15/03/2017

:00:09. > :00:15.Urgent question, Debbie Abraham. Thank you, Mr Speaker, to ask the

:00:16. > :00:17.Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to make a statement

:00:18. > :00:22.regarding the Social Security advisory committee's recommendations

:00:23. > :00:29.for independent pay regulations 2017 due to come into force tomorrow.

:00:30. > :00:31.Secretary Damian Green. Recent legal judgments have interpreted the

:00:32. > :00:36.assessment criteria for Arsenal independence payments in ways that

:00:37. > :00:40.are different to what was originally intended. The department presented

:00:41. > :00:44.regulations which clarified the original policy intent to the Social

:00:45. > :00:49.Security advisory committee, I welcome the says ACT careful

:00:50. > :00:55.consideration and we are looking closely at their suggestions. --

:00:56. > :00:57.SSAC. Let me be clear, SSAC themselves decided they did not

:00:58. > :01:01.require the regulations to be formally referred to them, and would

:01:02. > :01:06.not therefore consult publicly on them. I believe it was right to move

:01:07. > :01:11.quickly to clarify the criteria, and it is clear the is SSAC not

:01:12. > :01:16.challenging that decision. I want to make clear that this is not a policy

:01:17. > :01:19.change nor is it intended to make new savings, what this is about is

:01:20. > :01:24.restoring the original intention of the benefit which has been expanded

:01:25. > :01:30.by the legal judgments and providing clarity and certainty for claimants.

:01:31. > :01:33.I would like to reiterate my commitment that there will be no

:01:34. > :01:37.further savings beyond those legislated for, it will not result

:01:38. > :01:42.in any claimant seeing a reduction in the amount of PIP previously

:01:43. > :01:47.awarded by the Department for Work and Pensions. Debbie Abrahams. On

:01:48. > :01:51.the 23rd of February the government issued these new regulations by

:01:52. > :01:56.which disabled people and people with chronic health conditions --

:01:57. > :01:59.mental health condition would be assessed for eligibility to personal

:02:00. > :02:02.independence payment and these regulations were laid down without

:02:03. > :02:08.any consultation to the Social Security advisory committee, and

:02:09. > :02:12.without any debate. The committee examined the issue on the 8th of

:02:13. > :02:16.March, as the Secretary of State said, and sent a letter with their

:02:17. > :02:19.recommendations to the minister which was published yesterday. The

:02:20. > :02:23.committee made a number of recommendations including the need

:02:24. > :02:28.to consult more widely on the proposed changes and test or pilot

:02:29. > :02:32.them before they come into force. Will the Secretary of State commit

:02:33. > :02:36.to incrementing these recommendations in full before the

:02:37. > :02:39.regulations come into force? Mr Speaker, there has been no

:02:40. > :02:43.opportunity in Parliament to debate fully or vote on these regulations

:02:44. > :02:47.so when will Parliament be able to debate these regulations? The

:02:48. > :02:50.committee found that it is possible that some claimants may have been

:02:51. > :02:55.awarded the Mahmudullah see payment or a higher rate of mobility

:02:56. > :03:00.component following decisions by the tribunal on this, directly

:03:01. > :03:04.contradicting comments made by the Prime Minister and the Minister for

:03:05. > :03:08.disabled people, who stated that no one would see a reduction in their

:03:09. > :03:12.BIP award and so will the Secretary of State take this opportunity to

:03:13. > :03:15.correct the record, will he guarantee that this will not be the

:03:16. > :03:17.case for playing claimant when they come for reassessment. -- The

:03:18. > :03:19.committee found that it is possible that some claimants may have been

:03:20. > :03:22.awarded the mobility see payment. The government decision to change

:03:23. > :03:25.the law on PIP is a clear example of where people with mental health

:03:26. > :03:27.conditions are not given equal treatment so does the Secretary of

:03:28. > :03:33.State agree that the new guidance issued yesterday that mobility in

:03:34. > :03:36.claimants caused by psychological issues are not relevant? In

:03:37. > :03:47.addition, scope analysis published today shows that 89% of PIP cases at

:03:48. > :03:50.mandatory re-evaluation or appeal result in a different outcome. Will

:03:51. > :03:54.the process be reviewed. We have been arguing for parity with mental

:03:55. > :03:58.health and physical health conditions for some time and as the

:03:59. > :04:03.Prime Minister famously said, there needs to be more support for people

:04:04. > :04:09.with mental health conditions, once the government finally on this

:04:10. > :04:16.pledge. Secretary of State. Thank you Mr Speaker. -- won't the

:04:17. > :04:23.government finally on this pledge -- honour this pledge. We take very

:04:24. > :04:27.seriously everything they say, and we will, of course, maintain the

:04:28. > :04:34.practice that the government has always had of continuous improvement

:04:35. > :04:39.in the PIP guidance, the PIP assessment guidance is freely

:04:40. > :04:44.available, it is on gov.uk if anybody would like to look at it, we

:04:45. > :04:47.are constantly changing it. When we do it is through Parliamentary

:04:48. > :04:51.regulations which is precisely what are doing in this case, and I'm

:04:52. > :04:57.conscious that the honourable lady has personally claimed against these

:04:58. > :05:02.regulations, which gives the chance for Parliament to scrutinise them.

:05:03. > :05:07.That will go through the normal channels as it always does. She

:05:08. > :05:11.asked a number of other detailed questions, and I can only repeat

:05:12. > :05:14.what I have said before, and what my honourable friend said, no claimant

:05:15. > :05:19.will see a reduction in the amount of benefit they were previously

:05:20. > :05:23.awarded by the DWP, if... The committee says there may have been

:05:24. > :05:27.some people who may have seen the award lifted by tribunal, and it is

:05:28. > :05:31.indeed possible that we'll have happened, we will not be claiming

:05:32. > :05:34.back money that these individuals have received during the period

:05:35. > :05:40.before the new regulations come into force. And nobody will get any

:05:41. > :05:44.reduction from what they were awarded by the DWP, which is what I

:05:45. > :05:49.have said all along and I am... Reassessment, as the honourable lady

:05:50. > :05:53.knows, happens regularly, underpaid and under other benefits... Can I

:05:54. > :05:57.also address one of the serious points which she made. I wanted

:05:58. > :06:02.their up and reassure people. -- under PIP. It would be putting

:06:03. > :06:07.millions of people in a state of unnecessary distress if they thought

:06:08. > :06:14.that PIP was not fair to people with mental health conditions. The truth

:06:15. > :06:16.is PIP is much better as a benefit for people with mental health

:06:17. > :06:22.conditions than the predecessor benefit 's, it is absolutely the

:06:23. > :06:28.case under these regulations and under Pitt per regulations that

:06:29. > :06:33.people can receive the highest amount of PIP with a cognitive

:06:34. > :06:38.payment alone. -- cognitive impairment. -- PIP. It is simply not

:06:39. > :06:42.the case to say that people with a mental health condition will not be

:06:43. > :06:49.able to do that. Read it, you can see why it happened. If she and

:06:50. > :06:54.other members opposite are not willing to accept that, can I ask

:06:55. > :06:56.her to go away and look at the facts, 65% of PIP recipients with a

:06:57. > :07:03.mental health condition get the enhanced rate daily living component

:07:04. > :07:07.compared to 22% who used to get it under DLA and specifically on the

:07:08. > :07:12.mobility aspect, which is one of the cases she has referred to, 27% of

:07:13. > :07:16.PIP recipients with a mental health condition get the enhanced rate

:07:17. > :07:20.mobility component compared to 9% who used to receive that under DL

:07:21. > :07:26.eight. It is perfectly clear from the fact that these regulations,

:07:27. > :07:30.which restore PIP to its original policy intent, that policy intent is

:07:31. > :07:32.better for people with mental health conditions than previous benefits

:07:33. > :07:40.worth. Stephen Crabb. Can my right

:07:41. > :07:43.honourable friend name any other country which spends as much in

:07:44. > :07:49.direct cash payments to people living with as wide a range of

:07:50. > :07:52.physical, mental, psychological disabilities and illnesses as we do

:07:53. > :07:57.in the UK, isn't that something we should be proud of? We should

:07:58. > :08:01.indeed, and he, when he was doing his job, and I share the passion to

:08:02. > :08:06.make sure that the benefits system is as fair as possible to those who

:08:07. > :08:10.deserve to receive these benefits. That is why we spend ?50 billion

:08:11. > :08:17.every year on disability benefits, and while PIP is an improved benefit

:08:18. > :08:23.from previous benefits, particularly for people with mental health

:08:24. > :08:26.conditions. Connie Wilson. The government continually trots out the

:08:27. > :08:30.line that serious mental health should be treated the same way as

:08:31. > :08:32.any other illness, but the response to these rulings betrays the old

:08:33. > :08:36.attitudes and statements towards mental health, you cannot keep

:08:37. > :08:41.shifting the goalposts every time you lose a battle at court, if a

:08:42. > :08:45.person needs help, knee or she needs help. Regardless of the nature of

:08:46. > :08:49.the disability, or health condition. The Scottish parliament is in the

:08:50. > :08:52.process of taking over responsibility for personal

:08:53. > :08:56.independence payments, and until that time, the UK Government needs

:08:57. > :09:00.to be consistent and stop mocking people about. So many people are

:09:01. > :09:02.becoming destitute in our communities, being sanctioned,

:09:03. > :09:07.falling through the safety net, becoming dependent on food banks, so

:09:08. > :09:10.many of them are people with mental health problems. Why won't the

:09:11. > :09:15.government acknowledged that? Will the Minister back away from this ill

:09:16. > :09:20.judged move, or are they intent on pushing this through, regardless of

:09:21. > :09:24.the opinions of this house? Well, I can only say to the honourable lady

:09:25. > :09:28.that the premise on which she based that question, which is that's those

:09:29. > :09:33.with mental health conditions as opposed to physical disabilities are

:09:34. > :09:38.in some way being treated unfairly and this benefit is simply wrong. It

:09:39. > :09:42.is demonstrably wrong, I will not weary the house by quoting the facts

:09:43. > :09:45.I have just quoted. I have to say, if we are to have, which we ought to

:09:46. > :09:50.have, and this house deserves to have an intelligence discussion

:09:51. > :09:54.about the details of benefit policy, we will have two base it on the

:09:55. > :09:58.facts, and the facts are that PIP is a better benefit for people with

:09:59. > :10:02.mental health conditions than the old disability living allowance.

:10:03. > :10:06.Justin Tomlinson. This government rightly spending next ?3 billion a

:10:07. > :10:10.year supporting those with long-term health conditions and disabilities,

:10:11. > :10:13.would the Secretary of State agree with me that if we continue to

:10:14. > :10:15.improve the system, it should be done in conjunction with the

:10:16. > :10:21.expertise of charities and stakeholders and users and not based

:10:22. > :10:24.on ad hoc legal decisions. My honourable friend, who has great

:10:25. > :10:29.personal expertise in this area, is precisely right, there is a

:10:30. > :10:32.continuous dialogue between the Department and between the

:10:33. > :10:35.charities, sometimes we agree and sometimes we do not agree but it is

:10:36. > :10:39.important and I am determined to maintain that dialogue, as I say so,

:10:40. > :10:44.when we make changes, they are practical changes which make sure

:10:45. > :10:51.that the original good intent of the benefit is maintained. Frank Field.

:10:52. > :10:57.Despite what the secretary of State says about the current benefit

:10:58. > :11:00.favouring those who do not have physical disability, the evidence

:11:01. > :11:05.coming to the select committee who are enquiring to PIP shows that

:11:06. > :11:10.those with other disadvantages find it difficult to qualify. Might he

:11:11. > :11:14.not look carefully at the form, and the way his staff interpret that

:11:15. > :11:20.form, for people who do not have physical disabilities, and have

:11:21. > :11:25.difficulties qualifying. The right honourable gentleman knows that

:11:26. > :11:30.there is a review going on to address the points he the very

:11:31. > :11:34.reasonably makes and it is clear that as with any benefit, there is a

:11:35. > :11:38.degree of complexity, we will need to keep working with it, waiting for

:11:39. > :11:43.the review, the chairman of the SSAC, I am sure that he will have

:11:44. > :11:47.some trenchant recommendations, knowing Paul, and we will look at

:11:48. > :11:54.them very carefully and use them as the basis for further improvement to

:11:55. > :12:00.this benefit. Heidi Allen. Whilst I believe that it is an improvement on

:12:01. > :12:03.DLA and nobody is losing from the change in legislation, but for me,

:12:04. > :12:06.the court ruling has highlighted that there is still flaws in the

:12:07. > :12:10.process, and more can be done for mental health claimants. I know

:12:11. > :12:13.because I have sat through a couple of assessments myself, rather than

:12:14. > :12:17.legislating to ignore this ruling, shouldn't we use it as a catalyst to

:12:18. > :12:23.look at the whole process from the beginning? My honourable friend is

:12:24. > :12:27.right, we need to continue to look at improvements and I think that

:12:28. > :12:34.they are done better as part of a coherent process rather than to have

:12:35. > :12:39.them done with individual court judgments. I would also say, and I'm

:12:40. > :12:42.sure she agree, that obviously, the improvement in the benefit system

:12:43. > :12:46.need to go hand-in-hand with the very many improvements that we are

:12:47. > :12:51.now beginning to see in the health services treatment of people with

:12:52. > :12:56.mental health conditions. All of this has to be done as a coherent

:12:57. > :12:58.whole, across government, so that we improve all services available to

:12:59. > :13:05.people with mental health conditions. Angela Eagle. I have to

:13:06. > :13:13.say that I am finding an increasing discrepancy between the way that the

:13:14. > :13:17.Secretary of State is describing the PIP benefit and the people I'm

:13:18. > :13:25.having come to my advice services... In tears, having been completely let

:13:26. > :13:29.down here, by the system. All of us want to see a society where we give

:13:30. > :13:35.support to the most vulnerable, and that is who we are talking about

:13:36. > :13:39.here. Will he now undertake to ensure that some of his highest

:13:40. > :13:45.officials come and visit us in our advice surgeries and look at how

:13:46. > :13:49.this system is actually working out, on the front line, because it is not

:13:50. > :13:55.remotely how he is portraying it today. Obviously, we all live from

:13:56. > :14:01.our own constituency surgeries that there are individual cases that may

:14:02. > :14:04.be taken up, some of which may be people whose invidious agree with a

:14:05. > :14:08.decision, if there are cases of delays, I am absolutely aware of

:14:09. > :14:14.that, and when they come down I would point out to the honourable

:14:15. > :14:17.lady, who is characteristically chuntering from a sedentary position

:14:18. > :14:24.that the appeal rate is extremely rove. -- extremely low. So the facts

:14:25. > :14:28.again do not suggest those kind of problems. But we are absolutely

:14:29. > :14:31.clean to improve this, it is why in the coming weeks we will be setting

:14:32. > :14:37.up services panels precisely so we get the real world on the ground

:14:38. > :14:43.experience available to the Department, that the honourable lady

:14:44. > :14:48.wishes us to have all stop to be asked to pilot something that merely

:14:49. > :14:54.restores the status quo? Have I misunderstood the committee's

:14:55. > :15:00.recommendation? I appreciate my honourable friend's concern, the

:15:01. > :15:05.committee makes a number of recommendations and as ever with the

:15:06. > :15:06.SSAC, I will take all of those recommendations very seriously, and

:15:07. > :15:27.respond to them fully. My honourable friend for Lonsdale

:15:28. > :15:34.has signed this petition along with a signatures. Why is he so keen to

:15:35. > :15:40.all doze this? Will he agree that we have a proper debate on this

:15:41. > :15:46.unpopular measure in this House? Think -- I think this is a KERS we

:15:47. > :15:53.had a second discussion about this. We've followed the usual procedure,

:15:54. > :15:57.putting down a statutory instruments and they are free to pray against

:15:58. > :16:07.it, and it goes through the usual channels. This is a perfectly normal

:16:08. > :16:11.procedure. There seemed to be to most frequent misunderstandings, the

:16:12. > :16:17.first, the Government's amendment announced two cast, and that table

:16:18. > :16:25.with mental health difficulties get less under PIP, so can he confirm

:16:26. > :16:31.that there is no cut, and secondly, that actually, those with mental

:16:32. > :16:44.health difficulties get more under PIP then DLA? No one will have that

:16:45. > :16:49.award reduced, and that PIP is much to demonstrably better benefit than

:16:50. > :16:54.DVLA was. Is there room for improvement? There is always room

:16:55. > :17:02.for improvement. This is a cut and it directly target to people with

:17:03. > :17:10.mental health problems. He is exerting the qualifying issue for

:17:11. > :17:15.PIP. The phrase, other than, for reasons than psychological distress.

:17:16. > :17:22.Why is psychological distress being carved out? A cut being made as a

:17:23. > :17:26.result? I'm afraid the Right Honourable Gentleman is simply

:17:27. > :17:31.wrong. A person with a cognitive impairment, who cannot due to that,

:17:32. > :17:41.cannot deal with unexpected changes in their journey, even when the

:17:42. > :17:45.journey is familiar, Wood scored 12 points. I apologise for getting

:17:46. > :17:52.technical. Hence from that, they would be entitled for the enhanced

:17:53. > :17:56.rate from the component. That is why more people with mental health

:17:57. > :18:02.conditions can get a higher rate of PIP, three times as many under DLA.

:18:03. > :18:11.So it's simply not the case to see this discriminates against people

:18:12. > :18:16.with mental health conditions. Can I ask the Minister to ensure the

:18:17. > :18:20.mobility factor in AIP is maintained. It's important to us in

:18:21. > :18:24.the community. We need to be sure that our friends and family with

:18:25. > :18:30.mental health problems, cognitive problems from strokes and dementia

:18:31. > :18:36.are out and about, visible in our community. Can he assured me that

:18:37. > :18:44.the descriptors and the assessment is according to need and no

:18:45. > :18:50.condition is ever excluded? It's precisely right in the last remark

:18:51. > :18:55.she makes, which is why I can give her the assurance she seeks, that

:18:56. > :19:01.pit is about the effects on daily life, or mobility, it's not based on

:19:02. > :19:05.the underlying condition. That is the key change that is introduced

:19:06. > :19:15.when PIP was introduced, and of course, we are maintaining that. May

:19:16. > :19:22.I understand exactly something, that no one will face a cut in a benefit.

:19:23. > :19:28.Did I understand that's why they won't see their initial benefit

:19:29. > :19:33.award cuts as a result, where that benefit had been increased by a

:19:34. > :19:40.tribunal, and these regulations now supersede this, they could see their

:19:41. > :19:46.and if it reduced back to the original award level? That is indeed

:19:47. > :19:54.right, and there are a handful of people whose tribunal outcomes have

:19:55. > :20:05.gone through the court and this will not be clawed back from them. There

:20:06. > :20:13.is a statement saying that PIP assessment will look at individuals

:20:14. > :20:23.will be looked at as such, rather than by their condition. That was a

:20:24. > :20:29.significant step forward and I'm determined that we maintain process

:20:30. > :20:36.in that direction, so that people who have a disability, whether it's

:20:37. > :20:43.a physical or mental impairment, can lead as full a life as possible. I

:20:44. > :20:50.agree with the Minister that we do need to have a discussion on this

:20:51. > :20:54.issue, however these changes have been introduced without such

:20:55. > :21:00.disgusting, and the assessment that has been made is that 160,000 people

:21:01. > :21:09.who are currently claimants will be ruled out as a result of these

:21:10. > :21:19.changes. Does he dispute that and is he contesting his own department's

:21:20. > :21:23.assessment? I think the report gentleman has slightly misunderstood

:21:24. > :21:27.the effect of the court cases. I'm just putting forward regulations

:21:28. > :21:31.that restorers to where we were in November. The court case said the

:21:32. > :21:37.regulations were unclear, though suggested changes that would happen,

:21:38. > :21:42.that would indeed conceivably apply to very large numbers of people see

:21:43. > :21:50.what we are doing with these regulations are returning to the

:21:51. > :21:53.position that was there before. It's appropriate to be discussing this

:21:54. > :22:03.that the Devlin partnership trust has been rated good, marking and

:22:04. > :22:14.improvement. Can the Secretary of State confirm, constituents have

:22:15. > :22:19.been awarded from the DWP, and they won't see a reduction? I extend my

:22:20. > :22:26.congratulations to the Devon partnership. Those who have received

:22:27. > :22:35.an award from the DWP will continue to get that in the normal way. To

:22:36. > :22:42.the response from my honourable friend, can he confirm that some

:22:43. > :22:48.people who have been awarded additional resources by tribunal

:22:49. > :22:53.will see their incomes cut? And will he confirm that of the relatively

:22:54. > :23:00.low number of appeals, an extraordinary number of them, 89% of

:23:01. > :23:04.them are overturned, does that not showed something is deeply wrong

:23:05. > :23:10.with the system? I think the problem that he identifies there is that a

:23:11. > :23:14.huge number of people, of the small numbers who do go to appeal,

:23:15. > :23:21.introduce new evidence through the appeal process, and that's the main

:23:22. > :23:33.reason why the figures are as he says they are. It would be prudent

:23:34. > :23:44.to get the medical information in at the beginning of the process. I'm

:23:45. > :23:49.grateful for this clarification, but can he tell the House what steps he

:23:50. > :23:57.is taking to meet with charities and other stake holders to deal with the

:23:58. > :24:01.impact of these regulations? I and my honourable friend, the Minister

:24:02. > :24:06.for disabled people, are in contact with charities and other groups who

:24:07. > :24:11.are concerned in this area, precisely because we want to improve

:24:12. > :24:17.the system in a systematic and coherent way, so that we are not

:24:18. > :24:21.perhaps responding to individual cases in front of the courts. Think

:24:22. > :24:28.everyone would agree that that is a more sensible way to proceed than in

:24:29. > :24:37.the past, under PIP. If he is arguing that the purpose of PIP is

:24:38. > :24:44.to cover the cost of people's disabilities, why are those with

:24:45. > :24:52.mental health conditions paid elaborate if they plan to follow a

:24:53. > :24:59.journey than those without. I can you repeat what I said before and

:25:00. > :25:04.repeat the facts again. As I said to the honourable gentleman from

:25:05. > :25:10.Hackney and East Ham, I can go into the details but the Speaker's

:25:11. > :25:15.patients would be tested by that. Would you like me to read the

:25:16. > :25:23.descriptions out again, Mr Speaker? Is just not the case. It's perfectly

:25:24. > :25:28.possible to qualify for the standard or the enhanced rate, so it's not

:25:29. > :25:39.the case that people with mental health conditions are discriminated

:25:40. > :25:42.against. He's indicated his patients wouldn't be tested, though can I

:25:43. > :25:51.ever buy it in to give a detailed example please. -- can I invite him

:25:52. > :26:01.to give a detailed example, please. Applicants who deal with

:26:02. > :26:09.complications when travelling, Wood scored 12 points, and hence, be

:26:10. > :26:14.entitled to the enhanced rate of the mobility component. This could

:26:15. > :26:23.include dementia, or learning disabilities such as down syndrome.

:26:24. > :26:37.Will he have a look again at the quality and professionalism, when

:26:38. > :26:42.he's been to see me, constituents who have been to see me, I can't

:26:43. > :26:49.understand why they haven't been awarded. I'm happy to insure him

:26:50. > :26:55.that I'm already doing that and as I have said in answer to your previous

:26:56. > :27:04.question, the chairman is doing one of his regular reports on PIP as a

:27:05. > :27:09.whole. I take the point that he makes that we are all concerned that

:27:10. > :27:13.the assessments are not just high quality but are consistent across

:27:14. > :27:18.the country as well. It's an important improvement I'd like to

:27:19. > :27:22.see through the system. Can he confirm that this Government has

:27:23. > :27:28.invested more into and if it's for disabled people and those with

:27:29. > :27:33.mental health than ever before? I can. I've quoted these figures

:27:34. > :27:41.specifically. We are now spending 11.4 billion on mental health

:27:42. > :27:50.services and we are spending more in every year of this Parliament than

:27:51. > :28:06.was spent in 2010. In the view of Mind, the new regulations and

:28:07. > :28:12.guidance, contradict the underlying objective. What can we do about this

:28:13. > :28:16.new information and will the Secretary of State ensure that these

:28:17. > :28:24.regulations are taken off the table to allow a full debate in Parliament

:28:25. > :28:30.to insure that nobody that mental health impairment is penalised

:28:31. > :28:36.financially and anyway. I can only repeat again that these regulations

:28:37. > :28:39.that are being to return to their original state do not discriminate

:28:40. > :28:47.against people with mental health conditions. I regret that anyone

:28:48. > :28:53.observing these proceedings is being made unnecessarily worried by these

:28:54. > :29:00.assertions. I ensure the Honourable Lady that the Minister for disabled

:29:01. > :29:08.people has been in direct contact in the way that she asked so that

:29:09. > :29:22.information is blowing properly. The only thing it is bringing to my

:29:23. > :29:27.constituents is trouble. I received an e-mail from a constituent asking

:29:28. > :29:35.me to raise concerns as they felt like taking their own life. This

:29:36. > :29:39.system is broken. It needs to be completely revisited and

:29:40. > :29:48.reconstructed. You can't mend it. I don't agree with the Honourable

:29:49. > :29:51.Gentleman. In any benefit system, there are obviously difficult

:29:52. > :29:56.individual cases and decisions that have to be made, but to see the

:29:57. > :30:02.whole system is broken is going much too far and I can only point out

:30:03. > :30:09.that all the PIP claims made, only 3% are overturned on which actually

:30:10. > :30:16.suggests that the benefit is working largely for the vast majority of

:30:17. > :30:20.people who receive it. Of course, there will always be cases where

:30:21. > :30:27.people disagree with the assessment. What is really clear is that with

:30:28. > :30:31.regard to the psychological distress of planning and following a journey

:30:32. > :30:37.outside of the department there is some confusion regarding the policy

:30:38. > :30:42.and then needs to be much greater articulation from the department.

