:00:00. > :00:00.it is often about adopting different approaches to husbandry to reduce
:00:00. > :00:00.the reliance on antibiotics, but a lot of progress has been made, there
:00:00. > :00:13.is more to do. Questions to the honourable member
:00:14. > :00:18.for Houghton and Sunderland South and to the right honourable member
:00:19. > :00:29.for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners. Question one, sir.
:00:30. > :00:38.The commission has published two reports that includes assessment of
:00:39. > :00:43.the rules of the referendum. None of which related to an unmissable
:00:44. > :00:51.donations. It is continuing to consider issues and nine with
:00:52. > :00:57.published and force policy. We publish all investigations on our
:00:58. > :01:00.website once they are completed. Good my friend confirm or asked the
:01:01. > :01:05.commission by that he has received allegations of illegal financial
:01:06. > :01:12.funding from Russia to element of believed campaign? The commission is
:01:13. > :01:16.aware of some media reports that led Russia involvement in the EU
:01:17. > :01:25.referendum. These cover a wide range of activity that is beyond the remix
:01:26. > :01:28.of the investigation. It will investigated within their policy,
:01:29. > :01:36.but I'm sure officials will be more than happy to meet with my friend to
:01:37. > :01:41.discuss this matter further. Does my honourable friend not think that not
:01:42. > :01:50.only is it illegal funding wrong but also electoral fraud? And can I
:01:51. > :01:54.invite to do a real enquiry into our national voters register to ensure
:01:55. > :02:01.that people don't double and triple vote in general elections and other
:02:02. > :02:09.elections? I am grateful to the honourable gentleman. It is not
:02:10. > :02:14.currently possible to collectively interrogate and identify duplicate
:02:15. > :02:18.entries in more than one area, and the commission will be happy to work
:02:19. > :02:30.with the Government to consider essential solutions to reduce this
:02:31. > :02:34.risk. The Electoral Commission continues to regulatory those on UK
:02:35. > :02:38.finance and a way that is very an proportion of focusing on helping
:02:39. > :02:43.people comply with the law. The commission has in calling for
:02:44. > :02:47.changes to improve enforcement of political financials. It recommends
:02:48. > :02:48.increasing the maximum penalty can cannibals and extending its
:02:49. > :03:05.possibilities. There has been significant media
:03:06. > :03:14.coverage of the 2015 general election expenses issue, with the
:03:15. > :03:18.Tories been fined the maximum 70000. There is a risk that some political
:03:19. > :03:24.parties may come to view the payment of these fines as a cost of doing
:03:25. > :03:30.business. Might it be worth making finds proportionate to the number of
:03:31. > :03:36.candidate standing at an election. The honourable gentleman is right to
:03:37. > :03:39.make clear that the maximum fine of ?20,000 could well be seen as a cost
:03:40. > :03:47.of doing business. We have called for an angry is of the maximum
:03:48. > :03:56.penalty. It is of the view that penalty JB link to the income and
:03:57. > :03:58.expenditure of large campaigners. The Electoral Commission has
:03:59. > :04:07.recommended changes to the qualifying circumstances for
:04:08. > :04:10.appointing emergency proxies. We recommend extending their proxies to
:04:11. > :04:18.include those who have experienced the death of a close relative. And
:04:19. > :04:21.it December 2016 response, the UK Government confirmed it had no plans
:04:22. > :04:30.to expand qualifying Saracens as is for appointing an emergency proxies.
