:00:12. > :00:14.Hello and welcome to Monday in Parliament, our look
:00:15. > :00:20.The Health Secretary says there'll be no ground given
:00:21. > :00:26.The Government have a mandate from the electorate to introduce
:00:27. > :00:29.a seven-day NHS, and there will be no retreat from reforms that save
:00:30. > :00:37.There are no plans for Britain to send ground troops to Libya -
:00:38. > :00:38.the Defence Secretary tells the Commons -
:00:39. > :00:43.The Prime Minister and I have to take decisions about
:00:44. > :00:47.the deployment of ships, planes and troops, and we do not
:00:48. > :00:50.want, as the House will understand, to be artificially constrained
:00:51. > :00:54.in action that would keep this country safe.
:00:55. > :00:57.And MPs condemn cost-cutting measures from employers
:00:58. > :01:01.as the National Living Wage hits pay packets.
:01:02. > :01:05.Popular, thriving cafe businesses, such as EAT and Caffe Nero,
:01:06. > :01:08.are cutting free staff lunches to claw back costs.
:01:09. > :01:12.That will save them about ?3.60 per employee per day -
:01:13. > :01:17.less than the cost of one of their toasted paninis.
:01:18. > :01:21.The Health Secretary says there will be no retreat
:01:22. > :01:24.There had been speculation of a softening of his position.
:01:25. > :01:28.But Jeremy Hunt said that was "absolute nonsense"
:01:29. > :01:31.and he was imposing the contract with the "greatest of regret"."
:01:32. > :01:34.Labour called for him to get back to the negotiating table.
:01:35. > :01:38.The Government have been concerned for some time about higher mortality
:01:39. > :01:42.rates at weekends in our hospitals, which is one reason why we pledged
:01:43. > :01:49.We have been discussing how to achieve that through contract
:01:50. > :01:52.reform with the British Medical Association for more than three
:01:53. > :01:57.In January, I asked Sir David Dalton, the highly
:01:58. > :02:00.respected chief executive of Salford Royal, to lead
:02:01. > :02:03.the negotiating team for the Government as a final
:02:04. > :02:06.attempt to resolve outstanding issues.
:02:07. > :02:11.He had some success, with agreement reached in 90% of areas.
:02:12. > :02:14.However, despite having agreed in writing in November
:02:15. > :02:18.to negotiate on Saturday pay, and despite many concessions
:02:19. > :02:22.from the Government on this issue, the BMA went back on that agreement
:02:23. > :02:25.to negotiate, leading Sir David to conclude
:02:26. > :02:31.that there was no realistic prospect of a negotiated outcome.
:02:32. > :02:35.NHS foundation trusts are technically able to determine
:02:36. > :02:39.pay and conditions for the staff they employ, but the reality within
:02:40. > :02:44.the NHS is that we have a strong tradition of collective bargaining,
:02:45. > :02:49.so in practice trusts opt to use national contracts.
:02:50. > :02:53.Health Education England has made it clear that a single national
:02:54. > :02:56.approach is essential to safeguard the delivery of medical training
:02:57. > :02:59.and that implementation of the national contract
:03:00. > :03:02.will be a key criterion in deciding its financial
:03:03. > :03:06.As the Secretary of State is entitled to do, I have approved
:03:07. > :03:14.The Government have a mandate from the electorate to introduce
:03:15. > :03:18.a seven-day NHS, and there will be no retreat from reforms that
:03:19. > :03:25.Just when we thought this whole sorry saga could not get any worse,
:03:26. > :03:32.it now appears that Government policy is in complete disarray.
:03:33. > :03:35.Despite the Health Secretary giving us all the impression back
:03:36. > :03:39.in February that he was going to railroad through a new contract,
:03:40. > :03:45.it now appears that he is simply making a suggestion, or,
:03:46. > :03:48.as his lawyers would say, approving the terms
:03:49. > :03:56.Last night, the Health Secretary took to Twitter to claim that this
:03:57. > :03:59.was not a change of approach, and we have heard the same again
:04:00. > :04:03.today, so, on behalf of patients, I have to ask him:
:04:04. > :04:11.We need a straightforward answer to a simple question:
:04:12. > :04:16.Is the Health Secretary imposing a new contract - yes or no?
