:00:17. > :00:18.Hello, and welcome to Monday in Parliament, our look
:00:19. > :00:22.The headlines: Guidelines on what civil servants can and can't
:00:23. > :00:24.say to ministers campaigning to leave the EU cause anger
:00:25. > :00:35.This is a huge blunder, because out there, the general public will think
:00:36. > :00:40.that this decision has been petty and has been vindictive.
:00:41. > :00:42.But the government insists it's the best way to manage
:00:43. > :00:53.The civil service code and indeed in law makes it clear that it is the
:00:54. > :00:57.duty of civil servants to support the position of the day.
:00:58. > :01:02.The role of civil servants as the government approaches
:01:03. > :01:04.the in-out EU referendum was under the microscope
:01:05. > :01:08.Ministers campaigning to leave the EU have been stopped
:01:09. > :01:10.from receiving official documents relating to the vote.
:01:11. > :01:12.Eurosceptic MPs argued it put the ministers and civil servants
:01:13. > :01:16.But the minister Matthew Hancock said that under law the government
:01:17. > :01:18.had to take a side - and the civil servants had
:01:19. > :01:30.Ministers may depart from the government position
:01:31. > :01:32.in a personal capacity on the specific question
:01:33. > :01:43.On all other matters, including on other EU business,
:01:44. > :01:45.government operates as normal, and in all things, the civil
:01:46. > :01:46.servants support the government position.
:01:47. > :01:51.Guidance on how well this will work in practice was set out
:01:52. > :01:56.Other than on the specific question of the referendum,
:01:57. > :02:05.all ministers can commission and see all documents as normal.
:02:06. > :02:07.On the question of the referendum, and on this question alone,
:02:08. > :02:09.ministers who disagree with the government position
:02:10. > :02:13.naturally cannot commission policy work on the in-out question or see
:02:14. > :02:17.documents setting out details of the case to remain.
:02:18. > :02:20.There has been a question and answer briefing circulated
:02:21. > :02:23.following the letter which states that the ministers may not see any
:02:24. > :02:26.papers, and I quote, that have a bearing on the referendum
:02:27. > :02:29.question or are intended to be used in support of their position
:02:30. > :02:48.This has been described by one Minister, my right honourable friend
:02:49. > :02:57.How can such a wide ban be justified?
:02:58. > :03:01.How does my right honourable friend reconcile this with his comment
:03:02. > :03:05.on Radio 4 this morning, and I quote, the government
:03:06. > :03:07.is functioning on all questions other than the specific in-out
:03:08. > :03:10.question in an entirely normal way, and he said, there are no other
:03:11. > :03:13.roles other than those set out last Monday in a letter.
:03:14. > :03:14.What about the question and answer briefing?
:03:15. > :03:16.Of course there was functioning perfectly well.
:03:17. > :03:23.In fact, I come to this House from the meeting with the right
:03:24. > :03:25.honourable member for Witham about childcare policy,
:03:26. > :03:27.which was carried out in an entirely normal way.
:03:28. > :03:30.In fact, on Friday, I was visiting a prison with the Justice Secretary,
:03:31. > :03:32.and I think those two points demonstrate that things
:03:33. > :03:46.On the question of the civil service code, the civil service code,
:03:47. > :03:48.and indeed in the law in the Constitutional Affairs Act
:03:49. > :03:51.of 2010, makes it clear that it is the duty
:03:52. > :03:57.of civil servants to support the position of the Government
:03:58. > :04:00.of the day, and it is only because the Prime Minister
:04:01. > :04:02.is allowing ministers to remain in government whilst disagreeing
:04:03. > :04:04.with a single policy, which is the in-out position,
:04:05. > :04:08.The referendum will dictate how, in the future, the UK handles
:04:09. > :04:10.exports and imports, the world of work, the digital age,
:04:11. > :04:13.human rights, intelligence sharing, the fight against crime and how
:04:14. > :04:16.we adapt to climate change, and here we are all today discussing
:04:17. > :04:23.the guidelines to civil servants and special advisers.
:04:24. > :04:29.Mr Speaker, sadly, I am not in the strongest position
:04:30. > :04:33.to lecture the poor Minister on handling splits in his own party.
