19/12/2016

:00:00. > :00:10.Join me for the highlights of both Houses of Parliament at 11pm.

:00:11. > :00:16.We are committed to ensuring that we have a high-quality affordable

:00:17. > :00:23.childcare that families need. We are childcare that families need. We are

:00:24. > :00:31.investing record funding of ?1 billion per year, have announced a

:00:32. > :00:42.fire early funding system and are providing nearly 4000 places one

:00:43. > :00:43.year early. Last week I visited a very well-respected local nursery.

:00:44. > :00:49.They are concerned about the level They are concerned about the level

:00:50. > :00:53.of funding they will receive. Can she give us some reassurance and

:00:54. > :00:59.would she like to visit the school because they would be delighted to

:01:00. > :01:06.see her? I thank my honourable friend for that. I would be more

:01:07. > :01:15.than happy to visit. He is right to highlight the importance of this and

:01:16. > :01:23.that is why we've committed to providing these until the end of the

:01:24. > :01:30.Parliament. Isn't it the case that the promise is being funded by

:01:31. > :01:34.nurses and can the Secretary of nurses and can the Secretary of

:01:35. > :01:40.State tell us what analysis she has undertaken of the damage that will

:01:41. > :01:46.be done by the cuts she is making? It is a rather churlish comment and

:01:47. > :01:52.we are investing more money in this policy than any government ever. ?6

:01:53. > :01:59.billion. He needs to be more appreciative, I think. Working

:02:00. > :02:03.parents in my constituency very much welcome the 30 hours of free

:02:04. > :02:08.childcare. Can the Minister set out for them, particularly those with

:02:09. > :02:12.disabled children, how they will disabled children, how they will

:02:13. > :02:15.make sure there is sufficient funding available to give children

:02:16. > :02:22.the best start in life through that scheme. She's absolutely right. I

:02:23. > :02:28.was in a nursery in new and they were already seeing a massive

:02:29. > :02:34.difference this is making to working families and it is with regard to

:02:35. > :02:40.children with special educational needs, there is a fund which will go

:02:41. > :02:46.towards them. I hope the Minister will agree that the pupil premium

:02:47. > :02:55.provides vital support to some of our most disadvantaged children and

:02:56. > :02:59.we want them to know that many will not be able to care for the most

:03:00. > :03:03.vulnerable children when the 30 hours is introduced so will the

:03:04. > :03:07.Minister guarantee that all of the money will go to our most vulnerable

:03:08. > :03:15.children and this vital resource will not be cut this Parliament? It

:03:16. > :03:27.will continue and will continue to go to the most vulnerable children.

:03:28. > :03:32.We are committed to making sure as many pupils as possible have a place

:03:33. > :03:37.at school. The latest report shows that standards have risen compared

:03:38. > :03:45.to 2010, when 1.8 million more pupils are taught in good or

:03:46. > :03:53.outstanding skills, proposals are in place in the consultation. I am very

:03:54. > :04:00.encouraged by the reply from the Minister. One of the issues raised

:04:01. > :04:09.by them is securing school places for siblings. Will my right

:04:10. > :04:13.honourable friend look at this as part of her plans? Any changes in

:04:14. > :04:17.relation to the overall way that the code operates will be scrutinised by

:04:18. > :04:21.this house, she will be aware that admissions for authorities are

:04:22. > :04:24.responsible for setting their own admissions arrangements. But

:04:25. > :04:28.actually it allows them to prioritise siblings and some

:04:29. > :04:38.authorities choose to do that already. Headteachers in my

:04:39. > :04:44.constituency say they are stymied by changing expectations from

:04:45. > :04:47.government. Will the Secretary of State reassure her teachers in my

:04:48. > :04:53.constituency that expectations will not keep changing without good

:04:54. > :04:58.reason? I had a chance to visit one of the schools last week which was a

:04:59. > :05:03.fantastic opportunity, they were working with Bristol University, and

:05:04. > :05:06.in relation to the continued reforms, we want to make sure we see

:05:07. > :05:10.improvements in classrooms and she will no doubt welcome the fact that

:05:11. > :05:13.we launched the strategic school improvement fund which is about

:05:14. > :05:21.making sure we can get the investment in schools that need to

:05:22. > :05:27.improve quickly and effectively. Skills include technical provision

:05:28. > :05:31.as a must, so does the Secretary of State agree that university

:05:32. > :05:37.technical colleges play an important role in this and these should be

:05:38. > :05:45.good and outstanding? We expect them to deliver high standards. I had the

:05:46. > :05:49.chance to go to Didcot UTC and it was providing a fantastic education,

:05:50. > :05:52.are very different one but one that worked for them in their interest.

:05:53. > :06:00.It was getting very good results because of that. Thank you, Mr

:06:01. > :06:03.Speaker. It is my understanding that in the last two years there were

:06:04. > :06:12.over 60 schools which have been rated inadequate weir and an Academy

:06:13. > :06:18.order has been issued and a sponsor yet to be identified. How does that

:06:19. > :06:21.uncertainty help improve standards in those schools? We are committed

:06:22. > :06:24.to making sure that when we see schools that are not achieving the

:06:25. > :06:27.results that they need to for those children that we have a strong

:06:28. > :06:31.approach that is steadily improving the schools and working with them to

:06:32. > :06:37.approve, but where they cannot improve we want to make sure that

:06:38. > :06:40.changes take place in terms of leadership and school sponsorship,

:06:41. > :06:50.that means schools have got the flexibility and freedom to get

:06:51. > :07:04.better. Yes. Thank you, Mr Speaker. As a former Acton residents, I'm

:07:05. > :07:11.sure they will share concerns... They have a full role of students, a

:07:12. > :07:14.secure site but no physical building. Can she do everything she

:07:15. > :07:20.can to pressure the funding authority to find the shortfall that

:07:21. > :07:28.Balfour Beatty want, because East Acton is the most deprived wards...

:07:29. > :07:33.She's made her point with great force and eloquence but it does not

:07:34. > :07:41.need to be made at any further point. Acton is a place I very much

:07:42. > :07:45.enjoy living in and it is important we see school standards raised in

:07:46. > :07:49.Acton. I will look very carefully at the particular issues she has raised

:07:50. > :07:55.and perhaps write to her to find out what she can advise we do to speed

:07:56. > :07:58.things up. There is a skill in my constituency, two of my children

:07:59. > :08:04.attended, so do 1000 of its children, and it has been placed in

:08:05. > :08:08.special measures and will become an Academy, which I support, but the

:08:09. > :08:14.choice of Academy has been made and subsequently retracted pending

:08:15. > :08:21.surveys on the school. The process is flawed. Would the secretary take

:08:22. > :08:27.a look at this with urgency? I'm aware of this matter because he has

:08:28. > :08:30.done his rule as a fantastic local MP in already raising it with me and

:08:31. > :08:34.it is something we are looking at within the Department to see whether

:08:35. > :08:38.we can make sure that the barriers preventing their school from getting

:08:39. > :08:40.a great sponsor that can help improve it, not just for his own

:08:41. > :08:50.children but all the children there, can be quickly removed.

:08:51. > :08:54.Multi-Academy trusts enable the sharing of staff and expertise that

:08:55. > :09:03.can help foster a truly excellent special education provision and

:09:04. > :09:03.special schools can be helpful in supporting children with special

:09:04. > :09:10.education needs as well as provision education needs as well as provision

:09:11. > :09:13.alongside mainstream provision. Some examples can be found in the good

:09:14. > :09:22.practice guidance published on the 9th of December. I was going to ask

:09:23. > :09:26.him to issue further guidance when I tabled the question in December. I

:09:27. > :09:29.don't think it has been issued so I'm grateful for that. I would

:09:30. > :09:36.encourage him to look at special needs schools operating as special

:09:37. > :09:43.needs schools because there is a difference between thousands of

:09:44. > :09:47.pupils. I think the honourable gentleman is encouraged by the power

:09:48. > :09:54.of his own question tabling. I expect nothing less from the

:09:55. > :10:02.honourable gentleman. He raises an important issue. We continue to

:10:03. > :10:07.provide guidance in this area. I would encourage any newly forming

:10:08. > :10:29.organisation to get in touch. You've moved to number four. Very

:10:30. > :10:32.well. I thank the Minister for meeting to discuss the contents of

:10:33. > :10:39.my ten minute rule Bill to do with special needs. He mentioned the

:10:40. > :10:43.arrangements were not ideal and needed some adjustment and mentioned

:10:44. > :10:48.a consultation. Could he give us any more information on that? I welcome

:10:49. > :10:57.a lot of sympathy for the cause he a lot of sympathy for the cause he

:10:58. > :11:00.makes within it. I can commit to a consultation early in the New Year

:11:01. > :11:08.and I know that he will want to contribute along with others

:11:09. > :11:12.interested in this issue. Great teachers are critical to improving

:11:13. > :11:15.educational outcomes. Teaching is a profession and we are supporting the

:11:16. > :11:21.development of teachers including through the new leadership

:11:22. > :11:25.innovation fund and the new chartered College of teaching and

:11:26. > :11:31.also through investment in improving curriculum expertise and in

:11:32. > :11:38.particular in maths which I saw for myself on a recent visit to China.

:11:39. > :11:43.In the paper that was produced in In the paper that was produced in

:11:44. > :11:47.March in 2016, there was a good proposal in that paper for a

:11:48. > :11:51.national teacher vacancy website to national teacher vacancy website to

:11:52. > :11:53.ensure that the cost of recruitment was kept down. What progress is

:11:54. > :12:02.being made? She set out a commitment we made in

:12:03. > :12:07.the March White Paper. It is going to offer a website with a free route

:12:08. > :12:11.for schools to advertise teacher vacancies, but also provide teachers

:12:12. > :12:15.with easier access to information about job opportunities. We have

:12:16. > :12:18.worked closely with schools and teachers on testing out different

:12:19. > :12:24.approaches for how to deliver that website so we can make sure it adds

:12:25. > :12:28.maximum value to all schools. Whenever I meet young people in my

:12:29. > :12:32.constituency, they tell me that the thing that could most affect their

:12:33. > :12:39.educational outcomes is a curriculum for life and compulsory PSAT in all

:12:40. > :12:45.schools. The curriculum was last updated before Facebook was even

:12:46. > :12:49.invented. Teachers go unsupported and untrained. If yesterday's

:12:50. > :12:52.briefings to the papers are to be believed, the government is

:12:53. > :13:01.considering bringing in compulsory PSHE. Is this true, and if so, when

:13:02. > :13:04.will it happen? It is urgent. I was clear in my first education select

:13:05. > :13:07.committee appearance but I felt this was an area we needed to look at,

:13:08. > :13:12.which is what we are doing. It is not just a question of updating the

:13:13. > :13:16.guidance, it is also about the schools that it is taught in. It is

:13:17. > :13:21.also about the quality of the teaching that happens as well. As

:13:22. > :13:26.someone who did pure maths and applied maths as well as physics and

:13:27. > :13:31.English at A-level, I am very keen mathematics teaching. I was

:13:32. > :13:35.wondering, what was the Secretary of State's assessment of the recent

:13:36. > :13:45.mathematics teacher exchange between the United Kingdom and China? I

:13:46. > :13:50.think it has worked fantastically well so far. We have seen 131

:13:51. > :13:53.teachers from England visiting Shanghai and 127 teachers from

:13:54. > :13:58.Shanghai visiting English schools. Through that exchange, our teachers

:13:59. > :14:02.have observed Shanghai teaching methods. And in the 48 schools that

:14:03. > :14:07.have taken part in the study, most teachers have implemented changes

:14:08. > :14:10.which have led to increased enthusiasm for mathematics,

:14:11. > :14:12.hopefully as strong as his was at school, deeper engagement and

:14:13. > :14:19.increased confidence, but critically, higher attainment. One

:14:20. > :14:22.of the best ways to support teachers in improving educational outcomes,

:14:23. > :14:26.particularly for children with special needs, is through the pupil

:14:27. > :14:29.premium. Will she therefore explain to the House why the level of the

:14:30. > :14:35.pupil premium has been frozen at current levels through this

:14:36. > :14:39.Parliament? The pupil premium was of course something that the previous

:14:40. > :14:43.coalition government introduced and is continuing to be supported

:14:44. > :14:47.throughout this Parliament to make sure funding goes to those children

:14:48. > :14:52.who need it most. Last week, I announced the national funding

:14:53. > :14:57.formula, which also prioritises resources going towards children

:14:58. > :15:00.with a distant advantage. The Secretary of State will know how

:15:01. > :15:07.traumatic it is for students and teachers in getting children through

:15:08. > :15:12.GCSE maths and English resits, which can often blight their post-GCSE

:15:13. > :15:15.students. Can we have a curriculum which is vocationally based for

:15:16. > :15:18.numeracy and literacy, which will give people the skills they need for

:15:19. > :15:22.work without having to go through this traumatic and often wasteful

:15:23. > :15:26.experience? It is important that all children leaving our education

:15:27. > :15:32.system leave with something to show for their names, particularly on

:15:33. > :15:38.maths and English. That is why we brought in the GCSE resits policy.

:15:39. > :15:41.For students who achieved a D and were close to being able to get to

:15:42. > :15:46.the better standard, they should have another go at doing that.

:15:47. > :15:48.However, the functional skills qualifications have been

:15:49. > :15:52.well-received by employers and we want to look at how they can also

:15:53. > :15:59.play a role in enabling all young people to show their

:16:00. > :16:04.accomplishments. Grammar schools are the Prime Minister's flagship policy

:16:05. > :16:10.for improving outcomes, but today the Independent is saying that

:16:11. > :16:15.officials in the Department for Education have said there is no

:16:16. > :16:17.chance of a new selective school before 2020. Can the Secretary of

:16:18. > :16:25.State confirm how many selective schools are to be built in this

:16:26. > :16:30.Parliament? The consultation finished last week. We will now look

:16:31. > :16:34.at the responses to it. We have to recognise that we need an education

:16:35. > :16:37.system that has more good school places, especially for children in

:16:38. > :16:43.parts of the country that don't have access to them. Rather than carping

:16:44. > :16:46.with no suggestions, I hope we can have a good debate now that the

:16:47. > :16:46.consultation has finished and bring forward additional grammar school

:16:47. > :17:02.places. The school workforce census reports

:17:03. > :17:05.a constant vacancy rate of 0.2% of teachers in post. New analysis

:17:06. > :17:09.published in September looks at the proportion of schools with at least

:17:10. > :17:16.one vacancy. This measure has sung the Luke shown some variance since

:17:17. > :17:19.2010, with London having the highest proportion of vacancies. The

:17:20. > :17:22.department is also working to identify those schools experiencing

:17:23. > :17:27.the greatest teacher shortages and to support them to meet those

:17:28. > :17:30.challenges. Good teaching depends on retaining good teachers in the

:17:31. > :17:33.profession. Does the minister not accept that the consistent

:17:34. > :17:36.underfunding of schools in disadvantaged areas such as the

:17:37. > :17:41.north-east makes retaining teachers difficult, and will he look again at

:17:42. > :17:44.the cost adjustment element of the national funding formula that could

:17:45. > :17:50.have the adverse effect of sending money away from disadvantaged areas

:17:51. > :17:53.into more affluent ones? We have protected the score schools but in

:17:54. > :17:57.real terms throughout this Parliament and the last. We have

:17:58. > :18:01.also grasped the nettle, something the Labour government failed to do

:18:02. > :18:08.while in office, of introducing fair funding. One of the elements of that

:18:09. > :18:15.is in ensuring sufficient funds to tackle disadvantaged and lower

:18:16. > :18:18.attainment. Schools in Somerset have great teachers, but find it hard to

:18:19. > :18:22.recruit does. Does my right honourable friend agree that

:18:23. > :18:27.adjusting the funding formula will help rural areas like mine attract

:18:28. > :18:33.and retain excellent teachers? My honourable friend is right. Areas

:18:34. > :18:40.around the country have been underfunded for many years. We have

:18:41. > :18:45.been the first government that has grasped this nettle introducing a

:18:46. > :18:49.much fairer national funding formula that will deal with these historic,

:18:50. > :18:58.and anachronistic and unfair national funding formulas. Regarding

:18:59. > :19:01.the proposed funding formula last week, can I ask the minister how it

:19:02. > :19:06.helps recruit and retain teachers when all but one of the schools in

:19:07. > :19:13.my constituency will lose money under the funding formula? The

:19:14. > :19:18.national funding formula has been introduced to ensure that we have a

:19:19. > :19:21.fair funding system. We are consulting on that system over the

:19:22. > :19:27.next 40 weeks, and I am sure the honourable gentleman will send him

:19:28. > :19:33.his representations. If an outstanding academy in the New

:19:34. > :19:35.Forest, minutes from the seaside, is having difficulty recruiting an

:19:36. > :19:44.English teacher, what hope is there for anywhere else? My honourable

:19:45. > :19:47.friend raises an important point. The national funding formula will

:19:48. > :19:52.help schools have the resources to enable them to use the discretion we

:19:53. > :19:54.have given schools in how they reward teachers, particularly in

:19:55. > :20:07.those subjects where they find it difficult to recruit. Can I take

:20:08. > :20:14.this opportunity to wish the House well. The Association of schools and

:20:15. > :20:19.college leaders have found that opening up new grammars may worsen

:20:20. > :20:21.new teacher recruitment is. Doesn't he think the priority should be

:20:22. > :20:27.incentivising teacher recruitment and retention, rather than taking

:20:28. > :20:37.the retrograde step of providing new armers that will do nothing for new

:20:38. > :20:42.pupils and parents? We are prioritising teacher recruitment. We

:20:43. > :20:46.met 94% of our target last year and 93% this year. We are recruiting

:20:47. > :20:50.more teachers in science than before. She should look at the

:20:51. > :20:54.number of teachers coming into teacher training, and acknowledge

:20:55. > :20:59.the fact that there are 456,000 teachers in our schools today, an

:21:00. > :21:10.all-time high, and there are 50,000 more teachers today than in 2010.

:21:11. > :21:17.May I take the opportunity to thank the honourable gentleman for the

:21:18. > :21:20.work he does for education. Helping all young people to get the careers

:21:21. > :21:27.education and guidance they need is crucial to delivering social

:21:28. > :21:29.mobility. That is why we are investing ?90 million over the

:21:30. > :21:33.parliament to ensure that every young person has access to advice

:21:34. > :21:36.and inspiration to fulfil their potential. This includes further

:21:37. > :21:42.funding for the careers and enterprise company to continue the

:21:43. > :21:48.excellent work it has started, including 1 million for the first

:21:49. > :21:51.six opportunity areas. The all-party group for education is conducting an

:21:52. > :21:58.inquiry into how we prepare children for their future careers. It seems

:21:59. > :22:02.to be not just the academic, but also the soft skills. Does the

:22:03. > :22:08.government feel that it is doing that ably enough, and would you

:22:09. > :22:13.attend the launch of our document when it is produced on the 7th of

:22:14. > :22:19.February? The honourable gentleman makes an important point. Not enough

:22:20. > :22:25.schools are encouraging their children to do not just soft skills,

:22:26. > :22:28.but all skills and technical education and apprenticeships. We

:22:29. > :22:32.have worked to change that and make sure schools talk about

:22:33. > :22:35.apprenticeships and skills when they give careers advice. We are

:22:36. > :22:41.investing millions in the careers enterprise company, which is going

:22:42. > :22:47.to look after 250,000 students in areas of the country that have least

:22:48. > :22:51.careers provision. In terms of the event that the honourable gentleman

:22:52. > :22:58.has asked me to, I will do my best. I have to obviously check the diary.

:22:59. > :23:01.The junction of the careers and enterprise company will do a great

:23:02. > :23:06.deal to improve careers advice among secondary school students. But to

:23:07. > :23:10.encourage more girls into a science career, we have to start earlier in

:23:11. > :23:14.primary schools. Can the minister confirmed that increasing diversity

:23:15. > :23:20.in the careers that leads to greater productivity will form a central

:23:21. > :23:26.part of the Stem related strategies? Again, my honourable friend is

:23:27. > :23:30.right. We need to do everything was able to ensure that young people do

:23:31. > :23:36.the empty macro subjects are encouraged into doing so -- the Stem

:23:37. > :23:40.subjects. That is why we are encouraging apprenticeships. It is

:23:41. > :23:43.why the get up and go campaign focuses on Stem subjects and

:23:44. > :23:51.encouraging more women to do the skills we need. I am glad to hear of

:23:52. > :23:57.the minister's support for young people studying Stem subjects. Does

:23:58. > :24:03.he share my disappointment that the GCSE in environmental science has

:24:04. > :24:06.now been discontinued? There are alternative qualifications. I would

:24:07. > :24:10.also add that we are creating a state-of-the-art technical education

:24:11. > :24:16.system with 15 different pathways, which will have important technical

:24:17. > :24:23.routes and qualifications that will have the prestige and give employers

:24:24. > :24:27.the qualifications that they need. The minister knows that university

:24:28. > :24:29.technical colleges can be a fantastic route into

:24:30. > :24:34.apprenticeships, degrees and jobs. The proposed Gloucestershire health

:24:35. > :24:38.university technical College will be a magnificent example of this, but

:24:39. > :24:47.with the minister to the chamber when the delayed deadline for UCT

:24:48. > :24:50.applications will be announced? My honourable friend is right to

:24:51. > :24:55.highlight the importance of UCT and here's a champion of apprentices and

:24:56. > :24:58.skills in his constituency since he has been elected. I will speak to my

:24:59. > :25:15.honourable friend the UCT minister about question he raises. Question

:25:16. > :25:20.number seven, Mr Speaker. Following the EU referendum on the 23rd of

:25:21. > :25:25.June, we are considering all aspects of how the vote of the people of the

:25:26. > :25:28.United Kingdom to leave the EU might impact on further education

:25:29. > :25:32.institutions. This includes consideration of institutions'

:25:33. > :25:35.access to EU funding sources. We are committed to ensuring that the FE

:25:36. > :25:39.sector remains effective in delivering learning that provides

:25:40. > :25:45.individuals with the skills the economy needs for growth. The

:25:46. > :25:48.Chancellor of the Exchequer committed to stability in the period

:25:49. > :26:00.leading up to departure from the EU. Further institutions in Glasgow need

:26:01. > :26:04.a certainty in this scenario, including those who have benefited

:26:05. > :26:09.from European social fund to the tune of ?1.5 million this year

:26:10. > :26:13.alone. Brexit is not a circumstance of Glasgow's choosing. Will the

:26:14. > :26:18.government commit to abandon the empty "Brexit means Brexit" rhetoric

:26:19. > :26:26.and publish detailed plans on Sunday? I say to the honourable lady

:26:27. > :26:32.that leaving the European Union means that we all want to take our

:26:33. > :26:35.own decisions about how to deliver the policy objectives previously

:26:36. > :26:38.targeted by EU funding. The government is consulting closely

:26:39. > :26:43.with stakeholders to review all EU funding schemes to ensure that any

:26:44. > :26:46.ongoing funding commitments best serve the UK's national interest,

:26:47. > :26:54.while ensuring appropriate certainty.

:26:55. > :27:01.You are not be sensible for the government to commit simply

:27:02. > :27:11.replacing EU funding with UK funding, keeping everyone happy? My

:27:12. > :27:16.honourable friend makes an important point. The government of the UK will

:27:17. > :27:25.decide how best to spend the money that was previously going to the

:27:26. > :27:31.European Union. Colleges Scotland have received 250 million in EU

:27:32. > :27:36.funding to fund capital projects. Given it was this government who

:27:37. > :27:39.gambled away Scotland's membership, what is the likelihood of this

:27:40. > :27:53.government replacing this type of vital funding in the years ahead. I

:27:54. > :27:56.find it interesting that the party's position is to campaign for more

:27:57. > :28:02.powers to go from Westminster to Scotland and yet they would like

:28:03. > :28:06.funding decisions decided in the EU than in Scotland. Having said that

:28:07. > :28:12.she will know the Chancellor has announced the Treasury will

:28:13. > :28:17.guarantee investment bids which are signed before the UK leaves the EU

:28:18. > :28:20.including funding for projects agreed after the Autumn Statement if

:28:21. > :28:23.they represent good value for money and if they are aligned with the

:28:24. > :28:31.continue beyond the departure from continue beyond the departure from

:28:32. > :28:35.the EU. We know that our further education colleges benefit hugely

:28:36. > :28:43.from European social funds. The government told me in February that

:28:44. > :28:52.the funding agency had ?725 million and 120 million went to colleges

:28:53. > :28:55.from funding, it guarantees jobs and skills. Can the Minister guarantee

:28:56. > :29:04.that government will replace this after Brexit and F E colleges, which

:29:05. > :29:12.provide courses and get the same guarantee as universities? Thank

:29:13. > :29:17.you, Mr Speaker, I had hoped in the spirit of Christmas the honourable

:29:18. > :29:22.gentleman might have welcomed the 900,000 apprenticeship

:29:23. > :29:29.participation, the highest in our island's history. The access to

:29:30. > :29:32.European funding is one aspect of business that is impacted by the

:29:33. > :29:38.decision to leave the European Union and we are considering all aspects

:29:39. > :29:42.of how colleges may be affected but it is worth noting that by 2020 the

:29:43. > :29:47.adult budget will be the highest in the nation's history if you include

:29:48. > :30:06.apprenticeships. All this getting up is good

:30:07. > :30:11.preparation for Christmas. If he knows he has the next question he is

:30:12. > :30:14.very welcome to remain standing at the box, nobody would think there is

:30:15. > :30:19.anything disorderly or unreasonable about that. Thank you, it is good

:30:20. > :30:32.for the calories in advance of Christmas.

