:00:13. > :00:14.Hello and welcome to Monday in Parliament,
:00:15. > :00:17.our look at the best of the day in the Commons and the Lords.
:00:18. > :00:22.Bad tempered exchanges in the Commons as MPs argue over
:00:23. > :00:36.I am shining a light on what is really happening in Scotland under
:00:37. > :00:44.the 1-party state that has become the SNP. Members are not gohng to
:00:45. > :00:45.listen to people doing down our university system or our Scottish
:00:46. > :00:47.NHS. A minister apologises
:00:48. > :00:49.after admitting errors were made in changes to the funding formtla for
:00:50. > :01:02.police forces in England and Wales. I recognise this has caused a great
:01:03. > :01:03.deal of concern to police forces. I and the governments regret this
:01:04. > :01:17.mistake and apologise to thd House. We had a very good record,
:01:18. > :01:19.particularly at the beginning of the war, and there are some who do need
:01:20. > :01:22.our help. The Bill that gives greater
:01:23. > :01:26.devolution to Scotland has received the support of MPs after six hours
:01:27. > :01:29.of debate in the Commons th`t were The Scotland Bill implements
:01:30. > :01:34.the findings of the Smith Commission set up after the 2014 indepdndence
:01:35. > :01:38.referendum when the Scots voted narrowly, to stay in the UK,
:01:39. > :01:42.following the controversial "Vow" by the UK party leaders to givd
:01:43. > :01:44.the Scottish Parliament The Scotland Bill means, in
:01:45. > :01:49.the words of the Minister, that the Edinburgh Parliament will now be the
:01:50. > :01:53.most powerful devolved parlhament in the world, having new controls
:01:54. > :01:59.over income tax, VAT and welfare. A feature of this latest Colmons
:02:00. > :02:03.debate was the large number of amendments put
:02:04. > :02:09.down to alter the Bill. The Government decided to gdt
:02:10. > :02:11.involved in this process and they The Smith Commission
:02:12. > :02:19.was delivered in full. But all of a sudden today,
:02:20. > :02:22.in the amount of time avail`ble to us there's hundreds of Government
:02:23. > :02:25.amendments on the order papdr. We will now no longer have the
:02:26. > :02:29.opportunity to properly scrttinise what this Government has brought
:02:30. > :02:33.in front of this House todax. We still don't believe that
:02:34. > :02:36.the Smith Commission has bedn He wants to spend all
:02:37. > :02:41.his time complaining about how terribly Scotland has been treated,
:02:42. > :02:46.fuel grievance, wind up the Scots. But instead of whingeing
:02:47. > :02:50.about the process and wasting time on this why doesn't he sit down
:02:51. > :02:57.and allow the debate to takd place? We are being shown gross disrespect
:02:58. > :03:03.and for the honourable gentleman to stand up there and say that Scotland
:03:04. > :03:07.should just put up with a fdw hours, One of the real ironies in `ll this
:03:08. > :03:17.is that after today's trunc`ted debate this Bill is going to move to
:03:18. > :03:21.the House of Lords, where it will take weeks and possibly months of
:03:22. > :03:24.scrutiny, which has no democratic I am grateful to
:03:25. > :03:29.my honourable friend becausd that is The minute this leaves this House it
:03:30. > :03:37.goes down to the unelected chamber of cronies who
:03:38. > :03:40.will seek to impose themselves on the business of Scotland
:03:41. > :03:43.and it is an absolute disgr`ce. I acknowledge the member for Perth
:03:44. > :03:45.and North Perthshire's anger. Each time we have dealt with this
:03:46. > :03:55.Bill we have had this sort of stunt. In the newspapers in Scotland at the
:03:56. > :03:58.weekend the honourable gentleman called on other members of the House
:03:59. > :04:02.of Commons to be nicer to hhm. The Government is honouring
:04:03. > :04:13.its commitment in the Edinburgh Agreement, accepthng
:04:14. > :04:15.the results of the referendtm and moving forward to give the
:04:16. > :04:18.Scottish Parliament significant new I beg to move the amendments
:04:19. > :04:22.in my name. The Government has accepted most of
:04:23. > :04:25.our amendments on the permanence of the Scottish Parliament and the fact
:04:26. > :04:28.that the Scottish Parliament can now design its own social securhty
:04:29. > :04:31.system, and the Government has moved towards the removal
:04:32. > :04:33.of the perceived vetoes, and indeed in the equality section we think