:04:34. > :04:36.My right honourable friend is hugely able, and he has shown his ability
:04:37. > :04:43.But will he take it from me, this is a huge blunder,
:04:44. > :04:46.because out there, the general public will think that this decision
:04:47. > :04:48.has been petty and has been vindictive, and moreover,
:04:49. > :04:53.they will say to our government, and this party, of which I am
:04:54. > :04:59.so proud to belong, "If we are so much stronger
:05:00. > :05:11."What is it that we are so careful to hide?"
:05:12. > :05:13.There is a serious constitutional issue here, which goes to the heart
:05:14. > :05:17.We ask ministers questions and expect answers that
:05:18. > :05:34.How can those who send us to this House of Commons have faith
:05:35. > :05:36.in the answers we get it those that we are questioning purposely
:05:37. > :05:38.have information withheld by their own civil servants?
:05:39. > :05:41.I have a huge amount of respect for the right honourable gentleman,
:05:42. > :05:44.and that is why I have come to this specific point,
:05:45. > :05:48.That is, the question that he asks, is exactly the reason
:05:49. > :05:51.for prescribing this guidance to only being about the in-out
:05:52. > :06:14.I find it hard to believe that the Cabinet, on the 29th
:06:15. > :06:17.of February, knew what it was actually doing.
:06:18. > :06:18.The elections and political parties referendum act,
:06:19. > :06:21.the central purpose of that is to achieve fairness
:06:22. > :06:24.in elections and in a referendum, and now they government has parked
:06:25. > :06:30.itself on one side of the argument, dwarfing any influence of either
:06:31. > :06:33.of the campaigns, and it also goes against the strategic objective
:06:34. > :06:35.of offering people a referendum to actually resolve this question
:06:36. > :06:38.about Britain's role in the world, one way or the other,
:06:39. > :06:41.and that question will only hold if this is seen to be fair,
:06:42. > :06:43.and all of this runs against that strategic objective.
:06:44. > :06:47.The Government's been pressed to do more to prevent hundreds of children
:06:48. > :06:50.falling into the hands of human traffickers as the Calais migrant
:06:51. > :06:51.camp known as The Jungle is demolished.
:06:52. > :06:53.Labour's Yvette Cooper said asylum applications for unaccompanied
:06:54. > :06:56.children were taking nine months in France and that 400
:06:57. > :06:57.were at "serious risk" of disappearing.
:06:58. > :07:00.But the minister told MPs in response to an urgent question
:07:01. > :07:02.that safe accommodation was on offer and refugees should claim
:07:03. > :07:06.Unaccompanied children in the camps, she said, had no where to go,
:07:07. > :07:12.yet 150 had some of their closest family in the UK.
:07:13. > :07:15.When an asylum claim is launched by a child with close family
:07:16. > :07:17.connections in the UK, both governments are committed
:07:18. > :07:23.to ensuring that such a case is prioritised.
:07:24. > :07:25.But it is vital that the child engages with the authorities
:07:26. > :07:33.This is the best way to ensure these vulnerable children receive
:07:34. > :07:35.the protection and support they need,
:07:36. > :07:38.and the quickest way to reunite them with any close family members
:07:39. > :07:42.No-one should live in the conditions we have seen in the camps
:07:43. > :07:45.The French government has made huge efforts to provide
:07:46. > :07:47.suitable, alternative accommodation for all those that need it,
:07:48. > :07:49.and has made clear that migrants in Calais
:07:50. > :07:56.in need of protection should claim asylum in France.
:07:57. > :07:58.There is a massive reality gap between what he said
:07:59. > :08:06.Save the Children born that things are extremely chaotic and this
:08:07. > :08:08.is making an appalling situation for children even worse.
:08:09. > :08:14.He knows well there is a serious risk that those children
:08:15. > :08:16.will now just disappear into the hands of traffickers
:08:17. > :08:32.Will he accept the offer from the UNHCR to help process
:08:33. > :08:36.applications and set up a fast system to reunite
:08:37. > :08:42.The Minister has the power now to stop
:08:43. > :08:45.the trafficking of hundreds of children on our doorstep.
:08:46. > :08:53.The UK is about to seek out an asylum expert to the French
:08:54. > :08:55.administration to facilitate the improvement of all stages
:08:56. > :08:57.of the process of identifying, protecting
:08:58. > :09:00.and transferring any relevant cases to the UK.
