

:48:37. > :48:41.view he does or I take the view I do, in neither case would our

:48:42. > :48:48.economy and our constituents benefit from pursuing a policy that would

:48:49. > :48:53.increase unemployment by 500,000 average wages fall, and I hope that

:48:54. > :48:58.is an issue he would consider in terms of the impact leaving the

:48:59. > :49:10.European Union would have on his constituents. A 3.6% higher GDP,

:49:11. > :49:14.lower unemployment, low inflation and a better exchange rate. Surely

:49:15. > :49:17.these are things to celebrate, and can we have the argument made that

:49:18. > :49:24.these are good things that will happen if we remain in the EU rather

:49:25. > :49:28.than the other way around? Well, I think my honourable friend makes a

:49:29. > :49:33.good point. Let me put it this way. The UK does benefit from being an

:49:34. > :49:37.open trading nation. Membership of the single market helps us brochure

:49:38. > :49:44.that brought it having an open and trading economy. -- helps us follow

:49:45. > :49:50.that approach. I hope this is one the British people will ensure that

:49:51. > :49:55.we continue to have. Is the Minister as concerned as I am that the Leave

:49:56. > :49:59.campaign dismissed the views of the IMF, the Bank of England, the OBR,

:50:00. > :50:04.and all of these as a conspiracy? Does he hope in June people will

:50:05. > :50:10.vote with their hearts, and their heads, to stay in the EU, which,

:50:11. > :50:15.with Nato, has provided peace and prosperity for the longest period of

:50:16. > :50:20.time since antiquity, according to the outgoing London mayor? I confess

:50:21. > :50:25.I had not seen that particular quote but I look forward to digging that

:50:26. > :50:30.out. Actually, I think I have seen it. The right honourable gentleman

:50:31. > :50:35.reminds me of it. It is the case that there is an overwhelming

:50:36. > :50:39.consensus on the economic benefits of membership of the European Union,

:50:40. > :50:44.and I hope the British people, when they make their assessment, whether

:50:45. > :50:51.it be heart or ahead, look carefully at the economic consequences of that

:50:52. > :50:54.decision -- or head. Because it is a very important decision and one that

:50:55. > :51:01.will have an impact not just for a year or two as this report projects,

:51:02. > :51:05.but for many years ahead. Isn't the simple fact that countries trade

:51:06. > :51:09.with one another to increase their mutual prosperity and that trade,

:51:10. > :51:17.without principled trading partners, is easier as a member of the EU?

:51:18. > :51:21.Absolutely right and access to the single market gets us to a level of

:51:22. > :51:25.reducing trade barriers that is simply impossible to find outside

:51:26. > :51:31.the singer market. The institutions and individuals forecasting economic

:51:32. > :51:34.doom if we leave the EU have got it wrong time and again in the past and

:51:35. > :51:39.seem likely to do so again. The exchange rate mechanism debacle, the

:51:40. > :51:42.whole Europhile spectrum, the prediction the skies would fall if

:51:43. > :51:46.we did not join the euro, the complete failure to foresee the 2008

:51:47. > :51:49.crisis coming down the road, they show just how helpless they are.

:51:50. > :51:53.With the Minister except that a plausible opposite case could also

:51:54. > :51:59.be made that we could be better off outside the EU and if they cannot I

:52:00. > :52:02.could happily provide him with one. Look forward to hearing that

:52:03. > :52:07.plausible case whenever it is made. I look forward to some analysis with

:52:08. > :52:11.the support of leading economists making that case but we have not

:52:12. > :52:20.heard that case and can I just also make a point, in terms of the EU,,

:52:21. > :52:24.our membership of the euro, and he and I agree on that. If we were to

:52:25. > :52:29.highlight two politician the mac in this country responsible more than

:52:30. > :52:33.anyone else for keeping us outside, I would highly Gordon Brown from his

:52:34. > :52:38.party and William Hague from mine, both of them believe we should

:52:39. > :52:44.remain within the European Union -- if I can highlight two politicians

:52:45. > :52:48.in this country. Following are predictions of world War we now have

:52:49. > :52:52.a forecast recession equating to that of the great depression should

:52:53. > :52:55.we leave. May I suggest to the Minister, and actually let's be

:52:56. > :52:57.absolutely honest about this, with the Minister accept that the

:52:58. > :53:07.Treasury got it absolutely wrong when it forecast and economic shock

:53:08. > :53:10.when we left the ERA. And the Treasury, the Bank of England even,

:53:11. > :53:19.they didn't even see the last recession, the IMF is all. Canales

:53:20. > :53:23.appointed it was the Treasury -- can I also point out it was the Treasury

:53:24. > :53:29.and I think the same civil servants who made the test on taking us out

:53:30. > :53:35.of the euro? We are not making any claims of the sort he suggests in

:53:36. > :53:42.terms of the greatest depression since The Great Depression of 1929.

:53:43. > :53:49.We are suggesting the shock scenario involves the economy shrinking by

:53:50. > :53:53.3.6%, as compared to the base, which is the forecast over the next few

:53:54. > :54:00.years. This is actually a very measured, conservative, with a small

:54:01. > :54:05.fee, analysis of the impact, but nonetheless there is an impact and

:54:06. > :54:09.that will result in 500,000 more people being unemployed that needs

:54:10. > :54:16.to be the case -- small c. When does the Minister think those advocating

:54:17. > :54:19.Leave will actually level with the British public and provide their own

:54:20. > :54:22.economic assessment? Have of them think they can leave the EU and stay

:54:23. > :54:26.within the single market and the other half say, no, we will not be

:54:27. > :54:31.part of the single market at all. Is it not useful that there analysis

:54:32. > :54:35.today does both that snapshot of what the severe shock would look

:54:36. > :54:38.like if we were still in the single market, but also can he see a bit

:54:39. > :54:44.more about the severe shock analysis, followings falling back on

:54:45. > :54:50.those membership rules and how that would lead to potentially 800,000

:54:51. > :54:57.people unemployed -- analysis, falling back on. He is right that

:54:58. > :55:01.unemployment would increase by 800,000, GDP would be 6% lower than

:55:02. > :55:08.it would otherwise be and these are significant numbers. They are not

:55:09. > :55:12.equivalent to The Great Depression, but still very significant numbers

:55:13. > :55:15.that would have an effect on his and my constituents. I think he does

:55:16. > :55:22.raise an important point. I hope we will get greater clarity as to

:55:23. > :55:25.exactly what leaving the European Union would involve because it seems

:55:26. > :55:31.to me there is a pretty clear trade-off. The closer you are to

:55:32. > :55:36.membership of the EU, such as for example the EEA model, the more you

:55:37. > :55:40.continue to have attributes of EU membership. The further away, then,

:55:41. > :55:44.yes, you have that greater freedom and flexibility, if you like, but

:55:45. > :55:51.you're clearly facing a much bigger economic shock. Investment is

:55:52. > :55:54.crucial to this analysis and my constituency attracts investment

:55:55. > :56:00.from China, Australia, the United States as well as from Japan. One of

:56:01. > :56:03.the crucial factors that has led me to believe we are stronger in the

:56:04. > :56:08.EU, all of those countries and businesses from them want to see us

:56:09. > :56:10.as part of Europe and indeed some of those have European headquarters.

:56:11. > :56:16.What has he made of the potential relief rally about investment in

:56:17. > :56:21.this country? I think that is an important point and I think anyone

:56:22. > :56:25.who has met with international investors who are considering their

:56:26. > :56:27.choices as to where to locate their European headquarters, they will be

:56:28. > :56:32.aware that membership of the European Union is something that

:56:33. > :56:37.they value and support, and that without that I think it would

:56:38. > :56:40.clearly be harder to attract all that -- some of that inward

:56:41. > :56:45.investment. I think he also raises an important point in terms of

:56:46. > :56:48.whether we would see a recovery. I think there is evidence to suggest

:56:49. > :56:52.they would be a slowing -- has been a slowing down of investments due to

:56:53. > :56:57.the uncertainty of a religion shook with European Union, but the

:56:58. > :57:00.evidence I think, and the Bank of England I think have supported this

:57:01. > :57:05.view, is not the IMF, that there is likely to be a reasonably quick

:57:06. > :57:08.recovery were we to vote to remain on the 23rd of June and that we

:57:09. > :57:16.would see that investment coming back without their having been a

:57:17. > :57:20.long-term detrimental impact. Mr Speaker, the north-east is a

:57:21. > :57:23.manufacturing region and manufacturing is by recent analysis

:57:24. > :57:26.already in recession. Could I ask the Minister does the Treasury

:57:27. > :57:31.analysis, with the detail of distinctive regional impact on

:57:32. > :57:37.regions like the north-east, in terms of the shocks and with the BBC

:57:38. > :57:44.if we left the EU? It used to be said, when America sneezes, Britain

:57:45. > :57:47.counts its coal, but when Britain counts its coal the north-east gets

:57:48. > :57:51.pneumonia. He raises an important point and it is this. The

:57:52. > :57:55.unemployment numbers that we would see, the increase in unemployment we

:57:56. > :58:05.would see, would affect every region of the United Kingdom, and of course

:58:06. > :58:10.the north-east of England is not immune from that. Indeed, as an

:58:11. > :58:12.important exporting region it would be perhaps particularly vulnerable,

:58:13. > :58:16.and the assessment of Treasury has set out suggests there would be

:58:17. > :58:19.something like 20,000 more unemployed people in the north-east

:58:20. > :58:27.of England as a consequence of leaving the European Union. Thank

:58:28. > :58:30.you, Mr Speaker. When the Chancellor set up the Office for Budget

:58:31. > :58:33.Responsibility he said the public and the markets have completely lost

:58:34. > :58:38.confidence in Government economic forecasts. He went on to say, again

:58:39. > :58:41.and again, the temptation to fiddle the figures, to nudge up a growth

:58:42. > :58:46.forecast here, Ridgers and number here, to make the numbers add up, it

:58:47. > :58:50.has proved too great, but I am the first chance to remove the

:58:51. > :58:55.temptation to figure to Lee by up control over the economic fiscal

:58:56. > :58:57.forecasts. Why does the Minister now disagree with the Chancellor and why

:58:58. > :59:05.does the Chancellor and I disagree with himself? -- to fidget with the

:59:06. > :59:08.numbers here. It is set out in legislation and he can only set out

:59:09. > :59:12.the forecast in accordance with Government policy but in terms of

:59:13. > :59:16.the report we have here today, it is a report, as I said earlier, that

:59:17. > :59:21.has been signed off by Sir Charles Bean who has said this conference of

:59:22. > :59:23.analysis by the Treasury which employs best practice techniques

:59:24. > :59:28.provides reasonable estimates of the likely size of the short-term impact

:59:29. > :59:31.of a vote to leave on the UK economy. We do have third parties

:59:32. > :59:42.endorsing this having worked through the details. Isn't the truth that

:59:43. > :59:47.this report simply echoes the concerns that the adverse impact of

:59:48. > :59:50.Brexit, already expressed by businesses in all of our

:59:51. > :59:54.constituencies up and down the land, Saronic in my area representing

:59:55. > :00:01.manufacturing, and in recent days our biggest private sector employer

:00:02. > :00:07.representing international services -- ceramics in my area. With the

:00:08. > :00:13.Minister agree, therefore, that all the evidence not only suggests but

:00:14. > :00:17.shows there is absolutely bull-mac economic rationale for the UK

:00:18. > :00:20.leaving the European Union? -- no economic rationale. He makes a very

:00:21. > :00:30.good point. Every business survey has pointed

:00:31. > :00:34.towards business being in favour of remaining part of the European

:00:35. > :00:38.Union. He is consistent with the likes of the IMF and the OECD and

:00:39. > :00:44.the Bank of England, all of whom have highlighted the risks of

:00:45. > :00:50.leaving the European Union. Thank you Mr Speaker. Given that the

:00:51. > :00:53.independent think-tank Open Europe, who are plot taking sides in the

:00:54. > :00:59.referendum debate, have stated that it is a mistake to think that

:01:00. > :01:03.short-term forecasts are inevitably any more accurate than long-term

:01:04. > :01:07.forecasts, can the Minister say in percentage terms, what are the

:01:08. > :01:13.chances of these forecasts actually being true? Of course, I hope none

:01:14. > :01:18.of those forecasts turn out to be true, because I hope that the high

:01:19. > :01:22.pot thinks, that we leave the European Union, does not happen.

:01:23. > :01:33.Inks, that we leave the European Union, does not happen. -- the

:01:34. > :01:37.hypothesis. The former Mayor of London's former economic adviser

:01:38. > :01:40.warned of an economic shock in the wake of Brexit. Does the Minister

:01:41. > :01:44.agree that it is not project fear that the other other side are

:01:45. > :01:49.complaining about - it is project fact. Does he agree with me that the

:01:50. > :01:53.Leave campaign argument would be a lot stronger if they had produced a

:01:54. > :01:57.single shred of credible evidence to demonstrate that Britain is better

:01:58. > :02:01.off out? When the mainstream economic opinion in this country and

:02:02. > :02:06.around the world is that our economy is stronger by remaining in the

:02:07. > :02:10.European Union? He is absolutely right that the mainstream opinion

:02:11. > :02:16.does support the UK being part of the European Union. I would be

:02:17. > :02:20.fascinated to read a similar type of report arguing the other case. We

:02:21. > :02:24.obviously produced our long-term report last month. I look forward to

:02:25. > :02:29.receiving a proper, detailed response to that. The reality is,

:02:30. > :02:34.and I think the reason why no such analysis has been produced, is

:02:35. > :02:39.because there is insufficient support for such a view. That, I

:02:40. > :02:43.hope, is a point that become more apparent over the course of the next

:02:44. > :02:48.month. Thank you Mr Speaker. Each year we have a Budget statement and

:02:49. > :02:51.an Autumn Statement in which the Chancellor corrects the forecasts

:02:52. > :02:56.from the previous statement. LAUGHTER. Can we have an assurance

:02:57. > :03:02.from the Minister that after we vote for Brexit the Chancellor will come

:03:03. > :03:08.regularly to the House to correct the forecast contained in this

:03:09. > :03:13.document? The scenario that's been set out has been done using

:03:14. > :03:20.perfectly normal widely used techniques. It has been signed off

:03:21. > :03:25.by the leading economist in this area. What I would put to him is

:03:26. > :03:30.that there are a number of assumptions that we have taken

:03:31. > :03:36.within this report that have been cautious, that have not sought to

:03:37. > :03:41.exaggerate the risks by any means. I have to say to my honourable friend

:03:42. > :03:47.that there's a real risk to the UK economy. This is not fearmongering.

:03:48. > :03:50.This is not scaremongering, this is simply setting out what the risks

:03:51. > :03:56.are to the British people, matters that the British people should be

:03:57. > :04:02.aware of when they vote on 23rd June. Much as I'm enjoying the Punch

:04:03. > :04:08.and Judy show within the Conservative Party, can I remind the

:04:09. > :04:16.Minister that Leave and Remain have negative campaigns and the most

:04:17. > :04:19.negative campaign will win? While we should be helping the electorate,

:04:20. > :04:23.they will be turning off in their droves, which doesn't serve

:04:24. > :04:30.democracy well. What we are during is making it clear what the risks

:04:31. > :04:34.are to the British people were we to leave the European Union. All I

:04:35. > :04:41.would say to the SNP is that if they've got a positive contribution

:04:42. > :04:47.to help the Remain case, let them make it rather than lecturing others

:04:48. > :04:51.on how to put across what are really important factors that will sway, I

:04:52. > :04:55.hope, the British people, because the British public are after

:04:56. > :05:00.information as to what the consequences of leaving the European

:05:01. > :05:04.Union would be. This Government has a duty to provide that information.

:05:05. > :05:07.Thank you Mr Speaker. It is right that we should deal with scare

:05:08. > :05:12.stories as quickly as possible. I think the Minister as done a very

:05:13. > :05:18.good job on this. Would he comment on the comments of the employment

:05:19. > :05:22.Minister in Leicester last Thursday, when she brought a very big red bus

:05:23. > :05:26.and parked it in front of the biggest temple in my constituency

:05:27. > :05:30.and announceded that if we stayed in the European Union all the curry

:05:31. > :05:36.houses in Leicester would have to close down, because the EU is

:05:37. > :05:41.responsible for a crisis in chefs? Will he confirm that the issuing of

:05:42. > :05:46.visas is a matter for the UK Government and it has nothing to do

:05:47. > :05:51.with the EU? And that if the British people vote to stay in, we can still

:05:52. > :05:56.eat curry in Leicester, but if they vote to go out, Leicester City will

:05:57. > :06:06.still play in the European Champions League? Well, what I would say what

:06:07. > :06:12.I would say is that, as a - I will try not to be drawn too much on to

:06:13. > :06:16.curry or Leicester City, although of course let me congratulate Leicester

:06:17. > :06:20.City and I look forward to their season, and possibly more, in the

:06:21. > :06:24.Champions League. What I would say to the right honourable gentleman is

:06:25. > :06:29.that when it comes to immigration policy for those outside the

:06:30. > :06:32.European Union, clearly that is a matter for this Government. And

:06:33. > :06:38.Government policy and for this House. And that will continue to be

:06:39. > :06:46.the case whatever the result on 23rd June. Thank you Mr Speaker. Airbus

:06:47. > :06:50.Industries, which employs 7,000 people across North Wales and

:06:51. > :06:53.north-west England and many thousands others elsewhere in the

:06:54. > :06:57.United Kingdom have, with the full support of the trade unions, written

:06:58. > :07:02.to every employee of Airbus to explain to them why they should vote

:07:03. > :07:06.yes in the forthcoming referendum. Will the Minister confirm that the

:07:07. > :07:10.risks he has outlined today in the report, short term and long term,

:07:11. > :07:15.are the very reasons why companies such as Airbus have come off the

:07:16. > :07:22.fence strongly to support a "Yes" vote on 23rd June? Thing are makes a

:07:23. > :07:24.good point. S" vote on 23rd June? Thing are makes a good point. -- the

:07:25. > :07:28.right honourable gentleman makes a good point. Businesses are entitled

:07:29. > :07:34.to write to employees where they see a risk, and the consequences should

:07:35. > :07:36.be made clear. It is striking how the concerns of businesses, big and

:07:37. > :07:39.small, about the consequences of leaving the European Union are

:07:40. > :07:47.consistent with some of the concerns that we have set out within the

:07:48. > :07:52.Treasury document. Frankly, the UK would be poorer outside the European

:07:53. > :07:56.Union and that we are stronger, safer and better off within the

:07:57. > :08:03.European Union. THE SPEAKER: Order. The clerk will

:08:04. > :08:10.proceed to read the orders of the day. Queen's Speech, adjourned

:08:11. > :08:15.debate on question. That a Humble Address be presented to Her Majesty,

:08:16. > :08:19.as on the order paper. I call the Secretary of State for Health.

