07/03/2016 Monday in Parliament

Hello and welcome to Monday in Parliament.

Peers drop their opposition to Government cuts to disability

benefits - but with very heavy hearts...

I hope and I pray that we do not look back on this day as the moment

that we pushed some of the most severely disabled people in Britain

over the edge. The migration crisis -

the Defence Secretary explains why British ships are being sent

to the Aegean Sea... I think we need to increase the

capacity, particularly of the Turkish authorities and coastguard,

to be able to intercept these boats, before they set off on what is a

very dangerous crossing. And powerful maiden speeches

in the House of Lords from a bishop My call to ordination was not

something I welcomed. But I knew that, as a follower of Jesus Christ,

this was about saying yes to an ongoing journey of becoming the

woman I was called to be. At the age of 15, I decided to leave school and

go to work. I had nothing, except passion, determination and a can-do

attitude. But first, the latest battle

between the House of Lords and the Government over benefit

cuts has come to end, after peers backed

down reluctantly The Government wants to reduce

Employment and Support Allowance, paid to sick and disabled people,

by ?30 a week for new claimants. In the last few weeks,

the Lords has rejected the change, contained in the Welfare

Reform Bill, on two occasions. But the Government reinstated

the cuts in the Commons. When the bill came back

to the Lords, the Work and Pensions

Minister, Lord Freud, urged peers to accept

the will of the Commons... The Commons voted solidly to reject

these amendments and emotion now asks this house to accept this

decision. -- the motion. In addition, be Commons Speaker has

also ruled that these changes affect financial privilege. As noble Lords

have not tabled amendments to the contrary, I will make the

presumption that the house is now prepared to accept the changes,

albeit with great reluctance and will not defy convention. I put it

to the noble Lords that, as a house, we have performed our duty.

There was a strong reaction from peers...

I know others spent a great deal last week of working through to try

to table another amendment to send this dreadful part of the bill but

to its place. It was not available. They are entitled to do that. And so

are we to ask them to think again. As the chamber pointed, because of

our expertise, we know and understand the impact this bill will

have. Even if no formal impact assessment was carried out. I

apologise to the people affected that we couldn't do any more. And I

listen to the government's arguments, in the debates and

amendments, I have to say words fail me. Particularly when members were

asked to separate the issue from the more important principle of Commons

primacy. I find it really difficult when the niceties and Parliamentary

protocol trump the lives of disabled people. I hope and I pray that we do

not look back on this day as the moment we pushed some of the most

severely disabled people in Britain over the edge. This is a black day

for disabled people. That the commons have spoken and decisively

and we must bow to their wishes. But we do so under protest. Do not let

anyone convince you this is democracy in action. There is more

to democracy than just being elected. Questions of representative

loss, accessibility and responsibility or comment about as

well. From this point with this house, though unelected, is much

more democratic. Organisations representing the needs of poor and

dispossessed people find it much easier here then to have it taken on

board in the House of Commons. It is much more politicised and

subservience to the whips. Under the whips were certainly working

overtime last Wednesday night. Going round and handing out bribes like

there was no tomorrow. I just want to pose one question. Well he

monitored the numbers of suicides in the year following the introduction

of this cut? I am certain there will be people who cannot face the debts

and loss of their homes and will take their lives. And if his

monitoring shows what I believe this cut will do, we'll hear sure this

house that he will seriously consider to review this action? The

noble Lords. I do want to assure them that what they have been

saying, we are hearing. And those concerns will be right at the

forefront of our minds, certainly of my mind, as we work with ministerial

colleagues to try to finalise the White Paper.

He was referring to a white paper on incapacity benefits.

He said his department will not be monitoring the number of suicides

because, he said, in such a difficult and fraught area

To the Commons now for more debate on how to stem the flow of migrants

and refugees across the Mediterranean into

The Prime Minister has announced that the Royal Navy ship

RFA Mounts Bay will be joining a Nato mission in the Aegean Sea,

which lies between Turkey and Greece.

RFA Mounts Bay will be helping to stop people smugglers

transporting migrants from Turkey to Greece.

Making an urgent statement, the Defence Secretary Michael Fallon

said the ship would be supporting the Turkish and Greek coastguards...

The scale of the migration challenge requires Nato, the European Union

and other countries to work together to address both its symptoms, the

constant flow of migrants and the conditions we see, and the causes in

Syria and beyond. We must also work with local civilian authorities to

try to tackle the gangs would profit from smuggling migrants. The United

Kingdom has already been engaged with the Home Office ship deployed

in the region since November. Contributing to the EU and Nato

mission is to counter smuggling is only part of the government's wide

approach to tackling the root causes of irregular migration. The United

Kingdom is leading the way in tackling these issues at their

source, providing significant amounts of aid to assist and to

stabilise troubled regions and lessen the need for people to leave.

In the meantime, this Royal Navy deployment is an important part of

the international effort to assist the Turkish and Greek authorities in

reducing this criminal and dangerous people trafficking.