:09:01. > :09:02.The right honourable lady references this period of nine
:09:03. > :09:09.It should not take anywhere near that, and we remain
:09:10. > :09:11.behind our commitments to see that there is an efficient
:09:12. > :09:20.What we judge is a small number of cases that might have that direct
:09:21. > :09:24.The best way to protect the maximum number of
:09:25. > :09:29.vulnerable children is to minimise the number who are taking to this
:09:30. > :09:32.in squalor, in camps outside Calais, in an attempt to make a dangerous
:09:33. > :09:47.and illegal crossing into this country,
:09:48. > :09:50.and the way to do that is to maintain our very close cooperation
:09:51. > :09:54.There is no process on the ground for these
:09:55. > :09:58.There is no meaningful advice to them that the reunification rules
:09:59. > :10:05.I do urge the Minister to look again at the issue and consider
:10:06. > :10:08.what practical support can be given in the next 24 hours.
:10:09. > :10:14.Should we be welcoming rather than challenging
:10:15. > :10:17.the recent Tribunal decision in ZAT to short cut the admission of three
:10:18. > :10:34.As the right honourable lady suggests,
:10:35. > :10:39.shouldn't we be looking to walk on the other 100 or so Calais
:10:40. > :10:41.children identified by Citizens UK as having
:10:42. > :10:44.family here in the UK, so that they can be reunited
:10:45. > :10:47.The Minister seems to be implying that it is the responsibility
:10:48. > :10:49.of children to declare themselves to the relevant
:10:50. > :10:54.It is our responsibility here to make sure
:10:55. > :10:59.There will be many thousands more children
:11:00. > :11:02.in such an awful place, were it not for the fact that this
:11:03. > :11:04.government is providing such a huge amount of aid
:11:05. > :11:08.into Syria, and neighbouring countries, so that other children
:11:09. > :11:15.As the honourable member has just said, if these are British children,
:11:16. > :11:18.the test that would have to be applied to the government would be
:11:19. > :11:21.The Minister is describing today a process of colluding
:11:22. > :11:24.with the French government in a process that will
:11:25. > :11:26.push them into the hands of people traffickers.
:11:27. > :11:28.Is he really saying that we are at such a different
:11:29. > :11:31.standard to the children of refugees as we do to our own?
:11:32. > :11:33.I utterly reject that assertion, and indeed,
:11:34. > :11:35.the joint working that our enforcement agencies are involved
:11:36. > :11:37.in in confronting the people traffickers and going
:11:38. > :11:43.after the gangs and seeing that there isn't
:11:44. > :11:45.that exploitation is precisely part of the joint agreement
:11:46. > :11:47.which was signed last August, and we are
:11:48. > :11:49.supporting the French government to identify the vulnerable
:11:50. > :11:50.and to see that they are given support.
:11:51. > :11:56.People from black and minority ethnic backgrounds are more likely
:11:57. > :11:58.to be medicated for psychological disorders, Labour's Lady Lawrence
:11:59. > :12:02.She called for greater access to other treatments such
:12:03. > :12:08.In reply, the minister said this was not the case -
:12:09. > :12:11.but was told by another peer that data on ethnicity and medication
:12:12. > :12:17.should be collected - as it had been in the past.
:12:18. > :12:25.BME patients are more likely to be given higher doses
:12:26. > :12:30.My question to the Minister is, what is the government doing
:12:31. > :12:37.to ensure that BME patients are offered the same access
:12:38. > :12:39.to treatment option as their white counterparts and not
:12:40. > :12:43.Although there is evidence that gender and ethnicity affect
:12:44. > :12:46.the tolerability of some medicines, there is no evidence that people
:12:47. > :12:48.from black and minority ethnic backgrounds are prescribed higher
:12:49. > :12:53.On the other hand, there is considerable evidence that many
:12:54. > :12:55.people from BME backgrounds are paying more, that they spend
:12:56. > :13:11.more time in inpatient psychiatric facilities,
:13:12. > :13:14.they suffer greater seclusion, and other aspects of the mental
:13:15. > :13:16.health treatment for black minority ethnic people,
:13:17. > :13:19.But isn't it the case that this whole issue
:13:20. > :13:23.about the overrepresentation of black and minority ethnic people
:13:24. > :13:25.in the mental health services has been going on for decades,
:13:26. > :13:30.For example, Sarah Reed, a black woman who was incarcerated
:13:31. > :13:33.in Holloway when she was well known to the mental health services,
:13:34. > :13:36.was found dead in her cell in January, failed
:13:37. > :13:37.by the Prison Service, mental health services
:13:38. > :13:47.Why are black people, minority ethnic people,
:13:48. > :13:49.far more likely to be locked up in prison instead
:13:50. > :13:58.The noble lady makes a very important point,
:13:59. > :14:01.and that is why the Prime Minister has asked David Lamy to conduct
:14:02. > :14:08.an inquiry into precisely the issue that she raced.