:30:33. > :30:42.We are making over 60 million support apprenticeship take-up from

:30:43. > :30:47.disadvantaged areas. Our campaign aims to get more young people to

:30:48. > :30:53.apply for an apprenticeship. We are increasing the number of

:30:54. > :30:58.traineeships. What measures is he putting in place to overcome

:30:59. > :31:06.barriers to accessing apprenticeships and for ensuring a

:31:07. > :31:11.good promotion of them by schools? I thank my honourable friend for this

:31:12. > :31:18.question. We are putting 60 million in deprived areas to encourage

:31:19. > :31:24.trainers to have that. We are putting a lot of funding into

:31:25. > :31:28.helping 16-18 -year-olds, supporting businesses and providers. We are

:31:29. > :31:41.supporting health and social care apprenticeships if they have a plan

:31:42. > :31:46.from the local authority. We're giving 12 million to the fund. This

:31:47. > :31:53.government is committed to ensuring most young people can do

:31:54. > :31:59.apprenticeships. From next April, many schools will pave the

:32:00. > :32:02.apprenticeship levy, and other cost. That is an additional cost of

:32:03. > :32:07.?15,000. Will the Minister agreed to meet with me and another member and

:32:08. > :32:16.concerned headteachers to discuss the impact of the levy on schools

:32:17. > :32:21.and academies. I'm very happy to meet with the honourable lady but

:32:22. > :32:25.the whole purpose of the levy is to change behaviours and ensure we

:32:26. > :32:29.become an apprenticeship and skilled nation. If the schools have the

:32:30. > :32:38.needs of their levy then not only will they not pay any levy but they

:32:39. > :32:41.will get 10% on top. Small businesses often give the best

:32:42. > :32:47.experience to an apprentice but lack the resources to support them. What

:32:48. > :32:52.steps is the Minister taking to encourage small businesses to take

:32:53. > :32:58.on apprentices? I know that the honourable friend is a champion of

:32:59. > :33:02.small businesses in his constituency. We are doing huge

:33:03. > :33:05.amounts to encourage small businesses to take on young

:33:06. > :33:10.apprentices, huge financial incentives for the providers and the

:33:11. > :33:14.businesses, small businesses have to pay no training cost at all if they

:33:15. > :33:21.have 16-18 -year-olds. We have cut national insurance for

:33:22. > :33:25.apprenticeships up to the age of 25. The scheme must be better publicised

:33:26. > :33:29.in our high schools and primary schools to encourage those who don't

:33:30. > :33:31.feel comfortable in academia to understand there are options

:33:32. > :33:35.available to them. Could the Minister specified how the

:33:36. > :33:41.Department plans to implement any such system in schools? As so often,

:33:42. > :33:44.the honourable gentleman makes a the honourable gentleman makes a

:33:45. > :33:47.good point. When I go around the country, again and again,

:33:48. > :33:52.apprentices have not been encouraged by their schools to do this and we

:33:53. > :34:02.are looking at how to ensure that careers encourage them. We are

:34:03. > :34:13.investing ?90 million in careers, they have many advisers, getting

:34:14. > :34:20.kids to do work experience. We are committed to tackling inequalities

:34:21. > :34:27.so that all pupils can fulfil their potential. We welcome the

:34:28. > :34:40.contribution, including the benefits of an academic curriculum. The

:34:41. > :34:48.northern powerhouse challenge as well funded as the London challenge

:34:49. > :34:55.was funded with the very welcome, for schools such as one outstanding

:34:56. > :34:59.school in my constituency. What support will be available to schools

:35:00. > :35:09.like that already doing their very best in very disadvantaged areas?

:35:10. > :35:17.There is an achievement gap which is why in March 2016 the Chancellor

:35:18. > :35:27.announced ?20 million of new funding to support a northern powerhouse

:35:28. > :35:30.strategy. Old Trafford is the best performing in North England but one

:35:31. > :35:35.of the worst funded authorities. I'm sure he can imagine the concern that

:35:36. > :35:40.the draft funding formula produced last week would lead to all

:35:41. > :35:45.secondary schools being worse off and the number of primary schools

:35:46. > :35:48.being worse off. Can I ask him to look as a matter of urgency at the

:35:49. > :35:52.nature of the funding formula to ensure fairness to the

:35:53. > :36:02.which have been underfunded? They which have been underfunded? They

:36:03. > :36:11.will see gains, some ?210 million, but in Trafford there is a loss of

:36:12. > :36:11.0.4%. The current formula under funds primary is computed

:36:12. > :36:26.secondaries. Under the proposed national funding

:36:27. > :36:35.formula, the secondaries will lose but the primaries will game. The

:36:36. > :36:41.education policy found that there are no better standards in local

:36:42. > :36:45.authorities so why is expanding trust is key to driving up

:36:46. > :36:50.standards? Is it because he is very well paid by an academy trust and is

:36:51. > :36:55.there perchance any evidence? He is experienced in running a very

:36:56. > :37:09.successful one. Sponsored academies do increase more rapidly. One of the

:37:10. > :37:12.causes identified is the challenge of teacher supply. Does my

:37:13. > :37:19.honourable friend agree with me that one way of improving that will be to

:37:20. > :37:23.recruit more members from the former members of the Armed Forces into the

:37:24. > :37:27.teaching profession? I do agree and we have a scheme that does just

:37:28. > :37:31.that, and as the years go by it is recruiting increasing numbers, small

:37:32. > :37:42.numbers but increasing numbers of highly qualified but experienced

:37:43. > :37:45.ex-military personnel. Thank you, Mr Speaker, we've not permanently

:37:46. > :37:57.closed any academies within three years of their conversion, but we've

:37:58. > :38:01.re-brokered them. If no school has been closed within three years of

:38:02. > :38:05.such conversion and now Academy closed solely as a result of a bad

:38:06. > :38:10.Ofsted report and there is no reliable estimate of the cost or the

:38:11. > :38:15.availability of alternate places and future demand and the real travel

:38:16. > :38:19.alternative schools, how does the alternative schools, how does the

:38:20. > :38:26.government justified reneging on their promise to the pupils and

:38:27. > :38:35.parents to rescue an Academy in my constituency rather than close the

:38:36. > :38:38.school? No decision has been taken yet on the future of this academy

:38:39. > :38:43.but ministers are going to consider all options and the view of parents

:38:44. > :38:57.in the community before reaching a final decision. They will ensure

:38:58. > :39:03.that they get good access. Increasing this for pupils underpins

:39:04. > :39:07.our commitment to making sure our country works for everyone and in

:39:08. > :39:10.the pupil premium we are narrowing the gap between disadvantaged pupils

:39:11. > :39:17.and their peers and indeed, this can be seen in the primary school in

:39:18. > :39:28.Enfield which I want to congratulate for its excellent work on pupil

:39:29. > :39:34.premium. Thank you for the response. On the response from my right

:39:35. > :39:38.honourable friend for Harlow, given the school's link with local

:39:39. > :39:42.employers, they have let their most vulnerable. Can I commend the

:39:43. > :39:45.Secretary of State for the good example of the TEFL steps in to work

:39:46. > :40:02.programme which is bucking the national trend. It is something I do

:40:03. > :40:13.commend. We're working with it to strengthen links between employers

:40:14. > :40:18.and schools when you get a close relationship, especially for those

:40:19. > :40:25.with learning difficulties, it can make a great difference. There is a

:40:26. > :40:30.serious problem here in terms of disadvantaged young people, clever

:40:31. > :40:37.and bright at the age of 11, then lose them, they fail in secondary.

:40:38. > :40:41.Is she further aware, though she is reluctant to answer the question,

:40:42. > :40:45.how many young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are locked

:40:46. > :40:46.into the further education system unable to get their GCSEs in maths

:40:47. > :41:00.and English? When is she going to do and English? When is she going to do

:41:01. > :41:07.something about it? We've seen the attainment gap getting lower between

:41:08. > :41:11.disadvantaged young people and those who start off from better

:41:12. > :41:19.backgrounds. We put resources into the system. Further education is one

:41:20. > :41:22.of our key aims across the Parliament to make sure it delivers

:41:23. > :41:39.the same gold standard. The House will know that the

:41:40. > :41:46.Secretary of State failed to commit to building a school in this

:41:47. > :41:51.Parliament. Today, the policy Institute have released evidence

:41:52. > :41:53.showing you cannot future proof and 11 plus test. Does she agree with me

:41:54. > :41:57.that selection at 11 will favour that selection at 11 will favour

:41:58. > :42:00.families that can afford it and do nothing to improve the educational

:42:01. > :42:05.outcomes of the most disadvantaged pupils?

:42:06. > :42:13.I disagree. As usual, from the opposition, we have had criticism

:42:14. > :42:15.but no alternative policies whatsoever, and a continued failure

:42:16. > :42:21.by the opposition to set out whether it would close existing grammars. At

:42:22. > :42:25.some stage, it would be fantastic to get clarity on Labour Party policy.

:42:26. > :42:30.We want to see more good school places for children, particularly

:42:31. > :42:35.disadvantaged children, and we know the disadvantaged children on free

:42:36. > :42:40.school meals who get into grammar schools see the attainment gap

:42:41. > :42:44.closed by the time they leave. The new national curriculum that came

:42:45. > :42:48.into force in September 2014 expects every pupil to know the

:42:49. > :42:54.multiplication tables to 12 times 12 by the end of year four. We have

:42:55. > :42:57.strengthened our primary maths assessment to prioritise fluency in

:42:58. > :43:01.written calculation and we have removed the use of calculators from

:43:02. > :43:04.key stage two tests. We have not made an assessment of the proportion

:43:05. > :43:09.of children in Northamptonshire or England who know the multiplication

:43:10. > :43:11.tables by heart, but we plan to intend a multiplication tables check

:43:12. > :43:15.for primary school pupils in England to ensure that every child leaves

:43:16. > :43:22.primary school fluent in that times tables up to and including 12 times

:43:23. > :43:29.12. Which my friend madrasas is 144. We are all much better informed!

:43:30. > :43:32.Would my honourable friend agree that learning your times tables is

:43:33. > :43:36.essential for success and maths, and what is the government's official

:43:37. > :43:41.view to the best way in which times tables should be taught and learnt?

:43:42. > :43:44.We don't have an official way of how this is taught, but we do expect

:43:45. > :43:50.every child to know their tables. The reason it is until year four is

:43:51. > :43:53.so that children can recall the times tables automatically so that

:43:54. > :44:00.they can then tackle long multiplication and long division. We

:44:01. > :44:04.want all pupils to be healthy and active and have the opportunity to

:44:05. > :44:09.engage in sport and physical activity. That is why PE remains a

:44:10. > :44:13.compulsory subject at all four key stages in the national curriculum

:44:14. > :44:18.and since 2013, we have given ?600 million to primary schools to

:44:19. > :44:25.include the quality of PE provision, with that doubling from 2017. Given

:44:26. > :44:27.the urgent need to tackle child obesity and physical inactivity, can

:44:28. > :44:33.my right honourable friend tell the House what steps he is taking to

:44:34. > :44:36.work with organisations such as the UK active outdoor industry

:44:37. > :44:39.Association as well as local organisations like active Cheshire

:44:40. > :44:45.to follow the example of the school where my daughter goes to take

:44:46. > :44:48.forward more daily initiatives? As a fellow Cheshire MP, I am aware of

:44:49. > :44:55.the excellent work done by local schools and local groups in

:44:56. > :44:59.partnerships. We welcome initiatives such as the daily mile. They help

:45:00. > :45:03.teachers have the autonomy to make good decisions on behalf of their

:45:04. > :45:09.pupils to have an array of excellent initiatives, and we continue to

:45:10. > :45:12.promote those. The minister is too modest in declining to take the

:45:13. > :45:16.opportunity to say that he has himself over many years led by

:45:17. > :45:19.example to his repeated and impressive marathon running, with

:45:20. > :45:25.which the whole House by now should be familiar. Physical activities are

:45:26. > :45:28.important to equip the next generation with the skills to

:45:29. > :45:33.contend with both their physical health and the mental health. But

:45:34. > :45:36.alone, it will not content with our nation's obesity crisis. We know

:45:37. > :45:42.from the child measurement figures how challenging this is for our

:45:43. > :45:45.country. Will his government be bringing forward compulsory PSHE so

:45:46. > :45:48.we can equip the next generation with the knowledge and skills to

:45:49. > :45:52.know what they should be eating as well as what physical activities

:45:53. > :45:57.they should be doing? I have already told the House that PE is compulsory

:45:58. > :46:01.at all four key stages. The Secretary of State has set out the

:46:02. > :46:06.need to improve the access and quality of PSHE, and that is

:46:07. > :46:09.something we are looking forward to. I will be taking part in the London

:46:10. > :46:13.Marathon again next year to continue my efforts to lead by example. The

:46:14. > :46:24.honourable gentleman is genuinely a hero! Topical questions, Mr Nigel

:46:25. > :46:29.Huddlestone. If I can just wish everybody a happy Christmas in the

:46:30. > :46:36.House as well. Mr Speaker, the latest stab figures show that there

:46:37. > :46:39.are near Ely 1.8 million -- there are nearly 1.8 million children

:46:40. > :46:42.being taught in outstanding schools than in 2010. Our consultation has

:46:43. > :46:48.ended and we look forward to responding to that in due course. In

:46:49. > :46:51.the past few weeks, we have announced ?114 million for the

:46:52. > :46:55.strategic school improvement fund and have published the next age of

:46:56. > :46:59.consultation on our national fairer funding formula for schools across

:47:00. > :47:04.England, which will finally bring an end to the historic postcode lottery

:47:05. > :47:07.of school funding. I also saw the excellent teacher exchange programme

:47:08. > :47:13.in Shanghai, China, earlier this month, as well as visiting many

:47:14. > :47:17.great schools in our own country. Team GB gave an incredible

:47:18. > :47:21.performance that this year's Rio Olympic Games, bringing home 67

:47:22. > :47:25.medals. One third of those medal winners went to private schools

:47:26. > :47:30.compared to 7% of the population as a whole. What else is the government

:47:31. > :47:36.doing to encourage greater participation in sport in our state

:47:37. > :47:40.schools? Since 2013, we have provided over ?600 million to

:47:41. > :47:47.primary schools through the primary PE and sport premium, which is

:47:48. > :47:52.making a difference. In independent research, schools reported an 84%

:47:53. > :47:56.increase in participation in extracurricular activities. We know

:47:57. > :48:03.there is more to do, and that is why we have doubled a premium to ?320

:48:04. > :48:06.million a year from autumn 2017. I would also like to wish the

:48:07. > :48:10.Secretary of State a Merry Christmas and all the members of the House,

:48:11. > :48:14.but it ain't going to be a Merry Christmas for our schools. The

:48:15. > :48:17.recent government consultation says there will be a floor on schools

:48:18. > :48:22.funding so that no school would lose more than 3% of their funding per

:48:23. > :48:29.pupil as a result of changes to the funding formula. Some schools face

:48:30. > :48:33.to severe cuts to manage. But only has the National Audit Office show

:48:34. > :48:36.that schools are facing funding cuts of 8% per pupil, they have

:48:37. > :48:40.criticised her department for failing to make the scale of the

:48:41. > :48:45.coming cuts clear. The Secretary of State has two choices. Order. I am

:48:46. > :48:50.sorry. If we are going to have a right for the opposition front bench

:48:51. > :48:54.to come in on topical is, and I make this clear with immediate effect, it

:48:55. > :48:58.must be done briefly, otherwise it is completely absorbing the time for

:48:59. > :49:03.backbenchers. A single sentence from the honourable lady will suffice.

:49:04. > :49:08.Sorry, Mr Speaker. Will she cut the funding in 2020 or will she issue

:49:09. > :49:14.guidance to schools on what those cuts will be? We are consulting on

:49:15. > :49:18.proposals for a new national funding for here. Everybody accepts the

:49:19. > :49:23.current system is unfair, transparent and out of date and it

:49:24. > :49:27.doesn't support our aspiration for all children to reach their

:49:28. > :49:32.potential to succeed in adult life. There is little or no justification

:49:33. > :49:35.for the differences that local schools get at the moment. The

:49:36. > :49:38.consultation is now under way. I have no doubt that honourable

:49:39. > :49:46.members across the House will want to respond. The former Chancellor

:49:47. > :49:49.was the most recent senior Conservative to say that the Prime

:49:50. > :49:53.Minister's plans to include international students in migration

:49:54. > :49:55.figures were not sensible. Will the Secretary of State join us and

:49:56. > :49:59.commit to doing everything she can to reverse this foolish policy and

:50:00. > :50:06.ensure that students are removed from the migration statistics? We

:50:07. > :50:10.value the significant contribution that international students make to

:50:11. > :50:14.our universities. We have no plans to introduce a cap on and take. As

:50:15. > :50:18.the Secretary of State recently announced, we will shortly be

:50:19. > :50:20.seeking views on the study immigration root of all parties

:50:21. > :50:25.including the opposition should ensure their point of view is heard.

:50:26. > :50:31.Getting it right early on is crucially important for life

:50:32. > :50:34.chances. Corby provides flagship nursery provision and early

:50:35. > :50:40.intervention provision which local families appreciate and value. With

:50:41. > :50:44.the minister be willing to visit to discuss how the funding reforms can

:50:45. > :50:51.best support this provision going forward? We all know that maintained

:50:52. > :50:55.nursery schools are a small but important part of the early years

:50:56. > :51:00.sector, providing high quality child care and education, often in

:51:01. > :51:03.disadvantaged areas. They have a potentially important role in

:51:04. > :51:06.shaping best practice with other providers in their area, and I would

:51:07. > :51:11.be happy to meet my honourable friend and other representatives to

:51:12. > :51:14.discuss this further. Does that Secretary of State acknowledge that

:51:15. > :51:18.many schools including the primary school in the most deprived part of

:51:19. > :51:21.my constituency which contacted me on Wednesday are struggling

:51:22. > :51:25.financially as a result of amongst other things, the overhead is being

:51:26. > :51:28.heaped on them. It is children with special educational needs who are

:51:29. > :51:34.likely to suffer most from the financial squeeze. In fact, under

:51:35. > :51:38.the national funding formula that we announced last week to stop the

:51:39. > :51:44.consultation on in relation to high needs, there will be no local areas

:51:45. > :51:47.losing. And we will be able to do not only that, but also ensure that

:51:48. > :51:53.those areas that need to gain who have been underfunded will be able

:51:54. > :52:02.to gain up to 3% over 2018-19 and 2019-20. Following the publication

:52:03. > :52:08.of the key stage two results on Thursday, the national average pass

:52:09. > :52:12.rate was 54%. The Lancashire pass rate was 54%, but the pass rate in

:52:13. > :52:19.my constituency was 47%. What steps is this Parliament taking towards

:52:20. > :52:23.best practice for schools like those in my constituency and what can she

:52:24. > :52:28.do to help schools that are underperforming? I share my

:52:29. > :52:34.honourable friend's concern. We want all schools to use evidence -based

:52:35. > :52:37.teaching and to help spread effective practice. We have

:52:38. > :52:43.established a national network of teaching schools as well as school

:52:44. > :52:46.partnerships led by schools that excel in the teaching of maths,

:52:47. > :52:52.phonics and science. International students are vital to an economy and

:52:53. > :52:55.contribute ?7 billion to universities in the UK. Can the

:52:56. > :52:57.Secretary of State confirm whether or not the government plans to use

:52:58. > :53:02.the new teaching and excellence framework to link student visas to

:53:03. > :53:09.the quality of an institution as a means of cutting immigration? No

:53:10. > :53:15.decision has been taken as to the best way to differentiate in order

:53:16. > :53:18.to allow our best institutions to continue to attract international

:53:19. > :53:22.students at this stage. The Home Secretary has indicated that she

:53:23. > :53:28.will be starting a consultation in the new year. All parties are

:53:29. > :53:30.encouraged to contribute to that. Recognising the mental health

:53:31. > :53:33.challenges faced by an increasing number of young people, can my right

:53:34. > :53:38.honourable friend to the House what steps she is taking to work with

:53:39. > :53:42.bodies such as young minds and the NSPCC to help young people and their

:53:43. > :53:48.parents tackle self harming, which is blighting the lives of too many

:53:49. > :53:52.children? Every child and young person should be able to enjoy good

:53:53. > :53:58.mental health and well-being. My honourable friend is right to raise

:53:59. > :54:00.serious concerns about self harm. We are working with the Department of

:54:01. > :54:06.Health to tackle it by funding guidance for schools on teaching

:54:07. > :54:12.about self-harm and pointing parents towards the Mind portal and the

:54:13. > :54:17.invaluable NSPCC ChildLine, but we know there is more to do. The 80

:54:18. > :54:22.sector in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland supported SNP

:54:23. > :54:26.amendments to the higher education Bill on UK research and innovation.

:54:27. > :54:30.Can the Secretary of State tell us if she plans to look at this issue

:54:31. > :54:37.again, or is she happy to ignore the HE voices within the devolved

:54:38. > :54:40.nations? The honourable gentleman will have seen the amendment

:54:41. > :54:45.ensuring that there will be at least one member of the UK border with

:54:46. > :54:49.experience of the excellent research that goes on in at least one of our

:54:50. > :54:54.devolved administrations. Universities like Sunderland do a

:54:55. > :54:57.fantastic job supporting part-time and mature students into higher

:54:58. > :55:01.education. Ministers claim to support this, so why in the Autumn

:55:02. > :55:07.Statement was funding for widening participation cut by 50%? The

:55:08. > :55:13.honourable lady will be encouraged to see that spending on access

:55:14. > :55:19.agreements will increase to over ?800 million in the next financial

:55:20. > :55:23.year, up from ?400 million when this last coalition government came into

:55:24. > :55:29.office, almost doubling the amount being spent on this important area.

:55:30. > :55:32.The Secretary of State will remember the historic and ongoing problems

:55:33. > :55:37.with flooding in Tipton St John primary school. Will she ever

:55:38. > :55:41.announce an early Christmas present for the people of Tipton St John by

:55:42. > :55:47.announcing that her department is going to contribute to the funding

:55:48. > :55:50.solution to relocate the school to Ottery St Mary? Following his

:55:51. > :55:53.meeting on the top of October with my right honourable friend the

:55:54. > :55:57.Secretary of State and representatives from the county to

:55:58. > :56:01.consider plans to relocate the school, a feasibility study was

:56:02. > :56:06.submitted to the educational funding agency. Officials have reviewed the

:56:07. > :56:10.report and have been in dialogue with Devon County Council to address

:56:11. > :56:13.outstanding issues. Once those are resolved, a decision can be taken

:56:14. > :56:14.about whether a central funding contribution can be made and whether

:56:15. > :56:31.he will have a Christmas present. What contingency plans does the

:56:32. > :56:36.Minister has showed a source of recruitment for EU teachers

:56:37. > :56:41.diminish. As I said earlier the government welcomes the contribution

:56:42. > :56:44.EU students and international students make to higher education

:56:45. > :56:52.institutions and there is no plan to introduce a cap on that number. We

:56:53. > :56:56.continue to welcome EU students. Superb schools across my

:56:57. > :56:59.constituency based a double financial whammy of being both rural

:57:00. > :57:05.and small. Under new funding formula is only eight schools will get

:57:06. > :57:10.another blip. Could the minister look again at school is not hitting

:57:11. > :57:16.the traditional markers of deprivation? -- get an uplift. We

:57:17. > :57:18.have a consultation on introducing a national funding formula. We have

:57:19. > :57:25.tried to make sure there are factors affecting schools in more remote

:57:26. > :57:28.locations but also where they have higher cost bases under the

:57:29. > :57:34.additional costs allowance to reflect that as well. This is a

:57:35. > :57:40.consultation and I'm sure she will want to have input into this. Last

:57:41. > :57:43.Tuesday was in 2000 people filled the Royal concert Hall in Nottingham

:57:44. > :57:49.to hear hundreds of schoolchildren singing and playing together in the

:57:50. > :57:54.Nottingham music service Christmas in the city concert. The opportunity

:57:55. > :57:58.to learn to play music is very important in building confidence and

:57:59. > :58:01.enjoyment of school and will she visit Nottingham music service to

:58:02. > :58:05.hear more of the wonderful work but they are doing in our city schools

:58:06. > :58:10.were more than 8000 students are learning to play a musical

:58:11. > :58:17.instrument? ?300 million has been announced for music and the arts. I

:58:18. > :58:21.recognise how important music is and I hope those children will get the

:58:22. > :58:32.benefit of the ongoing investment this government is now putting in.

:58:33. > :58:35.Willmore pupils be able to take up places in grammar schools? Once we

:58:36. > :58:38.have got through the response to consultation and had the chance to

:58:39. > :58:42.change the law hopefully preventing grammar schools from being opened, I

:58:43. > :58:50.hope we will be able to make progress on this. And finally, Fiona

:58:51. > :58:56.McTaggart. Headteachers will be grateful to the Minister for meeting

:58:57. > :59:00.with them to discuss teacher shortages but unfortunately, I have

:59:01. > :59:04.reminded him twice since then about the fact that they have not received

:59:05. > :59:10.the letter he promised at that meeting. Can I expect that before

:59:11. > :59:14.Christmas? I will do my utmost to ensure they receive a letter and I

:59:15. > :59:19.enjoyed reading them, they raised important points, but we are

:59:20. > :59:23.ensuring that we are filling teacher training places and there are more

:59:24. > :59:36.teachers now in the system than last year. Statement. The Prime Minister.

