20/04/2017

:00:12. > :00:19.Welcome to BBC Parliament's live coverage of the House of Commons. In

:00:20. > :00:24.an hour, the Labour MP Stephen Doughty has tabled an urgent

:00:25. > :00:28.question on gay and lesbian people in the Chechen Republic of Russia,

:00:29. > :00:37.author won after reports of people being tortured and at least three

:00:38. > :00:43.killed. In David -- David Livingstone will set out forthcoming

:00:44. > :00:45.business. Then there will be two select committee statements, about

:00:46. > :00:52.the public administration and Constitutional affairs committee,

:00:53. > :00:57.and lessons to be learned in the EU referendum. The second in the

:00:58. > :01:04.Justice committee's report on prison reform. Then we will discuss the

:01:05. > :01:08.Gorton by-election, after the death of Sir Gerald Kaufman, which will

:01:09. > :01:14.allow a by-election on the 8th of June. Then there will be questions

:01:15. > :01:18.on the impact of changes to state pensions on UK expats and the second

:01:19. > :01:24.on infectious diseases. Join me for a round-up of the day in the House

:01:25. > :01:26.of Commons at 11pm tonight. First we have questions for the Environment,

:01:27. > :01:31.Food and Rural Affairs secretary, Andrea Leadsome, and her team of

:01:32. > :01:41.ministers. The UK has made significant progress in improving

:01:42. > :01:50.your quality in the last decade, in all five areas. However there are

:01:51. > :01:54.countries not meeting targets for emissions of carbon dioxide, so to

:01:55. > :01:59.help address this, last year the government consulted on a framework

:02:00. > :02:04.which will be consulted shortly. -- published shortly. Following three

:02:05. > :02:09.defeats in the courts for failing to address the 50,000 deaths a year in

:02:10. > :02:12.the country due to poor air quality, and we're the government defended

:02:13. > :02:17.the indefensible, a judge ordered the government to produce and your

:02:18. > :02:21.quality plan by this Monday. Labour believe we need to go further, with

:02:22. > :02:26.any quality national framework as part of the clean air act. What are

:02:27. > :02:30.the main parts of this plan, and how much has the Minister allocated to

:02:31. > :02:36.addressing the UK's poor air quality in the plan? They think it is a

:02:37. > :02:44.great shame that the honourable lady criticises this government, who

:02:45. > :02:47.since 2011 have committed ?2 million to increase the uptake of ultralow

:02:48. > :02:52.emissions vehicles, supported greener transport schemes and set

:02:53. > :02:55.out how we will improve your quality through a new programme of clean air

:02:56. > :03:01.zones. In the Autumn Statement we announced a further ?290 million to

:03:02. > :03:05.support low emission buses and taxis, retrofitting alternative

:03:06. > :03:19.fuels, and we will be consulting on our plans to improve nitrogen oxide

:03:20. > :03:27.emissions very shortly. This is so much pie in the sky. Every time we

:03:28. > :03:33.have DEFRA questions, it is coming soon, when is the report, when are

:03:34. > :03:36.we going to stop people being poisoned in our cities, end Times,

:03:37. > :03:49.in places like Huddersfield, and when will we see action? Now, not

:03:50. > :03:54.next week or next year! This government is totally committed to

:03:55. > :03:57.cutting harmful emissions. We have made great progress in the last

:03:58. > :04:01.decade, which is more than the Labour government did. Emissions

:04:02. > :04:06.went up under their watch. We recognise there is more to do, and

:04:07. > :04:19.we will be publishing our proposals soon. People buying diesel cars

:04:20. > :04:24.thinking they were the cheap way forward, will the Minister make sure

:04:25. > :04:27.she discusses with this Transport Secretary and Secretary, so we do

:04:28. > :04:30.not penalise them and work with the devolved governments as well? We

:04:31. > :04:42.need to find a way forward to look after those people. We have to take

:04:43. > :04:45.into account the impact on ordinary working families, and on businesses,

:04:46. > :04:49.and as the Prime Minister has made very clear, we understand that

:04:50. > :04:53.people bought diesel cars under incentives from the last Labour

:04:54. > :04:58.government, they bought them in good faith and we need to ensure that

:04:59. > :05:05.they are not penalised for those actions. Will the Minister consider

:05:06. > :05:10.a targeted diesel scrappage scheme, which particularly supports

:05:11. > :05:16.low-income families? The opportunity to do so was missed in the Autumn

:05:17. > :05:18.Statement and in the budget. I can assure the honourable lady that the

:05:19. > :05:32.government is looking at all possible

:05:33. > :05:43.areas we need to have mitigation to support families. All types are on

:05:44. > :05:47.the table. Leg we have a very low air pollution quality with all areas

:05:48. > :05:51.in the low pollution band. It is essential that the national

:05:52. > :05:54.framework is nationwide and encompasses Northern Ireland. Could

:05:55. > :05:59.I ask the Minister what discussions she has had with her counterpart in

:06:00. > :06:11.the northern island assembly to make sure it happens? I can assure him we

:06:12. > :06:14.have had discussions with all administrations. -- the Northern

:06:15. > :06:26.Ireland Assembly. We are working closely together and will be making

:06:27. > :06:28.announcements in due course. The Great Repeal Bill will ensure that

:06:29. > :06:34.the body of existing Euro environmental law will have an

:06:35. > :06:38.effect in UK law, but Parliament will have the chance to make sure

:06:39. > :06:43.the legislative framework is outcome driven, focusing on improving the

:06:44. > :06:49.environment in a generation. The government will continue to uphold

:06:50. > :06:51.obligations and international environmental treaties, and we will

:06:52. > :07:03.continue to seek other countries to do so as well. Assuming regulations

:07:04. > :07:10.come in as part of the bill, that is important but at least as important

:07:11. > :07:20.is ensuring the regulations are permanent. The country decided to

:07:21. > :07:23.leave the European Union last year. We're trying to give as much

:07:24. > :07:32.certainty as possible to ensure regulations continue and will

:07:33. > :07:36.continue as a consequence. I'm concerned that he thinks we will

:07:37. > :07:41.simply rip up the rule book. We want a better environment for our future

:07:42. > :07:47.generations, which is what this government will deliver. The

:07:48. > :07:50.Minister knows very well that the EU environmental regulations have been

:07:51. > :07:57.very helpful to people like me and you, Mr Speaker, when holding the

:07:58. > :08:00.feet to the fire of HS2 when it comes to protecting our environment.

:08:01. > :08:06.Could the Minister give me an undertaking that she will not alone

:08:07. > :08:12.any diminution to areas of outstanding natural beauty, and that

:08:13. > :08:18.exiting the European Union does not hand a blank cheque to HS2 to ride

:08:19. > :08:21.roughshod over the countryside? My right honourable friend will be

:08:22. > :08:24.aware that the government has already committed in developing HS2

:08:25. > :08:30.and other infrastructure we will uphold the highest environmental

:08:31. > :08:34.standards we cherish. While she is working on the EU air quality

:08:35. > :08:42.regulations, can I echo the call in the last question for a national

:08:43. > :08:48.framework, rather than ad hoc local decision-making, especially as

:08:49. > :08:53.emissions are actually declining at the moment. Can the Minister looked

:08:54. > :08:57.at all causes of air pollution to properly cost alternatives,

:08:58. > :08:59.especially the cost to drivers on the taxpayer, and urge the

:09:00. > :09:06.government to stop demonising diesel drivers. I think it is fair to say

:09:07. > :09:12.that as we have said at the dispatch box before, when we are tackling

:09:13. > :09:14.with the quality we have to work with local communities, because the

:09:15. > :09:21.situation will vary. This government is not demonising diesel drivers at

:09:22. > :09:24.all. It was the Labour government that introduced incentives for

:09:25. > :09:31.people to start using diesel. It happens to be that the current Mayor

:09:32. > :09:34.of London stood here in his last year of the Brown government saying

:09:35. > :09:43.that Euro standards would solve the problem. We are now clearing up the

:09:44. > :09:48.mess. One of those environmental standards we can improve on outside

:09:49. > :09:54.the European Union as much as inside if the state of the oceans. As the

:09:55. > :09:59.Minister will know, there is a massive amount of dumping of

:10:00. > :10:02.plastics damaging sea life and choral well-being. That is a huge

:10:03. > :10:06.conference in the United Nations tween the fifth on the 9th of June.

:10:07. > :10:10.Ministers will be busy doing other things. What is she going to do to

:10:11. > :10:14.ensure that the British voice is properly heard to ensure we're going

:10:15. > :10:21.to do something to clean up our oceans? My honourable friend will be

:10:22. > :10:25.aware that we launched a litter strategy recently. A lot of rubbish

:10:26. > :10:29.that winds up in marine comes from the land. We need to continue to

:10:30. > :10:33.work on that. Marine conservation is particularly important to this

:10:34. > :10:36.government, we have continued to extend our blue belt around the

:10:37. > :10:40.coastline of the country but also with overseas territories, and I can

:10:41. > :10:45.assure him that the oceans conference between the fifth and 9th

:10:46. > :10:48.of June, he points out there the general election in the middle, but

:10:49. > :10:54.I can assure him the interest of the United Kingdom will be well

:10:55. > :10:59.undertaken. While the Great Repeal Bill may bring short-term stability

:11:00. > :11:03.and working statute book when the UK leads the EU, it remains to be seen

:11:04. > :11:08.whether this government or indeed future governments will take any

:11:09. > :11:12.action to road the UK's environmental policies as they exist

:11:13. > :11:17.now. What assurances can the Minister give to my constituents who

:11:18. > :11:24.have written to me expressing deep concerns over environmental and is

:11:25. > :11:28.post-Brexit? I can continue to try and assure the House that this

:11:29. > :11:31.government has been very clear in the manifesto on which we stood in

:11:32. > :11:35.2015 that we want to be first to leave the environment in a better

:11:36. > :11:41.state than we find it, which is what this government continue to do.

:11:42. > :11:47.Minister Rory Stewart announced in Parliament on the 24th of November

:11:48. > :11:51.2015 that the UK Government will ban lion and trophy imports by the end

:11:52. > :12:00.of 2017. What progress has been made in this regard, and can she tell us

:12:01. > :12:04.what reductions in Trophy hunting in international treaties, after the UK

:12:05. > :12:07.has left the EU? I did not catch the opening of the honourable

:12:08. > :12:13.gentleman's question, when he referred to something from 2015, but

:12:14. > :12:17.I want to assure him that these imports are taken on a case-by-case

:12:18. > :12:20.basis, and we continue to work with other countries to make sure we can

:12:21. > :12:22.serve important species around the world. The UK is a global leader in

:12:23. > :12:35.this. Question number four. With your

:12:36. > :12:39.permission, I will group question for Andrew question seven. The

:12:40. > :12:44.consultation closed on the 28th of February and were currently

:12:45. > :12:47.examining the responses. We intend to introduce legislation this year

:12:48. > :12:50.with a banner manufacturing expected to apply from the 1st of January

:12:51. > :13:00.2018 and a band of sales from the 13th of June 2018 as outlined in our

:13:01. > :13:04.proposals. I strongly support the Government's proposals to ban micro

:13:05. > :13:10.beads in cosmetics and personal care products but they probably only

:13:11. > :13:15.account for about 4% of those polluting our rivers. With the

:13:16. > :13:19.Government say what they are doing to prevent the other types of

:13:20. > :13:23.migrant plastics which are going to continue polluting our waters? The

:13:24. > :13:33.Government wants to consult on the extent of the -- the Government

:13:34. > :13:37.launched a consultation on the extent of the damage micro plastics

:13:38. > :13:42.are causing and we are continuing to look into that. The use of plastic

:13:43. > :13:45.bottles is also something we are looking at but I should remind my

:13:46. > :13:49.right honourable friend that we need to be gathered as we take this

:13:50. > :13:53.forward because a lot of micro beads and plastics are the outcome of

:13:54. > :13:59.things like recycling bodies -- bottles into making fleeces and

:14:00. > :14:04.suchlike. I was recently rummaging through my wife's election of

:14:05. > :14:18.shampoos and to my horror I found a plastic container of anti-wrinkle,

:14:19. > :14:23.anti-ageing lotion. Complete with exfoliating micro beads. Obviously

:14:24. > :14:27.neither the Secretary of State or the Minister would have such need

:14:28. > :14:32.for a abrupt but would she speak to the Chief Executive of Procter and

:14:33. > :14:37.Gamble that telling this sort of product at the moment is complete

:14:38. > :14:45.outrageous and he should withdraw them at once. Well, Mr Speaker, what

:14:46. > :14:49.I find extraordinary is that lady Belling is a flawless picture and

:14:50. > :14:53.wouldn't even need these products, so I am sure that my honourable

:14:54. > :15:00.friend will be buying flowers later today to make up for this. It is

:15:01. > :15:04.fair to say, Mr Speaker, that we are working with manufacturers now and a

:15:05. > :15:08.lot of them are starting to remove these products already, practically,

:15:09. > :15:13.but we want to make sure that this avoidable pollution is taken out of

:15:14. > :15:24.our environment permanently. Number five. Mr Speaker, we regularly meet

:15:25. > :15:28.EU counterparts at agriculture and figure it -- agriculture and

:15:29. > :15:34.fisheries Council and food and drink issues are regularly discussed and

:15:35. > :15:40.informed by bilaterals. The great and noble county of Lincolnshire is

:15:41. > :15:44.the bread basket of England and much of the food we eat comes from our

:15:45. > :15:51.county. Liza Fate has been proved to be harmless by scientists, it is

:15:52. > :15:56.used in the same production of wheat and agreed that we eat. Once we

:15:57. > :15:57.regain control of our destiny, can the minister assure me its use will

:15:58. > :16:22.be reauthorised. As the honourable gentleman knows,

:16:23. > :16:33.the EU are reviewing the use of Glyphosate and it having been proved

:16:34. > :16:51.safe, we are backing its use again. My first question on Defra... This

:16:52. > :16:55.minister has shown since my first question procrastination my children

:16:56. > :17:01.would envy. The minister wants us to believe we can trust him with

:17:02. > :17:04.correcting UK policy. Where is this money? How on earth can Scottish

:17:05. > :17:09.farming trust this Government and the Tories? Well, the honourable

:17:10. > :17:13.gentleman and I have discussed this number of times and he is aware the

:17:14. > :17:18.reason the review we intended to do last year was delayed was because of

:17:19. > :17:22.the referendum, which has changed the context dramatically. We

:17:23. > :17:26.continue to have discussions with Scottish industry. Just yesterday, I

:17:27. > :17:35.met NFU as to discuss feature agriculture policy. What can be done

:17:36. > :17:38.to encourage the European Union to promote the processing of feedstuffs

:17:39. > :17:43.in developing countries, thinking particularly of olive oil and copy

:17:44. > :17:50.where the value added tends to be in the European Union? The UK and

:17:51. > :17:54.indeed a number of other European countries have preferential trade

:17:55. > :17:58.agreements in place to support developing countries, to give them

:17:59. > :18:01.tariff free access to the European market. This is important to the

:18:02. > :18:05.development of some of those countries and the issues he raises

:18:06. > :18:09.are ones that are regularly discussed that the EU agriculture

:18:10. > :18:16.Council. An important part of the food processing sector is the fish

:18:17. > :18:22.area of my constituency and is part of those EU discussions, what

:18:23. > :18:34.efforts will be made to ensure there was no border in the Irish Sea which

:18:35. > :18:39.would stop permitting fishermen from fishing in both parts as they

:18:40. > :18:42.currently can? As the honourable lady knows, there has been an issue

:18:43. > :18:49.with a long-standing agreement between the Irish Parliament and the

:18:50. > :18:54.UK and this was discussed at a couple of weeks ago by myself and

:18:55. > :19:01.administer from the Irish Parliament about arrangements we may have after

:19:02. > :19:04.Brexit? I have the honour of representing a constituency whose

:19:05. > :19:06.farmers feed the country and I would be interested to know, will my

:19:07. > :19:13.honourable friend work to ensure that farmers are not put at a

:19:14. > :19:20.disadvantage with their EU competitors when these exciting new

:19:21. > :19:24.trade deals are negotiated? Well, my honourable friend, she has a very

:19:25. > :19:27.important farming constituency and I know that and what I can reassure

:19:28. > :19:31.her is that I myself worked in the farming industry for ten years, it's

:19:32. > :19:35.an industry I'm passionate about and I've been going up and down the

:19:36. > :19:39.country in recent months, meeting farmers, discussing their concerns,

:19:40. > :19:42.but we have a fantastic opportunity on leaving the European Union to

:19:43. > :19:47.design a new agricultural policy that is fit for purpose. Press

:19:48. > :19:52.reports earlier this week suggest the Danish Government may press for

:19:53. > :19:57.restrictions on UK fish imports to the EU if the Danish fleet this

:19:58. > :20:07.access to UK, mostly Scottish fishing waters when the UK leads the

:20:08. > :20:15.EU. That would have severe impact on Scottish fishermen who export 50% of

:20:16. > :20:19.their fish to the EU each year and can he tell us what discussions he

:20:20. > :20:26.has had a mess? I have regular meetings with all EU counterparts

:20:27. > :20:30.and I believe the Danish minister is planning a visit to the UK in the

:20:31. > :20:33.next few weeks and I hope to meet in them. The honourable lady should not

:20:34. > :20:39.worry about the opening positions people might take in a negotiation.

:20:40. > :20:45.It doesn't matter what people ask for, it matters what the UK

:20:46. > :20:49.Government is willing to grant. The Scottish fishing industry want to

:20:50. > :20:53.leave the EU, they want to leave the CFP, they wanted to take control of

:20:54. > :20:57.our waters. The fishing industry is vitally important to my

:20:58. > :21:04.constituency. Would the Minister update fishes there and around the

:21:05. > :21:07.industry -- around the UK when the Government intends to withdraw from

:21:08. > :21:14.the London 1954 fisheries convention? The honourable lady

:21:15. > :21:17.makes an important point. There is a 1964 London fisheries convention

:21:18. > :21:21.which has access arrangements for a number of countries. As we've made

:21:22. > :21:24.clear on numerous occasions, we are looking at this very closely and as

:21:25. > :21:35.the prime ministers said two weeks ago, we had to say something on this

:21:36. > :21:40.shortly. Number six. Mr Speaker, since 2015, Defra has opened or

:21:41. > :21:46.improved terms for over 160 markets, increasing access to markets is a

:21:47. > :21:51.priority set out in the food and drink international action plan and

:21:52. > :21:57.we work with industry to identify and prioritise and increase export

:21:58. > :22:01.value. In my role as the trade envoy to Nigeria, I have recently invited

:22:02. > :22:05.the Nigerian agriculture Minister to come to the UK. Will he agree with

:22:06. > :22:10.me that it's important to show him the whole of the value change --

:22:11. > :22:15.value train in agriculture in which we do so well question mark I

:22:16. > :22:24.commend the work that my honourable friend does building negotiations

:22:25. > :22:30.with -- building relations with Nigeria, building relationships and

:22:31. > :22:33.I am delighted to hear he has invited the minister here to see

:22:34. > :22:40.some of the great work we do through the supply chain and what we do to

:22:41. > :22:43.reduce waste within it. Does the minister recognise that it's

:22:44. > :22:48.absolutely crucial that the needs of the agricultural sector are placed

:22:49. > :22:50.at the heart of Brexit negotiations? Isn't it clear that if the

:22:51. > :22:54.Government doesn't get its act together, a bad Brexit deal will

:22:55. > :22:58.leave British farmers and food producers facing the double whammy

:22:59. > :23:05.of cheap food imports and tariffs on their exports? I would simply say to

:23:06. > :23:08.the honourable lady that access to the UK market is incredibly

:23:09. > :23:12.important for European countries as well. Whilst we exported around ?11

:23:13. > :23:18.billion worth of food and drink to the European Union, we import some

:23:19. > :23:21.?28 billion worth from the EU. That is why farming unions across the EU

:23:22. > :23:24.are telling their governments that they must have a free-trade

:23:25. > :23:30.agreement with the UK. How does the Government intend to deliver on its

:23:31. > :23:33.promises? The CLA are saying that the Government should admit it

:23:34. > :23:36.cannot design a workable new agricultural policy in less than two

:23:37. > :23:41.years because Debra simply does not have the capacity. The Government's

:23:42. > :23:47.failure to reach an agreement could leave out farmers unable to compete

:23:48. > :23:51.by at home and abroad. Very specifically, what guarantees for

:23:52. > :23:55.the Minister provide here, today, to rural communities right across the

:23:56. > :24:00.country that farming subsidies and tariffs free trade will be

:24:01. > :24:04.guaranteed under a Tory Government? I would simply say festival to the

:24:05. > :24:07.honourable lady that we have some tremendously talented policy

:24:08. > :24:11.officials both in Defra and in our agencies and they have been working

:24:12. > :24:14.very closely on some of the decal behind the design of each

:24:15. > :24:18.agricultural policy on some of those issues. The Prime Minister has been

:24:19. > :24:22.very clear that she will make an offer to other European countries

:24:23. > :24:28.for a bold, ambitious free agricultural agreement. One of the

:24:29. > :24:32.markets that farmers in northern Lincolnshire are hoping to expand on

:24:33. > :24:38.is producing crops for eggs converged on to bio ethanol viewed.

:24:39. > :24:42.They are concerned about the Government's commitment to this.

:24:43. > :24:47.Could you reassure them that if a market for future expansion? We do

:24:48. > :24:52.see a role for bio ethanol fuels but also we are keen to ensure that we

:24:53. > :24:55.don't lose too much good agricultural land to biofuels. The

:24:56. > :24:59.honourable gentleman, my honourable friend, will be aware that this is

:25:00. > :25:02.predominantly an issue for the Department for Transport and I would

:25:03. > :25:09.invite him to raise this issue with them in the next Parliament. Markets

:25:10. > :25:14.are not necessarily just country based but also a product based. The

:25:15. > :25:18.UK has a tremendous market for lactose free milk most of which is

:25:19. > :25:21.imported. What can we do to encourage UK producers to develop

:25:22. > :25:27.this product in the UK, manufactured in the UK? Well, we do have

:25:28. > :25:34.obviously a very strong dairy industry in this country and there

:25:35. > :25:37.are lots of opportunities like that. We have established things like the

:25:38. > :25:40.food innovation networks and things like the aggregate fund and the

:25:41. > :25:43.number of other funds as well to support innovative product

:25:44. > :25:53.development of the sort he mentioned. Number nine, please, Mr

:25:54. > :25:58.Speaker. Mr Speaker, energy prices and exchange rates are the key

:25:59. > :26:00.drivers of price changes in the agriculture commodities market and

:26:01. > :26:04.this affects all countries in the world independent of whether they

:26:05. > :26:09.are in the EU or not. There was a sharp spike in food prices in 2008,

:26:10. > :26:14.they levelled up in 2014 and fell by 7% over the next two years. We have

:26:15. > :26:19.seen an increase of 1.3% over the last year. I thank the Minister for

:26:20. > :26:24.his response but the facts are that the ONS are reporting a surge in

:26:25. > :26:31.food process that is likely to continue to rise. Children are

:26:32. > :26:35.reports -- in food prices that is likely to continue to rise. Children

:26:36. > :26:39.are returning to school after the holidays and the elderly are going

:26:40. > :26:45.into hospital hungry yet the Government still refuse to measure

:26:46. > :26:48.food poverty. Isn't it true that they refuse to measure it because

:26:49. > :26:55.then they would have to accept culpability? The honourable lady is

:26:56. > :26:59.wrong because we do measure it and we include a measurement on

:27:00. > :27:03.household spending among the poorest 20% of households and I can tell you

:27:04. > :27:09.that household spending within those houses has remained steady at about

:27:10. > :27:16.16% for the last decade. On the matter of food, Mr Marcus Fish.

