0:00:18 > 0:00:21Hello and welcome to Monday in Parliament -
0:00:21 > 0:00:26our look at the best of the day in the Commons and the Lords.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29On this programme: Labour condemns the pressures on the NHS
0:00:29 > 0:00:33during the winter health crisis.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36Is it any surprise we have a winter crisis of this severity?
0:00:36 > 0:00:38MPs call for reassurances
0:00:38 > 0:00:40for the victims after the serial rapist John Worboys
0:00:40 > 0:00:43is released from prison.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47What assurances can be homesick sheet given that upon his release,
0:00:47 > 0:00:52if he has to be released, I may say, that upon his release women will be
0:00:52 > 0:00:53safe?
0:00:53 > 0:00:54And the decision to appoint the journalist
0:00:54 > 0:00:57Toby Young to the board of a new higher education watchdog is
0:00:57 > 0:00:59criticised.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01But first - hospitals have struggled to cope with demands from sick
0:01:01 > 0:01:04patients over the holiday period - with operations cancelled
0:01:04 > 0:01:08and lengthy delays for treatment reported by the NHS in England.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10Patients have experienced long waits in A&E and being left
0:01:10 > 0:01:12on trolleys in corridors because there were no
0:01:12 > 0:01:17beds available.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19More than one in eight patients rushed to hospital in an ambulance
0:01:19 > 0:01:24has faced a delay of more than 30 minutes on arrival.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26In Parliament's first day back after the Christmas break,
0:01:26 > 0:01:30Labour were keen to raise the winter crisis in the Health Service.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33The Health Minister said he had "heartfelt" thanks for staff who had
0:01:33 > 0:01:35worked over the holiday.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39They give up their family celebrations over the holiday period
0:01:39 > 0:01:42to put the needs of patients first and it is these dedicated people
0:01:42 > 0:01:47that make the NHS truly great.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50The minister said the Government had put plans in place early.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54We are supporting hospital flow and discharge.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57We allocated £1 billion for social care this year, meaning
0:01:57 > 0:02:00local authorities have funded more care packages.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04Delayed transfers of care have been reduced, freeing up
0:02:04 > 0:02:071100 hospital beds by the onset of winter.
0:02:07 > 0:02:12It is always a delight to see the Minister that the Secretary
0:02:12 > 0:02:15It is always a delight to see the Minister but the Secretary
0:02:15 > 0:02:18of State for Health should be here defending his handling of the
0:02:18 > 0:02:21crisis, not pleading for a promotion in Downing Street as we speak.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23Now, Mr Speaker, I join the minister in
0:02:23 > 0:02:25paying tribute to all those NHS staff working flat out.
0:02:25 > 0:02:30Many of them have said that this winter crisis
0:02:30 > 0:02:35was entirely predictable and entirely preventable because when
0:02:35 > 0:02:38you starve the NHS of resources, when you cut beds by 15,000,
0:02:38 > 0:02:42when you cut district nurses, when walk-in
0:02:42 > 0:02:44centres close, when we have vacancies for 40,000 nurses,
0:02:44 > 0:02:47when you fragment the NHS at a local level and
0:02:47 > 0:02:50drive privatisation, when
0:02:50 > 0:02:52social care savaged, is there any surprise
0:02:52 > 0:02:55we have a winter crisis of this severity?
0:02:55 > 0:02:59The Prime Minister defends this crisis saying nothing
0:02:59 > 0:03:00is perfect.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03Patients don't want perfection.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07They just want an NHS properly funded, properly
0:03:07 > 0:03:10staffed without the indignity of 560,000 people waiting on a trolley
0:03:10 > 0:03:13in the last year.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16Well, I am glad he raised the Secretary of State.
0:03:16 > 0:03:18I would just like to put on record my
0:03:18 > 0:03:24tribute to my right honourable friend, the Secretary
0:03:24 > 0:03:28of State, who has served in that position for...