:59:37. > :59:42.Thank you Mr Speaker and with permission I would like to make a

:59:43. > :59:46.statement on last week's European Council. Both the UK and the rest of

:59:47. > :59:50.the EU are preparing for the negotiations that will begin when we

:59:51. > :59:54.trigger Article 50 before the end of March next year. The main focus of

:59:55. > :59:57.this council was rightly on how we can work together to address some of

:59:58. > :00:03.the most pressing challenges we face. These include responding to

:00:04. > :00:06.the migration crisis, strengthening Europe's security and helping

:00:07. > :00:20.alleviate the suffering in Syria. As I have said

:00:21. > :00:25.for as long as the UK is a member of the EU we will continue to play our

:00:26. > :00:27.full part. And that is what this council show. With the UK making a

:00:28. > :00:30.significant contribution on each of the issues. First migration, from

:00:31. > :00:32.the outset the UK has pushed for a conference of approach that focuses

:00:33. > :00:35.on the root causes of migration is the best way to reduce the number of

:00:36. > :00:38.people coming to Europe. I've called for action in transit countries and

:00:39. > :00:41.source countries to destruct smuggling what works, improve local

:00:42. > :00:45.capacity to control borders and support sustainable livelihoods both

:00:46. > :00:50.for people living there and refugees. And we must better

:00:51. > :00:53.distinguish between economic migrants and refugees, swiftly

:00:54. > :00:55.returning those who have no right to remain and thereby sending out a

:00:56. > :01:00.deterrence message to others thinking of embarking on a perilous

:01:01. > :01:04.journey. The council agreed to action in all these areas and the UK

:01:05. > :01:09.remains fully committed to playing our part. We have already provided

:01:10. > :01:14.training to the Libyan coast guard, the Royal Navy is providing

:01:15. > :01:17.practical support in the Mediterranean and Aegean Sea and we

:01:18. > :01:21.will deploy 40 additional staff to the Greek islands to accelerate the

:01:22. > :01:25.processing of claims especially from Iraqi, Afghan and Eritrean nationals

:01:26. > :01:28.and help return those who have no right to stay. Ultimately we do need

:01:29. > :01:33.a long-term sustainable approach and that is the best way to obtain the

:01:34. > :01:39.consent of our people to provide support and sanctuary to those most

:01:40. > :01:42.in need. Turning to security and defence, whether deterring Russian

:01:43. > :01:47.aggression, countering terrorism or fighting organised crime, the UK is

:01:48. > :01:50.firmly committed to the security of our European neighbours. That is

:01:51. > :01:55.true now and will remain true once we've left the EU. At this council

:01:56. > :01:58.will welcome the commitment from all member states to take greater

:01:59. > :02:03.responsibility for their security, invest more resources and develop

:02:04. > :02:07.more capabilities. That is the right approach. And as the council made

:02:08. > :02:12.clear, it should be done in a way that complements rather than

:02:13. > :02:16.duplicates Nato. A stronger EU and the stronger Nato can be mutually

:02:17. > :02:20.reinforcing and this should be our aim. We must never lose sight of the

:02:21. > :02:26.fact that Nato will always be the bedrock of our collective defence in

:02:27. > :02:31.Europe. But we must never to undermine that. We also agreed at

:02:32. > :02:34.the council to renew Tier three economic sanctions on Russia for a

:02:35. > :02:38.further six months, maintaining pressure on Russia to implement the

:02:39. > :02:43.Minsk agreement in full. Turning to the appalling situation in Syria, we

:02:44. > :02:46.have all seen the devastating pictures on our television screens

:02:47. > :02:50.and heard heartbreaking stories of families struggling to get to

:02:51. > :02:55.safety. At this council we heard directly from the Mayor of East

:02:56. > :02:58.Aleppo, a brave and courageous man who already has witnessed his city

:02:59. > :03:02.brought to rubble. His neighbours murdered and lives of children

:03:03. > :03:07.destroyed. He had a simple plea, to get those that have survived through

:03:08. > :03:37.years of conflict, torture and fear, to safety.

:03:38. > :03:41.Together with our European partners we must do all we can to help. The

:03:42. > :03:43.council was unequivocal in its condemnation of President Assad and

:03:44. > :03:46.his backers, Russia and Iran. Who must bear the responsibility for the

:03:47. > :03:48.tragedy in Aleppo. They must now allow the UN to evacuate safely the

:03:49. > :03:50.innocent people of Aleppo, Syria and Sue President Assad claims to

:03:51. > :04:13.represent. We've seen some progress in recent days but a few

:04:14. > :04:19.bus-loads is not enough when there are thousands more that must be in

:04:20. > :04:21.Aleppo, but we are in President Assad may be congratulating his

:04:22. > :04:24.regime forces on their actions in Aleppo, but we are in that this is

:04:25. > :04:31.no victory but a tragedy. One that we will not forget that this is no

:04:32. > :04:36.victory but a tragedy. One that we will not the council Rougerie did

:04:37. > :04:38.that those responsible must be held to of practical support for

:04:39. > :04:43.alongside our diplomatic efforts, the UK will provide a further ?20

:04:44. > :04:45.million of practical support who are most for trusted humanitarian

:04:46. > :04:49.partners, working on the front line in some of the hardest to reach

:04:50. > :04:53.places in Syria, to help them deliver food parcels and medical

:04:54. > :04:55.supplies to those most in need this includes ?10 million for trusted

:04:56. > :04:58.humanitarian partners, working on the front line in some of the

:04:59. > :05:00.hardest to reach places in Syria, to help them deliver food parcels and

:05:01. > :05:04.medical supplies to those most in and an additional ?10 million to

:05:05. > :05:08.Unicef to provide life-saving aid supplies for all those that have

:05:09. > :05:14.been lost but it is not too late to save those who remain at the

:05:15. > :05:17.Jordanian border. It is sadly too late to save all those that have

:05:18. > :05:19.been lost but it is not too late to save those who and turning the

:05:20. > :05:22.Council on the UK plans for leaving the EU and explained I updated the

:05:23. > :05:27.Council on the UK plans for leaving the EU and explained that two this

:05:28. > :05:36.House voted I explained that two weeks I explained that two a

:05:37. > :05:39.considerable this House voted by a to support the government by

:05:40. > :05:45.delivering the referendum result and invoking article 50 before the end

:05:46. > :05:46.of, almost six to one to support the government by delivering the

:05:47. > :05:54.referendum result and invoking Article 50 before the end of month

:05:55. > :05:57.on whether the will respect the verdict of independent judiciary but

:05:58. > :06:03.equally clear that whichever way the judgment goes we will meet the

:06:04. > :06:07.timetable that I have set out. I also reaffirmed my commitment to a

:06:08. > :06:10.smooth and orderly exit and in this period made it clear to the other EU

:06:11. > :06:14.leaders that it remains my objective that we give reassurance early in

:06:15. > :06:18.negotiations to EU citizens living in the UK and UK citizens living in

:06:19. > :06:23.EU countries that their right to stay where they have made their

:06:24. > :06:27.homes will be protected. This is an issue I would like to agree quickly

:06:28. > :06:31.but clearly requires the agreement of the rest of the EU. I welcomed

:06:32. > :06:35.the subsequent short discussion between the 27 other leaders on

:06:36. > :06:38.their own plans for the UK withdrawal. It describe the other

:06:39. > :06:43.leaders prepare for the negotiations just as we are making our own

:06:44. > :06:48.preparations. That is in everyone's best interests. My aim is to cement

:06:49. > :06:53.the UK is a close partner of the EU once we've left as I've said I want

:06:54. > :06:56.the deal that we negotiate to reflect the kind of mature

:06:57. > :06:59.cooperative relationship that close friends and allies enjoy. A deal to

:07:00. > :07:03.give our company is the maximum freedom to trade with the European

:07:04. > :07:08.markets and allow European businesses to do the same year. A

:07:09. > :07:10.deal that will deliver the deepest possible cooperation to ensure

:07:11. > :07:15.national security and that of our allies but a deal that will mean

:07:16. > :07:18.when it comes to decisions about our national interest, such as how we

:07:19. > :07:25.control immigration, we can make these decisions for ourselves. And

:07:26. > :07:27.that our laws are once again made in the UK and not in Brussels. The calm

:07:28. > :07:30.and measured approach this government will honour the will of

:07:31. > :07:36.the British people and secure the right deal to make a successful

:07:37. > :07:44.Brexit for the UK, the EU and the world. I commend this statement to

:07:45. > :07:47.the House. I would like to thank the Prime Minister for an advance copy

:07:48. > :07:50.of her statement and as we approach the end of this year I think we can

:07:51. > :07:55.all agree this has been a year of enormous change in this country and

:07:56. > :08:00.the rest of the world. With that change comes a great deal of

:08:01. > :08:03.division. As we move swiftly to the triggering of Article 50, I want to

:08:04. > :08:10.appeal to the prime Minster to not only work hard to heal the divisions

:08:11. > :08:15.in the UK but also make sure her new years resolution includes a to build

:08:16. > :08:19.better relations with our European partners so we get the best deal for

:08:20. > :08:25.the people of this country. Not just a Brexit that benefits business and

:08:26. > :08:28.bankers, and at the moment it is clear that on the international

:08:29. > :08:33.stage the Prime Minister and the UK are becoming increasingly isolated.

:08:34. > :08:37.If we are to build a successful Britain after Brexit it is more

:08:38. > :08:40.vital than ever that our relationship with our European

:08:41. > :08:47.partners remains strong, cordial and respectful. It is also clear through

:08:48. > :08:51.my own discussions with European leaders that they are becoming

:08:52. > :08:54.increasingly frustrated by her shambolic government and the

:08:55. > :09:00.contradictory approach to Brexit negotiations. The mixed messages

:09:01. > :09:05.from her front bench only adds to the confusion. This government fails

:09:06. > :09:08.to speak for the whole country, instead we hear a bubble of voices

:09:09. > :09:16.speaking for themselves and their vested interests. For instance last

:09:17. > :09:20.week we were told by the permanent representative to the EU that a

:09:21. > :09:25.Brexit deal may take ten years. Contradicting what the Secretary of

:09:26. > :09:29.State for Brexit told us at a select committee that day when he said that

:09:30. > :09:34.a deal could be struck in 18 months. A bit of a difference. We also heard

:09:35. > :09:39.from the Chancellor told us that Britain was looking for a

:09:40. > :09:43.for the Secretary of State for for the Secretary of State for

:09:44. > :09:49.a transitional deal. Saying that any a transitional deal. Saying that any

:09:50. > :09:50.would go against the wishes of those would go against the wishes of those

:09:51. > :09:54.who voted to leave. The people of Britain deserve better than this

:09:55. > :10:01.confusion at the heart of government. Confidence has been

:10:02. > :10:03.lost, the Office for Budget Responsibility made their own

:10:04. > :10:08.judgment on the government Brexit plans in November. When they

:10:09. > :10:15.published a new forecast for 2017. Growth was revised down, wages

:10:16. > :10:20.revised down, business investment revised down. The only thing that

:10:21. > :10:24.the Obi are raised was their forecast for inflation. They are

:10:25. > :10:32.risking even weaker growth than they have delivered so far, an exodus of

:10:33. > :10:36.financial services and hitting the manufacturing industry hard. I

:10:37. > :10:42.welcomed that the government have now accepted the labour demands for

:10:43. > :10:46.a published Brexit plan. But it is still unclear as to how the plan

:10:47. > :10:53.will be presented and when we will receive it here in Parliament. So

:10:54. > :10:57.can the Prime Minister today do what the Secretary of State for Brexit,

:10:58. > :10:59.the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Secretary of State for International

:11:00. > :11:04.trade and the permanent Secretary to the EU all failed to do last week,

:11:05. > :11:08.and give this country some real answers. Can she tell us when the

:11:09. > :11:12.House will receive the government plans for Article 50, how long we

:11:13. > :11:17.will be given to scrutinise that plan, can she also tell us how long

:11:18. > :11:21.the British Government envisages the whole process taking and can she

:11:22. > :11:26.tell us if the British Government will be looking for an interim

:11:27. > :11:28.transitional deal with the European Union. These are basic questions

:11:29. > :11:31.that still have not been answered almost six months after the UK voted

:11:32. > :11:41.to leave the EU. There are also reports that the UK

:11:42. > :11:46.will be asked to pay a 50 billion euro bill to honour commitments to

:11:47. > :11:51.the European budget until 2020. Can the Prime Minister tell the House if

:11:52. > :11:55.this is the case, and can she update us on the government's contingency

:11:56. > :11:59.plans for those projects and programmes in the UK that are

:12:00. > :12:03.currently reliant on EU funding after 2020? There is much concern in

:12:04. > :12:09.many parts of the country about those programmes. I welcome the

:12:10. > :12:12.Prime Minister's desire to bring forward and give greater clarity to

:12:13. > :12:18.the issue of rights of European Union citizens in the UK. However,

:12:19. > :12:25.if the Prime Minister is serious about this, why wait? Why won't this

:12:26. > :12:29.government and the worry, as this House demanded in July, and give an

:12:30. > :12:37.unequivocal commitment to guarantee people's rights before Article 50 is

:12:38. > :12:41.triggered, as both the TUC and the British Chamber of Commerce have

:12:42. > :12:46.called for this weekend? Not only is it the right thing to do, it would

:12:47. > :12:51.also send a clear signal to our colleagues and our European friends

:12:52. > :12:57.that Britain is committed to doing the right thing and committing to a

:12:58. > :13:02.friendly future relationship. With that in mind, I would like to take

:13:03. > :13:06.this opportunity to welcome the Austrian President, Alexander van

:13:07. > :13:12.der Bellen, on his election. I am sure we will all agree his victory

:13:13. > :13:17.in the presidential elections represents a victory for respect and

:13:18. > :13:24.kindness over hate and division. And it is a signal against the dangerous

:13:25. > :13:28.rise of the far right across Europe. Mr Speaker, I am also glad the

:13:29. > :13:32.European Union Council leaders discussed the other pressing global

:13:33. > :13:38.issues last week, notably the terrible situation in Syria. I want

:13:39. > :13:41.to use this opportunity to renew the calls I made in a letter to the

:13:42. > :13:45.Prime Minister last week for an urgent and concerted effort from the

:13:46. > :13:51.government to press for an end to the violence and a UN led ceasefire.

:13:52. > :13:59.The creation of a UN brokered humanitarian corridor and the

:14:00. > :14:07.insurance of an end to attacks on the civilian publishing as well as

:14:08. > :14:10.urgent talks through the UN to ensure a political settlement. The

:14:11. > :14:14.rules of war are being broken on all sides. Labour has long condemned

:14:15. > :14:18.attacks on civilian targets on all sides, including those by Russian

:14:19. > :14:28.and pro-Syrian government forces in Aleppo. For which there can be no

:14:29. > :14:31.excuse. I also know the issue of Cyprus and reunification was raised

:14:32. > :14:35.at the council meeting. Could the Prime Minister give us an update on

:14:36. > :14:41.what was said on this issue? Britain is after all a guarantor of Cypriot

:14:42. > :14:47.independence from the 1960 treaty. There is a lot to do in 2017, with a

:14:48. > :14:51.lot of important decisions to be made. I make a plea to the Prime

:14:52. > :14:55.Minister to represent all sides, whether they voted to leave or

:14:56. > :15:00.remain, and to make the right decisions that benefit not just her

:15:01. > :15:10.party, but everyone in this country. Prime Minister. Thank you, Mr

:15:11. > :15:13.Speaker. On the issue of Cyprus, yes, the president updated us on the

:15:14. > :15:18.talks that have taken place. These are important talks. We all accept

:15:19. > :15:21.that we have perhaps the best opportunity for a settlement in

:15:22. > :15:28.Cyprus that we have seen for many years. The president made clear that

:15:29. > :15:36.the talks have been taking place under UN auspices between the two

:15:37. > :15:39.leaders. They have been encouraged by the leaders on the island and it

:15:40. > :15:43.is important to recognise the leadership they have shown in

:15:44. > :15:46.relation to this. The honourable gentleman is right, there are three

:15:47. > :15:50.guarantors, Greece, Turkey and the UK. We stand ready to play our part

:15:51. > :15:55.is required and when it is appropriate for us to do so. There

:15:56. > :15:58.is the possibility of a meeting coming up in January. There is the

:15:59. > :16:04.possibility that that will be attended by others like the UK. The

:16:05. > :16:08.EU said it stood ready to participate if that was going to be

:16:09. > :16:13.part of helping this deal to come through. Secondly, on the issue of

:16:14. > :16:18.Syria, as I said, the honourable gentleman wrote to me asking to take

:16:19. > :16:21.action through the United Nations. We have consistently been taking

:16:22. > :16:26.action through the UN. We have worked over the weekend to ensure

:16:27. > :16:31.that there was a UN Security Council resolution today. That was accept

:16:32. > :16:34.it, as members of this House will know. There have been other Security

:16:35. > :16:40.Council resolutions previously that Russia have vetoed. The most recent

:16:41. > :16:45.one, Russia and China vetoed. But we now have a resolution that has been

:16:46. > :16:49.accepted by Russia and China and accepted unanimously by the Security

:16:50. > :16:51.Council that provides for UN monitoring, and also for

:16:52. > :16:58.humanitarian access and UN monitoring of people leaving Aleppo,

:16:59. > :17:04.which I think is important. He spent most of his comments in relation to

:17:05. > :17:08.the issue of Brexit. He started talking about is wanting a deal that

:17:09. > :17:13.benefits the UK. Yes, I have been saying that ever since I first came

:17:14. > :17:17.into this role. We want to make sure we get the best possible deal. But

:17:18. > :17:25.in negotiations, you don't get the best possible deal by laying out

:17:26. > :17:32.everything you want in advance. He talks about isolation. Well, the

:17:33. > :17:36.point is that the UK is going to leave the European Union. We are

:17:37. > :17:41.leaving the group that is the European Union. In due course, they

:17:42. > :17:46.will be meeting only 27 because we will no longer be a member. But what

:17:47. > :17:49.is clear from what happened at the European Council is that as long as

:17:50. > :17:53.we are a member, we will continue to play our full part within the

:17:54. > :17:59.European Union. He talked about the question of EU funds which are

:18:00. > :18:03.currently intended to continue beyond the date at which we would be

:18:04. > :18:06.leaving the European Union. The Chancellor of the Exchequer set out

:18:07. > :18:11.clearly weeks ago what the position on this was, that those funds will

:18:12. > :18:15.continue to be met, provided they give value for money and meet the UK

:18:16. > :18:19.Government's objective is. He talked about the length of the process. As

:18:20. > :18:23.he knows, once we trigger article 50, the treaty allows for a process

:18:24. > :18:28.that can take up to two years. Of course, how long within that process

:18:29. > :18:33.it does take depends on the progress of the negotiations that take place.

:18:34. > :18:38.He then talked about uncertainty and needing investment to come into the

:18:39. > :18:41.UK. He gave the impression that there was this bleak picture in

:18:42. > :18:47.terms of the economy. Fastest growing economy this year in the G7,

:18:48. > :18:52.I would remind him. Let's look at companies that have announced new

:18:53. > :19:01.additional investment since the Brexit referendum. Honda, Jaguar

:19:02. > :19:06.Land Rover, Nissan, Howdy, Facebook, Google, GSK. The list will continue,

:19:07. > :19:10.because this is still a good place to invest. It is still a good place

:19:11. > :19:14.to grow businesses. Then he talks about confusion on the front bench.

:19:15. > :19:19.Well, he has obviously been looking at his own front bench when he can

:19:20. > :19:23.to does this. Let's take one simple issue of immigration. The Shadow

:19:24. > :19:26.Home Secretary suggests freedom of movement should be maintained. The

:19:27. > :19:30.Shadow Chancellor said we should have a fair deal on freedom of

:19:31. > :19:33.movement, and the shadow Brexit secretary says we should have

:19:34. > :19:40.immigration controls. They can't even agree on one aspect of the

:19:41. > :19:44.European Union and leaving it. With the right honourable gentleman's

:19:45. > :19:47.negotiation techniques, if he was in office, we would be getting the

:19:48. > :19:57.worst possible deal we could get for the United Kingdom. Mr Iain Duncan

:19:58. > :20:02.Smith. May I ask my right honourable friend that when she was at the

:20:03. > :20:07.council and she reminded the council leaders about her generous offer to

:20:08. > :20:13.allow EU citizens who were here in the UK to remain and for UK citizens

:20:14. > :20:17.to receive the same privilege, did she manage to take to one side

:20:18. > :20:21.Donald Tusk and ask him simply white, when his own government was

:20:22. > :20:26.keen to agree to that, he turned around and vetoed it? My right

:20:27. > :20:30.honourable friend is right. I made clear once again that I hope that

:20:31. > :20:34.this issue of EU citizens living here and UK citizens living in the

:20:35. > :20:38.EU member states can be dealt with at an early stage of the

:20:39. > :20:42.negotiations. The other member states and the council have been

:20:43. > :20:45.clear that they are not prepared to enter into negotiations before

:20:46. > :20:50.article 50 is triggered. But I will continue to remind them of our hope,

:20:51. > :20:53.for good reason, because we want to reassure people, that this can be

:20:54. > :20:59.dealt with at an early stage and then the people concerned can get on

:21:00. > :21:06.with their lives. I thank the Prime Minister for advanced site of her

:21:07. > :21:12.statement and wish colleagues a very Merry Christmas, happy Hogmanay and

:21:13. > :21:21.a fantastic 2017. Mr Speaker, it is now more than six months since the

:21:22. > :21:25.Brexit referendum, when more than 6 million voters in Scotland voted to

:21:26. > :21:28.remain. Tomorrow, the Scottish Government will become the first

:21:29. > :21:31.administration in the UK to publish its plans in detail. The Prime

:21:32. > :21:37.Minister has said she will seriously engage with the Scottish Government.

:21:38. > :21:40.She says she has a Respect agenda. So will the Prime Minister commit to

:21:41. > :21:44.meet with the First Minister to incorporate priorities of the

:21:45. > :21:49.Scottish Government in the UK negotiating position? On security,

:21:50. > :21:53.the Prime Minister's statement welcomed commitments on capability

:21:54. > :21:57.including cyber threats. Without going into details for obvious

:21:58. > :22:04.reasons, is the Prime Minister confident that enough safeguards are

:22:05. > :22:06.in place regarding democratic institutions in the UK, including

:22:07. > :22:12.political parties? And on the issue of Middle East violence, it was

:22:13. > :22:15.discussed in the council and across the House, we obviously welcome

:22:16. > :22:20.initiatives that make a difference in Syria. But there was no mention

:22:21. > :22:24.in her statement of Yemen. Is it true that senior ministers have

:22:25. > :22:28.known for some time that UK cluster munitions have been used in the

:22:29. > :22:33.current conflict in Yemen, and when was the Prime Minister told about UK

:22:34. > :22:37.cluster munitions in Yemen, and when will the UK join our European

:22:38. > :22:45.partners in starting to have a more ethical foreign policy on both Saudi

:22:46. > :22:47.Arabia and Yemen? Prime Minister. On the issue of Yemen, the right

:22:48. > :22:51.honourable gentleman will have seen that there will be a statement being

:22:52. > :22:55.made by the Defence Secretary later this afternoon. This was not an

:22:56. > :22:58.issue that was discussed at the European Council. We focused on the

:22:59. > :23:04.issues I mentioned in my fitment. He talks about cyber security and

:23:05. > :23:07.political parties. I have to say that maintaining their cyber

:23:08. > :23:11.security is a matter for individual political parties. It is up to them

:23:12. > :23:15.to look at how they undertake that. Then he referred to the document the

:23:16. > :23:17.Scottish Government will be publishing tomorrow. I took a call

:23:18. > :23:22.from the First Minister this morning and I assured her that we will look

:23:23. > :23:25.seriously at the proposals the government in Scotland is bringing

:23:26. > :23:29.forward. I welcome the fact that they are looking at their

:23:30. > :23:32.priorities. We have encouraged all devolved administrations to look at

:23:33. > :23:36.their priorities so that they can be taken into account in the UK

:23:37. > :23:40.negotiations on leaving the EU. There is already a structure that

:23:41. > :23:52.enables us to discuss this with the devolved authorities. And there will

:23:53. > :23:58.be a further session of the plenary in January. These normally only meet

:23:59. > :24:03.once a year, but we are accelerating the number of meetings precisely so

:24:04. > :24:10.that we can engage with the devolved administrations on these issues.

:24:11. > :24:13.John Redwood. When people in the opposition and in business say that

:24:14. > :24:17.we should make compromises by offering money or some control over

:24:18. > :24:20.our laws or some control over our borders to get a deal, does the

:24:21. > :24:24.Prime Minister agree that they are bidding against our country, making

:24:25. > :24:30.a good deal more difficult to achieve and misunderstanding what

:24:31. > :24:34.the majority voted for? I say to my right honourable friend, I agree

:24:35. > :24:39.with him that what the public want is for us to get the best possible

:24:40. > :24:42.deal for the UK. They want to leave the European Union and deliver

:24:43. > :24:46.success in doing that. It is right that we don't give out every detail

:24:47. > :24:55.of our negotiating strategy because if we did, that would be the way to

:24:56. > :24:56.get the worst possible deal. On Friday, together with other

:24:57. > :25:02.honourable members from Wolverhampton, I met with UTC

:25:03. > :25:09.Aerospace, which employs 1600 people in high-value jobs in Wolverhampton.

:25:10. > :25:14.That company raised with us membership of the European aviation

:25:15. > :25:19.safety agency. When the Prime Minister says Brexit means Brexit,

:25:20. > :25:23.does she mean we will no longer participate in the European aviation

:25:24. > :25:30.safety agency and other agencies such as the European medical agency

:25:31. > :25:35.and many others? It is precisely because we need to look with great

:25:36. > :25:38.care at the wide range of our relationships with Europe that we

:25:39. > :25:42.have taken time before we trigger Article 50. This is exactly the sort

:25:43. > :25:45.of work that the department for exiting the European Union is doing,

:25:46. > :25:48.looking at the range of organisations, some of which are

:25:49. > :25:53.linked to membership of the European Union and some of which are not so

:25:54. > :25:56.linked to the EU. They are crucially talking to each sector about what is

:25:57. > :26:07.important for them so that we understand what matters to business.