:08:20. > :08:23.Secretary Jeremy Hunt. Thank you Mr Speaker. Today's debate chosen by

:08:24. > :08:29.the opposition is about defending public services. So I want to start

:08:30. > :08:33.by stating very simply that this Government does not believe in

:08:34. > :08:38.private wealth and public squalor. Quite the opposite. We believe in

:08:39. > :08:42.prosperity with a purpose, and building high-quality public

:08:43. > :08:47.services is perhaps the most important purpose of all. But

:08:48. > :08:52.there's a difference between the two sides of the House. Indeed there are

:08:53. > :08:55.more than one difference. One of them is that on this side we are

:08:56. > :08:58.prepared to take the difficult decisions necessary to build a

:08:59. > :09:03.strong economy that in the end is how you have to fund those public

:09:04. > :09:08.services. A second difference is that we go further and say securing

:09:09. > :09:14.funding from a strong economy is not enough. The battle for higher

:09:15. > :09:17.standards will as important as the battle for resources, because

:09:18. > :09:21.without high standards, you let down not just the taxpayers who fund our

:09:22. > :09:27.public services, but the vulnerable citizens who depend on them. So yes

:09:28. > :09:31.we are proud to have protected schools funding since 2010, but we

:09:32. > :09:35.are even proud they are 1.4 million more children are in good or

:09:36. > :09:40.outstanding schools. Yes, we are proud to meet our 2% of GDP defence

:09:41. > :09:43.spending pledge but even prouder of the professionalism of our Armed

:09:44. > :09:47.Forces operating in the Mediterranean today to help find the

:09:48. > :09:51.wreckage of the tragically lost Egyptian airliner. Yes we are proud

:09:52. > :09:55.to have protected science and research funding, but even proud

:09:56. > :09:59.they are this country continues to win more Nobel prizes than any

:10:00. > :10:06.other, apart from the United States. And yes we are proud that despite

:10:07. > :10:08.the deficit, we have increased NHS funding since 2010, more at loathe

:10:09. > :10:15.elections than promised by the opposition. But even prouder that

:10:16. > :10:18.failing hospitals are being turned around, M RSA rates have halved and

:10:19. > :10:25.cancer survival rates have never been higher. So with that, let me

:10:26. > :10:31.turn to the NHS. And say up front that nowhere is the importance of

:10:32. > :10:33.ortance of those two challenges - proper ortance of those two

:10:34. > :10:37.challenges - proper funding and high standards - more stark. Let me start

:10:38. > :10:42.by paying tribute to the 1.3 million staff who work in the NHS. Whatever

:10:43. > :10:48.NHS staff have thought over the years about the politicians running

:10:49. > :10:51.their service, their dedication to patients, their hard work night and

:10:52. > :10:56.day, and their commitment to the values the NHS stands for is the

:10:57. > :10:59.invisible glue that has always held it together, what temperature

:11:00. > :11:03.challenges. I know I speak for the whole House in thanking them for

:11:04. > :11:11.their service. Let's look at what they have achieved in the last six

:11:12. > :11:18.years. Compared to 2010, every single day we treat 100 more people

:11:19. > :11:24.for cancer. Every single day we treat 1,400 more mental health

:11:25. > :11:30.patients. 2,500 more people are seen within four hours in A

:11:31. > :11:35.departments. And every single day we do 4,500 more operations. All at the

:11:36. > :11:39.same time as seeing hospital harm falling by a third and patients

:11:40. > :11:44.saying they have never been treated with more dignity and respect. In

:11:45. > :11:48.the wake of the tragedy of Mid-Staffordshire, we should also

:11:49. > :11:52.recognise the huge efforts of staff at the 27 trusts that have since

:11:53. > :11:56.been placed into special measures. 11 of those trusts have now come

:11:57. > :12:01.out. Three of them are officially rated good. Neither Stafford

:12:02. > :12:05.Hospital nor Morecambe Bay, nor Basildon, three of the hospitals of

:12:06. > :12:09.greatest concern, are now in special measures, thanks to excellent local

:12:10. > :12:13.leadership and superb commitment from staff. But all NHS staff want

:12:14. > :12:20.to know about the funding of their service. So let me start there. The

:12:21. > :12:25.NHS's own plan, published in October 2014, asked for a front-loaded ?8

:12:26. > :12:31.billion increase in funding. Not just to keep services running but to

:12:32. > :12:34.transform them for the future. Some said to quote the then Shadow Health

:12:35. > :12:39.Secretary that the Conservative promise to deliver that funding was

:12:40. > :12:42.a cheque that would bounce. But in the Spending Review last autumn, we

:12:43. > :12:48.delivered that promise to the British people. Not an ?8 billion

:12:49. > :12:54.increase but a ?10 billion increase. Not back-loaded as many feared but

:12:55. > :12:59.front-loaded, with ?6 billion of the ?10 billion being delivered this

:13:00. > :13:04.year. I give Tway. I'm grateful to the Secretary of State. With regard

:13:05. > :13:11.to his point about what the NHS asked for, is it not right though

:13:12. > :13:15.that the forward view set out three different scenarios for efficiency

:13:16. > :13:21.savings? It wasn't a case of them asking for ?8 billion. And does he

:13:22. > :13:25.really believe that the ?8 billion or ?10 billion is going to be

:13:26. > :13:30.efficient to meet the demands of the NHS? He will have heard Simon

:13:31. > :13:34.Stevens being asked that question on The Andrew Marr Show yesterday. He

:13:35. > :13:39.was clear that ?8 billion was the minimum of additional funding he

:13:40. > :13:44.thought the NHS needed. In fact we supplied ?10 billion that. Does come

:13:45. > :13:48.with wit some very important requirements in terms of annual

:13:49. > :13:55.efficiency savings. Indeed, for that ?8 billion, the NHS recognises that

:13:56. > :13:58.you need ?22 billion of annual efficiency savings by 2020. Even

:13:59. > :14:03.though funding is going up, demand for National Health Services is

:14:04. > :14:07.going up even faster. I will come to talk about how we are going to meet

:14:08. > :14:13.those efficiency savings. But I will give way in a moment. I want to make

:14:14. > :14:18.some progress. Some in this House have observed that without ?70

:14:19. > :14:23.billion of PFI debt, without ?6 billion lost in an IT procurement

:14:24. > :14:27.fiasco, without serious mistakes in the GP and consultant contracts a

:14:28. > :14:33.decade ago, this efficiency asked might have been smaller. I give way.

:14:34. > :14:38.We all hear what the Secretary of State says it is always somebody

:14:39. > :14:42.else's fault, but the fact of the matter is, surely, I've been told at

:14:43. > :14:46.the highest level, I don't with a watch The Andrew Marr Show often,

:14:47. > :14:49.I've been told by senior health professionals the, there are only

:14:50. > :14:56.two Health Trusts in this country not in debt. Is the that right? That

:14:57. > :14:59.isn't true, but what we do all accept is there there is financial

:15:00. > :15:03.pressure throughout the system. But the question that's always ducked by

:15:04. > :15:07.members of the party opposite is how much greater that financial pressure

:15:08. > :15:13.would have been under Labour's plans which involve giving the NHS ?5.5

:15:14. > :15:21.billion less every year than promised by the Government. I just

:15:22. > :15:24.point out that when the party opposite condemn the ?22 billion of

:15:25. > :15:29.efficiency savings, as the Shadow Health Secretary in March, as

:15:30. > :15:37.politically motivated, they can't have it both ways. ?5.5 billion less

:15:38. > :15:42.every year was what her manifesto offered the NHS compared to this

:15:43. > :15:42.Government, which means... She shakes her head, but what do the

:15:43. > :16:00.King's Fund say? The can fund says it falls short. It

:16:01. > :16:05.was absolutely black and white. Labour was committing to a two and a

:16:06. > :16:16.half increase in the NHS budget, not the ?8 billion this Government

:16:17. > :16:22.committed to -- The King's Fund. It would not be ?22 billion needed but

:16:23. > :16:29.22.5 billion pounds, that would be the equivalent of laying off 56,000

:16:30. > :16:33.doctors are losing 129,000 nurses are closing down around 15 entire

:16:34. > :16:37.hospitals. I give way to my honourable friend. I welcome his

:16:38. > :16:42.policy that foreign businesses should be asked to pay for nonurgent

:16:43. > :16:45.treatment they get when they are here and that European visitors

:16:46. > :16:48.should have to recoup it through their national systems. Why do we

:16:49. > :16:54.need extra legislation and how much money does he think we can get from

:16:55. > :17:02.that? We do need extra legislation to expedite the prices. That is

:17:03. > :17:06.another policy opposed by the party opposite that all the time say we

:17:07. > :17:10.should be doing more to grip NHS finances then all the time or pause

:17:11. > :17:15.every policy we put forward in order to do precisely that. But the

:17:16. > :17:19.honourable gentleman's question is that the issue with the NHS is

:17:20. > :17:22.primarily that we are not very good at collecting the money to which we

:17:23. > :17:27.are entitled from other European countries because we are not very

:17:28. > :17:30.good at measuring wind European citizens are using the NHS and what

:17:31. > :17:33.this legislation will help us do is put those measurement systems in

:17:34. > :17:39.place so we can get back what we hope will be around half ?1 billion

:17:40. > :17:43.a year by the end of this Parliament. We will no doubt you

:17:44. > :17:49.later this afternoon the charge that the Government has lost control of

:17:50. > :17:53.NHS finances, a charge that we strongly reject. But the House may

:17:54. > :17:57.want to ask about the credibility of that accusation, from a party that

:17:58. > :18:00.is at the same time proposing a funding cut to the NHS and

:18:01. > :18:03.criticising the difficult decisions we need to sort out NHS finances. I

:18:04. > :18:10.give way to the honourable gentleman. Two months into this

:18:11. > :18:13.year's financial year, can he say whether or not the demand of health

:18:14. > :18:18.broke its budget for last year and it? We will find out those figures

:18:19. > :18:22.when the full audit is complete. I will just say to the honourable

:18:23. > :18:28.gentleman, efficiency savings are never easy, but the party with the

:18:29. > :18:30.true interests of NHS patients at heart should support those

:18:31. > :18:35.efficiency savings because every pound saved from avoiding waste is a

:18:36. > :18:40.pound we can spend on improving patient care. Let me outline to the

:18:41. > :18:43.House what we are doing to deliver those efficiencies in order to

:18:44. > :18:48.support their NHS Trust to return to financial balance. Firstly, tough

:18:49. > :18:52.measures to reduce the cost of agency staff including caps on total

:18:53. > :18:56.agency spent and limits on the rates paid to those working for agencies.

:18:57. > :19:01.So far this has saved ?290 million with a market rate for agency nurses

:19:02. > :19:04.down 10% since October and two thirds of trust saying they

:19:05. > :19:11.benefited. Our plan is to reduce agency spent by ?1.2 billion during

:19:12. > :19:16.this financial year. Secondly, introducing centralised procurement

:19:17. > :19:20.under the Carter reforms. Already 92 crosseds are sharing for the first

:19:21. > :19:29.time information on the products they purchase in real-time -- 92

:19:30. > :19:34.trusts. Thirdly, given the pay bill is around two thirds of a typical

:19:35. > :19:39.hospital's cost base, support for the gross inefficiency of the

:19:40. > :19:43.largely paper-based systems used at present, and this should also

:19:44. > :19:49.significant weight increase flexibility and work- life balance

:19:50. > :19:52.for staff as we announced last week -- significantly increase. There

:19:53. > :19:55.will also be a dramatic transformation of out of hospital

:19:56. > :19:59.care as outlined in the five-year forward view. If we make our

:20:00. > :20:04.ambitions we will reduce demand by over ?4 billion a year through

:20:05. > :20:07.prevention, improved GP provision, mental health access, integrated

:20:08. > :20:11.health and social care. I will certainly give way to my right

:20:12. > :20:15.honourable friend. Will my right honourable friend agree that

:20:16. > :20:19.unfortunately arguments about the NHS, from what I can member, always

:20:20. > :20:23.get reduced to simplistic arguments about whether or not enough money is

:20:24. > :20:27.being spent and efficiency is being improved, and I do think this

:20:28. > :20:34.Government in the present financial circumstances has increased spending

:20:35. > :20:37.and pursued efficiency at least as well as its predecessors. Would he

:20:38. > :20:42.agree the real issues are the rapidly rising changing nature of

:20:43. > :20:45.the man and on this important service? Is he going to have time to

:20:46. > :20:52.move on to things like moving on to a seven-day service, actually ending

:20:53. > :20:55.the curious division between the hospital service, GPs, community

:20:56. > :21:01.care and local council social services, and actually providing for

:21:02. > :21:05.an ageing population with chronic conditions, while at the same time

:21:06. > :21:08.giving extra emphasis to mental health and all the things that have

:21:09. > :21:13.been neglected in the past? You should be spending more, we would

:21:14. > :21:16.spend more, all of this is the sterile nonsense pressured by every

:21:17. > :21:22.opposition that I can recall when they cannot think of anything really

:21:23. > :21:26.positive to say. As my right honourable friend speaks with great

:21:27. > :21:34.wisdom, as he did during the junior doctors' strike, perhaps based on

:21:35. > :21:37.his own experience, as someone who ignored medical advice across the

:21:38. > :21:40.country from the BMA as he was smoking his cigar, but I do think

:21:41. > :21:44.he's right. The crucial issue for the future of the NHS is the simple

:21:45. > :21:48.statistic that by the end of this parliament we will have 1 million

:21:49. > :21:53.more over 70s to look after in England. And they have very

:21:54. > :21:58.different needs to the needs of the population were having to look after

:21:59. > :22:01.20 or 30 or 40 years ago. In particular, the need for being

:22:02. > :22:10.looked after well at home, before the need that... The transformation

:22:11. > :22:14.which is why a core part of what we're doing is transforming the

:22:15. > :22:16.services and mental health and also in general practice which I will

:22:17. > :22:21.come onto the letter. I will give way. He's speaking about

:22:22. > :22:27.transmission -- outlook on to that later. We have to start focusing on

:22:28. > :22:31.quality. In the East Midlands, our area, the Ambulance Service has just

:22:32. > :22:33.been judged by the Care Quality Commission as inadequate when it

:22:34. > :22:40.comes to patient safety. Things are in a real state of difficulty now

:22:41. > :22:42.within our NHS. Those Ambulance Services need improvement. What is

:22:43. > :22:49.he going to do about it? Absolutely agree with him. This is what I

:22:50. > :22:54.wanted to come on and speak about the tension, which is the tension or

:22:55. > :22:58.perceived tension between money and the quality of care. Until three

:22:59. > :23:01.years ago we did not have an independent inspection regime going

:23:02. > :23:04.round and build services, telling both the service and the public and

:23:05. > :23:08.his constituents and members of Parliament how good the quality of

:23:09. > :23:11.care is in each area. I think the first step is to have that

:23:12. > :23:16.inspection regime so we know the truth. Then things start to happen,

:23:17. > :23:19.as is beginning to happen in services to the country. But the big

:23:20. > :23:26.point, which is actually precisely what I wanted to move on to, is the

:23:27. > :23:31.worry that many people have that and efficiency asked of the scale we

:23:32. > :23:34.have might impact on patient care. And I will give way but I will

:23:35. > :23:38.finish this point, if I may. They should listen to the Chief Inspector

:23:39. > :23:43.of hospitals, Professor Sir Mike Richards, who point out that

:23:44. > :23:46.financial rigour is one of the routes to excellent quality and that

:23:47. > :23:50.there is a positive correlation between hospitals offering the best

:23:51. > :23:54.care and those with the lowest deficits. In other words, it is not

:23:55. > :24:00.a choice between good care or good finances, you need both. I will give

:24:01. > :24:02.way. I thank the honourable gentleman for giving way. Before he

:24:03. > :24:08.moves on I want to return to the issue of charging people

:24:09. > :24:11.internationally for the NHS, for non-EU citizens the Government no

:24:12. > :24:16.charges ?200 per person as part of their these application. Would he

:24:17. > :24:22.say why he has chosen the figure of ?200 which does seem extremely low

:24:23. > :24:27.when an equivalent private health care policy for a year would be up

:24:28. > :24:35.to 100 -- ?1000 and an equivalent level of travel insurance would be

:24:36. > :24:39.400 or ?500. There is -- is there not an opportunity to cure this as

:24:40. > :24:49.people rely more on the NHS as they get older? -- tier this. Understand

:24:50. > :24:53.why he has asked the question and there is thinking behind this. The

:24:54. > :24:56.reason it is set that low and I recognise it is quite a low charge

:24:57. > :25:02.is that because a large number of the people paying it are actually

:25:03. > :25:06.students who attend to have, to be low users of the NHS and we want to

:25:07. > :25:14.make sure we do not create an in adventure at this incentive for

:25:15. > :25:22.people coming to the UK -- and in inadvertent disincentive. There is a

:25:23. > :25:26.differential charge for students, he will of course be aware of that, and

:25:27. > :25:28.would he go away and look at whether there is a possible before charging

:25:29. > :25:31.high earners who come to this country more because it seems so

:25:32. > :25:35.low, and would he specifically look at whether there is possible to

:25:36. > :25:40.charging people who are older more as they are much more likely to rely

:25:41. > :25:44.on the NHS? Can I just repeat to the honourable gentleman that we do keep

:25:45. > :25:47.this constantly under review, but the important thing is that we are

:25:48. > :25:51.now for the very first time charging people who come to the UK on a

:25:52. > :25:56.long-term basis for their use of NHS resources and that is something that

:25:57. > :25:59.did not happen before. Let me return to what I think is the crucial

:26:00. > :26:06.question for us to consider in the House this link between the quality

:26:07. > :26:11.of care and good finances. Why is it that it is so important not to see

:26:12. > :26:15.this as an artificial choice between good care and good finances? Very

:26:16. > :26:21.simply, because poor care is about the most expensive thing a hospital

:26:22. > :26:27.can do. Fall in a hospital will cost the NHS about ?1200. As the patient

:26:28. > :26:32.typically stays for three days longer -- a fall in a hospital. A

:26:33. > :26:38.bedsore adds about ?2500 to NHS costs, with a patient staying on

:26:39. > :26:44.average 12 days longer. Avoidable mistakes and poor cost the NHS more

:26:45. > :26:48.than ?2 billion a year. We should listen to inspiring leaders like

:26:49. > :26:52.Doctor Gary Katzman of the hospital in Seattle, one of the safest and

:26:53. > :26:55.most efficient hospitals in the world, when he says the path to

:26:56. > :27:00.safer care is the same as the path to lower costs, which rings me onto

:27:01. > :27:04.the second way this Government is fiercely defending our public

:27:05. > :27:08.services -- brings me onto. Our restless determination to raise

:27:09. > :27:11.standards so people on lower incomes can be confident of the same high

:27:12. > :27:18.quality provision as the wealthiest. To its credit, the last Labour

:27:19. > :27:21.Government succeeded in bringing down NHS waiting times, and I hope

:27:22. > :27:30.that their kid is from memory as one when access to NHS services

:27:31. > :27:34.improved. -- I hope that decade is remembered as one. But we should

:27:35. > :27:40.surely ensure this decade is one in which we transform the safety and

:27:41. > :27:46.quality of care. This was the lowest point in the history of the NHS we

:27:47. > :27:49.must make it a turning point, not to offer just good access to care but

:27:50. > :27:53.care itself as the safest and highest quality care of noble. The

:27:54. > :27:59.record of the last three years shows we can do just that. The King's Fund

:28:00. > :28:02.has given credit to the Government for its focus on safety and quality

:28:03. > :28:06.of care. Patient campaigners has said the NHS is getting safer and

:28:07. > :28:09.the main indicators of hospital mortality and harm are going in the

:28:10. > :28:16.right direction. But there is much more to do. What are our plans?