0:03:28 > 0:03:36For almost as long as Aneurin Bevan who was the original
0:03:36 > 0:03:38founder, first Secretary of State for the NHS.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42I would like to gently remind the honourable
0:03:42 > 0:03:45gentleman that we have a crisis in winter of some kind or another
0:03:45 > 0:03:46every year.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48He would've been in Downing Street in 2009/10 at a time
0:03:48 > 0:03:50when, as it happens, the Shadow Health Secretary chose
0:03:50 > 0:03:57not to try to take advantage of the near pandemic
0:03:57 > 0:04:00that existed at the time in flu because he recognised these
0:04:00 > 0:04:08were operational pressures on the NHS
0:04:08 > 0:04:11and it was not down to him to make party political point scoring.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13As the Minister just said, every year we
0:04:13 > 0:04:15have this slightly ritual exchange about winter pressures.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18But does he accept that the problems are changing because of the
0:04:18 > 0:04:21increased number of elderly people in the population and the increased
0:04:21 > 0:04:22urgency of solving the problem of how
0:04:22 > 0:04:25to admit them promptly to the
0:04:25 > 0:04:27right part of the service and then discharge them properly and safely
0:04:28 > 0:04:34as soon as they are recovered?
0:04:34 > 0:04:38So would he advertise further to many
0:04:38 > 0:04:42people are not aware of it, the emergency available GP services
0:04:42 > 0:04:44and would he concentrate on reform and
0:04:44 > 0:04:46integration of the committee care system, social care system and the
0:04:46 > 0:04:49primary care services and, again, make sure that their cooperation
0:04:49 > 0:04:52is steadily improved.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55The number of over 80s who are presenting in our
0:04:55 > 0:05:02hospitals through A&E are going up exponentially each year and it is
0:05:02 > 0:05:05the case that hospitals need to adapt the way they treat these
0:05:05 > 0:05:08patients in order to try to keep them as healthy as possible.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12While Scotland still leads in A&E performance across the UK, we don't
0:05:12 > 0:05:18need to see four hour data to see the stress that NHS
0:05:18 > 0:05:20England is under.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23We've seen thousands of patients held in ambulances for over an hour
0:05:23 > 0:05:26outside A&E before they can even get in.
0:05:26 > 0:05:36Could I join the Minister in thanking NHS staff and commenting
0:05:36 > 0:05:38that there is nothing new about winter pressures
0:05:38 > 0:05:42in the NHS,
0:05:42 > 0:05:44what's different is that they are extending
0:05:44 > 0:05:47now in the traditionally quieter months and that the debts of those
0:05:47 > 0:05:50pressures is so much more profound over the current winter because
0:05:50 > 0:05:52there has been a failure over successive governments to plan
0:05:52 > 0:05:55sufficiently for the scale of the increase in demand across both
0:05:55 > 0:05:56health and social care?
0:05:56 > 0:05:57Would the Minister again think about the
0:05:57 > 0:06:00forthcoming green paper for social care also combining that with health
0:06:00 > 0:06:06so we can see this is as a truly cross system approach?
0:06:06 > 0:06:09I would like to reiterate the importance of the work being done
0:06:09 > 0:06:14through the process between NHS organisations and social care
0:06:14 > 0:06:15providers.
0:06:15 > 0:06:20The minister praised the work being done -
0:06:20 > 0:06:22and later an announcement from Downing Street confirmed
0:06:22 > 0:06:25the Government's proposals on care and support for older people will be
0:06:25 > 0:06:27dealt with by the Department of Health from now on.
0:06:27 > 0:06:34In order to progress beyond the tribal arguments
0:06:34 > 0:06:37about funding, what's the Government response to the 90 MPs on
0:06:37 > 0:06:40both sides of the House who have urged the Government to establish a
0:06:40 > 0:06:42cross-party consensus to agree a funding formula for integrated
0:06:42 > 0:06:45health and social care?
0:06:45 > 0:06:48Well, as my right honourable friend has said and
0:06:48 > 0:06:51the Prime Minister has said, we are always interested to listen
0:06:51 > 0:06:56to ideas to help improve the health service.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59We do, at the moment, have confidence in the five-year forward
0:06:59 > 0:07:01view and that is the route that we are going.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04The decision to release serial rapist John Worboys was raised
0:07:04 > 0:07:06at Home Office questions in the Commons today.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09Worboys was convicted of 19 offences and is suspected of attacking
0:07:09 > 0:07:13more than 100 women.