:30:43. > :30:50.When can we expect to see an updated version of the PIP assessment guide?

:30:51. > :30:56.As I'm sure the honourable lady knows, we do this on a regular basis

:30:57. > :31:02.and the exchanges will be available in the next couple of months and it

:31:03. > :31:07.is freely available. It is available on the Internet. It's not a secret

:31:08. > :31:15.guide that goes to the department for assessors. Only last week, I was

:31:16. > :31:20.contacted by a constituent who has been refused the award have

:31:21. > :31:25.previously being in receipt of D L I and she was only able to get to her

:31:26. > :31:30.assessment because her daughter supported her through it, but

:31:31. > :31:36.because she had managed to attend and communicated with the

:31:37. > :31:39.physiotherapist that her mental health issues were insignificant. So

:31:40. > :31:47.does he agree with me that in order this to work, the bare minimum

:31:48. > :31:56.should be that the person doing the assessment should be qualified in a

:31:57. > :32:06.most raise -- Basic medical qualification. We are determined to

:32:07. > :32:13.maintain the highest levels of professionalism in order to do this

:32:14. > :32:20.assessment. The transition from DLA to PIP has been incredibly difficult

:32:21. > :32:27.with a number of most ability cars being taken in and given out again.

:32:28. > :32:31.Now this is rushed and unscrutinised decision, given the repeated

:32:32. > :32:38.questions from this side about constituency cases. Is he concerned

:32:39. > :32:42.about the erosion of trust our constituents have in this system?

:32:43. > :32:47.Know because I don't believe that's the case. Of the many people who

:32:48. > :32:55.receive PIP, the vast number of them find it satisfactory. Indeed,

:32:56. > :32:59.specifically regarding mental health conditions. There are more people

:33:00. > :33:03.receiving it them who were receiving it under the DLA system. I don't

:33:04. > :33:08.accept his basic analysis of the situation.

:33:09. > :33:14.Can the Secretary of State guarantee that none of the PIP assessments are

:33:15. > :33:18.required to turn down a number of the assessment they do because I

:33:19. > :33:23.find it impossible to understand some of the decisions they make when

:33:24. > :33:26.there is an arm's-length of medical evidence in front of them that they

:33:27. > :33:30.can people down and that is particularly the case for people

:33:31. > :33:34.with mental health issues. And the Secretary of State go away, if he

:33:35. > :33:37.does not know the answer, and investigate it because something

:33:38. > :33:41.very wrong is going on here, there can't be so many examples given to

:33:42. > :33:46.him in this house that he can just dismiss it as the odd case! I can

:33:47. > :33:52.absolutely assure the honourable gentleman that there is no quota for

:33:53. > :34:02.pass or fail given to any SSL. -- any assessor. I have to say that

:34:03. > :34:06.people are continually contacting me across the UK about the process,

:34:07. > :34:11.with a litany of psychological problems or seeking information from

:34:12. > :34:15.mental health practitioners. The Minister must also be aware that a

:34:16. > :34:23.cognitive impairment is not the same as a mental health problem, in fact,

:34:24. > :34:28.examples... She is an expert. She is a professional. The example given

:34:29. > :34:30.are not even medical health problems! Should the minister go

:34:31. > :34:37.back and do his homework and find out what a mental health issue is.

:34:38. > :34:41.She knows what she's talking about! I could give other examples, I do

:34:42. > :34:46.understand the point the honourable lady is making, there are obviously

:34:47. > :34:51.different forms of conditions, cognitive impairment is not

:34:52. > :34:55.necessarily the same as a mental health impairment, that covers a

:34:56. > :35:02.much wider and in many cases different range of conditions. But

:35:03. > :35:08.all of them are covered fairly by PIP, and so I think the contention

:35:09. > :35:14.coming from the opposition benches that this is a benefit that in some

:35:15. > :35:17.way is bad at source is wrong, and I think it is wrong when I look at the

:35:18. > :35:21.number of people particularly with mental health conditions who are

:35:22. > :35:24.receiving it who have not received any benefit in the past, and I would

:35:25. > :35:29.hope that the house can acknowledge that fact. I have been listening to

:35:30. > :35:35.the exchanges and I am just trying to judge to what extent there is

:35:36. > :35:38.controversy over PIP, clearly there is in this chamber, and I do get

:35:39. > :35:44.from time to time letters from constituents regarding PIPs but

:35:45. > :35:47.could my right honourable friend give me an indication as to what

:35:48. > :35:56.percentage of total claims are actually disputed? As I have just

:35:57. > :36:02.said, the number of total claims that are overturned on appeal is 3%

:36:03. > :36:09.of all claims, 3% of all claims is a lot of cases, and clearly, as I have

:36:10. > :36:16.said, on various times during the session, I am always looking to

:36:17. > :36:21.improve the situation and make sure that assessments are more consistent

:36:22. > :36:25.and better. But having only 3% of them overturned does not give rise

:36:26. > :36:31.to the picture painted by many on the opposition benches that the

:36:32. > :36:38.system is in some way broken. Does the Minister accept that many of the

:36:39. > :36:42.people with mental health issues applying for PIP are so distressed

:36:43. > :36:49.by the whole process that many of them never even go to appeal! Far

:36:50. > :36:55.from spending more on this, the proportion of GDP, we are actually

:36:56. > :37:00.spending less! Absolutely. I'm not entirely clear at what point she is

:37:01. > :37:04.making in the last point... Whether she wants a target for particular

:37:05. > :37:10.benefits, as a percentage of GDP, that would seem to be a slightly odd

:37:11. > :37:16.way to run the welfare state. On the first point she makes, I don't want

:37:17. > :37:21.to repeat and we are the house with what I said before, but, I think

:37:22. > :37:26.that making sure people with mental health conditions have proper access

:37:27. > :37:29.to benefits is indeed and has always been an extremely difficult thing to

:37:30. > :37:34.do, it is why we are spending so much money across the piece of

:37:35. > :37:37.government, ?11.4 billion this year, on mental health condition,

:37:38. > :37:40.precisely to remove some of the barriers to people from claiming

:37:41. > :37:50.benefits to which they are entitled. Alan Brown. An earlier response, it

:37:51. > :37:52.was said that there would be further updates and guidance coming out in a

:37:53. > :37:57.couple of months, a couple of months is not good enough, what is he doing

:37:58. > :37:59.just now to make sure that assessor 's have the correct information to

:38:00. > :38:09.properly assess claimants and provide them with the support that

:38:10. > :38:13.they need? Assessors. -- assessors. They work of the guide, which is

:38:14. > :38:18.available for scrutiny by members of this house and that is the guidance

:38:19. > :38:24.the assessors are given, in the most transparent and public way possible.

:38:25. > :38:30.The Royal College of psychiatrists, charities including rethink mental

:38:31. > :38:32.illness and scope, the work and pensions select committee and very

:38:33. > :38:37.many constituents tell us that the government is failing to support all

:38:38. > :38:40.disabled people who need help. -- Rethink Mental Illness and Scope.

:38:41. > :38:43.Now the Social Security adviser has said that the government should not

:38:44. > :38:47.proceed with these changes without further changing and consultation,

:38:48. > :38:51.what does it take to get the secretary of state to actually

:38:52. > :38:58.listen? I don't agree with the honourable lady's characterisation

:38:59. > :39:01.of what the SSAC says, they have the power to consult themselves if they

:39:02. > :39:06.want to make a recommendation that we should not proceed, they have

:39:07. > :39:11.specifically decided not to do that kind of consultation. Her

:39:12. > :39:21.characterisation of what they have said seems to me of the beam.

:39:22. > :39:25.Thousands of disabled people relying upon the moat ability scheme have

:39:26. > :39:33.had cars removed by this government. They are looking at PIP claimants to

:39:34. > :39:37.keep their car pending appeal, three weeks ago, the Prime Minister was

:39:38. > :39:41.unable to answer questions and update the house on the progress of

:39:42. > :39:46.this review. -- Motability Scheme. And the Secretary of State update

:39:47. > :39:50.the house today? Not with any detail, we are conducting a review

:39:51. > :40:02.and when the review is finished, I will update the house. Yes. LAUGHTER

:40:03. > :40:07.INAUDIBLE Further to the previous question,

:40:08. > :40:13.muscular dystrophy UK have today said that bigger is show 900

:40:14. > :40:19.mobility vehicles every week are being removed from people due to the

:40:20. > :40:23.PIP reforms, but these are subsequently, many of them, returned

:40:24. > :40:26.because of the appeals system. Will the government insure a mobility

:40:27. > :40:32.vehicle cannot be taken away from any individual until there is a

:40:33. > :40:42.final decision for the enhanced rate? We constantly work closely

:40:43. > :40:44.with Motability and in answer to the previous honourable member, we are

:40:45. > :40:48.reviewing the whole scheme at the moment so I pray that the house is

:40:49. > :40:54.patient while we conduct the review. Chris Bryant. Thank you very much

:40:55. > :40:57.for spotting me, Mr Speaker(!) the Secretary of State seemed to think

:40:58. > :41:01.and has said it several times that just because we have prayed against

:41:02. > :41:05.the statutory instrument that we are bound to have a debate, a 90 minute

:41:06. > :41:10.debate, and a vote, that is completely untrue, the only person

:41:11. > :41:15.who can guarantee that is himself, and so I promise, I will not tell

:41:16. > :41:18.anybody else(!) but if he could just end up now and be completely

:41:19. > :41:22.unambiguous and tell us that we are going to have a debate and a vote in

:41:23. > :41:28.this chamber!, we would be very grateful! The honourable gentleman,

:41:29. > :41:31.who in these long and distinguished career has been Shadow leader of the

:41:32. > :41:35.house for a time knows personally well that those things are a matter

:41:36. > :41:44.for the usual channels, and therefore, somewhat above my pay

:41:45. > :41:47.grade. LAUGHTER Most grateful to the Secretary of

:41:48. > :41:53.State and two colleagues, urgent question, Maria Miller. Mr Speaker,

:41:54. > :41:56.I would like to ask the Minister if she will read a statement on the

:41:57. > :42:01.recent court of justice of the European Union ruling allowing

:42:02. > :42:06.employers to ban workers from wearing religious dress and symbols

:42:07. > :42:12.in the workplace. -- most grateful to the Secretary of State and to his

:42:13. > :42:15.colleague. I would like to thank my right honourable friend for raising

:42:16. > :42:21.this important question and giving the government the opportunity in

:42:22. > :42:27.form and reassure the house about the judgments raised yesterday. This

:42:28. > :42:30.government is completely opposed to discrimination, including whether on

:42:31. > :42:36.the grounds of gender, or religion, or both. It is the right of all

:42:37. > :42:40.women to choose how they dress, and we do not believe that these

:42:41. > :42:48.judgments change that. Exactly the same legal protections apply today

:42:49. > :42:52.as did before the rulings. In both cases, the judgments were that there

:42:53. > :42:58.was no direct disc rumination, but there was some discrimination. A

:42:59. > :43:03.roll is directly discriminatory, Mr Speaker, if you treat somebody less

:43:04. > :43:06.favourably because of their sex, religion or whatever, a rule is

:43:07. > :43:10.indirectly disco Terry if on the face of it it treat everyone the

:43:11. > :43:16.same as some people because of their race, religion, sex, etc, find it

:43:17. > :43:22.harder to come by than others do. -- is indirectly discriminatory.

:43:23. > :43:29.The judgment confirms the existing long-standing position under EU and

:43:30. > :43:35.domestic law that an employer's dress code, which applies to and is

:43:36. > :43:39.applied in the same way to all employees may be justifiable, if the

:43:40. > :43:43.implied it can show some legitimate and proportionate grounds for it.

:43:44. > :43:48.Various cases show that such an employer needs to be prepared to

:43:49. > :43:52.justify those grounds, in front of a court or tribunal, if need be. And

:43:53. > :43:56.that will remain the case, and that is the case in these judgments which

:43:57. > :44:00.will now revert to their own domestic courts. Mr Speaker, I am

:44:01. > :44:05.aware of some concerns that these judgments potentially conflict with

:44:06. > :44:12.those of the European Court of Human Rights, particularly in the case of

:44:13. > :44:17.the British Airways stewardess who was banned from wearing a small

:44:18. > :44:22.crucifix but whose case was upheld, we do not believe that the different

:44:23. > :44:28.judgments are in conflict, but both the CJ EU and the EEC age are, are

:44:29. > :44:31.trying to assess the balance in each case between the religious needs of

:44:32. > :44:36.the blade, and the needs of the implied. In the case of, that Nadia

:44:37. > :44:41.Eweida favoured the employee in another case and also in the

:44:42. > :44:46.attribute occasion is the day. -- in the case of Nadia Eweida. We will

:44:47. > :44:50.still be taking action to ensure that the current legal position is

:44:51. > :44:54.set out, we will be working with the equality and human rights commission

:44:55. > :44:59.to update guidance for employers, for dealing with religion or belief

:45:00. > :45:05.in the workplace, it will be revised so that it takes account of the CJ

:45:06. > :45:10.EU judgments as well. We will be making clear to all concerned that

:45:11. > :45:13.the equalities act and the rights of women and religious employees

:45:14. > :45:20.remains unchanged. Like any judgment of the CJEU for the time being,

:45:21. > :45:23.attribute need to be taken into account by domestic courts and

:45:24. > :45:27.tribunals as they consider future cases, the law is clear, and remains

:45:28. > :45:34.unchanged, however, because of our absolute commitment to ensuring that

:45:35. > :45:39.discrimination and prejudice are never in courage and never

:45:40. > :45:47.sanctioned, we will of course keep this issue under very close review,

:45:48. > :45:52.going forward. In this country we have a long tradition for respecting

:45:53. > :45:54.religious freedom and many people are in disbelief to the court's

:45:55. > :45:59.ruling that a corporate multinational like G4S risks its

:46:00. > :46:05.corporate neutrality being undermined by a receptionist in

:46:06. > :46:09.Belgium wearing a headscarf(!) am a at what point did the law decide

:46:10. > :46:15.that expressing religious belief through a cross, a turban, a

:46:16. > :46:20.headscarf, was a threat to organisational neutrality? And will

:46:21. > :46:25.some organisations like our own here in the House of Commons, where staff

:46:26. > :46:32.pride ourselves on pride themselves on neutrality be forced to consider

:46:33. > :46:39.this new ruling? And if not, in what circumstances good organisations

:46:40. > :46:43.legitimately require such neutrality from their workers? Surely, there

:46:44. > :46:47.are serious potential invocations for those who deliver public

:46:48. > :46:51.services. One group specifically affected is Muslim women, who

:46:52. > :46:55.already experienced twice the unemployment rate of the general

:46:56. > :46:58.population. The government needs to carefully monitor the situation to

:46:59. > :47:01.make sure that employers do not use this ruling to effectively exclude

:47:02. > :47:08.thousands of Muslim women from the workplace. We are leaving the EU

:47:09. > :47:11.soon, but this ruling will potentially continue to influence

:47:12. > :47:16.the way that the equality act is interpreted by the courts, polymeric

:47:17. > :47:19.-- parliamentarians need equality, workers need equality and we need to

:47:20. > :47:23.make sure that this ruling does not have some very damaging consequences

:47:24. > :47:30.for the freedom of religious belief in our country. Well, the right

:47:31. > :47:35.honourable lady is absolutely right to raise this case, as I have said,

:47:36. > :47:39.and as I have said previously, we have some of the strongest equality

:47:40. > :47:41.legislation in the world and we do give people protection from

:47:42. > :47:43.dissemination in the workplace through religious grounds, it

:47:44. > :47:48.remains unlawful to directly discriminate against someone because

:47:49. > :47:51.of their religion or to create spurious rules which would prevent

:47:52. > :47:57.them from wearing religious clothing or jewellery. Employers can however

:47:58. > :48:00.in force a dress code, but it must be for proportionate and legitimate

:48:01. > :48:04.reasons and must equally apply to all employees, if any player wants

:48:05. > :48:09.to have a neutral dress code with no religious symbols being worn, then

:48:10. > :48:14.this must apply equally to all employees and all religions. Dress

:48:15. > :48:18.codes are a matter for individual employers and will depend upon the

:48:19. > :48:24.particular type of work, the environment and the safety

:48:25. > :48:27.considerations above all. The CJEU has found that these cases would

:48:28. > :48:31.contribute Consett Eugen directors rumination and have referred them

:48:32. > :48:34.back to the national courts to consider, whether based on the

:48:35. > :48:41.specifics of the cases, they would be unlawful. The UK's legal position

:48:42. > :48:45.has not changed, the EH RCR publishing and have already

:48:46. > :48:47.published guidance for employers on religion and relief in the

:48:48. > :48:50.workplace, and we will work with them to update this guidance to take

:48:51. > :48:53.account of the rulings, carefully explain how they should be

:48:54. > :48:59.interpreted in UK workplaces. -- EHRC. But I must reiterate, this

:49:00. > :49:03.government is absolutely committed to supporting people into work,

:49:04. > :49:12.whatever their background, making Britain a country that works for

:49:13. > :49:22.everyone and not just the privileged few.

:49:23. > :49:28.This rate is some real concerns about religious freedoms in the

:49:29. > :49:43.workplace, including Muslim women who choose to wear the headscarf.

:49:44. > :49:51.Neutrality has specific cultural basis based on secularism which does

:49:52. > :49:55.not resonate in Britain. As a customer, patient or service user

:49:56. > :50:01.couldn't make a religious assumption about the country or whether it

:50:02. > :50:09.favours one or the other by virtue of how employees dress. Women and

:50:10. > :50:17.men must be allowed to choose how to express their faith. Of real concern

:50:18. > :50:21.is the implication this may have full faith communities. Already, the

:50:22. > :50:25.far right are rallying around this judgment. I thank the Minister for

:50:26. > :50:29.making a clear statement today that people can express their faith in a

:50:30. > :50:36.professional manner in the workplace, but specifically can the

:50:37. > :50:44.Minister confirm that preventing women from wearing this headscarf is

:50:45. > :50:48.conditionally wrong. What is the Government's position on neutrality

:50:49. > :50:52.in the workplace regarding dress code, and can she confirmed that she

:50:53. > :51:01.will be working with the equalities and human rights commission to

:51:02. > :51:09.updated employers? Will it reinforce religious freedom? G4S hold a number

:51:10. > :51:12.of contracts. At the Government reinforced this with them, that

:51:13. > :51:19.they're in for you is' right necessarily deep -- necessary for

:51:20. > :51:29.their religious practice will be acceptable in the workplace? I think

:51:30. > :51:33.it's important to talk about the background for a wider

:51:34. > :51:45.understanding. The first case is dress code being banned that

:51:46. > :51:54.expresses outwards bully, in specific contexts to the women who

:51:55. > :52:00.was wearing a headscarf. The ruling confirmed that the current edition

:52:01. > :52:07.under the law, a dress code that applied and it applies to all

:52:08. > :52:14.employees doesn't constitute discrimination but may constitute

:52:15. > :52:21.indirect discrimination. And taking into customers requirement for

:52:22. > :52:26.dress, is not taken into this constitution. As I've already

:52:27. > :52:30.stated, employers can enforce a dress code and it must be

:52:31. > :52:39.proportionate, legitimate and must apply to all employees. And if they

:52:40. > :52:46.it should apply to all religions. it should apply to all religions.

:52:47. > :52:50.However, it remains unlawful to directly discriminate against

:52:51. > :53:01.someone for their religion, and create any spurious roles that

:53:02. > :53:04.prevents the wearing of religious clothing or accessories. The

:53:05. > :53:11.Government is very clear about where we stand on this. People will be

:53:12. > :53:17.protected in their workplace. We will be reinforcing the guidance on

:53:18. > :53:25.religion in the workplace which the ECHR have published and we will be

:53:26. > :53:32.making sure that employers are aware of their responsibilities. I'm glad

:53:33. > :53:42.the Government is going to issue some new light lines, and British

:53:43. > :53:49.values should be reflected in that Christians can wear a cross, Muslim

:53:50. > :54:01.women can wear a headscarf and seek men can wear a kirpan. This could

:54:02. > :54:10.take away from employees, and it's fundamentally not British. De

:54:11. > :54:15.honourable gentleman is absolutely right. I believe and the Government

:54:16. > :54:19.believes that people should feel strong in their religious identities

:54:20. > :54:25.and we are in sharing the voices of people of faith can be heard up and

:54:26. > :54:30.down this country. Any dress ban must be for legitimate and

:54:31. > :54:34.proportionate reasons, that the employer is prepared to defend

:54:35. > :54:37.before a court or tribunal if necessary, but ultimately, those

:54:38. > :54:43.dress codes are for individual employers, but we are absolutely

:54:44. > :54:48.clear that any form of discrimination on the grounds of

:54:49. > :54:53.religion or faith will not be tolerated and is unlawful. This is

:54:54. > :55:00.an incredibly sensitive issue and one that will bring concern across

:55:01. > :55:06.these isles. It appears that some European leaders are misrepresenting

:55:07. > :55:13.this is to meet their own ends, and I hope this Government will

:55:14. > :55:17.counteract this rhetoric. I think we should be clear, absolutely clear

:55:18. > :55:24.that women and men should be free to choose what they wear, and we

:55:25. > :55:33.certainly should not be discriminatory, uniformity is key

:55:34. > :55:40.and this should not be applied on an ad hoc basis. There is the worry of

:55:41. > :55:51.the potential that this could be hijacked by anti-Muslim or similarly

:55:52. > :56:03.intolerant rhetoric. What was the UK Government do to make sure that

:56:04. > :56:11.religious discrimination will not be tolerated in the workplace. It would

:56:12. > :56:16.be ridiculous to presume that if somebody wanted to wear dangling

:56:17. > :56:23.jewellery around machinery then it would be sensible to allow

:56:24. > :56:31.themselves to do so regarding health and safety considerations, but in

:56:32. > :56:34.most jobs it would seem to be very ill-advised to ban people from

:56:35. > :56:40.wearing clothing that reflects their religious faith or beliefs. In terms

:56:41. > :56:46.of what he says about the far right response to this, we do have one of

:56:47. > :56:54.the strongest legislative frameworks in the world to defend our

:56:55. > :57:00.constituents from bigotry. We want to make sure they remain effective

:57:01. > :57:07.and appropriate. He must be assured that those who perpetrate hate

:57:08. > :57:13.crimes at any time will be punished with the full force of the law. I'm

:57:14. > :57:19.heartened by the robust response to this. My experience in France is

:57:20. > :57:25.that because of their attitude to warlords the wearing of the

:57:26. > :57:32.headscarf has exacerbate it and fragmented different parts of their

:57:33. > :57:35.community. Seeing the police officers wearing turbans, just

:57:36. > :57:46.demonstrates how tolerant attitude in this country. I ask that she

:57:47. > :57:51.maintains this position. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I think that

:57:52. > :57:55.the multiplicity of the different faiths and religions we have in this

:57:56. > :57:59.country is one of our great strengths. We should recognise many

:58:00. > :58:06.people follow their faith in some of us follow none, but we want a

:58:07. > :58:15.society that treats people with equal respect. The Minister will

:58:16. > :58:21.appreciate how distressing this ruling is, not only for British

:58:22. > :58:30.Muslim women who choose to wear the headscarf but many from other

:58:31. > :58:34.communities. G4S has presided over a shambolic arrangement for the

:58:35. > :58:38.Olympics, the Army had to be brought in, I ask her to address the

:58:39. > :58:44.question about whether Government contracts will be reviewed for G4S.

:58:45. > :58:51.This is unacceptable and an British, what they have done. And secondly,

:58:52. > :58:56.will she reports to Parliament so that we can be reassured that as

:58:57. > :59:00.members across the House have stated, British values which are

:59:01. > :59:11.distinct from this ruling, are upheld and

:59:12. > :59:20.women's right are upheld? She is right to point out that women and

:59:21. > :59:29.all workers should be respected, their religious choices respected as

:59:30. > :59:37.well. She is right to point out that certain employers who will read this

:59:38. > :59:41.differently. Tolerance and religious tolerance are things we take into

:59:42. > :59:47.consideration regarding Government contracts. It's a shame, this

:59:48. > :59:51.situation, because in this country we are very tolerant and we are

:59:52. > :59:59.making massive progress. There are 45% more Muslim women in work in

:00:00. > :00:03.2015 than in 2011. We are committed to supporting people in their

:00:04. > :00:07.workplace, whatever their background, and this is why this is

:00:08. > :00:14.such an important thing to be brought to the House today. Can I

:00:15. > :00:19.respond and confirm that in this country, if you are airline cabin

:00:20. > :00:24.staff or a receptionist that you have a right to freely express your

:00:25. > :00:30.faith by wearing a cross or a headscarf, and that can't be

:00:31. > :00:40.suppressed by any so-called neutral dress code. The honourable gentleman

:00:41. > :00:45.is absolutely right that people are entitled to express their religious

:00:46. > :00:49.thoughts or belief in what they are air and it really is only whether

:00:50. > :00:54.there is some kind of health and safety that it really becomes an

:00:55. > :01:00.issue, but as I've said before, companies are entitled to force

:01:01. > :01:05.their own dress code, but this must equally apply to all employees,

:01:06. > :01:15.whatever their religion, race or gender. And we are keen to promote

:01:16. > :01:25.this. I'm really very troubled by these judgments. If provisions of

:01:26. > :01:31.these judgments are held to be directly affected they can be relied

:01:32. > :01:38.upon by employers in the UK without further ado. That would be

:01:39. > :01:46.deplorable in my estimation. With the Minister confirm that the

:01:47. > :01:48.Government is keeping open the option of legislating, indeed,

:01:49. > :01:54.emergency legislation, to ensure that our very, very fine laws in

:01:55. > :02:04.this country, and throughout the United Kingdom, about

:02:05. > :02:16.discrimination, and -- are not going to be and abide by the European

:02:17. > :02:21.court of justice. Is important to point out that this judgment is

:02:22. > :02:29.advice that goes back to the nations that have brought this forward. Soak

:02:30. > :02:35.each country has a right to enforce this judgment in the way they see

:02:36. > :02:42.it. We have some of the most important equality legislation in

:02:43. > :02:45.the world, including the Equalities Act. We will continue to keep that

:02:46. > :02:58.to make sure that people are protected in the best possible way.