:27:17. > :27:19.Thank you, Mr Speaker. Farmers across the south-west are very proud

:27:20. > :27:26.of the high-quality food they produce whether its beef, lamb,

:27:27. > :27:29.milk, etc. What are the opportunities the Minister sees bus

:27:30. > :27:30.leaving the EU to ensure they get a fair price for that food on an

:27:31. > :27:39.ongoing basis? As he knows, we have recently had a

:27:40. > :27:42.call for evidence and a review of the grocery code adjudicator. There

:27:43. > :27:47.have been representations we should consider extending the remit of that

:27:48. > :27:52.further up the supply chain and we're giving consideration to those

:27:53. > :27:55.representations. But grocery called adjudicator has made a good start

:27:56. > :28:01.improving the relationship, particularly between producers and

:28:02. > :28:06.supermarkets. It is common in food processing plants for 70% of the

:28:07. > :28:10.employees to be EU migrants, and it is not clear where the staff are

:28:11. > :28:13.going to come from in the future. Is the Minister committed to defending

:28:14. > :28:18.this sector in the Brexit negotiations to come, and so

:28:19. > :28:24.avoiding price rises from this as well? I can reassure him I have had

:28:25. > :28:28.regular meetings with food processors, indeed just two days ago

:28:29. > :28:32.I had a meeting with the new president of the food and drink

:28:33. > :28:40.presentation, and this issue was raised. Around 30% of employees,

:28:41. > :28:43.according to the ONS, in the food sector are from other European

:28:44. > :28:47.countries, but I would simply see the Prime Minister has been clear

:28:48. > :28:51.that she wants to protect the rights of EU citizens that are here, and

:28:52. > :28:55.she would expect that to be reciprocated as well, which can be

:28:56. > :29:00.agreed earlier in the negotiations. May I gently remind him again of the

:29:01. > :29:08.paradox that we starve the poor by refusing to buy their food from

:29:09. > :29:12.them? He makes a very good point. As I mentioned in relation to an

:29:13. > :29:20.earlier discussion, we do give preferential trade access to some

:29:21. > :29:23.developing countries. The ACP countries are particularly

:29:24. > :29:32.important, in sectors such as sugar, and this is important for them to

:29:33. > :29:38.develop those industries. My honourable friend is right to raise

:29:39. > :29:44.this issue, but she will recognise we want to get the proposals right

:29:45. > :29:47.and we will consult as soon as we can. With the Minister agree that

:29:48. > :29:55.rigorous enforcement when this policy is in place is one of the

:29:56. > :29:58.most vital elements Western Mark I entirely agree. Robust enforcement

:29:59. > :30:07.is important to ensure the rules are effective. She will recognise police

:30:08. > :30:15.and other agencies do an excellent job in this, and she will also

:30:16. > :30:26.recognise our approach in tackling this is tackling demand, so we can

:30:27. > :30:30.very much enjoyed my visit to her very much enjoyed my visit to her

:30:31. > :30:34.constituency last week. There was a great -- it was a great pleasure to

:30:35. > :30:38.meet some of her growers, including at a farm, to discuss seasonable

:30:39. > :30:46.labour. I am aware of the horticultural sector's concerns. We

:30:47. > :30:55.are consulting with businesses and the advisory committee later this

:30:56. > :30:59.year. Can I thank my right honourable friend very much for

:31:00. > :31:03.coming to Kent and visiting one of my local fruit farms and for

:31:04. > :31:09.listening to the growers who assembled? Particularly during the

:31:10. > :31:13.Easter recess. Could she please give me an update on the discussions she

:31:14. > :31:22.has had with the Home Office about introducing the much-needed

:31:23. > :31:25.agricultural permit scheme? Not only did I visit my honourable friend's

:31:26. > :31:32.constituency, but the honourable member for Maidstone had a lovely K

:31:33. > :31:37.bid day in the county I grew up in. She is right, this is an incredibly

:31:38. > :31:40.important issue, the government has assessed the the need of a pilot

:31:41. > :31:44.scheme for seasonal workers, and decided there is not the evidence

:31:45. > :31:50.that such a thing as needed. The migration advisory committee later

:31:51. > :31:55.this year will seek to get to the bottom of what is needed, and this

:31:56. > :31:58.government is committed to making huge success for the food and

:31:59. > :32:07.farming sector as we leave the EU. farming sector as we leave the EU.

:32:08. > :32:11.Topical questions. As this is the last DEFRA oral questions before the

:32:12. > :32:15.recess, I would like to remind the House of the government's twin

:32:16. > :32:19.ambitions in the farming environment. They are to grow more,

:32:20. > :32:25.sell more and export more British export food -- British food, and for

:32:26. > :32:29.us to be the first generation to leave the environment in a better

:32:30. > :32:33.state than when we found it. Last week we produced the first-ever

:32:34. > :32:37.litter strategy for England and announced a ?10 million grant scheme

:32:38. > :32:42.to distort peak winds. So we look forward to putting our case to the

:32:43. > :32:46.country. What is she doing to support fishermen, and in particular

:32:47. > :32:54.the under ten metres fleet, which is 33 feet in English money. I am glad

:32:55. > :32:57.he can still do the maths. The government has taken a number of

:32:58. > :33:07.measures to make the inshore fleet more economically sustainable. We

:33:08. > :33:11.have taken an unused quota and permanently transferred this to the

:33:12. > :33:15.under ten metres fleet. So we continue to top slice the quota

:33:16. > :33:24.uplift, which is now more than 1000 tonnes, in order to help the under

:33:25. > :33:28.ten metres fleet. Contrary to what the Minister said earlier, recent

:33:29. > :33:32.inflation figures show that food prices are rising at the fastest

:33:33. > :33:38.pace in three years, adding over 21p to be average household shopping

:33:39. > :33:41.bill in the past three months alone. When will the Secretary of State get

:33:42. > :33:48.a grip on the soaring costs of living affecting millions of

:33:49. > :33:54.families? As I pointed out earlier to the question that was raised, we

:33:55. > :34:00.saw the biggest spike in food prices in 2008. Food prices fell by around

:34:01. > :34:04.7% between 2014 and 2016. It is true that they have seen a modest

:34:05. > :34:12.increase over the last 12 months of 1.3%. Rising food prices simply

:34:13. > :34:18.added to the burden on those with little money for food. The Food

:34:19. > :34:25.Standards Agency reported that one in four low-income families struggle

:34:26. > :34:27.to eat regularly and equality and human rights commission have shown

:34:28. > :34:34.that disabled people are more than two times more likely to be living

:34:35. > :34:42.in food property. -- poverty. How long can the Secretary of State

:34:43. > :34:47.refused a -- to publish figures on this? We have always monitored

:34:48. > :34:54.spending on food through the wedding cost survey, and on spending food

:34:55. > :34:57.among the poor list has been stable for over a decade. This government

:34:58. > :35:02.has put more people in employment than ever before, taken more people

:35:03. > :35:08.off benefits and given them an income. That is how you tackle

:35:09. > :35:12.poverty. It is not just the coastal areas of Lincolnshire that are prone

:35:13. > :35:18.to flooding. Whilst the government has invested record amounts in

:35:19. > :35:22.concrete defences, inland areas are also prone to flooding in places

:35:23. > :35:25.like Lincolnshire. What role does the Minister think that flood

:35:26. > :35:32.management control can play in detecting properties and people?

:35:33. > :35:37.Here's right to raise the importance of natural flood management. I saw

:35:38. > :35:42.that myself on a visit to Leicester without monster competition for

:35:43. > :35:49.flood protection. In the right place it can absolutely help. We are

:35:50. > :35:51.investing ?15 million to fund natural flood management schemes

:35:52. > :35:56.across the country, and they will help support many communities from

:35:57. > :36:10.flood risks, and we will continue to build the evidence. Surely the

:36:11. > :36:16.Secretary of State... To prevent shortages in the food and drink

:36:17. > :36:23.industry. We have already addressed the issue of seasonal workers in the

:36:24. > :36:28.agricultural sector. As far as those workers who have already made their

:36:29. > :36:32.lives and work in this country, as the Prime Minister has said, it is

:36:33. > :36:41.her intention to ensure those rights are protected, and make sure the EU

:36:42. > :36:47.reciprocates, so protecting the very valuable contribution that EU

:36:48. > :36:51.citizens make in the UK, and vice versa. In the interest of customer

:36:52. > :36:56.choice and transparency, isn't it time that all halal and kosher meat

:36:57. > :37:00.products are properly labelled that the point of sale? This would

:37:01. > :37:08.benefit those people who want to buy it as well as those who do not want

:37:09. > :37:14.to. I know my honourable friend has been a long-standing campaigner on

:37:15. > :37:17.this. The government is committed to giving consumers as much

:37:18. > :37:21.transparency as possible and to improve labelling wherever we can. I

:37:22. > :37:26.know he understands there are some difficulties and there is no single

:37:27. > :37:30.definition of halal or kosher, which makes compulsory labelling complex.

:37:31. > :37:33.He is aware of European Union -- the European Union has been looking at

:37:34. > :37:42.this, and leaving the EU as an opportunity to look at these issues.

:37:43. > :37:47.The 20 year food plan, the 20 year environment plan, the supposedly

:37:48. > :37:52.environmentally enhancing strategies were supposed to be published before

:37:53. > :37:56.the summer, that is summer 2016. The Secretary of State has failed, has

:37:57. > :38:01.filled farmers, the food industry, and feel to keep our promise. People

:38:02. > :38:07.are now losing their jobs and incomes on her watch. When will

:38:08. > :38:12.these plans see the light of day? She might be aware there was a

:38:13. > :38:15.significant decision taken by the people of the United Kingdom last

:38:16. > :38:20.summer to leave the European Union. We have been very clear about our

:38:21. > :38:24.ambitions to make a huge success of the food and farming sector and to

:38:25. > :38:28.be the first generation that leads iron environment and a better place

:38:29. > :38:33.than when we found it. In terms of our plans, it is essential we can

:38:34. > :38:37.consult with stakeholders who have clear evidence to give us, clear

:38:38. > :38:46.ideas to give us, for a future outside of the EU that is more

:38:47. > :38:49.successful than ever. Further to the honourable member for Gainsborough's

:38:50. > :38:54.question earlier, would she give my constituents that the assurance they

:38:55. > :39:05.need that should the European Commission choose not to follow the

:39:06. > :39:14.recommendation and decide to ban the use of it anyway... The evidence is

:39:15. > :39:18.clear, they believe glyphosate is safe, it has also been in the UK

:39:19. > :39:23.intention to follow them on pesticide decisions, so we support

:39:24. > :39:30.this being authorised again. We will continue to have an evidence -based

:39:31. > :39:38.approach when we leave the EU. We need good science, good technology,

:39:39. > :39:46.good innovation, but what will she do about the fact that one of the

:39:47. > :39:57.leading scientific research bases has been taken over by China? This

:39:58. > :40:03.is another major company that the Chinese government have absorbed.

:40:04. > :40:09.What is she going to do about it? When it comes to pesticide

:40:10. > :40:16.protection, this is an integrated industry around the world, and it is

:40:17. > :40:21.not unusual to have others working within the UK. We have the best in

:40:22. > :40:29.the world, which is why companies choose to locate here. Fly-tipping

:40:30. > :40:32.like the countryside, and often causes real problems for those

:40:33. > :40:37.including farmers, such as in my constituency who have waste dumped

:40:38. > :40:43.on my land. Can he update the House on the steps of government is taking

:40:44. > :40:49.to tackle this? I was delighted we launched the letter strategy on the

:40:50. > :40:55.10th of April for England, seeking to cut ?800 million bill annually

:40:56. > :41:01.for tax players for cleaning up letter. So local councils will be

:41:02. > :41:07.able to fine fly-tipper is. We have also given them the powers to seize

:41:08. > :41:25.vehicles involved in fly-tipping. Integrated processing distribution

:41:26. > :41:30.and packaging systems are used in food plants across the UK and the

:41:31. > :41:35.Republic of Ireland. What assurances can begin to the companies there

:41:36. > :41:41.will be no border restrictions inhabiting the operations after

:41:42. > :41:44.Brexit? The Prime Minister has made clear she wants an ambitious and

:41:45. > :41:48.comprehensive free trade agreement. We are looking closely at the issue

:41:49. > :41:53.of border controls in respect of the border between Northern Ireland and

:41:54. > :41:57.the Irish Republic particularly, but we're talking regularly to industry

:41:58. > :42:01.on this, we have a meeting with some of the other devolved

:42:02. > :42:11.administrations later today, where we will look at these issues. Lamb

:42:12. > :42:15.prices are trading particularly less this year than last year existing.

:42:16. > :42:19.New Zealand lamb comes in in the winter when we have no lambs. There

:42:20. > :42:23.seems to be too much New Zealand lamb in the major retailers and not

:42:24. > :42:26.enough British lamb. I would like the ministers to bring that to the

:42:27. > :42:29.attention of the major retailers that British lamb should now be in

:42:30. > :42:34.the shops, it should not be New Zealand lamb. The honourable

:42:35. > :42:39.gentleman makes an important point. I know that at least, people really

:42:40. > :42:43.want to buy high-quality West Country lamb and Welsh lamb and

:42:44. > :42:49.Scottish lamb, and from every other part of the United Kingdom. I would

:42:50. > :42:52.say, there was an issue this year I believe, in that prices were very

:42:53. > :42:57.good during the winter, which meant a number of sheep producers decided

:42:58. > :42:58.to sell their lamb early, meaning there has been less British lamb

:42:59. > :43:09.available at this time. Will the Secretary of State to be

:43:10. > :43:14.pushing for a total ban on ivory sales in the 2017 manifesto,

:43:15. > :43:22.equivalent to the unrealised pledge in the 2015 manifesto? As I outlined

:43:23. > :43:26.to my honourable friend earlier, we are working very closely on -- very

:43:27. > :43:32.carefully on the proposals and hope to publish a consultation in due

:43:33. > :43:37.course. In the West Midlands, we are seeing a terrible spate of

:43:38. > :43:40.fly-tipping on a commercial scale, including hospital and household

:43:41. > :43:45.waste. Could I ask the Minister seriously to help the farmers with

:43:46. > :43:49.the costs of deterring the serious criminals from dumping these hazards

:43:50. > :43:53.on their land? Mr Speaker, I thank my right honourable friend for that

:43:54. > :43:57.question. We know this is a particular problem at the moment and

:43:58. > :44:00.that's where the Environment Agency is working with councils and farmers

:44:01. > :44:04.in order to try to stop this waste being dumped in the first place. We

:44:05. > :44:10.will continue to pursue waste crime as an urgent issue and friendly

:44:11. > :44:16.those people who to spoil our country side and display last rates

:44:17. > :44:21.deserve a strong sentence but we need the legislation to do that and

:44:22. > :44:25.this can take time. Does the Minister recognise that food

:44:26. > :44:31.processors will need to continue to recruit employees coming to the UK

:44:32. > :44:36.from other EU countries? Yes, absolutely. As I said earlier, the

:44:37. > :44:41.Home Office are looking very closely at what the future needs will be for

:44:42. > :44:46.businesses. We absolutely recognise that businesses in the UK, in order

:44:47. > :44:49.to thrive, will of course need access to some of the brightest and

:44:50. > :44:53.best from around the world and the migration advisory Council and a

:44:54. > :44:58.consultation with businesses will be looking at the needs later this

:44:59. > :45:06.year. Cleaning up the nation's bus fleet is an important point -- part

:45:07. > :45:12.of tackling air quality, but will the Minister agree that smaller

:45:13. > :45:14.companies will need time to adapt, particularly where the smallest

:45:15. > :45:20.vehicles -- the cleanest vehicles are not yet available on the

:45:21. > :45:23.second-hand market? My right honourable friend is correct to

:45:24. > :45:26.point out that we need to work with the industry. The Department for

:45:27. > :45:31.Transport has been working with manufacturers for some time to make

:45:32. > :45:34.the improvements so that, again, as a nation, we can make those

:45:35. > :45:45.technological changes that are important to improving our air

:45:46. > :45:53.quality from vehicle emissions. Questions, Pauline Latham. Number

:45:54. > :45:59.one, sir. I can inform the House that the National Audit Office

:46:00. > :46:02.published an investigation into the Cancer Drugs Fund in 2015. This

:46:03. > :46:09.investigation set up the facts related to the fund in what it had

:46:10. > :46:12.achieved. This followed up on a number of concerns raised during

:46:13. > :46:16.early work on improving cancer services. The investigation found

:46:17. > :46:20.that all parties agreed that the fund was not sustainable in its

:46:21. > :46:24.present format this time and that NHS England was proposing a new

:46:25. > :46:28.arrangement for the fund. It also noted that NHS England did not have

:46:29. > :46:36.enough data to evaluate the impact of the existing fund on patient

:46:37. > :46:41.outcomes. I thank the honourable gentleman for that answer. Could he

:46:42. > :46:45.tell the House whether the committee of Public accounts has actually

:46:46. > :46:49.looked at this issue? I can indeed. This is a very serious matter and

:46:50. > :46:52.everybody wants to improve matters so the committee of Public accounts

:46:53. > :46:56.followed up on the National Audit Office investigation and recommended

:46:57. > :47:00.that the Department of Health and NHS England make better use of their

:47:01. > :47:05.buying power in order to pay a fair price for cancer drugs and to

:47:06. > :47:08.improve data on patients outcomes. The NAL also followed up on a number

:47:09. > :47:16.of related issues in a reported 2016. The National Audit Office

:47:17. > :47:20.recommended that NHS England should collaborate with nice to ensure best

:47:21. > :47:31.price for effective drugs. Does the honourable gentleman agree that 14

:47:32. > :47:49.drugs were available from 2013 to 20 14 and from 2014 to 2015, and the

:47:50. > :47:53.most used ten... In terms of what drugs are approved by nice, this is

:47:54. > :47:56.not a matter for the auditor general, but in terms of what the

:47:57. > :48:02.gentleman says, he makes his point very well and I am sure the House

:48:03. > :48:06.has heard it. To ask the right honourable member for merit in what

:48:07. > :48:08.the Church of England is doing to help my churches across

:48:09. > :48:22.Northumberland to be protected from metal theft from their rubes? --

:48:23. > :48:31.their rubes? Mr Speaker, do you want me to reply to this question? I'm

:48:32. > :48:34.bound to say that the lady was posing a supplementary question to

:48:35. > :48:43.question one which was the basis on which I called her. Is the right

:48:44. > :48:46.honourable gentleman aware of the real challenge that has been brought

:48:47. > :48:56.to my attention by my excellent team in Huddersfield that it is very rare

:48:57. > :49:04.cancers that are the problem. They are expensive to develop drugs for

:49:05. > :49:10.and they are a special case. Is he aware of that minority group? I am

:49:11. > :49:14.aware of that and I think he makes a very important point. We all have

:49:15. > :49:18.heart-rending cases in our own constituency surgeries of people who

:49:19. > :49:23.are denied life-saving drugs. I can assure the honourable gentleman that

:49:24. > :49:27.the Public Accounts Committee are fully aware of this and they will

:49:28. > :49:30.continue to put pressure on the Government, on the whole Cancer

:49:31. > :49:34.Drugs Fund to ensure full transparency so we are always aware

:49:35. > :49:44.of these problems and we can ensure affordability for all our citizens.

:49:45. > :49:47.Question two, Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, the Church of England was

:49:48. > :49:53.very concerned about the judgment of the European Court of Justice that

:49:54. > :50:07.blanket bans on the wearing of philosophical or religious items

:50:08. > :50:13.does not impact on human rights, as this is at odds with another

:50:14. > :50:16.judgment. Would my right honourable friend agree with me that this is

:50:17. > :50:19.another reason to be pleased that the British people took the decision

:50:20. > :50:23.last year to lead the European Union because the ruling was deeply

:50:24. > :50:29.offensive to people of all faiths and totally unnecessary? It was at

:50:30. > :50:32.odds with the statutory purpose of the church of England, put far

:50:33. > :50:38.better than I possibly could myself by the head of the church, Her

:50:39. > :50:45.Majesty the Queen in 2012, the Church of England regards all

:50:46. > :50:48.faiths, the church has a duty to protect the free practice of all

:50:49. > :50:53.faiths in this country and that is what we should be able to do if we

:50:54. > :51:00.resolve this inconsistency. Question number three. I can assure my

:51:01. > :51:06.honourable friend that among the many opportunities Brexit provides,

:51:07. > :51:09.there is a chance to provide the National Audit Office's Work

:51:10. > :51:13.Programme. This is determined by the controller and is regularly revised.

:51:14. > :51:18.Taking back control and leaving the EU will be a major task for

:51:19. > :51:22.departments and some departments will be more affected than others.

:51:23. > :51:26.The National Audit Office is keeping in touch with old apartment as they

:51:27. > :51:30.make their Brexit preparations. It is likely to create extra work for

:51:31. > :51:39.the National Audit Office, not least the Department for exiting Brexit.

:51:40. > :51:46.-- exiting the European Union. Will a settlement to be ordered?

:51:47. > :51:49.Eventually that will be the case for the National Audit Office. We are

:51:50. > :51:54.simply ensuring at the moment that all departments, particularly that

:51:55. > :52:04.focused on the EU, as they tackle this monumental task, and I am sure

:52:05. > :52:09.they will do it efficiently. We ought to hear from this gentleman is

:52:10. > :52:15.I believe he is a member of the Public Accounts Committee. I ought

:52:16. > :52:17.to declare a pub -- a conflict of interest as I sit on the Public

:52:18. > :52:29.Accounts Committee and on the committee itself.

:52:30. > :52:37.He did say he needs to know the details of the deal on the table

:52:38. > :52:40.with Brexit before he could properly ascertained the impact. I therefore

:52:41. > :52:43.ask the right honourable gentleman, is he confident we will know the

:52:44. > :52:47.detail of this Brexit deal in 18 months' time? I think the honourable

:52:48. > :52:52.gentleman is leading me astray. I'm not sure as chairman of the Public

:52:53. > :52:56.accounts commission, which is charged with a budget of the

:52:57. > :53:01.National Audit Office and its Work Programme, I am really qualified to

:53:02. > :53:04.comment on these negotiations, but I can give assurances that the control

:53:05. > :53:09.believes this is now a fundamental part of his work. There is so much

:53:10. > :53:11.that could go wrong in terms of efficiency in Government departments

:53:12. > :53:17.in this task and we will be keeping a beady eye on it. With his talk on

:53:18. > :53:24.the -- it help on the commission, we will ensure the controller has

:53:25. > :53:29.control to ensure the public are unaffected. I must pay tribute to my

:53:30. > :53:32.honourable friend the South West Bedfordshire for his long-standing

:53:33. > :53:37.support the institution of marriage and since last asking this question

:53:38. > :53:40.in 2011, I am very pleased to say that the Church of England has

:53:41. > :53:45.launched a successful new initiative called your church wedding which is

:53:46. > :53:49.designed to increase the profile of church weddings, highlight the

:53:50. > :53:53.possibility for those seeking to be married, offers more consistent

:53:54. > :53:57.marriage preparation and after-care. I am very grateful for that answer

:53:58. > :54:01.but the fact is that marriage rates have unfortunately declined in

:54:02. > :54:05.recent years. I know she'll agree with me there is nothing inevitable

:54:06. > :54:10.about that give out for a decade between 1962 and 1972, they rose.

:54:11. > :54:16.Given this is a real social justice issue with the decline in marriage

:54:17. > :54:20.rates having an issue -- an impact on low income families, fully church

:54:21. > :54:24.appointed Bishop with the aim of spreading best marriage practice in

:54:25. > :54:33.every single parish across the UK? I genuinely believe this new

:54:34. > :54:38.initiative will increase healthy marriage and I'm sure every Bishop

:54:39. > :54:42.will see himself as part of that initiative, but there is no doubt

:54:43. > :54:48.that we have seen a decline in church marriage. That is partially

:54:49. > :54:51.because people can get married in many places now. Women over 65 are

:54:52. > :54:59.getting married in increasing numbers. We should celebrate that

:55:00. > :55:01.fact. It is always useful to have additional information. We are

:55:02. > :55:09.grateful to the right honourable lady for that. The Mr Speaker, the

:55:10. > :55:12.number of people selected for ordering meant within the Church of

:55:13. > :55:21.England has been stable for some time. However, the age profile of

:55:22. > :55:23.serving clergy are retiring, leading to a decrease in the number of

:55:24. > :55:37.active clergy... That is an a star answer, Mr

:55:38. > :55:44.Speaker, but how can we do even better? We quite simply need to make

:55:45. > :55:49.it easier for people who feel the call to enter ministry to do this

:55:50. > :55:52.more flexibly, so the church not only offers a three-year residential

:55:53. > :55:59.course to become an ordained minister but part time provision. As

:56:00. > :56:03.a result of the apprenticeship levy, resources will be available to the

:56:04. > :56:07.church for people to actually learn on the job and this should make it a

:56:08. > :56:15.whole lot easier for people to enter ministry. Does the right honourable

:56:16. > :56:18.member believe that the number of applications would be improved if

:56:19. > :56:22.the Church of England did more to protect their churches in

:56:23. > :56:29.Northumberland from metal theft, thereby leaving them dealing with

:56:30. > :56:34.logistics rather than focusing on their parishioners? I must

:56:35. > :56:37.congratulate the lady on her ingenuity in bringing in this very

:56:38. > :56:41.important and serious matter of metal theft, because you can't

:56:42. > :56:47.practice as an ordained minister without a roof on your church. The

:56:48. > :56:50.Church of England offers guidance, and I refer honourable members to

:56:51. > :56:55.the church care website. There are in fact a range of metal substitute

:56:56. > :57:01.products that can be used, even on listed buildings, and currently

:57:02. > :57:05.there is a pilot system for marking lead which is designed to help scrap

:57:06. > :57:11.metal dealers say that they can identify when stolen goods are being

:57:12. > :57:14.presented to them. This is a serious matter, we are working closely with

:57:15. > :57:21.Government departments to try to make it harder for the criminals to

:57:22. > :57:23.impede the desire of those who wish to minister in the church and to

:57:24. > :57:34.make sure the Rhys Davies. I welcome back news on the

:57:35. > :57:37.initiatives on raising the number of clergy locations, and it is an

:57:38. > :57:43.unfortunate location that some have two steel metal from the roofs of

:57:44. > :57:53.churches. What can you tell me about what we're doing in my constituency

:57:54. > :57:57.in particular to stop such theft? I do not have specific information

:57:58. > :58:05.about bacteria, but his advice is available the church website to

:58:06. > :58:08.every diocese, and every diocese is affected by this crime. In addition

:58:09. > :58:22.to the deterrence I have outlined on a previous answer, a system for

:58:23. > :58:25.fixing or locking medals. Perhaps I should not give it away what the

:58:26. > :58:30.system is, because the criminals will know, but deterrence, so even

:58:31. > :58:33.at the dead of night it is possible to catch evidence of the crime

:58:34. > :58:48.taking place. Can I recommend the website. I suspect this is the last

:58:49. > :58:52.question today. Please would you allow me to congratulate the

:58:53. > :59:01.parliamentary unit of Church House for the splendid way in which they

:59:02. > :59:06.have been with me for the last couple of days, as none of us can be

:59:07. > :59:10.complacent that we may return to our existing posts. This is a serious

:59:11. > :59:14.question, and the Church of England and the offices of the two

:59:15. > :59:23.archbishops are in regular contact with the church in Egypt's, said --

:59:24. > :59:36.South Sudan, but what they are most concerned about with the recent

:59:37. > :59:39.attacks in Egypt on Palm Sunday, many people died. Persecution

:59:40. > :59:47.increased for the fourth year in a row during 2015 and 2016, with

:59:48. > :59:51.murders of Christians in places like Nigeria and Egypt, as she deferred

:59:52. > :59:57.to. What practical measures the church offered to communities

:59:58. > :00:02.countries like Egypt and Nigeria? I attended the open doors event here

:00:03. > :00:07.in parliament where a Nigerian pastor spoke about violent

:00:08. > :00:10.persecution of himself and his congregation, but in respect of

:00:11. > :00:19.places like Egypt, I am pleased to say that the Bishop has secured

:00:20. > :00:22.intensive security measures for the Christian church in Egypt, including

:00:23. > :00:29.emptying the streets around churches and cathedrals of cars, and extra

:00:30. > :00:34.police women put on duty to protect worshippers before services begin.