:14:09. > :14:11.Earlier this month, Minister of State Alastair Burt said
:14:12. > :14:15.that he would be meeting with a wide range of stakeholders to look at BME
:14:16. > :14:17.groups and their unequal access to mental health services.
:14:18. > :14:43.Could my noble friend of the Minister please confirm that
:14:44. > :14:46.that wide range of Stakeholders will include the community leaders.
:14:47. > :14:48.As black and minority people are also disproportionately members
:14:49. > :14:50.of faith communities, and if those community leaders
:14:51. > :14:53.could be trained in recognising the early signs of mental health
:14:54. > :14:55.problems, then perhaps more people would be referred earlier
:14:56. > :14:57.into a mental health services that they need.
:14:58. > :15:00.I will certainly have a word with Alastair Burt and the Minister
:15:01. > :15:02.of state for health, who is having the meeting
:15:03. > :15:05.that the noble lady referred to, and I will bring her comments
:15:06. > :15:08.The noble Lord Minister was, of course Chairman of the CQC,
:15:09. > :15:11.so he will be well aware of the Care Quality Commission
:15:12. > :15:13.and their responsibility to lay before Parliament an annual report
:15:14. > :15:15.on the monitoring of the Mental Health Act.
:15:16. > :15:17.It took over for the Mental Health Act commission when
:15:18. > :15:21.The Mental Health Act commission used a biannual report
:15:22. > :15:23.with a varied, significant chapter on the details that he just talked
:15:24. > :15:25.about, the disproportionate number of BME detained patients,
:15:26. > :15:26.disproportionately used anti-psychotic drugs,
:15:27. > :15:28.and levels above BMF recommended levels.
:15:29. > :15:31.Could the noble lord the Minister tell me why the CQC in its annual
:15:32. > :15:34.report doesn't present that level of data and evidence anymore
:15:35. > :15:37.on a yearly basis, and how, without that evidence and data,
:15:38. > :15:42.can it actually take steps to tackle this important area?
:15:43. > :15:44.I don't have an answer to the question that he raises.
:15:45. > :15:52.I don't know, is the straightforward answer.
:15:53. > :15:57.But I hope that when the data comes through, and if we can extend that
:15:58. > :16:05.to patients and carers as well, as was recently done in a report,
:16:06. > :16:12.that evidence, that information should be available.
:16:13. > :16:15.Isn't it a well-known fact mental health services are massively under
:16:16. > :16:19.a good start to put some resources into that service?
:16:20. > :16:21.The government is committed to putting more resources
:16:22. > :16:30.I think there is a recognition across all parties in this House
:16:31. > :16:33.that mental health has been a Cinderella service for ever,
:16:34. > :16:35.and we are all committed, I think to mental health,
:16:36. > :16:40.physical health, and more resources are now going into mental health.
:16:41. > :16:41.You're watching Monday in Parliament.
:16:42. > :16:44.Still to come - the Government is called to do more to protect
:16:45. > :16:48.Russia's military tactics in Syria have been condemned as appalling
:16:49. > :16:51.by the Defence Secretary Michael Fallon who said the fragile
:16:52. > :16:52.ceasefire would only succeed if the Russians
:16:53. > :16:59.Russian war planes began air strikes in Syria at the end of September,
:17:00. > :17:02.initially with the aim of defeating so-called Islamic State,
:17:03. > :17:05.but later targeting other groups the Russians considered terrorists.
:17:06. > :17:11.Russian air strikes are clearly targeting civilian populations
:17:12. > :17:23.in Syria which is killing and maiming innocent men,
:17:24. > :17:25.women and children and degrading the Syrian moderate forces
:17:26. > :17:28.that we are relying on to defeat Daesh in the region.