:04:34. > :04:40.the Vow has been delivered. The SNP manifesto for next xear s
:04:41. > :04:47.Scottish election will set out our position on a referendul and
:04:48. > :04:50.consider in what circumstances such a referendum might be appropriate
:04:51. > :04:53.at some point in the future. However the final decision on
:04:54. > :04:56.whether or not there is a rdferendum and whether or not Scotland ever
:04:57. > :04:58.becomes independent will always be Meanwhile I would observe that
:04:59. > :05:03.support for Scottish independence Perhaps if the people back home are
:05:04. > :05:10.watching this debate there hs no They cannot tell us why thex want
:05:11. > :05:29.independence and at the same time tell us wh`t was
:05:30. > :05:37.in the minds of the no voter. The no voter voted no
:05:38. > :05:41.because they want and love the The honourable gentleman suggests
:05:42. > :05:47.that we don't know what's We spent months knocking
:05:48. > :05:52.on doors and speaking to thdm. And they have told us, I regret it,
:05:53. > :05:55.I voted no because I was afraid Can the deputies opposite explained
:05:56. > :06:09.to this House and Scotland how they intend to use thesd
:06:10. > :06:14.extensive powers? They are always complaining but
:06:15. > :06:17.they have not explained how they For example how will they sort
:06:18. > :06:21.out the mess of the Scottish NHS The Scottish NHS is given ldss money
:06:22. > :06:26.than the English NHS by the How will they sort out
:06:27. > :06:34.their centralising tendency? going to sit here and listen to the
:06:35. > :06:39.honourable gentleman do down our Scottish NHS or indeed do down our
:06:40. > :06:42.university system which provides free education
:06:43. > :06:44.for our young people becausd that's And in terms of accountabilhty
:06:45. > :06:53.we believe in accountabilitx. In actual fact we win electhons
:06:54. > :06:59.under a PR system by a majority in Scotland and we won
:07:00. > :07:01.the general election in Scotland. We are here debating the
:07:02. > :07:05.Scotland Bill. begin to debate the Scotland Bill
:07:06. > :07:08.so we can have maximum powers for Scotland and deliver
:07:09. > :07:10.for the people of Scotland where Madam Deputy Speaker, I am shining
:07:11. > :07:22.a light on what is really h`ppening in Scotland under the one p`rty
:07:23. > :07:25.state that has become the SNP. And the Secretary of State
:07:26. > :07:28.and his team through this Bhll. . Honourable members might not agree
:07:29. > :07:33.with what the honourable gentleman is saying
:07:34. > :07:36.but it is simply rude to latgh Having listened to this deb`te this
:07:37. > :07:46.afternoon I think we could be forgiven for thinking that the SNP
:07:47. > :07:49.would much rather invent rows with the rest of the UK than improve life
:07:50. > :07:53.for people across Scotland. Their whole approach is deshgned
:07:54. > :07:56.to drive resentment and blale Instead of being held to account
:07:57. > :08:02.for their record they want to blame the nasty people down south
:08:03. > :08:15.for everything that goes wrong. reason. You had better start to get
:08:16. > :08:26.onside with us and the people of powers to be delivered that
:08:27. > :08:28.empowers the Scottish Parli`ment and Scotland's hands. Not by voting for
:08:29. > :08:34.a Bill that leaves us with ` hand tied behind our backs while a Tory
:08:35. > :08:37.Government does its worst to the society. This Amendment
:08:38. > :08:40.of ours allows us to deliver We need a parliament that whll allow
:08:41. > :08:59.us to stand up for the people The Scotland Bill now goes on
:09:00. > :09:02.for consideration by the Lords. The Government is to delay changes
:09:03. > :09:06.to the formula used to calctlate how much money police forces in England
:09:07. > :09:08.and Wales receive. On Friday,
:09:09. > :09:10.it emerged that some of the data used to make the calculations were
:09:11. > :09:13.out of date, meaning the Government Funding for police forces
:09:14. > :09:16.for 2016 and 2017 will now be decided by the current systdm
:09:17. > :09:18.and consultations will take place When a Home Office Minister was
:09:19. > :09:24.summoned to the Commons to dxplain, While this data does not ch`nge
:09:25. > :09:32.the principles that was consulted on, the allocation provided to
:09:33. > :09:35.the forces was never indicative We recognise this has caused
:09:36. > :09:38.a great deal of concern to police I and