:28:17. > :28:21.Firstly, we must deliver a seven-day NHS. It should never be the case

:28:22. > :28:25.that mortality rates are higher for people admitted at weekends and

:28:26. > :28:28.during the week. Last week's junior doctor contract agreement was a big

:28:29. > :28:32.step forward but we also need to reform the consultants' on track,

:28:33. > :28:40.improve the availability of the Kent diagnostic services and increase the

:28:41. > :28:46.number of weekend consultant led procedures -- consultants' contract,

:28:47. > :28:49.and improve the available the of weekend diagnostic services. With an

:28:50. > :28:53.integrated health and social care system that needs to operate over

:28:54. > :28:57.busy weekends as well as during the week. It also means more GP

:28:58. > :29:01.appointments at convenient times which is why we want everyone to be

:29:02. > :29:07.able to see a GP in the evening or weekend and are back -- were back in

:29:08. > :29:11.general practice with an increase in their budgets. I will give way. We

:29:12. > :29:16.particularly need -- people who particularly need integrated care

:29:17. > :29:21.those whose life chances are blighted they need full recovery. I

:29:22. > :29:26.look forward to hearing from the arts minister to conclude the debate

:29:27. > :29:31.and perhaps look into his department in terms of how terminals are

:29:32. > :29:36.affected by blood communities and the high stakes. Shall we have -- we

:29:37. > :29:39.should have an all-round approach to life chances. It is a pleasure to be

:29:40. > :29:43.on the bench again with my honourable friend from the CMS for

:29:44. > :29:50.the first time for several years and I will leave him to respond to that

:29:51. > :29:54.point -- DCMS. It wants to make a broader point in response to what he

:29:55. > :29:57.says. The whole change we need to make in the NHS is to prevention

:29:58. > :30:01.rather than cure. If we can stop people getting addictive in the

:30:02. > :30:04.first place, whether to drugs, alcohol or gambling, then we will

:30:05. > :30:08.reduce the cost to the NHS and the long-term and that is the purpose of

:30:09. > :30:15.many of our plans. Thirdly, a seven-day NHS also means a big

:30:16. > :30:20.improvement in access to 24/7 mental health crisis care so that whenever

:30:21. > :30:23.a problem happens, we are there promptly for some of our most

:30:24. > :30:28.honourable people and we will deliver this alongside our broader

:30:29. > :30:32.plans for a million more people with mental health problems to be able to

:30:33. > :30:34.access support annually by 2020 -- most vulnerable people. I will give

:30:35. > :30:43.way. Can I commend the Government for

:30:44. > :30:46.accepting the majority of the recommendations and allocating ?1

:30:47. > :30:50.billion to implement those recommendations. Can I urge the

:30:51. > :30:55.Secretary of State, talking about systems change in the NHS, and in

:30:56. > :30:58.relation to mental health, in order to deliver on the recommendations of

:30:59. > :31:03.the task force we need systems change within the NHS to make sure

:31:04. > :31:08.that we have the kind of mental health services that people in this

:31:09. > :31:13.country deserve. My honourable friend speaks with great knowledge

:31:14. > :31:19.and has also been chairman of the APPG and he is right, we need

:31:20. > :31:23.systems change, and the change we need is really about stopping

:31:24. > :31:26.putting mental health in a silo, and understanding that it has to be part

:31:27. > :31:32.of the whole picture treatment when someone is in hospital, with a GP,

:31:33. > :31:36.and it has to be integrated with physical health needs and we have to

:31:37. > :31:40.look at the whole person. We won't get all the way there in this

:31:41. > :31:44.parliament but that task force gives us a very good and healthy ambition

:31:45. > :31:49.for this Parliament. I will give way one more time. I'm pleased to hear

:31:50. > :31:55.him addressing the importance of quality of care in mental health as

:31:56. > :31:58.well. It is area is like learning disability where there are highly

:31:59. > :32:08.burnable individuals and the shocking Expose from Southern

:32:09. > :32:12.Health, does he think accountability over that organisation which has

:32:13. > :32:15.presided over dreadful things and unexpected deaths that have not been

:32:16. > :32:21.investigated, really have to be held accountable and move on? As he knows

:32:22. > :32:24.the chair of the organisation has stepped down. When it comes to

:32:25. > :32:30.accountability he is absolutely right. The accountability needs to

:32:31. > :32:34.be not just about individual organisations within the NHS but

:32:35. > :32:38.also the people commissioning mental health care and care for people with

:32:39. > :32:47.learning disabilities which is why from July we will further first time

:32:48. > :32:49.be publishing Ofsted ratings for the provision of services for people

:32:50. > :32:54.with learning disabilities so that we can see where weak areas are an

:32:55. > :32:59.sort them out. I want to conclude on the quality area. By saying that

:33:00. > :33:04.important though a seven-day NHS is we need to go further. If we really

:33:05. > :33:09.are to make NHS care the safest and highest quality in the world. Every

:33:10. > :33:17.week, according to the respected Hogan and black analysis we have 150

:33:18. > :33:20.avoidable deaths in the NHS. 3.6% of all hospital deaths with a 50%

:33:21. > :33:27.chance that that death could have been avoided. In the United States

:33:28. > :33:30.Johns Hopkins University said earlier this month that medical

:33:31. > :33:36.error was the third biggest killer after cancer and heart disease,

:33:37. > :33:40.causing 250,000 deaths in the United States alone every year. This year

:33:41. > :33:46.England will become the first country in the world to lead a

:33:47. > :33:49.transparency revolution in which every major hospital will publish

:33:50. > :33:55.its own estimate of its avoidable deaths and its own plans to reduce

:33:56. > :33:59.them. This year we will give particular focus to reducing

:34:00. > :34:05.maternal deaths, stillbirths and neonatal harm with plans I will

:34:06. > :34:09.outline soon. If we are to do this and most difficult of all, we need

:34:10. > :34:15.to transform a blame culture inside to many parts of the NHS. It still

:34:16. > :34:21.makes it far too hard for doctors and nurses to speak openly about

:34:22. > :34:25.medical error. Amongst other measures we therefore have setup a

:34:26. > :34:32.new health care investigation branch to conduct no blame investigations

:34:33. > :34:34.when we have tragedies, modelled on the highly successful air accident

:34:35. > :34:42.investigation branch. Like the airline industry, our model must be

:34:43. > :34:45.transparency, openness and a learning culture that supports

:34:46. > :34:48.rather than blames front-line professionals who, in the vast

:34:49. > :34:54.majority of cases, are doing their best. Part of the new culture of

:34:55. > :35:00.responsibility and accountability must be a return to proper

:35:01. > :35:03.continuity of care which is why this Government has brought back named

:35:04. > :35:10.GPs were every patient which was abolished in 2004 and is introducing

:35:11. > :35:14.lead consultants for people who go to hospital with complex conditions.

:35:15. > :35:19.In conclusion, fending the NHS involves higher standards of care,

:35:20. > :35:23.wise use of resources and secure funding from a strong economy. And

:35:24. > :35:28.because the challenges we face in England are the same as in Wales,

:35:29. > :35:32.Scotland and Northern Ireland, indeed the same as developed

:35:33. > :35:37.countries all over the world, we should exercise caution in

:35:38. > :35:40.politicising those pressures or we simply invite scrutiny of the

:35:41. > :35:46.relative performance of the NHS in different parts of the UK, which

:35:47. > :35:49.often shows that those who complain loudest about NHS performance in

:35:50. > :35:55.England are themselves responsible for even worse performance

:35:56. > :35:59.elsewhere. What we want is simple, a safer seven-day service, backed by

:36:00. > :36:03.funding from a strong economy, we have already delivered more doctors,

:36:04. > :36:09.nurses, operations and better care than ever before in NHS history. I'm

:36:10. > :36:14.just concluding now so I will finish. With that comes renewed

:36:15. > :36:18.ambition that the NHS should continue to blaze a trail across the

:36:19. > :36:22.world for the quality and safety of care and that is how this Government

:36:23. > :36:31.will to defend our biggest and most cherished public service. Thank you.

:36:32. > :36:34.Can I start by thanking the house secretary for joining us today, I

:36:35. > :36:39.know he doesn't always choose to respond to me when I bring matters

:36:40. > :36:45.to this Chamber, so I am grateful to him for being here. I'm also

:36:46. > :36:49.conscious that if the cabinet deckchairs shift around after the

:36:50. > :36:54.referendum, this may be our last Parliamentary exchange, and if that

:36:55. > :37:00.does indeed turn out to be the case, let me put on record my best wishes

:37:01. > :37:05.for whatever he goes on to do. May I gently suggest that a future career

:37:06. > :37:12.in resolving employment disputes may not be for him. The topic of this

:37:13. > :37:17.debate is defending public services and as you would expect I will be

:37:18. > :37:21.focusing my remarks on what is happening to our health and care

:37:22. > :37:25.service. Listening to the Health Secretary today, you could be

:37:26. > :37:30.forgiven for thinking that all is well. You would have no idea that

:37:31. > :37:36.hospital finances are at breaking point. That waiting lists are

:37:37. > :37:41.approaching a record high. And the NHS is facing a workforce crisis

:37:42. > :37:48.with endemic understaffing and broken morale. But together, this

:37:49. > :37:54.triple whammy of challenges on finances, quality of care and the

:37:55. > :38:00.workforce, but the NHS in a very precarious position. I want to take

:38:01. > :38:03.each of those challenges in turn today. First, finances. I know the

:38:04. > :38:10.right honourable gentleman the Member for Rushcliffe may

:38:11. > :38:15.sterile nonsense but it is fundamental to whether hospitals and

:38:16. > :38:20.GPs can continue to deliver the care needed for our ageing and growing

:38:21. > :38:23.population. One of the Secretary's favourite sound bites recently has

:38:24. > :38:30.been to claim that the Government is giving the NHS the sixth biggest

:38:31. > :38:33.funding increase in its history, indeed, he has made this claim six

:38:34. > :38:40.times in this Chamber over recent months. So I have to say, I was

:38:41. > :38:45.surprised it didn't feature in his speech today. But I think I may have

:38:46. > :38:51.an explanation for this omission. Last week the King 's fund and

:38:52. > :38:57.health foundation, Sid independent think tank 's looked into his claim

:38:58. > :39:03.and in fact I have a copy of their analysis here. Let me quote what it

:39:04. > :39:09.says. We are afraid to say, although perhaps not surprised, that we have

:39:10. > :39:13.very different figure. They go on to say, rather than being the sixth

:39:14. > :39:19.largest funding increase in NHS history, we find that this year it

:39:20. > :39:26.is in fact the 28th largest funding increase since 1975. I will give

:39:27. > :39:29.way. I completely defend the methodology we used to come up with

:39:30. > :39:34.our figure but though she not see the irony that she is here

:39:35. > :39:39.criticising a ?3.8 billion increase in NHS funding this year when

:39:40. > :39:44.Labour's plans in the election last year were for a ?2.5 billion

:39:45. > :39:52.increase, ?1.3 billion less than this Government has delivered. I am

:39:53. > :39:56.grateful to the Health Secretary for that. He may want to rake over the

:39:57. > :40:02.last general election but it's clear that he doesn't want to talk about

:40:03. > :40:06.the crisis in NHS finances today. ?2.45 billion deficit among

:40:07. > :40:11.hospitals at the end of this year. Cuts to public health, ?4.5 billion

:40:12. > :40:16.out of the adult social care budget over the past five years, so I'm

:40:17. > :40:22.quite happy to debate NHS finances with him. The truth is, the NHS is

:40:23. > :40:26.actually getting a smaller increase this year than it got in every

:40:27. > :40:35.single year of the last Labour Government. I quoted the King 's

:40:36. > :40:39.Fund and the Health Foundation and they concluded by saying, getting

:40:40. > :40:43.public spending figures right is important otherwise they can mislead

:40:44. > :40:53.and detract from the real issues. The fact is, the NHS is halfway

:40:54. > :40:58.through its most austere decade ever with all NHS services facing huge

:40:59. > :41:03.pressures. I will give way. May I recommend the honourable lady reads

:41:04. > :41:11.recently book by Tom Bower which shows the utter failure of the Blair

:41:12. > :41:15.Government, who pumped billions of pounds over a period of years into

:41:16. > :41:20.the NHS but had no control over it and made no attempt to increase

:41:21. > :41:27.productivity, so that performance flat lined from 1998, for six years,

:41:28. > :41:31.and then the then Health Secretary was forced to bring back health

:41:32. > :41:40.policies that they had abandoned in 97. I'm grateful for the reading

:41:41. > :41:44.advice from the honourable gentleman. I would simply say this,

:41:45. > :41:50.I'm very happy to defend the record of the last Labour Government, when

:41:51. > :41:53.we travel the NHS budget, when we have the highest ever public

:41:54. > :41:59.satisfaction and the lowest ever waiting lists. Mr Speaker, I was

:42:00. > :42:03.talking about the crisis that we face today and we should be crystal

:42:04. > :42:09.clear about this, the decade from 2010 to 2020 is set to be marked by

:42:10. > :42:14.the biggest sustained funding squeeze on the NHS ever. As a

:42:15. > :42:23.percentage of GDP, spending on health is set to fall from 6.3% in

:42:24. > :42:29.2009/10 to 5.4% by the end of the decade. I will give way. I'm sorry

:42:30. > :42:34.but people who are listening to this debate will want clarification, is

:42:35. > :42:38.the honourable lady denying that if Labour were in Government they would

:42:39. > :42:41.have... We wouldn't have increased NHS spending in the way this

:42:42. > :42:46.Government has, I think she needs to be clear on that. We were very clear

:42:47. > :42:50.at the last election that we would have had an emergency budget to put

:42:51. > :43:00.every penny that the NHS needs into its funding. I was talking about the

:43:01. > :43:04.reduction as a proportion of GDP on NHS spending. In terms of real

:43:05. > :43:07.funding the House of Commons library has shown that if spending as a

:43:08. > :43:14.percentage of GDP had been maintained that Labour levels then

:43:15. > :43:19.by 2020, ?20 billion more would be spent on the NHS each year. That

:43:20. > :43:23.demonstrates the scale of underfunding we have already seen,

:43:24. > :43:28.and just how to the coming years are going to be. That's not to mention

:43:29. > :43:33.the deep cuts to adult social care which have piled the pressure on

:43:34. > :43:39.hospitals and the ?22 billion worth of so-called efficiency savings that

:43:40. > :43:44.this Government has signed up to. I have yet to meet anyone who works in

:43:45. > :43:48.the NHS who thinks that efficiency is on this scale are possible

:43:49. > :43:53.without harming patient care. I will give way. I don't disagree with her

:43:54. > :44:00.at all that there are big pressures on the horizon. But can she say how

:44:01. > :44:06.much beyond Simon Stephens' own predicted casts her party is now

:44:07. > :44:14.pledged to spend on the NHS? So far all we have heard is provide. --

:44:15. > :44:19.prevarication. I won't be drawn into giving figures at the dispatch box

:44:20. > :44:24.today but the life sciences Minister was tweeting that we need a big

:44:25. > :44:30.public debate about NHS funding. Three days ago, the scale of this

:44:31. > :44:32.crisis was laid bare. NHS improvement, the body responsible

:44:33. > :44:40.for overseeing hospitals published figures showing that NHS trusts

:44:41. > :44:48.ended 2015/16 with a record ?2.45 billion deficit. That is ?2.45

:44:49. > :44:55.billion. To give honourable Members some context that is travelled the

:44:56. > :44:59.deficit from last year. What is the cause of this? Spiralling agency

:45:00. > :45:02.spending because of staff shortages. When this Government talks about

:45:03. > :45:07.more money going in, let's remember, before it gets to the front line,

:45:08. > :45:13.the bulk of it is going to be spent on paying off the bills from last

:45:14. > :45:16.year. I will give way. I wonder if the honourable lady could give us an

:45:17. > :45:19.idea of how many extra personnel she thinks we need to deal with current

:45:20. > :45:34.levels of migration? I am grateful to the honourable

:45:35. > :45:39.gentleman for that intervention. I think the health service benefits

:45:40. > :45:43.more from migrants than they cost it. We on the side of the House are

:45:44. > :45:47.not going to take any lessons on NHS spending from a party that has

:45:48. > :45:53.created the biggest Black hole in NHS finances in history. It has got

:45:54. > :45:57.so bad the House secretary cannot even guarantee his department will

:45:58. > :46:01.not blow its budget. It is chaos. Ministers blame hospital bosses,

:46:02. > :46:06.hospital bosses blame ministers, and all the while it is patients who are

:46:07. > :46:09.paying the price. When faced with this crisis, you might have thought

:46:10. > :46:16.the NHS would get more than a passing reference in the Queen's

:46:17. > :46:20.Speech, but no. Instead, what is this Government's and so when it

:46:21. > :46:27.comes to the NHS? Fear not, they will be introducing a bill to crack

:46:28. > :46:30.down on health tourism. With all the problems NHS is facing, this

:46:31. > :46:37.Government wants to focus Parliament's time debating a bill

:46:38. > :46:43.that could risk turning NHS staff into border guards. Mr Speaker, let

:46:44. > :46:47.me be clear. If these measures are about getting the taxpayer a better

:46:48. > :46:51.deal and ensuring fairness in the system, then we will not oppose

:46:52. > :46:57.them, but I have to ask, with everything happening in the NHS

:46:58. > :47:01.right now, is it really Ministers' number one priority to introduce

:47:02. > :47:06.legislation to charge migrants and their children to go to A? If so,

:47:07. > :47:12.then my fear is that we are going to see the kind of dog whistle politics

:47:13. > :47:15.that got so rejected by the people of London earlier this month and

:47:16. > :47:24.which will hopefully get rejected again on June the 23rd. The truth is

:47:25. > :47:28.this. The crisis in the NHS with cash is not the fault of migrants.

:47:29. > :47:38.It is the fault of ministers. I will give way. I have no doubt that the

:47:39. > :47:41.honourable lady has a desire for a wider public debate but would she

:47:42. > :47:46.agree that to have a meaningful debate and to add value to her

:47:47. > :47:48.critique, she does need to set out what she sees as the financial

:47:49. > :47:56.requirements of the NHS going forward? Otherwise it is actually

:47:57. > :47:59.not a very hopeful debate to have. I am very grateful to the honourable

:48:00. > :48:04.gentleman. He will just have to watch this space. The truth is, as I

:48:05. > :48:09.was saying, the cash crisis in the NHS is not the fault of migrants but

:48:10. > :48:13.the fault of ministers. Cuts to nurse training places in the last

:48:14. > :48:17.parliament have created workforce shortages and led to a reliance on

:48:18. > :48:21.expensive agency staff. Cuts to social care have left older people

:48:22. > :48:26.without the help and support they need to remain independent at home,

:48:27. > :48:31.putting huge pressure on NHS services. The underfunding of GPs

:48:32. > :48:36.has left too many people unable to get timely appointments, meaning

:48:37. > :48:42.they are often left with nowhere to turn it A The financial crisis is

:48:43. > :48:48.a massive headache for NHS and attendance, but we all know it could

:48:49. > :48:54.mean life and death for patients. -- for NHS accounteds. Targets that

:48:55. > :48:57.exist to ensure swift access to care, NHS targets, have been missed

:48:58. > :49:02.so often that failure has become the norm. I give way. I thank the

:49:03. > :49:05.honourable lady for giving way. She has made a very political attack and

:49:06. > :49:11.in that context would she care to explain why it is in Labour run

:49:12. > :49:15.Wales the target for A admission is far worse than in England? Would

:49:16. > :49:18.she care to explain why that is? I would have thought better of the

:49:19. > :49:24.honourable gentleman. It is clear they want to speak about anything

:49:25. > :49:27.apart from their record in England. A performance is currently the

:49:28. > :49:33.worse since records began. Taking us back to the bad old days of the

:49:34. > :49:36.1980s when patientss were left waiting on trolleys in hospital

:49:37. > :49:39.corridors. Mr Speaker, the figures speak for themselves what I will

:49:40. > :49:43.give way again to the Health Secretary. I wanted to ask her to

:49:44. > :49:47.consider again what I honourable friend was saying. If A

:49:48. > :49:51.performance is the fault of Conservative politicians in England,

:49:52. > :50:00.is it not also the fault of Labour politicians in Wales where it is 11%

:50:01. > :50:03.worse? Thank you, Mr Speaker. From my memory icing to think the budget

:50:04. > :50:08.going to the NHS has been cut from Westminster. Let's look at the

:50:09. > :50:12.figures. -- from my memory I seem to think. In March 2011... The Health

:50:13. > :50:15.Secretary would do well to listen to these figures because I am about to

:50:16. > :50:24.tell him the record of his term in office. In March 2011, 8602 patients

:50:25. > :50:35.waited over four hours on trolleys because no beds were available. Four

:50:36. > :50:46.years later, the figure is up sixfold, 253,000 641. In March 2011,

:50:47. > :50:57.was just one patient. One patient on a trolley and four years later 350

:50:58. > :51:00.patients suffer this -- up sixfold. This is the equivalent of every

:51:01. > :51:07.person in England being on a waiting list. Only 57% of annual and call

:51:08. > :51:10.outs to the most serious life-threatening cases are being

:51:11. > :51:17.responded to within eight minutes. Mr Speaker, I could reel off more

:51:18. > :51:26.statistics but let me just read this letter I received the other week.

:51:27. > :51:29."Dear Ms Alexander, I recently had the misfortune of using the

:51:30. > :51:33.Tavernier at my local hospital in Margate. My wife feels I was lucky

:51:34. > :51:42.to escape with my life -- using the local hospital A service. My

:51:43. > :51:45.feeling is that the NHS has never been more under threat since Mrs

:51:46. > :51:49.Thatcher. The fact I was sent home after four hours without seeing a

:51:50. > :51:54.doctor and returned by emergency Andy Lynch with Eno perforated

:51:55. > :51:57.appendix, I blame that no mostly on the conflict between the Health

:51:58. > :52:08.Secretary and the junior doctors -- by emergency ambulance with a narrow

:52:09. > :52:15.perforated appendix.". -- had it been resolved he would now be able

:52:16. > :52:19.to focus on the crisis in the NHS." He is asking to see the letter,

:52:20. > :52:21.Ashley have it here with the permission of the individual who

:52:22. > :52:31.wrote to me before I referred to it by mashed -- and I actually have it

:52:32. > :52:41.here. At the Swindon great Western Hospital last November, and open

:52:42. > :52:45.letter to the Swindon Evening Advertiser from a patient. We

:52:46. > :52:48.arrived at 6:40pm and were asked to sit with about seven others in the

:52:49. > :52:52.unit. It became apparent this was a place of great suffering and misery.

