29/11/2017 Prime Minister's Questions


29/11/2017

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I have been asked to reply on behalf

of my Right Honourable friend the

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Prime Minister who is abroad in the

Middle East furtherering our

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interests in a region that is

fundamental to national security and

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prosperity. We wish Prince Harry and

making an market happiness in their

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future. Today is the 150 #9th

anniversary of the RAF. The whole

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house will want to express our great

today to their service to this

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country.

The First Secretary's

congratulations to Prince Harry on

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his engagement. Thanks to the

outstanding efforts by the Labour

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council in North East Lincolnshire,

the Government has included the

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Greater Grimsby project in its

industrial strategy document. But we

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need more than a by line in a glossy

magazine to make its potential a

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reality. Can the First Secretary

said when the Government will put

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its money where its mouth is so we

can get going.

Beneath this, I can

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welcome the fact the honourable lady

is welcoming the industrial

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strategy. As she should do. It will

be good for Grimsby. It will be good

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for many communities around this

country. Particularly those who may

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feel in the past, they have been

left behind. I'm happy to assure her

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that the industrial strategy will

come with Monet thatched as she will

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have heard in my Right Honourable

Friend the Chancellor's budget.

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Making a success of the South Tees

mayoral development corporation is

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vital for Teesside. He was die

lighted toing with Welcome the Prime

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Minister to my constituency this

summer. Will he join me in

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recognising the scale of opportunity

the MDC makes and redefine Teesside

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to the world. And the new money

awarded in the budget is only the

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start of the process on delivering

its huge potential to change?

I can

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see my honourable friend is getting

the hang of questions already. I'm

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happy to assure him that we are

committed to working with him and

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indeed, the Tees valley mayor, Ben

Houcham who's doing so much to

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develop the area. We want to support

him and the South Tees develop

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corporation. As he says, the

Chancellor announce £123 million of

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new funding in the budget. We

recognise the significant economic

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opportunities in that area.

Let me

join the Secretary of State in

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congratulating the RAF on its

anniversary and congratulating

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on

their engagement. That's one

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American couple we'll be delighted

to see holding hands. I'm sure

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Prince Harry, the patron of Rugby

Football League will be joining all

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of us in supporting the England team

in the World Cup Final on Saturday.

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I will be waving my St George's

flag. On a much sadder note, I'm

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sure the whole House will join me in

sending our thoughts to all those

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killed and injured in Friday's

horrific attack on the mosque in

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north Sinai. It is a bitter reminder

that the vast majority of the

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victims of Jihadi terror are

Muslims. Before I get on with my

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questions, can I ask First Secretary

a point of principle. Is he happy to

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be held to the same standards in

Government as he has to others in

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opposition?

Yes, I am. All ministers

should respect and debate the

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ministerial code and I absolutely

think that that's a very important

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part of confidence in public life.

Can I also echo her thoughts about

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the terrible events in Sinai and,

also say that she may find it

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difficult to wave the St George's

flag but I will be doing so for the

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English rugby league team... As a

Welsh rugby fan, I may find it even

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more difficult than her. But I will

be doing so as well.

The First

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Secretary looked rather perturbed at

my line of questioning. He doesn't

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need to worry. I really am not going

there. I merely wondered if he

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remembered the question he asked at

Prime Minister's Questions almost 17

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years ago when John Prescott stood

in forefootball and whether he could

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answer the same question today. So,

what's the question? The question

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was this. What percentage of new

nurses recruited in the past 12

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months are now working full-time?

I

can't remember! LAUGHTER I can't

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remember asking the question then.

I'd love to know what the then

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Deputy Prime Minister answered. What

I'm happy to assure the right

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honourable lady, is that we have

more nurses, more midwives, more

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doctors... Working in the Health

Service now. The Health Service is

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performing more operations now

certainly than it was 17 years ago.

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And, in particular, in the budget

last week, my right hop rabbling

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friend the Chancellor was able to

announce more than £6 billion extra

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on health spending which will make

the Health Service even stronger in

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the future than it is now.

I thank

him for that response. Since he

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failed to answer my original

question oo ail dough it for him.

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According to the Government's latest

figures. More than 40% of newly

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recruited nurses are leaving

full-time employment within their

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first year. It is not just the new

recruits that are quitting, the

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overall number of NHS nurses and

health visitors is down by 1,500

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this year. And the numbers are now

lower than when this Government came

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into office. So, why does the First

Secretary think so many nurses are

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leaving?

