0:00:05 > 0:00:08Hello and Welcome to Monday in Parliament, our look at the best
0:00:08 > 0:00:10of the day in the Commons and the Lords.
0:00:10 > 0:00:12On this programme:
0:00:12 > 0:00:14Can we trust the civil servants
0:00:14 > 0:00:22to be neutral over the effects of Brexit?
0:00:22 > 0:00:32I have maintained this document as propaganda from top to bottom.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35A hundred years since women got the right to vote.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37But female peers say there's a long way to go
0:00:37 > 0:00:43in the fight for women's rights.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47You have to ask yourself what is meritorious, who decides what is the
0:00:47 > 0:00:52value.
0:00:52 > 0:00:53value.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55d after Donald Trump tweets
0:00:55 > 0:00:58about the state of our NHS,
0:00:58 > 0:01:01an invitation is issued to the US President.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03First, please stop bullying the civil servants.
0:01:03 > 0:01:05That, essentially, was the message to the politicians
0:01:05 > 0:01:08from a former head of the civil service
0:01:08 > 0:01:11when the House of Lords looked at last week's events
0:01:11 > 0:01:14concerning leaked Treasury reports on the effect of Brexit
0:01:14 > 0:01:18and the response to those forecasts by Brexit-supporting MPs.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22On BBC Radio, the Tory backbencher Jacob Rees-Mogg
0:01:22 > 0:01:27accused civil servants of 'fiddling the figures'.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29So can this building, Her Majesty's Treasury,
0:01:29 > 0:01:32be relied upon to produce accurate and reliable analyses
0:01:32 > 0:01:34of the country's finances?
0:01:34 > 0:01:42A Labour peer took up the issue.
0:01:42 > 0:01:47In the last few days we have had assertions made by members of
0:01:47 > 0:01:52Parliament that officials are deliberately fiddling the figures
0:01:52 > 0:01:58and frustrating Brexit. These civil servants cannot defend themselves in
0:01:58 > 0:02:04public. My lords, given that Downing Street and number ten have failed to
0:02:04 > 0:02:13slap down those Ministers who made those disgraceful slurs, is it too
0:02:13 > 0:02:17much to ask the Prime Minister to finally show some leadership? .
0:02:17 > 0:02:24Lord Young referred to his long service as a Minister.
0:02:24 > 0:02:29I think overall I did more than 20 years, with Sun discontinuing. Which
0:02:29 > 0:02:35is probably more than everyone else in this House. I never had the
0:02:35 > 0:02:37occasion to question the impartiality or objective of the of
0:02:37 > 0:02:43civil service. Quite often you have said things that I did not want to
0:02:43 > 0:02:50hear but I would never accuse them with the equipment -- like the
0:02:50 > 0:02:55recent accusations leveled against them. I think we should be proud of
0:02:55 > 0:03:05our civil service and I reject this smear against them.This report
0:03:05 > 0:03:07forecasting the complete collapse of the British economy were we to
0:03:07 > 0:03:17leave. This document -- document is propaganda from top to bottom.
0:03:17 > 0:03:24Cannot ask my noble friend this, if I continue to criticise, the Mentos
0:03:24 > 0:03:29and the Ministers who prove the statistics in this document, does
0:03:29 > 0:03:38that make me as snake oil salesman? I think my noble friend should
0:03:38 > 0:03:44distinguish between criticism of politicians or good is a muscle
0:03:44 > 0:03:52service. The document that he has in his hands was presented publicly by
0:03:52 > 0:03:55the Chancellor. Any criticism should be directed at the politician who
0:03:55 > 0:03:56presented it.
0:03:56 > 0:04:03A former Cabinet Secretary saw a risk to democracy.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06Does the Minister believe that those who make allegations without
0:04:06 > 0:04:12supporting evidence against their -- serving civil servants who will not
0:04:12 > 0:04:17response, or undertaking a form of bullying that to be honest, is
0:04:17 > 0:04:23something which diminishes those making the attacks but more
0:04:23 > 0:04:42importantly, damages our democracy. The... Will the noble lord agree...