:00:35. > :00:40.Order, urging questions to Stephen Dowty. Thank you. Will the Foreign

:00:41. > :00:54.Secretary make a statement on the persecution of LB GT people

:00:55. > :00:58.injection to. The arbitrary detention and ill-treatment of over

:00:59. > :01:03.100 men in Chechnya because of their sexual orientation is of deep

:01:04. > :01:08.concern to the UK. Credible reports suggesting that at least four people

:01:09. > :01:12.have been killed and many have been tortured are particularly shocking.

:01:13. > :01:14.Statements by the regional government in Chechnya, which

:01:15. > :01:21.appeared to condone and incite violence against LGBT people, are

:01:22. > :01:37.utterly despicable. We condemn any and all persecution and: They

:01:38. > :01:46.authorities. My right honourable friend the Minister of the released

:01:47. > :01:51.a statement in April outlining the government's concern of the report

:01:52. > :01:53.and called upon the government to investigate and ensure perpetrators

:01:54. > :01:57.of human rights abuses are brought to justice. Foreign Secretary has

:01:58. > :02:00.also expressed his serious concerns also expressed his serious concerns

:02:01. > :02:05.through social media. Officials from the British Embassy in Moscow

:02:06. > :02:09.reiterated these concerns directly to the Russian government on the

:02:10. > :02:12.13th of April, and we are working with international partners in

:02:13. > :02:17.Russia as part of wider lobbying efforts. The EU made a statement on

:02:18. > :02:22.the half of member states at the permanent Council of the OSCE on the

:02:23. > :02:26.6th of April, and the UK permanent representative to the Council of

:02:27. > :02:36.Europe delivered a statement on the UK in the committee of ministers on

:02:37. > :02:40.the 19th of April. I praise the Minister for his sincerity on this

:02:41. > :02:47.issue, I know he takes it clearly seriously. -- takes it seriously.

:02:48. > :02:54.This campaign involves possibly several hundred men, and I want to

:02:55. > :02:57.praise the journalists in Russia and the UK and elsewhere, who brought

:02:58. > :03:00.this to public attention. We're talking about detention, beatings,

:03:01. > :03:05.abuse, electric shock treatment is. They do not see this likely, but

:03:06. > :03:14.some have described gay concentration camps, and we hear of

:03:15. > :03:19.at least four killings. The LGBT community have spoken to me about

:03:20. > :03:23.this. LGBT Labour spoke to the Prime Minister and this last week, sadly

:03:24. > :03:31.not getting a reply. I know there have been representations from all

:03:32. > :03:36.parties. President Putin already has a reputation of persecuting LGBT

:03:37. > :03:48.communities, so is he taking a blind eye or is he complicit? The

:03:49. > :03:57.Guardian's Shaun Walker expressed the horrors we are seeing, he

:03:58. > :04:00.described it, attaching metal clamps and sending electric shocks through

:04:01. > :04:07.his body. If he managed not to screen, others would join in beating

:04:08. > :04:10.him with sticks or metal rods and demand to know names of other gay

:04:11. > :04:18.men he knew in Chechnya. If we had any doubts about this brutal regime,

:04:19. > :04:24.we need not. I do have to ask why it has taken so long for the Foreign

:04:25. > :04:28.Secretary. Tweet is not enough to speak out about this, we have not

:04:29. > :04:31.heard clear condemnation from the Prime Minister. Has the Prime

:04:32. > :04:37.Minister or Foreign Secretary spoken directly to the Chechen governments,

:04:38. > :04:40.have the called in the ambassador? Does he now regrets his cancelled

:04:41. > :04:45.trip to Moscow, where he could have raised these atrocities in Chechnya

:04:46. > :04:53.and Syria? Was the issue raised at the G7 discussion and could do Prime

:04:54. > :04:58.-- the Minister explain what he's going to do on this issue? The

:04:59. > :05:04.Foreign Secretary said it was outrageous, but the Foreign Office

:05:05. > :05:10.has referred questions to the Home Office and as yet no clarity has

:05:11. > :05:16.been given. Will be provide refuge from those fleeing this horrendous

:05:17. > :05:20.persecution in Chechnya? May I say at the outset that I applaud the

:05:21. > :05:24.honourable gentleman for raising this, and I hope it is a topic

:05:25. > :05:29.around which this House can unite without any party politics because I

:05:30. > :05:32.think a strong united voice in this country, which the honourable

:05:33. > :05:36.gentleman is calling for, is the message we should be sending because

:05:37. > :05:42.these reports are utterly barbaric. Indeed one of the most disgusting

:05:43. > :05:45.things I have seen reported is a Chechen security source stating

:05:46. > :05:51.these arrests are part of what he called a preventative clean-up. This

:05:52. > :05:58.followed a request simply by an LGBT group to request licenses for gay

:05:59. > :06:05.pride parades, and the group had not even applied for a permit in

:06:06. > :06:09.Chechnya. Human rights groups report that these campaigns and killings

:06:10. > :06:13.are orchestrated by the head of the Chechen Republic. He has carried out

:06:14. > :06:19.other violent campaigns in the past, and this time he is directing his

:06:20. > :06:23.efforts at the LGBT community. Sources have said he wants the

:06:24. > :06:30.community eliminated by the start of Ramadan. Such comments and attitudes

:06:31. > :06:36.and actions are absolutely beyond contemptible. Can I assure the

:06:37. > :06:42.honourable gentleman under House but in the government, we fully condemn

:06:43. > :06:46.this. We do use all engagement with Russia to make our voice clear. I

:06:47. > :06:54.did so personally with the Minister of Russia when I met him a few weeks

:06:55. > :06:58.ago, we spoke on general human rights matters, but also Chechnya,

:06:59. > :07:05.and may I say that I hope this House would be fully united in giving the

:07:06. > :07:10.strongest possible message to Russia and Chechnya in particular, that

:07:11. > :07:17.this kind of activity is beyond contempt and not acceptable in the

:07:18. > :07:20.world in which we live. Can I pay tribute to you in the support you

:07:21. > :07:27.have given to the LGBT community send your occupied that chair, Mr

:07:28. > :07:31.Speaker. It is right that it should be raised here because we have more

:07:32. > :07:35.openly gay members of parliament here than anywhere else in the

:07:36. > :07:40.world. When I was asked in 2010 why I came out, it was to partly send

:07:41. > :07:43.the signal to other people who were troubled about their own sexuality,

:07:44. > :07:49.to give them hope and confidence that if people like us can be open

:07:50. > :07:54.about their own sexuality, hopefully they would also be able to take some

:07:55. > :07:59.form of moral support that it may help them to do likewise. We have

:08:00. > :08:01.made fundamental changes around the rest of the world when we have

:08:02. > :08:06.looked at issues such as climate change. We have made massive

:08:07. > :08:16.advances when we brought countries together on this issue. Can we not

:08:17. > :08:23.do the same on LGBT issues, but we can have LGBT change throughout the

:08:24. > :08:26.world? Can I ask of one area that might be worth a lot of attention is

:08:27. > :08:31.the Commonwealth, where some countries part of our family of

:08:32. > :08:35.nations have slid back as far as LGBT rights are concerned, could he

:08:36. > :08:39.give some concentration on that and show that the British Government is

:08:40. > :08:45.going to lead the way on LGBT change throughout the world? Indeed, and I

:08:46. > :08:50.think one of the other strong messages as we approach a general

:08:51. > :08:55.election, candidates in any party will be able to stand and be openly

:08:56. > :09:01.gay without being in anyway ostracised by their own party or, we

:09:02. > :09:05.hope, any part of the electorate. In itself, that sends a very strong

:09:06. > :09:10.message to the world. I think it is a great tribute to this House and

:09:11. > :09:14.our own democracy that over the last 15 years or so, we have seen all

:09:15. > :09:20.parties have gay members on these green leather benches, and whatever

:09:21. > :09:26.the outcome of the election, long may that continue. I also hope it

:09:27. > :09:31.will be reflected in the Commonwealth in years to come, as my

:09:32. > :09:35.honourable friend suggests, and we must campaign within Commonwealth

:09:36. > :09:38.countries to make sure that they do not fail to reflect the standards

:09:39. > :09:47.that we in the House reflect when it comes to the LGBT community. Can I

:09:48. > :09:52.add my thanks to you for granting this question today. Also to my

:09:53. > :09:57.honourable friend the Member for Cardiff South for bringing such an

:09:58. > :10:15.important matter to the House today and speaking so eloquently. Can I

:10:16. > :10:18.also thank him for his response and pay tribute to his long record for

:10:19. > :10:20.standing up LGBT rights. A brave and much-needed pioneer in that regard.

:10:21. > :10:23.I recall an article by Peter Hitchens in the Daily Mail in 2002,

:10:24. > :10:28.entitled, I am sorry, Mr Duncan, if you are gay and not a Tory. And

:10:29. > :10:35.goodness that has been resigned to the dustbin. We must do something

:10:36. > :10:47.about some parts of Europe. In recent days and weeks we have heard

:10:48. > :10:49.reports from organisations and human rights documenting the most terrible

:10:50. > :10:51.abuse, causing great distress. It is nothing short of officially

:10:52. > :10:57.sanctioned... But the Russian government who beers responsibility

:10:58. > :11:02.ultimately for its citizens seems to be looking the other way. As has

:11:03. > :11:08.already been put before the House, there was a letter written a week

:11:09. > :11:12.ago by LGBT labour to the Prime Minister, in which they asked

:11:13. > :11:20.particularly that she make the Russian ambassador -- meet the

:11:21. > :11:23.Russian ambassador with some questions, and urge them to be those

:11:24. > :11:27.who have been detained and close down those camps. We're speaking

:11:28. > :11:31.today with a strong unified voice. But it seems to me that whilst I

:11:32. > :11:37.applaud the right honourable gentleman raising this matter, I do

:11:38. > :11:41.as a result of the urgent question as a result of the urgent question

:11:42. > :11:45.today, I hope we will get an undertaking from the government that

:11:46. > :11:49.it will be raised at a much higher political level. It seems to me that

:11:50. > :11:57.this matter is something the Prime Minister should take initiative of,

:11:58. > :12:00.and called in the Russian ambassador undermanned some answers. May I

:12:01. > :12:06.thank the right honourable lady for her town. I had indeed forgotten

:12:07. > :12:11.about the Peter Hitchens article. I am not sure I want to be reminded of

:12:12. > :12:19.it! But at least I can take pleasure in the fact that no I am but one of

:12:20. > :12:21.many on the Tory benches. I hope this statement can be seen as

:12:22. > :12:28.reflecting the Prime Minister and the entire government's condemnation

:12:29. > :12:30.of this, but I do note what she says about her wish to see the issue

:12:31. > :12:35.raised to a higher level of political comment. I have to say,

:12:36. > :12:42.another one of the most contemptible elements of this issue is noting

:12:43. > :12:55.that a representative for Chechnya's Council on civil society and human

:12:56. > :12:58.rights, supposedly someone who is charged with the task of upholding

:12:59. > :13:01.human rights said she would not accept an application for help from

:13:02. > :13:04.a gay person because the persecution of gay people should not be

:13:05. > :13:11.condemned to an Chechen society, even if a person was killed by their

:13:12. > :13:15.own family. The LGBT community in Chechnya is not just at risk of

:13:16. > :13:19.persecution by the Chechen authorities, but also falling victim

:13:20. > :13:26.to so-called honour killings by their own family members. They are

:13:27. > :13:29.not safe inside Chechnya, and as I said earlier, what is happening in

:13:30. > :13:37.that republic is beyond contemptible.

:13:38. > :13:45.Mr Speaker, can I agree entirely with the Minister in his

:13:46. > :13:49.condemnation of this terrible, terrible occurrence, but building on

:13:50. > :13:54.the remarks of my oral ball friend from Ribble Valley, is he aware that

:13:55. > :13:59.the Council of Europe is in plenary session next week and although many

:14:00. > :14:02.members such as myself, because of the general election being called

:14:03. > :14:08.are unable to attend, some of our colleagues will be at the Council of

:14:09. > :14:12.Europe and would he have a word with the ambassador to see whether this

:14:13. > :14:15.matter could be raised, for example, in the free debate during the

:14:16. > :14:20.plenary session next week? I think it is important that this matter is

:14:21. > :14:23.raise continually in an international environment, to put

:14:24. > :14:28.more pressure on Russia and the Chechen authorities. Mr Speaker, I

:14:29. > :14:32.think the Council of Europe is a very important voice for the

:14:33. > :14:36.expression of wider Continental opinion and I certainly will convert

:14:37. > :14:40.a two hour ambassador at the wishes of my right honourable friend, which

:14:41. > :14:48.I sense will be all also the wishes of the entire house. The scenes and

:14:49. > :14:51.stories emanating from Chechnya are beyond comprehension and utterly

:14:52. > :14:54.sickening and we share the sentiments that others have

:14:55. > :15:00.expressed. And while we may still have many challenges on the LGBT

:15:01. > :15:04.equality in the UK, we are fortunate in we have come a very long way and

:15:05. > :15:08.then having that greater freedom, we absolutely must use our voices,

:15:09. > :15:13.whether we are members of the LGBT community or not and we must say it

:15:14. > :15:17.loudly and clearly we condemn this horrific brutality. For the Chechen

:15:18. > :15:21.authorities to not only denied these attacks but also, incredulously,

:15:22. > :15:27.claimed that no gay people exist within their province is at best

:15:28. > :15:33.extraordinary and at worst deceitful. We call for those in the

:15:34. > :15:38.region to be protected and the UK Government is, but can do more, to

:15:39. > :15:42.project athletes protect LGBT people around the world. The SNP manifesto:

:15:43. > :15:46.the Government to establish the position of a special envoy to

:15:47. > :15:50.promote the rights of LGBT people around the world as an integral part

:15:51. > :15:54.of UK policy. Will the Minister look into this and consider this for

:15:55. > :15:58.their forthcoming manifesto? And can I appeal to the Minister and his

:15:59. > :16:02.colleagues to act on the proposals we brought forward, put all the

:16:03. > :16:05.pressure he can on Chechnya and Russia to stop these abhorrent

:16:06. > :16:12.abuses and persecution of gay men and the wider LGBT divinity. We

:16:13. > :16:15.cannot stand idly by and let this happen. Those facing abuse must know

:16:16. > :16:21.that we care and we are standing up for them. Well, Mr Speaker, I am

:16:22. > :16:27.proud to say are broadly agree with the honourable lady and all that she

:16:28. > :16:31.wishes to see us do is enshrined across the board in our Government

:16:32. > :16:35.policy, through gifted, through the Home Office, through our foreign

:16:36. > :16:40.policy, and so it will remain, so in that sense, I think we should all be

:16:41. > :16:47.envoys in what we do internationally and, indeed, Mr Speaker, FCO

:16:48. > :16:54.officials in Russia meet regularly with LGBT activists and attend LGBT

:16:55. > :16:59.events so that we can provide visible support. We have also

:17:00. > :17:03.provided support to organisations such as Stonewall and helped to

:17:04. > :17:08.facilitate sar Ian McKellan's visit to Russia last year, during which he

:17:09. > :17:14.met LGBT activists in Moscow and St Petersburg and Ekaterinburg and I

:17:15. > :17:20.think his powerful messages about UK values resonated at least with

:17:21. > :17:24.Russia's next generation. Is there an element of reversion to type

:17:25. > :17:34.here, in that it was always a feature of a totalitarian regime to

:17:35. > :17:39.vilify minorities and as a matter of routine political management and,

:17:40. > :17:42.equally, of the former Soviet Union, it was difficult to to identify any

:17:43. > :17:49.person that posed a political threat to brand them as gay and detain them

:17:50. > :17:52.in a mental institution? Well, Mr Speaker, I think Chechnya does

:17:53. > :17:56.indeed seem to be the worst of the lot, so in that sense, as part of

:17:57. > :17:59.Russia, I would urge President Putin to make his views clear in

:18:00. > :18:05.condemning what is going on in Chechnya. This reminds us that we

:18:06. > :18:13.are phenomenally lucky in this country, those of us who are gay,

:18:14. > :18:17.because I remember meeting in Russia in 2009, a lesbian activist who was

:18:18. > :18:23.83 years old and I asked how she got away with it and she said "I think

:18:24. > :18:30.President Putin things women don't have sex at the age of 80." How

:18:31. > :18:34.wrong can you be, she said. The serious point is we should be paying

:18:35. > :18:37.tribute to those people standing up and risking their own lives and I am

:18:38. > :18:45.glad that the Government is acting to try and do that, but isn't this

:18:46. > :18:50.all part of a peace? President Putin appointed Khedira as president in

:18:51. > :18:56.Chechnya, he has then got elected with 90% of the vote, that doesn't

:18:57. > :18:58.seem at all bazaar, does it? But he and Putin have repeatedly abused

:18:59. > :19:02.human rights, they have used violence to excess and have always

:19:03. > :19:07.resorted to violence when there is another opportunity providing a

:19:08. > :19:10.peaceful means, so how do we, and will the Government make sure, that

:19:11. > :19:15.people who are engaged in this kind of activity and those involved in

:19:16. > :19:22.the murder of British people working in Russia, will not be entering this

:19:23. > :19:30.country? I think an 80-year-old activist gives all of us a bit of

:19:31. > :19:38.hope in this world. Not long now, Alan! Having just turned 60,

:19:39. > :19:47.although I know I don't look it, I heard from behind the... Oh, yes, I

:19:48. > :19:50.did! Much more seriously, what the honourable gentleman says is

:19:51. > :19:54.absolutely right, this is part of a wider picture across Russia

:19:55. > :19:57.although, I again say, I think Chechnya does appear to be the worst

:19:58. > :20:02.example and I think that within the constraints of being able to

:20:03. > :20:06.influence what happens in any other country, we have to speak loudly,

:20:07. > :20:10.speak collectively, be brave and courageous and at a diplomatic

:20:11. > :20:14.level, within the country, we will do our utmost to put pressure on the

:20:15. > :20:18.regime to understand that in the modern world, this kind of activity

:20:19. > :20:23.is barbaric and is no longer part of the world in which any country

:20:24. > :20:27.should be allowed to live. If memory serves, the Right Honourable's

:20:28. > :20:34.gentleman's birthday was 20 days ago. Can I start by thanking the

:20:35. > :20:38.Minister for the various matter forceful statement he has made

:20:39. > :20:41.today. I have written to the Russian ambassador and would like to echo

:20:42. > :20:45.the calls made by other members here today that the UK Government to call

:20:46. > :20:48.in the Russian ambassador and ask him in particular what they are

:20:49. > :20:51.going to do to protect the journalists involved in leaking this

:20:52. > :20:56.story, because clearly they are now at risk as well as the LGBT

:20:57. > :21:00.immunity? The final question I wanted to ask the Minister was

:21:01. > :21:05.weather since the G-7, where unfortunately our Government failed

:21:06. > :21:09.to secure sanctions against Syria and Russia, have any lessons been

:21:10. > :21:12.learned about how to improve cooperation so that at an

:21:13. > :21:18.international level, action will be taken against Chechnya? I think the

:21:19. > :21:23.right honourable gentleman has perhaps deviated slightly from the

:21:24. > :21:27.collective tone of the House this morning. As I think he will

:21:28. > :21:32.appreciate, what happened out of the G-7 was in response to fast-moving

:21:33. > :21:35.events following the gassing of people in Syria. As I said the

:21:36. > :21:40.moment ago and I say it again, on the issue of gay rights in Chechnya

:21:41. > :21:44.or indeed anywhere else across the world, we need to speak not only as

:21:45. > :21:49.one voice in this House but by working together with other

:21:50. > :21:52.countries and with NGOs to make sure that the world collectively hones in

:21:53. > :21:58.on the likes of Chechnya and Russia more generally to make them clear

:21:59. > :22:01.that they are out of step with the rest of the world and overtime will

:22:02. > :22:05.lose all credibility and become increasingly derided and it is high

:22:06. > :22:11.time they just grew up and understand what the modern world is

:22:12. > :22:18.all about. Can I congratulate my constituency neighbour for exposing

:22:19. > :22:24.the latest manifestation of the barbaric treatment that the people

:22:25. > :22:28.of Chechnya have had for a decade and pay tribute to Lord Frank Judd,

:22:29. > :22:32.who acted as the wrapper two over many years for the Council of Europe

:22:33. > :22:37.and reported fearlessly on the terrible things that were happening

:22:38. > :22:41.there. I think one would reflect on this now and we entirely support the

:22:42. > :22:47.opposition that should be worldwide to this terrible activity, and this

:22:48. > :22:53.is spreading. And one of the reasons for it is the pressure on countries

:22:54. > :22:57.to improve the human rights is now less because they don't have the

:22:58. > :23:03.incentive of joining together in the European Union, that demanded these

:23:04. > :23:07.high standards, and we are sadly going back into barbaric treatments,

:23:08. > :23:14.not just in Chechnya, but many other countries, including Turkey. I will

:23:15. > :23:18.join the honourable gentleman in paying tribute to the noble Lord

:23:19. > :23:23.Paul Judd for all of his efforts over the years but I say again, it

:23:24. > :23:26.is for all of us to work effectively across parties, across countries,

:23:27. > :23:32.parties and all organisations to make sure that simple rides the

:23:33. > :23:35.people -- writes for people that should not be denied to them are

:23:36. > :23:43.upheld across the world. Considering how this may be misrepresented

:23:44. > :23:46.abroad, particularly in Russia, is it not important to emphasise that

:23:47. > :23:51.this is first and foremost a matter of human rights and is certainly not

:23:52. > :23:57.a matter confined only to those who happen to be gay. And is it not

:23:58. > :24:03.interested, Mr Speaker, that this is being discussed 50 years since the

:24:04. > :24:10.House of Commons changed the law on homosexuality and if there is a

:24:11. > :24:15.debate in July, near the actual date when the legislation was passed, I

:24:16. > :24:19.would hope to be here, certainly I will do my utmost to be here, to

:24:20. > :24:23.explain why I was pleased to vote for the change in law. I think I'm

:24:24. > :24:30.the only one out in the House who has remained. Like I say, the way he

:24:31. > :24:38.is going, he will be here and another 50 years vote time. -- here

:24:39. > :24:42.in another 50 years' time. But he makes a very valid point about the

:24:43. > :24:47.importance of promulgating the truth. When we stand up and hear

:24:48. > :24:54.absolute blatant propaganda, we should not shy away from robustly

:24:55. > :24:59.cantering lies of that sort and, for instance, Kadyrov's spokesman has

:25:00. > :25:03.called reports about persecution and murder absolute lies themselves and

:25:04. > :25:09.indeed, he added, as we heard earlier, there are no gay men in

:25:10. > :25:14.Chechnya and you cannot arrest or repressed people who just don't

:25:15. > :25:19.exist. And even worse, he went on to say that if they did exist, their

:25:20. > :25:25.own relatives would have sent them away from, I quote, "Where they

:25:26. > :25:29.could never return". And it is the use of language like that that

:25:30. > :25:35.appears to condone the outright murder of someone simply because of

:25:36. > :25:37.their sexual orientation, it is utterly unacceptable and condemns

:25:38. > :25:46.them in the eyes of the decent world. Thank you, Mr Speaker, I am

:25:47. > :25:50.delighted to speak in this debate and I also thank the deputy Foreign

:25:51. > :25:54.Minister for her statement. I have a concern, though, that not just as a

:25:55. > :25:59.member of the LGBT community, but also the broader sense of the

:26:00. > :26:04.social, economic and political impoverishment of what is Chechnya

:26:05. > :26:08.and its profound impact on all Chechen society, because whether we

:26:09. > :26:15.like it or not, Kadyrov has fundamental support, in some terms,

:26:16. > :26:19.of his nation, and the Russian Federation, so how we undermine that

:26:20. > :26:27.is also about investment and also about foreign aid in tackling human

:26:28. > :26:32.rights across the world. So will be debited Minister say here on the

:26:33. > :26:35.floor, fighting for LGBTI rides in places like Chechnya and others,

:26:36. > :26:40.that his foreign budget will not change after the general election?