:26:08. > :26:16.I welcome these are preparations before triggering Article 50 and

:26:17. > :26:20.would she agree that a speedy conclusion of the subsequent

:26:21. > :26:25.negotiations would be in the interests of this country both to

:26:26. > :26:28.put an end to damaging uncertainty and because according to the Office

:26:29. > :26:34.for Budget Responsibility, every additional weeks of delay in leaving

:26:35. > :26:46.the EU costs the country during ?50 million nett per week. As I said in

:26:47. > :26:52.an earlier response, the treaty sets out for a potential two-year process

:26:53. > :26:57.of negotiations. How long that is necessary to take is of course a

:26:58. > :27:03.matter for the progress of those discussions and talks. So I think

:27:04. > :27:06.that is a valid point about the sooner certainty can come the better

:27:07. > :27:14.for business but of course we need to make sure we're getting the right

:27:15. > :27:19.deal for the UK. Perhaps the Prime Minister could tell us with some

:27:20. > :27:22.certainty when her plan for exiting the EU which she has agreed to

:27:23. > :27:27.present to the House is actually going to be ready. Presumably some

:27:28. > :27:42.time before she triggers Article 50. Yes. In their joint statement of the

:27:43. > :27:49.15th of December at the president of the European Council and of the

:27:50. > :27:53.European Commission and the heads of state of all the 27 member states

:27:54. > :27:58.unanimously insisted and I quote, access to the single market requires

:27:59. > :28:04.acceptance of all four freedoms including freedom of movement. Does

:28:05. > :28:08.my right honourable friend agree that such an ultimatum is both

:28:09. > :28:13.unacceptable and will not be accepted by the British people. I

:28:14. > :28:19.have said all along I believe part of the vote to leave the EU,

:28:20. > :28:23.underlying that was the desire for the British people to have control

:28:24. > :28:27.over immigration and for decisions on immigration to be made by the

:28:28. > :28:32.government here in the UK. And we should deliver on that. I look at

:28:33. > :28:35.these issues in terms of the deal with want to negotiate, in terms of

:28:36. > :28:39.the outcome that we want, which is the best possible deal for trading

:28:40. > :28:43.with an operating within the single European market but doing that

:28:44. > :28:47.commensurate with the other requirements we have, which is

:28:48. > :28:58.British laws made here in Britain and control on immigration.

:28:59. > :29:01.Following the European Council it appears the Prime Minister is

:29:02. > :29:05.leading the country not just out of the EU but also out of the single

:29:06. > :29:15.market and the customs union. Neither of which were on the ballot

:29:16. > :29:20.paper last June. If instead remain had won by whisker last June, but

:29:21. > :29:27.the government have had a mandate I wonder for a hard remain, would

:29:28. > :29:32.David Cameron now has been stood there bouncing us into the euro and

:29:33. > :29:36.showing and will she agree that as ludicrous as it sounds, it is no

:29:37. > :29:38.more ludicrous than the extreme rewriting of the referendum result

:29:39. > :29:47.which she now seeks to impose on the British people. The majority vote at

:29:48. > :29:54.the referendum was for the UK to leave the EU. That is what we will

:29:55. > :29:59.be delivering. Once again the right honourable gentleman raises

:30:00. > :30:04.questions about means rather than ends. What we want is the best

:30:05. > :30:10.possible outcome in terms of the trading relationship with the EU.

:30:11. > :30:13.And for operating within the EU. That is where the focus should be

:30:14. > :30:22.and not on particular processes to get there. The council conclusions

:30:23. > :30:26.stress the continued resolve of the union to deepen and strengthen its

:30:27. > :30:30.relationship with the Ukraine in face of current challenges. How

:30:31. > :30:37.strongly does she expect government to support Ukraine after we have

:30:38. > :30:42.left the EU? It is absolutely right that the European Council was

:30:43. > :30:46.concerned with and wanted to ensure that we had that continuing

:30:47. > :30:52.relationship with Ukraine. The UK is already supporting Ukraine in a

:30:53. > :30:56.number of ways. And obviously when we have left the EU we will look at

:30:57. > :31:01.our continuing bilateral relationships with countries across

:31:02. > :31:06.the European continent. We are already providing money to establish

:31:07. > :31:10.a national anti-corruption bureau in Ukraine, supporting energy reform in

:31:11. > :31:14.Ukraine to reduce dependence on Russian gas, offering defensive

:31:15. > :31:19.training to the Ukraine armed forces and supporting internal reform with

:31:20. > :31:23.Ukrainian Ministry of Defence. So in a number of areas where already

:31:24. > :31:27.supporting Ukraine and expect we will continue to want to have a good

:31:28. > :31:35.bilateral relationship with them once we have left the EU. Could the

:31:36. > :31:38.Prime Minister update as if they have been any discussions about how

:31:39. > :31:45.successful the EU thinks its arrangement with Turkey with regards

:31:46. > :31:53.to order and flow of immigration has been. We support the continuing EU -

:31:54. > :31:56.Turkey deal and it has had an impact on migratory movements but of course

:31:57. > :32:01.there are elements to that deal with which the UK is not involved because

:32:02. > :32:04.they involve the Schengen zone member states. That is still a

:32:05. > :32:11.matter of being discussed by those members of the Schengen zone. The UK

:32:12. > :32:15.is not part of that. But I think we should recognise that the

:32:16. > :32:19.arrangements in place so far have had an impact on movements into

:32:20. > :32:24.Greece from Turkey. And crucially, I think what we need to see is making

:32:25. > :32:28.sure the process of returning people who have no right to be in Greece is

:32:29. > :32:32.operating as swiftly as possible. That is one reason why we are

:32:33. > :32:38.offering extra staff to Greece to enable that process and those claims

:32:39. > :32:47.to be processed more smoothly. The whole house will welcome the focus

:32:48. > :32:51.reported from the meeting on Syria and Aleppo. The additional British

:32:52. > :32:55.humanitarian support including for Unicef that she has announced on the

:32:56. > :33:01.part played by British diplomats and the government over the weekend in

:33:02. > :33:04.securing the successful UN resolution very much along the lines

:33:05. > :33:09.of the debate in this House last week, will she ensured that over the

:33:10. > :33:14.Christmas and New Year holiday, the full span of government attention

:33:15. > :33:20.continues on securing unfettered access for humanitarian workers for

:33:21. > :33:24.medical supplies and food. Bearing in mind there are still more than

:33:25. > :33:32.50,000 people out in the open in Aleppo. Very frightened and in

:33:33. > :33:36.temperatures well below freezing. My right honourable friend recognises

:33:37. > :33:40.it is not just about agreeing resolution but about ensuring that

:33:41. > :33:44.that is implemented. So the desire to ensure that humanitarian aid is

:33:45. > :33:48.available to people and people are able to leave safely is put into

:33:49. > :33:52.practice. I can assure him we recognise the importance of getting

:33:53. > :33:56.the momentum of this. It is over the coming days and weeks that this will

:33:57. > :34:02.be important to be doing this and the focus will continue to be on

:34:03. > :34:07.that. May I ask about the risks of that cliff edge prompting some key

:34:08. > :34:13.financial institutions already to think about moving some businesses

:34:14. > :34:19.out of the UK. Does she agree with the chance of the said it would be

:34:20. > :34:21.helpful if we started to discuss a transitional arrangement going

:34:22. > :34:28.beyond that particular deadline and started to discuss that now. The

:34:29. > :34:32.Chancellor reflected the comments I made when I spoke to the CBI, which

:34:33. > :34:36.was a recognition of the desire for business to be able to have some

:34:37. > :34:40.certainty beyond that point of leaving the EU. That is one reason

:34:41. > :34:45.why we have already announced that we're going to bring EU law into

:34:46. > :34:49.domestic law in the UK that point so people can have some certainty about

:34:50. > :35:01.what that point of movement from membership of the EU to outside it

:35:02. > :35:04.is. The CSU economy minister of Bavaria gave a clear warning to

:35:05. > :35:07.coalition partners in Berlin in November that uncertainty could

:35:08. > :35:12.damage the Bavarian economy is the UK is one of its most important

:35:13. > :35:16.trading partners. Does the Prime Minister appreciate that they will

:35:17. > :35:19.be significant forces in Europe supporting her timetable to trigger

:35:20. > :35:24.Article 50 at the end of March in order to bring conclusion to the

:35:25. > :35:32.arrangement of pre-trade existing between us and Bavaria. Well it is

:35:33. > :35:36.an important point, he raises a specific case in relation to Bavaria

:35:37. > :35:39.but overall the point is simple, this is not just about what is in

:35:40. > :35:43.the interests of the UK but also about what is in the interests of

:35:44. > :35:48.the remaining 27 members of the EU. As we negotiate the deal I expect us

:35:49. > :35:55.to be negotiated a deal which is right in the UK but will retain a

:35:56. > :35:57.strong EU with which we will be trading and with which we will be

:35:58. > :36:04.working together on matters of mutual interest. I welcome the

:36:05. > :36:08.extension of sanctions against Russia for six months but there has

:36:09. > :36:14.been little visible progress on the Minsk accord during the time, during

:36:15. > :36:21.recent months. What will the extension of these sanctions

:36:22. > :36:23.achieve? The council was updated by Chancellor Merkel and president

:36:24. > :36:27.Francois Hollande who have been leading in relation to discussions

:36:28. > :36:29.on the Minsk agreement. Everyone is concerned that we still have the

:36:30. > :36:37.position where the Minsk agreement has not been put into place. I

:36:38. > :36:41.believe we need to roll over sanctions to show our continuing

:36:42. > :36:44.rigger on this matter. And a continuing expectation for Russia

:36:45. > :36:56.that they will actually abide by the requirements. Instead of EU

:36:57. > :37:00.countries dangerously duplicating Nato structures but without American

:37:01. > :37:06.participation, would it not do much more for the defence of Europe is

:37:07. > :37:12.countries like France and Germany and other EU states that are members

:37:13. > :37:19.of Nato actually spend a minimum of 2% of their GDP on defence. My

:37:20. > :37:23.honourable friend is right that we want to see other countries also

:37:24. > :37:28.stepping up to the plate. This country is spending 2% of its budget

:37:29. > :37:36.on defence, we think others should be as well and I would encourage

:37:37. > :37:42.them to do so. Is it not clear that there are many differences on her

:37:43. > :37:49.side of freedom of movement. Would also not be the case that if this

:37:50. > :37:55.arrangement continues, it would make a mockery of a majority decision

:37:56. > :38:04.taken by the British people in the referendum. As I said earlier I

:38:05. > :38:09.think an important part of the vote, one of the things underlying the

:38:10. > :38:15.vote, was a desire for people to see the British Government bringing

:38:16. > :38:20.control of immigration back home. I suggest if he has that view of

:38:21. > :38:31.freedom of movement he might talk to his own front bench. Over 10,000

:38:32. > :38:35.Ukrainian servicemen have now been killed since the start of the

:38:36. > :38:38.Russian backed conflict and progress on Minsk appears to be stalled.

:38:39. > :38:44.Would she agree that we have a special responsibility in this since

:38:45. > :38:47.we are signatories of the Budapest Memorandum and will she examine what

:38:48. > :38:50.further pressure we can put on Russia and also what additional

:38:51. > :39:01.assistance we can give to the people of Ukraine. I have to say we do look

:39:02. > :39:04.at what more we can do. My right honourable friend the Defence

:39:05. > :39:10.Secretary announced recently some extension of the training of

:39:11. > :39:12.Ukrainian forces. And my right honourable friend the Foreign

:39:13. > :39:17.Secretary also looks at whether there are other ways in which we can

:39:18. > :39:21.ensure that the Minsk agreement is implemented in full. Of course I

:39:22. > :39:24.think it is important that we work through the European Union in doing

:39:25. > :39:31.that and put the pressure of the EU behind this. Did she discuss with

:39:32. > :39:34.fellow leaders interference by Russia in the political processes of

:39:35. > :39:40.Western democracies including our own using propaganda and cyber, what

:39:41. > :39:43.action will she take to investigate what may already happened in this

:39:44. > :39:53.country and how we can stop it happening in the future. I think

:39:54. > :39:56.everyone is aware of the way in which Russia is currently operating

:39:57. > :40:03.and the more aggressive stance rushes taking across a whole range

:40:04. > :40:06.of ways, a whole range of aspects. I'm sure the right honourable

:40:07. > :40:10.gentleman will not expect me to go into detail as to how we look at

:40:11. > :40:14.these issues particularly in relation to cyber matters is the

:40:15. > :40:19.right honourable gentleman the spokesman for the Scottish National

:40:20. > :40:23.Party indicated earlier. But I can assure the right honourable

:40:24. > :40:34.gentleman that we take the actions of state sponsored intervention and

:40:35. > :40:38.cyber attacks very seriously. 2.8 million EU citizens must be assured

:40:39. > :40:48.of their position in the UK, that has been welcomed. I work on a

:40:49. > :40:53.report providing suggestions on how to regularise the immigration status

:40:54. > :40:57.of the 1.8 million people on track to gain permanent residents and who

:40:58. > :41:04.we suggest should be granted indefinite leave to remain. I am

:41:05. > :41:07.aware of this report and I can assure her that we of course look

:41:08. > :41:16.seriously as any proposals but come forward on this and other matters

:41:17. > :41:20.relating to Brexit. Could I pressed her on the replied that she gave to

:41:21. > :41:25.the leader of the Scottish National Party on Yemen? I appreciate she was

:41:26. > :41:29.the only leader of a foreign country to address the GCC recently and the

:41:30. > :41:33.Foreign Secretary has spoken courageously about the situation in

:41:34. > :41:38.the Yemen. We celebrate Christmas on Sunday, but the people of that

:41:39. > :41:43.country will be eating grass and drinking sea water in order to

:41:44. > :41:48.survive. What does it say about politics in 2016 that the richest

:41:49. > :41:49.club in the world is unable to find time to discuss one of the poorest

:41:50. > :41:58.countries. I can assure the honourable

:41:59. > :42:13.gentleman we're taking the situation in

:42:14. > :42:18.Yemen seriously. Not least in humanitarian aid, but also my

:42:19. > :42:21.honourable friend, the Foreign Office minister was in Riyadh, and

:42:22. > :42:25.one of the issues he was discussing was the opening of the port, save

:42:26. > :42:28.supplies can get through. My reading of the council conclusions on

:42:29. > :42:30.defence corporation is the strength of British implements, rather than

:42:31. > :42:35.the weakness, the Leader of the Opposition's inclusions. Given we

:42:36. > :42:40.spent two percent of GDP on defence, 0.7% on aid, both sides of that

:42:41. > :42:44.argument, are we in a good position to make this case? When we have

:42:45. > :42:51.left, our European partners will still want that close relationship,

:42:52. > :42:55.why we will get a good deal. My honourable friend is absolutely

:42:56. > :43:00.right. We should be proud of the fact that in this country we spent

:43:01. > :43:05.two percent on defence, 0.7% on international aid. Something

:43:06. > :43:10.recognised not just across the European Union, but internationally.

:43:11. > :43:14.It is that which enables us as the United Kingdom to take the lead on a

:43:15. > :43:18.number of issues. He is absolutely right, from everything we saw in the

:43:19. > :43:22.position and role the United Kingdom has played in the EU Council

:43:23. > :43:26.discussions, it is clear people will continue to want to have a good

:43:27. > :43:31.relationship with United Kingdom, that puts us in a good place in

:43:32. > :43:35.getting the right deal. Can I congratulate the French and British

:43:36. > :43:41.diplomats in New York who got the security council resolution today?

:43:42. > :43:47.Is the Prime Minister aware, the Assad regime pass presented

:43:48. > :43:51.immediately denounced it. It is quite clearly Syrian government will

:43:52. > :43:55.not be happy about this. Can she take practical steps to ensure that

:43:56. > :44:04.the resolution is actually implemented? Particularly protecting

:44:05. > :44:09.those people witnesses to crime. Those people like the White helmets

:44:10. > :44:16.being so brave in East Aleppo, which now could be vulnerable to

:44:17. > :44:20.Hezbollah, the militias and the Assad regime. The honourable

:44:21. > :44:24.gentleman is right, he is right about how the resolution isn't

:44:25. > :44:27.lamented. French and UK diplomats worked hard to make sure this

:44:28. > :44:32.resolution would be accepted by the Security Council. We had to make

:44:33. > :44:36.sure it is put into practice. He refers to the evidence of crime, we

:44:37. > :44:42.have been taking action making sure people are equipped, and trained to

:44:43. > :44:49.gather evidence of crimes that have taken place, so they can be properly

:44:50. > :44:55.investigated. Earlier private Prime Minister said: when it comes to

:44:56. > :44:59.decisions on national interest, and immigration, we can make those

:45:00. > :45:02.decisions for ourselves. May I commend that statement, and when she

:45:03. > :45:07.finally presents her plan to Parliament, will she keep it brief,

:45:08. > :45:11.focus on outcomes and not means. We are leaving the EU, the internal

:45:12. > :45:17.market, we are going to regain control of our borders and laws, but

:45:18. > :45:22.nothing in that is against concluding a free-trade deal

:45:23. > :45:26.overwhelmingly in favour of our interests and our friends and

:45:27. > :45:30.allies? My honourable friend is right, we need to get the right

:45:31. > :45:33.possible deal. He is right to focus on the outcome of the deal we want,

:45:34. > :45:38.rather than particular ends on means to achieve that outcome. It is

:45:39. > :45:42.absolutely clear it is possible to get a deal which is a very good

:45:43. > :45:48.trade deal for the United Kingdom. Also in the interests of the

:45:49. > :45:52.European Union. With regards to the best interests of the United

:45:53. > :45:56.Kingdom, with the Prime Minister confirm remaining in the European

:45:57. > :46:01.arrest warrant, and Euro poll are in the best interest of the United

:46:02. > :46:06.Kingdom? The honourable gentleman knows I have stood at this dispatch

:46:07. > :46:13.box and argues we should remain in these particular aspects. In the

:46:14. > :46:20.whole area of cooperation on crime, it will be part of the negotiations.

:46:21. > :46:24.It is an issue, not just of what is in the UK's interests, the UK

:46:25. > :46:31.working with partners in the European union is in their

:46:32. > :46:36.interests, too. What are the chances of the proposed European defence

:46:37. > :46:40.fund adding new money to collective European defence and security? What

:46:41. > :46:48.is the Prime Minister'sattitude to the leaked a matter of the mechanism

:46:49. > :46:55.due next year? On the issue of the European defence fund, referred to

:46:56. > :47:01.in the Council conclusions, this is something which is yet to be fully

:47:02. > :47:06.fledged out, how it will operate in the future. One of the issues

:47:07. > :47:09.discussed by the European Council members is a concern to ensure

:47:10. > :47:15.better procurement of defence equipment across the European Union.

:47:16. > :47:22.It is in that context that these issues are being considered. Can I

:47:23. > :47:28.push the Prime Minister on the matter of security? Viewed from

:47:29. > :47:33.Moscow Europe must look so much more disunited and weak since June. The

:47:34. > :47:40.fact the matter, we have 100,000 men and women in our Armed Forces, you

:47:41. > :47:44.can get them in Wembley Stadium. What it tanks rolled across borders

:47:45. > :47:49.in this unstable period of European history, what would we do? I have to

:47:50. > :47:55.say to the honourable gentleman, first of all, the Secretary of State

:47:56. > :48:00.for Defence has told me the figure is too not 100,000. Let's look at

:48:01. > :48:05.the issue he has talked about. One of the things I have said in my

:48:06. > :48:10.statement, the importance of Nato is the bedrock of our security and that

:48:11. > :48:15.of our allies. That is important in ensuring our defence. What is this

:48:16. > :48:19.government doing in defence spending, spending two percent,

:48:20. > :48:26.committing over ?170 billion over a number of years for investment in

:48:27. > :48:32.defence equipment. Ensuring we have the defence we need, both the forces

:48:33. > :48:38.and equipment to keep us safe. Can my right honourable friend set out

:48:39. > :48:42.how our support for the Syrian people, through the aid budget, is

:48:43. > :48:48.helping alleviate some of the horrendous suffering happening over

:48:49. > :48:53.there? My honourable friend is right to raise this issue, as we focus on

:48:54. > :48:58.the specific question of Aleppo, it is easy to forget the significant

:48:59. > :49:01.contribution in the UK is making through its aid budget, to the

:49:02. > :49:09.humanitarian effort for the refugees from Syria. Much of that is going to

:49:10. > :49:14.refugees in countries around Syria, Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan. We are

:49:15. > :49:18.the second biggest bilateral donor in relation to humanitarian aid for

:49:19. > :49:24.refugees, have committed ?2.3 billion. Medical supplies, food,

:49:25. > :49:28.water, these are getting through, to people where they would not have

:49:29. > :49:33.them elsewhere. It means that children are being educated as a

:49:34. > :49:38.result of the money being spent by the United Kingdom. Absolutely right

:49:39. > :49:44.we should do that. Can I commend the Prime Minister for her solid and

:49:45. > :49:48.strong stance on Brexit. 27 EU members met without the Prime

:49:49. > :49:53.Minister in attendance. Is this beginning of the cloak and dagger

:49:54. > :49:58.approach? Ken's I/O sure we will not be kept in the dark, everything is

:49:59. > :50:03.open. The British view expressed that the ballot box is sacrosanct

:50:04. > :50:08.and a priority. 27 members of the European met for 25 minutes to

:50:09. > :50:11.discuss aspects of the process for the UK leaving the European Union.

:50:12. > :50:17.Absolutely right they meet together as 27. When we trigger article 50 we

:50:18. > :50:21.want to make sure the process is as smooth and orderly as possible. It

:50:22. > :50:27.is in our interests, the interests of the economy, the interest of

:50:28. > :50:31.other economies as well. I welcome the fact that they are meeting of a

:50:32. > :50:37.27, to make preparations, as we do when the 27, to make preparations,

:50:38. > :50:43.as we do when we trigger article 30. -- 50. It is absolutely right we

:50:44. > :50:48.maintain good relationships with the 27 member states of the European

:50:49. > :50:51.Union, what steps is the premise the making connection we talk to

:50:52. > :50:56.countries not in the European Union, to gain insight in their position,

:50:57. > :50:59.and make plans for the future? My honourable friend raises an

:51:00. > :51:03.important point, not just relationships with the EU, our

:51:04. > :51:13.relationship with individual countries member of the EU, and

:51:14. > :51:17.members of -- those who are not members. I held discussions with

:51:18. > :51:21.those countries, and the United Kingdom outside the EU will not be

:51:22. > :51:25.leaving Europe, we want to continue to have good relations with friends

:51:26. > :51:32.and allies in Europe, good bilateral relationships, enabling us to trade

:51:33. > :51:34.well with those nations, as well. One of the key aspects of security

:51:35. > :51:39.cooperation across Europe is the ability to impose sanctions on the

:51:40. > :51:45.EU sanctions regime. What discussions that the Prime Minister

:51:46. > :51:49.have on the UK's involvement in that after leaving the European Union? I

:51:50. > :51:54.can ensure him that the UK voice will be heard from you put forward

:51:55. > :52:00.our opinion on matters like sanctions on Russia, and maintained

:52:01. > :52:16.until the Minsk agreement is observed. One thing that both sides

:52:17. > :52:20.of the EU referendum campaign can agree on is that during the

:52:21. > :52:22.referendum campaign one of the big issues with the amount of money we

:52:23. > :52:28.give each year to the European Union. Will the Prime Minister make

:52:29. > :52:34.a pledge that when we leave the EU we will not be paying any money to

:52:35. > :52:37.the EU budget, and surely even contemplating that would be

:52:38. > :52:45.contemplating what people voted for in the EU referendum? Obviously

:52:46. > :52:48.while we remain members of the European Union we continue to have

:52:49. > :52:54.obligations as members of the European Union. When we leave the

:52:55. > :53:00.European Union people want to ensure that the British government the site

:53:01. > :53:03.at tax payers money is spent. The European Council stressed that those

:53:04. > :53:09.responsible for breaches of international law in Syria must be

:53:10. > :53:15.held accountable, and the EU is considering all available options.

:53:16. > :53:22.They disagree with that sentiment. Can the Prime Minister set out what

:53:23. > :53:27.that means in practice? The first thing, and it is a position that the

:53:28. > :53:30.UK Government holds, where people have breached international

:53:31. > :53:34.humanitarian law, that should be investigated and properly dealt

:53:35. > :53:38.with. People should be brought to justice in relation to that. In

:53:39. > :53:43.relation to the available options, there has been some consideration of

:53:44. > :53:49.further sanctions, and issue the UK has raised in the past. We continue

:53:50. > :53:54.to look at it. Does the Prime Minister agree with me, her first

:53:55. > :54:00.duty as Prime Minister is to defend the rights of British subjects? It

:54:01. > :54:04.would be a foolish negotiating strategy to unilaterally guarantee

:54:05. > :54:07.the rights of EU nationals residing here? Much as we would like to,

:54:08. > :54:10.until we have achieved represents the teeth for British nationals

:54:11. > :54:24.overseas. -- repertoires . It is right that the UK Prime

:54:25. > :54:31.Minister should have concern for UK citizens. Those living in other EU

:54:32. > :54:39.states don't want to be left high and dry. We will guarantee EU

:54:40. > :54:41.residents living hair, providing that UK citizens living overseas can

:54:42. > :54:49.have their rights guaranteed as well. We'll Brexit deliver what

:54:50. > :54:54.three ministers promised in the referendum, and for what the

:54:55. > :55:02.majority of the voters supported? Namely a 350 million pounds a week

:55:03. > :55:10.payment to the health service? Will they get the bill for 50 billion,

:55:11. > :55:14.for which nobody voted? Premier League the European Union, we will

:55:15. > :55:18.be delivering on what my colleagues, campaigning for leaving the European

:55:19. > :55:24.Union campaign for, and those who voted for. The United Kingdom no

:55:25. > :55:27.longer being a member of the European Union, taking control of

:55:28. > :55:39.how taxpayer money is spent, how laws are made, and immigration.