:09:39. > :09:42.the Government regret this listake I also apologise to the 43
:09:43. > :09:48.authorities that I wrote to during the extended consultation pdriod
:09:49. > :09:54.as part of the funding revidw. Last Friday in a letter to the
:09:55. > :09:59.Police and Crime Commissiondr of Devon and Cornwall the Home Office
:10:00. > :10:01.admitted the proposed funding According to the previous formula
:10:02. > :10:10.two thirds of police forces have gained from the proposals and
:10:11. > :10:13.a third would have lost funding This entire process has been
:10:14. > :10:20.described by Police and Crile Commissioners and others as unfair,
:10:21. > :10:24.unjust and fundamentally fl`wed What started
:10:25. > :10:27.off with good intentions is rapidly He suggested a delay which H also
:10:28. > :10:35.support, but would he go ond step further and establish an independent
:10:36. > :10:39.panel consisting of experts who understand the importance of sharing
:10:40. > :10:46.data and more importantly are able to count and understand mathematics,
:10:47. > :10:49.unlike some officials in thd Part of the reason
:10:50. > :10:53.for the decision I have madd today with the Home Secretary was based
:10:54. > :10:55.on some submissions that went to the Home Affairs Select Comlittee
:10:56. > :10:57.and their recommendations. I listened carefully to
:10:58. > :11:05.the evidence there. Not every PCC
:11:06. > :11:07.and Chief Constable was unh`ppy I know that not many of thel
:11:08. > :11:10.are actually giving evidencd. But on the basis of what I have said
:11:11. > :11:15.today we have listened carefully, to get it right, to make sure the
:11:16. > :11:19.mathematics is right, so I'l not in Tony Hogg, the Conservative PCC
:11:20. > :11:23.for Devon and Cornwall, sumled it up His words, we have lost all trust
:11:24. > :11:31.in the process. Can I therefore say this to
:11:32. > :11:33.the Police Minister, that he should abandon what is
:11:34. > :11:43.a discredited process, which he has agreed to do,
:11:44. > :11:46.as proposed by the Police and Crime Commissioners, to start afrdsh,
:11:47. > :11:49.which I hope be has agreed to do? Acting in an open and transparent
:11:50. > :11:52.and honest way, publishing `ll the financial data, to be concltded as
:11:53. > :11:55.soon as possible and to be overseen And we will make sure that `s we
:11:56. > :12:03.go forward we have a fair process. I have apologised and I will do
:12:04. > :12:14.it again if necessary but I do not apologise on the tone as I
:12:15. > :12:18.think he got it wrong as ustal. The Police and Crime Commissioners
:12:19. > :12:21.and Chief Constables have m`de it clear that budget cuts delivered
:12:22. > :12:23.through any revised formula will What is the Home Secretary
:12:24. > :12:27.and the Police Minister's vhsion and strategy for this fundalentally
:12:28. > :12:28.changed policing landscape? Policing is changing and
:12:29. > :12:34.so is crime. That is something that we all
:12:35. > :12:37.have to address and underst`nd. The likelihood of
:12:38. > :12:42.an offence taking place agahnst the right honourable gentleman, it would
:12:43. > :12:45.be on his computer, not acttally a It is only right to say that this
:12:46. > :12:53.very welcome apology and dedicated response to questioning by the
:12:54. > :13:00.Minister took place because urgent questions were submitted and because
:13:01. > :13:05.I granted an Urgent Question. The Home Office itself decl`red
:13:06. > :13:09.in writing that the matter was not urgent
:13:10. > :13:12.and clearly did not think that the It was entitled to its point
:13:13. > :13:18.of view but I think the House would concur that it
:13:19. > :13:21.suffered from the great matdrial Now, did a military chief
:13:22. > :13:31.stray too far at the weekend? When General Sir Nicholas Houghton
:13:32. > :13:35.came on the BBC's Andrew Marr programme, he appeared to bd
:13:36. > :13:38.a bit more controversial th`n was to be expected from a Chief
:13:39. > :13:40.of the Defence Staff. Sir Nicholas was asked about
:13:41. > :13:46.the comment by the Labour ldader Jeremy Corbyn that he would never
:13:47. > :14:02.order the use of a nuclear weapon. And will never press the nuclear
:14:03. > :14:07.button. Does that worry you? It would worry me if that was
:14:08. > :14:12.translated into power. If hd wins he is a problem? There are a couple of
:14:13. > :14:14.hurdles to cross before we get to that.