:52:53. > :52:56.Firstly, there was a lady who had been doubled up in pain, who had

:52:57. > :53:01.been promised painkillers three hours before, and I witnessed her

:53:02. > :53:05.mother go again and again to reception, until she was begging for

:53:06. > :53:09.pain relief for her near hysterical daughter. There was another old lady

:53:10. > :53:17.who had been left on her own by her son and who sat picking at a cannula

:53:18. > :53:20.in her arm trying to pull it out. And a very frail and sick old man

:53:21. > :53:27.sat in a wheelchair who had been in the unit since EDM. He kept saying

:53:28. > :53:32.over and over, a cup of tea would be nice -- since eight o'clock in the

:53:33. > :53:36.morning. Then I watched as Uronen drilled from him and fell onto the

:53:37. > :53:40.floor beneath the chair. At 10:30pm he was taken to ward after 14 hours

:53:41. > :53:47.-- you're in trailed from him. We were finally seen at 1:20am. Never

:53:48. > :53:50.before have I seen people crying out of desperation. I do not know what

:53:51. > :53:55.is to blame or whether it is the lack of money or a of staff, but

:53:56. > :54:04.this place is what can only describe as hell on earth. This is what is

:54:05. > :54:07.happening in our NHS in 2016. These stories are becoming more common and

:54:08. > :54:14.ministers might not like to hear it but they need to start taking

:54:15. > :54:19.responsibility. I will give way. There are always pressures in the

:54:20. > :54:22.giant National Health Service as demand grows, expectations rise and

:54:23. > :54:28.there always will be. She could have made this speech as an opposition

:54:29. > :54:35.spokesman ten years ago, 20 years ago, 30 or 40 years ago. After 20

:54:36. > :54:41.minutes, she has not yet suggested a solitary policy proposal as an

:54:42. > :54:44.alternative to the Secretary of States -- Secretary of State's, or

:54:45. > :54:49.she has not said whether she agrees on the seven-day working NHS and all

:54:50. > :54:54.the rest of it. Apart from describing sad incidents were things

:54:55. > :54:57.obviously have not been ideal and as they should be, does she have

:54:58. > :55:04.anything to suggest by way of policy that might contribute to helping the

:55:05. > :55:08.NHS in the future? I am grateful, Mr Speaker. The thing that strikes me

:55:09. > :55:10.having had these exchanges over the dispatch box for the last nine

:55:11. > :55:15.months is that actually the reality of what people are experiencing in

:55:16. > :55:21.hospitals is sometimes missing from these debates and so that is why I

:55:22. > :55:26.thought it was important to quote from those letters today. Mr

:55:27. > :55:29.Speaker, if I might turn briefly to workforce challenges, nothing sums

:55:30. > :55:37.up this Government's failure on the NHS more than the way they have

:55:38. > :55:41.treated NHS staff. Pay freezes, cuts and the first all-out doctor strike

:55:42. > :55:45.in 40 years. A strike that this Health Secretary not only provoked

:55:46. > :55:50.but did not even try to prevent. The Health Secretary has spoken today

:55:51. > :55:54.about seven-day services, but he spoke very little about how he

:55:55. > :55:59.proposes to improve weekend care without the extra resources and

:56:00. > :56:04.extra staff the NHS will need. We can only assume that his plan is to

:56:05. > :56:09.spread existing resources more thinly, asking staff to do even more

:56:10. > :56:13.and putting patients at risk in the week. He also failed to see what the

:56:14. > :56:20.experts think about his approach. People like the professor who said

:56:21. > :56:27.the NHS was making good progress towards improving weekend care, but

:56:28. > :56:32.this became derailed when the House said they started linking it to

:56:33. > :56:36.junior doctors, and people like the editor of the British Medical

:56:37. > :56:40.Journal, who said the Health Secretary, by picking a fight with

:56:41. > :56:44.doctors, setback NHS England's establishment programme of work on

:56:45. > :56:49.improving services at weekends. So not only does this Health Secretary

:56:50. > :56:52.have no plan to deliver a seven-day NHS, he has wrapped up the plan that

:56:53. > :56:57.was already in place to improve weekend care. Mr Speaker, you could

:56:58. > :57:02.not make it up. Of course, the Health Secretary often reads out his

:57:03. > :57:05.usual list of statistics on staff numbers, but if you want to know

:57:06. > :57:10.what is really happening, you need to look beyond the spin. A recent

:57:11. > :57:13.survey of nurses by Unison found almost two thirds of them believe

:57:14. > :57:20.staffing levels had got worse in the last year. 63% said they felt there

:57:21. > :57:26.were inadequate numbers of staff on the words to ensure safe and

:57:27. > :57:33.dignified care, up from 45% the year before -- on the wards. Numbers of

:57:34. > :57:41.staff just have not kept pace with demand. With GPs, analysis by the

:57:42. > :57:46.House of Commons crypt, by Labour's Masteron others there were 70 GPs

:57:47. > :57:53.for every 100,000 of the population. That figure has now fallen to just

:57:54. > :57:57.66. Take nurses. In Labour's last year there were 679 nurses per

:57:58. > :58:03.hundred thousand of the population. Now there are 665. It is no wonder

:58:04. > :58:07.doctors and nurses feel pushed to breaking point. Let's remember that

:58:08. > :58:11.if we do not look after the workforce, then it is patients who

:58:12. > :58:17.suffer. There was nothing in this Queen's Speech to help the

:58:18. > :58:22.workforce. No U-turn on scrapping NHS bursaries, no plan to train the

:58:23. > :58:27.staff the NHS so desperately needs, and no plan to improve working

:58:28. > :58:35.conditions either. Instead, ... I will give way. I thank the

:58:36. > :58:38.honourable lady for giving way. It is so important the point she is

:58:39. > :58:42.just highlighting with regards to the workforce. Does she share my

:58:43. > :58:47.concerns that these attacks on the workforce, the doctors and nurses,

:58:48. > :58:52.the undermining of the numbers we are seeing, it is almost like if you

:58:53. > :58:56.break the doctors, that you will then in turn break the NHS, and it

:58:57. > :59:03.becomes a lot easier to get public support to privatise a broken NHS

:59:04. > :59:08.than an NHS that is well, healthy and working as it should? I think my

:59:09. > :59:13.honourable friend makes a very good point and I would simply reflect

:59:14. > :59:20.that motivated staff are absolutely essential to providing high quality

:59:21. > :59:24.care. I will give way. Can I remind my honourable friend that under the

:59:25. > :59:29.last Labour Government new medical schools were set up including the

:59:30. > :59:33.one to train the additional doctors we knew the NHS needed, and is it

:59:34. > :59:37.not a missed opportunity in this Queen's Speech that there is not any

:59:38. > :59:41.announcement about increasing capacity in those new medical

:59:42. > :59:47.schools Labour brought in? I thank my honourable friend for that

:59:48. > :59:51.contribution, and she is, as she always is, entirely right. Mr

:59:52. > :59:55.Speaker, I think this is a Government that has run out of

:59:56. > :00:00.answers. And has run out of people to blame. Whichever way you look at

:00:01. > :00:06.it, funding, quality of care and staffing, it is a record of failure,

:00:07. > :00:12.and this will be the House Secretary's legacy, a House

:00:13. > :00:18.secretary who rightly said never again but whose time in office has

:00:19. > :00:20.been marked by tragedy and value at Southern at mac health, a secretary

:00:21. > :00:26.who speaks about patient safety but his actions have made the NHS is

:00:27. > :00:28.less safe -- Southern Health. This Government has failed patients and

:00:29. > :00:33.field staff and they have proved old saying true. You simply cannot

:00:34. > :00:46.trust the Tories with the NHS. Maria Miller. I rise today to speak

:00:47. > :00:50.in this Queen's speech debate welcoming the legislative programme

:00:51. > :00:53.that the Government has set out, particularly about improving life

:00:54. > :00:58.chances for disadvantaged young people in the best traditions of one

:00:59. > :01:04.nation Conservatives and I welcome that. The Secretary of State

:01:05. > :01:09.demonstrated his strategic vision and also his very clear personal

:01:10. > :01:15.commitment to improving life chances through the NHS. And we all owe him

:01:16. > :01:20.a debt of gratitude for the work he is doing in that respect. And

:01:21. > :01:25.ensuring that it is fit for the future. And whilst there has been a

:01:26. > :01:29.great deal of discussion today about the budget surrounding the NHS,

:01:30. > :01:34.although perhaps a bit of a lack of clarity about Labour's budget. As my

:01:35. > :01:38.right honourable friend the Member for Rushcliffe said in his early

:01:39. > :01:42.intervention, it is not just the budget but how we use the money.

:01:43. > :01:52.That is the point I would like to focus on as well in my contribution.

:01:53. > :01:55.We need to ensure in this session, whether through legislation or other

:01:56. > :02:01.actions of ministers that we have an NHS which is nimble, agile and

:02:02. > :02:06.responsive for the future. We need public services that respond to the

:02:07. > :02:10.needs of people as they change and people's lives are changing. We are

:02:11. > :02:17.living longer, working longer, we have growing communities and we need

:02:18. > :02:20.more housing and the NHS, not simply ministers need to respond to those

:02:21. > :02:28.changes to reflect changing community needs. The NHS cannot

:02:29. > :02:32.afford to lag behind its users, patients, in its thinking. And

:02:33. > :02:35.that's why I believe one of the things this Government needs to do

:02:36. > :02:39.more than ever in this session is to make sure there is more devolution

:02:40. > :02:43.to local Government to join together NHS spending and social care

:02:44. > :02:50.spending which will help make sure our money goes further in the

:02:51. > :02:55.future. Bruce Keogh, medical director of the NHS, has set out a

:02:56. > :03:02.compelling vision, people with nonlife threatening needs having

:03:03. > :03:08.access to care as close as home as possible, and able being treated in

:03:09. > :03:12.centres with the best 24/7 consultant led care, safer and

:03:13. > :03:16.better for patients. Like many constituencies in the south-east my

:03:17. > :03:21.community has grown not just in recent years but throughout the

:03:22. > :03:25.recession. And we need the Secretary of State to be pressing for a nimble

:03:26. > :03:28.NHS to respond to the changes that we've got in our community and

:03:29. > :03:33.hopefully plan for the future as well. We need CCGs working to ensure

:03:34. > :03:39.that new surgeries are delivered with new houses and hospitals are

:03:40. > :03:46.delivering the best every day of the week. In my constituency we are

:03:47. > :03:50.fortunate to the already ahead of that thinking, the Hampshire

:03:51. > :03:56.hospitals trust have plans and a site with permission, and plans to

:03:57. > :04:00.establish a 24/7 critical treatment hospital bringing together emergency

:04:01. > :04:08.careful the sickest patients in one side. Leaving those requiring

:04:09. > :04:12.surgery to local hospitals in Winchester and Basingstoke. This

:04:13. > :04:17.approach has been developed by clinicians to keep services safe and

:04:18. > :04:24.sustainable and I really do urge the Secretary of State to make sure that

:04:25. > :04:26.we listen to clinicians closely and clinicians who often see the needs

:04:27. > :04:32.of the NHS changing before other parts do, that we see those changes

:04:33. > :04:35.put in place because now I see in Basingstoke we have the NHS

:04:36. > :04:44.investigation looking at how to deal with delays at A because changes

:04:45. > :04:49.proposed by clinicians have not been brought in a timely manner. We are

:04:50. > :04:52.now awaiting a new sustainability and transformation plan and in the

:04:53. > :04:57.meantime constituents are now regularly facing more than four

:04:58. > :05:02.hours waiting times in A which I hope will come to an end when the

:05:03. > :05:11.long-awaited critical treatment hospital is brought to fruition

:05:12. > :05:15.although it is four years late. We'll so need to find within the NHS

:05:16. > :05:21.programme for the future ways to respond to the needs of the groups

:05:22. > :05:25.of people as well and the women and equality select committee report,

:05:26. > :05:28.the needs of transgender people were brought to the fore and it was clear

:05:29. > :05:32.from the evidence we received that access to primary care and

:05:33. > :05:36.specialist care for this group was far from routine and in some cases

:05:37. > :05:42.shocking. Another example of the need for the NHS to be carefully

:05:43. > :05:45.responding to the needs of communities and I don't

:05:46. > :05:50.underestimate the challenges that GPs are facing in our communities,

:05:51. > :05:54.but we need to make sure they are to asked and that they deliver on

:05:55. > :06:02.treatment and care plans for every group of people, not leaving those

:06:03. > :06:06.minority groups out. We live in a country of a proud tradition of

:06:07. > :06:09.fairness and some of the most comprehensive legislation in the

:06:10. > :06:13.world when it comes to protecting disadvantaged people, the theme of

:06:14. > :06:18.the Queens speech, but too often the legislation doesn't create any

:06:19. > :06:22.change that we in this house would like to see. And I hope this

:06:23. > :06:27.Government will use every bill on offer in this parliamentary session

:06:28. > :06:34.to be able to challenge itself, if there is more to be done to support

:06:35. > :06:36.disadvantaged people, whether it is the modern transport Bill, to look

:06:37. > :06:43.at how disabled and older people could benefit from these important

:06:44. > :06:49.developments in transportation. Whether in the local growth and jobs

:06:50. > :06:55.bill, the Government could look more closely at the three quarters of

:06:56. > :06:59.pregnant women and new mums who suffer negative or discriminatory

:07:00. > :07:03.experience at work and bring forward measures to help address that more

:07:04. > :07:10.speedily to unlock this pool of Labour for the future. Whether in

:07:11. > :07:12.the education for all bill. Ministers could look carefully at

:07:13. > :07:17.the House of Lords select committee paper on the achievements of

:07:18. > :07:22.disabled children in schools because still, despite a great deal of work

:07:23. > :07:26.that has been done in recent years, we need to better unlock the

:07:27. > :07:29.educational achievement for disabled children because at the moment just

:07:30. > :07:34.18% of children with special educational needs achieve good

:07:35. > :07:42.development compared with 65% of those without. The prison reform

:07:43. > :07:45.bill will of course be pivotal in terms of supporting disadvantaged

:07:46. > :07:50.people and I'm sure there will be a great deal of debate on that today.

:07:51. > :07:54.I'd like to just very briefly touch upon the importance when it comes to

:07:55. > :08:02.the Bill of Rights of the need to ensure that we really do tackle the

:08:03. > :08:10.disadvantage that people face in this country. And again, I refer to

:08:11. > :08:14.the need to tackle the rights of transgendered people and

:08:15. > :08:17.non-gendered people, this group of people suffer great disadvantage in

:08:18. > :08:20.our society and if we are to see a Bill of Rights coming forward in

:08:21. > :08:29.this country we need to tackle that and tackle it head on. I would want

:08:30. > :08:33.to briefly before I close touch upon something close to my heart from

:08:34. > :08:36.when I was a minister, superfast broadband. I was delighted to see

:08:37. > :08:42.that the Government is bringing forward a bill in this area to make

:08:43. > :08:47.sure that superfast road band is seen as the essential utility that

:08:48. > :08:52.it is and I'm sure the Health Secretary will have seen this with

:08:53. > :08:58.some great joy as well given his role as culture secretary, too. I

:08:59. > :09:02.have to say, the experience of my local authority in this area means I

:09:03. > :09:05.will look carefully at the detail when the bill comes forward because

:09:06. > :09:11.my local authority in Basingstoke has long seen superfast broadband as

:09:12. > :09:19.essential infrastructure, but when trying to actually make it happen in

:09:20. > :09:26.terms of planning conditions, they have been blocked pretty firmly by

:09:27. > :09:29.the local planning inspector. Basingstoke Borough Council and

:09:30. > :09:33.Hampshire County Council have looked long and hard about how they may try

:09:34. > :09:37.to make progress and I'm sure they would welcome the measures in the

:09:38. > :09:41.Queens speech as I do. And indeed they have asked the Government for

:09:42. > :09:48.superfast broadband to be a material planning consideration and I hope

:09:49. > :09:53.when the minister summing up today, if he could perhaps clarify if this

:09:54. > :09:57.is the approach that will be taken, if it will be a material planning

:09:58. > :10:01.consideration and perhaps he'll she summing up could give an indication

:10:02. > :10:07.as to when this will come into force because like many other Members of

:10:08. > :10:11.parliament my local community has seen a rapid increase in the rate of

:10:12. > :10:22.house building, and we need to know when it might come into play. We

:10:23. > :10:28.have experienced problems with BT in Coventry. We need some urgent

:10:29. > :10:33.action. BT has a big problem in this area. The honourable gentleman makes

:10:34. > :10:37.a point that I think many Members have made, and the point I'm making

:10:38. > :10:42.here is very different. It's about making sure local authorities are

:10:43. > :10:46.able to make this an essential prerequisite of building new houses.

:10:47. > :10:51.You can't build a house in this country without water or

:10:52. > :10:57.electricity, and there are many utilities that we come to rely on.

:10:58. > :11:01.And I have to say, superfast broadband has fast become a basic

:11:02. > :11:04.utility of life, and that's the way it needs to be viewed although I'm

:11:05. > :11:08.sure other Members will be bringing up the issue of the performance of

:11:09. > :11:13.those who put the service into place. There is a powerful

:11:14. > :11:17.opportunity for this Government to continue on its mission to improve

:11:18. > :11:21.the life chances of disadvantaged people, not only in bills where it

:11:22. > :11:25.is more obvious like prison reform but in every single bill on the

:11:26. > :11:29.agenda. Please can I urge ministers to look carefully at how they can

:11:30. > :11:33.make that come into play because whilst we may have some of the best

:11:34. > :11:36.legislation in the world when it comes to equality, when it comes to

:11:37. > :11:45.putting it into practice sometimes we fall short and we need to admit

:11:46. > :11:48.that add up our game. -- and up our game. There will be a limit of ten

:11:49. > :11:55.minutes imposed which won't apply to Ian Blackford. Thank you. It was a

:11:56. > :11:59.pleasure to follow the Honourable Member for Basingstoke. If you'd

:12:00. > :12:02.forgive me I could reflect on a historic event which took place in

:12:03. > :12:12.Scotland this weekend, for the first time in 114 years the Scottish Cup

:12:13. > :12:19.returned to Leith with Edinburgh winning the Scottish Cup. The last

:12:20. > :12:25.time the cup came back to Easter Road Buffalo Bills was in town and

:12:26. > :12:28.Queen Victoria was still on the throne, and the hurt we have

:12:29. > :12:33.experienced of ten cup finals that we have lost on the trot, going to

:12:34. > :12:41.Hampden to face defeat after defeat, a fine game took place in Scotland

:12:42. > :12:44.last Saturday with to teams, and I'm delighted that the people of Leith

:12:45. > :12:50.have been able to celebrate a cup victory. There is little to be

:12:51. > :12:56.welcomed in the Queens speech. The reality is that this was a missed

:12:57. > :12:59.opportunity for progressive action on pensions, social security and the

:13:00. > :13:05.economy. The UK Government is caught in a civil war over Europe, and has

:13:06. > :13:12.delivered a Queens speech with a poverty of ambition. The Tory party

:13:13. > :13:15.are at war with each other and are failing miserably at what the Prime

:13:16. > :13:19.Minister said last year at his conference that what we were going

:13:20. > :13:26.to get was a war on poverty, it is not, it is war in the Conservative

:13:27. > :13:29.Party that we are seeing. You could perhaps draw a comparison with the

:13:30. > :13:34.Conservative Party's disagreements over Europe, two men fighting over

:13:35. > :13:38.one woman and could you imagine after such a catastrophe it is

:13:39. > :13:47.possible for everyone to come back together as friends? I am saddened

:13:48. > :13:50.that that is the depth is that the honourable gentleman wants to stoop

:13:51. > :13:54.to, I'm delighted to have friends and colleagues representing this

:13:55. > :13:59.Government in Edinburgh and here and they will continue to get the full

:14:00. > :14:04.support of all of us. The Queens speech demonstrates that the Tories

:14:05. > :14:07.are a threat to high-quality, well funded public services. Having

:14:08. > :14:11.listened to the Leader of the Opposition last week in the Queens

:14:12. > :14:14.speech we are still none the wiser as to what the Labour Party is

:14:15. > :14:19.offering. We could of course have asked the Leader of the Opposition

:14:20. > :14:23.if he could have taken interventions from honourable Members rather than

:14:24. > :14:27.forcing us to sit and listen to a monologue that what the attention of

:14:28. > :14:35.his own party never mind the House. There are some measures to be

:14:36. > :14:40.welcomed like the universal service obligation on broadband, this Queens

:14:41. > :14:48.speech delivers nothing on pension reform, the simplification of the

:14:49. > :14:51.tax system, Social Security, and boosting exports and productivity.