0:04:42 > 0:04:47That will be the road to a politicized civil service which will
0:04:47 > 0:04:53be ruinous for this country.I agree, it is the job of civil
0:04:53 > 0:05:00servants to bring to the minister's attention on a when to believe they
0:05:00 > 0:05:07are misguided. Did is it not the case that in any sane business, when
0:05:07 > 0:05:15they embarked, any sensible person before starting a business will
0:05:15 > 0:05:18always do a business plan.A responsible government must engage
0:05:18 > 0:05:23in responsible, political analysis and if we give up those habits will
0:05:23 > 0:05:27be deeply damaging to future of the country. It is the logic that some
0:05:27 > 0:05:39of these people are trying to drive us to.Some Ministers who impugn the
0:05:39 > 0:05:45impartiality and good faith of our civil service are behaving very much
0:05:45 > 0:05:55like President Trump in the United States in regard to the FBI.
0:05:55 > 0:06:00President Trump I hope will read what nine S M my noble friend has
0:06:00 > 0:06:05just said. -- what my noble friend has to set.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08has to set.
0:06:08 > 0:06:09Stevens,
0:06:09 > 0:06:11has invited President Donald Trump to come
0:06:11 > 0:06:12and see the healthcare provided by the service.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15It follows a tweet from the US President which stated
0:06:15 > 0:06:18that the health service in the UK was "going broke and not working".
0:06:18 > 0:06:21But, as Simon Stevens was facing a committee in the Commons,
0:06:21 > 0:06:25Labour was challenging the Government's decision
0:06:25 > 0:06:34to suspend Accident and Emergency waiting time targets.
0:06:35 > 0:06:41The crisis our NHS is now is so deep and severe. That Friday any chest
0:06:41 > 0:06:49England was forced to announce that target to see 95% of patients within
0:06:49 > 0:06:57four hours is effectively abandoned until March 19 -- 2019. People going
0:06:57 > 0:07:03onto the street to demand nationally funded. There by the way we will not
0:07:03 > 0:07:11take lessons from Donald Trump. The NHS model is not broke but it does
0:07:11 > 0:07:16need funding. If this government will not give her the funding it
0:07:16 > 0:07:25needs, then the next labour government well.The number of
0:07:25 > 0:07:30one-on-one calls has doubled since last year. 1 million more people
0:07:30 > 0:07:40have been vaccinated with the flu -- against flu virus. The reality is
0:07:40 > 0:07:46this year we have had pressure in the NHS as a result of pressure from
0:07:46 > 0:07:55flu. The differences in 2009 and the party did not play politics with
0:07:55 > 0:08:02flu, this year, the honourable gentleman, should compare to Wales
0:08:02 > 0:08:08and see the excellent performance we have had in comparison.What is the
0:08:08 > 0:08:17Government's response... To the last executive of the NHS, and indeed the
0:08:17 > 0:08:23retiring head of the Treasury, that there has to be a form of taxation
0:08:23 > 0:08:28to provide sustainable, stable funding?It has been true for that
0:08:28 > 0:08:3868 years of the NHS. The reality is if we are to fund the NHS do what we
0:08:38 > 0:08:42all wanted to be funded, we have to be sure that we have a strong
0:08:42 > 0:08:52economy.Is my right honourable friend and not in agreement, that we
0:08:52 > 0:08:56have an NHS that is free on the point at a live delivery to all our
0:08:56 > 0:09:00citizens, can he confirm that this will be the policy of this
0:09:00 > 0:09:02government going forward, and will he agree with me that we should not
0:09:02 > 0:09:08be listening to the voice from across the attach -- Atlantic who
0:09:08 > 0:09:12think that we should adopt a different system?I absolutely agree
0:09:12 > 0:09:19that the NHS will remain free of the point of delivery. It has been run
0:09:19 > 0:09:27by the party on this side of the House, we know the value of the NHS
0:09:27 > 0:09:28remaining free the point of delivery.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31Away from the Commons, the chief executive of NHS England,
0:09:31 > 0:09:39Simon Stevens, was talking to a committee about cyber security.
