Browse content similar to 08/03/2017. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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an international women's day that there is no other nation across the | :00:00. | :00:00. | |
European Union that has lower unemployment for women and that | :00:00. | :00:00. | |
nation is Wales. I hope he will recognise that. Questions to the | :00:00. | :00:17. | |
Prime Minister. I am sure members across the whole House will wish to | :00:18. | :00:20. | |
join me in marking International women's Day. As we celebrate the | :00:21. | :00:27. | |
social and economic and cultural and political achievements of women here | :00:28. | :00:31. | |
and around the world. But we also redouble our efforts to tackle the | :00:32. | :00:35. | |
problem is that women all too often still face. Mr Speaker I had | :00:36. | :00:39. | |
meetings with ministerial colleagues this morning with others and in | :00:40. | :00:43. | |
addition I will have further meetings today. I join the Prime | :00:44. | :00:50. | |
Minister in celebrating International women's Day. Since | :00:51. | :00:53. | |
2010 conservatives and Government have a proud record of protecting | :00:54. | :00:57. | |
and supporting both those at risk and the victims of domestic violence | :00:58. | :01:02. | |
and abuse. I saw this myself when I joined my local police and I would | :01:03. | :01:05. | |
like to thank them for the difficult job that they do. Too many women I | :01:06. | :01:13. | |
still at risk and are still suffering. What more can the Prime | :01:14. | :01:16. | |
Minister do to tackle this abhorrent crime? She raises a very serious | :01:17. | :01:24. | |
issue and it is one of which have taken a particular personal interest | :01:25. | :01:28. | |
and I attach very great personal importance of this issue. Tackling | :01:29. | :01:32. | |
domestic violence and abuse is a key priority for the Government. What we | :01:33. | :01:35. | |
have done already in Government I think has the potential to transform | :01:36. | :01:39. | |
the way in which we think and tackle these terrible crimes when take | :01:40. | :01:44. | |
place. We have already committed to bringing forward the legislation and | :01:45. | :01:49. | |
today I have confirmed an additional ?20 million to support organisations | :01:50. | :01:53. | |
working to tackle domestic violence and abuse. This means the total | :01:54. | :01:57. | |
funding available for violence against women and girls strategy | :01:58. | :02:00. | |
will be over ?100 million as Parliament. Jeremy Corbyn. Thank you | :02:01. | :02:12. | |
very much. Could I start by wishing all women are very happy | :02:13. | :02:15. | |
International women's Day today. I'm very proud that the Labour Party as | :02:16. | :02:20. | |
more women MPs than all other parties combined. In this House. And | :02:21. | :02:29. | |
as Shadow Cabinet of which half the members are women. A month ago, Mr | :02:30. | :02:39. | |
Speaker, I raised the question of the leaked text between the leader | :02:40. | :02:46. | |
of Sunni council and Government officials about social care. -- | :02:47. | :03:00. | |
Surrey. The Prime Minister responded by accusing me of peddling | :03:01. | :03:05. | |
alternative facts. Could she explain the difference between his | :03:06. | :03:07. | |
sweetheart deals and a gentleman 's agreement? The Conservative Party | :03:08. | :03:14. | |
has taken a further measure relation to women in this House very recently | :03:15. | :03:20. | |
and replaced a male Labour MP with a female Conservative. CHEERING. He | :03:21. | :03:35. | |
has asked me about the issue in relation to Surrey County Council. | :03:36. | :03:41. | |
He asked if there has been a particular deal with Surrey County | :03:42. | :03:47. | |
Council that is not available to other councils? The answer to that | :03:48. | :03:53. | |
is no. As I have said before the ability to raise social care | :03:54. | :03:58. | |
precepts of 3% is available to every council. The issue of the retention | :03:59. | :04:03. | |
of 100% of business rates is currently going to be available to a | :04:04. | :04:09. | |
number of councils in April. Let's look at them, Liverpool, Manchester, | :04:10. | :04:14. | |
London. What we know about those? They are all under Labour control. | :04:15. | :04:21. | |
What he is actually asking me is why should a Conservative council have | :04:22. | :04:25. | |
access to an arrangement that is predominantly currently available to | :04:26. | :04:33. | |