:04:31. > :04:35.Thank you for your answer. My constituent was unable to vote at a
:04:36. > :04:37.recent LA scene following a family bereavement, meaning she was
:04:38. > :04:47.attending her grandmother's funeral instead. While the Oliver member
:04:48. > :04:56.reassured me that she will continue to press for this change. I am very
:04:57. > :05:00.sorry to hear of the circumstances that the honourable gentleman
:05:01. > :05:07.describes. I can assure him that the Electoral Commission is that of the
:05:08. > :05:21.view that there is a gap and remains concerned that the is a need to
:05:22. > :05:24.increase the scope. Those aren't procedures on proxies are only good
:05:25. > :05:33.if they are followed. What action is the Electoral Commission taking to
:05:34. > :05:40.address the shambolic electrical's situation in Plymouth? The
:05:41. > :05:46.commission is currently collecting information about the election. I'm
:05:47. > :05:50.sure the commission would also welcome the views of my honourable
:05:51. > :05:59.friend should he wish to share them in writing or if you would like to
:06:00. > :06:03.meet with them. Bearing in mind the questionably massive amount of
:06:04. > :06:09.property drugs used in some constituencies in Northern Ireland,
:06:10. > :06:19.pseudomonas outline the steps being used to stop alleged abuse of this
:06:20. > :06:25.mechanism. There are these the deaf in Northern Ireland around identity,
:06:26. > :06:28.have ever after our concerns are run criminal activity that would be a
:06:29. > :06:32.matter for police forces, and I would encourage the honourable
:06:33. > :06:47.gentleman to make reports to the police force. This week we have
:06:48. > :06:52.published a report on the general election, and it highlights that
:06:53. > :07:00.online registration as resulted in a record electorate. The commission
:07:01. > :07:07.report argues that by the action needs to be taking duties duplicate
:07:08. > :07:13.registrations and two mentioned their process is more joined up. We
:07:14. > :07:23.do not have a view on the constituency boundaries. 2.9 million
:07:24. > :07:25.legal register to vote in this election, and there was a similar
:07:26. > :07:33.spec last year before the referendum. Surely we should note if
:07:34. > :07:37.the recommendation that these if you should take place after electoral
:07:38. > :07:44.events and take these people and to account and make sure that next
:07:45. > :07:51.election is not Fat on old information. The electrical
:07:52. > :07:55.commission as previously recommended that we should consider whether it
:07:56. > :08:01.should be more appropriate to use electrical data used for elections
:08:02. > :08:06.instead of the one published on the 1st of December. It is reasonable
:08:07. > :08:11.offer students and others to be registered in two places if they are
:08:12. > :08:19.resident in both. Would she agree with me that one in 100 of late
:08:20. > :08:23.registrations should be checked if they are double registered on that
:08:24. > :08:27.there is voting. That will give us scope to see how much fraud there
:08:28. > :08:33.was, or not, during the last election. I sure the Electoral
:08:34. > :08:35.Commission will take heed of the honourable gentleman's suggestion.
:08:36. > :08:44.We take very seriously the suggestion that anyone voted twice.
:08:45. > :08:47.It is possible for someone to be locally registered to vote in more
:08:48. > :08:51.than one place, including students and indeed members of Parliament. It
:08:52. > :08:59.is a criminal offence to cast more than one vote and a general
:09:00. > :09:05.election. One of the most efficient organisations in recruiting
:09:06. > :09:11.organisation to the electrical register, is vital. This compares to
:09:12. > :09:22.the Electoral Commission which costs 80 to ?90. What might -- well-nigh
:09:23. > :09:36.and honourable friend light years with the commission and ask them to
:09:37. > :09:46.adopt these new processes. The commission is correct to highlight
:09:47. > :09:49.the discrepancy between the 1st of December assessment of the
:09:50. > :09:55.electorate and the most losing elections. In my constituency, the
:09:56. > :10:02.difference was 8000 in terms of the 2015 election, which is over 10%.
:10:03. > :10:05.Would she welcome an investigation by the Public Administration and
:10:06. > :10:11.Constitutional affairs committee into the ongoing way that we deal
:10:12. > :10:15.that discrepancy? I'm sure it will be a matter for the committee and
:10:16. > :10:20.its new members to consider the best way to look at the issues, but we
:10:21. > :10:29.all want to make sure that registers are as complete as possible. When
:10:30. > :10:31.boundary commission considers parliamentary constituency
:10:32. > :10:38.boundaries, they need to do so on the best available information. July
:10:39. > :10:44.one of take the opportunity to congratulate the honourable lady on
:10:45. > :10:51.our appointment. I thought you get a very good job on and link the
:10:52. > :10:58.questions. 75% of churches collect food, 38% provide volunteers, 29%
:10:59. > :11:00.managed to manage a food bank. Charges work in partnership with
:11:01. > :11:06.organisations like the citizens advice bureau and Christians against
:11:07. > :11:13.poverty to tackle the underlying causes of food poverty. As you well
:11:14. > :11:17.know, the Archbishop of Canterbury is the president of food in Britain.
