17/07/2017 House of Commons


17/07/2017

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dealing with the queries he raised. Canny Secretary of State tell me

:00:00.:00:00.

what he will do to ensure that Bradford Council build on the

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Brownfield sites it has identified before it starts concreting over and

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building on greenfield sites in the green belt in my constituency? My

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honourable friend makes a very important point, and as we have made

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clear any Housing white paper, we expect Brownfield sites to always

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been a priority to meet our housing need, and that is what I would

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expect to see from Bradford. Is it entirely wisely minister of the

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Northern Powerhouse to come across the Pennines from his Lancashire

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constituency and tell the people of Yorkshire that they could not have

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full Yorkshire demolition? Are these decisions are best made in God 's

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own county, not in Whitehall, and not unlike a job and it's very

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different geography. As a proud Lancastrian, it is not for me nor is

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it for Government to tell Yorkshire what demolition deal it should have.

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However, I would gently point out that in 2015, Bardsley, Doncaster,

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rather and Sheffield asked for powers from Government, we gave them

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to them. They asked the new money from Government, we gave it to them.

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They also have an election next May, we gave it to them. When will the

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people of South Yorkshire learn to take yes for an answer? Kettering

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Borough Council, of which I am a member, provide specialist Housing

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advice to those in financial difficulties, to prevent

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homelessness in the first place and is working closely with local

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housing associations to bring forward a recognisable of homes for

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social rate. Isn't that exactly the right approach? I commend the work

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that Kettering Borough Council are doing, in my experience where we are

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seeing local authorities prevent homelessness, they are doing very

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much those type of things, particularly in terms of helping

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people deal with the financial challenges, things like budgeting,

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and it is certainly good here that Kettering are also bringing forward

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a significant number of affordable homes that residents can benefit

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from. Goodes we heard from the minister earlier about causing

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communities, Blackall and Horden in my constituency are also former

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coalfield communities that have suffered terminal levels of

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underinvestment says those bits where close. Under the previous Tory

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Government. Will be missed the meet with me to see what can be done? It

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isn't just for Government has bought our coastal communities, it would

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encourage all members across this House to visit the fantastic great

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British coastline. I will of course happily meet with the honourable

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member and representatives from his constituency to work out what more

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the fund can do for him. In magical constituency, they are drying up

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their local plan, however there are concerns that the Greater Manchester

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Police will override it. What assurances can he get neighbourhood

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forums that their plans will be appropriately considered? As the

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Secretary of State reiterated, we made a commitment to protecting the

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green belt in the Housing white paper, and I cannot comment

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specifically on the planet which he talks about, but I would emphasise

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the PlanMaker is the consult with the community, especially

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neighbourhood forums, and once that has been brought in force, it is

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part of the statutory development plan of an area. I will come to

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points of order, because I think there are a number today relating to

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one matter, and it seems to me to contain a degree of urgency. I will

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treat it very soon. Just before I do, I have a short statement myself

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to make. On Thursday the 13th of July, the text colleagues of the

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European Union withdrawal Bill was available through eight week, before

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the Bill was presented in the House. Points of order will raised about

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the Bill being available online for it was available to members. An

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immediate investigation was carried out. A flaw in the publishing

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process within the House of Commons service meant that the Bill text was

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inadvertently available on a live Parliamentary web server before the

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Bill was presented. A link to the text was circulated on social media,

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just before 11am. Immediate action has been taken to amend the

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publishing process, to ensure that this cannot happen again. No one

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outside the House of Commons service and there's any responsibility for

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this mistake. This was a serious incident, and I have been assured

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that the required changes have been made to strengthen the Bill

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publishing arrangements. I hope that that has -- as wages the concern of

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honourable and Right Honourable members. -- as wages. The analysis

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due to be made by the Transport Secretary today, which will affect

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millions of people. He began back his consultation with an oral

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statement last November and there had been an expectation that they

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would announce his final decisions today with an oral statement, and

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parts of the media were briefed to that effect. All the indicators are

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now that the news will be sneaked out in a written statement any time

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now. This is a gross discourtesy and add insult to injury for my

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constituents, so I would seek your advice about how we can get the

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Transport Secretary to come to the House and show some accountability

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on this issue. As others relate the same subject, I think I will take

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them or a number of them and then respond. I would seek your advice,

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today the Government has announced and been all over the airwaves, a

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?6.6 billion worth of contracts on HS two, and it would seem to me that

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when such a large amount of taxpayers money is being spent, that

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the minister should come to the House and make the statement. I

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appreciate the urgent question and statement on business, that is

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equally important, but I wonder whether you could extend the setting

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of this House and allow others to have a statement from the minister,

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because in the light of what has happened with contractors before, CH

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do them, having withdrawn from a ?70 million contract, because of a lack

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of due diligence, and conflict of interest, we need to look at these

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contractors, because one contractor has major project overruns and has

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written of millions of pounds, two contractors have pulled out of other

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public service contracts, and one is having financial problems and

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restructuring. I would seek a statement will stop a point of order

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from Angela Smith. I would add that it is not just his constituents but

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those across Yorkshire and beyond. We are impacted upon by the

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decision. Not only that, this is the latest in a long line of actions by

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the Government which are demonstrating an unwillingness to

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make itself available to the scrutiny of the people. I wonder

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what you can do to improve their situation and encourage the

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Government to stand up to do its job properly. Further to that point, or

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the order paper today, we have the high-speed rail West Midlands Bell,

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and indeed faddy would in Staffordshire is in my constituency

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which is written on the order paper. I have two farms on which there is

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going to be quarrying, it was just announced, and this was even before

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we have had first reading. I got elderly residents who are being told

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that their homes I go to be taken away from them. We have already

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heard from my right honourable friend about cost overruns. I too

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sadly think it is outrageous that this major item of public

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expenditure, which is affecting my constituents and those of many

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others, is not being reflected by a statement here today. I am saving

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the honourable gentleman, he is too precious to waste. I entirely

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support the point of order raised by my right honourable friend from

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Doncaster North. This is a major announcement affecting my

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constituency and many others. It is not then HS two recommendation, it

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is a Government decision on a previous recommendation. We can ask

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for an urgent question tomorrow, by that time they will be a public

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debate on it. This House should have the first opportunity to debate this

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matter. Many of my constituents have taken part in the consultation in

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relation to the re-routing of HS two over many months now. We do not know

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if their voices have been heard. There has been no public publication

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of the causal station. This may wreck over 100 homes are my

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constituency as many jobs in different employers, and I think it

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is outrageous that my constituents are being treated at with contempt

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by ministers were not prepared to come into the House and tell us what

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they have spent all this money on and took ontological decisions about

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this as opposed to hiding behind a written statement we think at some

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time today. As you know, because you have allocated a debate for my two

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honourable and Right honourable friend is already, and you know

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because you have heard say it and I have said and in particular, it is

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possible ?80 billion scheme which it probably will be around that figure,

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means that a lot of houses in my constituency I going to be

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demolished and rose I going to go straight through a development that

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is only just taken place, that in Derbyshire they will be a slow

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track, dawdling its weight in Sheffield, and beyond, and then a

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fast-track that goes to Meadowhall. This is a very important matter. It

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should be debated at length. Because it is going to cost the taxpayer a

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small fortune, and as you know, the Sheffield line could have

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electrification all the way to London and get to London a lot

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quicker for a lot less money. This is an outrage. That is why I raised

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the matter along with my honourable friends today.

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I am grateful for the points of order. What I say is my

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understanding is that the written ministerial statement has now been

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issued. There was speculation as to when it would be. I am advised that

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it has been. Secondly, I am not in a position to require a minister to

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come to the house today to make a statement, however, it is

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comparatively unusual for members on both sides of the house in unison to

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raise such a concern and to make to all intents and purposes and exactly

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similar request that there should be. I will come to the honourable

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gentleman. In the circumstances, the Secretary of State is bound to hear

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of these concerns within a matter of minutes and, if the right honourable

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gentleman wanted to come to the house today to make a statement, I

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would certainly be very happy to facilitate him. My last observation

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would be that I think the honourable gentleman for Sheffield South East,

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former member for Sheffield, said that an urgent question could be

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applied for tomorrow, but by then all sorts of briefing would have

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taken place. I am afraid it is not within the power of the Speaker to

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reverse time. I cannot do anything about that. I can only deal with

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this situation as it evolves. But what I would say is that if no

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statement is forthcoming from the minister it would be perfectly open

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to members to do their best to secure Parliamentary time and

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attention tomorrow and it may be that such an exploration would take

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place at some length, at some length, that it may be that faced

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with that scenario, a minister might think it prudent and judicious to

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anticipate the difficulty and to offer the statement today instead. I

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do not know, we shall have to C, but I am on the side of the house in

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wanting ministers to be accountable to it. That seems pretty clear to

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me. I beg your pardon. Further to that point of order, I am asking

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whether there has been discussion between you and the Secretary of

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State as to whether these further reports and documents, which are

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scheduled to be published today, should have been delayed until the

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Secretary of State was before the house tomorrow, if at all possible?

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No, is the short answer. There has been no such discussions and it

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would not automatically be expected that there should be, but I can

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simply say to the honourable gentleman, I have not been advised

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of any revised plans. So we will leave it there for now. Point of

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order. On the 27th of June I put a Parliamentary question to the

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government asking when they would release the report on product

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safety. I'm sure you agree that given the situation we find

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ourselves in particular after the Grenfell Tower disaster, it is

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crucial that house is kept up-to-date with progress of the

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report. I received a response and answer would be prepared and sent in

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due course. By the 12th of July to put another Parliamentary question

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for today. Can I ask you kindly to ensure the government make their

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response known as a matter of urgency? What I would say is it is

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highly undesirable for questions that have been tabled in good faith

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and orderly manner, some time before the recess, not to receive an answer

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by the time of the recess. This is not some new development articulated

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at this moment by me from the chair, it is a long established and

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respected practice that ministers to put it bluntly try to clear the

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backlog, and it is customarily expected that the Leader of the

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House would be a chaser after progress on such matters and I would

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very much hope the honourable lady will have a reply, a substantive

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reply, to her written question or questions, before this House rises

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for the summer recess. It seems a matter of proper procedure and

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courtesy from one colleague to another. Point of order. The report

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referred to, a working group was set up following a serious fire in my

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constituency. We were promised that report before Christmas last year

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and that is what we are still waiting for. If we do not get that

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this week and a clear statement from the government, we will be waiting

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in the case of my constituents and grand full until the autumn and the

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urgency cannot go on marked by the minister and anything you continue

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to assist, I would be most grateful. The honourable gentleman has

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transmitted his concerns through me to the government, which will

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quickly get to hear the honourable gentleman is on the war path on the

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matter and that might yield a positive outcome over the next 48,

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72 hours and it is up to the honourable gentleman to judge

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whether having heard or not heard anything from ministers, he wishes

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to find ways of trying to secure attention to the issue on the floor

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of the house before we rise for the summer recess. Point of order. I

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would have given notice but I thought we were doing points of

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order later. Last week after meeting with trade union representatives

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from Rolls-Royce outside Bristol, I tried to table a written question

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asking if the government was seeking to stay in the European Aviation

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Safety Agency post Brexit. My question was rejected on the grounds

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a similar question was asked in January and nothing has changed and

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that questioned said that we cannot pre-empt negotiations. I would like

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clarity today on whether and how will we know nothing has changed if

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we are not allowed to table questions, but also I have been told

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I cannot ask the question again until the end of the Brexit

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negotiations, and that seems ludicrous. It strikes me as a rum

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business and I would hope it would be possible for the honourable lady

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to receive some satisfaction. My strong advice is she should take the

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short journey from here to the table office and seek advice, because I am

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sure it will be possible to achieve a satisfactory outcome and forgive

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me making this point, again, but I do make it again, that the

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honourable lady effectively refers to being denied on grounds of

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repetition. Repetition is not a novel phenomenon in the House of

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Commons. I think we will leave it there for now. We come to the urgent

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question for which the honourable gentleman has been patiently

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waiting. Mr Tom Brake. To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and

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Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on what steps are being

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taken to intervene in the anticipated execution of 14 people

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in Saudi Arabia. Minister of State. Thank you, Mr Speaker. I thank the

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right honourable gentleman for his question. Media reporting has

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suggested 14 men could face the death penalty in Saudi Arabia for

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attending protests in an Eastern province in 2012. We are looking

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into details and reports, including seeking urgent parity with the Saudi

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authorities there and in London. I have been in contact with the

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ambassador to for Saudi Arabia who will come back with information when

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he has it. We regularly make this cover's opposition to the death

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penalty clear, we are firmly opposed, and raise concerns at all

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levels and all opportunities and they are aware of our stance over

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their human rights in this position is a matter of public record. The

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Prime Minister raise this during her visit in April this year. I thank

:20:34.:20:40.

the minister. Evidence points to Saudi Arabia taking final steps

:20:41.:20:45.

before executing up to 14 people, including at least two who were

:20:46.:20:49.

juveniles at the time of the alleged offences and convicted on the

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strength of confessions through the use of torture. Our Prime Minister

:20:55.:20:58.

has highlighted the long-term relationship with Saudi Arabia and

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has said rather than standing on the sidelines and sniping it is

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important to talk about our interests and raise difficult issues

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when we feel necessary. I am sure the Prime Minister and minister

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would agree 14 executions are such a difficult issue and I am pleased it

:21:18.:21:21.

has been raised urgently with the Saudi government. I would like to

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ask, will the minister asked the Prime Minister to call on Saudi King

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Salman and the crown prince to stop the executions, especially

:21:32.:21:39.

juveniles? From going ahead. If the executions of juveniles and others

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arrested in relation to allege protest activity go ahead, will be

:21:43.:21:48.

UK commit to freezing and reviewing any criminal justice systems that

:21:49.:21:51.

could contribute to the arrest of protesters and dissidents in Saudi

:21:52.:21:55.

Arabia and what further steps will the government take to condemn Saudi

:21:56.:21:59.

Arabia's use of the death penalty, especially in the case of people

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with disabilities, and juveniles. Mr Speaker, our Prime Minister is

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promoting the UK as a global nation, how she responds to the threat of

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summary executions by a partner and close ally will determine what kind

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of global nation she intends the United Kingdom to be, a global

:22:22.:22:28.

champion of human rights or apologist for human rights abusers.

:22:29.:22:33.

Thank you. Let me deal with some of the issues raised. In relation to

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the death penalty and death penalty in relation to juveniles, the UK

:22:41.:22:46.

Government opposes the death penalty in all circumstances and in every

:22:47.:22:49.

country including Saudi Arabia, especially for crimes other than the

:22:50.:22:54.

most serious, and the juveniles, in line with standards set out in the

:22:55.:22:59.

EU guidelines on the death penalty. And the provisions of the

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international covenant on civil and political rights and the Arab

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Charter. A law has been proposed to King Salman that codify is the age

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of majority at 18 and the death penalty should not be given to

:23:13.:23:19.

minors. The cases he raised towards the end of his remarks, are cases

:23:20.:23:23.

that have been raised specifically by the United Kingdom and in each

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case we have received assurances that minors would not be executed.

:23:28.:23:33.

In relation to the general relationship with Saudi Arabia, our

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starting point for engagement on human rights with all countries is

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based on what is practical realistic and achievable and we will always be

:23:43.:23:47.

ready to speak out as a matter of principle. Ministers discuss human

:23:48.:23:51.

rights and raise concerns with the Saudi Arabia government and we have

:23:52.:23:54.

a balanced relationship with Saudi Arabia and using gauge meant to

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encourage reform. This is a society going through a process of reform,

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heading towards fish in 2030, which the new crown prince has laid out as

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a pattern for Saudi Arabia. Women's rights of changing with the addition

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of women to the council and it is a process that does not go at our pace

:24:17.:24:22.

but at other places. We make sure human rights of a key part of every

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conversation senior colleagues have and will certainly be the case

:24:27.:24:31.

should it be necessary to intervene, should any minors be in the position

:24:32.:24:37.

described. As indicated, we have sketchy reports of this and that is

:24:38.:24:41.

why we are doing more and I will write to the right honourable

:24:42.:24:44.

gentleman when I received more detailed information so he has it

:24:45.:24:50.

available. The chair of the foreign affairs Select Committee. We have

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heard over the years the government talk about the influence it has had

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over the actions of the Saudi government in terms of capital

:25:05.:25:07.

offences. I would be grateful if the minister could give examples of how

:25:08.:25:13.

that has paid off because on days like this, it leaves questions to be

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answered. Can I congratulate my honourable friend on his election to

:25:21.:25:27.

the office of chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, it is

:25:28.:25:31.

important office, well held by his predecessor, to whom we would pay

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tribute. These are difficult job is done by colleagues at my right

:25:37.:25:40.

honourable friend did it critically well. We are pleased to see the

:25:41.:25:45.

honourable gentleman in his place. It is difficult to prove a negative.

:25:46.:25:52.

The authorities with which we deal in Saudi Arabia are not necessarily

:25:53.:25:56.

in a position to make their judicial decisions dependent on external

:25:57.:26:02.

pressure. Nor would we be in their case. We know that a number of

:26:03.:26:08.

allegations are made about possible executions of minors and then they

:26:09.:26:12.

do not happen, but whether or not it would be specifically laid at the

:26:13.:26:17.

door of any representation, we would not necessarily know. I can assure

:26:18.:26:22.

him and the house that these representations are regularly made

:26:23.:26:29.

into a changing society and judicial processes Saudi Arabia, which must

:26:30.:26:30.

be theirs are not ours. Her thanks for granting this urgent

:26:31.:26:43.

question today. I would also like to thank the honourable member for

:26:44.:26:46.

Carshalton and Warrington for bringing such an important matter to

:26:47.:26:50.

the House, and for speaking so eloquently on the subject. I am sure

:26:51.:26:55.

that all members present here today share my concern about these

:26:56.:26:59.

impending executions. Saudi Arabia is one of the world's prolific

:27:00.:27:04.

executioners and the death penalty is increasingly being used as a

:27:05.:27:09.

punishment for nonviolent acts. Indeed, in January 20 16th the Saudi

:27:10.:27:15.

authorities executed 47 men in a single day for allegedly is

:27:16.:27:19.

offences. And just last Monday, six men aware killed. It is becoming

:27:20.:27:25.

clear that these executions are being used not only has a form of

:27:26.:27:30.

draconian punishment, but as a tool to suppress political opposition. To

:27:31.:27:37.

fight sectarian religious battles against the Shia minority, and

:27:38.:27:40.

antagonise their religious rivals any process. It is just over six

:27:41.:27:47.

years since the formal Foreign Secretary William Hague declared

:27:48.:27:50.

that there would be no downgrading of human rights under this

:27:51.:27:55.

Government. Pursuing the foreign policy with a conscience, was, he

:27:56.:28:00.

argued, in our long-term and light in the national interest. It is

:28:01.:28:05.

striking how far the party opposite have strayed from this commitment.

:28:06.:28:09.

When it comes to our relationship with Saudi Arabia, it would appear

:28:10.:28:13.

that human rights concerns are now of secondary importance to trade.

:28:14.:28:20.

This Government has treated human rights as an inconvenient

:28:21.:28:22.

embarrassment, rather than a cause for serious concern. Their

:28:23.:28:28.

reluctance to champion the values of human rights, not only runs counter

:28:29.:28:33.

to who we are as a country but risks everything our international

:28:34.:28:37.

standing just when we need it most. My party's position on this matter

:28:38.:28:42.

is clear. These 14 executions including two juveniles and one

:28:43.:28:47.

disabled man, must not take place. I call upon the Government to use

:28:48.:28:51.

their influence, to stand up and human rights, and unreservedly

:28:52.:29:00.

condemn these planned executions. . The body minister response, I say

:29:01.:29:04.

this and all kindness to the honourable lady, the fluency of her

:29:05.:29:09.

delivery was unfortunately not matched by any conformity with the

:29:10.:29:12.

expected procedure for the opposing of an urgent question. I allowed her

:29:13.:29:17.

to continue, but for future reference, this is not directed only

:29:18.:29:22.

at the honourable lady but wisely, with an urgent question, what is

:29:23.:29:26.

required is a brief sentence or two, a response to what the minister has

:29:27.:29:29.

said followed by a series of questions. It is not an occasion for

:29:30.:29:34.

the setting howls of an alternative party position. It is not a debate.

:29:35.:29:41.

It maybe well have been good if the honourable lady... Ever other

:29:42.:29:48.

inappropriate way. It was very good. It may well have been, but

:29:49.:29:52.

unfortunately it was not very good at complying with the procedure. So

:29:53.:29:57.

I see it good-naturedly to the good that I honourable lady, we really

:29:58.:30:03.

must encourage compliance with the required procedure in the future. I

:30:04.:30:08.

would like the minister very briefly to respond, 30 seconds will suffice,

:30:09.:30:14.

and then we'll move on questioning. I thank the honourable lady. I got

:30:15.:30:17.

the gist of the points that you wanted to make. Saudi Arabia remains

:30:18.:30:22.

a Commonwealth office human rights priority country particular because

:30:23.:30:26.

the use of the death penalty, eight woman's right, restriction of

:30:27.:30:31.

freedom of expression, no aspect of our commercial relationship prevents

:30:32.:30:35.

ours from speaking frankly and openly to them about human rights,

:30:36.:30:39.

we will not pursue trade to the exclusion of human rights, they can

:30:40.:30:43.

be and they are complimentary. The UK will continue to adhere to that.

:30:44.:30:54.

I know the minister will is depressing have regularly the death

:30:55.:30:57.

penalty is carried out, not just in Saudi Arabia but in its nearby

:30:58.:31:00.

neighbour Iran which has also carried out dozens this year, given

:31:01.:31:06.

the small likelihood that you might persuade them to abolish it, would

:31:07.:31:10.

agree it is best to focus on getting them to adopt the most basic of

:31:11.:31:15.

standards, and not just estimating people for crimes committed whilst

:31:16.:31:19.

juveniles. I think I concur with all the points he has made, we will just

:31:20.:31:22.

leave it at that. The death penalty for the little

:31:23.:31:37.

protest is something that horrifies any Democrat, with that in mind we

:31:38.:31:42.

have serious concerns that would not the is using its powers. Can he

:31:43.:31:47.

tells that the Prime Minister has raised this issue, and he confirmed

:31:48.:31:51.

that with us, was she satisfied by the response, and if she was not,

:31:52.:31:58.

what further action is being taken? The Prime Minister will continue to

:31:59.:32:01.

raise concerns as long as the UK have them. If we want to move to a

:32:02.:32:07.

position which would satisfy all about, I suspect that Saudi Arabia

:32:08.:32:11.

has not yet in there, accordingly the primers were continue to raise

:32:12.:32:15.

concerns if you believe that is justified. Can he confirm again that

:32:16.:32:23.

the Government opposes and pop up or is the death penalty in all

:32:24.:32:26.

circumstances, and in every country including Saudi Arabia? But does he

:32:27.:32:31.

share my concern that the death penalty is enshrined in Islamic

:32:32.:32:35.

sharia law, the law of Saudi Arabia? Can he share with and with what

:32:36.:32:41.

force he is making his position known to his counterparts in Saudi

:32:42.:32:47.

Arabia? I can only repeat what I have said before. The UK's

:32:48.:32:52.

opposition to the death penalty, carrying it to buy votes in this

:32:53.:32:56.

House, and here is to international conventions, makes that very clear.

:32:57.:33:01.

But not everyone is the same. The UK cannot unilaterally change the law,

:33:02.:33:06.

but we can and will stand up for the right we believe are correct and

:33:07.:33:10.

make that clear no matter what country is involved from around the

:33:11.:33:17.

United States to Saudi Arabia. We are constantly being told by the

:33:18.:33:22.

party opposite that we share values in common with Saudi Arabia. What

:33:23.:33:29.

are they? They are not value... Concerning human rights, they are

:33:30.:33:32.

not values of international law, what are these values that we could

:33:33.:33:37.

possibly share with Saudi Arabia, when they are prepared to crucify

:33:38.:33:43.

someone and use the death penalty against minors? In response to the

:33:44.:33:48.

honourable lady asking for things which we may share in common, we

:33:49.:33:54.

should not ignore Saudi Arabia's important contribution to regional

:33:55.:33:59.

stability. It has had its own people experience is as the victim of

:34:00.:34:02.

numerous attacks, and the collaboration Saudi Arabia has

:34:03.:34:08.

potentially saved British lives, so there are areas where our interests

:34:09.:34:11.

work together in the interests of the UK. But it is not universal.

:34:12.:34:19.

Giving the fact that maybe at last we are no longer in Imperial Parma

:34:20.:34:23.

and able to send a gunboat to enforce other view of the world,

:34:24.:34:27.

would he confirm that in his experience, and it is considerable

:34:28.:34:33.

within the Foreign Office, the quiet conversation, making our case and

:34:34.:34:37.

setting it out, is far more likely to be effective than shouting at

:34:38.:34:44.

people across...? I thank him for his question. Different approaches

:34:45.:34:49.

have different impact. It certainly would not be right for people to be

:34:50.:34:54.

silent on things that they think are important and Reagan publicly, but

:34:55.:34:57.

it is also true that some of the quiet conversations with state over

:34:58.:35:03.

a period of time effect change. This is also due to consular cases as

:35:04.:35:06.

well as the high profile death penalty cases. He is right, both

:35:07.:35:10.

approaches can have an impact, but sometimes they don't. In his

:35:11.:35:20.

communications with the Saudi authorities, will he establish if

:35:21.:35:25.

the reports are correct that beyond this group there are others who are

:35:26.:35:29.

currently facing similar charges, including juveniles again? I will

:35:30.:35:38.

make what enquiries I can relation to this, certainly from the media

:35:39.:35:40.

reports we have it would be important to find out whether any

:35:41.:35:44.

juveniles are involved, normally NGOs in the west are quite good at

:35:45.:35:48.

finding this out and reporting this information and the UK has acted

:35:49.:35:52.

upon those in the past. Certainly we will look further information and

:35:53.:36:00.

gather as much as I can. What impact does the minister believed the 38%

:36:01.:36:04.

cut to the Foreign Office will present in a challenge in dealing

:36:05.:36:09.

effectively with human rights, beat and Saudi Arabia or where ever it

:36:10.:36:16.

is? All aspects of Government must pay attention to the need for

:36:17.:36:22.

financial probity, but the Foreign Commonwealth Office has made sure

:36:23.:36:24.

that you meant rights has been a key part of our work, certainly for as

:36:25.:36:28.

many years as I had been there, which is now spanning a view, and

:36:29.:36:32.

human rights will remain a key part of desk work here and the work

:36:33.:36:41.

abroad. Among numerous others, my understanding of the two juveniles

:36:42.:36:45.

at risk of execution where charter the Saudi Arabia's anti-cyber crime

:36:46.:36:51.

laws, can he confirm or deny that and we assure the House that any

:36:52.:36:54.

cyber security assistance provided by the UK to Saudi Arabia has not

:36:55.:36:57.

been used to facilitate charges which lead to the death penalty? I

:36:58.:37:03.

don't have the detailed information he is asking for, and I will see to

:37:04.:37:10.

that. I'm also seek reassurances in relation to the collaborative work

:37:11.:37:13.

done on cyber security, which is there to protect the UK and common

:37:14.:37:16.

interest rather than anything else, but I will need further information

:37:17.:37:20.

before I can apply, but I will write to him. Can the confirm to me that

:37:21.:37:27.

I'm a relationship with Saudi Arabia enable us to raise our concerns

:37:28.:37:31.

about human rights, but also that those others in this House should

:37:32.:37:34.

appreciate that the Government of Saudi Arabia is taking steps to

:37:35.:37:40.

improve its actions on human rights and particularly to improve the

:37:41.:37:43.

opportunities and rights for women in the societies in Saudi Arabia? My

:37:44.:37:53.

honourable friend is absolute right. There is a vision of Saudi Arabia as

:37:54.:37:59.

with a number of states in the area, which is fixed in peoples minds

:38:00.:38:04.

which does always confirm that I can form to reality. Progress on some of

:38:05.:38:09.

these state is extremely slow, they are conservative, and sometimes

:38:10.:38:14.

their leaders are ahead of where opinion and religious opinion is. It

:38:15.:38:19.

is a difficult process, but she is right, and objectively it can be

:38:20.:38:22.

seen that women's position has improved in relation to access to

:38:23.:38:26.

the council and beyond, and is more to come. The 100,000 people educated

:38:27.:38:32.

abroad by the previous King Solomon occluded women who were educated in

:38:33.:38:36.

the west in the US, they were not intended to return to a Saudi Arabia

:38:37.:38:47.

which is going to be unchanging. I'm sure the whips mean well when

:38:48.:38:49.

advising on these matters, but they often get the timing a bit wrong.

:38:50.:38:56.

You should remain in your seat instead of beating around the

:38:57.:38:59.

chamber, because a weapon suddenly was to relate a piece of

:39:00.:39:03.

information. No doubt it is very well-intentioned but misguided. In

:39:04.:39:10.

response to the recent spate of executions, Amnesty International

:39:11.:39:12.

has renewed used as calls on the Saudi Arabian authorities to

:39:13.:39:16.

immediately establish a moratorium on all executions. A first step was

:39:17.:39:22.

abolition of the death penalty. Can he led his support to Amnesty's

:39:23.:39:30.

calls? As we have an absolute opposition to the death penalty in

:39:31.:39:35.

any circumstances, a moratorium is essentially immaterial because we

:39:36.:39:37.

want to see the death penalty stopped everywhere. I hear what he

:39:38.:39:46.

is saying about talking and advising and asking questions of the Saudi

:39:47.:39:50.

Government, but shouldn't the Government stop pussyfooting around

:39:51.:39:53.

on this matter and the man that these executions do not go ahead,

:39:54.:40:01.

for crimes which are just protesting, innocently, in a fair

:40:02.:40:07.

society? I understand the force with which the honourable gentleman

:40:08.:40:12.

speaks. It is difficult to convey it to colleagues in the House all the

:40:13.:40:16.

time exactly what the ambassador dance or the Prime Minister would do

:40:17.:40:20.

any conversations that they have two convey in a different form exactly

:40:21.:40:24.

the same degree of force and concern which he does so eloquently. How far

:40:25.:40:31.

does the Government really believe that the UK's influence extends

:40:32.:40:36.

across Saudi Arabia? If the UK Governmented supposedly rich cannot

:40:37.:40:39.

stop them from beheading its citizens, why does it leave it is

:40:40.:40:42.

appropriate for the UK to give the sale of arms to that country? It is

:40:43.:40:48.

impossible to get a simple answer to the question of how much influence

:40:49.:40:53.

once they exert upon another. I would point a long-standing

:40:54.:40:57.

relationship Saudi Arabia, long-standing relationship attempted

:40:58.:40:59.

security and intelligence matters which has acted in our interest in

:41:00.:41:24.

the safety of time. It is not the those outside to take credit for

:41:25.:41:28.

internal changes. All I would say is I believe the continued dialogue

:41:29.:41:30.

with the state that we've known for a long time, but is still relatively

:41:31.:41:32.

new and coming to terms with the Is the execution in violation of not

:41:33.:41:42.

only international law but Saudi domestic law? Whatever the longer

:41:43.:41:52.

term relationship, minors have been executed and there are many on death

:41:53.:41:56.

row. Could he say what representation he is making today or

:41:57.:42:00.

tomorrow and if he is in doubt about who is at risk and he talked to

:42:01.:42:09.

Reprieve about that? I reiterate the point made in relation to the death

:42:10.:42:14.

penalty and particularly in the case of minors, and those cases we

:42:15.:42:18.

reference specifically, as we have done in a number of cases raised by

:42:19.:42:22.

the right honourable gentleman when he spoke. I am gaining more

:42:23.:42:27.

information about the matters referred to today and if they

:42:28.:42:32.

contain minors, specific representations will be made. Points

:42:33.:42:42.

of order normally come after statements. I made an exception for

:42:43.:42:46.

particular matters earlier. Is this because he wants to go off to

:42:47.:42:50.

another commitment, or is it urgent for the house now? I would not

:42:51.:42:56.

presume to judge its urgency, I will leave that to the chair. There

:42:57.:43:00.

appears to be confusion which I would not want to have and I know my

:43:01.:43:06.

honourable friend for mid Kent is of a like mind. Last week when we had

:43:07.:43:12.

the opportunity to question a government earnest about Saudi

:43:13.:43:15.

Arabia, I conferred with one of the clerks at the desk to find out

:43:16.:43:20.

whether, having been on a visit to Saudi Arabia, this was an interest

:43:21.:43:25.

to be declared. The advice given by the clerk was that it was up to the

:43:26.:43:30.

individual member, but as it was raising a question, rather than

:43:31.:43:34.

instigating an early day motion or debate or giving a long speech on

:43:35.:43:37.

our relations with Saudi Arabia, there was no interest to declare. I

:43:38.:43:43.

understand that might have changed today. I would not have wanted to

:43:44.:43:49.

mislead their house in anyway. I would value a clarification on

:43:50.:43:55.

whether we need to declare an interest when merely asking a

:43:56.:44:00.

question of a government minister. As far as I'm aware, nothing has

:44:01.:44:04.

changed today and although the honourable gentleman may find this

:44:05.:44:12.

less than fully satisfactory, or even disquieting, I am afraid I must

:44:13.:44:16.

give him the advice which the clerks tend to give. Namely that it is for

:44:17.:44:22.

each member to judge whether something requires to be declared in

:44:23.:44:30.

the course of any Parliamentary contribution. There is certainly a

:44:31.:44:34.

relevant factor I would put to the honourable gentleman for him to

:44:35.:44:40.

consider, which is whether such a visit was externally financed. I

:44:41.:44:44.

would have thought that was a consideration. Members go on Select

:44:45.:44:48.

Committee trips on a regular basis. As far as I'm aware members do not

:44:49.:44:53.

always in the course of every question refer to the fact they have

:44:54.:44:57.

been on a committee visit but if there is a question of outside

:44:58.:45:01.

financing and an outside body, it might be thought to be prudent to

:45:02.:45:06.

refer to it. I think that was the matter which the honourable lady had

:45:07.:45:13.

in mind and if she wants now to make any declaration, very briefly, I am

:45:14.:45:18.

happy for her to do so. Point of order, Mr Speaker. Thank you. It has

:45:19.:45:24.

been brought to my attention that in asking a question a moment ago I

:45:25.:45:27.

perhaps should have pointed the house towards my register of

:45:28.:45:35.

interests. Well, I am grateful. The honourable gentleman always seem to

:45:36.:45:39.

be an amiable fellow and I thought I would indulge him. Further to my

:45:40.:45:45.

honourable friend's point of order, ditto. Well, we are very grateful. I

:45:46.:45:52.

am sure the house feels better informed. We come now to the

:45:53.:45:56.

statement by the Secretary of State for education. Thank you, Mr

:45:57.:46:09.

Speaker. This government believes all children should have an

:46:10.:46:13.

education that unlocks their potential and allows them to go as

:46:14.:46:16.

far as their talent and hard work will take them. That is key to

:46:17.:46:22.

improving social mobility. We made significant progress. Nine out of

:46:23.:46:26.

ten schools are now good or outstanding and the attainment gap

:46:27.:46:31.

is closing. We launched 12 opportunity areas to drive

:46:32.:46:33.

improvements in parts of the country where we know they can do better.

:46:34.:46:38.

All of this against a backdrop of unfair funding. We know the current

:46:39.:46:45.

funding system is unfair and out of date. This means that whilst we hold

:46:46.:46:49.

schools to the same accountability structure wherever they are, we find

:46:50.:46:54.

them at different levels. In addition resources are not reaching

:46:55.:46:59.

the schools that need them most. School funding is at a record high

:47:00.:47:03.

because of the choices we have made to protect and increase school

:47:04.:47:10.

funding. Even... Even as we face difficult decisions elsewhere to

:47:11.:47:15.

restore our country's finances. We recognise that the election that

:47:16.:47:19.

people were concerned about funding in schools as well as its

:47:20.:47:23.

distribution and, as the Prime Minister said, we are determined to

:47:24.:47:27.

listen. That is why I am confirming our plans to get on with introducing

:47:28.:47:33.

a national funding formula in 2018-19, and I can announce this

:47:34.:47:40.

will now be supported by significant extra investment into the core

:47:41.:47:45.

schools budget over the next two years. The additional funding...

:47:46.:47:58.

Detention! The additional funding I am setting out today together with

:47:59.:48:03.

the introduction of a national funding formula will provide schools

:48:04.:48:06.

with the investment they need to offer a world-class education to

:48:07.:48:13.

every child. There will be an additional ?1.3 billion for schools

:48:14.:48:20.

and high needs across 2018-19 and 2019-20, in addition to the schools

:48:21.:48:26.

budget set at spending review 2015. This funding is across the next two

:48:27.:48:31.

years as we transition to the national funding formula and of

:48:32.:48:36.

course spending plans beyond will be set out in a future review. As a

:48:37.:48:41.

result of this investment, core funding for schools and high knees

:48:42.:48:45.

will rise from almost 41,000,000,020 17-18, up to -- high needs. In 1920,

:48:46.:48:57.

this will rise to ?43.5 billion. This represents 1.3 William pounds

:48:58.:49:04.

in additional investment. 416 million more than set aside at the

:49:05.:49:12.

last spending review. And ?884 million more in 2019. It will mean

:49:13.:49:17.

the total schools budget will increase by ?2.6 billion between

:49:18.:49:27.

this year and 2019-20. And per pupil funding will be maintained in real

:49:28.:49:33.

terms for the remaining two years after the spending review period up

:49:34.:49:41.

to 2020. For this government, social mobility and education are a

:49:42.:49:46.

priority. Introducing the national funding formula, something shied

:49:47.:49:51.

away from by previous governments, backed by the additional investment

:49:52.:49:55.

in schools confirmed today, will be the biggest improvement in school

:49:56.:50:02.

funding for well over a decade. I said when I launched the

:50:03.:50:06.

consultation in December that I was keen to hear as many views as

:50:07.:50:10.

possible on this vital long-standing reform. I'm grateful for the

:50:11.:50:17.

engagement of the issue of fairer funding and the national funding

:50:18.:50:22.

formula. We received more than 25,000 responses. Including from

:50:23.:50:25.

members from across the house. We listened carefully to feedback. We

:50:26.:50:33.

will respond to the consultation in fall in September, but I can tell

:50:34.:50:37.

the House the additional investment we are able to make in schools will

:50:38.:50:43.

allow us to do several things. Including increasing the basic

:50:44.:50:48.

amount every pew poll will attract in 2018-19, and 2019-20. For the

:50:49.:50:56.

next two years it will provide for up to 3% gain per year per pupil for

:50:57.:51:05.

underfunded schools, and also a zero -- a 0.5% per pupil cash increase.

