11/07/2016 Monday in Parliament

Hello and welcome to Monday in Parliament.

As Theresa May is confirmed as the next Prime Minister,

there's a taste of the issues waiting for her.

Should Parliament, or the Government, decide

when to trigger Article 50, which starts the process

Isn't it a constitutional outrage and a supreme irony

that those people over there who based their argument

for Brexit on Parliamentary sovereignty now wants to deny this

Those who want to have a vote before Article 50 is triggered

are not concerned with Parliamentary sovereignty.

It's a clear attempt to thwart the democratic

The Defence Secretary announces that British troops are heading east -

Britain is stepping up its leading role in the Alliance by deploying

more forces to Nato's eastern borders, to Nato's support

to Afghanistan and in countering illegal migration.

Also on the programme: the benefits of taking children out

Andy Murray wouldn't have got to where he was yesterday had he not

been given leave at various times to attend tennis camps

But first, a few hours before Parliament started business,

there was another twist in the extraordinary tale

of the battle to become the next Conservative leader.

Andrea Leadsom stepped down from the contest after a gruelling

few days in which her remarks about motherhood came

During the course of the afternoon, David Cameron announced

that the remaining candidate, Theresa May, would be installed

as Prime Minister by Wednesday evening.

A bit later, Theresa May made a statement, promising

to build a better Britain. So another momentous

And, of course, all this was set in train by the EU referendum.

To start the process of leaving the EU, the UK has to invoke Article

But who should decide when Article 50 is triggered?

Does the Government have that right, known as the Royal Prerogative?

Or should it be subject to parliamentary approval?

If the royal prerogative is used to trigger Article 50,

would that not be a clear breach of the promises made

to the public by the Brexiters during the referendum campaign

that they would "take back control" and "restore parliamentary

The issues at stake are the culmination of 40

Is it not extraordinary to suggest that changes to these areas should

The priorities and trade-offs are extremely important

Surely the Minister is not suggesting that they should be

decided behind closed doors in Whitehall while Parliament

The Minister quoted Theresa May's comments about the EU referendum.

My right honourable friend the Member for Maidenhead,

Mrs May - it looks like she is going to be the new Prime Minister -

has been very clear in saying that Brexit means Brexit.

What that means is that the destination to which we are

The means used to get there will have to be explained,

but I think it only fair to wait until she is Prime Minister and has

a chance to lay out her programme, the process and, therefore,

when Parliament will have a chance to discuss and debate the issues.

At that point I am sure that all will be revealed.

The Prime Minister originally said that he would trigger

Article 50 immediately, so presumably he felt that he had

Does my honourable friend accept that those who want to have a vote

before Article 50 is triggered are concerned not with parliamentary

sovereignty but at making a clear attempt to thwart the democratic

Does he agree that they must be completely resisted

The referendum was not a consultation with the British

people; it was an instruction from the British people

I strongly agree with my right honourable friend and parliamentary

neighbour that the question here is not about the legal power,

which clearly, as the Prime Minister has previously mentioned,

The question is: what is politically and democratically right to reflect

the decision that has been made in the referendum?

Therefore, although the Prime Minister is, very sensibly,

saying that the timing and method of triggering Article 50 needs to be

a decision taken by his successor - we now know who that will be -

his successor is also right to say very clearly that the British people

have spoken and that Brexit means Brexit.

Scotland did not vote for this Tory-inspired Brexit,

and for us it is the Scottish people who are sovereign.

We have yet to hear any Minister say that they respect the Scottish

result and are prepared to make sure that the Scottish people also secure

This Government might be charged with taking the UK out of the EU,

but those of us on the SNP Benches are charged with ensuring

that the Scottish people always get what they voted for too.

Is it not the case that referendums are advisory and that this

Is it not a constitutional outrage and supreme irony that those

on the Conservative Benches who based their argument for Brexit

on parliamentary sovereignty now want to deny this House a vote

and are suggesting that an unelected Prime Minister, with no mandate,

agrees to such a fundamental decision for this country?

That is a disgrace, and they must not be allowed to get away with it.

He may be right on strict constitution will legality is.

Democratically, he is fundamentally wrong.

These devices is not to help the Government to implement

the will of the public, but to ask for the right

to try to prevent it from being implemented?

