Live Commissioners Questions House of Commons


Live Commissioners Questions

Similar Content

Browse content similar to Live Commissioners Questions. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

right honourable member representing

the House of Commons commission and

0:00:000:00:00

the honourable member for Halton and

Sunderland South, representing the

0:00:000:00:05

speakers committee on the Electoral

Commission, and the right honourable

0:00:050:00:10

member representing the Church

Commissioners. Mr Alan Brown.

0:00:100:00:16

Question number one, Mr Speaker.

The

Electoral Commission reported on

0:00:160:00:22

finance regulation at the general

election in November 2017,

0:00:220:00:29

highlighting areas to improve

transparency and political finance.

0:00:290:00:33

The recommendations include

increasing the maximum politics it

0:00:330:00:36

can impose foreign breach of the

rules, extending requirement for

0:00:360:00:40

campaign materials to include online

campaigning, and changing the law to

0:00:400:00:44

allow transparency of political

donations in Northern Ireland.

0:00:440:00:56

After

0:00:570:00:59

Does the honourable member agree

with the Electoral Commission that

0:01:070:01:11

the fines are no longer suitable and

action needs to be taken urgently so

0:01:110:01:15

the penalty matches the crime?

The honourable gentleman is right to

0:01:150:01:20

draw attention to the recommendation

of the commission, that there should

0:01:200:01:22

be an increase in the maximum

penalty they can impose on political

0:01:220:01:27

parties and campaigners for a breach

of the rules. There is a risk a fine

0:01:270:01:33

of £20,000 maximum per offence could

be seen the risk of doing business.

0:01:330:01:38

And the money should be more

proportionate for well funded

0:01:380:01:44

campaigners.

Question number two, Mr

Speaker.

0:01:440:01:48

I must declare an interest here.

This is actually my bill which would

0:01:480:01:53

enable mother's details to be

regarded on the registration of

0:01:530:01:57

marriages. I am introducing it on

23rd February. The Bishop of Stal

0:01:570:02:04

bans is introducing an identical

bill in the House of Lords tomorrow.

0:02:040:02:09

I don't think the House can have a

stronger indication of how the

0:02:090:02:13

Church of England would welcome this

change.

Can I congratulate the

0:02:130:02:18

honourable laid. One way women have

been written out of history is not

0:02:180:02:23

being by recorded on official

documents like marriage certificates

0:02:230:02:32

what work women have done in the

past. Is there anything else she

0:02:320:02:37

feels to promote this bill and get

Government support?

We are doing our

0:02:370:02:41

very best. I was very encouraged to

read in the Sunday Times on 31st

0:02:410:02:47

December that a Home Office spokes

man had told that newspaper that

0:02:470:02:53

"The bill had been signed off." I am

hoping that means the Government

0:02:530:02:57

could actually give this bill time

when it comes to us from the Lords,

0:02:570:03:00

as I am sure it will. We all just

want to see this happen. We would

0:03:000:03:05

all cheer. And there are many

mothers, Mr Speaker, really with

0:03:050:03:10

weddings in the offing who would

like to see this change happen in

0:03:100:03:13

time for their children to be

married.

0:03:130:03:18

I thank the honourable lady for her

response to the question. Marriage

0:03:180:03:28

break downs daily to a large extent,

we do welcome the honourable lady's

0:03:280:03:36

response to include mother's

details. Can the honourable lady in

0:03:360:03:40

her response to this House outline a

timescale legally and over a period

0:03:400:03:45

of time when we hope to complete

this?

Mr Speaker, as it stands at

0:03:450:03:51

the moment the identity Kay members

bill is being introduced into both

0:03:510:03:54

Houses. It is a pincher movement to

try and make this happen. This is

0:03:540:03:59

only the fifth time this House has

tried to get an important change in

0:03:590:04:02

a law that dates back to 1853. The

thing that would speed up this

0:04:020:04:07

change is if the Government would

give that bill time in this House. I

0:04:070:04:12

am hoping that statement, given by

the Home Office on New Year's Eve

0:04:120:04:19

has some substance behind it and

they will give it time very shortly.

0:04:190:04:25

Thank you, Mr Speaker. The

commission has given no formal

0:04:250:04:29

consideration to a move to

electronic voting in the House. Its

0:04:290:04:33

response niblt this matter is

limited to any financial or staffing

0:04:330:04:37

implications of any change to the

present system, were a change to be

0:04:370:04:41

agreed to by the House.