:26:41. > :26:44.Well, I think we should all committed to fighting prejudice

:26:45. > :26:47.wherever we find it and I hope that when we stand in the election on

:26:48. > :26:52.June the 8th, that will be part of all of the views we hold as we

:26:53. > :26:54.present ourselves to the electorate. But the honourable gentleman

:26:55. > :27:00.actually raises a deeper point as well, which is that we need, as this

:27:01. > :27:04.has, to understand foreign affairs, to take an interest and to debate

:27:05. > :27:08.countries such as Chechnya so I hope that early in the next Parliament,

:27:09. > :27:12.that opportunity will present itself so the arguments we are hearing

:27:13. > :27:18.today can be made more loudly at a junior eight. This has rightly

:27:19. > :27:24.speaks with one voice in condemnation of these have borrowed

:27:25. > :27:27.hacks -- abhorrent acts in Cheshire. It is not the first on the Russian

:27:28. > :27:33.Government has been found wanting when it comes to human acts and it

:27:34. > :27:37.needs reminding of its obligations. What can we do to make sure other

:27:38. > :27:40.countries are similarly robust in explaining that to the Russian

:27:41. > :27:43.Government, not least because of how insecure those members of the LGBTI

:27:44. > :27:52.committee in Chechnya We work through every organisation

:27:53. > :27:58.and of course the United Nations more widely. , but because we do

:27:59. > :28:03.speak frankly, we have had a rather scratchy relationships with the

:28:04. > :28:06.Russians recently. But we will not shy away from raising these issues

:28:07. > :28:11.frankly and forcefully, and I can assure the honourable gentleman that

:28:12. > :28:15.we will maintain a policy of robust engagement with the Russians, and it

:28:16. > :28:25.will include matters of this sort when we do so. All of Glasgow weeps

:28:26. > :28:28.at this news, and when I return later this afternoon we will have a

:28:29. > :28:35.vigil in George Square with politicians, or 30 people,

:28:36. > :28:38.expressing their horror at what is happening. Can I disagree with some

:28:39. > :28:43.colleagues. I do not see the need for it to be escalated to the

:28:44. > :28:46.Foreign Secretary. I think the Minister is very capable, deeply

:28:47. > :28:51.thoughtful, but I would like to echo the comments made by my honourable

:28:52. > :28:57.friend from Livingston. Is it not time for us to join countries like

:28:58. > :29:00.Canada and having an envoy on LGBT rights, who reports directly to the

:29:01. > :29:04.Prime Minister, and I would also echo the point made by my honourable

:29:05. > :29:10.friend from Clydebank, does this not show, and also in terms of what the

:29:11. > :29:16.honourable gentleman said about the Commonwealth, it is not the time to

:29:17. > :29:28.cut it back -- cut back the foreign aid. I thank him for his kind words.

:29:29. > :29:33.And usually I have to say at this political burden period! I am

:29:34. > :29:43.contemplating putting it in quotation marks at my election

:29:44. > :29:49.address! I wouldn't do that! -- politically fervent period. Our

:29:50. > :29:58.policy on this is not for me to say. My personal observation are some a

:29:59. > :30:02.dedicated envoy is not as effective as having all ministers and members

:30:03. > :30:11.of Parliament doing it. Butterfat is in his manifesto, we will let the

:30:12. > :30:15.people decide. Deeply, -- briefly, can I congratulate him for raising

:30:16. > :30:19.this important point and human rights. But could I suggest a word

:30:20. > :30:25.of caution about any complacency on this? We have a united voice in this

:30:26. > :30:32.House of Commons, but we're travelling on an official visit --

:30:33. > :30:44.when I was travelling towards the east on an official visit, I was

:30:45. > :30:50.troubled by the attitudes of people beer, and I was in Austria. We saw

:30:51. > :30:58.some propaganda, and we should be on our guard whenever this kind of

:30:59. > :31:01.human rights abuse viewers at -- rears its ugly head. I think we

:31:02. > :31:06.should take that as serious words of wisdom from a serious member -- a

:31:07. > :31:12.senior member of this House. We need to make sure there are no dial

:31:13. > :31:15.YouTube views, and he is right to point out that Europe needs to be

:31:16. > :31:24.united if we're going to make our voice clear and resonant across the

:31:25. > :31:29.wider world. Having tabled an early day motion myself on this very

:31:30. > :31:34.subject earlier in the week, I am grateful to the honourable member

:31:35. > :31:40.for Cardiff South and Penarth for securing this question, and to you,

:31:41. > :31:45.Mr Speaker, for permitting it. Can we have assurances that members of

:31:46. > :31:51.the LGBT community will be granted asylum in the United Kingdom should

:31:52. > :31:58.be looked for refuge on our shores? I have to tell the honourable lady

:31:59. > :32:06.that that is by merrily Home Office matter, and a matter for asylum

:32:07. > :32:10.legislation. In February the Foreign Secretary announced a ?700 million

:32:11. > :32:15.empowerment fund to project soft power and human rights. How was this

:32:16. > :32:19.fund being used to promote equal rights campaigners and support civil

:32:20. > :32:25.society in Chechnya and elsewhere? Can I echo the points of my

:32:26. > :32:29.honourable friend as he has not yet voiced his commitment to the target,

:32:30. > :32:38.as this is precisely why the target is so important. He makes reference

:32:39. > :32:43.to the empowerment fund, and I understand bids are currently in

:32:44. > :32:45.play. With the election I would imagine that will be stalled

:32:46. > :32:48.slightly, but I'm confident that there will be programmes designed

:32:49. > :32:52.for the promotion of human rights in many of the countries of which the

:32:53. > :33:04.empowerment fund is directing its efforts. I wish to pay tribute to

:33:05. > :33:11.the amazing work of an organisation and Leeds who brought this to my

:33:12. > :33:16.attention. These abuses are are chilling. Can I as the Minister what

:33:17. > :33:22.discussions he has had with EU partners but also with the United

:33:23. > :33:31.Nations to look at an initiative to clearly seek to stamp out this sort

:33:32. > :33:35.of appalling persecution, wherever it may happen. These discussions

:33:36. > :33:41.take place on a regular basis in all the forums we are represented, and

:33:42. > :33:46.it is usually the UK in the lead in designing initiatives and

:33:47. > :33:54.statements, which I think would echo the opinions he has just stated. The

:33:55. > :33:58.appalling treatment LGBT people face in some countries abroad makes it

:33:59. > :34:05.all the more important that officials here making decisions on

:34:06. > :34:12.asylum cases get them 100% correct. Will he make representations that no

:34:13. > :34:16.asylum case should never be refused solely on the basis that a person

:34:17. > :34:25.can return home and hide their sexuality away? I will convey entire

:34:26. > :34:37.exchange to the Home Secretary. Order. Does it relate

:34:38. > :34:41.specifically... He's such a patient fellow, we can hear from him later.

:34:42. > :34:50.There will be some anticipation in the House over what he's planning to

:34:51. > :34:53.raise! Business question. Thank you. Could the Leader of the House give

:34:54. > :35:01.us the forthcoming business for next week? The business for next week

:35:02. > :35:07.will be as follows. Monday 24th of April, consideration of a business

:35:08. > :35:09.of the House motion followed by all stages of the Northern Ireland

:35:10. > :35:15.ministerial appointments and regional rates bill, followed by, if

:35:16. > :35:24.necessary, consideration of Lords amendments. Tuesday the 25th of

:35:25. > :35:27.April, committee of the whole House and the finance number two bill,

:35:28. > :35:32.followed by consideration of Lords amendments to the health service

:35:33. > :35:36.medical supplies costs bill, followed by, if necessary,

:35:37. > :35:42.consideration of Lords amendments. Wednesday 26th of April, a motion to

:35:43. > :35:48.approve a ways and means resolution on the digital economy Bill,

:35:49. > :35:54.followed by consideration of Lords amendments to this. Followed by,

:35:55. > :35:57.consideration of Lords amendments to the criminal of finances Bill,

:35:58. > :36:03.followed by, if necessary, consideration of Lords amendments.

:36:04. > :36:09.Thursday 27 people, consideration of Lords amendments. A House may also

:36:10. > :36:17.be asked to consider any Lords messages that may be received. The

:36:18. > :36:28.House will not adjourn until Royal assent has been received to all

:36:29. > :36:32.acts. Since this is probably going to be the last regular weekly

:36:33. > :36:39.business statement in this parliament, could I simply take the

:36:40. > :36:45.opportunity to thank first of all the staff of the House for the

:36:46. > :36:49.service they provide every one of us throughout the course of Parliament,

:36:50. > :36:58.and wish them a happy opportunity to put their feet up a little bit over

:36:59. > :37:03.the forthcoming weeks, and secondly, to wish particular good fortune to

:37:04. > :37:08.those honourable members on all sides who have decided that they

:37:09. > :37:16.will not seek election. Each of them in their own way has striven to

:37:17. > :37:20.represent the interests of their constituents during the years here.

:37:21. > :37:24.Each of them has brought particular experiences, particular political

:37:25. > :37:32.commitments, to the causes for which they have fought, and all of them

:37:33. > :37:36.have contributed to the building of democracy in this country, and I

:37:37. > :37:43.would like to place our banks on record. Can I thank the Leader of

:37:44. > :37:50.the House for the business of the last week, and I will save my thanks

:37:51. > :37:52.to the end of my response. It was an eventful parliament not least

:37:53. > :38:02.because of the death of PC Keith Palmer, Lesley Rhodes, and now

:38:03. > :38:14.cathedral said at the memorial injured. As

:38:15. > :38:14.service, a clock that counts the service, a clock that counts the

:38:15. > :38:19.minutes, hours and years of lives. And of course, our beloved colleague

:38:20. > :38:26.Jo Cox, who should be fighting this election. We need to remember them

:38:27. > :38:30.as we campaign for a country that is tolerant and just. The Prime

:38:31. > :38:34.Minister wants stability and to strengthen her hand in negotiations,

:38:35. > :38:38.but blames the opposition parties for calling a general election. But

:38:39. > :38:46.it is her dithering and confusion and watching her back, firstly what

:38:47. > :38:48.an arrogant statement she should presume to know the outcome of an

:38:49. > :38:50.election. Secondly, what has her government been doing for the last

:38:51. > :38:54.nine months, and thirdly can the Leader of the House confirmed that

:38:55. > :39:06.if the government wins, we're entering into a rolling programme of

:39:07. > :39:10.snap during rogue ... We live under the rule of law, and parliament

:39:11. > :39:17.should have a say. This is democracy. Then there was silence

:39:18. > :39:24.from the government since July 2016. Her Majesty's opposition called for

:39:25. > :39:29.a report on Brexit, silence and a speech to Lancaster House. But not

:39:30. > :39:35.to this House. I found you very personable, but I think others are

:39:36. > :39:39.scared of making a statement in this House!

:39:40. > :39:46.LAUGHTER Only when you say or do! Only then setting out 12 points of

:39:47. > :39:51.principle. Finally, the White Paper in February. Her Majesty is

:39:52. > :39:54.opposition insisted there should be a final thought on the deal, and

:39:55. > :39:55.force the government to agree because we are representative

:39:56. > :40:00.democracy. As the prime ministers sat in front of the great portrait

:40:01. > :40:10.of Robert Walpole twos signed the letter to Donald Tusk, she forgot to

:40:11. > :40:12.mention Gibraltar, 96 of whom voted to remain. No wonder she forgot to

:40:13. > :40:16.mention them. The government seems to be speaking for the 52%, while

:40:17. > :40:23.Her Majesty's opposition will balance the views of the 52% and to

:40:24. > :40:29.speak for the country. The confusion lies within her party, not the

:40:30. > :40:34.opposition. Of course the government wants a general election because it

:40:35. > :40:45.needs a new manifesto. Everyday the government breaks the manifesto

:40:46. > :40:50.pledge. Grammar schools, no mention of... In case of National Insurance

:40:51. > :40:53.contribution for self-employed workers. Ruled out of the manifesto

:40:54. > :40:59.then became government policy, then a U-turn. The manifesto said nothing

:41:00. > :41:27.cannot make a decision for the good vulnerable, yet there are cars

:41:28. > :41:28.looks like? Because we on this side of the country. So, could we have

:41:29. > :41:33.looks like? Because we on this side of the House... For students, no

:41:34. > :41:45.increase in tuition fees. For society, an investment in public

:41:46. > :41:49.services or local government grants are based on needs for local

:41:50. > :41:53.services, protecting police forces and libraries, not special deals for

:41:54. > :41:59.special friends. Ensuring small businesses thrive, supporting those

:42:00. > :42:04.who care for others by an increase in carers allowance, and protecting

:42:05. > :42:09.pensions and compensating women affected by an increase in the state

:42:10. > :42:13.pension. Policies for the seven stages of life, that is what the

:42:14. > :42:17.country needs. No dithering or confusion, but vision and strong

:42:18. > :42:22.leadership. Her Majesty is opposition and government will work

:42:23. > :42:30.for a tolerant, fare and dynamic United Kingdom. Finally, to echo

:42:31. > :42:34.what the Leader of the House said, can I thank all of the House staff

:42:35. > :42:37.for the brilliant supported me, you, Mr Speaker and your office, the

:42:38. > :42:44.Leader of the House, his erstwhile deputy and his office blogger help,

:42:45. > :42:46.my office, and everyone who has made my job easier, including my Chief

:42:47. > :42:57.Whip, who tells me to stop the jokes! If

:42:58. > :43:08.enough can I also mention the fact that tomorrow with a Majesty her

:43:09. > :43:13.Queen's 91st birthday, one that she also shares with the honourable

:43:14. > :43:20.member for Gateshead. It's a significant day. If he doesn't mind

:43:21. > :43:28.me saying... If he doesn't mind me saying it, it's his 60th. And can I

:43:29. > :43:35.say that rights oh, the honourable member as well. I won't say what the

:43:36. > :43:40.age is, if she doesn't mind. 21! As are we all. And finally, to echo

:43:41. > :43:43.what the leader of the houses, to all those people who are standing

:43:44. > :43:48.down, who have given their life to public service, thank them all. And

:43:49. > :43:54.finally, it's been an absolute privilege to be the Shadow Leader of

:43:55. > :44:06.the House. Can I associate myself both with the honourable lady's

:44:07. > :44:08.the tribute she paid at the start of the tribute she paid at the start

:44:09. > :44:14.colleague Jo Cox and I hope it is her remarks, both to those who lost

:44:15. > :44:20.colleague Jo Cox and I hope it is not long in the life of the new

:44:21. > :44:24.parliament before the permanent memorial to Jo Cox can take its

:44:25. > :44:28.place in the House of Commons, I know that is something that will be

:44:29. > :44:35.supported by and welcomed by every single member of his house and the

:44:36. > :44:41.next House Commons as well. I join her, obviously, in wishing that many

:44:42. > :44:46.happy returns to Her Majesty and also to the honourable member for

:44:47. > :44:51.Gateshead and my right honourable friend, the Member for animation. I

:44:52. > :44:57.can say as my right honourable friend's constituency neighbour that

:44:58. > :45:01.whatever number may be pinned to the years, nothing diminishes her vigour

:45:02. > :45:06.or commitment to working on behalf of her constituents. And I have

:45:07. > :45:11.equally, like the honourable lady, always enjoyed and appreciated my

:45:12. > :45:16.relationship with my other constituency neighbour, The Right

:45:17. > :45:19.Honourable member for Buckingham and indeed, following the last boundary

:45:20. > :45:27.change in the Buckingham constituency, I have a particular

:45:28. > :45:37.interest in the outcome. The honourable lady... I think if the

:45:38. > :45:40.honourable gentleman peruses Mr Speaker's previous election

:45:41. > :45:46.material, he may find the answer he is seeking. The honourable lady

:45:47. > :45:55.asked me a number of questions. I have two say to her that when it

:45:56. > :46:01.comes to Gibraltar, the front bench really does have a very short

:46:02. > :46:03.memory. People in Gibraltar have not forgotten how the last Labour

:46:04. > :46:11.Government tried to sell that territory down the river, how they

:46:12. > :46:14.sought a joint sovereignty agreement, something that was

:46:15. > :46:26.rejected by the people of Gibraltar by a margin of well over 90% in a

:46:27. > :46:30.subsequent referendum. She also made a number of assertions about

:46:31. > :46:37.policies that will, I'm sure, be debated in the country in the weeks

:46:38. > :46:41.to come. I would simply say to her this - that I think all of us in the

:46:42. > :46:47.House, whatever political perspective we bring to these

:46:48. > :46:53.matters, want to see public services of our kind in which we can all take

:46:54. > :46:59.pride and which we think and work effectively for our constituents who

:47:00. > :47:03.are vulnerable and in need of help. It is the belief of this Government

:47:04. > :47:12.and this party that the foundation for effective public services has to

:47:13. > :47:16.be a strong and growing economy, and the plans put forward by the right

:47:17. > :47:23.honourable gentleman, the Leader of the Opposition, would render any

:47:24. > :47:26.such chaotic Government incapable of funding public services because they

:47:27. > :47:32.would have bankrupted the British economy, raised taxes on ordinary

:47:33. > :47:34.working families and piled yet more public debt onto the next

:47:35. > :47:43.generation, a betrayal of young people. I would say to her finally

:47:44. > :47:50.this- she said she looked forward to the Leader of the Opposition being

:47:51. > :47:56.in a position to form a Government and yet we know that three quarters

:47:57. > :47:59.of her own Parliamentary colleagues had no confidence in his ability to

:48:00. > :48:05.continue as the leader of the Labour Party. I think that very few Labour

:48:06. > :48:09.members of this outgoing parliament will be able to stand up and with a

:48:10. > :48:13.straight face say that they really have confidence that the Leader of

:48:14. > :48:18.the Opposition should be entrusted with the Government and leadership

:48:19. > :48:21.of this country. I should just advise the House, pursuant to what

:48:22. > :48:26.the Leader of the House said about our late and esteemed colleague Jo

:48:27. > :48:33.Cox, that the memorial to her had been scheduled to be installed in

:48:34. > :48:41.the chamber next month. That date fell within what will now be the

:48:42. > :48:45.election campaign and therefore a rescheduling is essential, but I

:48:46. > :48:50.would want the House to know that this matter was discussed by

:48:51. > :48:54.relevant colleagues, the Jo Cox foundation and me yesterday and it

:48:55. > :49:03.is fully intended that the installation will take place very

:49:04. > :49:07.soon. Mr Speaker, notwithstanding my advanced years, I have appeared to

:49:08. > :49:11.have gained no more wisdom because I'm going to ask the Leader of the

:49:12. > :49:16.House for a debate on my favourite subject, and your favourite subject

:49:17. > :49:19.know that, and the Leader of the House's favourite subject, HS2, but

:49:20. > :49:23.I do think we need to consider whether we can have an emergency

:49:24. > :49:27.debate on hay jested next week because the boss of HS2 David

:49:28. > :49:30.Higgins, in evidence to the transport select committee

:49:31. > :49:35.yesterday, indicated that their failure to consider conflicts of

:49:36. > :49:40.interest led to the fiasco of a key contract withdrawing from a ?170

:49:41. > :49:47.million contract. I want to know who is going to take responsibility for

:49:48. > :49:50.this, as it is a massive project, the largest infrastructure project

:49:51. > :49:52.in this country and I also think we need to examine whether senior

:49:53. > :49:57.management is fit for their role and should be in charge of such large

:49:58. > :50:02.when we all going to be away from when we all going to be away from

:50:03. > :50:06.this place and not able to scrutinise it. Could we have an

:50:07. > :50:10.emergency debate next week, please? My honourable friend is quite right

:50:11. > :50:14.to pursue this matter that is of great importance to her constituents

:50:15. > :50:20.and mine and those in other constituency is along the proposed

:50:21. > :50:25.line of route. Clearly the failures of juju religions that Sir David

:50:26. > :50:30.Higgins acknowledged had taken place ought not to have happened. I'm

:50:31. > :50:32.therefore glad that our honourable friend the Secretary of State for

:50:33. > :50:37.Transport made it very clear in his evidence to the transport select

:50:38. > :50:43.committee yesterday that he gave a very high priority to the issue of

:50:44. > :50:46.fair and transparent procurement within HS2 and within all such

:50:47. > :50:58.projects for which he has responsibility.

:50:59. > :51:07.Can I... This will be the last business arts questions are very

:51:08. > :51:10.parliament, it has been a pleasure working with the right honourable

:51:11. > :51:14.gentleman and not extend that to the honourable leader and I will give my

:51:15. > :51:17.thanks at the end of my contribution. Could we have a big

:51:18. > :51:23.shout out for all of these members of Parliament that are competing in

:51:24. > :51:27.the London Marathon on Saturday, particularly my honourable friend,

:51:28. > :51:32.who has the distinction of being the first SNP member of Parliament to be

:51:33. > :51:44.competing in the London Marathon. It is on Sunday, he is shouting. This

:51:45. > :51:49.sometime over the weekend, Mr Speaker. Can I just say, high pity

:51:50. > :51:55.her political opponents when she laps on the leaflet run during the

:51:56. > :51:59.general election. We have to have an urgent statement on the status of

:52:00. > :52:03.all of the Conservative members of Parliament currently under police

:52:04. > :52:08.investigation for electoral fraud. It seems there may be up to two

:52:09. > :52:11.dozen Conservative MPs facing the possibility of being prosecuted

:52:12. > :52:14.while we are in the middle of an election campaign. The public

:52:15. > :52:18.deserves to know what will happen under these circumstances that will

:52:19. > :52:22.it be possible for them to continue as candidates in this general

:52:23. > :52:28.election if that was to pass? A lot of people suspect with the first

:52:29. > :52:32.charging decision to be made on the 20th of May, this is the real reason

:52:33. > :52:34.for the snap election and we need to hear from the Government if this

:52:35. > :52:37.played any feature in the deciding of determining this date of

:52:38. > :52:42.election. I would like to hear from the Leader of the House on this

:52:43. > :52:49.issue. And can we have a debate about debates, and particularly our

:52:50. > :52:51.Prime Minister who seems fair to participate in the television

:52:52. > :52:57.variety. She unilaterally called this election but will not debate

:52:58. > :53:00.with other litter colour balance and it is absolutely right that

:53:01. > :53:04.broadcasters are considering empty chairing the prime ministers a

:53:05. > :53:08.maximum embarrassment is achieved. And finally, I wish members of

:53:09. > :53:11.Parliament, nearly all members of parliament, a good election and can

:53:12. > :53:16.I also pay my tributes to the members of Parliament who will be

:53:17. > :53:19.standing down. And also to thank the staff who have served us diligently

:53:20. > :53:23.during the course of these past two years, to you and your office Mr

:53:24. > :53:27.Speaker and I echo the words of the honourable lady. I think as we leave

:53:28. > :53:32.today, we all remember Jo Cox and wish she was out there on the stumps

:53:33. > :53:38.fighting with us for the election and it is so tragic that it has been

:53:39. > :53:43.taken away from this House. I join the honourable gentleman in wishing

:53:44. > :53:48.every success both to his colleague, the honourable lady from Livingston,

:53:49. > :53:51.and to all colleagues from all political parties in the House as

:53:52. > :53:56.they make their final preparations for the London Marathon on Sunday. I

:53:57. > :54:01.am sure the honourable gentleman is right in suggesting that the

:54:02. > :54:09.Marathon training will serve them all in good stead for the seven

:54:10. > :54:12.weeks that now beckon us all. It may give the rest of us the opportunity

:54:13. > :54:17.to wear out some shoe leather as well, though not I suspect quite as

:54:18. > :54:21.well as well have been done by those competing on Sunday. And I hope as

:54:22. > :54:26.well all those members are successful in raising large sums of

:54:27. > :54:29.money for the various charities for which they are supporting in the

:54:30. > :54:37.marathon. The honourable gentleman made a serious point to me about the

:54:38. > :54:42.police investigations. I want to reiterate, Mr Speaker, what the

:54:43. > :54:45.Prime Minister said yesterday, that we stand behind all our candidates

:54:46. > :54:48.at the forthcoming election, who will be out campaigning for a

:54:49. > :54:53.strong, stable Government in the national interest. A number of

:54:54. > :54:57.police forces have conducted investigations and many have been

:54:58. > :55:01.dropped. It is right these matters are investigated properly but the

:55:02. > :55:06.battle bus was directed by the National party, as was the case with

:55:07. > :55:13.other political parties, and we are confident that individual colleagues

:55:14. > :55:17.acted properly. First way I commend my right honourable friend for being

:55:18. > :55:21.an exemplary Leader of the House. He is widely regarded as someone of

:55:22. > :55:26.impeccable integrity and he has conducted the office impeccably

:55:27. > :55:34.during this parliament and I hope nothing will change. May I also just

:55:35. > :55:37.draw his attention and put down a marker about select committee

:55:38. > :55:43.staffing. We have one double staff, they work incredibly hard, but the

:55:44. > :55:47.committee specialists tend to change too often. This doesn't happen in

:55:48. > :55:51.the library, where specialists sometimes remain in post for a

:55:52. > :55:53.decade or more and this would strengthen the role of select

:55:54. > :55:59.committees if we could look at changing the nature of this tapping,

:56:00. > :56:02.rather than the turbulence we put up with at the moment -- of this

:56:03. > :56:05.staffing. I appreciate this is for the next parliament but I wonder if

:56:06. > :56:10.he could leave something on his file to remind him when he gets back. I'm

:56:11. > :56:16.grateful to my honourable friend for his kind remarks. Clearly there is a

:56:17. > :56:20.balance to be struck between the value of continuity that my

:56:21. > :56:25.honourable friend described and also, on the other side of the

:56:26. > :56:31.balance, the need to ensure that individuals have the opportunity to

:56:32. > :56:33.develop their careers in service through a variety of different

:56:34. > :56:38.experiences and occupations, but I will make a note and whether it is

:56:39. > :56:43.high or somebody else who has these duties when the new parliament

:56:44. > :56:50.assembles, I'm sure they will want to take a close look at this. I'm

:56:51. > :56:53.very grateful, Mr Speaker. The backbench business committee in this

:56:54. > :56:58.Parliament has concluded its business and I'm very grateful to

:56:59. > :57:02.the Leader of the House as in this last Parliamentary session, we have

:57:03. > :57:08.had our full allocation of backbench time and we are very grateful for

:57:09. > :57:11.that. We have offered outstanding debate applications which are lying

:57:12. > :57:17.unheard and if it is all right with the Leader of the House, I will ask

:57:18. > :57:19.our committee Clerk to write to his office to seek an airing of those

:57:20. > :57:27.debates in the new parliament, possibly before the time when the

:57:28. > :57:30.new backbench business and new parliament is established, because

:57:31. > :57:34.that happened in the last Parliament, General debates put down

:57:35. > :57:38.by the Leader of the House and some of those subjects could be debated

:57:39. > :57:43.in that time. Mr Speaker, could I also place thanks on record to the

:57:44. > :57:49.members of the committee, the ever presents, the members for Harrow

:57:50. > :57:53.East, Paisley and Renfrewshire North, Birmingham and Yardley, later

:57:54. > :57:57.arrivals from Torbay, Hazel Grove and Whitney, members who departed

:57:58. > :58:04.during the term from Wellingborough and catering and those who had more

:58:05. > :58:10.than a cameo appearances from Aldwych and Brownhills and Ipswich.