Labour councils? Jeremy Corbyn. My question was about the arrangements | :04:34. | :04:37. | |
between the Government and Surrey County Council. I'm recording has | :04:38. | :04:46. | |
now emerged saying that the leader of Sunni County Council, David | :04:47. | :04:57. | |
Hodge, -- Surrey. There was a gentleman 's agreement between him | :04:58. | :04:59. | |
and the Government that meant they would not have to go ahead with the | :05:00. | :05:06. | |
referendum. What deal was done with Surrey County Council? There is an | :05:07. | :05:09. | |
acute social crisis that affects every County Council. 4.6 billion | :05:10. | :05:18. | |
metres social care -- cuts metres social care since 2010. Can she save | :05:19. | :05:23. | |
what's gentleman 's agreement is available to them? I think if we | :05:24. | :05:30. | |
could just be a little patient and wait half an hour for the budget. He | :05:31. | :05:36. | |
will actually find out what social care funding is available to all | :05:37. | :05:41. | |
councils. If he is asking me if there was a special deal for Surrey | :05:42. | :05:45. | |
that was not available to other councils the answer is no. If he is | :05:46. | :05:51. | |
looking to uncover a conspiracy I suggest he just looks behind him. Mr | :05:52. | :06:04. | |
Speaker, if all the arrangements are so clear and above board, will the | :06:05. | :06:10. | |
Prime Minister place in the library of the House a record of all 121 | :06:11. | :06:14. | |
meetings that have been held between the Communities Secretary and the | :06:15. | :06:20. | |
Chancellor with any council leader chair of social services anywhere in | :06:21. | :06:26. | |
England? And can she explained if there is no special deal why Surrey | :06:27. | :06:31. | |
is the only County Council to be allowed into the business rates | :06:32. | :06:34. | |
retention pilot when it has been denied to others? The business rates | :06:35. | :06:46. | |
retention pilot will be coming into force for a number of councils this | :06:47. | :06:52. | |
April. That includes, as I have already said in answer to his | :06:53. | :06:57. | |
earlier question, Liverpool and Greater Manchester and Greater | :06:58. | :07:01. | |
London and some others. In 2019 in 2020 it will be available to 100% of | :07:02. | :07:09. | |
councils. For 2018 and 2019 councils unable to apply to be part of | :07:10. | :07:13. | |
further pilot, all councils across the country. The text said there was | :07:14. | :07:21. | |
a memorandum about the standing. The Prime Minister said there was no | :07:22. | :07:24. | |
deal and she is now include about this. -- and clear. -- unclear. Did | :07:25. | :07:40. | |
she actually know what arrangements were made with Surrey County | :07:41. | :07:45. | |
Council? Could the Prime Minister tell us how many new school places | :07:46. | :07:54. | |
will be needed by 2020? Can I just say to the right Honourable | :07:55. | :07:56. | |
gentleman that really he should listen to the answers I gave before | :07:57. | :08:02. | |
a asked the next question. He said I did not answer the question about a | :08:03. | :08:08. | |
special deal for Sally. I think I have answered a treatise but I would | :08:09. | :08:15. | |
do it aforetime. -- aforetime. -- Surrey. There was no special deal | :08:16. | :08:22. | |
for Sally that was not available for other councils. -- Surrey. She was | :08:23. | :08:33. | |
asked why the is a crisis in school places and class sizes soaring | :08:34. | :08:38. | |
thanks to her Government. What is the answer on the number of new | :08:39. | :08:44. | |
school places needed? This Government has a policy about | :08:45. | :08:46. | |
increasing the number of school places. But doing more than that. I | :08:47. | :08:53. | |
want to increase the number of good school places so that every child | :08:54. | :08:57. | |
has the opportunity to go to a good school. That is what the money we | :08:58. | :09:02. | |
put it into education is about. It includes money for a new free | :09:03. | :09:07. | |
schools. Those will be faith schools and universities skills and | :09:08. | :09:12. | |
comprehensives and grammar schools. Mass schools. There will be a | :09:13. | :09:16. | |
diversity because what I want is a good school place for every child. | :09:17. | :09:23. | |
And parents to have a choice. -- mathematics schools. What he wants | :09:24. | :09:33. | |
his pain and stabilitys take what they are given, good or bad. 420,000 | :09:34. | :09:41. | |
school places are needed. Nothing she says gets anywhere near to that. | :09:42. | :09:48. | |
