:00:20. > :00:21.Hello and welcome to Monday in Parliament.
:00:22. > :00:27.Despair over the poor quality of rail services
:00:28. > :00:45.Jobs are being lost. This situation is intolerable.
:00:46. > :00:47.Labour rejects Government plans to give social workers new ways
:00:48. > :00:58.Nobody in the profession believes that privatisation is the answer.
:00:59. > :01:00.And the Lords wrestle with a longstanding problem -
:01:01. > :01:10.The only acceptable method of reducing the size of a House of
:01:11. > :01:12.parliament is democracy. MPs have been venting
:01:13. > :01:18.the frustration felt by passengers Management and employees
:01:19. > :01:24.from Southern Rail are battling over the introduction of what's called
:01:25. > :01:28."driver only operation". The unions - Aslef and the RMT -
:01:29. > :01:31.say conductors are needed as well as drivers to ensure
:01:32. > :01:36.the safety of passengers. But managers say drivers can take
:01:37. > :01:40.sole responsibility for safety. The dispute has been
:01:41. > :01:42.going on for months and further The Transport Minister,
:01:43. > :01:47.Paul Maynard, was called to the Commons to make
:01:48. > :01:50.an urgent statement. His anger with the
:01:51. > :01:55.unions was evident. This strike action is
:01:56. > :01:59.politically motivated. It has affected passsengers
:02:00. > :02:04.for far too long. Union leaders have even described
:02:05. > :02:06.this action as carrying on This will be of no comfort
:02:07. > :02:11.to passengers who just want I will continue to ensure
:02:12. > :02:20.that the management of the train operating company is doing
:02:21. > :02:28.everything in its power to run improved services but we also need
:02:29. > :02:31.union leaders to stop the needless, unreasonable, disproportionate
:02:32. > :02:35.and politically motivated strikes. Thank you, Mr Speaker,
:02:36. > :02:37.and I thank the I put this question
:02:38. > :02:42.today with cross-party support from members right
:02:43. > :02:45.across the House because on Friday we heard that Southern Rail services
:02:46. > :02:47.will be severely disrupted every day
:02:48. > :03:02.from tomorrow until further notice. The Green MP Caroline Lucas,
:03:03. > :03:04.whose constituency is in Brighton on the south coast, is a regular
:03:05. > :03:07.passenger on Southern Rail. She had initiated
:03:08. > :03:08.the urgent statement. She said there were problems
:03:09. > :03:11.with Southern Rail well before 18 months on my constituents
:03:12. > :03:25.are regularly in tears This situation is intolerable
:03:26. > :03:31.and the Government can't simply wash its hands
:03:32. > :03:33.of involvement so will the Minister roll up
:03:34. > :03:34.his sleeves and get stuck
:03:35. > :03:39.in to resolve the crisis? The best thing she can do on behalf
:03:40. > :03:42.of her constituents is to go and speak to her close friends
:03:43. > :03:46.in the RMT and tell them to call off their disproportionate
:03:47. > :03:49.and unreasonable industrial action. That is the best
:03:50. > :03:51.contribution she can That we are still having
:03:52. > :03:58.to address the abysmal service Rail after a year and
:03:59. > :04:01.a half of substandard both Southern's incompetence and
:04:02. > :04:08.the extent to which this Government is committed to privatise rail even
:04:09. > :04:12.when franchises have become so deeply dysfunctional
:04:13. > :04:14.that they are unable to provide GTR should have been
:04:15. > :04:21.stripped of their franchise to plan properly to
:04:22. > :04:24.take on the franchise, And providing what is by far
:04:25. > :04:29.the country's worst rail Honourable members whose
:04:30. > :04:35.constituents rely on Southern will be well aware of stories of
:04:36. > :04:38.passengers fainting on overcrowded Jobs being jeopardised by repeated
:04:39. > :04:44.lateness and parents having to say goodnight to their children
:04:45. > :04:52.from a delayed train. That is not the case for some
:04:53. > :04:54.of my constituents who have been sacked because
:04:55. > :04:58.they have been late. Has not the balance of rights