There are, as I say, more

operations being done, more nurses,

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more doctors, more midwives. The

Health Service is expanding. We have

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got 14,900 more doctors, 1500 more

medical school places each year and

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we've 10,000 more nurses on our

wards and we've announced an

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increase of more than 5,000 extra

nurse training places every year. We

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are, of course, we have said in

addition, the Chancellor said in his

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budget, that we would commit to make

sure that the nurse's pay increase,

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the action for change, agenda for

change staffing covered would not

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comout of other health spending. So,

nurses can be reassured that this

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Government will continue to support

them both in pay and in terms of

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numbers and that is why our health

service in England is getting

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better. If she wants to look at a

health service where things are

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getting worse... She can look to the

Labour Government in Wales. And she

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doesn't need to take it from me, she

can take it from the public. Because

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public satisfaction with the NHS in

Wales is lower than it is in

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England. That's the effect of Labour

Government on health care.

I hate to

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brake it to him, there are more

nurses in the NHS than those working

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in emergency and acute wards.

Including, district nurses. They've

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halved under the Tories. Guess who

picks up the slack in nurses are not

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there? Nurses in acute care. Why are

so many nurses leaving the vocation

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they love? According to the RCN, the

top four reasons are excess

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workload, staff shortages, low pay

and worries about patient care.

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According to the Government's own

figures, the number of nurses

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quitting because of worries about

their finances or their health has

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doubled since the Tories first froze

their pay. Let's get on to the

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question that was asked by John

Prescott 17 years ago, he said,

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nurses at his local hospital were

warning "staff shortages are putting

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patients' lives at risk" so can he

tell me, what are those same nurses

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telling the First Secretary today?

What I can tell you is that since 17

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years ago, it is interesting that 17

years ago there were still

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significant numbers of Labour

Government ahead with all these

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pressures exposed to us, since 17

years ago, there are significantly

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more nurses in post. I didn't quite

understand her point about wards.

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She seemed to go on and off the

wards. But we know we've 10,000

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morse nurses on our wards where

people want to see them. Also, if

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she's interested in nurse's pay, of

course, I hope she'll find it in

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herself to welcome the tax cuts that

were announced in the budget, the

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increase in the personal allowances,

that will help nurses just as they

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will help workers across both the

public and private sector. This is

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good news for nurses. It was a

budget in the just good for the

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Health Service but specifically good

for the nurses profession. I hope

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she can bring herself to welcome

that.

Well, I notice he didn't want

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to talk about patient care at his

local hospital. Could the reason be

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that his local A&E according to the

board's most recent minutes "have

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severe staff shortages in medical

and nursing care, which means

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patient safety is being put at risk.

The only option to tackle those

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shortages is to cancel out patient

clinics" it gets worse. And it gets

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worse. At a public meeting tomorrow,

there is going to be a public

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meeting tomorrow to consider closing

his local A&E for good. In other

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words, all of things the First

Secretary has been denying what are

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you doing to our NHS? It is

happening on your own doorstep.

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Isn't it about time the First

Secretary got a grip?

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THE SPEAKER:

THE SPEAKER:

I'm entirely innocent

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in this matter. First Secretary.

The

right honourable lady's grasps at

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the facts is shaky. The meeting

tomorrow in my constituency is about

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the strategic transformation plan. I

am happy to assure her that I am

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entirely in favour of option one of

that strategic transformation plan

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which suggests not just leaving A&E

services in the hospital in my

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constituency but expanding

specialist services there. I would

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strongly suggest she doesn't think

she knows more about what's going on

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in my constituency than I do.

I

suspect that neither the nation or

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his own constituents will have taken

any reassurances from that answer.

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But really, we have an NHS in the

grip of a choppic funding and

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staffing crisis. GPs are quitting in

record numbers. Junior doctors are

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running A&Es without supervision.

Our nurses are at breaking point at

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before the winter crisis is coming.

So, let me finally ask the First

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Secretary, what does it say about

the Government's priorities that

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last week's budget could only find

£350 million to help the

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cash-strapped stretched to the limit

NHS cope with the winter fuel

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crisis?

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Only £350 million to cope with the

winter crisis, and was able to find

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11 times that amount, to spend on a

no deal Brexit. Isn't that the very

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definition of a government fiddling

away while the rest of the country

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burns?