0:09:39 > 0:09:45It was eight Twitter attack on the NHS today. Resident Trump.
0:09:45 > 0:09:53Unfortunately, that tweet got the wrong end of the strip -- state.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57Hwrong end of the strip -- state.
0:09:57 > 0:09:58e invited President Trump
0:09:58 > 0:10:05to come and see the healthcare provided by the NHS.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09Health care at half the cost of health care to United States is
0:10:09 > 0:10:19something that people in this country...
0:10:24 > 0:10:30To mark the 1919 represent the shape of that best representation of the
0:10:30 > 0:10:36people bill, the houses been
0:10:36 > 0:10:46having a special debate.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56Women wanted to be truly represented in the laws and customs of this
0:10:56 > 0:11:01country about together women of all walks of life. The voice of women
0:11:01 > 0:11:06deserved to be heard. They may have used different tactics, the
0:11:06 > 0:11:11suffragettes and the suffragists, but all saw them as a way to achieve
0:11:11 > 0:11:25the same ends.She was a Scott, her father was a tailor, she went to
0:11:25 > 0:11:38school... She had a half day off every week, one afternoon off and
0:11:38 > 0:11:45she said to me, during my afternoons off I would go around Glasgow, and
0:11:45 > 0:11:49putting in century devices into postal boxes. She was a
0:11:49 > 0:11:56suffragettes, and I love to hear -- I got to hear more than once how she
0:11:56 > 0:12:01would carry laundry baskets at meetings and police in the door
0:12:01 > 0:12:10would say what is in that basket? And it would carry it the weight...
0:12:10 > 0:12:21It actually carried Mrs. Pankhurst. When the police address a platform,
0:12:21 > 0:12:31there were women...We need to engender gross with a strong and
0:12:31 > 0:12:36resilient self belief. We still -- we also need to give their ambition
0:12:36 > 0:12:44going to other life.Gait -- pay gap for women, including maternity
0:12:44 > 0:12:53leave, in 100 years of progress, only 34% of women are best of MPs
0:12:53 > 0:13:00are women, and it's and it sounds unbelievable that only until 1968
0:13:00 > 0:13:14women have been in this House. Unfortunately we follow... The
0:13:14 > 0:13:21longer we get there on merit. But you have to ask yourself who decides
0:13:21 > 0:13:25who is meritorious, who decides the value to be attributed to the rules
0:13:25 > 0:13:30that should be available to men as well as women, women as well as men.
0:13:30 > 0:13:40Treated as equal. Those who are not equal does not create equality.It's
0:13:40 > 0:13:47great to see so many women now being propelled into high-level position,
0:13:47 > 0:13:51here in Parliament, and that includes women of colour to but not
0:13:51 > 0:13:56enough. My lord, one of the many challenges, women have to contend
0:13:56 > 0:14:02with when you do reach new highs, is that there are so often judged
0:14:02 > 0:14:06differently to men. It have to work harder to prove themselves.
0:14:06 > 0:14:12Opportunity is what we all need to make progress. To be all and
0:14:12 > 0:14:17abrasive, not to be tribal, defensive and protective.The
0:14:17 > 0:14:21commitment to women in public life is hard work, and we need to get it
0:14:21 > 0:14:26right. It requires strong leadership and concerted action. I applaud
0:14:26 > 0:14:31those who have fought to fight, long and hard the battle is not over and
0:14:31 > 0:14:44it it will not be over until... The the perhaps a man would like to say
0:14:44 > 0:14:49it, becomes unrecognisable and a part of history.
0:14:49 > 0:15:02You're watching our up of the day in the House and the Lords.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05You're watching our round-up of the day in the Commons and the Lords.