:58:11. > :58:17.Can I thank you, that is me done for this Parliament. Thank you. Mr

:58:18. > :58:22.Speaker, can I thank the honourable member for Gateshead and the members

:58:23. > :58:27.of his committee for the sterling work that they have done during this

:58:28. > :58:32.Parliament. I think that backbench business does provide members in all

:58:33. > :58:38.parts of the House to raise issues that are of importance to our

:58:39. > :58:42.constituents but may well not be the subject of Government legislation at

:58:43. > :58:45.any particular time. I will take careful note and obviously consider

:58:46. > :58:50.very carefully the particular point he made to me about the scheduling

:58:51. > :59:08.of debates, general Today I will desist from illicit

:59:09. > :59:14.--... I would return to pursue an appalling company here, and I will

:59:15. > :59:20.be asking you, Mr Speaker, if you received an apology from the company

:59:21. > :59:23.for misleading myself. But can I turn to the Leader of the House,

:59:24. > :59:29.does he agree with me that early in the next parliament, the committee

:59:30. > :59:32.needs to revisit standing order an hundred and 202A, to ensure it

:59:33. > :59:35.reflects the reality of contested elections for select committee

:59:36. > :59:40.chairs, and the expectation of the House that those elected into these

:59:41. > :59:50.roles will serve the full term of the parliament in which they are

:59:51. > :59:54.elected? I am grateful for giving the notice of this issue, has given

:59:55. > :59:59.me the unexpected opportunity to study standing order 120 28, and

:00:00. > :00:06.associated standing orders of the House. I concede that the standing

:00:07. > :00:09.orders relating to the election of select committees is capable of

:00:10. > :00:15.being construed in a number of different ways. It seems that the

:00:16. > :00:20.way forward would be for the committee in the new House of

:00:21. > :00:22.Commons when that is constituted to take this issue away, examine the

:00:23. > :00:33.current standing orders, consult across parties and come back with

:00:34. > :00:37.recommendations in due course. Can I thank members of the House are

:00:38. > :00:43.making clear we will remember Jo Cox at the earliest opportunity, and

:00:44. > :00:46.wishes that she could be on the campaign train with us. I shall not

:00:47. > :00:51.be returning to this House, so can I thank you and everyone here for the

:00:52. > :00:55.20 years of the privilege to represent them in Edgbaston, it has

:00:56. > :00:58.been a privilege. The next Parliament has a very difficult

:00:59. > :01:03.task, the government has to implement the well of the people as

:01:04. > :01:08.expressed on the 23rd of June last year. -- the will of the people. The

:01:09. > :01:20.government has two ensure that we get the best deal. Finally, can I

:01:21. > :01:24.just paraphrase, I shall miss this House, but I shall miss this House

:01:25. > :01:33.more than the House will miss me. LAUGHTER.

:01:34. > :01:36.The honourable lady was characteristically self-deprecating

:01:37. > :01:41.and her remarks. Those of us who have served with her in this House

:01:42. > :01:47.will remember her and her contributions for a very long time.

:01:48. > :01:52.Thank you very much. I appreciate that we have very little time left

:01:53. > :01:58.of this Parliament, but nevertheless I would still like to request that

:01:59. > :02:02.consideration be given for debate on the additional ?10 billion this

:02:03. > :02:08.government have committed to the NHS until 2020, that is certainly

:02:09. > :02:14.starting to see results in my constituency, with the opening of

:02:15. > :02:18.new units at Crow hospital. -- Crawley Hospital. I am grateful to

:02:19. > :02:22.my honourable friend for raising this point, and would join him in

:02:23. > :02:28.welcoming these new units. It seems to me that the commissioning

:02:29. > :02:34.authorities in his part of the country have taken advantage of the

:02:35. > :02:38.record government spending on our National Health service, to the

:02:39. > :02:41.configure services in a way that will provide better services for his

:02:42. > :02:51.constituents and those in neighbouring constituencies in the

:02:52. > :02:54.future. Can I try again with the Leader of the House. Is it possible

:02:55. > :03:01.in the next few days to have an urgent debate about the appalling

:03:02. > :03:06.state of our roads? In Nottinghamshire, there's a ?320

:03:07. > :03:09.million bill regarding repairs to roads, and some of the roads are

:03:10. > :03:14.shocking. The response of the government is to give the Council

:03:15. > :03:18.?40 million. It would take 30 years to repair all of the roads at that

:03:19. > :03:25.rate. It is not good enough, the government has to do something about

:03:26. > :03:32.it. The government set aside ?23 billion but infrastructure in the

:03:33. > :03:37.Autumn Statement, and we are investing a record ?15 billion on

:03:38. > :03:40.road schemes. The amount we are spending on roads include

:03:41. > :03:44.allocations to local authorities, to fill in potholes and carry out other

:03:45. > :03:47.essential road maintenance, as well as providing for the central

:03:48. > :03:52.government spending on motorways and trunk roads. But regarding the point

:03:53. > :03:58.I made to the honourable lady earlier, the ability of any

:03:59. > :04:02.government to provide for increases in public expenditure, the kind that

:04:03. > :04:08.the right honourable gentleman is seeking, rests on the capacity of

:04:09. > :04:15.our economy to create wealth and increase employment. And the

:04:16. > :04:20.policies, which I'm afraid his party at its pricing in this general

:04:21. > :04:22.election campaign, will saddle future generations with debt.

:04:23. > :04:32.we have a debate on hospital services in Shropshire. With the

:04:33. > :04:39.reader in the Hayes -- the Leader of the House join me in welcoming the

:04:40. > :04:42.recent comments of the leader of the hospital trusts, that the children

:04:43. > :04:48.and women's unit in Telford is now safe and indeed new services such as

:04:49. > :04:53.cancer care patient services will be introduced over the coming months.

:04:54. > :04:56.Is it not more evidence that the NHS is safe in Conservative hands

:04:57. > :05:04.locally and nationally? I very much welcome the news from Telford and

:05:05. > :05:06.Shrewsbury, I think it is important that these detailed decisions about

:05:07. > :05:11.the configuration of services are taken at local level and driven by

:05:12. > :05:19.the assessment of those in charge of our NHS at local level, what is

:05:20. > :05:22.needed for their particular communities. One particular setup is

:05:23. > :05:26.not going to work equally well in every part of the country. There

:05:27. > :05:31.needs to be local sensitivity, and I am pleased that is what seems to be

:05:32. > :05:38.happening in Shropshire. The reputation of politics was rock

:05:39. > :05:41.bottom, now it is subterranean. We've done nothing to reform the

:05:42. > :05:48.deep corruption at the heart of our political system by doing nothing

:05:49. > :05:54.about the revolving door. What the country needs is a leader of

:05:55. > :05:59.integrity, a man not mired in corruption and not dedicated to

:06:00. > :06:03.seeking office in order to gain insider knowledge that they can then

:06:04. > :06:07.prostitute to the highest bidder when they leave office. We need a

:06:08. > :06:12.man who is different to what we have had. That is what the country is

:06:13. > :06:22.looking forward to. When can we investigate the activities between

:06:23. > :06:26.previous ministers and Blackstone investments? These are unresolved

:06:27. > :06:35.problems where we have people leaving this House, but they have

:06:36. > :06:40.the consolation of our salaries of up to ?650,000 for a part-time job.

:06:41. > :06:46.This does not honour politics, it drags politics down into the gutter.

:06:47. > :06:58.What we need is a new Prime Minister of integrity. The honourable

:06:59. > :07:03.gentleman, as always, speaks with passion and in this case on the half

:07:04. > :07:12.of the 25% of Labour MPs who support the Leader of the Opposition. I say

:07:13. > :07:15.to him that... Put it this week, I think he may not have meant it in

:07:16. > :07:23.this fashion, but I think he was being extremely unfair to successive

:07:24. > :07:25.prime ministers on both the breath -- from both the main political

:07:26. > :07:29.parties in this country and those who have served in the governments

:07:30. > :07:34.who have gone on after leaving office and membership of this House,

:07:35. > :07:38.to work in other capacities in our country. These are men and women,

:07:39. > :07:42.whether Conservative, Labour road Liberal Democrats, who have things

:07:43. > :07:46.to offer, and it is right that subject to codes and rules that

:07:47. > :07:52.applied, but when they leave office and membership of the House of

:07:53. > :07:57.Commons, they should be free to pursue those new avenues. The

:07:58. > :08:01.honourable member for Birmingham Edgbaston is wrong. She will be

:08:02. > :08:06.missed by the House. Will my right honourable friend find time for a

:08:07. > :08:10.debate on the persecution of Christians throughout the world,

:08:11. > :08:16.given that we start proceedings each day with prayers, I think if we held

:08:17. > :08:24.such a debate it will send out an extremely strong message. I cannot

:08:25. > :08:32.talk my honourable friend the debate, I think every member of the

:08:33. > :08:38.House will have been shocked by the attacks on Coptic churches in

:08:39. > :08:43.particular in the jute during holy week, and that will reinforce and

:08:44. > :08:50.all our minds the importance of the points he has made. -- in particular

:08:51. > :08:53.in Egypt. The Prime Minister and her Easter message spoke up strongly

:08:54. > :09:01.about the need to defend religious freedom around the world,

:09:02. > :09:08.particularly with reference to Christians and religious minorities

:09:09. > :09:12.we do not -- who do not have the same freedoms we can cherish in the

:09:13. > :09:15.UK. One month ago I asked the leader for a debate on female

:09:16. > :09:19.representation in politics. Two weeks from today, the voters of

:09:20. > :09:24.Renfrewshire will elect a new councillor, and at best will offer

:09:25. > :09:29.50-50 split among its candidates. Only 29% of Labour, and 17% of

:09:30. > :09:34.Conservative candidates are women. Flavour is doubly fortunate to

:09:35. > :09:37.return to the House -- if the leader is fortunate enough to return to his

:09:38. > :09:46.role, can we have a debate on the subject? I would say, this

:09:47. > :09:54.government could not have been clearer about our wish to encourage

:09:55. > :09:57.more women to take part in public life, both in seeking membership of

:09:58. > :10:04.the House of Commons and local authorities and in many other forms

:10:05. > :10:08.of public service, and successive leaders of my party have worked very

:10:09. > :10:11.hard to promote that, not least my right honourable friend the Prime

:10:12. > :10:16.Minister. I would say to the honourable gentleman, unlike his

:10:17. > :10:24.party, my party has a woman leader in Holyrood and Westminster. Can I

:10:25. > :10:28.start that I seeing the honourable member for Edgbaston has been an

:10:29. > :10:36.outstanding member of Parliament, and her successor has an incredibly

:10:37. > :10:39.difficult act to follow. Can the Leader of the House confirmed that

:10:40. > :10:42.the prison and courts Bill has now been abandoned in this Parliament

:10:43. > :10:46.and will have to start its passage into the House in the next

:10:47. > :10:51.Parliament, and can he tell us which bills will go through the rather

:10:52. > :10:58.grubby process of the wash-up, which is an unsatisfactory way to pass

:10:59. > :11:05.laws? The bills that would introduced to this House quite late

:11:06. > :11:10.in the current parliamentary session and which received carry-over motion

:11:11. > :11:16.Sodhi could be debated in what would have been the third session of the

:11:17. > :11:22.current Parliament, including the prisons and Courts Bill. In my

:11:23. > :11:27.statement I referred to some of those measures we will be addressing

:11:28. > :11:33.during the wash-up period next week. As my right honourable friend knows,

:11:34. > :11:38.there are discussions going on through the usual channels about how

:11:39. > :11:44.to handle particular pieces of legislation, and I do not want to

:11:45. > :11:49.prejudice the outcome of those discussions. Can I thank you and the

:11:50. > :11:55.Leader of the House for your kind remarks about my neighbour and

:11:56. > :12:03.friend, Jo Cox. She will be an all our minds as we fight the election.

:12:04. > :12:05.She was a radical underperformer, she cared about their size, but she

:12:06. > :12:12.was discontent with the House because she thought it was not as

:12:13. > :12:14.accountable for a modern age as it could be. Could we think about this

:12:15. > :12:23.during the election period and when we come back could we have an early

:12:24. > :12:29.debate, whoever is the Leader of the House, I fancy it for myself!

:12:30. > :12:35.LAUGHTER There is no ageism here. Could we have a serious debate about

:12:36. > :12:37.we can make this place more accountable. Many of my constituents

:12:38. > :12:40.find that the call for an early election has gotten the way of

:12:41. > :12:45.accountability for people like me, who have wanted to stay in the

:12:46. > :12:49.European Union, accepted the will the people, but are going to fight

:12:50. > :12:54.like mad to make sure we get a good deal. If we have money for public

:12:55. > :12:57.services he mentioned, surely we should have a good deal, and this

:12:58. > :13:02.House will now have a weakened position in terms of making

:13:03. > :13:08.I simply don't see the connection that he asserts between their being

:13:09. > :13:14.a general election and this has being in a weak position. I would

:13:15. > :13:17.have thought the fact that we had a house of Commons charged with a new

:13:18. > :13:23.mandate from the people to carry through the referendum outcome would

:13:24. > :13:27.mean that there was greater strength of purpose in this House, as indeed

:13:28. > :13:31.on the part of the Government in going forward to what will be very

:13:32. > :13:37.challenging negotiations and I would say to him there is absolutely no

:13:38. > :13:42.doubt in my mind about my right honourable friend the Prime

:13:43. > :13:46.Minister's utter determination to secure the best possible deal for

:13:47. > :13:50.all the people of every part of the United Kingdom at the end of those

:13:51. > :13:56.negotiations. Would the Government be able to make time for a statement

:13:57. > :14:00.or North Korea? Whilst security concerns are currently uppermost in

:14:01. > :14:05.many people's minds, would the Government convey the concern of

:14:06. > :14:09.many of us in this House at the possibility of the Chinese

:14:10. > :14:16.Government of returning refugees from North Korea back to the North

:14:17. > :14:18.Korean regime, to near certain death or lifetime imprisonment, sometimes

:14:19. > :14:23.going on for three generations of their families. It is not something

:14:24. > :14:29.many of us as has want to be silent about. My honourable friend makes a

:14:30. > :14:39.very cogent point the Government is concerned that China continues

:14:40. > :14:45.regard North -- both Korean refugees as migrants rather than refugees and

:14:46. > :14:49.as we all know, the scale of human rights abuses in North Korea is too

:14:50. > :14:53.severe for the international community, including China, to

:14:54. > :15:00.ignore. We have repeatedly called upon the Chinese authorities to at

:15:01. > :15:04.the very least is Makovich respect the fundamentals built into the

:15:05. > :15:11.United Nations conventions and we did this in our recent UK - China

:15:12. > :15:15.human rights dialogue. I recently met with the father of toddler Harry

:15:16. > :15:21.Studley who honourable members may remember was shot in the head with

:15:22. > :15:25.an air rifle in South Bristol last July. Harry's dad has impressed me

:15:26. > :15:30.with not only his resilience in the face of this adversity, he has told

:15:31. > :15:33.me Harry is doing well, but also his determination as a nation that we

:15:34. > :15:38.learn something from this incident. So can we have a debate about what

:15:39. > :15:43.measures the Government can put in place to improve air rifle safety?

:15:44. > :15:48.For example, the introduction of compulsory trigger locks on these

:15:49. > :15:57.lethal weapons. Well, first of all, can I wish Harry a full recovery and

:15:58. > :16:03.express my best wishes to those caring for him and those who are

:16:04. > :16:17.treating his injuries. The Government keeps the legislation and

:16:18. > :16:18.At present, we have -- at present, At

:16:19. > :16:18.using those weapons do so we have no plans to license or

:16:19. > :16:21.using those weapons do so responsibly and safely. High-powered

:16:22. > :16:25.air weapons do require a firearms licence and even low powered air

:16:26. > :16:30.weapons are subject to a range of controls, including restrictions

:16:31. > :16:33.around their sale. I mean, the problem about introducing further

:16:34. > :16:44.restrictions on low powered air weapons is that it would involve a

:16:45. > :16:47.small minority of people who misuse, sometimes tragically, this use of

:16:48. > :16:53.air weapons in England and Wales and it would, by introducing a further

:16:54. > :16:58.set of controls, divert police resources from controlling the other

:16:59. > :17:04.higher risk firearms such as rifles and shotguns, where we think the

:17:05. > :17:09.police ought to give priority. I am sometimes asked by constituents,

:17:10. > :17:12.when they have seen our proceedings on television, do you really hate

:17:13. > :17:17.one another? They see as shouting at one another over the dispatch box

:17:18. > :17:23.and they say, what are they like after you have done battle with

:17:24. > :17:26.them? And then I is when the reality, that I had difficulty

:17:27. > :17:32.sometimes more with people on my own side than the people opposite. They

:17:33. > :17:36.know who they are. And they know who they are! But the reality is of

:17:37. > :17:39.course we build a lasting and enduring friendships with members of

:17:40. > :17:46.Parliament from all parties and none more so than the honourable member

:17:47. > :17:50.for Edgbaston. She will leave an enduring legacy in the work that she

:17:51. > :17:54.did on Brexit and I am grateful to her and with your end of term

:17:55. > :18:02.latitude, Mr Speaker, I will say I will miss you, Gisela and I will

:18:03. > :18:05.issue in the future and it wouldn't be business questions if I didn't

:18:06. > :18:12.say, there is an issue with potholes in the Ribble Valley. I'm going to

:18:13. > :18:17.spend the next seven weeks driving around looking at them as I visit

:18:18. > :18:22.towns, hamlets and villages and I do hope that as part of our imaginative

:18:23. > :18:26.manifesto for the future that we can think of ways whereby district

:18:27. > :18:28.authorities are able to bid for some of that money made available by

:18:29. > :18:33.central Government in order that we can fill those holes. Mr Speaker, I

:18:34. > :18:39.wish you and all the parliamentary staff well for the dissolution and

:18:40. > :18:46.also for preparation for the hard work that will come ahead in the new

:18:47. > :18:53.parliament. I think my honourable friend makes a point of that it is

:18:54. > :18:58.sometimes quite hard for people outside this House, who only see the

:18:59. > :19:02.moments of high drama on their TV screens, to understand that actually

:19:03. > :19:05.we all come into this phase with equal electoral mandate, we all come

:19:06. > :19:10.in with passionately held political views about how best to make things

:19:11. > :19:16.better for the people who we represent, but actually, there is a

:19:17. > :19:19.certain amount of camaraderie that transcends party political

:19:20. > :19:25.differences and friendships that can be built up across party lines over

:19:26. > :19:32.very many years. On his policy point about the Ribble Valley, the idea of

:19:33. > :19:36.having a system for bids, additional bits from local authorities, is an

:19:37. > :19:39.interesting one and I will make sure that that is passed on and placed in

:19:40. > :19:47.the in tray for the incoming transport minister after the

:19:48. > :19:50.election. The Leader of the House didn't clarify, the 2nd of May? I

:19:51. > :19:55.wondered if we could have some information about that but what I

:19:56. > :19:58.really wanted to ask, is the Leader of the House aware that the families

:19:59. > :20:02.of the victims of the Hyde Park bombings have been denied Legal Aid

:20:03. > :20:06.to fund their pursuit in the civil action against the chief suspect?

:20:07. > :20:10.Could the Minister look at meeting with the members and peers who

:20:11. > :20:14.support the victims' campaign, in order to consider the Government

:20:15. > :20:21.making exceptional funding available so the justice they have been denied

:20:22. > :20:23.for 35 years can be delivered? As a Ulster Unionist Party may I

:20:24. > :20:26.associate myself with all the remarks everyone else has made and

:20:27. > :20:29.thanking all of those who have helped us over the period we have

:20:30. > :20:34.been here and it is good to hear that we are marking the Jo Cox but

:20:35. > :20:38.also the strength of her husband has been quite fantastic, the same time,

:20:39. > :20:43.and may I wish all the best to those who standing down and may I just

:20:44. > :20:46.share with you, because it is such good wording, from an Irish

:20:47. > :20:50.blessing, for all of you when you are knocking on the doors, made a

:20:51. > :20:55.road rise to meet you, May the wind be always at your back, made the

:20:56. > :20:58.sunshine warm upon your face, the rain fall soft upon your fields and

:20:59. > :21:06.until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand. Thank

:21:07. > :21:11.you. The whole house warmed to the honourable gentleman's concluding

:21:12. > :21:21.comments. And I join him in his salute to Brendan Cox, who has shown

:21:22. > :21:28.the most inspiring courage and fortitude over the months since Jo's

:21:29. > :21:31.murder. But who has also spoken out fearlessly in defence of democracy

:21:32. > :21:34.and human rights and against extremism at a time when he must

:21:35. > :21:42.have been under the most appalling personal stress. The honourable

:21:43. > :21:46.gentleman asked me two specific questions. On his point about Legal

:21:47. > :21:50.Aid, I think implicit in his question to me was the fact that

:21:51. > :21:54.these decisions are taking at arms length from ministers but I will ask

:21:55. > :21:58.the minister responsible for Legal Aid to make contact with him and

:21:59. > :22:06.other interested colleagues in both houses. On his point about Tuesday

:22:07. > :22:10.the second, the... While the working assumption at the moment is that the

:22:11. > :22:17.House will not sit then, that data is available should it be needed, to

:22:18. > :22:20.ensure that business is completed. By law, the dissolution of

:22:21. > :22:28.Parliament must take place at one minute past midnight on the third,

:22:29. > :22:33.so Tuesday will be the last day on which members of this parliament

:22:34. > :22:44.will have access to their offices in the House of Commons. I was somewhat

:22:45. > :22:47.disappointed and dismayed to hear that Walsall Borough Council has

:22:48. > :22:51.declined to take part in the Government's pilot scheme on voter

:22:52. > :22:56.ID at polling stations. Is the Leader of the House aware of any

:22:57. > :23:01.advice for presiding officers at the forthcoming local mayoral elections

:23:02. > :23:03.and the general election to deter impersonation at polling stations?

:23:04. > :23:08.The electoral commission does provide such guidance to returning

:23:09. > :23:12.officers and their staff, including those running polling stations, and

:23:13. > :23:15.the handbooks from the commission specifically include a procedure for

:23:16. > :23:21.dealing with impersonation and guidance in how to deal with

:23:22. > :23:26.particular issues. I'm disappointed to hear my honourable friend say

:23:27. > :23:31.that Walsall Council does not wish to follow best practice and I hope

:23:32. > :23:41.that they might reconsider, following her representation. The

:23:42. > :23:46.coalition Government introduced a fund of 173.5 million for public

:23:47. > :23:51.transport in Leeds for a modern mass transit system. I was delighted that

:23:52. > :23:54.this Government has stuck to that commitment. Of course now, with the

:23:55. > :23:59.election, that is thrown into the air so can I ask the Minister what

:24:00. > :24:05.will happen and can he assure me there will be proper scrutiny of

:24:06. > :24:09.Leeds City Council's frankly unambitious and very poor plans for

:24:10. > :24:16.spending that money, when actually, this place is not sitting? Of

:24:17. > :24:22.course, first of all, there will be some election going on in Yorkshire,

:24:23. > :24:37.certainly the greater Leeds area, this year but the processes for the

:24:38. > :24:39.auditing and scrutiny of expenditure within Government continue,

:24:40. > :24:44.ministers remain in office. What they will not become until the new

:24:45. > :24:47.Parliament assembles, is the opportunity for members of

:24:48. > :24:52.Parliament in this House to raise matters where they think that money

:24:53. > :24:57.has not been spent to best effect. But we are talking only about a

:24:58. > :25:00.matter of seven weeks, so I think it will not be long before members

:25:01. > :25:08.representing Leeds and every other part of the country are able to

:25:09. > :25:13.raise all these points. Can I echo what was said earlier by my

:25:14. > :25:17.honourable friend in welcoming the Government's increased investment in

:25:18. > :25:22.the NHS and also in acknowledging what the Leader of the House said

:25:23. > :25:24.earlier about the need for local decision-making on Health Service

:25:25. > :25:29.matters. Can nonetheless seek his reassurance that in the next

:25:30. > :25:32.Parliament, we will have the opportunity properly to scrutinise

:25:33. > :25:37.any proposed changes that come forward as a result of NHS England's

:25:38. > :25:41.sustainability and transformation plans? There is, as he will know

:25:42. > :25:45.because I have raised it in the House before, considerable concern

:25:46. > :25:49.about services at North Devon hospital in my constituency, but the

:25:50. > :25:58.concern is any proposed changes might be hastily imposed by the

:25:59. > :26:00.local Health Service managers. Will he be able to reassure me that we

:26:01. > :26:03.will have an opportunity to scrutinise those matters? And before

:26:04. > :26:06.I take my seat, because it seems I have the privilege of being the last

:26:07. > :26:09.member on this side of the House to ask a business question in this

:26:10. > :26:14.parliament, can I echo all of the comments made about our colleague Jo

:26:15. > :26:17.Cox. Mr Speaker, I thank you and your staff and the staff of this

:26:18. > :26:23.House to help run the business of this has so smoothly and long may it

:26:24. > :26:28.continue. I am grateful to my honourable friend. I can assure him

:26:29. > :26:34.that the next House of Commons, both in the chamber, in Westminster Hall,

:26:35. > :26:38.and through the Health Select Committee, when that is

:26:39. > :26:40.re-established, will have the opportunity to consider

:26:41. > :26:45.sustainability and transformation plans as they come forward in all

:26:46. > :26:49.parts of the country, but any such plan has two major four tests for

:26:50. > :26:53.service change. They must be supported by GP commissioners, be

:26:54. > :26:55.based on clinical evidence, demonstrate public and patient

:26:56. > :27:01.engagement and consider patient choice. And the NHS organisations

:27:02. > :27:05.involved are obliged to consult the local authority's health overview

:27:06. > :27:11.and scrutiny committees, so any proposed changes to substantial

:27:12. > :27:14.changes on health services. Those committees can make a formal

:27:15. > :27:18.objection to such a substantial service change and referred the

:27:19. > :27:21.decision to the Secretary of State for a decision and the Secretary of

:27:22. > :27:28.State, local ministers, is accountable to this House. With your

:27:29. > :27:31.indulgence, just before I ask my question, I would like to put on

:27:32. > :27:34.record my sincere thanks for the honourable members of it we've about

:27:35. > :27:41.and Glasgow North West for assisting me when I was unwell yesterday. I

:27:42. > :27:45.would also like to extend my thanks to the wonderful staff and medics

:27:46. > :27:48.for their excellent usual care. In the culture, media and sport

:27:49. > :27:53.questions on the 16th of March, myself and the honourable member for

:27:54. > :27:59.North Ayrshire and Arran asked the undersecretary of state about a long

:28:00. > :28:02.campaign on betting terminals. We were promised a long-standing

:28:03. > :28:08.announcement by the Government would be made in the spring. Can the

:28:09. > :28:10.Leader of the House committed a that this firm commitment will be kept

:28:11. > :28:16.before the dissolution of Parliament?