The Right Honourable lady is

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determined to talk the NHS down. It

is a Conservative Government which

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is increasing funding, on the NHS,

so it remains the best Health

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Service in the world, as the

independent Commonwealth fund has

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repeated, for the second year in a

row. It is this party which promised

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and delivered more money for the NHS

in 2010, 2015, and in last week's

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budget where my Right Honourable

friend the Chancellor promised 6.3

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billion extra for the NHS. More

patients treated, more operations

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carried are out by more doctors and

nurse, when she says at the end,

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that the Government is wasting £3

billion on preparing for Brexit, we

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know that, we now know that the

Labour Party doesn't think it is

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worth preparing for Brexit, they do,

though, they do, though, think it is

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worth preparing for a run on the

pound. That is all you need to know

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about Labour.

This week, one of Labour's last two

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remaining councillors in Boston

crossed the floor to join the

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Conservatives. And he said he didn't

want to see this country go back to

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1973. Will the first secretary join

me in welcoming this new member to

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the Conservative Party, and will he

agree with me, that an open

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optimistic Britain deserved better

than reheated Marxism and Labour's

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bankrupt economy.

I am very happy to

agree with my honourable friend and

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indeed, with the wisdom of the

Labour councillor who has joined the

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Conservative Party, quite right that

what we see from the party opposite,

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is they would lose control of public

finances, hike taxes to their

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highest ever peacetime level and

cause business, the new... I would

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point out to the local councillor he

may have moved in anticipation

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because I understand that moderate

councillors are being deselected by

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the hard left. Thank you Mr Speaker

I can join the first secretary in

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congratulating Prince Harry on his

engagement. Can I welcome the

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moderator of the church of Scotland.

Can the First Secretary of State

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tell the House how much money the UK

Government has received for arms

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sales from Saudi Arabia since the

war with Yemen began. I don't have

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the figure to hand, I do urge the

honourable gentleman, to recognise

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the fact first of all, that our

defence industry is an extremely

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important creator of jobs and

prosperity, in Scotland as well as

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in other parts of the country and

that we have, because I am obviously

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aware of the very terrible situation

in Yemen at the emno, but this

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country has one of the most rigorous

and robust defence sales regimes in

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the world, it was recognised in a

court case last July, and we are

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absolutely determined to continue

the most rigorous robust system in

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place because that is the right

thing to do, both for prosperity and

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to ensure we keep a proper control

on arms.

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That is a long time to be able no to

not answer the question. The UK

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Government has received 4.billion,

from arms to Saudi Arabia since the

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war in Yemen he garntion which has

created a humanitarian crisis. Yemen

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is now on the brink of famine.

Unicef said 150,000 children will

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die by the end of the year. Doesn't

the first secretary agree the best

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thing the Prime Minister can do with

her meetings today is follow the

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example of the Netherlands and

suspend licenses for arms sales to

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Saudi Arabia.

I should correct

something the right honourable said

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that the Government received money.

It will be the companies that

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receive the money and therefore,

their worker, so, he can take that

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position if he wan, I I know the

Labour Party's position is that as

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well. But that would entail

significant job loss, what is very

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important is is not only that we

have the robust regime which I

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talked about, but that absolutely we

continue the humanitarian efforts

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that we make, to try and alleviate

the terrible conditions in Yemen, we

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are the fourth largest humanitarian

donor to Yemen, and the second

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largest to the UN appeal. I would

also remind him that the involvement

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of the Saudis in this conflict came

at a request of the legitimate

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Government of Yemen and has United

Nations Security Council backing,

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that is why we support it. This is a

conflict supported by the UN

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Security Council, and I would hope

that the right honourable gentleman

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will have some respect for the

Security Council.

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Thank you Mr Speaker. This

Government's ambition to build more

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homes is welcome, especially among

those struggling to get on the

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housing ladder. Taub on the dene is

playing its part. With its garden

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town status we must have houses that

are good places to live. Mr Speaker,

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maybe even where we have showers

where people don't use microbeads in

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the shower. But we must have the

right roads on these development,

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would he agree the housing

infrastructure fund is key to

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unlocking funds for vital roads like

the spine road through Taunton,

My

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honourable friend is absolutely

right. I know what a stout champion

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she is of the people of Taunton

Deane, she is quite right about the

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housing infrastructure's fund as

well, we need more homes but

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absolutely, we need the

infrastructure to back them up, that

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is why the Chancellor doubled the

housing infrastructure fund in the

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budget.