:14:52. > :14:55.The Conservatives have orchestrated truly devastating cuts that have

:14:56. > :14:59.destroyed the safety net that Social Security should provide. We see

:15:00. > :15:05.through their rhetoric on my chances. The scrapping of legal

:15:06. > :15:09.commitments to tackle child poverty, the four year freeze on working age

:15:10. > :15:16.benefits including child tax credits, working child tax credits

:15:17. > :15:20.will see families losing up to 12% from the real value of their

:15:21. > :15:25.benefits and tax credits by 2020. The butchering of the very aspect of

:15:26. > :15:30.Universal Credit that I will give way on a second... That may have

:15:31. > :15:33.created work incentives but instead hammered low paid workers to name a

:15:34. > :15:37.few of their aggressive cuts that will decrease the life chances of

:15:38. > :15:42.children across these islands. I will give way.

:15:43. > :15:49.Why doesn't the SNP put taxes up in Scotland if they feel they need more

:15:50. > :15:55.money to spend? We want to deliver economic prosperity and a fairer

:15:56. > :15:58.society in Scotland. Let me just remind the honourable gentleman that

:15:59. > :16:02.when we fought the General Election in Scotland, we did that on a

:16:03. > :16:06.progressive manifesto that would have seen us investing over the

:16:07. > :16:10.lifetime of this Parliament throughout the UK, ?140 billion,

:16:11. > :16:14.increasing Government spending by half a percent, investing in

:16:15. > :16:18.renovation, our productive potential, with a view that we would

:16:19. > :16:23.deliver confidence and growth in the economy. A sensible programme that

:16:24. > :16:27.would have seen the debt and deficit reduced. That is the sensible way of

:16:28. > :16:32.dealing with the problems we face, both in Scotland and the rest of the

:16:33. > :16:37.UK. Madame Deputy Speaker, it does not matter how many times the

:16:38. > :16:43.Government use this own bait of life chances. In reality the so-called

:16:44. > :16:47.assault on policy is crusade to redefine what poverty is and to

:16:48. > :16:53.blame individuals rather than the Government saw the austerity agenda

:16:54. > :16:58.can continue to attack the most disadvantaged in our society -- the

:16:59. > :17:05.sound biite of life chances. Doesn't my honourable friend agree with me

:17:06. > :17:08.that the language a red lay still is incompatible with this, balancing on

:17:09. > :17:16.the backs of the poor? -- the language around. We to invest in our

:17:17. > :17:18.productive potential, giving life chances to its opportunities,

:17:19. > :17:27.something so badly missing from this Government. Imran Hussain, the Child

:17:28. > :17:29.Poverty Action Group's director of policy said there is a disconnect

:17:30. > :17:33.between what the Government is doing and saying. You cannot spread life

:17:34. > :17:39.chances when child poverty is expected to rise. There is very

:17:40. > :17:41.little evidence about poverty being caused by objections are families

:17:42. > :17:46.breaking down. The recent figures show the true scale of poverty in

:17:47. > :17:51.the UK, with almost one third of the UK population experiencing poverty

:17:52. > :17:59.at least once between 2011 and 2014, the ISS and analysis from 2016

:18:00. > :18:07.February, found absolute child poverty is expected to increase from

:18:08. > :18:11.15.1% in 2015 and 2016 to 18.3% in 2020 and 2021. Do not lecture us

:18:12. > :18:15.about improving life chances. All of the evidence is exactly the

:18:16. > :18:20.opposite. What will it take for the Conservatives to wake up to the

:18:21. > :18:25.reality that increased poverty, increased child poverty, is a direct

:18:26. > :18:31.consequence of their austerity agenda? Their attempt to disguise

:18:32. > :18:34.cuts with the life chances agenda is transparent. If the Government wants

:18:35. > :18:38.to lift children out of poverty and give them an equal starting life,

:18:39. > :18:45.they must reverse their punitive cuts and be more ambitious about

:18:46. > :18:50.tackling in work poverty. I will happily have way. He is making a

:18:51. > :18:57.powerful case against austerity with which I agree but the SNP, Holyrood,

:18:58. > :19:00.that administration in Edinburgh is forcing ?130 million of cuts on

:19:01. > :19:03.Glasgow City Council. One of the poorest areas in the country. How

:19:04. > :19:07.does he measure that up with what he's saying? One of the things we

:19:08. > :19:12.have done since we have been in government in Edinburgh since 2007

:19:13. > :19:15.is to protect local Government. What we have faced by the consequences of

:19:16. > :19:20.the cuts that have come from Westminster and I am delighted that

:19:21. > :19:25.our SNP Government through the council tax freeze has saved

:19:26. > :19:28.individuals in a typically banded house, protecting the individuals

:19:29. > :19:31.but at the same time protecting the budget of councils. That is what the

:19:32. > :19:36.SNP Government has done in Edinburgh. In Scotland, the SNP

:19:37. > :19:42.Scottish Government has protected public services, despite the cut to

:19:43. > :19:44.the Scottish budget. Cuts to Scottish public services handed down

:19:45. > :19:48.from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, lacking in compassion and

:19:49. > :19:55.empathy, the pluralist and weakest in our society paying the price for

:19:56. > :20:01.Tory austerity -- tourist and weakest. The SNP has put forward a

:20:02. > :20:04.credible alternative to this Queen's Speech. Proving again it is the

:20:05. > :20:10.Scottish National Party that is the only real opposition to the

:20:11. > :20:13.Government in this House. This debate... In our dreams? Let's hear

:20:14. > :20:18.what the Labour Party or offering because there is nothing from the

:20:19. > :20:21.Leader of the Opposition last week and certainly nothing from the

:20:22. > :20:25.Labour front bench. Just as we have seen in Scotland, it is little

:20:26. > :20:29.wonder you have fallen in the polls and followed to the third party in

:20:30. > :20:34.Scotland. That is the reality of no hope, no vision and no agenda from

:20:35. > :20:36.today's Labour Party. This debate could be characterised as having a

:20:37. > :20:45.specific focus on defending public services. The mind of my colleagues

:20:46. > :20:50.on these benches and myself, to that, it has to be there in a much

:20:51. > :20:52.wider context. When the SNP published its own Queen's Speech,

:20:53. > :20:57.one that offers hope to the people Scotland, that we should aspire to

:20:58. > :21:00.do better, that we need to create the circumstances of delivering

:21:01. > :21:04.sustainable economic growth, and through this enhancing life chances

:21:05. > :21:07.for all, at the same time recognising the necessity of

:21:08. > :21:14.investing and enhancing in our vital public services. Our manifesto, like

:21:15. > :21:17.the Queen's Speech, recognised the necessity of driving down the

:21:18. > :21:23.deficit, but that we would not do that on the backs of the poor and

:21:24. > :21:27.the -- at the cost of our public services. We recognise austerity is

:21:28. > :21:31.both a political choice and its implication is in itself holding

:21:32. > :21:33.back not just the growth in the economy, but holding back the

:21:34. > :21:39.potential so many people throughout the United Kingdom. Cuts to public

:21:40. > :21:43.services withdrawal spending from the economy, and it undermines our

:21:44. > :21:47.moral responsibility to deliver the kind of public services that will

:21:48. > :21:51.assist in delivering opportunities for many people to access services

:21:52. > :21:54.and support people back into work as well as the vital support network

:21:55. > :22:00.that allows communities to function effectively. Madame Deputy Speaker,

:22:01. > :22:07.the attacks on the disabled, women and young people's services are a

:22:08. > :22:12.result of this Government's programme that hold people back from

:22:13. > :22:15.a full to society. What we have in comparison with the SNP is a

:22:16. > :22:18.strategy that will enhance life chances for people in Scotland and

:22:19. > :22:21.throughout the UK. It is a progressive agenda. It is one that

:22:22. > :22:26.recognises the responsible of government to show leadership and

:22:27. > :22:30.create the architecture that will deliver sustainable economic growth.

:22:31. > :22:35.Investing for growth, delivering stronger public services, driving up

:22:36. > :22:38.tax receipts and cutting the deficit, it is an appropriate

:22:39. > :22:43.response to the circumstances we find ourselves in, but one that

:22:44. > :22:51.acknowledges the circumstances that many governments find themselves in

:22:52. > :22:55.in the Western world. We in the SNP are ambitious for Scotland and that

:22:56. > :22:59.can perhaps the best evidenced by Nicola

:23:00. > :23:02.programme to tackle the attainment gap but also one which has a clear

:23:03. > :23:07.focus on using the powers we do have to influence innovation, recognising

:23:08. > :23:09.there is a twin pact of tackling attainment but this goes

:23:10. > :23:14.hand-in-hand of making sure we improve skills, enhanced capability

:23:15. > :23:20.and create competitive opportunities in the global marketplace. We have

:23:21. > :23:24.had a specific focus on export capabilities in key sectors. For

:23:25. > :23:28.example, the manufacture of food and drink continues to be our top export

:23:29. > :23:32.sector, accounting for ?4.8 billion in revenues. Food and beverage

:23:33. > :23:40.exports including whisky have increased in value over the years

:23:41. > :23:46.from ?755 million in 2013 to ?850 million in 2014, an increase of 8%.

:23:47. > :23:52.In 2014, Scottish whisky exports reached ?3.95 billion, accounting

:23:53. > :23:55.for 20% of the food and drink exports for the whole of the UK.

:23:56. > :23:58.Scotland has shown the way in increasing its export of ability and

:23:59. > :24:04.were driving investment for jobs into our economy. This place to our

:24:05. > :24:06.key strengths and reputation as a provider of high quality food and

:24:07. > :24:10.drink and is also based on segments of the market that offer long-term

:24:11. > :24:16.growth opportunities. Madame Deputy Speaker, we need to tackle the

:24:17. > :24:20.relative decline in manufacturing in our overall economy that hampers our

:24:21. > :24:23.challenge in delivering prosperity. There are growth sectors in that,

:24:24. > :24:26.such as biotechnology that can deliver opportunities for growth and

:24:27. > :24:31.jobs. We need a strategy that focuses on manufacturing growth that

:24:32. > :24:35.outstrips the service sector in terms of value added to our economy.

:24:36. > :24:39.This is not play down the desire to achieve growth in services, but a

:24:40. > :24:44.recognition that we have an imbalance in our economy that

:24:45. > :24:47.hampers ability to maximise our opportunities for our people. Madame

:24:48. > :24:51.Deputy Speaker, we cannot decouple a debate about defending public

:24:52. > :24:56.services from the wider economic agenda because they are so

:24:57. > :24:59.completely intertwined. We need a well-educated healthy population

:25:00. > :25:03.that rely on our education and health services but also our ability

:25:04. > :25:09.to deliver effective childcare as one example. Many members opposite

:25:10. > :25:13.speak about small Government and when they do so they reject a vital

:25:14. > :25:18.role of the state to allow all of us in society to achieve our potential.

:25:19. > :25:23.This Queen's Speech is a missed opportunity to deliver a programme

:25:24. > :25:28.that could offer some at more and spire to a healthier, wealthier and

:25:29. > :25:32.fairer society. We to tackle inequality -- aspire to. We need to

:25:33. > :25:36.create a fairer society and an effective balance between prosperity

:25:37. > :25:41.and investment in public services that will underpin a successful

:25:42. > :25:45.society. Today, we are moving away from this. There is increasing

:25:46. > :25:48.disparity between executive pay, in many cases, and the mainstream,

:25:49. > :25:51.leading to increased calls for action by shareholders and

:25:52. > :25:58.ultimately stronger action in moderation cannot be achieved. With

:25:59. > :26:01.wage growth outpacing productivity growth, there are legitimate

:26:02. > :26:05.concerns about the sustainability of real wage growth. As a consequence,

:26:06. > :26:10.taxation receipts and the ability of the Government to meet its targets,

:26:11. > :26:16.with all this would entail for the public finances and no doubt for

:26:17. > :26:19.investment in our public services, in short to secure our public

:26:20. > :26:23.services we need to tackle the shortcomings of the Government's

:26:24. > :26:28.economic strategy. Of course, we would invest for growth, create

:26:29. > :26:32.opportunities for investment both by private and public sector, resulting

:26:33. > :26:37.in greater confidence and growth outcomes. Confidence and growth, on

:26:38. > :26:42.the back of investment in our public sector, would see the debt and

:26:43. > :26:44.deficit come down, not driven by an ideological desire like this

:26:45. > :26:49.Government has to achieve a budget surplus at any cost. The logic

:26:50. > :26:54.behind this desire to achieve a budget surplus, almost irrespective

:26:55. > :26:59.of economic circumstances, beggars belief. If the Chancellor misses his

:27:00. > :27:03.growth forecast as has been the case on numerous occasions his office can

:27:04. > :27:07.only make a strategy work with either tax rises or more predictably

:27:08. > :27:12.cuts to public spending. Madame Deputy Speaker, the trouble with

:27:13. > :27:18.this strategy is that we are now six years into it and it is not working.

:27:19. > :27:21.The squeeze on public spending is hurting and damaging services. Those

:27:22. > :27:26.of us that are old enough to remember the Thatcher Government

:27:27. > :27:31.elected in 1979 will recall the line from the Government, if it is not

:27:32. > :27:36.hurting, it is not working. Well, Peter Lilley, it is hurting, and

:27:37. > :27:41.it's not working. -- well, Peter Lilley. It may have been John Major

:27:42. > :27:48.but it is the same old Tories. It is harming the life chances of people

:27:49. > :27:51.in Scotland and the rest of the UK. Let me return to the Queen's Speech

:27:52. > :27:54.and the future of the NHS. We strongly disagree with the UK

:27:55. > :28:00.Government's moves to charge visitors to this country to use the

:28:01. > :28:09.NHS. NHS Scotland will not charge overseas visitors if they need to

:28:10. > :28:12.visit A or any department involving a sexually transmitted

:28:13. > :28:15.disease, HIV, or is sectioned under the Mental Health Act. That is the

:28:16. > :28:22.right thing for anyone to do in a civilised society. I will happily

:28:23. > :28:26.give way. We understand -- you understand the Government is not

:28:27. > :28:29.proposing charging in A but surely it is right if someone comes here

:28:30. > :28:32.then takes elective surgery, they should pay the bills and get it back

:28:33. > :28:36.from their own country? What we are speaking about in many cases is

:28:37. > :28:40.people coming here to work that the Government want to charge, people

:28:41. > :28:43.already paying their taxes. What a disgraceful way for any Government

:28:44. > :28:49.today. This measure is the indication that the Tories are a

:28:50. > :28:52.real and present danger to the NHS. The Conservatives have mismanaged

:28:53. > :29:02.the junior doctors' contract in England, for shamefully rejected a

:29:03. > :29:06.bill that would have reinstated the principles of the NHS has been

:29:07. > :29:09.public and free. Madame Deputy Speaker, in the Scottish election

:29:10. > :29:14.the Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson stood on a platform of

:29:15. > :29:19.reintroducing description charges, a measure that would be a regressive

:29:20. > :29:25.tax on the ill. It is estimated that the SNP's abolition of prescription

:29:26. > :29:31.charges has benefited around 600,000 adults, living in families with an

:29:32. > :29:36.average income of less than ?16,000. Madame Deputy Speaker, whilst in

:29:37. > :29:40.England the Health Secretary, who is no longer in his place, seems to

:29:41. > :29:45.favour a petition with the health service, we favour a more consensual

:29:46. > :29:49.approach in Scotland that the liver 's results. The SNP's Scottish

:29:50. > :29:56.Government has delivered a record funding for Scotland's NHS, despite

:29:57. > :29:59.cuts to the Scottish budget from Westminster. The Scottish Government

:30:00. > :30:05.will ensure the revenue budget for the NHS rises by ?5 billion more

:30:06. > :30:08.with impatience or it will have increased by about ?2 billion in

:30:09. > :30:13.total. Health spending in Scotland is already at a record level of

:30:14. > :30:18.?12.4 billion. Under the SNP, there is a record high number of employees

:30:19. > :30:23.in the Scottish NHS, up by nearly 9% since 2006. Patient satisfaction

:30:24. > :30:28.with the NHS in Scotland is high. 86% of people are fairly are very

:30:29. > :30:36.satisfied with local health services, up by 5% under the SNP.

:30:37. > :30:39.That is the result of a popular SNP Government working together with our

:30:40. > :30:46.health professionals to deliver results, unlike the UK Government

:30:47. > :30:49.the SNP values and respects the work of all our medical professionals and

:30:50. > :30:52.if we were ever to move towards a new contract for junior doctors in

:30:53. > :30:57.Scotland it would only ever be on the basis of an agreed negotiated

:30:58. > :31:04.settlement. Thank goodness that in Scotland we are still wedded to the

:31:05. > :31:06.principles of Beverage and will protect the NHS as a public asset

:31:07. > :31:15.for the common good. A driving principle is that access

:31:16. > :31:22.should be based on ability, not on the ability to pay. Tuition fees of

:31:23. > :31:26.?9,000 and potentially more remains a heavy burden on working families

:31:27. > :31:30.and students in England and the UK Government must rule out that the

:31:31. > :31:39.higher education Bill will raise the gap. -- the cap. In Scotland we have

:31:40. > :31:42.guaranteed free education for all but Ruth Davidson and the Tories

:31:43. > :31:48.would have tuition fees north of the border, too, if they ever took

:31:49. > :31:50.power. I am grateful for the honourable gentleman giving way, can

:31:51. > :31:56.he confirmed that the way in which they have secured I education is to

:31:57. > :32:00.butcher the budgets of further education affecting some of the

:32:01. > :32:06.poorest in the community and those who actually need the assistance the

:32:07. > :32:09.most. I would not because it is not true, full-time places that Scottish

:32:10. > :32:15.colleges have increased and I will come back to these points in the

:32:16. > :32:20.second. Ruth Davidson would want to introduce back George tuition fees

:32:21. > :32:25.in Scotland. Down here the Tories are all for front door fees, and in

:32:26. > :32:30.Scotland the Tories are all about back door fees. The doors are locked

:32:31. > :32:36.to many who want to participate in education unless you can pay the

:32:37. > :32:43.price. Front door or back door, with the Tories, there's always a price

:32:44. > :32:47.to pay. Young people from the most deprived areas of Scotland are now

:32:48. > :32:57.more likely to participate in higher education by the age of 30 since the

:32:58. > :33:05.SNP came to power, up from 35% to 41%, that is a result of the

:33:06. > :33:16.successful SNP programme. The number of qualifiers from deprived areas

:33:17. > :33:20.has increased from 8035 to 10,395. Overall since we came to power the

:33:21. > :33:26.number of Scottish domiciled first year degree students has risen by

:33:27. > :33:30.11%. Last year saw a record number of Scots are accepted to

:33:31. > :33:34.universities across the UK. That's a record to be proud of and perhaps

:33:35. > :33:39.rather than capping from the sidelines the Labour Party should

:33:40. > :33:44.get behind what the SNP have delivered in Scotland for the people

:33:45. > :33:49.of our country. The Scottish funding Council have invested more than 76

:33:50. > :33:53.million in additional access and articulation places over the past

:33:54. > :33:58.three years and continue to fund a wide range of other initiatives to

:33:59. > :34:05.support access. We will ensure that those with a care experience will be

:34:06. > :34:12.guaranteed the offer of a university place and a nonrepayable bursary of

:34:13. > :34:16.?7,625. In Scotland we recognise that access based on ability,

:34:17. > :34:23.investing in human capital is the right thing to do. It is a principle

:34:24. > :34:29.that is non-negotiable. Our children, our future, collectively

:34:30. > :34:33.it is a price worth paying. As my honourable friend for Gordon said

:34:34. > :34:36.some time ago, the rocks will melt with the sun before the SNP imposed

:34:37. > :34:45.is tuition fees on Scotland's students. Little good news for young

:34:46. > :34:48.people, whether it is those looking to start a journey towards eventual

:34:49. > :34:52.retirement or those nearing retirement, there is much to fear

:34:53. > :34:59.from this Government. Whether injustices for women, UK residents

:35:00. > :35:04.living in overseas Territories who suffer from cuts to their pensions,

:35:05. > :35:07.and the constant pension tinkering, there is little to commend this

:35:08. > :35:12.Government. It is playing a risky game when it comes to pensions. The

:35:13. > :35:24.new lifetime is muddies the waters in what is already a very compact

:35:25. > :35:26.area. Is savings undercut pre-tax income, in other words, the

:35:27. > :35:31.Chancellor has found a convenient tool to increase tax receipts today