:04:59. > :05:00.and responsibilities in our society got somewhat
:05:01. > :05:03.astray when in order to improve their terms
:05:04. > :05:10.and conditions they are costing other
:05:11. > :05:13.citizens their jobs? My honourable friend
:05:14. > :05:15.is right to point out the grossly disproportionate nature
:05:16. > :05:20.of this industrial action. He is right to point
:05:21. > :05:33.out commuters along the GTR network are
:05:34. > :05:35.experiencing a poorer quality of life because of
:05:36. > :05:36.this Coincidentally I delivered
:05:37. > :05:42.a petition to number Ten Downing St this morning calling
:05:43. > :05:43.for Southern to be sacked. Will the Minister acknowledge
:05:44. > :05:46.that it is not just the unacceptable and pointless union
:05:47. > :05:48.action that is causing chaos on the network but also repeated Network
:05:49. > :05:51.Rail equipment failure, repeated train failures which are Southern's
:05:52. > :05:53.fault, a shortage of drivers When will the Minister
:05:54. > :05:57.step in and take control away from the failing
:05:58. > :06:04.company, pass responsibility for Transport for London,
:06:05. > :06:08.which we Liberal Democrats called for as far back as 1999,
:06:09. > :06:10.and ensure that passengers are provided with much more
:06:11. > :06:12.generous compensation? His analysis of the multiple
:06:13. > :06:15.causes is correct but what I don't think he fully appreciates
:06:16. > :06:19.is that the need to focus on Network Rail as the source
:06:20. > :06:24.of many of the delays means that we have to have
:06:25. > :06:27.rapid and ready access to the We cannot do that against
:06:28. > :06:30.a backdrop of continual He Transport Minister, Paul Maynard,
:06:31. > :06:40.grappling with some knotty The Conservative former
:06:41. > :06:44.Children's Minister Tim Loughton has criticised a Government measure
:06:45. > :06:46.designed to improve the care The Children and Social Work Bill
:06:47. > :06:53.allows local councils to opt out of standard care regulations
:06:54. > :06:55.and develop new approaches The House of Lords has
:06:56. > :07:00.rejected the provision. But when the Bill had its first
:07:01. > :07:03.airing in the Commons, an Education Minister said
:07:04. > :07:04.the Government would Clause 29 as it was would have
:07:05. > :07:10.allowed local authorities to request exemptions from the statutory duties
:07:11. > :07:14.in children's social care. The first time in the
:07:15. > :07:18.history of children's welfare that legislation
:07:19. > :07:21.made for all vulnerable particular area. This is a very
:07:22. > :07:26.radical proposal that should at least have warranted a Green paper
:07:27. > :07:29.and a White Paper and proper consultation, but there
:07:30. > :07:34.was absolutely none. So not surprising that
:07:35. > :07:39.the NSPCC and Action For Children describe this as, the case
:07:40. > :07:42.that the Government is making ministers and officials the evidence
:07:43. > :07:48.for the need for this power remains unconvincing and does not justify
:07:49. > :07:51.the potential risks of suspending The direct response
:07:52. > :08:04.to issues raised by Professor Eileen Munro
:08:05. > :08:06.and her independent review of child She says that trusting professionals
:08:07. > :08:15.to use their judgment rather than be forced to follow
:08:16. > :08:18.unnecessary legal rules will help ensure children get the help
:08:19. > :08:22.they need when they need it. It is about giving councils
:08:23. > :08:29.the opportunity to develop new ways of working that
:08:30. > :08:31.they believe will improve outcomes I will give way to my
:08:32. > :08:34.honourable friend. If he says it is not
:08:35. > :08:37.about taking away rights from children, one of the scenarios would
:08:38. > :08:39.be the abolition of Independent Reviewing Officers who absolutely
:08:40. > :08:42.can be the only voice independently standing up for vulnerable
:08:43. > :08:43.looked-after children If they go under these
:08:44. > :08:47.proposals how is that not taking away
:08:48. > :08:49.the rights of children, vulnerable children