:02:59. > :03:08.Mr Speaker, I apologise, but my honourable friend ask the question I

:03:09. > :03:20.was going to ask so I didn't want to waste the House' time. Doesn't this

:03:21. > :03:25.send out an appalling message to Muslim women particularly like those

:03:26. > :03:29.in my constituency. Can she take tangible action with faith

:03:30. > :03:37.communities to insure them that the United Kingdom certainly isn't going

:03:38. > :03:50.to go down this route? We are working so hard in the Government to

:03:51. > :03:54.tackle barriers. We are developing a new English offer which will be

:03:55. > :04:00.targeted at Muslim women that available to other groups. We are

:04:01. > :04:13.trying to get Jobcentre plus to engage and tailor their services. I

:04:14. > :04:18.don't like this word tolerate. We don't tolerate people in this

:04:19. > :04:22.country. We respect and embrace all cultures. But in spite of that, we

:04:23. > :04:30.know that in this country that Islamists by OBR is not is Lambeth

:04:31. > :04:41.OBR is not just widespread, it is rampant.

:04:42. > :04:48.I fear that people may see this as a green light to engage in bad

:04:49. > :04:52.discrimination in the workplace. What specifically will the

:04:53. > :04:56.Government be doing to ensure that employers don't take from these

:04:57. > :05:01.judgments that they can carry on discriminating against in particular

:05:02. > :05:06.at Muslim women who are more likely to be discriminated against in the

:05:07. > :05:09.workplace than many other groups? As I have already made clear, we are

:05:10. > :05:11.working closely with the equalities and human rights commission to

:05:12. > :05:16.update guidance for employers on dealing with religion or belief in

:05:17. > :05:21.the workplace, but we will continue to advise this guidance -- revise

:05:22. > :05:26.this guide and so it takes account of these judgments, we want to be

:05:27. > :05:28.absolutely clear to all concerned that the equalities act and rights

:05:29. > :05:35.of women and ridges employees remains unchanged, we will continue

:05:36. > :05:40.to protect them. I'm sure I am not alone in seeing a big difference

:05:41. > :05:44.between a headscarf, crucifix or turban and the Burke or niqab, and I

:05:45. > :05:48.wonder how this judgment will affect the two police forces that I am

:05:49. > :05:52.aware of which are currently stating that they are willing to consider

:05:53. > :06:01.applications from female police officers who may want to wear a full

:06:02. > :06:04.niqab or burka. -- burka and niqab. The government wholeheartedly

:06:05. > :06:08.supports the invaluable work being done by people around the country

:06:09. > :06:14.who are inspired by that faith, and where people are, where the job is

:06:15. > :06:17.safe for them to continue wearing their religious garment, we feel

:06:18. > :06:23.very strongly they should be in courage to do so. This ruling sends

:06:24. > :06:27.an appalling message to faith communities in our country, many

:06:28. > :06:30.visibly religious people going to work today will feel more

:06:31. > :06:36.scrutinised and insecure in their work as a result of it, ruling also

:06:37. > :06:41.creates another threshold for religious freedom than we currently

:06:42. > :06:46.enjoy than our -- currently enjoy in our legislation, many young people

:06:47. > :06:50.need a signal from the government that they will be supported and I am

:06:51. > :06:54.grateful for what the Minister has said in this regard but how will the

:06:55. > :06:57.government monitor the impact of this ruling on employees currently

:06:58. > :07:02.in the workplace and what steps will the Minister take to prevent any

:07:03. > :07:06.further marginalisation of visibly religious people in the workplace?

:07:07. > :07:09.Mr Speaker, she is absolutely right to raise this, the government

:07:10. > :07:12.believes people need to be able to feel strong in their religious

:07:13. > :07:19.identities, we have to continue to ensure that the voices of people of

:07:20. > :07:22.faith are heard in government, we have two -- we should recognise that

:07:23. > :07:29.people are completely free to follow their faith, we want a society that

:07:30. > :07:32.treats people with equality and with respect so of course this is

:07:33. > :07:36.something that we will always keep under review and take the necessary

:07:37. > :07:41.action if and when it ever becomes apparent that the need is there to

:07:42. > :07:45.do so. ... My constituents will take the view that this is Jet another

:07:46. > :07:48.inappropriate judgment from a European court which is telling us

:07:49. > :07:52.what to do when we haven't sold their advice in the first place. Can

:07:53. > :07:57.the Minister clarify to the house what power the EEC J will have over

:07:58. > :08:08.this country once we have left the European Union? -- ECJ. We know that

:08:09. > :08:13.we are leaving the EU and we are committed to delivering a successful

:08:14. > :08:17.withdrawal from the EU, a new relationship and it will have no

:08:18. > :08:22.power at that stage, but it is important to roll out that we will

:08:23. > :08:25.preserve all of the rights that employees currently enjoy, and we

:08:26. > :08:29.will ensure that all of the robust protections that various legislation

:08:30. > :08:35.is afford them are enshrined in our own domestic law. The Minister

:08:36. > :08:40.talked about neutral dress code that apply to both genders, would you not

:08:41. > :08:43.accept that a no headscarf is roll, even if it applies to both genders,

:08:44. > :08:48.effectively only discriminates against women, a no turbans rule

:08:49. > :08:53.would discriminate against men, does she not think something more robust

:08:54. > :08:57.would be required? It is absolutely clear that a no headscarves role or

:08:58. > :09:00.a no turbans rule would be absolutely illegal, that would

:09:01. > :09:04.constitute direct disc rumination, the only form of disk rumination

:09:05. > :09:10.that is allowed is carte blanche ban on any form of religious clothing or

:09:11. > :09:14.symbols, and that is what the legislation is being referred to in

:09:15. > :09:19.these particular court cases that were judged on yesterday. Andrew

:09:20. > :09:23.Stevenson. Many of my constituents feel that this ban clearly targets

:09:24. > :09:28.Muslim women who wish to wear the hijab, given that the improving but

:09:29. > :09:32.still below average employment rate among Muslim women, does the

:09:33. > :09:35.Minister feel that this court ruling sends out the wrong message is as we

:09:36. > :09:41.try to build a country that works for everyone. It does send out an

:09:42. > :09:44.unhelpful message, and particularly because this is a government that

:09:45. > :09:51.takes issues of this rumination in any form really seriously, we are

:09:52. > :09:54.going to renew our efforts to ensure that no one is ever held back by any

:09:55. > :10:04.kind of outdated attitudes or practices. In 99.9% of jobs,

:10:05. > :10:08.including security guards, your ability to do a job is not effective

:10:09. > :10:16.of whether you wear a skull cap, headscarf, turban, cross, or any

:10:17. > :10:23.such thing, so can I ask the Minister that perhaps two things,

:10:24. > :10:27.first, can this judgment be rejected in our domestic law, so there is no

:10:28. > :10:33.confusion for any employers that this case law has any bearing or any

:10:34. > :10:39.impact in this country? Secondly, can I ask that the G4S contract be

:10:40. > :10:43.reviewed, they received public funding and they are the scum and

:10:44. > :10:47.dating against people. We already have our own domestic equality

:10:48. > :10:52.legislation which is very clear, we don't need to change... Employers

:10:53. > :10:56.don't need to change any legitimate policies that they have about dress

:10:57. > :10:58.code in the workplace but it is vital that employers and employees

:10:59. > :11:03.understand what the law allows them to do, and that is what this is

:11:04. > :11:06.about, we don't want any employers mistakenly thinking that this ruling

:11:07. > :11:09.gives them any authority to sack any public facing scarf who wear

:11:10. > :11:14.headscarves or any form of religious symbols, those protections are in

:11:15. > :11:17.domestic law, it is very clear and we will always make sure they are

:11:18. > :11:24.enforced in the strongest possible way. At a time when many members of

:11:25. > :11:27.this house am a cross-party, and this government are working to

:11:28. > :11:30.promote the principles of freedom of religion and belief internationally,

:11:31. > :11:34.does my honourable friend agree that it is vital that we work hard to

:11:35. > :11:41.protect long-standing religious freedoms here at home? Yes, Mr

:11:42. > :11:45.Speaker, my honourable friend is absolutely right, we never one of

:11:46. > :11:49.the strongest legislative frameworks in the world to protect communities

:11:50. > :11:53.here from distil it is and violent and bigotry but this is something

:11:54. > :11:57.that we intend to promote, which we continue to promote on the world

:11:58. > :12:01.stage, it is fundamental to everything that we stand for in this

:12:02. > :12:10.country, the tolerance, embracing of other cultures, bringing them into

:12:11. > :12:16.the part of the national identity. Stephen Timms. This is a worrying

:12:17. > :12:18.judgment for people of faith across-the-board, the Church of

:12:19. > :12:22.England has described the judgment as troubling, will she confirmed

:12:23. > :12:30.that she understands why the Church of England has taken that view, and

:12:31. > :12:35.that they are right to do so? He is right to bring this up, this

:12:36. > :12:38.judgment does apply to religious symbols, whatever the fate of the

:12:39. > :12:42.individual who happens to be wearing them, it would be fully troubling

:12:43. > :12:50.for the Church of England, people of Muslim faith, whatever. -- equally

:12:51. > :12:53.troubling. A Muslim woman in my constituency was attacked in broad

:12:54. > :12:58.daylight on Oxford Street, one of the busiest shopping street is in

:12:59. > :13:02.the world, let alone London, by a man who forcibly tried to remove her

:13:03. > :13:08.hijab from her head, isn't, aren't these judgments effectively

:13:09. > :13:12.reinforcing a sense that other people have the right to tell people

:13:13. > :13:16.of faith what they can and cannot wear, how they choose or not to

:13:17. > :13:19.practice their faith, and in addition, the very welcome

:13:20. > :13:22.guidelines that she has committed to today, but she also look at what

:13:23. > :13:26.more we can do to enforce existing laws that protect us from religious

:13:27. > :13:32.discrimination so that the attacker of my constituent is brought to very

:13:33. > :13:35.heavy justice? I am very sorry to hear about the honourable

:13:36. > :13:39.gentleman's constituent, that sounds like a very distressing thing to

:13:40. > :13:44.happen, and those who perpetuate, who perpetrate hate crime of any

:13:45. > :13:48.kind will be punished with the full force of the law. We are really

:13:49. > :13:51.committed to tackling hate crime, which is why we have produced a new

:13:52. > :13:56.hate crime action plan, which focuses on reducing hate crime,

:13:57. > :14:03.increasing reporting, and of course increasing support for victims. We

:14:04. > :14:08.have all heard of hijabs being ripped from girls in the aftermath

:14:09. > :14:13.of the referendum result, by certain people in bold and by that, as an

:14:14. > :14:15.unintended consequence of the result, so I am encouraged by the

:14:16. > :14:19.words of the Minister, could she do all that she can in her power to

:14:20. > :14:22.make sure that this illegal judgment, which has nothing to do

:14:23. > :14:29.with workplace performance, does not have its own unwelcome by-product,

:14:30. > :14:34.such as fuelling, apparently there is a 70% higher likelihood of Muslim

:14:35. > :14:39.women to be unemployed than non-Muslims, the potential of it

:14:40. > :14:42.being a potential recruiting Sergeant for so-called Islamic state

:14:43. > :14:48.and streamers groups, and can she have a word with colleagues about

:14:49. > :14:53.proposed cut... INAUDIBLE She is right to point this out, hate

:14:54. > :14:56.crime, whatever form it takes, should never be tolerated, should be

:14:57. > :15:00.punished with the full force of the law, and that is something the

:15:01. > :15:06.government takes very seriously. Carol Monaghan. I'm hard on this

:15:07. > :15:11.afternoon to hear the comments that the Minister has made, and some very

:15:12. > :15:15.clear guidelines from her, but I still have concerns that this may

:15:16. > :15:26.allow intolerant employers to ban particular symbols, for example, he

:15:27. > :15:30.jabbed, or even a cross -- hijab. How will the government monitor

:15:31. > :15:34.employees, and how will the government make it possible for

:15:35. > :15:40.employees to report problems without any threat of repercussions? They

:15:41. > :15:43.really important question, we are very clear that employers do not

:15:44. > :15:47.need to change any legitimate policies they have about dress code

:15:48. > :15:53.in the workplace but it is vital that those employers and employees

:15:54. > :15:59.understand what the law allows. We cannot allow any employers to act

:16:00. > :16:02.unscrupulously in some kind of mistake and implementation of the

:16:03. > :16:09.law, we cannot have employees feeling they cannot come forward to

:16:10. > :16:15.report any incidents of this kind. When I was married, my husband gave

:16:16. > :16:18.me a ring, as part of the service, we all know that this is culturally

:16:19. > :16:21.loaded, wedding rings will be allowed, and it is headscarves on

:16:22. > :16:25.young Muslim women which are the problem. I want to ask the Minister,

:16:26. > :16:35.for the fifth time, unlike the honourable member for Stafford, what

:16:36. > :16:39.is she going to do about G4S? Ironically my husband did the same

:16:40. > :16:43.thing, I have got one as well. Listen, she makes a very valid

:16:44. > :16:48.point, it is something that we will keep in consideration moving

:16:49. > :16:51.forward, this is not happened with G4S in the UK but it is something

:16:52. > :16:57.that we take seriously and we will keep in the back of our minds when

:16:58. > :17:01.making these decisions. I welcome the tone of these changes in the

:17:02. > :17:05.house, and I know they will be very well received by Muslim and seek

:17:06. > :17:11.constituents. That I have the honour to represent. I also look at new

:17:12. > :17:17.guidance being created. -- Sikh. Then I also ask her to ensure that a

:17:18. > :17:20.generosity has the necessary resources to carry out enforcement

:17:21. > :17:21.function, something she will know there is significant concerns about

:17:22. > :17:32.already. This is guidance DEH CR already have

:17:33. > :17:37.but we will work with them to make sure it is updated and its purpose

:17:38. > :17:43.in light of this recent judgment. I'm very confident the EH are

:17:44. > :17:49.sufficiently funded to be able to do their job. Even after some recent

:17:50. > :17:54.changes in their workforce, they store have four times more staff in

:17:55. > :17:56.the EHCR than we do in the government equalities office. I am

:17:57. > :18:11.the chair of the all-party Parliamentary group the -- for six.

:18:12. > :18:16.Will her Majesty's government big representations to the governments

:18:17. > :18:20.of France and Belgium which overtly have state-sponsored discrimination

:18:21. > :18:28.against Sikhs, including British Sikhs who moved to France or France

:18:29. > :18:30.and Belgium as well as Sikhs from other countries? That is a matter

:18:31. > :18:35.for my colleagues in the foreign office but we will have the sort of

:18:36. > :18:37.conversations with them. We take the issue of discrimination seriously

:18:38. > :18:42.and we will continue to ensure no one is ever held back in this

:18:43. > :18:48.country by any form of outdated attitudes or practices. We tend to

:18:49. > :18:51.come to points of order after statements. So we can always hear

:18:52. > :19:05.from the honourable lady at that point. Sorry? It appertains to this?

:19:06. > :19:12.Well... In the spirit of generosity, if the lady is brief, we will hear

:19:13. > :19:18.it. I am enormously grateful to you, Mr Speaker. This is a very important

:19:19. > :19:23.point. The great repeal bill will incorporate all the existing EU nor

:19:24. > :19:27.at the moment of Brexit. The great repeal bill will therefore

:19:28. > :19:32.incorporate two judgments of the European Court of Justice which

:19:33. > :19:36.we've just discussed. Mr Speaker, I would wish you to seek confirmation

:19:37. > :19:41.from the Prime Minister and the government, if at all possible, that

:19:42. > :19:46.these two judgments won't be allowed to remain part of our domestic law

:19:47. > :19:51.one moment passed Brexit through the great repeal Bill. I am extremely

:19:52. > :19:55.grateful to the honourable lady but she invests me with a power I don't

:19:56. > :19:59.possess. It isn't the need to ask the government to take a position on

:20:00. > :20:04.this matter. All I'd say is I've no reason to dissent from the

:20:05. > :20:10.honourable lady's interpretation of the legal and, in a sense,

:20:11. > :20:13.Parliamentary position. The whole point, however, about that piece of

:20:14. > :20:18.upcoming legislation to be introduced by the government is that

:20:19. > :20:27.it imports from Europe into our law a body of material with the option,

:20:28. > :20:32.then, to preserve, amend or repeal on a case-by-case basis, as the

:20:33. > :20:35.government proposes and, ultimately, the house decides. On the basis of

:20:36. > :20:39.expression of interest from the honourable lady in this important

:20:40. > :20:43.matter, I feel certain that when any such matter comes up for

:20:44. > :20:48.consideration, she will be leaping from higher seat in order to

:20:49. > :20:53.acquaint the house with her views on the subject. And we all look forward

:20:54. > :21:00.to that. Statement, the Chancellor of the Exchequer. With permission,

:21:01. > :21:01.Mr Speaker, I wish to make a statement on National Insurance

:21:02. > :21:09.contributions paid by the self-employed. As I set out in the

:21:10. > :21:14.budget last Wednesday, the gap between benefits available to the

:21:15. > :21:17.self-employed and those in employment has closed significantly

:21:18. > :21:23.over the last few years. Most notably, the introduction of the new

:21:24. > :21:29.state pension in April 2016 is worth an additional ?1800 to a

:21:30. > :21:33.self-employed person for each year of retirement. It remains our

:21:34. > :21:36.judgment, as I said, that the current differences in benefit

:21:37. > :21:41.entitlement no longer justify the scale of difference in the scale of

:21:42. > :21:46.National Insurance contributions paid in respect of employees and the

:21:47. > :21:50.self-employed. Honourable and right Honourable members will also be

:21:51. > :21:55.aware that has been a sharp increase in self-employment over the last few

:21:56. > :22:01.years. Our analysis suggests that a significant part of that increase is

:22:02. > :22:06.driven by differences in tax treatment. HMRC estimates the cost

:22:07. > :22:11.to the public finances of this trend is around ?5 billion this year alone

:22:12. > :22:16.and the OBR estimates the parallel increase in incorporate and will

:22:17. > :22:21.cost more than ?9 billion a year by the end of the parliament. This

:22:22. > :22:27.represents a significant risk to the tax base and, thus, to the funding

:22:28. > :22:31.of our vital public services. The measures I announced in the budget

:22:32. > :22:34.sought to reflect more fairly deep differences in entitlement in the

:22:35. > :22:41.contributions made by the self-employed. The government

:22:42. > :22:50.continues to believe that addressing this unfairness is the right

:22:51. > :22:54.approach. However... However, Mr Speaker, since the budget,

:22:55. > :22:59.Parliamentary colleagues and others have questioned whether the proposed

:23:00. > :23:03.increase in class four contributions... Have questioned

:23:04. > :23:07.whether the proposed increase in class for my contributions is

:23:08. > :23:14.compatible with the tax commitments made in our 2015 manifesto. Ahead of

:23:15. > :23:18.Autumn Statement last, the Prime Minister and I decided that however

:23:19. > :23:22.difficult the fiscal challenges we face, the tax lock and spending

:23:23. > :23:26.ring-fenced commitments we've made for this parliament should be

:23:27. > :23:33.honoured in full. I made that clear in mild statement to this house. As

:23:34. > :23:38.far as National Insurance contributions are concerned, the

:23:39. > :23:41.locks were legislated for in the National Insurance contributions

:23:42. > :23:45.rate ceilings actually 15. When the bill was introduced it was made

:23:46. > :23:51.clear by ministers that the lock would apply only to class one

:23:52. > :23:56.contributions. The measures I set out in the budget for within the

:23:57. > :24:00.constraints set out by the tax lock legislation and the spending

:24:01. > :24:04.ring-fenced is. However, it is clear from discussions with colleagues

:24:05. > :24:12.over the last few days that this legislative test of the manifesto

:24:13. > :24:16.commitment does not meet... Mr Speaker, does not meet a wider

:24:17. > :24:24.understanding of the spirit of that commitment. It is very important

:24:25. > :24:29.both to me and to my honourable friend the Prime Minister that we

:24:30. > :24:34.comply not just the letter but also the spirit of the commitments that

:24:35. > :24:38.were made. Therefore, as I set out in my letter this morning to the

:24:39. > :24:42.chairman of the select committee, my right honourable friend the member

:24:43. > :24:47.for Chichester, I decided not to proceed with the class four measures

:24:48. > :24:51.set out in the budget. There will be no increases in National Insurance

:24:52. > :24:56.contribution rates in this parliament. For the avoidance of

:24:57. > :25:01.doubt, and, as I set out in the budget, we will go ahead with the

:25:02. > :25:06.abolition of class two National Insurance contributions from April

:25:07. > :25:11.20 18. Last two is an outdated and regressive tax, and it remains right

:25:12. > :25:14.that it should go. And I will set out in the autumn budget further

:25:15. > :25:23.measures to fund in full today's decision. Mr Speaker, I undertook in

:25:24. > :25:28.the budget speech to consult over the summer on options to address the

:25:29. > :25:34.principal outstanding area of difference in benefit entitlement

:25:35. > :25:38.between employed and self-employed - parental benefits. We will go ahead

:25:39. > :25:43.with that review. We now intend to widen this exercise to look at the

:25:44. > :25:46.other areas of difference in treatment, alongside the

:25:47. > :25:50.government's consideration of the forthcoming report by Matthew

:25:51. > :25:55.Taylor, chief executive of the Royal Society of arts on the location of

:25:56. > :25:58.different ways of working in a rapidly changing economy for

:25:59. > :26:02.employment rights. Once we have completed these pieces of work, the

:26:03. > :26:09.government will set out how it intends to take forward and fund

:26:10. > :26:11.reforms in this area. Mr Speaker, reducing the unfairness of the

:26:12. > :26:17.difference in the tax treatment of those who are employed and those who

:26:18. > :26:22.are self-employed remains the right thing to do. But this government

:26:23. > :26:26.sets great store in the faith and trust of the British people,

:26:27. > :26:31.especially as we embark on the process of negotiating our exit from

:26:32. > :26:36.the European Union. By making this change today, we are listening to

:26:37. > :26:42.our colleagues, and demonstrating our determination to fulfil both the

:26:43. > :26:46.letter and the spirit of our manifesto tax commitments and I

:26:47. > :26:59.commend this statement to the house. Don MacDonald! Mr Speaker, this is

:27:00. > :27:03.chaos. It is shocking... It is shocking and humiliating that the

:27:04. > :27:09.Chancellor has been forced to come here to reverse a key budget

:27:10. > :27:13.decision announced less than a week ago. If the Chancellor had spent

:27:14. > :27:20.less time writing stale jokes for his speech and the Prime Minister

:27:21. > :27:26.less time guffawing like a seal on those benches, we would not have

:27:27. > :27:33.been in this situation. Let's be clear, this was a ?2 billion tax

:27:34. > :27:40.hike for many middle and low earners. And it was a clear-cut and

:27:41. > :27:46.cynical breaking of the promise of a manifesto. What was sickening,

:27:47. > :27:50.though, was, at the same time he was cutting taxes to the rich and

:27:51. > :27:53.corporations, large numbers of self-employed people had been put

:27:54. > :27:59.through the Mangold last week, worrying about how they'd be able to

:28:00. > :28:04.cope with this tax increase. Yet, today, not a word of apology. Nobody

:28:05. > :28:08.should be too arrogant to use the word sorry when they blunder so

:28:09. > :28:17.disastrously. That to me, then, thank... Let me then thank all those

:28:18. > :28:20.who helped force this reversal. My right honourable friend the Leader

:28:21. > :28:31.of the Labour Party was the first to raise this in the budget response.