Thank you Mr Speaker. As the First

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Secretary of State will know being

my Nair noon in Kent. As a result of

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underfunding the County Council is

running out of cash and is cutting

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the funding to buses by 70%. Four

hospital buses, 14 school buses and

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over 100 other routes are to be cut.

Thousands of pensioner, especially

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those in rural areas are to be

trapped at hope. Does the right

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honourable member for Ashford

support such cuts.

I do not

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recognise the characterisation of

Kent County Council's position,

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which my constituency neighbour has

expressed. All Local Authorities as

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all parts of the public sector have

to live within their means because

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we have to continue paying down the

deficit that was run up by the

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previous Labour Government. Kent

County Council is a very good County

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Council which does many good things

for the people in Kent and will

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continue to do so.

Is

Would my right honourable friend

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agree that for decades the itch itch

member states in the European Union

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have made large contributions to the

budget of the EU, because the

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macroeconomic benefits of belonging

to the large free trade areas of the

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single market make it a bargain to

pay that share of the cost. Should

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we not therefore welcome the rumours

we have today, in the press, of a

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possible imminent settlement of the

method of calculating future

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contributions so it may enable us to

get on the serious negotiations

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about how we retain the maximum

future access to all those benefits

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of that free trade?

Well, my right honourable friend has

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been round long enough to not know

not believe everything he readses in

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the newspapers and it would be wrong

for me to go into figures now, he is

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absolutely right that what we are

about, and what my right honourable

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friend the Secretary of State for

Exiting the European Union is about

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is making sure we get the best

possible deal at this stage so we

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can move on to the trade talks and

Britain, as a country that meets its

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international obligations of course

we, will, as it exits the European

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Union, meet the obligations and have

all the rights we have in that

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process, so we can maintain a deep

and special partnership with the

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other 27 members of the European

Union, as we move forward in

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friendship and cooperation after we

have left. Fear of publicity, some

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of the reasons why very many women

are reluctant to report rape,

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assault and sexual harassment. Does

he agree with me, that Government,

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particle need to lead by example.

Will he, on behalf of Government

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apologise to the victims who

Parliament and Government have been

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letting down? I All of the political

parties, need to improve complaints

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procedures and other aspects of the

culture of politics, to make sure

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that young men or young women who

are interested in politics do not in

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any way feel deed from playing an

active role in it. There is a place

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for everyone in this House on all

sides and in all parties and indeed

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the House authorities of making sure

this is the best possible working

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environment for young people to come

into.

Mr Speaker, many mothers in

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this chamber know how hard

childbirth can be, but we would

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never use that knowledge in a veiled

threat against a journalist when

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being questioned in the way the

honourable member for Hampstead and

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Kilburn did when questioned by a

Channel 4 journalist recently. As I

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assume the first secretary is not

pregnant would he complete the work

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that the journalist tried and ask

the honourable member for Hampstead

0:24:210:24:25

to use her influence with her aunt

who is the Prime Minister of

0:24:250:24:30

Bangladesh whose regime is

responsible for the kidnap of... And

0:24:300:24:37

ask for his release.

I am sure

honourable lady

Order I am sure she

0:24:370:24:45

notified the honourable lady of an

intention to refer to her in this

0:24:450:24:49

question. She didn't? Well, that was

disorderly.

0:24:490:24:55

Sorry. Order, order. Order.

Nevertheless, the question has been

0:24:550:25:03

asked, nevertheless, perfectly

proper for the first secretary,

0:25:030:25:07

briefly, to reply.

You and the House

should be aware, I can only speak on

0:25:070:25:13

behalf of the Government, and I can

assure my honourable friend that

0:25:130:25:20

Bangladesh remains an important

human rights priority area for the

0:25:200:25:23

Foreign Office, and that we continue

to raise allegations of enforced

0:25:230:25:28

disappear at all levels of the

Government of Bangladesh I think I

0:25:280:25:31

should stop there.

Mr Speaker, at the present rate of

0:25:310:25:38

progress, it will take the three

officials at the first secretary's

0:25:380:25:44

old department more than 70 years to

investigate the claims of round

0:25:440:25:50

four-and-a-half thousand waspy women

deprived of their state pension. I

0:25:500:25:55

know this Government is slow but

isn't that adding insult to injury?