:04:17. > :04:20.The Junior Doctors Committee took the unprecedented step
:04:21. > :04:26.of escalating its industrial action on the back of his decision
:04:27. > :04:35.How can he possibly justify a situation whereby his rhetoric,
:04:36. > :04:41.underpinned by nothing but misplaced bravado and bullishness,
:04:42. > :04:45.could lead to the first ever all-out strike of junior doctors
:04:46. > :04:52.He must get back to the negotiating table, and quickly.
:04:53. > :04:55.The BMA has always been a very militant trade union.
:04:56. > :04:57.It has had bitter political battles with just about every Secretary
:04:58. > :05:02.of State that the National Health Service has had since it started.
:05:03. > :05:07.It has, however, never previously contemplated strike action,
:05:08. > :05:09.withdrawing urgent services in pursuit of what is
:05:10. > :05:20.I do not believe that before this year the Labour Party
:05:21. > :05:22.would ever have supported the BMA if it had done so.
:05:23. > :05:25.Does my Right Honourable friend agree that as the pressures
:05:26. > :05:27.on the NHS are obviously mounting, with the ageing population
:05:28. > :05:32.and the rising level of demand, it is urgent to move
:05:33. > :05:40.Yet again, I must pull up the Secretary of State.
:05:41. > :05:44.It is not a case of excess deaths at weekends; it is a case of people
:05:45. > :05:46.admitted at weekends dying within 30 days.
:05:47. > :05:50.He said the same thing again today, and it is being repeated
:05:51. > :05:55.The Secretary of State has described, within the same pay
:05:56. > :05:57.envelope, having more doctors at weekends,
:05:58. > :06:00.not fewer during the week, and reducing a maximum
:06:01. > :06:09.I do not see how the maths of that can possibly add up.
:06:10. > :06:12.We are not managing to cover the rotas that we have.
:06:13. > :06:16.We are eight days away from an unprecedented full
:06:17. > :06:18.walkout of junior doctors, including the withdrawal
:06:19. > :06:21.Our constituents want to know whether they will be
:06:22. > :06:27.Will the Secretary of State and the shadow Secretary of State
:06:28. > :06:30.join me in calling on the BMA at least to exempt casualty
:06:31. > :06:35.departments and maternity units from this walkout?
:06:36. > :06:37.We know that, even with goodwill arrangements in place
:06:38. > :06:39.to bring people back in when hospitals are overwhelmed,
:06:40. > :06:59.I would say he tested do it takes. The problem of negotiations so far
:07:00. > :07:03.is the Government failure to respond to the BMA and work with junior
:07:04. > :07:08.doctors who do care about their patients and do want to provide a
:07:09. > :07:12.good quality of care. I think that sums up the difference between the
:07:13. > :07:15.two parties because it is true, Labour would take as long as it
:07:16. > :07:20.takes negotiating these changes and that is why we ended up with some
:07:21. > :07:22.very poor contracts in 1999, 2003 and 2004.
:07:23. > :07:25.The Government has suffered three more defeats in the Lords
:07:26. > :07:28.over its "pay-to-stay" plan for social housing
:07:29. > :07:31.The Housing and Planning Bill proposes that subsidised
:07:32. > :07:33.rents for households earning more than ?31,000,
:07:34. > :07:35.or ?40,000 in London, will be scrapped in April 2017.
:07:36. > :07:39.Council tenants will be asked to pay rent at or near market rates.
:07:40. > :07:42.But peers backed raising the thresholds when the higher rents
:07:43. > :07:45.would kick in, slow the rate at which they would rise and backed
:07:46. > :07:48.a change making it voluntary for councils to adopt the new rules
:07:49. > :07:53.- a move described by the Government as a "wrecking" amendment.
:07:54. > :07:58.Labour accused ministers of a "smash and grab raid."
:07:59. > :08:01.The largest number of people to be caught have incomes just
:08:02. > :08:05.above the levels proposed by the Government and that this
:08:06. > :08:08.is in fact a tax on council tenants on modest incomes.