:14:15. > :14:20.The former Lib Dem leader Lord Ashdown issued his own coded
:14:21. > :14:27.It came during exchanges at Lords question time on Britain's
:14:28. > :14:29.disagreement with Spain over Gibraltar, including recent problems
:14:30. > :14:37.at the border crossing between Gibraltar and Spain.
:14:38. > :14:40.Quite recently an inspection took place on October the 22nd which
:14:41. > :14:43.was supposed to be secret btt which has been in the Spanish press.
:14:44. > :14:49.Not surprisingly there was no queue on that day.
:14:50. > :14:51.The day after people waited four hours at the border.
:14:52. > :14:54.Could I ask at all times, could Gibraltans be present in discussions
:14:55. > :14:57.with the Spanish people and would we bear in mind the health, safety and
:14:58. > :15:15.The noble Lord mentions the border issue between Gibraltar and Spain.
:15:16. > :15:18.We did note that the delays did increase the day after the
:15:19. > :15:22.And we also note that the welfare and security
:15:23. > :15:28.As we are discussing the issue of preventing people from straxing onto
:15:29. > :15:35.territory where they shouldn't be is there anything that can be done to
:15:36. > :15:51.Given the fact that the quetes increased to three hours after the
:15:52. > :15:56.visits by the EU inspectors should we not insist that such vishts not
:15:57. > :16:07.be announced in advance but be spot checks? I think the noble Lord makes
:16:08. > :16:10.a very good point. I noted there was an increase in time.
:16:11. > :16:13.Going back to 2013 there were queues of almost seven hours at thd border
:16:14. > :16:16.and they are less now but the noble Lord is quite right in drawing
:16:17. > :16:37.attention to delays that happened after the visit of the European
:16:38. > :16:42.Minister will be well aware that the ships we have in Gibraltar are
:16:43. > :16:45.very tender, they do not have long-range, they are not ne`rly fast
:16:46. > :16:48.enough. But of course the pdople who are manning them are very proud of
:16:49. > :16:52.them and do their best. But their job is to say they are doing their
:16:53. > :16:56.and they are good. Reality hs they are not good enough for the job And
:16:57. > :16:58.there will be an incident where somebody may be killed or b`dly
:16:59. > :17:01.The Gibraltar Government has sahd they
:17:02. > :17:04.are willing to pay for fastdr bigger craft. This has not been done
:17:05. > :17:07.before with other countries that we have been responsible for. Can we
:17:08. > :17:15.look at this closely, get these new craft, and then we will be `ble to
:17:16. > :17:19.do things that will not risk injury or deaths for our people thdre?
:17:20. > :17:22.You're watching our round-up of the day in the Commons and the Lords.
:17:23. > :17:25.Can Britain do more to help the children who've reached Europe after
:17:26. > :17:32.But first, how to increase the level of housing
:17:33. > :17:35.stock surfaced at Communitids Questions in the Commons.
:17:36. > :17:37.As one new Member of Parlialent pointed out, the predicament
:17:38. > :17:40.of being unable to get that first foot on the ladder is beginning to
:17:41. > :17:49.When will the Minister wake up to the fact that many people in this
:17:50. > :17:55.When will he stop blaming planning and show some leadership?
:17:56. > :18:05.It was supposed to become a new town, but it has only a tiny
:18:06. > :18:11.Why are there not tens of thousands of new homes there
:18:12. > :18:15.I thank the hon Gentleman for giving his support to Ebbsfleet; it is a
:18:16. > :18:19.shame that nothing happened there in a decade and more of Labour rule.
:18:20. > :18:21.I am proud that this Governlent and this Chancellor,
:18:22. > :18:24.have put the money into Ebbsfleet, and into the infrastructure there,
:18:25. > :18:44.Has he any solution to the overreliance on consultation? Local
:18:45. > :18:48.authority should be looking at planning
:18:49. > :18:50.as the heartbeat of economic regeneration in their communities
:18:51. > :18:53.in terms of designing and btilding for businesses and homes.
:18:54. > :18:55.I would encourage local authorities to work together
:18:56. > :19:00.and to share services in the same way that some have shared
:19:01. > :19:02.chief executives and other parts of their management structure.
:19:03. > :19:04.They have not done that so much with planning yet,
:19:05. > :19:07.but that would be a good stdp towards building a strong rdsource.
:19:08. > :19:10.And on the subject of people finding it hard to get
:19:11. > :19:18.As a young person myself, I am acutely aware of the diffictlties of
:19:19. > :19:23.I, too, have been struggling to get on to it for the past 10 ye`rs,
:19:24. > :19:27.because of the lack of houshng that was built in 13 years of Labour
:19:28. > :19:29.Will the Minister join me in celebrating the work that B`th and
:19:30. > :19:33.North East Somerset Council is doing in building 7,000 new homes in Bath,
:19:34. > :19:38.He will, thus, explain how the Housing and Planning Bill whll end
:19:39. > :19:47.My Friend makes a good point, not least about his age.
:19:48. > :19:50.I do not think anyone in thhs House would argue with
:19:51. > :19:53.the fact that this country has built far too few homes for far too long.
:19:54. > :19:56.We are ambitious about ensuring that we correct that.
:19:57. > :19:58.On that Bill, I suggest that he looks
:19:59. > :20:01.at the starter homes progralme, where we will be looking to build
:20:02. > :20:09.some 200,000 homes for first-time buyers, at a 20% discount.
:20:10. > :20:12.In his autumn statement two years ago the Chancellor said that
:20:13. > :20:20.if we want more people to own a home, we have to build more homes."
:20:21. > :20:26.Will the Secretary of State confirm that the ntmber
:20:27. > :20:29.of new homes built in the bdst year of the previous Parliament's five
:20:30. > :20:32.years was still lower than in the worst year out of 13 years
:20:33. > :20:39.The Gentleman is having a characteristic bout of amnesia,
:20:40. > :20:44.because the worst year for housing starts was when he was
:20:45. > :20:47.a Minister in the Department for Communities and Local Government.
:20:48. > :20:50.That was the worst year for housing starts in peacetime since the 1 20s,
:20:51. > :21:01.The refugee crisis in Europd has been a dominant news story
:21:02. > :21:06.The politicians have had to react to frequent images of thousands
:21:07. > :21:10.of people fleeing conflict zones in the Middle East and North Africa.
:21:11. > :21:12.Britain has said it'll take 20 thousand Syrians
:21:13. > :21:16.from the refugee camps in countries neighbouring war-torn Syria.
:21:17. > :21:18.But could and should we be doing more?
:21:19. > :21:22.In the Lords, the distinguished retired jtdge
:21:23. > :21:24.Lady Butler Sloss called on the Government to reconshder
:21:25. > :21:26.its decision NOT to accept unaccompanied Syrian childrdn who've
:21:27. > :21:36.Will the Government reconsider t`king
:21:37. > :21:40.some of the unaccompanied children who have crossed into Europd?
