13/03/2017

:00:18. > :00:33.The Commons and Lords thrash out the bill which paves the way for leaving

:00:34. > :00:36.the European Union. The EU has been clear we cannot open these

:00:37. > :00:39.discussions until the Prime Minister has given formal notification that

:00:40. > :00:46.the UK wishes to withdraw from the EU. It is about whether we will

:00:47. > :00:50.honour the unequivocal commitment made by the official vote to leave

:00:51. > :00:55.campaigns that if the United Kingdom voted to leave the EU, the rights of

:00:56. > :01:00.all EU citizens in the UK would be guaranteed. Add a setback for the

:01:01. > :01:06.government is Peers vote that international students shouldn't be

:01:07. > :01:11.classed as economic migrants. You want our trade. You don't want our

:01:12. > :01:17.children. Said by the Prime Minister of India. First, the Commons and the

:01:18. > :01:22.Lords have returned to the bill which will pave the way from

:01:23. > :01:26.Britain's exit to the union. Two amendments will put down by the

:01:27. > :01:30.House of Lords last week, one requesting a meaningful vote on the

:01:31. > :01:37.Brexit deal, the other to guarantee the status of EU migrants living in

:01:38. > :01:41.the UK. David Davis said that couldn't be discussed after Article

:01:42. > :01:55.50 had been triggered. We must pass the straightforward

:01:56. > :01:59.bill without further delay so the prime in this can get to work on the

:02:00. > :02:03.negotiations and we can secure a quick deal that secures the status

:02:04. > :02:13.of both European Union and citizens of the UK and also UK nationals

:02:14. > :02:16.living in the EU. Nick Clegg said that his family situation was echoed

:02:17. > :02:21.by many other households in the household. My mother has lived here

:02:22. > :02:26.for 50 years, she is great four years, she's been a teacher

:02:27. > :02:30.bumptious pater taxes, my wife loves this country. Not the weather-bob at

:02:31. > :02:37.the country. It's raising children here, pays taxes, works. It beggars

:02:38. > :02:42.belief. It beggars belief that people like them and millions like

:02:43. > :02:51.them have had a question placed over their status, their peace of mind,

:02:52. > :02:52.their whale being in our great country because of the action or the

:02:53. > :02:57.shameful in action of this government. Many of my constituents

:02:58. > :03:01.in their 40s who never voted before because they thought until then

:03:02. > :03:05.their voices and votes didn't count, they did so for the first time. And

:03:06. > :03:11.contrary to what commentators on both the left and right may say,

:03:12. > :03:14.these people are not simpletons, they are not children. They are

:03:15. > :03:19.adults with as much right to vote as you and I. They knew the risks of

:03:20. > :03:23.voting to leave and they did so anyway. We must respect that

:03:24. > :03:27.decision and not seek to undermine it. Even if we thought the

:03:28. > :03:33.international trade Secretary was right to say they were an important

:03:34. > :03:39.card to play, even if that were acceptable language, it is not like

:03:40. > :03:43.a nuclear deterrent. If you're not prepared to follow through with

:03:44. > :03:49.deportation or to use people in that way, then it cannot be a bargaining

:03:50. > :03:54.chip or a card to play. The Lords have in certain -- inserted this

:03:55. > :04:00.amendment to give Parliament a meaningful vote and ministers are

:04:01. > :04:06.asking them to venture it out of the bill, is disease-mac to delete it,

:04:07. > :04:12.so that they should ask themselves today we want to actively go through

:04:13. > :04:16.the lobbies and delete that from the text as the bill currently stands?

:04:17. > :04:23.There has been no agreement about what to do with UK citizens. Now the

:04:24. > :04:26.government on the three month mark, the EU commission knows full well

:04:27. > :04:31.they are going to be dragged back to the house, now they must explain

:04:32. > :04:35.regardless of what those discussions regardless of what those discussions

:04:36. > :04:37.and negotiations are. I can think of nothing worse than to bind their

:04:38. > :04:41.hands in the worst way and make sure hands in the worst way and make sure

:04:42. > :04:45.that UK nationals don't get reciprocal arrangements. MPs voted

:04:46. > :04:51.to overturn both amendments sending the bill back to the Lords again.