:28:32. > :28:36.Labour MPs and, yes, many MPs across this house, but also the Federation

:28:37. > :28:42.trade unions forced the Chancellor trade unions forced the Chancellor

:28:43. > :28:47.to see sense. But this blunder has consequences that the Chancellor now

:28:48. > :28:52.has to address. The ?2 billion raised was to contribute some way to

:28:53. > :28:58.tackling the social care crisis. We need to know now where these

:28:59. > :29:03.desperately needed funds will come from. We need guarantees from the

:29:04. > :29:08.Chancellor that no working people will be hit, either now or in this

:29:09. > :29:13.Autumn Statement, with stealth tax rises. And that there will be no

:29:14. > :29:17.further cuts in public services to pay for this blunder. And the Prime

:29:18. > :29:22.Minister and Cabinet would have been briefed on the contents of this

:29:23. > :29:26.budget in advance. Did the Prime Minister or any Cabinet member raise

:29:27. > :29:33.their concerns with the Chancellor before he announced it? We need the

:29:34. > :29:37.Chancellor now to set a clear deadline for the review and give a

:29:38. > :29:41.commitment it will be reported and debated on the floor of this

:29:42. > :29:45.chamber. We need him to address the real issues facing the

:29:46. > :29:49.self-employed, the scourge of bogus self-employment, the exploitation

:29:50. > :29:52.that goes on under that guise, the pressure from large corporations to

:29:53. > :29:58.reduce costs on the self-employed unrealistically. The lack of access

:29:59. > :30:03.to maternity pay. No paternity pay or adoption pay, no sick pay, no

:30:04. > :30:09.compassionate leave. This is the real agenda, it should've been

:30:10. > :30:16.addressed last week, not tax hikes! We welcome, Mr Speaker, this

:30:17. > :30:19.reversal. But what we need now is an honest and forthright commitment

:30:20. > :30:26.that the self-employed agenda will be addressed. These people are the

:30:27. > :30:35.engines of our economy, they deserve to be respected and not attacked in

:30:36. > :30:39.the way they were six days ago. Well, Mr Speaker, echoing my right

:30:40. > :30:46.honourable friend the banister's Question Time, I'm rather reluctant

:30:47. > :30:51.to take lessons from the gentleman except on chaos theory. He forced

:30:52. > :30:55.about -- you talked about being forced about making a decision. We

:30:56. > :30:59.listen to our colleagues, listen to the voices of public opinion. In my

:31:00. > :31:03.view, that is how Parliament should work. We listen to our colleagues

:31:04. > :31:12.and we make our decisions based on that. What I have said to the house,

:31:13. > :31:17.Mr Speaker, a few moments ago is that we remain clear that this issue

:31:18. > :31:22.needs to be addressed. What we have done is recognised that there is a

:31:23. > :31:41.legitimate view that the commitments made to need to be interpreted

:31:42. > :31:43.widely, and we've said we will interpret them in that way, and not

:31:44. > :31:44.go ahead with any National Insurance contribution increases in this

:31:45. > :31:46.Parliament. He mentioned the leader of the later to -- Labour Party. I'd

:31:47. > :31:50.say in his response to the budget, he scarcely mentioned class four

:31:51. > :31:52.National Insurance contributions and the honourable gentleman, I don't

:31:53. > :31:58.know if the honourable gentleman was even aware of this, but the Labour

:31:59. > :32:01.Party does actually have a self-employment commission that it

:32:02. > :32:10.established last November. At the time it was established, the

:32:11. > :32:12.honourable lady, the Shadow Secretary of State for Work and

:32:13. > :32:19.Pensions, and the knowledge they need to address the discrepancies

:32:20. > :32:25.between entitlement and contributions. So, I hope that

:32:26. > :32:31.despite the honourable gentleman's tone, understandable time, I hope

:32:32. > :32:35.the honourable gentleman would agree that on the substantive underlying

:32:36. > :32:40.issue, there is a significant degree of agreement across the house that

:32:41. > :32:44.there is a discrepancy here that will have to be addressed over time.

:32:45. > :32:49.There is a threat to the taxpayers that will have to be addressed over

:32:50. > :32:52.time. He talks about additional benefits for the self-employed. Of

:32:53. > :32:57.course, we are going to review the issues around a rental benefits, as

:32:58. > :33:00.I said we would in the budget. We are actually going to take it wider

:33:01. > :33:04.than that but I hope the honourable gentleman would agree with me that

:33:05. > :33:08.if additional benefits are to be made available, we will have to look

:33:09. > :33:12.at how we pay for them, and it won't be done by borrowing half ?1

:33:13. > :33:13.trillion the country can't afford on our children will be left paying

:33:14. > :33:25.for. owe It removes the perception of a

:33:26. > :33:32.cigarette paper between Number Ten and number 11. So it's doubly

:33:33. > :33:35.welcome. Does the Chancellor agree that a differential should

:33:36. > :33:39.nonetheless in the long run remain to reflect the additional risk taken

:33:40. > :33:45.by the self-employed when they're doing their job? Well, I'm grateful

:33:46. > :33:50.to my Right Honourable friend and I have to say in the Budget speech

:33:51. > :33:58.last week I made it very clear that what we were doing was seeking to a

:33:59. > :34:04.close a little the gap. There are actually very good reasons why there

:34:05. > :34:09.may need to be a gap. That's is why we're going to look at this in the

:34:10. > :34:12.round, contributions, entitlements, the way the whole package works for

:34:13. > :34:17.the self-employed. Let's come back to this once we've completed the

:34:18. > :34:22.review and got the Matthew Taylor work and we can look at this in the

:34:23. > :34:26.round. I said last week, this decision would come back to haunt

:34:27. > :34:32.the Chancellor and it has, but little did I expect when it came

:34:33. > :34:35.back to haunt him, we would have Number Ten and number 11 briefing

:34:36. > :34:42.against each other. It is almost as if the days of Gordon Brown and Tony

:34:43. > :34:47.Blair never really went away! But I do welcome the U-turn today. Not

:34:48. > :34:51.least because around 140,000 Scottish self-employed people would

:34:52. > :34:56.have been affected by it and many of them would have earned below on or

:34:57. > :35:03.only slightly more than the average wage. So I'm delighted the SNP went

:35:04. > :35:12.into bat for the squeezed middle against this Chancellor. But, of

:35:13. > :35:22.course, today's U-turn, has all the characteristics of the pasty tax,

:35:23. > :35:25.the caravan tax, and the only shambles Budget -- omii-shambles

:35:26. > :35:31.Budget. The Chancellor said he would fill the gap in the autumn, but can

:35:32. > :35:36.we have an assurance today he won't find another clever way of dipping

:35:37. > :35:41.the pockets of modestly paid self-employed people? If he's going

:35:42. > :35:46.to change the tax or self-employed people can he have proper

:35:47. > :35:49.consultation in advance with the representatives of the self-employed

:35:50. > :35:55.so they're not hit with the uncertainty they have been faced

:35:56. > :35:59.with over the past week? Well, Mr Speaker on the last point, we will,

:36:00. > :36:04.of course, over the course of the summer as we carry out this review

:36:05. > :36:08.consult with people widely. He will know that it is intrinsic in the

:36:09. > :36:15.Budget process that it is difficult to have any proper could be sull

:36:16. > :36:20.tation in preparing a Budget. The honourable gentleman asks about

:36:21. > :36:24.measures in the autumn Budget. I said in relation to this spring

:36:25. > :36:29.Budget that all spending measures in the spring Budget would be fully

:36:30. > :36:33.funded by revenue raisers or reductions in spending elsewhere in

:36:34. > :36:36.the spring Budget so that the spring Budget woos broadly fiscally

:36:37. > :36:40.neutral. As a result of the decision you've announced today the spring

:36:41. > :36:44.Budget is no longer broadly fiscally neutral, but I am committed to

:36:45. > :36:50.addressing that issue in the autumn, the intention remains, to balance

:36:51. > :36:58.the measures that we are delivering between spending and taxation. First

:36:59. > :37:02.I'd like to thank the Chancellor for listening to the voices of

:37:03. > :37:06.colleagues and deciding to reverse the proposals. The genuinely

:37:07. > :37:09.self-employed carry real financial risk by working for themselves and I

:37:10. > :37:16.know that a Conservative Government really wants a tax system that will

:37:17. > :37:21.support risk takers and growth takers, it is time to take a

:37:22. > :37:24.holistic and simplifying view on personal taxation for the

:37:25. > :37:29.self-employed which will support those who build new businesses and

:37:30. > :37:32.take risk? Yes, Mr Speaker. I can assure my honourable friend that

:37:33. > :37:37.this Government will always be on the side of those who genuinely

:37:38. > :37:41.strive to take risk, toun owevate, to grow businesses and to -- to

:37:42. > :37:44.innovate and to grow businesses and to contribute in what way to the

:37:45. > :37:48.economy. The honourable gentleman opposite in his response to the

:37:49. > :37:52.statement addressed the issue of bogus self employment. He's right,

:37:53. > :37:57.there is a problem of bogus self employment. There is a problem of

:37:58. > :38:01.employers who are refusing to employ people, requiring them to be

:38:02. > :38:05.self-employed. There is a problem of individuals being advised by high

:38:06. > :38:09.street accountants that they can save tax by restructuring the nature

:38:10. > :38:12.of the way they work. And we do believe that people should have

:38:13. > :38:16.choices. We do believe there should be diversity of ways of working in

:38:17. > :38:20.the economy, we just don't believe that it should be driven by unfair

:38:21. > :38:25.tax advantages. THE SPEAKER: I remind the House that

:38:26. > :38:30.colleagues who arrived in the chamber after the start of the

:38:31. > :38:37.statement should not stand or expect to be called. That a is a very

:38:38. > :38:43.long-standing convention of the House. This is an acutely

:38:44. > :38:46.embarrassing episode for the Chancellor, but wouldn't he

:38:47. > :38:48.acknowledge it is also quite embarrassing for those of his

:38:49. > :38:53.colleagues and for the Prime Minister who he sent out there to

:38:54. > :38:56.defend this breaking of the manifesto so has he already

:38:57. > :39:00.apologised to the Prime Minister and to his colleagues or would he take

:39:01. > :39:10.this opportunity now from the dispatch box to say sorry to them?

:39:11. > :39:14.Mr Speaker I find it a bit extraordinary that this should be

:39:15. > :39:21.the hon Raja's intervention. He said that Labour would fund its ?500

:39:22. > :39:25.billion plans by doubling income tax, doubling national insurance,

:39:26. > :39:34.doubling council tax and doubling VAT as well. He's the one who

:39:35. > :39:37.soundeded alarm on the other side. I have had conversations with

:39:38. > :39:40.colleagues since the Budget, across the weekend and in the lobbies last

:39:41. > :39:44.night and on Monday. I've had lots of discussions with the Prime

:39:45. > :39:48.Minister over the course of the last few days as he would expect and as

:39:49. > :39:54.he would also expect, I am not about to give the House the full detail of

:39:55. > :39:59.those private conversations. Thank you very much indeed, Mr

:40:00. > :40:02.Speaker. Can I commend my Right Honourable friend for his statement

:40:03. > :40:06.today for recognising what colleagues and others had been

:40:07. > :40:09.saying to them? Can I also commend him for recognising that the

:40:10. > :40:12.employment market in this country is changing. There are more people who

:40:13. > :40:18.are self-employed and this needs to be addressed and doesn't he think it

:40:19. > :40:23.is right that this party asking the questions about how be balance our

:40:24. > :40:30.books, not the other side who have no clue about how to pay off the

:40:31. > :40:36.deficit our pay off our debt? We've recognised the view of colleagues on

:40:37. > :40:40.the crucial issue of the manifesto commitments, but on the substantive

:40:41. > :40:44.issue of the differences in treatments of people who are

:40:45. > :40:46.employed and people who are self-employed, there is a

:40:47. > :40:51.fundamental structural challenge here that will have to be addressed

:40:52. > :40:57.and that includes the question of how we extend to people who are in

:40:58. > :41:03.self employment, appropriate benefits so that they get the full

:41:04. > :41:08.range of entitlements as well as contributing in an appropriate way.

:41:09. > :41:12.The proper thing is to rule out any increase of contributions during

:41:13. > :41:16.this Parliament. That doesn't mean we should carry out this review and

:41:17. > :41:23.present our findings in due course and we will do so. 28 measures in

:41:24. > :41:27.this Budget he had to come in a humiliating fashion to the House

:41:28. > :41:34.today to cast away the one that actually raised money. He has just

:41:35. > :41:41.told us that there is ?14 billion of tax revenue at risk because of the

:41:42. > :41:43.way that national insurance is encouraging people to become

:41:44. > :41:47.apparently self-employed and other abuses and he has told us he won't

:41:48. > :41:54.deal with it in this Parliament. So what is he going to safeguard the

:41:55. > :41:57.tax base in the meantime while he does his review and belatedly puts

:41:58. > :42:01.into effect the manifesto commitments that he fought the last

:42:02. > :42:06.election on? An extraordinary contribution. The honourable lady

:42:07. > :42:13.can't have it both ways. She can't have her cake and eat it. She wants

:42:14. > :42:17.me to adopt a broad interpretation of manifesto commitments and adhere

:42:18. > :42:22.to it and she wants me to protect the revenue base by addressing the

:42:23. > :42:26.difference in contribution treatment between the employed and the

:42:27. > :42:30.self-employed. I say to the honourable lady, as I've just said

:42:31. > :42:33.to my honourable friend, we will have to address that difference in

:42:34. > :42:36.due course, but given the interpretation that is clearly out

:42:37. > :42:42.there of the manifesto commitment that is made, we think our priority

:42:43. > :42:47.now is to show that we will deliver on the spirit as well as the letter

:42:48. > :42:53.of that commitment and we will not increase national insurance

:42:54. > :42:57.contributions in this Parliament. I'm sure my Right Honourable friend

:42:58. > :43:02.is right to deal with this issue in the round, but I hope he won't allow

:43:03. > :43:07.this to deflect him either from the sensible Budget judgment he made of

:43:08. > :43:11.fiscal neutrality or for the need for the structural reforms he put

:43:12. > :43:16.forward. The Shadow Chancellor asked him to fill the gap without reducing

:43:17. > :43:23.spending or increasing taxes. Does he know how that could be fulfilled?

:43:24. > :43:28.Well, Mr Speaker, the straight answer to my Right Honourable friend

:43:29. > :43:35.is only in the Los Angeles Land that the Labour Party occupies is that

:43:36. > :43:45.trick possible. Of course, he's right to draw a-- La-la Land. The

:43:46. > :43:56.honourable gentleman opposite doesn't believe in fiscal

:43:57. > :44:00.neutrality. Well, he says dear me. I repeat, Mr Speaker, I repeat Mr

:44:01. > :44:06.Speaker... THE SPEAKER: We can't have these

:44:07. > :44:13.shouting matches across the chamber. I'm asking people not to do things

:44:14. > :44:19.that they shouldn't do, shouting across the box and I ask the

:44:20. > :44:22.Chancellor to continue. The honourable gentleman opposite

:44:23. > :44:27.doesn't believe in fiscal neutrality. He believes in borrowing

:44:28. > :44:31.?500 billion of additional money and saddling our children and our

:44:32. > :44:35.grandchildren with that debt, but I very much take my Right Honourable

:44:36. > :44:38.friend's advice on fiscal neutrality, maintaining fiscal

:44:39. > :44:44.neutrality and dealing with the structural issue that under lies

:44:45. > :44:48.this statement today. Might the Chancellor consider to

:44:49. > :44:54.make up the loss in revenue to bear down on those employers who force

:44:55. > :44:58.their employees into self employment against their wish, destabilise

:44:59. > :45:01.their lives and thereby get out of paying national insurance

:45:02. > :45:06.contributions as all good employers do pay? Well, Mr Speaker, the Right

:45:07. > :45:12.Honourable gentleman is right as I've already said. There is as the

:45:13. > :45:15.economy changes shape, an increasing tendency for employees, effectively,

:45:16. > :45:20.to drive people out of employment and into what is thinly disguised

:45:21. > :45:24.employment badged as self employment. That's one of the issues

:45:25. > :45:28.that Matthew Taylor in his review is looking at. I've had the opportunity

:45:29. > :45:32.to have a preliminary meeting with him. We are looking forward to

:45:33. > :45:41.receiving his report in due course and we will respond to it. I am a

:45:42. > :45:43.self-employed solicitor and I commend the Chancellor on coming to

:45:44. > :45:48.the House today and putting forward his views about changes in self

:45:49. > :45:54.employment. Would he join me in commending the thousands of people

:45:55. > :45:57.who go out and start businesses and make money and work in self

:45:58. > :46:00.employment and when they went and voted at the last general election

:46:01. > :46:06.knew it was this Government, a Conservative Government, would not

:46:07. > :46:10.only protect their tax rates, but create an economic environment where

:46:11. > :46:15.they could grow? My honourable friend is right. It's about the

:46:16. > :46:20.environment being conducive to people who are starting and running

:46:21. > :46:24.small businesses and I congratulate those who do that, who get up every

:46:25. > :46:28.morning and who are prepared to take those risks and they will now, of

:46:29. > :46:31.course, benefit from the abolition of class two national insurance

:46:32. > :46:36.contribution making them that little bit better off.

:46:37. > :46:40.Thank you, Mr Speaker. Can the Chancellor confirm when this

:46:41. > :46:45.decision to make this U-turn was made? Isn't the truth that this was

:46:46. > :46:49.the Prime Minister's decision and not the Chancellor's? Well, clearly,

:46:50. > :46:54.that's the story the honourable lady would like to make, but

:46:55. > :46:58.unfortunately, it's not true. I've been discussing the Budget and these

:46:59. > :47:03.issues with the Prime Minister since last Wednesday as you would expect

:47:04. > :47:06.as I have been discussing them with many colleagues over the weekend and

:47:07. > :47:14.we've had several meetings over the last few days. The final decision to

:47:15. > :47:19.make this announcement to the house today was made this morning at 8am

:47:20. > :47:25.and I came to the House at the earliest reasonable opportunity to

:47:26. > :47:28.inform the house. There are 7,000 self-employed individuals in St

:47:29. > :47:32.Albans. Can I thank the Chancellor for listening to the representations

:47:33. > :47:36.I made in my letter to him and can I say that they will welcome that

:47:37. > :47:39.three year end of Parliament commitment that he has made on this

:47:40. > :47:45.matter which gives certainty and can I say I think he's right to look at

:47:46. > :47:49.this issue, but he is an honourable man honouring our manifesto today

:47:50. > :47:53.and to ignore the criticisms from opposite. I'm grateful to my

:47:54. > :47:58.honourable friend and I have to say I generally find it much more

:47:59. > :48:00.fruitful listening to the advice and thoughts of my honourable friends

:48:01. > :48:08.than I do of listening to the comments from opposite. We all noted

:48:09. > :48:12.that the Chancellor brought along the First Lord of the Treasury today

:48:13. > :48:16.for support, solidarity, counselling, hand holding, as he

:48:17. > :48:23.made his abject statement, but who first realised that the Government

:48:24. > :48:27.were in fray grant beach of their manifesto commitment? Was it the

:48:28. > :48:31.Prime Minister or was it the Chancellor? All parties must seek to

:48:32. > :48:34.implement their manifesto, will the Chancellor confirm since he intends

:48:35. > :48:40.to go ahead with the changes that they will appear in the Conservative

:48:41. > :48:40.manifesto at the next election so the self-employed can vote

:48:41. > :48:52.accordingly? I've made a statement today about

:48:53. > :48:55.the government's intention. No NIC increases for the remainder of this

:48:56. > :48:59.Parliament. I'm not making a statement about the Conservative

:49:00. > :49:02.Party's manifesto for the next general election. The right

:49:03. > :49:11.honourable gentleman will have to contain himself for a moment on that

:49:12. > :49:16.particular issue. Since he asked me the question who first raised the

:49:17. > :49:22.issue of the manifesto, I think credit where credit is due. It was

:49:23. > :49:32.actually Laura Kuenssberg on the BBC shortly after I said it in the

:49:33. > :49:37.budget speech. Can I commend the Chancellor for coming to the house

:49:38. > :49:47.today. He is entirely correct to assert the National Insurance

:49:48. > :49:50.contributions act only apply to class one contributions. I don't

:49:51. > :49:54.recall at the time the Labour Treasury bench ever raising any

:49:55. > :49:59.other contributions. Can I once again thank him for coming as he is

:50:00. > :50:03.listening Chancellor and he will continue to listen to this sensible

:50:04. > :50:07.side of the house, unlike some of the other previous Labour

:50:08. > :50:11.chancellors who didn't listen to anyone and brought the economy to

:50:12. > :50:16.its knees. My honourable friend is right and I am... I didn't mention

:50:17. > :50:21.it because I didn't think it was something I want to make a big issue

:50:22. > :50:25.of but it is true that when the National Insurance contributions

:50:26. > :50:28.rate ceiling bill was debated in this house, ministers on this side

:50:29. > :50:34.made it clear they were legislating to lock class one only. No

:50:35. > :50:40.amendments were tabled, no issue was raised. And, indeed, the honourable

:50:41. > :50:45.lady for Salford and Eccles, who was then a shadow Treasury Minister,

:50:46. > :50:58.said at this despatch box, that this Bill disbarred -- discharged the

:50:59. > :51:01.manifesto of the government. I know the Chancellor of the Exchequer will

:51:02. > :51:04.want an endorsement from me like a hole in the head but I'm rather

:51:05. > :51:09.disappointed because there is a lot wrong with National Insurance. When

:51:10. > :51:14.he looks at the wider review, Wilkie also look at the absurd way it kicks

:51:15. > :51:24.in at ?8,000, well below the personal tax allowance, and at the

:51:25. > :51:28.unfair top 2% rate. It is important to separate the two issues, the

:51:29. > :51:33.substantive underlying issue about the way National Insurance

:51:34. > :51:40.contributions and entitlement work. And the separate issue of the way

:51:41. > :51:44.manifesto commitments work. The review we will be conducting will be

:51:45. > :51:48.looking specifically at the differences between the

:51:49. > :51:52.self-employed and the employed and the axis of the self-employed to

:51:53. > :51:56.contributory benefits. What she has suggested is out of scope for that

:51:57. > :52:01.particular piece of work but as she will be aware all of these things

:52:02. > :52:09.are routinely reviewed by the Treasury in the run-up to fiscal

:52:10. > :52:14.events. May I thank my honourable friend for his wisdom in being open

:52:15. > :52:18.to change his mind which shows the serious mindedness of her Majesty's

:52:19. > :52:23.government. And also for his proprietary in telling this house

:52:24. > :52:28.first, doing it himself and not sending somebody else on his behalf.

:52:29. > :52:33.Finally, may I commend him for his singular achievement of converting a

:52:34. > :52:40.number of desiccated Socialists to support for lower taxation. I'm

:52:41. > :52:48.grateful to my honourable friend but I have to say to him what I see

:52:49. > :52:49.these days is not so much desiccated Socialists, as dedicated

:52:50. > :53:01.opportunists on the benches opposite. This was a budget that was

:53:02. > :53:06.disappointing, unambitious, and now is mired in chaos. Can I ask the

:53:07. > :53:13.Chancellor seriously if it isn't now the time to properly consider having

:53:14. > :53:18.an NHS tax, specific to funding and NHS, which did not receive enough

:53:19. > :53:23.funding. This is something that has the support of the majority of the

:53:24. > :53:27.British public. Well, Mr Speaker, what we need to fund our NHS is a

:53:28. > :53:33.strong economy, and the government has got the political will to make

:53:34. > :53:37.the commitment we've made to attend ?1 billion posed inflation increase

:53:38. > :53:41.in NHS spending. It is very nice to have a contribution from the Liberal

:53:42. > :53:44.Democrat benches. I don't know whether that is a precursor of the

:53:45. > :53:49.Liberal Democrat manifesto for the next general election, we shall wait

:53:50. > :53:52.and see. Can I commend the Chancellor for his statement today.

:53:53. > :53:58.As somebody who was self-employed for many years, the current system,

:53:59. > :54:02.both in terms of contributions and benefits, needs reform, so I look

:54:03. > :54:08.for to Matty Taylor's report. Could I urge the Chancellor, given so many

:54:09. > :54:11.of the self-employed are sole traders, and micro-business owners,

:54:12. > :54:15.to look at the great work Angela Knight has done in how the whole

:54:16. > :54:19.system could be improved. I'm very happy to have a meeting with one of

:54:20. > :54:24.his more junior ministers if he can't make the meeting himself to

:54:25. > :54:30.discuss it further. Angela Knight is the chairman of office of tax

:54:31. > :54:37.implication and we will seek their advice in this matter so I'm

:54:38. > :54:40.grateful to my honourable friend. Can I just confirm the slightly

:54:41. > :54:45.astonishing thing that the Chancellor just today few moments

:54:46. > :54:51.ago, that the first person to raise within the Tory manifesto was the

:54:52. > :54:57.BBC's Laura Kuenssberg. Nobody at Number Ten and nobody at number 11

:54:58. > :55:04.checked their manifesto before he wrote the budget? I didn't say that.

:55:05. > :55:11.Let me be clear, Laura Kuenssberg was the first person after I spoke

:55:12. > :55:16.to raise the issue outside. The government has always been clear. I

:55:17. > :55:21.said on Wednesday evening, Thursday, many times the Prime Minister said,

:55:22. > :55:27.that we've always regarded the legislated tax locks as being the

:55:28. > :55:57.commitment we were working to. All of our approach in the Treasury, all

:55:58. > :55:59.the work we do is based around the tax locks in place. I accept there

:56:00. > :56:00.is a gap between the specific tax locks that were legislated and the

:56:01. > :56:00.wording used during the manifesto. We have accepted today the more

:56:01. > :56:01.expansive interpretation should be expansive interpretation should be

:56:02. > :56:02.the ones that prevails, which is why I have made the statement I have. I

:56:03. > :56:03.underlines the case for fairness underlines the case for fairness

:56:04. > :56:05.strongly. And salutes the importance work self-employed people do. Would

:56:06. > :56:09.he agree with me that if we enter a period of turbulence for whatever

:56:10. > :56:14.reason, it's fundamentally necessary to have a strong fiscal basis which

:56:15. > :56:18.is what he's achieving by acting in this way? As I said in the budget

:56:19. > :56:22.speech and I've said previously in the Autumn Statement, we are seeking

:56:23. > :56:29.to do three things. To keep Britain on track for balancing the budget as

:56:30. > :56:32.early as possible in the next Parliament, so fiscal discipline.

:56:33. > :56:36.Investing in Britain's future to raise our productivity and make sure

:56:37. > :56:39.there's a decent standard of living for everybody in this country and

:56:40. > :56:44.we've made further steps in this budget by investing in skills. And

:56:45. > :56:49.to ensure we have enough fiscal headroom in our fiscal position to

:56:50. > :56:53.allow for any events that arise over the coming years. We need the

:56:54. > :56:59.ability to manoeuvre as we go through what we'll be a period of

:57:00. > :57:05.unusual uncertainty in the planning of our economy. More than 10,000

:57:06. > :57:08.self-employed people in Ilford North will welcome the Chancellor's

:57:09. > :57:13.conversion to the novel idea that parties might keep their promises.