0:07:13 > 0:07:19But the decision by the Parole Board to free the former taxi driver,
0:07:19 > 0:07:22nine years after he was jailed, has raised concern among his victims
0:07:22 > 0:07:26- worries which were aired by MPs.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30I'm sure we'll also be shocked to learn that some of the
0:07:30 > 0:07:32victims still have not been contacted by either Probation or
0:07:32 > 0:07:37Victim Liaison.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41I realise the issues around the Parole Board decision on
0:07:41 > 0:07:45matters for the Ministry of Justice, but can she say whether she has had
0:07:45 > 0:07:47any contact with the police about whether they are able to further
0:07:47 > 0:07:51pursue the case of 19 women who came forward after the conviction took
0:07:51 > 0:07:54place to see whether they can be prosecuted, to see whether justice
0:07:54 > 0:07:55can be done and women kept safe?
0:07:55 > 0:08:02Home Secretary.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05Well, I do share the Right Honourable lady's views on
0:08:05 > 0:08:07this matter and I'm sure she will have seen
0:08:07 > 0:08:09the Justice Minister's comments today about making sure
0:08:09 > 0:08:12that there is more transparency in the Parole Board.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14I am aware of certain, certain victims who are
0:08:14 > 0:08:16talking about possible judicial reviews and talking to the police.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18I don't think I can say at this point
0:08:18 > 0:08:22any more than that because it will be, it is subject to potential legal
0:08:22 > 0:08:23proceedings.
0:08:23 > 0:08:30Can the Home Secretary explain why her department is still
0:08:30 > 0:08:33pursuing two of John Worboys' victims known as DSB and NVB all the
0:08:33 > 0:08:36way to the Supreme Court in an apparent effort to avoid paying
0:08:36 > 0:08:39compensation?
0:08:39 > 0:08:45The Home Secretary will be aware that these victims are
0:08:45 > 0:08:48women whose cases the lower courts have already found were not
0:08:48 > 0:08:50investigated properly.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53How does pursuing them through the courts
0:08:53 > 0:08:56assure the public that the Government is serious about keeping
0:08:56 > 0:09:00women and girls safe?
0:09:00 > 0:09:03The Government is committed to keeping women and
0:09:03 > 0:09:07girls safe and I hope that some of the points that I have set out
0:09:07 > 0:09:10today will reassure the House that that is the case.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12I recognise the point that the right honourable lady has
0:09:12 > 0:09:21raised.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23However, because it is sub judice, I cannot comment
0:09:23 > 0:09:24on anything at the moment.
0:09:24 > 0:09:26Mr Speaker, in 2009, John Worboys was
0:09:26 > 0:09:29found to be a dangerous, predatory sex offender and rightly so.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31It is a feature of those sorts of offenders,
0:09:31 > 0:09:34they also clever and cunning.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38What assurances can the Home Secretary
0:09:38 > 0:09:41give us that upon his release, if he has to be released, I may
0:09:41 > 0:09:44say, but upon his release women will be safe?
0:09:44 > 0:09:47Making women safe and ensuring that we have the
0:09:47 > 0:09:49legislation in place for that is a priority for me
0:09:49 > 0:09:52and for this Government overall.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56She has raised a particular case which has been under
0:09:56 > 0:09:59discussion in this chamber through these questions, she may be aware
0:09:59 > 0:10:01that there is going to be a review of some
0:10:01 > 0:10:05of the procedures and the
0:10:05 > 0:10:10element of the Parole Board and the transparency required,
0:10:10 > 0:10:13the Prime Minister has already said she wants this looked at.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16Now, revellers could get a chance to raise a glass - or more -
0:10:16 > 0:10:19to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on their big day.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21At Home Office questions, Amber Rudd said she'd launched
0:10:21 > 0:10:24a consultation to relax pub opening hours in England and Wales for
0:10:24 > 0:10:29the royal wedding weekend in May.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31Extending licensing hours on the nights of Friday the 18th,
0:10:31 > 0:10:33Saturday the 19th of May until 1am the
0:10:33 > 0:10:36following mornings will allow licensed premises in England and
0:10:36 > 0:10:39Wales to sell alcohol consumption on-site to those who want to
0:10:39 > 0:10:43continue their celebrations beyond the normal licensing hours.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46Whether toasting the royal couple or celebrating a football triumph,
0:10:46 > 0:10:49everyone should have the opportunity to make the most of this historic
0:10:49 > 0:10:51weekend in May.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54Something to look forward to there.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57You're watching our round-up of the day in the Commons and the Lords.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59Still to come, a call to mark the anniversary
0:10:59 > 0:11:03of the arrival of the Windrush.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10Now, it used to be just the title of a Channel 4 game show.