:04:52. > :04:54.The United Kingdom's withdraw from the EU is obviously one of the most

:04:55. > :05:00.momentous steps that our nation will take in our lifetime. I believe

:05:01. > :05:06.significant opportunities do indeed lie before us. As someone who voted

:05:07. > :05:12.to remain, I am not deaf to people's concerns, and I don't dismiss those

:05:13. > :05:17.concerns as somehow betraying a lack of patriotism but that decision to

:05:18. > :05:24.leave the EU has been made, and they spill, this very simple bill,

:05:25. > :05:28.delivers on that decision. It's about whether we will honour the

:05:29. > :05:34.unequivocal commitment made by the official leave campaigns that if the

:05:35. > :05:39.UK voted to leave the EU, the rights of all citizens in the UK would be

:05:40. > :05:45.guaranteed. Unlike most other issues arising from the referendum, there

:05:46. > :05:51.is absolutely no dispute about what was promised to EU citizens. During

:05:52. > :05:56.the campaign, the vote leave campaign, supported by a number of

:05:57. > :06:02.noble Lords in this house, made the following categorical statement

:06:03. > :06:08."There will be no change for EU citizens already lawfully resident

:06:09. > :06:14.in the UK." A post-Brexit deal could liberate the haggis. In a nod to the

:06:15. > :06:18.announcement that Scotland's first Minister will be seeking a second

:06:19. > :06:22.independence referendum, Boris Johnson said new trading agreements

:06:23. > :06:26.could allow the delicacy to be sold in the United States. Currently,

:06:27. > :06:32.it's banned there because it contains sheep 's lungs. It would be

:06:33. > :06:38.in the interests of every part of this country because it is the case

:06:39. > :06:42.at the moment, honourable members might not know this, the United

:06:43. > :06:46.States not only has an embargo on British beef but on Scottish haggis

:06:47. > :06:51.as well. I think it would be a fine thing, I didn't know whether members

:06:52. > :06:58.of the Scottish parties agree with that, but there is no other way of

:06:59. > :07:00.doing a free trade deal and liberating the haggis to transfer

:07:01. > :07:08.and travel across the Atlantic unless we do a free-trade deal with

:07:09. > :07:14.the United States. Let me remind our friends from the Scottish

:07:15. > :07:19.Nationalists party, who seemed so determined to tear themselves, to

:07:20. > :07:24.wrench themselves apart from the UK, even though they had a decisive

:07:25. > :07:28.referendum... A decisive referendum on this matter, as members opposite

:07:29. > :07:36.will recall, only a couple of years ago. Let me just remind them. Never

:07:37. > :07:42.mind haggis. The Scotch whisky exports to India, a potentially huge

:07:43. > :07:44.market, the Indian thirst for whisky is colossal, currently running at

:07:45. > :07:49.only 4%. Scotch whisky sales only only 4%. Scotch whisky sales only

:07:50. > :07:55.account for 4% of the Indian whisky market. That is because at the

:07:56. > :08:01.moment, without a free-trade deal, the Indian government imposes a 150%

:08:02. > :08:04.tariff on the Scotch whisky. As the government starts to think however

:08:05. > :08:08.belatedly about the kind of future relationship at wants with Europe,

:08:09. > :08:12.they should consider what kind of relationship they want with the rest

:08:13. > :08:15.of the world and in doing so we need more than warm words from the

:08:16. > :08:19.government. We need a plan. I believe our foreign office has been

:08:20. > :08:23.at its very best and it has been allowed to give proper weight to the

:08:24. > :08:26.values of Britain in its foreign policy as well as British interests,

:08:27. > :08:31.and I had the Secretary of State will look to that legacy, embrace it

:08:32. > :08:38.and build on it, not undermine it any further than he already has. The

:08:39. > :08:40.government has defended its 2% Nato spending commitment after

:08:41. > :08:46.suggestions from Labour it had been missed. The opposition also

:08:47. > :08:51.criticised war pensions and the figure. The minister said the

:08:52. > :08:56.spending was within Nato guidelines. One Conservative MP asked about the