:11:18. > :11:22.I was pleased to launch the latest pilot in Bristol on Friday. I really
:11:23. > :11:28.appreciate the work that churches are doing in providing food banks.
:11:29. > :11:30.What more can needed to lobby the Government about the underlying
:11:31. > :11:36.causes of food poverty which means that people have to resort to such
:11:37. > :11:41.measures? As I mentioned, the organisation Church action on
:11:42. > :11:48.poverty actually is proactive in trying to tackle underlying causes
:11:49. > :11:52.such as free debt advice, financial education programmes and actually
:11:53. > :11:58.that charity has just appointed a judge in my constituency to provide
:11:59. > :12:01.these educational courses over quite it wide reaching, and I suggested
:12:02. > :12:08.she might like to approach him about doing the same in Bristol. With my
:12:09. > :12:15.friend join me and congratulating best of June Osborne there was
:12:16. > :12:23.conjugated on Saturday, and becomes the second female bishop in the
:12:24. > :12:30.charge of Wales? I am quite sure she will focus on the needs of people
:12:31. > :12:33.hard sciences, but I would like to hard sciences, but I would like to
:12:34. > :12:45.congratulate hard on her appointment. Very deft! You will be
:12:46. > :12:49.pleased to hear that the food banks are run largely from churches and my
:12:50. > :12:53.constituency, bet they are under huge pressure at the moment. The
:12:54. > :12:57.number of volunteers, the amount of food they have to protect. Would she
:12:58. > :13:02.have a word about the Government about one of the major causes of the
:13:03. > :13:07.entries in Fairbanks, and that of course is the sanctions system. I
:13:08. > :13:14.think it is important that we address the underlying causes. I had
:13:15. > :13:21.a letter just last month that said that people may be reassured to know
:13:22. > :13:32.that on average people and only revert to Fairbanks two times any 12
:13:33. > :13:41.month period. The model is designed to help people in a crisis. Prior to
:13:42. > :13:46.the general election, the commission produced detailed guidelines to
:13:47. > :13:51.political parties. The commission also engaged by the number of
:13:52. > :13:55.parties to discuss arrangements for compliance. It is well used
:13:56. > :13:58.throughout the campaign. The commission will publish practice
:13:59. > :14:00.pending returns in the general election as soon as practically
:14:01. > :14:10.possible once the deadline has passed. My honourable friend should
:14:11. > :14:15.be aware about serious allegations made about the use of a telephone
:14:16. > :14:20.call centre in the general election campaign by the Conservative Party.
:14:21. > :14:25.I would like to tell the House that I have had from the electrical
:14:26. > :14:29.commission who has stated that this site was police are formally
:14:30. > :14:36.considering allegations. I am grateful. He will know that
:14:37. > :14:39.political parties and spend over ?250,000 in a general election has
:14:40. > :14:47.six months to submit their spending programmes. It is a potential events
:14:48. > :14:54.for there to be paid canvassing on behalf of the candidates, and any
:14:55. > :14:59.allegations will be a matter for the local police to consider.