If the Government do not implement it because Labour frustrates

the process, Labour will be wiped out in the north of England

The referendum has been a deeply divisive process that has divided

city against town, community against community

Does the Minister agree that we now need a cross-party approach to deal

with when to invoke Article 50 and the basic negotiating

position around that, and how we hold the negotiating

team to account? The Minister agreed

that the referendum was divisive and that some healing,

Hundreds of UK troops are to be sent to eastern Europe and the Baltic

states as part of Nato's response to concerns over Russia.

There will be a 500-strong battalion in Estonia and 150

The Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said it was to "reassure" those

countries and to "deter Russia from any further aggression."

That is our response to Russian aggression.

NATO's approach is based on balancing strong

Dialogue remains right where it is in our interests

to deliver hard messages to promote transparency and to build

understanding to reduce risks of miscalculation.

Brexit, he said, would have no impact on the UK's commitment

to Nato: Britain is stepping up its leading role in the alliance

by deploying more forces to NATO's eastern borders and to NATO's

support to Afghanistan and in countering illegal migration.

The Opposition welcome the clear message from the Warsaw summit

that Nato is determined to strengthen its commitment

to our friends and allies in eastern Europe.

Whatever the consequences of Brexit-and there will be some

that are unforeseeable, we must not let one of them be that the UK

is seen as retreating into isolationism.

In the light of ongoing tensions between NATO and Russia,

I was pleased to hear the Secretary of State mention

That commitment was echoed in the summit communique,

which recognises the risk of misunderstanding and calls

for a renewed commitment to improving dialogue,

particularly through the NATO-Russia Council.

It cannot now be business as usual with Russia,

but there are interests that we have in common, as we saw

in the refinement of the nuclear deal with Iran and ongoing

discussions about a political settlement in Syria.

It is right that we continue to talk to Russia in the areas

I express grave concern that all we are really doing

is irritating Russia by putting a number of troops on its border.

We have to recognise that Russia has a zone of influence,

Questioning turned to the renewal of the Trident nuclear missile

A number of Russia's destabilising actions and policies,

including the annexation of Crimea; the deliberate destabilisation

of eastern Ukraine, large-scale snap exercises,

activities near NATO borders, aggressive nuclear

rhetoric, and repeated violations of NATO airspace.

Which of those actions has been deterred by Trident?

There remains the danger that others, such as non-state actors

or terrorist groups, may try to get hold of nuclear weapons.

That is why I will be inviting the House to vote next Monday

to continue the principle of the nuclear deterrent that has

served this country well and will protect it in the 2030s,

What, in the Government's view, would it do to the UK's position

in the nuclear alliance of NATO if we were suddenly to commit

Any decision by this House to resile or withdraw from the position

of successive Governments, Labour and Conservative,

that we are committed to the nuclear deterrent, and committed to placing

that nuclear deterrent in support of the NATO alliance as a whole,

would fundamentally undermine that alliance.

The Defence Secretary, Michael Fallon.

Now, the fate of a group of women born in the 1950s

who will receive their pensions later than they expected has once

Anger flared as the government insisted it had done all it

could for the group, known as the WASPI women.

It stands for women against state pension inequality.

by the new Prime Minister, who herself falls into the category

of women affected by the pension changes, would this not be the ideal

moment to look again at the various proposals that have been advanced

for much fairer transitional arrangements-such as the one

from Mariana Robinson of Wales, for all the women who do not

have a prime ministerial salary to fall back on?

I remind the House that in 2012 the DWP conducted a survey

and found that only 6% of women who were due to retire

within the next 10 years were unaware of an increase

As I said earlier, the Government have no plans to review the matter.

A little over a week ago, thousands of women

from across the United Kingdom came to Parliament in a display

of solidarity that reminded me very much of the Dagenham women

Is not the Secretary of State's refusal to revisit the financial

issues faced by the 2.6 million women whose pension ages have been

increased without adequate notice a slap in the face for those women?

Given that the former Pensions Minister admitted

that the coalition Government had got it wrong, why

is the Under Secretary being so unreasonable?

I find it deeply regrettable that Opposition parties seek to make

capital at the dispatch box, and indeed from the Back Benches,

when they do not have a solid proposal.