:51:06.:51:13.

We will protect funding for pupils with additional needs as proposed.

:51:14.:51:17.

Given this additional investment we are able to increase the percentage

:51:18.:51:22.

allocated to people lead factors and this formula settlement from 2019,

:51:23.:51:31.

will provide ?4800 per pupil at least for every secondary school,

:51:32.:51:35.

something I know members in a number of areas will welcome in particular.

:51:36.:51:42.

The formula will deliver higher per-pupil funding in respect of

:51:43.:51:46.

every school and in every local area. I believe these changes,

:51:47.:51:51.

building on proposals set out in December, will provide a firm

:51:52.:51:55.

foundation as we make historic reforms to the funding system.

:51:56.:52:01.

Balancing fairness and stability. It remains our intention that a schools

:52:02.:52:06.

budget should be set on the basis of a single mash and all formula. A

:52:07.:52:13.

longer transition makes sense to provide stability for schools. In

:52:14.:52:22.

2018 and 19 and 2019-20, the formula will set indicative budgets for each

:52:23.:52:26.

school and the total funding received by each local authority

:52:27.:52:31.

will be allocated according to the national fair funding formula and

:52:32.:52:36.

transparently for the first time. Local authorities will set a local

:52:37.:52:43.

formula to distribute the funding as now and for determining individual

:52:44.:52:50.

schools budgets in 2018 onwards in consultation with schools in that

:52:51.:52:54.

area and I will shortly publish the guidelines to allow them to begin

:52:55.:52:59.

that process. To support their planning I confirm now that in

:53:00.:53:05.

2018-19, all Mogul authorities will receive some increase over the

:53:06.:53:08.

amount they plan to spend on schools and high needs and we will confirm

:53:09.:53:15.

games for local authorities based on the final formula. The guide will

:53:16.:53:20.

set out important areas that are fundamental to supporting a fairer

:53:21.:53:24.

distribution through the national funding formula. We will ring-fence

:53:25.:53:30.

the majority of funding provided for primary and secondary schools,

:53:31.:53:34.

although local authorities in agreement with the schools forums

:53:35.:53:37.

will be able to move limited amounts of funding to areas such as special

:53:38.:53:42.

schools when it matches local needs. As well as this investment through

:53:43.:53:47.

the national funding formula, I am confirming our commitment to double

:53:48.:53:53.

PE and sport 's premium for primary schools. All primary schools will

:53:54.:53:57.

receive an increase in sports premium funding in the next academic

:53:58.:54:03.

year. The 1.3 billion additional investment in core schools funding I

:54:04.:54:09.

am announcing will be funded from efficiencies and savings identified

:54:10.:54:13.

within the existing budgets, rather than higher taxes, or more debt.

:54:14.:54:20.

This requires difficult decisions but I believe it is right to

:54:21.:54:26.

prioritise schools funding, even as we continue the task of repairing

:54:27.:54:31.

the public finances. I am maximising the proportion of my department's

:54:32.:54:36.

budget allocated directly to front-line headteachers, who can use

:54:37.:54:40.

their expertise to ensure it is spent where it will have the

:54:41.:54:44.

greatest possible impact and I have challenged my civil servants to find

:54:45.:54:49.

efficiencies as schools have to do. I want to set out the savings and

:54:50.:54:56.

efficiencies I intend to secure. Efficiencies and savings across the

:54:57.:55:00.

capital budget I believe can release 420 million. The majority from

:55:01.:55:09.

healthy pupils capita funding. This reflects reductions in forecast

:55:10.:55:14.

revenue from the soft drinks industry levy and therefore the

:55:15.:55:21.

planned budget which remains, I will channel to front-line schools,

:55:22.:55:24.

whilst retaining a commitment that every pound of Ingham's share of

:55:25.:55:28.

spending from the levy will be invested in improving children's

:55:29.:55:35.

health, including 100 million in 2018-19 for healthy pupils capital.

:55:36.:55:40.

We are committed to an ambitious free schools programme to deliver

:55:41.:55:45.

choice, innovation and higher standards for parents. In delivering

:55:46.:55:52.

the programme and plans for free schools announced at the last

:55:53.:56:00.

budget, we will work efficiently to release ?280 million and this will

:56:01.:56:05.

include delivering 30 of 140 schools through the local authority route

:56:06.:56:08.

rather than the free schools rigged. Across the rest of the resource

:56:09.:56:15.

budget, over ?60 billion per year, I will prioritise 250 million in 2018

:56:16.:56:25.

and 350 million in 2019-20, to fund the increase in the course schools

:56:26.:56:31.

budget spending. I plan to redirect ?200 million from the department's

:56:32.:56:36.

central programmes to front-line funding. Whilst these projects are

:56:37.:56:41.

useful I believe this funding is most and more valuable in the hands

:56:42.:56:42.

of headteachers. Alongside an extra investment in our

:56:43.:56:52.

core schools budget, it is vital that school leaders strive alongside

:56:53.:56:55.

an extra investment in our core schools budget, it is vital that

:56:56.:56:57.

school leaders strive to maximise the efficient use of their

:56:58.:57:03.

resources, to get the best outcomes for mobility. We will now go further

:57:04.:57:07.

to ensure thatand increase mobility. We will now go further to ensure our

:57:08.:57:14.

commitment to ensuring substantial efficiency gains over the coming

:57:15.:57:18.

years. Good value so-called national deals that pick your better value

:57:19.:57:24.

goods and services on areas that all schools spend money on an purchase

:57:25.:57:28.

goods in can save significant amounts. They are available under

:57:29.:57:33.

the deals based in our existing work, for example in insurance or

:57:34.:57:37.

energy, and in the case of energy, skill that that schools can save if

:57:38.:57:43.

they use a national deal. We will expect schools to be clear that they

:57:44.:57:48.

do not make use of these deals and have consequently higher costs.

:57:49.:57:52.

Across school spending as a whole, we will improve the transparency and

:57:53.:57:56.

usability of data so that parents and governors can more easily see

:57:57.:58:01.

the way that funding is being spent and understand not just educational

:58:02.:58:06.

standards in schools but financial effectiveness, too. We just launched

:58:07.:58:11.

a new online if it is the benchmarking service which will

:58:12.:58:13.

enable schools to analyse their own performance and do so much more

:58:14.:58:18.

effectively. We recognise that many schools have worked hard to this

:58:19.:58:22.

point to manage cost -based pressures on their budgets, and will

:58:23.:58:28.

take issue -- action this year to provide assistance to those schools

:58:29.:58:33.

where health is at risk, giving direct support to those schools. The

:58:34.:58:39.

significant investment we are making in schools and the reforms we are

:58:40.:58:45.

introducing underpin our ambition for a world-class education system.

:58:46.:58:49.

Together they will give schools a firm foundation that will enable

:58:50.:58:54.

them to continue to raise standards, promote social mobility and to give

:58:55.:58:57.

every child the best possible education and the best opportunities

:58:58.:59:07.

for the future. I thank the Secretary of State for this slight

:59:08.:59:11.

advance sight of her statement. Mr Speaker, I will always be the first

:59:12.:59:16.

to welcome new money for schools, after all I have spent a year asking

:59:17.:59:21.

the Secretary of State together, schools the funding they need, so it

:59:22.:59:25.

is nice to know I am finally getting through to her. Mr Speaker, I would

:59:26.:59:36.

like to thank parents, school leaders, and the teachers across the

:59:37.:59:41.

country for all the work that they have done in pushing this issue up

:59:42.:59:46.

the political agenda. I think both the Secretary of State and I know

:59:47.:59:50.

that this would not have been happening today without them. But

:59:51.:59:57.

sadly, Mr Speaker, today's statement raises more questions than it

:59:58.:00:02.

answers. I welcome the ?1.3 billion announced today, but canny Secretary

:00:03.:00:07.

of State confirm if it will be reputable budgets in real terms are

:00:08.:00:12.

just the overall budget? Astoundingly, this has all been

:00:13.:00:16.

funded without a penny of new money from the Treasury. I of each outlet

:00:17.:00:21.

did not want to fund schools and thought that teachers and teaching

:00:22.:00:27.

assistants are simply more overpaid public servants. I wonder if the

:00:28.:00:32.

Secretary of State agrees with him. Does her decision to seek savings

:00:33.:00:35.

from the free schools programme mean that she has finally agreed with

:00:36.:00:41.

others on this side of the House that the programme has always been

:00:42.:00:46.

inefficient? The free School programme has always been more

:00:47.:00:50.

expensive than ministers hoped, so the idea that hundreds of millions

:00:51.:00:54.

of pounds can now be saved seems to me like a bad joke. Will she simply

:00:55.:00:59.

be honest with the House and tell us all exactly how much money will be

:01:00.:01:04.

cut from its spending items and who will lose out as a result? I know

:01:05.:01:11.

they are in full retreat from their own manifesto, but I do not see how

:01:12.:01:16.

this ?1.3 billion can possibly fit in with it. We were promised ?4

:01:17.:01:23.

billion. A group hysteria takes over. You are usually a very

:01:24.:01:31.

understated fellow. Rather a gentlemanly type, I had always

:01:32.:01:36.

thought. Calm yourself. And you're sitting it's a very senior member.

:01:37.:01:40.

Who normally behaves, Prince Andrew over there, as the very embodiment

:01:41.:01:47.

of the dignity. I'm sure you will recover your composure in a minute.

:01:48.:01:52.

You should watch a view Federer matches coming you alone to me about

:01:53.:01:59.

composure. I know they are in full retreat from their manifesto, we

:02:00.:02:03.

were promised ?4 billion at a view weeks ago, and now we are only

:02:04.:02:08.

getting ?1.3 billion. Can schools expect anything else in future, or

:02:09.:02:15.

is this just another broken promise? Their manifesto promise to give free

:02:16.:02:20.

breakfast every primary school pupil, 30 said it would cost ?60

:02:21.:02:24.

million, leaving parents across the country wondering how you can

:02:25.:02:29.

provide that under 7p per meal. Then she said it would be ?180 million.

:02:30.:02:36.

But it would only go to the most disadvantaged pupils. She had plenty

:02:37.:02:40.

of time to get her figure straight, so can she tell the House if this is

:02:41.:02:46.

Bill her policy? How many pupils will benefit, and how much will it

:02:47.:02:53.

cost? She said that the full funding formula has been delayed again, with

:02:54.:02:58.

local authorities playing a role in setting budgets until 2020. Is this

:02:59.:03:02.

because he is finally acknowledging the role local for it is have to

:03:03.:03:06.

play? Or has she simply realised that to fully implement her plans,

:03:07.:03:12.

she would need to pass primary legislation, and her Government is

:03:13.:03:16.

so weak and wobbly that they cannot even get new money for schools

:03:17.:03:22.

passed through this House? What the Secretary of State has announced

:03:23.:03:28.

that they is nothing more than a sticking plaster, per-pupil funding

:03:29.:03:31.

will still fall over the course of this Parliament unless further

:03:32.:03:37.

action is taken urgently. I will welcome the opportunity to protect

:03:38.:03:41.

budgets for our schools, but this statement alone will do nothing of

:03:42.:03:50.

the kind. I think there is only one party that is in full retreat from

:03:51.:03:56.

its manifesto, and it is... It is certainly not this one. We heard

:03:57.:04:03.

over the weekend... The promise do is Judas was not worth the paper it

:04:04.:04:06.

was written on, and I think it was one of the most dishonest beauties

:04:07.:04:11.

of electioneering I have seen. In many, many years. Our young people

:04:12.:04:15.

deserve better than to be peddled some snake oil propaganda. I should

:04:16.:04:26.

say that I am pleased that she recognises this extra investment, I

:04:27.:04:30.

am shocked to hear that the Labour Party has now turned its head or

:04:31.:04:34.

unfair funding and suggested it might have voted against introducing

:04:35.:04:40.

fair funding in favour of a hard formula. I think many councils will

:04:41.:04:45.

be bleak concerned about that change of stance, another one. She talked

:04:46.:04:50.

about getting through to the party opposite in relation to funding, we

:04:51.:04:54.

have been funding schools. The message not getting through is

:04:55.:04:58.

perhaps to the party opposite, that simply loading up more taxes on

:04:59.:05:03.

people and more debts on our country for young people on the future is

:05:04.:05:09.

simply not a racist amiable way to run the public finances. What our

:05:10.:05:15.

response shows is that Labour have learned nothing in their time in

:05:16.:05:18.

opposition, and in fact have gone backwards. She asked some questions.

:05:19.:05:23.

I can confirm that we are indeed saying that we're going to have a

:05:24.:05:28.

per-pupil real term protected for the next two years, in relation to

:05:29.:05:32.

the free schools programme, what I was actually setting out, I don't

:05:33.:05:37.

think she understood it, but that we are protecting that but we do think

:05:38.:05:42.

we can finance it in a more cost-effective way, and indeed she

:05:43.:05:46.

then talked about the ?4 million, not realising that that was ?4

:05:47.:05:52.

billion over four years and I have set out to billion pounds over two

:05:53.:05:57.

years, so I think she will recognise that is actually bringing forward a

:05:58.:06:01.

faster pace which is something to be welcomed. One of her a few

:06:02.:06:10.

questions, in relation to local authorities, the approach that we

:06:11.:06:13.

are taking, she may have known, I'm not sure from a question, that in

:06:14.:06:19.

2018 we will always going to have local authorities used in a brooch

:06:20.:06:25.

of using local formulae, it was bound to be a transition year

:06:26.:06:29.

anyway, was simply saying that we want that to extend for a longer

:06:30.:06:33.

time period. When we look at the historic nature of this change, it

:06:34.:06:36.

is right that we take time to make sure that we work at a local level

:06:37.:06:41.

to allow local authorities to adjust their funding and start matching the

:06:42.:06:45.

funding formula. Schools locally will be able to see what amount they

:06:46.:06:49.

should be getting and I have no doubt that teachers and parents and

:06:50.:06:54.

governing bodies will raise questions local authorities that

:06:55.:06:57.

deviates significantly away from the formula settlement that schools

:06:58.:07:01.

think they are entitled to have. This is a strong announcement of

:07:02.:07:05.

additional money combined with making sure that our schools budget

:07:06.:07:11.

is for the fast time in a generation spread fairly across other schools

:07:12.:07:14.

and our children are ever they are growing up, and I am hopeful that

:07:15.:07:21.

the House will broadly welcome it. I call the chair of the education

:07:22.:07:30.

select committee. The news will be welcomed by schools, teachers and

:07:31.:07:34.

parents, especially given that it is more cost facing schools. In

:07:35.:07:39.

addition to moving money from health to pupil programmes, she has said

:07:40.:07:44.

that she is redirecting ?200 million from the Department on the front

:07:45.:07:47.

line in schools, which programmes are included? We will now go through

:07:48.:07:54.

a process of looking across those programmes to identify that ?200

:07:55.:07:59.

million, but I think across an entire department on resource budget

:08:00.:08:04.

of ?60 billion, it is a reasonable request to make sure that my

:08:05.:08:08.

department and civil servants in my department are making efficiency

:08:09.:08:12.

savings in the same way I see is set out that we are expecting schools to

:08:13.:08:17.

do. Aptly we should do that and he'll turn at a response, to simply

:08:18.:08:21.

dip into taxpayers' pocket every time you want to look at how we

:08:22.:08:25.

increase front line school spending, is not only unsustainable but it is

:08:26.:08:29.

wrong when we could do a better job using the money we have got. While I

:08:30.:08:38.

welcome this announcement of extra money today, isn't the fact that the

:08:39.:08:42.

Government got themselves into such a mess over schools funding an

:08:43.:08:46.

indication of the fact that they have not been straight with people

:08:47.:08:50.

all along, and I'm not sure they really are being entirely straight

:08:51.:08:53.

now. The Secretary of State talks about an increased in schools budget

:08:54.:08:57.

but fails to mention that the number of pupils has increasing vividly.

:08:58.:09:02.

Isn't it the case that even with this money today the truth is that

:09:03.:09:08.

since 2015 the real terms cut pair pupil that schools have faced this

:09:09.:09:17.

?2.8 billion, and will be further ?8.9 billion even when you take into

:09:18.:09:21.

account this extra money today? There is still a massive shortfall.

:09:22.:09:24.

I figured is about time the Government started been straight

:09:25.:09:27.

with the figures of the reality of what schools on the front facing. I

:09:28.:09:33.

think we are setting out our figures transparently. But I don't expect

:09:34.:09:37.

that happen as a result of today's announcement is for the website that

:09:38.:09:44.

has been worrying parents about school cuts... I don't expect any of

:09:45.:09:50.

those numbers to be updated, because it is far easier to Sibley continue

:09:51.:09:55.

to peddle out of date data. She asked me about the numbers of

:09:56.:09:59.

pupils, she is of course quite right and that is why I'm sure she will

:10:00.:10:03.

welcome that I am saying the real terms per-pupil spending will be

:10:04.:10:13.

maintained. This is very good news for schools as they prepare to break

:10:14.:10:17.

up for the summer holiday. Can affect her for engaging so

:10:18.:10:20.

constructively with colleagues across the House to make this

:10:21.:10:24.

progress? In particular, can I welcome her focus on the worst

:10:25.:10:29.

funded schools and bringing them up, which has been so critically

:10:30.:10:36.

important for so long. I think it is not a fundamental change in how we

:10:37.:10:40.

fund our schools that it is extremely challenging to be able to

:10:41.:10:44.

get this right, and I think the reason we held a very long

:10:45.:10:48.

consultation and I have taken our time to do this is to make sure that

:10:49.:10:52.

we can have this work on the ground as we fully intend. I do appreciate

:10:53.:10:56.

that for colleagues in very different communities up and down

:10:57.:11:00.

our country, a formula needs to work for all of them, not just some of

:11:01.:11:03.

them, and that is why we be listening to what people are saying

:11:04.:11:04.

and reflected that today. I was at Airedale Academy and it has

:11:05.:11:18.

already had this year ?140,000 cut to its budget, ?190 per child. Can

:11:19.:11:23.

you tell me if there is anything in the statement that tells me they

:11:24.:11:27.

will get any of that money back? Our schools are heavily hit by her

:11:28.:11:33.

formula, despite being in a deprived area. She said the schools will

:11:34.:11:40.

still only get a 0.5% cash increase per-pupil. Can she confirm it means

:11:41.:11:45.

a lot of kids will have a real funding cut? How many will still

:11:46.:11:49.

face a real cut to funding next year? There are a number of things

:11:50.:11:55.

in the statement that will be of welcome to her. As she pointed out,

:11:56.:12:04.

we said we will introduce a 0.5% increase per-pupil for schools

:12:05.:12:08.

currently above the formula and therefore not the ones that need to

:12:09.:12:12.

catch up through additional funding. I would point out the position of

:12:13.:12:18.

our party and her party was that there would be no cash users. We are

:12:19.:12:24.

going beyond that today, in other words her school would receive more

:12:25.:12:28.

than it would, had her party won the election. Clearly more money going

:12:29.:12:38.

to the front line of schools is a very good thing. The devil will be

:12:39.:12:43.

in the detail of the formula, which I know from having spent hours

:12:44.:12:48.

poring over it. I want to pick her up onto things, the first about the

:12:49.:12:53.

increased percentage allocated to people lead factors and many are

:12:54.:12:58.

unhappy about the percentage the basic pupil funding. The second

:12:59.:13:05.

about the ?4800. Many schools in Leicestershire and elsewhere have

:13:06.:13:10.

been underfunded historically for many years. ?4800 does not get them

:13:11.:13:16.

towards the ?6,000 per pupil which schools in other parts of the

:13:17.:13:20.

country are getting. I appreciate she haps to operate with constraints

:13:21.:13:26.

on public spending but on behalf of schools in Leicestershire, they need

:13:27.:13:31.

historical underfunding corrected. She will no doubt welcome the fact

:13:32.:13:35.

the announcement means there will be an increase in the extent of funding

:13:36.:13:40.

through the core pupil led factors. I thought it was right to protect

:13:41.:13:46.

the amount going into additional... Children with additional need

:13:47.:13:48.

because we want to see them catch up. In relation to the overall

:13:49.:13:54.

amount, I assure her the formula takes into account different cost

:13:55.:13:59.

bases, different parts of the country have. This announcement will

:14:00.:14:03.

mean that schools will get more funding, but also, schools will

:14:04.:14:09.

catch up faster, because I have announced they will be a 3% increase

:14:10.:14:14.

for the two years, rather than the previous proposal. It is unclear

:14:15.:14:26.

whether the Secretary of State has dealt with the underlying problems

:14:27.:14:30.

with funding formula. Nine schools in some of the most deprived parts

:14:31.:14:34.

of Leicester West would have lost out. That is because the

:14:35.:14:40.

government's initial proposals drastically reduced the amount of

:14:41.:14:43.

money allocated according to deprivation. That is what happened.

:14:44.:14:50.

She shakes her head, but that happened in my constituency. Can she

:14:51.:14:55.

tell me, has the underlying basis of the funding for been changed, or are

:14:56.:15:01.

schools in the most deprived areas still going to get a bigger cut,

:15:02.:15:06.

harming, not helping social mobility? We will set out the detail

:15:07.:15:11.

of the national funding formula but it is not true to say the

:15:12.:15:16.

deprivation amounts were cut. I actively made sure they were

:15:17.:15:23.

protected. In her community she will no doubt welcome the fact that

:15:24.:15:26.

schools already well funded are being protected, indeed more as I

:15:27.:15:31.

said to the right honourable lady across the chamber, more than they

:15:32.:15:34.

would have been had her party won the election. Can I welcome the

:15:35.:15:45.

Secretary of State's statement and applaud her for listening to

:15:46.:15:50.

concerns many expressed about the funding formula for our local

:15:51.:15:56.

schools. At the end of the day what matters to schools as the budget

:15:57.:16:01.

they will get. When will schools be communicated with to be told exactly

:16:02.:16:05.

what this will mean for individual school budgets? That is what

:16:06.:16:09.

headteachers and governors and parents will want to know. Can she

:16:10.:16:16.

confirm that the promise not to cut funding from any school also applies

:16:17.:16:24.

to special schools? The local authorities will go through a

:16:25.:16:28.

process of setting a local formula, but we will confirm what the

:16:29.:16:33.

application is notionally to each school in September. That is a

:16:34.:16:39.

significant process that involves confirming allocations for 24,000

:16:40.:16:46.

schools. What I set out today is not just funding for the course schools

:16:47.:16:50.

budget, but also high need, which I hope is good news for him. Schools

:16:51.:17:01.

in central Bedfordshire get ?4314 per pupil and will be grateful to

:17:02.:17:06.

learn of 4800 per-pupil. What can she is due to spread best practice

:17:07.:17:12.

across academies about covering lessons when teachers are not ill?

:17:13.:17:18.

Some academies timetable extra time so staff can cover other staff. Can

:17:19.:17:23.

she have a word to spread best practice across academies say

:17:24.:17:29.

children do not miss out on lessons? I will. One of the biggest

:17:30.:17:32.

challenges and also an opportunity in the system is to enable best

:17:33.:17:37.

practice to spread more rapidly around the system which is one

:17:38.:17:42.

reason I introduced research schools that can be hubs in their area to

:17:43.:17:45.

make sure they disseminate best practice. By protecting per-pupil

:17:46.:17:56.

funding from next year, it does nothing to cuts? What assessment has

:17:57.:18:04.

she made the impact of raiding her own capital budget on the vital

:18:05.:18:07.

improvements many schools in my constituency will now have to wait

:18:08.:18:15.

longer for? The funding set out is for 2018-19, when the formula gets

:18:16.:18:22.

introduced. In relation to capital, I believe we can make a better use

:18:23.:18:29.

of our budget and there was significant funding set aside in

:18:30.:18:34.

relation to the sugar drinks industry levy. We have been able to

:18:35.:18:38.

retain that additional money in spite of the levy being at a

:18:39.:18:43.

slightly lower level than originally is elected. I am therefore pushing

:18:44.:18:47.

it to the front line which I hope you welcome. Mistakenly, because I

:18:48.:18:54.

try to do two things at once, I called two government backbenchers

:18:55.:18:59.

in succession. I would not want there to be a lingering sense of

:19:00.:19:01.

resentment on the opposition backbenchers. I want to press the

:19:02.:19:11.

Secretary of State on the point about where the money is coming from

:19:12.:19:15.

within her department. It sounds like she will be robbing Peter to

:19:16.:19:20.

pay Paul from within the central programmes. Can she set out more

:19:21.:19:23.

clearly which of these programmes will be cut, or is she promising not

:19:24.:19:28.

to cut any of them from the central programme? The teaching leadership

:19:29.:19:34.

College, mentoring programme, longer school day programme, 16-19 budget,

:19:35.:19:38.

all the apprenticeships programme will get cut? What is important is

:19:39.:19:48.

to make sure we look across the piece to gain additional

:19:49.:19:52.

efficiencies from the Department. I would say to him, he just talks

:19:53.:19:57.

about cups. The reality is we have to ensure we take every pound of

:19:58.:20:01.

taxpayers' money and get the most out of it. It has been something

:20:02.:20:06.

that has struck me about how many different pots of money across the

:20:07.:20:11.

department there are and we have to make them work more strategically

:20:12.:20:15.

and in doing so, we can unlock funding that can go to the front

:20:16.:20:21.

line of schools. Could I welcome the statement? Could I give the

:20:22.:20:25.

Secretary of State ten out of ten for progress and a huge Goldstar

:20:26.:20:30.

Ryan listening to concerns of members on the side and no doubt the

:20:31.:20:36.

other side. -- a huge Goldstar for listening. I was at an outstanding

:20:37.:20:43.

academy in my constituency, that is the Ofsted rating. They will not be

:20:44.:20:47.

replacing eight teachers and a librarian because of difficulties

:20:48.:20:52.

with their budget. I hope this announcement will go some way to

:20:53.:20:55.

rectifying that. Their complaint is not the formula but the rise in

:20:56.:21:03.

costs. Huge rises in pensions and National Insurance contributions,

:21:04.:21:06.

which nobody begrudges. It is a small part of the peace. Can I urge

:21:07.:21:12.

her to look at why it is local authorities in particular are

:21:13.:21:16.

putting on schools the apprenticeship levy. That cannot be

:21:17.:21:21.

right. It is not a lot of money but meaningful for school budgets. I

:21:22.:21:29.

recognise what she is saying. It is important we get on with making more

:21:30.:21:34.

apprenticeships available for young people, including in sectors like

:21:35.:21:39.

education. I recognise what she says and think it's important my

:21:40.:21:42.

department does more to work with schools to help them deal with some

:21:43.:21:46.

of the cost -based pressures they have faced. I feel best practice can

:21:47.:21:52.

be spread more effectively through schools when they are working out

:21:53.:21:58.

ways to do smart timetabling, smart deals in relation to procurement. We

:21:59.:22:02.

need to do that systematically and if we can I believe we can get more

:22:03.:22:07.

out of the budget than we already have. Pursuant to the points of

:22:08.:22:13.

order I took immediately after questions on the subject of HS2, a

:22:14.:22:19.

series of points of order from right honourable and honourable members on

:22:20.:22:23.

both sides of a house, I can now inform the house that the secretary

:22:24.:22:30.

is -- the Secretary of State for Transport would like to make a

:22:31.:22:34.

statement at the moment of interruption, that is to say at 10pm

:22:35.:22:39.

this evening. I have axed seed into that request on the basis -- I have

:22:40.:22:48.

agreed to that request on the basis and have received that assurance.

:22:49.:22:57.

There will be a statement, I believe entitled HS2 update, at the moment

:22:58.:23:02.

of interruption tonight. I hope that is helpful to the house. In December

:23:03.:23:11.

last year, the audit office said it was her department that expected 8%

:23:12.:23:16.

cuts equivalent to ?3 billion in school budgets. No one else but her

:23:17.:23:22.

department. 24 million across Greenwich schools, equivalent of 672

:23:23.:23:27.

teachers. She went into the last election saying my schools were

:23:28.:23:31.

overfunded. Does she still believe that? I do not believe we said that

:23:32.:23:36.

but what I can say to his schools, they will now get a better

:23:37.:23:39.

settlement under the national funding formula than they would of

:23:40.:23:44.

got under his party. I know the house will want to be well-informed.

:23:45.:23:48.

The moment of interruption would be expected to be 10pm on Amond, but it

:23:49.:23:55.

is not certain to be ten. It could be earlier, it could later. The

:23:56.:24:01.

point colleagues need to have lodged in their little grey cells is that

:24:02.:24:06.

statement will come at the moment of interruption. Keep an eye on the

:24:07.:24:18.

annunciator. I know parents and pupils in my constituency will be

:24:19.:24:21.

delighted with that minimum funding of secondary school education, which

:24:22.:24:28.

will present a substantial increase in secondary school funding. But I

:24:29.:24:33.

would be grateful if she could outline the minimum level of funding

:24:34.:24:37.

for primary school pupils, which was not addressed in her statement. She

:24:38.:24:43.

is right. We will set out more of those details in September but what

:24:44.:24:47.

we are setting out today is we recognise there is an issue of

:24:48.:24:51.

minimum funding levels in secondary and we would expect that to be

:24:52.:25:01.

reflected in primary. Figures from her department showed 21 schools in

:25:02.:25:05.

my constituency were going to lose out under her plans for the national

:25:06.:25:08.

funding formula before the announcement today. I am concerned

:25:09.:25:15.

they still will. Can she guarantee today those schools that were going

:25:16.:25:20.

to lose out on the basis of the formula now no longer will and will

:25:21.:25:28.

actually see games? -- a gain. I have been clear every school will

:25:29.:25:32.

see a gain from the announcement made today, which I hope is good

:25:33.:25:37.

news. It is a reflection of the need to strike a balance between bringing

:25:38.:25:42.

up long-term underfunded schools and recognising schools that have been

:25:43.:25:46.

at higher levels of funding needs to be helped to get on to the national

:25:47.:25:58.

funding formula. May I welcome this announcement from my right

:25:59.:26:02.

honourable friend? It is a real moment of celebration for those who

:26:03.:26:08.

have campaigned for years for a proper fair funding formula. Could

:26:09.:26:12.

she confirm to my governors and headteachers in Gloucestershire that

:26:13.:26:18.

by 2020, all pupils currently receiving ?3800 per pupil will by

:26:19.:26:20.

that time received 4800? We will have a minimum that is ?4800

:26:21.:26:34.

which will be transitioned in this two years, and I think it is good

:26:35.:26:38.

news 11 like to pay tribute to him, because he has been a tireless

:26:39.:26:42.

campaigner on fair funding, and he has done an outstanding job of being

:26:43.:26:46.

clear with me about his local community concerns and also a desire

:26:47.:26:50.

to see if their funding, and it is responding to colleagues like him

:26:51.:26:53.

which has led us to the statement today. The National Audit Office at

:26:54.:27:01.

a few months ago said that school budgets needed an extra ?3 billion

:27:02.:27:07.

by 2020 to avoid cuts. How do she square that ?3 billion figure with

:27:08.:27:10.

the ?1.3 billion he has announced today over two years? Was she also

:27:11.:27:15.

tell the House that she knows the high needs budget, knees bending on

:27:16.:27:20.

special education needs, is rising faster in inflating and faster than

:27:21.:27:23.

pupil numbers, what in the statement will deal with that? In relation to

:27:24.:27:31.

his original point, we are maintaining the real terms funding

:27:32.:27:33.

per pupil, that is what I have set out today. That sits alongside the

:27:34.:27:39.

other work we're doing with schools to enable them to unlock efficiency

:27:40.:27:43.

strongly in investment which is ready there. In relation to high

:27:44.:27:46.

needs, I have set out further additional funding for high needs

:27:47.:27:50.

which I hope he will welcome, and I know and understand his long-term

:27:51.:27:56.

interest in area. I hope she will accept that West Sussex MPs who have

:27:57.:28:00.

been working with heads and parents will welcome the progress in her

:28:01.:28:04.

statement, can I say about half of the backbenchers, perhaps the PPS

:28:05.:28:08.

and the minister that we all work together and hope to go on doing so

:28:09.:28:17.

to get more progress in future. It has indeed been a team effort in

:28:18.:28:21.

order to work out how we can best bring forward what is a very

:28:22.:28:24.

difficult thing, which is a national funding formula which broadly works

:28:25.:28:30.

for many different schools across our country. Wherever they are. It

:28:31.:28:35.

is fair. We have got more detail set out in the autumn, but I hope today

:28:36.:28:39.

I have given a clear signal to the House that we are moving in the

:28:40.:28:42.

right direction and I going to take this step forward and make sure we

:28:43.:28:51.

do have their funding. The Secretary of State's partial U-turn is bound

:28:52.:28:55.

to be welcomed. Can she give a guarantee, given the strawberry cost

:28:56.:28:58.

pressures that many schools across the board already face, that no

:28:59.:29:04.

school across Rochdale will be forced to cut teachers or teaching

:29:05.:29:09.

assistant over this two period? There will be high up their pupils

:29:10.:29:15.

funding in respect of every single school in every local area. What

:29:16.:29:20.

we're saying is we want to be able to get more money to headteachers to

:29:21.:29:23.

be able to take the decisions that they think are in the best interests

:29:24.:29:26.

of their schools. I have spent many years as a school governor and I

:29:27.:29:30.

know the work that goes on to try and make the most out of the budget,

:29:31.:29:35.

but I am also setting out, I to challenge my own department, so that

:29:36.:29:39.

we can put that money into the hands of headteachers to spend on the

:29:40.:29:46.

front line of schools. In welcoming the additional funding for Stockport

:29:47.:29:50.

schools, may I also welcome a very listening Secretary of State. We'll

:29:51.:29:55.

see perhaps prove her metal further by taking on board the

:29:56.:29:58.

recommendations on recruitment and retention contained in the last

:29:59.:30:04.

Parliament's education committee report? This is a vital issue. I

:30:05.:30:09.

think we have more teachers in our school system than ever before, but

:30:10.:30:13.

we need them. We had to make sure that the teaching profession, and I

:30:14.:30:17.

have always seen it as a profession, is one that is a strong career for

:30:18.:30:21.

teachers, one that means that they see continued professional

:30:22.:30:25.

development right the way through their careers and is competitive,

:30:26.:30:30.

and frankly one of my old teachers is retiring today, opting for them,

:30:31.:30:33.

I have written a note to thank him for 45 years of service to children

:30:34.:30:37.

about them. It is an amazing vocation and one which I would

:30:38.:30:41.

recommend to anyone who cares about developing our young people by the

:30:42.:30:50.

future. As other members have highlighted, the National Audit

:30:51.:30:52.

Office and the Secretary of State's own permanent secretary have

:30:53.:30:58.

highlighted the ?3 billion of savings they will have to make their

:30:59.:31:02.

2020. That includes ?1.7 billion what the department describes as

:31:03.:31:05.

more efficient use of staff. Given that she is now trading the fact

:31:06.:31:10.

that she is giving ?1.3 million in additional investment, can she tell

:31:11.:31:15.

us, hand on heart, that she is giving more money are others

:31:16.:31:18.

efficiency savings continuing as a wetland? This is very clearly an

:31:19.:31:23.

announcement of more money, and think it is important as she will

:31:24.:31:27.

recognise that we work with schools, not only on their non-staff budget,

:31:28.:31:33.

but also on their staff budget, and indeed when I talk to headteachers,

:31:34.:31:37.

they are very keen to make sure that they are able to use the stat that

:31:38.:31:40.

they have got as well as they can, and we will work more proactively

:31:41.:31:44.

with schools to make that might help them understand how to do that

:31:45.:31:52.

better. Can I congratulate the Government for choosing to

:31:53.:31:54.

prioritise school funding, which has been such a huge use you and right

:31:55.:31:59.

across the country, had all the MPs in Cheshire have come to you, saying

:32:00.:32:03.

what we need for our local schools, so I welcome today's announcement.

:32:04.:32:08.

Everybody can be clear, canny Secretary of State just confirm that

:32:09.:32:12.

what you are saying is that they will be a higher per pupil funding

:32:13.:32:20.

for every pupil? Indeed, we will be making that funding available to

:32:21.:32:23.

local authorities, I'm saying that any and local authorities will also

:32:24.:32:26.

go through a process of setting their local formula, but the finding

:32:27.:32:30.

that we're giving enables them to do that. It is fantastic to see her

:32:31.:32:35.

back in the chamber, she made a rapid start to representing her

:32:36.:32:39.

community in relation to this, after she came back into the House, and it

:32:40.:32:43.

is great to see her. She was subject to some of the nappy campaigning

:32:44.:32:46.

that I think will be debated later on in this chamber. On Friday, Raven

:32:47.:32:55.

stone primary School in Bal said a letter to parents announcing that

:32:56.:32:58.

they were making five essential support staff go. They have also

:32:59.:33:03.

lost a deputy headteacher, it is still had not made these cuts the

:33:04.:33:06.

school would have faced a budget deficit of over ?150,000. Can she

:33:07.:33:12.

today pledged that schools in tooting body given the necessary

:33:13.:33:15.

funding to maintain current staffing levels and will she meet with me and

:33:16.:33:20.

a fantastic headteacher of Raven stone school to discuss this matter

:33:21.:33:25.

in person? I pay tribute to the hard work of many teachers, many of them

:33:26.:33:30.

I know, in our local borough of Wandsworth, I think we also need to

:33:31.:33:35.

recognise that where that school a different part of the country, it

:33:36.:33:41.

would get a very different funding settlement. We expect to deliver the

:33:42.:33:45.

same results for its local children. What I am doing today is setting out

:33:46.:33:49.

that we want to have furnace in our funding formula and what we have set

:33:50.:33:53.

out will also mean that there is additional money going into schools.

:33:54.:34:03.

I very much welcome my right honourable friend's announcement

:34:04.:34:05.

today and I thank her for all her work, but can she confirm that areas

:34:06.:34:10.

like mine in Medway will benefit from the new funding formula? We are

:34:11.:34:15.

being charged with building historic numbers of homes in the Medway

:34:16.:34:21.

towns, and we are seeing new schools coming online. We'll be get more?

:34:22.:34:25.