:17:29. > :17:31.Will the Secretary of State outline what actions we are taking,
:17:32. > :17:34.or we might take, to protect these populations and underpin our
:17:35. > :17:38.I know my honourable friend will welcome the cessation
:17:39. > :17:40.of hostilities at the weekend which appears to be
:17:41. > :17:47.But it will only succeed if there is a major change
:17:48. > :17:49.in behaviour by the Syrian regime and by its principal backer,
:17:50. > :17:54.Russia must honour this agreement by ending attacks on Syrian
:17:55. > :17:57.civilians and moderate opposition groups and using its influence
:17:58. > :18:01.to ensure the Syrian regime does the same.
:18:02. > :18:03.Both the Foreign Secretary and I have been very clear
:18:04. > :18:08.and public that the Russian actions here have been undermining prospects
:18:09. > :18:16.We welcome the Russian contribution to the most recent agreement that
:18:17. > :18:25.Russia can and should play a positive role in the fight
:18:26. > :18:29.against Daesh and indeed ending the conflict in Syria.
:18:30. > :18:35.But I have to tell the House that over 70% of Russian air strikes have
:18:36. > :18:37.not been against Daesh at all, they have been against civilians
:18:38. > :18:40.and moderate opposition groups in Syria.
:18:41. > :18:45.An appalling contribution to a conflict that must be ended.
:18:46. > :18:50.Since the parliamentary vote on Syria at the beginning
:18:51. > :18:54.of December there have been 319 RAF air strikes against Daesh in Iraq
:18:55. > :18:58.and 43 RAF air strikes against Daesh in Syria.
:18:59. > :19:01.Since we are meant to be targeting the head of the snake why have
:19:02. > :19:06.there been seven and a half times more air strikes in Iraq?
:19:07. > :19:11.There were more air strikes in Iraq than in Syria in December
:19:12. > :19:18.and in January because we were engaged in assisting the Iraqi
:19:19. > :19:22.forces liberate Ramadi, which is where most of the military
:19:23. > :19:27.action was, and also assisting the Kurdish forces in the liberation
:19:28. > :19:29.of Sinjar further north. The Secretary of State is absolutely
:19:30. > :19:32.right to say we can simultaneously welcome the progress
:19:33. > :19:35.towards a ceasefire and the contribution the Russians
:19:36. > :19:37.have made, whilst condemning the previous Russian attacks
:19:38. > :19:40.on the moderate forces that the Coalition is working with.
:19:41. > :19:50.Can he tell us at this stage how reliable he thinks the estimate
:19:51. > :19:54.of 70,000 moderate Syrian ground forces is at this moment in time?
:19:55. > :19:57.I am grateful to the honourable gentleman and indeed to the official
:19:58. > :20:00.support that has been given to the campaign against Daesh.
:20:01. > :20:03.The 70,000 figure of course was not the Government figure,
:20:04. > :20:05.it was a figure produced independently by the Joint
:20:06. > :20:11.And we have no reason to believe that that figure is the wrong one.
:20:12. > :20:15.Indeed the civil war in Syria has been raging for six years now
:20:16. > :20:17.so there have been considerable forces engaged against
:20:18. > :20:29.What support is the UK Government giving to the UN who are today
:20:30. > :20:41.giving fresh aid to Syria in the albeit very fragile ceasefire?
:20:42. > :20:44.We have been making a contribution through the United Nations
:20:45. > :20:50.It is not easy for convoys to get through to some of the hard to reach
:20:51. > :20:52.areas and the drop that was carried out last week
:20:53. > :20:57.It was dropped from a great height into a high wind.
:20:58. > :21:00.A number of the pallets did not reach the ground.
:21:01. > :21:02.The best way of getting aid in is actually by land,
:21:03. > :21:05.by land convoys, but that isn't easy in some of these particularly hard
:21:06. > :21:08.The defence secretary Michael Fallon.