:15:00. > :15:07.Rural parish funding is the responsibility of individual diocese
:15:08. > :15:11.but there has been a level of national support under the strategic
:15:12. > :15:20.fund and it has provided ?34.6 million worth of funding for 32
:15:21. > :15:24.projects in 25 dioceses. As you know, I talk a lot about my worries
:15:25. > :15:28.about recruitment of obstetricians in Banbury and I'm equally concerned
:15:29. > :15:33.by recruitment to the rural Church. Could my right honourable friend
:15:34. > :15:36.explain what more the Church can do to encourage the right sort of
:15:37. > :15:41.ordnance to apply and what sort of training we can give them when they
:15:42. > :15:46.do apply? The Church is committed to Dublin the number of people entering
:15:47. > :15:53.training by 2020. And it has made good progress and since 2014, we
:15:54. > :15:59.have seen an increase of 14% in the numbers training for priesthood, and
:16:00. > :16:07.an above average number of women, 14%, and 25% are under the age of
:16:08. > :16:12.32. Wood growth in the Church of England not be easier if it moved on
:16:13. > :16:18.from its cruel and outdated approach to both its own clergy and laity in
:16:19. > :16:22.same-sex relationships? And will he tell the bishops simply kicking this
:16:23. > :16:25.issue in the long grass for another three years as the General Synod
:16:26. > :16:32.agreed to last week is just not acceptable? It is important to see
:16:33. > :16:36.the progress that has been made by the Church. And at the Synod,
:16:37. > :16:42.important decisions were made. These included tackling the
:16:43. > :16:45.anti-homophobic bullying in Church of England schools. And it is the
:16:46. > :16:53.largest provider of education in this country. Steps to ban trans-and
:16:54. > :16:57.conversion therapies. And the fact that the Church is making progress
:16:58. > :17:05.in this area should hopefully be an indication of more to follow. Rural
:17:06. > :17:10.parish growth has been handicapped by the fact the clergy are
:17:11. > :17:14.responsible for six, eight or more parishes. What efforts have been
:17:15. > :17:21.made to ensure that there are more recruited to the clergy and they are
:17:22. > :17:27.directed towards rural parishes? As I said previously, the Church has
:17:28. > :17:31.set itself a target. That is the important thing, to double the
:17:32. > :17:35.number of people entering training by 2020. And it is making progress
:17:36. > :17:41.by increasing the numbers coming into training. And it is perhaps
:17:42. > :17:46.worth noting it has varied the ways by which people can train for the
:17:47. > :17:49.priesthood. You can train by a presidential course as was
:17:50. > :17:55.traditionally always the case, and you can also train on the job.
:17:56. > :18:01.Making it generally easier for a much wider range of people to train
:18:02. > :18:09.for the priesthood they feel called. Oh, very well! On the subject of
:18:10. > :18:13.training, does she not also think training in HR and personnel is
:18:14. > :18:20.important? The Dean Peter borrow, Charles Taylor, was sacked from that
:18:21. > :18:25.cathedral and given 24 hours notice only to leave the deanery, does she
:18:26. > :18:34.think that not only was that unprofessional, but very
:18:35. > :18:39.unchristian? Mr Speaker, I have sympathy with anybody who loses
:18:40. > :18:42.their job, but with the greatest respect the honourable gentleman,
:18:43. > :18:46.those facts are not quite correct. On October two, the Dean announced
:18:47. > :18:50.his retirement and he did not leave the deanery and he was not asked to
:18:51. > :18:55.leave until the following February, giving him six months residence.
:18:56. > :19:01.These are the facts I have been given, Mr Speaker. We should try and
:19:02. > :19:04.leave this term on a happier note. So if I could conclude by wishing
:19:05. > :19:09.all colleagues a very welcome recess. Well, I joined the right
:19:10. > :19:12.honourable lady in that and she was honourable lady in that and she was
:19:13. > :19:18.very gracious, typically gracious, in her comments about the honourable
:19:19. > :19:22.member for Sunderland South, who I warmly welcome to her new
:19:23. > :19:26.responsibilities. Which have been very effectively discharged today.
:19:27. > :19:35.And I also thank the right honourable lady, who is always
:19:36. > :19:40.courteous, fair and comprehensive in responding to enquiries. I hope that
:19:41. > :19:43.both members can take a rest from their owner is duties, both
:19:44. > :19:49.constituency and in respect of the other matters about which we have
:19:50. > :19:57.heard this morning. Urgent question. Diana Johnson. Will the Secretary of
:19:58. > :20:04.State for Health make a statement on the responsibility for establishing
:20:05. > :20:08.the contaminated blood scandal? Thank you, Mr Speaker. I would like
:20:09. > :20:12.to begin by adding my own personal apology to those who have spoken in
:20:13. > :20:16.this House on previous occasions about the tragedy of contaminated
:20:17. > :20:18.blood and to reiterate the government recognises the terrible
:20:19. > :20:25.impact it has had on many thousands of lives. The Government recognises
:20:26. > :20:26.previous enquiries into the events that led to 1,000 people being