Thank you very much. The voting

0:04:410:04:46

system here is a bit crazy. Last

week, we had two hours for eight

0:04:460:04:50

votes. Most of the Parliaments in

the world would laugh at that and

0:04:500:04:55

indeed do laugh at that T given MPs

value meeting each other in the

0:04:550:05:00

lobbies can we have a hybrid system

where we have more than one vote to

0:05:000:05:07

save hours?

I have some sympathy

with the point he's making. I am

0:05:070:05:12

sure he will know now as an expert

in these matters this is a matter

0:05:120:05:17

for the House and of course he could

f he choose to do so, approach the

0:05:170:05:22

procedure committee to ask them to

look at this matter.

We do have a

0:05:220:05:29

form of electronic voting now

because the clerks are using iPads.

0:05:290:05:33

The iPads are slower than the

physical pieces of paper in the past

0:05:330:05:38

because it takes more time to spot

the individual name. I think it is a

0:05:380:05:44

good opportunity to meet ministers

and other colleagues in the lobbies.

0:05:440:05:47

It would be good if it didn't take

16 minutes for every votend a

0:05:470:05:52

wouldn't it be good to look at

swifter voting such as using a thumb

0:05:520:06:00

print to vote.

I am happy to take

that back to look at whether from a

0:06:000:06:07

techno loingal point of view it

could be speeded up.

0:06:070:06:15

Mr Speaker, I know that my Right

Honourable friend has a great

0:06:150:06:18

interest in this subject because he

asked me about the training in April

0:06:180:06:22

last year. I am very pleased to tell

the House that an additional 44

0:06:220:06:27

candidates have presented for

training as ordained ministers. That

0:06:270:06:31

makes a total of 544 in training,

which means there we are on our way

0:06:310:06:35

of our target of 750 a year by 2020.

As so many clerks retire, what will

0:06:350:06:42

be the future age profile of her

holly orders?

Like a lot of

0:06:420:06:50

institutions we face the prospect of

older clergy, actually large numbers

0:06:500:06:56

retiring at the same time as a

result of previous pushes to

0:06:560:07:00

increase people to be ordained and

enter the ministry. I am delighted

0:07:000:07:04

to say those in the under 32 year

age group rose by two fifths and

0:07:040:07:13

accounts for nearly one-third of the

total.

0:07:130:07:18

Mr Speaker, I was disappointed

recently to hear from the head of

0:07:180:07:23

Uber that only 5% of drivers are

women. What is the gender balance in

0:07:230:07:29

the statement she just made?

The

Right Honourable gentleman busy been

0:07:290:07:35

assiduous in asking about gender

balance. The intake of female or din

0:07:350:07:41

mans has seen an increase of 19%

compared to last year and while

0:07:410:07:45

women only make up one third of the

fully ordained clergy in place at

0:07:450:07:49

the moment, we are moving, like

other professions, towards 50/50.

0:07:490:08:00

Thank you, Mr Speaker. In the dicesy

of Gloucester, as soon as we fill

0:08:000:08:07

one vacancy another arises. Bishop

Rachel is working very hard. The

0:08:070:08:11

situation can only be sorted if we

bring more people forward for

0:08:110:08:15

training. What the is church of

England doing to enable for that to

0:08:150:08:20

happen?

We celebrated the

introduction of Bishop Rachel as the

0:08:200:08:26

first women Bishop after the change

of the law. We have a female Bishop

0:08:260:08:31

sitting in the Lords for Newcastle

and recently the appointment of a

0:08:310:08:35

female Bishop to London. There is a

method of positive discrimination,

0:08:350:08:42

where by diocese represented in the

Lords are encouraged to appoint a

0:08:420:08:46

woman. We move in the Lords to have

a better reputation of female

0:08:460:08:50

Bishops.

Question five.

0:08:500:08:56

Mr Speaker, following all meetings

of the General Synod, it is standard

0:08:560:09:00

practise for the clerk of the

General Synod to inform the

0:09:000:09:05

appropriate Government department,

this was done on 21st July,

0:09:050:09:07

following the vote at the synod to

ban conversion therapy and a

0:09:070:09:12

response was received from the

relevant minister on 24th August.