:21:09. > :21:11.The Government has said it is backing the imposition
:21:12. > :21:14.of higher tariffs by the European Union
:21:15. > :21:20.But the Business Secretary rejected a call from Labour for ministers
:21:21. > :21:23.to also support the scrapping of what's known as the Lesser Duty
:21:24. > :21:26.In a Labour-led debate, the Shadow Business Secretary,
:21:27. > :21:31.Angela Eagle, said the move would allow even higher duties
:21:32. > :21:34.and protect the UK steel industry being destroyed by a tsunami
:21:35. > :21:40.The European Union have finally set their tariff on a particular
:21:41. > :21:48.product, Chinese rebar, at a level between 9.2 and 13%.
:21:49. > :21:51.Meanwhile in the USA we've seen introduced defensive tariffs set
:21:52. > :21:53.at 66% which were operating 45 days from the start
:21:54. > :22:00.To work tariffs have to be high enough to deal with the problem.
:22:01. > :22:07.Artificially over inflating the price of imported steel
:22:08. > :22:09.would have a hugely damaging effect on British companies further up
:22:10. > :22:15.Of course I would like to see such companies using British steel
:22:16. > :22:17.rather than cheaper, lower quality imports.
:22:18. > :22:20.Let me take this opportunity to urge them to do so.
:22:21. > :22:25.However forcing them to buy British steel by making imported steel
:22:26. > :22:31.prohibitively expensive is not the way to make this happen.
:22:32. > :22:33.Come out strongly for manufacturing industry and be unequivocal
:22:34. > :22:40.Get rid of the Lesser Duty Rule and prevent dumping by China.
:22:41. > :22:44.Vote against giving China Market Economy Status
:22:45. > :22:48.which would truly spell the death knell for UK steel.
:22:49. > :22:51.Now, in the latest battle of wills over changes to the benefits system,
:22:52. > :22:54.the House of Lords has defeated the Government over planned cuts
:22:55. > :23:00.The Government wants to reduce ESA payments -
:23:01. > :23:03.paid to sick and disabled people - by ?30 a week for many
:23:04. > :23:08.But a crossbench or independent peer, Lord Low says the change
:23:09. > :23:11.should not go ahead until the impact on claimants' finances and mental
:23:12. > :23:17.The Government said that wasn't practical.
:23:18. > :23:20.What is proposed in the majority of the amendment will be impossible
:23:21. > :23:29.This is because the data which is currently available does
:23:30. > :23:37.not allow us to make a meaningful estimate.
:23:38. > :23:41.We would therefore need to undertake a large scale trial of several years
:23:42. > :23:48.which would substantially delay implementation.
:23:49. > :23:59.A trial starting perhaps in April 2017 of 15,000 claimants would not
:24:00. > :24:05.It is perfectly clear from the very restricted nature of those
:24:06. > :24:07.amendments that the Minister has been working with
:24:08. > :24:11.I accept the Minister has done his very best and hope
:24:12. > :24:15.he will understand that those sick and disabled people who genuinely
:24:16. > :24:19.cannot find an employer willing to take them on,
:24:20. > :24:25.and in my view that's the very big problem they face,
:24:26. > :24:28.they will be faced by the most incredible hardship if clauses 13
:24:29. > :24:41.The reality is that these changes have been debated extensively
:24:42. > :24:43.by both houses and most recently last Tuesday in the other place,
:24:44. > :24:46.where after a three hour debate the House of Commons insisted
:24:47. > :24:48.with a majority of 27, above the Government's notional
:24:49. > :24:50.majority, that the changes we made should be resisted.
:24:51. > :24:53.I think the time has come to recognise, as I think the noble
:24:54. > :24:56.Baroness has just indicated, that we should respect the view
:24:57. > :25:01.Lord Low said that the Government lost the argument but won the vote.
:25:02. > :25:04.Whether or not one has won the argument is a
:25:05. > :25:10.Whether or not one won the vote was not a subjective decision
:25:11. > :25:13.and that is the basis on which I think we should proceed.
:25:14. > :25:16.The Minister has said it would be an expensive and time-consuming
:25:17. > :25:22.matter to provide the information my amendment calls for.
:25:23. > :25:26.But I would say that if the Government doesn't have this
:25:27. > :25:28.kind of information they should not be seeking to implement such
:25:29. > :25:34.a drastic cut to ESA in the first place.
:25:35. > :25:41.In the end peers backed Lord Low's amendment by 289 votes to 219.
:25:42. > :25:43.With parliamentary ping-pong under way, the Welfare Bill
:25:44. > :25:51.Alicia McCarthy is here for the rest of the week,