:08:50. > :08:50.in This isn't about
:08:51. > :08:53.abolishing any statutory I would suggest to my
:08:54. > :08:58.honourable friend that he should wait to see what amendments
:08:59. > :09:02.are going to be tabled during the And I should think my honourable
:09:03. > :09:06.friend will want to talk to the Children's Minister in more
:09:07. > :09:08.detail about his concerns. I know that he will take
:09:09. > :09:10.my honourable friend's In the other place,
:09:11. > :09:16.the Government plans for the outsourcing
:09:17. > :09:18.and privatisation of children's services
:09:19. > :09:20.dressed up as innovation were Nobody in the profession believes
:09:21. > :09:26.that privatisation is the answer to the immense challenges
:09:27. > :09:28.they are currently facing. Nor can they alleviate
:09:29. > :09:30.the growing demand honourable friend who does
:09:31. > :09:41.a very good job of putting Is she concerned that the Minister
:09:42. > :09:47.has not said much at all about what innovation he expects
:09:48. > :09:52.that would require a local authority effectively to wash their hands of
:09:53. > :09:55.their statutory duty in relation to And I just wanted to
:09:56. > :10:01.point out that in my conversations with Hull City Council
:10:02. > :10:06.Children's Services Department they talked to me about the resource
:10:07. > :10:09.inequalities that they face in the very disadvantaged community
:10:10. > :10:11.that they And they are certainly not asking
:10:12. > :10:15.for powers to innovate, they are asking for proper resources
:10:16. > :10:18.to provide the services that young To find better ways to care
:10:19. > :10:31.for vulnerable children that we I hope it might be
:10:32. > :10:37.possible to revisit the idea of this course which was
:10:38. > :10:40.supported by my own local authority It is right that this tightly
:10:41. > :10:49.regulated area is as protected as it is but I cannot
:10:50. > :10:52.believe that it would not benefit I ask the Minister to look
:10:53. > :11:01.at Scotland, to look at what we are We are not perfect, we are not doing
:11:02. > :11:07.everything right, but we have at the heart
:11:08. > :11:10.of our system children, their experiences,
:11:11. > :11:11.and we I please ask the Minister
:11:12. > :11:21.to look up north, and to Wales, who are also doing
:11:22. > :11:24.a really good work in the area of child protection and
:11:25. > :11:28.childcare across the board. Now, more than three million EU
:11:29. > :11:30.nationals will need documents to prove they are entitled to live
:11:31. > :11:33.and work in the UK once Britain That's according to the Home
:11:34. > :11:37.Secretary, Amber Rudd. But ministers would not be
:11:38. > :11:40.drawn on how much such Assuming that a deal is reached
:11:41. > :11:46.and that EU citizens that were here before a certain cut-off
:11:47. > :11:49.date can remain after we leave the European Union can
:11:50. > :11:52.the Home Secretary tell the House how the Home Office
:11:53. > :11:57.is going to document them, an estimated three million people,
:11:58. > :12:00.so that employers and landlords will know thereafter to whom legally
:12:01. > :12:02.they can offer a job or accommodation and therefore
:12:03. > :12:04.distinguish them from those EU The right honourable gentleman
:12:05. > :12:11.raises an important point. We are aware that there is a certain
:12:12. > :12:14.expectation and concern about As the Prime Minister has
:12:15. > :12:19.said, she hopes to be It is right that we do that
:12:20. > :12:25.while looking also at the over one million UK citizens in the rest
:12:26. > :12:27.of the European Union. There will be a need to have some
:12:28. > :12:30.sort of documentation. But we are not going
:12:31. > :12:34.to set a date yet. We are going to do it in a phased
:12:35. > :12:38.approach to ensure that you use all the technology advantages
:12:39. > :12:40.that we are increasingly able to harness to ensure
:12:41. > :12:42.that all immigration The Secretary of State has just
:12:43. > :12:51.confirmed that the three million new citizens in the UK will have