:28:17. > :28:21.I cannot promise that for the reason that once the general election has

:28:22. > :28:27.been announced, the normal rules on government purdah start to apply

:28:28. > :28:32.fairly promptly, certainly from the end of this week. This is a matter

:28:33. > :28:41.to the Cabinet Secretary, rather than for ministers. And while

:28:42. > :28:49.ministers will be free in the next 24 hours to make a number of

:28:50. > :28:55.statements, as soon as the purdah rules come into play, which I expect

:28:56. > :28:57.to happen tomorrow, then the government machine is prohibited

:28:58. > :28:59.because it must maintain impartiality during an election

:29:00. > :29:08.period from making such announcements. We all know that to

:29:09. > :29:11.ensure constituents can get better paid better quality jobs and that

:29:12. > :29:17.businesses can compete better abroad, we must ensure our people

:29:18. > :29:22.have the skills. It is a disgrace therefore that in my area we are

:29:23. > :29:28.facing further savage cuts of beyond ?20 million per year to our local

:29:29. > :29:33.schools. So before the House is dissolved, can we have a statement

:29:34. > :29:38.from the Education Secretary on why this government is pulling the rug

:29:39. > :29:43.from under our young people and taking us back to mid-19 90s levels

:29:44. > :29:52.of Tory underinvestment in our schools? Our young people deserve

:29:53. > :29:57.better. I would point out first that the number of pupils attending

:29:58. > :30:05.schools which are rated as good or outstanding has risen since 2010 to

:30:06. > :30:08.the highest level ever. Some 89% of pupils attend such schools, and the

:30:09. > :30:16.number of individual schools that meet those Ofsted standards is also

:30:17. > :30:21.at a record high. He also chose not to mention this government's

:30:22. > :30:32.commitment to 3 million good apprenticeship starts, nor did he

:30:33. > :30:34.mention this government's renewed focus on technical and vocational

:30:35. > :30:38.education, which is something that is essential if we are to give young

:30:39. > :30:47.men and women the opportunities that he, like high, wishes to see them

:30:48. > :30:57.enjoy. His question was an attack on the proposed new funding for

:30:58. > :31:00.schools, but it has long been argued on both sides of this House that it

:31:01. > :31:11.was not tolerable to continue with the situation in which schools and

:31:12. > :31:18.almost geographical identical areas could receive almost half the money

:31:19. > :31:23.per pupil than the other comparable school was receiving. As the

:31:24. > :31:25.honourable gentleman knows, it is the subject of a public consultation

:31:26. > :31:28.that has just closed. The Secretary of State is considering her response

:31:29. > :31:36.to that and she will come forward with proposals. The Leader of the

:31:37. > :31:40.House referred to Gibraltar. Can I remind him Gibraltar have a Labour

:31:41. > :31:44.government and we know that any Labour government is always better

:31:45. > :31:48.than Tory Government. But I wasn't going to ask about that. I want to

:31:49. > :31:54.ask about why the government has broken its promise because Minister

:31:55. > :31:56.after minister has said in reference to secondary legislation that if the

:31:57. > :31:59.opposition demands a debate and vote, there will be a debate and

:32:00. > :32:07.vote. But for the last two years, successive leaders of the House have

:32:08. > :32:09.refused to allow us this. In particular, after dozens of

:32:10. > :32:14.constituents are worried about changes to independent payments,

:32:15. > :32:19.many of them with severe mental health problems concerned this will

:32:20. > :32:22.go through without any debate or vote, why will the government

:32:23. > :32:30.minister not say yes, we're going to have a debate and vote next week? He

:32:31. > :32:33.knows an election has been called which makes a difference to the

:32:34. > :32:37.allocation of time for business, particularly as we have to make

:32:38. > :32:41.provision, and I think this is appointed leader across the House.

:32:42. > :32:45.We have to make provision for emergency legislation in relation to

:32:46. > :32:52.Northern Ireland, which will take time that might otherwise have been

:32:53. > :32:53.available for other purposes. Regarding Personal

:32:54. > :32:57.Payment is, if you looks at what he Payment is, if you looks at what he

:32:58. > :33:06.is actually -- what is actually going on, the number of successful

:33:07. > :33:10.appeals against this is only 3% of cases that have reached a decision.

:33:11. > :33:17.And the number of people with mental health conditions who are getting

:33:18. > :33:22.additional help under PIP compared with DLA is significantly higher. So

:33:23. > :33:28.PIP represents a big improvement upon the situation that existed

:33:29. > :33:37.previously. Finally I will say this, he is on very dangerous ground

:33:38. > :33:43.regarding the Chief Minister of Gibraltar. One thing I know if at

:33:44. > :33:50.all political parties in Gibraltar detested and resented the previous

:33:51. > :33:55.Labour government's proposals. And I echo comments made about Jo Cox. She

:33:56. > :33:58.was a huge champion of International development, and while I am pleased

:33:59. > :34:01.to see the proposals going ahead for a memorial to her here in the

:34:02. > :34:05.Commons, I think one of the greatest memorials would be to see all

:34:06. > :34:09.parties recommitting to the cross-party agreement on 0.7% of

:34:10. > :34:13.international development. It would be a tragedy if that was abandoned.

:34:14. > :34:18.She was also a champion of the situation of older people in this

:34:19. > :34:21.country, and we have a surprise general election, I wonder if we

:34:22. > :34:26.might see a surprise statement from the government in the next few days

:34:27. > :34:34.about correcting the historical injustice regarding pensioners

:34:35. > :34:39.across this country, including mine workers who have been let down and

:34:40. > :34:45.not received what they were expected to lose even the retirement. It is

:34:46. > :34:50.going to be important as we leave the European Union that the United

:34:51. > :34:54.Kingdom is more outward looking in the world even than it is already. I

:34:55. > :35:00.am certainly proud of the way in which we use are very generous aid

:35:01. > :35:04.programme to bring humanitarian assistance to people in need at the

:35:05. > :35:11.moment in parts of central and eastern Africa, and to people inside

:35:12. > :35:16.Syria and those who have taken refuge in neighbouring countries.

:35:17. > :35:21.This point about the state pension age increase for women, transitional

:35:22. > :35:26.arrangements are already in place, and the last government committed

:35:27. > :35:30.more than ?1 billion to lessen the impact of those changes. No one will

:35:31. > :35:33.see their pension age change by more than 18 months compared with the

:35:34. > :35:40.previous timetable. The problem with what the honourable gentleman is

:35:41. > :35:44.seeking a fact to reverse the pensions act 2011 would cost more

:35:45. > :35:51.than ?30 billion, and neither he his party have any plan as to how they

:35:52. > :35:56.would find that money. Six innocent UK military veterans, including

:35:57. > :35:59.Billy Urban remain in jail in India. The Foreign Secretary has still not

:36:00. > :36:06.met with families. This government has been in a tizzy over Brexit and

:36:07. > :36:08.not focusing on these men. Now the selection means their perilous

:36:09. > :36:13.situation slips even further down the priority list. These military

:36:14. > :36:16.veterans deserve better. What is his government going to do to get Billy

:36:17. > :36:24.and his colleagues home where they belong with their families? She has

:36:25. > :36:31.raised this case before. But she knows therefore that the Prime

:36:32. > :36:36.Minister has raised the case with the Prime Minister of India. That

:36:37. > :36:42.Foreign Office ministers and our High Commissioner in New Delhi have

:36:43. > :36:45.raised this issue many times with their Indian counterparts, and

:36:46. > :36:51.representations continue to be made to the Indian High Commissioner here

:36:52. > :36:58.in London. The case is with the judicial system within India, which

:36:59. > :37:07.is a mature democracy, and we will continue to make or representations

:37:08. > :37:14.we can, and we're not giving up. It is wrong to suggest we have done.

:37:15. > :37:18.South Tees clinical commissioning group announced a fortnight ago that

:37:19. > :37:22.they medical Centre serving over 5000 people in the village, many of

:37:23. > :37:26.whom are elderly, will close at the end of June. NHS England provided

:37:27. > :37:31.emergency GP cover for the last year after the previous company went into

:37:32. > :37:37.liquidation. But not a single bed has been received, which are damning

:37:38. > :37:41.indictment of this government's approach to health care. I have

:37:42. > :37:44.written to the Secretary of State to step in urgently on the half of

:37:45. > :37:55.those patients who rely on the GP service. But can he bring this of

:37:56. > :37:58.the -- to the urgent attention... I will refer the particular case to

:37:59. > :38:05.the Secretary of State for health and his team. But I would say in

:38:06. > :38:08.respect of her strictures about the use of private sector contractors,

:38:09. > :38:13.that it was actually under the previous Labour government that

:38:14. > :38:21.there was a significant increase of four and a half percent of NHS

:38:22. > :38:25.spending being delivered through contracting out services. The

:38:26. > :38:35.proportion has grown only slightly since 2010. I return once again to

:38:36. > :38:39.the issue of the National shipbuilding strategy, which have

:38:40. > :38:49.been told since last summer is Imagen. -- is imminent. This

:38:50. > :38:52.parliament was ensured it would be published in the spring of 2017. So

:38:53. > :38:54.can the Leader of the House confirmed today that the

:38:55. > :38:57.shipbuilding strategy will not be published before the end of this

:38:58. > :39:02.Parliament, and does he accept that that will be seen by the shipyard

:39:03. > :39:06.workers on the Clyde and elsewhere as a complete betrayal and another

:39:07. > :39:14.gross dereliction of duty by this Conservative Government? We're not

:39:15. > :39:19.going to be shy, Mr Speaker, publishing the National shipbuilding

:39:20. > :39:26.strategy, but I would refer him to the answer he gave to his honourable

:39:27. > :39:29.friend about the impact of purdah rules, and I suspect the honourable

:39:30. > :39:36.gentleman and his party would be the first on the feet to complain if

:39:37. > :39:44.during a general election campaign we had announcements coming out of

:39:45. > :39:49.Whitehall which he would then argue work to help win the general

:39:50. > :39:54.election. The Conservative government in London has spent

:39:55. > :40:00.?7,000 per person on transport projects in the south-east for every

:40:01. > :40:05.?1 per person spent in the North. Meanwhile, schools in Sefton face a

:40:06. > :40:10.cut of ?518 per child and the loss of nearly 500 teachers, so before

:40:11. > :40:15.the election, can we have a statement about whether the people

:40:16. > :40:21.of Sefton Central have been let down by the government and why they have

:40:22. > :40:27.had such appalling treatment? The honourable gentleman looks back --

:40:28. > :40:33.if you looks back to the Autumn Statement, he will see there was ?13

:40:34. > :40:38.billion reserved for Northern England, and I could list some of

:40:39. > :40:43.the projects, improvements to Manchester Airport, 300 million for

:40:44. > :40:46.the time Wear Metro, benefiting northern cities and regions

:40:47. > :40:53.directly. In his question to me, he also ignored the fact that

:40:54. > :40:59.investment in London can bring direct benefit to centres outside

:41:00. > :41:03.the London -- outside London. Crossrail trains are being built in

:41:04. > :41:08.Derby and providing jobs there. Components for London buses are made

:41:09. > :41:17.in Falkirk and Ballymena. All parts of the United Kingdom are benefiting

:41:18. > :41:25.from this programme. On a similar point, can we have a statement on

:41:26. > :41:30.the procurement of type 26 frigates? The best shipbuilders in the world

:41:31. > :41:37.have waited now for two years for work to start on these frigates, and

:41:38. > :41:41.that the minimum, if we are not to receive a statement, to team sure

:41:42. > :41:51.the Ministry of Defence could write to me with an update? As I think I

:41:52. > :41:55.have said this dispatch box before, the government hopes that steel

:41:56. > :42:02.cutting can begin on that programme as soon as possible, and he will

:42:03. > :42:06.know that the two biggest warships ever built for the Royal Navy are

:42:07. > :42:12.being constructed in Scotland as we speak. Following the official

:42:13. > :42:18.opening of the power station in my constituency last month, attended by

:42:19. > :42:20.the Minister for South Herefordshire, a number of

:42:21. > :42:26.north-west businesses remain unpaid following the liquidation of the

:42:27. > :42:34.project contractor by its massive Spanish parent. It is disgraceful

:42:35. > :42:39.that our local businesses should lose out on major infrastructure

:42:40. > :42:43.projects that is contributing to our national energy security. With the

:42:44. > :42:47.leader arrange an urgent statement next week on a report made available

:42:48. > :42:51.to these businesses during the period of dissolution.

:42:52. > :42:58.It's clearly important, particularly for small businesses, that they are

:42:59. > :43:01.paid in full and on time within the terms of their respective contracts.

:43:02. > :43:08.As the honourable lady will know, if there is a liquidation involved,

:43:09. > :43:12.then a particular legal regime does kick in. If she would like to let me

:43:13. > :43:18.have some details, I will send those on directly to the energy minister.

:43:19. > :43:22.In the remaining days that we have of this parliament, can we please

:43:23. > :43:26.have a debate about the Northern Powerhouse? Particularly because

:43:27. > :43:30.London gets ten times as much per head of population to spend on

:43:31. > :43:35.transport than Yorkshire and the Humber. Schools in my patch of

:43:36. > :43:40.facing cuts of up to ?400 per pupil. The NHS, under the sustainability

:43:41. > :43:45.and transformation plan, are said to see cuts of 328 million. The council

:43:46. > :43:48.budget has been slashed by 50% and we have the lowest number of police

:43:49. > :43:53.officers since the 1970s in Humberside. So can we please have a

:43:54. > :44:02.debate about what the your Mac to lead Tories have against Yorkshire

:44:03. > :44:09.and Hull in particular? Is she looks at the record, she will see large

:44:10. > :44:15.sums of money and that money mentioned in the Autumn Statement

:44:16. > :44:20.being used in Yorkshire, the Humber and northern England and she will

:44:21. > :44:23.see that more than 60% of the increase in private sector

:44:24. > :44:28.employment since the 2010 general election has been in parts of the

:44:29. > :44:36.United Kingdom outside London and the south-east, so I think if she

:44:37. > :44:39.looks at the record, she will say that Yorkshire and Humberside are

:44:40. > :44:44.benefiting from the sound economic policies the Government are

:44:45. > :44:49.pursuing. Yesterday, the Prime Minister said she would be out there

:44:50. > :44:53.campaigning in every part of the United Kingdom in the coming

:44:54. > :44:56.election. Can I help police suggest she visits the Stirling

:44:57. > :44:59.constituency, where the presence of a hard Brexit, hard right,

:45:00. > :45:05.pro-restorative touristy Prime Minister will do nothing but good to

:45:06. > :45:09.determine winning the SNP campaign. I know my right honourable friend

:45:10. > :45:18.the Prime Minister is looking forward with relish to coming to

:45:19. > :45:24.Scotland and making the positive case for a Conservative Government

:45:25. > :45:27.and also pointing out that after ten years of SNP stewardship, we see a

:45:28. > :45:34.decline in the national Health Service in Scotland and standards in

:45:35. > :45:44.Scottish schools overtaken by those in England, in Wales, in Poland and

:45:45. > :45:51.in Stonier. -- in Estonia. I am proud to be part of a final

:45:52. > :45:53.Caledonian flush in this last business questions although

:45:54. > :46:01.hopefully on Sunday, it will be more of a Caledonian flash and all of you

:46:02. > :46:04.are in a sprint to the election, but some of us have a marathon to run

:46:05. > :46:09.and I wish the other 30 members of the House of Commons well in their

:46:10. > :46:13.endeavours. It is in one of those occasions where politics aside, we

:46:14. > :46:16.stand together and run together for those local charities first and

:46:17. > :46:20.foremost as members of Parliament, we are there to stand up for our

:46:21. > :46:28.local charities and organisations. I will be representing money in --

:46:29. > :46:34.raising money for Jack Truman, who died from a rare form of cancer in

:46:35. > :46:45.2015, his mother and family do a huge amount of work in our community

:46:46. > :46:54.and Michelle Henderson, who was in the year below me at school and died

:46:55. > :46:57.and it will be a proud moment for me running those grid that marathon and

:46:58. > :47:04.I wish all of those well who are also running it. I reared charade

:47:05. > :47:07.the wishes I gave to those earlier to those running in a marathon and

:47:08. > :47:15.salute the work of the charity she is supporting. Many of my

:47:16. > :47:21.constituents will be affected by recent changes to welfare policy

:47:22. > :47:24.brought about by this Government. Considering we will soon be left

:47:25. > :47:29.without a member of Parliament for over a month due to purdah, will the

:47:30. > :47:32.Leader of the House make provision for urgent business next week to

:47:33. > :47:39.reverse these iniquitous changes until after the general election?

:47:40. > :47:45.No, Mr Speaker, the changes to welfare policies that the Government

:47:46. > :47:48.has brought in have contributed towards a significant growth in

:47:49. > :47:54.employment, which is at record levels in this country, including a

:47:55. > :48:00.big increase in the number of disabled people who are now in work

:48:01. > :48:04.and gaining the dignity, the self-respect, that they want to have

:48:05. > :48:10.through participating in the Labour market, while at the same time, we

:48:11. > :48:13.have increased and protected those benefits that are received by the

:48:14. > :48:23.most disabled people in the United Kingdom. Can I thirsty echo the

:48:24. > :48:27.comments the backbench business committee and as for some clarity

:48:28. > :48:30.about whether or not there will be debates in Westminster Hall next

:48:31. > :48:34.Thursday and your business will be carried over? He said a few moments

:48:35. > :48:38.ago that we are elected with an equal mandate. Even Margaret

:48:39. > :48:42.Thatcher recognise that the return of a majority of SNP MPs from

:48:43. > :48:45.Scotland would be a mandate to take forward our policies on independence

:48:46. > :48:49.and yet the current Prime Minister doesn't seem to respect the mandate

:48:50. > :48:52.of the Scottish Parliament to give Scotland a choice, so could we

:48:53. > :49:02.perhaps have a debate on which Prime Minister was right? I think that the

:49:03. > :49:08.mandate that was given by the people of Scotland in 2014 was that

:49:09. > :49:11.Scotland should remain in the United Kingdom. I wish the honourable

:49:12. > :49:21.gentleman and his party would respect that. Mr Speaker, our

:49:22. > :49:28.families sacrificed a lot for all of us to be in this House and over this

:49:29. > :49:31.parliament, the family of Jo Cox gave the ultimate sacrifice. I know

:49:32. > :49:34.personally that I couldn't undertake this role without the love and

:49:35. > :49:39.support of my husband John and also my family and I'm sure that is the

:49:40. > :49:44.same for every member of this House with families, partners and spouses.

:49:45. > :49:47.On the 27th of March this year, the Prime Minister stated to the staff

:49:48. > :49:53.of the International development team in a school bride "Because of

:49:54. > :49:59.what you do every day, the United Kingdom and the values at its heart

:50:00. > :50:02.is one of the greatest forces for good in the world today." Put the

:50:03. > :50:06.Leader of the House intimate if they will be having a debate after the

:50:07. > :50:12.general election in this House to ensure that this Government and any

:50:13. > :50:16.future Government retain its commitment to 057% of GDP on

:50:17. > :50:24.international aid and do not push it into budget headings of other

:50:25. > :50:28.departments. The honourable gentleman knows that the 0.7% is

:50:29. > :50:33.coveted by the OECD's definition of overseas development expenditure,

:50:34. > :50:39.which is not confined purely to expenditure programmes controlled by

:50:40. > :50:43.the Department for International development, but to Government

:50:44. > :50:52.spending that meet those criteria. What I can assure him of is that

:50:53. > :50:57.there will continue to be, if is re-elected, a strong United Kingdom

:50:58. > :51:01.commitment to an active and generous fallacy of international

:51:02. > :51:06.development, because it is right that we continue to help the

:51:07. > :51:14.poorest, most vulnerable people in the world and Wright also that we

:51:15. > :51:20.contribute also towards better governance and the long-term

:51:21. > :51:25.stability of countries that are at risk, because that helps us to

:51:26. > :51:28.tackle some of the broader international problems that we in

:51:29. > :51:37.the United Kingdom and our European neighbours face. To follow an answer

:51:38. > :51:43.to Arthur Scargill, Mr Speaker, with a bit of Glasgow fitness, no less.

:51:44. > :51:47.It has been two years since getting elected this parliament and I have

:51:48. > :51:52.to say at the start of it, I didn't think that two using, we would have

:51:53. > :51:56.left the European Union, I would be on my second Prime Minister and

:51:57. > :52:00.hopefully in a few weeks, my third Government but they say a week is a

:52:01. > :52:03.long time in politics. All of the time he has been Leader of the

:52:04. > :52:08.House, I have asked about many issues before the last six months, I

:52:09. > :52:12.have consistently raise the issue of job centre closures in Glasgow.

:52:13. > :52:17.Given what he has said two other colleagues on other announcements,

:52:18. > :52:21.would I be right in thinking he expects Glaswegians to go to the

:52:22. > :52:27.pool is not -- the poll not knowing which job centres his Government

:52:28. > :52:31.intends to close? I see that he is wishing for a change in Government

:52:32. > :52:36.and confirms that his party wishes to prop up the Right Honourable

:52:37. > :52:42.member for Islington North as a leader of a putative coalition or

:52:43. > :52:50.minority Government, and it is good to have that confirmation on the

:52:51. > :52:56.record. On the point he makes on the provision of job centres in Glasgow,

:52:57. > :53:03.as he has heard me say before, Glasgow had a greater concentration

:53:04. > :53:08.of offices, of job centres, than any other major city in Scotland, what

:53:09. > :53:14.we have seen is a proposal from the DWP to rationalise the estate in

:53:15. > :53:20.Glasgow, so that his constituents and others in Glasgow can have a

:53:21. > :53:26.better quality service in future, because all of the expert staff who

:53:27. > :53:28.are needed will be concentrated on a smaller number of locations, but

:53:29. > :53:42.which will be fully accessible to his constituents. Point of order, Mr

:53:43. > :53:45.Martin Doherty huge. During the urgent question, my honourable

:53:46. > :53:51.friend for Glasgow South intimated that I may represent my hometown the

:53:52. > :53:58.great borough of Clydebank. I am sure you will be very well aware, Mr

:53:59. > :54:02.Speaker that I not only represent my hometown of Clydebank but also the

:54:03. > :54:08.ancient borough of Dumbarton and, of course, the mighty veil of Lieven,

:54:09. > :54:11.and I'm delighted to say I will be standing for reselection and hopeful

:54:12. > :54:13.re-election as a member of Parliament for the greatest

:54:14. > :54:24.constituency in this House, West Dunbartonshire. Well, lest any of us

:54:25. > :54:34.were unaware of the sheer extent of the honourable gentleman's reach,

:54:35. > :54:39.whether physical or metaphorical, such concerns have been

:54:40. > :54:45.comprehensively laid by his, and I use this term non-pejorative

:54:46. > :54:51.opportunistic attempt to raise a bogus point of order. We are

:54:52. > :54:58.grateful to the honourable gentleman, very reassuring to know

:54:59. > :55:02.that is unrelated. Breaking with all convention, this actually I think is

:55:03. > :55:06.a point of order. The crux of my question to the Leader of the House

:55:07. > :55:10.was concerning Government announcement on purdah and I have no

:55:11. > :55:13.idea whether or not there will be an announcement on which job centres

:55:14. > :55:17.they intend to close. Could you advise me, is there anything to stop

:55:18. > :55:23.the Government making that announcement between now and the

:55:24. > :55:30.dissolution of Parliament? No. Point of order, Dawn Butler. Mr Speaker, I

:55:31. > :55:36.think your guidance on the Prime Minister's statement yesterday to

:55:37. > :55:40.the House, she said leaving the election to 2020 would mean we would

:55:41. > :55:44.be coming to the most sensitive and critical part of negotiations in the

:55:45. > :55:49.run-up to the general election and that would be in overly's interest.