:08:09. > :08:13.I was going to suggest to the House that this is a stealth tax,
:08:14. > :08:16.but there is nothing stealthy about it; it is just a good
:08:17. > :08:20.Furthermore, it applies only to earned income, so it is a tax
:08:21. > :08:25.My Amendment 72, which is supported by the noble Lord, Lord Kerslake,
:08:26. > :08:28.and the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell of Hardington
:08:29. > :08:31.Mandeville, would replace "must" with "may", thereby giving local
:08:32. > :08:35.authorities discretion about the levels of rent
:08:36. > :08:38.they would want to charge tenants who found themselves in this
:08:39. > :08:42.It has been increasingly clear that the "pay-to-stay" proposals
:08:43. > :08:53.Application of the increased rents is mandatory regardless
:08:54. > :09:03.Local authorities will collect the money, but the Chancellor
:09:04. > :09:10.How else could you describe this other than as a
:09:11. > :09:17.The argument that we are doing this because of higher-income tenants
:09:18. > :09:24.subsidising those on lower income simply does not add up.
:09:25. > :09:34.Local authorities know their communities, and their officers know
:09:35. > :09:36.the circumstances of individual families and couples
:09:37. > :09:43.It is far better for local authorities to make decisions that
:09:44. > :09:46.affect the lives of those families than for a blanket diktat to come
:09:47. > :09:52.It is also surely not logical for a local authority to be forced
:09:53. > :09:57.to implement a high-rent policy if the cost of doing so exceeds
:09:58. > :10:01.the additional income raised by the charging of the higher rent.
:10:02. > :10:05.This is, I am afraid, an idea that probably looks good
:10:06. > :10:11.in the confines of the Treasury or in the rarefied world of special
:10:12. > :10:20.In the real world outside it does not look so good.
:10:21. > :10:24.This policy is spiteful and unnecessary.
:10:25. > :10:29.I do not see why council tenants, unlike us, are expected
:10:30. > :10:33.to contribute to reducing the deficit in this way -
:10:34. > :10:36.pushed behind, according to the impact analysis.
:10:37. > :10:41.It is not too late to amend the Bill.
:10:42. > :11:03.Should it be that the onus is on the tenant? The council would have lost
:11:04. > :11:06.list restriction on them in being obliged to do it.
:11:07. > :11:10.Either you make it compulsory with a "must" or you do not bother
:11:11. > :11:13.to enforce it too hard at all but give a penalty if,
:11:14. > :11:15.at later stages, you discover that people have not declared
:11:16. > :11:29.They are wrecking amendments and there should be clear that they do
:11:30. > :11:32.not accept that a proper local authorities. Local authorities can
:11:33. > :11:38.if they want but a voluntary scheme in now but we are not the way of any
:11:39. > :11:41.who have actually done so and so they must remain mandatory.
:11:42. > :11:43.The policy is about fairness, and our view is that social housing
:11:44. > :11:46.at lower rents should be provided to those households
:11:47. > :11:50.Households that decide to remain in social housing but can pay more
:11:51. > :12:00.At the same time, the Government are making home ownership more
:12:01. > :12:02.accessible to tenants both of local authorities and of housing
:12:03. > :12:06.associations through the right to buy and shared ownership.
:12:07. > :12:09.But at the end of the debate peers rejected those arguments and voted
:12:10. > :12:12.to stop the ending of subsidised rents for many households becoming
:12:13. > :12:20.Companies which cut back on staff perks and overtime to offset
:12:21. > :12:24.the new National Living Wage should be held to account,
:12:25. > :12:27.a former Labour minister has told the Commons.
:12:28. > :12:29.Joan Ryan spoke at the Backbench Business Debate in place
:12:30. > :12:31.of her colleague and friend Siobhan McDonagh,
:12:32. > :12:35.There have been reports of companies scrapping double-time
:12:36. > :12:41.It all started a few months ago, when a friend of hers approached her
:12:42. > :12:52.He said, "Siobhan, B has given me new terms and conditions,
:12:53. > :12:55."which it says I have to sign or I'll lose my job.
:12:56. > :12:58."It is cutting back my Sunday and Bank Holiday pay,
:12:59. > :13:00."as well as my summer and winter bonuses.
:13:01. > :13:03."I think I might have my pay reduced."
:13:04. > :13:09.Indeed, my Honourable Friend was shocked when she calculated
:13:10. > :13:15.that he would lose up to ?50 a week, or about ?2,600 a year.