She proposes the flagship scheme to build the Royal schools the wrong | :09:49. | :09:52. | |
place spending millions on vanity projects of grammar schools and free | :09:53. | :09:56. | |
schools while people funding is falling in real terms. Is it not | :09:57. | :09:59. | |
time that this colossal waste of money is addressed if it is doing | :10:00. | :10:05. | |
nothing to help the vast majority of children and nothing to solve the | :10:06. | :10:09. | |
crisis of school places and soaring class sizes. That is what every | :10:10. | :10:14. | |
parent in this country once, not vanity projects from her Government. | :10:15. | :10:19. | |
It is no vanity project want every child to have a good school place. | :10:20. | :10:27. | |
The majority of free schools that have been opened have been opened in | :10:28. | :10:31. | |
areas where there is a need for school places and the majority have | :10:32. | :10:40. | |
been opened in areas of disadvantage with their help in the very children | :10:41. | :10:44. | |
we want to see given the opportunity to get on in life. This is about a | :10:45. | :10:48. | |
fairer society and on this budget gave what we see is we are securing | :10:49. | :10:53. | |
the economy and labour want to weaken it. We are working for a | :10:54. | :10:57. | |
fairer society, Labour opposed every single reform. We are fighting for | :10:58. | :11:03. | |
the best deal for Britain. Labour are fighting among themselves. That | :11:04. | :11:08. | |
is Labour, weak, divided and unfit to govern this great country. This | :11:09. | :11:20. | |
week it is likely that sadly for people will suffer a stroke and | :11:21. | :11:31. | |
Erewash. Given that their highly successful stroke strategy finishes | :11:32. | :11:38. | |
this year will she publish our stroke strategy which will include | :11:39. | :11:47. | |
outcomes for patients? I want to assure her that the NHS does want to | :11:48. | :11:51. | |
continue to build on successes of the current stroke strategy. There | :11:52. | :11:56. | |
have been huge improvements over the last decades in stroke care and we | :11:57. | :12:02. | |
want to deliver our vision for truly world leading care. On a particular | :12:03. | :12:05. | |
treatment universe do I understand the NHS has approved the use of | :12:06. | :12:11. | |
mechanical plot retrieval in specific cases. It does rigorously | :12:12. | :12:14. | |
on the quality of stroke care across the country so we can come good on | :12:15. | :12:23. | |
promises. Include some of the fastest recoveries for strokes and | :12:24. | :12:27. | |
heart attacks in Europe. Angus Robertson. An international women's | :12:28. | :12:35. | |
day we wish all campaigners for equality well. Across Parliamentary | :12:36. | :12:42. | |
Brexit committee has recommended the UK guarantee status of EU nationals | :12:43. | :12:48. | |
working in the UK and act unilaterally necessary. They went to | :12:49. | :12:57. | |
see that the current process is not fit for purpose and in the absence | :12:58. | :13:01. | |
of any contrary resolution to relieve things that he felt by the | :13:02. | :13:05. | |
estimated 3 million EU citizens resident in the UK it is untenable | :13:06. | :13:09. | |
to continue with the system as it stands. Given the massive positive | :13:10. | :13:15. | |
contribution that Europeans nationals make to this country what | :13:16. | :13:18. | |
concrete plans that the premise that have to deal with this? As the right | :13:19. | :13:23. | |
honourable gentleman knows we do want to have an earlier agreement | :13:24. | :13:26. | |
which will enable us to guarantee the status of EU citizens living in | :13:27. | :13:31. | |
the UK but also we need to gun to the status of UK citizens living in | :13:32. | :13:38. | |
the European Union. The Home Office is looking at this and how they can | :13:39. | :13:43. | |
improve the systems and simplify them. | :13:44. | :13:50. | |
Since 2010, the Home Office has seen its full-time staff equivalent cut | :13:51. | :13:58. | |
by 10%, so at current rates of processing applications for | :13:59. | :14:01. | |
permanent residency, it would take the Home Office more than 50 years, | :14:02. | :14:08. | |
50 years to deal with frequent to European -- 3.2 million European | :14:09. | :14:11. | |
nationals in the UK. This is clearly totally unacceptable. Will the Prime | :14:12. | :14:18. | |
Minister tell us how quickly she hopes to be able to guarantee all | :14:19. | :14:21. | |