0:11:10 > 0:11:11But Deal Or No Deal?
0:11:11 > 0:11:12is a question increasingly
0:11:12 > 0:11:18heard around Westminster, as the Brussels talks continue over
0:11:18 > 0:11:19Britain's EU exit terms.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21So, as part of her reshuffle, could Theresa May be
0:11:21 > 0:11:23about to appoint a Minister for No Deal?
0:11:23 > 0:11:28And if so, who could the No Deal Minister be?
0:11:28 > 0:11:31The possibility of the new ministerial job surfaced when peers
0:11:31 > 0:11:33returned to matters of Brexit at question-time in
0:11:33 > 0:11:39the House of Lords.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42It has been reported that the Prime Minister is going to appoint someone
0:11:42 > 0:11:49as a no deal Brexit Minister. Will that person have the same
0:11:49 > 0:11:51responsibility to report back to both houses like the other
0:11:51 > 0:11:59ministers?I'm always suspicious of a question that starts off has been
0:11:59 > 0:12:04widely reported. People know that ministerial appointments I matter
0:12:04 > 0:12:07for the Prime Minister and I'm sure he will be the first to know if she
0:12:07 > 0:12:12decides to make such an appointment. Is he aware that the British people
0:12:12 > 0:12:15are now much tougher in their attitude to the negotiations going
0:12:15 > 0:12:21on in Brussels, that they are tired of seeing arrogant and rude
0:12:21 > 0:12:32officials from the EU and that they want to have full details of what is
0:12:32 > 0:12:42now proposed from Europe.Well, they are certainly getting full details
0:12:42 > 0:12:50from us. He makes a point, I'm not sure I necessarily agree with him,
0:12:50 > 0:12:54all of the dealings we have had with our interlocutors in the European
0:12:54 > 0:12:59Commission have been courteous and civil.As we begin a New Year, which
0:12:59 > 0:13:03we hope will be slightly more harmonious than the last, is it not
0:13:03 > 0:13:09important that whilst we all recognise that the verdict of the
0:13:09 > 0:13:14referendum was that we should leave, it was taken by a very narrow
0:13:14 > 0:13:18majority and it is therefore important that those who were on the
0:13:18 > 0:13:24winning side demonstrate a degree of understanding and magnanimity so
0:13:24 > 0:13:33that we do get a proper deal, a real compromise and one that preserves
0:13:33 > 0:13:38the stature and the economic prosperity of this country.Nigel
0:13:38 > 0:13:42Farage is meeting Mr Barnier purporting to represent the views of
0:13:42 > 0:13:47the British people. Will the Minister make it absolutely clear
0:13:47 > 0:13:54that even though some of us don't have much faith in the Conservative
0:13:54 > 0:13:58ministers that are negotiating on our behalf, least they were elected
0:13:58 > 0:14:08to the House of commons, unlike Mr Farage.Yes! I see that Mr Barnier
0:14:08 > 0:14:12is having a meeting with a wide range of people this week, one of
0:14:12 > 0:14:15which is Mr Farage by dating Nidal would ever say that he represents
0:14:15 > 0:14:23the people of the United Kingdom. -- but I don't think Mr Farage would
0:14:23 > 0:14:30ever say he represents the people of the knighted kingdom. I suspect he
0:14:30 > 0:14:35has met with peers of this House, with both opposition and backbench
0:14:35 > 0:14:39MPs from the House of Commons but I think he is very clear that he only
0:14:39 > 0:14:46has one party to actually negotiate with.The universities ministers Jo
0:14:46 > 0:14:49Johnson has faced criticism for the decision to appoint the journalist
0:14:49 > 0:14:54Toby Young to the board of a new higher education watchdog. Mr Young,
0:14:54 > 0:14:58champion preschools, was appointed to the office for students bored but
0:14:58 > 0:15:02he has been criticised because of his past comments about women, gay