:35:32. > :35:39.but it's not necessarily good news for individual savers. According to

:35:40. > :35:44.the EBI, presented as a choice, no employee would be better off saving

:35:45. > :35:49.in a ISA in a workplace pension because of a loss of employer

:35:50. > :35:54.contributions. EBI calculations indicate that the long-term cost of

:35:55. > :35:59.foregoing employer contributions would be substantial. The impact

:36:00. > :36:07.would be savings of third glass by the age of 60. He is making an

:36:08. > :36:11.important point but would he not accept that one of the benefits of

:36:12. > :36:14.people saving through a ISA is that it gives considerably more

:36:15. > :36:19.flexibility as we go through life journey and often times we may want

:36:20. > :36:22.to dip into the money for a deposit for a house, is in not about

:36:23. > :36:28.consumer choice and there is room for both? It is important to protect

:36:29. > :36:34.the existing system. This is a important issue and I want to

:36:35. > :36:38.genuinely, I say this genuinely, work with the Government on this

:36:39. > :36:40.issue because all of us in this place have a collective

:36:41. > :36:46.responsibility to get pensions right and I will accept that there is a

:36:47. > :36:54.shared concern across the house, and a recognition that pensions saving

:36:55. > :36:58.is not at a sustainable level. My problem with what has been proposed

:36:59. > :37:03.is that it undermines what should be the best route for all, which is

:37:04. > :37:06.that we should be saving through the auto enrolment with the incentives

:37:07. > :37:14.that are there and it has been undermined by this Southern -- ISA

:37:15. > :37:18.agreement. It will come up when the plans are presented to Parliament

:37:19. > :37:21.but I would say be careful, we all share the ambition to get this right

:37:22. > :37:24.and I make the offer to the Government that we love prepared to

:37:25. > :37:31.work together to make sure we get the best mechanisms to increase

:37:32. > :37:35.pension savings in this country. The issue of pensions saving is under

:37:36. > :37:41.crisis, at a crisis point, no amount of regulation... I can hear some

:37:42. > :37:47.guffawing but I will try to wrap up and I have been generous in taking

:37:48. > :37:51.intervention. I would say that we need a fundamental overhaul of the

:37:52. > :37:55.pension system. The Tories need to be more ambitious with their

:37:56. > :38:00.pensions reform and find real solutions that incentivise pension

:38:01. > :38:04.saving. The SNP has long called for the establishment of an independent

:38:05. > :38:09.pensions commission to look a list of the ad pensions reform, focus on

:38:10. > :38:13.existing inequalities and pave the way for a fair, universal pensions

:38:14. > :38:20.system. We must also prioritise fraud and scam prevention. Kate

:38:21. > :38:23.Smith, head of pensions commented that fraud that pensioners are

:38:24. > :38:27.vulnerable to should have been tackled in the pensions Bill. She

:38:28. > :38:31.said, I'm extremely disappointed that the Government has failed to

:38:32. > :38:34.use the Queens speech as an opportunity to tackle the

:38:35. > :38:38.ever-growing threat of pensions fraud via legislation. We need to

:38:39. > :38:43.look at ways for the regulation of the industry to work together to

:38:44. > :38:49.raise the profile of pensions fraud to stamp it out and protect savers.

:38:50. > :38:53.I'm going to wrap up but let me say this, nearly 1 million people over

:38:54. > :38:59.75 live in poverty and need more help from the Government according

:39:00. > :39:05.to a report by City University. It also suggests that being, those over

:39:06. > :39:11.75 is on average ?3000 less than four younger pensioners. Therefore

:39:12. > :39:14.these figures suggest that vital sustainable income must be available

:39:15. > :39:17.for the older generation and the Government must now do more to

:39:18. > :39:25.address this. There is so much that needs to be addressed to give

:39:26. > :39:28.confidence to pensioners. Our alternative Queens speech proposed a

:39:29. > :39:33.universal pensions bill for a more progressive system which would have

:39:34. > :39:37.established an independent pensions commission to investigate the

:39:38. > :39:41.inequalities in current and future proposed pension policies. Fund

:39:42. > :39:44.transitional arrangements for women affected by the rapid pace of

:39:45. > :39:50.increases in the state pension age and allow for further development in

:39:51. > :39:53.auto enrolment and further options to incentivise savings. The

:39:54. > :39:59.complexity of the pensions system is a turn-off for savers, preventing

:40:00. > :40:04.them from shopping around and making sound choices. Last week the Bank of

:40:05. > :40:08.England chief economist has said that the British pension system is

:40:09. > :40:13.so complicated that even he fails to understand it. Warning of the

:40:14. > :40:17.damaging consequences that this presents for consumers as they

:40:18. > :40:21.approach retirement. Compositions with countless experts and

:40:22. > :40:26.independent advisers have confirmed only one thing, they have no clue

:40:27. > :40:29.either. When we speak about no clue it is a comment that can be made

:40:30. > :40:34.about this Government and its Queens speech. We have outlined an SNP

:40:35. > :40:38.alternative delivering a message of hope and vision for the people of

:40:39. > :40:41.Scotland. It's not too late for the Tories to open their ears and indeed

:40:42. > :40:46.their minds to a different direction. If the Government wants

:40:47. > :40:49.to increase the life chances of our children then it must return to the

:40:50. > :40:55.drawing board on Social Security cuts and admit they got it wrong as

:40:56. > :40:59.they have done on the economy. Instead of the promised assault on

:41:00. > :41:02.poverty we have been left with a Government plan with a poverty of

:41:03. > :41:05.ambition and I appeal to the Government that there is a different

:41:06. > :41:14.way, make the right political choice and abandon austerity. This Queens

:41:15. > :41:17.speech contains an important measure, the Bill of Rights, that

:41:18. > :41:23.says that we need to wait and get it correct. I have no problem with

:41:24. > :41:27.that. If there is to be a Bill of Rights it needs to reflect the

:41:28. > :41:33.liberties and freedoms hard-won over many centuries by people and

:41:34. > :41:37.parliaments in our country. But I would welcome the principle behind

:41:38. > :41:40.the Bill of Rights. The simple principle that are ancient and

:41:41. > :41:46.modern liberties should rest on the decisions of this Parliament to be

:41:47. > :41:51.upheld by MPs as custodians of those liberties, or to be amended and

:41:52. > :41:54.improved as the British people see fit and as they express their will

:41:55. > :42:00.through general elections. It is extremely difficult to route your

:42:01. > :42:05.liver tees and freedoms in inflexible international treaties or

:42:06. > :42:08.to rely on the judgments of far-away foreign judges who may not

:42:09. > :42:15.understand the mood and tempo and history and culture of our country,

:42:16. > :42:22.rooted in liberty and a titanic struggle to establish parliamentary

:42:23. > :42:26.control. And there is one omission in the Queens speech, for the reason

:42:27. > :42:30.we don't yet know, the will of the British people on the fundamental

:42:31. > :42:35.issue that overhangs our debates today and over the next few weeks.

:42:36. > :42:42.Will the British people wish to take back control? Do they wish this

:42:43. > :42:45.Parliament to find within itself the wit, the wisdom, the skill to

:42:46. > :42:50.wrestle back control of our laws and our taxes and our decision-making

:42:51. > :42:57.powers so that we can be free and more prosperous and more independent

:42:58. > :43:02.and more democratic? Do they not wish us to do that. I earnestly hope

:43:03. > :43:05.they will want to be on the side of freedom and liberty, but at the

:43:06. > :43:10.moment we are but a puppet parliament. A parliament which

:43:11. > :43:15.struts upon the stage and pretends to be in charge or control but is

:43:16. > :43:21.not in charge or control. Let's take the mighty issue of paying for

:43:22. > :43:25.public services at the heart of the debate today. I'm on the side of

:43:26. > :43:30.prosperity not austerity. I think we need to spend more on health and

:43:31. > :43:38.education. I welcome the extra money that the Government has managed to

:43:39. > :43:40.find. How much easier it would be if that 7 billion of revenue collected

:43:41. > :43:46.from big businesses in the last Parliament that we had to give back

:43:47. > :43:50.to those companies because the ECJ said we were not allowed to raise

:43:51. > :43:54.it, were available for our public service? How much easier and better

:43:55. > :44:00.it would be to banish austerities and beach entering of some on the

:44:01. > :44:04.benches opposite who rightly don't like austerity. If we had back that

:44:05. > :44:09.?10 billion of net contributions that we make to the EU every year

:44:10. > :44:13.which we cannot spend on our own priorities because it is and

:44:14. > :44:17.elsewhere. I want us to take back control of our money so that we can

:44:18. > :44:21.banish austerities. I want to take back control of the money so that we

:44:22. > :44:29.have it for our priorities of health and education. While we are taking

:44:30. > :44:33.back control, a free people, empower people in an elected assembly to

:44:34. > :44:39.decide how to raise the revenue and which taxes to impose. I want to

:44:40. > :44:45.restore that power on the half of the British people. I would like us

:44:46. > :44:48.to abolish the tampon tax, to say to the European Court of Justice, we

:44:49. > :44:54.don't accept your verdict that we have to put taxes on green products

:44:55. > :44:58.of to 20% from 5% but that is their judgment and that is what this

:44:59. > :45:03.Parliament will have to do after the referendum if we have decided to

:45:04. > :45:06.stay in and if we do not leave. Now the Government says in its

:45:07. > :45:11.renegotiation that it feels it has made progress, that there will be

:45:12. > :45:14.relaxation of the requirements and that we will get a little bit more

:45:15. > :45:20.power back over the imposition of VAT. But I have now read the

:45:21. > :45:27.Union after those big O'Shea share Union after those big O'Shea share

:45:28. > :45:34.House that the document makes no mention whatsoever of any deal or

:45:35. > :45:51.settlement between the UK Government and European Union.

:45:52. > :46:00.We want people to have more draft excluder and insulation so they can

:46:01. > :46:03.keep warm in the winter. That is not an unreasonable request so why is

:46:04. > :46:06.there nothing in the European document on that, that makes it

:46:07. > :46:11.clear we would be able to do that? There are only two things in that

:46:12. > :46:15.document, more centralisation of our future VAT system so they can

:46:16. > :46:19.collect their they can make sure we are collecting all the West, and the

:46:20. > :46:24.other is some general statement that perhaps at some point in the future

:46:25. > :46:29.if the European states all agree, there could conceivably be some

:46:30. > :46:33.greater flexibility. It is extremely unlikely and the sadness of the

:46:34. > :46:36.document is that it shows there is no political agreement in the

:46:37. > :46:40.European Union whatsoever to give back to us the right to impose the

:46:41. > :46:46.taxes that people should pay and might accept, and absolutely no

:46:47. > :46:49.right, in those documents, to do what this parliament clearly wishes

:46:50. > :46:53.to do by overwhelming majority on the issue of the tampon tax and the

:46:54. > :46:59.issue of the green tax. Madame Deputy Speaker, we see before us the

:47:00. > :47:05.parting of the ways, between those who believe it is fine to belong to

:47:06. > :47:09.a subsidiary parliament that pretends to be able to make choices

:47:10. > :47:12.on the half of the British people but has to give away a lot of that

:47:13. > :47:16.money to the European Union, has to accept a series of judgments on

:47:17. > :47:20.things like trade union law, which doesn't like, and accepts that we're

:47:21. > :47:25.no longer free to make the that we need to make to reflect the will of

:47:26. > :47:28.the British people. Is there no where in this Parliament, Madame

:47:29. > :47:33.Deputy Speaker, on the front benches, where we can find the

:47:34. > :47:39.Hamiltons and the Miltons, the Cromwells not guilty of our

:47:40. > :47:45.country's blood, who will rise up and say surely now is the time to

:47:46. > :47:49.take back control, to make sure we can choose our own laws and impose

:47:50. > :47:53.our own taxes, to make sure we can redress the wrongs before we ask

:47:54. > :47:57.people to repay those taxes, to go back to the fundamentals of United

:47:58. > :48:01.Kingdom democracy, fought for over many centuries? To go back to the

:48:02. > :48:05.foundations of democracy as so brilliantly chronicled in the

:48:06. > :48:09.founding documentation of the United States of America? We can only say

:48:10. > :48:15.we have a proper Parliament and not a puppet parliament if we do those

:48:16. > :48:19.things. Madame Deputy Speaker, more need to urge their constituents, now

:48:20. > :48:26.is the time, now is the moment, now is the time to seize control and to

:48:27. > :48:32.banish the puppet parliament. Madame Deputy Speaker, it is always a

:48:33. > :48:35.product leader pleasure -- always a pleasure to follow the honourable

:48:36. > :48:38.member from walking him who speaks with huge passion about these

:48:39. > :48:41.matters and of course has always been consistent in his opposition to

:48:42. > :48:46.being a member of the European Union. And he spoke eloquently about

:48:47. > :48:53.why he felt the way he does, and of course I think the European debate,

:48:54. > :48:55.and I say this as a former minister for Europe, has dominated the

:48:56. > :48:59.Government's agenda to such an extent that this Queen's Speech is

:49:00. > :49:05.really a shadow of what it should be. And there is no great

:49:06. > :49:09.ideological commitment in this Queen's Speech and therefore it is

:49:10. > :49:13.difficult to attack too much of it, but I think it is important that

:49:14. > :49:21.when we get past the 23rd of June, we can then settle down to a

:49:22. > :49:26.intelligent legislative programme that is not dominated by people

:49:27. > :49:29.banging on about Europe, including myself, and although, Madame Deputy

:49:30. > :49:37.Speaker, crime has gone down in England and Wales, blue crime has

:49:38. > :49:41.increased, as far as the EU debate is concerned. As I mentioned

:49:42. > :49:45.earlier, the employment minister was in my constituency last Thursday

:49:46. > :49:49.with a very big red bus parked outside the biggest temple in my

:49:50. > :49:53.constituency, telling everyone that if we remained in the European

:49:54. > :49:58.Union, there would be a curry crisis, and people would not be able

:49:59. > :50:03.to eat curry any more, so I think it is really important that we get the

:50:04. > :50:09.European debate into perspective. I must say, I was surprised, and you

:50:10. > :50:13.would expect me to see this as a fellow East Midlands MP, that there

:50:14. > :50:19.was no mention in the Gracious Speech of Leicester City winning the

:50:20. > :50:27.Premier League, but maybe this will come next year. Can I say how much I

:50:28. > :50:31.agree with the Government's proposals as far as the new

:50:32. > :50:35.revolution in the Ministry of Justice in particular and our

:50:36. > :50:40.prisons are concerned? I, and members of the Select Committee on

:50:41. > :50:43.home affairs, have been very concerned about the nub of people

:50:44. > :50:48.going into prison, for a double, who have no interest in drugs but come

:50:49. > :50:51.out being addicted to drugs -- number of people. We are very

:50:52. > :50:56.concerned that our prison system is not doing what it was intended to

:50:57. > :51:03.do, which is to punish, but also to rehabilitate. And, although we

:51:04. > :51:04.expected, when he was Lord Chancellor, the right honourable

:51:05. > :51:11.member for Rushcliffe, to speak about the way changing how we look

:51:12. > :51:12.at the prisons, we did not expect this from the current Chancellor and

:51:13. > :51:16.we are delighted he has embraced the we are delighted he has embraced the

:51:17. > :51:20.reform agenda. Ensuring that when people go to prison they are firstly

:51:21. > :51:25.punished but then rehabilitated, so that when they come out of prison

:51:26. > :51:30.they do not pick up bad habits, reoffend and go back again, that is

:51:31. > :51:34.one of the big issues that I think has confronted this Parliament for

:51:35. > :51:39.all the 29 years that I have been in this place, and the honourable

:51:40. > :51:44.member for walking him. How do we make sure we break the cycle? I

:51:45. > :51:47.remember my visit to one prison in the South of England where I spoke

:51:48. > :51:52.to a young man who was there because he had committed murder, and he told

:51:53. > :51:57.me that his father had a life sentence, and he had a life

:51:58. > :52:01.sentence. He just hoped his young son, who was then one-year-old,

:52:02. > :52:05.would not end up in prison. How do we break the cycle? Therefore, I

:52:06. > :52:08.think we should work with the Government to ensure we make sure

:52:09. > :52:15.our prison system does what it intends to do, which is the two

:52:16. > :52:18.matters I have discussed. The second issue I am interested in and

:52:19. > :52:24.concerned about is the issue of extremism. Although the Government

:52:25. > :52:27.is proposing legislation as far as extremism is concerned, I have to

:52:28. > :52:32.say that I do not think that it has gone far enough in dealing with the

:52:33. > :52:36.counter narrative. We, the Select Committee, are about to conclude our

:52:37. > :52:41.year long inquiry into counterterrorism. I am concerned, as

:52:42. > :52:44.is the rest of the House, about the number of young British citizens who

:52:45. > :52:50.decide to give up their life in this country and go and fight abroad. It

:52:51. > :52:53.is currently a figure of 800. 400 have returned so far and I cannot

:52:54. > :52:59.understand why we are not doing enough while they are still here to

:53:00. > :53:02.stop them, to prevent them going in the first place, and although of

:53:03. > :53:07.course there are programmes that exist to ensure that they are

:53:08. > :53:13.detoxified when they return to this country there is always that risk

:53:14. > :53:16.that by going abroad to fight, whether in Syria or elsewhere, that

:53:17. > :53:21.they will come back and they will retain the poison that is drilled

:53:22. > :53:26.into them when they go abroad. So I think it is important that we treat

:53:27. > :53:31.the counter narrative very seriously. We need to make sure that

:53:32. > :53:35.we support our police and intelligence services in order to

:53:36. > :53:38.work out who is going in the first place, and to ensure we work with

:53:39. > :53:44.families, so that we can try and persuade people not to go. Of course

:53:45. > :53:47.I will give way. I am very grateful to the honourable gentleman for

:53:48. > :53:51.giving way. Would he agree with me that our prisons are actually a

:53:52. > :53:56.breeding ground for extremism and radicalisation and until the address

:53:57. > :54:00.that, the flow of new extremists coming through will continue? The

:54:01. > :54:04.honourable gentleman is absolutely right. Not just preventing people

:54:05. > :54:08.going to prison without the drugs habit then coming out, but sending

:54:09. > :54:13.people to places like Belmarsh, which has been described as a place

:54:14. > :54:17.where jihadistss seemed to be able to influence young people, and he

:54:18. > :54:22.has just reminded me, because of his great passion on mental health

:54:23. > :54:28.issues, that the Chief Constable of Leicestershire is the lead on

:54:29. > :54:32.counterterrorism on the Prevent programme spoke about the number of

:54:33. > :54:35.jihadists who actually have mental health issues. These are all issues

:54:36. > :54:40.we need to confront. We cannot necessarily do it by legislation,

:54:41. > :54:43.but we need to make sure we have the framework in the legislation in

:54:44. > :54:46.order to provide the resources, the time and effort to work with people.

:54:47. > :54:51.My final point concerns the sugar tax. I was delighted when the

:54:52. > :54:55.Chancellor of the Exchequer introduced the sugar tax and we

:54:56. > :54:59.should acknowledge the fact that today is the Chancellor's 45th

:55:00. > :55:06.birthday. I hope that he is having a sugarless cake, Madame Deputy

:55:07. > :55:11.Speaker, because of course as we know a spoonful of sugar may help

:55:12. > :55:15.the medicine go down, but it is also one of the steps on the way to

:55:16. > :55:18.diabetes, and as someone who suffers from type two diabetes and chairs

:55:19. > :55:24.the all-party diabetes amity, the fact that we now have a sugar tax

:55:25. > :55:29.that is being proposed is something that will send a very clear message

:55:30. > :55:34.out to the retail companies. I say this to them, the manufacturers of

:55:35. > :55:41.drinks like Coca-Cola, Red Bull and the others, they do not have to wait

:55:42. > :55:45.until the sugar tax is brought into effect. They can actually start now

:55:46. > :55:51.by promoting the sugarless drinks. I got into a lot of trouble because I

:55:52. > :55:54.did not really want, and I will give way, but I did not really want the

:55:55. > :56:00.Coca-Cola van to come to Leicester at Christmas, and I was accused by

:56:01. > :56:04.some people of actually robbing them of their Christmas, Madame Deputy

:56:05. > :56:08.Speaker, because they decided the Coca-Cola van was so indicative of

:56:09. > :56:11.the Christian spirit, forget about Christianity, the birth of Christ,

:56:12. > :56:16.etc, it was the Coca-Cola van that gave them Christmas, that I was

:56:17. > :56:20.severely criticised. Actually I will make a deal with Coca-Cola on the

:56:21. > :56:23.floor of this House. If they send their van in to promote non-sugary

:56:24. > :56:30.drinks, I will be happy to welcome them, but if they keep promoting a

:56:31. > :56:34.drink that has seven to ten teaspoons of sugar, that cannot be

:56:35. > :56:38.good for our nation. I give way. The members should however recognise

:56:39. > :56:47.that since 2010, the number of diet drinks has actually increased 33%.