European nationals permanent residency? The honourable gentleman | :14:22. | :14:27. | |
can't just stand up and say, because actually the Home Office is getting | :14:28. | :14:33. | |
more efficient, it's been longer for answers to... It's got more | :14:34. | :14:38. | |
efficient at dealing with these things. I don't know if he has ever | :14:39. | :14:42. | |
heard about technology, but these days people apply online and they | :14:43. | :14:49. | |
are dealt with online. Following the recent findings of a study of terror | :14:50. | :14:53. | |
convictions in Britain, it is clear there are serious problems with how | :14:54. | :14:57. | |
communities integrate into society, and the danger that this lack of | :14:58. | :15:02. | |
integration will lead to acts of terror. With the Prime Minister | :15:03. | :15:07. | |
update the house on the government counterterrorism strategy and the to | :15:08. | :15:12. | |
these findings? It is a very serious issue that my honourable friend has | :15:13. | :15:16. | |
raised. The government is taking a comprehensive approach to tackling | :15:17. | :15:20. | |
terrorism, violent extremism at source, but also through our | :15:21. | :15:23. | |
counter-extremism strategy looking at extremism more widely, and we | :15:24. | :15:26. | |
want to defeat not just terrorism and violent extremism at extremism | :15:27. | :15:31. | |
where every two Kurds. We will shortly publish a new | :15:32. | :15:38. | |
counterterrorism strategy. -- wherever it occurs. This is backed | :15:39. | :15:43. | |
up by additional investment in security and intelligence agencies. | :15:44. | :15:46. | |
I am clear that the government is doing everything it can to tackle | :15:47. | :15:50. | |
issues around integration, extremism and terrorism. I come from a | :15:51. | :15:59. | |
Westminster hall debate on the half of my young constituent, Sam, who is | :16:00. | :16:03. | |
11, who developed narcolepsy as result of receiving the pandemics | :16:04. | :16:08. | |
vaccine to protect him from swine flu. Sanders mother is in the | :16:09. | :16:13. | |
gallery. In these rare and devastating cases, the link between | :16:14. | :16:19. | |
this vaccine and narcolepsy is proven, and yet families like this | :16:20. | :16:24. | |
face long legal battles with the government. Will the Prime Minister | :16:25. | :16:27. | |
today promise that no more of these disabled children will be hounded | :16:28. | :16:30. | |
through the courts, apologised to the families concerned and also to | :16:31. | :16:37. | |
oversee payments to support the children's long-term care needs? ... | :16:38. | :16:42. | |
Can I first of all congratulate the honourable lady on securing a | :16:43. | :16:46. | |
Westminster hall debate on this important topic. At the end of her | :16:47. | :16:50. | |
questions, she refers to the issue of payments. Of course she realises | :16:51. | :16:55. | |
that the vaccine damages payment scheme is not a compensation scheme | :16:56. | :16:59. | |
but a one-off tax-free lump sum paid to help ease the burden of those who | :17:00. | :17:03. | |
are disabled as a result of vaccination, and it is part of a | :17:04. | :17:07. | |
range of support. She has raised a very specific case. Can I suggest to | :17:08. | :17:12. | |
her that obviously she has had that Westminster hall debate, we want to | :17:13. | :17:16. | |
ensure that the process is open and fair at every stage. DWP looks at | :17:17. | :17:20. | |
every claim based on its own facts and, if she wants to provide me with | :17:21. | :17:25. | |
the details, I am sure the Minister for disabled people, health and work | :17:26. | :17:29. | |
will look into this specific case. Question for, sir. While I won't | :17:30. | :17:36. | |
speculate on the statement that my right honourable friend, the | :17:37. | :17:41. | |
Chancellor, will be making shortly, I can assure my honourable friend at | :17:42. | :17:46. | |
the fundamentals of our economy are strong. Since 2010, employment in | :17:47. | :17:52. | |
the West Midlands has risen by 215000 and private sector employment | :17:53. | :17:55. | |
alone grew by 80,000 over the last year. We have also seen schools and | :17:56. | :17:59. | |
police budget is protected and more doctors and nurses in his local | :18:00. | :18:05. | |
hospitals. And we have also witnessed the post Brexit vote of | :18:06. | :18:09. | |
confidence from Nissan, Boeing and Dyson, investing in other parts of | :18:10. | :18:12. | |
the country but put my right honourable friend speak a little bit | :18:13. | :18:18. | |