0:15:02 > 0:15:06people and disabled people in newspaper articles and online.I am
0:15:06 > 0:15:10flabbergasted and it is beyond me how the Minister can stand up and
0:15:10 > 0:15:19support this appointment. I find it the appointment of Toby Young and I
0:15:19 > 0:15:26think that it leaves the credibility in tatters. Was due process followed
0:15:26 > 0:15:29in all cases? Who was the Independent assessor because I
0:15:29 > 0:15:34cannot find that person's name. Why does the DFV if agger rate Toby
0:15:34 > 0:15:43Young's qualifications.The honourable than the has called
0:15:43 > 0:15:47today's debate to discuss remarks going back to the 1980s. These were
0:15:47 > 0:15:51foolish and wrong and do not reflect the values of the government. I'm
0:15:51 > 0:15:57not aware that anything he has said in the past has been found to have
0:15:57 > 0:16:01breached our strong discrimination laws, which are among the toughest
0:16:01 > 0:16:05in the world, and in future Toby Young will be bound to comply with
0:16:05 > 0:16:08the Equality Act of 2010 in performing all of his functions for
0:16:08 > 0:16:13the office for students. Regardless of the legal position it is of
0:16:13 > 0:16:18course right that Toby Young has apologised to the OFS board. It is
0:16:18 > 0:16:23also right that he has said that he regrets the comments and has given
0:16:23 > 0:16:28and undertaken that the kind of remarks made in the past will not be
0:16:28 > 0:16:35repeated.I accept that Mr Young has done great work on free schools but
0:16:35 > 0:16:39so have many other people and I'm not talking about the things that he
0:16:39 > 0:16:45has done on Twitter. What I'm more concerned about is some quite dark
0:16:45 > 0:16:50articles where he talks about the disabled, talks about the working
0:16:50 > 0:16:54class, much more significantly in 2015 and I have the article here, on
0:16:54 > 0:17:01what he calls progressive eugenics. I find this incredibly dark and very
0:17:01 > 0:17:06dangerous staff and I suggest to my horrible friend that he looks again
0:17:06 > 0:17:10at this appointment because I do not think it will put confidence and
0:17:10 > 0:17:15students.The minister asks us to judge Mr Young by what he does. As
0:17:15 > 0:17:21one of the many women who have had personal, repeated and recent
0:17:21 > 0:17:27experiences of his ability to lose friends and alienate people, I say
0:17:27 > 0:17:29to the Minister and undergraduate student would know it is not
0:17:29 > 0:17:33evidence enough of a change in behaviour for someone simply when
0:17:33 > 0:17:39they have been caught out to say sorry. Every educationalist would
0:17:39 > 0:17:43say to the Minister that rewarding the bad behaviour as he is sends a
0:17:43 > 0:17:47terrible message to our universities about the standards we accept. What
0:17:47 > 0:17:51more does Mr Young had to say until the Minister realises he deserves to
0:17:51 > 0:17:59say on Twitter not in teaching? Since he made many of these comments
0:17:59 > 0:18:04and articles and so forth, which in most cases date to pre-2010, he has
0:18:04 > 0:18:11been appointed to the Fulbright commission, reappointed to the
0:18:11 > 0:18:14Fulbright commission, named director of the leading educational charity
0:18:14 > 0:18:19and he has been doing important work setting up schools in West London
0:18:19 > 0:18:23that are delivering great outcomes for young people. This is what we
0:18:23 > 0:18:27should judge him by, not foolish and obnoxious tweets from the distant
0:18:27 > 0:18:27past.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31Now, it's the name of a ship which has come to mark a moment
0:18:31 > 0:18:38when modern migration to the UK began.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42The Empire Dubai brings to Britain 500 Jamaicans...