Alistair Carmichael was the MP who requested

What he describes is a series of tactics,

And many of them will find broad support. But taken together, they do

not add up to a strategy. It was referred to today in the press as

being a war against people traffickers. If we are to win, and I

fear that what we need to do is to cut off the supply to the people

traffickers of those who desperately using them. That means getting peace

in their countries of origin, but in the short to medium term, that means

a series of safe and legal route into Britain and expansion of

refugee families schemes. The Defence Secretary did not agree

with his analysis... I am not convinced that establishing

some routes are safer than others will do anything to reduce the flow.

I think we need to increase the capacity, particularly of the

Turkish authorities and Turkish postcard, to be able to intercept

these bows before they set off on what is a very dangerous crossing.

-- Turkish coastguard. -- these boats. There is a real urgency in

bringing to justice the people responsible for people smuggling,

but also for the people who are undertaking it. It is a reminder,

this boat being deployed, of how the Royal Navy has been reduced since

2010. Are they too stretched to play a role in this operation? Is he

satisfied Turkey is doing enough to help itself? There are thousands of

plastic dinghy is being imported by them to allow this trade to

continue. There are phoney life jackets being sold. Why is in the

Turkish government doing something about this? Helping people stop

risking their lives is the right thing to do, undoubtedly. But for

those who have already arrived, there are 13,000 of them now at the

Macedonian border in terrible conditions, children with

bronchitis. He has said that the British government will not do

anything to take any of them. Where does he think those 13,000 people

should go? The British government is taking refugees from Syria. We have

already made that clear. Some of them have arrived here. My friend,

the Prime Minister, is urging his European counterparts to get to

grips with the problem. -- my honourable friend. For those

arriving within that area and to make sure they are not being

shuttled from one place to the next. MPs raised concern about migrants

working in UK, who may be deported The issue was debated in Parliament,

after a petition reached The Government stipulates that

non-EU migrants who've been in the UK for five years

in graduate-level jobs need to earn over ?35,000 a year

in order to stay... One doctor is a particular

professional and he is being forced out of the country. He was not

costing the taxpayer a penny. He had access to private income from

considerable work and experience. He was a musician for David Berry

amongst many other contributions. -- Steve, Doctor Foreman.. And yet the

Home Office is trying to deport him. That is what is costing the tax

payer money. -- David Bowie. It is being spent on further legal

processes. If this goes through, then I am fairly confident we will

have do see that if the people pioneering clean water in Edinburgh,

she will not be welcome to stay in this country and to develop it

unless she is earning more than ?35,000 per year. Something, which

for a first-time job, is pretty impossible. There are exemptions for

Ph.D. Level occupations. Yes. After Ph.D. Level occupations. They would

be exempt. But there were further

concerns over the policy... I think this policy seems to be

about portraying an image. Even its opponents have said it will have

little effect on immigration to the UK. It will cost the government

millions of pounds a year. The five key workers and make people making a

contribution leave the country. And if that is not a good example of

unintended consequences, that it is made to create headlines, rather

than addressing immigration, I cannot think of anything better.