0:25:550:26:02

The honourable gentleman will be

aware that the Government committed

0:26:020:26:07

a sum of more than 1 billion £ to

make sure that no-one's pension

0:26:070:26:11

would be delayed more than 18 months

from the original period and he

0:26:110:26:16

also, I am sure, as a reasonable man

recognises that with increasing

0:26:160:26:21

longevity it is inevitable that the

pension age will rise. That is what

0:26:210:26:25

this Government is doing, and by

next year, pension inequality will

0:26:250:26:29

have been removed. We will hit 65

for both sexes, in next year, and

0:26:290:26:36

that means that we will then have an

equal pensions system. James Gray.

0:26:360:26:44

The Royal Air Force is unique having

been established by an act of

0:26:440:26:48

parablement which received Royal

Assent 100 years ago today. Will he

0:26:480:26:51

find time to Joan me and members of

both Houses and staff throughout the

0:26:510:26:57

Palace in celebrating the service

the RAF have given over the last 100

0:26:570:27:02

years in a unique parade this

evening at 7.30?

I have already

0:27:020:27:11

mentioned the sentry today and my

honourable friend is right not just

0:27:110:27:14

to bring it up again, we cannot pay

high enough tribute to the men and

0:27:140:27:18

women of the RAF for a century of

service that will go on for a long

0:27:180:27:22

time, into the future as well, and I

am glad he has managed to get an

0:27:220:27:28

advert in for the parade at

Portcullis House.

0:27:280:27:30

Thank you. The United Kingdom has

lost its seat on the international

0:27:300:27:35

Court of Justice. EU agencies are

pulling out of London, and there

0:27:350:27:39

will be no more European capitals of

culture in the United Kingdom. Is

0:27:390:27:43

the sun setting on empire 2.0 before

it has even begun?

I think the

0:27:430:27:53

honourable gentleman has, is not, it

is not surprising that EU

0:27:530:27:57

institutions are not going to be in

a state that is not a member of the

0:27:570:28:01

EU, that can't come as a surprise.

On the capitals of culture, I rather

0:28:010:28:07

agree, I think it is very

disappointing that after they had

0:28:070:28:12

let British cities asking, I know

some in Scotland, asking to apply to

0:28:120:28:16

be part of the process, the

Commission decided that they

0:28:160:28:19

couldn't. We are iner George

Entwistle gent talks with the

0:28:190:28:22

Commission about that and in

particular, we are making sure that

0:28:220:28:26

all those cities who applied can

continue with their cultural

0:28:260:28:30

development because cultural

development has been shown to be an

0:28:300:28:33

extremely good basis for the

regeneration of cities and towns

0:28:330:28:36

across the United Kingdom.

0:28:360:28:42

This Saturday, I will be announcing

the winners of Mayanual local shop

0:28:420:28:46

Kempeities as part of small business

Saturday. Will my Right Honourable

0:28:460:28:52

Friend wish all retailers the best

of luck and also wish those winners

0:28:520:28:57

congratulations?

I'm very happy to

share my honourable friend's

0:28:570:29:03

congratulations for her retailers. I

like I suspect many members will be

0:29:030:29:10

celebrating small business Saturday

this weekend. It has become an

0:29:100:29:15

extremely important part of the

calendar. Supporting small business

0:29:150:29:17

is at the heart of this Government's

economic strategy. We should all

0:29:170:29:21

take every opportunity to celebrate

the hugely important work they do in

0:29:210:29:26

innovation, entrepreneurship and in

serving the people.

Today we see

0:29:260:29:33

shocking new figures that child

knife deaths are nearing a 40-year

0:29:330:29:37

high. Five months ago, the Prime

Minister in this place promised

0:29:370:29:41

action. But she has failed to

deliver. Nothing in the budget on

0:29:410:29:47

policing and nothing meaningful to

tackle the causes as well as the

0:29:470:29:50

crime. It's clear we need

intervention now and not just from

0:29:500:29:53

the Home Office. Funding youth

workers in major trauma centres is

0:29:530:29:57

proven to get young people out of

the psych violence it would cost £6

0:29:570:30:02

million a year to fund. Will the

First Secretary in his role

0:30:020:30:06

establish a cross-Government

programme of action to come good on

0:30:060:30:09

the Prime Minister's promise?

