16/06/2011 The Record

Welcome to The Record. The headlines:

The Government says it won't bail out the troubled care homes company,

Southern Cross. Following the financial system

meltdown, the Government publishes its proposed changes to the banking

system. Labour attacks the Education

Secretary after it emerged that some academy schools have wrongly

received too much public funding. Why should any parent have

confidence in him running the education system when he cannot

even on his own department? But first, the UK's biggest care

homes operator, Southern Cross, has four months to find a solution to

its financial problems after reaching an agreement with

landlords and creditors. Responding to an urgent question, the Care

Minister insisted the welfare of the residents was the Government's

"paramount" concern and no-one would be left homeless. On

Wednesday, the struggling care homes provider reached a deal to

guarantee the welfare of its elderly residents. The company says

it will continue to run all of its 751 care homes. Southern Cross

recently revealed it had made losses of more than �300 million in

the six months to March, and has announced 3,000 redundancies. The

Labour MP who called the minister to the Despatch box said the

Government had been to slow to "get a grip" on the problem. After

yesterday's meeting with the different landlords, the company's

suit is uncertain. Residents of Southern Cross, their relatives and

the directors of social services will meet further information

sooner rather than later. What comes next for the company?

Yesterday, a meeting took place between Southern Cross, Landers and

landlords in the committee. It be to work together to deliver a

solution to the company's current financial problems. They made clear

that the continuity and quality of care of all but 1,000 residents

will be maintained and every resident will be looked after. This

is a welcome development and the Government is encouraged by this

positive development. The exact details of the restructuring plan

will be set out over the next few days and following weeks. I think a

joint statement issued yesterday by the company, landlords and lenders

provides for the reassurance that the continuity of care is at the

centre of this consensual restructuring. The Government will

continue to keep close contact with all involved in this process.

people are treated with commodities with no pot to the consequences for

them, it is important the Government steps up and does

something about it. Southern Cross is not the only company in this

Industry to have financial difficulties. We have heard from

the Business Secretary that the business model will be looked at by

his department. Will the Minister give more details on the timings of

this review and her members will be told about his findings? Perhaps

the area we might have some agreement is we need to learn

lessons from all that is currently occur in with regard to Southern

Cross, in respect we have a stable social care sector for the future.

That is what the Government is committed to an overhaul of social

care and why we intend to bring forward a way pep -- white paper.

I'm concerned for the residents of the care homes in my constituency,

it would be wrong if anyone tried to use this as a political shield

to make cheap political points. But can the Minister tell us, given

there will be up to 3,000 job losses, what measures will the

Government take to monitor the quality of care and the staff ratio

of individual homes to ensure there is no negative impact on the

residents? The honourable gentleman asks an important question about

quality of care and its impact. That is why, when it became clear

the company was posting a figure of 3,000 and more redundancies that I

instructed an additional investigation to ascertain any

likely impact and make sure there is no impact on the quality of care.

Will the Minister be careful not to say what he should say, will he

pledge to the House that no final - - vulnerable person who should not

be moved if there is a catastrophe of the kind we all want to avoid,

will be able to stay in the residential home? That is that that

we want here from him, to show some leadership as the Minister

responsible. The leads that I can get to the House today is that

every local authority with Southern Cross care homes and

responsibilities for resonance they have placed their is clear about

their duties to guarantee and provide care, not just for the

residents who are state funded by also the residents who are self-

funding. That is the crews guarantee I can offer.