:08:57. > :09:00.Nato members missing the 2% target. Which of our Nato allies do not

:09:01. > :09:08.currently spend 2% of GDP on defence and what reasons have they given for

:09:09. > :09:16.doing so? Subject to the constraints of brevity! The 23 that don't spend

:09:17. > :09:19.2% would take too long to list but I can reassure my honourable friend

:09:20. > :09:25.that the five that meet the 2% target are the US, the UK, Poland,

:09:26. > :09:32.Greece and Estonia, and I'm sure my honourable friend can did use the

:09:33. > :09:35.absentees. Does the Minister appreciate that a free and Germany

:09:36. > :09:43.would not only give concern perhaps to some of Germany's neighbours but

:09:44. > :09:48.also to Russia... That would, in fact, potentially increase the

:09:49. > :09:54.difficulty is that we face with tensions on the Russian border. I

:09:55. > :10:00.disassociates myself from the honourable lady's remarks. That was

:10:01. > :10:07.extraordinary. How many ministers come here to say exactly the same

:10:08. > :10:12.thing? Some of our European partners take this whole thing for granted

:10:13. > :10:15.and we and the Americans pick up the bill. What are we going to do about

:10:16. > :10:20.it and make them pay what they should pay. Well, I'd like to

:10:21. > :10:25.reassure my honourable friend there is progress. There are five

:10:26. > :10:31.countries that meet the 2% target, up from three from 2014. There are

:10:32. > :10:36.ten countries that meet the 20% pledge on major equipment and

:10:37. > :10:41.research, and the cuts to defence spending have been halted. The

:10:42. > :10:44.National Institute for strategic studies concluded the government had

:10:45. > :10:48.missed the 2% Nato defence spending target and would have missed it by

:10:49. > :10:55.even more if it hadn't included budgetary headings such as pensions

:10:56. > :10:58.that don't contribute to defence capabilities not included when

:10:59. > :11:02.Labour was in government. Isn't it time we went back to the criteria

:11:03. > :11:06.used for defence spending went this party was in power so that we may

:11:07. > :11:16.give our armed forces the resources they need? Well, mostly, Mr Speaker,

:11:17. > :11:19.I wonder if he's read the report of our own select committee which says

:11:20. > :11:27.they commend the UK government's commitment to UK defence and find

:11:28. > :11:32.its accounting criteria for within Nato guidelines, as does Nato

:11:33. > :11:37.itself. The defence Minister. This is Monday in Parliament. Still to

:11:38. > :11:46.come, MPs ask how to deal with crumbling school buildings. Many

:11:47. > :11:51.containing asbestos. First, five-year-old April Jones was

:11:52. > :11:55.murdered by Mark Bridger in 2012. He kept images of child sex abuse on

:11:56. > :12:01.his laptop. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. He is never reveal the

:12:02. > :12:04.whereabouts of her family has been campaigning for all of those guilty

:12:05. > :12:09.of sex offences to have their names on the sex offenders register for

:12:10. > :12:13.life. They also want to see the Internet better policed and for

:12:14. > :12:17.harsher sentences to be imposed on people caught with indecent images

:12:18. > :12:22.of children. A petition calling for these changes started by the family

:12:23. > :12:29.gained so much support it prompted a debate in Westminster Hall. April's

:12:30. > :12:41.parents, Paul and coral, and has is to Jasmine watched the proceedings.