0:09:120:09:17

Mr Speaker, it would be helpful if

we knew what that response actually

0:09:170:09:21

said, because, as she will know,

this so-called therapy does

0:09:210:09:26

dreadful, dreadful damage to young

people emotionally and

0:09:260:09:29

psychologically. And it's long

overdue to be banned. And the

0:09:290:09:34

sponsor of this excellent motion in

the General Synod has asked for a

0:09:340:09:39

meeting the relevant Government

minister and that has been refused.

0:09:390:09:44

Mr Speaker, I am not responsible for

the decision of the Government, but

0:09:440:09:49

the General Synod did very clearly

vote to ban gay conversion therapy.

0:09:490:09:59

I can share some of the content of

the letter. It is very clear the

0:09:590:10:05

Government is against preparative or

conversion therapy they have no

0:10:050:10:08

plans to ban or restrict this

through legislation or throw

0:10:080:10:15

statutory regulation because

existing voluntary registers provide

0:10:150:10:17

safeguards for the public. I will

certainty assist in the way he

0:10:170:10:22

describes in writing to the

minister.

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

0:10:220:10:27

More widely, in some parishes

antigay prejudice masquerades as

0:10:270:10:33

theology. What further can be done

to tackle this?

Mr Speaker, the

0:10:330:10:40

leadership of the Church of England

couldn't be clearer on this point,

0:10:400:10:46

indeed across the Anglican Communion

Archbishops have succeeded in

0:10:460:10:50

getting a commitment to stamp out

homophobia, when all the Bishops

0:10:500:10:54

were convened here in London. It is

unequivocal from the top of the

0:10:540:10:59

Church all the way down that

homophobia has no place in the

0:10:590:11:03

Anglican Communion.

Question number

six.

0:11:030:11:10

Mr Speaker, with your permission, I

would like to answer question six

0:11:100:11:14

and eight together. So, the Church

of England is in regular contact

0:11:140:11:20

with the dicesy of Jerusalem, Egypt

and the Horn of Africa, I am pleased

0:11:200:11:25

to report the news from the region

was comparatively pleasing over

0:11:250:11:30

Christmas when compared to a few

months ago. I had not

Id, only an

0:11:300:11:37

interest -- yesterday, I had visited

the Holocaust survivor centre. Many

0:11:370:11:46

were survivors from the Holocaust.

Does my honourable friend agree

0:11:460:11:51

those people are particularly

concerned, not only about attacks in

0:11:510:11:54

other countries on the basis of

religion, but the fact we need to do

0:11:540:11:57

more to support the Egyptian

Government to actually prevent these

0:11:570:12:01

attacks happening, which is

effectively a form of genocide.

The

0:12:010:12:08

proximity of Holocaust Memorial Day

reminds us all that these atrocities

0:12:080:12:12

are on going in our world and that

people are persecuted for their

0:12:120:12:16

faith. Actually Egypt was relatively

quiet compared to recent months but

0:12:160:12:21

it is the ashentd Coptic church in

Egypt which we as fellow Christians

0:12:210:12:25

fear. It is a fact that e#2k3wi79

has moved from a position of 21st to

0:12:250:12:31

17th on the world watch list of

countries that we should be

0:12:310:12:37

concerned about, not least because

of the rise of Daesh in its country.

0:12:370:12:43

Thank you, Mr Speaker. There was

growing concern about the level...

0:12:430:12:55

To Government and to the UNHCR about

the disproportionately low number of

0:12:550:13:01

Christians who are identified for

recent to western countries.

Mr

0:13:010:13:05

Speaker, we are in regular contact

with the Government over the plight

0:13:050:13:10

of persecuted Christians and with

UNHCR. We are interested to get to

0:13:100:13:15

the bottom why the percentage of

Christians in refugee camps in a

0:13:150:13:20

number of these countries is so low.

It is a question that it is

0:13:200:13:25

extensive and therefore Christians

living in other countries where they

0:13:250:13:28

can help provide safe haven for

their relatives do often enable them

0:13:280:13:32

to travel over. I think it is

significant that 30% of the Syrian

0:13:320:13:36

refugees to America are in fact

Christian. For example. So they

0:13:360:13:41

often choose to show themselves in

those ways.

0:13:410:13:44

I have no doubt about the spiritual

and pastural support offered by the

0:13:440:13:49

Church of England for fellow

Christians throughout the world. Can

0:13:490:13:52

she outline some of the financial

contributions made for programmes

0:13:520:13:58

for those most directly affected?