They cannot provide a proper, credible solution that will ensure

that the financial position of the country is taken

I suspect that most members have been acquainted with these difficult

cases, such as the one that the honourable lady has mentioned. Can I

ask my honourable friend to keep an open mind on pension credit

arrangements for these type of people, which are means tested and

could deal with the worst hardship cases? What I would say is that we

do have particular criteria, and when people fit that criteria, then

they will qualify for whatever benefit it is they are seeking

guidance on. On the day that the Conservatives

concluded their search for a new leader, it seems that

Labour's leadership Angela Eagle launched her bid to be

party leader, saying that she wanted to bring the party

and the country back together. In the meantime, the rift

between the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and some Labour MPs

is surfacing in unexpected ways. Nia Griffith, who recently resigned

as Shadow Welsh Secretary, complained to the Speaker

about the withdrawal On Friday, a member of my staff had

his parliamentary pass deactivated, following an e-mail from the office

of the Leader of the Opposition This e-mail advised the pass office

to terminate the passes of a number of staff working for former members

of the Shadow Cabinet. Can I seek your advice, Mr Speaker,

on the propriety of members seeking to deactivate the passes

of other members' staff? Would you be able to clarify

the rules on this issue, as I was under the impression

the question of authorising passes was the sole responsibility

of the sponsoring member? I can say to the honourable lady

in response to her point of order - for notice of which I'm grateful -

that she's correct. That is the basis on which these

matters are handled. I understand, I was conscious

of this, that the passes of several members of staff were incorrectly

suspended, temporarily, on Friday. As soon as the error

came to light... As soon as the matter came to light,

the passes were reinstated. We do not discuss security matters

on the floor of the House, so I do not propose to say any more

on this matter. Moreover, I don't need to do so,

because I've given the information the honourable lady sought,

and I have very specifically answered the point that she raised

in her point of order You're watching Monday

in Parliament, with me, On Friday, prison officers

in England and Wales staged unofficial walk-outs and held

meetings outside their prisons. They have serious concerns

about the increase in At one jail, staff have been

stabbed, spat at and kicked. The Justice Secretary Michael Gove

has been explaining what he is doing to make life safer

for prison officers. It was his first appearance

at the Despatch Box since his failed It is of profound concern to me that

serious assaults against staff in prisons have been

on the rise recently. In the 12 months to December 2015,

there have been 625 incidents, Those who work in our prisons

are idealistic public servants who run the risk of assault

and abuse every day. But they continue in their jobs,

because they're driven They want to reform

and rehabilitate offenders - that is why we must

stand behind them. He said the Government had initiated

a huge reform programme. We'll be replacing ageing

and ineffective prisons with new establishments,

designed to foster rehabilitation. We'll give governors greater scope

to design regimes that encourage We will ensure that prisoners

are more effectively incentivised And as we press ahead

with this reform programme, I'm confident that we can

ensure our prisons can become what they should always be -

safe and secure places The situation on our prison estate

continues to deteriorate, And I'm sorry that we've heard

nothing new from him today, Over the weekend, prison staff held

crisis meetings across the country, amid concerns about their security

and safety in the workplace, and incidents of violence

and disorder reported He highlighted serious problems

at Liverpool jail. According to local staff at that

prison in Liverpool, the past 12 months have had more

assaults than the previous 12 years. Including one member of staff

who was stabbed, while others have been spat at, punched and kicked,

and urine and faeces Frankly, the secretary of state has

been absent in the last few weeks, and we have had an inadequate

and reactive response The situation in our underfunded

prisons is deteriorating. I wonder whether the secretary

of state is prepared to acknowledge that the combination of rising

prisoner numbers and shrinking budgets is a major factor impacting

upon the welfare and safety of both The Scottish Government is committed

to significant reform of penal policy, aimed at reducing

reoffending by moving away from ineffective,

short-term prison sentences in favour of more effective

community sentences, which have been shown to be more

effective in preventing reoffending. She is right that there is much

we can learn in England and Wales I wouldn't say Scotland has got

everything right in terms of criminal justice and penal

policy, but I do think there are some welcome changes that

are taking place in Scotland, not least with respect to the care

and treatment of female offenders. I hope, in the near future,

to have the chance to talk to leaders within the Scottish

prison service and visit Scottish prisons in order to better

understand what's working, and to learn from the initiatives

that they have been piloting. The root cause of the

problem is overcrowding. That creates stress on the members

of staff and, indeed, There are currently 13,000 foreign

national prisoners in our prisons. And the prisoner transfer