:56:48. > :56:52.In 2014 the crossover point changed where more people purchased by it

:56:53. > :56:55.drinks than regular drinks. I thank the honourable gentleman for that

:56:56. > :57:01.statistic, and I think that is a very good statistic, and that has

:57:02. > :57:04.only come because of the pressure by parliamentarians and by others

:57:05. > :57:08.outside Parliament, in particular the clinicians, who have argued very

:57:09. > :57:13.strongly that unless something is done the health of the nation is

:57:14. > :57:16.going to be affected. That is why I had my urgent question on the

:57:17. > :57:19.obesity strategy. Because unless we continue to put pressure on the

:57:20. > :57:24.manufacturers and retailers, there is going to be no difference.

:57:25. > :57:29.Although we are going to have a sugar tax, it is still up to the

:57:30. > :57:35.supermarkets to ensure that they promote sugarless drinks. If you go

:57:36. > :57:39.to Waitrose in Wolverhampton, Madame Deputy Speaker, which is not that

:57:40. > :57:44.far away from your constituency, you will see that they have a kiosk,

:57:45. > :57:51.right in the middle of Waitrose, that just has no sugar products,

:57:52. > :57:53.that the drinks that are, that have sugar content or actually put

:57:54. > :57:57.elsewhere. That is what the retailers have got to do. I think

:57:58. > :58:02.the introduction of the sugar tax would encourage retailers and

:58:03. > :58:08.manufacturers to change their ways. Can I see this finally about the big

:58:09. > :58:12.issue of hospitals and health, since this is our hospitals and health

:58:13. > :58:17.debate and was opened by the Health Secretary? I am deeply concerned. I

:58:18. > :58:20.am not mentioning video games this time as I will leave that to the

:58:21. > :58:27.Minister. I am very concerned that there are proposals, from the local

:58:28. > :58:30.health authority, to close the Leicester General Hospital. The odd

:58:31. > :58:34.looking at what they called reconfiguration, and I have had

:58:35. > :58:38.discussions with the chair and chief executive of the hostel -- they are

:58:39. > :58:43.looking at. I know we have, on the hospital site, a world-class

:58:44. > :58:54.diabetes Centre run by Professor Melanie Davies as well as Professor

:58:55. > :58:57.Kunti and I welcome this but we need to look at any plans that will

:58:58. > :59:01.diminish the amount of services available to local people, and the

:59:02. > :59:05.General Hospital is a site that is being used -- has been used by local

:59:06. > :59:09.people for years and years as hospital site. We were promised a

:59:10. > :59:15.new hospital, promised accommodation for nurses, kinds of things, in the

:59:16. > :59:20.29 years I have represented that seat. None of these promises have

:59:21. > :59:22.been realised, and although we, in the community, and I as the local

:59:23. > :59:26.Member of Parliament, we are all prepared to go into dialogue with

:59:27. > :59:30.the local health authority over what they are proposing to do. If they

:59:31. > :59:35.think they can close this hospital and give us nothing in return, then

:59:36. > :59:40.there will be a bare-knuckle fight with them to try to preserve these

:59:41. > :59:44.services. I am not attached to buildings. I think buildings are

:59:45. > :59:48.just a means of delivering services. I am attached to the services, and I

:59:49. > :59:53.think it is truly important that we ensure that our health services

:59:54. > :59:56.remain the best in the world. I take the Secretary of State at face

:59:57. > :00:00.value. He wants our NHS to be the best in the world. So do we. In

:00:01. > :00:05.order to achieve that, we need to make sure it is properly resourced,

:00:06. > :00:08.we need to make sure that it keeps up with the developments in our

:00:09. > :00:16.population and that it provides expertise that is necessary for the

:00:17. > :00:20.staff of the NHS, to whom we pay tribute, to do their work so that it

:00:21. > :00:20.retains the best the world has to offer.

:00:21. > :00:20.And provides the expertise necessary for the staff of the NHS, to whom we

:00:21. > :00:39.pay He speaks with great passion against

:00:40. > :00:45.the likes of sugar but I was surprised that he lay in Dorset the

:00:46. > :00:50.racist immigration policy we have at the moment, whereby if you are a

:00:51. > :00:56.white European any number can come and settle in this country with or

:00:57. > :01:03.without jobs. If you are a curry chef related to to people in this

:01:04. > :01:10.country you cannot. That is unavoidable as long as we remain

:01:11. > :01:15.members of the EU, which is why so many ethnic minorities in

:01:16. > :01:24.constituency -- my constituency will be voting leave in the referendum. I

:01:25. > :01:29.want to speak on the motion on the amendment in my name and that of 54

:01:30. > :01:41.other members which says, we respect to -- we reject the game, shot and

:01:42. > :01:46.the leg, regret that a bill was not included in the speech. I believe in

:01:47. > :01:53.free trade, I always have and always will. I think I am the only

:01:54. > :02:01.surviving member of this House that has negotiated a trade treaty. When

:02:02. > :02:17.the trans-Atlantic trading industry partnership treaty was proposed my

:02:18. > :02:23.instinct was to support I began to worry. TTIP is not primarily about

:02:24. > :02:32.free trade. The average tariff in the US imposed on EU goods is 2.5%.

:02:33. > :02:39.That on EU imports for America is a bit higher. -- from America. Other

:02:40. > :02:45.aspects of the treaty are worrying. My main concerns relate to the

:02:46. > :02:51.investor dispute settlement system. This creates a system of Tribunal

:02:52. > :02:57.'s, special courts, in which foreign multinationals can sue governments,

:02:58. > :03:03.sue the British Government, but the British Government can't sue them,

:03:04. > :03:07.nor can British companies use these courts if they wish to. They can sue

:03:08. > :03:12.the British Governor if they feel government policies are harming

:03:13. > :03:17.their investments. US companies for example could sue the British

:03:18. > :03:20.Government should it wish to take back into the public sector

:03:21. > :03:31.privately provided services in the NHS or education or open fewer such

:03:32. > :03:38.services to private provision. EU governments have denied that such

:03:39. > :03:43.suing is possible but a College and Council's opinion state that because

:03:44. > :03:48.these tribunal scan award unlimited fines they could add very least put

:03:49. > :03:54.a chilling effect on government decision-making. Up to now most of

:03:55. > :04:01.the concern about this has been coming from people who have in

:04:02. > :04:08.principle objection to any private contribution to the health service.

:04:09. > :04:13.I don't have any objection in principle but I think the scope is

:04:14. > :04:15.limited in practice. In my own constituency there was an

:04:16. > :04:29.illustration of the problems that could happen under TTIP.

:04:30. > :04:39.Surgery centres in my constituency ran into problems. I lobbied against

:04:40. > :04:43.it, my right honourable friends from Stevenage and North Hertfordshire

:04:44. > :04:48.lobbied against it, lobbied that it should be brought back into the NHS

:04:49. > :04:53.and we were successful. Had TTIP been in force and had that company

:04:54. > :04:58.fallen into the hands of an American health company, and most Rai Vloet

:04:59. > :05:04.health companies in this country are America, they could have sued us for

:05:05. > :05:08.taking that back in. -- most private health companies. At the very least

:05:09. > :05:13.they might have won massive damages, they might have been able to prevent

:05:14. > :05:19.it happening, and even if they had lost it would have cost the local

:05:20. > :05:24.NHS a lot of money because the average cost of taking one of these

:05:25. > :05:28.cases is $8 million. It seems to me that members should be very cautious

:05:29. > :05:36.about signing up to a treaty that could have that sort of consequence.

:05:37. > :05:43.These tribunal 's were originally invented to encourage investment by

:05:44. > :05:46.American private companies in developing countries with poor

:05:47. > :05:51.systems of government, whose courts were unreliable and sometimes

:05:52. > :05:53.corrupt, so they set up a parallel system of courts with the agreement

:05:54. > :05:58.of the local government which was prepared to suffer the indignity of

:05:59. > :06:03.having a court that could overrule its own laws in return for

:06:04. > :06:08.encouraging investors to invest there in the knowledge that should

:06:09. > :06:13.they be expropriated are Kelly or by the result of government policies

:06:14. > :06:19.they could get fair compensation. -- expropriated directly. That is fine

:06:20. > :06:24.but these courts are not to encourage investment in the UK.

:06:25. > :06:28.America invests more in the UK than any other country. American

:06:29. > :06:33.countries choose to have cases heard in British courts, as do many other

:06:34. > :06:37.countries, because they trust our system of courts. We don't need a

:06:38. > :06:42.parallel system of courts to encourage and promote investment in

:06:43. > :06:47.this country. The government of course says this is impossible, it

:06:48. > :06:54.won't happen. If it is impossible, does it really matter if they make

:06:55. > :07:00.doubly sure by doing what this amendment suggests and exempting the

:07:01. > :07:08.NHS from TTIP, just as the French have exempted their motion picture

:07:09. > :07:12.industry and artistic endeavours from the scope of the treaty. The

:07:13. > :07:16.fact that they have not been willing to up to now raises doubts in my

:07:17. > :07:23.mind at least as to how secure we will be. But they have now accepted

:07:24. > :07:27.the motion, they didn't have much choice, it is true, given the wide

:07:28. > :07:32.support it has in this House, but it means they are now committed to

:07:33. > :07:35.bringing forward the bill and it is important -- important they do so

:07:36. > :07:40.and speedily so that we can see whether it achieves what we wanted

:07:41. > :07:46.to achieve so that members whose concerns go more wide than mine, I

:07:47. > :07:49.have concerns about whether or not environmental and health standards

:07:50. > :07:54.should be taken out of the purview of Parliament is entirely in the

:07:55. > :08:01.ways in visit, will be able to amend the bill accordingly. -- the ways in

:08:02. > :08:04.visit. If the government delays it until after the referendum we will

:08:05. > :08:17.realise that something fishy is a foot. -- the ways envisaged. It

:08:18. > :08:26.shows that more and more things are now out of the control of British

:08:27. > :08:31.law makers. I agree that if we let it through it will be a further

:08:32. > :08:37.transfer of power from British lawmakers to foreign bureaucrats.

:08:38. > :08:44.There is a referendum dimension in this issue of the TTIP treaty.

:08:45. > :08:50.Firstly because the only absolutely certain way of preventing it is of

:08:51. > :08:57.course not to be part of it and to leave the European Union on the 23rd

:08:58. > :09:03.of June. We can possibly, maybe, exempt ourselves and prevent the

:09:04. > :09:07.treaty go-ahead if we remain in but that is far from certain. As my

:09:08. > :09:12.honourable friend indicated there is a certain similarity between the

:09:13. > :09:19.supranational nature of these courts, run by bureaucrats, forcing

:09:20. > :09:26.laws negotiated by bureaucrats, not ever indoors or open to rejection by

:09:27. > :09:32.this House. It is natural that they should sympathise with each other

:09:33. > :09:40.and carry it forward. If outside, we would be able to negotiate our own

:09:41. > :09:44.deal with the US, which hopefully would not need any such system of

:09:45. > :09:50.courts. Why should American need such a system of courts to invest

:09:51. > :09:58.here or us to invest there? It would be far simpler to negotiate and far

:09:59. > :10:03.easier and quicker to do so. Some people have said, but President

:10:04. > :10:07.Obama has said we won't be allowed to negotiate a deal, we'll have to

:10:08. > :10:13.go to the back of the key. The House of Commons library has revealed

:10:14. > :10:17.there is no queue. After the renegotiation of TTIP there are no

:10:18. > :10:24.countries with negotiations with the US. President Obama was trying to

:10:25. > :10:29.bully us and on the basis of a bluff. We will be at the front of

:10:30. > :10:35.the queue and we will no doubt be able to negotiate it with his

:10:36. > :10:42.successor. I hope honourable members when they discussed this issue will

:10:43. > :10:47.consider seriously the EU dimensions of it. If you are very optimistic

:10:48. > :10:52.about what we can achieve within the EU, what the EU may be able to

:10:53. > :10:57.achieve in negotiating TTIP with the Americans, it is a risk you may want

:10:58. > :11:02.to take. It is not one I want to take, it is not those who give high

:11:03. > :11:08.priority to the NHS want to take, it is not one those who worry about

:11:09. > :11:12.environmental and health standards and potential threats to our

:11:13. > :11:16.education and other public sector services will want to take and in

:11:17. > :11:20.the light of the topic today I hope we will give priority to protecting

:11:21. > :11:25.the public services rather than going along with a bill which none

:11:26. > :11:28.of us have ever seen, which we are not allowed to see, which is being

:11:29. > :11:33.negotiated in secret and which has aspects which most of us ought to

:11:34. > :11:42.find offensive to this House and dangerous to the people of this

:11:43. > :11:46.country. Thank you for allowing me to deliver my maiden speech today.

:11:47. > :11:49.In keeping with the tradition of the House I would like to take a few

:11:50. > :11:54.moments to to pay tribute to my predecessor as MP for Sheffield

:11:55. > :11:59.right side and Hillsborough, Harry Harper. I am proud to say that not

:12:00. > :12:04.only was he a dedicated and conscientious Labour MP but as many

:12:05. > :12:07.colleagues will know he was also my husband. He served here for less

:12:08. > :12:13.than a year before his death but in that time he made his mark. He spoke

:12:14. > :12:16.powerfully against cuts to tax credits, knowing the suffering it

:12:17. > :12:21.would cause the people he represented. As a lifelong trade

:12:22. > :12:28.unionist he made an eloquent speech in defence of workplace rights when

:12:29. > :12:32.they were threatened by the trade union Bill. I would also like to pay

:12:33. > :12:34.tribute to Lord Blunkett, who stood down as the MP for Sheffield

:12:35. > :12:39.Brightside and Hillsborough at the election last year. David has been a

:12:40. > :12:45.champion of built since he was elected to the council at 22. He led

:12:46. > :12:51.the city through the turbulent 1980s before becoming an MP in 1987. His

:12:52. > :12:57.drive and tenacity soon propelled him to the front bench. There isn't

:12:58. > :13:00.time for me to list all of his successes as Education Secretary and

:13:01. > :13:06.Home Secretary but fortunately anybody familiar with the last 25

:13:07. > :13:11.years of British politics will know that his achievements speak for

:13:12. > :13:14.themselves. My constituency sits in the north-east of Sheffield, perched

:13:15. > :13:20.above the city centre on one side and the Don Valley on the other.

:13:21. > :13:25.Once upon a time you could find the steelworks there which was the

:13:26. > :13:30.foundation of our economy. It was our forebears who work in them

:13:31. > :13:34.forging steel and also their own fame and reputation and that of the

:13:35. > :13:39.city. The times have changed and after the pain and upheavals of the

:13:40. > :13:46.1980s we find that these days working lives are not dominated by a

:13:47. > :13:50.single industry. But nearly 20% of our constituents work in health and

:13:51. > :13:55.so services so with good reason I say we are community that cares for

:13:56. > :13:59.one another. We are diverse constituency with people and

:14:00. > :14:03.communities from across Europe and beyond, both recently arrived and

:14:04. > :14:08.long-standing. Sheffield has sometimes been called the biggest

:14:09. > :14:12.village in Britain thanks to the friendly, open nature of its people.

:14:13. > :14:16.We were the first city to join the Gateway protection programme in

:14:17. > :14:25.2004, through which we provided a place of safety for 1000 refugees,

:14:26. > :14:30.and plans are under way to welcome a further 225 slaying the conflict in

:14:31. > :14:35.Syria. Sheffield became a sanctuary in 2007, with over 70 local

:14:36. > :14:39.organisations working together to bring together asylum seekers and

:14:40. > :14:44.refugees with local people to celebrate the strength we gained

:14:45. > :14:54.through our diversity. I am proud to represent a constituency and a city

:14:55. > :14:57.that is so welcoming and tolerant. But maiden speech would be complete

:14:58. > :15:00.without singing the praises of the local football team? This Saturday

:15:01. > :15:05.Sheffield Wednesday will at all Hull City at Wembley for a place in the

:15:06. > :15:11.Premiership. If Wednesday when they will be back in the top flight of

:15:12. > :15:17.English football for the first time in 16 years, where they belong. I am

:15:18. > :15:20.a proud fan and although I don't have much in common with the players

:15:21. > :15:26.I would like to think we are all coming to London to put Sheffield

:15:27. > :15:31.firmly on the map. Like anywhere we face our fair share of under --

:15:32. > :15:38.challenges, unemployment in Brightside and Hillsborough is more

:15:39. > :15:42.than twice the national average. Over a third of the children living

:15:43. > :15:48.in my constituency are classed as living in poverty.

:15:49. > :15:54.There are now seven foodbanks in my constituency. I have nothing but

:15:55. > :15:57.praise for those who give up time to collect, store and distribute

:15:58. > :16:01.donations which people in the area willingly give to help those who

:16:02. > :16:06.find themselves backed into a corner. But the very fact that

:16:07. > :16:12.people are having to rely on food parcels at all in 2016 speaks

:16:13. > :16:14.volumes about the Government's determination to tackle inequality,

:16:15. > :16:18.particularly when a third of those who rely on them are children.

:16:19. > :16:23.Perhaps the most troubling aspect of the growth in foodbank uses the way

:16:24. > :16:26.in which it is not taken as read that people will have to rely on

:16:27. > :16:31.them. They have become accepted as part of the landscape. They arouse

:16:32. > :16:34.little comment. It is frankly disgraceful that we have reached the

:16:35. > :16:40.point where those in the most needy can no longer reply upon the state

:16:41. > :16:46.to help them through the hard times. And it is a damning stain on this

:16:47. > :16:50.Government's wreckers. Harry chose to make his maiden speech on the

:16:51. > :16:54.debate on productivity and the Government's skills agenda. He said

:16:55. > :16:59.the jobs being created in Sheffield were often low skilled, low paid,

:17:00. > :17:03.zero hours contract work. He was right. I find it very sad that a

:17:04. > :17:07.year on, the Government are still not grasped the need to provide

:17:08. > :17:10.proper skills training so that my constituents can find worthwhile and

:17:11. > :17:14.meaningful work. One of the most pressing concerns for my

:17:15. > :17:18.constituents is the availability of housing. I was deeply disappointed

:17:19. > :17:23.by the recent housing and planning act, which will do nothing to help

:17:24. > :17:27.people in Sheffield keep a roof over their heads. Nearly 40% of my

:17:28. > :17:32.constituents live in council or housing association homes and the

:17:33. > :17:36.introduction of fixed term tenancies, alongside the hated

:17:37. > :17:42.bedroom tax, will cause them more needless worry and upheaval. For the

:17:43. > :17:47.Government, it seems social housing is no temporary benefit which people

:17:48. > :17:51.are to be chilly out, rather than a home to settle down and build life.