:57:14. > :57:16.What does it say about the competence of this government on a

:57:17. > :57:20.day when they revealed there are no costings for a hard Brexit, that

:57:21. > :57:24.this year on his watch we will have two budgets, two policies on

:57:25. > :57:28.National Insurance in a week, and a ?2 billion black hole in his budget?

:57:29. > :57:33.Whatever happened to the long-term economic plan? I've set out our

:57:34. > :57:37.long-term plan. The honourable gentleman knows the fiscal figures

:57:38. > :57:44.because they were published last week, and I as I've said, I do not

:57:45. > :57:48.resile it all the commitment I've made that we will be overall

:57:49. > :57:51.broadleaf fiscally neutral and I'll bring forward additional measures at

:57:52. > :57:55.the autumn budget. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to do so but I

:57:56. > :58:00.will bring forward additional measures at the autumn budget to

:58:01. > :58:03.address the cost of the changes I've announced today. By the way if I

:58:04. > :58:06.could give him some advice, before he goes into hard on keeping

:58:07. > :58:13.manifesto promises he might want to check his own party's record in

:58:14. > :58:18.government on that particular score. On behalf of the 9,000 self-employed

:58:19. > :58:25.to people in my constituency, I would like to thank the Chancellor

:58:26. > :58:30.to -- for listening to the business committee for making this change.

:58:31. > :58:33.Will he confirm today there's nothing wrong in legitimately

:58:34. > :58:36.choosing to be self-employed and in charge of your own work destiny, and

:58:37. > :58:41.this party will always be on the side of the entrepreneurs, who are

:58:42. > :58:52.at the heart of our economy? I can say to the self employed to the UK

:58:53. > :58:56.-- of the UK this party will always support enterprise, those who grow

:58:57. > :59:00.businesses, and I as I've said, people should have choices about the

:59:01. > :59:04.way they choose to work. There are many very good reasons for choosing

:59:05. > :59:08.self employment, there are good reasons for choosing to incorporate.

:59:09. > :59:12.It's incumbent upon us to make sure that unfair tax benefits are not one

:59:13. > :59:19.of the things that drives people to make those decisions. The 130

:59:20. > :59:23.self-employed people in Northern Ireland make up the seventh of the

:59:24. > :59:28.workforce and will welcome this change of heart by the government

:59:29. > :59:35.but does he recognise the imposition of quarterly tax returns delayed for

:59:36. > :59:39.one yet and closing of the flat rate VAT system will also impact on

:59:40. > :59:43.self-employed people, and instead of targeting those who are genuinely

:59:44. > :59:46.self-employed and who have contributed to those low

:59:47. > :59:52.unemployment figures, shouldn't he concentrate its efforts on the large

:59:53. > :59:55.corporations, such as the BBC, who abuse the tax system and the self

:59:56. > :00:03.employment contracts to avoid paying tax? As the honourable gentleman

:00:04. > :00:07.will know, this government has introduced a raft of measures over

:00:08. > :00:14.the years to target avoidance of tax by large corporations. And have

:00:15. > :00:19.raised a very substantial, well over ?100 billion, of additional tax,

:00:20. > :00:24.through those measures. He mentioned the VAT flat rate scheme. That

:00:25. > :00:28.scheme was introduced to help and assist the smallest businesses. It

:00:29. > :00:33.had been turned into a systematic route for abuse. Which I'm afraid we

:00:34. > :00:39.had to deal with in order to make sure the taxpayers was not read it

:00:40. > :00:41.but we will always seek to support the genuine self-employed,

:00:42. > :00:49.hard-working people that are the backbone of this country's economy.

:00:50. > :00:52.I thank and welcome the Chancellor's announcement on behalf of all the

:00:53. > :00:57.self-employed in Wiltshire. The production of a new state pension

:00:58. > :01:03.marks an improvement in pension provision but they do not have

:01:04. > :01:07.parity of pensions without any or to involvement scheme. Will the

:01:08. > :01:11.Chancellor please remember and look at this? Yes, Mr Speaker, as we've

:01:12. > :01:14.cast our review of differences in the way into is and the

:01:15. > :01:18.self-employed are treated more widely, it is right we should look

:01:19. > :01:29.at this particular aspect as well and we will do so. Can we just be

:01:30. > :01:34.clear - is he saying he wasn't aware that he was breaking his own

:01:35. > :01:40.manifesto until the BBC pointed it out? Or he was aware but he was

:01:41. > :01:48.hoping no one noticed? Neither, Mr Speaker. We understand the

:01:49. > :01:52.commitment that we made to have been discharged by the passage through

:01:53. > :01:58.this house of the National Insurance contributions rate ceilings act

:01:59. > :02:03.2015. That set out very clearly the scope that the then Chancellor

:02:04. > :02:09.decided to apply to the National Insurance contributions lock. That

:02:10. > :02:12.is how the Treasury has worked since 2015 around the locks and ring

:02:13. > :02:18.fences that were put in place. They are part of the everyday workings of

:02:19. > :02:23.the Treasury, and that was what we worked to in this case but I have

:02:24. > :02:28.accepted today there is a broader interpretation based on the manifest

:02:29. > :02:31.itself, not the legislation that implemented it, which is why I've

:02:32. > :02:37.come to the house and made the statement I have. I congratulate my

:02:38. > :02:40.right honourable friend for listening to the self-employed,

:02:41. > :02:43.listening to representations from the Conservative benches in

:02:44. > :02:49.particular, and can he confirm the announcement he's made today by

:02:50. > :02:52.confirming the abolition of class two National Insurance contributions

:02:53. > :02:55.and transferring them to class four contributions if effectively means

:02:56. > :02:59.that every single self-employed person in this country is going to

:03:00. > :03:06.experience a tax cut over the next two years? Yes, Mr Speaker. Not over

:03:07. > :03:12.the next two years but in one go, in April 2018, about ?130 a year tax

:03:13. > :03:15.cut. Because class two is a regressive tax, a flat rate

:03:16. > :03:16.reduction for everybody who is self-employed, regardless of their

:03:17. > :03:25.income. This is, of course, a welcome

:03:26. > :03:28.U-turn, but if it is right to re-think this decision, isn't it all

:03:29. > :03:31.right to look at those decisions which were overlooked last week? The

:03:32. > :03:35.Chancellor speaks in his statement in unfairness of treatment. Can I

:03:36. > :03:38.remind him of the thousands of women who protested outside this chamber

:03:39. > :03:42.last week and ask when his Government is going to redeem their

:03:43. > :03:47.contractual obligations to them in full?

:03:48. > :03:50.Well, Mr Speaker, we've already addressed the concerns of women who

:03:51. > :03:56.are affected by the change in pension age. Of course, I'm ware of

:03:57. > :04:00.the concerns being addressed by this group of people and we hear those

:04:01. > :04:09.concerns, but we've addressed the principle issue. Thank you, Mr

:04:10. > :04:13.Speaker. I very much welcome the Chancellor's statement and we had a

:04:14. > :04:17.Parliamentary meeting on Saturday morning when the view about the

:04:18. > :04:22.general principle of manifesto was mentioned, but could he look to the

:04:23. > :04:27.future? Maybe the way the Chancellor can narrow the difference between

:04:28. > :04:30.employed and self-employed is by reducing the contributions that the

:04:31. > :04:42.employed make and could he do that from the Brexit dividend? Well, Mr

:04:43. > :04:49.Speaker, my honourable friend never misses an opportunity to bring us

:04:50. > :04:53.back to his agenda. I have had suggestions from various parties

:04:54. > :04:57.that maybe the gap between employed and self-employed contributions

:04:58. > :05:01.could be narrowed by the device of lowering employed contributions.

:05:02. > :05:05.That would be 85% of the working population is employed and any

:05:06. > :05:12.reduction in employed contributions would be a huge fiscal cost and

:05:13. > :05:18.would in our world have to be paid for. The honourable gentleman

:05:19. > :05:25.opposite may have a different view. The clear impression that today's

:05:26. > :05:31.announcement gives is of a reactive Government not in control of its own

:05:32. > :05:35.agenda. Can I ask him, if he did know specifically that this

:05:36. > :05:39.contradicted the Conservative manifesto of 2015 and if he is such

:05:40. > :05:42.a good listening Chancellor why didn't he listen to representations

:05:43. > :05:47.before he made his statement and go ahead and made the announcement he

:05:48. > :05:51.did last week? Because, Mr Speaker, those reputations were not made

:05:52. > :05:55.before the statement. In fact, there was quite, he will remember, that

:05:56. > :05:59.there was quite a lot of speculation in the media the week before the

:06:00. > :06:03.Budget about possible increase in class four national insurance

:06:04. > :06:11.contributions. I didn't see any reference to manifesto in any of

:06:12. > :06:17.those media discussions about the potential class four national

:06:18. > :06:21.insurance increase. We believe that the national insurance contributions

:06:22. > :06:25.bill put into law the lock that we had put in place and I didn't hear

:06:26. > :06:29.anybody suggesting to the contrary during that press speculation the

:06:30. > :06:34.week before the Budget. Thank you, Mr Speaker. I'd like to add my

:06:35. > :06:38.congratulations on the announcement. Self employment is key to our

:06:39. > :06:42.economy and key to the people of Derby and we have many great

:06:43. > :06:46.examples of successful and thriving businesses in Derby thanks to the on

:06:47. > :06:53.going policies of this Government, but can my Right Honourable friend

:06:54. > :06:57.assure he will look at all areas to continue growth of these essential

:06:58. > :07:03.businesses? It is precisely growing small businesses that we must seek

:07:04. > :07:09.to encourage. And those, that sub-set of the self-employed and it

:07:10. > :07:13.is a small sub-set, the sub-set that employ people are very much to be

:07:14. > :07:17.encouraged because that is a way of promoting growth and creating job

:07:18. > :07:23.opportunities in our communities. Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. Mr

:07:24. > :07:26.Speaker, may I commend the Chancellor for the bravery of his

:07:27. > :07:31.statement today and may I ask him to pass on his sin veer thanks to Laura

:07:32. > :07:37.Kuenssberg for pointing out to him that it was a daft decision and for

:07:38. > :07:41.the Prime Minister forcing him to reverse it before Breakfast! I

:07:42. > :07:45.explained to the House what happened Mr Speaker and I've already

:07:46. > :07:49.explained to the House the view inside Government about the tax

:07:50. > :07:57.locks that we put in place. The honourable gentleman is entitled to

:07:58. > :08:07.his opinion and he has expressed it. Can I urge him to carry on with some

:08:08. > :08:11.parts of his proposalsment namely, those who are partners in a limited

:08:12. > :08:15.liability partnerships who have the advantages of limited liability and

:08:16. > :08:22.the advantages of not paying national insurance. It is a

:08:23. > :08:27.relatively small group, but about 90,000 self-employed people on often

:08:28. > :08:32.very high earnings using limited liability partnerships in particular

:08:33. > :08:36.do benefit enormously from the way the system operates and this is an

:08:37. > :08:41.essential part of the review in the round that we have to do of this

:08:42. > :08:47.issue. I can readily understand why the

:08:48. > :08:54.Chancellor resisted reading the Tory manifesto until Laura Kuenssberg

:08:55. > :08:59.drew his attention it last week! Is he position I was right to raise

:09:00. > :09:03.national contributions for the self-employed and that's why I'm not

:09:04. > :09:08.going to do it? I think I made my position clear. I distinguished the

:09:09. > :09:12.two issues. The substance of this, it is right to address this

:09:13. > :09:17.discrepancy which is no longer justified by the difference in

:09:18. > :09:21.access to benefits. But it is also right that we accept the wider

:09:22. > :09:24.interpretation of the manifesto commitment that my honourable

:09:25. > :09:29.friends have expressed to me and that is why we have said we will

:09:30. > :09:34.continue to review this issue in the round. We will come back to

:09:35. > :09:38.Parliament with our decisions arising out of that review, but we

:09:39. > :09:44.will not increase national insurance contributions in this Parliament.

:09:45. > :09:48.My constituents almost a quarter of whom are self-employed will welcome

:09:49. > :09:51.the decision today, but they also find it extraordinary when they read

:09:52. > :09:56.in the papers that the Chief Executive of their local hospital

:09:57. > :10:01.trust is paid ?400,000 a year through a personal service company.

:10:02. > :10:05.A practise that got out of control under the last Labour Government.

:10:06. > :10:11.Will the Chancellor continue to tackle those issues particularly in

:10:12. > :10:16.the public sector? Well, my honourable friend will understand,

:10:17. > :10:19.by the way, I emphasise with the self-employed of his constituency

:10:20. > :10:25.and he will know that I was once living among them. I sympathise with

:10:26. > :10:27.the point he has raised about public sector employees using personal

:10:28. > :10:34.service companies, but he will know that we have legislated so that from

:10:35. > :10:37.next April a public sector engagers of people using personal service

:10:38. > :10:40.companies will be responsible for deduging the tax and national

:10:41. > :10:47.insurance contributions that those people would be paying if they were

:10:48. > :10:51.employed directly as employees. Can the Chancellor give an assurance

:10:52. > :10:54.to small business people that this three years he talks about isn't a

:10:55. > :10:59.stay of execution and we will see another Tory tax hike in three

:11:00. > :11:03.years' time? Well, I made clear that there will be no increase in

:11:04. > :11:06.national insurance contributions during the remainder of this

:11:07. > :11:10.Parliament. As I've already said I am not setting out today the

:11:11. > :11:13.Conservative manifesto for the next general election. I'm making a

:11:14. > :11:20.commitment for this Parliament and I hope that the House will be

:11:21. > :11:23.satisfied with that. I declare me interest as someone who was

:11:24. > :11:30.self-employed until a few months ago. As the chairman of the

:11:31. > :11:34.all-party Parliamentary group for small and microbusinesses I welcome

:11:35. > :11:39.today's announcement from the Chancellor and thank him for it as

:11:40. > :11:42.will a fifth of my constituency who are self-employed. Could I ask the

:11:43. > :11:46.Chancellor whether he might be able to give a little more detail as to

:11:47. > :11:53.the scope of the review that he will be undertaking over the summer? Yes,

:11:54. > :11:57.Mr Speaker. We will be responding to Matthew Taylor's report which is

:11:58. > :12:02.looking more widely at the issue of employment rights in a rapidly

:12:03. > :12:07.changing economy. We will be looking at parental benefits and that's the

:12:08. > :12:10.principle area where there is still a discrepancy between what is

:12:11. > :12:13.available between self-employed and the employed, but there are some

:12:14. > :12:17.other areas as well, they are minor, but we will look at all of them and

:12:18. > :12:21.seek to as it were audit the differences in treatment between the

:12:22. > :12:25.employed and the self-employed. So, I think, the House and people

:12:26. > :12:30.outside can see in the round the difference in access to benefits and

:12:31. > :12:34.entitlements and the difference in contributions and form a judgment

:12:35. > :12:40.about how we should move forward. Just so I don't have to wait 30

:12:41. > :12:45.years to read the Cabinet meeting's minutes, could the Chancellor

:12:46. > :12:49.confirm to me that the decision was the unanimous decision the Cabinet

:12:50. > :12:53.and is he seeking saves to fill this ?2 billion, could he start with the

:12:54. > :12:57.?320 million he announced fortry schools he announced last week? The

:12:58. > :13:01.honourable gentleman, but he will have to wait 30 years. I'm not about

:13:02. > :13:06.to tell him what happened in the Cabinet, but he will know that all

:13:07. > :13:17.decisions are the unanimous decision of the Cabinet.

:13:18. > :13:19.Can I congratulate my honourable friend for his statement today and

:13:20. > :13:25.thank him for it. We understand that we have to live within our means. Is

:13:26. > :13:32.it not time to look now, to look now at the overseas aid budget and the

:13:33. > :13:39.0.79% of GDP because we need money and that's an area we should look.

:13:40. > :13:45.Well, Mr Speaker, there again, we have a manifesto commitment to spend

:13:46. > :13:50.0.7% of GDP on overseas aid, a commitment which has been legislated

:13:51. > :14:02.for and therefore, is locked unless this House were to decide otherwise.

:14:03. > :14:07.Mrfrgets speaker this is another right mess and the last Chancellor

:14:08. > :14:10.who had to make a U-turn lasted only a few weeks so before this

:14:11. > :14:15.Chancellor leaves office, could he confirm that since he himself has

:14:16. > :14:20.said that this decision was only made at 8am that that means it's not

:14:21. > :14:31.been taken to full Cabinet? THE SPEAKER: The decision was made

:14:32. > :14:40.by myself and the Prime Minister this morning.

:14:41. > :14:44.May I thank my Right Honourable friend for reacting so quickly to

:14:45. > :14:48.reputations made to him by colleagues and indeed, by Laura

:14:49. > :14:52.Kuenssberg! But can I seriously ask him to listen on occasion to the

:14:53. > :14:56.party opposite, you see there are lessons to be learned. They would

:14:57. > :14:59.have leaked this statement at a weekend, not prior to Prime

:15:00. > :15:02.Minister's Questions. They wouldn't have come to the House and done a

:15:03. > :15:07.written statement, an oral statement, it would have been a

:15:08. > :15:12.written statement. So can I say to my Right Honourable friend he's

:15:13. > :15:17.really far too open! Mr Speaker, as you would expect, we

:15:18. > :15:21.try if it is possible to ensure that the House is always informed first

:15:22. > :15:25.of these matters. After my Right Honourable friend the Prime Minister

:15:26. > :15:28.and I met this morning, I wrote to the chairman of the Treasury Select

:15:29. > :15:33.Committee and placed a copy of that letter in the library of the House

:15:34. > :15:39.and I've made this statement at the earliest opportunity available to

:15:40. > :15:42.me. We've already heard that in Northern Ireland there are some

:15:43. > :15:46.134,000 self-employed and we no it is critical in Northern Ireland that

:15:47. > :15:52.we increase the private sector. But, at the same time we have 50% fewer

:15:53. > :15:57.new businesses. Would the Chancellor make sure that in the future

:15:58. > :16:01.consultation they look at all aspects of the effect of this on the

:16:02. > :16:05.Northern Ireland economy? Yes, Northern Ireland, I mean, there are

:16:06. > :16:10.as the honourable gentleman alluded to, specific issues in Northern

:16:11. > :16:15.Ireland where the public sector still occupies a dominant role in

:16:16. > :16:20.the economy and of course, we all share the objective of increasing

:16:21. > :16:22.the share of the private sector in the Northern Ireland economy and

:16:23. > :16:27.small businesses can play a very important role in that, but I think

:16:28. > :16:31.the lessons of this review will be generally applicable across the

:16:32. > :16:35.United Kingdom, but they will certainly play an important role in

:16:36. > :16:41.Northern Ireland. Whilst it might not be palatable to

:16:42. > :16:44.the benches opposite, as someone who is self-employed myself many years

:16:45. > :16:48.before joining this place. The Chancellor was right to make his

:16:49. > :16:52.announcement and rebalance the tax base. Sorry as more self-employed

:16:53. > :16:57.people enter into the jobs market. It was right to listen to honourable

:16:58. > :17:01.members across this side in relation to our comments. Does my Right

:17:02. > :17:05.Honourable friend agree with me and I appreciate the fact they doesn't

:17:06. > :17:10.want to make comments in relation to the next manifesto, we should be

:17:11. > :17:14.looking at proposal to scrap this outdated and merge it into a single

:17:15. > :17:19.tax which is more progressive? My honourable friend will probably know

:17:20. > :17:23.that ideas about merging the tax and national insurance systems have been

:17:24. > :17:27.around probably certainly for longer than I have and although it is a

:17:28. > :17:31.superficially attractive proposition, it is fraught with

:17:32. > :17:34.practical difficulties. The Office of Tax Simplification has looked at

:17:35. > :17:38.this recently and my honourable friend I'm sure will have read their

:17:39. > :17:41.report. I should just say to the House that all matters relating to

:17:42. > :17:47.tax are kept continually under review at every fiscal event.

:17:48. > :17:52.. Mr Speaker, last week the Chancellor

:17:53. > :17:57.made what at the time was a very funny joke about a Chancellor of the

:17:58. > :18:04.Exchequer sacked just a few weeks after a Budget. Does he in

:18:05. > :18:10.retrospect agree with Lord Lamont that this was a rooky mistake?

:18:11. > :18:18.I've set out the basis on which we've made the decision to proceed

:18:19. > :18:23.with a difficult decision to changes to class four National Insurance.

:18:24. > :18:29.Packaged with the abolition of class two National Insurance to try to

:18:30. > :18:33.make the system fairer. We have listened to what our honourable

:18:34. > :18:38.friends have asked and we have decided to withdraw these proposals

:18:39. > :18:45.to conduct a wide-ranging review and to set out to Parliament later in

:18:46. > :18:48.the how we intend to proceed. Can I congratulate my right honourable

:18:49. > :18:54.friend on his statement and warmly thank him for listening to

:18:55. > :18:59.colleagues and their constituents. Notwithstanding his comments, can I

:19:00. > :19:03.invite him to look afresh at the possibility of hypothecated National

:19:04. > :19:17.Insurance contributions so that contributors, employers, and the

:19:18. > :19:26.public to NIC Pramac can see a clearer... 20% of the fund goes to

:19:27. > :19:32.the National health service, to which self-employed people have full

:19:33. > :19:35.access to, an extraordinary enhancement in the entitlement. I'm

:19:36. > :19:44.told that for a 45-year-old man of the enhanced pension in retirement,

:19:45. > :19:49.?1800 or more, would cost about ?50,000 as a capital sum to purchase

:19:50. > :19:54.an annuity to buy. That is an extraordinary expansion in the

:19:55. > :20:02.entitlement offered to the self-employed. They do say a week is

:20:03. > :20:07.a long time in politics and I'm sure the Chancellor would agree with me

:20:08. > :20:12.on this occasion. ?2 billion would account for 10,000 police officers,

:20:13. > :20:15.10,000 teachers, 12,000 nurses and 5,000 doctors. Will the Chancellor

:20:16. > :20:19.guarantee none of these posts will be cut as a result of his

:20:20. > :20:26.government's gross incompetence? The honourable lady knows that ?2

:20:27. > :20:30.billion was the amount we put in social care funding last week

:20:31. > :20:35.alongside additional capital for the NHS investment in schools,

:20:36. > :20:39.investment in skills. Not enough, she says, and I can understand why

:20:40. > :20:43.she says that because over here is someone that tells you can borrow

:20:44. > :20:50.for everything you want to do, don't worry, the kids will pick up the

:20:51. > :20:58.tab. I'm listening carefully to the honourable gentleman but I'm not

:20:59. > :21:03.hearing anything worth listening to. Mr Speaker, I was self-employed 27

:21:04. > :21:07.years before I came to this house and I've campaigned long and hard to

:21:08. > :21:11.see the abolition of class two. My honourable friend from Harrow East

:21:12. > :21:15.said it is a tax cut, which it is. Would the Chancellor please allude

:21:16. > :21:21.to what the self-employed will be getting because I know the self

:21:22. > :21:24.employment Secretary is a former self employment ambassador to the

:21:25. > :21:28.Prime Minister. I'm keen to find out exactly what the self employment

:21:29. > :21:36.Secretary will be getting for this extra annuity, which is what they've

:21:37. > :21:40.already got. The self-employed benefit from increased personal

:21:41. > :21:46.allowances, taking 3 million people out of tax altogether, a tax cut for

:21:47. > :21:50.29 million people. From April this year, the self-employed, like the

:21:51. > :21:54.employed, will have access to tax free childcare, the additional

:21:55. > :21:58.childcare offer for three and four-year-olds, which is a new

:21:59. > :22:03.extension of entitlement to the self-employed and, of course, as

:22:04. > :22:08.I've already referred to, the extension of the state pension on

:22:09. > :22:13.the same basis as for employees to the self-employed from last year

:22:14. > :22:17.really was a dramatic step change in the way the system operates and it

:22:18. > :22:21.is worth noting that with all of those enhanced entitlements there

:22:22. > :22:22.has been no change at all to the contribution asked of self-employed

:22:23. > :22:32.people. The Evening Standard has people. The Evening Standard has

:22:33. > :22:43.delivered a damning verdict on its front page today. The Chancellor job

:22:44. > :22:48.on the line as he hikes the tax hike for entrepreneurs. It might be his

:22:49. > :22:53.last budget. Laura Kuenssberg from the BBC says that. How does he

:22:54. > :22:59.intend to build trust in his competency following this shambolic

:23:00. > :23:04.episode? I have explained how we have approached this issue. And we

:23:05. > :23:08.have a bigger job to do here. The country is embarking on a great

:23:09. > :23:14.venture that will shape the future of this country for many years to

:23:15. > :23:17.come. National Insurance class four contributions are important but I

:23:18. > :23:22.would suggest they are not the only challenge facing this country today.

:23:23. > :23:29.And the important thing is we focus on the other issues that are vitally

:23:30. > :23:32.important to get right. Can I applaud my right honourable friend.

:23:33. > :23:36.His ability to understand, listen and act. He is understood the

:23:37. > :23:40.changes could be seen as a break of our manifesto commitment. He's

:23:41. > :23:44.listened to colleagues, and has acted swiftly and with certainty to

:23:45. > :23:49.give self-employed people the clarity people want. Can I ask that

:23:50. > :23:53.when we do this review that we never lose sight of the fact that

:23:54. > :23:57.self-employed people in this country other risk-takers, the entrepreneurs

:23:58. > :24:01.who power our economy on at great risk and uncertainty to themselves?