Under Labour, we saw schools shut in the Medway towns. It was just great

:34:26.:34:32.

inflation and poor standards we inherited from Labour, it was a

:34:33.:34:36.

schools places crisis. Which is why we had to get on and build hundreds

:34:37.:34:41.

and thousands of school places for children who needed them, and that

:34:42.:34:46.

is precisely why we are doing this. The funding formula will indeed mean

:34:47.:34:49.

that her schools get higher per pupil funding in respect of schools

:34:50.:34:54.

in her local area. I can assure how we will not make this a mistake as

:34:55.:34:58.

the party opposite end up planning ahead on having the school places

:34:59.:35:03.

that children need in their local communities, making sure that they

:35:04.:35:10.

do not end up without them. This statement does nothing to address

:35:11.:35:16.

the serious underfunding and consistent underfunding of 16-18,

:35:17.:35:22.

this was under spent over the last two years by ?267 million. But the

:35:23.:35:27.

Government come it to the allocate those monies as soon as possible,

:35:28.:35:31.

and also address the underfunding for 60-18 -year-olds going forward?

:35:32.:35:37.

He raises an important point. -- 16-18. In respect of technical

:35:38.:35:43.

education, it is something which has been put on one side for too many

:35:44.:35:48.

years. It now needs to be focused on. That is why the centrepiece of

:35:49.:35:54.

the budget from my perspective was the skills budget, which we

:35:55.:35:57.

announced back in March, the CBI called it a breakthrough budget for

:35:58.:36:02.

skills. We are now getting on with that reform, not just in terms of

:36:03.:36:07.

continuing to bring forward more apprenticeships but also now working

:36:08.:36:10.

with organisations like the CBI and Federation of Small Businesses to

:36:11.:36:14.

look at how we can bring forward the reforms so that every single child

:36:15.:36:18.

who chooses to continue their education but was to go down a

:36:19.:36:21.

technical education route rather than a pure academic one can have

:36:22.:36:25.

that route, every bit as gold standard as the academic one that we

:36:26.:36:32.

have built. Can I thank the Secretary of State? This is great

:36:33.:36:35.

news. I have been telling my constituents that she has listened

:36:36.:36:39.

and indeed she has proven so. Can I just ask a couple of things? I

:36:40.:36:43.

appreciate time is tight and September is the indicator, but my

:36:44.:36:46.

skills are letting teachers go today. If there's any ties begin at

:36:47.:36:50.

a heads up on the figures ahead of September, that would be helpful. We

:36:51.:36:56.

can prove more efficient than many schools in the country, and can I

:36:57.:36:59.

get to look at that apprenticeship leading? It doesn't really work

:37:00.:37:03.

force rules. I take her point, and I can assure how we will be working

:37:04.:37:07.

very proactively with schools, particularly trying to focus on the

:37:08.:37:11.

ones that are saying that they face the biggest challenges. That is why

:37:12.:37:14.

I put together a team of this is the advisers that will be able to go out

:37:15.:37:18.

on the ground and work directly with schools. I think we can make a lot

:37:19.:37:22.

of progress in this area, but we also need to, and I recognise the

:37:23.:37:26.

point that she is making on cost basis, and figured as much right to

:37:27.:37:29.

strike a balance between making sure that our apprenticeships, strategy

:37:30.:37:35.

does give opportunity to young people everything sector. We also

:37:36.:37:38.

need to make sure we get funding to the front line of schools, that is

:37:39.:37:42.

what I have announced today. I welcome more funding, schools like

:37:43.:37:50.

Derby high in my constituency cannot recruit teaching talent. They faced

:37:51.:37:57.

rising costs. National insurance, ageing teaching population, the

:37:58.:38:04.

apprenticeship levy, and they are facing increasing class sizes and

:38:05.:38:06.

need a new school building. With this new money be enough to address

:38:07.:38:14.

these complicated problems, and will it go far enough to address

:38:15.:38:20.

enrichment activities that have all but disappeared in schools? With a

:38:21.:38:27.

whole generation of children, from 2010, missing out on these

:38:28.:38:30.

activities because of the imposition of posterity by your Government? --

:38:31.:38:33.

prosperity. I know he shares my concern around

:38:34.:38:47.

improving education standards in Derby. This has been a challenge for

:38:48.:38:58.

many... It is just a school called Derby. I should clarify, that had he

:38:59.:39:04.

also been from the centre of Derby, I was going to talk about how

:39:05.:39:10.

important to me the opportunity that we put an Derby is. I apologise for

:39:11.:39:16.

not recognising him as the obviously new member representing Barry. But I

:39:17.:39:24.

assure him that I take as great a standard, priorities and is in his

:39:25.:39:29.

schools and at school in particular as any others. We have tried to set

:39:30.:39:33.

out a way of making sure that funding is there for all schools

:39:34.:39:36.

including the one that he is talking about. It will be complemented with

:39:37.:39:40.

additional funding which I think is something that he should welcome.

:39:41.:39:46.

This is a part of our strategy on improving standards, in education,

:39:47.:39:50.

but by no means all of it, it is not just about the amount of money we

:39:51.:39:53.

put into schools, it is about what we then do with it and the strategy

:39:54.:39:56.

behind it, and as we have seen, Labour in Wales on education, has

:39:57.:40:01.

been going backwards. That is because it has no strategy, and as a

:40:02.:40:05.

result children are getting worse standards. We do have a strategy

:40:06.:40:13.

that as bystanders going up. -- standards are going up.

:40:14.:40:27.

I welcome the commitment to ensure no school loses out on the funding

:40:28.:40:34.

formula. It is nice to see one party takes its election commitments at

:40:35.:40:40.

election time seriously. For clarity, can she confirm to the

:40:41.:40:44.

parents and teachers concerned about some of the scare stories kicking

:40:45.:40:48.

around around March this year that no school will lose out because of

:40:49.:40:53.

the changes in the funding formula? I believe I can in this sense we are

:40:54.:40:59.

going beyond saying those schools will lose out as a result of the

:41:00.:41:03.

formula, to say every school will gain at least 0.5% additional as

:41:04.:41:09.

part of the introduction of the formula. It is important to be clear

:41:10.:41:13.

that the way we are introducing it is to work with local authorities

:41:14.:41:18.

and they will put their own formula and final allocation to schools but

:41:19.:41:22.

what we are giving them means no school need to lose out and in fact

:41:23.:41:25.

further than that, every school should be able to gain. Warrington

:41:26.:41:35.

is one of the most funded authorities in the country and yet

:41:36.:41:39.

schools in my constituency were still losing out under the funding

:41:40.:41:43.

formula she proposed and preparing to sack teachers and teaching

:41:44.:41:48.

assistants. Can she confirmed that she still does not regard these as

:41:49.:41:55.

being underfunded schools, and that's the 0.5% increase will not

:41:56.:42:00.

meet the costs imposed on them by staff pay rises, the apprenticeship

:42:01.:42:04.

levy and general inflation and pupils in those schools. These out?

:42:05.:42:12.

I think I would say at this stage she may be better off lobbying her

:42:13.:42:17.

own front bench. What I set out today means her school will get a

:42:18.:42:23.

better settlement than had her own party disastrously in my opinion

:42:24.:42:29.

with macro that election. Can I thank my right honourable friend for

:42:30.:42:35.

listening to the consultation. Dorset has been underfunded for many

:42:36.:42:39.

years and we are extremely grateful at the announcement today. Two

:42:40.:42:46.

points. Can she guarantee special needs will be properly funded and I

:42:47.:42:50.

do not agree with the apprenticeship levy, which you look at that again?

:42:51.:42:58.

In relation to high need, I have set out the additional funding will

:42:59.:43:03.

impart flow into high needs, which is important, and the apprenticeship

:43:04.:43:08.

levy, we are working with schools on teaching and apprenticeship that

:43:09.:43:13.

will not only mean we can have more opportunity but will also enable

:43:14.:43:16.

those schools to use that investment wisely. Does the Secretary of State

:43:17.:43:27.

think it is right schools in my constituency are already having to

:43:28.:43:31.

rely on donations from parents for books, stationery and other basic

:43:32.:43:36.

resources? This is not scaremongering, this is actually

:43:37.:43:45.

happening. First we recognise the most important thing for parents 's

:43:46.:43:50.

standards are going up and they are and we saw that in the recent key

:43:51.:43:57.

stage two results last week. I hope she will recognise that if there

:43:58.:44:01.

have been concerns on funding this statement is a step in the right

:44:02.:44:06.

direction because we are going to fund more into front-line schools

:44:07.:44:10.

and I'm saying we will find it more fairly, something long overdue. Can

:44:11.:44:18.

I mark my right honourable friend's home work with a resounding tick,

:44:19.:44:25.

VG. And can we right in the margin a notes to the effect that under her

:44:26.:44:29.

stewardship this government is spending more on schools than the

:44:30.:44:36.

party opposite ever did. Can I ask for her reassurance on a point I

:44:37.:44:41.

have lobbied her on and ministers for some time and that is Devon has

:44:42.:44:46.

been historically underfunded. Can she assure me this welcome package

:44:47.:44:52.

means that historic underfunding, which has existed under governments

:44:53.:44:55.

of all colours, will be corrected and if she can do that I will

:44:56.:45:03.

upgrade her to a gold star. I think I might be getting upgraded because

:45:04.:45:08.

I can tell him this will mean additional funding for schools in

:45:09.:45:13.

Devon. I know the debate that has happened in that part and it is

:45:14.:45:17.

vital, if we have a country that works for everyone that regions like

:45:18.:45:22.

the south-west are able to develop their talent in the same way as any

:45:23.:45:27.

other part of our country and Devon will benefit from my announcement

:45:28.:45:34.

today. I remain concerned about the position of the 28 schools in

:45:35.:45:40.

Liverpool Riverside who were due to lose funding under the government

:45:41.:45:44.

formula. Can she assure me they will not lose any funding from any source

:45:45.:45:50.

and would she agreed the ?200 million cut to central projects,

:45:51.:45:54.

which she announced today, is really cutting by the back door? I do not

:45:55.:46:01.

agree. I can confirm we will be making available additional funding,

:46:02.:46:05.

including to schools in her community. If any of them get less

:46:06.:46:10.

that is a decision by her local authority, which I'm sure she would

:46:11.:46:14.

want to follow up. I think we have to recognise over time there are a

:46:15.:46:22.

number of different pools of money that quite rightly are directed to

:46:23.:46:26.

improve schools across our country. I want to see those working more

:46:27.:46:30.

efficiently but we should recognise there are broader parts of the

:46:31.:46:34.

Department for Education where we need to make sure that parts of my

:46:35.:46:40.

Department are run efficiently. The prize for doing that better is to

:46:41.:46:43.

have more money to channel to the front line of schools which I plan

:46:44.:46:53.

to do. Under the outgoing system introduced under a previous Labour

:46:54.:46:56.

administration, schools in West Sussex were some of the lowest

:46:57.:47:00.

funded in the country and I botched welcome the new formula being

:47:01.:47:07.

introduced, which will see a significant enhancement for schools

:47:08.:47:12.

in Crawley. Can I seek assurances however that capital funding will

:47:13.:47:17.

not be affected as part of this new revenue coming forward? For example,

:47:18.:47:23.

necessary rebuilding works of holy Trinity School in my constituency. I

:47:24.:47:28.

can assure him there is a substantial capital budget that will

:47:29.:47:33.

be there to not only deliver additional school places but also to

:47:34.:47:37.

invest in improving our school estate. I can assure him of that and

:47:38.:47:43.

what I have set out is that some of the additional money we expected

:47:44.:47:47.

from the sugar drinks industry levy can be converted into, we can retain

:47:48.:47:53.

the money and converted into revenue to go to front lines of schools but

:47:54.:47:59.

on capital we will continue to invest in school estate. Can I offer

:48:00.:48:05.

to help our in finding efficiencies in the budget because no school on

:48:06.:48:10.

their own can take on the other fair rising PFI costs, but the Department

:48:11.:48:17.

could lead a challenge, and will she help schools in my constituency do

:48:18.:48:22.

that? One thing we have had to deal as part of the draft formula

:48:23.:48:27.

consultation was to accept there are schools that are saddled with PFI

:48:28.:48:33.

commitments from the party opposite. Rather than penalise them, what we

:48:34.:48:38.

proposed was we would honour those commitments. She raises a genuine

:48:39.:48:43.

point, which is we need to work with schools that have got these

:48:44.:48:46.

liabilities to understand how we can manage them effectively. We need to

:48:47.:48:50.

learn from those mistakes so looking ahead we do not saddle schools with

:48:51.:48:55.

the debts and commitments they cannot afford as part of Labour's

:48:56.:49:01.

failed PFI schemes. Schools in Corby in East Northamptonshire have been

:49:02.:49:09.

underfunded far too long and I am pleased she putting that right but

:49:10.:49:12.

will she continued to keep at the forefront of her mind to the

:49:13.:49:17.

challenges rural schools have and the big challenges housing growth

:49:18.:49:23.

presents? He will know that the original consultation formula looked

:49:24.:49:29.

at how schools is more sparsely populated areas could cope

:49:30.:49:34.

effectively and that we could cope with housing growth. I said I would

:49:35.:49:39.

respond more fully to the consultation in September, which

:49:40.:49:43.

will cover that but he is right to put those issues on the table and

:49:44.:49:52.

they once we will carefully about. In my constituency many of the

:49:53.:49:56.

primary schools are having or planning to cut staff. Under the new

:49:57.:49:59.

formula, all but one of the secondary schools will have big cuts

:50:00.:50:04.

in their budget. If this is such a good formula and settlement, will it

:50:05.:50:11.

not happen? The amount of money his local authority will get over that

:50:12.:50:16.

in the coming two years will not see cuts. It will mean there is a 0.5%

:50:17.:50:23.

increase per pupil allocated to that community. I reiterate it is a

:50:24.:50:27.

better settlement for those schools than they would have had had his

:50:28.:50:33.

party won the election. I accept over the years I have been a pain to

:50:34.:50:38.

both parties and I remember saying to the Prime Minister Tony Blair

:50:39.:50:43.

many years ago that the funding, postcode lottery if you like,

:50:44.:50:47.

between counties is unfair and his agreeing, but doing nothing about it

:50:48.:50:53.

and I was a pain to the schools minister, who I gave a hard time to

:50:54.:50:58.

a couple of months ago. Can I say how much I welcome the announcement

:50:59.:51:04.

today? May I ask this in particular, she will know how much the National

:51:05.:51:11.

Union of Teachers website alarmed students and parents over the last

:51:12.:51:16.

few months. Can I ask when our school funding formula is announced,

:51:17.:51:21.

it to be transparent and available on a website school by school?

:51:22.:51:29.

Indeed it will be. I hope that the unions will choose to update their

:51:30.:51:37.

websites with accurate data. As the questions have demonstrated today,

:51:38.:51:41.

it is not easy taking this step to introduce fairer funding. There are

:51:42.:51:45.

millions of reasons why it isn't difficult step for any government,

:51:46.:51:49.

but we have done it because I do not think we can expect social mobility

:51:50.:51:54.

to happen nor strong education outcomes in every part of our

:51:55.:51:59.

country, when our children are funded in such different ways,

:52:00.:52:01.

dependent on where they are growing up. Nobody can accept that if we

:52:02.:52:06.

want to tackle inequality of opportunity and that is why we are

:52:07.:52:15.

making new steps. It is not easy, it is complex, but we are doing it

:52:16.:52:17.

because it is the right thing. I welcome any additional funding.

:52:18.:52:23.

There is concern about the safety of schools following the Grenfell Tower

:52:24.:52:28.

disaster. Could she update me on how many schools in my constituency will

:52:29.:52:34.

be inspected and how that work will be coordinated and how any remedial

:52:35.:52:41.

action identified will be funding? I hope you will be reassured that we

:52:42.:52:46.

have done a survey across all of our schools to identify any that have or

:52:47.:52:51.

think they might have this sort of cladding. We had a good response

:52:52.:52:56.

from schools and we have been in contact with the handful of members

:52:57.:53:00.

of this House who have had a school that has had cladding that has been

:53:01.:53:05.

for testing. I can be reassuring in saying we were clear with schools

:53:06.:53:10.

that where there was any sign they might have cladding, that this fire

:53:11.:53:14.

inspection should go ahead of any cladding being tested and we have

:53:15.:53:18.

gone through that process and for the two schools where we have

:53:19.:53:23.

positive tests, the fire inspection results had show the schools were

:53:24.:53:29.

safe to operate. He's right to identify how important this is and I

:53:30.:53:35.

can assure the house it has been uppermost in our minds in recent

:53:36.:53:40.

weeks. I welcome the extra funding for schools in my constituency

:53:41.:53:44.

especially extra investment into core schools budget and a higher

:53:45.:53:49.

per-pupil funding. Can she confirmed the formula will address the

:53:50.:53:53.

unfairness that has seen some schools across East Sussex

:53:54.:53:58.

underfunded for many years? Yes, it will do. She has spoken up for her

:53:59.:54:05.

local community in this regard and this announcement will mean more

:54:06.:54:10.

money for her local communities. I have no doubt her local authority

:54:11.:54:14.

will want to make sure they spread that money fairly and indeed will be

:54:15.:54:18.

setting out the notional allocations for schools in the autumn. Could I

:54:19.:54:29.

suggest that with the ?1 billion in March in the budget for capital

:54:30.:54:34.

funding to extend the free schools programme, combined with the

:54:35.:54:36.

millions her department has written off, because of the chaotic funding

:54:37.:54:41.

formula for free schools, would it be better to scrap the free schools

:54:42.:54:46.

policy and put money into schools like mine in a deprived area, that

:54:47.:54:50.

are seeing cuts to teachers and services? We need to get a balance

:54:51.:54:57.

between investing in the existing school estate as she set out but

:54:58.:55:02.

also planning ahead to ensure we have school places and schools for

:55:03.:55:07.

children coming into our system, particularly the secondary school

:55:08.:55:11.

system. All we say in relation to free schools is the long-standing

:55:12.:55:18.

monopoly councils hard on being the only organisations that could

:55:19.:55:21.

introduce a new school should change and we changed it so that

:55:22.:55:24.

communities could set up very in schools. That is what many have done

:55:25.:55:29.

and why we have seen so many free schools established and we will

:55:30.:55:33.

bring forward the pipeline so more can happen in the future. Like many

:55:34.:55:41.

I welcome the commitment to the national funding formula and I am

:55:42.:55:44.

confident the schools in Carlisle will welcome the increase in

:55:45.:55:47.

spending. Could the Secretary of State confirm the successful pupil

:55:48.:55:56.

funding will continue as is and there are no plans for it to form

:55:57.:56:00.

part of the national funding formula? I can confirm the premium

:56:01.:56:05.

will be maintained. It is important and has been a significant driver of

:56:06.:56:10.

how we have managed to steadily begin to reduce the attainment gap

:56:11.:56:12.

between children in our country. In the previous Secretary of State

:56:13.:56:24.

with only commit to two years of the funding formula and would give no

:56:25.:56:28.

commitment posts 2020. In a statement today, we get reference to

:56:29.:56:34.

a longer transition period. Can the Secretary of State now confirm how

:56:35.:56:37.

long it is going to take to implement the full formula changes?

:56:38.:56:43.

I will set out more fully our response to the consultation in the

:56:44.:56:47.

art and I appreciate as she sets out that there are more details that we

:56:48.:56:52.

need to come forward with. What I am doing today is being clear about the

:56:53.:56:58.

overall funding whilst also giving colleagues some assurance of

:56:59.:57:03.

specific elements before we set out the full plans in September.

:57:04.:57:12.

Can I welcome the Secretary of State's statement. One teacher has

:57:13.:57:15.

already e-mailed me saying it could be worth around ?300 per pupil.

:57:16.:57:20.

Torpey has been underfunded due to the inequities in the funding

:57:21.:57:23.

formula. Can she confirmed that those funding amounts will be

:57:24.:57:26.

quickly available so they would have to rely on any dodgy websites?

:57:27.:57:31.

Once we have done our analysis over the summer we will make those

:57:32.:57:36.

schools spreadsheet available and I very much hope they will be the ones

:57:37.:57:40.

that people look at because they will contain the actual reality of

:57:41.:57:44.

what we are funding of schools rather than some of the falsehoods

:57:45.:57:51.

that have been peddled. Does the Minster accept that with

:57:52.:57:57.

schools having to pay ?525 million in contributions to teachers pension

:57:58.:58:04.

scheme and ?625 million national insurance contributions and with

:58:05.:58:09.

inflation at 2.9%, that the 1.3 billion announced will barely cover

:58:10.:58:13.

these costs? I don't agree with that actually.

:58:14.:58:18.

What is important is that we are able to maintain the rates of

:58:19.:58:22.

per-pupil funding in our schools. That is what I set out today and we

:58:23.:58:26.

can only do that because we have a strong economy that is creating jobs

:58:27.:58:32.

and economy and taxes that fund are vital public services. What we can

:58:33.:58:36.

do is fall into the trap of thinking that every time we want to increase

:58:37.:58:40.

public spending that we have to reach in -- reach into the public's

:58:41.:58:47.

pockets via taxes. It is not sustainable, nor is it sustainable

:58:48.:58:53.

to increase debt when our debt interest is still bigger than the

:58:54.:58:56.

amounts that we're talking about investing every year in our schools.

:58:57.:59:03.

It is vital that we have a long-term strategy to deal with that debt and

:59:04.:59:06.

what I'm setting out today is that I do believe that we can make our

:59:07.:59:10.

department and budget work more effectively and in doing so get more

:59:11.:59:14.

money the front line of schools. That has got to be the first port of

:59:15.:59:19.

call rather than resorting to higher taxes or more debt.

:59:20.:59:29.

As a parent and member of the rural constituency, I welcome the

:59:30.:59:32.

statement this afternoon. On the point of plurality, as the finessing

:59:33.:59:42.

of formula moves on, can you keep in mind the high cost of delivering

:59:43.:59:48.

staffing and the running of a school in a rural area against an urban

:59:49.:59:53.

setting. I would hope that was taken into account.

:59:54.:59:59.

He has quite rightly set out his concerns for his area. This was part

:00:00.:00:02.

of the consultation that we launched earlier in the year. We now have

:00:03.:00:11.

25,000 responses back to it which we have just about gone through. We

:00:12.:00:16.

will set out our full response in September but suffice to say I do

:00:17.:00:19.

recognise these issues and they are precisely the issues that I am

:00:20.:00:25.

trying to get right. I appreciate you don't yet have the

:00:26.:00:32.

details of what you're proposing. Parents and headteachers from my

:00:33.:00:35.

constituency will be listening and wondering, as I am, what this means

:00:36.:00:41.

for our schools. We were expecting to have cuts of up to ?700 per

:00:42.:00:46.

pupil. It is one of the most deprived schools in our constituency

:00:47.:00:52.

under fair funding proposals. Can I know go back and assure them that

:00:53.:01:01.

those cuts will not know go ahead. I think she will welcome the

:01:02.:01:05.

statement may today that means higher funding for every school in

:01:06.:01:10.

her constituency and every local area. I hope she passes on -- the

:01:11.:01:17.

local authority passes on those gains.

:01:18.:01:23.

Can I welcome the statement on the fair funding formula? I am a proud

:01:24.:01:27.

father of three children who will benefit as result of these

:01:28.:01:32.

announcements. Can she confirm that every parent with children at

:01:33.:01:39.

schools will benefit and no constituency will lose out as result

:01:40.:01:48.

Western Mark I can confirm that what he has said is indeed the case.

:01:49.:01:55.

That is why this is important. We need to have more investment in our

:01:56.:01:59.

school system and that is precisely what we're doing but also make sure

:02:00.:02:05.

that it is fairly funded. Know he represents a community that will

:02:06.:02:08.

benefit from the fair funding system.

:02:09.:02:20.

I welcome any attempts at a fair funding formula but I'm concerned

:02:21.:02:26.

that funding doesn't reach schools with high proportions of high needs

:02:27.:02:32.

students. Can the Secretary of State reassure me that in developing this

:02:33.:02:37.

funding formula the exceptional needs of those Heiney children will

:02:38.:02:44.

always be protected and not at the expense of try to even things up?

:02:45.:02:49.

This statement will mean more money going into the high needs budget

:02:50.:02:53.

which I'm sure she will welcome. It is also worth reflecting on the fact

:02:54.:03:00.

more generally that there has been money made available to children

:03:01.:03:03.

going into primary and secondary already behind to help them catch

:03:04.:03:10.

up. We've looked at this a number of different ways to make sure that no

:03:11.:03:14.

child was in getting the appropriate amount of investment. I concern in

:03:15.:03:22.

doing all of this was the fact that a child growing up in her community

:03:23.:03:24.

would get a very different amount invested in them than it had grown

:03:25.:03:27.

up different part of the country and that is iniquitous and something we

:03:28.:03:30.

need change and I'm delighted to be able to say we are introducing fair

:03:31.:03:36.

funding so we will change that that for the better.

:03:37.:03:40.

Can I congratulate her on the statement? Schools in my

:03:41.:03:44.

constituency will be delighted that the per-pupil funding is being

:03:45.:03:50.

protected. Taxpayers will be delighted to hear that it is being

:03:51.:03:54.

done from departmental efficiencies. Which agree that doing it this way

:03:55.:04:01.

rather than putting the cost on to future generations is correct?

:04:02.:04:07.

I totally agree. None of these steps are easy. Easy thing is to put up

:04:08.:04:13.

tax which is what the party opposite wants to do. I don't think that is

:04:14.:04:17.

the right thing to do and never more so than with some of the challenges

:04:18.:04:22.

our country faces. We need to make sure that the money we are already

:04:23.:04:29.

getting is used efficiently. That means we can put more money to the

:04:30.:04:35.

front line of schools. When the schools minister Heather to

:04:36.:04:45.

left a cross-party delegation of Cumbria MPs in March, he was clear

:04:46.:04:50.

that it was necessary and fear for the schools budget, after having

:04:51.:05:00.

been protected to know players part in the government strategy of

:05:01.:05:03.

deficit reduction. Was he right or wrong?

:05:04.:05:09.

I think he has tried to get politics out of what is a sensible

:05:10.:05:14.

announcement that I have made about more funding for schools. I'm

:05:15.:05:18.

interested in what we're doing to practically improve education rather

:05:19.:05:23.

than the politics around it. Can I thank her and her ministers

:05:24.:05:28.

for taking time to listen to my concerns about Cheltenham schools

:05:29.:05:33.

and schools up and down the country affected by historic unfairness?

:05:34.:05:38.

This is a huge step forward. Can she confirm that every secondary school

:05:39.:05:43.

in Cheltenham will receive at least ?4000 per-pupil regardless of which

:05:44.:05:48.

pupils might be eligible? I set out today that we will indeed

:05:49.:05:55.

be putting forward ?4800 amount. I should put on record my tribute to

:05:56.:06:03.

him on the campaign setting it has local community's concerns in

:06:04.:06:07.

Cheltenham. He has done a good job of being clear about what local

:06:08.:06:12.

needs were and it has been helpful for the statement today.

:06:13.:06:17.

Many young people in Bristol choose to go to college rather than stay in

:06:18.:06:27.

their own school for sixth form. We'll be also benefit from fairer

:06:28.:06:31.

funding because the choices at the moment are being restricted due to

:06:32.:06:38.

cuts to sixth form colleges. The statement today is in relation

:06:39.:06:44.

to the core schools budget and there will be higher funding in respect of

:06:45.:06:48.

every school and local area. This will enable schools to do a better

:06:49.:06:56.

job of the provision that they have. She sets out the broader challenges

:06:57.:07:01.

about sex for funding but I want to reassure her and a house that we are

:07:02.:07:04.

committed to making sure the children stay in a school system

:07:05.:07:09.

that is well funded. I know that in Bristol it is one of those regions

:07:10.:07:14.

that has focused on education in recent years with success and I

:07:15.:07:18.

think it is important that we work together to see that success

:07:19.:07:21.

continue. This statement will be welcomed by

:07:22.:07:26.

parents across Nottingham and I and sure that people will be helping to

:07:27.:07:34.

disseminate the good news. Can I press on the issue of free schools?

:07:35.:07:39.

I'm glad she is still committed to them. We have seen the good effects

:07:40.:07:47.

that free schools can have on communities. While she confirm that

:07:48.:07:52.

all free schools due to open either this September or next September

:07:53.:07:57.

will still open? Absolutely. There is a strong

:07:58.:08:02.

pipeline of preschools. That is what we're getting on with. More than

:08:03.:08:07.

that is that we are underwriting the next hundred and 14 beyond that. I

:08:08.:08:12.

think we can deliver it more cost effectively and their award means

:08:13.:08:16.

additional funding to the front line of schools and communities like his

:08:17.:08:21.

own. I welcome the additional investment

:08:22.:08:25.

announced today but the Secretary of State will know that previous

:08:26.:08:28.

statements made in the last parliament by ministers in relation

:08:29.:08:31.

to core funding and the National School funding formula will have

:08:32.:08:36.

already been factored into schools' business plans. As a result, they

:08:37.:08:40.

will have already started restructuring and laying off

:08:41.:08:44.

teachers and support staff. Can she confirm there is nothing in the

:08:45.:08:48.

statement today that hit will undo the damage already done by the

:08:49.:08:52.

government? The direction of travel including in

:08:53.:09:00.

schools in London has been positive and that direction of travel is the

:09:01.:09:06.

real challenge to improve school standards across the country. I hope

:09:07.:09:10.

that direction of travel will continue and having been a governor

:09:11.:09:15.

myself I'm sure that the funding that I'm setting out today will be

:09:16.:09:19.

spent by schools as and when they receive it.

:09:20.:09:27.

Can I push the Secretary of State is to give a little bit more guidance

:09:28.:09:31.

with respect to how the money will be allocated by local authorities?

:09:32.:09:36.

In particular, will she allow honourable members who have got more

:09:37.:09:41.

involved in schools spreadsheets than they would care to identify the

:09:42.:09:52.

process where some schools are treated unfairly?

:09:53.:09:59.

Local authorities will consult only formula over the money they will get

:10:00.:10:02.

and then spread around the school system. What we've done is make sure

:10:03.:10:09.

for the first time as of 2018/19, that amount will be fair I like how

:10:10.:10:18.

we have seen in the past. I want them to be involved in the

:10:19.:10:21.

consultation process to make sure the money is well spread that I will

:10:22.:10:27.

make sure that it is available to every single school from 2018/ 19.

:10:28.:10:33.

Schools who do not want to process that amount will be asked why they

:10:34.:10:35.

are not doing so? . On Friday, my constituency said that

:10:36.:10:49.

high needs was an issue raised to me so can I thank her for this

:10:50.:10:54.

statement, in particular the focus in that area? As she has been so

:10:55.:10:59.

bold, may I ask are also to look at nursery funding and also post 16?

:11:00.:11:11.

Where standards can really make a difference to our children.

:11:12.:11:16.

I can reassure her that we have and indeed she knows that there has

:11:17.:11:19.

never been more investment going into early years and under this

:11:20.:11:22.

government. The good news is that the quality of early years probation

:11:23.:11:26.

is getting better and that is something that is really to be

:11:27.:11:31.

welcomed. Over time, I think it can significantly shift the dial on

:11:32.:11:32.

social mobility. We will come to the honourable lady

:11:33.:11:47.

in a moment. We are saving her up. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Could I

:11:48.:11:53.

warmly welcome the statement for the Secretary of State that will benefit

:11:54.:11:58.

all the schools in my constituency, can I also welcome that it is from

:11:59.:12:02.

efficiencies within the Department rather than borrowing, but can I

:12:03.:12:07.

have the Secretary of State to concern that this measure is not

:12:08.:12:12.

being funded on the excellent announcement of the extra half

:12:13.:12:16.

billion she is investing in technical education, because that is

:12:17.:12:18.

an important reform that she's making.

:12:19.:12:25.

If I can take this opportunity to welcome him to the House and I would

:12:26.:12:31.

say we are committed to pushing on with that budget announcement, I am

:12:32.:12:35.

determined to make sure that this really will be the breakthrough

:12:36.:12:38.

budget for skills, that the CBI described it as, and we have had

:12:39.:12:44.

excellent engagement with envoy is on technical education since we set

:12:45.:12:48.

out our strategy, the assessment will be coming in.

:12:49.:13:03.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I also join greet this announcement, and I have

:13:04.:13:09.

just been hosting in Parliament will welcome it, but can she confirmed in

:13:10.:13:13.

my constituency that we have a three tier education system, can she

:13:14.:13:17.

confirm that the three tier system will also benefit from this

:13:18.:13:22.

announcement but she has made as the two tier will as well.

:13:23.:13:29.

I can confirm that it will mean higher per-pupil funding in respect

:13:30.:13:32.

of every school in her local community, I think that is good news

:13:33.:13:36.

for Redditch and I think it will see continued improvements and

:13:37.:13:40.

standards. Thank you, Secretary of State.

:13:41.:13:47.

Order. Point of order. Thank you, Mr Speaker. I seek your guidance. On

:13:48.:13:54.

Friday I was meant to meet with the tribunal staff at Bennett house in

:13:55.:13:57.

my constituency. Bennett houses a Ministry of Justice building

:13:58.:14:01.

scheduled for closure and I was meeting stuff with concerns about

:14:02.:14:06.

this plan in my capacity as a member of Parliament. The meeting had been

:14:07.:14:09.

moved as officials informed stuff that I would be allowed on site and

:14:10.:14:15.

should I try to get on side I would be prevented from doing so. I seek

:14:16.:14:19.

your guidance on how best I could raise this matter with the Ministry

:14:20.:14:22.

of Justice and seek from you to ensure that other members of

:14:23.:14:27.

Parliament and scratch my art when inhibited and go along their duties.

:14:28.:14:33.

What I would say to the honourable gentleman, if the honourable

:14:34.:14:39.

gentleman, who is a new member of the house, or rather new, is

:14:40.:14:48.

alleging that there is a breach of privilege, that is something that is

:14:49.:14:55.

properly raised in writing with me. I would then address the matter in

:14:56.:15:01.

turn in writing. However, as the honourable gentleman has not

:15:02.:15:08.

specifically used that term or made that allegation, but complained of

:15:09.:15:13.

what might be called, in his mind, certainly, and unreasonable

:15:14.:15:20.

prevention or some sort of let or hindrance, what I would say to him

:15:21.:15:26.

is as follows, it is not a point of order as mere chair of the house,

:15:27.:15:33.

but said, I must say I am concerned to hear that a Government department

:15:34.:15:37.

has prevented his access to a Government building in his own

:15:38.:15:43.

constituency. This is ultimately a matter for ministers to determine,

:15:44.:15:51.

but let me say that without fear of contradiction and very explicitly

:15:52.:15:56.

that it strikes me as an unhelpful attitude. The honourable gentleman

:15:57.:16:01.

has made his concern clear and it is on the record, but it does seem to

:16:02.:16:04.

me that it is pretty obviously and on track unhelpful attitude on the

:16:05.:16:11.

part of the Department and I would hope that a minister would direct

:16:12.:16:19.

the Department not to obstruct member going about business in that

:16:20.:16:26.

way. We will leave it there. Presentation of build, Chris

:16:27.:16:32.

Grayling. Second reading, what day?

:16:33.:16:40.

Tomorrow. Thank you. We now come to the emergency debate on scheduling

:16:41.:16:46.

of Parliamentary business by the leader of the House. To move the

:16:47.:16:49.

motion, I called the shadow leader of the House.

:16:50.:16:56.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I beg to move the motion standing in that this

:16:57.:17:02.

House has considered the shed relation of Parliamentary business

:17:03.:17:06.

and the obligations of the two years engine for standing order

:17:07.:17:09.

requirements. I want to thank you for agreeing that this debate should

:17:10.:17:14.

take place. This is not a debate about a debate, but it is about an

:17:15.:17:22.

important point of principle, our Parliamentary democracy and the role

:17:23.:17:27.

of this House. It is about the opposition and other members holding

:17:28.:17:31.

the Government to account, it is about the sovereignty of Parliament.

:17:32.:17:38.

This house is not super iron, our constituents, the electorate expect

:17:39.:17:41.

us to be here, they voted for us, in the official case, to setup the

:17:42.:17:47.

programme for change, because Mr Speaker, this minority Government is

:17:48.:17:53.

not working. Can I start by turning to standing order, these are set out

:17:54.:17:57.

in the blue book, rules and procedures have to be certain and

:17:58.:18:00.

clear, and what is it say about opposition days? Standing order 14,

:18:01.:18:06.

20 days she'll be allotted in each session in proceedings on opposition

:18:07.:18:10.

business. 17 for Leader of the Opposition, and three at the

:18:11.:18:14.

disposal of the leader of the second largest opposition party. If you

:18:15.:18:18.

hang on a second, giving the announcement by the Government of a

:18:19.:18:22.

two-year session, references to session in standing orders should be

:18:23.:18:25.

interpreted as per year, therefore with the dates allocated pro rata.

:18:26.:18:33.

And so the Government announced by press release read to you

:18:34.:18:39.

Parliamentary session, double the length of a normal Parliamentary

:18:40.:18:48.

session. Therefore, using the plain words, the implication, the days

:18:49.:18:53.

would be doubled. I give way. She does not realise how lucky she

:18:54.:18:56.

is. When we were in opposition, we did not have the benefit of the

:18:57.:19:03.

Speaker in the chair to call urgent questions with the frequency that he

:19:04.:19:06.

does now to the huge advantage of the house. We have traded any

:19:07.:19:13.

composition days for the wisdom of the current Speaker, and long may he

:19:14.:19:21.

remain in the chair, because with an opposition Day debate, by the time

:19:22.:19:26.

you actually get to the debate, the gallery is empty and the generalists

:19:27.:19:29.

have all pushed off having written their copy.

:19:30.:19:34.

I'm going to get very emotional in a moment!

:19:35.:19:41.

I think that is not deserve any response whatsoever. Wait for this,

:19:42.:19:48.

in need 2012 session, extra days where provided for business, won the

:19:49.:19:55.

20 opposition days where provided for allocated, a further 14 on

:19:56.:19:57.

allotted days provided. Mr Speaker, we need certainty, the Government is

:19:58.:20:03.

not provided for in opposition day before the summer recess, making the

:20:04.:20:08.

earliest opposition day in September 20 17. This means a staggering eight

:20:09.:20:12.

months, nearly as long as the time it takes to have a baby, with every

:20:13.:20:15.

single opposition day providing vital scrutiny. The last day was on

:20:16.:20:23.

the 20th of January. At the same point in the Parliamentary session

:20:24.:20:28.

in 2010-12, the opposition was granted three opposition days and

:20:29.:20:33.

five any 2015 session. We need to be clear at business questions last

:20:34.:20:36.

week, the Leader of the House that in response to a business question,

:20:37.:20:41.

not to me, though I did ask, that a date was offered in September. Can I

:20:42.:20:45.

say that I was not aware of this opposition day, whether it is to the

:20:46.:20:49.

usual channels or suspects, so we do need to clarify what a session is.