:12:52. > :12:55.to be documented. This processing adds roughly 10%
:12:56. > :12:57.to the Home Office workload. Does the Minister accept
:12:58. > :13:00.that this will cost at least ?100 million a year and require
:13:01. > :13:03.3,000 extra staff? Let me make clear that people
:13:04. > :13:13.who are here from elsewhere in the EU working legally do not
:13:14. > :13:16.need to receive additional We can assure them that
:13:17. > :13:19.the status is assured. What happens in the future
:13:20. > :13:21.is a matter for negotiation but certainly we have made clear
:13:22. > :13:24.that no additional documentation May I make the case to the Minister
:13:25. > :13:31.for updating of the systems and the use of computers
:13:32. > :13:43.and information technology With Brexit we need to count people
:13:44. > :13:50.in and out more effectively and for investment in our ports, like the
:13:51. > :13:56.port of Dover? Certainly exit checks that were introduced in 2015 has
:13:57. > :13:57.given us an additional tool to be to track people as they enter and in
:13:58. > :14:01.particular leave the country. New technology such as e-gates has
:14:02. > :14:03.helped in that regard. There was calls for foreign students
:14:04. > :14:12.to be excluded from the Government's ... Students should be removed from
:14:13. > :14:16.the tens of thousands targets. And does she also agree that the since
:14:17. > :14:19.the data is extremely poor, we should strain every sinew to try and
:14:20. > :14:28.get better quality data on the basis of which we can form a judgment
:14:29. > :14:32.about whether, and if so, how we can ensure that exports, which are what
:14:33. > :14:37.students are, are maximised in this country?
:14:38. > :14:40.THE SPEAKER: Absolutely hopelessly long. We've got to do a lot better
:14:41. > :14:46.than that. I share my honourable friend's view
:14:47. > :14:49.that students play an important role in contributing to the economy
:14:50. > :14:52.and are most welcome in the UK. The internationally recognised
:14:53. > :14:54.definition of a migrant is someone coming here for over 12 months,
:14:55. > :14:57.so they are likely to stay within that definition,
:14:58. > :14:59.although I am aware there THE SPEAKER: Chairman of
:15:00. > :15:05.the Home Affairs Select Committee, author of the textbook,
:15:06. > :15:07.Yvette Cooper. The Home Secretary there refers
:15:08. > :15:13.to the measure of net migration. Does she agree that international
:15:14. > :15:18.students should be taken out of the Government target
:15:19. > :15:22.as the Foreign Secretary has said over the weekend
:15:23. > :15:26.and as the Chancellor of the Exchequer seemed
:15:27. > :15:29.to hint some weeks ago? Does she think that foreign students
:15:30. > :15:33.should be included in the target? As I told the House the right
:15:34. > :15:36.honourable ladie is aware The definition that I referred
:15:37. > :15:43.to was for international students, which is held by the ONS,
:15:44. > :15:50.which is for 12 months they represent an immigrant and
:15:51. > :15:55.therefore are part of the numbers. You're watching Monday
:15:56. > :16:06.in Parliament, with me, The new MP for Richmond Park, the
:16:07. > :16:09.Liberal Democrat Sarah Ulney, has taken her seat in the House of
:16:10. > :16:13.Commons. She cause aid political upset by taking the seat from Zac
:16:14. > :16:18.Goldsmith, overturning a majority of 23,000. Mr Goldsmith triggered a
:16:19. > :16:21.by-election in the constituency, when he resigned from the
:16:22. > :16:26.Conservatives over the decision to go ahead with a third runway at
:16:27. > :16:29.Heathrow. As the Lib Dems also oppose Heathrow expansion, they
:16:30. > :16:35.turned the campaign into a verdict on Brexit. Mr Goldsmith voted for
:16:36. > :16:40.Brexit and Richmond Park is a strongly pro-remain area.
:16:41. > :16:45.Sarah Ulney was escorted into the Commons by the Lib Dem leader Tim
:16:46. > :16:47.farron. Her arrival was rather muted, perhaps because there are
:16:48. > :16:51.only eight fellow Liberal Democrats to provide the cheers.