:24:02. > :24:07.As I've said many times today and I'm happy to say get on, we will

:24:08. > :24:11.always support those who are taking risk and growing businesses,

:24:12. > :24:14.founding new businesses. Our job, and I take this very seriously and

:24:15. > :24:18.my honourable friend the Prime Minister takes it seriously, is to

:24:19. > :24:22.do what is right for the country. When it becomes apparent we have to

:24:23. > :24:25.do something because it is the right thing for the country, which is what

:24:26. > :24:33.is apparent to us over the last couple of days, we will do it. And

:24:34. > :24:39.that is what I have done today. I realise now the budget has become a

:24:40. > :24:44.consultation exercise. Can I ask him to confirm whether the time he put

:24:45. > :24:48.together the budget, the manifesto with his colleagues, not to put

:24:49. > :24:52.National Insurance, not to put up VAT, not to put up income tax, at

:24:53. > :24:56.that time there was no economic impact assessment of the possibility

:24:57. > :25:06.of Brexit, and that therefore the economic cost of Brexit will fall

:25:07. > :25:11.wholly on public services? It is certainly the case that at the time

:25:12. > :25:15.of the last general election, the referendum hadn't taken place and,

:25:16. > :25:19.indeed, if a Conservative government had not been elected, a referendum

:25:20. > :25:23.wouldn't have taken place. And the honourable gentleman knows and

:25:24. > :25:31.understands that very well. The manifesto commitment, I've explained

:25:32. > :25:34.how we approach the manifesto commitment, how we delivered it into

:25:35. > :25:40.law, and how we reviewed how it is seen in light of representations

:25:41. > :25:45.from colleagues. There's been much talk about our manifesto. This was a

:25:46. > :25:50.manifesto that promise to protect the elderly. In delivering an extra

:25:51. > :25:52.?2 billion for social care, what the Chancellor agree with me that we

:25:53. > :25:57.need to support him from these benches when he mates difficult

:25:58. > :26:01.decisions to raise the cash? The alternative is putting future

:26:02. > :26:05.generations into horrendous dead. My honourable friend is exactly right,

:26:06. > :26:11.as I've already said. We will not adopt this convenient ruse the

:26:12. > :26:16.gentleman opposite has of pretending you can borrow for everything

:26:17. > :26:20.without any cost. If something needs doing, like funding our social care

:26:21. > :26:24.system, then we have to be prepared to pay for it. Simply pretending you

:26:25. > :26:34.can borrow for it and pass the debts to our children is not a credible

:26:35. > :26:38.fiscal position. This farce has come out partly because of the lack of

:26:39. > :26:41.transparency in the estimates and budget process, which is something

:26:42. > :26:46.the government should be looking at again. Giving the Chancellor has

:26:47. > :26:49.admitted his spring budget isn't fiscally neutral, I've got a few

:26:50. > :27:00.suggestions he could look at again. A higher rate threshold, lifetime

:27:01. > :27:08.ice up to ?20,000, corporation tax giveaway, and inheritance tax

:27:09. > :27:14.giveaway. That is 30 billion to -- 30 ?2 billion giveaway. Why isn't he

:27:15. > :27:17.looking at some of these again? We know the Scottish National Party

:27:18. > :27:23.believes in higher taxes because everyone earning more than ?45,000

:27:24. > :27:31.will be paying ?314 a year more tax in Scotland next year than in

:27:32. > :27:36.England. Can I commend the Chancellor on his statement today

:27:37. > :27:41.and urge him first of all to take firm action on fake self-employment,

:27:42. > :27:43.which is tax dodging by big businesses, while shirking their

:27:44. > :27:46.responsibilities and should know better? And can I ask him to

:27:47. > :27:51.consider the case for a wide-ranging reform for a new deal for the

:27:52. > :27:54.self-employed, not on the tax side only but workplace supports a week

:27:55. > :27:59.and have then sent a level playing field between different types of

:28:00. > :28:04.worker? That is the purpose of the report Matthew Taylor is writing, to

:28:05. > :28:10.look at differences in treatment, as the economy changes shape. Yes, he's

:28:11. > :28:14.right, there are examples of employers egregiously forcing

:28:15. > :28:20.employees into bogus self-employment. There are also much

:28:21. > :28:23.more complex cases where new digital platforms are allowing people to

:28:24. > :28:30.work in different ways. They employees? Of a self-employed? Of a

:28:31. > :28:33.something in between? We need to ask these questions because this is

:28:34. > :28:39.going to be an increasingly important issue for us to address.

:28:40. > :28:43.The Chancellor now accepts the shape, pace and burden of the change

:28:44. > :28:48.announced was going to be problematic. What he does make a

:28:49. > :28:52.case for is for a balanced change. And he needs to consider the issues

:28:53. > :28:57.in and around looking at contributions and entitlements. Why

:28:58. > :29:01.can't that same benchmark extend to the Waspy women, who find themselves

:29:02. > :29:08.by the pace and change of change? Yaps towns -- says their grievances

:29:09. > :29:13.are outstanding concerns. If Laura Kuenssberg that does a response that

:29:14. > :29:20.their grievances arm or the residual concerns, Wilkie reconsider? We have

:29:21. > :29:25.considered the issue of women affected by the pension age changes,

:29:26. > :29:30.and we have provided some transitional funding. I am aware

:29:31. > :29:34.there are people who believe that isn't sufficient, who'd like more, I

:29:35. > :29:38.understand that. But the role of government is always to balance the

:29:39. > :29:42.claims of individuals against the interest of the tax payer that in

:29:43. > :29:49.the end has to fund these things and we think we've got that balance

:29:50. > :29:52.right. Away from the chamber of the House of Commons, out there in the

:29:53. > :29:57.real world, there's an army of self-employed people who are working

:29:58. > :30:01.their socks off from dawn to dusk and fun longer, often with great

:30:02. > :30:06.personal risks, they are the heroes and heroines wealth creation. And we

:30:07. > :30:12.simply would not be able to afford public services we enjoy without

:30:13. > :30:15.them. On behalf of the self employed people of Kettering, can I thank the

:30:16. > :30:20.honourable member for thinking again? I'm grateful to my honourable

:30:21. > :30:24.friend and I extend my sincere good wishes to all the people of

:30:25. > :30:35.Kettering, self-employed or otherwise, and everywhere else.

:30:36. > :30:42.While the freelance cultural industries and the self-employed are

:30:43. > :30:47.very grateful for this U-turn, it's actually the slashing of the

:30:48. > :30:49.dividends draw down from ?5,000 to ?2000 that makes a massive

:30:50. > :30:55.difference. Some people are actually living on this when they can't get

:30:56. > :31:04.work, so will the Chancellor actually do a U-turn on this as

:31:05. > :31:08.well? Mr Speaker, I hear what the honourable lady says but this is a

:31:09. > :31:15.measure that will only affect people who have a share portfolio worth

:31:16. > :31:19.typically more than ?50,000. It is a measure which affects relatively

:31:20. > :31:34.small number of people. And if we want to fund things like social care

:31:35. > :31:39.with additional cash injections, we have to raise the money from

:31:40. > :31:42.somewhere. I'm sorry if that is a hard lesson. It is what the

:31:43. > :31:44.all costs. Fiscal discipline all costs. Fiscal discipline

:31:45. > :31:46.requires us to find a way of funding the high-value public spending we

:31:47. > :31:48.need to do. And I believe the budget measures we have announced are an

:31:49. > :31:51.appropriate way to raise the funding needed to support our social care,

:31:52. > :31:58.to support the NHS, to support skills and schools as our economy

:31:59. > :32:03.goes forward. May I welcome the Chancellor's statement today and the

:32:04. > :32:07.fact that he has also been the first Chancellor to see the deficit for

:32:08. > :32:11.between 3% in at least ten years, building on the work of his

:32:12. > :32:16.predecessor. They are also thank my honourable friend for Salisbury who

:32:17. > :32:21.might have had a busy week since the budget, for all the work he's done

:32:22. > :32:26.on this. Would the Chancellor agree with me that if we are to have these

:32:27. > :32:31.first-class services that we all need, that we have to raise the

:32:32. > :32:37.revenue? The time for raising revenue to pay for these rather than

:32:38. > :32:40.for cuts is now. Yes, Mr Speaker, although I should remind my

:32:41. > :32:44.honourable friend that we have embarked on an efficiency review

:32:45. > :32:52.seeking to make a further ?3.5 billion worth of savings, of which

:32:53. > :32:56.I've committed to reinvest ?1 billion in priorities but getting

:32:57. > :32:59.the balance right between taxation, between efficiency in public

:33:00. > :33:04.expenditure and borrowing where it is right to do so. I borrowed for

:33:05. > :33:07.infrastructure investment in productivity enhancing

:33:08. > :33:11.infrastructure in the Autumn Statement. Where it is right to do

:33:12. > :33:13.so, we will borrow. If it isn't right, we won't borrow for everyday

:33:14. > :33:28.expenditure. There is a major practical barrier

:33:29. > :33:32.extending to the self-employed, they don't have one single payroll

:33:33. > :33:35.controller. Is aware with the rise of the gig economy there are

:33:36. > :33:39.millions of workers who are effectively working for one big

:33:40. > :33:48.company? On the work and pensions Select Committee, when I asked

:33:49. > :33:52.representatives of Hermes, Deliveroo and Amazon if they would consider

:33:53. > :33:56.such a scheme, they were very positive were the Government to

:33:57. > :34:03.bring one in. We will look at including ought owe enrolment in the

:34:04. > :34:08.broader review we will undertake when we look at the differences

:34:09. > :34:15.between employees and the self-employed.

:34:16. > :34:24.THE SPEAKER: It is a quite and ambitious post that his point of

:34:25. > :34:29.order. I will take points of order now if they flow directly from the

:34:30. > :34:40.matters with which we have just been dealing otherwise they will have to

:34:41. > :34:44.wait. I'm going to take the honourable lady from the front bench

:34:45. > :34:50.first and I shall save up the other honourable members. The Chancellor

:34:51. > :34:54.stated in response to questions that I confirmed that with reference to

:34:55. > :34:59.the national insurance ceiling rate Bill that this discharged the Tories

:35:00. > :35:03.national insurance manifesto pledge. For the benefit of the record I

:35:04. > :35:10.stated it was part of their wider pledge to cap income tax, VAT and

:35:11. > :35:14.national insurance contributions. At second reading I stated that it was

:35:15. > :35:18.part of the Government's policy to cap national insurance contributions

:35:19. > :35:22.for this Parliament and then went on to state if they're going legislate

:35:23. > :35:25.for every pre-election promise surely they should apply that to

:35:26. > :35:28.every manifesto pledge they are certainly not doing that. Now,

:35:29. > :35:35.interestingly... THE SPEAKER: Order. Order. Order.

:35:36. > :35:40.I'm sorry, I can't have a lengthy dilation, that's not appropriate. If

:35:41. > :35:45.the honourable lady has something for me specifically which she can

:35:46. > :35:50.encapsulate in a short sentence of no more than 20 words. I would are q

:35:51. > :35:53.that the Chancellor retracts the comment he made earlier on this very

:35:54. > :36:00.question as factually incorrect. Thank you.

:36:01. > :36:05.THE SPEAKER: Well, the honourable lady made her request, the

:36:06. > :36:11.Chancellor can respond, but he's not obliged procedurely to do so. If the

:36:12. > :36:17.Right Honourable wants to respond, he may Just to read the words that I

:36:18. > :36:21.have from Hansard. "As we have heard this Bill enrackets the

:36:22. > :36:26.Conservatives manifesto pledge not to increase national insurance

:36:27. > :36:28.contributions in this Parliament." Hansard column 914, 916, 3rd

:36:29. > :36:32.November, 2015. THE SPEAKER: I can't instruct

:36:33. > :36:37.members as to which sentence they should read, but I suspect if

:36:38. > :36:46.members wish to return to these matters, they may choose to do so. I

:36:47. > :36:49.just say that there are two members standing who are distinguished

:36:50. > :36:53.products of the University of St Andrews and they seem to be in some

:36:54. > :36:59.fierce competition with each other as to the respective relevance of

:37:00. > :37:09.their points of order. Now, Alex Salmond. A wise choice, sir. A wise

:37:10. > :37:13.choice. My point of order is on collective responsibility and the

:37:14. > :37:17.Budget. More recently, the practise has been to take the Budget to

:37:18. > :37:21.Cabinet and then bring it to the House. Thus ensuring collective

:37:22. > :37:26.responsibility. Now, the Chancellor told us a few seconds ago that this

:37:27. > :37:29.mark two Budget couldn't have been subject to that Cabinet

:37:30. > :37:33.responsibility because he and the Prime Minister decided upon it at

:37:34. > :37:37.breakfast this morning. So Mr Speaker, can I have a ruling on two

:37:38. > :37:41.emergency measures? Firstly, to make sure that all ministers are bound to

:37:42. > :37:44.support the Chancellor, through collective responsibility there

:37:45. > :37:50.should be an emergency Cabinet meeting to give this change to the

:37:51. > :37:54.Budget the sanction of collective responsibility and secondly, can I

:37:55. > :37:57.suggest there is another emergency measure that Laura Kuenssberg of the

:37:58. > :38:00.BBC is brought into the Cabinet so as they can get it right first time

:38:01. > :38:06.round? THE SPEAKER: Well, far it be from me

:38:07. > :38:11.to say this to the honourable gentleman, he is raising a notably

:38:12. > :38:17.political point under the elegant cloak of constitutionalism. He does

:38:18. > :38:21.have some experience in and dexterity in these matters and

:38:22. > :38:25.therefore I'm not altogether surprised on this occasion, but I

:38:26. > :38:29.don't think it warrants a response from the chair beyond that which

:38:30. > :38:40.I've offered. His point is on the record... But not Jermaine. It has

:38:41. > :38:46.been heard and I don't wish further time to be taken up with the Divis

:38:47. > :38:53.of the House! Now, we must hear the point of order. As a slavish

:38:54. > :39:00.supporter of the Government I'm in some difficulty because my article

:39:01. > :39:04.robustly supporting the Chancellor's early policy in the Forest Journal

:39:05. > :39:06.is with the printer! LAUGHTER

:39:07. > :39:11.And I just... LAUGHTER

:39:12. > :39:16.Having been persuaded of the correctness of the course that he's

:39:17. > :39:25.following, I merely needed an opportunity in which to recount.

:39:26. > :39:30.LAUGHTER THE SPEAKER: Well I hope the Right

:39:31. > :39:34.Honourable gentleman is satisfied by the want and abuse of the point of

:39:35. > :39:42.order procedure he has found his own salvation. We'll leave it there for

:39:43. > :39:50.now. I'm glad the House is in such a good mood and it has an insatiable

:39:51. > :39:59.appetite. It has an insatiable appetite I'm sure to hear the next

:40:00. > :40:02.statement, statement the... Well, we are going to hear the statement from

:40:03. > :40:06.the Secretary of State. This might be a convenient moment which to

:40:07. > :40:10.announce to the House the result of a deferred division. We're building

:40:11. > :40:16.up a sense of anticipation for the Right Honourable lady. Order. I'm

:40:17. > :40:21.now to announce the result of today's deferred relations. In

:40:22. > :40:27.respect to the question relating to security security, the ayes were

:40:28. > :40:35.292, the noes 236. So the ayes have it. In respect of the question

:40:36. > :40:42.relating to the crown, the aye were 464, the noes were 56. So the ayes

:40:43. > :40:48.have it. Order. Statement the Secretary of State for International

:40:49. > :40:52.Development. Thank you Mr Speaker. I would like to update the House on

:40:53. > :40:58.the on going campaign against Daesh in Iraq and Syria. Including the

:40:59. > :41:03.UK's role in this collective effort. I will turn first to Mosul. The last

:41:04. > :41:10.major population centre held by Daesh in Iraq and a key city to the

:41:11. > :41:15.counter Daesh campaign. We take in Mosul will be a body plough to

:41:16. > :41:19.Daesh. This is not going to be an easy fight. It will be tough to

:41:20. > :41:23.re-take the city, tougher to rebuild it after three years of Daesh rule

:41:24. > :41:27.and tougher still to win back the trust of the population. Since the

:41:28. > :41:32.House was last updated in November, Iraqi forces have made significant

:41:33. > :41:37.progress against Daesh in Mosul with substantial support from coalition

:41:38. > :41:43.aircraft including the RAF. East Mosul was taken on 24th January and

:41:44. > :41:46.we should pay tribute to the skills and tenacity demonstrated by the

:41:47. > :41:50.Iraqi security forces in clearing Daesh from eastern Mosul and their

:41:51. > :41:54.commitment to protecting civilians during that difficult fight. The

:41:55. > :41:58.liberated community of east Mosul has TVed detail crisis to the horror

:41:59. > :42:09.and the sheer brutality that they have experienced. The UN has

:42:10. > :42:15.received numerous reports of Human Rights abuses. The existence of mass

:42:16. > :42:18.graves, a reminder to us all why bringing Daesh toious tis is so

:42:19. > :42:22.vitally important. 30 schools in east Mosul have already been

:42:23. > :42:29.reopened allowing 16,000 children to return to education. UK assistance

:42:30. > :42:33.through the UN is providing access to water, health and services and

:42:34. > :42:39.funding to the UN mine actions service will assist in the removal

:42:40. > :42:42.of explosive devices. On 19th February, Iraqi forces launched the

:42:43. > :42:46.next phase of the operation, the liberation of west Mosul and we

:42:47. > :42:51.should congratulate them on the steady progress they have made so

:42:52. > :42:54.far, including the recent capture of the regional Government offices and

:42:55. > :42:58.the courthouse. We will continue to engage the Government of Iraq to

:42:59. > :43:01.ensure that the protection and the well-being of civilians is a

:43:02. > :43:06.paramount concern in the on going operations. Mr Speaker, as the

:43:07. > :43:10.global humanitarian leader the UK remains at the fore front of efforts

:43:11. > :43:16.to support the Government's of Iraq's response to the humanitarian

:43:17. > :43:20.crisis in Iraq and since June 2014, Deuf I had committed ?169.5 million

:43:21. > :43:24.of funding to the humanitarian crisis in Iraq. A significant

:43:25. > :43:28.proportion of that funding is contributing towards the Mosul

:43:29. > :43:31.humanitarian response and it has allowed our partners to put

:43:32. > :43:38.preparations in place before starting the military operations. We

:43:39. > :43:41.are giving very practical and often life-saving help for vulnerable

:43:42. > :43:45.families including tracking in millions of litres of clean water to

:43:46. > :43:50.the people of east Mosul who are facing severe water shortages,

:43:51. > :43:54.providing shelter and distributing support kits which contain blankets

:43:55. > :43:59.and heaters to thousands of displaced families helping them to

:44:00. > :44:03.survive gruelling winter conditions. And providing education. I remain

:44:04. > :44:09.concerned for the plight of civilians who are still trapped in

:44:10. > :44:13.west Mosul by Daesh. We understand what water, food and water supplies

:44:14. > :44:17.are low. Access is all, but impossible, but the UK together with

:44:18. > :44:21.our partners is looking at every single option for humanitarian

:44:22. > :44:26.assistance. Later this month, the UN will launch the 2017 humanitarian

:44:27. > :44:32.response plan for Iraq which estimates that the humanitarian

:44:33. > :44:37.funding requirements for 2017 will be $930 million. I continue to call

:44:38. > :44:41.upon other donors to follow the lead that the UK is setting. However, the

:44:42. > :44:44.humanitarian efforts alone will not be enough and we will also need to

:44:45. > :44:50.ensure that the politically mat is right. Central to the efforts to

:44:51. > :44:54.ensure stability and peace in the city of Mosul and governance of the

:44:55. > :44:59.post liberation will be the political arrangements that lay the

:45:00. > :45:02.foundations for the important long-term reconciliation, ensuring a

:45:03. > :45:06.sustainable peace in Iraq will require the Iraqi Government, with

:45:07. > :45:11.the asust apps from the international community, to address

:45:12. > :45:15.Sunni fears and interests, bring communities back together and ensure

:45:16. > :45:19.that Iraq is placed on the road to stability and equally important to

:45:20. > :45:24.prosperity as well and to help achieve that objective the UK

:45:25. > :45:28.supports and provides funding to the UN's efforts to encourage

:45:29. > :45:30.reconciliation. We continue to urge the Prime Minister and the

:45:31. > :45:35.Government of Iraq to take steps necessary to ensure that they do not

:45:36. > :45:39.just win the war, but importantly, they win the peace. My Right

:45:40. > :45:42.Honourable friend the Foreign Secretary met with the Prime

:45:43. > :45:48.Minister in Munich on 17th February when they discussed this. I now turn

:45:49. > :45:52.Mr Speaker to Syria. Regrettably we mark the sixth anniversary of this

:45:53. > :46:01.terrible civil war in which civilians continue to suffer so

:46:02. > :46:05.terribly. We are please the UN reconvened talks and were able to

:46:06. > :46:09.agree on the future agenda. The next round is due to take place later

:46:10. > :46:15.this month and we strongly support the work of the UN and the Special

:46:16. > :46:19.Envoy. It is clear that there is no military solution to the situation

:46:20. > :46:24.in Syria and a sustainable political settlement is needed to end the

:46:25. > :46:28.fighting for good. This will require a genuine transition to a new

:46:29. > :46:33.Government which is representative of all Syrians and which will

:46:34. > :46:37.protect all Syrians rights. It is in the UK's long-standing position that

:46:38. > :46:42.there can be no sustainable peace in Syria while Assad remains in power.

:46:43. > :46:45.The atrocities, the regime has committed make it impossible for him

:46:46. > :46:52.to unite the country and bring peace. And the UN commission for the

:46:53. > :46:57.inquiry's recent report on the Aleppo offensive said the regime had

:46:58. > :47:03.committed war crimes with its indiscriminate bombing and use of

:47:04. > :47:06.chemical weapons against civilians and its targeting of medical

:47:07. > :47:10.facilities and humanitarian aid convoys as well. The UK continues to

:47:11. > :47:16.call for the accountabilities of these violations and the abuses of

:47:17. > :47:19.Human Rights. And in December, we co sponsored a UN General Assembly

:47:20. > :47:22.resolution to establish an independent mechanism to assist in

:47:23. > :47:26.bringing those responsible for the most serious crimes to justice. Most

:47:27. > :47:31.recently, we workeded with the French and the US on a UN Security

:47:32. > :47:36.Council resolution to hold the regime and Daesh to account for

:47:37. > :47:43.their use of dhemical weapons in Syria we were disappointed that

:47:44. > :47:47.Russia and China chose to veto this. The UN Security Council to support

:47:48. > :47:52.the work of the UN Special Envoy to bring peace in Syria. And we have

:47:53. > :47:56.called for a ceasefire, brokered by Russia, Iran and Turkey which came

:47:57. > :48:01.into force on 30th December to be strengthened. The regime must abide

:48:02. > :48:08.by the ceasefire and stop taking new territory if the ceasefire is to be

:48:09. > :48:14.Russia and Iran must deliver on their commitments. The fall of East

:48:15. > :48:18.Aleppo was a tragedy that brought home to many the ongoing nightmare

:48:19. > :48:24.being experienced by so many in Syria. 13.5 million people are in

:48:25. > :48:27.need of humanitarian support, 1.5 million of them are living under

:48:28. > :48:35.siege like conditions. The Assad regime prevents life-saving aid

:48:36. > :48:40.coming in. We are doing all that we can to alleviate the suffering of

:48:41. > :48:43.civilians. We have mounted the UK's largest ever response to

:48:44. > :48:47.humanitarian crisis and we are using our position in the UN Security

:48:48. > :48:51.Council and within the International serious support group to press Syria

:48:52. > :48:57.and its backers to allow aid to reach those who need it and call for

:48:58. > :49:02.civilian is to be protected. As part of our pledge to support people

:49:03. > :49:06.affected by the crisis, we have committed ?1.2 billion to support

:49:07. > :49:15.refugees in the region. I myself have seen how support is making real

:49:16. > :49:20.impact. Some children now have opportunity to learn and attend

:49:21. > :49:26.school in Lebanese -- and also Lebanese children. In Georgia, I've

:49:27. > :49:29.witnessed how we are supporting job creation for Syrian refugees. I've

:49:30. > :49:35.discussed as well with the president of Lebanon and the Prime Minister of

:49:36. > :49:38.Georgia how the UK will continue to lead and scale up international

:49:39. > :49:43.support for these host countries. I met a family who told me their

:49:44. > :49:47.experience of the daily horror of living under Daesh rule. No child

:49:48. > :49:51.should have to witness the kidnappings, the public hangings on

:49:52. > :49:54.their streets and the torture of their friends and family. I spoke to

:49:55. > :50:00.mothers who lost their children as they fled the terror of Daesh.