:12:42. > :12:49.I was on my iPad, when I read that a girl had disappeared in

:12:50. > :12:52.Montgomeryshire. There was something about that tweet because it wasn't

:12:53. > :12:58.an unusual tweet. You get tweets like that but there was something

:12:59. > :13:04.about it that made me feel a sense this was something serious. The

:13:05. > :13:10.family's MP recalled the intensive search for April Jones. Six days

:13:11. > :13:14.later, we now know that a local man Mark Bridger was arrested and

:13:15. > :13:19.charged with abduction and murder and perverting the course of

:13:20. > :13:24.justice. In May 20 13th, he was found guilty and sentenced to life

:13:25. > :13:28.imprisonment. The sentencing judge rightly, in my opinion, pronounced

:13:29. > :13:33.he should never be released from prison again. The loss of April

:13:34. > :13:36.Jones hit rural Welsh communities hard. It shattered our comfortable

:13:37. > :14:10.belief such horrors could never happen here in Wales, said speak,

:14:11. > :14:11.such monsters could not live among us. I want to pay tribute to April's

:14:12. > :14:12.family. In the midst of the unfathomable horror of their

:14:13. > :14:13.experience, they've succeeded in ensuring that while her murderer

:14:14. > :14:14.will seek out his life -- live out his life in obscurity, April will be

:14:15. > :14:17.cherished and her legacy should be that children are better protected.

:14:18. > :14:21.A member of the Petitions Committee said it was one of the most

:14:22. > :14:25.difficult issues she's had to talk about. The petition April's family

:14:26. > :14:30.established calls for all sex offenders to remain on the sex

:14:31. > :14:35.offenders register for life, for service providers and search engines

:14:36. > :14:39.better policed, and for harsher sentences for those caught with

:14:40. > :14:44.indecent images of children. I'd appreciate it, and I'm sure those

:14:45. > :14:47.following this debate, if the Minister would clarify the

:14:48. > :14:51.circumstances which would allow someone to be taken off the

:14:52. > :14:56.register, and whether any monitoring of activity is undertaken for those

:14:57. > :15:01.no longer subject to the notification requirements. She

:15:02. > :15:04.raised another campaign supported by April's family to force murderers to

:15:05. > :15:08.state where their victims remains are located. Coral Jones has said,

:15:09. > :15:16."As her mum, I'd love to know where she is, we'd all love to know. No

:15:17. > :15:20.mother or family would like their child's remains elsewhere. They'd

:15:21. > :15:25.like to put them at rest." The minister spoke to the Jones family.

:15:26. > :15:31.I simper cannot imagine the horror of what you've had to experience.

:15:32. > :15:36.And you are an inspiration to us all, how you have managed to take

:15:37. > :15:42.such there are, and the worst imaginable situation, and to use

:15:43. > :15:47.those feelings so constructively to campaign for changes to make sure

:15:48. > :15:50.that no other family has to experience what you've had to

:15:51. > :15:57.experience, and no other community has to suffer what you've suffered.

:15:58. > :16:02.And I thank you sincerely for your bravery and your persistence in

:16:03. > :16:04.bringing this matter to the attention of the people of Great

:16:05. > :16:07.Britain, and us here today. She said ministers had

:16:08. > :16:09.to comply with a court ruling in 2010 enabling people to

:16:10. > :16:16.apply to have their names removed. We were told there must be

:16:17. > :16:21.reasons... Opportunities for them to be

:16:22. > :16:23.considered and it was this objection about human rights,

:16:24. > :16:25.not to be denied a family life. At the time, the

:16:26. > :16:28.Government was worried and disappointed by the ruling

:16:29. > :16:31.and we remain disappointed today. Say she said she was very

:16:32. > :16:34.sympathetic to the demands of the petition and the concerns

:16:35. > :16:38.of the Jones family. Senior education officials have been

:16:39. > :16:41.pressed by MPs over a report that found nearly ?7 billion needs to be

:16:42. > :16:45.spent to bring England's school buildings up to a

:16:46. > :16:49.satisfactory standard. The financial watchdog,

:16:50. > :16:53.the National Audit Office, warned the deteriorating school

:16:54. > :16:55.buildings were a significant The Government said it

:16:56. > :16:58.will spend ?23 billion between now and 2021

:16:59. > :17:02.on school buildings, many

:17:03. > :17:05.of which are more than 40 years old. The Public Accounts

:17:06. > :17:07.Committee first heard from the former headteacher of a school

:17:08. > :17:09.which was recently moved a new building after

:17:10. > :17:12.problems with asbestos. On windy days, literally,

:17:13. > :17:20.the wind got through the building, We had two or three cases

:17:21. > :17:36.where we had to close of schools and in fact students had to go

:17:37. > :17:38.into the defumigation van, emergency van,

:17:39. > :17:41.to make sure they were de-dusted

:17:42. > :17:48.and hosed down and cleaned. parents would call emergency

:17:49. > :17:52.services and so on but that was not a building that was fit to have