more about firms like jaguar Land Rover in the West Midlands? I am | :18:19. | :18:24. | |
happy to say to my honourable friend that, in a wider sense, our plans | :18:25. | :18:28. | |
for the Midlands engine show that we want an economy that works for | :18:29. | :18:32. | |
everyone. We have already confirmed over 330 million in the growth deal | :18:33. | :18:38. | |
funding, money going to the Midlands engine investment fund, the | :18:39. | :18:41. | |
Birmingham rail hub, but it is important to recognise the best and | :18:42. | :18:46. | |
being made in UK by companies like Jaguar Land Rover, who will be | :18:47. | :18:49. | |
building their new range Rover model in Solihull. That is good news for | :18:50. | :18:54. | |
the West Midlands and the British economy, and a sign of confidence | :18:55. | :18:58. | |
Jaguar Land Rover has in the UK for the future. My Blackpool casework is | :18:59. | :19:05. | |
now full of the anxieties DWP and Home Office are imposing on | :19:06. | :19:09. | |
vulnerable constituents, including officials' attempts to overturn | :19:10. | :19:12. | |
tribunal decisions protecting benefits and residents. They include | :19:13. | :19:15. | |
a family settled here for eight years and a man with a severe brain | :19:16. | :19:19. | |
injury. Can I ask the Prime Minister, if she wants people to | :19:20. | :19:24. | |
respect exit means Brexit, shouldn't she respect that tribunal 's mean | :19:25. | :19:28. | |
tribunal 's and not try and block them with grubby regulations, | :19:29. | :19:36. | |
affecting 164,000 disabled people? If the honourable gentleman is | :19:37. | :19:38. | |
referring to the decision that has been taken in relation to the courts | :19:39. | :19:43. | |
and the personal independence payments, as I explained in this | :19:44. | :19:48. | |
house last week, as has been explained by the Secretary of State, | :19:49. | :19:53. | |
this is about restoring the system to the state that it was intended to | :19:54. | :19:58. | |
be when Parliament agreed it. It was agreed by the coalition government, | :19:59. | :20:02. | |
agreed by this Parliament after extensive consultation. A National | :20:03. | :20:09. | |
Apprenticeship Week, it's important to recognise this government's | :20:10. | :20:11. | |
commitment to investment and commitment to apprenticeships and | :20:12. | :20:16. | |
skills. Would the Prime Minister look at encouraging a great | :20:17. | :20:19. | |
commitment to degree apprenticeships as part of the strategy, as | :20:20. | :20:24. | |
championed by businesses in my constituency like BAE Systems, who | :20:25. | :20:26. | |
have been at the forefront of developing new programmes to its | :20:27. | :20:29. | |
engineering degree apprenticeship scheme? My honourable friend raises | :20:30. | :20:35. | |
a very important issue. As we look to the future, we want to insure | :20:36. | :20:39. | |
that people in the UK have the skills they need for the economy of | :20:40. | :20:42. | |
the future. Degree apprenticeships will be an important part of this. | :20:43. | :20:47. | |
As he refers to, there are companies like BAE Systems which had been at | :20:48. | :20:51. | |
the forefront of developing those new programmes, and I am pleased to | :20:52. | :20:56. | |
say that overall, we look at and ships, the additional levy will take | :20:57. | :20:59. | |
the total investment in England, 2.45 billion, double what was spent | :21:00. | :21:05. | |
in 2010. That means it is more opportunities for young people to | :21:06. | :21:07. | |
gain the skills they need for their future. Tomorrow, a memorial will be | :21:08. | :21:14. | |
unveiled to those men and women who served our country in Afghanistan | :21:15. | :21:19. | |
and Iraq. Does the Prime Minister agree that we should all pay tribute | :21:20. | :21:25. | |
to their service and commemorate their sacrifice, not just with a | :21:26. | :21:30. | |
memorial but through a commitment, to learn from the past and do better | :21:31. | :21:35. | |
in the future? The honourable gentleman raises a very important | :21:36. | :21:41. | |
point. This will be a significant ceremony, when this memorial is | :21:42. | :21:44. | |
unveiled, and I think we should all across this house paid tribute to | :21:45. | :21:51. | |
those whom that memorial will be recognising for the sacrifice they | :21:52. | :21:55. | |
made. Those in our Armed Forces but also all those civilians who also | :21:56. | :21:58. | |
worked to deliver aid and health care and education. It is important | :21:59. | :22:03. | |