I'm

sure the honourable lady is aware

0:30:090:30:13

the stance on knife crime this

Government is taking is tougher than

0:30:130:30:16

ever. We've made punishment against

repeat offenders stronger. We've

0:30:160:30:21

banned cautions for the most serious

offences. There is now a very clear

0:30:210:30:25

message, if you carry knives in

public you are more likely than ever

0:30:250:30:29

to go to price on. Price on. The

latest figures show 42% of adult

0:30:290:30:36

offenders were given an immediate

custodial sentence, the highest rate

0:30:360:30:40

in nearly a decade. I hope she can

be reassured this Government's being

0:30:400:30:46

tougher on knife crime than any

previous Government.

Does the First

0:30:460:30:50

Secretary agree with me we don't

need to break into the computer or

0:30:500:30:55

iPad to work out the half a trillion

he wants to borrow will attract £7.5

0:30:550:31:01

billion of interest payments over a

year.

The one difficult

0:31:010:31:09

THE SPEAKER:

This relates to no

Government policy the gentleman is

0:31:090:31:13

responsible or rather the Shadow

Chancellor for which he isn't.

Mr

0:31:130:31:22

Speaker, Sharon Jones is a

constituent who had a malignant

0:31:220:31:27

brain tumour removed 20 years ago.

This left her with excruciating

0:31:270:31:31

headaches and severe pain in her

neck and shoulders. Sharon has been

0:31:310:31:35

in receipt of ESA and the Department

for Work and Pensions accepts that

0:31:350:31:39

Sharon is not fit for work. Yet, she

has now been placed in the work

0:31:390:31:44

related activity group and her

benefit has been reduced. Will the

0:31:440:31:50

First Secretary justify this to

Sharon?

Obviously there will be

0:31:500:31:55

clearly be individual issues in this

case which I can't be aware of. I'm

0:31:550:31:59

sure my Right Honourable Friend the

Secretary of State for Work and

0:31:590:32:03

Pensions will be very happy to look

at this individual case to see if

0:32:030:32:06

something needs to be done for

Sharon.

I very much welcome the

0:32:060:32:15

announcement of a border lands

growth deal. This is positive news

0:32:150:32:18

for the border aya. But can the

First Secretary assure me this

0:32:180:32:24

initiative will receive sufficient

resource to ensure its success?

I

0:32:240:32:29

share my honourable friend's

enthusiasm for the borderlands

0:32:290:32:32

growth initiative. I've seen the

many benefits of city deals and

0:32:320:32:37

growth deals around all parts-of-UK

since I became First Secretary. I

0:32:370:32:43

think the borderlands growth innish

five is particularly important

0:32:430:32:45

because it will show the mutual

prosperity between his part of the

0:32:450:32:50

north of England and the southern

part of Scotland. All I can say is

0:32:500:32:55

since my Right Honourable Friend the

Secretary of State for Scotland is

0:32:550:33:00

actually a constituency MP in the

southern part of the Scotland, I

0:33:000:33:03

know this deal will get particularly

strict attention inside the Cabinet.

0:33:030:33:11

Does the First Secretary agree with

the Lord speaker's committee that

0:33:110:33:16

the House of Lords should be reduced

to 600 and the term should be

0:33:160:33:20

limited to 15 years? Does he not

feel the slightest sense of

0:33:200:33:24

embarrassment that the crisis of

credibility of the undemocratic

0:33:240:33:29

upper chamber's become so acute its

members are themselves begging for

0:33:290:33:33

reform whilst the elect the

Government refuses to act?

I think

0:33:330:33:40

when the honourable gentleman speaks

on behalf of all members of the

0:33:400:33:44

House of Lords in terms of begging

for reform, he may not necessarily

0:33:440:33:49

absolutely be representing the

entire range of views in another

0:33:490:33:52

place. But I'm happy to assure him

the Government's looking very

0:33:520:33:59

carefully at the proposal and we

will respond in due course.

Can my

0:33:590:34:04

Right Honourable Friend and

neighbour say what action the

0:34:040:34:08

Government's proposing to take guest

Russian-backed agenciesies spreading

0:34:080:34:13

fakes news? They have been doing it

in our political Tam wanes but

0:34:130:34:18

disinformation may be spread about

important issues about vaccines and

0:34:180:34:22

the flu jab.