:13:16. > :13:19.The saddest thing was that this was happening after his basic
:13:20. > :13:21.pay had been increased by the introduction
:13:22. > :13:26.Only last week, we read reports of how popular,
:13:27. > :13:29.thriving cafe businesses, such as EAT and Caffe Nero,
:13:30. > :13:32.are cutting free staff lunches to claw back costs.
:13:33. > :13:37.That will save them about ?3.60 per employee per day -
:13:38. > :13:41.less than the cost of one of their toasted paninis.
:13:42. > :13:44.According to media reports today, it looks like Waitrose will also be
:13:45. > :13:48.scrapping Sunday and overtime rates for new workers.
:13:49. > :13:51.The Right Honourable Member for Enfield North made the usual
:13:52. > :13:53.mistake of thinking that every employer in the country is some rich
:13:54. > :13:57.baron who lives in a huge mansion, drives around in a Bentley and has
:13:58. > :14:05.Actually, the vast majority of businesses in this country
:14:06. > :14:13.are small and medium-sized enterprises.
:14:14. > :14:16.I advise her speak to a few shop owners down her local high street,
:14:17. > :14:18.because she will actually find that many are struggling
:14:19. > :14:25.Some care providers have altered their employment contracts
:14:26. > :14:28.and conditions as a way of coping with those changes, meaning
:14:29. > :14:35.that additional costs from the National Living Wage
:14:36. > :14:41.are being paid for by careworkers themselves.
:14:42. > :14:46.As we have heard, many careworkers are already underpaid.
:14:47. > :14:48.The National Audit Office has reported that up to 22,000 home
:14:49. > :14:53.care workers in England are illegally paid below
:14:54. > :14:55.the National Minimum Wage, and I believe the actual
:14:56. > :14:59.The National Living Wage is for the over-25s.
:15:00. > :15:02.One MP said this should change - to protect those older than that.
:15:03. > :15:06.I had a constituent in my surgery a few weeks ago who worked in a bar
:15:07. > :15:10.One day, she received a phone call from her employer saying
:15:11. > :15:13.that there was no need for her to come into work that
:15:14. > :15:18.evening because her services were no longer required.
:15:19. > :15:21.After getting over the shock of her sudden dismissal,
:15:22. > :15:28.Citizens Advice and ACAS both said she had no rights
:15:29. > :15:30.in her circumstances as a zero-hours worker.
:15:31. > :15:33.She suspects but cannot prove that she was let go
:15:34. > :15:35.because she was over 25 whereas her colleagues
:15:36. > :15:40.You're watching Monday in Parliament.
:15:41. > :15:46.Still to come - standing room only at the second debating
:15:47. > :15:48.chamber Westminster Hall, as MPs debate an e-petition
:15:49. > :15:59.There are no plans to send ground troops to Libya,
:16:00. > :16:02.the Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has told the House of Commons.
:16:03. > :16:08.But he went on to say a decision to do so in future might not need
:16:09. > :16:17.He spoke as the Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond visited Libya to show
:16:18. > :16:19.support for the country's new Government of national unity.
:16:20. > :16:21.With the advent of a new unity Government in Libya,
:16:22. > :16:24.does the Secretary of State believe they are preparing the ground
:16:25. > :16:27.to request military assistance from the UK and does he think,
:16:28. > :16:30.as part of that request, that they will acquire assistance
:16:31. > :16:39.with air strikes against Daesh targets in Libya?
:16:40. > :16:41.Well, I'm grateful to the honourable member.
:16:42. > :16:47.The Foreign Secretary visited Tripoli this morning in support
:16:48. > :16:52.of the new Government and I and the fellow
:16:53. > :16:54.European Union Defence Ministers will be meeting in Luxembourg
:16:55. > :16:58.tonight to hear directly from the Prime Minister Sarraj
:16:59. > :17:00.as to how he thinks we can best help establish,
:17:01. > :17:08.We do of course urgently need to engage with it,
:17:09. > :17:11.not least to close down the very dangerous migration route
:17:12. > :17:14.that is seeing so many lives lost in the Mediterranean and to help
:17:15. > :17:27.that Government tackle the spread of along the coast.