that we recognise the sacrifices made by our Armed Forces, and also | :22:04. | :22:08. | |
by their families, and that is, it will be a significant moment | :22:09. | :22:11. | |
tomorrow. We are very clear that we do need to learn the lessons from | :22:12. | :22:14. | |
the past, and that is exactly what we will do. I was delighted with the | :22:15. | :22:22. | |
Prime Minister's intervention in mental health in January, which I | :22:23. | :22:25. | |
still feel is not had the attention it deserves. In Plymouth, we are | :22:26. | :22:30. | |
completely reconfiguring our mental health services, because we | :22:31. | :22:33. | |
understand that parity of esteem means nothing without parity of | :22:34. | :22:36. | |
provision. Will the premise that come and visit us in Plymouth, come | :22:37. | :22:41. | |
and see the pioneering work we are doing, perhaps in National Mental | :22:42. | :22:45. | |
Health Week in May where I'm hoping Plymouth will take a national lead? | :22:46. | :22:51. | |
I know this is an issue that my honourable friend has championed and | :22:52. | :22:55. | |
it is close to his areas of concern. It's important, as he talks about | :22:56. | :22:59. | |
parity of esteem, which the government has introduced, and more | :23:00. | :23:03. | |
money is going into mental health provision than ever before, and I | :23:04. | :23:06. | |
would be delighted to see work being done in Plymouth, provided my dowry | :23:07. | :23:14. | |
-- my diary allows. In my constituency of Burnley, primary and | :23:15. | :23:16. | |
secondary schools are severely underfunded. Maintained nursery | :23:17. | :23:23. | |
schools are struggling to survive. Why at this time, when we cannot | :23:24. | :23:27. | |
adequately fund the schools we already have, is the Prime Minister | :23:28. | :23:30. | |
is digesting spending millions of pounds creating new grammar schools | :23:31. | :23:35. | |
that will only help a minority of children? This is as unfair as the | :23:36. | :23:40. | |
new funding formula and it will do nothing to help social mobility. | :23:41. | :23:46. | |
Let's be clear about what the government has done, there are | :23:47. | :23:49. | |
record amounts of funding going into education in this country. It was a | :23:50. | :23:55. | |
Conservative led government that introduced a pupil premium. It is a | :23:56. | :23:59. | |
Conservative led government that has protected because schools budget. | :24:00. | :24:02. | |
When it comes to new money that will be going into schools as a result of | :24:03. | :24:07. | |
today's announcements, that money is not about a return to a binary | :24:08. | :24:10. | |
system of grammar schools and secondary moderns. That isn't what | :24:11. | :24:15. | |
we are going to do. We are ensuring that there is a diversity of | :24:16. | :24:22. | |
provision, so, yes, some grammar schools, but comprehensives, faith | :24:23. | :24:24. | |
schools, universities calls, maths schools. I want a good school place | :24:25. | :24:29. | |
for every child, and more than that, the right school place for every | :24:30. | :24:35. | |
child. On this International Women's Day, it is fantastic that we have | :24:36. | :24:41. | |
the highest female employment rate on record, the highest percentage of | :24:42. | :24:46. | |
women on FTSE 100 boards on record, the gender pay gap is at the lowest | :24:47. | :24:52. | |
on record, and we have an amazing female Prime Minister. | :24:53. | :25:05. | |
CHEERING AND JEERING. However, Mr Speaker, I am sure the | :25:06. | :25:09. | |
Prime Minister will agree there is still much more to do, in particular | :25:10. | :25:14. | |
supporting women back to work after a career break. Can my right | :25:15. | :25:18. | |
honourable friend outline what government is going to do to level | :25:19. | :25:25. | |
the playing field? I thank my honourable friend for her question. | :25:26. | :25:29. | |
When I stood on the steps of Downing Street last July and I talked about | :25:30. | :25:32. | |
a country which works for everyone, I meant that, and that is why we are | :25:33. | :25:36. | |
taking a number of measures, including an International Women's | :25:37. | :25:44. | |
Day today, and we will be setting up a new fund to help mothers returning | :25:45. | :25:49. | |
to work after a long career break. Return ships are important. They are | :25:50. | :25:52. | |
open to both men and women, but we should all recognise that the | :25:53. | :25:55. | |