My honourable friend is

right to raise this. Cybersecurity

0:34:220:34:28

is an extremely important issue.

Fake news and the dissemination of

0:34:280:34:35

potentially dangerous information is

one part of that. The National Cyber

0:34:350:34:38

Security Centre is looking very hard

at this. It takes a number of

0:34:380:34:42

measures to combat it. Some of

which, obviously, have to remain

0:34:420:34:47

private. I can assure him it is very

high on the agenda of the national

0:34:470:34:54

cybersecurity service which is

underover a year old. It is doing

0:34:540:34:58

good work in making sure the area of

cybersecurity is doing much better

0:34:580:35:02

than a used to.

An 11-year-old

primary school pupil approached me

0:35:020:35:08

to say he, his mother and two

brothers live in a one bedroom flat.

0:35:080:35:15

Can he find me a council flat like I

grew up in. It is very unlikely he

0:35:150:35:20

will ever have one. Can I ask

simply, given the measures announce

0:35:200:35:25

in the last week's housing budget

will not solve the scale of the

0:35:250:35:28

problem which sees over 100,000

children living in temporary

0:35:280:35:32

accommodation. What is he going to

do to make sure that boy, his family

0:35:320:35:37

and others living in temporary

accommodation gets the decent home

0:35:370:35:40

they need that they can call their

own?

I agree this is a serious

0:35:400:35:45

problem. And that's one of the

reasons why housing was at the

0:35:450:35:50

centre of my Right Honourable

Friend, the Chancellor's budget. I

0:35:500:35:55

hear from the opposition front bench

that is asking what we're doing

0:35:550:36:01

about it. I'll tell her. Last year,

we delivered more homes than we've

0:36:010:36:05

seen in all but one of the last 30

years. 217,000, taking us to 1.1

0:36:050:36:12

million since 2010. Over the next

five years, we'll invest £44 billion

0:36:120:36:19

in home building boosting the

funding for council, social and

0:36:190:36:24

low-cost housing to over £9 billion.

We are building more social housing

0:36:240:36:29

than the Labour Government did in

its 13 years in office. We'll build

0:36:290:36:33

even more in the future. This is a

Government that's addressing his

0:36:330:36:38

constituent's problems. Previous

Labour Governments failed to do so.

0:36:380:36:50

At the recent extremely successful

Cheltenham and Literature Festival

0:36:500:36:55

Hilary clin tan came and talked

about the importance of ensuring the

0:36:550:37:00

Russians cant inter veer with

British or American elections.

0:37:000:37:03

Should we be building an offensive

cyber capability so our opponents

0:37:030:37:08

know we have the will and where with

all to strike back?

My honourable

0:37:080:37:13

friend is right as you would expect

from the member of Parliament who

0:37:130:37:18

represents GCHQ. He is absolutely

right about the offensive capacity

0:37:180:37:24

that we may well need in the cyber

area and I'm happy to assure him and

0:37:240:37:32

the House we are indeed developing

that.

I would like to ask the

0:37:320:37:39

minister if, without Mensing the new

state pension, apprenticeships or

0:37:390:37:44

stating the false hood that the

Scottish Government can somehow fix

0:37:440:37:47

the problem and begin the Prime

Minister is a WASPI woman herself,

0:37:470:37:52

how he can justify a rise of 413% in

the number of women over the age of

0:37:520:37:58

60 in receipt of ESA because of this

Government's refusal to give them

0:37:580:38:03

their pensions?

As I applied to a

previous question on this subject, I

0:38:030:38:11

hope she would recognise the

principle that is right, that we

0:38:110:38:15

need, as we live longer, to move up

the pension age. And she knows as

0:38:150:38:20

well as I do, that actually, the

Scottish Government does have the

0:38:200:38:26

capacity to top up welfare payments.

They like to sit here and deny this.

0:38:260:38:31

In Holyrood, they know they could do

this. As ever with the SNP, they

0:38:310:38:36

should stop simply moaning in this

chamber. They should go back to

0:38:360:38:41

their own Government in Scotland and

say if they want to do something,

0:38:410:38:44

they should do it. Get on with the

day job of running Scotland.