:17:52. > :17:56.Madam Deputy Speaker, I am glad to be making my maiden speech during

:17:57. > :17:59.the debate today on public services, because after a lifetime of working

:18:00. > :18:05.in them, I feel somewhat qualified to speak up in their defence. My

:18:06. > :18:09.first job was an assistant at a library at the age of 16 and since

:18:10. > :18:14.then I have walked across library services, further education and the

:18:15. > :18:18.NHS. I know from long personal experience how important each and

:18:19. > :18:23.every one of our public services are. I know that so often, they are

:18:24. > :18:27.a lifeline for ordinary working people. They protect and empower

:18:28. > :18:31.those who would otherwise be unable to fend for themselves and they are

:18:32. > :18:35.the living expression of the belief that everyone, whatever the

:18:36. > :18:40.circumstances of their wealth, or health, should be able to live

:18:41. > :18:45.dignified, fulfilling lives. I also know that over the last six years,

:18:46. > :18:48.these services have borne the brunt of an ideologically imposed

:18:49. > :18:52.austerity that has left them with a ring on the vine. Men and women

:18:53. > :18:58.working across the public sector are being asked to do more with less and

:18:59. > :19:05.less. Morales is at rock bottom across-the-board. Teachers, doctors,

:19:06. > :19:09.police presences, nurses, firefighters, social workers, prison

:19:10. > :19:14.and probation officers, the list goes on. They have all dedicated

:19:15. > :19:18.their working lives to public service and they all see on a daily

:19:19. > :19:23.basis their ability to serve being undermined by this Government. Madam

:19:24. > :19:28.Deputy Speaker, I make no apology for saying I am Sheffield born and

:19:29. > :19:32.bred. I grew up there, spent my whole life working there and raised

:19:33. > :19:36.a family there. We may sometimes be blunt, but it always comes from the

:19:37. > :19:40.heart. And it is in that spirit that I intend to work for the people of

:19:41. > :19:44.Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough. No one would have

:19:45. > :19:49.chosen the circumstances that led me to this chamber. But nevertheless,

:19:50. > :19:54.here I am. I am deeply humbled by the trust which my constituents have

:19:55. > :19:58.placed in me and I pledge to repay that trust by fighting for their

:19:59. > :20:08.interests and making sure their voices are heard loud and clear,

:20:09. > :20:12.here in Parliament. Thank you very much, Madam Deputy Speaker. May I

:20:13. > :20:14.first of all congratulate the honourable member for Sheffield

:20:15. > :20:20.Brightside and Hillsborough on making her maiden speech. It always

:20:21. > :20:24.takes courage for an honourable member to make a maiden speech in

:20:25. > :20:31.this daunting chamber, but it must especially have been so when she

:20:32. > :20:35.gave tribute to her predecessor, her late husband, whose untimely death

:20:36. > :20:44.robbed this chamber of a promising new member who spoke with equal

:20:45. > :20:47.passion for his constituents in her city of Perth, Hillsborough, she is

:20:48. > :20:55.clearly going to be a great champion for them and speak with gladness,

:20:56. > :21:01.that she declared and I'm sure she will be a much respected member on

:21:02. > :21:06.the opposite benches. Madam Deputy Speaker, I did not intend to come to

:21:07. > :21:10.address the issue of the European Union, but I would like to respond

:21:11. > :21:16.to a couple of the points that have been made by my right honourable

:21:17. > :21:20.friends, who I listened to with great interest. First of all, my

:21:21. > :21:27.right honourable friend the member for ageing and Harpenden, I listened

:21:28. > :21:32.to with care about his concerns -- kitchen, but his concerns on

:21:33. > :21:36.teacher. I do think it is appraising -- on TTIP. I think it is advising

:21:37. > :21:39.that those who have campaigned to leave the European Union and have

:21:40. > :21:43.criticised it for not completing enough trade deals despite the fact

:21:44. > :21:48.that the EU has more trade deals than any other country and far more

:21:49. > :21:56.than the United States itself, now find themselves in a position where

:21:57. > :22:01.they are criticising trade deals, particularly when in my judgment,

:22:02. > :22:06.the benefits that TTIP will bring would mean there would be a ?10

:22:07. > :22:09.billion a year trade boost to our economy, which will enable us to

:22:10. > :22:15.invest more in public services. I will give way. Could I just clarify

:22:16. > :22:20.to my honourable friend, I have long campaigned against TTIP. Secondly,

:22:21. > :22:28.Switzerland has more deals than the EU, including deals with China,

:22:29. > :22:31.Australia and India. Whereas the EU only has, the only country that it

:22:32. > :22:39.deals with that China does not art very minor states. The point is that

:22:40. > :22:43.the EU has trade deals with over 50 other countries by comparison to the

:22:44. > :22:46.United States, which has over 40. I thought the narrative was with that

:22:47. > :22:52.we wanted the EU to have more trade deals. The issue is this. Any

:22:53. > :22:57.international trade deal of a modern kind will involve some kind of

:22:58. > :23:00.binding arbitration mechanism, and my right honourable friend is clear

:23:01. > :23:05.that he also opposes the Canadian free-trade deal, which has been

:23:06. > :23:10.championed by the member for Uxbridge, who leads the league

:23:11. > :23:12.campaign has been a model of which this country should adopt, were it

:23:13. > :23:20.to leave the EU. -- believe campaign. But he opposes that deal

:23:21. > :23:23.and it is also true that the transpacific partnership, NAFTA and

:23:24. > :23:28.even the WTO all involve some kind of arbitration panel, which takes

:23:29. > :23:33.decisions out of the hands of elected chambers. If we are to stop

:23:34. > :23:38.taking the position that any trade deal of this kind should be resisted

:23:39. > :23:42.if decisions can no longer be taken by elected members, it means that

:23:43. > :23:47.none of these trade deals would be acceptable to us. We would only be

:23:48. > :23:49.in a position of training without any of these arrangement at

:23:50. > :23:55.potentially enormous cost to this country. The other point that I

:23:56. > :23:58.wanted to make was in response to my right honourable friend, the member

:23:59. > :24:04.for Wokingham, who spoke with characteristic passion about the

:24:05. > :24:10.issue of Parliamentary democracy and described this place as being a

:24:11. > :24:16.puppet Parliament. But tiny note that... In discussing all of the

:24:17. > :24:19.bills that are particular interest to me and my constituents to me in

:24:20. > :24:24.the gracious speech, none of them are restricted or affected by our

:24:25. > :24:29.membership of the European Union. That, I think, goes to a central

:24:30. > :24:33.point, which is that there is so much of our domestic legislation,

:24:34. > :24:38.domestic affairs, which we are able to continue upon, to vote upon, to

:24:39. > :24:43.discuss, without the encumbrance of the European Union. So I find it

:24:44. > :24:48.difficult to accept that there are 650 of us in this House of Commons

:24:49. > :24:53.who are puppets and whose views on these matters or votes on these

:24:54. > :24:57.matters that are before us are entirely Roman city because of our

:24:58. > :25:03.membership of the European Union. It strikes me as being an exaggeration,

:25:04. > :25:07.legitimate though is the concern about Parliamentary sovereignty. I

:25:08. > :25:12.particularly welcome the proposed prisons and courts reform bill being

:25:13. > :25:20.brought forward, having been the author of a prisons with a purpose

:25:21. > :25:22.document. That urged the rehabilitation of revolution and the

:25:23. > :25:26.transformation of the way in which we ran our presence. I believe the

:25:27. > :25:34.radical reforms which are being proposed by the Government in this

:25:35. > :25:36.area are particularly welcome, to reduce reoffending. There are a

:25:37. > :25:41.number of measures which are of special interest to my constituency

:25:42. > :25:45.in West Sussex. The neighbourhood planning and infrastructure bill

:25:46. > :25:52.will, help, address a problem that I spoke about in this recently, which

:25:53. > :25:56.is that the very welcome reform of neighbourhood planning introduced

:25:57. > :26:01.under the localism act of 2011, which empowers local communities to

:26:02. > :26:06.make plans that benefit their local area, those neighbourhood plans must

:26:07. > :26:08.not be undermined by speculative developments that then call into

:26:09. > :26:14.question the legitimacy of plans that have been voted democratically

:26:15. > :26:17.by referendums. If the bill is able to address those problems and

:26:18. > :26:21.prevent those speculative development applications, that would

:26:22. > :26:24.be very welcome. I think we should remind ourselves that neighbourhood

:26:25. > :26:28.plans have had the effect of producing more housing than was

:26:29. > :26:31.originally intended, not less. This is not a proposal that would reduce

:26:32. > :26:36.house-building but it would properly empower local communities. The

:26:37. > :26:40.Digital economy Bill will be welcome, and I'm delighted to see my

:26:41. > :26:45.honourable friend, sitting on the front bench, he will no of the

:26:46. > :26:51.concern that many of us have in rural areas to close the emerging

:26:52. > :26:54.digital divide, to ensure that the Government's welcome proposal to

:26:55. > :27:02.extend superfast broadband across the country will reach those hard to

:27:03. > :27:08.find rural areas, who are entitled to a fast broadband speed as well.

:27:09. > :27:11.That will be imported for rural employment, it is also important on

:27:12. > :27:15.grounds of fairness, it will take new means to do that and I hope that

:27:16. > :27:19.the Digital economy Bill will set of measures that will future proofed

:27:20. > :27:24.this provision for broadband, to ensure that speeds are attainable in

:27:25. > :27:28.these areas that will meet tomorrow's needs and not just those

:27:29. > :27:32.of today. There are many errors in my constituency that cannot get

:27:33. > :27:36.broadband at all. I welcome the education for all bill and its

:27:37. > :27:40.promise to meet the manifesto commitment, the fair funding for for

:27:41. > :27:47.our schools, and I welcome the modern transport Bill, and in

:27:48. > :27:53.closing, I would like to refer to two crucial issues of infrastructure

:27:54. > :27:56.that affect my constituency. First, the A27 upgrade, I'm delighted the

:27:57. > :28:01.Government has announced that this major route will be upgraded to

:28:02. > :28:08.include the Arundel bypass, funding has been provided, and I hope that

:28:09. > :28:12.the plans to take that forward will continue to timetables of that work

:28:13. > :28:17.on this bypass begins by the end of this Parliament, as has been set

:28:18. > :28:21.out. But I wish to raise the issue of the rail service to my

:28:22. > :28:24.constituency and I know this is of concern to a large number of

:28:25. > :28:31.honourable members on both sides, underperformance of the rail

:28:32. > :28:37.franchise has been something unacceptable over the course of the

:28:38. > :28:41.last year. Hugely inconveniencing passengers, it must be said that 60%

:28:42. > :28:46.of the delays are the responsibility of Network Rail and the failure of

:28:47. > :28:51.infrastructure. It should also be acknowledged the Government has, is

:28:52. > :28:55.embarking on a major infrastructure investment, including the ?6 billion

:28:56. > :29:00.London Bridge upgrade, which will improve services in future.

:29:01. > :29:04.Nevertheless, at the moment, the company is not meeting its own self

:29:05. > :29:08.set targets in its performance improvement land. Those were targets

:29:09. > :29:11.that were already low in their ambition, and after a year, the

:29:12. > :29:16.company is actually falling below its original performance threshold

:29:17. > :29:21.set one year ago to improve performance for customers. That

:29:22. > :29:27.failure is being exacerbated by the industrial action of the RMT union,

:29:28. > :29:30.which in my view is entirely misconceived over the issue of

:29:31. > :29:35.driverless trains, it cannot be an issue of safety to introduce...

:29:36. > :29:41.Sorry, not driverless trains, trains whether driver does not control the

:29:42. > :29:48.doors. They cannot be an issue of safety, when 40% of Southern

:29:49. > :29:51.services already operate with drivers who are controlling the

:29:52. > :29:55.doors and the guards do not control them. The industrial action that has

:29:56. > :29:59.taken place has exacerbated the problems on the service already,

:30:00. > :30:02.meaning that there has been a very serious level of disruption for

:30:03. > :30:09.passengers over the course of the last few weeks. Which is now causing

:30:10. > :30:13.real anger amongst my commuting constituents and many others in the

:30:14. > :30:19.area that is covered by this franchise. So, first of all, the

:30:20. > :30:21.industrial action has no justification and should not

:30:22. > :30:26.continue, nor the unofficial industrial action which is being

:30:27. > :30:27.caused by drivers who at the moment, and guards who seem to be suffering

:30:28. > :30:41.a very unusual Secondly, the management of this

:30:42. > :30:45.franchise must recognise that while the proposed measures it seeks to

:30:46. > :30:52.take in relation to the reforms of the way in which they run the trains

:30:53. > :30:58.may be justified, it's management of the franchise as a whole has been

:30:59. > :31:04.lamentable. It has brought the government policy on rail into

:31:05. > :31:09.disrepute and it is essential that the company and Network Rail are

:31:10. > :31:17.held to account for their poor performance and that they meet their

:31:18. > :31:22.own self set performance improvement standards. I have only 18 seconds so

:31:23. > :31:29.I will try to give way. I thank him. Does he think that the licence to

:31:30. > :31:33.operate this service should be taken away and a new supplier to make sure

:31:34. > :31:40.that the service is delivered properly in line with what we would

:31:41. > :31:44.expect? The ultimate sanction that may be available to government for

:31:45. > :31:48.the failure of a franchise to perform effect of league would be to

:31:49. > :31:55.withdraw it and that has been suggested by the Prime Minister. --

:31:56. > :32:01.effectively. This franchise of a larger bases has only just been

:32:02. > :32:07.awarded and the company failed to provide for enough drivers and there

:32:08. > :32:11.has been a shortage for a year, and inadequate number of drivers are

:32:12. > :32:16.available for the trains and there is a long training period. They have

:32:17. > :32:22.assured the government it can improve its informants, the

:32:23. > :32:25.government does not want to withdraw the franchise and find itself in the

:32:26. > :32:30.position of running the railways but unless the position improves more

:32:31. > :32:35.radical solutions might be considered. It has been simply

:32:36. > :32:41.appalling, it is unacceptable for the rail travelling public in this

:32:42. > :32:45.area and it is time that Network Rail and Southern recognised that it

:32:46. > :32:53.is no longer acceptable that they deliver a low standard of

:32:54. > :33:03.performance of this kind. It is a great privilege to be called in this

:33:04. > :33:09.debate at this juncture. Sometimes the Speaker teases me a bit about my

:33:10. > :33:14.long service in the House and I am not accusing him of being slightly

:33:15. > :33:23.ageist but all of the Queen's Speech maiden speeches I have heard, the

:33:24. > :33:25.speech just delivered by my new friend from Sheffield Brightside and

:33:26. > :33:32.Hillsborough is one of the best I have heard. It was delivered with

:33:33. > :33:39.passion, knowledge, experience and wisdom. This is a person that will

:33:40. > :33:43.be a first-class member of Parliament representing her

:33:44. > :33:47.constituents because she knows her community, has lived and worked in

:33:48. > :33:52.her community and we are all proud of, Harry would be as well. I look

:33:53. > :34:00.forward to a brilliant career. -- all proud of her. Some of us will be

:34:01. > :34:06.a bit hurt by some of the remarks earlier by one of the speakers, the

:34:07. > :34:12.member from Wokingham, who was keen to tell us that he was passionate

:34:13. > :34:19.about freedom and liberty. I didn't mind him talking about Europe and

:34:20. > :34:24.how passionate he was, he always has been passionately against the EU,

:34:25. > :34:32.but to suggest that we who oppose that view and believe that our

:34:33. > :34:43.limited freedoms were actually better as members of the EU hurt.

:34:44. > :34:48.Somebody who was born the day before the worst day of the Blitz, when

:34:49. > :34:56.German bombers were bombing the street I was born in, I believe we

:34:57. > :35:01.can easily take it for granted, 70 years of peace and prosperity are

:35:02. > :35:06.too easily taken for granted. I want to get on, when you look at the

:35:07. > :35:13.Queen's Speech it is always important to track through what has

:35:14. > :35:22.been left out and forgotten. There are some really interesting- long --

:35:23. > :35:27.interesting high-flown ideas, my government will use the opportunity

:35:28. > :35:33.to deliver security for working people, increased the life chances

:35:34. > :35:35.of the least advantage and strengthen national defences,

:35:36. > :35:43.continue to bring public finances under control so that written lives

:35:44. > :35:46.within its means and moved to a higher work and lower welfare

:35:47. > :35:50.economy where work is regarded. I am one of those people come and the

:35:51. > :35:54.Secretary of State for Health mentioned it at the beginning of

:35:55. > :35:59.this debate, he didn't believe in private wealth and public squalor. I

:36:00. > :36:02.don't believe that he does believe in that and I don't believe the

:36:03. > :36:08.government believe in that but what they do believe in is something more

:36:09. > :36:14.insidious, they seem to believe that private sector good, public sector

:36:15. > :36:21.bad. That is the message I get all the time I have heard speeches in

:36:22. > :36:27.this government, private sector good, public sector bad. Those of us

:36:28. > :36:32.who have worked in education, health, welfare and transport,

:36:33. > :36:36.housing know that the lurch into a private sector answer isn't always

:36:37. > :36:46.either the right or most efficient answer. I feel embarrassed to hurt

:36:47. > :36:54.the feelings of some of the members on the front bench opposite to

:36:55. > :36:58.mention the bodged railway privatisation, which was managed

:36:59. > :37:04.badly and now we spend more money on trains normally run by foreign-owned

:37:05. > :37:10.companies than any country in Europe, to provide what? A very poor

:37:11. > :37:16.service. I won't -- will spend some time on one to topics. On health, we

:37:17. > :37:20.have had a number of long speeches about health. As somebody who

:37:21. > :37:26.represents a constituency in Huddersfield where it looks like we

:37:27. > :37:29.will lose our Hospital, lose A, not because anything was wrong with

:37:30. > :37:37.the hospital, it used to be very high performing, very sound and

:37:38. > :37:44.financially secure, but the link between absorbing a weaker health

:37:45. > :37:50.trust next door and being then imprisoned by a PFI contract we

:37:51. > :37:57.can't deny or modify has meant a real threat to one of the largest

:37:58. > :38:05.towns in Britain for having a main -- large hospital and A in it. The

:38:06. > :38:09.elephant in the room for me in terms of any speeches being made, and I

:38:10. > :38:16.hope it will be corrected, the fact is that here we have a health

:38:17. > :38:22.service that everybody if they are honest is struggling to make ends

:38:23. > :38:30.meet, underperforming, not because we don't have excellent staff but

:38:31. > :38:33.because we don't have enough, not enough doctors, nurses, A

:38:34. > :38:37.specialists, not enough people supporting them. The fact is that

:38:38. > :38:46.this health service needs more resources and needs more investment,

:38:47. > :38:50.and needs more imagination about facing the new demands. Yes, we have

:38:51. > :38:55.an ageing population and we need to deliver health care in a different

:38:56. > :39:00.way but that needs leadership and imagination that doesn't exist at

:39:01. > :39:05.the present time. At the same time all of us and many of us on all

:39:06. > :39:12.benches complain about the health service lacking resources but so

:39:13. > :39:21.many members on both sides go through the lobbies to vote for HS2,

:39:22. > :39:28.three times more expensive than anyone predicted, ?138 billion and

:39:29. > :39:32.increasing. The Permanent Secretary was drafted in to look because even

:39:33. > :39:43.those figures looked out of control. That seems a strange thing to be

:39:44. > :39:49.piling money into... When we look at what was in the Queen's Speech, we

:39:50. > :39:53.will end up very soon with a driverless car, we will have the

:39:54. > :39:58.opportunity to dial for a vehicle, a pod will arrive outside your house

:39:59. > :40:09.and take you anywhere you want to go. I predict that by the time we

:40:10. > :40:13.have completed HS2 in 2013 it will be redundant because driverless cars

:40:14. > :40:18.will have wiped out the necessity, just like the invention of the

:40:19. > :40:24.railways did away with the effectiveness of the investment in

:40:25. > :40:32.canals. You will know I would want to home in on education and skills.

:40:33. > :40:38.I think that what was mentioned in the Queen's Speech gives me great

:40:39. > :40:45.cause for concern. First of all, academisation and forced

:40:46. > :40:49.academisation will lead us to the diminishing of a local education

:40:50. > :40:54.authority's role in education and will take away a great deal of

:40:55. > :41:02.wisdom and resource that we have relied on for many years and I can

:41:03. > :41:09.see academisation being a very, very disabling influence on our education

:41:10. > :41:19.system. In one small paragraph we have in the Queen's Speech a

:41:20. > :41:26.reference to new private schools. This government is persistent in its

:41:27. > :41:33.ideology, not the big I but the little i. We see back door

:41:34. > :41:38.privatisation so academisation will lead to a greater role for the

:41:39. > :41:43.private sector. The new changes in the BBC coming under the new charter

:41:44. > :41:51.will mean much more privatisation by the back door. We will see that

:41:52. > :41:57.happening when we see private universities, will day trade doctors

:41:58. > :42:05.and engineers in the high scientists, know they will go for

:42:06. > :42:07.the low hanging fruit, lawyers and accountants. They will cross

:42:08. > :42:14.subsidise the difficult stuff in universities. The Northern

:42:15. > :42:22.Powerhouse, reference in the Queen's Speech but no resources or knowledge

:42:23. > :42:31.of what takes us forward. Lastly, defence. The fact is that today we

:42:32. > :42:35.can get all of our forces in Wembley Stadium, 100,000 men and women. If

:42:36. > :42:43.anybody wants to read the truth about our lack of reparation for

:42:44. > :42:48.defending this country, read Max Hastings in the Sunday Times this

:42:49. > :42:53.Sunday. We are struggling to maintain a credible force for the

:42:54. > :42:58.defence of our country and its liberties, at a time when the