0:18:42 > 0:18:44In 1948, the MV Empire Windrush landed at Tilbury docks,
0:18:44 > 0:18:45bringing 492 passengers from the Caribbean.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48These travellers were one of the first large groups
0:18:48 > 0:18:50of immigrants into Britain, encouraged to come by the UK
0:18:50 > 0:18:51Government of the time.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53The Liberal Democrat peer Lady Benjamin wanted to know
0:18:53 > 0:18:58what the present government was doing to commemorate
0:18:58 > 0:19:01the 70th anniversary of the arrival of the Windrush.
0:19:01 > 0:19:03The minister, Lord Bourne, said he would be meeting key groups
0:19:03 > 0:19:09in the coming weeks to decide.
0:19:09 > 0:19:17There were signs that the Windrush pioneers faced in 1948 because the
0:19:17 > 0:19:22government did not make it absolutely clear that the Caribbean
0:19:22 > 0:19:32people were invited to come to the UK, to rescue the NHS, the transport
0:19:32 > 0:19:35system and the factories after the war. Today, many descendants of
0:19:35 > 0:19:39those pioneers don't know this part of their history because it is not
0:19:39 > 0:19:44generally taught in schools so can I ask the Minister, as the Prime
0:19:44 > 0:19:49Minister wants everyone to feel included in this, our society, will
0:19:49 > 0:19:54the government create a Windrush day recognising the outstanding
0:19:54 > 0:20:03contribution, the Windrush generation has made to Britain?The
0:20:03 > 0:20:06noble lady makes powerful points, there is a Windrush day on the 22nd
0:20:06 > 0:20:12of June and this year we unveiled a monument in Brixton which was a
0:20:12 > 0:20:19tribute to the role played by troops from the Caribbean and from Africa
0:20:19 > 0:20:24in Windrush Square in Brixton. We also educationally particularly in
0:20:24 > 0:20:28black history month pay more than reference to what was done by that
0:20:28 > 0:20:33community but it is important, as I have said, that we do recognise the
0:20:33 > 0:20:3770th anniversary and we are intending to do that.A tribute to
0:20:37 > 0:20:42the early views of Enoch Powell in encouraging immigration to this
0:20:42 > 0:20:49country, even if he were at parent in his views later on when he no
0:20:49 > 0:20:52longer had ministerial responsibilities.He will understand
0:20:52 > 0:20:56that I and the government is keen to look forward. We recognise there is
0:20:56 > 0:21:01a world of difference from 1948 and the 1960s and even the 1970s as to
0:21:01 > 0:21:05the way we now a much more cohesive and diverse society. We must look
0:21:05 > 0:21:09forward and in that spirit, it's important we recognise the changes
0:21:09 > 0:21:14that have been made and the progress that has been made and celebrate
0:21:14 > 0:21:18Windrush day as the noble lady Baroness Benjamin has been urging us
0:21:18 > 0:21:22to do.Celebrations cost money and so could he guarantee that in
0:21:22 > 0:21:25addition to the Heritage lottery fund some that there will be funds
0:21:25 > 0:21:28coming from central government to ensure that the celebrations are
0:21:28 > 0:21:35they fitting nature?I thank my noble friend, she is right, these
0:21:35 > 0:21:38come with a bill and I don't have the cheque-book with me and I don't
0:21:38 > 0:21:41at the moment in ten to say how much will be spent but it's important
0:21:41 > 0:21:46that we do this in a meaningful way. Lady Benjamin talks about the
0:21:46 > 0:21:51initial attitudes towards those people who first came on the
0:21:51 > 0:21:54Windrush and indeed their descendants and I wonder whether the
0:21:54 > 0:22:01Minister thinks that despite changes to the law, attitudes like that have
0:22:01 > 0:22:06fundamentally changed in this country and what is the government
0:22:06 > 0:22:11doing to create an inclusive country where the contributions of all are
0:22:11 > 0:22:18recognised and celebrated?In answer to her question, I think there have
0:22:18 > 0:22:22been fundamental changes in this country and the views of most
0:22:22 > 0:22:25people, I'll yet there with everybody, no, there are still
0:22:25 > 0:22:26challenges out there.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29MPs took part in a debate on a bill which would establish
0:22:29 > 0:22:31a customs and VAT regime for the UK after Brexit.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34The Taxation Bill would set up a new framework -
0:22:34 > 0:22:37and the Treasury Minister Mel Stride told MPs it would leave the way open
0:22:37 > 0:22:46for the UK to enter into future "customs union arrangements".