:55:50. > :55:54.If we had stuck to the fixed parliament, the general election

:55:55. > :55:57.would have been in 2027 it therefore, the negotiations wouldn't

:55:58. > :56:01.have been in the run-up to the election, they would be finished.

:56:02. > :56:05.Does the Prime Minister knew to explain to the House whether her

:56:06. > :56:13.plans for negotiating our exit from the EU will go beyond two years, as

:56:14. > :56:21.promised in the House? I think there is a degree of linguistic license

:56:22. > :56:29.available to learn sometimes deployed by members in all parts of

:56:30. > :56:32.the House and that includes people who sit on the Treasury parents and

:56:33. > :56:40.people who sit on the opposition front bench. I think if Prime

:56:41. > :56:46.Minister felt the need to clarify her remarks and anyway, she do so,

:56:47. > :56:50.but I have no sense that she feels any such need and I hope the

:56:51. > :56:54.honourable lady will understand if I say I don't think it is a matter

:56:55. > :57:02.into which it will be proper for me to intrude, as it is a substantially

:57:03. > :57:06.a matter of interpretation and debate and the honourable lady, with

:57:07. > :57:16.some skill, has used her opportunity to flag her concern. It is on the

:57:17. > :57:18.record, and I know how persistent a terrier, she is, so if she is

:57:19. > :57:23.dissatisfied, doubtless, she will pursue the matter. If there are no

:57:24. > :57:29.further points of order, thank you. We now come to the first select

:57:30. > :57:33.committee statement. In a moment, I shall call the chair of the public

:57:34. > :57:38.administration and Constitutional affairs select committee. Mr Bernard

:57:39. > :57:42.Jenkin will speak on his subject for up to ten minutes, during which no

:57:43. > :57:47.interventions may be taken. At the conclusion of his statement, I will

:57:48. > :57:52.call members to put questions on the subject of the statement and to do

:57:53. > :57:58.so briefly and call Mr Jenkin briefly to respond to these in turn.

:57:59. > :58:03.Members can expect to be called only once. I reiterate, interventions

:58:04. > :58:05.should be questions and should be brief. The front bench may take part

:58:06. > :58:17.in questioning. Thank you, Mr Speaker. I am grateful

:58:18. > :58:35.for having the time to present the tough

:58:36. > :58:38.report of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee

:58:39. > :58:41.in this session, entitled Lessons Learned From The Eu Referendum,

:58:42. > :58:43.still topical in so many ways. We are producing so many reports in the

:58:44. > :58:45.fag end of this Parliament, Mr Speaker, including a report about

:58:46. > :58:49.advisory business appointments on Monday. The referendum on our vote

:58:50. > :58:55.to leave the EU, and a vote to leave by a margin of 52 to 48% represents

:58:56. > :59:01.one of the most momentous events in our politics for decades. It has had

:59:02. > :59:03.and will continue to have four far-reaching consequences and it

:59:04. > :59:09.will shape the destiny of our country. Our report six to draw some

:59:10. > :59:11.important lessons to be learned from the EU referendum in relation to the

:59:12. > :59:15.purpose of referendums and how they should become ducted. This report

:59:16. > :59:20.does on the work of our predecessor committee. The Public Administration

:59:21. > :59:22.and Constitutional Affairs Committee report on the Scottish independence

:59:23. > :59:26.referendum was published in the last Parliament. We hope that both

:59:27. > :59:31.reports will be required as required reading for anyone planning a major

:59:32. > :59:35.referendum in the future. We argue that referendums are appropriate for

:59:36. > :59:37.resolving questions of key constitutional importance that

:59:38. > :59:42.cannot be resolved through the usual medium of party politics. However,

:59:43. > :59:47.it also argues that referendums are less satisfactory in the case of

:59:48. > :59:51.what might be called a bluff call referendum, when, as last June, the

:59:52. > :59:55.referendum is used by the Government to try to close down an unwelcome

:59:56. > :59:59.debate. Future parliaments and governments must consider the

:00:00. > :00:04.potential consequences of promising referendums as me when as a result

:00:05. > :00:09.they may be expected to implement an outcome that they opposed the. On

:00:10. > :00:14.the kind of questions referendums are suited to, it argues that

:00:15. > :00:16.referendums should be omitted to matters of fundamental

:00:17. > :00:20.constitutional importance in some way which lend themselves to binary

:00:21. > :00:24.questions, and where the consequences of both possible

:00:25. > :00:27.outcomes are clear. This is because referendums creates a tension in our

:00:28. > :00:33.Parliamentary system of government. Though we are getting used to direct

:00:34. > :00:39.democracy, it is in contrast with our constitutional traditions and

:00:40. > :00:42.culture of representative democracy. Direct democracy, as we have just

:00:43. > :00:46.learned, can be a shock to the system, particularly when most of

:00:47. > :00:50.the elected representatives disagree with the result. The forthcoming

:00:51. > :00:54.general election is all the more necessary because it will heal this

:00:55. > :00:57.rift and translate the direct mandate from the EU referendum into

:00:58. > :01:02.a new, representative mandate for a new government and new Parliament.

:01:03. > :01:06.But that's the point of a referendum. It is a new way of

:01:07. > :01:14.challenging entrenched opinion, just as the corn laws overturned

:01:15. > :01:18.agricultural protection or other issues relating to suffrage

:01:19. > :01:21.challenged the establishment in previous centuries, today, people

:01:22. > :01:25.are educated and have direct access to the information, so voters are

:01:26. > :01:30.more capable of deciding individual questions for themselves and less

:01:31. > :01:36.willing to accept wisdom handed down from on high. Pacac also considered

:01:37. > :01:41.the conduct and delivery of referendums in the future. It found

:01:42. > :01:44.that government fears that the purdah restrictions under section

:01:45. > :01:50.125 of the referendums that would impair the conduct of government,

:01:51. > :01:55.but these fears proved groundless. Pacac recommends that these

:01:56. > :01:58.restrictions, which are vital for the conduct of referendums, should

:01:59. > :02:02.be extended to cover the full ten weeks of a referendum period as

:02:03. > :02:05.reverent recommended by the Electoral Commission. It is

:02:06. > :02:10.testament to the select committees that we succeeded in persuading the

:02:11. > :02:13.House of Commons to prevent the Government from altering the purdah

:02:14. > :02:18.rules in advance of the referendum. These rules should also be up dated

:02:19. > :02:22.to reflect the digital age. We support the Law Commission's

:02:23. > :02:27.proposals to consolidate the law relating to referendums. In relation

:02:28. > :02:31.to the administration of the referendum, the evidence gathered

:02:32. > :02:34.during Pacac's inquiry suggests that while not without some faults, the

:02:35. > :02:38.EU referendum was on the whole run well. It commends the Electoral

:02:39. > :02:43.Commission for the successful delivery of the referendum which was

:02:44. > :02:46.of an enormous scale and complexity. During the EU referendum, one of the

:02:47. > :02:49.most significant problems was the collapse of the voter registration

:02:50. > :02:52.website just hours before the registration deadline on the 7th of

:02:53. > :02:59.June. This collapse was attributed by the Government to, and I quote,

:03:00. > :03:04.unprecedented demand. There were over 500,000 online applications

:03:05. > :03:09.recorded on the 7th of June alone. According to the Electoral

:03:10. > :03:13.Commission, the problems which led to the website's crash were

:03:14. > :03:16.aggregated by a large number of duplicate applications with 38% of

:03:17. > :03:20.applications being made during the campaign being duplicate

:03:21. > :03:22.applications. There was no way of checking online whether you were

:03:23. > :03:27.making a duplicate application or not. Pacac supports the Electoral

:03:28. > :03:30.Commission's recommendation that the Government should develop an online

:03:31. > :03:35.service to enable people to check whether they are already correctly

:03:36. > :03:37.registered to vote, as this would be invaluable in preventing the website

:03:38. > :03:43.from collapsing again in future. Such websites should be better

:03:44. > :03:47.tested for resilience. The media gave a lot of attention to the

:03:48. > :03:50.possibility that the collapse of the website was caused by a cyber

:03:51. > :03:56.attack. Whether or not this can be proved is not the point. It is

:03:57. > :03:59.important to be aware of the potential for foreign interference

:04:00. > :04:02.in referendums and elections, the responsibility for which has

:04:03. > :04:06.actually been claimed by some countries in the attacks experienced

:04:07. > :04:09.by others. Back and machinery for monitoring cyber security in respect

:04:10. > :04:13.of elections and referendums should be established. Lessons with regards

:04:14. > :04:17.to the protection and resilience of IT systems against possible foreign

:04:18. > :04:24.interference must also extend beyond the technical. Our understanding of

:04:25. > :04:29.cyber is predominantly technical and computer network -based. But Russia

:04:30. > :04:32.and China use a cognitive approach, based on understanding mass

:04:33. > :04:35.psychology of how to exploit individuals. I will be outlining my

:04:36. > :04:41.capacity as Chair of Pacac to raise the issue of cyber security in the

:04:42. > :04:46.EU referendum and to ask if they will be following up on Pacac's

:04:47. > :04:49.concerns. I am encouraged by reports that the national cyber security

:04:50. > :04:51.centre will be advising the political parties on this matter in

:04:52. > :04:54.the forthcoming general election. We also looked at the role of the civil

:04:55. > :04:59.service during referendum. We service during referendum. We

:05:00. > :05:01.expressed concern that the manner of some government reports,

:05:02. > :05:12.particularly those from the Treasury and government...

:05:13. > :05:20.Pacac reiterates the recommendation made by its predecessor committee

:05:21. > :05:24.that there should be a in the civil service code to clarify the role and

:05:25. > :05:28.conduct of civil servants during referendums. At the moment, no

:05:29. > :05:32.reference to referendums is made in the civil service code at all.

:05:33. > :05:35.Finally, we looked at the degree of contingency planning carried out in

:05:36. > :05:40.the case of the EU referendum. In the run-up to the 1975 referendum,

:05:41. > :05:44.Whitehall prepared for a possible UK exit vote from the Common Market

:05:45. > :05:49.with, quotes, a fairly intensive programme of contingency planning,

:05:50. > :05:53.according to contemporary accounts. In contrast, in the run-up to the EU

:05:54. > :05:58.referendum last June, we were alarmed to learn that the

:05:59. > :06:01.Government's official position was that there would be no contingency

:06:02. > :06:06.planning. The only exception was planning within the Treasury to

:06:07. > :06:10.anticipate the impact of a Leave vote on financial civility. Pacac

:06:11. > :06:14.was relieved to learn that work was undertaken within the civil service

:06:15. > :06:20.on potential applications of a Leave vote, albeit without the knowledge

:06:21. > :06:24.of ministers, despite the ministers' express its instructions, they had a

:06:25. > :06:27.secret awayday. Civil servants should never have been asked to

:06:28. > :06:30.operate in a climate where contingency planning was officially

:06:31. > :06:33.banned. And the Government should not have shirked its constitutional

:06:34. > :06:37.and public obligation to prepare for both possible outcomes. Pacac

:06:38. > :06:43.recommend that in the event of future referendums, civil servants

:06:44. > :06:46.should be tasked with preparing for both eventualities, as they do with

:06:47. > :06:49.general elections. It is essential that referendums are well-run,

:06:50. > :06:54.conducted fairly and command public trust. Pacac hopes therefore the

:06:55. > :06:57.Government takes heed of our recommendations so that the country

:06:58. > :07:02.is ready for any further referendums in the future. Mr Speaker, I take

:07:03. > :07:05.this opportunity to thank the House, but more particularly my committee

:07:06. > :07:15.and its dedicated staff for the privilege of serving as Chair of

:07:16. > :07:18.Pacac in this Parliament. Thank you. Thank you for the Fenners you have

:07:19. > :07:25.always shown to me in this Parliament. The report is very

:07:26. > :07:29.clear, the referendum was called to call the bluff of the Brexiteers,

:07:30. > :07:34.the civil service neutrality was clearly jeopardised, and there had

:07:35. > :07:38.been no operation for the possible Iturbe Leave vote. Isn't it obvious

:07:39. > :07:43.that the referendum was held not in the national interest but in the

:07:44. > :07:47.governing parties infests? And now, with 30 of their MPs under

:07:48. > :07:53.investigation, we are having an election instead of focusing on the

:07:54. > :08:00.outcome of the referendum. In paragraphs 102, three and four, this

:08:01. > :08:07.is what should concern the country. Either in referendums or in

:08:08. > :08:11.elections, here is my question to are our systems strong enough at the

:08:12. > :08:15.time of a snap general election, in the event of a possible concerted

:08:16. > :08:20.cyber attack which he has referred to, either by a foreign power or

:08:21. > :08:23.from some other source, that even at this late stage, does he think there

:08:24. > :08:28.is anything that we can do to strengthen our system's resilience?

:08:29. > :08:32.I am grateful for his question. I won't tangle with all of the things

:08:33. > :08:35.he has raised the, but on this particular question, we have a

:08:36. > :08:42.pretty resilient system. The fact that most of the votes cast, the

:08:43. > :08:46.vast majority, are pencils on bits of paper, physically counted, means

:08:47. > :08:50.that basically it is an impossible system to hack. What we need to be

:08:51. > :08:57.aware of is the vulnerability of electoral registers, of systems...

:08:58. > :09:01.Again, the dispersal of our electoral register amongst different

:09:02. > :09:06.electoral authorities is another source of its resilience. There is

:09:07. > :09:11.not one system to hack. But I think we need to be aware of what certain

:09:12. > :09:16.countries might want to be seen to be doing, or seem to be attempting,

:09:17. > :09:19.in order to influence the result, or to be thought to be influencing the

:09:20. > :09:25.results. I don't think any country has influenced the result of the

:09:26. > :09:28.Leave vote in the EU referendum, I don't think the result in any

:09:29. > :09:35.election in any major country would have been altered. But we need to

:09:36. > :09:40.understand why they're doing this, and what psychologically they're

:09:41. > :09:44.trying to create, as an effect, by attempting these things. And we need

:09:45. > :09:50.to be alert to the vulnerable to have our systems. Can I congratulate

:09:51. > :09:58.my honourable for and his committee on a very comprehensive report

:09:59. > :10:03.which? I agree on the issue of cyber activity. Does he agree with me that

:10:04. > :10:08.we do need is a matter of urgency much better in place on cyber

:10:09. > :10:13.activity, not just the referendums but for elections generally? Yes, I

:10:14. > :10:19.do. And we make a specific recommendation, that there should be

:10:20. > :10:24.a new body established to monitor cyber activity in relation to

:10:25. > :10:28.referendums and elections. But I do emphasise, I think we are in a much

:10:29. > :10:31.stronger position than people in countries that have electronic

:10:32. > :10:38.voting on a single population registers. I have confidence in our

:10:39. > :10:51.system, though I think we need to be more alert in order to maintain

:10:52. > :10:56.public confidence. The members' committee has had plenty to say. I

:10:57. > :11:00.think there should be careful and restrained use of the machinery of

:11:01. > :11:07.government, that was the most important section, I thought. Can I

:11:08. > :11:13.ask the honourable member if he would join me in encouraging the UK

:11:14. > :11:17.Government to trust devolved administrations and allow them to

:11:18. > :11:22.organise and run their referendums without external interference from

:11:23. > :11:28.This Place? It is a fact, and I make no comment on it as an impartial

:11:29. > :11:30.chairman of my committee, that referendums are constitutional

:11:31. > :11:33.matters and therefore reserved to the United Kingdom Parliament. The

:11:34. > :11:39.only other point I would make is that I recognise there is some

:11:40. > :11:44.demand for a new referendum in Scotland. But even the Good Friday

:11:45. > :11:47.Agreement says there shouldn't be a referendum more than once every

:11:48. > :11:52.seven years. And I think there needs to be a respectable interval between

:11:53. > :11:56.referendums, otherwise they just become meaningless. I mean, how many

:11:57. > :11:59.referendums have we seen around the European Union where they just call

:12:00. > :12:03.another one when they get the wrong result? I don't put the SNP in that

:12:04. > :12:10.category, but calling referendums too often is actually a contempt for

:12:11. > :12:17.democracy. Was there any discussion in the committee about the franchise

:12:18. > :12:21.for the referendum? If 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds have been able to

:12:22. > :12:24.vote, we might have had a very different result. They will be

:12:25. > :12:27.allowed to vote in the Scottish council elections in two weeks'

:12:28. > :12:31.time, and they will be no denied a vote in the UK general election

:12:32. > :12:34.about four weeks after that. Would it not be appropriate that we had

:12:35. > :12:42.some kind of consistency regarding the franchise as soon as possible?

:12:43. > :12:49.These are subjective judgments made by different bodies in different

:12:50. > :12:54.parts of the constitution, the franchise is a devolved matter,

:12:55. > :12:59.matter for the Scottish Parliament. Personally I favour maintaining the

:13:00. > :13:06.status quo in the United Kingdom. Does he not agree our system is more

:13:07. > :13:11.vulnerable to invisible manipulation, and corruption, than

:13:12. > :13:16.any time since 1880, the great weakness in this report, is that it

:13:17. > :13:24.ignores the evidence provided principally by the journalist Carol

:13:25. > :13:26.cad wall deof the use of botnets of artificial intelligence, in

:13:27. > :13:31.algorithms to influence million of voters. Evidence is there from the

:13:32. > :13:36.United States, from this country, the systems are being used that we

:13:37. > :13:41.don't understand, that are under-the-counter, where they seek

:13:42. > :13:45.to trawl through websites to get information, and then subtly

:13:46. > :13:50.influence the voters, we are trying to deal with a system tomorrow's

:13:51. > :13:56.system, tomorrow's high technology with regulations that are long

:13:57. > :14:01.out-of-date, and isn't it likely, that in this coming election, there

:14:02. > :14:06.will be more manipulation. Manipulation. There could well be

:14:07. > :14:11.cyber attack, if we can't trust the results because what is happening

:14:12. > :14:16.under-the-counter and the Electoral Commission have no tools to deal

:14:17. > :14:19.with it in the way Shea should. We shouldn't have a general election

:14:20. > :14:23.without finding out the truth in the manipulation that has taken place

:14:24. > :14:29.here n the United States and possibly other countries we don't

:14:30. > :14:33.know about and we haven't heard from GCHQ, we should have done. They

:14:34. > :14:36.reported from America where there was cyber attack and manipulation,

:14:37. > :14:43.it could have hered here and we don't know because we haven't asked.

:14:44. > :14:49.With respect, I have asked, and I feel I have been rather brushed off

:14:50. > :14:55.by ministers on this question. Maybe on the advice officials who are

:14:56. > :15:00.perhaps not a familiar with the technicalities the and algorithm and

:15:01. > :15:05.the approach taken by some countries with which we have made ourself

:15:06. > :15:09.familiar. I am grateful to the honourable gentleman's contributions

:15:10. > :15:16.to the committee. I think he is our longest serving member but I don't

:15:17. > :15:23.agree I think personally this threatens the credibility of our

:15:24. > :15:25.elections, in 1880 I think one of my predecessors in north Essex

:15:26. > :15:31.conducted his election with his wife walking behind him down the high

:15:32. > :15:39.street, handing out gold sovereigns, we have come a long way since then

:15:40. > :15:45.but we need Tor to be alert to the things that he draws attention to,

:15:46. > :15:51.and we heed to be ever more alert, to the fake news that appears on the

:15:52. > :15:55.internext that is designed to manipulate people's expectations. I

:15:56. > :15:58.pay tribute to the right honourable gentleman and the work of the

:15:59. > :16:04.committee, I was proud to be a member of the predecessor committee

:16:05. > :16:08.in the former Parliament. Perhaps, whoa knows if there are more

:16:09. > :16:15.colleagues in on these benches, maybe we will qualify for a place

:16:16. > :16:20.upon it. But I ask him, with regard to the fact that clearly the

:16:21. > :16:24.consequences of this referendum, whatever view people take were not

:16:25. > :16:30.properly considered, plans wasn't done. The legislation itself was a

:16:31. > :16:33.very shoddy and ill-considered piece of legislation. Can I ask the

:16:34. > :16:38.honourable gentleman, does he think we need to have better clarity and

:16:39. > :16:42.perhaps legislation to avoid that kind of thing on such a political

:16:43. > :16:49.referendum being organised without that planning.

:16:50. > :16:54.I think there is always an advantage this what one might call a post

:16:55. > :16:59.legislative referendum or a referendum on a proposal where there

:17:00. > :17:07.is a White Paper being produced. The devolution rev dumbs in the 1997

:17:08. > :17:13.were premised on pretty developed Government policy S one might pay

:17:14. > :17:18.tribute to the SNP and say they produced a comprehensive document.

:17:19. > :17:21.The Leave campaign produced 600 pages, but the Government had done

:17:22. > :17:25.no preparation, it is for the Government to prepare for the

:17:26. > :17:31.outcome of a referendum which can Government has initiated. I agree

:17:32. > :17:36.with my honourable friend. I miss him on the committee.

:17:37. > :17:42.We come to the second Select Committee statement, in a moment I

:17:43. > :17:46.shall ask the chair of the Justice Select Committee to rise. Mr Robert

:17:47. > :17:53.Neil will speak on his subject for up to ten minutes during which no

:17:54. > :17:57.interventions can be taken. I will calls to put questions briefly and

:17:58. > :18:07.call Mr Neil to respond briefly. Members can be expected to be called

:18:08. > :18:19.only one, interventions should be brave and may be questions.

:18:20. > :18:22.-- brief. Can I thank the backbench committee for giving me the

:18:23. > :18:29.opportunity to present this report and your kindness in calling me and

:18:30. > :18:34.the courtesy you show to me on all occasions when I inflict my words on

:18:35. > :18:39.the House. Can I say it has been a pleasure yush to work with

:18:40. > :18:43.colleagues to work on this. Like the Pacac committee we propose to issue

:18:44. > :18:48.a set of reports at the end as wash up to highlight the work we have

:18:49. > :18:53.been doing, on a number of area, but in particular, this report, touches

:18:54. > :18:56.upon a key issue in relation to the Government's prison reform programme

:18:57. > :19:04.which is that of Government empowerment. It has become apparent

:19:05. > :19:08.that the prison courts bill will be lost in dissolution of Parliament. I

:19:09. > :19:13.hope if our parties return to Government we will see that bill

:19:14. > :19:18.reintroduced a as matter of priority. It sets out broadly the

:19:19. > :19:23.right agenda and I hope it is something we will be able to take

:19:24. > :19:26.forward. But of course part of the reform programme does not require

:19:27. > :19:31.legislation, it is partly about a change of culture, it is about a

:19:32. > :19:35.change of regulations, there is much that can be done without that

:19:36. > :19:41.Princess Eugeniely legislation going forward. I hope the Government will

:19:42. > :19:46.confirm they are determined to press ahead with that. We support the idea

:19:47. > :19:50.that prison governors should have greater eau autonomy to shape the

:19:51. > :19:55.services in their prisons, we think there are a number of airsia where

:19:56. > :20:00.further information is needed and there are risks which need to be

:20:01. > :20:10.recognised, honestly and managed and mitigates. It St the first we

:20:11. > :20:14.publish under what we propose to be a wide-ranging investigation. There

:20:15. > :20:21.is no doubt that our prisons are in a difficult period at the moment. We

:20:22. > :20:26.have high levels of suicide, high levels of self-harm, drug abuse,

:20:27. > :20:29.assaults is on prisoners and staff have continued, despite the efforts

:20:30. > :20:35.of ministers and dedicated Prison Officers. It remains a problem we

:20:36. > :20:39.need to deal with. We haven't addressed safety issues in this

:20:40. > :20:44.report, though we did do so in the report on prison safety which we

:20:45. > :20:49.published last May. We note that the principle of

:20:50. > :20:54.autonomy gives real opportunities but there is no clear evidence that

:20:55. > :21:01.crater Auton #34i will lead to better outcomes. We have seen a

:21:02. > :21:06.start by the Government on the six reform and heard evidence of nose

:21:07. > :21:10.reform prisoners who are impressive in the material they gave to us.

:21:11. > :21:15.Those, the pilots in effect will not be, if you like evaluated until

:21:16. > :21:20.after the reforms had been rolled out across the estate. We think it

:21:21. > :21:27.is important we have reassurance there is an ongoing evaluation as it

:21:28. > :21:31.is taken forward and there is enough flexibility to learn lessons in

:21:32. > :21:40.temperature work as it goes forward to a just as necessary. We discuss

:21:41. > :21:48.structure changes. The Probation Service is going to be responsible

:21:49. > :21:53.for operational issues. What we need to have, I would ask the Government

:21:54. > :21:58.is more clarity round this. Policy in oppositions are not so easily

:21:59. > :22:05.separated in practise, in the prison context as might appear in theory.