:17:28. > :17:31.Does he say that to stabilise Libya we need ground forces?
:17:32. > :17:33.Does he accept that that may include British forces?
:17:34. > :17:36.It is up to the new Government of national accord being established
:17:37. > :17:39.in Libya with our support, led by Prime Minister Sarraj,
:17:40. > :17:41.to make it clear what assistance he needs.
:17:42. > :17:42.A number of countries, including ourselves,
:17:43. > :17:46.have already indicated that we will be part of a Libyan
:17:47. > :17:52.international assistance mission, but it is far too early to speculate
:17:53. > :17:54.about what form that assistance might take,
:17:55. > :17:55.whether it is training, advice from the Ministries,
:17:56. > :18:01.Libya is increasingly becoming the focus of a campaign
:18:02. > :18:03.by the international community to defeat Daesh.
:18:04. > :18:07.Given that the UK's last intervention in Libya was by any
:18:08. > :18:15.measure a catastrophic failure, what plans do the Government have
:18:16. > :18:19.to ensure that we have clear, stated objectives, an exit strategy
:18:20. > :18:20.and a coherent and transparent policy for rebuilding
:18:21. > :18:26.Let me be clear that no decisions in respect of any involvement
:18:27. > :18:36.We are waiting to hear from the new Government
:18:37. > :18:40.of national accord what kind of assistance they need.
:18:41. > :18:42.We have a very strong interest in helping them rapidly
:18:43. > :18:47.stabilise the country, not least because of the spread
:18:48. > :18:50.of Daesh along the coastline, which is a direct threat to western
:18:51. > :19:05.How can't be that we read in the media that the Government is already
:19:06. > :19:12.drawn up troops to fight and whether or not they'll be deployed, a source
:19:13. > :19:16.said it wasn't clear yet. Surely it is important that, instead of
:19:17. > :19:19.briefing the media, the secretary of state commits to coming to this
:19:20. > :19:24.House and answering questions directly? I'm very concerned and a
:19:25. > :19:26.written answer today, he says he reserved the right to take military
:19:27. > :19:31.action without parliamentary approval. Does this mean we won't
:19:32. > :19:35.have a proper debate on her deployment or will he come to this
:19:36. > :19:41.House, have a proper debate and allow us to ask questions? Let me
:19:42. > :19:50.caution the honourable Lady against believing everything she reads in
:19:51. > :19:55.the Daily Mail. Secondly,... Secondly, let me make it very clear
:19:56. > :19:59.that we are not currently running a deployment as reported in the
:20:00. > :20:03.newspaper. Thirdly, let me make it clear that I'm always prepared to
:20:04. > :20:06.answer questions in this House as I am indeed doing at this moment.
:20:07. > :20:10.The Government's accepted it needs to do more to tackle brain tumours.
:20:11. > :20:13.A debate was called in Westminster Hall after an e-petition signed
:20:14. > :20:16.It was started by Maria Leicester, whose brother Stephen
:20:17. > :20:20.The chair of the Petitions Committee, Helen Jones,
:20:21. > :20:22.published a report in response to the petition, told the minister
:20:23. > :20:30.to look at the individuals as well as the statistics.
:20:31. > :20:32.I hope he will look at the personal stories
:20:33. > :20:42.Let me just remind people of some of them.
:20:43. > :20:57.Stephen Ralph, who's a sister started the
:20:58. > :21:00.petition, and RAF offer apparently in excellent health, diagnosed at 19
:21:01. > :21:11.And of course, many MPs had stories of their own constituents.
:21:12. > :21:13.My constituent, Caroline Fosbury, a mother of
:21:14. > :21:15.Ella, she lost her daughter at the age of ten.
:21:16. > :21:18.She said it's a three-way cycle between support, awareness and
:21:19. > :21:21.They have started an Ella's Fund to start research.
:21:22. > :21:26.I think it's that sort of positive affect in terms of fundraising that
:21:27. > :21:29.is so important and when I speak to my constituents who have lost
:21:30. > :21:32.loved ones like this, that is often the way they can
:21:33. > :21:35.Indeed, I think the honourable Lady makes a very good point.