:17:53. > :17:55.children in for several years, really, prior to its closure

:17:56. > :17:58.and moving to the new building. They were first challenged over

:17:59. > :18:01.asbestos in schools. The only way to address the asbestos

:18:02. > :18:04.is to rebuild the building. The cost of rebuilding the estate

:18:05. > :18:16.is roughly ?100 billion. Roughly 85% of schools

:18:17. > :18:19.in the sruvey have asbestos in them. The advice of the Health

:18:20. > :18:21.and Safety Executive is to leave asbestos

:18:22. > :18:23.where it is and manage it,

:18:24. > :18:24.because it is difficult asbestos in situ,

:18:25. > :18:30.not damaged, but... It sounds like a reasonably

:18:31. > :18:34.unique situation, I hope. Like that, you would

:18:35. > :18:41.attempt to remove it or do something better with it,

:18:42. > :18:43.but the majority of asbestos is within the building

:18:44. > :18:45.and best left alone. When it becomes dangerous, yes,

:18:46. > :18:48.of course you have to do that. The questioning and then turned

:18:49. > :18:50.to the Government's drive to open hundreds more free schools

:18:51. > :18:53.at a cost of nearly ?10 billion. Are you confident that

:18:54. > :19:01.what is designated on the scheme are sufficient to ensure

:19:02. > :19:05.not to that the 6.7 billion gets addressed, but that schools don't

:19:06. > :19:07.fall further behind and that figure, So, we will be able

:19:08. > :19:15.to give you a much better answer to that question when

:19:16. > :19:18.we have the results of the condition You will know there is enough money

:19:19. > :19:24.in the pot to stop it getting We will know how much schools have

:19:25. > :19:34.depreciated over the five years At the moment, all we can

:19:35. > :19:42.rely upon is what local About three fifths of

:19:43. > :19:48.local authorities tell them their estate has got better

:19:49. > :19:52.in the last five years and a quarter The free schools programme will be

:19:53. > :20:07.9.7 billion by 2021. How do we reconcile that fund

:20:08. > :20:10.for not just a novelty, the novelty of opening schools

:20:11. > :20:13.and parents having a choice with findings all schools in a way that

:20:14. > :20:15.satisfies the needs of local parents It is vital to achieve three

:20:16. > :20:18.things. We need to be able to tackle

:20:19. > :20:25.the condition of existing schools, it is vital that we provide

:20:26. > :20:28.additional 500,000 or so places every parliament

:20:29. > :20:30.because that's what the population demonstrates is required

:20:31. > :20:35.and we are required to achieve the manifesto agreement

:20:36. > :20:37.of increasing choice. We have to do all those three things

:20:38. > :20:40.and to those with spending, that's why I referred to as ?14 billion

:20:41. > :20:43.we would have spent by the end of this Parliament on tackling

:20:44. > :20:45.the ?6.7 The novelty of 500 targets

:20:46. > :20:54.to the detriment of funding mainstream regular funding

:20:55. > :20:57.going into all schools makes it difficult for those schools that

:20:58. > :20:59.aren't free schools to boost themselves up if the funding

:21:00. > :21:01.that they receiving I'm working just on the basis that

:21:02. > :21:11.you expect me as the accounting and delivering a manifesto

:21:12. > :21:18.commitment and that is what I am You could have a debate in another

:21:19. > :21:22.place about the balance between competing

:21:23. > :21:22.political priorities. Women who order abortion pills

:21:23. > :21:25.online without seeking a doctor should not face criminal

:21:26. > :21:27.prosecution, a Labour MP Diana Johnson has

:21:28. > :21:31.described the current law on termination of

:21:32. > :21:33.pregnancy and Victorian. But in reply, she was told

:21:34. > :21:36.the proposals were unsafe, and unusually, the bill under the ten