majority of those who take time out of a career are women who are | :25:56. | :26:00. | |
devoting themselves to motherhood for a period. Often, getting back | :26:01. | :26:02. | |
into employment is difficult for them, they find it closed. That is | :26:03. | :26:07. | |
why it makes economic sense, but it is also right and fair for these | :26:08. | :26:11. | |
women that we provide for these return ships to enable them to get | :26:12. | :26:17. | |
back the workplace. Everyone agrees that early years education is | :26:18. | :26:20. | |
crucial for the welfare and future of our children fostered however, | :26:21. | :26:24. | |
nurses in my constituency tell me that the funding for 30 hours of | :26:25. | :26:29. | |
free childcare is not sufficient and not enough, and many of them will be | :26:30. | :26:34. | |
forced to close. What steps will Prime Minister take to ensure that | :26:35. | :26:41. | |
those nurses -- those nurseries do not close? The honourable lady talks | :26:42. | :26:43. | |
about the 30 hours which is being introduced. We have introduced 15 | :26:44. | :26:51. | |
hours of free childcare every week for all four-year-olds already. 15 | :26:52. | :26:56. | |
hours for disadvantaged two-year-olds, and help with up to | :26:57. | :26:59. | |
70% of childcare costs or people on low incomes. We will spend a record | :27:00. | :27:06. | |
?6 billion on childcare support by the end of this Parliament. It is | :27:07. | :27:10. | |
this Conservative government, it is Conservatives in government that | :27:11. | :27:13. | |
have the record of supporting parents in relation to childcare | :27:14. | :27:18. | |
needs. Does my right honourable friend agree that it is indefensible | :27:19. | :27:24. | |
for the Labour police and crime commission in West Yorkshire to be | :27:25. | :27:29. | |
raising the council tax precept when he has ?120 million in reserves and | :27:30. | :27:33. | |
overspent this year -- understood this year's budget by ?4 million? | :27:34. | :27:39. | |
The decision about what to do with the police precept on council tax is | :27:40. | :27:45. | |
a matter for the directly elected police and crime commission in West | :27:46. | :27:48. | |
Yorkshire, as it is in every area that has one, but I would always | :27:49. | :27:52. | |
encourage those commissioners to look at ways of introducing | :27:53. | :27:56. | |
efficiencies into their forces before looking to introduce local | :27:57. | :28:00. | |
taxes. I think what we have seen over the last six years is that | :28:01. | :28:04. | |
police forces can find sensible savings and reduce crime at the same | :28:05. | :28:11. | |
time. Mr Speaker, you will know that the Royal College of Physicians have | :28:12. | :28:18. | |
found that 40,000 people die prematurely each year from diesel | :28:19. | :28:22. | |
pollution, at a cost of ?20 billion to the UK economy, and YouGov have | :28:23. | :28:31. | |
found that 47% of diesel drivers are willing to switch given the right | :28:32. | :28:35. | |
tax incentive. Will she commits to a fiscal strategy and a new clean air | :28:36. | :28:40. | |
act to put us on a new, cleaner, healthier trajectory, taking global | :28:41. | :28:44. | |
leadership, rather than being dragged into the courts over basic | :28:45. | :28:52. | |
EU air quality standards? As the honourable gentleman will know, we | :28:53. | :28:55. | |
are looking at the measures we need to introduce to improve air quality. | :28:56. | :28:58. | |
There have been imprudent in recent years, but we need to go further, | :28:59. | :29:02. | |
and that is what the government is looking out across the apartment, | :29:03. | :29:06. | |
together with the department for food and rural affairs, and they pay | :29:07. | :29:12. | |
most attention to that, because it is their remit. We will bring | :29:13. | :29:16. | |
forward proposals on air quality in due course. | :29:17. | :29:23. | |
International Women's Day is a chance to reflect on how governments | :29:24. | :29:27. | |
and democracies across the world serve women. Will my honourable | :29:28. | :29:34. | |
friend confirm that when it comes to female primer ministers, it is 2-0 | :29:35. | :29:46. | |
to the Conservatives? -- prime. I am grateful to my honourable friend for | :29:47. | :29:52. | |
having pointed that out, which I refrain from doing earlier in | :29:53. | :29:56. | |
response to questions, but I think it is very telling that the Labour | :29:57. | :30:00. | |
Party spent a lot of time speaking about rights for women, giving | :30:01. | :30:05. | |