One of the things about the Anglican

0:13:580:14:03

Communion is it offers a network of

churches throughout the world and

0:14:030:14:08

can often get food, resources,

clothing and shelter through to

0:14:080:14:14

persecuted community, who are very

hard to reach. Only yesterday, I met

0:14:140:14:18

with the Bishop of Goma, from the

Democratic Republic of Congo who

0:14:180:14:23

bravery puts his own life on the

line to bring essential humanitarian

0:14:230:14:29

assistance at his own expense to the

Christians who suffer in his

0:14:290:14:32

country. That is one of the

strengths the Anglican Church has to

0:14:320:14:37

offer.

Number seven, please.

Mr

Speaker, six Cathedrals have

0:14:370:14:41

received money from the programme

launched in July 2016 as places of

0:14:410:14:48

worship funding scream which in 2017

became the vulnerable faith scheme.

0:14:480:14:59

Cathedrals have been given up to

£45,000 to take forward functions

0:14:590:15:04

they need to take.

The funding for

their specific work, but also the

0:15:040:15:14

planning regulations are inadequate.

Would she work with me to ensure we

0:15:140:15:18

can make sure that worshippers are

save at York Minster?

0:15:180:15:23

I don't think it is possible

retrospectively to reimburse, but

0:15:280:15:38

the House of Commons, Westminster

City Council work together to make

0:15:380:15:43

these public safe -- spaces safety

after the terrible events of last

0:15:430:15:52

year and I'd like to assist the

honourable lady with getting that

0:15:520:15:55

good partnership working around

York.

Given the Church of England is

0:15:550:15:59

responsible for some iconic sites,

it has welcomed the attention on

0:15:590:16:03

this work but come the right

honourable lady reassure me that

0:16:030:16:07

those wishing to meet the living God

will not find a palisade fence

0:16:070:16:13

separating them from his house.

We

do not wish to turn this into a

0:16:130:16:23

fortress, no more does the church

want to provide security measures

0:16:230:16:26

that it becomes a less accessible

place where you can go and meet with

0:16:260:16:31

God. That balance has to be struck.

The House services contract

0:16:310:16:42

requirement terms and conditions

make provisions for contractors to

0:16:420:16:45

provide adequate working conditions

for employees, the provisions

0:16:450:16:51

include health and safety, training,

enumeration and payment of at least

0:16:510:16:53

the London living wage to employees

if working on the Parliamentary

0:16:530:16:57

estate. The working conditions must

be compliant with relevant

0:16:570:17:02

legislation and ensure appropriate

welfare and maintenance of stable

0:17:020:17:06

and skilled workforces to ensure

successful delivery of our

0:17:060:17:08

contracts.

Can I thank the right

honourable gentleman for that

0:17:080:17:14

answer. Companies such as McAlpine,

who are up to their necks in

0:17:140:17:20

blacklisting, have contracts on the

Parliamentary site and since the

0:17:200:17:24

best form of protection for workers

is membership of the strong trade

0:17:240:17:28

union, would the commission consider

giving named officials in the

0:17:280:17:32

relevant trade unions security

access so they can check to make

0:17:320:17:35

sure blacklisting is not taking

place in this premises?

I thank him

0:17:350:17:40

for advance notice of the

supplementary and I'm afraid the

0:17:400:17:43

current permit -- position doesn't

allow that, however he has made a

0:17:430:17:55

specific request so I will undertake

to secure a written response on that

0:17:550:18:01

subject.

I have been asked to reply

on behalf of the chairman of the

0:18:010:18:08

public accounts commission. The

National Audit Office... Brexit is a

0:18:080:18:17

major task for departments on some

departments are more effective than

0:18:170:18:19

others.

After we leave the EU, we

are likely to be still engaged in a

0:18:190:18:33

number of EU-wide programmes. Will

the public accounts commission

0:18:330:18:38

satisfy itself that the National

audit off is has the requisite

0:18:380:18:41

powers to continue to investigate

government involvement in those

0:18:410:18:46

schemes?

The National Audit Office

has a remix to look at all

0:18:460:18:51

taxpayers' money and it will

scrutinise any financial settlement

0:18:510:18:55

with the EU. The first report is due

in the spring.

0:18:550:19:00

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS