:00:13. > :00:14.Hello and welcome to Monday In Parliament,
:00:15. > :00:18.of the day in the Commons and the Lords.
:00:19. > :00:22.The wrangling continues over the looming strikes
:00:23. > :00:48.The opposition has done verx little to help get this contract into a
:00:49. > :00:55.place in need to be. That ddlayed Heathrow. We'll get it anywhere for
:00:56. > :01:04.London? We need to get to a place where we want to be in a position.
:01:05. > :01:11.And voting for trade union ballots. I would argue that under less
:01:12. > :01:12.pressure, in my preferred w`y in the workplace.
:01:13. > :01:16.The next 24-hour strike by junior doctors in England,
:01:17. > :01:18.planned for Wednesday, will mean the cancellation of more
:01:19. > :01:22.So says the Health Minister, Ben Gummer.
:01:23. > :01:25.The action by the junior doctors is part of a long running
:01:26. > :01:27.dispute over new working conditions and pay.
:01:28. > :01:30.The changes to their contracts have been designed to make it silpler
:01:31. > :01:32.to have more medical cover in hospitals at weekends.
:01:33. > :01:36.Mr Gummer came to the Commons when Labour put down an urgdnt
:01:37. > :01:46.The Government are clear that our door remains open
:01:47. > :01:49.for further discussion, and we continue to urge the BMA
:01:50. > :01:52.Regrettably, the BMA is instead proceeding with strike action over
:01:53. > :01:54.a 24-hour period from 8am this Wednesday.
:01:55. > :01:57.Robust contingency planning has been taking place to try to minilise
:01:58. > :02:01.the risk of harm to the public, but I regret to inform the house
:02:02. > :02:03.that the latest estimates stggest that 2884 operations
:02:04. > :02:20.members from both sides of the house will join me in urging the BMA
:02:21. > :02:23.to put patients first, call off its damaging strikd
:02:24. > :02:26.and work with us to ensure we can offer patients consistent standards
:02:27. > :02:32.Throughout the dispute, ministers have repeatedly
:02:33. > :02:36.to reform the junior doctor contract with their manifesto commitlent
:02:37. > :02:39.Can the Minister name a single chief executive who has told him
:02:40. > :02:44.that the junior doctor contract is the barrier to providing
:02:45. > :03:12.E has insinuated that junior doctors do not work long enough hours and he
:03:13. > :03:17.has insulted the intelligence by saying they have been listed as led
:03:18. > :03:21.by the BMA. If you are here, I would ask if he regrets the way you handle
:03:22. > :03:29.this pursuit but he doesn't even have the nerve to turn up.
:03:30. > :03:31.We have extended the point at which we will introduce
:03:32. > :03:34.the new contract, precisely so that we can give time for talks
:03:35. > :03:37.to proceed, even though the BMA in a disjointed manner,
:03:38. > :03:39.refused to discuss it for sdveral years until this point.
:03:40. > :03:42.At some point, we will have to make the changes necessary to get
:03:43. > :03:44.consistency of service over weekends.
:03:45. > :03:49.No Health Secretary or Health Minister could st`nd
:03:50. > :03:57.in the face of the many academic studies that have shown
:03:58. > :04:00.an avoidable weekend effect and say that nothing should happen.
:04:01. > :04:02.Yesterday, the Secretary of State for Health accused the BMA
:04:03. > :04:09.Today, the Minister comes to the house and accuses
:04:10. > :04:17.Is he really asking us to bdlieve that some of the most intelligent
:04:18. > :04:19.people in the country, junior doctors, cannot see
:04:20. > :04:28.Does he not feel that the continued abuse directed at the junior
:04:29. > :04:31.doctors' representatives is hindering any possibilitx
:04:32. > :04:34.of a settlement to this dispute and that that is
:04:35. > :04:44.Does the Minister agree that most, if not all, junior doctors
:04:45. > :04:46.exceed their contracted hours and that a 72-hour limit
:04:47. > :04:55.Will he also acknowledge th`t, even after the negotiations
:04:56. > :04:56.are complete, many junior doctors will continue
:04:57. > :05:09.I met one of my constituents from Polegate this morning whose
:05:10. > :05:12.operation is going to be cancelled this week, thanks
:05:13. > :05:16.I welcome the Minister's colment that the door is still open even
:05:17. > :05:18.at this late hour to call off the strike.
:05:19. > :05:20.Would he find it helpful if the shadow Secretary of State
:05:21. > :05:23.also condemned the strike and asked the doctors to call it off,
:05:24. > :05:35.so that patients do not become the real losers in this dispute
:05:36. > :05:41.The whole Royal Infirmary is under black alert, meaning people can only
:05:42. > :05:55.turn up if it is a life or death situation. Is not very odd, Mr
:05:56. > :05:58.Speaker, that the Secretary of State chooses to stay away and not come to
:05:59. > :06:05.answer important questions on this subject himself? I know how
:06:06. > :06:14.difficult getting hold of the DNA can be -- BMA, but this is very
:06:15. > :06:19.important and someone should be here to answer the questions. With
:06:20. > :06:25.regards to industrial action, will he agree with me that they `re
:06:26. > :06:29.putting their support of industrial action in front of my consthtuents
:06:30. > :06:35.and their health care needs? I completely agree with my honourable
:06:36. > :06:48.friend. Like an arsonist, pouring petrol on a fire and running away
:06:49. > :06:52.before it gets put out. The patients who will not get cancer operations
:06:53. > :06:57.this week won't get them because there is not a firm position.
:06:58. > :07:01.And strikes in general were also up for discussion
:07:02. > :07:04.A proposal for unions to usd electronic voting for strikd ballots
:07:05. > :07:08.was put forward, during the latest day of debate on the Trade Tnion
:07:09. > :07:11.This aims to alter the rules on strike ballots,
:07:12. > :07:13.meaning a walk-out in the ptblic sector could only go ahead
:07:14. > :07:16.IF at least half a union's membership takes part in thd ballot.
:07:17. > :07:19.At the moment, unions are ldgally obliged to hold postal ballots
:07:20. > :07:23.But a crossbench, or independent, peer wanted to see a modern
:07:24. > :07:37.The public in general and trade union members in particular now
:07:38. > :07:42.expect to have the digital choice - an important point.
:07:43. > :07:45.It is a choice that their trade unions ought to be
:07:46. > :07:51.The Government's own policy is to be digital by default in the ddlivery
:07:52. > :08:08.In no sense does this destroy or undermine the Bill,
:08:09. > :08:10.but it allows those who wish to vote to do so,
:08:11. > :08:20.One could argue that they mhght be under less pressure
:08:21. > :08:23.than if they voted in my prdferred way, in the workplace,
:08:24. > :08:34.The First Division Associathon, which is the union of the most
:08:35. > :08:37.senior civil servants and which would look at how to make
:08:38. > :08:40.this work, has stated: "The continued prohibition
:08:41. > :08:45.of electronic balloting for statutory ballots supports
:08:46. > :08:50.the view that the purpose of these reforms is to impede trade tnions
:08:51. > :08:53.rather than encourage democracy as claimed".
:08:54. > :08:58.Despite this opportunity to make a positive reform,
:08:59. > :09:01.the Government have chosen to retain the ban on electronic balloting
:09:02. > :09:08.It has depressed turnout figures in most unions,
:09:09. > :09:11.it has certainly not increased them.
:09:12. > :09:13.The Government clearly do not trust - at the moment,
:09:14. > :09:20.In their wish to curtail the relatively few strikes that do
:09:21. > :09:24.take place in the UK today, the Government are using
:09:25. > :09:27.the combination of high thrdsholds plus postal ballots as a wax
:09:28. > :09:39.We now know that nothing is secure against a cyberattack
:09:40. > :09:42.and the problems associated with hacking are much more prevalent
:09:43. > :09:47.That is not an argument against electronic voting,
:09:48. > :09:52.I actually think we should bring in electronic voting,
:09:53. > :09:57.but we must do it with our dyes open to the fact that there are now far
:09:58. > :10:03.I think the noble lord, Lord Kerslake, will accept
:10:04. > :10:06.that there are now far more challenges and difficulties.
:10:07. > :10:09.I do not think many people outside realise just how
:10:10. > :10:21.I hope and expect the Government will take away the comments that
:10:22. > :10:24.have been made this afternoon in a very serious and sensible
:10:25. > :10:28.fashion, bang them about a bit, get it right and make it work,
:10:29. > :10:31.so that we have the safest possible mechanism to get the maximul turnout
:10:32. > :10:53.I think there has been a social change and that change is that
:10:54. > :10:56.people are willing to vote online. That'll help the turn out. H don't
:10:57. > :11:00.think we should be considerhng putting a burden on the unions to
:11:01. > :11:01.get the turnout up if we do not help them do it.
:11:02. > :11:07.That seems to be a fundamental principle.
:11:08. > :11:09.I believe the amendment fails to address the security isstes,
:11:10. > :11:11.such as hacking and maliciots attacks, which my noble fridnd,
:11:12. > :11:23.Strikes have a huge effect on our public services and can cause
:11:24. > :11:24.enormous problems for hardworking people.
:11:25. > :11:26.We heard a number of examples at Second Reading.
:11:27. > :11:30.The public sector strikes in 20 1 closed 62% of the schools in England
:11:31. > :11:34.and led the NHS to cancel tdns of thousands of operations.
:11:35. > :11:37.We therefore need people to have confidence both in the way
:11:38. > :11:41.the ballot is conducted and in the outcome obtained.
:11:42. > :11:44.Thresholds will provide the level of confidence we need in thd outcome
:11:45. > :11:46.that is currently lacking, but the method of voting
:11:47. > :11:58.At which, the amendment on electronic voting was withdrawn.
:11:59. > :12:00.The statistics after five ydars of brutal fighting in Syria
:12:01. > :12:08.Some 250,000 lives have been lost, 13.5 million people are esthmated
:12:09. > :12:13.And a further 4.5 million h`ve fled to neighbouring
:12:14. > :12:21.The gathering in London last week, labelled a donor
:12:22. > :12:23.conference, saw more than ?7 billion pledged to help in the conflict
:12:24. > :12:26.In the Commons, the International Development Secretary called the sum
:12:27. > :12:29.the largest amount committed in a single day to a humanitarian
:12:30. > :12:49.in the first five weeks of this year for the Syria crisis
:12:50. > :12:51.than was raised in the whole of 2015.
:12:52. > :12:55.We announced that we would double our commitment, increasing our total
:12:56. > :12:58.pledge to Syria and the reghon to more than ?2.3 billion.
:12:59. > :13:01.Going beyond people's basic needs, the world said at the London
:13:02. > :13:03.conference that there must be no lost generation of Syrian children
:13:04. > :13:05.and pledged to deliver educ`tion to children inside Syria
:13:06. > :13:08.and to at least 1 million rdfugee and host-community children
:13:09. > :13:20.in the region outside Syria who were out of school.
:13:21. > :13:22.Justine Greening appealed to Moscow to use its influenced and attacks
:13:23. > :13:24.by troops loyal to Syria's President Assad.
:13:25. > :13:27.Across Syria, Assad and othdr parties to the conflict are wilfully
:13:28. > :13:30.impeding humanitarian access on a day-by-day basis.
:13:31. > :13:39.It is brutal, unacceptable and illegal to use starvation
:13:40. > :13:42.-- It is brutal, unacceptable and illegal action to use starvation
:13:43. > :13:46.In London, world leaders delanded an end to those abuses,
:13:47. > :13:50.including the illegal use of siege and obstruction of humanitarian aid.
:13:51. > :13:52.for life-saving humanitarian support, which must be allowed
:13:53. > :13:56.to reach those who are in nded as a result of the Syria conflict,
:13:57. > :14:00.Does the Secretary of State accept that
:14:01. > :14:01.many people are surprised
:14:02. > :14:04.and disappointed that the Government have rejected the Save the Children
:14:05. > :14:09.campaign to take in just 3,000 child refugees?
:14:10. > :14:14.The Secretary of State may well wish that these children had staxed
:14:15. > :14:19.in the region, but the direction in which the children chose to flee
:14:20. > :14:22.does not make them any less vulnerable.
:14:23. > :14:26.These children may not be in the part of the world shd might
:14:27. > :14:29.prefer them to be in, but they are still lone children
:14:30. > :14:36.at risk of abuse, sex-trafficking and worse.
:14:37. > :14:43.She cannot behave as if there are two classes of Syrian child
:14:44. > :14:46.refugee - one set who stay in the region, whom she is prepared
:14:47. > :14:49.to help, but another class who have travelled to Europd
:14:50. > :14:56.Recognising the role the Government have played,
:14:57. > :14:59.I echo the concerns about the response to the rdfugee
:15:00. > :15:06.Analysis from Oxfam suggests that, rather than 20,000 refugees over
:15:07. > :15:12.four years, the UK's fair share would be 24,000 this year alone
:15:13. > :15:16.Words cannot convey the impotence and the anger that we,
:15:17. > :15:22.as politicians, feel at the lack of progress in the peace process.
:15:23. > :15:29.I understand the contribution made by the Government,
:15:30. > :15:34.but we are seeing an awful humanitarian crisis develop today
:15:35. > :15:43.Mrs Angela Merkel has made puite clear what she feels about ht.
:15:44. > :15:47.She says that the Russians are primarily responsible
:15:48. > :15:49.for the bombing and are the reason that people are fleeing
:15:50. > :15:55.The easiest thing in politics is to say, "Do more",
:15:56. > :15:59.but may I say how proud I al of the Secretary of State,
:16:00. > :16:01.the Prime Minister and the TK for our response to this
:16:02. > :16:04.humanitarian crisis? I agree with my right honourable
:16:05. > :16:10.and Cynon Valley and many other Members that we must
:16:11. > :16:11.now tackle the issue of indiscriminate bombing
:16:12. > :16:17.What can be done to get the UN special envoy back around the table
:16:18. > :16:19.with the Russians and to stop the bombing, which is making
:16:20. > :16:23.The Secretary of State has dvery right to be exceptionally proud
:16:24. > :16:25.of what was achieved at the conference, but I fe`r
:16:26. > :16:29.that we need to do more locally in Europe.
:16:30. > :16:33.She will know, I am sure, that I and the Members for Bury St Edmtnds
:16:34. > :16:37.and for Eastbourne were in Lesbos last weekend,
:16:38. > :16:41.and I can tell her that the Greeks are not coping.
:16:42. > :16:45.Britain needs to lead in Europe as we have done on the glob`l stage.
:16:46. > :16:47.There are refugees, including children, in Europe
:16:48. > :16:49.who need our help, and Greece is on its knees.
:16:50. > :16:52.Will the Secretary of State meet us to hear our first-hand emothonal
:16:53. > :17:05.I've read about the reports that she made.
:17:06. > :17:07.You're watching our round-up of the day in the Commons
:17:08. > :17:12.Still to come: Good news for the hard-pressed local councils
:17:13. > :17:23.The Volkswagen diesel emisshons scandal was one of the reasons why
:17:24. > :17:26.the decision on the future of Heathrow Airport got del`yed
:17:27. > :17:32.according to the Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin.
:17:33. > :17:34.He told the Transport Committee that the final
:17:35. > :17:37.decision, that had been due in December, wasn't put off
:17:38. > :17:39.because of the coming elections for Lord Mayor.
:17:40. > :17:43.The third runway at Heathrow would cost ?17.5 billion
:17:44. > :17:51.and would increase capacity at the airport by 220,000 flights
:17:52. > :17:53.a year, meaning Heathrow would be on an equal
:17:54. > :17:55.footing with Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam.
:17:56. > :17:57.The commission headed by economist Sir Howard Davhes
:17:58. > :18:01.recommended that the third runway should go ahead.
:18:02. > :18:10.Things that happened since the Davis commission
:18:11. > :18:15.report came out, for instance the Environmental Audit Seldct
:18:16. > :18:18.Committee, on its report on the 1st of December,
:18:19. > :18:20.before we had had the committee meeting that took the decishon
:18:21. > :18:23.which I reported to the House on the 14th.
:18:24. > :18:25.That and other issues that have been going along
:18:26. > :18:30.You're not seriously telling me that it was
:18:31. > :18:32.because of the work of another committee that you decided
:18:33. > :18:40.It was an issue and indeed so high words
:18:41. > :18:42.--Sir Howard did say when he was giving evidence,
:18:43. > :18:49.quote in front of me, but he did say that the Govdrnment
:18:50. > :18:51.would have to take these factors into account.
:18:52. > :18:55.I'm not saying that is the only issue.
:18:56. > :18:57.There are other issues as well which made us take
:18:58. > :18:59.that decision. What were these other issues?
:19:00. > :19:00.Would it be a mayoral election perhaps?
:19:01. > :19:07.We have always known when the mayoral election
:19:08. > :19:10.was going to be when we said we hoped to take a decision
:19:11. > :19:14.I think to somehow now say the only reason we're not
:19:15. > :19:17.making a decision is becausd of the mayoral elections is not really
:19:18. > :19:19.credible but I know that is what some people
:19:20. > :19:24.There were other issues like the mitigation
:19:25. > :19:28.facts that the commission h`s set out very clearly for Heathrow
:19:29. > :19:31.and not being set out so cldarly in other areas from Gatwick.
:19:32. > :19:34.Does that mean you are looking at some
:19:35. > :19:38.completely different environmental work that doesn't relate
:19:39. > :19:46.to the commission's recommendation? Sorry, let's be absolutely honest.
:19:47. > :19:52.As a result of what came out in the VW
:19:53. > :19:57.scandal and the admitted use of defeats devices,
:19:58. > :20:02.which gave us readings on cars which we were not
:20:03. > :20:05.expecting to have, that has caused more work to be done as far
:20:06. > :20:08.as energy and exhausts pollution by the
:20:09. > :20:14.That work is presently ongoing at the moment.
:20:15. > :20:16.That is where the Environmental Audit Committde
:20:17. > :20:23.But when you and your offichals came in front of this committee
:20:24. > :20:27.in October, you told us that Nox emissions
:20:28. > :20:29.resulting from the Volkswagdn scandal did not have a signhficant
:20:30. > :20:37.Sir Howard Davies speaking to the Environmental Audit Comlission
:20:38. > :20:39.also said that the assessments they had
:20:40. > :20:47.made looked at real emissions, not test emissions.
:20:48. > :20:50.Is this something that is a real reason for delay or is this just
:20:51. > :20:53.something you have found to be a mixed into the pot?
:20:54. > :20:55.No, no, it's a real reason for the delay.
:20:56. > :20:57.I very much hope that by the summer of this year,
:20:58. > :21:05.Conservative MPs have welcoled a move by ministers to give extra
:21:06. > :21:07.money to hard-pressed local authorities in rural
:21:08. > :21:12.Rural councils are to receive a ?93 million package
:21:13. > :21:15.as the Government helps thel to move away from reliance on Whitehall
:21:16. > :21:19.grants for their funding to more local funding.
:21:20. > :21:22.Having listened to colleaguds representing rural parts
:21:23. > :21:25.of the country, including Cornwall, Lincolnshire, Devon,
:21:26. > :21:40.I suspect I may have the opportunity to respond to colleagues.
:21:41. > :21:45.In fact, distinguished local authority leaders are with ts today.
:21:46. > :21:50.I propose to increase more than fivefold the rural services
:21:51. > :21:53.delivery grant from ?15.5 mhllion this year to ?80.5 million
:21:54. > :21:59.With an extra ?32.7 million available to rural councils
:22:00. > :22:04.through the transitional grant I have described,
:22:05. > :22:07.this ?93.2 million of incre`sed funding compared with
:22:08. > :22:11.the provisional settlement is available to rural areas.
:22:12. > :22:14.The idea of some councils h`ving to gnaw on the bone is absolutely
:22:15. > :22:18.accurate, and I refer, of course, to my own council of Bromlex,
:22:19. > :22:20.which has been gnawing on the bone, because of its efficiency
:22:21. > :22:22.and competence in providing services.
:22:23. > :22:27.friend for the careful and diligent way in which hd has
:22:28. > :22:33.Does he agree that what seels to be so difficult for local government,
:22:34. > :22:35.particularly in rural areas, is that some counties
:22:36. > :22:37.and authorities, such as my local Mid Sussex District Council,
:22:38. > :22:41.run their affairs in an exelplary and very orderly fashion,
:22:42. > :22:43.but the more efficient and effective they are,
:22:44. > :22:48.That seems to be a completely idiotic way of proceeding.
:22:49. > :22:55.Looking at the breakdown of the spending of core spending
:22:56. > :22:58.power appears to show that `reas that are already very wealthy
:22:59. > :23:03.Further to the remarks of the Scottish National party
:23:04. > :23:06.representative, who suggested that rural ardas
:23:07. > :23:09.were richer than urban areas. The opposite is true,
:23:10. > :23:11.average earnings are higher in urban than in rural areas,
:23:12. > :23:18.If we allow percentage rises to continue on a much higher base
:23:19. > :23:21.for much poorer people, there is a danger that we whll
:23:22. > :23:25.reinforce the inequities in our system.
:23:26. > :23:28.So in a world of business r`te retention and council tax,
:23:29. > :23:32.what can the Secretary of State do to ensure that our poorer,
:23:33. > :23:36.older, harder-to-service citizens are not unfairly impacted bx ever
:23:37. > :23:39.greater council tax, while the lower council tax
:23:40. > :23:41.areas, often richer people, pay less and continue to be
:23:42. > :23:45.Has he had to cut other are`s of local government expenditure
:23:46. > :23:55.Above all, will he confirm that all this is purely transitional
:23:56. > :23:59.It reminds me of someone spdeding along the road into a disaster
:24:00. > :24:01.who then says he will take his foot off the accelerator
:24:02. > :24:13.Local government is facing a disaster.
:24:14. > :24:17.The death was announced at the end of last week of the Labour LP
:24:18. > :24:20.Harry Harpham was first elected MP for Sheffield Brightside
:24:21. > :24:22.and Hillsborough at the gendral election last year.
:24:23. > :24:30.The Speaker John Bercow said among his different
:24:31. > :24:33.lines of work, he'd been a researcher for David Blunkett
:24:34. > :24:41.and was a city councillor in Sheffield.
:24:42. > :24:42.Harry was a diligent constituency Member of Parliament,
:24:43. > :24:45.who held the Executive to account on behalf of his constituents.
:24:46. > :24:47.Most recently, on Wednesday 20 January, he asked the Prime Minister
:24:48. > :24:50.what support the Government were providing to world-class
:24:51. > :24:52.companies such as Sheffield Forgemasters.
:24:53. > :24:55.I must tell the House that Harry informed me a few weeks ago
:24:56. > :25:02.Let it be recorded that he first fought bravely his illness,
:25:03. > :25:06.and then bore it with stoichsm and fortitude, continuing to battle
:25:07. > :25:11.on behalf of his constituents to the very end.
:25:12. > :25:14.I join you, Mr Speaker, in paying tribute to my fridnd
:25:15. > :25:16.and colleague, Harry Harphal, who will probably be the last
:25:17. > :25:23.As you rightly said, despite the seriousness
:25:24. > :25:27.of his illness, he was still here three weeks ago arguing passionately
:25:28. > :25:29.for the steelworkers and stdel industry in Sheffield.
:25:30. > :25:32.It was a fitting culmination to years of dedicated service
:25:33. > :25:36.That service included the ddlivery of the decent homes programle,
:25:37. > :25:41.from which thousands of our tenants have benefitdd.
:25:42. > :25:42.Clive Betts paying tribute to Harry Harpham.
:25:43. > :25:50.Alicia McCarthy will be here for the rest of the wedk.
:25:51. > :25:53.But from me, Keith Macdougall, goodbye.