:20:50.:20:55.

It is now two years, but we would not expect one year's worth to be

:20:56.:21:04.

allocated over those two years. Why is this important? Today is the 18th

:21:05.:21:07.

day the new parliament has been setting, so far legislation has only

:21:08.:21:13.

been discussed on foreign those days and foreign total of just 13 hours.

:21:14.:21:19.

Decisions have to be made on important matters that affect our

:21:20.:21:24.

country. I will give way. She says is sessions such last one

:21:25.:21:30.

year. Why then in 1997 and 98 when it with 18 months whether only 20

:21:31.:21:37.

days? 2001, only 20 days. 2005, 18 months, where there are only 20

:21:38.:21:41.

days? Clearly the honourable member was

:21:42.:21:44.

not listening, because it was not standing orders, and the comment has

:21:45.:21:50.

extended it. Why is this important? Decisions have to be made on

:21:51.:21:53.

important matters that affect our country. So far the Government has

:21:54.:21:57.

been pushed to give us an answer. I will give an example who had to have

:21:58.:22:04.

an amendment to the Queen's speech. It had to be secured an emergency

:22:05.:22:08.

debate on contaminated blood to set up an enquiry that the Government

:22:09.:22:13.

only conceded to just before the start of the debate. I have asked

:22:14.:22:17.

the Leader of the House several times for a debate on the statutory

:22:18.:22:20.

instrument which had been prayed against, Social Security personal

:22:21.:22:26.

independence regulations and the higher education regulations, number

:22:27.:22:32.

1025 and 1026. Time is given on the 19th of April, given the

:22:33.:22:37.

interruption, no time has been given for the debate. Those continuing

:22:38.:22:43.

best it is in the next academic year, the failure of this Government

:22:44.:22:47.

to allow a debate and a vote on the regulations has created bring

:22:48.:22:52.

uncertainty, so can be Leader of the House confirm that the regulations

:22:53.:23:00.

have not been enacted and there will be no increase for students in

:23:01.:23:04.

September, because in part five schedule two of the higher education

:23:05.:23:08.

and research act, it states that for any increases in the high amount of

:23:09.:23:12.

tuition fees, it would be necessary that each house of Parliament has

:23:13.:23:15.

passed a resolution. That has not been enacted yet, so has the

:23:16.:23:20.

Government sneaked this in under another act and betrayed our young

:23:21.:23:25.

people? This Government is just not working, there has been no justice

:23:26.:23:37.

for the 1950s women raised by those, many of MPs have raised this issue

:23:38.:23:40.

and many on the other side because we need a debate and a vote about

:23:41.:23:48.

motion on the health service, 22% fall in messing applications, where

:23:49.:23:52.

is the third tree of health said today, with 12,000 surgical

:23:53.:23:55.

procedures on children and young people have been cancelled last

:23:56.:24:01.

year, an increase of 35%. And now GPs are charging for visits. That is

:24:02.:24:07.

busily an end to the NHS as we know it. Mr Speaker, a decision has to be

:24:08.:24:17.

made on the Swansea tidal lagoon before the end of July. I have a

:24:18.:24:21.

letter that has been signed by 107 members on all sides asking backed

:24:22.:24:27.

the Henry review should be put into effect. I did raise it at business

:24:28.:24:33.

questions as well. Now that the EU bill has been published, a number of

:24:34.:24:36.

statutory instruments will flow from that Bill. Section seven, eight and

:24:37.:24:43.

nine all say that a minister of the Crown made by regulations make such

:24:44.:24:48.

provision as the Minister considers appropriate. Ministers having the

:24:49.:24:56.

power to do what they want. The Secretary of State for Exiting the

:24:57.:24:58.

European Union deflects base. He said if it statutory instrument is

:24:59.:25:00.

before the house, the House of Commons decides whether it is

:25:01.:25:04.

debated and that smack he said it is a quality House of Commons will stop

:25:05.:25:08.

patronisingly, he called it a statutory instrument which can be

:25:09.:25:14.

debated and voted on. The Secretary of State thinks we should be

:25:15.:25:18.

debating. When was the last time the Leader of the House spoke to the

:25:19.:25:21.

user to staple leaving beat you. This is not working. You're going to

:25:22.:25:28.

get the same answer, that the Speaker is going to get you that it

:25:29.:25:32.

is up to me whether I give way or not. And I want to proceed. The

:25:33.:25:36.

questions of days allocated for private members bills, 13 have been

:25:37.:25:42.

allocated for one year up until November 20 18. That is over 18

:25:43.:25:49.

months. Even through the current session lasts for two years. Why

:25:50.:25:54.

have they not been allocated? Unless the parliament is scared of the

:25:55.:26:04.

opposition, baggage debates... Mr Speaker, I repeat the Prime Minister

:26:05.:26:08.

's words through debate and discussion, these are the hallmarks

:26:09.:26:13.

for democracy, but it seems the Cabinet are too busy trying to push

:26:14.:26:18.

out. The Government needs to know that for a democracy to thrive,

:26:19.:26:22.

citizens of this country needs to have faith in their MPs to represent

:26:23.:26:28.

their views and not to be disenfranchised. It is vital for

:26:29.:26:32.

democracy to have debates when required by convention and for the

:26:33.:26:35.

opposition to set out what the opposition stands for.

:26:36.:26:40.

The electrode leads to see us at work, see the rhetoric turned into

:26:41.:26:47.

action. I'm going to proceed. If the government truly believe in the rule

:26:48.:26:52.

of law, where the parliament, the executive and the judiciary all play

:26:53.:26:56.

their part in upholding democracy, then the Leader of the House has to

:26:57.:27:01.

honour the interpretation of standing orders, clarify them, grant

:27:02.:27:04.

debates, uphold conventions in this session. Mr Speaker, the key

:27:05.:27:11.

question, is this in the public interest? And the answer is a

:27:12.:27:18.

resounding yes. The question is as on the order

:27:19.:27:23.

paper. But the Leader of the House speak?

:27:24.:27:28.

Thank you. I'm really pleased to have the opportunity to speak in

:27:29.:27:31.

this debate and I know you have granted it with your usual focus on

:27:32.:27:36.

ensuring that backbench voices can always be heard. And also in

:27:37.:27:40.

handling the creative tension between backbenchers and the

:27:41.:27:45.

government's right to schedule its own business and I'm sure the

:27:46.:27:49.

temptation to be a bit teary after the example of Centre Court

:27:50.:27:53.

yesterday will never overtake you. But we are all grateful to you for

:27:54.:27:58.

granting this debate which really gives me the chance to see that the

:27:59.:28:03.

business bought for word to this house since the general election is

:28:04.:28:10.

quite simply business as usual. I will expand on that, as you would

:28:11.:28:16.

expect. As always happens after a general election, the house is

:28:17.:28:19.

getting itself in order so that business can run smoothly. Many

:28:20.:28:24.

important debates have already taken place. Last week we had a vital

:28:25.:28:28.

debate on the Grenfell Tower inquiry. Any powerful points from

:28:29.:28:38.

eight -- many powerful points were made from members on all sides. This

:28:39.:28:47.

week we have been debating about eradicating the evil of drug abuse.

:28:48.:28:52.

And we are scheduled to have a debate on the intimidation of

:28:53.:28:57.

candidates in the general election, abuse that attacks the democratic

:28:58.:29:05.

process. These seem to me to be examples of the Parliamentary

:29:06.:29:08.

process working well with lots of opportunities for debate. The

:29:09.:29:12.

opposition would do well to explain to the house which of these debates

:29:13.:29:16.

they consider to be unimportant to the millions in the country who are

:29:17.:29:19.

relying on us to improve their lives. And delighted to.

:29:20.:29:37.

Grateful. When I raise the issue that I did, the response at business

:29:38.:29:50.

questions was we have to be innovative. If we have no backbench

:29:51.:29:56.

time or opposition days. If there is a refusal to have a vote on a

:29:57.:30:02.

motion, how can this important issue of concern not just to me and

:30:03.:30:06.

honourable members on this site and that side, how on earth can we are

:30:07.:30:15.

this issue and seek to have a result?

:30:16.:30:18.

I'm delighted that they have already had five debates on this important

:30:19.:30:24.

issue. During the Queen's Speech, there were six days of debate when

:30:25.:30:27.

the opposition chose the subjects they to debate. They have been

:30:28.:30:34.

plenty of opportunities to debate whatever the opposition wanted. In

:30:35.:30:38.

addition, urging government legislation has been introduced,

:30:39.:30:46.

including the atoll bill. There are further Queen's Speech debates to be

:30:47.:30:52.

brought forward. The bottom line is that the

:30:53.:30:56.

government has essentially half the number of days that the opposition

:30:57.:31:01.

can choose Soho is that good for democracy?

:31:02.:31:05.

That is simply not true and I will come onto that if he will just give

:31:06.:31:11.

me the chance. Will she take no lectures from the

:31:12.:31:16.

party opposite, the party that when in government reduced prime

:31:17.:31:23.

ministers Question Time for twice a week and introduced the regular

:31:24.:31:27.

guillotining of bills, thereby reducing debating time.

:31:28.:31:34.

He is exactly right to raise these points. I want to be positive and

:31:35.:31:39.

talk about what we are doing. We have been mindful of backbenchers

:31:40.:31:45.

and as requested by the chair that the Backbench Business Committee we

:31:46.:31:47.

have rescheduled some of the debates that were agreed before dissolution.

:31:48.:31:52.

I'm pleased that we have already found the time for those debates,

:31:53.:31:58.

some of them, including an Israel Palestine debate.

:31:59.:32:08.

With regard to his intervention, isn't it the case that when Prime

:32:09.:32:14.

Minister's Questions was changed, there was no change in time because

:32:15.:32:20.

the 215 minute sessions were consolidated into 130 minute session

:32:21.:32:24.

which no regularly lasts 45 minutes, so there is more time than ever.

:32:25.:32:33.

I would agree that Prime Minister's Questions has become a lengthy

:32:34.:32:36.

experience which is all the better for. Collections of the committees

:32:37.:32:42.

themselves will take place as soon as possible. The house will also

:32:43.:32:45.

know that setting phrases have been announced. Mr Speaker, given the

:32:46.:32:52.

outbreak affected by the opposition, you'd be forgiven for thinking that

:32:53.:32:57.

the Red Hat -- there had been no opportunities at all for them to

:32:58.:33:02.

have their voices heard. In addition to the 60s given to the Queen's

:33:03.:33:09.

Speech out of the 18 days in this term, so 40%, we're topics were of

:33:10.:33:15.

course chosen by the opposition, there have been to debates

:33:16.:33:19.

understanding order 24, six urging questions, 14 adjournment debates in

:33:20.:33:25.

this chamber, 15 departmental oral question times, 16 oral statements,

:33:26.:33:31.

dreadful debates in Westminster Hall and of course I'm sure the shadow

:33:32.:33:37.

leader would not want to forget the feisty business session questions we

:33:38.:33:42.

have had in this chamber. So it is certainly not the government's fault

:33:43.:33:45.

of the opposition has failed to make good use of these many

:33:46.:33:49.

opportunities. They will already be aware that an opposition Day debate

:33:50.:33:54.

has been offered by the usual channels for after the summer recess

:33:55.:33:57.

in September. I'm grateful for her giving way. She

:33:58.:34:03.

says that the committees will be elected in due course. The main

:34:04.:34:12.

opposition party have carried out their duties today, home of ten --

:34:13.:34:19.

housing can we expect the government to do so?

:34:20.:34:24.

As soon as is a land within the normal time frame. Making comparison

:34:25.:34:31.

with 20 and 15 -- 2015 general election, similar amount of

:34:32.:34:43.

opposition days have been held. But the general election in 2015 was in

:34:44.:34:48.

May, not in June. Between the Queen's Speech on the 8th of June

:34:49.:34:52.

this year and the summer recess, there will only have been 18 sitting

:34:53.:35:00.

days -- 18 sitting days. Let's look at our record versus when they were

:35:01.:35:05.

in government. Let's use their assumptions that each session should

:35:06.:35:09.

be one year and each year there should be 20 opposition days. On the

:35:10.:35:15.

reckoning, opposition parties between 1987 and 2010, when Labour

:35:16.:35:21.

were in office, where short by 45 opposition days. By the same

:35:22.:35:26.

calculation using their assessment, between 2010 and today, the

:35:27.:35:29.

opposition had one more day than their allocation.

:35:30.:35:36.

It is a bit rich of the Leader of the House to see, to give us the

:35:37.:35:42.

number of days between the Queen's Speech and the recess since they

:35:43.:35:49.

give us the date of the recess and a delayed the Queen's Speech. In 2015,

:35:50.:36:02.

there were five days. She is talking through a hole in her head.

:36:03.:36:16.

What struck me... It may be a mistake case of mistaken identity

:36:17.:36:27.

but I heard a Somerset voice saying order. Whether that was in good

:36:28.:36:32.

taste is a matter for people's judgment. The Leader of the House is

:36:33.:36:38.

a robust character and I think she is unfazed.

:36:39.:36:46.

Just as a point of fact, the tears on my highs in Centre Court

:36:47.:36:50.

yesterday were tears of joy for the greatest of all time.

:36:51.:36:59.

And I felt sure that if you were to feel emotional today it would also

:37:00.:37:03.

be tears of joy so I am not inconsistent. He may be technically

:37:04.:37:16.

correct but he is extremely rude. In the extended Parliamentary session

:37:17.:37:23.

of 2010 and 2012 we provided extra days for Private Members' Bills. The

:37:24.:37:30.

standing orders set out that they were matters for parties to agree

:37:31.:37:38.

on. They have been elected just as quickly as in previous

:37:39.:37:39.

administrations. It seems that this debate is

:37:40.:37:45.

depending descending into a pointless debate about what may or

:37:46.:37:49.

may not have happened in the past. Surely it is possible to get to an

:37:50.:37:54.

agreement. It is right that we get the opportunity to the opposition to

:37:55.:37:59.

hold the government to account. We have got it to session rather than a

:38:00.:38:03.

one-year session saw in broad equivalents they could get the same

:38:04.:38:07.

amount of reply days. He is right. That is what we are

:38:08.:38:12.

talking about which is why I opened my remarks by saying that this is

:38:13.:38:17.

exactly what Mac absolutely business as usual.

:38:18.:38:26.

Does she agree that this debate about debates is potentially eating

:38:27.:38:31.

into the time to talk about the very serious issue of intimidation of

:38:32.:38:37.

Parliamentary candidates in their selection? I see that members

:38:38.:38:41.

opposite are sniggering but do they not take democracy as seriously as

:38:42.:38:48.

me? I'm deterrent concerned that we are eating into the time for this

:38:49.:38:53.

debate to talk about our diaries. She is exactly right. This is a

:38:54.:39:00.

debate about processes, not material things or things our constituents

:39:01.:39:07.

care about. In terms of respecting Parliamentary supremacy, something

:39:08.:39:11.

that I know is dear to you, Mr Speaker, let's look at the

:39:12.:39:15.

performance of my party versus the opposition. Who was at that created

:39:16.:39:20.

the Backbench Business Committee in 2010? My party. Who was it that

:39:21.:39:28.

brought in elections to select committees? My party. Who introduced

:39:29.:39:45.

the eve edition system? My party. -- the e-petition system. My party has

:39:46.:39:51.

done more. The government has formally responded to 264 petitions

:39:52.:39:57.

and 20 of them have been scheduled for debate. The government has

:39:58.:40:04.

responded to 162 urging questions in this house since 2015. The Sergeant

:40:05.:40:10.

debate as a result of party politics at its worst. -- this urgent debate.

:40:11.:40:18.

I don't believe people were voting for petty time wasting by a Labour

:40:19.:40:25.

Party. All the opposition is doing is talking about process when what

:40:26.:40:29.

is important is policy. The opposition say they want to talk

:40:30.:40:34.

about tuition fees so let us talk about them. We are committed to

:40:35.:40:38.

supporting all young people to reach their full potential, whether that

:40:39.:40:43.

is going to university, starting an apprenticeship or taking a

:40:44.:40:48.

qualification. Young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are now

:40:49.:40:52.

going to university at a record rate, up 42% since 2009. But Labour

:40:53.:40:57.

are in a mess over the pledge they made to students just seven days

:40:58.:41:07.

before the general election, a pledge they have no admitted would

:41:08.:41:12.

cost many billions and was just an invention according to the Shadow

:41:13.:41:14.

Chancellor. These should be upfront about their plans. Is it still the

:41:15.:41:18.

plan to cancel student debt or a pre-election scan? Perhaps he would

:41:19.:41:23.

like to talk about the economy. On this site, we have shown

:41:24.:41:25.

determination to live within our means so that the next generation

:41:26.:41:31.

are not saddled with the debts of 30 years of Labour recklessness. We

:41:32.:41:35.

inherited the largest peacetime deficit over from the party

:41:36.:41:36.

opposite. It. This is deferred it is about

:41:37.:41:47.

opposition days and the Government to account. If you want a debate,

:41:48.:41:52.

why did she not allow them then actually diverging from what this

:41:53.:41:57.

debate is today? The honourable gentleman is aware that the

:41:58.:42:01.

frontbenchers are usually accorded a modest and latitude in developing

:42:02.:42:04.

their arguments, hence I have allowed a modest latitude, but I

:42:05.:42:08.

think the Leader of the House will shortly return to the thrust of the

:42:09.:42:14.

matter of the debate, not what might have been under debate, but what is

:42:15.:42:19.

under debate, and I know she will return to that. I do not think there

:42:20.:42:26.

is a further. It is said that she believes that this debate we're

:42:27.:42:29.

having now is completely irrelevant and a far more important one will be

:42:30.:42:32.

later in the day I just wonder because the number of Conservative

:42:33.:42:36.

members who stood to catch your eye earlier, whether you think they're a

:42:37.:42:39.

conservative members who would like to take part in this debate the

:42:40.:42:42.

debate they had scheduled on tonight?

:42:43.:42:47.

There are lots of members who want to speak today and in this debate,

:42:48.:42:53.

which can last for a maximum of three hours, there are lots of

:42:54.:42:56.

Government backbenchers who wish to speak. Keen to accommodate both

:42:57.:43:01.

backbenchers and opposition backbenchers and I am keen to

:43:02.:43:04.

accommodate would-be maiden speakers, and if we could now

:43:05.:43:11.

minimise points of frustration and focus on the debate, I think that

:43:12.:43:14.

would be beneficial to all concerned.

:43:15.:43:18.

Mr Speaker, I was going to continue to talk about the way we sought to

:43:19.:43:23.

improve our ability to live within our means and the amazing employment

:43:24.:43:26.

record of this Government as an effort to get the opposition to

:43:27.:43:30.

focus on what really matters, but I will never the less not bother to

:43:31.:43:35.

talk about employment, but I will continue to the opposition's desire

:43:36.:43:42.

to consider process. Did she know it a glorious irony

:43:43.:43:45.

that the opposition have called for an emergency debate is interesting,

:43:46.:43:53.

if they wish it to be curtailed's I think my honourable friend speaks

:43:54.:43:58.

for all of us in his observation. I have outlined the many

:43:59.:44:03.

opportunities allowed to debate in this house. In four days, the house

:44:04.:44:07.

rises for recess, but not before many opportunities to put their

:44:08.:44:11.

views on the record. Today we are supposed to be debating the abuse

:44:12.:44:16.

and intimidation of candidates during the general election. Members

:44:17.:44:19.

on both sides of this house have been victims of violent abuse from

:44:20.:44:25.

anarchists and have left activists, but Labour are obviously not

:44:26.:44:28.

interested. It is unlikely there will be any time for that critical

:44:29.:44:32.

debate to take place today. I sincerely hope that the Leader of

:44:33.:44:36.

the Opposition, having prevented this, all want to condemn in the

:44:37.:44:40.

strongest language be frightening and intimidating abuse endured by

:44:41.:44:45.

many on this side of the house as many as many on his own benches.

:44:46.:44:49.

This Government is working towards a brighter future for our great

:44:50.:44:53.

country, we are bringing forward the EU bill and negotiating our leading

:44:54.:45:01.

of the union through the will of the British people, looking to make a

:45:02.:45:04.

success of Brexit and putting a strong programme and putting strong

:45:05.:45:08.

legislation embrace introducing measures that will improvement or

:45:09.:45:14.

health provision, blobby industries of tomorrow and stamp out extremism

:45:15.:45:21.

and terrorism. These are issues... Point of order. I had to take it on

:45:22.:45:30.

trust. I note we were in deep in

:45:31.:45:34.

conversation, but we are now turning back to issues... There is a long

:45:35.:45:41.

list of what this Government has achieved, if she wants to have these

:45:42.:45:46.

debates properly, why did she not give the opposition debates to do

:45:47.:45:49.

them and be voted on. I get the point that the honourable

:45:50.:45:53.

gentleman has made and as far as I can tell, I hope I sense correctly,

:45:54.:46:00.

the Leader of the House is likely reaching this as there are many

:46:01.:46:04.

members that wish to speak and there is none the labour of woodland

:46:05.:46:09.

between the time taken by the opposition spokesperson and the

:46:10.:46:11.

Government spokesperson. The honourable lady is in order, but as

:46:12.:46:15.

they say, I imagine she is nearing the conclusion of her remarks.

:46:16.:46:27.

Rather than gracious of the honourable gentleman to yell from a

:46:28.:46:37.

sedentary position. He could always adopt a gentle Burl which seems more

:46:38.:46:42.

seemly. Members of the opposition are

:46:43.:46:45.

certainly not being very charming this evening. All I was saying is I

:46:46.:46:51.

was trying to outline some of the issues that really matter to the

:46:52.:46:55.

people of our great country and it is in the interest of our country

:46:56.:47:01.

that this Government provides certainty, continuity and control as

:47:02.:47:05.

we forge a new and successful future for the whole of the United Kingdom.

:47:06.:47:10.

I hope colleagues agree that safety welfare and prosperity of this

:47:11.:47:14.

country should be our priority and I will work with all willing

:47:15.:47:17.

colleagues across the house to achieve this.

:47:18.:47:24.

Thank you. We very much welcome this debate and

:47:25.:47:28.

we share the concerns of this parliamentary session of the next

:47:29.:47:32.

two years. We agree that we need priority about the scheduling,

:47:33.:47:36.

particularly backbench business and opposition business. Since we have

:47:37.:47:39.

come back, the pace of the normal arrangements have been put back into

:47:40.:47:45.

place have been unsatisfactory. We now only have three full days of

:47:46.:47:48.

this parliamentary session before the long summer recess and we still

:47:49.:47:52.

do not have the select committees of this house up and running, nor do we

:47:53.:47:55.

know the arrangements for the standing committees of the house and

:47:56.:47:59.

the statutory instrument of it and given they will be particularly

:48:00.:48:04.

burdened with the repeal Bill, we will need some clarity and certainty

:48:05.:48:10.

about the committees. I think I heard earlier that neither

:48:11.:48:14.

the SNP Labour Party had yet constituted their own members for

:48:15.:48:15.

these select committee. They have only

:48:16.:48:26.

just constituted. I would therefore not be possible to constitute...

:48:27.:48:33.

Until very recently we about to go into recess.

:48:34.:48:39.

I'm to the honourable lady because I can say that we are ready to supply

:48:40.:48:45.

the best membership of the select committee and I believe the Labour

:48:46.:48:50.

Party are in a position to do so. You may be generous offer images

:48:51.:48:53.

that you would help facilitate any political party in this house but

:48:54.:48:57.

seem to have any difficulty with arranging its membership for select

:48:58.:49:00.

committees. I do not know if the Conservative Party have approached

:49:01.:49:03.

you in order to make sure that promises have filled because what we

:49:04.:49:09.

have seen is not the Labour Party or the SNP holding up the creation of

:49:10.:49:13.

the select committee, it is the Conservative Party. Please,

:49:14.:49:16.

Conservative Party, make use of this very kind offer from the Speaker of

:49:17.:49:20.

the house. Could it be that so many honourable

:49:21.:49:23.

members on this side of the house want to take part in the select

:49:24.:49:27.

committees and therefore an election is quiet and perhaps not the same

:49:28.:49:31.

interest on the other side. I say to the honourable gentleman

:49:32.:49:38.

candidly, get on with it. You should have these committees up and running

:49:39.:49:41.

before the summer recess in and give you cannot do it yourself, take the

:49:42.:49:44.

offer from the Speaker and make sure this gets arranged. I will give way.

:49:45.:49:53.

Can I say to my honourable friend that we have hard elections on the

:49:54.:50:01.

election they besides, but if the honourable gentleman thinks that

:50:02.:50:03.

they will have difficulty in arranging them, we could provide

:50:04.:50:07.

election observers and tell us for the Conservative Party if necessary.

:50:08.:50:11.

I'm grateful to the honourable gentleman because I think that is a

:50:12.:50:15.

good suggestion. How about we take use of the advantage of the office

:50:16.:50:19.

of the Speaker, we could send observers along, we could help

:50:20.:50:23.

visibility the Conservatives to help facilitate this. Let's get on with

:50:24.:50:26.

it. We have three days away from summer recess.

:50:27.:50:41.

The SNP were granted the chairs of two select committees, but I cannot

:50:42.:50:48.

understand when it comes to give the parties, all the members were

:50:49.:50:54.

entitled to vote, but it seems the SMP which is given one candidate,

:50:55.:50:58.

can explain why? Can I say to the honourable

:50:59.:51:03.

gentleman that is because there were superb candidates. Particularly the

:51:04.:51:09.

one that was nominated for the chair of the Scottish select committee,

:51:10.:51:18.

that is why that has been the case. The honourable gentleman has left

:51:19.:51:23.

out the amazing ability... It amazes made because how could I

:51:24.:51:27.

forget my honourable friend and forever grateful of him for

:51:28.:51:35.

reminding me of this. Just to say that the boats are still

:51:36.:51:39.

being cast in the Labour Party for members of the Foreign Affairs

:51:40.:51:42.

Committee, and if any members have not yet voted, they have until

:51:43.:51:48.

8:30pm. I'm grateful for that intervention.

:51:49.:51:56.

It must've been a particularly good intervention that they made. It is

:51:57.:52:02.

not as if this Government has been over exercised and energised thus

:52:03.:52:06.

far, and it is perhaps unfavourably, this Parliament has already been

:52:07.:52:10.

daubed zombie parliament, but I think that comparison would give the

:52:11.:52:19.

flesh eating undead a bad name. This is turbo-charged political zombie

:52:20.:52:24.

is, that is to be curious type of zombie, because if you look at them,

:52:25.:52:28.

it not only the caring of flesh, they are starting to consume

:52:29.:52:33.

themselves. What passes for discourse, normal discourse on the

:52:34.:52:39.

Secretary of State and Whitehall department is cowed briefing. When

:52:40.:52:44.

you do nothing, bad stuff happens. This is a Government at war with

:52:45.:52:52.

itself. They all jostle to be the next captain of the SS Tory Titanic.

:52:53.:52:59.

They're trying to do this with Brexit, but before we get on with

:53:00.:53:04.

it, you leave that the Brexiteers Perry bunch of pirates, what a great

:53:05.:53:09.

smarmy pirate is. I have this image of a mixture of Captain Pugwash and

:53:10.:53:15.

Jack Sparrow re-enacting the battle of the Thames with Nigel Farage and

:53:16.:53:20.

Bob Geldof, but shiver my timbers and pieces about, I would not mind

:53:21.:53:25.

being one myself. And then we have the member forward with Green who

:53:26.:53:28.

believes the plot should just shut up for goodness' sake. That would

:53:29.:53:34.

deprive the house of so much value. It was also said that members of the

:53:35.:53:37.

Cabinet should drink less prosecco. He was me thinking cheap prosecco,

:53:38.:53:43.

surely the only finest champagne would be good enough for my

:53:44.:53:46.

Conservative friends opposite. But according to the Transport

:53:47.:53:52.

Secretary, there is nothing to see here and we are not a bunch of

:53:53.:53:56.

clones. Well, thank goodness for that. Mr Speaker, there is no wonder

:53:57.:54:00.

that they do not want scrutiny when there is such a matter of chaos and

:54:01.:54:07.

turmoil. I agree that the enthusiasm of so much of this on the public. I

:54:08.:54:15.

was at my surgeries this weekend and I don't banners saying that what

:54:16.:54:19.

they wanted was more opposition days for the Labour Party. But this is

:54:20.:54:27.

the important, I think the constituents expect us to come down

:54:28.:54:30.

here to ensure that we arrange the optimal conditions for debate and

:54:31.:54:34.

scrutiny and we get on with the job and ensure the Government is held to

:54:35.:54:39.

account. We are in a very different type of Parliament, maybe that will

:54:40.:54:43.

in skis the behaviours are not getting this back in place. I do not

:54:44.:54:48.

think since the 1970s there has been such an certainty. Not since the

:54:49.:54:56.

days of Callaghan and Wilson have we had that belief. The Fixed-term

:54:57.:54:59.

Parliaments Act has proven to be the biggest waste of Parliamentary time

:55:00.:55:04.

possibly in Parliamentary history, supposed to give certainty, the

:55:05.:55:07.

scheduling of debates, it was always going to fail when there was a

:55:08.:55:10.

Government to want to have an early election who would... Who would not

:55:11.:55:16.

be able to resist holding that particular condition. We therefore

:55:17.:55:21.

have a parliament in Government on political life support, always

:55:22.:55:23.

requiring emergency treatment and always honourable to the infection

:55:24.:55:28.

of events as it tries to define some purpose and meaning. The condition

:55:29.:55:34.

of this Government is all it's own fault. Hubris to quit and

:55:35.:55:38.

unnecessarily calling an early election to try and take advantage

:55:39.:55:42.

of what has happened is a crisis of chaos in the labour opposition which

:55:43.:55:45.

has now returned home, embarrassed and diminished and chaotic and is

:55:46.:55:53.

all their own fault. This is now almost definitely a house of

:55:54.:55:58.

minorities and legislation in the way we construct our business in

:55:59.:56:01.

this house must reflect this and we have too make sure we get

:56:02.:56:04.

arrangements properly in place in order to ensure the new political

:56:05.:56:09.

climate across this house is observed. That is why it is

:56:10.:56:13.

disappointing the Government instead of rising properly to the challenges

:56:14.:56:17.

has done everything to frustrate, delay and towards the creation of

:56:18.:56:22.

all the arrangements are essential for proper scrutiny in these new

:56:23.:56:25.

conditions. The main means of this and achieving it is to have a

:56:26.:56:31.

programme that is as opaque and contentious as possible so we

:56:32.:56:35.

possibly get bored and don't take any great concern and interest in

:56:36.:56:39.

this and no votes go through Parliament. The only one that is

:56:40.:56:44.

contentious and the big deal of this Parliamentary term will be Brexit.

:56:45.:56:51.

What they have less labour opposition that practically agree

:56:52.:56:55.

with everything the government want to secure and achieve with this hard

:56:56.:57:01.

Brexit. When it comes to the main theme of this hard Brexit, with

:57:02.:57:05.

leaving the single market, the customs union, ending the freedom of

:57:06.:57:09.

movement, the Labour opposition practically agree with the

:57:10.:57:12.

government on everything. What we have therefore is the difficulty for

:57:13.:57:21.

this government to get to its Brexit business on top of a legislative

:57:22.:57:25.

programme that is slow soul like it is practically all peak. What we

:57:26.:57:38.

what we have is this appalling deal that the government struck with the

:57:39.:57:48.

Democratic Unionist Party. This was agreed behind closed doors and the

:57:49.:57:52.

house has not had the opportunity to debate this deal, scrutinise it,

:57:53.:57:55.

have its consequences considered, not least in terms of how it turns

:57:56.:58:00.

normal funding allocations on their head. This is a deal designed to by

:58:01.:58:06.

the government its majority and has unfortunately set the tone for this

:58:07.:58:11.

parliament and refined their contentious approach. Also the

:58:12.:58:21.

appalling and divisive English votes for English laws procedure. It is

:58:22.:58:26.

opposed and loathed by every other political party outside the Tories.

:58:27.:58:32.

It no longer secures a Parliamentary majority. It is also ridiculous that

:58:33.:58:37.

this government relies on a party that is subject to the constraints

:58:38.:58:53.

of EVEL to get its policies through. Let's see if we can secure a

:58:54.:58:58.

solution which can agree with consensus and debate. Let's get

:58:59.:59:02.

something that brings property is -- proper scrutiny for all the United

:59:03.:59:09.

Kingdom. We need to get down to business. It is simply unacceptable

:59:10.:59:13.

that we won't have the select committee set up soon. We've had an

:59:14.:59:18.

exchange on the logjam of securing these select committees and I hope

:59:19.:59:22.

that the Leader of the House takes this seriously and we can get on and

:59:23.:59:26.

do this. We have to have standing committees in place. Because we

:59:27.:59:33.

don't, it means the committee stages of bills cannot be considered and

:59:34.:59:39.

the government has to bring those stages to the whole house. The girls

:59:40.:59:43.

have now been subject to that procedure. It is purely unacceptable

:59:44.:59:50.

that this is going to go on. After this debate, we're looking at

:59:51.:59:56.

another statutory committee. It is clearly unsatisfactory.

:59:57.:00:04.

As we all know, we've been through the process of election where if a

:00:05.:00:10.

prospective candidate doesn't get in on time then tough, the election

:00:11.:00:16.

goes on without them. They don't postpone the election of the

:00:17.:00:19.

candidates can sort themselves out. Is that something they could look at

:00:20.:00:24.

in terms of select committees? That of the government don't put their

:00:25.:00:26.

names on committees, the committees meet without them?

:00:27.:00:32.

I think that is an elegant solution to a solvable problem and I'm

:00:33.:00:35.

grateful to him for suggesting it. Maybe we will get some action over

:00:36.:00:40.

the next few days to resolve this. Correct me if I'm wrong, the reason

:00:41.:00:46.

why we haven't got the standing committees and running is that there

:00:47.:00:50.

is a problem with arithmetic. My understanding is that the government

:00:51.:00:54.

have nine places, the Labour opposition have seven places and we

:00:55.:00:59.

have two places, which properly reflects the political arithmetic in

:01:00.:01:03.

this house, reflecting that this house is a house of minority. That

:01:04.:01:07.

means that the government would have to work a bit harder in order to get

:01:08.:01:12.

business through. What would be clearly unacceptable and what seems

:01:13.:01:16.

to be happening and I hope it stops soon, is that the government seem to

:01:17.:01:24.

be subverting the committee stage of legislation and bringing it either

:01:25.:01:27.

to the whole house here in the chamber and doing all its amendments

:01:28.:01:32.

in the report stage. That would be unacceptable and stand against

:01:33.:01:35.

everything that we understand that the normal business of Parliament.

:01:36.:01:42.

He is making an interesting point because everybody knows that the

:01:43.:01:46.

most inadequate part of the legislative process is report stage

:01:47.:01:50.

with the government can put down amendments which are never even

:01:51.:01:55.

debated. Absolutely right. She probably

:01:56.:01:59.

shares my concerns about if that was to pass and how inadequate the

:02:00.:02:11.

report stage can be. These types of intricate and important pieces of

:02:12.:02:14.

legislation required to be scrutinised properly in proper

:02:15.:02:17.

committees of this house and it is incumbent on this house to make sure

:02:18.:02:22.

that is in place. Any attempt to subvert the normal arrangement of

:02:23.:02:26.

bills going to committees is unacceptable and I hope house can

:02:27.:02:39.

deal with this. I'm almost disappointed that the member for...

:02:40.:02:50.

Chris Bryant isn't here. I think you were elected before me, Mr Speaker,

:02:51.:02:55.

but I remember the election in 2001 and the response given that in 2001

:02:56.:03:06.

it was a June election. We had all the committees in place even though

:03:07.:03:11.

it was a June election. It took place on 7th of June. The Queen's

:03:12.:03:20.

Speech was held on 20th June and all the select committees were in place

:03:21.:03:25.

and functioning by the 19th of July. The reason for that is in those days

:03:26.:03:30.

it was a stitch up by the whips. Now we elect the members. That is the

:03:31.:03:37.

key difference. I'm grateful because he reminds me

:03:38.:03:40.

and I'm sure he will remember this as well of something that happened

:03:41.:03:46.

during the establishment of committees in 2001. It was a stitch

:03:47.:03:53.

up by the whips at that point and he will remember when they tried to

:03:54.:03:57.

remove two people from the chair of select committees which actually

:03:58.:04:00.

held at the creation of the select committees that year but we still

:04:01.:04:04.

managed to get them in place. There is no reason whatsoever why this

:04:05.:04:10.

can't happen. The example 2001 is a very good one. They were all in

:04:11.:04:14.

place even though that year was a June election. Can we also see we

:04:15.:04:19.

agree with the honourable lady in terms of opposition days and time

:04:20.:04:25.

set aside for backbench business. It looks like backbench business and

:04:26.:04:28.

private members business will probably be about the most

:04:29.:04:31.

interesting features of this Parliamentary session, given that we

:04:32.:04:37.

are unlikely... And I can hear my friend who has a particularly good

:04:38.:04:39.

Private Members' Bill that you should come along and listen to. But

:04:40.:04:45.

this is probably going to be the most interesting business given the

:04:46.:04:49.

laxity that we are going to see from members so we have to have proper

:04:50.:04:57.

time and members were back -- time given to this.

:04:58.:05:06.

Is it not a pointless exercise unless the government reforms how

:05:07.:05:12.

bills go through this house? And get their own members to stop stymieing

:05:13.:05:18.

the private members' bills. He is spot on and I share his

:05:19.:05:25.

frustration about the way private members' bills go through this

:05:26.:05:30.

house. I remember the bill from John Nicholson was stopped by government.

:05:31.:05:34.