I very

0:38:440:38:55

# Welcome the Government's modern

industrial strategy that was

0:38:550:38:58

launched this week. Does my Right

Honourable Friend agree that it's

0:38:580:39:02

really going to be important as this

country moves forward. We seek a

0:39:020:39:06

global Britain in in creating more

and better quality jobs? The point

0:39:060:39:12

about the industrial strategy, which

is a hugely important moment, is to

0:39:120:39:16

create not just a stronger economy,

but a fairer economy for decades to

0:39:160:39:20

come. That's why it's looking

forward to 2030. It is a long-term

0:39:200:39:25

attempt to make sure that we have

not just a global outward looking

0:39:250:39:30

economy but a modern economy where

we can capitalise on our huge

0:39:300:39:35

research strengths and our huge

intellectual strength to make sure

0:39:350:39:42

we actually benefit commercially

from that for decades to come.

0:39:420:39:46

That's the route for rising

prosperity.

This Sunday, the 3rd

0:39:460:39:52

December, is the year when

international day of persons with a

0:39:520:39:57

disability. So far, in Government

has refused to carry out a

0:39:570:40:03

cumulative impact assessment of its

social security policies of people

0:40:030:40:06

living with a disability. Will the

First Secretary now mark this day by

0:40:060:40:10

doing the right thing for disabled

people and carry out a full,

0:40:100:40:15

cumulative impact assessment?

I'm

sure the honourable lady, who has

0:40:150:40:22

great expertise in this field will

know that this Government is

0:40:220:40:27

spending £90 billion on disability

benefits. But, more to the point, we

0:40:270:40:30

are being more successful than ever

before in giving disabled people a

0:40:300:40:35

degree of independence. Hundreds of

thousands more disabled people are

0:40:350:40:40

in work than have ever been before.

We have a plan to have an extra

0:40:400:40:46

million in work over the next ten

years. That is an extremely

0:40:460:40:50

important and practical way to

improve the lives of hundreds of

0:40:500:40:53

thousands of disabled people. That's

what this Government is doing.

0:40:530:40:56

That's what we'll continue to do.

Given the President of Iran said

0:40:560:41:06

they will not be the first country

to breach the joint plan of action,

0:41:060:41:11

can the First Secretary assure

US-British diplomats are working

0:41:110:41:15

hard in Washington DC to persuade

our American friends it is in the

0:41:150:41:18

interests of the West and Iran to

uphold the JCPOA as a prelude to

0:41:180:41:24

solving other regional problems?

My

honourable friend is right. We think

0:41:240:41:30

the JCPOA is a very important part

of attempting to improve conditions,

0:41:300:41:36

not just between Iran and its

neighbours but across the wider

0:41:360:41:41

Middle East and we will continue to

argue that case in all parts of the

0:41:410:41:45

world.

I too join in offering

congratulations to Prince Harry and

0:41:450:41:54

Meghan Markle on their engagements.

One of the issues Prince Harry

0:41:540:41:59

highlightnd and campaigned on is the

issue of mental health. The invest

0:41:590:42:02

for livecam pain in Northern Ireland

is doing a fantastic job and

0:42:020:42:06

highlighting the need for extra

resources on that issue ewe. We join

0:42:060:42:10

in that campaign and have secured

extra resources. At a time when

0:42:100:42:14

issues like that, mental health,

education and all 9 rest need tor

0:42:140:42:17

prioritised in Northern Ireland by a

locally devolved Government working

0:42:170:42:22

on these issues and representing the

people of Northern Ireland, does the

0:42:220:42:26

First Secretary of State agree it is

a gross dereliction of

0:42:260:42:29

responsibility for Sinn Fein to

announce this week they are not

0:42:290:42:32

going to engage in further

discussions on the restoration of

0:42:320:42:35

devolution? If that's the case, we

now need to move quickly to restore

0:42:350:42:41

accountability and ministers to the

Northern Ireland Office to get on

0:42:410:42:44

with the people's business of

responsible Government in Northern

0:42:440:42:46

Ireland?

The right honourable

gentleman will know that my Right

0:42:460:42:54

Honourable Friend the Northern

Ireland Secretary is working as hard

0:42:540:42:59

as possible to restore democratic

control to restore the Northern

0:42:590:43:02

Ireland Executive. We all want to

see proper he devolved Government

0:43:020:43:08

restored in Northern Ireland. I

think that will be by far the best

0:43:080:43:12

thing for the people of Northern

Ireland and this Government will

0:43:120:43:15

continue to work tirelessly to that

end.

0:43:150:43:19

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