0:15:05 > 0:15:06Still to come:
0:15:06 > 0:15:07"We apologise for any inconvenience caused."
0:15:07 > 0:15:09The Transport Secretary says he's ending the franchise
0:15:09 > 0:15:11for the East Coast main line earlier than expected.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13The Government's plans for its immigration policy
0:15:13 > 0:15:15after Brexit have been called "a shambles"
0:15:15 > 0:15:17after it was disclosed that a long-promised paper
0:15:17 > 0:15:18on the issue have been delayed further.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21The document was originally expected in the autumn of 2017
0:15:21 > 0:15:23but may now not be published until this autumn.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25The delay was criticised in an urgent Commons question
0:15:25 > 0:15:28by the MP who chairs the Home Affairs Committee.
0:15:28 > 0:15:33What on earth is going on? And I have to say to the Minister,
0:15:33 > 0:15:37frankly, this is a shambles. I understand the migration advisory
0:15:37 > 0:15:44committee is not reporting until the autumn. I understand that one ...
0:15:44 > 0:15:50However, Ministers knew that timetable because that's felt that
0:15:50 > 0:15:53timetable when they asked for advice from the migration advisory
0:15:53 > 0:15:57committee. I also understand negotiations are continuing. But
0:15:57 > 0:16:01again, Ministers knew that before Christmas. And that does not get
0:16:01 > 0:16:06around the obligation of the Home Office to tell the House, to tell
0:16:06 > 0:16:10the public, to tell the citizens and employers what the negotiating
0:16:10 > 0:16:18objectives actually are. And this is just not good enough, keeping
0:16:18 > 0:16:21Parliament in the dark this way. They said they do not want to be in
0:16:21 > 0:16:25the single market but don't tell us what they want instead. I have said
0:16:25 > 0:16:28they don't want to be in the customs union but had not told us what they
0:16:28 > 0:16:30want instead. Another have said they don't want to be a free movement
0:16:30 > 0:16:34that have again not told us what they want instead and what the
0:16:34 > 0:16:39negotiating objectives even are. And at best, Ministers are cutting
0:16:39 > 0:16:43Parliament and the public out of this crucial debate about the future
0:16:43 > 0:16:47of our country. And worse, they seem to be stuck in negotiations without
0:16:47 > 0:16:50having agreed even amongst themselves what they want to achieve
0:16:50 > 0:16:54out of them.We are not kicking the can down the road. We are making
0:16:54 > 0:17:00sure we do is get a system that is right for people. That is why I make
0:17:00 > 0:17:03no apology for making our priority the 3 million EU citizens living
0:17:03 > 0:17:08here and the million UK citizens in EU states. Because we want to have a
0:17:08 > 0:17:12system in place for them during the implementation period that we can
0:17:12 > 0:17:16register the 3 million people as smoothly and seamlessly as possible.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20It is absolutely imperative that we come to the House with white paper
0:17:20 > 0:17:24and indeed within immigration bill, they are the right pieces of
0:17:24 > 0:17:28legislation.A white paper is a consultation document and it seems
0:17:28 > 0:17:31to meet the Government is delaying consulting on what should go into a
0:17:31 > 0:17:37consultation document. Are we in this situation because it an extreme
0:17:37 > 0:17:43right wing of the Tory party or extreme Brexiteers and...Not quite
0:17:43 > 0:17:49sure how I should respond being called a dog. However, I think it's
0:17:49 > 0:17:51only important to note that we are working incredibly hard to make sure
0:17:51 > 0:17:57we have an immigration system after Brexit that works in the interest of
0:17:57 > 0:18:00UK citizens. There is no extreme right wing cabal controlling the
0:18:00 > 0:18:06Tory party. It's actually about making sure we deliver on what the
0:18:06 > 0:18:09British people voted for in 2016.