We had the necessary numbers but it was still stymied by this

:05:35.:05:37.

government. The way that certain members of this house do all they

:05:38.:05:45.

can to filibuster Private Members' Bills does a disgrace on this house

:05:46.:05:51.

because our constituents expect better. If you are lucky enough to

:05:52.:05:56.

security Private Members' Bill, it is right and proper that they are

:05:57.:06:00.

properly debated and I hope we can reform that. We support what the

:06:01.:06:06.

honourable lady said about private members sitting and that should be

:06:07.:06:09.

doubled and I hope the government does this. There have to be proper

:06:10.:06:13.

arrangements and understandings about time allocated for opposition

:06:14.:06:21.

days. We are entitled to three opposition days per Parliamentary

:06:22.:06:26.

session. We expect 6/2 years and I hope the house will be able to

:06:27.:06:30.

confirm this. We have to get all these things out because the

:06:31.:06:33.

arrangements are unsatisfactory. I saw her usual channels is working

:06:34.:06:52.

and seems to be misunderstanding about the expectations of

:06:53.:06:55.

Parliament. I would encourage an open house as much as possible to

:06:56.:06:59.

try and get a better grasp of the new reality of this house, this

:07:00.:07:07.

house of minorities, the fact that nobody has a majority. This zombie

:07:08.:07:14.

Parliament must get up and working. It must be allowed to do its work.

:07:15.:07:23.

It must allow us to do the work that constituents sent us here today. For

:07:24.:07:27.

goodness' sake, let's get on with it and do it.

:07:28.:07:37.

Maiden speech. Thank you for calling me to speak in

:07:38.:07:45.

this important debate but I am disappointed at the time not being

:07:46.:07:52.

allowed in the intimidation debate but I will try to give my own

:07:53.:08:03.

experiences. It is a great privilege to be delivering my maiden speech

:08:04.:08:08.

representing my own constituency of Angus. I would like to take this

:08:09.:08:14.

opportunity to pay tribute to my predecessor who serve the people of

:08:15.:08:20.

Angus over his years in this house. He had a prominent campaign to save

:08:21.:08:25.

the post office and took on the role of Chief Whip for his party. I wish

:08:26.:08:29.

him all the best in his future endeavours. It would be remiss if I

:08:30.:08:34.

also did not mention the previous Conservative and Unionist MP for

:08:35.:08:43.

Angus. The late Lord was not just a great voice for his area but also

:08:44.:08:51.

had a remarkable legal career. The diverse constituency of Angus

:08:52.:08:54.

nestled North of Dundee and south of Aberdeen sure has the most dramatic

:08:55.:09:00.

coastline and picturesque lens to the north-west. The five main

:09:01.:09:11.

towns... There are a number of villages and communities throughout.

:09:12.:09:20.

It is the residents who have suffered most significantly to the

:09:21.:09:23.

lack of mobile and broadband coverage. With current roll-out

:09:24.:09:29.

below the national average, it is unsurprising that this has come up

:09:30.:09:37.

in every constituency surgery I have had to date. I will work to ensure

:09:38.:09:46.

residents and businesses are not left behind because of where they

:09:47.:09:53.

choose to reside and operate. From my agricultural roots, I understand

:09:54.:10:02.

its importance to the area. We provide 30% of the country's

:10:03.:10:10.

potatoes and 25% of soft fruit, so agriculture is a significant

:10:11.:10:15.

contributor to the local economy. Angus is home to many successful

:10:16.:10:18.

projects in the versification including renewables, to the first

:10:19.:10:34.

potato -based vodka. It incorporates a famous residents, the childhood

:10:35.:10:38.

home of the late Queen Mother. I recently attended one of the many

:10:39.:10:47.

excellent Proms with thousands of people from across Scotland.

:10:48.:10:52.

Attractions in Angus entice tourists from far and wide. People golf on

:10:53.:11:01.

some of the best-known courses or take part in outdoor pursuits.

:11:02.:11:06.

Montrose port will welcome its first cruise ship, due to dock next year,

:11:07.:11:13.

a further boost for our industries. Nevertheless, I'm incredibly aware

:11:14.:11:16.

that there is a power of work to be done to support the current offering

:11:17.:11:22.

and to ensure that nobody slips into North Aberdeenshire without testing

:11:23.:11:30.

it Forfar Brady en route. Businesses throughout Angus range from local to

:11:31.:11:33.

global, from engineering to manufacturing, oil and gas as well

:11:34.:11:37.

as textiles and are highly regarded food and drink offering. A host of

:11:38.:11:43.

businesses work in key sectors including pharmaceuticals giant

:11:44.:11:49.

GlaxoSmithKline, textiles manufacturable keys, Mackay 's in

:11:50.:11:59.

Arbroath and a textile innovator and also design innovators. They are

:12:00.:12:02.

also supported by strong networks of local businesses which are

:12:03.:12:07.

collectively the lifeblood of our local economy, providing the jobs

:12:08.:12:11.

that anger so desperately needs. As government, we must support wherever

:12:12.:12:15.

possible, enabling with prosperity and longevity. Angus has much to be

:12:16.:12:22.

proud of. However, like many places there are concerns with constituents

:12:23.:12:26.

asked that I stand up to represent. The rate of unemployment especially

:12:27.:12:29.

amongst youth lies above national average due to several factors.

:12:30.:12:38.

There are so positivity with new oilfields emerging, but steady

:12:39.:12:44.

decline in recent years has had a large impact on livelihoods of

:12:45.:12:47.

residents and businesses throughout Angus. I along with my north-east

:12:48.:12:52.

colleagues will work together for the industry wherever possible to

:12:53.:12:57.

support them going forward. As we face the challenge of Brexit, I'm

:12:58.:13:01.

confident the Scottish farming and fishing communities have the

:13:02.:13:04.

resilience to remain one of the key pillars in our economy. One of the

:13:05.:13:08.

greatest opportunities for Brexit is the chance to build a support system

:13:09.:13:13.

that works for Angus and four works for all areas of our United Kingdom.

:13:14.:13:19.

The political landscape in Angus has demonstrated a clear shift in recent

:13:20.:13:27.

years. In 2014, the referendum on independence, we recorded an

:13:28.:13:30.

above-average no vote and in the last three election, a votes went to

:13:31.:13:36.

the Scottish Conservative and Unionist parties. Strong messages to

:13:37.:13:39.

Nicola Sturgeon and the SMP that the time for constitution troublemaking

:13:40.:13:47.

is over. Make no mistake, my Scottish my Scottish Conservatives,

:13:48.:13:50.

Scottish Labour and Scottish Liberal Democrat colleagues RS patriot as my

:13:51.:13:56.

Scottish National Party colleagues. But now we need to ask them to

:13:57.:14:00.

remove that threat of uncertainty over Scotland's economy and people,

:14:01.:14:06.

no ifs, no bugs, a second devices independence referendum should be

:14:07.:14:14.

taken off the table. I remain optimistic... For the future of

:14:15.:14:24.

Angers and the extensive deals which will support those who live and work

:14:25.:14:30.

in Angus. As part of the 1.8 billion planned investment, there will be

:14:31.:14:33.

key programmes for Angus such as the hospital fuelled future plan,

:14:34.:14:41.

creating major decommissioning centre in Scotland and ambition

:14:42.:14:46.

investment quarter form Montrose to the A90 to enable the delivery of an

:14:47.:14:52.

infrastructure allowing major economic growth. I look forward to

:14:53.:14:56.

working with the UK Government and all stakeholders to drive forward

:14:57.:15:01.

the city deal and make sure delivers for Angus. As the member of

:15:02.:15:05.

Parliament for Angus, my mission is to ensure I am the strands of local

:15:06.:15:09.

champions, representing my home turf with the greatest of integrity and

:15:10.:15:13.

never with complacency. As a staunch unionist, I will continue to fight

:15:14.:15:18.

to keep Scotland as part of our wonderful United Kingdom. Quite

:15:19.:15:23.

similar, we are stronger together and weaker apart. I would also like

:15:24.:15:27.

to make clear that I am here to help all my constituents, no matter how

:15:28.:15:33.

or if they voted. I look forward to standing up for Angus and for

:15:34.:15:36.

Scotland in this chamber on many more occasions to come.

:15:37.:15:43.

Thank you, and very warm congratulations to the honourable

:15:44.:15:45.

lady. We look forward to hearing her and getting to know her in this

:15:46.:15:51.

house. I think the honourable lady made

:15:52.:15:59.

what could be termed a model maiden speech. She was robust when

:16:00.:16:05.

necessary, she was fluent, humorous, generous to her predecessors and she

:16:06.:16:09.

stood up for what she sees as the vital interests of her constituency.

:16:10.:16:13.

I am sure we all look forward to hearing further contributions from

:16:14.:16:16.

the honourable lady in the future. Can also thank my honourable friend

:16:17.:16:22.

for Walsall for securing this debate because I think it is timely and

:16:23.:16:31.

necessary. During my time in this House, the role of members of

:16:32.:16:34.

Parliament has been seen as supporting or opposing the

:16:35.:16:39.

Government of the day. People do not always slavishly follow the whip in

:16:40.:16:48.

this house, and rightly so on occasions. Occasionally issues of

:16:49.:16:51.

conscience have to be decided, for example an end of life decisions

:16:52.:17:00.

cell research. We vote on issues like that. On other occasions, for

:17:01.:17:08.

example in our relationship with the European Union, people's views are

:17:09.:17:12.

perhaps too distinctive to be easily put within the confines of party

:17:13.:17:19.

loyalty. As we know, the outcome of the last general election has

:17:20.:17:27.

changed the political arithmetic of this house. Until such time there is

:17:28.:17:34.

a further general election, the potential power that each of us

:17:35.:17:38.

holds, including the honourable lady for Angus, is greatly than ever been

:17:39.:17:45.

than I have sat in this House. The two questions I want to pose today

:17:46.:17:50.

are, first, are we willing to use that power to bring about greater

:17:51.:17:59.

fairness and address some social industries says which I shall refer

:18:00.:18:04.

to shortly? Can we look not that what we might have been in the past

:18:05.:18:09.

as a House but what we could become's? Before I go into some of

:18:10.:18:16.

the issues, and I will be brief because I know you think we need to

:18:17.:18:22.

stick to the issue at hand more closely, I want to say about party

:18:23.:18:28.

allegiance and how that works in the context of this house. I have spent

:18:29.:18:34.

all of my adult life in the Labour Party and I remain so because I

:18:35.:18:40.

share the values of my party on equality and social justice. But

:18:41.:18:47.

that is not to say that as a party we have a monopoly on virtue. I know

:18:48.:18:53.

there are members in all parts of the House who to some degree share

:18:54.:19:00.

those values. There is one further point I want to make of a political

:19:01.:19:08.

nature, because the Government has no majority, the usual argument

:19:09.:19:13.

about having a mandate concerned in their manifesto is weak to the point

:19:14.:19:20.

of becoming irrelevant. I want to say a word about the honourable and

:19:21.:19:26.

right Honourable members on the DUP bench. Since entering into a

:19:27.:19:31.

supplying confidence arrangement with the Conservative Party, and

:19:32.:19:35.

perhaps in some ways understandably they have been heavily criticised in

:19:36.:19:41.

some quarters. But agreement does not cover every man measure that may

:19:42.:19:49.

be brought forward, and knowing some of the DUP members as I do, I am

:19:50.:19:57.

confident that on some issues we can gain cooperation with them and

:19:58.:20:02.

certainly on some of the issues I feel Stanley about, I think they

:20:03.:20:06.

will share a similar outlook. So it is not a given that on every

:20:07.:20:10.

occasion the Government can rely on their support. I want to refer

:20:11.:20:17.

briefly to two issues. One of which has been referred to already by my

:20:18.:20:24.

honourable friend the shadow Leader of the House and that is the

:20:25.:20:29.

injustice of women born in the 1950s and the aid at which they are

:20:30.:20:36.

entitled to their state pension. Many others macro on all sides of

:20:37.:20:40.

this House and amongst the DUP at as well support the women against state

:20:41.:20:47.

pension and inequality campaign and I believe that if we are a House are

:20:48.:20:53.

resolved on that subject, we could bring about a fair solution.

:20:54.:21:01.

Secondly, I hope we can all agree that the growing level of inequality

:21:02.:21:06.

in our country is both unfair and corrosive. Wherever we look, whether

:21:07.:21:11.

it in access to housing, the life chances of young people or

:21:12.:21:17.

insecurity of employment, we see the stark reality of those consequences,

:21:18.:21:23.

reliance on food banks, growing homelessness, and unacceptable

:21:24.:21:26.

regional disparities and income support for public services. It also

:21:27.:21:32.

means we need to take a more generous approach to public sector

:21:33.:21:37.

pay. This House of Commons, if we can adapt to the new realities of

:21:38.:21:42.

our power and influence can try to resolve those problems, but in order

:21:43.:21:48.

to realise that power and influence, we need to take more control over

:21:49.:21:53.

our procedures and get more agency in the legislative process. That

:21:54.:21:58.

means that in my view in power in select committees to provide white

:21:59.:22:03.

papers and draft bills, it will mean giving the Brits reach a committee

:22:04.:22:09.

control that by giving deepest reject committee -- to give the

:22:10.:22:22.

siege committed more power. It will mean the Government are held

:22:23.:22:25.

accountable by some motions carried by this House with cross-party

:22:26.:22:29.

support. In other words, they should be bound by some decisions of this

:22:30.:22:35.

house in some circumstances. Finally, I believe the will support

:22:36.:22:49.

on taking the response of dummy financial -- it will be for them to

:22:50.:22:53.

put the argument on each occasion and it will be for numbers of this

:22:54.:22:58.

house to assume their own responsibility for the decisions

:22:59.:23:06.

that they take. In the recent past, the reputation and standing of

:23:07.:23:10.

politicians in western democracy, not least our own, have fallen

:23:11.:23:14.

alarmingly. The consequences with which we see and the rejection of

:23:15.:23:21.

long-standing political certainties. But the arithmetic of this

:23:22.:23:25.

Parliament presents us with an opportunity to take our reputations

:23:26.:23:28.

both collectively and individually into our own hands. Do we have the

:23:29.:23:35.

confidence to realise what we could become? Surely we have a duty to at

:23:36.:23:37.

least try. It is with great pleasure I pay

:23:38.:23:47.

tribute to my honourable friend, the member for Angus in delivering what

:23:48.:23:52.

was a superb maiden speech. It is a great pleasure to see sitting in her

:23:53.:23:57.

place today and I look forward to further such contributions from her

:23:58.:24:01.

in the months and years to come. It is a fantastic start to your

:24:02.:24:09.

Parliamentary career. I fear today's debate has been somewhat of a missed

:24:10.:24:15.

opportunity. No institution, let alone Parliament, should be set

:24:16.:24:20.

in... We need to have a strong Parliamentary institution, and if it

:24:21.:24:24.

is to be a strong Parliamentary institution, it should evolve,

:24:25.:24:30.

should have adult conversations about the way it conducts itself.

:24:31.:24:35.

There are very strong arguments for change in the way that the

:24:36.:24:40.

Parliamentary business is scheduled, but I'm afraid that the honourable

:24:41.:24:44.

lady force Scots pack for Walsall South, nor did the member for North

:24:45.:24:51.

first shirt either. I think that is a great shame because the date of

:24:52.:24:58.

the improvements in this place and around scheduling is what our

:24:59.:25:02.

constituents would expect us to cover, unlike some of the honourable

:25:03.:25:07.

members were implying earlier. It is what we should discuss and it should

:25:08.:25:13.

focus on what would make us more productive and what would reduce the

:25:14.:25:18.

costs of Parliament which are still considerable and not to be ignored.

:25:19.:25:21.

Perhaps the opposition should have focused this position on real

:25:22.:25:30.

change, change that is being recommended by publications such as

:25:31.:25:33.

the good Parliament report and the work of the all-party Parliamentary

:25:34.:25:39.

group women in Parliament. I will focus briefly on some of the changes

:25:40.:25:42.

which I hope the opposition front brake should and the Leader of the

:25:43.:25:49.

House can consider. The first is a division hour which would give all

:25:50.:25:53.

of us as parliamentarians a lot more certainty about the way we can plan

:25:54.:26:00.

our days. At the moment, we still suffer from a very archaic system of

:26:01.:26:04.

voting at the end of debates which gives people a great deal of

:26:05.:26:07.

uncertainty as to when the votes may come, particularly at the report

:26:08.:26:12.

stage of a bill. If we have a division hour which is common in the

:26:13.:26:17.

European Parliament, common in the Scottish parliament, that may give

:26:18.:26:20.

us the productivity that we expect now on a regular basis from our own

:26:21.:26:26.

constituents when they are going about their everyday work. I will

:26:27.:26:27.

give way. She is making an excellent

:26:28.:26:38.

suggestion. But she also agree about getting rid of an antiquated system

:26:39.:26:41.

of working through the lobbies to vote and following other modern

:26:42.:26:48.

system such as having a press button for members that are present?

:26:49.:26:53.

I'm going to have to disagree on that. I think going through division

:26:54.:26:57.

lobbies is one way that Parliament can talk to each other and become

:26:58.:27:07.

cohesive. I would not support remote electronic voting, I think it

:27:08.:27:11.

creates more of a team in Parliament. The idea that having a

:27:12.:27:18.

vault at the end of the day sometimes in the wee small hours of

:27:19.:27:24.

the morning that is going to get people and hedge. That does not give

:27:25.:27:31.

anyone an edge. It feels like we are re-enacting the D-Day landings and

:27:32.:27:35.

are having gorilla tactics that in my time in Parliament has never

:27:36.:27:41.

changed the outcome of the debate. I think we should look to modernise

:27:42.:27:47.

that way of working. That goes on to my next point which is late sittings

:27:48.:27:54.

in this place. Again, I'm reliably told by people who have been here

:27:55.:27:57.

longer than I have that late sittings are a part of parliamentary

:27:58.:28:04.

life. Not as much as they used to be but still regularly we are here to

:28:05.:28:11.

ten o'clock at night. We might not mind that but there are

:28:12.:28:15.

consequences. Delete votes that we decide to have in this place cost

:28:16.:28:20.

the taxpayer ?5 million over the last five years and that is in staff

:28:21.:28:26.

costs alone. The additional costs of policing and security must double

:28:27.:28:30.

that at least. At what point will be as a Parliament realise that sitting

:28:31.:28:38.

until 10pm or voting at 10p on a Monday night is not an integral part

:28:39.:28:43.

of the work that we do and that we could save money.

:28:44.:28:54.

I will give way. This is a matter that has been

:28:55.:29:02.

considered many times over the years but does she accept that one need

:29:03.:29:08.

for a Monday is the need for members to travel from far corners of the

:29:09.:29:13.

kingdom, many of which are further away from London than the honourable

:29:14.:29:18.

Lady's constituency? He is right. I don't have the long

:29:19.:29:22.

commute that he might have but ultimately what I'm saying is that

:29:23.:29:27.

we could decide to continue to have debates in the evening but have the

:29:28.:29:31.

votes earlier in the day and that would mean that Parliamentary staff

:29:32.:29:39.

wouldn't need to be on stand-by and receive compensation for being here

:29:40.:29:46.

in the late evening. I'm not sure I heard her properly

:29:47.:29:51.

but was she suggesting we should have the vote before the debate is

:29:52.:29:55.

finished? You may do that in your party but

:29:56.:30:02.

not in our party. He will be familiar with the concept of a

:30:03.:30:05.

deferred division and look at what has happened in Europe and Scotland.

:30:06.:30:20.

The final point is that I'm disappointed the lady on the front

:30:21.:30:27.

bench did not talk about the select committees. As each ear of a select

:30:28.:30:30.

committee, as I have been for the last five years and pleased to be

:30:31.:30:36.

re-elected to it, a great deal of the work that we do can come to

:30:37.:30:39.

nothing as result of scheduling business in this house. My

:30:40.:30:48.

committee's trip to the UN Convention on the rights of women

:30:49.:30:56.

was completely scrapped as result of a 40 year -- as result of a vote

:30:57.:31:08.

because we don't have a proxy vote. Can we talk about Parliamentary

:31:09.:31:14.

procedure is. It is not done in the way this parliament operates in the

:31:15.:31:18.

debate today risks obscuring that. I think it is a shame that some

:31:19.:31:25.

members have failed to focus on these issues and I hope that the

:31:26.:31:30.

Labour front bench whirl support some of the important changes I have

:31:31.:31:38.

listed so that we can put forward a more modernised face for this house

:31:39.:31:45.

and perhaps in doing that bring a wider cross-section here in the

:31:46.:31:49.

future. We now come to a maiden speech.

:31:50.:31:58.

Thank you for the opportunity to make my maiden speech during today's

:31:59.:32:04.

debate. It is an important one that gets straight to the heart of the

:32:05.:32:07.

kind of Parliament we are going to be. Is it going to be one that

:32:08.:32:13.

stifles debate and scrutiny or one that will be accountable to its

:32:14.:32:17.

opposition and openly democratic? I know which one constituents will

:32:18.:32:24.

like. When I was elected 11 weeks ago, many believed I would not or

:32:25.:32:29.

could not win. This is why it falls me with great pleasure that the

:32:30.:32:32.

people of Battersea chose me to be the member of Parliament. It is a

:32:33.:32:38.

huge honour and I will serve my constituents to the best of my

:32:39.:32:43.

ability. My family played a vital role in supporting me during the

:32:44.:32:47.

campaign and I will forever be grateful for the sacrifices they

:32:48.:32:52.

made to help me get elected. Before I go on, I would like to pay tribute

:32:53.:32:57.

to my predecessor, Jane Ellison, for the work that she did in halting the

:32:58.:33:06.

practice of female genital mutilation. I don't share her

:33:07.:33:13.

policies but admire her work in this area. We have both had the privilege

:33:14.:33:17.

of representing Battersea, the vibrant and important part of south

:33:18.:33:23.

London with a strong history. Battersea is growing and has so much

:33:24.:33:29.

to offer. The iconic Battersea Power Station, that symbol of municipal

:33:30.:33:37.

pride, is reopening along the River. Our train station has more trains

:33:38.:33:40.

running through it than any in Western Europe. From the kids of

:33:41.:33:48.

Battersea Park to the sunbathers of Clapham Common. But it is the people

:33:49.:33:52.

themselves that make this such a wonderful place and to whom I almost

:33:53.:33:58.

thanks. No one should be more surprised that we in Battersea are

:33:59.:34:07.

one of the most well-educated constituencies and take our policies

:34:08.:34:13.

seriously. I want to make sure that these changes benefit everyone.

:34:14.:34:19.

There was not only an increase in the number of young voters but in

:34:20.:34:24.

people turning out for the first time. With good reason. In housing,

:34:25.:34:33.

private rents have soared. The cost of housing is it beyond reach of

:34:34.:34:40.

most people. It is a scandal that people under the age of 35 have been

:34:41.:34:46.

frozen out of homeownership. Too many people are confronted with

:34:47.:34:49.

housing pressures that are getting worse. It does not have to be this

:34:50.:34:54.

way. In Battersea, we have some of the oldest council housing. They

:34:55.:35:05.

sought to provide homes for decent working people. This spirit needs to

:35:06.:35:10.

be brought back. I'm standing on the shoulder of Giants. Politicians who

:35:11.:35:15.

are radical and we're ahead of their times. In 1906, the first

:35:16.:35:23.

working-class MP in Battersea became a government minister. It was the

:35:24.:35:31.

ferocious John Burns. We give rise to London's first black mayor. In

:35:32.:35:41.

1922, Battersea became the first constituency to elect an Asian

:35:42.:35:48.

labour member of Parliament, an Indian radical. And of course we

:35:49.:35:59.

have the heroic Anglo Irish suffragette who championed the

:36:00.:36:02.

rights of the poor and his statue you can find in the central square

:36:03.:36:09.

of Dodington estate. At the age of 89, her last public activity was to

:36:10.:36:13.

address the crowd at an antifascist rally in Trafalgar Square in 1933. I

:36:14.:36:21.

hope I have as much fire in me when I am that age. I would also like to

:36:22.:36:28.

pay tribute to more recent Labour MPs who came before me. The

:36:29.:36:34.

wonderful Lord Alf Dobbs, whose fight on behalf of Syrian refugees

:36:35.:36:40.

has been an example to us all. Martin, who has championed the

:36:41.:36:47.

rights of the Palestinian people since leaving office. We are outward

:36:48.:36:52.

looking and internationalist. It is this spirit that I will attempt to

:36:53.:37:01.

bring to Parliament. We face serious challenges. This was a decision my

:37:02.:37:09.

constituents care deeply about and voted overwhelmingly against. I will

:37:10.:37:14.

stand up for them. I will draw on that outward looking Battersea

:37:15.:37:20.

tradition, one that values tolerance, social justice and

:37:21.:37:27.

corporation. I was born with an involuntary movement of the eye

:37:28.:37:30.

which has left me with a sight impairment. I have had to overcome

:37:31.:37:37.

many barriers but I want to give a special thanks to my mum who is here

:37:38.:37:44.

today. She made sure I had a brilliant education, a brilliant

:37:45.:37:50.

state education. At primary school, and a headteacher thought I should

:37:51.:37:55.

be sent to a speciality school but my mother fought to keep me in

:37:56.:38:00.

mainstream education and I would not be the women I am today nor an

:38:01.:38:03.

elected member of Parliament had it not been for her and, mum, I am

:38:04.:38:10.

truly grateful. I had been a disability rights campaigner and it

:38:11.:38:13.

believed that people with disabilities like myself should have

:38:14.:38:17.

the right to participate in society equally. The right to a good

:38:18.:38:23.

education, the right to travel, the right access to public transport. An

:38:24.:38:34.

important issue close to my heart is the employment access to those with

:38:35.:38:42.

disability. The disparity is not good enough and we need to change

:38:43.:38:48.

that. Over the last seven years, policies on Social Security and

:38:49.:38:52.

social care have disproportionately affected disabled people. When we

:38:53.:38:57.

discuss all these matters in this house, it is important that we

:38:58.:39:00.

understand and empathise with the real people who will be affected by

:39:01.:39:05.

our decisions. I am proud to be here in this chamber and I am proud to be

:39:06.:39:18.

representing the people Battersea. Congratulations to the new member

:39:19.:39:22.

for Battersea on her maiden speech and may I also welcome her to her

:39:23.:39:30.

place. I also congratulate the member for Angus on her excellent

:39:31.:39:36.

speech and for its wit and wisdom and including its focus on

:39:37.:39:44.

connectivity to her constituency. Democracy is the system of

:39:45.:39:47.

processing conflict and in this house that lies at the heart of our

:39:48.:39:53.

debates. This is truly what we have come to this place to do. The mother

:39:54.:39:58.

of all parliaments. It is absolutely right that MPs of all colours are

:39:59.:40:07.

able to hold the government to account. I have found since I

:40:08.:40:12.

arrived in 2015 that there has been plentiful opportunity to do this.

:40:13.:40:18.

The calling of this debate by the official opposition has had very

:40:19.:40:22.

little to do with representing constituencies and I think it is to

:40:23.:40:28.

do with political point scoring. This is truly a case of navel-gazing

:40:29.:40:34.

by the opposition and using pressures Parliamentary time to do

:40:35.:40:39.

this. A debate on debates, exactly what my constituents and bears will

:40:40.:40:46.

feel angry and aggrieved about. The reality is that standing orders do

:40:47.:40:50.

state that there are 20 opposition days in any one session and 17 of

:40:51.:40:58.

them for the main opposition party. In this case the Labour Party, as I

:40:59.:41:05.

see emptying opposition benches. They have been offered the usual

:41:06.:41:10.

opposition database through the usual channels. I did agree with the

:41:11.:41:20.

member opposite from the SNP front bench about the voters simply not

:41:21.:41:25.

wanting this type of debate. They do want to hear us discuss what matters

:41:26.:41:32.

and that is jobs and opportunities, schools and the impact of Brexit

:41:33.:41:34.

nationwide and so much more. However, it was interesting that the

:41:35.:41:44.

honourable gentleman mentioned the frustration of this, so it is the

:41:45.:41:48.

greatest shame that we are not able to possibly fulfil the need to

:41:49.:41:56.

discuss the shocking incidences of nationwide abuse of candidates

:41:57.:41:59.

during the general election. Something I raised to the Leader of

:42:00.:42:04.

the House to a positive reception in backbench business debates. So, to

:42:05.:42:10.

this point, it is to the wit and the wheel of members of this house to

:42:11.:42:15.

use all the 12 at their disposal to make sure back their points and

:42:16.:42:18.

their issues from their constituents get heard by a quarter range in and

:42:19.:42:27.

their own persistence. Honourable and right Honourable members and

:42:28.:42:31.

colleagues I am sure will be aware that have already been plentiful

:42:32.:42:34.

opportunities for opposition members to make their representations in the

:42:35.:42:38.

chamber on the of their constituents during the Queen's Speech debates

:42:39.:42:44.

which the Labour Party had six days to choose those topics. Therefore I

:42:45.:42:50.

join with colleagues on this side of the house and their disappointment

:42:51.:42:54.

at the complaints about this being made to the Government. I agree with

:42:55.:42:59.

the right honourable member from Basingstoke that this is a queue of

:43:00.:43:03.

the great opportunity for the opposition to look at process

:43:04.:43:10.

Radovan complains. I'm enjoying the remarks of the

:43:11.:43:14.

honourable lady who does debate very openly, but would she not agree with

:43:15.:43:18.

her other honourable friend, the member for Gainsborough, who pointed

:43:19.:43:22.

out that given a two-year session was announced, anybody can see that

:43:23.:43:27.

it is only fair play to consider getting some extra opposition days

:43:28.:43:32.

to the opposition so it can do its constitutional job as Her Majesty 's

:43:33.:43:36.

loyal opposition of holding the Government to account?

:43:37.:43:42.

I think there is absolutely two points to be made. The wit and the

:43:43.:43:46.

wisdom of members to use all the tools, and I agree, the position are

:43:47.:43:49.

going to play every game and trick of the book and why would they not?

:43:50.:43:55.

I have found myself in a multiplicity of debates with myself,

:43:56.:43:59.

so I wonder how opposition members can feel so disagreed. I have been

:44:00.:44:06.

in debates from new towns to was beat it Grenfell Tower to travel

:44:07.:44:09.

infrastructure, school, funding and so much more since my return to this

:44:10.:44:14.

House and I'm sorry the opposition have not found the opportunity and

:44:15.:44:21.

brevity that my colleagues have. She makes an important point about

:44:22.:44:25.

the attendance of some honourable members opposite. Perhaps she saw

:44:26.:44:28.

the coverage of the Westminster debate on managing public finance

:44:29.:44:32.

weather was almost no attendance from Riverside and great many from

:44:33.:44:38.

this side the bench. I agree with my honourable friend.

:44:39.:44:43.

Far from weakening our democracy, Conservatives have can strengthened

:44:44.:44:46.

it because we have given out constituents more voices and turned

:44:47.:44:49.

up at the debates that are there to be had. I will give way.

:44:50.:44:54.

You refer to the Waspy issue. What we want is a veritable motion so

:44:55.:44:59.

that she can prove she is with us and with the Waspy women. How will

:45:00.:45:03.

she bowed when there is it double motion?

:45:04.:45:09.

As all-party women in Parliament for nature, I feel very much sympathy

:45:10.:45:13.

when it comes to the Waspy women, but also as we heard, Government

:45:14.:45:17.

finances are difficult and I would like to see us finding a way to help

:45:18.:45:23.

those most affected. I have been to make those points at every debate

:45:24.:45:29.

when possible. We have given our constituents a chance to have a

:45:30.:45:35.

voice. One particular area is on EE petitions, and I know that has

:45:36.:45:39.

happened because I have found the voice of my constituents in my

:45:40.:45:44.

inbox. I think that the ten years of operations of this has given the

:45:45.:45:48.

chance for parliaments to reach into peoples homes and lives. Where 10

:45:49.:45:52.

million people signing a petition and no less than 20 petitions being

:45:53.:45:57.

scheduled for debate. This has engaged subject in this debating

:45:58.:46:01.

chamber and I have been delighted to have that, particularly when I think

:46:02.:46:07.

back to my time in the and equality select committee on trans-dent the

:46:08.:46:10.

issues, and I think this Parliament is more diverse and out reaching

:46:11.:46:15.

them people will know. The problem debates like this is we look more

:46:16.:46:20.

enclosed. The Government has looked to ensure that the most talented MPs

:46:21.:46:24.

from across the house get a chance to feed into in-depth quality

:46:25.:46:29.

discussions and I congratulate all of those members who have been

:46:30.:46:32.

elected to the select committee chairs as of this month, and indeed

:46:33.:46:37.

by contrast, during Labour's time, we know that Government PM queues

:46:38.:46:42.

was reduced and although the complaints were so... In fact, the

:46:43.:46:50.

complaint was always the media was told first and the chamber second

:46:51.:46:56.

are you do not see that from this Government. I will start to conclude

:46:57.:47:01.

my remarks because I know we are pushed for time. Her Majesty 's

:47:02.:47:05.

opposition today has tried to make out there is one rule for us and one

:47:06.:47:12.

for everyone else, but we are all in this chamber defenders of democracy

:47:13.:47:17.

and we can see that if we use all the tools and instruments that we

:47:18.:47:22.

will have a voice for our community. So I think members opposite would do

:47:23.:47:27.

well to listen to us on strengthening in democracy and look

:47:28.:47:32.

to the side of the House who I think should take a very serious look at

:47:33.:47:37.

taking a leaf out of our book and hearing from our constituents and

:47:38.:47:43.

seeing what matters to them. I would like to start my

:47:44.:47:47.

contribution by paying tribute to the two maiden speeches made this

:47:48.:47:51.

evening. First of all, to the new member for Angus and just to put on

:47:52.:47:58.

the record my agreement with her very strong comments about the need

:47:59.:48:03.

to keep the UK together. Secondly, to my honourable friend the member

:48:04.:48:10.

for Battersea. A very moving speech and her determination that her

:48:11.:48:13.

mother shared and she shared in making sure that she made access to

:48:14.:48:17.

mainstream education. I think that is a tribute to the strength of a

:48:18.:48:26.

lovable mother, but also the disability rights movement and the

:48:27.:48:29.

need to make sure that people with disabilities in joyful access to all

:48:30.:48:37.

areas, so I paid review to my honourable friend. For me, this

:48:38.:48:43.

debate is not just about the technicalities, it is about the

:48:44.:48:47.

national interest and I think it would be so for all members of this

:48:48.:48:53.

house to remember that on June the 8th this country decided it did not

:48:54.:48:57.

want to give any one party the majority position and the strength

:48:58.:49:02.

to form a majority Government. It gave Parliament the power to shape

:49:03.:49:10.

Government policy, potentially, and hold the Government to account. It

:49:11.:49:16.

is clear that the electorate expects this Parliament to act in the

:49:17.:49:21.

national interest and not to behave in a way that is in any way deeply

:49:22.:49:27.

tribal puts the interests of the other party before the interests of

:49:28.:49:32.

the country. In that respect, I found the leader of the howls's

:49:33.:49:38.

speech deeply disappointing. I thought the Leader of the House was

:49:39.:49:43.

deeply tribal in her comments and was losing the House about point and

:49:44.:49:48.

that the two points of order had to be made to get the Leader of the

:49:49.:49:52.

House back on track. But surely it is detrimental to the interest of

:49:53.:49:56.

this house and we have a debate about Parliamentary democracy itself

:49:57.:50:01.

and descend into a tribal slamming match between the frontbenchers on

:50:02.:50:06.

different aspects of Government policy or opposition policy full

:50:07.:50:09.

stop that is not what this debate is about. It is not about a

:50:10.:50:14.

Parliamentary game that we are playing. This is about democracy and

:50:15.:50:21.

the ability of Parliament to hold Government to account. I to make

:50:22.:50:23.

make a quick comment about the debate that was to have been held

:50:24.:50:30.

tonight, the general debate on abuse of candidates in the general

:50:31.:50:34.

election. Let me make this clear, I did make a short contribution to the

:50:35.:50:37.

debate in Westminster Hall last week, I do believe that all it takes

:50:38.:50:42.

for evil to prosper is for good people to do nothing. I am quite

:50:43.:50:50.

ready to have a debate in the chamber on abuse generally in

:50:51.:50:54.

society and abuse of politicians within political parties and outside

:50:55.:50:57.

of them, but between them, but wouldn't not be a good idea that

:50:58.:51:02.

members on the opposite benches would join with us on these benches

:51:03.:51:07.

and develop a proper application to the Backbench Business Committee so

:51:08.:51:10.

we can have that debate here which is truly based on the support on

:51:11.:51:15.

both sides of the house such a topic to be discussed. The technicalities

:51:16.:51:23.

that this debate is based upon are quite clear. It is about the number

:51:24.:51:29.

of opposition day debates and backbench business debates and

:51:30.:51:31.

Private Members Bills days which has been barely mentioned tonight

:51:32.:51:39.

and it is also about the timeliness of the first opposition day debates.

:51:40.:51:43.

I have looked at the House of Commons library research on this and

:51:44.:51:49.

it is quite clear that this has a strong case. The records are

:51:50.:51:53.

absolutely clear. The first session of the 1997 - 1998 Government which

:51:54.:52:01.

lasted 18 months, there were 38 opposition day debates, 38. And the

:52:02.:52:08.

average in terms of the first opposition day debates after a

:52:09.:52:12.

general election in the last 7-8 years has been 22 days, 22 days, 14

:52:13.:52:18.

days. On that basis, we should have had that debate.

:52:19.:52:25.

Following what she was saying closely, however strong the case the

:52:26.:52:29.

opposition has made, does the honourable lady think it is wise to

:52:30.:52:33.

ask for an emergency debate on a debate rather than on a specific and

:52:34.:52:39.

urgent topic? I thank the honourable member for

:52:40.:52:42.

the intervention at point has already been made this evening, but

:52:43.:52:46.

the point is we are not getting the space necessary for us to raise

:52:47.:52:51.

those important topics. Point of order. For the honourable

:52:52.:52:58.

gentleman to question the ruling back nights debate is taking place a

:52:59.:53:05.

urgent specific that is is that I do not think we need to worry about

:53:06.:53:07.

that. Thank you Deputy Speaker. The

:53:08.:53:14.

intervention fed into my next comment is that opposition days,

:53:15.:53:20.

backbench committee days and Private Members Bills days are all very

:53:21.:53:29.

important and the key means in this house of raising issues of concern

:53:30.:53:34.

to our voters. And up is icily answers the members points. These

:53:35.:53:41.

days give us a chance to affect real change to Government policy and yet

:53:42.:53:46.

we only have 13 days allocated. The Backbench Business Committee is

:53:47.:53:50.

crucial and will be crucial in this minority period, a period of

:53:51.:53:56.

minority Government to develop relationships across party,

:53:57.:53:59.

cross-party relationships, and the arguments necessary if we are going

:54:00.:54:03.

to be effective as a parliament in affecting real change to Government

:54:04.:54:10.

policy. Isn't the real reason for the

:54:11.:54:13.