:16:52. > :16:53.THE SPEAKER: Will the member wishing to take her seat, please come to the
:16:54. > :17:23.table. I swear by almighty God that I will
:17:24. > :17:27.be faithful and bear true aleaningence to Her Majesty Queen
:17:28. > :17:31.Elizabeth and her heirs and successors, so help me God. By
:17:32. > :17:32.signing the test roll she was welcomed bit Speaker with an
:17:33. > :17:37.extended hand shake. THE SPEAKER: Sarah, many
:17:38. > :17:55.congratulations. Bringing the tally of Lib Dems up to
:17:56. > :17:59.nine and providing the party with its only woman MP.
:18:00. > :18:03.Ministers are proposing to increase the maximum sentence for causing
:18:04. > :18:07.death by dangerous driving from 14 years to life impresidentenment,
:18:08. > :18:11.that would include crashes by a driver using a mobile phone at the
:18:12. > :18:16.wheel. Peers said a change of culture was needed, similar to the
:18:17. > :18:22.one achieved for drink driving. We all welcome the Prime Minister's
:18:23. > :18:29.commitment to make this dangerous and potentially devastating practice
:18:30. > :18:33.socially unacceptable. The increased penalties, the proposals that
:18:34. > :18:40.drivers who kill while using a mobile phone could face a life
:18:41. > :18:49.sentence should be a real deterrent to this growing and seemingly
:18:50. > :18:59.obsessive addiction. But previous increases in penalties... Thank you
:19:00. > :19:06.for that, I need to make this point. Previous increases in penalties have
:19:07. > :19:14.not had a lasting impact. Will the minister tell us what plans the
:19:15. > :19:17.Government has to ensure that an adequate performance enforcement of
:19:18. > :19:22.its new measures? The noble Lord makes an important point about
:19:23. > :19:25.enforcement. The Lords are only as good enough when they're -- laws are
:19:26. > :19:29.only good enough when they're enforced. We have seen a rising tide
:19:30. > :19:33.of use of mobile phones of drivers behind vehicles and that's through
:19:34. > :19:37.admitting it themselves through various reports. We'll be working
:19:38. > :19:41.very closely with both the Police and Crime Commissioners as well as
:19:42. > :19:45.the police forces tone sure much more effective enforcement.
:19:46. > :19:49.Increased sentences will, no doubt, help. As the noble Lord has
:19:50. > :19:56.recognised in the question, a change of culture is really what is
:19:57. > :19:59.required. I wonder whether his department has considered
:20:00. > :20:06.introducing, in addition to a penalty for mobile phone offenders,
:20:07. > :20:11.mandatory attendance at mobile phone awareness courses, paid for by the
:20:12. > :20:15.offenders rather than offering such courses as an optional alternative
:20:16. > :20:21.to points and a penalty as at present? The issue the noble refers
:20:22. > :20:24.to about courses has been practised and left to the discretion of the
:20:25. > :20:28.police to offer that. However it's the Government's view that this
:20:29. > :20:31.issue now needs to be scaled up. Therefore we're actually promoting
:20:32. > :20:35.that those discretionary courses are not offered but to raise awareness
:20:36. > :20:39.through campaigns such as Think and of course, increase awareness of the
:20:40. > :20:42.revised penalties that will be implicated if someone is caught
:20:43. > :20:47.using a mobile phone. Let's be clear, if you use your mobile phone,
:20:48. > :20:51.it's not hands free and you're using it and you're caught, it is a
:20:52. > :20:56.criminal offence. Given that motoring organisations seem to be
:20:57. > :21:00.dubious of the safety of using hands-free equipment in their motor
:21:01. > :21:07.cars, I wonder whether or not the Government has any plans to regulate
:21:08. > :21:09.car manufacturers' ability to produce this equipment, which is
:21:10. > :21:14.distracting I believe and can cause accidents? The Right Reverend raises
:21:15. > :21:18.an issue on the manufacture of motor cars. Certainly the Government isn't
:21:19. > :21:23.talking specifically on this issue. I mean, the issue of hands-free
:21:24. > :21:27.mobile phone use is difficult to regulate and indeed enforce. I would
:21:28. > :21:30.say to the Right Reverend that of course there are other distractions
:21:31. > :21:35.which are often available in the car, the use of loud music, indeed,
:21:36. > :21:38.being a father of three children, if I have all three of them in the back
:21:39. > :21:42.seat at the same time, that's equally quite a high distraction.