0:18:09 > 0:18:10Outside the Commons,
0:18:10 > 0:18:11the EU's Chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier,
0:18:11 > 0:18:14who was holding talks in London,
0:18:14 > 0:18:16warned that trade barriers would be "unavoidable" if Theresa May
0:18:16 > 0:18:20carried out her plan to leave the Customs Union.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22Asked to reaffirm the Government's commitment to leaving the single
0:18:22 > 0:18:24market and customs union,
0:18:24 > 0:18:31the minister said they had been clear.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35Post exit, we want to have a deep and special relationship with our
0:18:35 > 0:18:38neighbours going forward. But we also want a smooth transition and
0:18:38 > 0:18:41it's really important that we have an implementation period that
0:18:41 > 0:18:46enables us to make sure that the 3 million EU citizens here are allowed
0:18:46 > 0:18:50to register smoothly and seamlessly. But he will be as aware as I am the
0:18:50 > 0:18:56Prime Minister has been very clear we're leaving the single market and
0:18:56 > 0:18:59the customs union.It's really important when discussing
0:18:59 > 0:19:01immigration to the overwhelming number of people who come to our
0:19:01 > 0:19:05country come here to work. We are grateful for the work that they do
0:19:05 > 0:19:08and we should always welcome the contribution to make to our country.
0:19:08 > 0:19:13And also, could she confirmed the customs union has got diddly squat
0:19:13 > 0:19:16to do with immigration?
0:19:16 > 0:19:18It's emerged that the Government is considering directly
0:19:18 > 0:19:20operating train services on the East Coast main line.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22The Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has told MPs
0:19:22 > 0:19:26the Stagecoach-led franchise will only be able to continue
0:19:26 > 0:19:31in its current form for a "very small number of months".
0:19:31 > 0:19:34He said the option of the Department for Transport running the service
0:19:34 > 0:19:37was "very much on the table".
0:19:37 > 0:19:47The problem is very straightforward. Contrary to widespread speculation
0:19:47 > 0:19:51and rumours, no deal has been done on this railway and I have not yet
0:19:51 > 0:19:54made a decision on the successor operator to run the East Coast
0:19:54 > 0:19:59Railway and to the longer-term plans for the integration of training can
0:19:59 > 0:20:02begin in 2020. It is not for this franchise will only be able to
0:20:02 > 0:20:05continue in its current form for a matter of a very small number of
0:20:05 > 0:20:10months and no more. Last week, following detailed analysis, the
0:20:10 > 0:20:16notification of the franchise reaching a key financial covenants.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18This is really important, Mr Speaker, to be clear with the House
0:20:18 > 0:20:21and the public this is not going to impact under your weight's a day to
0:20:21 > 0:20:28day operations. The business will continue to operate as usual. But it
0:20:28 > 0:20:35does mean I need to put in place in the very near future a successor
0:20:35 > 0:20:38arrangement to operate this railway and in the current contract stop
0:20:38 > 0:20:43with the announcement today is yet another monumental misjudgment to
0:20:43 > 0:20:47add to a growing list of miscalculations by this Secretary of
0:20:47 > 0:20:53State.Members across this House can be and no doubt the bailout culture
0:20:53 > 0:20:57of the Department for Transport is alive and well. It's never been
0:20:57 > 0:21:04better. Virgin stagecoach failed to deliver on their contract on the
0:21:04 > 0:21:09East Coast route. No problem. The Government will step in and bail
0:21:09 > 0:21:14them out. Kissing goodbye to the £2 billion Virgin had previously agreed
0:21:14 > 0:21:16to pay.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18Well, staying on matters of transport now,
0:21:18 > 0:21:20because the expansion of Heathrow Airport in London
0:21:20 > 0:21:22is continuing to be scrutinised by MPs.
0:21:22 > 0:21:24Although the Government now backs a third runway at Heathrow,
0:21:24 > 0:21:27Parliament has still to give its approval.