Government doing this is because these debates are though to bowl on.

:54:14.:54:20.

What they are scared of is the number of individuals on the

:54:21.:54:25.

backbenches doing what the member of Knowsley did quite a visit.

:54:26.:54:31.

I quite agree with my honourable friend and I wanted to make that

:54:32.:54:37.

point. The premise to said only two weeks ago that she wanted

:54:38.:54:45.

cross-party working, a national consensus, consensus between the

:54:46.:54:48.

parties in order to serve the national interest. The Government

:54:49.:54:55.

has made a very poor start and the Government needs to show that it is

:54:56.:55:00.

ready to use the mechanisms of the House to make that consensus if the

:55:01.:55:05.

Government wants consensus, I am more than happy to play my part, but

:55:06.:55:09.

you have to show that you mean business and the Government has to

:55:10.:55:16.

show that it is ready to make it possible for a consensus to develop

:55:17.:55:23.

and actually materialise in real meaningful terms in this chamber,

:55:24.:55:26.

and we have seen very little evidence of that so far. I will

:55:27.:55:31.

finish perhaps on a more controversial point, which is that I

:55:32.:55:35.

believe that the Beale reason why we are seeing so little action from the

:55:36.:55:41.

Government in terms of meaningful debate, opposition day debate and

:55:42.:55:47.

legislation, no committee of selection, remember, so far. The

:55:48.:55:50.

bill is coming to the floor of the house, it should not be on the floor

:55:51.:55:53.

of the house. The reason we have got this is because the benches opposite

:55:54.:56:00.

are absolutely desperate to avoid any kind of backbench instability in

:56:01.:56:06.

the Commons and they do that because they are so worried about a future

:56:07.:56:10.

of their own Prime Minister. The truth is you want the Government

:56:11.:56:16.

frontbenchers to get beyond the conferences and gets beyond October

:56:17.:56:20.

to be sure that they still have the Prime Minister in number ten and

:56:21.:56:26.

they are absolutely desperate to avoid meaningful debates in this

:56:27.:56:31.

house in order to shore up the position of the Government as it

:56:32.:56:35.

stands now. That is an appalling abuse of Parliamentary democracy. It

:56:36.:56:42.

is not in the national interest. When is this parliament going to

:56:43.:56:44.

end? It is a pleasure to follow the

:56:45.:56:58.

honourable member but I might refer back to one of the comments that she

:56:59.:57:04.

made later but as she knows I very much respect, having sat on the

:57:05.:57:08.

Council of Europe together. I would also like to compliment the

:57:09.:57:16.

honourable member of Battersea for her maiden speech and also my

:57:17.:57:21.

honourable friend from Angus who gave an absolutely wonderful speech.

:57:22.:57:27.

It is so lovely to see another lovely young lady, a Scottish young

:57:28.:57:31.

lady, in the House of Commons today so thank you for your contribution.

:57:32.:57:38.

I find it surprising that I am speaking in this debate because I

:57:39.:57:43.

wasn't going to but I read request come through and I thought I cannot

:57:44.:57:48.

stop myself, I really must contribute. I am disappointed that

:57:49.:57:56.

this debate is going to reduce the time or sadly we're not going to get

:57:57.:58:02.

the debate to follow after this so I am quite sad about that. But I am

:58:03.:58:07.

very surprised that the opposition brought this debate today. I will

:58:08.:58:14.

make progress, thank you. Complaining about the time in which

:58:15.:58:17.

the opposition has had to debate in the chamber, debate issues that are

:58:18.:58:25.

important to them. Since the election, we have had six days of

:58:26.:58:29.

Queen 's speech debate, which I know that many opposition members took

:58:30.:58:33.

part in. So they have had a lot of opportunity to have their say. And

:58:34.:58:39.

we have had numerous urgent questions involving current issues

:58:40.:58:43.

or relevant matters to our constituents. Whilst I cannot speak

:58:44.:58:49.

for prior to 2015, because that is when I was elected, I have looked

:58:50.:58:52.

over the last two years and there have been a number of times when

:58:53.:58:57.

have been debates surrounding government businesses around

:58:58.:59:00.

important legislation with the business has not gone to school

:59:01.:59:04.

debating time because there has been little appetite from the opposition

:59:05.:59:13.

to join in. One time in particular takes me back. We had the children

:59:14.:59:20.

in social work Bill, one of the biggest pieces of legislation around

:59:21.:59:23.

children and social work in the Commons for a number of years.

:59:24.:59:29.

Interestingly enough, again it was a piece of legislation that did not go

:59:30.:59:35.

to its fool debating time. In its second or third readings.

:59:36.:59:40.

Interestingly enough, when debating an amendment that was picked to gain

:59:41.:59:47.

headlines in regards to unaccompanied minors, the chamber

:59:48.:59:53.

was packed. As soon as the amendment was passed, the chamber emptied. In

:59:54.:00:00.

fact, there was only one opposition member that spoke in the children

:00:01.:00:10.

and social work Bill, that was covering advisers for care leavers,

:00:11.:00:15.

adoption. Is it that the opposition didn't feel that those really key,

:00:16.:00:20.

important issues in a massive piece of legislation in this house wasn't

:00:21.:00:26.

going to quite grab the headlines? I do agree with my honourable friend

:00:27.:00:33.

from Eastleigh that this is about political point scoring or trying to

:00:34.:00:37.

grab headlines with a think it will matter. We have two years ahead of

:00:38.:00:48.

us debating the biggest piece of legislation we've probably seen in

:00:49.:00:51.

this Parliament for many, many years. Something that my

:00:52.:00:57.

constituents are extremely concerned about, they are concerned about us

:00:58.:01:02.

debating these issues properly and concerned that we get the right

:01:03.:01:08.

legislation through this house. So it is absolutely correct that on

:01:09.:01:12.

both sides of the house that must be the focus and we must have enough

:01:13.:01:19.

time to debate that issue. The issues of Brexit, the laws that will

:01:20.:01:24.

come through, the intricacies of what happens when we leave the

:01:25.:01:30.

European Union. Really, I do think the opposition should get over

:01:31.:01:43.

themselves a bit. As we have heard, there are 20 opposition days put

:01:44.:01:53.

aside for the opposition, meaning 17 for the opposition to take part in.

:01:54.:01:59.

I look forward to joining in those opposition debates when they occur.

:02:00.:02:07.

But I will mention one thing. The honourable gentleman at the back who

:02:08.:02:10.

has spent the whole of the debate being quite routes to not only the

:02:11.:02:20.

Leader of the House but myself so what a shame... I give way.

:02:21.:02:28.

I would just give some advice which is to look at the subject before you

:02:29.:02:34.

speak. She says she is disappointing when back disappointed that this

:02:35.:02:37.

debate is taking time away from the next debate but if she hadn't

:02:38.:02:41.

actually given into the whips when asked to speak at this debate,

:02:42.:02:44.

surely we would have had more time to speak in the next debate.

:02:45.:02:59.

I'm very grateful for her giving away because I think she might like

:03:00.:03:10.

to remember the honourable gentleman speaking for an hour to filibuster a

:03:11.:03:14.

previous debate. I thank him that I would like to go

:03:15.:03:18.

back to the intervention of the honourable gentleman. I am fully

:03:19.:03:23.

aware of what this debate is about and that is why wanted to highlight

:03:24.:03:27.

the poor performance of the opposition in the children and

:03:28.:03:31.

social work Bill in this chamber. It was three debates in a subject I

:03:32.:03:42.

very much care about. What was really depressing was that I had to

:03:43.:03:46.

go back to those looked after children and say I am very sorry but

:03:47.:03:50.

the Labour Party who say they represent you were not speaking up

:03:51.:03:54.

for you in the chamber but it was the Conservatives. So I will make

:03:55.:04:05.

that point. I shall carry on. I am looking forward to the next two

:04:06.:04:11.

years and we will do what the British people want and that is

:04:12.:04:16.

making sure that we deliver on Brexit. I suggest the Labour Party

:04:17.:04:23.

should again get over themselves and recognise that they do have many

:04:24.:04:27.

opportunities in this house to debate and contribute and really

:04:28.:04:32.

should just get on with it and work with us to deliver what the British

:04:33.:04:39.

people want. Can I first of all congratulate the

:04:40.:04:46.

member for Angus, who I thought made a sterling, brilliant union speech

:04:47.:04:50.

and I concurred with nearly everything she said in it, apart

:04:51.:04:55.

from the political stuff, well, the party political stuff. And she is

:04:56.:05:01.

not in her seat at the moment but the member for Battersea made an

:05:02.:05:04.

exemplary speech and it is nice to hear a tribute to one's mother and I

:05:05.:05:10.

think she did that very beautifully and elegantly. It is a shame to

:05:11.:05:15.

follow the honourable lady for Rochester and Stroud because I am

:05:16.:05:20.

rather fond of her, having spent some time there to contribute to the

:05:21.:05:23.

Labour Party coming third in the by-election. She says Labour Party

:05:24.:05:29.

have to get over themselves and get on with it. Yes, we would like to

:05:30.:05:35.

get on with the business of opposition but we're not given the

:05:36.:05:40.

days to do that. I do apologise to the Leader of the House. I was rude

:05:41.:05:49.

to her earlier. I actually like the Leader of the House and there are

:05:50.:05:52.

some things I want from her so I will be nice to her. I do apologise

:05:53.:05:56.

but there are things I feel strongly about. You just need to bear in mind

:05:57.:06:06.

that the power of Parliament in her executive is quite phenomenal. It is

:06:07.:06:12.

said the government has complete control of the timetable. It gets to

:06:13.:06:17.

control the day is given to opposition for Private Members'

:06:18.:06:22.

Bills. Government business always takes precedence. Another amendment

:06:23.:06:30.

says only the government can table motions on tax. We have no mechanism

:06:31.:06:39.

for allocating money in this house. Another says we can only have the

:06:40.:06:47.

government setting the programme motion. Even down to the

:06:48.:06:51.

nitty-gritty of the Welsh grand committee, although the government

:06:52.:06:55.

can table a motion understanding order 108 saying we can have a Welsh

:06:56.:07:00.

grand committee and what it will debate.

:07:01.:07:05.

I'm grateful to him who is also speaking through a hole in his head,

:07:06.:07:11.

which is just a biological fact, and I don't think he -- I hope he

:07:12.:07:18.

doesn't think I am being rude. The fundamental point of this debate is

:07:19.:07:21.

the point of principle that the government has its way but the

:07:22.:07:28.

opposition has its say. By denying the ratio of opposition days whilst

:07:29.:07:34.

having its way about extending the length of the session to two years,

:07:35.:07:39.

the government is breaching that fundamental principle.

:07:40.:07:43.

We have had several sessions because of early general elections are

:07:44.:07:50.

because of different start times. We didn't suddenly have 17 days because

:07:51.:07:54.

that's the fixed number of days you have any session. Quite clearly,

:07:55.:08:00.

since Richard Crossman introduced it in 1967, the whole ideas of the

:08:01.:08:08.

change in supply days to opposition days was that the opposition have a

:08:09.:08:11.

guaranteed fair amount of time throughout the year. It is not just

:08:12.:08:15.

in standing orders. The government has absolute power to decide how

:08:16.:08:23.

long a session is going to be. It is only in government hands, not in our

:08:24.:08:28.

hands or the house's hands. He gets to decide when we will adjourn and

:08:29.:08:34.

go into recess. Only its amendments will be considered when it comes to

:08:35.:08:37.

report stage of the bill or are guaranteed to be considered. And

:08:38.:08:44.

only it can table an amendment to standing orders and be certain they

:08:45.:08:49.

are going to be debated. That is a phenomenal tying up of power in the

:08:50.:08:53.

executive and the only thing we have in return for that is the

:08:54.:08:58.

expectation that the Leader of the House and the government will

:08:59.:09:00.

exercise fair play in relation to that.

:09:01.:09:10.

Apologies for forgetting his constituency earlier. How could I

:09:11.:09:14.

forget? One solution is that one way round this is that they could give

:09:15.:09:22.

an allotted days. This is what they did in 2015 and 2017. It is also

:09:23.:09:29.

what they did ten 2001. Could the ghettos and see how many they are

:09:30.:09:35.

going to give? They could do that but the problem

:09:36.:09:40.

with previous session is that we didn't know it was going to be a

:09:41.:09:44.

two-year session until the session moved are long. -- along. I do think

:09:45.:09:52.

it is an exact match for what we have now. I think any ordinary

:09:53.:10:01.

member of the public would say that is what everybody would genuinely

:10:02.:10:07.

expect and ice to the honourable member for Eastleigh and for

:10:08.:10:11.

Rochester and Stroud is that they see all this stuff does not matter

:10:12.:10:17.

and it is not about democracy. Remember in 1939 the back row in

:10:18.:10:20.

this house was about whether the house shoot -- should adjourn in

:10:21.:10:32.

August. That was the row, not whether -- about some grand piece of

:10:33.:10:38.

legislation. One of the members who was killed very bravely in the

:10:39.:10:42.

Second World War and has a shield up on the wall, he accused Chamberlain

:10:43.:10:48.

of having ideas of dictatorship because he was using the undoubted

:10:49.:10:53.

power that government had to decide when the adjournment was

:10:54.:10:56.

anti-thought that was wrong, especially in the house, as it then

:10:57.:11:05.

was, that was constituted largely of Conservative members. The move to

:11:06.:11:08.

lots of secondary legislation might be OK if what the Brexit secretary

:11:09.:11:14.

has regularly said in a house, namely that if a secondary piece of

:11:15.:11:19.

legislation is prayed against, it will always come to the house, where

:11:20.:11:26.

true but it is not. Since 2010 and 2016, there were 69 second pieces of

:11:27.:11:32.

legislation tabled by the government that were prayed against by the

:11:33.:11:37.

opposition and according to the David Davis rules should be

:11:38.:11:40.

guaranteed there for a debate on the flood of the house. How many of

:11:41.:11:46.

those got a debate and the house? Three out of 69. Just three in the

:11:47.:11:54.

chamber. There were eight in committee. The debate in committee

:11:55.:11:57.

was not on the merits. It was whether the matter had been

:11:58.:11:59.

considered. So even if every single member of the committee had voted

:12:00.:12:03.

no, it would have still gone through and gone onto the statute books. So

:12:04.:12:08.

I say to the government, when you come forward the bill for the

:12:09.:12:12.

European Union withdrawal bill, which was to give massive amounts of

:12:13.:12:17.

secondary legislative power to the government, we are very sceptical.

:12:18.:12:23.

That's when it starts to look like ideas of dictatorship, not because

:12:24.:12:30.

of any of the individual members of government think of themselves as

:12:31.:12:33.

dictators but because of the power this house is given to the

:12:34.:12:36.

government over the years of every element of the agenda is so

:12:37.:12:38.

important. I think severable people have made

:12:39.:12:49.

their point about the opposition days, I say it is a vital difference

:12:50.:12:54.

between hot air debate, which ends with a vote on whether or not we are

:12:55.:12:59.

going to adjourn, as we had at the end of the was be debate, whether a

:13:00.:13:04.

substantive motion on the order paper which has effect. Either

:13:05.:13:08.

whether it is because it is legislation because it is in

:13:09.:13:15.

opposition day debate. I remember having a majority losing it on the

:13:16.:13:18.

Gurkhas. And that is what happened in relation to the Gurkhas. Several

:13:19.:13:23.

other us who have scars from that debate. But in the end, Government

:13:24.:13:28.

cannot always run away from those kind of debates and I'd just say to

:13:29.:13:31.

the honourable members opposite that there has to come a point where the

:13:32.:13:36.

whole house has to consider the long-term future of the way we do

:13:37.:13:40.

our business, not just the partisan advantage up today. I do not doubt

:13:41.:13:45.

that the Government but a smack I will not if she does not mind. She

:13:46.:13:56.

says she has a very good point, so I will give way.

:13:57.:14:01.

He is very kind. As a father frontbenchers Leader of the

:14:02.:14:03.

Opposition to the leader of the hives, if I have got that title

:14:04.:14:09.

right, I enjoyed his speeches. I was just wondering whether his

:14:10.:14:13.

constituents in Rhondda really think that the time that this house is

:14:14.:14:16.

debating Parliamentary business is what we should be discussing in our

:14:17.:14:23.

last week of session when I also mentioned that jobs, opportunities,

:14:24.:14:28.

schools are what really matters. There are lots and lots of things we

:14:29.:14:34.

should debate. I would like a debate in Government time opposition time,

:14:35.:14:37.

I do not mind, but with a convertible issue on was before stop

:14:38.:14:43.

I hope to persuade her in that division lobby because I say to her

:14:44.:14:47.

that you can have as many warm words as you'd want, but if you do not

:14:48.:14:53.

vote in the end, our constituents will feel fundamentally lets down. I

:14:54.:14:57.

would say to honourable members opposite you are better having that

:14:58.:15:00.

debate sooner rather than later otherwise you will have lots of

:15:01.:15:05.

upsets people. If the Government had a programme, I would be happy for us

:15:06.:15:11.

to debates about, but there is no legislation. The Leader of the House

:15:12.:15:15.

refers to the air travel organisers licensing bill. That is not a bell.

:15:16.:15:22.

That is barely a clause in a bill. As my honourable friend said, we

:15:23.:15:25.

have debated on the floor of the house because they have not set of

:15:26.:15:28.

the committee of selection so we can have a proper debate to debate the

:15:29.:15:34.

thing. I say to the members, I do not doubt that the Government has

:15:35.:15:37.

the power to do these things, but I do not longer fear it has the

:15:38.:15:41.

authority to do these things will stop every day it abuses the power,

:15:42.:15:47.

it diminishes its own authority and every day that it stretches the gap

:15:48.:15:52.

between its power and authority, it abandons Government by consent and

:15:53.:15:57.

lapses into ideas of dictatorship. That is why the Government is wrong.

:15:58.:16:05.

In some ways I feel that Christmas has come early because here we are

:16:06.:16:09.

with three hours to debate Parliamentary procedure, one of my

:16:10.:16:14.

favourite activities indeed. I look forward to estimating in Somerset

:16:15.:16:17.

and talking with my family about all the intricacies of standing orders,

:16:18.:16:22.

so I feel in many ways fortunate and I has been a happy and fortunate

:16:23.:16:28.

debate with two brilliant maiden speeches. My honourable friend, the

:16:29.:16:33.

member for Angus, constituency I have had the privilege of visiting

:16:34.:16:38.

and know its beauties, and the case that the union perfectly and should

:16:39.:16:44.

be hired by her tourist boards doing further visits. The honourable lady,

:16:45.:16:48.

the member for Battersea was so generous to her predecessor, which I

:16:49.:16:52.

think is one of the great charms of maiden speeches that we do recognise

:16:53.:16:59.

in them, if only briefly, that people on the other side and all

:17:00.:17:02.

barred, and it is very charming that that is done and I think the

:17:03.:17:06.

honourable lady did it well particularly well. I want to move on

:17:07.:17:13.

to this important subject of standing order 14 and I have much

:17:14.:17:20.

sympathy that the member for Rhondda said in a very well considered

:17:21.:17:24.

speech that it is the job of those of us on the backbenches to hold the

:17:25.:17:28.

Government to account, and the job of holding the executive to account

:17:29.:17:32.

is not just one of the opposition benches, it is one for Government

:17:33.:17:36.

benches as well, our Constitution works if it is balanced and if the

:17:37.:17:42.

Government has to make its case and its arguments. But and why I think

:17:43.:17:52.

this debate here misfires is the opposition has come to this too

:17:53.:17:57.

early, too soon in the Parliament and has given an urgency to it but

:17:58.:18:03.

it does not deserve. In an intervention I made earlier, I

:18:04.:18:06.

questioned whether it was wise to have asked for this debate. Not

:18:07.:18:14.

whether it was wise to give it. I believe that standing orders,

:18:15.:18:21.

Standing Order No. 24 is an exceptionally valuable tool, and I'm

:18:22.:18:24.

glad the Mr Speaker is back in the chair because the more it is used,

:18:25.:18:31.

the better. It allows this House... Hansard will show that is not what

:18:32.:18:36.

he said earlier on. Standing Order No. 24 puts the onus completely in

:18:37.:18:41.

the hands of the Speaker to decide whether or not the matter is an

:18:42.:18:45.

urgent matter and the motion does not proceed if the Speaker does not

:18:46.:18:52.

believe it is an urgent matter. Requesting the debate, not of

:18:53.:18:57.

granting it, and that is a very different distinction, because I

:18:58.:19:00.

believe it is of the greatest importance that the Speaker, if

:19:01.:19:05.

asked for an emergency debate by the formal opposition, should in almost

:19:06.:19:11.

all circumstances granted. The reason I think that is because that

:19:12.:19:15.

is an important way for holding the Government to account and in

:19:16.:19:21.

convincing the Government. As it was said earlier, Standing Order No. 14

:19:22.:19:25.

gives enormous power to the Government to set out the business

:19:26.:19:29.

of this house, but there will be opportunities and their need to be

:19:30.:19:32.

opportunities when urgent matters are brought before it, but there,

:19:33.:19:36.

the opposition must be wise in what it asks for. I give way.

:19:37.:19:43.

Give you has put on record that he thinks the Speaker should in almost

:19:44.:19:46.

all circumstances give way to a Standing Order No. 24 request from

:19:47.:19:50.

the opposition, I look forward to his support for the future

:19:51.:19:53.

applications that the opposition will have to make because of the

:19:54.:19:55.

lack of time for opposition day debates.

:19:56.:19:59.

But that is where I think the opposition has misfired to

:20:00.:20:05.

everything there is, a season and a time to any time, but this is not

:20:06.:20:13.

the season, not the time. There is so much that is going on of general

:20:14.:20:20.

urgency, and this strikes me as fiddling whilst Brussels burns. We

:20:21.:20:26.

have this massive Brexit debates to consider, we have still a huge

:20:27.:20:31.

deficit to be debated, we have that great housing crisis that has been

:20:32.:20:35.

so starkly board to our attention because of what happened at the

:20:36.:20:39.

Grenfell Tower, and what is Her Majesty 's loyal opposition ask for?

:20:40.:20:43.

It asks for a debate on standing orders, a debate on a debate on a

:20:44.:20:52.

debate a debate on conversation. Can this be what is what is most urgency

:20:53.:20:58.

to us today? It is a question of proportionality, and the honourable

:20:59.:21:02.

gentleman for the Rhondda made so many important points about how this

:21:03.:21:07.

house has limited powers to hold a strong Government to account and how

:21:08.:21:14.

it should do that. But to do it a few days into the beginning of a

:21:15.:21:18.

session, before there has been any real opportunity to discover whether

:21:19.:21:23.

there will be opposition days well before it is decided whether there

:21:24.:21:26.

will be conditional days give them because it is a two-year session, I

:21:27.:21:31.

have no doubt that the days will be given, and indeed, if we get a year

:21:32.:21:37.

from now and the 20 days have been used up and the Government said that

:21:38.:21:41.

and stands there and comes to the box and says there will be no days,

:21:42.:21:45.

I will be on the side of the opposition, I will support the

:21:46.:21:48.

opposition in asking for a proportional share juror in the

:21:49.:21:52.

second year of the session. That would be only right. I would also be

:21:53.:21:57.

in favour of the extra three days for the Scottish National Party

:21:58.:21:59.

because that is what this Parliament ought to do. But that is where the

:22:00.:22:04.

honourable lady, the shadow leader has misfired. This is too soon, too

:22:05.:22:11.

early, it is not genuinely urgent, that the opportunity...

:22:12.:22:22.

Maybe it is too early, but he will know that with previous parliaments

:22:23.:22:26.

how ensuring the select amenities and standing committees up and

:22:27.:22:30.

running and opposition debates were clap since. This is unusual after 18

:22:31.:22:34.

days and after four weeks. He must have some concerns about that.

:22:35.:22:41.

I thank the honourable gentleman is being premature. The issue is the

:22:42.:22:49.

month lost between May and June that we have got to a Fixed-term

:22:50.:22:52.

Parliaments Act, we have got to having elections in May, therefore

:22:53.:22:56.

we expect these things to be up in running in running in time for the

:22:57.:23:00.

summer recess. I accept that. But that misses the point that the

:23:01.:23:05.

election was not on a Fixed-term Parliaments Act normal procedure. It

:23:06.:23:08.

was under the extraordinary procedure. We've assembled a month

:23:09.:23:12.

later, therefore closer to the summer recess and the presence of

:23:13.:23:17.

electing select committee members takes a little time and I think the

:23:18.:23:22.

opposition is simply being unreasonable. People were having

:23:23.:23:26.

this debate in our session in September, they would have a fair

:23:27.:23:30.

point. It would having it in October, they would have an

:23:31.:23:33.

outrageous point if they had not got any opposition day debates by then.

:23:34.:23:41.

But this has hardly begun, it is in its infancy, it is like my newborn

:23:42.:23:46.

son, it is like the mewling and peaking stage, it is not reached the

:23:47.:23:50.

stage of toggling and walking and taking bold steps,... I will give

:23:51.:23:57.

way. Busy not agree that when you raise a

:23:58.:24:02.

child, one must try an instruction that child is on good behaviour from

:24:03.:24:06.

the very beginning and not let it this behave early on and therefore

:24:07.:24:12.

our role is to make sure that the Government does not misbehave early

:24:13.:24:18.

run. He is a harsher authoritarian than I

:24:19.:24:22.

am! I think that strict discipline of a child, yes a fortnight low old,

:24:23.:24:27.

maybe unreasonable by any standards, I'm just glad I am not in his

:24:28.:24:32.

household as an infant. But this isn't too early that might this is

:24:33.:24:40.

too early and the problem is that it stops looking at the things of real

:24:41.:24:43.

gravity. We are looking at them in certain time as I can think of.

:24:44.:24:47.

There is so much of gravity that we need to grapple with. When I said

:24:48.:24:52.

that I think that I hope that he will grant any reasonable request by

:24:53.:24:56.

the opposition Standing Order No. 24 debate, there are so many things

:24:57.:25:00.

they could have asked for. The honourable lady in her opening

:25:01.:25:03.

speech listed about a dozen things that could have been debated, and in

:25:04.:25:09.

one of those had been the request for a Standing Order No. 24, it

:25:10.:25:12.

would have been an absolutely sensible thing and added distinction

:25:13.:25:22.

and backtrack into this Parliament. Discussing the intricacies of

:25:23.:25:29.

procedure when so much is going on is not in June with the nation, is

:25:30.:25:37.

not opportunism, and if they can, withdraw the motion. I am delighted

:25:38.:25:47.

to be able to speak what I believe is an important debate I would like

:25:48.:25:51.

to thank you for granting it and thank my member for was of South for

:25:52.:25:55.

bringing it. I would like to follow everyone else in congratulating the

:25:56.:25:59.

new burgers for Angus South and my honourable friend for Battersea who

:26:00.:26:06.

have made superb and notable maiden speeches, but I would like to

:26:07.:26:10.

confine my remarks to the procedural debate and the arguments in that we

:26:11.:26:16.

are putting forward which I think are solid and sound, and I would

:26:17.:26:21.

like to start by pointing out that the result of this general election

:26:22.:26:27.

has changed the role of this chamber, power has shifted from the

:26:28.:26:33.

executive to Parliament, there have been few times when we as

:26:34.:26:39.

backbenchers have had a greater ability to influence and shape

:26:40.:26:40.

Government policy. It all very well members suggesting

:26:41.:26:48.

that this is a needless debate, I don't think that's true, you can

:26:49.:26:52.

stretch the truth thin enough but when you do that people can see

:26:53.:26:56.

through it. It is true that there has been a lack of time allocated to

:26:57.:27:03.

Private Members' Bills and to opposition bids. People can see that

:27:04.:27:11.

that is an attempt to stifle the rule and influences chamber. I

:27:12.:27:16.

sincerely hope that backbench MPs of all parties can see that. At the

:27:17.:27:23.

Prime Minister 's recent relaunch, she reached out to the Labour Party

:27:24.:27:28.

asking us to contribute and not just criticised. That is a worthy

:27:29.:27:38.

sentiment, and while a way disagree the Prime Minister 's attempt was an

:27:39.:27:45.

attempt to try and stifle the backbench voice in this chamber. I'm

:27:46.:27:52.

willing to work with parliamentary I would never vote to cut workers

:27:53.:27:56.

right or privatise even more of our public services, however, and I

:27:57.:28:03.

accept that I will be unable to convert many in the Conservative

:28:04.:28:08.

Party of the benefits of re-nationalising our Railways,

:28:09.:28:14.

abolishing university tuition fees, although I think there are many

:28:15.:28:17.

sound ordinance are doing such, or increasing spending on social care

:28:18.:28:25.

or another public services. However, there are areas of consensus and

:28:26.:28:33.

issues which can bridge politics. I had rather hope that the public

:28:34.:28:37.

sector pay cap would be searching issue. I had hoped that some members

:28:38.:28:41.

opposite would be equally as outraged at the cat Chancellor's

:28:42.:28:47.

comment, or alleged comments, widely reported about public sector workers

:28:48.:28:55.

being overpaid and receiving a premium. I would like the Chancellor

:28:56.:29:01.

to tell that to the student nurse who contacted me over the weekend

:29:02.:29:07.

facing the prospect of sleeping in a colleague's card because the Renaud

:29:08.:29:11.

trains following the end of her night shift. I do hope eventually we

:29:12.:29:19.

will get there and we will see a lifting of the pay cap. If not from

:29:20.:29:27.

members opposite, maybe members of the DUP tint exert their influence

:29:28.:29:33.

and give the public sector workers the pay rise that they deserve. In

:29:34.:29:40.

all honesty, I think there is little prospect of the Prime Minister ever

:29:41.:29:45.

listening to a lowly backbencher, particularly of the socialist,

:29:46.:29:52.

trading in supporting backbench Labour MP like myself. But maybe

:29:53.:29:55.

there is more chance of reaching other Bath and shows, not just did

:29:56.:30:05.

criticise, members and right honourable member have made

:30:06.:30:08.

reference to the West Mr Hall debate on the 5th of July about the women's

:30:09.:30:14.

state pension age and the Waspy campaign. It was well intended bat

:30:15.:30:22.

attended the chamber was packed and it was dominated by members of the

:30:23.:30:29.

opposition party and the SNP, but there were a sizeable number of

:30:30.:30:33.

Conservative members president, too. There are excellent contribution by

:30:34.:30:39.

members from every party, who recognised that there was a clear in

:30:40.:30:44.

justice have occurred and that the government should take steps to put

:30:45.:30:49.

things right. The government's response range from reticent to

:30:50.:30:58.

ridiculous. I would urge members to listen to the Parliament three

:30:59.:31:09.

comments of the... He's a decent individual, that really is quite an

:31:10.:31:16.

outrageous suggestion that women be forced to wait longer for their

:31:17.:31:20.

state pensions and the suggestion that they should be offered

:31:21.:31:26.

apprenticeships. The members who weren't here, I've never heard

:31:27.:31:29.

anything like the gasps and cries that I heard from the gallery. He

:31:30.:31:37.

did a disservice to the women and I think he did a disservice to the

:31:38.:31:40.

Conservative Party and the government. To be candid I don't

:31:41.:31:46.

have a great deal of interest in the reputation and popularity of the

:31:47.:31:50.

Conservative Party, I don't think you are like many of us in labour

:31:51.:31:55.

to. I would hope that privately many may disagree with the government's

:31:56.:31:59.

position in relation to this, and strongly believe that action should

:32:00.:32:04.

be taken to right that wrong. As backbenchers, we don't have a voice

:32:05.:32:08.

in this Parliament -- we don't only have a Parliament -- a voice in this

:32:09.:32:13.

Parliament we have an ability to share in policy, and in this case,

:32:14.:32:19.

improve the rights of millions of constituents up and down this

:32:20.:32:25.

country. I don't want to have a rehash of the debate, but I'm trying

:32:26.:32:28.

to illustrate that the Member for North East Somerset and his

:32:29.:32:38.

contribution about the fact that we could be addressing important

:32:39.:32:40.

issues. This is critical we seem to be getting involved, in this

:32:41.:32:45.

session, with all due respect to the leader and the government who

:32:46.:32:51.

determine the business, it often seems to be a displacement activity.

:32:52.:32:54.

We're debating the same things over and over again when we don't have a

:32:55.:33:00.

resolution, we simply can't move forward. I think we need to demand

:33:01.:33:14.

that they do something and that where there is consensus, where

:33:15.:33:18.

there are sensible policies are built raised by honourable members

:33:19.:33:22.

from any party, I would like to give an assurance that I will give them

:33:23.:33:26.

my full consideration and I do hope that others would do the same. So, I

:33:27.:33:30.

would ask members opposite to recognise that they have the power

:33:31.:33:35.

to change the demand, they have the power to demand change for the Waspy

:33:36.:33:46.

woman. We will have two demand and obtain a meaningful vote on the

:33:47.:33:49.

floor of this House. I know that the changes we can achieve will be

:33:50.:33:54.

determined by the those who bring the Conservative whip, but as

:33:55.:33:58.

backbench MPs, in the last Parliament, we only had a voice. The

:33:59.:34:03.

arithmetic is changed. In this Parliament we have the power, if we

:34:04.:34:08.

choose to exercise it, that this is one campaign where I'm there we have

:34:09.:34:14.

the numbers. We'll be honourable members be able to identify other

:34:15.:34:18.

issues are concerns, I know I've got a whole bagful in relation to homes

:34:19.:34:24.

and communities, regeneration trust and so on, but there may be a basis

:34:25.:34:29.

for consensus where we can achieve policy changes. If, as I suspect, we

:34:30.:34:36.

have a government, we have a legislature, that does not wish to

:34:37.:34:39.

legislate I would like to urge by employing all members to make this

:34:40.:34:49.

Parliament the backbench Parliament. Two thank you Mr Speaker calling me

:34:50.:34:53.

to take part in this debate. I love processing procedure I don't think

:34:54.:34:58.

it is something to be derided or criticised. No apologies from Mr

:34:59.:35:10.

Speaker I am delighted that we have such experts in this place an

:35:11.:35:14.

processing procedure. Of course, I know very little about it, but my

:35:15.:35:18.

honour roll friend from North East Somerset is an expert, as are you Mr

:35:19.:35:22.

Speaker, in the Joe debate. So, I don't want to sound like a crashing

:35:23.:35:29.

bore, in much of my maiden speech in my fourth Parliament, which is quite

:35:30.:35:35.

impressive that I think. For Parliament, I'm leaving in the right

:35:36.:35:40.

direction. -- four Parliament I'm moving in the right direction. I'm

:35:41.:35:51.

wished to make it clear that a maiden speech is only a maiden

:35:52.:35:53.

speech in your first parliament and therefore you're allowed to be

:35:54.:35:58.

interrupted in further parliaments. My honourable friend has made that

:35:59.:36:06.

point as only he can. The speech was a Unionist speech and she touched on

:36:07.:36:15.

a project the world that I love, it's a brutal country. My honourable

:36:16.:36:18.

friend will be a fantastic representative for the constituency,

:36:19.:36:20.

and though not in place, the honourable agent -- member from

:36:21.:36:30.

Battersea made a wonderful speech as well. I was a councillor in

:36:31.:36:36.

Battersea for four years, it seemed longer than that, I was a councillor

:36:37.:36:39.

for the most famous and celebrated water balance -- water Battersea,

:36:40.:36:47.

and that was Balham. I would just like to say this to conclude my

:36:48.:36:51.

brief remarks, is a better government of whatever colour to be

:36:52.:36:58.

generous. To be magnanimous. Now, generosity in this place, as you

:36:59.:37:03.

will know, Mr Speaker, is often abused but it is never despised. So,

:37:04.:37:08.

my plea to government is as we go forward, please be generous in your

:37:09.:37:14.

approach to the opposition benches. You will be on the side of the

:37:15.:37:22.

angels if you are. Thank you Mr Speaker for calling me Mr Speaker. I

:37:23.:37:30.

would like to commend the members for Angus in Battersea for their

:37:31.:37:38.

speeches. I also would like to share with the member Battersea lab is one

:37:39.:37:44.

of the unexpected winners. I have sometimes been a bit disappointed by

:37:45.:37:49.

my experiences as a new member of Parliament. The first I commented

:37:50.:37:56.

on, indeed, was the lack of answers to questions and the inability to

:37:57.:37:58.

hear either in Prime Minister's Questions. In the eight-week that I

:37:59.:38:02.

made on that subject was viewed over half a million times and retweeted

:38:03.:38:11.

by the public. I had to take part in this new memory that the ability to

:38:12.:38:19.

do anything substantive interlocutor is adding to that does apartment.

:38:20.:38:25.

Because, I Mr Speaker have always looked in politics since childhood

:38:26.:38:28.

is as a route to achieving change in this country. And I, like many other

:38:29.:38:32.

members in this House, have worked hard election after election four

:38:33.:38:36.

years and years to be in the fortunate position to have been

:38:37.:38:41.

elected to this chamber to try and achieve that change. Like the

:38:42.:38:45.

children's novel, the wonderful Wizard of Oz, I always assumed that

:38:46.:38:51.

if I made it to the end of that yellow Brick road, to displace, that

:38:52.:38:56.

I might find the wonderful wizard of government. Instead, Mr Speaker,

:38:57.:39:00.

much like Dorothy and her obviously disappointed dog, Todo, toe I have

:39:01.:39:09.

found no leadership mandate or stature but instead behind the

:39:10.:39:12.

curtain have found a group of middle aged men protecting their egos in a

:39:13.:39:15.

bid to take over from a lame-duck Prime Minister. Blue macro may I

:39:16.:39:25.

just challenged whether the did the middle honourable gentleman just

:39:26.:39:31.

gone a middle-aged man just then? I have not, that would be a serious

:39:32.:39:36.

error. Although I'm sure the honourable gentleman is not the

:39:37.:39:41.

accusing the Leader of the House of being a middle-aged man and if he

:39:42.:39:44.

can confirm consists confirm order will be served. Blue macro I would

:39:45.:39:51.

not pass the Leader of the House I would not last the Leader of the

:39:52.:39:59.