:50:01. > :50:05.Despite the claims it claims to be fighting terrorism, Assad's regime

:50:06. > :50:08.is concentrating its efforts on eradicating political opposition by

:50:09. > :50:12.military means. The regime has left the job of tackling terrorism in

:50:13. > :50:16.Syria to the international community. Daesh continues to lose

:50:17. > :50:21.territory in Syria. Turkish back civilian opposition forces with the

:50:22. > :50:25.support from coalition aircraft have succeeded in pushing back Daesh in

:50:26. > :50:29.the north-east of the country. Elsewhere, the Syrian democratic

:50:30. > :50:34.forces have commenced operations to isolate Daesh's stronghold in rack

:50:35. > :50:38.with coalition or support. This is a fight that will take time and

:50:39. > :50:42.patience to get right. The population will need a legitimate

:50:43. > :50:47.local authority to represent them. As well as acting on the ground, we

:50:48. > :50:53.have made progress in countering Daesh's propaganda which they have

:50:54. > :50:57.used as a recruiting tool. Daesh's propaganda output has fallen by 75%

:50:58. > :51:06.over the last year. And on social media, Daesh posts are now

:51:07. > :51:13.outnumbered by non-Daesh posts. We are leading to do this. A year has

:51:14. > :51:19.passed since he co-hosted the Syrian conference in London and donors

:51:20. > :51:23.pledged over ?12 billion, the largest amount raised in a single

:51:24. > :51:30.day for a humanitarian crisis. One Iran, donors have their pledges for

:51:31. > :51:34.2016 advocating ?8 billion of which $6.2 billion has been delivered to

:51:35. > :51:39.Syria and the refugee hosting communities. The UK has set the pace

:51:40. > :51:46.in going above and beyond what was promised, exceeding our 2016 pledge

:51:47. > :51:50.of ?510 million with ?515 million in life-saving aid is delivered last

:51:51. > :51:53.year. We are co-hosting the Brussels conference which will be a

:51:54. > :52:00.opportunity to take stock of the situation in Syria. We will also

:52:01. > :52:05.ensure our ongoing support to those ends in need of desperate help. In

:52:06. > :52:11.conclusion, much progress has been made against Daesh and since 2014,

:52:12. > :52:16.they've lost 62% of territory they once held in Iraq and 30% in Syria.

:52:17. > :52:24.There remains much more still to be done. Even once Daesh is militarily

:52:25. > :52:28.defeated, we must continue to be wary of its resurgence. In Iran,

:52:29. > :52:32.this means supporting the government to restore order and be accountable

:52:33. > :52:37.to all of its people to meet their needs. In Syria, it means continuing

:52:38. > :52:41.our efforts to deliver political settlements that enable a transition

:52:42. > :52:45.away from Assad towards a government that serves all the Syrian people. A

:52:46. > :52:52.protracted crisis in Syria and the region are the defining humanitarian

:52:53. > :52:55.challenges of our time. History will judge us if the international

:52:56. > :53:00.community doesn't deliver on the support for effective and displaced

:53:01. > :53:03.Syrian and Iraqi people. Support in the region is the right thing to do

:53:04. > :53:08.on behalf of those suffering and it's the right thing for the UK to

:53:09. > :53:15.do as well to make us safer. I commend this statement to the house.

:53:16. > :53:18.I welcome the Secretary of State's statement today and I thank her for

:53:19. > :53:26.prior sight of her statement. We have Lord Howard cross-party

:53:27. > :53:32.agreement about the work of DIFID. Its role is to tackle the challenges

:53:33. > :53:36.of our time, poverty, disease, mass migration, and conflict. We must now

:53:37. > :53:42.come together was cross-party support helping the most vulnerable

:53:43. > :53:48.severe in refugees most by Daesh. Byland actors like Daesh should be

:53:49. > :53:52.condemned but we should proceed cautiously and avoid compromising

:53:53. > :53:58.the integrity of UK aid if we are to act in a way that is informed by the

:53:59. > :54:03.evidence of what works in promoting sustainable peace and development.

:54:04. > :54:08.Mr Speaker, UN experts reported in June last year Daesh is committing

:54:09. > :54:15.genocide against your CDs and other religious minorities in Syria and

:54:16. > :54:20.Iran. Destroying the minority in killings sexual slavery and other

:54:21. > :54:25.awful crimes. I particularly welcome the government's commitment to the

:54:26. > :54:32.modern day slavery act in helping survivors of violence. Let me now

:54:33. > :54:37.ask the Secretary of State a series of questions about the announcement

:54:38. > :54:41.today. First, I welcome her announcement but can the right to

:54:42. > :54:46.honourable lady confirm if DFID will have any input in the drafting of

:54:47. > :54:52.the UK's United Nations Security Council resolution which seeks to

:54:53. > :54:55.establish a UN investigation into Daesh crimes in Syria? Secondly,

:54:56. > :55:01.does the Secretary of State support the following calls by the UN that

:55:02. > :55:06.all the Armed Forces need to use less heavy weapons in populated

:55:07. > :55:15.areas? The priority is to get civilians out through a safe

:55:16. > :55:19.passage. Currently, there are around 750,000 people who are trapped in

:55:20. > :55:26.western Mosul, with no means of safe exit, with limited or no access to

:55:27. > :55:28.food, water or Basic sanitation. I agree it is important for all

:55:29. > :55:33.government departments to work together to try to support

:55:34. > :55:38.sustainable peace and development which means seeking to address the

:55:39. > :55:42.causes of conflict and fragility. However, I ask the Secretary of

:55:43. > :55:48.State always think about what the role of DFID is and how it can best

:55:49. > :55:52.serve those it is intended to. Fundamentally, its rulers to focus

:55:53. > :55:57.on poverty reduction, and part of this is working to prevent conflict

:55:58. > :56:02.and violence. But, in order to be effective, this must be the focus on

:56:03. > :56:07.the needs of the local population. I ask the Secretary of State if she

:56:08. > :56:15.agrees we must be very careful not to securitise the age the UK is

:56:16. > :56:18.providing in the service of very important security operations?

:56:19. > :56:23.Because this can sometimes undermine the effectiveness of aid delivery

:56:24. > :56:27.and can at times put the lives of aid workers at risk. DFID can and

:56:28. > :56:32.should invest in addressing the causes of conflict as part of a path

:56:33. > :56:36.to sustainable development so I stressed the need for DFID to engage

:56:37. > :56:41.with civil society groups and other local actors in mapping out the long

:56:42. > :56:46.future of Iraq and Syria. This will offer hope and certainty to people

:56:47. > :56:50.devastated by these atrocities. This requires the UK to understand what

:56:51. > :56:54.the different causes of conflict and instability are more broadly and how

:56:55. > :56:58.DFID can address this through its work. I ask the right honourable

:56:59. > :57:02.lady if she agrees that by only focusing on one actor we can

:57:03. > :57:07.distract from tackling the issues of greatest concern to local people? Or

:57:08. > :57:12.that are actually generating conflict in the first place? I

:57:13. > :57:15.believe there is cross-party agreement helping the most

:57:16. > :57:19.vulnerable and Britain has a long history of helping those who are

:57:20. > :57:24.fleeing terror and persecution. So we should all stand together in the

:57:25. > :57:32.house today and support this now. And I welcome the Secretary of

:57:33. > :57:36.State's statement today. Then I thank the honourable lady for her

:57:37. > :57:40.comments, and she is clearly the first recognise as well the extent

:57:41. > :57:48.of not just temporary's work but also the British government's effort

:57:49. > :57:52.in terms of diplomacy, the way that our military and defence teams come

:57:53. > :57:56.together, but also work on the ground in some difficult and

:57:57. > :57:59.challenging parts of the world to deliver humanitarian support, to

:58:00. > :58:03.protect civilians lives in particular. And I think everyone in

:58:04. > :58:08.this house today would not only pay tribute to people on the front line,

:58:09. > :58:14.the civilians as well, who see the horrors day in, day out, of Daesh,

:58:15. > :58:22.but also the aid workers, and many others that deliver life-saving and

:58:23. > :58:25.life changing humanitarian support. Finally, I think to the honourable

:58:26. > :58:31.lady's point, this shows Britain at its best, it shows exactly why we

:58:32. > :58:35.have UK aid, it shows exactly how the British government leads across

:58:36. > :58:40.the world, but also how we are influencing many of those areas she

:58:41. > :58:43.touched on, in terms of security and stabilisation in these countries,

:58:44. > :58:48.how we can work together to bring peace, how we work with the United

:58:49. > :58:53.Nations as well, addressing the atrocities and horrors of the crimes

:58:54. > :58:56.that Daesh themselves and the Assad regime have been undertaking, and

:58:57. > :59:00.much of that work is already under way. There is no doubt, Mr Speaker,

:59:01. > :59:05.this will take time, could potentially be many years in terms

:59:06. > :59:08.of evidence gathering and the investigation is taking place but I

:59:09. > :59:13.think the entire house can commend the work of everyone that's

:59:14. > :59:16.associated in countries, on the ground, and the work of the British

:59:17. > :59:23.government in terms of the leadership we've been giving

:59:24. > :59:29.internationally. Last year, in a refugee camp in Athens, Annetta

:59:30. > :59:32.Yazidi Christian who brought children over, including 110-year

:59:33. > :59:40.old boy. Does my honourable friend agree with me it is right for the UK

:59:41. > :59:43.to provide financial support for refugee centres? And this nice to

:59:44. > :59:48.continue for humanitarian reasons so that families like this don't have

:59:49. > :59:52.to extend the suffering they already have? I thank my honourable friend.

:59:53. > :59:58.He's absolutely right and as I mentioned in the statement, I myself

:59:59. > :00:02.have visited the region on a number of occasions, and I've met with many

:00:03. > :00:06.of those refugees, who have experienced nothing but trauma, in

:00:07. > :00:11.terms of the horrific journey they've made. We should also, and

:00:12. > :00:15.everyone in the house, should commend those host countries, those

:00:16. > :00:19.host countries that are doing tremendous work, and I pay tribute

:00:20. > :00:23.in particular to the governments of Jordan and Lebanon, whose

:00:24. > :00:28.contributions have been outstanding. Through the London Syria conference

:00:29. > :00:31.last year and the forthcoming Brussels conference, we will give

:00:32. > :00:35.those host countries every ounce of support both in terms of the pledges

:00:36. > :00:38.we put forward but also in terms of the work we do with those

:00:39. > :00:42.governments to make sure they can support the refugee communities in a

:00:43. > :00:48.sustainable way and help to bring peace and stability in the region,

:00:49. > :00:52.too. I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of her statement,

:00:53. > :00:56.it's always welcome to see her at the despatch box, given the DC

:00:57. > :01:02.launched an appeal in East Africa today, it would be good to hear what

:01:03. > :01:07.DFID is doing with that. I recognise there are different ways to respond

:01:08. > :01:13.to a humanitarian situation is she confident DFID has the resources,

:01:14. > :01:16.and can she confirmed the government's commitment to the

:01:17. > :01:22.target, not least because it will encourage others to follow suit and

:01:23. > :01:26.fulfil pledges made? Daesh activities are causing massive

:01:27. > :01:33.displacement across the region is what steps is she taking to make

:01:34. > :01:39.sure there is a good humanitarian support? What support is there for

:01:40. > :01:43.faith -based organisations, which are often best placed to help those

:01:44. > :01:46.in need? What support is being provided to those not informal

:01:47. > :01:52.camps, especially in Lebanon? We have repeatedly asked if we can drop

:01:53. > :02:03.bombs, why can't we drop bread? Blossoms can be led by the drone

:02:04. > :02:07.delivery pilots in the Paul? Displacement, the UK needs to take

:02:08. > :02:16.its fair share of refugees because 20,000 over five years isn't a fair

:02:17. > :02:21.share. If the money is used to be... The former Prime Minister said UK

:02:22. > :02:24.military involvement would cut off the head of a snake but where is the

:02:25. > :02:28.evidence that has happened? Humanitarian responses in just the

:02:29. > :02:33.right thing to do to make us safer. As long as people in Syria and

:02:34. > :02:39.Iraqis live with our military intervention, we have a

:02:40. > :02:43.responsibility to clean up the mess. The honourable gentleman raises a

:02:44. > :02:48.number of points and I'll respond to them. He mentions the support the

:02:49. > :02:52.British government, in fact DFID, and giving those to those outside

:02:53. > :02:58.the camps. We are working with partner organisations, NGOs and

:02:59. > :03:02.charities, in Jordan and Lebanon, outside the camps in particular, in

:03:03. > :03:12.terms of providing support directly to refugees. He also mentions... The

:03:13. > :03:16.reality is in bringing peace and stability, that is our objective in

:03:17. > :03:19.terms of the long-term stabilisation, the humanitarian

:03:20. > :03:25.support and the work we've put in place, and if I could just alluded

:03:26. > :03:29.to the fact last year with the UN, DFID in particular and the British

:03:30. > :03:34.government committed substantial amount of resource with regards to

:03:35. > :03:38.free preparedness for the most offensive to ensure that we could

:03:39. > :03:45.protect civilians but ensure aid in particular could be provided to the

:03:46. > :03:47.people that would need it in light of the offences that were taking

:03:48. > :03:57.place. He also mentions the importance of

:03:58. > :04:01.the Government's role to 07%, the fact that it is in legislation as

:04:02. > :04:11.well as it being a manifesto commitment. This Government is

:04:12. > :04:15.behind that and we continue to be supportive of 0.7%, but also, we

:04:16. > :04:21.should reflect, Mr Speaker, at times of crisis, whether it's the

:04:22. > :04:26.humanitarian crisis that we see through the DEC appeal that's been

:04:27. > :04:32.launched today, the four potential famines, we have a famine in

:04:33. > :04:37.Somalia, famines across north-east Nigeria and in Yemen on top of what

:04:38. > :04:45.we have been discussing here in terms of irrac, Syria, Jordan,

:04:46. > :04:47.Lebanon and the wider region, 0.7% demonstrates who we are as a

:04:48. > :04:54.country, our place in the world, the leadership that we give, our

:04:55. > :04:58.response to that those are less fortunate than ourselves, and

:04:59. > :05:04.suffering percent kuks and that's what UK aid is about, it is our

:05:05. > :05:10.place in the world and it is in our national interests to continue what

:05:11. > :05:14.we do. He mentions resettlement schemesmed our resettlement schemes

:05:15. > :05:20.offer a safe and a legal route to the UK for the most vulnerable

:05:21. > :05:25.refugees and I think the British Government can be proud of what it

:05:26. > :05:30.is doing to resettle refugees. Well, I'm proud Mr Speaker. Can I ask what

:05:31. > :05:36.the Government is doing to support the programme of reform in Iraq

:05:37. > :05:41.which is so necessary in delivering the peace, by ensuring that

:05:42. > :05:50.liberated Sunni communities are embraced by the whole of the

:05:51. > :05:55.political economy of Iraq? I thank my Right Honourable friend for his

:05:56. > :05:58.question. He knowses having been a former DFID minister of the vital

:05:59. > :06:04.role that UK aid plays in the world, but particularly in Iraq as well. In

:06:05. > :06:08.answer to his question, of course, we have been pressing and stressing

:06:09. > :06:12.to Iraqi leaders at every opportunity the importance of an

:06:13. > :06:16.inclusive political plan when it comes to stabilisation and

:06:17. > :06:21.rebuilding the country. And that means that, of course, all groups in

:06:22. > :06:25.particular have to be involved in that rebuilding and stabilisation

:06:26. > :06:29.and of course, UK, the UK Government, UK aid is providing all

:06:30. > :06:35.the support as I mentioned in terms of schools, reopening of schools, in

:06:36. > :06:38.east Mosul, but providing support, humanitarian assistance to the

:06:39. > :06:44.people who have been displaced across Iraq.

:06:45. > :06:48.The whole House will welcome the progress that is being made in

:06:49. > :06:52.defeating Daesh in Mosul and elsewhere and I join the Secretary

:06:53. > :06:55.of State in paying tribute to the bravery of all of the forces

:06:56. > :06:59.including our RAF pilots who are engaged this this task. She made

:07:00. > :07:05.reference to the discovery of mass graves and she will have seen the

:07:06. > :07:09.reports of the now infamous sinkhole that's said to contain thousands of

:07:10. > :07:14.bodies. Can she tell the House what action is being taken to collect

:07:15. > :07:18.forensic evidence? Are we giving assistance because it will be really

:07:19. > :07:21.important in calling to account those who have committed crimes

:07:22. > :07:25.against humanity, war crimes and genocide and one of the ways to

:07:26. > :07:32.defeat Daesh is to tell truth about what they have done.

:07:33. > :07:37.I thank the Right Honourable gentleman for his remarks and also

:07:38. > :07:41.the starkness really of what has taken place and I think we have to

:07:42. > :07:44.speak the truth and bring the facts to light in terms of exactly what

:07:45. > :07:48.has been going on. He specifically asked what the Government is doing

:07:49. > :07:52.in this area. And we are working with the UN and others on the

:07:53. > :07:56.investigations. I think others will know in the House, all colleagues

:07:57. > :07:59.will know in the House, that this is very difficult and it will take time

:08:00. > :08:02.and we have seen in the past as well in terms of convictions and war

:08:03. > :08:06.crimes the amount of time that it does take to bring the evidence, but

:08:07. > :08:11.that should not mean that we should shy away from this. The mass graves

:08:12. > :08:16.exist. We know already the extent of the horrors and the trou tros crits

:08:17. > :08:20.that have taken place and it is in all our interests to stand by those

:08:21. > :08:24.that have suffered to ensure we act on their behalf, those that have

:08:25. > :08:29.been silenced to ensure we bring justice to those that have been the

:08:30. > :08:32.victims of these atrocities and show the world the appalling nature and

:08:33. > :08:39.the conduct of Daesh and those that have been associated with them. The

:08:40. > :08:42.Secretary of State referred to the Syrian democratic forces with

:08:43. > :08:48.coalition air support commencing operations against Raqqa. Can she

:08:49. > :08:53.inform the House of Her's and the National Security Council's

:08:54. > :09:01.assessment of Turkish intention towards the same forces not least

:09:02. > :09:07.around Manbidge. In connection with Turkey, could she give her

:09:08. > :09:19.assessment of what Turkish engagement there will be in the

:09:20. > :09:22.reconciliation? I thank my Right Honourable colleague for his

:09:23. > :09:27.question and he will recognise and appreciate that we are working to

:09:28. > :09:31.bring all parties to the table and in particular, through the very

:09:32. > :09:35.difficult challenges that we have in terms of getting parties to come

:09:36. > :09:39.together and obviously certainly we have seen through the process as

:09:40. > :09:45.well, greater developments and our priorities, of course, are to

:09:46. > :09:48.actually make sure we can drive the right outcomes and get parties

:09:49. > :09:53.talking to seek the peaceful resolutions that we desperately need

:09:54. > :09:56.to see. Can I thank the Secretary of State for Her statement today and in

:09:57. > :10:00.particular the strength of the point she made that our investment in

:10:01. > :10:05.Syria and Iraq is a fine example of UK aid at its very best? Can I ask

:10:06. > :10:09.her about a specific issue which is the mines around Mosul and the

:10:10. > :10:14.question of demining because mind standing is there is a real concern

:10:15. > :10:18.amongst internally displaced people in Iraq about going back to Mosul

:10:19. > :10:22.because of the mines. Owe cord nation is essential? Can you say a

:10:23. > :10:27.bit more about international co-ordination and which Government

:10:28. > :10:31.here is leading on this? Is it DFID or the MoD? I thank the honourable

:10:32. > :10:35.gentleman. This is a very important area and I mentioned in my statement

:10:36. > :10:39.as well, the importance and significance of demining which we

:10:40. > :10:43.have to invest in. There is no doubt about that so we can return the land

:10:44. > :10:49.securely to the communities so they can get on with their lives.

:10:50. > :10:53.Specifically, the MoD are leading on this activity, but he will know as

:10:54. > :10:56.well from discussions we have had on the significance and importance of

:10:57. > :11:00.demining that is something certainly that, you know, from a development

:11:01. > :11:04.prospective we must support and we must fund and we back and I see this

:11:05. > :11:13.as a cross Government initiative from that prospective. I thank my

:11:14. > :11:18.honourable friend for her statement and I wonder if she could extend the

:11:19. > :11:21.update geographically. I have got an interest in a potential large

:11:22. > :11:26.humanitarian action project going into Libya. So it would be of

:11:27. > :11:31.considerable interest to me if she could verbally now or in writing

:11:32. > :11:40.give me an update on the action that's being taken to remove Daesh

:11:41. > :11:44.and the fellow travellers from CERT and CERT surroundings and what

:11:45. > :11:50.forces are actually taking this action against Daesh and fellow

:11:51. > :11:55.travellers? I thank my honourable friend for his important question

:11:56. > :11:59.about Libya. Of coffers, there is a joint FCO and DFID teamworking on

:12:00. > :12:03.the wider issues around Libya in particular which cover a range of

:12:04. > :12:08.issues and obviously there as been a lot of activity and action but also

:12:09. > :12:12.in terms of the migration challenges we are facing as well. I will write

:12:13. > :12:17.to the honourable gentleman so we can give you the specific details in

:12:18. > :12:21.terms of that cross Government work that's taking place, it covers the

:12:22. > :12:27.DFID aspect, but the Foreign Office aspect as well. Thank you very much,

:12:28. > :12:31.Mr Speaker. Can I join colleagues in sending our thoughts and prayers to

:12:32. > :12:37.everyone on deployment, but also her staff and others that are on the

:12:38. > :12:42.ground delivering humanitarian aid? Can the Secretary of State update

:12:43. > :12:47.the House with specifics in terms of what we're doing to strengthen local

:12:48. > :12:58.democracy across Iraq especially the in terms of the regions, as she said

:12:59. > :13:06.in order to win the peace? Well, thank the honourable lady for her

:13:07. > :13:09.remarks for the support she is giving in very difficult locations

:13:10. > :13:12.delivering aid. So there is a political process that is obviously

:13:13. > :13:16.under way and the Foreign Office are leading the work that takes place

:13:17. > :13:21.there. And the UK continues and I mentioned in the statement as well

:13:22. > :13:25.the Foreign Secretary has been engagement with the Prime Minister

:13:26. > :13:29.and the Iraqi Government in terms of the work there on the political side

:13:30. > :13:33.and of course linked to that, of course, is the wider work on

:13:34. > :13:39.stabilisation, the stabilisation aspect has to be integrated at every

:13:40. > :13:43.level. So that includes all aspects of state building, nation building,

:13:44. > :13:47.building democracy, civil society, as well as some of the most basic

:13:48. > :13:51.things that come back to the function of a society as well,

:13:52. > :13:55.infrastructure, delivery of public goods and public services, so the

:13:56. > :13:57.approach that we are advocating and there as been a great deal of work

:13:58. > :14:01.that's taken place across Government, the MoD and the Foreign

:14:02. > :14:05.Office and DFID, through the stabilisation team and the work that

:14:06. > :14:10.our combined teams have been working on right now is of a combined and

:14:11. > :14:13.integrated approach and that is something that, you know, we

:14:14. > :14:16.support, but also we have to work with the Iraqi Government because

:14:17. > :14:23.ult mayly they're responsible for the delivery of this. Glsh

:14:24. > :14:33.ultimately they're responsible for the delivery of this. The Secretary

:14:34. > :14:37.of State is quite welcome in what she said. Can I pay tribute to, not

:14:38. > :14:40.just the compassion of the humanitarian efforts of British

:14:41. > :14:46.citizens, but to the courage of our Armed Forces. On winning the peace,

:14:47. > :14:51.will she undertake to ensure by working with the Home Office that

:14:52. > :14:58.those British Government sh British Jihadists that are returning from

:14:59. > :15:02.Syria are properly de-radicalised with a proper strategy and those

:15:03. > :15:08.that will not be, there will be the most Draconian efforts to deal with

:15:09. > :15:13.that and to protect our constituents. Everyone that returns

:15:14. > :15:19.or has been involved in the conflict must be subject to the right kind of

:15:20. > :15:22.sanctions, reviews, and reviewed by the police to determine obviously if

:15:23. > :15:27.they've committed offences in particular. But also he raises a

:15:28. > :15:32.very important point, Mr Speaker, which is of course, our collective

:15:33. > :15:35.work across Government, so DFID, Foreign Office, MoD and Home Office,

:15:36. > :15:39.everything that we do in this area, when fighting the forces of

:15:40. > :15:44.terrorism, is done in our national interests which is why our focus is

:15:45. > :15:48.obviously protecting yes, those that are in Iraq, in Syria and subject to

:15:49. > :15:53.the atrocities of Daesh, but also that we protect our citizens in this

:15:54. > :15:57.country too. In a meeting earlier today with the

:15:58. > :16:03.Iraqi democratic movement they stressed the need in Mosul for first

:16:04. > :16:06.of all, ensuring that the refugees are screened safely and in a

:16:07. > :16:10.transparent and accountable way to make sure there are no

:16:11. > :16:14.disappearances and electricity and other services are restored as soon

:16:15. > :16:21.as possible so the IDPs can return and finally the need to deploy a

:16:22. > :16:24.high-profile UN presence in Mosul to provide reassurance to civilians.

:16:25. > :16:29.What support are the British Government able to give on these

:16:30. > :16:32.issues? Well, I thank the Right Honourable gentleman for his

:16:33. > :16:36.questions. We agree with hill. We agree with him completely in terms

:16:37. > :16:40.of the approach of refugees, the right kind of screening, getting

:16:41. > :16:44.resources in, electricity, water, for IDPs, all the support that they

:16:45. > :16:50.need, the essential life-saving and humanitarian support. UNDP are on

:16:51. > :16:54.the ground and there is a great deal of work that's taking place. I would

:16:55. > :16:59.be happy to write to him with more information about the collective

:17:00. > :17:02.work that's taking place because, of courts, the British Government, our

:17:03. > :17:08.resources, are in country, we've spent time, prior to Mosul the

:17:09. > :17:11.offensive, putting prepositioning supplies and support in, but of

:17:12. > :17:15.course, we are working with UN agencies and our partners on the

:17:16. > :17:21.grown and I will be very happy to share with him some of the detail of

:17:22. > :17:24.that work. In particularly welcoming my Right

:17:25. > :17:27.Honourable friend's comments about supporting the governments of

:17:28. > :17:31.Lebanon and Jordan which are carrying so much of the burden,

:17:32. > :17:35.could I urge her that the military mission we have in Lebanon or

:17:36. > :17:39.ex-military mission while they are achieving miracles on very small

:17:40. > :17:44.amounts of resources, do need more help. There is a really serious

:17:45. > :17:47.military threat and we've got 1.5 million refugees as well as four

:17:48. > :17:56.million Lebanese at risk from it. I say to my honourable friend that

:17:57. > :18:01.of course, we have a combined approach across government

:18:02. > :18:07.anti-Israel to point out in Lebanon alone, it is under great pressure

:18:08. > :18:12.when we have over a million refugees in Lebanon effectively now

:18:13. > :18:18.outnumbering the Lebanese population and community as well. And so the

:18:19. > :18:22.pressure is wide-ranging of the economy, the military side as well.