:55:40. > :55:43.Will my... In conversations with the European Parliament, will my right

:55:44. > :55:49.honourable friend make clear, whatever deal we strike the European

:55:50. > :55:54.Union, we will be offering free trade? And she ask them why anybody

:55:55. > :56:00.is considering a reversion to protectionism and tariffs,

:56:01. > :56:05.particularly in the fact that Article 35 in the European Union

:56:06. > :56:14.joins the European Union to contributing to free and fair trade?

:56:15. > :56:20.That is an important point, that this is about getting a good trade

:56:21. > :56:25.relationship with the EU which is in their interests as well as our

:56:26. > :56:30.interests. Lots of references made to the process in relation to trade,

:56:31. > :56:39.but actually what we need to focus on the outcome, the best possible

:56:40. > :56:43.deal in terms of trading the EU. Under the leadership of this Prime

:56:44. > :56:50.Minister Britain has opposed strengthening trade measures and

:56:51. > :56:57.Judy rules have crippled the UK steel industry. British workers and

:56:58. > :57:02.British industry will be more exposed than ever before. The trade

:57:03. > :57:07.defence arrangements that have been in place have significant impact on

:57:08. > :57:12.the question of the dumping of steel. Of course everyone recognises

:57:13. > :57:23.the importance of overcapacity and the effect of overcapacity in China.

:57:24. > :57:27.With taken measures with regards to climate change and energy costs for

:57:28. > :57:31.the steel industry, we have ensured other factors can be taken into

:57:32. > :57:37.account when looking at procurement of steel, so social economic factors

:57:38. > :57:41.are taken into account. Regarding the trade defence arrangements in

:57:42. > :57:46.Europe, we think that we should ensure that we look at impact on

:57:47. > :57:49.producers and also read to look at the impact on consumers. We call for

:57:50. > :57:58.a balance in dealing with these issues. As the Prime Minister

:57:59. > :58:02.reaches her first Christmas in her role I commend her for the sureness

:58:03. > :58:06.of touch she has demonstrated as Prime Minister. I commend her for

:58:07. > :58:11.setting up a fresh new government department for us to leave the EU

:58:12. > :58:15.and remind her that in Kettering, 61% of people voted to leave and

:58:16. > :58:21.they want her to get on with it as soon as possible. I thank my right

:58:22. > :58:30.honourable friend for his kind words and I assure him that the government

:58:31. > :58:38.is focused on delivering what overall the British people wanted,

:58:39. > :58:43.leaving the EU. Can I press the Prime Minister how will the

:58:44. > :58:53.government held President Assad to account for the decimation of

:58:54. > :58:56.Aleppo? This is a matter which we and others in the international

:58:57. > :59:00.community will be looking at. At the moment of course the situation is

:59:01. > :59:04.that President Assad is still there in Syria, this is something we have

:59:05. > :59:07.said from the beginning we want to see a political transition away from

:59:08. > :59:12.President Assad but we are clear we need to look carefully at all the

:59:13. > :59:17.actions that are being taken in relation to the conflict in Syria

:59:18. > :59:20.and ensure people are held to account for those actions and

:59:21. > :59:26.obviously those actions that break international humanitarian law. I

:59:27. > :59:32.congratulate and thank my right honourable friend for the robust

:59:33. > :59:37.stance she has taken in representing the UK at the recent EU Council

:59:38. > :59:43.meeting. Can the Prime Ministers say with any of the leaders of the 27th

:59:44. > :59:50.of whether they expressed a wish not to want to trade with the UK. I'm

:59:51. > :59:55.happy to tell my honourable friend that when I have met leaders

:59:56. > :59:58.bilaterally, they had been very keen to express their desire to continue

:59:59. > :00:03.to trade and have a good trading relationship with the UK. What has

:00:04. > :00:08.happened in Aleppo has been a tragedy and also an act of

:00:09. > :00:11.deliberate brutality by President Putin and his regime and the

:00:12. > :00:16.panellist is right to say that those responsible must be held to account.

:00:17. > :00:20.There is something that she could do immediately, which is she could sign

:00:21. > :00:24.up to the motion, to the amendment to the criminal finance bill tabled

:00:25. > :00:30.by the right honourable member for barking at honourable friend which

:00:31. > :00:39.would take the assets from those who have been involved in human rights

:00:40. > :00:43.abuses and war crimes of them. The honourable gentleman raised an

:00:44. > :00:47.important point, we already have legislative capacity in relation to

:00:48. > :00:51.such matters and that is why I think the amendment has been considered

:00:52. > :01:06.not to be necessary and not to take us forward. Assuming a humanitarian

:01:07. > :01:14.corridor to Aleppo supported by a clear UN mandate is a possibility,

:01:15. > :01:19.would Her Majesty the government be prepared to consider using our

:01:20. > :01:24.military forces perhaps in small teams to monitor such an arrangement

:01:25. > :01:33.as it is something in which we have had considerable expertise and

:01:34. > :01:41.success to date. The Prime Minister could introduce an addendum to her

:01:42. > :01:49.last answer. I'm afraid I was thinking in terms of the Lord that

:01:50. > :01:56.he frequently raises in relation to the matters relating to Russia. So I

:01:57. > :01:59.apologise for that. -- the law. My honourable friend has personal

:02:00. > :02:02.experience providing support in circumstances where we need to

:02:03. > :02:07.provide that humanitarian aid and support to people. This will be a

:02:08. > :02:10.matter that will be taken up of course by the United Nations, and

:02:11. > :02:18.the role the UK campaign that will be a matter for consideration under

:02:19. > :02:23.the auspices of the United Nations. Towards the end of her remark she

:02:24. > :02:27.talked in broad terms about the kind of mature cooperative relationship

:02:28. > :02:32.she wants for the UK outside the EU. Which of the European countries that

:02:33. > :02:38.are not in the EU does a deal she wants for Britain most closely

:02:39. > :02:45.resemble? I have said consistently that we are not looking to try to

:02:46. > :02:51.duplicate or replicate a model that is there for some other country

:02:52. > :02:53.within Europe. What we will be doing is negotiating the deal that is

:02:54. > :03:06.right for the UK and we will be ambitious in doing so. While

:03:07. > :03:10.strongly commending the pivotal role which the UK is playing in Lebanon,

:03:11. > :03:16.Jordan and other neighbouring states and coping with the miserable

:03:17. > :03:20.outflow from Syria, could I urge my honourable friend that a high

:03:21. > :03:25.priority in dealings with the incoming administration in

:03:26. > :03:31.Washington must be tackling the growing military strength of Russia

:03:32. > :03:35.and Iran in that region. It is very important that we look seriously at

:03:36. > :03:42.the actions of Russia, as I indicated earlier in response to

:03:43. > :03:46.another question, we must look at the actions of Russia across a range

:03:47. > :03:51.of activities they are not -- there are now involved in. One element of

:03:52. > :03:54.the conclusions of the European Council was that it now also

:03:55. > :03:57.identified Iran is backing the Assad regime. I think that is a very

:03:58. > :04:05.important step forward and we should continue to make the point that it

:04:06. > :04:08.is not just Russia but Iran as well. It is welcome that the UN Security

:04:09. > :04:13.Council has unanimously voted to approve UN personnel in eastern

:04:14. > :04:18.Aleppo to monitor the evacuations and access to humanitarian aid

:04:19. > :04:21.however I'm concerned that a requirement to what Nate with

:04:22. > :04:26.involved parties such as the Syrian regime, Russia and Iran, could see

:04:27. > :04:30.the monitor is denied access. What diplomatic role does the panellist

:04:31. > :04:36.to think that Europe could play in ensuring access is not restricted in

:04:37. > :04:40.this manner. It is for all of us in the international arena to ensure we

:04:41. > :04:43.provide maximum support to the UN in being able to do what has been set

:04:44. > :04:49.out in the Security Council resolution. It is significant that

:04:50. > :04:56.it has been unanimously accepted and not fitted by Russia, the European

:04:57. > :04:58.Union through the high representative has already been

:04:59. > :05:04.involved in the international arena. Of course as has my right honourable

:05:05. > :05:06.friend the Foreign Secretary. In urging all parties to ensure that

:05:07. > :05:16.this humanitarian aid can get through and that the people who wish

:05:17. > :05:21.to leave can be safely evacuated. Iran is the other major actor in

:05:22. > :05:25.Syria and what steps will the council be taking to have

:05:26. > :05:28.discussions with Iran so the atrocities committed in Aleppo are

:05:29. > :05:36.not nearly committed in other towns and cities in Syria. My

:05:37. > :05:38.understanding is that the European Union high representative has

:05:39. > :05:43.already had discussions with Iran particularly with an aspect of

:05:44. > :05:47.looking at the humanitarian aid which is necessary to get through. I

:05:48. > :05:52.have just indicated in response to a previous question that it is right

:05:53. > :05:56.that we have identified Iran as being a backer of the Assad regime

:05:57. > :06:01.and should continue to do so and continue to press them and Russia

:06:02. > :06:04.that we now have a Security Council resolution in relation to the

:06:05. > :06:09.evacuation and humanitarian aid for Aleppo but the is a lot more to be

:06:10. > :06:21.done if we are to reach a peaceful Syria in the future. Full stop. Can

:06:22. > :06:28.I ask the Prime Minister what pressure or assistance are the

:06:29. > :06:31.European leaders agreeing to to help refugees and help Jordan process

:06:32. > :06:37.hundreds of thousands of refugees trapped in the no man's land between

:06:38. > :06:45.Syria and Jordan. This is part of the work that we are doing, putting

:06:46. > :06:54.aid into countries like Jordan to help them in dealing with those

:06:55. > :06:58.refugees who are particularly, those already in Jordan. Some of the many

:06:59. > :07:05.we're making available will specifically be looking at those now

:07:06. > :07:08.massing on Jordanian border. I congratulate my right honourable

:07:09. > :07:14.friend for her thoughtful statement. Does she agree that Brexit means

:07:15. > :07:16.Brexit and that means we leave the EU and all its EU regulations and

:07:17. > :07:26.Russia agree that that is the certainty that the country is

:07:27. > :07:29.looking for. --. She agree. Brexit indeed means Brexit and as regards

:07:30. > :07:33.the EU regulations it is important that at the point at which we leave

:07:34. > :07:38.the EU, EU regulations are brought into domestic law in the UK. Then of

:07:39. > :07:40.course it will be up to this Parliament to decide which of those

:07:41. > :07:47.regulations it wishes to continue with and which it wishes to change.

:07:48. > :07:52.In regard to citizens who have come to live in the UK, does the Prime

:07:53. > :07:55.Minister agree that the principle of protecting those who make a positive

:07:56. > :08:00.contribution to our communities should be a core responsibility of

:08:01. > :08:07.government. I recognise the positive contribution made by EU citizens

:08:08. > :08:12.living here and I have said on many occasions that I expect to be able

:08:13. > :08:17.to wish to guarantee their status in the UK but we need reciprocity, we

:08:18. > :08:24.need to have care and concern for UK citizens living in the EU. Did

:08:25. > :08:31.promise to have any discussions with their counterparts on how quickly

:08:32. > :08:39.the EU can progress on multinational tax avoidance and country by country

:08:40. > :08:42.reporting? This was not a matter that was being discussed at the

:08:43. > :08:48.European Council but the question of tax avoidance is one that the UK has

:08:49. > :08:55.been a leader on. And this is an issue that I raised at the G20

:08:56. > :08:57.earlier this year. Did the discussions the Prime Minister had

:08:58. > :09:02.with her European counterparts touch on the exchange rate of sterling and

:09:03. > :09:15.how many euros did she get for her pound on her trip? We did not

:09:16. > :09:17.discuss that. The Prime Minister mentioned an extra ?20 million of

:09:18. > :09:21.practical support band perhaps she could talk a bit more about all the

:09:22. > :09:31.other things that we are funding in that region. I will not list

:09:32. > :09:37.everything that we are funding, as I have said we're a contribution that

:09:38. > :09:42.is now committed to 2.3 billion to helping Syrian refugees and that is

:09:43. > :09:47.about medical supplies, water, the opportunity for young people to be

:09:48. > :09:51.educated. 10 million of the 20 million I indicated earlier will be

:09:52. > :09:55.for those now massing on the Jordanian border. So very

:09:56. > :09:58.specifically looking at those that have, that are vulnerable as a

:09:59. > :10:02.result of the most recent actions that have been taken. It is right

:10:03. > :10:06.that we putting supporting and I think this House should be proud of

:10:07. > :10:14.the effort that this country is undertaken to support Syrian

:10:15. > :10:16.refugees. A major poll last week in Wales noted the overwhelming Brexit

:10:17. > :10:20.priority of the people of my country was continued single market

:10:21. > :10:24.membership of the controls on immigration. If she intends to

:10:25. > :10:29.abandon the single market will she support membership status for Wales

:10:30. > :10:36.to ensure the Welsh economy is not shackled to a sinking UK ship. It is

:10:37. > :10:39.the UK that will leave the EU and UK that will be negotiating the deal

:10:40. > :10:43.that we have for leaving the EU but we will be working with the devolved

:10:44. > :10:47.administrations and taking into account the particular priorities

:10:48. > :10:51.that they have. But I repeat what I have said earlier, the honourable

:10:52. > :10:57.gentleman makes a reference to what is essentially a means or process in

:10:58. > :11:01.relation to trading. What we want to focus on the outcome we want, which

:11:02. > :11:08.is the best possible trading deal for trading with and operating

:11:09. > :11:11.within single European market. I congratulate the Prime Minister on

:11:12. > :11:15.her determination to raise the issue of reciprocal rights despite the

:11:16. > :11:19.fact it was not formally on the agenda. This is an issue of serious

:11:20. > :11:23.concern for EU citizens living here and our citizens living in Europe. I

:11:24. > :11:27.also congratulate for raising this with individual member states as

:11:28. > :11:29.well. I urge her to continue with these talks and ensure we put people

:11:30. > :11:54.first before process. Negotiations are of immediate

:11:55. > :12:04.concern to many of my constituents, that of this. Prime Minister confirm

:12:05. > :12:08.whether she will be present for the multilateral talks. Will the UK

:12:09. > :12:13.guarantee the independence of Cyprus? What I would say to my

:12:14. > :12:18.honourable friend, we recognise the importance of the talks taking

:12:19. > :12:23.place. The UK's position is simple, as a guarantor we will do what is

:12:24. > :12:27.necessary to play our part. It is important that that is primarily led

:12:28. > :12:32.by the two leaders pushing these discussions in Cyprus, under the

:12:33. > :12:34.auspices of the United Nations. We stand ready to attend the talks of

:12:35. > :12:43.the 12 January. The European Union has

:12:44. > :12:49.also indicated their readiness to be present. We will be present if that

:12:50. > :12:55.is going to aid coming to a settlement. We should focus on

:12:56. > :13:04.whether we will get the result. It should be with the aim is a

:13:05. > :13:08.settlement and reunification. It is accepted that business wishes to see

:13:09. > :13:13.the maximum possible certainty to make investment decisions. Does my

:13:14. > :13:20.right honourable friend agreed that that certainty is not obtained by

:13:21. > :13:24.equivocation of tricking article 50, triggering it promptly and being

:13:25. > :13:30.flexible and business focused in the terms of our negotiation and

:13:31. > :13:34.implementation of the final deal? My honourable friend makes an important

:13:35. > :13:41.point, precisely why I indicated in October we would trigger Article 50

:13:42. > :13:45.by the end of March, giving people certainty as to the timetable. He is

:13:46. > :13:49.absolutely right, we need a maximum Flex ability thereafter, making sure

:13:50. > :13:56.we can meet business needs and the needs of the UK generally. The Prime

:13:57. > :14:01.Minister'sapproach is absolutely right, especially for constituents

:14:02. > :14:05.whose jobs rely on trade, investment, students and residents

:14:06. > :14:10.from the European Union, he wanted CS focus on the key ingredients on

:14:11. > :14:18.success. Will her pragmatic focus on outcomes be Maugham likely to unify

:14:19. > :14:22.the country, then some political parties defining Brexit is a boiled

:14:23. > :14:26.egg, either soft or hard? I agree with my honourable friend. The

:14:27. > :14:30.British people want us to get on with it, do the deal, and get a good

:14:31. > :14:36.deal for the United Kingdom. That is exactly what we want to do. Thank

:14:37. > :14:42.you Mr Speaker, I would not expect the premise that to comment on

:14:43. > :14:45.today's events. Was there a discussion on the stability of

:14:46. > :14:52.Turkey, as a key ally and applicant country? There was some discussion,

:14:53. > :14:56.notably in the context of migration with Turkey. And the relationship.

:14:57. > :15:01.As I indicated in response to a question earlier, that relationship

:15:02. > :15:06.is important. De EU and Turkey deal has led to the significant reduction

:15:07. > :15:10.in numbers of people crossing into Greece. We need to make sure the

:15:11. > :15:18.deal is being properly undertaken, giving extra support to Greece. And

:15:19. > :15:26.for the other aspects of the deal, Visa liberalisation, that is a

:15:27. > :15:33.matter for the Schengen states the -- to consider. We are all aware of

:15:34. > :15:37.their relationship with Turkey. I welcome the premise the's statement,

:15:38. > :15:44.condemning the actions of the Assad regime, Russia and Iran. Apart from

:15:45. > :15:48.condemning, was there a strategy looking to counter Iranian

:15:49. > :15:54.aggression in Syria, and the destabilising activity in the wider

:15:55. > :15:57.region? First of all, it was very important that the conclusions that

:15:58. > :16:05.came out of the council identified Iran as well as Russia as being part

:16:06. > :16:10.of the backers of the Syrian regime. It was in the context of condemning

:16:11. > :16:15.what took place in Aleppo that that was specifically raised. As regards

:16:16. > :16:22.Iran more generally, and what is happening in Syria, we can continue

:16:23. > :16:25.as a European Union and United Kingdom to put pressure on those

:16:26. > :16:31.backing President Assad, to make sure we can do everything that

:16:32. > :16:35.people in the European Union Watt, moving to a peaceful and stable

:16:36. > :16:39.Syria with political transition and a proper political process. It means

:16:40. > :16:44.continued pressure on Russia and Iran. May I also congratulate the

:16:45. > :16:57.Prime Minister on her calm and measured approach since taking over.

:16:58. > :17:03.On EU and UK relations. As we understand the UK and US position on

:17:04. > :17:10.the Trump and Clinton campaigns, will we be doing the same in the EU

:17:11. > :17:15.to help how every negotiation process? I say to my honourable

:17:16. > :17:18.friend, of course we are in discussions with a number of people

:17:19. > :17:26.to ensure we understand the approach being taken in other member states

:17:27. > :17:30.by various parties. It is not just about political parties, also about

:17:31. > :17:37.understanding business and other interests in the member states we

:17:38. > :17:42.are negotiating with, so we can be better able to come to a deal that

:17:43. > :17:47.is not only good for the United Kingdom, but as I said, is the deal

:17:48. > :17:52.we want. A deal that is good for the UK will be good for the EU as well.

:17:53. > :17:57.Does my right honourable friend agree that the government's

:17:58. > :18:02.priorities in Syria must extend beyond the vital humanitarian aid,

:18:03. > :18:07.and a post-conflict settlement, and a reconstruction plan

:18:08. > :18:15.that will help the people of Syria? I have to say to my honourable

:18:16. > :18:45.friend, bringing peace and stability to

:18:46. > :19:07.Syria. I can my right honourable friend confirm that when we leave

:19:08. > :19:10.the European Court of just over? This is an issue my honourable

:19:11. > :19:18.friend has campaigned on considerable time. Part of the vote

:19:19. > :19:20.that people took was Parliament in the United Kingdom actually

:19:21. > :19:24.determining laws in the United Kingdom. That means not being under

:19:25. > :19:34.the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice. A diplomat friend

:19:35. > :19:39.of mine from Sweden told me last week it will not just be the budget

:19:40. > :19:44.they will miss from Brexit, what they will miss is the English and

:19:45. > :19:48.British nationals working for the European Union, who he says are

:19:49. > :19:54.organised, systematic and imaginative. Quite a contrast to

:19:55. > :19:59.many of the others who work for the secretariat. With my right

:20:00. > :20:06.honourable friend join me in wishing them well for the future, and I

:20:07. > :20:08.guess, happy Christmas? I'm happy there are many excellent British

:20:09. > :20:15.officials working inside the European Union. Including our

:20:16. > :20:20.commissioner, Sir Julian King, with his important portfolio on security

:20:21. > :20:27.matters. I wish them all well for the future, I wish them and the

:20:28. > :20:32.whole House Merry Christmas. Would we be prepared to spend more than

:20:33. > :20:35.two percent on the fence, for example, on carrier battle and

:20:36. > :20:40.support, to underpin security in Europe and elsewhere, as part of the

:20:41. > :20:47.constructive on giving relationship between the EU and the UK? I have to

:20:48. > :20:50.say to my honourable friend, we have that commitment to spending two

:20:51. > :20:55.percent of GDP on defence, an important commitment we have given.

:20:56. > :21:01.I understand support will be there for the carriers. I think it is

:21:02. > :21:11.right we encourage others within the European Union and Nato to increase

:21:12. > :21:19.their spending to the same level. Shortly before the council met, the

:21:20. > :21:23.15th round of the EU and US talks ended in stalemate, predictably

:21:24. > :21:27.enough. At the same time the prospects of a bilateral UK and US

:21:28. > :21:37.deal appeared to be on the rise. It does not come from I-70 between the

:21:38. > :21:37.two nations, does not see the need for a new supranational policy

:21:38. > :21:43.organise disputes, because we organise disputes, because we

:21:44. > :21:47.respect each other and we have a relationship with the incoming

:21:48. > :21:54.administration. As continuing members of the EU, and as long as we

:21:55. > :21:58.are there, we will continue to press for the advantage of the

:21:59. > :22:01.transatlantic partnership deal. I'm looking at the possibilities of a

:22:02. > :22:09.trade deal we will be able to have with them in due course. In Libya,

:22:10. > :22:13.there seems to be a lack of stability in Tripoli, but there is

:22:14. > :22:21.stability in Benghazi. I would like to ask my honourable friend, whether

:22:22. > :22:24.the European Council is doing anything to stabilise the situation

:22:25. > :22:28.so there is no migration of people coming from Libya. There was some

:22:29. > :22:32.discussion of Libya, because of the recognition it plays an important

:22:33. > :22:35.role in relation to the migration of people from the rest of Africa, up

:22:36. > :22:40.into the Mediterranean, individually. Royal Naval vessels

:22:41. > :22:47.have been in the Mediterranean saving people's lives, and continue

:22:48. > :22:51.to be there. As I indicated in my statement, training Bolivian Coast

:22:52. > :22:54.Guard, an important part of the process of preventing migration from

:22:55. > :22:59.taking place. It is important we have that government in Libya, and

:23:00. > :23:06.are able to interact with the government. We would encourage and

:23:07. > :23:08.wish to see stability across Libya so we can further ensure we are

:23:09. > :23:31.dealing with the issue of migration. With permission Mr Speaker, I would

:23:32. > :23:35.like to make a statement about serious disturbance at HMP

:23:36. > :23:39.Birmingham. I want to pay tribute to the bravery and dedication of the

:23:40. > :23:44.prison officers he resolved this difficult situation. I want to give

:23:45. > :23:47.thanks to West Midlands Police who supported the prison service through

:23:48. > :23:52.the day, and the ambulance and Fire Service you provided assistance.

:23:53. > :23:58.This was a serious disturbance. I have ordered a full investigation

:23:59. > :24:03.and appointed Sarah pain, adviser to the independent Chief Inspector,

:24:04. > :24:08.former director of the Welsh prison service to leave the work. I don't

:24:09. > :24:14.want to prejudge the outcome of the investigation. As we currently

:24:15. > :24:21.understand it, at 9:15am on Friday, at HMP Birmingham, six prisoners

:24:22. > :24:25.climbed onto netting. When staff intervened, one of them had their

:24:26. > :24:37.keys snatched. At that point staff withdrew for their own safety. Two

:24:38. > :24:42.Tornado teams were deployed by G4S. Gold command was open. Seven

:24:43. > :24:49.additional tornado teams were dispatched to the prison. Prisoners

:24:50. > :24:56.gained access to two more wings. Gold command make decisions further

:24:57. > :25:01.reinforcements were needed, and an additional four tornado teams were

:25:02. > :25:04.dispatched to the prison. At 2:45pm the police and prison service

:25:05. > :25:10.secured all four wings, which remain secure through the day. Shortly

:25:11. > :25:12.after three p.m., there were reports of an injured prisoner, paramedics

:25:13. > :25:18.and staff tried to intervene, but were prevented from doing so by

:25:19. > :25:22.prisoners. During the afternoon every bus plan was prepared to take

:25:23. > :25:26.back control of the wings. Minimising risk to staff and

:25:27. > :25:30.prisoners. It is important that in this type of situation, the right

:25:31. > :25:38.resources are in place before acting. Ten tornado teams of highly

:25:39. > :25:44.trained officers swept through the wings. Shortly after 10pm the teams

:25:45. > :25:49.had secured all four wings. The prisoner, who had been previously

:25:50. > :25:53.reported injured was treated by paramedics and taken to hospital,

:25:54. > :25:57.along with two other prisoners. Throughout the day the Prisons

:25:58. > :26:00.Minister and I shared cross government calls to make necessary

:26:01. > :26:05.preparations, and to ensure the prison service had all the support

:26:06. > :26:09.it needed. I want to thank the tornado teams, prison officers and

:26:10. > :26:14.emergency services for their emergency work as I said before,

:26:15. > :26:19.levels of violence are too high in our prisons. We also have very

:26:20. > :26:25.concerning levels of self harm and deaths in custody. We are reforming

:26:26. > :26:28.our prisons to be safe and purposeful praises, taking swift

:26:29. > :26:50.action to deal with acts, It will take time and effort to turn

:26:51. > :26:55.the situation around. We are continually working to reduce risk

:26:56. > :27:00.and ensure stability across the prison estate. The Prison Service is

:27:01. > :27:04.leading Gold command to collect intelligence, to deploy resources

:27:05. > :27:07.and in particular manage the movement of prisoners. Including

:27:08. > :27:12.managing incidents at Hull prison yesterday morning which were quickly

:27:13. > :27:17.dealt with by staff. To date we have moved 380 prisoners out of

:27:18. > :27:22.Birmingham and we continue to assess the level of damage on the wings.

:27:23. > :27:25.The prisons minister chairs daily meetings with the chief executive

:27:26. > :27:31.and senior members of the Prison Service to monitor prisons for risk

:27:32. > :27:34.factors that might indicate potential violence and unrest. Where

:27:35. > :27:39.necessary we are providing governors with immediate and targeted support

:27:40. > :27:45.ranging from extra staff through to the transfer of difficult prisoners

:27:46. > :27:49.and speeding up repairs or replacements to facilities. As we

:27:50. > :27:54.manage the difficult situation we have currently, we are implementing

:27:55. > :27:59.a reform programme which will reduce violence and cut the ?15 billion

:28:00. > :28:03.cost of reoffending as laid out in the white paper. In September we

:28:04. > :28:06.rolled out tests for dangerous psychoactive drugs in prison and we

:28:07. > :28:12.are the first country to do this. We're rolling out new technology to

:28:13. > :28:16.prevent mobile phone use and we are recruiting for a new ?3 million

:28:17. > :28:23.national intelligence unit to crack down on gang crime. We are

:28:24. > :28:29.increasing staffing levels by 2500 officers and we are taking steps to

:28:30. > :28:33.train and retain our valued staff. This includes a new apprenticeship

:28:34. > :28:38.programme, graduate entry scheme, fast-track promotions and retention

:28:39. > :28:43.payments and we're putting an extra ?100 million into this. We're

:28:44. > :28:47.modernising our estate with a ?1.3 billion investment programme and we

:28:48. > :28:51.are empowering governors to manager -- to manage locally to get people

:28:52. > :28:54.off drugs, get them the skills that they need and get them into work.

:28:55. > :29:00.Importantly for the first time ever in the prison chords built next year

:29:01. > :29:05.we will make clear that the purpose of prison is not just about housing

:29:06. > :29:10.prisoners but also reforming them. Together these reforms are the right

:29:11. > :29:15.way to address our issues in prisons so they become purposeful places

:29:16. > :29:19.where offenders get off drugs and get the education and skills they

:29:20. > :29:25.need to find work and turn their backs on crime for good. The issues

:29:26. > :29:29.in our prisons are long-standing, and they're not going to be

:29:30. > :29:34.completely solved in weeks or months. We're working to ensure that

:29:35. > :29:39.the prisons are stable while the deliver our reforms. Of course this

:29:40. > :29:43.is a major task and I'm committed to this and so is the Prison Service

:29:44. > :29:48.and know that governors and prison officers are as well. The next few

:29:49. > :29:52.months will be difficult. But I'm confident that we can turn this

:29:53. > :29:58.situation around, we can turn our prisons into places of safety and

:29:59. > :30:07.perform and this is my absolute priority as Secretary of State. I

:30:08. > :30:11.commend this statement to the House. Thank you to the Secretary of State

:30:12. > :30:17.for giving me advance sight of her statement. I want to pay tribute to

:30:18. > :30:23.the Tornado teams, the prison officers and the emergency services.

:30:24. > :30:27.But the Secretary of State has a prison crisis on her hands. It would

:30:28. > :30:33.be helpful if she admitted this to the House and the country. The riots

:30:34. > :30:39.at the privately run Birmingham prison on Friday has been described

:30:40. > :30:43.as probably the most serious riot in a B category prison since

:30:44. > :30:50.Strangeways back in 1990. But there's riot is not a crisis, it is

:30:51. > :30:55.a symptom of the crisis. In recent months there have been disturbances

:30:56. > :30:59.at Lincoln, Lewis, Bedford, and incidents at Hull prison and

:31:00. > :31:03.elsewhere. Folsom prison staff are at an all-time high and prison

:31:04. > :31:11.officers are leading the service in such numbers that 8000 will be

:31:12. > :31:15.needed to be recruited to meet the 2500 target. So the Secretary of

:31:16. > :31:21.State has questions to answer and so does the government as a whole. When

:31:22. > :31:24.the Independent monitoring board said back in October that an urgent

:31:25. > :31:30.solution was needed to the prevalence of synthetic drugs in

:31:31. > :31:36.Birmingham prison, what action did the Secretary of State take question

:31:37. > :31:42.mark I want to ask how much has the disorder on Friday cost and who is

:31:43. > :31:46.footing the bill for the damage. Will tend to be reimbursing the

:31:47. > :31:50.public purse for the use of public sector staff to sort out this

:31:51. > :31:54.disorder and does the Secretary of State think it is acceptable that

:31:55. > :31:57.private sector prisons do not have to reveal staffing levels in the way

:31:58. > :32:05.that prisons in the public sector do. If like me she does not believe

:32:06. > :32:09.it is acceptable, is she going to do anything about it? And does the

:32:10. > :32:16.Secretary of State regret her vitriolic attack on prison officers

:32:17. > :32:20.this Chamber on the 15th of November, is it even shocked many of

:32:21. > :32:23.her colleagues. Is it not about time that the secular state started to

:32:24. > :32:31.listen to prison officers on the front line. Of all prisons in 2015,

:32:32. > :32:36.Birmingham had the highest number of assaults on staff. There were 164

:32:37. > :32:43.assaults on staff in 2015 alone. The prison officers Association, PCS

:32:44. > :32:48.trade union and Prison Governors Association had warned of this

:32:49. > :32:52.crisis since 2010. It is about time that fundamental questions were

:32:53. > :32:56.asked about the way the prison systems are working or not working.

:32:57. > :33:03.The secular state is to consider whether or not it is right that

:33:04. > :33:08.private companies like G4S at Birmingham should be making profit

:33:09. > :33:13.from prisons and from societies ills. The Secretary of State needs

:33:14. > :33:18.to change her mind to the fight that where rehabilitation fails and where

:33:19. > :33:25.prison education is cut, reoffending rises. This is a failure to protect

:33:26. > :33:29.society. Privatisation of the probation service, Savage cuts to

:33:30. > :33:34.prison staff, overcrowding in prisons, cuts to through the gate

:33:35. > :33:40.services, or stop prisons are working and put the public at

:33:41. > :33:45.increased risk. The Secretary of State should admit that in her

:33:46. > :33:48.overcrowded, understaffed prisons, shorter sentence prisoners are

:33:49. > :33:52.leaving prison with drug addiction is they did not have won it went in

:33:53. > :33:55.and they are leaving more likely to commit more serious crimes than

:33:56. > :34:01.those crimes they were put away for in the first place. This is not

:34:02. > :34:05.protecting society but endangering society. Such is the crisis in our

:34:06. > :34:17.prisons that the secretary of state needs to develop an open mind on the

:34:18. > :34:21.future of anything that we can learn from how prisons work in other

:34:22. > :34:24.countries, perhaps we could learn from some of the experiences in

:34:25. > :34:26.Norway and elsewhere. One thing is for sure, the USA model of huge

:34:27. > :34:31.privately run several prisons is not the way to go. To conclude, can the

:34:32. > :34:36.Secretary of State tell us, 380 prisoners are being transferred from

:34:37. > :34:42.HMP Birmingham, where have they been transferred to, is G4S back running

:34:43. > :34:47.things in Birmingham now, will the government review the role of G4S

:34:48. > :34:50.and private companies in running a prisons and though she finally

:34:51. > :34:56.realise that it was wrong and dangerous to cut 6000 front-line

:34:57. > :35:01.prison staff in the first place? The crisis in our prisons is a symptom

:35:02. > :35:11.of a failing government that has lost control. Since I was appointed

:35:12. > :35:16.as Secretary of State for Justice in July I have been absolutely clear

:35:17. > :35:20.that we need to improve safety in prisons and that the levels of

:35:21. > :35:28.violence we currently have is unacceptable. We are investing a

:35:29. > :35:32.further ?500 million over the next three years, which was announced in

:35:33. > :35:36.the Autumn Statement, as part of our present safety and reform plan. He

:35:37. > :35:41.talks about psychoactive drugs and what we have done about that, what

:35:42. > :35:45.we have done is to put in tests to be able to detect those drugs and we

:35:46. > :35:51.have trained up people and officers to be able to detect those drugs. We

:35:52. > :35:55.have role that out across the prison estate. We are also running out new

:35:56. > :35:59.measures to deal with mobile phones and we are investing in a ?3 million

:36:00. > :36:03.intelligence unit. The most important thing is staff and I have

:36:04. > :36:10.huge respect for prison officers and the work that they do. That is why

:36:11. > :36:13.we are strengthening the front line by 2500 officers, that will enable

:36:14. > :36:20.us to ensure that we have one officer for every six prisoners,

:36:21. > :36:25.enabling us to make prisons safer and also turning lives around. We're

:36:26. > :36:29.getting a new apprenticeship scheme, we are creating a fast-track so we

:36:30. > :36:35.can train up existing offices and get them promotion within the

:36:36. > :36:39.service. This is a long-term programme but we have. We are taking

:36:40. > :36:44.immediate action but everyone in this House needs to recognise that

:36:45. > :36:48.it will take time to bring those people online and get those people

:36:49. > :36:54.trained up. In the meantime we are ensuring there is a full

:36:55. > :36:56.investigation at HMP Birmingham, a full police investigation, and the

:36:57. > :37:02.perpetrators of this incident will feel the full force of the law.

:37:03. > :37:06.Because the reality is that their actions put both staff and prisoners

:37:07. > :37:12.at risk. He asked about G4S, they will be covering the cost of what

:37:13. > :37:15.has happened at HMP Birmingham. Including the resources that have

:37:16. > :37:20.been employed by the public sector. But we need to be honest, this is an

:37:21. > :37:24.issue across the prison estate. We have the issues that private sector

:37:25. > :37:28.prisons and public sector prisons. That is why our staff investments

:37:29. > :37:35.are also going to be across the board. That is why reform measures

:37:36. > :37:42.and increased transparency are going to apply to both public sector and

:37:43. > :37:47.private sector prisons. He talked about the prison population and the

:37:48. > :37:53.reality is it rose by 23,000 under the Labour government. Between 1997

:37:54. > :38:00.and 2010. It has been stable under this government since 2010. He

:38:01. > :38:04.talked about short sentence prisoners, we have seen the number

:38:05. > :38:12.of short sentence prisoners going down by 1500 since 2010. We have

:38:13. > :38:19.seen increases in areas like sex offenders who rightly been put away

:38:20. > :38:23.for those heinous crimes. We are reforming our prisons. This is going

:38:24. > :38:28.to take time. We have got the right measures in place to turn the tide

:38:29. > :38:33.and we need to turn our prisons into places of safety and perform. We

:38:34. > :38:36.have taken immediate action to reduce risk across the estate but

:38:37. > :38:40.everyone in this House has got to recognise that it will take time to

:38:41. > :38:49.make sure that our prisons become the places we want them to be. I

:38:50. > :38:51.welcome the Secretary of State as a bank statement and her frankness

:38:52. > :38:55.about the seriousness of the situation. I join her in paying

:38:56. > :39:01.tribute to the professionalism of prison staff especially Tornado

:39:02. > :39:05.teams and others which operated very efficiently. This is a problem which

:39:06. > :39:09.is built up over many years and for which all parties have to accept a

:39:10. > :39:15.measure of responsibility. Wilshere ensured that the report not only

:39:16. > :39:19.looks at the immediate issues that arise from what happened in

:39:20. > :39:23.Birmingham prison but also lends the broader lessons about how best to

:39:24. > :39:27.deal with dispersal of disruptive prisoners, how to deal with pressure

:39:28. > :39:30.is on the estate under those circumstances, how to deal with the

:39:31. > :39:36.problem of contractual difficulties in repairs to the estate, how to

:39:37. > :39:40.deal sensibly with the problem of retention of experienced officers. I

:39:41. > :39:45.just received an e-mail from a prison officer indicating that after

:39:46. > :39:48.years of service he is leaving because of the failure of senior

:39:49. > :39:55.management to listen consistently to the concerns of officers on line. We

:39:56. > :40:04.need to listen so we can turn the tide around. Order. He is Chair of

:40:05. > :40:15.the lustrous select committee governing these matters. -- but I

:40:16. > :40:20.advise other members that they may seek to imitate his erudition and

:40:21. > :40:26.not rival his leg. I thank my honourable friend for his comments.

:40:27. > :40:31.He is right that those issues will be looked at in the investigation

:40:32. > :40:35.taking place. In terms of staff retention, we are already doing work

:40:36. > :40:40.in terms of retention bonuses, giving governors additional powers.

:40:41. > :40:44.I can assure him that I have asked for further investigation into

:40:45. > :40:48.precisely how we're to improve the tension. We have been meeting with

:40:49. > :40:52.prison officers around the country and listening to their concerns in

:40:53. > :40:58.areas like career progression and training and we will be taking

:40:59. > :41:03.action on that as well. For those of us who have been following the

:41:04. > :41:07.crisis in our prisons, nothing that happened in Winston Green in my

:41:08. > :41:12.constituency on Friday came as a shock. The independent monitoring

:41:13. > :41:16.report on HMP Birmingham found staff resource constraints gave cause for

:41:17. > :41:20.concern and there was a lack of capacity to run the full prison

:41:21. > :41:24.regime. What action was taken when the report was published and will

:41:25. > :41:28.this be part of the investigation she is now promising and will she

:41:29. > :41:37.tell us if there are other things she knows about that she has yet

:41:38. > :41:40.failed to act upon. I would be happy to have a discussion about HMP

:41:41. > :41:47.Bramham specifically. These are issues that we have across the

:41:48. > :41:49.prison estate. Staff retention, psychoactive substances, the prisons

:41:50. > :41:54.minister has a daily meeting looking at these and making sure we are

:41:55. > :41:56.providing every governor regardless of whether public or private sector,

:41:57. > :42:06.with the support that they need. tooth and mobile telephones are used

:42:07. > :43:01.in prison for the furtherance of crime and violence.

:43:02. > :43:25.we didn't read the report, the Prisons Minister constant contact

:43:26. > :43:33.over these issues. Some reports suggested up to 75% of the have one

:43:34. > :43:34.or more mental health problem. Would you agree with me that we are

:43:35. > :43:52.unlikely to reform is until we reform the mental

:43:53. > :43:58.health provision. I agree with my honourable friend, that is why we're

:43:59. > :44:00.giving governors power mental health along with the NHS to make sure we

:44:01. > :44:06.have the right services in our prisons. Does this mean, furthering

:44:07. > :44:10.the question from my right honourable friend, that you read the

:44:11. > :44:20.report and take absolutely no action at all? We talk to governors,

:44:21. > :44:26.including the governor at HMP Birmingham. These are issues that

:44:27. > :44:31.many prisons are facing. That is why we have taken action on psychoactive

:44:32. > :44:41.substances, taking action on mobile phones, recruiting staff, also at

:44:42. > :44:45.HMP Birmingham. No matter whether the prisons are state run or

:44:46. > :44:51.privatised. For the record I believe they should be state run. Can I ask

:44:52. > :44:57.my right honourable friend, whether they will be any new laws to act as

:44:58. > :45:00.a deterrent for prisoners. If they assault a prison officer, there is

:45:01. > :45:06.an automatic extension to their sentence. Can she informed the House

:45:07. > :45:14.whether any move has been made? I will look at the issue that my

:45:15. > :45:17.honourable friend races. Can I thank the Justice Secretary for the time

:45:18. > :45:24.she afforded me earlier to discuss the incidents at HMP Hull at the

:45:25. > :45:31.weekend. She won over Rob Nicholson of the prison officers Association

:45:32. > :45:39.describing the situation as a powder keg waiting to go off. The prison

:45:40. > :45:46.was put on lockdown, said to be on the brink of riot. Prison officers

:45:47. > :45:50.tell me they are afraid to go to work. What can she do to assure the

:45:51. > :45:56.public and those prison officers that they are safe to go to work? I

:45:57. > :46:00.thank the honourable gentleman for his question. I discuss the specific

:46:01. > :46:06.issue of Hull with the head of the prison service. There were two

:46:07. > :46:14.incidents in Hull, they were dealt with. The issue has been dealt with

:46:15. > :46:21.across-the-board. The government commitment to closing the Victorian

:46:22. > :46:23.prisons which are no longer fit for purpose, and investing in

:46:24. > :46:28.unprecedented amount of money on building new prisons. When will the

:46:29. > :46:34.Secretary of State update us as to the prisons being closed and the new

:46:35. > :46:38.prisons being opened? I thank my friend macro for the question, we

:46:39. > :46:45.have a ?1.3 billion building programme. The first prison will be

:46:46. > :46:50.HMP Bellerin, which will open in February. Bringing an additional

:46:51. > :46:56.2100 places, reducing the crowding across the estate. I understand

:46:57. > :47:01.listening to my honourable friend's comments in Hull the prisoners

:47:02. > :47:05.involved in that were part of the prisoners who had been disbursed

:47:06. > :47:09.from Birmingham. I wonder whether the Secretary of State can say

:47:10. > :47:14.something about the dispersal programme and how that is working? I

:47:15. > :47:17.thank the honourable lady for her question. Of course given the

:47:18. > :47:22.condition of the wings at HMP Birmingham, the prison service

:47:23. > :47:28.needed to disperse those individuals across the prison estate. That is

:47:29. > :47:32.being carefully managed by the prison service, experienced in

:47:33. > :47:40.dealing with those issues. There were incidents, dealt with at HMP

:47:41. > :47:44.Hull, we are dealing with difficult individuals, and that is being

:47:45. > :47:47.closely looked at. My right honourable friend mentioned the

:47:48. > :47:51.discussions she was having with mobile phone providers. Is she doing

:47:52. > :47:58.the same thing with drone manufacturers? My honourable friend

:47:59. > :48:03.is correct, we are working with drone manufacturers to create no-fly

:48:04. > :48:10.zones over prisons, and to deal with the scourge enabling contraband to

:48:11. > :48:13.enter prisons. I can remember a time when a minister coming before this

:48:14. > :48:25.House before such a serious incident may have had two shows a degree of

:48:26. > :48:29.contrition. The reason that G4S have made a profit at HMP Birmingham is

:48:30. > :48:33.because they have reduced the number of experienced an expensive staff

:48:34. > :48:37.and replace them with cheaper and less experienced officers? I have

:48:38. > :48:43.been very clear, we need to have experienced staff. 80% of staff

:48:44. > :48:48.working for the prison service have been with us five or more years. I

:48:49. > :48:54.am very keen to make sure we retain those staff, offering them promotion

:48:55. > :48:59.opportunities. The levels of staffing are not set by G4S, they

:49:00. > :49:04.are set by our overall prison policy. That is what I am changing

:49:05. > :49:07.to make sure we have sufficient staff levels, investing in extra

:49:08. > :49:12.?100 million a year in starting to make sure we have the right staffing

:49:13. > :49:18.levels in both private and public sector prisons. We have a ready

:49:19. > :49:27.heard about the dramatic rise in psychometric drug use. Phone use,

:49:28. > :49:30.and the use of drones. I am told by my local prison officers, this is

:49:31. > :49:36.because the level of prison officers has got dangerously low. Can my

:49:37. > :49:39.honourable friend tell the House what measures thereafter interim

:49:40. > :49:44.staffing levels until we can get them to higher levels? My honourable

:49:45. > :49:49.friend is absolutely right, we do not have a sufficient staff in our

:49:50. > :49:54.prisons. Which is why the additional investment is being put in by the

:49:55. > :49:57.government. We started with ten of our most challenging prisons, where

:49:58. > :50:04.we needed to recruit an extra 400 staff. We have put our job offers to

:50:05. > :50:08.280 staff, which shows we can recruit. In 75% of prisons we don't

:50:09. > :50:13.have a problem recruiting. In the areas we do, we are offering extra

:50:14. > :50:22.retention payments to achieve those recruitment plans. Our prisons have

:50:23. > :50:29.7000 fewer officers since 2010, a cut of 8%. Two thirds are

:50:30. > :50:33.overcrowded, disturbances at many prisons, not just Birmingham which

:50:34. > :50:36.we have discussed today. The level of suicide in our prisons is the

:50:37. > :50:43.highest it has been for over 25 years. A truly shameful record. Very

:50:44. > :50:47.little remorse from the Secretary of State today. Will she now apologise?

:50:48. > :50:54.I have been very clear about the issues we have in our prisons

:50:55. > :50:59.system. Since I secured this role in July, I have been focused on dealing

:51:00. > :51:04.with them, making sure we make our prisons safer, making sure we invest

:51:05. > :51:09.in our staff. Making sure we invest in mental health facilities in our

:51:10. > :51:13.prisons to deal with the situation. The Justice Secretary says that the

:51:14. > :51:16.Prisons Minister chairs daily meetings with the chief executive to

:51:17. > :51:20.the prison service, to monitor prisons for risk factors that may

:51:21. > :51:28.indicate potential violence and unrest. Why was the risk of serious

:51:29. > :51:31.violence HMP Birmingham not raised in those daily meetings? If it was

:51:32. > :51:36.not raised, what is the point of having the daily meetings? I thank

:51:37. > :51:40.my honourable friend for his question, I'm sure he will recognise

:51:41. > :51:44.with an operational service like the prison service, we can reduce and

:51:45. > :51:48.minimise risk, we cannot eliminate it completely. That is what the

:51:49. > :51:54.efforts of the daily meetings are about. Reducing the level of

:51:55. > :52:00.violence, giving governors what they need to keep our prisons are safe as

:52:01. > :52:05.possible. What I would say, when the incident did occur, it was dealt

:52:06. > :52:10.with extremely effectively by the tornado teams. I want to see a more

:52:11. > :52:14.stable prison estate, that means building extra capacity so we don't

:52:15. > :52:19.have overcrowding, investing in staff, so we have prisons staff at a

:52:20. > :52:23.proper level. I have to tell the House, it will take time. Whilst we

:52:24. > :52:32.are seeking to minimise risk, we cannot prevent every incident from

:52:33. > :52:37.happening. Given the level of assaults on staff, and on prisoners,

:52:38. > :52:41.and on this order in prisons generally, it is higher in the

:52:42. > :52:45.private sector for prisoners, than the public sector, could she tell

:52:46. > :52:48.the House how many of the extra staff will be employed by the

:52:49. > :52:57.private sector, over which she has no direct control over recruitment?