House in that category. At a time, Mr Speaker, when Britain faces

:40:00.:40:03.

arguably the most challenging of times since the Second World War,

:40:04.:40:07.

with decisions taken here in this Parliament is deciding what type of

:40:08.:40:10.

country Britain will be for the next generation, it seems to me that this

:40:11.:40:13.

government needs to step up to allow cat ability and opposition. As my

:40:14.:40:19.

honourable colleague said this debate is about the lack of time

:40:20.:40:23.

given to us with Opposition Day motions and backbench business

:40:24.:40:28.

debate singing in very short supply on the basis of simple parliamentary

:40:29.:40:33.

mathematics. And for many members opposite, who no doubt campaigned to

:40:34.:40:39.

take back control and to argue for parliamentary sovereignty in this

:40:40.:40:42.

place, they will no doubt share my concern that people such as the

:40:43.:40:49.

father parliamentary constitutional theory would be turning in his grave

:40:50.:40:54.

that the idea and the theories from which he built on Montesquieu about

:40:55.:40:59.

the separation from powers, the balance of power, is that between

:41:00.:41:07.

the executive and legislature, by not allowing for this ability for

:41:08.:41:14.

this legislation to hold the government to account that that

:41:15.:41:16.

balance is not allowed for and therefore the dating back control to

:41:17.:41:23.

this Parliament is indeed in failure. The government is entirely

:41:24.:41:27.

consumed with its chaotic management the Brexit, seemingly more

:41:28.:41:30.

interested in self-preservation than the national interest. It seems to

:41:31.:41:37.

me that must be left to the accident that matter opposition to act as a

:41:38.:41:39.

Parliament with a mandate from government in its manifesto to

:41:40.:41:44.

ensure proper debate about the issues that my constituents are

:41:45.:41:47.

concerned about. There I say that it is no longer acceptable for a minute

:41:48.:41:51.

is just to stand up and say everything will be fine, we are a

:41:52.:41:57.

great nation, because bind... Brian Patrick isn't attaching the world

:41:58.:42:00.

will only show us as a country that is out of touch and out of control.

:42:01.:42:05.

That is why we must allow proper time and proper types to debate in

:42:06.:42:09.

this House, to help the government understand the reality of it in

:42:10.:42:13.

action. My frustration at the news yesterday was a prime example.

:42:14.:42:19.

That frustration may have been calmed, Mr Speaker, by the knowledge

:42:20.:42:24.

that I would have the opportunity to debate the issues of the day in a

:42:25.:42:29.

grown up, professional and respectful fashion in this House. In

:42:30.:42:33.

the way that my constituents expect of us and for the reasons they

:42:34.:42:37.

elected us to this House in the first place. But that very normal of

:42:38.:42:43.

asks seems to be being thwarted by the Government and so it is with

:42:44.:42:46.

great disappointment that I find myself having to make this speech in

:42:47.:42:50.

support of the motion from my honourable friend, arguing for what

:42:51.:42:54.

should be normal Parliamentary debate in this Parliament. So,

:42:55.:42:58.

whilst you may not be able to resolve my disappointment, Mr

:42:59.:43:01.

Speaker, at what I found behind the curtain of power, I would hope this

:43:02.:43:06.

House puts national interest above power games and party political

:43:07.:43:09.

concerns and allows the proper time for debate and scrutiny. Thank you,

:43:10.:43:18.

Mr Speaker. It's a pleasure to follow the honourable gentleman. I'm

:43:19.:43:23.

also, like other honourable members in this House, disappointed that

:43:24.:43:27.

this debate has eaten into time we might have used for the debate on

:43:28.:43:33.

abuse and intimidation of candidates in the public during the election

:43:34.:43:36.

campaign. Particularly at the weekend, I was trying tone joy quiet

:43:37.:43:40.

time my family, a member of the public went to the extent of getting

:43:41.:43:43.

my private number to phone me up to tell me she disliked me so much and

:43:44.:43:47.

what I stood for that she wasn't surprised I got death threats that.

:43:48.:43:51.

Was a charming start to the weekend with my family. Mr Speaker, this is

:43:52.:43:56.

also an important debate and it's also an important matter that we

:43:57.:44:01.

look at the scheduling of Parliamentary business or rather the

:44:02.:44:06.

lack of scheduling of Parliamentary business before the recess. During

:44:07.:44:10.

the debate, we've had two excellent maiden speeches one from the

:44:11.:44:15.

honourable lady, the new member for Angus, an accomplished speech and

:44:16.:44:20.

I'd like to thank her for the gracious comments she made about our

:44:21.:44:25.

friend and colleague, our previous Chief Whip. I respect her Unionist

:44:26.:44:29.

views and I hope she will respect my wishes for our country to be

:44:30.:44:32.

independent in due course. She's keen for the SNP to take

:44:33.:44:34.

independence off the table, according to what she says were the

:44:35.:44:38.

wishes of her constituents in 2014. But I would remind her that last

:44:39.:44:42.

year, her constituents voted by a significant majority to remain part

:44:43.:44:45.

of the European Union so she might also like to ask the Government to

:44:46.:44:49.

take Brexit off the table if she's so keen on her constituents' wishes.

:44:50.:44:57.

We also had a fantastic maiden speech from the honourable member

:44:58.:45:04.

from Battersea. I find a fascinating history of her admirably diverse

:45:05.:45:07.

constituency of Battersea and a moving tribute to her mother for

:45:08.:45:10.

assisting her in the battle with her disability. I'm sure she will be a

:45:11.:45:17.

fantastic advocate in this House for those of our constituents who have

:45:18.:45:19.

to deal with disability in their life. Mr Speaker, there can be no

:45:20.:45:25.

doubt that as other honourable members have already said, this

:45:26.:45:29.

Government seems to be running scared of scrutiny and indeed, the

:45:30.:45:34.

very reason why we had an unnecessary general election, four

:45:35.:45:39.

or five weeks ago, was because the prm wanted to a-- Prime Minister

:45:40.:45:42.

wanted to avoid execute any by getting an enormous majority so this

:45:43.:45:46.

House wouldn't work effectively to scrutinise her. She didn't get her

:45:47.:45:49.

wishes. Now we have a hung Parliament, where there is the

:45:50.:45:53.

possibility of true scrutiny. But she need not despair. Because she

:45:54.:46:03.

need only Look North to Holyrood for a minority Government bringing

:46:04.:46:08.

forward a full programme in its first year, including ground

:46:09.:46:21.

breaking on child poverty. It seems that the Prime Minister is running

:46:22.:46:26.

rather short of ideas and indeed, those of us who fought Tory

:46:27.:46:29.

candidates, as I did, successfully I'm glad to say, in the general

:46:30.:46:32.

election in Scotland will be aware that the Tories in Scotland had only

:46:33.:46:37.

one policy and people are beginning to wonder what the Tory Party stands

:46:38.:46:42.

for? What are they here to do? What is this Government existing to do

:46:43.:46:47.

other than to take Britain out of the European Union, in the most

:46:48.:46:55.

inane and hapless fashion possible. A particular question is - what are

:46:56.:46:58.

the new Scottish Conservative members of Parliament going to do in

:46:59.:47:02.

this Parliament to scrutinise the Government? What are they going to

:47:03.:47:06.

do with their time here? Clearly, the Prime Minister's estimation of

:47:07.:47:11.

their abilities is such that she's had to ennoble one of their

:47:12.:47:15.

colleagues, defeated by my honourable friend, the member for

:47:16.:47:19.

Perth, and shove him into the House of Lords to be a minister because

:47:20.:47:23.

she doesn't think the Tory MPs are up to it. I do wonder if she's right

:47:24.:47:30.

as they have shown a remarkable ignorance of the difference between

:47:31.:47:33.

devolved and reserved powers, rather like the drafters of the EU

:47:34.:47:36.

withdrawal bill, it seems. I'd like to make a generous offer that I

:47:37.:47:43.

would be very happy to recommend an undergraduate law student from my

:47:44.:47:48.

alma mater to give a ewe tore on the difference between -- ewe tore on

:47:49.:47:53.

the difference between the two powers -- tutorial. It's quite

:47:54.:47:58.

possible we can inflict a Government defeat if that what we chose to do.

:47:59.:48:01.

They said they would work for Scotland's interest. Does she recall

:48:02.:48:05.

and remember exactly what they did in response to the appalling deal

:48:06.:48:12.

put forward to this Democratic Unionist Party? I do. And somebody

:48:13.:48:18.

who is LGBT, I find the deal with the DUP particularly obnoxious. It's

:48:19.:48:25.

everyone's human rights, women's reproductive rights generally, the

:48:26.:48:28.

honourable gentleman shouts at me to give over, but human rights are

:48:29.:48:31.

important to some of us in this House. I'm happy to tell him I'm not

:48:32.:48:35.

going to give over about human rights. My honourable friend raised

:48:36.:48:38.

the issue what have are the Conservative MPs going to do to

:48:39.:48:43.

represent the interests of voters in Scotland. One of the issues that

:48:44.:48:48.

should be coming before this Parliament, we're promised an

:48:49.:48:51.

immigration bill to be scheduled at some time in the Parliamentary

:48:52.:48:54.

business. No sign of it yet, Mr Speaker. But one thing that the

:48:55.:49:01.

Conservative MPs could do is to respect the wishes of business in

:49:02.:49:07.

Scotland, the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, and the Institute of

:49:08.:49:15.

Directors - A point of order. Is it right and appropriate at the point

:49:16.:49:18.

when my honourable friend is making the speech the Tory hies come here,

:49:19.:49:22.

stand at the bar at the House and heckle when they're not part of this

:49:23.:49:24.

debate? THE SPEAKER: I hadn't heard the

:49:25.:49:33.

alleged chundering. It is unseemly, I say. They shouldn't do that. The

:49:34.:49:38.

honourable and learned lady is a very robust individual and she is

:49:39.:49:43.

well able to fend for herself. They shouldn't stand in an aggressive,

:49:44.:49:50.

mafioso posture, it's disagreement and quite unnecessary. I'm grateful

:49:51.:49:53.

to my honourable friend - THE SPEAKER: Point of order, Mr Mark

:49:54.:50:03.

Pritchard. Can I confess, it was not the whips chundering, it was my good

:50:04.:50:06.

self, Sir. THE SPEAKER: That is both candid of

:50:07.:50:12.

the honourable gentleman and arguably a first.

:50:13.:50:18.

LAUGHTER Mr Honourable friend and some

:50:19.:50:21.

honourable gentleman in the House and the Speaker are very gallant,

:50:22.:50:26.

but I can assure them I have no difficulty with the chundering going

:50:27.:50:30.

on to my left. It's not going to put me off my stride. I was suggesting

:50:31.:50:33.

that perhaps one of the things that this Government needs to do is to

:50:34.:50:38.

bring forward a debate on the floor of this House about the basis of its

:50:39.:50:42.

immigration policy going forward. Because we heard during the general

:50:43.:50:45.

election campaign that the Prime Minister wants to stick with the

:50:46.:50:49.

unrealistic targets which she's previously missed for seven years.

:50:50.:50:54.

The reason that these targets are unrealistic is that they're based on

:50:55.:50:59.

ideology and not on evidence. Mr Speaker, we need an evidence-based

:51:00.:51:04.

debate on the floor of this House about the immigration policy for the

:51:05.:51:08.

whole of the UK going forward and if we have that, we will see that

:51:09.:51:12.

immigrants are, on average, more likely to be in work, more likely to

:51:13.:51:17.

be better educated and younger than the indigenous population. And that

:51:18.:51:22.

Scotland's demographic needs are such that we require a progressive

:51:23.:51:26.

immigration policy. As I said earlier, business in Scotland wants

:51:27.:51:31.

this: The Chambers of Commerce and the Institute of Directors in

:51:32.:51:34.

Scotland say they want the post student work visa brought back and

:51:35.:51:37.

that they want a different immigration policy for Scotland for

:51:38.:51:41.

its unique demographic needs. Let's have a debate about that, rather

:51:42.:51:46.

than a debate about process. Other countries, like Canada and

:51:47.:51:51.

Australia, manage to operate differential immigration procedures

:51:52.:51:59.

within their federation. Professor Christina Boswell has produced a

:52:00.:52:04.

report evaluated this different approach. There's cross-party

:52:05.:52:07.

support for that in Scotland, even the Scottish Tory Party supports the

:52:08.:52:12.

return of the post study work visa. What are they going to do about

:52:13.:52:16.

that? And when are we going to have a debate on the floor of the House?

:52:17.:52:20.

Another very important issue from last Parliament was the plight of

:52:21.:52:25.

child refugees in Europe. Many of us, including members on the

:52:26.:52:29.

Conservative benches, fought for the rights ever those children. We got

:52:30.:52:33.

an amendment to the Immigration Act, the Dubbs amendment. Last week, I

:52:34.:52:37.

attended the launch of a report by the human trafficking foundation,

:52:38.:52:41.

following an independent inquiry about the situation of separated and

:52:42.:52:45.

unaccompanied minors in Europe. It has revealed that the United Kingdom

:52:46.:52:49.

Government has woefully failed those children and that ministers have

:52:50.:52:55.

done and I quote "as little as legally possible to help

:52:56.:52:59.

unaccompanied children in Europe". The report says they've turned from

:53:00.:53:03.

a humanitarian crisis that would not be tolerable to the British public

:53:04.:53:06.

if they could see the truth of what's happening in France at the

:53:07.:53:08.

moment. So when are we going to have a debate about that? When are we

:53:09.:53:12.

going to be able to hold the Government to account for the

:53:13.:53:15.

promises they made when the amendment was passed and the fact

:53:16.:53:18.

that they've only brought 480 minors to the United Kingdom when the

:53:19.:53:23.

understanding was that they would bring 3,000? When are we going to

:53:24.:53:26.

have a debate about that important issue? We must find time in this

:53:27.:53:34.

Parliament to force the Government to rectify the dereliction of duty.

:53:35.:53:43.

Other honourable members have mentioned the EU withdrawal bill,

:53:44.:53:46.

brought forward last week. And clause five of that makes it clear

:53:47.:53:52.

that the Government do not intent the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights

:53:53.:53:56.

to become part what have they call domestic law after Brexit. Now Mr

:53:57.:54:00.

Speaker, this is an issue which must be challenged and debated

:54:01.:54:03.

immediately. There was a time, not so long ago, when the Secretary of

:54:04.:54:07.

State for exiting the EU was a great fan of the EU Charter of Fundamental

:54:08.:54:10.

Rights. He liked it so much, he used it to take up a legal challenge

:54:11.:54:15.

against the snoopers' charter, which ended up in the European Court of

:54:16.:54:18.

Justice. Now he's changed his mind and he's brought forward a draft

:54:19.:54:22.

bill which means a whole swathe of rights and protections enjoyed by

:54:23.:54:26.

our constituents are going to go if this bill goes through unamended.

:54:27.:54:31.

Where's the debate about that? The EU charter... I will give way. The

:54:32.:54:39.

Charter of Fundamental Rights only applies to citizens in the United

:54:40.:54:43.

Kingdom insofar as it applies to EU law. Therefore it cannot have

:54:44.:54:55.

applicablity when we are no longer under European law. But if as the

:54:56.:55:00.

Government have promised, this EU withdrawal bill is going to

:55:01.:55:04.

guarantee all the rights that we already enjoy by virtue of EU

:55:05.:55:08.

citizenship, then the charter on fundamental rights should not be

:55:09.:55:14.

going. The charter defends all sorts of rights, such as data protection,

:55:15.:55:19.

children's rights and the free standing right to equality, which

:55:20.:55:23.

are not protected by the ECHR. I'm grateful for the honourable member

:55:24.:55:27.

giving way. Would those rights not be protected, as incorporated into

:55:28.:55:31.

our laws, as British laws, notwithstanding that their source is

:55:32.:55:32.

in the EU? The honourable lady has very ably

:55:33.:55:44.

illustrated why we need to debate this. She thinks that despite the

:55:45.:55:48.

fact that the you Charter of fundamental rights are not going to

:55:49.:55:53.

be part of the Britain this December look. Let's have a debate about why

:55:54.:55:59.

were going to do that. -- how were going to do that. These rights are

:56:00.:56:02.

going to be real. Because just last week in the Supreme Court we saw

:56:03.:56:06.

that a gentleman, John Walker, was able to ensure equal pension rights

:56:07.:56:11.

for his husband thanks to EU law. That was a timely reminder of the

:56:12.:56:15.

value of EU law to our constituents. Very important rights. What is more

:56:16.:56:21.

important then for a married couple two men ought to win in that they

:56:22.:56:24.

have the same pension rights as a straight couple? Personally I find

:56:25.:56:29.

that very important and I'm sure many the members of the House would

:56:30.:56:33.

as well. Mr Speaker we cannot afford to fall behind the standards set by

:56:34.:56:38.

the European Union on human rights. On the face of it, the EU withdrawal

:56:39.:56:42.

Bill seems to be about to do that. We must insist on parliamentary time

:56:43.:56:47.

to debate these issues properly, so like all upon the government to get

:56:48.:56:50.

their act together, have the courage of its convictions bring the

:56:51.:56:55.

business to the Florida house so that we can debate some of the

:56:56.:56:58.

issues that I have mentioned and that other honourable members have

:56:59.:57:03.

mentioned, in a full and frank fashion, rather than running scared

:57:04.:57:07.

from the policies for which you are so keys to espouse, when you

:57:08.:57:14.

thought, -- when they thought they began to have a whopping majority.

:57:15.:57:22.

They are not OK now. Thank you Mr Speaker, and of course it is a

:57:23.:57:27.

pleasure to follow the many speeches of the member of Angus South and of

:57:28.:57:35.

Battersea. I'd do you reflect a little bit on a debate that we may

:57:36.:57:42.

get to later on today, if we get time, on the youth Parliament. I

:57:43.:57:49.

think I'm probably one of the only MPs that was a member of the youth

:57:50.:57:54.

Parliament when it was set up in 2000 2001 -- 2000-1. And I'm am a

:57:55.:58:02.

member pile in Parliament. What I reflect upon this is the kind of

:58:03.:58:07.

behaviour that we have from that side of the House cutting down the

:58:08.:58:10.

opportunity to have debate and discussion would be something that

:58:11.:58:15.

would have been unheard of in the Youth Parliament. And here in the

:58:16.:58:22.

Parliament that is meant to be the mother of Parliaments playing

:58:23.:58:26.

jiggery-pokery with the timetable seems to be perfectly acceptable.

:58:27.:58:33.

So, I do wonder about the responsibility of the government and

:58:34.:58:40.

what it looks like for constituents out in the wider world. Today, Mr

:58:41.:58:46.

Speaker, my constituents were queueing up around the block, not

:58:47.:58:54.

for a gig or a music activity, but to see a doctor. Queueing up for

:58:55.:59:00.

over a one-hour TC the local doctor in Peacehaven. -- to see the local

:59:01.:59:07.

doctor in Peacehaven. It is a regular thing that my constituents

:59:08.:59:16.

do. But why customer because Iraqi doctors have to do has doubled while

:59:17.:59:22.

resources to our NHS has been cut. Equally, with housing, we have

:59:23.:59:29.

houses -- we do not have enough houses, and of course we all know

:59:30.:59:36.

that teachers's pay has reduced by ?3 an hour in real terms since the

:59:37.:59:44.

party opposite took power. And their workloads have also increased. And

:59:45.:59:47.

it is independent research that shows that, so you may wish to chant

:59:48.:59:54.

across the other side of the chamber about it, but I suggest you go and

:59:55.:00:01.

read the research. So, my constituents would be absolutely

:00:02.:00:04.

flabbergasted to think that we were effectively reducing our workload to

:00:05.:00:12.

cover the same amount of time over two years then we were over a

:00:13.:00:18.

one-year and saying oh, it is all because that is what it says in

:00:19.:00:23.

standing orders. I'm afraid, Mr Speaker, I think that is a weak

:00:24.:00:28.

response. We need to take the moral high ground, not just the letter

:00:29.:00:33.

what is in standing orders. Yes, I will give way. Can I suggest that

:00:34.:00:41.

the facts contradict the gentleman giving away's opening remarks. We

:00:42.:00:48.

have had debate and therefore that is democracy whether the honourable

:00:49.:00:55.

Antman likes it or not. This he not agree that the gap there are strong

:00:56.:00:58.

economy to have a strong NHS. Is the British model or the Venezuelan

:00:59.:01:04.

model the best way to form a strong NHS? I think we can take them the

:01:05.:01:11.

best around all of the world, Scandinavia, Germany, etc etc, well

:01:12.:01:17.

they are able, Germany for example to have a strong economy and a

:01:18.:01:21.

fairer society. Unlike, under this government, where we actually have

:01:22.:01:28.

seen a bigger divide them between rich and poor and people who have

:01:29.:01:31.

not been able to access vital services. Last week, Mr Speaker, a

:01:32.:01:37.

woman came into my surgery and said that she had been on the waiting

:01:38.:01:40.

list for a council house for two years. I had to tell her that she

:01:41.:01:46.

was likely to remain on the waiting list for another 3-4 years. The

:01:47.:01:51.

reality is, not enough houses are being built under this government,

:01:52.:01:59.

under previous governments and for a generation. And what we need to talk

:02:00.:02:04.

about, surely, is making sure that we can hold the government's policy

:02:05.:02:11.

to account. She asked me to make sure that her voice was being heard

:02:12.:02:17.

in this chamber. Mr Speaker, if I go back to her and say, well, I'm

:02:18.:02:24.

terribly sorry, we didn't quite get enough opposition days to raise your

:02:25.:02:29.

urgent need, she would feel like her voice, through me, had been taken

:02:30.:02:34.

away and she would feel like that, quite rightly, because it has been

:02:35.:02:38.

taken away. Because they lack of debate and a lack of opposition time

:02:39.:02:44.

takes the voice away from constituents, from all

:02:45.:02:48.

constituencies, from across this country. And this has happened,

:02:49.:02:55.

without a vote in Parliament, but just with an announcement that was

:02:56.:02:59.

made in the papers that now we will be having a two year period rather

:03:00.:03:08.

than a one-year period. Whenever you wish to call it, I think this

:03:09.:03:13.

constituents will not really care, they will care that you are denying

:03:14.:03:19.

a voice for them in Parliament and not the petty name politics that you

:03:20.:03:26.

wish to pay. -- wish to play. I am a relatively new member, only a few

:03:27.:03:32.

weeks here, but if I were an employee, and I suddenly said, well,

:03:33.:03:39.

I'm not going to do that work in the year I'm going to take two years to

:03:40.:03:45.

do it, I would be put on capability and I probably would not have a job.

:03:46.:03:50.

Well, I suggest this government is put on capability and this job

:03:51.:03:53.

should not have a job, because extending the amount of time that

:03:54.:03:56.

you do the same amount of work is not only will workplace -- is not

:03:57.:04:01.

done in the workplace and it should not be done in our Parliament. It is

:04:02.:04:07.

very simple, Mr Speaker, what the government can do. They can come

:04:08.:04:13.

here and make a pledge to DD things. -- three things. They can say this

:04:14.:04:17.

to a number of days an opposition for backbench per year will be

:04:18.:04:24.

offered as there are in the standing orders procession. Easy PC. Say it.

:04:25.:04:32.

Make a pledge, make a commitment and then we won't need to shoot our 's

:04:33.:04:35.

early. We will be able to sit down and relax. -- Chicagoans early. The

:04:36.:04:44.

second thing they can say is that there will be the same number of

:04:45.:04:47.

days in this Parliament for all of that overall as there were in

:04:48.:04:54.

previous parliaments. Nice and easy, easy to do, make that statement now

:04:55.:05:00.

and again we could relax. And finally, the party opposite could

:05:01.:05:03.

get on with selecting their select committee representatives. They

:05:04.:05:09.

could get on with allowing us to scrutinise legislation. They could

:05:10.:05:14.

get on with the work. It easy. We've managed to hold an election today.

:05:15.:05:21.

Our elections shut today and our party, ten minutes ago, we will be

:05:22.:05:26.

announcing our representatives. You could have been busy doing the same.

:05:27.:05:32.

Why haven't you? Instead, you been fiddling while democracy burns. Get

:05:33.:05:39.

on with!. That is what members of the public want, they wanted to get

:05:40.:05:44.

on with it. They want but this side of the House wants, they were really

:05:45.:05:50.

get on with it. Agree The Times, a greedy days and make that statement

:05:51.:05:54.

and allow us to debate the issues that matter and stop wasting our

:05:55.:05:58.

time by your prevarication. Thank you, Mr Speaker. The question is

:05:59.:06:05.

that this House is considered the scheduling of parliamentary business

:06:06.:06:09.

by the Leader of the House and the implications of a two-year session

:06:10.:06:12.

for standing orders requirements. Those in favour say iron -- I. On

:06:13.:06:28.

the contrary know. I think you have to try again. The question is, I'll

:06:29.:06:34.

say it slowly that this House has considered the scheduling of

:06:35.:06:37.

parliamentary business by the Leader of the House and the insipid impetus

:06:38.:06:46.

in a two-year gree bull as many other opinion say I. On the

:06:47.:06:58.

contrary, no. I had a solitary I, so I think the ayes have it. -- I think

:06:59.:07:10.

we are due two I think we are due to have much number three on the. The

:07:11.:07:22.

question is as on the Oder paper, those of you in favour. Say ayes.

:07:23.:07:37.

Motion of the House, Private Members' Bills. I call the Leader of

:07:38.:07:43.

the House to move. Leader of the House, Andrea Leadsom. Putt I picked

:07:44.:07:52.

to move the motion standing in my name. The purpose of this motion is

:07:53.:07:55.

to allow 13 days were private member 's business in line was required

:07:56.:08:02.

under standard order the macro Standing Order number 14. We will

:08:03.:08:04.

expect to provide additional days in due course. Only extended

:08:05.:08:11.

parliamentary session of 2010-12 the government provided extra days were

:08:12.:08:13.

Private Members' Bills and these were approved at a later date. The

:08:14.:08:17.

emotion we are dealing with the day covers days for a Private Members'

:08:18.:08:22.

Bills between now and the 23rd of November 20 18. We will, therefore,

:08:23.:08:27.

bring forward a motion to provide additional data Private Members'

:08:28.:08:30.

Bills in due course, which will allow us to take into account the

:08:31.:08:33.

progressive business and any new recess dates and are allowed in

:08:34.:08:38.

future. This will balance the needs of members to proceed with private

:08:39.:08:41.

members business with members of the priorities. Members value time spent

:08:42.:08:48.

in their constituencies on Fridays and scheduling additional sitting

:08:49.:08:51.

Fridays were Private Members' Bills in 2019, with no regard to what

:08:52.:08:55.

pressures might exist at that time, could cause avoidable inconvenience.

:08:56.:08:59.

This is a proportionate way to deal with this being a longer session and

:09:00.:09:03.

I encourage their house to support this motion. Thank you the question

:09:04.:09:12.

is as on the order paper. I should notify the House that I selected

:09:13.:09:17.

both of the amendments on the order paper, if memory serves me

:09:18.:09:20.

correctly, the amendment and the name of the Leader of the Opposition

:09:21.:09:27.

and the amendment in the name of the honourable gentleman, the Member for

:09:28.:09:35.

Rhondda. On the other. White thank you Mr Speaker and can I think the

:09:36.:09:40.

Leader of the House removing her motion. I'd like to move the motion

:09:41.:09:47.

under half of the Leader of the Opposition, but subject to the House

:09:48.:09:52.

agreeing before Thursday, the 30th of September 2017 to a motion

:09:53.:09:57.

providing for an additional sitting Fridays, Private Members' Bills

:09:58.:10:00.

together at the necessary adjustments to Standing Order and

:10:01.:10:05.

14. Mrs Peter I won't go over some of the items that I made previously,

:10:06.:10:13.

-- Mr Speaker... These are very important process, along with the

:10:14.:10:18.

parliamentary business and so therefore given to them said

:10:19.:10:21.

previously, we don't have any confidence that the government are

:10:22.:10:25.

actually going to provide us with those extra dates as the Leader of

:10:26.:10:28.

the House has said and so that is why we are moving our motion for

:10:29.:10:33.

those extra days. 13 sitting Fridays. Mr Speaker, many

:10:34.:10:46.

organisations... I'm sorry to cut off so early in her remarks but

:10:47.:10:49.

would could you just clarify that she is wanting 13 extra days but she

:10:50.:10:52.

also campaigning for another ballot to be held in a year's time? Is it

:10:53.:10:59.

the 26 days in this session on the existing ballot, that would would

:11:00.:11:04.

give Private Members' Bills in this session twice as much chance of

:11:05.:11:08.

being successful in this session as they would in an ordinary session.

:11:09.:11:12.

Sarah selection would only work if there was another ballot in a year's

:11:13.:11:17.

time. Mr Speaker I really would like that ballot and the top of the

:11:18.:11:18.

ballot would be Mr Speaker, Private Members' Bills

:11:19.:11:30.

are important. It's an important measure for backbenchers to try and

:11:31.:11:39.

raise issues before Parliament. Many outside organisations and charities

:11:40.:11:41.

also wish to see the Private Members' Bills moved. Obviously I'm

:11:42.:11:47.

deeply concerned because I understand also that it's been very

:11:48.:11:52.

difficult for members of the public to table petitions, partly because

:11:53.:11:56.

some of the select committees, particularly the commissions

:11:57.:11:58.

committee, haven't been organised yet. As I said previously, we have

:11:59.:12:05.

already picked our selection committees and the leader of the

:12:06.:12:09.

House has said that the select committees won't even be sitting and

:12:10.:12:12.

organised until September. But that's why, Mr Speaker, it's

:12:13.:12:18.

important for the confidence of Parliament and for democracy and in

:12:19.:12:23.

the interests of all our constituents that Private Members'

:12:24.:12:26.

Bills are allocated along the same lines as I mentioned earlier about

:12:27.:12:31.

standing order 14, that we do get, Government has said in their press

:12:32.:12:35.

release that the session is double the length of a normal Parliamentary

:12:36.:12:41.

session. Therefore, Mr Speaker, we would expect and accept the extra 13

:12:42.:12:46.

days. I so move. THE SPEAKER: Thank you. Mr Fip ill

:12:47.:12:53.

Davis. Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I rise, I wasn't actually

:12:54.:12:56.

intending to speak in this particular debate, but given that

:12:57.:13:00.

the honourable lady opposite failed to answer my very simple question,

:13:01.:13:04.

it seems that we need to explore this subject a bit more deeply.

:13:05.:13:10.

Because the honourable lady's amendment merely asks for another 13

:13:11.:13:19.

sitting Fridays, the honourable gentleman for rounda has gone

:13:20.:13:23.

further and named an additional Fridays. None have addressed the

:13:24.:13:26.

issue about whether or not they want, as part of that, an extra

:13:27.:13:31.

ballot to take place in a year's time. Yes of course. Surely the

:13:32.:13:40.

important point here is that of the 14 bills, in the last two

:13:41.:13:43.

Parliamentary sessions that actually made it onto the statute book, three

:13:44.:13:48.

of them came from ten-minute rule bills. There are other routes to

:13:49.:13:52.

getting Private Members' Bills on the statute. I'm very grateful to

:13:53.:13:57.

the honourable lady for her comment, but that doesn't - the problem with

:13:58.:14:01.

ten minute rule bills is that they go to the back of the queue in

:14:02.:14:05.

effect. The ones that get the precedence are the ones who come out

:14:06.:14:09.

of the ballot. They're the ones who are going to get the best slice of

:14:10.:14:12.

it. Of course, I understand the honourable member for Rhonda, I

:14:13.:14:21.

would be arguing the same. He wants 26 rather than 13, because it will

:14:22.:14:25.

enhance the chances of his being top of the bill getting his bill

:14:26.:14:31.

through. So he's arguing out of a natural self-interest. I don't blame

:14:32.:14:36.

him for doing so. If I was top of the ballot, he tells us he's not

:14:37.:14:42.

arguing out of self-interest. No, I'm arguing out of his interest

:14:43.:14:46.

actually because he's going to support my Private Members' Bills.

:14:47.:14:51.

It's an ugly rumour, but it happens to be true, I am supporting his

:14:52.:14:56.

Private Members' Bill. Therefore, as a result of that, Mr Speaker, it

:14:57.:15:00.

seems to me he doesn't need his 26 days in order to get his bill

:15:01.:15:06.

through. But he might think, this might be just a reserve, a tactic he

:15:07.:15:11.

has in reserve in case things don't go so well on the first particular

:15:12.:15:15.

day, that it gives him more days. I hope he will declare his interests

:15:16.:15:18.

when he gets up to move his amendment. The honourable lady

:15:19.:15:22.

opposite hasn't managed to explain the standing orders in the House are

:15:23.:15:26.

quite clear that there shall be 13 days for Private Members' Bills in a

:15:27.:15:31.

session. Not that there will be a minimum of 13 days or a maximum of

:15:32.:15:35.

13 days, just that there will be 13 days. That's it. That's what's in

:15:36.:15:39.

the standing orders. It seems to me, if people want to meddle with the

:15:40.:15:42.

standing orders they have to meddle with all of it. It's just not

:15:43.:15:47.

acceptable to say, we'll have one ballot in the session of Parliament

:15:48.:15:52.

and we will have 26 sessions for that one particular ballot. That,

:15:53.:15:56.

I'm afraid, just does not wash. It does not work. If the honourable

:15:57.:16:00.

lady had come along with her amendment, and the honourable

:16:01.:16:04.

gentleman, to say that over this two-year period, we need to have a

:16:05.:16:09.

second ballot in a year's time and a 13 extra days for that particular

:16:10.:16:13.

ballot, that would be a perfectly respectable position for her to

:16:14.:16:15.

hold. I would have a bit more sympathy. I would have a bit more

:16:16.:16:20.

sympathy with that argument. I'm not saying I would support it, but I

:16:21.:16:23.

would have more sympathy for that argument. Her argument and the

:16:24.:16:28.

honourable lady's argument that we should have 26 sessions for Private

:16:29.:16:32.

Members' Bills for one ballot is completely and utterly unreasonable.

:16:33.:16:36.

I'll give way. I'm grateful. I understand what he says about the

:16:37.:16:40.

standing orders, but the leader of the House just announced that

:16:41.:16:44.

Government may potentially come forward with additional private

:16:45.:16:47.

members sitting days throughout this session. So would he oppose those

:16:48.:16:54.

and for what purpose would he suggest they should be used? Yes, I

:16:55.:16:58.

think the standing orders are perfectly adequate that there should

:16:59.:17:01.

be 13 days for Private Members' Bills in a session. That seems to me

:17:02.:17:06.

a perfectly reasonable number. I don't really see any justification

:17:07.:17:12.

for in effect saying that this particular ballot of Private

:17:13.:17:16.

Members' Bills in this session, for some reason this particular ballot

:17:17.:17:19.

deserves a better chance of getting their bills through than any other

:17:20.:17:22.

previous session of Parliament. I'll give way. The honourable member is

:17:23.:17:28.

being very generous. But if I remember, recall correctly, there

:17:29.:17:33.

was a motion in the 2010-12 Parliament to extend the number of

:17:34.:17:37.

private members days on the basis of the session being extra long. I

:17:38.:17:41.

can't recall the honourable member calling for an extra ballot then,

:17:42.:17:45.

when the motion was passed. Just because something happened in the

:17:46.:17:49.

past, doesn't mean to say it was a good thing to happen, Madam Deputy

:17:50.:17:52.

Speaker. That falls into that particular category. If the

:17:53.:17:57.

honourable lady looks at my voting record, she would notice that a lot

:17:58.:18:00.

of things that happen during the coalition years were not

:18:01.:18:03.

particularly to my taste and I used to vote accordingly. As the record

:18:04.:18:10.

will confirm. So praying in aid something that happened during the

:18:11.:18:14.

coalition years is not necessarily the best way to win over my support.

:18:15.:18:19.

My point is that this is a matter of fairness and everybody enters a

:18:20.:18:23.

ballot, in each session of Parliament, they enter knowing they

:18:24.:18:26.

will have 13 sessions of Parliament in which, 13 days in that session of

:18:27.:18:29.

Parliament for those Private Members' Bills to proceed. What

:18:30.:18:34.

we're being asked to do today is agree that this particular ballot,

:18:35.:18:37.

this particular ballot from this particular session means that some

:18:38.:18:41.

MPs will have a better chance of getting their Private Members' Bills

:18:42.:18:44.

through than would happen in any previous session. I'll give way. I

:18:45.:18:49.

understand what he's saying, but surely, if this was a normal session

:18:50.:18:54.

in terms of a year long, the chances of getting a Private Members' Bill

:18:55.:18:59.

would be less than it is going to be even with the 13 extra days. Do you

:19:00.:19:05.

think it's really fair, I have sympathy about another ballot, is it

:19:06.:19:09.

really fair that the number of days should be limited when the actual

:19:10.:19:13.

length of the session has been increased over a year? Well, as I

:19:14.:19:20.

said, I think there's an argument to say that there should be 13

:19:21.:19:25.

sessions, 13 days for this particular ballot and that in a

:19:26.:19:29.

year's time, we should hold another ballot and that there should be

:19:30.:19:32.

another 13 sessions for that particular ballot and that would

:19:33.:19:36.

give people the 26 sessions, the 26 days within the session. That would

:19:37.:19:40.

be a perfectly reasonable thing to request. I'd have a great deal of

:19:41.:19:45.

sympathy for that. It appears to me nobody is making that case on the

:19:46.:19:50.

Opposition benches. Why can we not have another ballot in a year's

:19:51.:19:54.

time, if we're going to have double the number of sessions? The

:19:55.:19:58.

honourable lady opposite hasn't been able to answer that question. No

:19:59.:20:02.

doubt the honourable member will have a crack at answering that

:20:03.:20:06.

question, but I don't think there is much of an answer to it. If we are

:20:07.:20:12.

trying to replicate, it seems to me, point that the honourable lady was

:20:13.:20:16.

making was that we should be trying to replicate what would normally

:20:17.:20:20.

happen over the course of two years. Well, what would normally happen

:20:21.:20:23.

over the course of two years is we'd have two ballots. So why is the

:20:24.:20:29.

honourable lady not actually bringing forward part of her

:20:30.:20:32.

amendment the extra ballot that would have normally happened in that

:20:33.:20:36.

two-year period. She seems to be cherry-picking the bit she wants out

:20:37.:20:41.

of the two years. So I would say to my honourable friend on the

:20:42.:20:47.

frontbench that she should beware of these requests for supposed fairness

:20:48.:20:51.

when they're going to isht deuce a very unfair system -- introduce a

:20:52.:20:54.

very unfair system, stick to his guns and say for each ballot of the

:20:55.:20:59.

Private Members' Bills there should be 13 days and that's plenty of

:21:00.:21:03.

opportunity to get their legislation through and if people want another

:21:04.:21:08.