:21:41. > :21:45.We have had a very good record, particularly at the beginning
:21:46. > :21:47.of the war, in terms of looking after the childrdn.
:21:48. > :21:50.There are some who really do need our help as well as that
:21:51. > :21:55.I am aware of that; that is Save the Children's proposal,
:21:56. > :22:02.The UNHCR has cautioned against taking unaccompanied
:22:03. > :22:07.children into the country bdcause they are particularly vulnerable.
:22:08. > :22:13.The scheme we are proposing in Syria would enable not only children
:22:14. > :22:15.but their parents and brothdrs and sisters to qualify.
:22:16. > :22:23.We think that that is a better route.
:22:24. > :22:26.I thank the Minister for his answer, but is it not really rather
:22:27. > :22:28.difficult, when the Prime Minister has promised
:22:29. > :22:31.that we shall have 1,000 refugees settled here by Christmas and only
:22:32. > :22:39.Also, how are you going to lake sure that the promise
:22:40. > :22:45.The 20,000 in five years dods not compare very well with Canada, which
:22:46. > :22:51.How are the people who come going to be accommodated?
:22:52. > :22:53.Have the Government been in touch with local authorities
:22:54. > :22:56.Even this morning, I had a text message from somebody
:22:57. > :22:58.in my own valley who said, "We want to accommodate Syrian refugdes"
:22:59. > :23:06.Specifically on the last pohnt of the local authorities,
:23:07. > :23:10.Richard Harrington, a Member in the other place, is the Linister
:23:11. > :23:12.with responsibility for the Syrian refugees who are coming to this
:23:13. > :23:15.country, and he is working very closely with the local authorities
:23:16. > :23:17.and devolved Administrations on this important issue.
:23:18. > :23:20.The Prime Minister has repe`ted his claim that he wants to see 0,00
:23:21. > :23:27.here by Christmas, and the Home Office and all other groups are
:23:28. > :23:30.My Lords, it is obviously rhght and proper that the Government respond
:23:31. > :23:35.to the terrible plight of the Syrian refugees, but in order that the
:23:36. > :23:45.people of this country who light have any fears that such a system
:23:46. > :23:48.would be misused by those who would wish to damage this country and the
:23:49. > :23:52.people of this country, could the Minister say something about the
:23:53. > :23:55.security screening that accompanies the acceptance of the refugdes?
:23:56. > :24:05.That is one of the reasons why we want the application and vetting
:24:06. > :24:09.processes to happen under the auspices of the UNHCR in thd refugee
:24:10. > :24:17.camps rather than having a group of people attempting to enter the UK so
:24:18. > :24:20.that we have to make those judgments at the border.
:24:21. > :24:24.We want it to take place in the Middle East so that the right people
:24:25. > :24:27.can be brought to this country and the wrong people cannot.
:24:28. > :24:31.Two more peers have been welcomed into the House of Lords,
:24:32. > :24:34.as the total membership of the House continues to rhse.
:24:35. > :24:42.Douglas Hogg, who was a Conservative Agriculture Minister,
:24:43. > :24:44.was introduced into the Lords as Lord Hailsham, the title th`t his
:24:45. > :24:50.father, who was a Conservathve Lord Chancellor, had until his ddath
:24:51. > :24:54.Douglas Hogg left the Commons in 2010, the year after the MPs
:24:55. > :24:57.expenses scandal when he falously claimed ?2,000 for the cleaning of
:24:58. > :25:06.Lord Hailsham's wife Sarah, who was John Major's policy adviser in
:25:07. > :25:11.The other new member of the Lords is Andrew Robathan
:25:12. > :25:13.a former Defence Minister and a Northern Ireland Minister
:25:14. > :25:16.He was Leicestershire MP for 23 years, leaving the Commons
:25:17. > :25:21.He'll now be known as Lord Robathan and will also sit
:25:22. > :25:26.Do join me for our our next round-up.
:25:27. > :25:31.Until then, from me, Keith Macdougall, goodbye.