The Government has published details of its planned banking

changes, to protect taxpayers from the risk of having to bail out the

industry again in any future crisis. It includes forcing them to

separate their retail businesses from their riskier investment

operations. That proposal was announced by the Chancellor, George

Osborne, in his Mansion House Speech, along with the decision to

put the nationalised bank, Northern Rock up for sale. When the

coalition Government came into office, questions were asked about

the future of banking rigid the -- banking Reggie -- regulation. There

should be a new settlement between the financial system and the

British people. A settlement what the banks support the people so

that people make a light the banks. The actions we are taking to

complete this settlement, I commend this statement to the House. What

utter contempt the Government is showing to Parliament today by

announcing he's major proposals first to the bank has in the city

yesterday and only today to alight have absented lives. Time and time

again, ministers give policy speeches outside this place and the

House of Commons is merely an afterthought. Ways the Chancellor

himself not here to make these announcements? This disregard for

the democratic process is reflected in the draft legislation that we

have today before us. It hands vast new powers over the lives of all a

constituents to the unelected Bank of England and leaves out

accountability deficit and with no mention of parliamentary Eckert

ability in all of its pages. Hoban said those comments showed

"the emptiness" of Labour's thoughts on banking and Mr Osborne

hadn't revealed the full paper on reform, which was the centrepiece

of the announcement. Drawing on my 19 years as a banker, can I tell

you... I was far more popular then and I am now! Mr Deputy Speaker,

drawing on that experience, can I say that the Minister has rightly

identified some deep structural problems which the UK banking

system. Although all over the coming weeks and months there will

be howls of protest from so it -- certain sections of the banking

community, the principles he has outlined will lead to a safer and

more stable UK banking system. will not up our financial services

industry employs several million people and generates over �50

billion a year in tax revenue. Can he assure me that these proposals

will strike the right balance between protecting the consumer and

that the same time maintaining our leading place in the global

financial marketplace? Before the general election, the Chancellor

and Business Secretary got into of her office fight about fooled the

toughest on the backs. Neither of them are here today. If the last

Government was charged with light touch regulation, this Government's

is guilty of like touch reform. Hoban said the Government's

proposals struck the right balance and would create a more sustainable

and safer banking system. Labour are concerned about the sale of

Northern Rock, which they would like to see turned back into a

building society, owned by its members. The bank has its

headquarters in the Shadow Business Minister, Chi Onuwarah's

constituency in Newcastle. Could the Minister explain to me how

these option will be structured so as to promote Northern Rock's

mutualisation? Could he also say what guarantees he will offer on

the name, headquarters, jobs and the community contribution of

Northern Rock? I think she raises some important points about how a

potential bidder would seek to maintain employment in the North

East. How they would use the Northern Rock name. Whether, how

their headquarters would be structures. That is something that

bidders will need to consider. I would encourage all those who have

an interest in Northern Rock to engage with people in the North

East to present to them why they a deal gives the best future. Can the

Secretary get an assurance to the House and to the country that the

sale of Northern Rock will not proceed unless there is absolute

certainty that every penny of taxpayers' money put into it will

be recouped plus interest, and can he also give an assurance that the

transformation of the banking system that is being proposed will

begin to give people some trust in the banking system again?

honourable friend makes some important points and we will seek

to do through the sale process to get the best possible deal for the

taxpayer. Mr Hoban said trust in banks had taken a knock and the

best thing they could do was get on with helping families and

businesses by ensuring a flow of credit.

Labour are questioning Government plans to create more "academies"

after the disclosure that some schools in England have been given

too much public money. 200 of the worst-performing primaries are to

be taken out of council control in an effort to improve standards. But

it's been revealed that some academies will have to repay

funding after being given too much. Called to the Commons to make a

statement, the Education Minister said Labour needed to look at the

bigger picture. Does he agree that we should raise the bar on

secondary schools from and 35% achieving five good GCSEs to 40%

next year, and does he agree that we should further raise it to 50%

by the end of this Parliament? Does he agree with our announcement

today... I do not know why the opposition do not want to hear this.

Does he agree with our announcement today to extend the Academy's

programme to underperforming primary schools? And in particular,

to the 200 worst performing primary schools, many of which were in that

state for a decade while his party was in Government. The Shadow

Education Secretary wondered how many schools had been overpaid and

if the money would be clawed back. Isn't it the case that the

Secretary of State repeatedly finds himself in his position because he

rushes ahead and fails to consult people on changes? We have been

here before. The only way people can make him listen to them is to

launch it legal action, that is no way to run a department. We year he

will pay the council's legal costs. In the past year, the Secretary of

State has spent more money on solicitors' fees than Brian Jacques

and Fred Goodwin put together. should remind him that these

problems occur every year. It occurred every year under the last

Labour Government. The difference to Jean his former Government and

this is that we are taking action to sort out this problem. That is

why we announced a fundamental review of the school funding system.

We will be making further announcement and consultation on

the details of that review later this year. We have as Secretary of

State botched the building schools for the future programme, who had

to do a U-turn on schools' Sports partnerships, who cannot spot

errors in the funding programmes of his own department, why should any

parent have confidence in him running the education system when

he cannot even run his own department? I see the honourable

lady is trying to create a theme here. But there is no theme. This

is a particular problem, reported in the Financial Times today, that

occur every year and arises out of the complexity of the funding

system that we are trying to simplified. It is extraordinary for

the party opposite to be quibbling about accounting errors. Is it a

smokescreen to distract attention from the Commons that Tony Blair

has recently made, supporting this Government's policies on academies

and primary schools? The Education Minister said that was a point he'd

been "too sensitive" to raise, but Government policies had been

endorsed in The Sun, by Tony Blair. You're watching The Record here on

BBC Parliament, with me, Alicia McCarthy. The main news again:

The Government's welcomed a deal which could ease the financial

crisis at Britain's largest care home company, Southern Cross. The

firm says it's reached an agreement with its landlords to guarantee the

welfare of its 31,000 elderly residents. Still to come:

Anger in the Lords as Peers are told to come back from their summer

break one week early. But their complaints get little sympathy.

my dear old Aunt would say, my lord But before that. The Labour peer

Alan Sugar has suggested that newspaper editors and proprietors

should go to jail if their publications are found guilty of

phone hacking. The issue was raised by the former Conservative Cabinet

minister Lord Fowler, who called phone hacking a "massive conspiracy

against the public". Lady Rawlings said she could only answer for the

Culture department not the Home Office and couldn't comment on

newspaper editors. Does he recognise that in the last two

weeks alone, News Corporation have paid out damages of �100,000 to get

traced Siena Miller and admitted misuse a private information and

harassment. News International have set up what they call a

compensation fund for the victims of phone hacking and evidence has a

move that News Of The World is not the only newspaper involved. Does

she agree that all of this represents a massive conspiracy

against the public which the police and the Press Complaints Commission

have been powerless to prevent and will she give an assurance that

once the criminal proceedings are complete, then the government will

set up an independent inquiry to find out where responsibility lies?

My noble friend is extremely knowledgeable and experienced on

this subject and I have read the details that he mentioned but I

need to make it clear from the start that my answers will only

cover press regulations and not the criminal aspects. I know your

Lordships are well aware that the criminal aspects of hacking are

covered by the Home Office. We do fully understand by noble friend's

request for a further inquiry to be set up after the present cases are

resolved. We are witnessing a revolution in the information and

communications world, as in technology in general, of such

galloping speed that I can any agree with my noble friend that

constant monitoring is essential in case further action is needed.

Would the noble Baroness agree with me when I say that it is ludicrous

to suggest that an editor of a national newspaper is not aware of

where the information came from? And in the past, as I believe one

of my noble friend has mentioned, a journalist was actually given a

custodial sentence for phone- tapping. Isn't it the case that the

editor is responsible as to what goes in the newspaper and therefore

he also should be given a custodial sentence and indeed the proprietor

and the board of directors? Lady Rawlings said she could any answer

for the culture department and not the Home Office and could not

comment on newspaper editors. Is it time for the politicians to leave

the Health Service alone? Lots of people think so. And that was the

view of Steve Field, the leader of the body called the NHS Future

Forum, which recently looked in detail at the Government's radical

reforms to the NHS in England and recommended some alterations.

Ministers this week accepted those changes. When Professor Field and

other experts came before the Commons Health Committee, the

chairman quoted from a report written by the ex-Labour Health

Secretary Alan Milburn. He writes the U-turn, as he describes it,

slows the pace of reform and dramatically reduces its impact.

GPs' ability to drive more services at of hospital and into the

community has been severely compromised. I wonder if you agree

with Mr Milburn. I think the whole article, he is wrong, and this is a

time for politicians to get out of the NHS, to a some space to get on

and run the service. I would like to see the bill passed through as

quickly as possible, amended to make it work, but actually the plea

is that I want to get on of my patients. What was your few before

the health bill, we you having discussions with all the political

parties by one used to be done with the NHS? Did you think there was a

need for reorganisation? Of the NHS? Yes. Absolutely. We are record

any contract might speeches back. We need to health system which is

more integrated around the needs of the patients. We need to integrate

health and social care. We do need competition in the system in order

to free up some of the poor quality services that are provided. We have

too many hospital services in some areas. I know there are huge

concerns and I'm sure the Forum have been listening to them from

staff, stake holders, Patients, political parties, about the

introduction of American-style commercial competition in two-hour

National Health Service. I am slightly disappointed over the

message in there has been over the role of competition since we

reduced our report. If you read reports of my panel there is no

suggestion in their that competition does not have a role to

play in health service. We heard concerns but also heard evidence

and saw evidence, studies by the LSE and Bristol, that showed that

the confident -- competition introduced by the last a month had

driven up quality and, in one case in the LSE, had saved lives. So

competition does have a role to play. I am very clear that that

competition has to be managed properly. I am every three clear

that despite what some have said, there was no attempt to introduce

American-style privatisation in the health service. One of the things

that disappoints be about this debate is that it proceeds on the

basis of are you on oppose -- in favour of privatisation or not, as

opposed to thinking about how competition could be used

effectively. I know that the health service needs more work from

charities and social enterprises. think competition does have a place

but it think we need to think a bit wider about it. Information is the

key. We should have competition between hospitals, we should

compare results a look at how we can driver performs in that way. My

concerned about competition is that health is not just to business, it

is part of our national infrastructure. I have a

responsibility as a major trauma centre, I must have every service

in a hospital to support that. As members will know, we treat the

military coup in back from winded overseas and on occasion we have

had 11 separate specialities working on one person and is one of

those was contracted out it would weaken my ability to do that.