:52:58. > :53:02.I thank the honourable gentleman for his question. If you look at the way

:53:03. > :53:07.we recruit prisons, the performance of the private and public sector is

:53:08. > :53:10.relatively equivalent. No significant difference between the

:53:11. > :53:16.private and public sector. We set the levels of staff that the private

:53:17. > :53:21.sector have to employ. We're moving to a 1-6 ratio in both the public

:53:22. > :53:26.and private sector. All of our evidence suggests that is enough to

:53:27. > :53:30.make sure we keep prisons safe, but also importantly we are reforming

:53:31. > :53:37.prisons. Reducing the cost of reoffending. The Secretary of State

:53:38. > :53:42.in her statement said these matters have been developing over a number

:53:43. > :53:47.of years. Isn't it the case that between 1997 and 2010, there were no

:53:48. > :53:53.category a escapes, no rights like this. Since then there have been two

:53:54. > :53:57.category eight escapes, and many other escapes. There have been

:53:58. > :54:02.record numbers of suicides, and a record numbers of homicides in our

:54:03. > :54:08.prisons. Why should we trust her party to run the prison service? I

:54:09. > :54:14.have absolutely said we have seen significant rises in violence in

:54:15. > :54:19.over recent years. That is why we have launched the prison safety and

:54:20. > :54:22.reform plan. The first thing I did when I became Secretary of State,

:54:23. > :54:27.making sure we dealt with those issues. We have face new challenges

:54:28. > :54:32.like psychoactive drugs, mobile phones, which were not an issue

:54:33. > :54:36.before. I would say to the honourable lady, since the inception

:54:37. > :54:40.of prisons we have not seriously impacted the reoffending rate, that

:54:41. > :54:48.is a challenge we face as a country costing us 15 billion. Is important

:54:49. > :54:55.that we make prison also full of reducing reoffending. They have two

:54:56. > :55:03.for both -- they have to follow both. It is a pity the Secretary of

:55:04. > :55:15.State will not admit that prisons a crisis. Why is G4S involved in the

:55:16. > :55:19.first place? Look at its past. I appreciate that the honourable

:55:20. > :55:22.gentleman, the member for Hexham, an illustrious government whip is very

:55:23. > :55:31.excited in the approach to his wedding. I would advise him that the

:55:32. > :55:39.ascent on him of a Zen like calm will aid his preparations. The

:55:40. > :55:47.organisation that had to pay back her own department 109 million for

:55:48. > :55:51.overcharging. Medway secured Centre, the Yarwood immigration detention

:55:52. > :55:59.centre. Many other cases where that organisation has been involved. Time

:56:00. > :56:05.for G4S told very clearly their organisation is no longer needed in

:56:06. > :56:09.our prison service. I would point out to the honourable gentleman, the

:56:10. > :56:22.decision to put HMP Birmingham out to private tender was a Labour

:56:23. > :56:25.decision in 2009. I appreciate the right honourable gentleman is an

:56:26. > :56:35.illustrious former Prisons Minister, eager to make his point with great

:56:36. > :56:39.force. Border. Order. I know you're trying to aid matters, you are

:56:40. > :56:44.disadvantage me in facilitating good order. Your assistance may be

:56:45. > :56:46.required at some unspecified point in the future. We must the answers

:56:47. > :56:55.from the Secretary of State. The issues we have, the underlying

:56:56. > :57:00.causes in the rise of psychoactive drugs which the prison and

:57:01. > :57:05.probations ombudsman described as a game changer, it's not having a

:57:06. > :57:08.sufficient level of staff, which I've addressed in the white paper,

:57:09. > :57:12.it's the rise of mobile phones, gangs and drugs and bullying. Those

:57:13. > :57:19.issues are common to the public and private sector. Those issues are

:57:20. > :57:24.what this Government is addressing. Thank you Mr Speaker. Will the

:57:25. > :57:31.Secretary of State now acknowledge that cutting ?700 million from the

:57:32. > :57:36.Prison Service since 2010 is at the root of the cause of these

:57:37. > :57:45.difficulties and will she now apologise to the House and say that

:57:46. > :57:50.this was a false economy? As I've already said, since I started this

:57:51. > :57:55.job in July, I have been clear that we do need additional staff in our

:57:56. > :57:59.Prison Service to face the new challenges, such as psychoactive

:58:00. > :58:03.drugs, and mobile phones, and gangs in our prisons. We are putting the

:58:04. > :58:07.money in. That's been announced in the Autumn Statement. We have a

:58:08. > :58:11.comprehensive programme of reform. A lot of the problems in our prison

:58:12. > :58:16.have been decade-long problems. That's why, for the first time ever,

:58:17. > :58:18.we're making it clear in legislation the reform is a key purpose of

:58:19. > :58:25.prison. THE SPEAKER: Let's hear the fellow

:58:26. > :58:32.from Wrexham. I'm very grateful Mr Speaker. You're

:58:33. > :58:40.most accommodating. The Secretary of State has already mentioned HM

:58:41. > :58:43.prison Berwyn in Wrexham, the largest prison in western Europe

:58:44. > :58:48.with 2,000 men reside thering in due course. Will she meet with me so

:58:49. > :58:52.that I can discuss with her the arrangements in place for the

:58:53. > :58:56.opening to allay some of the concerns of my constituents, which

:58:57. > :59:00.she can imagine on a day like today have risen somewhat? I'd be very

:59:01. > :59:05.pleased to meet the honourable gentlemanment -- honourable

:59:06. > :59:09.gentleman. If she's looking for some light reading over Christmas, she

:59:10. > :59:13.would do well to get a copy of the book written by the honourable

:59:14. > :59:18.member for Hexham, doing time, prisons in the 21st century, which

:59:19. > :59:21.has a number of ideas. If I heard you correctly, Mr Speaker, about his

:59:22. > :59:23.intended marriage, maybe that will help pay for the cost of the wedding

:59:24. > :59:26.if the Secretary of State was able if the Secretary of State was able

:59:27. > :59:31.to buy a copy? The point I want to make is there are 9,971 foreign

:59:32. > :59:36.national prisoners in our prisons at the moment. In order to reduce the

:59:37. > :59:39.prison population, what further steps are being taken to get the

:59:40. > :59:45.foreign national prisoners back to their country of origin?

:59:46. > :59:53.THE SPEAKER: Book sales will now increase no doubt manifold. I'm sure

:59:54. > :59:58.the honourable gentleman this book already has pride of place on my

:59:59. > :00:02.book shelf. I thoroughly recommend it to everybody in the House. My

:00:03. > :00:05.honourable friend is very, very committed to prison reform, so much

:00:06. > :00:09.that he agreed to become a whip in my department to keep an eye on us

:00:10. > :00:13.and making sure we're on the right track. But the honourable gentleman

:00:14. > :00:24.is absolutely right about foreign national offenders. That's an issue

:00:25. > :00:28.we're very much dealing with. Taken over by G4S and then by the prisons,

:00:29. > :00:32.the independent monitoring report says staff shortages are a major

:00:33. > :00:40.issue, "On too many occasions in many areas the services were reduced

:00:41. > :00:43.by being insufficient staff". It was the very theme of their report.

:00:44. > :00:46.Whose fault is it, the private operator or the Government? I thank

:00:47. > :00:53.the honourable gentleman for his question. Clearly, there are issues

:00:54. > :00:56.across our prison estate. There are not sufficient time out of cell.

:00:57. > :01:01.It's one of the things we're going to be measuring in our new reform

:01:02. > :01:05.measures. We don't have sufficient staff to be able to keep our prisons

:01:06. > :01:10.safe and be able to reform offenders, which is what we need to

:01:11. > :01:15.do. It took three written Parliamentary

:01:16. > :01:20.questions for me to get the Government to confess that there was

:01:21. > :01:24.only oneries anyone Britain that was free of illegal drug use. It took a

:01:25. > :01:28.fourth question to get the information that prison had no

:01:29. > :01:35.prisoners because it had closed down. This is similar toe mattic of

:01:36. > :01:39.-- symptom attic of the Government being in denial of the corruption

:01:40. > :01:45.and chaos in our Prison Service and hasn't the Government's policies for

:01:46. > :01:50.the past six years been like the minister's statement today, evidence

:01:51. > :01:57.free and ignorance rich. I congratulate the honourable

:01:58. > :02:00.gentleman on the acidious nature of his Parliamentary questions which

:02:01. > :02:04.has elucidated an answer. If he reads the prison safety and reform

:02:05. > :02:09.white paper, he will see there is a whole section on how we deal with

:02:10. > :02:13.the issue of drugs, testing offenders on entry and exit, making

:02:14. > :02:16.sure that governors are held accountable for getting people off

:02:17. > :02:24.drugs, that is the way we're going to crack this problem.

:02:25. > :02:28.As my honourable friend the Shadow secretary has pointed out, this is

:02:29. > :02:34.the worst prison disturbance since the Strangeways riots of 1990. The

:02:35. > :02:38.Wolf report recommended that no establishment should hold more

:02:39. > :02:42.prisoners than is provided for its certified normal level of

:02:43. > :02:46.accommodation. It's reported that HMP Birmingham was overcrowded by

:02:47. > :02:52.almost a third last year. Has this Government learned no lessons at all

:02:53. > :02:57.from the riots of 26 years ago? I thank the honourable lady for her

:02:58. > :03:03.question. I've discussed the issue she mentions with Lord Wolf. She's

:03:04. > :03:06.absolutely right this was a very, very serious disturbance at HMP

:03:07. > :03:13.Birmingham. That's where we're investing 1. 3 billion in our prison

:03:14. > :03:20.build programme to create extra capacity to eliminate overcrowding

:03:21. > :03:23.in the prison estate. Mr Speaker, the Howard league published a report

:03:24. > :03:26.indicating all Welsh prisons have seen a fall in the number of ofgsers

:03:27. > :03:31.compared to last year. What Shh... Is she doing to ensure the Welsh

:03:32. > :03:35.prison estate is equipped with sufficient staffing levels,

:03:36. > :03:41.especially as it's the policy of UK Government to build in wrem ham one

:03:42. > :03:46.of the largest in Europe to house prisoners from overcrowded prisons

:03:47. > :03:49.in England? I thank the honourable gentleman for his question. We have

:03:50. > :03:53.very great recruitment plans and programmes in place. We've already

:03:54. > :03:58.recruited a significant number for the first ten prisons, including one

:03:59. > :04:01.in Wales and we will be following that through with new apprenticeship

:04:02. > :04:07.programmes, graduate entry programmes and also making sure that

:04:08. > :04:09.staff in our Prison Service are able to gain promotion and get the

:04:10. > :04:14.training they need to process. -- progress.

:04:15. > :04:18.The president of the National Council of independent monitoring

:04:19. > :04:21.boards is John Thornhill, he says the boards are frustrated bit lack

:04:22. > :04:26.of response to the issues raised in her annual reports. Can the

:04:27. > :04:31.Secretary of State tell me three specific and sub-Stan Tiff actions

:04:32. > :04:35.taken as a result of the relevant monitoring board's latest annual

:04:36. > :04:39.report into Birmingham? I thank the honourable gentleman for his

:04:40. > :04:47.question. The white paper is very clear about reforming and making

:04:48. > :04:51.sure that IMB recommendations are taken seriously and working closely

:04:52. > :04:54.with Her Majesty's Inspectorate of prisons. At the moment there is no

:04:55. > :04:57.duty for the Secretary of State to respond. That's what we're putting

:04:58. > :05:07.in place to make sure it triggers action. How many staff were on duty

:05:08. > :05:12.when the riots started? And what's her estimate of the cost of the

:05:13. > :05:17.disturbance? I thank the honourable gentleman for his question. I've

:05:18. > :05:21.recounted the events of the day as far as we are aware of them. But

:05:22. > :05:23.there will be a full investigation that will make all of those facts

:05:24. > :05:27.clear. THE SPEAKER: The honourable

:05:28. > :05:31.gentleman is a noted thespian, I know therefore he will greatly enjoy

:05:32. > :05:41.the warm ack La mags that he receives when he rises from his

:05:42. > :05:46.seat. Mr Speaker, no-one could seriously for a moment attempt to

:05:47. > :05:52.deny that there is a something rotten in the prison estate at this

:05:53. > :05:59.moment. I would like to give credit of finally considering the issue of

:06:00. > :06:03.post release work. She has an her benches the greatest expert in

:06:04. > :06:09.Parliament on that particular subject. Would she have the

:06:10. > :06:13.gentleman, the member for Crewe, to give a report to the House in say

:06:14. > :06:18.six months' time on what the Government is doing for post-release

:06:19. > :06:23.employment? It is that crucial? The honourable gentleman is absolutely

:06:24. > :06:27.right. Making sure that people have a job to go to when they leave

:06:28. > :06:31.custody is vital. I'm already working very closely with members of

:06:32. > :06:36.the honourable member for Crewe's family on this. In fact, the prisons

:06:37. > :06:42.minister will be publishing a report on this issue next year. Plans about

:06:43. > :06:45.how we're going to make sure that governors are held accountable for

:06:46. > :06:55.how effective they are at getting offenders in their prison into work.

:06:56. > :06:57.THE SPEAKER: Order. It's a point of a clarification for the minister if

:06:58. > :07:02.she may. THE SPEAKER: I hope it isn't a

:07:03. > :07:08.continuation of the debate? Well, he's got an honest face, I'll give

:07:09. > :07:11.him a chance. Point of order. Thank you Mr Speaker, the Lord Chancellor

:07:12. > :07:17.indicated that the Labour Government privatised HMP Birmingham. Could she

:07:18. > :07:23.agree that the Ministry of Justice announced in March 2011 that G 4 H

:07:24. > :07:27.would take over HMP Birmingham. THE SPEAKER: The honourable

:07:28. > :07:34.gentleman has made his own point in his own way. The point I made was

:07:35. > :07:45.the decision to put HMP Birmingham out to tender was made by Labour.

:07:46. > :07:54.THE SPEAKER: Order. Order. There's quite a lot of eccentric Jess tick

:07:55. > :07:59.Haitian going on -- gesticulation. Consult the record, it would be very

:08:00. > :08:01.useful to read and digest the official report tomorrow morning

:08:02. > :08:04.over breakfast. The honourable gentleman will probably find it

:08:05. > :08:07.therapeutic. I'm grateful to the Secretary of State. Order. Statement

:08:08. > :08:11.the Secretary Of state for defence. Secretary

:08:12. > :08:26.Michael Fallon. With permission, Mr Speaker, I would

:08:27. > :08:29.like to update the House on an announcement that was made in Riyadh

:08:30. > :08:36.earlier today on the conflict in Yemen. In 2014, Houthi forces and

:08:37. > :08:43.those loyal to former president S arrest lah took over the capital and

:08:44. > :08:47.forced out the government. Hugy forces have consequently attacked

:08:48. > :08:53.Saudi territory, shelling villages daily and killing Saudi civilians. A

:08:54. > :08:58.ten-country Saudi-led coalition intervened to restore the

:08:59. > :09:02.government, to deter further Houthi aggression and defend the Saudi

:09:03. > :09:08.border. United Nations Security Council resolution 2216 condemned

:09:09. > :09:13.the Houthi's actions. The United Kingdom fully supports both the

:09:14. > :09:18.coalition and the right of Saudi Arabia to defend itself. Instability

:09:19. > :09:23.in Yemen, where there is a long standing presence of Al-Qaeda, and a

:09:24. > :09:29.growing threaten from Daesh, seen tragically in Aidan this weekend,

:09:30. > :09:34.threatens not just the Gulf but our security in western Europe. Concerns

:09:35. > :09:36.have been raised in this House and by nongovernmental organisations

:09:37. > :09:42.about our export of military equipment to Saudi Arabia and

:09:43. > :09:46.elsewhere in the Gulf. There have been allegations about breaches of

:09:47. > :09:51.international humanitarian law. Because we operate one of the

:09:52. > :09:55.strictest arms export control regimes in the world, we take any

:09:56. > :10:00.such allegations very seriously and we do our best to ensure that they

:10:01. > :10:07.are properly investigated by the coalition. Following the air strike

:10:08. > :10:12.on the Great Hall on October 26 this year, for example, I spoke to the

:10:13. > :10:15.Saudi Defence Minister, the Foreign Secretary spoke to his counterpart

:10:16. > :10:19.and the Parliamentary under secretary for the Foreign Office

:10:20. > :10:26.travelled to Riyadh to underline our concerns in person. The coalition's

:10:27. > :10:29.joint incidence assessment team subsequently announced interim

:10:30. > :10:32.findings within a week. The coalition committed to review its

:10:33. > :10:37.rules of engagement and command and control systems and to take action

:10:38. > :10:42.against those held responsible. We acknowledge the progress they have

:10:43. > :10:47.made and we look forward to the completed investigation on that

:10:48. > :10:51.incident. The coalition continues to investigate other allegations. The

:10:52. > :10:57.findings of eight investigations were announced on 4th August and a

:10:58. > :11:00.further five on the 6th December. We are pressing the coalition to

:11:01. > :11:07.complete all the remaining investigations as quickly as

:11:08. > :11:12.possible. One specific allegations that UK supplied cluster munitions

:11:13. > :11:18.were used in January this year was raised in this House on 24th May.

:11:19. > :11:24.The United Kingdom signed the convention on cluster munitions in

:11:25. > :11:30.2008 and has not supplied any such weons to Saudi Arabia -- weapons to

:11:31. > :11:34.Saudi Arabia since 1989, over a quarter of a century ago. Our

:11:35. > :11:37.initial view, set out by the then minister of state for defence

:11:38. > :11:42.procurement and based on the information we held at the time, was

:11:43. > :11:47.that a UK weapon had not been used but we committed to analyse the

:11:48. > :11:56.allegation and to seek a full investigation by the coalition. That

:11:57. > :12:03.investigation has now concluded. The coalition confirmed earlier today

:12:04. > :12:08.that a limited number of BL 755 cluster munitions exported from the

:12:09. > :12:13.United Kingdom in the 1980s were dropped in Yemen, including in the

:12:14. > :12:17.incident alleged by amnesty international, not far from the

:12:18. > :12:22.Saudi border by a coalition aircraft.

:12:23. > :12:28.The coalition whose members are not party to the convention, has said

:12:29. > :12:33.that the munitions were used against a legitimate military target and did

:12:34. > :12:40.not, therefore, contravene international humanitarian law.

:12:41. > :12:47.However, Saudi Arabia has now confirmed that they will not further

:12:48. > :12:53.use BL755 cluster munitions, and I welcome that. This particular

:12:54. > :12:58.instance shows that with our support, and in complete contrast to

:12:59. > :13:03.Russian and Syrian air strikes, that where allegations are made the Saudi

:13:04. > :13:10.led coalition is prepared to investigate thoroughly, to publish

:13:11. > :13:14.the findings, and take action where appropriate. I can assure the House

:13:15. > :13:19.that we will continue to keep current sales of military equipment

:13:20. > :13:23.to Saudi Arabia and two other Gulf allies under review, in accordance

:13:24. > :13:30.with our arms export criteria, and I commend this statement to the House.

:13:31. > :13:35.Mr Speaker, can I thank the Secretary of State for his statement

:13:36. > :13:42.and advance sight of it. Mr Speaker, we are all deeply concerned about

:13:43. > :13:46.the ongoing conflict in Yemen. And the dire humanitarian situation this

:13:47. > :13:51.has caused. As the House is aware there have been widespread

:13:52. > :13:54.allegations from both sides of the conflict that they have violated

:13:55. > :13:58.international law. The latest revelation that the UK made cluster

:13:59. > :14:04.munitions used by the Saudi coalition in Yemen is deeply

:14:05. > :14:10.worrying. Not only are these weapons dangerous but they come with a toxic

:14:11. > :14:13.legacy lying on battlefields and threatening civilians, especially

:14:14. > :14:19.children, long after a conflict has ended. In 2008 the last Labour

:14:20. > :14:24.government signed the Convention on cluster munitions. The strikes the

:14:25. > :14:28.Secretary of State has described today amount to be first confirmed

:14:29. > :14:34.use of UK made cluster bombs since that date. Can the Secretary of

:14:35. > :14:40.State tell the House when was he first made aware of the possible use

:14:41. > :14:44.of such weapons by the coalition in Yemen and why has it taken so long

:14:45. > :14:50.to confirm that these weapons were in fact used? A few days ago the

:14:51. > :14:54.Secretary of State will be aware that the Obama administration

:14:55. > :14:59.blocked the sale of guided munitions kits over concerns about civilian

:15:00. > :15:03.casualties. This followed the United States' blocking of the sale of

:15:04. > :15:07.cluster munitions to the state of Saudi Arabia. The Foreign Minister

:15:08. > :15:12.has said that the test for British arms sales is "Whether those weapons

:15:13. > :15:19.might be used in the commission of a serious breach of international

:15:20. > :15:22.humanitarian law". I know the Defence Secretary has confirmed that

:15:23. > :15:25.a limited number of cluster munitions supplied by this country

:15:26. > :15:32.were dropped in Yemen by a coalition aircraft. Although these cluster

:15:33. > :15:35.munitions were exported in the 1980s, will the Government commit to

:15:36. > :15:43.examining whether its current policy needs to be changed? Surely they

:15:44. > :15:48.have been actions which are wholly unacceptable and this country cannot

:15:49. > :15:52.sit on its hands. The Government has consistently rejected calls for

:15:53. > :15:58.independent United Nations led investigation into a possible breach

:15:59. > :16:02.of a humanitarian and international law in the Yemen. In light of what

:16:03. > :16:08.we have learned today, could I implore the Government to heed calls

:16:09. > :16:10.from these benches, as well as from the business foreign affairs and

:16:11. > :16:17.International Development Committee is to have such an inquiry. We need

:16:18. > :16:20.such an inquiry so that we can have independent verification of all the

:16:21. > :16:27.actions of both sides in this conflict. Finally, Mr Speaker, on

:16:28. > :16:31.the humanitarian situation, can the Secretary of State set out what

:16:32. > :16:35.action is being taken to help the 14 million people in need of urgent

:16:36. > :16:40.food and the 13 million Yemenis who lack access to clean water. In

:16:41. > :16:43.particular, we would like to know what is being done to help those

:16:44. > :16:50.children suffering so desperately in this conflict.

:16:51. > :16:54.I'm grateful to the honourable gentleman. We all want to see this

:16:55. > :17:01.conflict brought to an end, and I hope we would be evenhanded about

:17:02. > :17:04.that. Over 90 Saudi civilians have lost their lives through this

:17:05. > :17:07.conflict through shelling over their border into Saudi Arabia and over

:17:08. > :17:12.500, including women and children, have been injured and it is

:17:13. > :17:17.important those are set alongside other allegations of civilian

:17:18. > :17:22.casualties in Yemen itself. He asks me when we first became aware of

:17:23. > :17:27.this allegation. We were made aware of it in the spring, it was brought

:17:28. > :17:36.to the floor of this House in May. Our own analysis began. I wrote back

:17:37. > :17:40.to Amnesty at the end of June telling them we had commenced work

:17:41. > :17:44.on our own analysis. But our analysis could only take us so far.

:17:45. > :17:49.The investigation itself was a matter for the Saudi authorities and

:17:50. > :17:56.that is the investigation that has continued throughout the autumn and

:17:57. > :18:00.has only concluded in the last few days. And we too have been

:18:01. > :18:05.frustrated by the length of time that it has taken. But the

:18:06. > :18:09.investigation is being carried out and it has now got us to the

:18:10. > :18:15.transparent admission that has been made this morning. The asked me

:18:16. > :18:21.about the United States stopping the supply of munitions. We should be

:18:22. > :18:25.careful here, the United States has only stopped one munitions license.

:18:26. > :18:30.They continue to supply combat aircraft, attack helicopters, and

:18:31. > :18:36.other munitions to Saudi Arabia. Only one licence has been stopped.

:18:37. > :18:40.We have a different process as he has described, and it is an arms

:18:41. > :18:46.control process that we keep under continuous review. He asked me what

:18:47. > :18:51.our current policy on cluster munitions weapons is. It is exactly

:18:52. > :18:55.the same as it was left under the Labour government. We oppose the use

:18:56. > :18:59.of cluster munitions, let me be very clear to the House. We are

:19:00. > :19:03.signatories, we are parties to that convention and we opposed the use of

:19:04. > :19:11.cluster munitions. We have made that very clear to the Saudi authorities,

:19:12. > :19:20.and we therefore welcome their announcement today that they will no

:19:21. > :19:25.longer use cluster munitions. That is a result from this investigation

:19:26. > :19:29.and the pressure that we have been putting on. Finally he asked me

:19:30. > :19:36.about an independent inquiry. We have been clear throughout that an

:19:37. > :19:38.allegation like this is first for the Saudi authorities and the

:19:39. > :19:45.coalition authorities to investigate. They have shown through

:19:46. > :19:51.this process that they are able to do that. They have investigated.

:19:52. > :19:55.They have today announced the findings and they have today taken

:19:56. > :19:59.action as a result. Doctor Julian Lewis.

:20:00. > :20:05.Have the Saudis explained why they used these British supplied weapons,

:20:06. > :20:08.presumably in the knowledge it would cause considerable embarrassment to

:20:09. > :20:14.the British Government? And what plans do they have to dispose of

:20:15. > :20:19.their remaining stocks? The Saudis have made clear that they use these

:20:20. > :20:27.munitions in a border area just a few kilometres from the Saudi border

:20:28. > :20:30.in Yemen on a legitimate military target which may have been

:20:31. > :20:34.responsible for some of the attacks and deaths they had been suffering

:20:35. > :20:37.on their side of the border. They therefore stay that the use of these

:20:38. > :20:44.cluster munitions, because they are not parties to the convention, does

:20:45. > :20:48.not contravene international law. So far as stocks are concerned they

:20:49. > :20:51.have made it clear they will not use UK supplied cluster munitions in

:20:52. > :20:57.future, and I think we should all welcome that. Mr Brendan O'Hara. Mr

:20:58. > :21:01.Speaker, we on these benches have been clear for many, many months

:21:02. > :21:04.that there have been undeniable violations of international

:21:05. > :21:08.humanitarian law by Saudi Arabia in its conflict in Yemen. There is

:21:09. > :21:12.overwhelming evidence that the Saudis have been failing to conduct

:21:13. > :21:16.military operations lawfully, a situation indeed that caused the

:21:17. > :21:19.United States to join the Netherlands and Germany in

:21:20. > :21:24.suspending arms sales to Saudi Arabia very recently. Once again, Mr

:21:25. > :21:27.Speaker, Madame Deputy Speaker, the Saudi regime stands accused of

:21:28. > :21:32.routinely using cluster bombs against the Yemeni people, a weapon

:21:33. > :21:38.even this government describes as unjustifiable because it is designed

:21:39. > :21:41.to kill and injure civilians. Today's revelations aren't

:21:42. > :21:45.particularly new, but unless the Government acts immediately to end

:21:46. > :21:50.arms sales to Saudi Arabia the court of public opinion will find it

:21:51. > :21:54.guilty of collusion and violations of international humanitarian law.

:21:55. > :21:57.Madame Deputy Speaker, I have a couple of questions. Can the

:21:58. > :22:00.Secretary of State tell us when did you first see the analysis

:22:01. > :22:06.confirming the UK cluster bombs, and is up-to-date's Guardian article

:22:07. > :22:11.correct in saying he first saw it a month ago? And if that is the case

:22:12. > :22:16.why is the House only finding out now after it appeared in the press?

:22:17. > :22:22.His statement says that the cluster bombs were used against legitimate

:22:23. > :22:25.military targets, and therefore did not contravene international

:22:26. > :22:29.humanitarian law. But how can we continue to do business with a

:22:30. > :22:34.regime who routinely use cluster bombs against civilian populations?

:22:35. > :22:42.This country is a signatory to the treaty which obliges us to stop

:22:43. > :22:46.other people using such munitions. And finally, Madame Deputy Speaker,

:22:47. > :22:49.can I ask, what does a regime have to do? How many breaches of

:22:50. > :22:55.international humanitarian law must it commit before this government

:22:56. > :23:01.deems them an unacceptable partner to deal in arms?