:22:06. > :22:08.Poll policy decisions have #234i6 can't implication and operational

:22:09. > :22:13.knowledge should inform policy decision, one of the things we --

:22:14. > :22:17.connoisseurs is that we have had is a feeling by operational staff there

:22:18. > :22:20.is is a disconnect between their experience on the ground and the

:22:21. > :22:25.decisions taken by the senior management at the centre, the reform

:22:26. > :22:31.programme gives us an opportunity rectify that buzz it has to be

:22:32. > :22:39.recognised there is a problem to be addressed. Addressed. Governors will

:22:40. > :22:43.take on new responsibilities in phases starting at the beginning of

:22:44. > :22:47.this month. Since we are not going to be in this House for some time it

:22:48. > :22:51.is important when the House returns, that the Government we believe gives

:22:52. > :22:57.a swift update on progress that has been made in those matters. Most of

:22:58. > :23:02.the witnesses that gave evidence thought giving Connors greater

:23:03. > :23:04.powers would result in prison regimes and services better tailored

:23:05. > :23:12.to the prison population. Population. We heard that many

:23:13. > :23:17.governors do not currently have the skills to form that new function, it

:23:18. > :23:23.is important we have greater clarity as to what training they will have

:23:24. > :23:32.access to to develop those skills and how it would can kaid. Those who

:23:33. > :23:40.gave evidence were positive about their opportunities. I have been

:23:41. > :23:45.struck by the evidence of the Government of a prison. He said he

:23:46. > :23:50.had developed new initiatives to improve prisoner staff relation she

:23:51. > :23:55.ships and several govern noss said they had been able to recruit more.

:23:56. > :24:04.This could help with the recruitment problems which are well documented.

:24:05. > :24:08.We visited Wormwood Scrubs and that was starkly brought home with the

:24:09. > :24:14.recruitment problems that exist in London and the south-east. It is

:24:15. > :24:20.hard to recruit people when you in competition with jobs like loading

:24:21. > :24:26.luggage which pay more so greater flexibility in greater flexibility

:24:27. > :24:28.in the way we reward and remunerate prisoners is going to be is

:24:29. > :24:35.important in going forward. We will continue if in a position to do so,

:24:36. > :24:41.to visit prisoners to reform our work. I hope the new committee will

:24:42. > :24:47.take a priority. A priority to see how progress is being made.

:24:48. > :24:49.All governors listen held to account through performance agreemented they

:24:50. > :24:53.seed with the Secretary of State. A third of those agreements were meant

:24:54. > :24:59.to be in place at the start of this month but time of the report being

:25:00. > :25:04.accomplished the prison governors oerkt advised members not to sign

:25:05. > :25:08.and it is not cl whether any have been signed. We need to have clarity

:25:09. > :25:14.as to what the position is, as far has the is concerned. Those

:25:15. > :25:27.agreements are based round performance standards. Public

:25:28. > :25:34.protection, safety in order, reform an rehabilitation and preparing for

:25:35. > :25:38.life after prison. It is said, the Secretary of State can intervene if

:25:39. > :25:42.governors do not perform well. It is not clear what that interenvenion

:25:43. > :25:47.mean, what shape it would take, and how it would recognise the fact that

:25:48. > :25:53.that performance of prisoners as they leave prison is not something

:25:54. > :25:57.which is holy to be capable of being controlled by any one Government

:25:58. > :26:02.governor. Also that would be influenced by

:26:03. > :26:07.what happens once they have gone through the gate into rehabilitation

:26:08. > :26:11.in the community. How will that be calibrated to make sure that the

:26:12. > :26:18.journey is reflected and accountability is placed in the

:26:19. > :26:21.right place. Initially the Government announced it will publish

:26:22. > :26:27.league tables showing performance against the standards. I welcome the

:26:28. > :26:32.minister's contents we will not public league tables we will make

:26:33. > :26:37.the data available. We will not range prisons from the best to the

:26:38. > :26:43.lowest based on performance. It is about data.

:26:44. > :26:54.We think that phrase generated more hear hairs running than was Ness in

:26:55. > :26:59.the deTait. A systemic is something we are concerned is about.

:27:00. > :27:06.-- detail. At the end of the day, we welcome

:27:07. > :27:12.the fact that the Ministry is reviewing the those policies to

:27:13. > :27:17.enable... I know changes are planned for the prison regulation and the

:27:18. > :27:23.rules we hope we will have updates on some of those matters too. In the

:27:24. > :27:29.final thing was this. Witnesses emphasise that governors with the

:27:30. > :27:31.new power should work with other service providers, including

:27:32. > :27:38.Probation Service, that is something I hope will be kept under review. I

:27:39. > :27:42.was impressed with the Governor of Wandsworth having turned up to meet

:27:43. > :27:50.the November gore of his local council. I comment the report to the

:27:51. > :27:57.house, may I too Mr Speaker thank my colleagues and our staff for the

:27:58. > :28:04.support they have given any and the constructive and I think falling

:28:05. > :28:06.join the work we had done nothing. Thank you Mr Speaker, I want to pay

:28:07. > :28:24.tribute to the chair of the Select It was a committee of which I was

:28:25. > :28:29.briefly a member. Of course, these plans may not now reach fruition.

:28:30. > :28:33.This much heralded bill will fail. So, does the Chair of the committee

:28:34. > :28:35.agree with me and my Labour colleagues that rather than call an

:28:36. > :28:39.election, which the Prime Minister believes is in her interest, the

:28:40. > :28:44.Government would have been better sticking to facing the task of

:28:45. > :28:49.fixing the prisons crisis? I don't think it is an either all, but I

:28:50. > :28:51.appreciate the spirit in which the honourable gentleman always

:28:52. > :28:55.approached his work on the select committee. One of the sadnesses is

:28:56. > :28:59.that we've lost a number of members of the opposition party from the

:29:00. > :29:03.select committee as part of the reshuffle, and I welcome each of

:29:04. > :29:07.them on their promotion to the front bench and I wish them a long tenure

:29:08. > :29:11.in their current positions of! But equally, I don't think it is a

:29:12. > :29:16.problem that we have an election, I welcome it personally as a

:29:17. > :29:20.Conservative, and what I hope is that we come back with a mandate and

:29:21. > :29:23.that the Government is reconstituted swiftly, the select committee is

:29:24. > :29:27.reconstituted swiftly, and we get on with the job of prison reform. I

:29:28. > :29:31.know many members of select committees on all sides, if we

:29:32. > :29:38.return to this House, want to continue to make the case. Thank

:29:39. > :29:42.you, Mr Speaker. Would my honourable friend agree that Governor autonomy

:29:43. > :29:49.is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for prison reform? And

:29:50. > :29:53.just as an outstanding chief Constable, headteacher of hospital

:29:54. > :29:56.chief executive can make a significant difference to their

:29:57. > :30:00.institution, the sort of governors that he has talked about in

:30:01. > :30:05.Wandsworth, would he agree with me, they are a already making a huge

:30:06. > :30:09.difference? That's absolutely right. We sometimes forget in issues around

:30:10. > :30:12.safety and other matters which attract headlines that much good

:30:13. > :30:16.work is being done in prisons, and there is a great deal of allocation

:30:17. > :30:22.being shown. I think what is important is is that we have not

:30:23. > :30:25.always been consistent in the past, and that we have a management

:30:26. > :30:29.framework which enables those governors who want to push the

:30:30. > :30:33.margins to do their very best, to have the confidence that they will

:30:34. > :30:40.do so with a system, managerially and financially, which supports them

:30:41. > :30:48.in doing so. We need more detail as to how that will be put in place. As

:30:49. > :30:51.a member of the justice select committee, may I congratulate my

:30:52. > :30:54.honourable friend for his very expert guidance of our committee. It

:30:55. > :31:00.has been a very, very enjoyable piece of work that we have done

:31:01. > :31:04.together. Governor empowerment should support a number of aspects

:31:05. > :31:08.of our prisons, including prisons that are safe and secure, decent

:31:09. > :31:15.conditions. Does he agree that the evidence would suggest that very

:31:16. > :31:19.large prisons with perhaps more than 1200 prisoners, such as the

:31:20. > :31:24.Government now plans for the future, are less likely to achieve sets

:31:25. > :31:28.standards and create greater challenges and precious for

:31:29. > :31:33.governors? It's an issue which has been raised, and to be honest, there

:31:34. > :31:42.are differing views about precisely the impact of large as opposed to

:31:43. > :31:48.small units. What is clear, however, and the honourable lady's work has

:31:49. > :31:52.been immense in this area, whatever the size of the establishment, a

:31:53. > :31:55.proper relationship between staff and prisoners is absolutely

:31:56. > :31:59.critical. One of the biggest problems is the sense that there is

:32:00. > :32:04.no personal interference, and that can breed a sense of alienation, and

:32:05. > :32:09.so although I personally would not make a hard and fast rule about

:32:10. > :32:12.size, what is important is, however it is organised, it must be possible

:32:13. > :32:18.to build long-term relationships between staff and prisoners. That's

:32:19. > :32:23.why staff retention and staff morale are so important in creating the

:32:24. > :32:27.climate that enables people to be constructive in their time in prison

:32:28. > :32:34.rather than falling into perhaps some of the other diversions. I,

:32:35. > :32:38.too, want to raise the question of governor empowerment approach I had

:32:39. > :32:41.the opportunity of discussing with the governor of a prison in my

:32:42. > :32:44.constituency which I visited recently. And will he agree with me

:32:45. > :32:49.that the risk that the committee found of increased business

:32:50. > :32:52.complaints is one that the prison actually has within its own control

:32:53. > :32:57.to deal with, as indeed they are doing so at Huntingdon? Can I thank

:32:58. > :33:00.my honourable friend for his question and for his contribution to

:33:01. > :33:05.the work of the committee, which has been tireless. It is a good example

:33:06. > :33:07.of where governors are actually managing within the existing

:33:08. > :33:13.arrangements, and we need to see more of that. We shouldn't assume

:33:14. > :33:16.that everything has to be driven from the centre. What is necessary

:33:17. > :33:21.of course is that there are minimum standards are adhered to pander

:33:22. > :33:27.system which people can have confidence in. -- Huntercombe

:33:28. > :33:30.prison. Good governors can make a difference but we do need to make

:33:31. > :33:34.sure that they have the confidence to know that strong supported by the

:33:35. > :33:48.system and by the management of the service in doing precisely that.

:33:49. > :33:53.Order. Motion on Manchester... I beg to move the motion standing in my

:33:54. > :33:58.name on the order paper. Motion before the House provides for the

:33:59. > :34:02.by-election to the constituency of Manchester Gorton, which was

:34:03. > :34:05.originally set for early May, to be cancelled in the light of the

:34:06. > :34:11.decision yesterday of this House to trigger an early general election.

:34:12. > :34:14.As the House will recall, that by-election was called to elect a

:34:15. > :34:18.member to serve in the present Parliament, and since this

:34:19. > :34:23.Parliament will be dissolved before the by-election date, clearly, the

:34:24. > :34:30.go-ahead with the by-election in these circumstances would be... An

:34:31. > :34:35.election for the Manchester Gorton constituency will take place as part

:34:36. > :34:41.of the general election on Thursday the 8th of June. As I said to the

:34:42. > :34:44.House on Tuesday, there is no statutory provision for the

:34:45. > :34:50.cancellation of a by-election, although there are various

:34:51. > :34:53.precedents. It is for the acting returning officer to cancel the

:34:54. > :35:01.by-election. What the motion before the House does is to provide

:35:02. > :35:09.certainty to the returning officer by endorsing a new writ to supersede

:35:10. > :35:15.the original. The motion therefore requests you, Mr Speaker, to convey

:35:16. > :35:19.the desire of this House to issue a subsequent writ to the one issued on

:35:20. > :35:23.March the by-election. This will put beyond any doubt the authority of

:35:24. > :35:28.the acting returning officer to cancel the by-election process that

:35:29. > :35:31.is currently under way. I understand that this approach is supported by

:35:32. > :35:34.other political parties in the House, as it avoids unnecessary

:35:35. > :35:41.expense and uncertainty for the candidates involved. The question is

:35:42. > :35:46.as on the order paper. Thank you and can I thank the Leader of the House

:35:47. > :35:50.for moving that motion and agree wholeheartedly with the course of

:35:51. > :35:52.action that is being taken, it is the only course of action that can

:35:53. > :36:05.be taken, given the general election is coming up in June. I think the

:36:06. > :36:13.ayes have it, the ayes have it. Presentation of bill in the name of

:36:14. > :36:19.Secretary James Brokenshire... A simple nod will suffice. Second

:36:20. > :36:26.reading, what day? Tomorrow, thank you. We now come to the backbench

:36:27. > :36:30.motion on state pensions payable to recipients outside the United

:36:31. > :36:36.Kingdom. I call Sir Roger Gale. Thank you, Mr Speaker. As chairman

:36:37. > :36:41.of the all-party group on frozen pensions, and with cross-party

:36:42. > :36:46.support, I move the motion on the order paper on behalf of some

:36:47. > :36:49.550,000 UK citizens living in countries overseas whose pensions

:36:50. > :36:57.have been frozen at the point at which they left the United Kingdom,

:36:58. > :37:00.in some cases very many years ago. Mr Deputy Speaker, these are people

:37:01. > :37:02.who have paid taxes and national insurance contributions in Britain

:37:03. > :37:09.throughout their working lives, and who have elect to move abroad in

:37:10. > :37:16.retirement to be close to families, friends or simply through personal

:37:17. > :37:21.choice. On the basis that, as as my right honourable friend the minister

:37:22. > :37:25.said in November, entitlement to state pension is based upon a

:37:26. > :37:28.person's national insurance contributor on record, they have

:37:29. > :37:32.paid their way, and they are entitled to receive their state

:37:33. > :37:41.retirement pension, operated and in full. -- up rated. This is not, let

:37:42. > :37:45.me make this clear from the start, a matter of cost. This is a matter of

:37:46. > :37:48.moral responsibility, and it's a duty that has been shirked by

:37:49. > :37:55.successive governments of differing political persuasions disgracefully

:37:56. > :38:02.since the mid-1960s. It is past high time to recognise that injustice has

:38:03. > :38:08.taken place and to take a modest step which I shall detail shortly,

:38:09. > :38:13.to redress a wrong that has been a running sore for too long. The

:38:14. > :38:19.motion before the House call upon the Government to withdraw the

:38:20. > :38:25.social security benefits operating regulations that effectively exclude

:38:26. > :38:30.overseas pensioners from pension updating but those in which the UK

:38:31. > :38:38.has a historic, arbitrate and illogical reciprocal agreement. My

:38:39. > :38:43.honourable friend will know that there is an illustrious president

:38:44. > :38:47.for today's motion. In 1998 a similar prayer against the social

:38:48. > :38:53.benefits to begin regulations was tabled. That prayer was signed by

:38:54. > :38:58.the opposition chief whip, James Arbuthnot, now Lord Arbuthnot, by

:38:59. > :39:02.the right honourable member for Chingford and wood green, a former

:39:03. > :39:07.leader of the Conservative Party and distinguished Secretary of State

:39:08. > :39:12.work and pensions, by the then leader of the Conservative Party at

:39:13. > :39:16.that time, William Hague, now Lord Haig, by the right honourable member

:39:17. > :39:19.for Hitchen, another former Secretary of State and by the then

:39:20. > :39:24.shadow Leader of the House of Commons, Gillian Shephard, now

:39:25. > :39:28.Baroness Shepherd. So, all those years ago, the party of which I am

:39:29. > :39:32.proud to be a member recognised the need to right a wrong that has been

:39:33. > :39:36.inflicted upon those who in many cases have served their country in

:39:37. > :39:39.the Armed Forces, in the foreign service and in many other walks of

:39:40. > :39:47.life and who have collectively and severally paid their way. Mr Deputy

:39:48. > :39:52.Speaker, we are now, and I trust that we will remain, in government.

:39:53. > :39:55.And so we should have the opportunity to finally address and

:39:56. > :40:05.put the rest debt of honour that must be paid. I want to quote from a

:40:06. > :40:13.UK pensioner living in Thailand. He says... I am resident in Thailand, I

:40:14. > :40:16.retired nearly eight years ago. And my state retirement pension remains

:40:17. > :40:20.at the same level as when I left, because Thailand, unlike the

:40:21. > :40:25.Philippines, for example, is not a country where pension increases are

:40:26. > :40:28.paid. There are some points that I feel ought to be brought to the

:40:29. > :40:33.fore. Successive governments have always argued that pension increases

:40:34. > :40:38.can only be paid in countries with which the United Kingdom has

:40:39. > :40:42.reciprocal agreements, and that to extend the increases outside these

:40:43. > :40:44.arrangements would negate their ability to conclude other such

:40:45. > :40:49.agreements in the future. However, he says, that argument is utterly

:40:50. > :40:53.threadbare, given that the Government announced more than 20

:40:54. > :41:01.years ago its intention not to make any further reciprocal agreements.

:41:02. > :41:06.He goes on to say, there is a common misconception that expats pay no

:41:07. > :41:09.income tax. In the case of UK pensioners, of course, this is

:41:10. > :41:18.completely untrue. All pensioners are subject to tax and as I pay as

:41:19. > :41:21.much as I would if I was still living in... In his former home, in

:41:22. > :41:27.the United Kingdom. I will not identify him at this stage. While

:41:28. > :41:31.pensioners such as myself are paying into the UK economy, we take nothing

:41:32. > :41:35.out, so we make no demands on the NHS and social care. Even if we fall

:41:36. > :41:39.ill on a visit to the United Kingdom, we have to pay for hospital

:41:40. > :41:46.inpatient NHS treatment. Over the years, a significant number of us

:41:47. > :41:49.decide we have to return to the United Kingdom, if we did that, the

:41:50. > :41:55.extra costs would outweigh a good proportion of the saving of not

:41:56. > :41:59.paying as the increases. There's uncertainty now on the status after

:42:00. > :42:04.Brexit of pensioners living in the EU and their future to pension

:42:05. > :42:06.increases. And he says, I can't speak for anybody else, but I

:42:07. > :42:10.personally would not ask for any back payment on the increases that

:42:11. > :42:14.I've lost in the last seven and a half years. Ride just be happy to

:42:15. > :42:19.feel that in the future I'd have that little extra security of a few

:42:20. > :42:27.extra pounds to sustain me in the last year's of my life. Mr Deputy

:42:28. > :42:28.Speaker, I will return to the point referring to Brexit and a possible

:42:29. > :42:45.solution in a moment. Just over one million a fraction,

:42:46. > :42:51.live overseas. Of that number, some 650,000 have

:42:52. > :42:56.their pensioned up rated as they would in the UK, because of the

:42:57. > :43:02.reciprocal arrangements referred to. Because as Baroness Altman said if

:43:03. > :43:09.2016, a UK state pensions are payable worldwide, and that up rated

:43:10. > :43:16.only where we have a legal duty to do so very many people are denied

:43:17. > :43:22.the up rating. In is about some 551,000 are

:43:23. > :43:27.excluded from up rating, and find their pensions frozen at the point

:43:28. > :43:31.at which they moved abroad. That is in spite of those people paying

:43:32. > :43:35.throughout their working lives their taxes in the United Kingdom and

:43:36. > :43:41.taking back to what he said in taking back to what he said in

:43:42. > :43:49.November of 2016, my right honourable friend the minister made

:43:50. > :43:55.it plain pensioned are based upon National Insurance contributions.

:43:56. > :44:02.Both 551,000 people have made those contribution, so this leads to the

:44:03. > :44:07.ludicrous situation where a British pensioner lives on one pied of the

:44:08. > :44:13.Niagra Falls while another living a mile across in the United States has

:44:14. > :44:18.a pension up rated every year. Additionally some Caribbean islands

:44:19. > :44:22.enjoy up rated pensions is while other small countries do not. With

:44:23. > :44:29.unintended and perverse consequences.

:44:30. > :44:34.2 The UK representative of the Government of Montserrat wrote to me

:44:35. > :44:37.to say that a number of Montserratians living in the UK

:44:38. > :44:46.which to return to take up residence on the island. But are hindered from

:44:47. > :44:51.doing so due to the fact should they immigrate back home, to Montserrat

:44:52. > :44:56.their pensions will be frozen. She says many of them have lived,

:44:57. > :45:01.worked and paid their national contribution over the course of many

:45:02. > :45:05.years and it seems as though they are being victimised because they

:45:06. > :45:12.desire on the return to Montserrat or another territory. The

:45:13. > :45:17.representative of the Falkland islands in the United Kingdom, also

:45:18. > :45:20.wrote to say this the overseas territories have a different

:45:21. > :45:23.constitutional relationship with the United Kingdom and they are not

:45:24. > :45:27.independent Commonwealth countries so they shouldn't be treated as

:45:28. > :45:32.such. To quote from the White Paper on overseas territories the

:45:33. > :45:42.underlining constitutional structure with the UK and the territories

:45:43. > :45:50.which form an individed realm is contrary to all. It is common to all

:45:51. > :45:57.except in pension rating where is it is not commons. The The consequences

:45:58. > :46:02.can be devastating and they are illustrated by cores of

:46:03. > :46:10.communication a the Consortium of British Pensioners and the all party

:46:11. > :46:21.group of expat citizens. A spokesman for the, excuse me... A spokesman

:46:22. > :46:23.for the parity to all except in pension rating where is it is not

:46:24. > :46:26.commons. The The consequences can be devastating and they are illustrated

:46:27. > :46:28.by cores of communication a the Consortium of British Pensioners and

:46:29. > :46:30.the all party group of expat citizens. A spokesman for the,

:46:31. > :46:33.excuse me... A spokesman for the parity on poverty group says "We are

:46:34. > :46:36.trying desperately hard to undo the prement that is driving us into

:46:37. > :46:38.poverty. I can see it on the horizon for myself as one affordable items

:46:39. > :46:47.are out of reach. I dread the future for myself and my wife. A former

:46:48. > :46:53.constituency -- stilt wept of mine and a friend, -- constituent, now

:46:54. > :47:01.living in South Africa wrote to me to say... Can I say I would like to

:47:02. > :47:06.say that one could have prepared this better. We hope by the end of

:47:07. > :47:12.the debate we will have set forced in train that will lead to a curing

:47:13. > :47:22.of this injustice. We will wait with great interest.

:47:23. > :47:28.He says in his letter to me, I have been looking after my wife, since

:47:29. > :47:35.her voke and increased desell that and incontinence for over a year.

:47:36. > :47:41.Reviewing the situation with our daughter, my wife is slowly going

:47:42. > :47:48.down hill. -- am heading that too. I am worn out.

:47:49. > :47:52.To help with catering on finance, now on to meals-on-wheels four days

:47:53. > :47:58.a week. Shortly to arrange a five day or five-and-a-half daycare

:47:59. > :48:03.support. Right now our medical aid takes half our pension, and the new

:48:04. > :48:11.care plan will certainly take the other half.

:48:12. > :48:17.Our daughter looks after her finances and generously helps and

:48:18. > :48:23.former constituency, a friend, is former constituency, a friend, is

:48:24. > :48:28.now reduced to. -- constituent. And sadly, I learned literally this

:48:29. > :48:35.morning Mr Deputy Speaker, that his wife died last week.

:48:36. > :48:38.Leaving him now, not only in penry, but apart from the care and

:48:39. > :48:58.affection of his daughter, alone. From Canada, 91-year-old Bernard

:48:59. > :48:58.Jackson who has now returned to morning Mr

:48:59. > :49:01.From Canada, 91-year-old Bernard Jackson who has now returned to the

:49:02. > :49:04.United Kingdom, says "I was brought up to believe that Britain was fair

:49:05. > :49:10.country. It's a disgrace. It has to end. It's terrible to meet

:49:11. > :49:17.pensioners over here who say they have to come back to Britain because

:49:18. > :49:21.they can't manage and Joe Lewis, 0 who also lives in Canada, will be

:49:22. > :49:26.moving back to the United Kingdom and he can no longer cope with his

:49:27. > :49:31.froze enpension, after suffering a veer fall Joe is struggling to

:49:32. > :49:37.afford living and medical costs and the only way he can make ends meet

:49:38. > :49:43.is use up his savings. Joe Lewis says all I want is my full state

:49:44. > :49:52.pension which I have paid into for my entire life.

:49:53. > :49:55.Of course, here is another anomaly, any returnee, including those

:49:56. > :50:02.visiting the young UK for a couple of weeks to see family or on

:50:03. > :50:10.holiday, are Finau titled to claim for that period their full United

:50:11. > :50:17.Kingdom up rated pinion. Of course cometh another issue that will have

:50:18. > :50:23.to be address. There are 492,000 British pensioners living in the EU.

:50:24. > :50:27.They are currently protected by the Social Security provision, what will

:50:28. > :50:34.happen to their pensions when we leave the European Union? As a

:50:35. > :50:39.resident 234 France wrote to me, I have been the victim of a frozen

:50:40. > :50:44.pension for the past is a years having lived in Zimbabwe, and being

:50:45. > :50:52.forced to move to an EU country to get my pension.

:50:53. > :50:57.During his working life I continued to pay class three National

:50:58. > :51:04.Insurance crib San, it was only when I reached 65 I #r50e8 liced my

:51:05. > :51:11.payment would not be longer than ?15.

:51:12. > :51:20.Now the samic shoe is rearing its head again in the light of Brexit.

:51:21. > :51:27.Will there be 27 different agreement or one? Or will former EU pensioners

:51:28. > :51:37.find their pensions froesen. Froesen? -- frozen? Now, surely, in

:51:38. > :51:46.the light of these discussions and the light of Brexit, is the time to

:51:47. > :51:54.start to put all expat pensions on an even footing.

:51:55. > :52:00.To return to the resident in Thailand who said I wouldn't have

:52:01. > :52:08.asked for back payments, I would be happy to have that bit of security.

:52:09. > :52:15.Suck Si Governments plucking figures out of the sky have suggested up

:52:16. > :52:19.rating overseas pensions would... In fact, the proposal that the all

:52:20. > :52:24.party group is supporting, which goes nowhere near as far as some