support to women, getting women on, whereas the Conservative Party is | :30:06. | :30:09. | |
the party in this House that has provided two female prime ministers. | :30:10. | :30:20. | |
Will the Prime Minister gave an undertaking that any new Scotland | :30:21. | :30:25. | |
Act will only be drafted after full consultation with the people of | :30:26. | :30:28. | |
Scotland and with the consent of the Scottish Parliament? I will just say | :30:29. | :30:36. | |
to the honourable lady, I am not sure whether she is referring to | :30:37. | :30:39. | |
discussions currently taking place about the powers that might be | :30:40. | :30:42. | |
available to devolved administrations once we have left | :30:43. | :30:46. | |
the EU but she knows full well we undertake full discussions with the | :30:47. | :30:50. | |
Scottish Government on measures which are reserved matters and on | :30:51. | :30:54. | |
measures where we are negotiating on behalf of the whole United Kingdom. | :30:55. | :31:00. | |
Thank you, Mr Speaker. A business in my constituency operates out of a | :31:01. | :31:06. | |
small market town and also has offices in Seattle and Sydney. It | :31:07. | :31:10. | |
employs 24 people providing high-quality IT jobs, with high-tech | :31:11. | :31:20. | |
fast rural broadband and telephone communication. This is the answer, | :31:21. | :31:25. | |
the recipe, for growing our rural economy. Will my right honourable | :31:26. | :31:29. | |
friend undertake to Government does all it can to fill the blank spots | :31:30. | :31:35. | |
in our rural areas? I can assure my honourable friend we very much want | :31:36. | :31:41. | |
to ensure we are doing that. My right honourable friend Secretary of | :31:42. | :31:43. | |
State for Defence culture, media and sport is looking at our digital | :31:44. | :31:46. | |
strategy and ensuring broadband is available in rural areas and indeed | :31:47. | :31:49. | |
at good speeds in other areas that might be less rural than my | :31:50. | :32:02. | |
honourable friend's constituency. Thank you, Mr Speaker. I do not know | :32:03. | :32:11. | |
whether members are cheering, because it is Friday or because of | :32:12. | :32:15. | |
the popularity of the right Honourable gentleman. Mr Tim | :32:16. | :32:25. | |
Farron... You are too tight. International Women's Day we stand | :32:26. | :32:28. | |
with women and girls across the world and not we should not take for | :32:29. | :32:33. | |
granted the progress made. Yesterday we had hundreds of families of | :32:34. | :32:37. | |
soldiers who died in Iraq and Afghanistan have been denied seats | :32:38. | :32:41. | |
at tomorrow's unveiling of the memorial to our fallen trips. | :32:42. | :32:47. | |
Inviting a relative of each of those killed in Iraq and Afghanistan would | :32:48. | :32:50. | |
have taken up fewer than a third of the 2000 seats at that event. Would | :32:51. | :32:53. | |
she now apologise to those families for what I should is a careless | :32:54. | :32:59. | |
oversight and rectify that mistake immediately so that bereaved | :33:00. | :33:02. | |
families can come to pay respects to their fall loved ones? Well, can I | :33:03. | :33:08. | |
reassure the honourable gentleman that charities and groups | :33:09. | :33:10. | |
representing the bereaved were asked to put forward names of attendees | :33:11. | :33:14. | |
and we look forward to welcoming them so we can publicly acknowledge | :33:15. | :33:17. | |
the sacrifice their loved ones made on our behalf. Over half of those | :33:18. | :33:22. | |
attending tomorrow are current or former members of the Armed Forces. | :33:23. | :33:26. | |
No one from the bereaved community has been turned away and everyone | :33:27. | :33:28. | |
who has a plight has been successful but I am reassured that, and I | :33:29. | :33:33. | |
reassure, if any bereaved families wish to attend the Ministry of | :33:34. | :33:36. | |
Defence will make every effort to make sure they can do so. Order. | :33:37. | :33:51. | |
Before I call the Chancellor of the Exchequer I remind all members that | :33:52. | :33:58. | |
copies of the budget resolutions will be available in the office at | :33:59. | :34:03. | |
the end of the Chancellor's speech. I also remind honourable members it | :34:04. | :34:09. | |
is not the norm to intervene on the Chancellor of the Exchequer or the | :34:10. | :34:18. | |
Leader of the Opposition. I know call the Chancellor of the | :34:19. | :34:23. | |
Exchequer, the Right Honourable Philip Hammond. Thank | :34:24. | :34:25. |