:18:23. > :18:28.I have been to some of the very difficult parts of Lebanon and seen

:18:29. > :18:32.it first hand, how hard it is to get the balance right basically. And I

:18:33. > :18:35.think going forward, we will have the Brussels conference coming up

:18:36. > :18:42.and we will look at the resources to be allocated, the support that will

:18:43. > :18:46.inevitably take place. As I said earlier in my statement, the United

:18:47. > :18:48.Kingdom is absolutely committed to both Jordan and Lebanon and that

:18:49. > :18:53.commitment will be demonstrated through our pledging and the wider

:18:54. > :18:59.political support we give those two countries.

:19:00. > :19:03.The Secretary of State has referred to support for the Iraqi government

:19:04. > :19:08.but she is also aware there are hundreds of thousands of Syrian

:19:09. > :19:13.Kurdish refugees in the Kurdistan region of Iraq and in addition, at

:19:14. > :19:21.even greater numbers of internally displaced Iraqis including many from

:19:22. > :19:24.the area near Mosul. As we liberate Mosul, there will be even greater

:19:25. > :19:31.pressure on the K aji, what specific help is the Government giving today

:19:32. > :19:33.and what help will they giving future to the KRG authorities

:19:34. > :19:40.because they sometimes have difficulties with Baghdad? He is

:19:41. > :19:43.right to raise this point. We have ministers working with the Kurdistan

:19:44. > :19:50.government and also there is support going imp to refugees as well. But

:19:51. > :19:54.importantly, his point demonstrates the extent of the crisis in the

:19:55. > :19:58.region at the level of displacement is taking place and the extent of

:19:59. > :20:02.the challenges. We have support going imp and this is something all

:20:03. > :20:06.ministers are engaged in, with direct engagement with the

:20:07. > :20:11.Government as well -- going in. Could I ask my right honourable

:20:12. > :20:17.friend to give an update on what is happening in Aleppo? Is British aid

:20:18. > :20:22.getting through to the citizens of Aleppo at the moment?

:20:23. > :20:28.My honourable friend will be well aware that the Aleppo situation is

:20:29. > :20:31.still very difficult and traumatic quite frankly. Harrowing in many

:20:32. > :20:38.ways because there are grave difficulties in terms of getting aid

:20:39. > :20:41.in two Aleppo. As I said in my statement, we saw the atrocities and

:20:42. > :20:46.the extent and the pressures in December of the situation. We are

:20:47. > :20:52.looking at every single possible avenue in which we can get aid in

:20:53. > :20:56.two Aleppo and into other besieged areas. That is a continued focus of

:20:57. > :21:01.DFID and the wider humanitarian community.

:21:02. > :21:07.Grateful to the Secretary of State for the statement and updating as to

:21:08. > :21:12.the workaround children. What is being done to help support and

:21:13. > :21:16.empower women to rebuild the civil society and what support is being

:21:17. > :21:20.offered on the grounds to women and young people so they can resist the

:21:21. > :21:28.ongoing call to Daesh arms, often done as a result of desperation and

:21:29. > :21:31.a need for money? Thank you, many of our programmes and a substantial

:21:32. > :21:37.amount of our resources are focused on women and children and young

:21:38. > :21:41.people. For this very reason. We have the end sure young people have

:21:42. > :21:46.opportunities and education is at the of that, to prevent them from

:21:47. > :21:50.being subject to propaganda and the manipulation by these evil forces in

:21:51. > :21:57.the region. And our work is ongoing and we are with civil society, we

:21:58. > :22:00.are working with NGOs and third party organisations in the region to

:22:01. > :22:07.put the protections in a safe guarding and security is paramount

:22:08. > :22:10.of women, young children, to ensure they have opportunities to access

:22:11. > :22:14.education and other schemes so they are not subject to the extreme

:22:15. > :22:19.propaganda of Daesh. How many UK nationals have joined or

:22:20. > :22:25.attempted to join Daesh in Syria and Iraq, and how many have been

:22:26. > :22:29.apprehended and prosecuted? That is information that I do not have the

:22:30. > :22:33.hand, Madam Deputy Speaker, I need to investigate that to see whether

:22:34. > :22:40.that is information in my domain that I can share.

:22:41. > :22:45.Can I unreservedly welcomed the Secretary of State's statement?

:22:46. > :22:51.Would she agree with me that in an already chronically unstable region,

:22:52. > :22:55.the presence of Daesh only serves to intensify that instability still

:22:56. > :23:02.further? Will she further agree with me that the only way to resolve this

:23:03. > :23:07.situation is not only to defeat Daesh militarily, but also, to

:23:08. > :23:12.defeat the perverted ideology that they represent? The honourable

:23:13. > :23:17.gentleman is absolutely right. The objective has to be the defeat, yes,

:23:18. > :23:20.them in terms of their military capability on the ground, but also,

:23:21. > :23:27.everything that they exist for. Their ideology and the spread of

:23:28. > :23:30.hate and evil that they perpetrate. I congratulate my right honourable

:23:31. > :23:35.friend on her statement, and also congratulate her on the success we

:23:36. > :23:39.have been having against Daesh in Syria. I wonder whether she has

:23:40. > :23:44.looked at the impact of that success on the activities of Daesh in other

:23:45. > :23:50.parts of the world where, for example, they are supporting Boko

:23:51. > :23:54.Haram in Nigeria? Well, what I would say is that we learn lessons all the

:23:55. > :23:59.time when we assess all activities that take place, but I think also,

:24:00. > :24:04.this gives me the opportunity to praise of course our Armed Forces

:24:05. > :24:07.and others who have been taking action and have been at the

:24:08. > :24:11.forefront of much of the work we have been talking about.

:24:12. > :24:18.Further to my noble friend's question about the need to counter

:24:19. > :24:22.the ideology of jihadism, can she give more detail about the

:24:23. > :24:26.investment which is being made in the UK and abroad, military and

:24:27. > :24:33.civil, indirectly countering and enabling others to counter the

:24:34. > :24:39.narrative which is drawing so many people in? And could she makes such,

:24:40. > :24:44.make this strand a further routine part of further updates the

:24:45. > :24:48.Government gives in future? The honourable gentleman is right, this

:24:49. > :24:53.is an area of enormous importance to this Government and also to all

:24:54. > :24:58.governments internationally. We are fighting the forces of Daesh. In my

:24:59. > :25:03.statement, I did say that we have been heavily involved, the UK is

:25:04. > :25:08.reading coalition adverts on the propaganda aspect and in particular,

:25:09. > :25:13.I know that the Minister from the Foreign Office will be in Washington

:25:14. > :25:17.next week at the counter Daesh coalition conference where the UK

:25:18. > :25:21.leads in this area and will be very happy to report back on updates and

:25:22. > :25:25.progress and the work taking place here. This is fundamental to how we

:25:26. > :25:33.can counter the propaganda that Daesh perpetrates.

:25:34. > :25:36.I welcome the statement by the Secretary of State the date which

:25:37. > :25:40.highlights the sterling work being done by her department and the UK

:25:41. > :25:46.Government, but can I ask about the UCD women and children who have

:25:47. > :25:49.faced a campaign of genocide by Daesh and specifically what help is

:25:50. > :25:53.being given to women and children who have been able to flee that

:25:54. > :25:58.genocide and to the thousands of women and children still held

:25:59. > :26:02.captive by them? My noble friend highlights the atrocity, the

:26:03. > :26:09.atrocious conduct of Daesh and their ultimate brutality. We in this House

:26:10. > :26:12.fully condemn their brutality against ethnic minorities. UK aid is

:26:13. > :26:18.distributed to all of those, including minorities and the Yazidi

:26:19. > :26:21.women and girls that my honourable friend has spoken about. We have

:26:22. > :26:28.touched about this a number of times in this House and at Madam Deputy

:26:29. > :26:33.Speaker, we have heard about the horrors of persecution of minorities

:26:34. > :26:36.and the Yazidis people and UK aid is focused on giving them support and

:26:37. > :26:42.that is something we can be incredibly proud of. I appreciate

:26:43. > :26:47.the Secretary of State's statements today and I would like to ask her

:26:48. > :26:51.regarding the quote in her statement that we are using our position on

:26:52. > :26:54.the UN Security Council and International Syria Support Group to

:26:55. > :26:58.press the regime and backers to allow aid to reach those who need it

:26:59. > :27:03.and is the core. All in is to be protected. Could she say more about

:27:04. > :27:07.the successes we are having and barriers and obstacles, and what we

:27:08. > :27:12.are doing with the billion going into Syria outside of the support

:27:13. > :27:16.for refugees, what is reaching people in the country? The

:27:17. > :27:22.honourable lady hits the nail on the head in terms of the challenge we

:27:23. > :27:26.face here. We are working in a challenging situation, we need peace

:27:27. > :27:30.and stability to achieve the outcome is that I referred to in the

:27:31. > :27:35.statement. We are using everything, every single ounce of capital that

:27:36. > :27:39.we have in terms of lobbying and influence, exactly as she would

:27:40. > :27:43.expect the Government to do so. Our commitment to Syria has been

:27:44. > :27:50.substantial, as she referred to the ?2.3 billion. In terms of getting a

:27:51. > :27:55.dim, much of that ?2.3 billion has been concentrated within the wider

:27:56. > :28:00.region, but also funding the agencies, working with partners,

:28:01. > :28:03.food programmes, Unicef, the white matrix of agencies we have a strong

:28:04. > :28:10.working relationship with the provide life-saving support. Food,

:28:11. > :28:15.water, shelter and medical supplies as well. I must emphasise this is

:28:16. > :28:19.incredibly challenging, we have seen besieged areas and people we still

:28:20. > :28:24.cannot reach and that is our number one objective, to see how UK aid and

:28:25. > :28:28.aid throughout the international community can get to those people

:28:29. > :28:33.that have not seen any aid for not just weeks, but months.

:28:34. > :28:37.As the Government given any further consideration to recognising the

:28:38. > :28:42.crimes against the Yazidis is a genocide since this House is debated

:28:43. > :28:46.it? Has the Government been willing to support a rehabilitation and

:28:47. > :28:50.recovery programme for Daesh survivors, particularly the Yazidis

:28:51. > :28:57.now resident outside Iraq, as Germany have just launched? And

:28:58. > :29:01.following on from the last question, will the UK deploy as soon as

:29:02. > :29:04.possible its own experts, forensic experts, to examine those mass

:29:05. > :29:08.graves? It is not just about bringing people to justice, it is

:29:09. > :29:11.for the loved ones from the UCD community and elsewhere to be able

:29:12. > :29:18.to identify the bodies of those who have been killed. My honourable

:29:19. > :29:23.friend raises very important and significant points around the mass

:29:24. > :29:26.graves and we are already giving support in terms of the

:29:27. > :29:30.investigation is taking place and Dai Rees state what I said earlier,

:29:31. > :29:37.this is very challenging and difficult in terms of evidence

:29:38. > :29:41.collation. In terms of genocide and Yazidi persecution, in terms of the

:29:42. > :29:45.crimes, we are working throughout the system in terms of the horrors

:29:46. > :29:51.that have taken place. Of course, the use of the term genocide hits

:29:52. > :29:55.against legal definitions. But we will put all aspects of this in

:29:56. > :29:59.place because the only way to defeat what has happened and address the

:30:00. > :30:03.horrors is by taking the actions we need going forward to call them out

:30:04. > :30:09.and take the respective steps forward we need to see.

:30:10. > :30:12.I would like to thank the Secretary of State for her statement and I

:30:13. > :30:17.would like to associate myself with all the comments about our coalition

:30:18. > :30:23.forces and those aid workers working in very difficult circumstances in

:30:24. > :30:28.Iraq and Syria. It is good news Mosul has been liberated and others

:30:29. > :30:33.will follow, but once they liberated along with Remainer, we have no

:30:34. > :30:37.doubt Daesh will not see this as the end of the caliphate. Many fighters

:30:38. > :30:40.will return to their home countries. Further to a question from the

:30:41. > :30:45.honourable member for Peter Brookes, could the Secretary of State said

:30:46. > :30:50.the conversation she is having with her international partners to ensure

:30:51. > :30:53.those who do return to their countries do not get radicalised? He

:30:54. > :30:58.is right to raise this point and the radicalisation aspect is exactly why

:30:59. > :31:04.these individuals and organisations exist. This is a collective effort.

:31:05. > :31:09.We have the counter Daesh coalition meeting next week and this is an

:31:10. > :31:12.ongoing part of discussions not just across our government, but within

:31:13. > :31:17.the international community. The objective has to be to stamp them

:31:18. > :31:21.out and to end the radicalisation, the propaganda and the hate and evil

:31:22. > :31:26.they are spreading. I thank my right honourable friend

:31:27. > :31:29.for the welcome update and her unstinting personal commitments to

:31:30. > :31:37.this cause, her department's work and all the humanitarian co-workers

:31:38. > :31:40.and NGOs on the ground. The news of the possible famine bringing to

:31:41. > :31:45.focus our commitment in terms of what we do live in areas of need and

:31:46. > :31:49.six years on, Syria remains heartbreaking to my constituents who

:31:50. > :31:52.continued to contact me about the relief effort. One area they would

:31:53. > :31:57.like to push further on its other countries and their commitment to

:31:58. > :32:02.doing the same in this area. My honourable friend is absolutely

:32:03. > :32:06.right to raise the horrors of Syria, on the sixth anniversary of the

:32:07. > :32:10.conflict. But also, the fact others in the international community need

:32:11. > :32:16.to step up. I said in my statement at the London conference last year

:32:17. > :32:20.which was a great success and brought great resources in full

:32:21. > :32:24.Syria and the region, but the international community itself needs

:32:25. > :32:27.to step up. We are seeing famine and she managed Terry and crises around

:32:28. > :32:31.the world and I would be one of the first to call out and call upon

:32:32. > :32:36.others to step up. Britain is out there already when it comes to

:32:37. > :32:39.Somalia, South Sudan, North East Nigeria, and providing support in

:32:40. > :32:44.Yemen, but we need others to do more. We cannot deal with these

:32:45. > :32:47.challenges on our own and so the international community absolutely

:32:48. > :32:53.needs to step up. The UK is one of only six countries

:32:54. > :32:58.and the only G-7 country to meet the 0.7% aid commitment and like the 2%

:32:59. > :33:01.Nato commitment, we make tough choices about public spending

:33:02. > :33:05.elsewhere. Would my right honourable friend confirmed to those in doubt

:33:06. > :33:09.that it is by meeting this commitment that we are able to lead

:33:10. > :33:15.the way in helping civilians displaced and terrorised by Daesh?

:33:16. > :33:25.Great Britain stands tall in the world through our support of aid and

:33:26. > :33:33.the first-class diplomacy that we have. He is right to see this. To

:33:34. > :33:44.alleviate humanity being suffering, really do we and others are falling.

:33:45. > :33:52.-- falling. I very much welcome the statement. We have the second

:33:53. > :33:58.largest donor to the region, second only to the United States. With

:33:59. > :34:05.regard to preventing terrorism attacks, will she joined me in

:34:06. > :34:08.paying tribute to the security forces who have prevented terrorist

:34:09. > :34:15.attacks in Great Britain in recent years. We are protected in this

:34:16. > :34:23.country by easing individuals in our security services. There are many

:34:24. > :34:32.other around the world who are also doing much to counter these evil

:34:33. > :34:46.forces. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. As a point of order, the

:34:47. > :35:00.heartless government intends to bring 42 tier system. Can you advise

:35:01. > :35:04.if there is any indication whether this will be brought before the

:35:05. > :35:10.house and what other options are available to the ministers, because

:35:11. > :35:17.of the lack of detail and forward planning in this. This will affect

:35:18. > :35:23.services across the United Kingdom. I thank the honourable lady for the

:35:24. > :35:26.point of order. I believe the government has laid down the

:35:27. > :35:36.regulations this afternoon. These will be subject to the usual

:35:37. > :35:41.procedures. They are subject to negative procedure. It is open to

:35:42. > :35:49.the honourable lady to seek a debate. I would point out that it is

:35:50. > :35:56.business questions tomorrow, so she may wish to raise this tomorrow. An

:35:57. > :36:13.adjournment debate is possible option as well. No further points of

:36:14. > :36:23.order. We come to the 10-Minute Rule. We ask that land speed

:36:24. > :36:36.transferred currently owned by Network Rail in Scotland. We believe

:36:37. > :36:42.that in order to provide a future and improve the lives of those

:36:43. > :36:50.affected, the best way to make sure opportunities of progress to provide

:36:51. > :36:57.stimulus of trade is to bring power is close to warm as possible. The

:36:58. > :37:04.winner is the opportunity more evident than when viewing the

:37:05. > :37:11.current situation of Network Rail in Scotland. Employees work art but

:37:12. > :37:19.they are not accountable for the work they are asked to undertake.

:37:20. > :37:24.Making them accountable would improve the effectiveness of the

:37:25. > :37:29.railway services within Scotland and also save ?100 million a year. That

:37:30. > :37:33.is just the start. There are also the hundreds of millions in cost

:37:34. > :37:49.overruns which have to be taken into account. 54% of decisions are

:37:50. > :37:56.directly connected with Network Rail. The network functions need to

:37:57. > :38:03.be devolved. Objectives have been set out, but they cannot hold

:38:04. > :38:08.Network Rail to account. It is a ridiculous situation which would not

:38:09. > :38:13.be acceptable anywhere else. An independent review into this says

:38:14. > :38:20.there is another fundamental weakness in the delivery of major

:38:21. > :38:28.projects in Scotland by Network Rail. Eat ?379 million increase in

:38:29. > :38:35.projects against costs. It has exposed weaknesses in the governance

:38:36. > :38:39.of Network Rail. It also highlighted weak and inconsistent cost

:38:40. > :38:47.forecasting. On top of that, significantly higher costs than the

:38:48. > :38:52.standard. The decision by the government to seal a work public

:38:53. > :38:55.assets being so relentless, this ideological drive towards

:38:56. > :39:00.privatisation is the wrong track to take. They will find no support in

:39:01. > :39:06.this from the Scottish National party. That is one statement made by

:39:07. > :39:14.the Secretary of State for Transport underlining the challenges that we

:39:15. > :39:19.can agree with. On December the six last year, talking about the Oxford

:39:20. > :39:26.- Cambridge Lane, he said, train companies take the blame for the

:39:27. > :39:33.problems of Network Rail. They have had little reason to focus on the

:39:34. > :39:36.best aspects of customer service. In my experience, passengers do not

:39:37. > :39:46.understand the division between the two. The just want one body to be in

:39:47. > :39:51.charge. I agree with them. We need a simpler railway system. We need less

:39:52. > :39:55.complexity and more localised decisions being made. He asked

:39:56. > :40:06.whether there was planning essential rapiers pitting improvements on a

:40:07. > :40:10.coded route. The railway is much better run by one joined up team of

:40:11. > :40:16.people. The United Kingdom government can sort this. Why, as

:40:17. > :40:23.the controller feels this is the rate approach, when it comes to

:40:24. > :40:31.Oxford - Cambridge, why is it not right for Scotland? That is not the

:40:32. > :40:36.only surprising view. A former Labour transport minister, Tom

:40:37. > :40:40.Harris, he called for Network Rail in Scotland to be fully accountable

:40:41. > :40:45.to the Scottish Government. He said we need fundamental change to the

:40:46. > :40:51.governance of Network Rail. The Scottish Government is responsible

:40:52. > :40:58.for the funding of the network, but this cannot be properly exercised

:40:59. > :41:01.while Network Rail remains answerable to the United Kingdom

:41:02. > :41:06.government. We believe they should be fully accountable to the Scottish

:41:07. > :41:18.Government and that means it must be devolved. The devil you shouldn't of

:41:19. > :41:22.it is the best approach. Transport is already devolved. Surely the

:41:23. > :41:26.infrastructure of this should be devolved? No reasonable person would

:41:27. > :41:37.believe that the current system works. People have no ability to

:41:38. > :41:45.have rights over the cost or any comeback of it goes over the agreed

:41:46. > :41:48.threshold. Why in Scotland? By the Secretary of State to transport

:41:49. > :41:57.cannot sell this idea to the private sector, I would not know. We need to

:41:58. > :42:00.effectively devolve Network Rail to the private sector, but we are told

:42:01. > :42:08.this is not available in the public sector in Scotland. As we move

:42:09. > :42:10.towards the ever-increasing privatisation, the United Kingdom

:42:11. > :42:15.government should be given power over Network Rail to the Scottish

:42:16. > :42:22.parliament. They could then make decisions to make the service in the

:42:23. > :42:29.interests of the public. There are challenges in Scotland. Even been

:42:30. > :42:35.held back by the current arrangement, 92% of trains arrive at

:42:36. > :42:41.the destination within the punctuality measure. 92%, compared

:42:42. > :42:46.with 87% across the rest of the United Kingdom. The Scottish element

:42:47. > :42:51.has ensured that fears are capped and passengers travelling on the

:42:52. > :42:56.peak and off-peak service have regulated costs. They are benefiting

:42:57. > :43:02.from the lowest level of increases since the selective powers were

:43:03. > :43:06.devolved 12 years ago. This proves that when the powers reside in

:43:07. > :43:14.Scotland, a better deal for the Scottish public can be delivered.

:43:15. > :43:18.Customer satisfaction in Scotland is 7% higher than the United Kingdom

:43:19. > :43:23.average. That is a good foundation to build on. We can take an even

:43:24. > :43:28.greater step to improve these figures of control is within the

:43:29. > :43:33.power of the Scottish parliament. The former Labour transport minister

:43:34. > :43:42.agrees that devolving control over Network Rail in Scotland is the

:43:43. > :43:50.right move. Why wait? All power to make decisions on Scotland should be

:43:51. > :43:54.in Scotland. We can plan better for the long-term outcome. This should

:43:55. > :44:04.never even be the remotest possibility that he may be forced to

:44:05. > :44:18.swallow the bitter pill by a future Dr Beecham. The capacity has been

:44:19. > :44:23.issued by the rebuilding of the fantastic borders link. Scotland is

:44:24. > :44:33.a country teeming with talented people, who can, if given the power

:44:34. > :44:36.to do so, deliver a feeler, better connected than inclusive society.

:44:37. > :44:44.The people of Scotland will have the voice here. Scotland is at the

:44:45. > :44:54.junction. We can continue with the tired old real we approach. No seats

:44:55. > :45:01.of latrine. Or we could choose to get off that one-way traffic which

:45:02. > :45:09.is on its way to hit the buffers. We need to start now with those in

:45:10. > :45:16.Network Rail who could plan a journey to a better connected

:45:17. > :45:22.Scotland. It would be better for everyone who calls Scotland via

:45:23. > :45:30.home. The question is that he has moved to bring in the Bill. The ayes

:45:31. > :45:40.have it. A number of MPs are seconding the

:45:41. > :46:21.bill. Second reading, what Dave? Friday,

:46:22. > :46:28.24th of March. Health services and supplies cost bill. The question is

:46:29. > :46:39.only order paper. Those who ayes say. Those who naes say. Ayes The

:46:40. > :46:48.habit. Consideration of the amendments. I must draw the house

:46:49. > :46:54.attention to the financial engagement on 19, 20 and 20 one. If

:46:55. > :47:03.the house agrees, and appropriate entry will be made in the jungle. We

:47:04. > :47:11.will consider the other amendments. I call the minister to move the

:47:12. > :47:17.motion. I beg to move that this house disagrees with the House of

:47:18. > :47:22.Lords with regard to amendment three. I would remain the house of

:47:23. > :47:35.the importance of this. NHS spending on medicine is only to staff costs.

:47:36. > :47:43.There has been a rise of 20% in the past six years. The costs can only

:47:44. > :47:49.continue to increase. We have a lot to be proud of. We have an excellent

:47:50. > :47:59.representation for -- reputation. We have one of the strongest industries

:48:00. > :48:03.in the world, generating turnover of over 16 billion pounds each year. It

:48:04. > :48:09.is one of most productive industries. We want to support the

:48:10. > :48:10.industry and to help it flourish. We want to transform jobs and the

:48:11. > :48:25.health of the nation. We would expect the life sciences

:48:26. > :48:29.industry to be a substantial beneficiary of that. This comes on

:48:30. > :48:32.top of measures like the patented box and the are and D tax credits

:48:33. > :48:38.which this Government has introduced to encourage tax investment from

:48:39. > :48:42.innovative businesses. This determined action is reaping

:48:43. > :48:45.rewards, the UK is top in major European economies for foreign

:48:46. > :48:54.direct investment projects in life sciences. Last month, a Danish drugs

:48:55. > :49:00.company announced a new ?150 million investment in a science research

:49:01. > :49:06.Centre in Oxford. This is on top of a ?275 million additional investment

:49:07. > :49:09.announced by GS K last June. And AstraZeneca reaffirming its

:49:10. > :49:13.commitment to a ?390 million investment in establishing

:49:14. > :49:17.headquarters and a research centre in Cambridge, it is good to see the

:49:18. > :49:24.honourable member representing that constituency in his place. Professor

:49:25. > :49:27.Sir John Bell, medicine of us at Oxford, has agreed to lead the

:49:28. > :49:31.development of a life science strategy for the long-term success

:49:32. > :49:37.of the UK. And it is important we secure better value for money for

:49:38. > :49:40.the NHS from its growing spend on medicines and other medical