:21:43. > :21:48.But on a more serious point, we are looking to ensure that we inform the
:21:49. > :21:51.public and campaigns such as Think we take forward the importance of
:21:52. > :21:54.not using mobile phones when driving.
:21:55. > :21:58.Eights' stay with the Lord's. They spent most of the day debating about
:21:59. > :22:02.the size of the House of Lords. At the moment the number of peers is
:22:03. > :22:06.around 800. That makes the Lords one of the largest in the world. That
:22:07. > :22:12.eye catching fact and how to reduce the size of an unelected chamber has
:22:13. > :22:17.spawned numerous reports, debates and incremental changes, such as a
:22:18. > :22:24.retirement scheme. Lord Cormack said it was time to reduce the number of
:22:25. > :22:29.peers. Almost time your Lordship's House is commented on in the public
:22:30. > :22:35.press and in the media, two remarks are made again and again and again,
:22:36. > :22:39.that this is the largest second chamber in the world and that it's
:22:40. > :22:45.the largest legislative chamber of any sort in the world after the
:22:46. > :22:52.People's Republic of China. My Lord's, the constant reiteration of
:22:53. > :22:59.those facts, and unfortunately they are facts, they coup Latively drown
:23:00. > :23:05.the -- cumulatively drown the recognition of the scrutiny we apply
:23:06. > :23:10.to bills and quality of our debates. All of us will remember the first
:23:11. > :23:15.debate on the noble Lord Falconer's assisted dying bill. Whatever line
:23:16. > :23:20.one took on that bill, one had to be proud to be a member of this House.
:23:21. > :23:23.The very next day all the papers had leaders and long reports of the
:23:24. > :23:31.debates saying this was Parliament at its best. My Lord's, that is the
:23:32. > :23:37.image that we wish to present and not the image of an overbloated
:23:38. > :23:43.House with too many members in it. I think we can criticise how we got
:23:44. > :23:48.here. We know there was a surge of influx in terms of the liberal
:23:49. > :23:51.peers. We know that the former Prime Minister pushed every boundary in
:23:52. > :23:56.terms of appointments, but I don't want to, tempting though it is, to
:23:57. > :24:02.go into that. I do think a couple of points have to be made clear. If we
:24:03. > :24:08.are to take steps to reduce the size of this House, then we cannot have a
:24:09. > :24:11.Prime Minister from any Government using that as an excuse for stuffing
:24:12. > :24:18.his House with more of their appointments. Secondly, we must
:24:19. > :24:22.maintain the principle that no Government has a right to having a
:24:23. > :24:28.majority in this House. That would undermine the purpose of it. There
:24:29. > :24:31.have been many variations of musical chairs suggested by those who want
:24:32. > :24:36.to tinker with the problem. What they have in common is a denial of
:24:37. > :24:41.the first principle of Parliamentary democracy, that is for legislators
:24:42. > :24:49.to be as least predominantly elected. Those in this House, who
:24:50. > :24:56.continue to obstruct real democratic reform risk an increasing public
:24:57. > :25:01.demand for a unicamral Parliament, which I do not support. The only
:25:02. > :25:04.acceptable method for reducing the size of the House of Parliament in a
:25:05. > :25:09.Parliamentary democracy is democracy. An independent peer was
:25:10. > :25:15.also clear that the status quo was not an option. Realistically, there
:25:16. > :25:20.is, to my mind, only one answer to the central question which is raised
:25:21. > :25:27.by today's motion. Yes, swollen as this House now is, not least through
:25:28. > :25:31.a whole host of new appointments by Mr Cameron over recent years, we're
:25:32. > :25:37.plainly too large and we are widely mocked on that account. And to think
:25:38. > :25:43.otherwise, he said, was living in cloud-cuckoo-land. That's it from
:25:44. > :25:48.Monday in Parliament. From me, goodbye.