Would it not be better to drop this policy and grin fades some of the

money that will be saved to help boost skills and training for local

workers? The government consulted in 2011. The government doesn't believe

there should be an automatic link between coming to the UK to work

temporarily and staying permanently. That is something very common in

most countries. There is a difference between temporary and

permanent settlement. The minimum earning threshold was set following

advice from the migration advisory committee. The main purpose was to

support the UK economy, not to provide migrants with a route to

settlement. ?35,000 per year wasn't a figure invented by politicians

from nowhere. It was worked out professionally by the committee to

be the equivalent of a medium UK paid skills job. That was at the

time of the consultation in 2011. I think our members should be aware

that the most recent research is that the figures today will be

?39,000. You're watching Monday in Parliament

with me Kristiina Cooper. Labour has criticised Government

plans to allow Police and Crime Commissioners to take

responsibility for fire The attack came as MPs

held their first debate on the wide-ranging

Police and Crime Bill - which mainly applies

to England and Wales. The Home Secretary told the Commons

the change to fire services would save money and

improve effectiveness. Where a local case

is made, the Bill will enable a PCC by integrating the senior management

teams of the police force and the fire and rescue service

under a single chief officer. This single employer model

will allow the rapid consolidation of back-office functions

without the complexities of negotiating collaboration

agreements between the PCC, the chief constable and one or more

fire and rescue authorities. I should stress that under these

reforms police officers and firefighters will remain

distinct and separate, as set out in law, albeit supported

by increasingly integrated HR, ICT, finance, procurement,

fleet management What on earth happened

to the Government's Just as with metro mayors,

it looks like these expanded PCCs The Government have not made

the case for changing the fire service in this way,

and nor have they shown how the independence and funding

of the fire service will be The fire service, as the junior

partner in the arrangement, I know that the concerns I have

outlined are held by not only Labour councillors,

but Conservative councillors, as the nods that I see opposite

from Government Members The Bill also sets out to ban

the use of police cells as places of safety for children

and young people experiencing Those experiencing a mental health

crisis and who present a danger to themselves or to others need

rapid support and care They do not need locking up

in a police cell for up to 72 hours. The Home Secretary is absolutely

right when she said a police cell Being ill and black

is not a criminal We know that if you are of

African Caribbean descent, suffering a mental health

crisis you are more You're more likely to be detained

and subjected to a community We have never believed

that the right place should be I want to also acknowledge the work

that is done by my honourable member for Durham North who has

also campaigned on these He was one of those

who has always said only in exceptional cases should

people with illnesses of this kind That applies to children

but in particular also to adults. The Bill will also change the police

complaints procedure and the disciplinary action that can

be taken against police officers. My Honourable friend,

the Shadow Home Secretary has mentioned the prospect of being able

to reduce the pension entitlement for a retired officers

in certain circumstances. I hope that is something

that the Minster will Madam Deputy Speaker,

one of the very sad but important duties I have

is to remove the pension from an officer because they

have committed certain It is already here and there

are other sanctions including criminal sanctions that

can be taken as well. The pension removal

is in statute now. Now, the actor Richard Gere

was in Parliament last week. It was one stop

on his tour of the UK to promote his new film

about homelessness. Richard Gere hopes that Time Out

of Mind will change attitude At Lords question time,

one peer wondered if Richard Gere had persuaded the Chancellor George

Osborne to support the cause. The question came during exchanges

on how to tackle rough sleeping. My lord, in the recent written

answer to me the minister said these survey of England found

that there were 2744 people sleeping At the same time the number

of number of beds was 36,540. Can we conclude from these figures

that the problem is not the availability of

beds as the apparent unwillingness of those sleeping

rough to take them up? In which case, what are

the Government going to do about it? There are a number of reasons why

people sleep rough and the Lord has alluded to one of them

but he is absolutely right in suggesting that we need to tackle

both the rough sleepers and make sure they do not spend

a second night out. Homeless is now in England

is a loss of private tenancy. We desperately need an increase

in social housing alongside If Richard Gere has managed

to persuade the Chancellor to make this his next big cause,

according to the papers at the weekend, does

the minister now regret the lack of policies

to increase social housing? My Lords, I think it

is important that we provide housing of all types

of tenure, as the noble lady pointed out houses for social rent,

affordable homes, starter homes and shared ownership

and Help To Buy schemes, Rent To Build, all the different

schemes that are in place The first female bishop to be

introduced into the upper house has The Right Reverend Rachel Treweek

made her first contribution in a debate on women's

representation and empowerment - telling peers that she started her

professional life as a speech My work with children

and families as a speech and language therapist fuelled my

interest in communication, Together, these are powerful keys

to understanding and interpreting what it means to be

human and made in the My call to ordination was not

something I welcomed but I knew that as a follower of Jesus Christ this

was about saying yes to an ongoing journey of becoming the women

I was called to be. In the early 90s women

could not be priests in the Church of England

and when I went to theological College in Oxford I never

imagined that one day She revealed that she was interested

in conflict resolution. In a world of diversity,

conflict will always be part of everyday life

and we need to learn to learn What we see across our world is that

people are threatened by the other. Over the years I added my voice

to the debate to enable the consecration of women

and my starting point was always the firm conviction

that all people are created equal in the image of God

and called to use the gifts for the glory of God

and the flourishing of all people. Also making her maiden speech

was the entrepreneur Lady Mone. She's conducting a review

for the Prime Minister on how to increase the number

of business start-ups. In a personal contribution

she told peers how, having grown up in a Glasgow

tenement, it was an honour My Lords, I am dyslexic,

and this speech is harder than any business I have ever started

and I started my first I had a paper round and,

by the time I was 11, Then at the age of 12,

I got a job in the local fruit and veg shop, but I was soon

headhunted by the sweetie shop across the road,

which paid me 15p an hour more. So I can tell your Lordships that

I was off like a shot. My parents did not

have an easy life. My brother died when he was a baby

and my dad was confined So at the age of 15

I decided to leave I had nothing except passion,

determination and a can-do attitude. She started her own

business when she was 24. I was lucky that my mum and dad

taught me that dreams can come true if you work hard, are honest

and never, ever give up. And she finished by quoting from one

of her favourite songs. I love music and I would

like to share with you the words of a song by the late,

great Whitney Houston, which inspired me

when I was growing up. I normally sing this at karaoke,

but on the advice of our wonderful doorkeepers, I thought

I would spare your Lordships ears. "I believe the children

are our future. "Teach them well and let

them lead the way." Fellow peers congratulated Lady Mone

on a powerful maiden speech. Although, a Conservative Lord Fowler

said it was a great pity Well, that's it from

Monday in Parliament. Keith Macdougall will be

here for the rest of the week but from me, Kristiina

Cooper, goodbye.