13 days, then there must be another ballot, something that nobody yet

:21:09.:21:13.

seems to have called for. Thank you very much. I wish I could say it was

:21:14.:21:17.

a pleasure to follow the honourable gentleman. I'm very fond of the

:21:18.:21:24.

honourable gentleman. Can I say to the honourable gentleman, in all

:21:25.:21:28.

candidness, he is everything that is wrong currently with the Private

:21:29.:21:31.

Members' Bills system as it currently is constituted. His fill

:21:32.:21:36.

bustering, his attempt to destroy really honest attempts by members of

:21:37.:21:39.

Parliament to bring legislation forward is a thing that our

:21:40.:21:43.

constituents hate most about the sitting Fridays. I do wish at some

:21:44.:21:47.

point he would just stop. Yes, I'll give way. Perhaps what he ought to

:21:48.:21:51.

reflect on, Madam Deputy Speaker, is that for the first bill that appears

:21:52.:21:54.

on a Friday, it just needs 100 people to turn up to support him.

:21:55.:21:59.

He's as guilty as many people are in this House of complaining that a

:22:00.:22:03.

bill didn't get passed when they couldn't be bothered to turn up and

:22:04.:22:07.

support it in the first place. If the honourable gentleman bothered to

:22:08.:22:10.

turn up, some of these bills he claims are so important would

:22:11.:22:13.

actually get through. Why doesn't he tell that to his constituents. Can I

:22:14.:22:16.

say in response to the honourable gentleman, yes, of course, it's a

:22:17.:22:20.

matter of 100 members turning up. We've had members here thwarted not

:22:21.:22:23.

by the honourable gentleman, to be fair to him, thwarted by Government.

:22:24.:22:27.

There is something wrong and rotten with the way we do our Private

:22:28.:22:32.

Members' Bills in this House that wastes our time coming down from

:22:33.:22:35.

Scotland to participate and take part in these debates only for the

:22:36.:22:38.

honourable gentleman to drone on sometimes for two hours to ensure

:22:39.:22:43.

that this isn't taken. I hope - yes I will give way. I thank my

:22:44.:22:47.

honourable friend for giving way. First of all, the procedure

:22:48.:22:51.

committee has produced dozens or at least two reports in the last couple

:22:52.:22:55.

of years, outlining sensible reforms and over the years, has produced

:22:56.:23:02.

dozens of reports many reflects the system in the Scottish Parliament,

:23:03.:23:06.

where a bill that continues to have support on a cross-party basis

:23:07.:23:10.

should continue to make progress. Shouldn't that be adopted here? My

:23:11.:23:14.

honourable friend is utterly right. The procedure committee has looked

:23:15.:23:18.

to this for several occasions, that I can recall and remember. Each

:23:19.:23:21.

recommending strong and sensible proposals and suggestions and

:23:22.:23:23.

recommendations about how we actually address this. Now I think

:23:24.:23:27.

the time is absolutely right and prime, given that we've got this

:23:28.:23:33.

two-year session, let's vow to resolve the issues, outstabbeding

:23:34.:23:36.

issues about Private Members' Bills and assure that we have something

:23:37.:23:39.

that is fit for purpose, something that would ensure that we have the

:23:40.:23:43.

respect of constituents and that we can work cross-party, I'd love to

:23:44.:23:45.

work with the honourable gentleman on a horse racing issue, something

:23:46.:23:49.

that him and I share an interest in. We can't do this, because he would

:23:50.:23:53.

be filibustering me not to get it through. I'm more surprised that

:23:54.:23:59.

he's a sponsor of the honourable member for Rhondda's bill. Maybe

:24:00.:24:04.

suggest a change in attitude and approach by the honourable

:24:05.:24:06.

gentleman, a mellowing over the years that he may be constructively

:24:07.:24:11.

engaged in some of these issues. I'm hearing, "Don't hold your breath."

:24:12.:24:15.

From a colleague. I will not be holding my breath. I give way. It

:24:16.:24:20.

might help the honourable gentleman when he's passing accusations to my

:24:21.:24:23.

honourable friend that he did indeed speak for over an hour when I

:24:24.:24:27.

brought my Private Members' Bill forward and he made constructive

:24:28.:24:31.

points, even though he opposed it. He didn't oppose for opposition's

:24:32.:24:36.

sake. I'm a great fan of the honourable gentleman's speeches,

:24:37.:24:40.

he's a unique and rare talent for fill bustering. I wish he wouldn't

:24:41.:24:44.

do it in Private Members' Bills. He has an ability that seems to be able

:24:45.:24:47.

to speak for hours and hours on these things. It's something that

:24:48.:24:51.

new members of the House might actually have to have a look at.

:24:52.:24:54.

I'll give way. I'm sorry to the honourable gentleman. It comes to

:24:55.:24:59.

this particular motion, Madam Deputy Speaker and to the two amendments in

:25:00.:25:04.

place, we will support both amendments. Because we

:25:05.:25:09.

fundamentally, profoundly agree if we have a two-year session of

:25:10.:25:13.

Parliament we must have a system and a routine of Private Members' Bills

:25:14.:25:16.

time that respects the fact that this is a two-year session of

:25:17.:25:20.

Parliament, to have 13 days associated for a Private Members'

:25:21.:25:26.

Bills is insuffer. I accept the honourable gentleman's point, the

:25:27.:25:29.

Rolls Royce solution is to have another ballot next year. That is

:25:30.:25:31.

something the Government is not going to do. So what do we do in the

:25:32.:25:35.

place of Government's refusal to do that. Surely the sensible way to do

:25:36.:25:40.

it is ensure we get sufficient time for the Private Members' Bills that

:25:41.:25:44.

we have in place, which will possibly allow a number of bills to

:25:45.:25:48.

progress and get through this House that we would normally expect. Yes.

:25:49.:25:52.

I will give way. The honourable gentleman said it would be the Rolls

:25:53.:25:56.

Royce solution to have had the second ballot, which I think my

:25:57.:26:00.

honourable member made a good point on. But nobody's asked for it. That

:26:01.:26:02.

is the point. player-macro is not in the

:26:03.:26:12.

amendment, so it's not a case of being a Rolls-Royce is not something

:26:13.:26:20.

England's asked for. Other honourable friends look like they

:26:21.:26:23.

might be in a position to agree, let's do it, because that surely is

:26:24.:26:27.

the solution that we need in place. We're not going to get that, the

:26:28.:26:31.

government has made that clear, said that we need to put in place is an

:26:32.:26:37.

arrangement so that we can properly reflect this to session to

:26:38.:26:40.

Parliament from Private Members' Bills in front of us. We got a

:26:41.:26:44.

affectionate Private Members' Bills in these particular ventures. We got

:26:45.:26:48.

the first SNP private members Bill through this House before the I

:26:49.:26:57.

might a friend for a bucking the private members Bill through. Last

:26:58.:27:03.

year, we had for a Private Members' Bills in the top ten, some fantastic

:27:04.:27:07.

Private Members' Bills that we are pleased and proud of. We've got to

:27:08.:27:15.

on this particular order paper and I'm looking forward to hearing

:27:16.:27:20.

Private Members' Bills may an honourable friend who's no longer

:27:21.:27:23.

his place in my other honourable friend is no longer in its place. We

:27:24.:27:26.

will them and I look forward to hearing them and supporting them

:27:27.:27:31.

when they come to this House. We do need certainty about Private

:27:32.:27:35.

Members' Bills, because while it easy for some of the honourable

:27:36.:27:40.

colleagues across the chamber to get back to the House of Commons on

:27:41.:27:46.

Friday. It's not easy for us from Scotland, it involves us getting on

:27:47.:27:49.

a plane travelling performer Ivan seven hours to get here to take part

:27:50.:27:56.

in these debates so we need certainty. Were grateful to the

:27:57.:27:59.

leader of the houses listen to the seven sessions we to secure... I

:28:00.:28:07.

declaring interest as someone who has come fifth place in the private

:28:08.:28:11.

members Bill ballot, the IS on this site, but by his logic he is arguing

:28:12.:28:15.

for more sitting Fridays when it would be even harder for people from

:28:16.:28:18.

Scotland to come down here and nowhere in his argument does he

:28:19.:28:21.

ignore list the fact that the most important part of a Bill stage is in

:28:22.:28:26.

committee, and that committee can go on for weeks and weeks and weeks,

:28:27.:28:30.

not subject to any of the criticisms of what may happen on a Friday and

:28:31.:28:33.

that is the important part of the Bill. Is he making their proposals

:28:34.:28:37.

about that and it has not been to a town. Are honourable gentleman makes

:28:38.:28:41.

a very good point about the committee stage. NIO to be a member

:28:42.:28:48.

that committee. If not they have daddies abandoned, but this has

:28:49.:28:51.

certainty about when these data going to be available. We are

:28:52.:28:54.

grateful that the first one to have been lifted listed but if we are

:28:55.:29:03.

going to have extra days considered it only right and proper that they

:29:04.:29:06.

be listed now so that we get this certainty. We have to make a massive

:29:07.:29:13.

effort to get to this House, it's not so easy when you come from

:29:14.:29:17.

private to get down here on a Friday to get back. So it is all about

:29:18.:29:21.

ensuring that the certainty about the dates on the leader that are

:29:22.:29:25.

suggested. I will end my contribution, Madam Deputy Speaker,

:29:26.:29:31.

just as a little bit about Private Members' Bills and the importance

:29:32.:29:34.

that they have to be house. Our constituents like Private Members'

:29:35.:29:36.

Bills. They will take only members of the House that they are going to

:29:37.:29:41.

get lobbied on Private Members' Bills more than any other piece of

:29:42.:29:46.

legislation in the course of their time as members of parliament

:29:47.:29:49.

because people like the way that we do this. They like the way that it

:29:50.:29:53.

is usually cross-party, these usually consensus, and it's an issue

:29:54.:29:57.

that -- issues that the iPod to them. It has to be said, given the

:29:58.:30:06.

vacuousness of this government's legislative programme, probably the

:30:07.:30:08.

most interesting and exciting pieces of legislation and feels that we

:30:09.:30:12.

will consider in this parliament will be the Private Members' Bills.

:30:13.:30:17.

So, let's make sure that we give it the necessary time to consider them.

:30:18.:30:26.

Let me end on one thing, Madam Deputy Speaker, but let's get the

:30:27.:30:30.

whole issue of Private Members' Bills properly resolved so that we

:30:31.:30:34.

do not have my friend, the member from Shipley, continuing to speak...

:30:35.:30:43.

Thank you Madam Deputy Speaker. I'm grateful for being called as a new

:30:44.:30:46.

member in this place, you will excuse me for not being entirely

:30:47.:30:49.

over a with all the rules and procedures. When it comes to the big

:30:50.:30:54.

principles, that was the reason I was elected to come here by the

:30:55.:31:00.

people of Plymouth Sutton and Devonport. I think the motion that

:31:01.:31:06.

has been put forward today seems incredibly sound and reasonable in

:31:07.:31:13.

terms of saying, if there is to be a non-parliamentary session, which are

:31:14.:31:18.

normally is a year, at -- a normal parliamentary session, which

:31:19.:31:20.

normally is a year the near as a set number of Private Members' Bills

:31:21.:31:27.

sitting. If that is to be extended, if the procedures are to be changed

:31:28.:31:32.

in such a way that that year becomes two years, that session becomes a

:31:33.:31:37.

larger session, that is John goes on first for further, we should reflect

:31:38.:31:43.

that in the wake of the operating this place. Because, for me, what

:31:44.:31:49.

frustrates me I didn't come to trial and to stand up and debate about

:31:50.:31:53.

procedure and there is a part of me that really disliked myself standing

:31:54.:31:56.

year and speaking in this way, because I was elected to come here

:31:57.:32:00.

and deliver action. If the government is not able to bring

:32:01.:32:04.

forward its manifesto because of the arithmetic of this place and the

:32:05.:32:07.

unpopularity of some of its policies, both on its own benches

:32:08.:32:13.

and only public, then it should be right that by backbenchers on both

:32:14.:32:16.

sides of this House have the ability to bring forward legislation that

:32:17.:32:21.

will make a difference, be it small or large. It is the promise of

:32:22.:32:25.

Westminster every backbencher that they have the ability change the law

:32:26.:32:30.

of the land to help their constituents, and that is what I

:32:31.:32:32.

think we should be discussing year-to-date. Now, as a new member,

:32:33.:32:37.

I watched on television the proceedings of the South and now I

:32:38.:32:43.

find myself a part of it. The idea of filibustering bills is something

:32:44.:32:46.

that the majority of our electorate find at warrant. -- torrent they

:32:47.:32:54.

want to to see these opportunities brought forward to bring forward

:32:55.:32:59.

legislation that is an thing that I imagine people in Plymouth and ran

:33:00.:33:04.

the country will find a little bit curious. I don't want to play

:33:05.:33:08.

procedural games because I'm surrounded by people that are much

:33:09.:33:13.

better at it than I am I fear, but I would say simply that if we are to

:33:14.:33:16.

have a session that is not one-year but two years, then it seems logical

:33:17.:33:22.

and hurting me, both as a new member and as someone who is trying to

:33:23.:33:26.

represent the people who elected me, that the number of Private Members'

:33:27.:33:29.

Bills is scaled accordingly to the time of that session. I am most

:33:30.:33:35.

grateful to my honourable friend for giving way. Our constituents

:33:36.:33:42.

expected to come here for a certain number of days but the fact that Her

:33:43.:33:48.

Majesty 's opposition at the moment I totally useless and it really be

:33:49.:33:51.

rather right here at all according to their game... Man in jeopardy

:33:52.:33:57.

Speaker I'm very happy to change the useless to another adjective, but

:33:58.:34:03.

isn't it true that they also expect us to be here for 13 sitting Fridays

:34:04.:34:09.

where we can discuss Private Members' Bills, is that true? I'm

:34:10.:34:15.

grateful to the Member for the contributions and as someone who for

:34:16.:34:20.

the 20 ten and 2015 general elections. What worries me is about

:34:21.:34:30.

how this debate looks to the average freight in Plymouth is that it looks

:34:31.:34:33.

like we're playing procedural games. So we're not spending this time here

:34:34.:34:41.

debating food banks, or the crisis in our NHS. Were not looking at why

:34:42.:34:45.

the M5 stops at Exeter and doesn't extent of the game are bridge and

:34:46.:34:50.

Plymouth. Were not looking at the issues that come up on the doorstep

:34:51.:34:54.

we find ourselves play procedural games because the government has

:34:55.:34:57.

chosen to play those procedural games in the way that they cancelled

:34:58.:35:04.

the teams and elongated this session without correspondingly carrying

:35:05.:35:06.

everyday things that would have a fair way of doing so. It seems to me

:35:07.:35:12.

like a tactic from the South, 1970s playback of something that should

:35:13.:35:16.

have been consigned to the past. We should be striving to have a

:35:17.:35:20.

21st-century parliament with 21st-century procedures and

:35:21.:35:22.

policies, that enabled the backbenchers to bring forward

:35:23.:35:27.

legislation if they so choose. Now, I wasn't drawn in the... Thank you

:35:28.:35:39.

for giving way, has seat of the opposition Chief Whip of the should

:35:40.:35:42.

be the end of procedural games in Parliament? In my experience

:35:43.:35:48.

procedural games is one of the few things that opposition has at its

:35:49.:35:56.

disposal. Is he going to take the opportunity to rule out the use of

:35:57.:36:00.

procedural games in the use of this Parliament questioner --? I thank

:36:01.:36:11.

the gentleman for that intervention. I want to talk about food banks and

:36:12.:36:16.

the issues that really matter and I appreciate that people have strong

:36:17.:36:21.

views on this regard but so do I. That is that backbench members

:36:22.:36:24.

should have the same opportunity in 80 recession are they doing a single

:36:25.:36:27.

your session to bring forward legislation. I wasn't drawn in the

:36:28.:36:32.

private member session ballot, the device had been John I would have

:36:33.:36:41.

been proposing to its underrated franchise to 16 and 17-year-old.

:36:42.:36:45.

Instead of us looking at how we can lock ourselves in the past with

:36:46.:36:51.

procedures that locker can reflect that -- don't reflect that our

:36:52.:36:58.

intention. If we extend the numbers, we can then talk about how we can

:36:59.:37:01.

get young people involved with our politics and involved in politics

:37:02.:37:05.

and that will hopefully shine the light on the procedures and workings

:37:06.:37:09.

of this House to make it better and fairer, because, Madam Deputy

:37:10.:37:12.

Speaker, I want to be able to get back to Plymouth for the recess and

:37:13.:37:15.

hold my head up high and say that I was defending their rights and their

:37:16.:37:19.

responsibilities in this place. As a lowly backbencher, I want the

:37:20.:37:23.

ability to support other backbenchers in bringing legislation

:37:24.:37:27.

that can make a difference, because it feels to me that the government

:37:28.:37:30.

is trapped like a rabbit in the headlights in their right wing of

:37:31.:37:34.

the party. Unable to bring evident manifesto that they were elected on,

:37:35.:37:38.

and able to propose solutions that we really need, unable to stand up

:37:39.:37:41.

to the scrutiny did they have on various issues, so that those

:37:42.:37:47.

debates about what thing, public sector pay cap, Private Members'

:37:48.:37:52.

Bills and allow each and everyone of us to adjust their way and for a

:37:53.:37:56.

Baker's dozen of extra Private Members' Bills, I hope this House

:37:57.:38:02.

will support this notion. I just want to start by saying that the

:38:03.:38:08.

opposition's view this version tonight is not about causing

:38:09.:38:12.

trouble, it's about maintaining an important democratic principle of

:38:13.:38:17.

this House, which is in a two-year session, already quit declared, it

:38:18.:38:21.

is perfectly legitimate the government should allocate the

:38:22.:38:25.

proportionate number of days and they could do that tonight. We could

:38:26.:38:31.

do this tonight if it wanted to and that's why we are supporting the

:38:32.:38:34.

amendment on the order paper and I just want to very briefly, in

:38:35.:38:38.

support of that document, referred to some of the successful bills that

:38:39.:38:45.

went under statute book in 2016-17. Just to illustrate the importance of

:38:46.:38:49.

the private member Bill Root and the importance of sitting Fridays. So,

:38:50.:38:58.

let's start with the merchant shipping, introduced by the member

:38:59.:39:03.

of Salisbury, an important piece of legislation that emits from the

:39:04.:39:06.

Colonel Justice and Public order act the sections which became a acts

:39:07.:39:09.

Cranford business from the crew of merchant ships. The really important

:39:10.:39:18.

piece of deflation that makes -- piece of legislation that eliminate

:39:19.:39:20.

a very serious piece of discrimination. That is homosexual

:39:21.:39:30.

acts in the merchant Navy. We took it out of the Bill in the Armed

:39:31.:39:34.

Forces, get could not get that Bill taken out for the merchant Navy.

:39:35.:39:38.

That came forward as a private members Bill rather than the

:39:39.:39:40.

government taking their time to actually do it. My honourable friend

:39:41.:39:45.

strengthens and enhances the point that I am making. We need the route

:39:46.:39:51.

offered by Private Members' Bills to deal with important issues such as

:39:52.:39:56.

that. And then, something that I think there's already been referred

:39:57.:40:00.

to by the SNP fragments, the very important measure introduced by the

:40:01.:40:09.

previous measure relating to the then we are victims of domestic

:40:10.:40:19.

violence. Someone came from the Friday route and even now I don't

:40:20.:40:22.

think that the government has acted on the instructions of the House,

:40:23.:40:25.

rather then trying to prevent the democratic rights of the spread

:40:26.:40:30.

house perhaps the government might be better off making sure that the

:40:31.:40:33.

democratic will of this House is observed in letter and spirit.

:40:34.:40:38.

Finally I just want to make reference to two pieces of

:40:39.:40:43.

legislation previous 220 16-17, that, in my case did not make it

:40:44.:40:46.

onto the statute book immediately they did in the end become law and

:40:47.:40:50.

that was the dangerous dogs legislation. This made it possible

:40:51.:40:55.

to prosecute people when attacks were made by dogs on private

:40:56.:41:00.

property. It took years to get it on the statute book, about five years,

:41:01.:41:05.

but we got there in the end but it was the private menu putt members

:41:06.:41:10.

Bill and Friday sittings that made that happen. It was a cooperation in

:41:11.:41:20.

2015 both entrenches the # Frontbenchers in the closing month

:41:21.:41:25.

that that made that legislation possible. Why can't we have that

:41:26.:41:29.

cooperation now. If you believe in consensus, act on it and give us the

:41:30.:41:36.

time on Fridays. Thank you Madam Deputy Speaker I will be brief.

:41:37.:41:41.

Unusually, I find myself in agreement with the honourable men

:41:42.:41:47.

Rita Shipley. -- member for Shipley. We are in a situation where you're

:41:48.:41:51.

perpetuating myth, and the myth is that we as individual backbench

:41:52.:41:53.

members of Parliament are legislators. Except in very few

:41:54.:42:03.

cases, were not. Although, the reality is that any building that is

:42:04.:42:07.

brought forward, if it doesn't attract the veto of the honourable

:42:08.:42:11.

member for Shipley and Emily chose to join him, then it will most

:42:12.:42:16.

probably be procedurally talked out by a minister who was then that

:42:17.:42:21.

despite bucks and make sure that that Bill -- dispatch box and make

:42:22.:42:28.

sure that Bill does not get past. We as a house must decide that we must

:42:29.:42:33.

make the system work. It is a sham and we are fooling the public into

:42:34.:42:36.

believing that those will be passed that never stand a snowballs chance

:42:37.:42:45.

in hell. It's fitting on a day that started after me, and perhaps other

:42:46.:42:49.

people, listening to an excerpt from night of the living dead to

:42:50.:42:54.

commemorate the passing of George Romero, who was the creator of the

:42:55.:43:00.

modern-day zombie. Twice in one evening we are discussing this

:43:01.:43:04.

zombie government that the benches opposite have become. Because, while

:43:05.:43:07.

it has lost its majority and some would say its authority, when it

:43:08.:43:13.

does have control of, the parliamentary timetable, it is

:43:14.:43:15.

turning the screws on that. So we are now hearing about the

:43:16.:43:18.

disappearing opposition days and we now turn to Private Members' Bills.

:43:19.:43:24.

I listen to the what the Leader of the House said and it was great in

:43:25.:43:28.

the extreme. We still have idea whether we love the commensurate

:43:29.:43:34.

days of increase it should be 26 days and not 13. When I think of

:43:35.:43:43.

some of the contents of that manifesto, the ill-fated

:43:44.:43:45.

Conservative manifesto that didn't make it to the Queen's speech, so,

:43:46.:43:49.

the dementia tax, I remember it was in my own constituency when the

:43:50.:43:55.

Prime Minister came and she came a bit unstuck about one of my

:43:56.:43:58.

constituents are doing with her on the doorstep. Think about the 25

:43:59.:44:02.

year environment plan, grammar schools, fox hunting, all these big

:44:03.:44:07.

policies, and the fact that the First Minister said that the

:44:08.:44:13.

Conservatives Private members 's bills are a good

:44:14.:44:25.

way to plug the gap. It has been said before, our constituents sent

:44:26.:44:29.

us to this place because they want to debate issues and vote on

:44:30.:44:34.

legislation. Both the private members bills on a Friday and the

:44:35.:44:38.

observation days on a Friday, that is where I cut my teeth. I went

:44:39.:44:47.

through a string of different, I was never lucky enough to have my blue

:44:48.:44:54.

sky thinking translated to something in the statute book. The oft

:44:55.:45:01.

patented drugs Bill, my honourable friend, the homes fitfully human

:45:02.:45:06.

habitation Bill, the hospital parking charges, my honourable

:45:07.:45:15.

friend for Burnley, they never saw the light of day because it was

:45:16.:45:24.

never busted out of existence. This parliament as well. Sorry, this

:45:25.:45:31.

year, 2016, the ones that did make it were the ones that had

:45:32.:45:34.

fingerprints all over them. The hand-out bills. I had someone go on

:45:35.:45:47.

about their favourite pop groups on a radio station, and from the

:45:48.:45:50.

outside, it is a denial of democracy and it looks bad. When Private

:45:51.:45:54.

member 's bills are given time that they need, and debated properly, it

:45:55.:46:00.

is parliament at its best. People remember September 2015, that was a

:46:01.:46:05.

Friday when a lot of people came in. The numbers were 118-330, so it is

:46:06.:46:11.

possible to get people there on a Friday if things are given time. It

:46:12.:46:16.

didn't change the law, but the debates had a good airing. The SNP

:46:17.:46:21.

mentioned the Istanbul convention vote on a Friday, just this February

:46:22.:46:25.

come vital legislation to stop violence against women and girls. It

:46:26.:46:33.

seems the zombie parliament of chuntering continuing on, Private

:46:34.:46:38.

members bills, you can even construct a long list of things that

:46:39.:46:44.

have changed the way modern society operate, the origins of which are in

:46:45.:46:51.

Private members bills. Committing of homosexual acts between two

:46:52.:46:55.

consenting adults over 21 in 1957, the end of the death penalty, the

:46:56.:47:01.

legalisation of abortion, those came from private members bills. Even

:47:02.:47:07.

hunting with dogs popped up several times, it was under a Labour

:47:08.:47:10.

government that fox hunting was outlawed. Plans to have a free vote

:47:11.:47:16.

on it this time seemed to have fallen out. People say the

:47:17.:47:19.

procedural committee has recommended reforms to Private members bills.

:47:20.:47:26.

Reversing the debate doesn't seem to be one that this government is

:47:27.:47:30.

entertaining at all, they have dismissed those concerns out of

:47:31.:47:34.

hand. We have seen in this Parliament how my honourable friend

:47:35.:47:38.

the Holland Walthamstow have secured something of a revenge for the

:47:39.:47:41.

backbenches. That happens in a zombie government. That should be

:47:42.:47:44.

encouraged with private members bills getting proper commensurate

:47:45.:47:50.

timing for a two-year parliament, 26 days, nothing less. It is part of a

:47:51.:47:57.

pattern. No select committees to be constituted until the autumn. In the

:47:58.:48:02.

last Parliament, we saw the withdrawal of short money. If you

:48:03.:48:06.

look at that manifesto, the manifesto of the Conservatives from

:48:07.:48:10.

2017, a lot of liberal constitutional stuff in there. For

:48:11.:48:15.

example, soldiering on with the boundary review, on 2015

:48:16.:48:21.

registrants, an election that won't happen until 2022, or will it? Do

:48:22.:48:25.

they know something we don't? What I would like to say is, this has gone

:48:26.:48:29.

beyond something for constitutional anoraks. A new petition last year

:48:30.:48:36.

got signatures for the reform of Private members Bill 's procedures.

:48:37.:48:40.

I urge everyone to support this amendment for a pro rata allocation

:48:41.:48:45.

of the time for debate, 26 days, nothing less. Don't let the zombies

:48:46.:48:48.

win, because democracy will be the loser. Chris Bryant. I beg to move

:48:49.:48:58.

the amendment, B, which is in my name on the order paper. I refer to

:48:59.:49:01.

the honourable member of the Shipley. He says I should declare my

:49:02.:49:05.

interest. I would argue, actually, of all the members in this House, I

:49:06.:49:09.

probably have the least interest in extending the number of days this

:49:10.:49:14.

year, because I came top of the ballot. It is the members at five

:49:15.:49:18.

and ten, and 15, and 20, who maybe have a greater interest in this. But

:49:19.:49:24.

I hope that he and I hope all honourable members of this House

:49:25.:49:29.

will unite on the 20th of October, and will turn up here for a vote for

:49:30.:49:34.

a Bill that makes sure emergency workers don't get spat at and

:49:35.:49:36.

attacked when they are doing their work. I hope that will attract not

:49:37.:49:44.

only the support of him, briefly, but also of government ministers as

:49:45.:49:49.

well. But we are yet to say. He said in his contribution that the

:49:50.:49:53.

standing orders say, quite rightly, he says, there will be 13 Private

:49:54.:50:00.

member 's days in a session. When it is a short session, that isn't true.

:50:01.:50:07.

The truth of the matter is, we are in a bit of a conundrum here. What

:50:08.:50:12.

the government has the power over is to decide the length of the session.

:50:13.:50:17.

That is why I think it is only fair play for the government to say, when

:50:18.:50:23.

it is a two-year session, there should be two years worth of Private

:50:24.:50:28.

members days. He says they should be a second ballot. That might be a

:50:29.:50:33.

great idea, but the only person that can table that amendment is the

:50:34.:50:37.

government. We can't. If we table it, it is not selectable as an

:50:38.:50:40.

amendment to today's business. There is no way we could have tabled that

:50:41.:50:45.

today. The only thing open to us is to table the extra 13 days. To be

:50:46.:50:50.

absolutely clear, what my amendment does is add another 13 days, and I

:50:51.:50:54.

think, therefore, gives many honourable members and right

:50:55.:50:58.

honourable members, a further opportunity to get legislation on

:50:59.:50:59.

the statute book. Why does it matter? What is the first

:51:00.:51:14.

thing you asked by every sixth form student at school? If you have a

:51:15.:51:17.

chance to change the law, what is the one thing you would do? We are

:51:18.:51:20.

used to answering that question. Sometimes, we get that opportunity.

:51:21.:51:22.

I think more of us should have that opportunity. In this two-year

:51:23.:51:24.

parliament, we could have ten minute rule bills, we could have members

:51:25.:51:26.

from the Private members Bill ballot, and I will not give way, I

:51:27.:51:31.

look forward to him just say yes on 20th October. The other point here

:51:32.:51:36.

is, if the government wanted to, it could make a session of Parliament

:51:37.:51:43.

last five years. Then would it only be 13 days the private members

:51:44.:51:46.

bills? In theory, yes. But I would say according to the laws of justice

:51:47.:51:52.

in this House, I would say not. Why do I not trust the government on

:51:53.:51:58.

this? Because I have thought, when the Leader of the House said a

:51:59.:52:00.

couple of times on Thursday morning, she said, she is minded to look at

:52:01.:52:08.

adding extra days. Then she tabled a motion that allows the 13 days

:52:09.:52:13.

through to the 23 November 2018. That does not suggest to me,

:52:14.:52:17.

somebody that thinks they should be the proportionate number for two

:52:18.:52:21.

years. I think that is an instance, in this case, where we are not being

:52:22.:52:28.

given the odd and straight. That is why I tabled the extra 13 days. I do

:52:29.:52:33.

believe, if the government wins the vote today, the Leader of the House

:52:34.:52:36.

will come back to say there should be any more days at all. Madam

:52:37.:52:43.

Deputy 's Mika, I end with two points. -- Madam Deputy Speaker.

:52:44.:52:51.

When Richard Crossman introduced the legislation standing order we are

:52:52.:52:54.

dealing with today, he made allowance the 22 private members

:52:55.:53:01.

days a year. He said this reflects the increasing importance which

:53:02.:53:04.

Private member 's bills have assured in the last year or two. I am

:53:05.:53:11.

pleased to see from published that honourable members are paired to

:53:12.:53:19.

come forward. That was in 1967 when they had just passed a Bill that

:53:20.:53:26.

partially decriminalised homosexuality. It didn't go the

:53:27.:53:30.

whole way. It took a considerable period for that happen. A Labour

:53:31.:53:33.

government had to push it through the House of lords with the

:53:34.:53:38.

Parliament act where we were given an equal age of consent. It started

:53:39.:53:43.

as a Private members Bill, and was given a government Bill. The end of

:53:44.:53:46.

the death penalty came through because Private members at a month

:53:47.:53:52.

after month, after month, and actually, votes for women happened

:53:53.:53:56.

year after year, people tabled Private members bills, and made

:53:57.:54:01.

Parliament make its mind up. In 1980, the first votes for women were

:54:02.:54:07.

allowed 100 years ago. Tomorrow, it will be the 50th anniversary of the

:54:08.:54:11.

parcel decriminalisation of homosexuality. I say to honourable

:54:12.:54:15.

members, every single one of you will want to have been involved in

:54:16.:54:20.

something as historic as that. Every single one of us would like to have

:54:21.:54:24.

done something as historic as that. If we hung up our boots, or the

:54:25.:54:28.

voters chucked us out at the next general election, absolutely fine.

:54:29.:54:33.

All we are trying to do today is say, "You know what, we could make

:54:34.:54:37.

Private members legislation better. " We could make good bills that

:54:38.:54:41.

don't depend on government ministers, and that is why I beg,

:54:42.:54:45.

urge and implore members opposite, those of you who I know are real

:54:46.:54:51.

parliamentarians and would desperately love to have had

:54:52.:54:55.

something as significant as what we are talking about to vote for the

:54:56.:55:00.

event went -- the amendment tonight. You know you will have done a good

:55:01.:55:06.

thing. The Member for Rhondda in the last debate talk about the power of

:55:07.:55:13.

the executive in terms of not just controlling the agenda of this

:55:14.:55:17.

place, but also in terms of ensuring that laws, which obviously are in

:55:18.:55:22.

manifestos and get through, but we are in a unique position in this

:55:23.:55:27.

Parliament. A two-year session, the important thing is, Private members

:55:28.:55:33.

bills should be used, and have been referred to by my honourable friend,

:55:34.:55:40.

the Member for Sutton and Devonport, and for Rhondda, but they are big

:55:41.:55:45.

legislation, sometimes too hot for government to vote through but they

:55:46.:55:51.

go through as Private members bills. It makes a real difference to

:55:52.:55:55.

people's lives. It comes from private members else. The Christmas

:55:56.:56:06.

Day trading act 2004, which means large shops can't open on a

:56:07.:56:11.

Christmas Day. It is good for shop workers that are forced to work on

:56:12.:56:15.

Christmas Day. In that same session, Jim Sheridan, the gang licensing act

:56:16.:56:28.

that brought in tough regulation in terms of time to protect those that

:56:29.:56:31.

exploit. ideas, in terms of making real

:56:32.:56:40.

change in people's lives. In terms of the argument put forward by the

:56:41.:56:44.

government, and I was a bit concerned when the Leader of the

:56:45.:56:48.

House said that she was minded to adapt conditional days. I'd like to

:56:49.:56:54.

know how many additional day she would like to use but that is the

:56:55.:57:00.

criteria for using those additional days? The logic that has only gone

:57:01.:57:08.

through is that 13 days over a two-year session. The only argument

:57:09.:57:11.

that the membership we is making and that is that is the hands of the

:57:12.:57:16.

government if they wish to have another ballot for private members

:57:17.:57:24.

to bring further amendment. As my honourable friend the Member for

:57:25.:57:31.

connoisseurs. Reset in the 2015 16 session the actual number of bills

:57:32.:57:38.

at came through successfully did not come through the ballot that came

:57:39.:57:41.

through private mentor was legislation Thomas said it was, and

:57:42.:57:50.

the idea somehow that he argument that they were given an unfair

:57:51.:57:54.

advantage, I'm not sure it's going to be the case. It will allow others

:57:55.:57:59.

to put forward private bills to get them onto the statute books. Now, I

:58:00.:58:03.

know the honourable member for Shipley thinks of himself as a great

:58:04.:58:11.

filibuster, can I say he pales into significance -- insignificance when

:58:12.:58:15.

it came to the honourable member for Bronwyn Bromley, the great Eric for

:58:16.:58:21.

because I managed to get rid of my bills through because he wanted to

:58:22.:58:27.

stop one further down the agenda. The Pope made by the SNP is this

:58:28.:58:31.

issue around how we deal with parliamentary legislation will stop

:58:32.:58:35.

it was the one proposal to move it onto a Tuesday and Wednesday night,

:58:36.:58:41.

so that it would a loud Parliament -- allow Parliament debate debate

:58:42.:58:44.

there and possibly get round the points that have been made by

:58:45.:58:51.

members of the SNP about travelling on a Friday. Etc. Is this an area

:58:52.:58:58.

that is right for a river? Yes it is. Certainly -- ripe for reform,

:58:59.:59:09.

yes, it is. Certainly for our constituents. Part of this

:59:10.:59:14.

legislation is important -- parliamentary legislation is

:59:15.:59:19.

important. Whether it's a mistake or it's just a matter of keeping the

:59:20.:59:24.

debt is clear whether it's a way of making sure that nothing

:59:25.:59:26.

controversial comes forward in the next two years, because they may

:59:27.:59:33.

have a situation where some of their backbench would vote for issues

:59:34.:59:40.

which are not the in favour of the government, but there is the

:59:41.:59:43.

fundamental point that the Member for Rhondda makes, which is that the

:59:44.:59:48.

should be opportunities in this paste to change legislation. -- then

:59:49.:59:58.

this place to change legislation. The member from Stockbridge Rosie

:59:59.:00:00.

was sure about the homosexual act in the merchant number -- Navy, that

:00:01.:00:09.

was actually in the Armed Forces Bill MSc managed to get it changed

:00:10.:00:12.

and then somebody picks it up to make sure that discriminatory

:00:13.:00:15.

legislation was taken out in terms of the merchant Navy. Again, that

:00:16.:00:22.

had been around for many years but it was only because of our scrutiny

:00:23.:00:25.

of that legislation that that change was actually made into legislation

:00:26.:00:31.

in both the military and in the merchant Navy. So, I would support

:00:32.:00:39.

the amendment put down. It was nonsense to suggest that somehow, by

:00:40.:00:44.

giving us additional days, the world is going to stop. No, it is not. But

:00:45.:00:51.

it will allow is to allow bank benches -- backbenchers to ensure

:00:52.:00:56.

that their voices are heard and make a real difference in trying to get

:00:57.:01:01.

some of those bills even pass the honourable member for Shipley. White

:01:02.:01:10.

the question is... White the question that amendment ably made as

:01:11.:01:17.

member of the opinions say aye. Those opposition say no. Clear the

:01:18.:01:23.

lobby. Nic White lists for

:01:24.:03:31.

that members say aye. Tellers for the no,

:03:32.:03:33.

Nigel Adams and Dave Rockley. The ayes to the right, 285. The noes

:03:34.:09:24.

to the left, 215. The ayes to the right, 285. The noes

:09:25.:19:11.

to the left, 315. The noes have it. The noes have it. Mr Bryant to move

:19:12.:19:24.

amendment B. The question is that amendment B be made. Clear the

:19:25.:19:32.

lobby. Order. The question is that

:19:33.:22:06.

amendment B be made. As many of that opinion say aye. On the contrary,

:22:07.:22:14.

say no. Tell us for the noes.

:22:15.:22:20.

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