0:22:46 > 0:22:49The government has already set out in its future partnership paper last
0:22:49 > 0:22:54summer and in the White Paper for this bill two options for our future
0:22:54 > 0:23:00customs arrangements. Two options that closely meet these objectives.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03One is a highly streamlined customs arrangements, an approach comprising
0:23:03 > 0:23:08a number of measures to help minimise barriers to trade from the
0:23:08 > 0:23:15glaciated the continuation of existing trade relationships to
0:23:15 > 0:23:18technology-based solutions. The other is a new customs partnership,
0:23:18 > 0:23:22an unprecedented and innovative approach under which the UK would
0:23:22 > 0:23:25mirror the GU's requirements for imports across the world that are
0:23:25 > 0:23:29destined for the European Union. Leaving a need for a formal customs
0:23:29 > 0:23:33border between the UK and the EU. The government that thought to
0:23:33 > 0:23:36discussing both of these options with our European partners and
0:23:36 > 0:23:42businesses in both the UK and the EU as negotiations progress.There are
0:23:42 > 0:23:45many small businesses in this country who have not had to deal
0:23:45 > 0:23:50with import VAT because they can deal with imports from the EU for
0:23:50 > 0:23:53whom finding upfront cash in order to pay for that would be a real
0:23:53 > 0:23:58problem and perhaps he could assure this House for now that he is aware
0:23:58 > 0:24:02of that issue and the concerns of small businesses on cash flow and
0:24:02 > 0:24:06this is something he hopes to return to and as he knows it's something we
0:24:06 > 0:24:10have discussed and I will be writing as chairman of the Treasury Select
0:24:10 > 0:24:15Committee the HMRC to understand their thinking on this at this time.
0:24:15 > 0:24:19She is absolutely right to raise this issue. I know that she has been
0:24:19 > 0:24:24at a campaigner for the interests of business and she is right to raise
0:24:24 > 0:24:29this issue. It is an issue with which the government has and the
0:24:29 > 0:24:35Treasury has sympathy. We do not want to see over 100,000 businesses
0:24:35 > 0:24:37disadvantaged in terms of cash terms in the way that she has described
0:24:37 > 0:24:42and it is certainly something that we will be looking at closely going
0:24:42 > 0:24:47forward.The bill ostensibly has set out to create a functioning customs
0:24:47 > 0:24:50framework for the United Kingdom once we leave the European Union and
0:24:50 > 0:24:57hope springs eternal in that regard. We accept that such an arrangement
0:24:57 > 0:25:01is necessary, regardless of the UK's future relationship would be you or
0:25:01 > 0:25:05the nature of its wider trading relationships but yet once again we
0:25:05 > 0:25:08have been denied any detail on the face of the legislation itself, as
0:25:08 > 0:25:13identified by honourable members. Nothing to guarantee frictionless
0:25:13 > 0:25:18trade so the UK's ports from the moment of Exeter, no measures to
0:25:18 > 0:25:23properly resolve Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs for the task and
0:25:23 > 0:25:26nowhere near sufficient detail on the powers provisions of the trade
0:25:26 > 0:25:30remedies authority, which will be charged with insuring that our vital
0:25:30 > 0:25:33British industries are protected.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36The bill was passed in a vote later and will now be examined
0:25:36 > 0:25:37in further detail later on.
0:25:37 > 0:25:38And that's it for this programme.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41Mandy Baker will be here for the rest of the week.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44But for now, from me, Georgina Pattinson, goodbye.