:21:37. > :21:38.minute rule was pushed to a vote. Ms Johnson said her bill addressed

:21:39. > :21:45.a fundamental question. members will, like me,

:21:46. > :21:49.conclude that the criminalisation Women are poorly served by laws that

:21:50. > :21:54.state that even early-term abortions are inherently criminal,

:21:55. > :21:56.and doctors are poorly served by a criminal framework that does

:21:57. > :21:59.not apply to other areas We should create an environment

:22:00. > :22:09.in which the stigma of the criminal law is removed and in which women

:22:10. > :22:12.can come forward for advice and high-quality, woman-centred

:22:13. > :22:15.health care as early as possible Proportion is still a major

:22:16. > :22:26.and often risky procedure If abortion pills can be so easily

:22:27. > :22:39.bought over the internet-perhaps by an abusive boyfriend

:22:40. > :22:42.or husband-that should lead us to take steps to protect young

:22:43. > :22:44.and vulnerable women from those Take the young teenager,

:22:45. > :22:47.terrified to discover that she is pregnant,

:22:48. > :22:49.who googles proportion What she needs are not

:22:50. > :22:51.fewer legal safeguards but support and information,

:22:52. > :22:54.which the Bill would take away. Ten minute rules bills are a way

:22:55. > :22:57.of airing views and have no chance of becoming law,

:22:58. > :23:00.so often they are allowed to pass without a vote in the knowledge

:23:01. > :23:02.they will not get But given the controversial

:23:03. > :23:05.subject, there was a vote. MPs voted by 172 to 142

:23:06. > :23:08.in favour of the bill. There was a setback for

:23:09. > :23:11.the Government in the Lords tonight, when peers supported a move to stop

:23:12. > :23:13.classifying overseas students as The proposal attracted

:23:14. > :23:16.support from all sides of The House of Lords voted

:23:17. > :23:30.with a majority of 94 to I of the job these words to add to

:23:31. > :23:37.all of the comments made by noble lord I full heartedly agree with.

:23:38. > :23:47.Quote, you want our trade, you don't want our children. Set by the Prime

:23:48. > :23:51.Minister of India. If that is the impression which is being received

:23:52. > :23:57.in India and other nations around the world, how can we possibly

:23:58. > :23:59.expect to attract the brightest and the best?

:24:00. > :24:01.My conversations provide clear evidence that even those people

:24:02. > :24:03.who are anxious about immigration welcome foreign students and do not

:24:04. > :24:06.think they should be included in the migration figures.

:24:07. > :24:09.They do not want immigration rules that are any more restrictive

:24:10. > :24:14.than the current ones placed on undergraduate and postgraduate

:24:15. > :24:16.students and academics - not now, nor in future,

:24:17. > :24:20.when our immigration policy is revised to deal with Brexit.

:24:21. > :24:29.To use somewhat unparliamentary language, it is a no-brainer.

:24:30. > :24:32.lost their licence to bring in foreign students.

:24:33. > :24:38.This has been a scandal that has gone on for years and I very much

:24:39. > :24:41.regret that from the academic lobby, which should be powerful,

:24:42. > :24:53.accurate and on the case, hardly a word have we heard.

:24:54. > :25:00.There are accusations that international students overstay.

:25:01. > :25:04.Can the Minister confirm that a Home Office report has shown

:25:05. > :25:09.that only 1% to 1.5% of international students overstay?

:25:10. > :25:12.If he will not answer that question, will he say why the Government

:25:13. > :25:20.continually refuse to put in visible exit checks at our borders?

:25:21. > :25:24.While, of course, there is no room for complacency,

:25:25. > :25:26.the United Kingdom continues to be the world's second most popular

:25:27. > :25:29.destination for international students and we have welcomed more

:25:30. > :25:31.than 170,000 international students to the UK for

:25:32. > :25:37.The higher education minister, Lord Younger of Leckie.

:25:38. > :25:42.Alicia McCarthy's here for the rest of the week.