:21:36. > :21:38.In reply, the minister George Freeman announced a review
:21:39. > :21:39.of the services offered, including the money
:21:40. > :21:49.Can the interests of cyclists be properly combined
:21:50. > :21:51.with those of car drivers, particularly in our
:21:52. > :21:55.Not for the first time, the House of Lords heard
:21:56. > :21:56.at Question Time from both supporters of cycling
:21:57. > :21:59.and those less favourable towards those on two wheels.
:22:00. > :22:01.A Conservative former Minister wanted to know the extent
:22:02. > :22:05.to which road traffic laws were being enforced on cyclists.
:22:06. > :22:11.I wonder if he will agree with me that, at the very least,
:22:12. > :22:13.signs should be added for visitors who take bicycles in London
:22:14. > :22:16.and elsewhere, warning them that it is illegal in Britain
:22:17. > :22:25.nationally to cycle on pavements and that they will be fined?
:22:26. > :22:31.The Santander cycle scheme in London is the responsibility of Transport
:22:32. > :22:39.for London and its terms and conditions specify
:22:40. > :22:41.that users must abide by the Highway Code.
:22:42. > :22:43.More particularly, its website, under the section "Driving
:22:44. > :22:45.and Cycling Safety" states in unequivocal terms -
:22:46. > :22:52.Is the Minister aware of how many cyclists know the traffic laws
:22:53. > :22:56.that they are supposed to be adhering to?
:22:57. > :22:59.I know that my next question will split the House completely
:23:00. > :23:04.according to whether one is an avid cyclist, but a cyclist came right
:23:05. > :23:07.in front of me and hit my car, so what insurance would he have
:23:08. > :23:12.On the matter of insurance, subject to cyclists having public
:23:13. > :23:14.liability insurance, there would be no obligation
:23:15. > :23:23.My Lords, I am sure the whole House will agree with my noble friend
:23:24. > :23:29.Lady Wilcox about the need to enforce traffic laws
:23:30. > :23:32.and the importance of cyclists and motorists obeying them.
:23:33. > :23:34.Can my noble and learned friend tell the House how many prosecutions
:23:35. > :23:37.there have been for motorists entering the advanced stop line
:23:38. > :23:39.specifically put to one side for cyclists and for parking
:23:40. > :23:52.I do not have the figures for motorists as regards that matter
:23:53. > :23:54.in the context of prosecutions, but I would be content
:23:55. > :23:57.to write to the noble Lord to give him the statistics
:23:58. > :24:00.My Lords, I am sure the Minister is well aware
:24:01. > :24:03.that the Transport Committee of the House of Commons said last
:24:04. > :24:05.month that it was very concerned about the ever-increasing number
:24:06. > :24:08.of pedal cyclist casualties, which has gone up by
:24:09. > :24:18.A Labour peer raised the role of Police Community Support Officers.
:24:19. > :24:20.Could the Minister confirm that PCSOs are able to fine cyclists
:24:21. > :24:24.on the spot for going through stop lines but are unable to fine cars?
:24:25. > :24:34.I do not believe it is unfair on cyclists.
:24:35. > :24:36.One has to remember that in the case of the vehicle,
:24:37. > :24:41.In the case of the cyclists there is no registration,
:24:42. > :24:43.and therefore an on-the-spot fine is more appropriate.
:24:44. > :24:46.My Lords, I must declare an interest because I cycle regularly in London.
:24:47. > :24:47.The overriding obligation of cyclists in London
:24:48. > :24:53.is to try to ride their bicycle so as to keep it from contact
:24:54. > :24:55.with other vehicles and particularly from contact with pedestrians.
:24:56. > :25:01.If a cyclist does that, the proposition that he should be
:25:02. > :25:04.prosecuted for some breach of one of the many rules of the road seems
:25:05. > :25:09.Still, if that overriding duty is observed, there should not be any
:25:10. > :25:13.problems with cyclists, and the need to prosecute them
:25:14. > :25:26.for minor infringements is clearly not present.
:25:27. > :25:30.With regard to the question that has just been posed to the House,
:25:31. > :25:32.I observe that prosecutions in respect of cycling offences
:25:33. > :25:39.are limited to about 1,000 a year at present time.
:25:40. > :25:45.Alicia McCarthy's here for the rest of the week but from me,