0:21:27 > 0:21:28Willie Walsh, the chief executive of the company
0:21:29 > 0:21:30that owns British Airways,
0:21:30 > 0:21:32called on the Civil Aviation Authority
0:21:32 > 0:21:35to break up Heathrow's "monopoly" of infrastructure.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37He said other companies should be allowed
0:21:37 > 0:21:39to set up terminals at the airport
0:21:39 > 0:21:46to increase competition and lower costs for consumers.
0:21:46 > 0:21:54This is not just about the book, this is also about exports. A third
0:21:54 > 0:22:03of almost all UK experts outside the EU are unplanned and Heathrow... He
0:22:03 > 0:22:07needs to have more hub connections from Heathrow and that will help to
0:22:07 > 0:22:15make sure Britain remains one of the world's a great trading nations.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18Domestic connectivity and experts are the key economic drivers of the
0:22:18 > 0:22:24Heathrow expansion.Are you satisfied and can provide sufficient
0:22:24 > 0:22:30evidence that the patterns of behaviour of business are not going
0:22:30 > 0:22:32to change significantly over the next 20-30 years and that you are
0:22:32 > 0:22:42satisfied that they will continue to need the hub airport question that
0:22:42 > 0:22:50we are very confident we need the hub airport.... How that which
0:22:50 > 0:22:53change the economics... If you look at who is flying those planes, they
0:22:53 > 0:22:59are mainly being bought by network carriers operating out of big hub
0:22:59 > 0:23:03airports. They are helping to build the hub because they make them more
0:23:03 > 0:23:09viable to have secondary cities connected. We need in the UK the
0:23:09 > 0:23:12capacity to have more flights from Heathrow to secondary citizens
0:23:12 > 0:23:18around the world. -- secondary cities around the world. We will see
0:23:18 > 0:23:25a growth in other cities in the UK having direct flights into other
0:23:25 > 0:23:29hubs around the world, such as Hong Kong work to buy. That's a very good
0:23:29 > 0:23:35thing but it does not substitute for having an expanded Heathrow. Only an
0:23:35 > 0:23:41expanded Heathrow make sure the UK will be at the centre...
0:23:41 > 0:23:43The ongoing story of expansion at Heathrow.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46Now, could we see local authorities in England's big cities
0:23:46 > 0:23:47gaining some powers over income tax?
0:23:47 > 0:23:51The idea's been suggested at a Commons Committee hearing
0:23:51 > 0:23:52that's been looking at the future finances of of local councils.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56that's been looking at the future finances of local councils.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59The Chief Executive of the public service accountancy group CIPFA
0:23:59 > 0:24:01said there was a clear need for greater cash-raising powers
0:24:01 > 0:24:06as demands on England's city-regions increase.
0:24:06 > 0:24:11A Conservative MP took up the questioning.
0:24:11 > 0:24:17Are you suggesting that they should be another change that we should
0:24:17 > 0:24:20move away from devolution towards a more central interference model
0:24:20 > 0:24:24we've had before?Change I would hope to see one day is that a
0:24:24 > 0:24:29regional devolution in England is similar to devolution within the
0:24:29 > 0:24:35nations of the UK. If the Scottish Government can vary income tax or
0:24:35 > 0:24:41corporation tax in order to fund services in Scotland, why can't the
0:24:41 > 0:24:47Mayor of London or the mayor of Manchester? Have access to varied
0:24:47 > 0:24:51income tax or corporation tax in accordance with the plans of that
0:24:51 > 0:24:54area. The problem is local government is being funded from a
0:24:54 > 0:24:59very local tax space. And actually, devolution over time will mean a
0:24:59 > 0:25:06wider transfer of responsibilities and a plurality of the funding
0:25:06 > 0:25:10proposed with it. That's what I think everybody in local government
0:25:10 > 0:25:15would one day like to see.
0:25:15 > 0:25:16And that's it for this program.
0:25:16 > 0:25:19Mandy Baker will be here for the rest of the week.
0:25:19 > 0:25:28But for now, from me, Keith Macdougall, goodbye.