arrangement with the EU has so far We have now, obviously,

decided to come out of the EU. What further steps can be taken

in order to get countries to take Michael Gove did, of course,

campaign to leave the EU. The chairman of the Home Affairs

Select Committee makes a very good point, there are far too many

foreign national offenders I have been working

with the Home Secretary in order It is actually the case

and sometimes countries outside the European Union -

I'm always loath to mention Albania, but on this occasion, Albania,

outside the European Union at the moment - have

actually concluded good, bilateral arrangements with this

country in order to facilitate And he said it wasn't necessary

to be in the EU to have good When Michael Gove was

Education Secretary, he toughened up the rules to stop

absences from school in term time. But now, there's a petition

signed by over 200,000, people calling for a return to ten

days of authorised absence. Two MPs from the southwest

of England - where many parents work in the tourist industry -

said greater flexibility was needed. Back in 2013, the Government changed

the law on taking children out of school in term time,

so that now you receive a penalty fine of ?60 per child,

and this can increase if not paid Before the change in the law,

which was passed by way of a statutory instrument,

and without the impact assessments being considered,

head teachers had discretion to allow up to ten days off

for pupils in special circumstances. That approach was rooted

in common sense. Teachers know their pupils,

they know the families they come from, and they know

the communities they are part of. I hope that perhaps one other

the result of raising this issue today will be that holiday companies

take a long, hard Holiday companies, airlines,

those that offer package holidays. They should not be charging such

vastly inflated prices Andy Murray wouldn't have got

to where he was yesterday had he not been given leave at various times

to attend tennis camps It seems very, very unfair,

and it seems very, very difficult that so many different regions

in England treat unauthorised The new Shadow Education Secretary

backed the Government's approach. Every day of school missed can

affect a pupil's chance of developing, as well as their

classmates passing the exams, and gaining good qualifications

with which to build 7 million parents know the benefits

of regular attendance. After all, schools are in session

for just 190 out of 365 days a year. The Government acknowledges,

of course, that families holidays can be enriching experiences,

but the school year is designed to give families numerous

opportunities to enjoy holidays without having to disrupt

children's education. Parents should plan their holidays

around school breaks and avoid seeking permission from schools

to take their children out of school during term time, unless there

are exceptional circumstances. And I recognise that the cost

of holidays is a frustration I would certainly encourage

travel operators to do what they can to provide value

for money to families. With such a frenetic pace of change

in Westminster at the moment, there are a few things

in parliamentary life that some politicians

would like to stay the same. There's been an ongoing dispute over

whether Acts of Parliament should continue to be printed on vellum,

or whether quality paper will do. The Lords - with a few exceptions -

wants to stop the use of vellum. But the Commons wants to keep it,

and the Government has May I congratulate the Government

on offering assistance to help preserve this very long,

and deeply cherished tradition, which has great practical

importance, since vellum lasts Should we not be particularly

conscious of the strength of feeling which has been exhibited

in the other place in favour of retaining vellum,

especially in view of the resolution passed by both Houses of Parliament

in 1849 that there should be no change without the express

consent of both of them. I'm very delighted to be discussing

this pressing issue today, because there's not

much else going on. I respect what my noble

friend has to say, but I would just gently repeat what I have said,

which is the recording of Acts of Parliament

is a matter for the two houses, and we very much hope that way

forward can be found I can't really believe that

that is the Government position. My Lords, this house,

in our committees, has decided To reintroduce it would be hugely

expensive and a complete I do hope the Government are not

reversing their position on this. I gently say again, this is a matter

for both houses and a matter for the committee of this House

and the committee of the other House I'm delighted though

that the Labour Party is now looking to save money,

this is a great turnup for books. As I say, this is not a matter,

my Lords, this is not We have made an offer, but it is up

to the houses to decide. Will my noble friend not take very

carefully into account what the other House, the other

place has so very sensibly decided. Should not this have a united

parliamentary response, where we acknowledge the supremacy

of the elected House? The letter from Lord Cormack

in the Times deserves to be printed on vellum and preserved

for posterity. That's a very

interesting point. Lord Cormack had suggested

in his letter that Andrea Leadsom should withdraw from

the leadership contest. A course of action that,

a few hours later, Well that's it from

Monday in Parliament - the day that Theresa May

was confirmed as the Keith Macdougall will be

here covering the fast-moving events in Parliament

for the next two days. But from me, Kristiina

Cooper, goodbye.