should allow the commissioners to be innovative and trust them as the

people best place to balance to protect what Julian has been talked

about and the need for innovation. D thing that is the way forward?

mental health, 20% of mental health is provided by eight none NHS

providers. Turning point provides brilliant services for Scotland,

which is not meant to have private services. At the moment, we don't

know what good or bad is. Most citizens have not got a clue and

told something horrible happens whether it was bad. And also they

don't know what is good at the moment, based people. I have been

on the receiving end of fantastic care for our family, and the most

appalling care, and I'm absolutely determined to do something about

improving the quality of care in this country. The Government is

insisting that the Libyan leader, Colonel Gaddafi, will not be able

to attend the London Olympics next year, because of a European Union

travel ban. Preparations are well under way for the 2012 games due to

start next summer. But the allocation of tickets has provoked

a row, with thousands of members of the public being left disappointed.

It was revealed earlier in the week that the Libyan Olympic Committee

has been allocated a few hundred tickets for sports groups and

athletes. In a rather roundabout way, the Shadow Olympics Minister

asked about the allocation of tickets to Libya and sought

reassurance that members of the regime wouldn't be coming to the UK.

Will he recognise the limited scope for the International Olympic

Committee to do more than issue invitations to countries around the

world, to the national Olympic committees of countries around the

world? And will he, given the sensitivity of what we would

describe as pariah regimes, a short the House that all necessary and

relevant diplomatic intervention will be taken at the appropriate

time to prevent participation in the games of heads of such states?

The short answer is I entirely agree with the right honourable

lady. What was apparent is that it is much easier to deal with the

situation did they have the subject of EU planning sanctions. Would the

minister of sport agree that the E Olympics as a celebration of world

sport and has country should be very careful about trying to ban

people coming to this country for the Olympics? I would certainly

agree they are a celebration of world sport. It is an issue we

touched on with the question, it is really important aware there are

regimes that we do not wish to invite to this country that the

relevant international sanctions are in place to back that up. It is

one of the ironies of the current process that the band that was put

in place at the 1980 Olympics produced into people who did not

abide by that ban, Lord Coe and Lord Moynihan who are central to

the livery of the games. Another Conservative wanted to know where

any government tickets were going. Will my right honourable friend

assure the House that none of those tickets will be provided as free

perks either to government employees in general or took UK

politicians in particular. I am happy to assure my honourable

friend about those tickets. The tickets will be purchased and are

available through the ballot. 2400 of the tickets are being made

available to host towns and cities. Again, they will be purchased. 2900

tickets will be made available to guests of the government, including

business guess, to ensure we gain an economic legacy to the Olympics

and others will be allocated as prizes in the school games.

Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt. There was consternation in the

Lords at the news that they will be coming back a week early from the

summer break - to deal with a backlog of business. Labour's

spokesman Lord Bassam said it was an "unprecedented" move and

complained that there was "real and genuine anger" among Labour peers.

Anger because it disrupts long-term arrangements and anger because it

treats this place with contempt. The truth is, and in saying this by

apportion no blame to the noble lady, that the government is trying

to force through a programme it is overlong, over programmed and

overblown. In short, it is too long and they know it and the House, and

the process of scrutiny, is the sufferer. This is a crisis of

timetabling not caused by your Lordship's right full desire to

scrutinise bills. As my dear old and brose would say, the noble Lord

has a bit of a brass neck. And she implied Labour peers only had

themselves to blame. This is a self-regulating house and scrutiny

can only be curtailed by the House itself. The corollary is that

whether House chooses to do well on a particular bill, as it did on the

parliamentary voting systems and constituencies bill, add bill on

which we spent 17 days in committee, more than double the usual maximum

for the very largest bills, more time must then be found elsewhere,

if the scrutiny of the other bills in a cover's that is slated

programme is not to suffer in consequence. And that's it for now,

but do join me on Friday night at 11 for The Record Review, our look