:23:02. > :23:04.First of all, I'm not sure the honourable gentleman was listening.

:23:05. > :23:09.The United States has not suspended arms sales to Saudi Arabia, he is

:23:10. > :23:15.incorrect about that. They have suspended one sale of munitions.

:23:16. > :23:20.They continue to sell munitions generally to Saudi Arabia, they

:23:21. > :23:24.continue to supply aircraft and attack helicopters. Secondly, there

:23:25. > :23:29.is no evidence that cluster munitions have been routinely used

:23:30. > :23:36.in Yemen. On the contrary, this allegation stood out for what it is.

:23:37. > :23:40.This allegation stood out for what it is, and it has been thoroughly

:23:41. > :23:46.investigated, and as a result of that investigation, and as a result

:23:47. > :23:51.of our pressure, we have now an undertaking from Saudi Arabia that

:23:52. > :23:55.they will not use cluster munitions of this kind in the future, and

:23:56. > :24:02.indeed that Saudi Arabia is now considering becoming a party to the

:24:03. > :24:11.Convention. He asked me when I first became aware of the analysis that we

:24:12. > :24:14.were doing. We started analyses as my Right Honourable friend the

:24:15. > :24:20.member for defence procurement, told the House in May, that we would look

:24:21. > :24:23.hard at this allegation. We began our analysis but we were not

:24:24. > :24:26.investigating this allegation, only the coalition could investigate this

:24:27. > :24:32.allegation because only the coalition had access to all the

:24:33. > :24:36.information that would be needed to see whether this particular

:24:37. > :24:41.allegation was justified. That investigation has taken a long time,

:24:42. > :24:45.I concede that but we now have the result, and we now have the

:24:46. > :24:47.admission from the Saudi authorities that cluster munitions were used

:24:48. > :24:57.together with the undertaking that they won't be used in the future.

:24:58. > :25:01.Are the Saudis correct in seeing the existence of an Iranian backed

:25:02. > :25:08.Houthi regime on their southern border as an existential threat to

:25:09. > :25:11.the kingdom? In a word, yes, and they are seeing villages being

:25:12. > :25:15.shelled on a daily basis across-the-board and I have yet to

:25:16. > :25:20.hear any member on the benches opposite condemn that shelling, or

:25:21. > :25:25.taking any notice of the lives that have been lost, the innocent lives

:25:26. > :25:28.that have been lost, on the Saudi side of the border. As well, of

:25:29. > :25:33.course, as the innocent lives that are being lost in the conflict in

:25:34. > :25:40.Yemen. Absolutely, Saudi Arabia has the right to defend itself. Keith

:25:41. > :25:43.Vaz. Thank you, Madame Deputy Speaker. I am glad he and is being

:25:44. > :25:47.discussed in the House again today but sad and disappointed that it is

:25:48. > :25:51.for these reasons. Of course I accept the assurances given by the

:25:52. > :25:54.Minister, and I know that he will ensure that the Saudi Arabian

:25:55. > :25:57.government will also keep to their promise. But what the people of

:25:58. > :26:05.Yemen need over the next few days is a ceasefire. Bombs, famine and

:26:06. > :26:09.cholera, the country is starving to death and desperately needs that

:26:10. > :26:12.ceasefire. The Prime Minister said the minister, the member for

:26:13. > :26:15.Bournemouth East, who has done so much work on this issue was in

:26:16. > :26:21.Riyadh yesterday. Can he give us any further information as to how we can

:26:22. > :26:24.get this ceasefire so the aid can start getting through to save the

:26:25. > :26:30.people of Yemen before it's too late? That's a very constructive

:26:31. > :26:34.approach from the honourable gentleman, I know of his interest in

:26:35. > :26:37.chairing the all-party group. We are trying as a government to do two

:26:38. > :26:42.things, first to bring about the ceasefire that he seeks and that we

:26:43. > :26:45.have all sought in Yemen by getting the parties together, because in the

:26:46. > :26:52.end there has to be some kind of political settlement in Yemen. We

:26:53. > :26:56.have been working towards that end. Second, my honourable friend was in

:26:57. > :27:02.Riyadh just yesterday, I believe, working on this. We need urgently to

:27:03. > :27:07.get the ports, including head I do, properly opened, so we can get

:27:08. > :27:08.humanitarian aid in, particularly for the civilian population so

:27:09. > :27:17.desperately needed now. Bill Wiggin. Can he talk about the relationship

:27:18. > :27:23.we have with Saudi Arabia and how it keeps our streets safer here? Yeah,

:27:24. > :27:29.Saudi Arabia is a key partner in our fight against terrorism. We depend

:27:30. > :27:33.on each other's intelligence. There are terrorist plots to this country,

:27:34. > :27:39.of which we have been forewarned by Saudi Arabia and it is essential for

:27:40. > :27:47.our own security that we keep our relationship with Saudi Arabia in

:27:48. > :27:52.good repair. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I'm so the sorry to say

:27:53. > :27:55.that those of us with long memories, this reminds me of the sort of

:27:56. > :28:03.discussions we used to have on arms to Iraq. Eventually we had an

:28:04. > :28:08.inquiry and we found that Government ministers had misled us. I won't put

:28:09. > :28:13.it any stronger than that. Those on here at this time, they should

:28:14. > :28:17.reflect on the kinds of answers that were given to us. We knew what was

:28:18. > :28:23.going on in Iraq. We know what's going on in the Yemen. How can we

:28:24. > :28:29.possibly support continuing to send arms to Saudi Arabia, which are

:28:30. > :28:34.being used in that country? As somebody who was here part of the

:28:35. > :28:38.time during that process, I certainly recall the very close

:28:39. > :28:45.attention the House eventually paid to the sale of arms to Iraq. Now we

:28:46. > :28:53.have partly as a result of exactly what happened in the 1980s, a very

:28:54. > :29:00.tough arms export control regime. We keep our armeds sales -- arms sales

:29:01. > :29:03.under continuous review. We weigh up each successive license, when it's

:29:04. > :29:08.brought before ministers. But we need also to be very clear that

:29:09. > :29:13.Saudi Arabia has the right to defend itself and Saudi Arabia is coming

:29:14. > :29:21.quite legitimately to answer the call of the legitimate government of

:29:22. > :29:25.Yemen in coming to its aid. I must say, earlier I wascy little

:29:26. > :29:29.surprised to hear it's almost three decades ago since we last sold

:29:30. > :29:33.cluster munitions to sowedament but it was heartening to -- Saudi

:29:34. > :29:38.Arabia. But it's heartening to hear they've agreed to no longer use

:29:39. > :29:44.them. Can my right honourable friend tell me whether any UK personnel is

:29:45. > :29:48.used in supporting the continued mans nens to allow the cluster

:29:49. > :29:52.munitions to be used since we signed the convention in 2008. I'm happy to

:29:53. > :29:57.give my honourable friend that very specific assurance. No United

:29:58. > :30:02.Kingdom personnel have been involved in the storage, the transport, the

:30:03. > :30:09.maintenance or the deployment of any cluster munitions in Saudi Arabia.

:30:10. > :30:14.I'm sure everyone in this House would condemn the murder of Saudi

:30:15. > :30:19.civilians in the way they do Yemeni civilians. We're talking about the

:30:20. > :30:23.sale of UK weapons to Saudi. How many times have cluster munitions

:30:24. > :30:29.been dropped? And have they been drop ped on any occasions by

:30:30. > :30:32.UK-supplied aircraft. Were all the targets legitimate military targets?

:30:33. > :30:39.And what the UK involvement in the targeting? We are only aware of this

:30:40. > :30:45.single allegation that has now been fully investigated by the Saudi

:30:46. > :30:49.authorities, a single allegation that cluster munitions were used in

:30:50. > :30:54.this particular incident around the turn of the year and as the Saudis

:30:55. > :30:58.have made clear today, have been dropped by a coalition aircraft. I'm

:30:59. > :31:05.sorry, he asked me a second question? By a coalition aircraft is

:31:06. > :31:13.what the Saudis have said today. He had a further question, I'm sorry?

:31:14. > :31:17.They were all legitimate targets? So far as the target is concerned, the

:31:18. > :31:22.Saudi authorities have said today that these munitions were used

:31:23. > :31:28.against a legitimate military target in the border area between, on the

:31:29. > :31:36.Yemeni side of the Saudi border. So far as UK involvement, we are not

:31:37. > :31:45.involved in approving or selecting targets for the coalition in Yemen.

:31:46. > :31:50.Iran, North Korea, Cuba, we see what happens when countries are shunned

:31:51. > :31:53.bit international community. Does my right honourable friend agree with

:31:54. > :31:57.me, it's positive engagement through the diplomatic service with our

:31:58. > :31:59.ally, Saudi Arabia, that will influence this process and not

:32:00. > :32:06.shunning them like some on the benches opposite suggest? Exactly.

:32:07. > :32:11.There is nothing to be gained by shunning or boycotting Saudi Arabia.

:32:12. > :32:16.On the contrary, Saudi Arabia is on the cusp of enormous social and

:32:17. > :32:20.economic reforms, as well as being a key security partner and a key

:32:21. > :32:27.trading partner and a key investment partner in this, in our own country,

:32:28. > :32:31.Saudi Arabia now is on the cusp of a major reform programme of its

:32:32. > :32:38.economy and its society. We ought to be playing our part in that, rather

:32:39. > :32:45.than constantly calling from the side linesment Could the Secretary

:32:46. > :32:50.of State of be clear what specific date did the Saudis inform him or

:32:51. > :32:55.colleagues that they had used UK cluster munitions in Yemen? Given

:32:56. > :32:58.the range of allegations, which still don't have answers, MSF are

:32:59. > :33:03.questioning some of the investigations, why should we trust

:33:04. > :33:06.Saudi Arabia that they have conducted operations lawfully and

:33:07. > :33:10.appropriately? The official confirmation about this particular

:33:11. > :33:14.allegation has come today, this afternoon, from Riyadh. I thought it

:33:15. > :33:19.right that Parliament should be informed as soon as that

:33:20. > :33:23.announcement was made in Riyadh. There are other investigations

:33:24. > :33:27.outstanding. We continue to press the Saudi authorities to get those

:33:28. > :33:32.investigations wrapped up, to get the findings published and then to

:33:33. > :33:37.take action if there are weak bes in their -- weaknesses in their command

:33:38. > :33:41.and control procedures to get them remedied. It is only through that, I

:33:42. > :33:44.think, that they will demonstrate that the assurance that's they give

:33:45. > :33:53.us and their other allies are properly valid. What analysis has

:33:54. > :34:00.the Defence Secretary made of the humanitarian consequences of the

:34:01. > :34:06.illicit redistribution of munitions, cluster munitions including BL 755

:34:07. > :34:08.from chaotic, failed and post-conflict states on civilian

:34:09. > :34:14.populations throughout the Middle East and north Africa and much

:34:15. > :34:21.further afield. Well, clearly, we oppose the use of cluster munitions.

:34:22. > :34:25.We don't keep records of how these stocks that may have been

:34:26. > :34:31.accumulated by countries in the Middle East have been later

:34:32. > :34:40.distributed or sold on. Clearly, we oppose their use in any conflict

:34:41. > :34:44.now. I welcome the secretary's statement but it is simply not the

:34:45. > :34:49.case that this these British-made cluster munitions were used against

:34:50. > :34:54.a legitimate military target. They were dropped in farmland in northern

:34:55. > :34:57.Yemen, creating de facto mine fields which have killed and injured

:34:58. > :35:02.civilians. It's taken over six months for the Saudi led coalition

:35:03. > :35:07.to admit using these. Why now does the secretary give them the benefit

:35:08. > :35:11.of the doubt over their use when such international humanitarian law

:35:12. > :35:15.breaches are being alleged? I've not seen evidence that the dropping of

:35:16. > :35:20.this particular munition has resulted in any civilian casualties.

:35:21. > :35:28.On the contrary, this was a munition that from the, from all accounts had

:35:29. > :35:32.not exploded probably because of its age. If she has evidence that any

:35:33. > :35:37.civilians have been either killed or injured, we would very much like to

:35:38. > :35:41.see it. The investigation, as I've made clear, has taken a while. We

:35:42. > :35:44.have continued to press the Saudis that when something like this is

:35:45. > :35:48.alleged, they need to be as transparent as possible. They need

:35:49. > :35:53.to get on with the investigation. They need to reassure their allies

:35:54. > :35:56.by simply publishing the findings. If something went wrong, then

:35:57. > :36:01.admitting it went wrong and putting it right. That is not what happens

:36:02. > :36:07.when we consider the Russian bombing of completely innocent civilians in

:36:08. > :36:10.Aleppo. May I welcome my right honourable

:36:11. > :36:13.friend's statement to the House today. Could I ask him to say a few

:36:14. > :36:18.words on the regional situation that has led to this conflict. Clearly

:36:19. > :36:22.the Iranian invasion in Yemen is causing many of the issues and while

:36:23. > :36:27.he is talking about the regional situation, would he join with me in

:36:28. > :36:31.offering condolences to the family of Russia's ambassador to Turkey,

:36:32. > :36:36.who was tragically murdered today and agree with me that just because

:36:37. > :36:40.we condemn Russian violence in Aleppo, does not mean we support

:36:41. > :36:45.other violence against Russia in other parts of the world. I'm sure

:36:46. > :36:49.the House will join with him and me in condemning the number dear of the

:36:50. > :36:55.Russian ambassador to Turkey, a shocking act, involving a diplomat,

:36:56. > :36:59.who should otherwise, of course, enjoy proper protection and whose

:37:00. > :37:06.murder does not bring any conflict in the Middle East further to

:37:07. > :37:12.resolution. There are, however, too many states in the Middle East who

:37:13. > :37:16.are acting beyond their borders, like Iran, clearly involved

:37:17. > :37:18.behind-the-scenes in Yemen, in prolonging a conflict that only

:37:19. > :37:24.perpetuates the suffering the Yemeni people. I commend the Defence

:37:25. > :37:27.Secretary on making a statement rather than being dragged here to be

:37:28. > :37:31.given an urgent question. That's an important part of the way we do our

:37:32. > :37:34.business here. I commend him for it. I support what he says about Saudi

:37:35. > :37:39.Arabia having a right to defend itself. Surely the point is not at

:37:40. > :37:44.any cost and not in any way. That's all we're trying to get at really.

:37:45. > :37:49.So when the honourable member for Ludlow, who is an honourable man. I

:37:50. > :37:52.don't think for an instant wanted to mislead the house, when you said in

:37:53. > :37:56.May, based on all the information available to us, including sensitive

:37:57. > :38:03.coalition operational reporting, we assess that no UK supplied cluster

:38:04. > :38:07.munitions have been used, had he been lied to by coalition allies and

:38:08. > :38:12.in which case, can we really trust anything that the Saudis say today?

:38:13. > :38:17.No, as I made clear, that was his view at the time, based on the only

:38:18. > :38:21.information that we had available, long before the investigation had

:38:22. > :38:27.properly started, which has concluded today. That was the best

:38:28. > :38:32.information he had at the time. On his first point, yes, and the

:38:33. > :38:35.purpose of international humanitarian law is to recognise

:38:36. > :38:41.that states have the right to defend themselves but they have to do so in

:38:42. > :38:46.a way that is necessary, that is proportionate, that avoids hitting

:38:47. > :38:47.the sick or the wounded and properly distinguishes between combatants and

:38:48. > :38:53.noncombatants. That is the basis of noncombatants. That is the basis of

:38:54. > :38:59.international humanitarian law. The Saudis believe, and he may not

:39:00. > :39:02.accept this, the Saudis believe in this particular ins dented, this

:39:03. > :39:06.edid respect international humanitarian law. How many BL 755

:39:07. > :39:12.cluster munitions were exported from this country to Saudi Arabia before

:39:13. > :39:18.1989? What is their shelf life? And how many cluster munitions were used

:39:19. > :39:22.in this particular incident? I don't have to hand and I'm not sure,

:39:23. > :39:27.indeed we still have the reports from -- records from the 1980s as to

:39:28. > :39:32.exactly how many cluster munitions were exported. I'm sorry to tell my

:39:33. > :39:44.honourable friend I'm not so much of an expert as to know the precise

:39:45. > :39:48.obselescence of this weapon. If he will allow me, I will wroo write to

:39:49. > :39:52.him on those points. Can I welcome the minister's statement as well.

:39:53. > :39:56.When I was on the Defence Select Committee along with the chair,

:39:57. > :39:59.sitting here as well, we attended a joint meeting with the arms exports

:40:00. > :40:04.sales committee, which some of the ministers here were at as well. We

:40:05. > :40:08.were assured if evidence was proven to be true that action would be

:40:09. > :40:13.taken. The proof has been confirmed today in relation to his statement.

:40:14. > :40:19.Can we ask what sanctions will be taken against Saudi Arabia? Is it

:40:20. > :40:25.too much to ask that the blanket bombing of Yemen's civilians, the

:40:26. > :40:28.murder of innocents should stop immediately As I've made clear

:40:29. > :40:33.throughout this evening, there are innocents being killed on both sides

:40:34. > :40:37.in this terrible conflict and there are Saudi innocent civilians being

:40:38. > :40:44.killed by Houthis through the shelling and constant attacks across

:40:45. > :40:49.the Saudi-Yemeni border. He asks what action we're taking. We're the

:40:50. > :40:53.ones who have pressed for this allegation to be properly

:40:54. > :40:57.investigated and, although it may not satisfy the honourable

:40:58. > :41:02.gentleman, we have the result today. We have a decision by the Saudi

:41:03. > :41:09.government that it will no longer be using cluster munition weapons. That

:41:10. > :41:12.is a result for us. Can I ask my right honourable

:41:13. > :41:15.friend, what implications it would be for Britain if we didn't have a

:41:16. > :41:21.close relationship with Saudi Arabia? Well, we would certainly be

:41:22. > :41:25.weakened in our fight against terrorism. Our Security Services

:41:26. > :41:30.would lose the cooperation we have with the Saudi authorities. But more

:41:31. > :41:36.than that, Saudi is an investor in our country. It's a key trade

:41:37. > :41:39.partner of ours in the Gulf. It's an important ally in promoting in

:41:40. > :41:44.security the stability that we all want to see in the Middle East.

:41:45. > :41:51.Ian Murray. The Secretary of State continues to

:41:52. > :41:54.use the word allegation but this is no longer an allegation, it is a

:41:55. > :41:59.proven fact that a British cluster bomb has been used in the conflict

:42:00. > :42:02.in Yemen. Given it took seven months for the Saudi Arabian authorities in

:42:03. > :42:06.his words to be transparent, committee honestly saying his

:42:07. > :42:09.government's sanction on Saudi Arabia is enough to accept his

:42:10. > :42:12.reassurance? He's right that from today we should describe this as a

:42:13. > :42:15.fact rather than an allegation, I was calling it an allegation because

:42:16. > :42:20.that is what it was when it was first brought before this House back

:42:21. > :42:26.in May. But now we have the confirmation from Saudi Arabia that

:42:27. > :42:32.a coalition aircraft did drop one of these cluster munitions around the

:42:33. > :42:37.turn of the year. So far as sanctions are concerned, as I have

:42:38. > :42:40.said it is this country that has pressed for all these allegations,

:42:41. > :42:43.and some of them are still allegations, for all of these

:42:44. > :42:45.allegations to be properly investigated, findings to be

:42:46. > :42:52.published and where necessary for evidence from the Saudi coalition

:42:53. > :42:57.authorities that changes have been made in their command and control,

:42:58. > :43:05.or rules of engagement, or targeting procedures. Those are the results

:43:06. > :43:08.that we want to see. I am pleased to hear the news that Saudi is no

:43:09. > :43:14.longer using the cluster munitions, but will the government encourage

:43:15. > :43:19.the Saudis not just stop using them but to destroy any remaining cluster

:43:20. > :43:23.munitions that they have? I can tell my honourable friend that we have

:43:24. > :43:26.put that request in to the Saudi government and I hope they will

:43:27. > :43:33.accept that suggestion of hers and of hours. Nick Smith.

:43:34. > :43:38.Thank you, Madame Deputy Speaker. Yemen is said to be one step away

:43:39. > :43:42.from famine, so can our government help open the ports and the airports

:43:43. > :43:50.so that humanitarian aid can be shipped to its people?

:43:51. > :43:53.Yes. The key is to get aid into the country, and that means reopening

:43:54. > :44:02.the ports that have been damaged in the fighting, particularly Hadidah.

:44:03. > :44:10.Hadidah. Hadidah. So sorry. And making arrangements that will allow

:44:11. > :44:13.the charities and NGOs to get on now with the vital work. He's right that

:44:14. > :44:21.the country is on the brink of famine, and probably beyond that

:44:22. > :44:27.now. There is not enough food or oil, or other essentials getting

:44:28. > :44:31.through to the people. Chris White. Thank you, Madame Deputy Speaker.

:44:32. > :44:37.With the limiting of US arms even by one sale, as well as this new

:44:38. > :44:42.evidence on cluster munitions coming to light this week, will the

:44:43. > :44:46.Secretary of State outline the circumstances under which the

:44:47. > :44:52.government would suspend a UK arms exports to Saudi Arabia, and called

:44:53. > :44:53.for an independent UN led investigation into potential

:44:54. > :45:01.breaches of international humanitarian law. If we had evidence

:45:02. > :45:04.that international humanitarian law had been breached then of course

:45:05. > :45:11.that would be a serious factor in considering whether or not to

:45:12. > :45:15.agreeing to future licences or suspending existing licences. It

:45:16. > :45:18.would also be the case that if we felt that if the Saudi authorities

:45:19. > :45:22.were not properly able to investigate allegations of this kind

:45:23. > :45:27.then, of course, we would support the call that there has already been

:45:28. > :45:31.for an independent inquiry. But the events of the last few weeks and

:45:32. > :45:36.months have shown that, thanks to our pressure, that the Saudis have

:45:37. > :45:39.been able to investigate these allegations and have, as a result,

:45:40. > :45:46.made the announcement they have made. Diana Johnson. Thank you,

:45:47. > :45:49.Madame Deputy Speaker. With our strong diplomatic relationship with

:45:50. > :45:53.Saudi Arabia and with them saying they will no longer use cluster

:45:54. > :45:57.bombs, I wonder whether it could be stressed very strongly to the

:45:58. > :46:00.Saudis, but as a gesture of good faith, this dumb at the destruction

:46:01. > :46:06.and independently verified destruction of the cluster bombs

:46:07. > :46:08.they have would go a long way in the international community to restoring

:46:09. > :46:14.some faith in what the Saudi Arabians say.

:46:15. > :46:19.I will make sure that suggestion is conveyed to the Saudi authorities.

:46:20. > :46:24.As I have said, we have already offered to help them destroy the

:46:25. > :46:28.BL755 cluster munitions, which are the only ones that we supplied to

:46:29. > :46:37.Saudi Arabia, and which we have been discussing this afternoon. Hywel

:46:38. > :46:40.Williams. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Thank you for the statement

:46:41. > :46:45.and the prior sight of it. He was careful to say that the Saudis have

:46:46. > :46:55.said they will not use BL755 cluster munitions, British supplied once. Do

:46:56. > :46:59.they have stocks supplied by others? I am grateful to the honourable

:47:00. > :47:03.gentleman for giving me another opportunity to clarify that the

:47:04. > :47:08.study segment does relate to BL755 cluster munitions, the only ones

:47:09. > :47:13.that we sold them that have been the centre of these allegations. I'm not

:47:14. > :47:17.able to comment on whether they hold stocks of other cluster munitions.

:47:18. > :47:22.Perhaps he would allow me to write to him on that? Thank you, Madam

:47:23. > :47:26.Deputy Speaker. If the UK had ended arms exports to Saudi Arabia as some

:47:27. > :47:30.have argued, does my Right Honourable friend think that having

:47:31. > :47:34.done so, and having weak possibly irretrievably damaged our

:47:35. > :47:38.relationship with an old friend, the investigation that he is announcing

:47:39. > :47:42.the results of today will dumb and would be more like you're less

:47:43. > :47:46.likely, that the UK would have more less influence of the events on the

:47:47. > :47:50.ground in Yemen? My honourable friend makes a very good point. And

:47:51. > :47:53.we refused to sell particular arms or munitions to Saudi Arabia, our

:47:54. > :48:02.place would undoubtedly have been taken by some less scrupulous arms

:48:03. > :48:08.supplier, and who would not have pressed for the kind of

:48:09. > :48:12.investigation that we have done in this particular situation. We'd had

:48:13. > :48:15.the investigation now. We'd had confirmation from the Saudi

:48:16. > :48:21.authorities, and we have now had the result that the coalition will no

:48:22. > :48:28.longer use BL755. And finally, the prize for patients, goes to Doctor

:48:29. > :48:31.Tanya Matthias. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I declare my

:48:32. > :48:34.interest as an amnesty dumb at Amnesty International member. I

:48:35. > :48:38.welcome the fact the government will help the destruction of the

:48:39. > :48:41.stockpile. Can the Minister tell us how many BL755s are in the Saudi and

:48:42. > :48:49.will the UK Government also help the clearing of the omelettes, I believe

:48:50. > :48:54.one bomb produces 147 small bombs from the villages in Yemen? We don't

:48:55. > :49:00.have records going back right through the 1980s of exactly how

:49:01. > :49:07.many cluster munitions were sold to Saudi Arabia. We have offered to

:49:08. > :49:13.help dispose of any remaining stocks the Saudis hold. I am not able to

:49:14. > :49:22.offer UK help into a conflict zone to deal with any unexploded