:00:00. > :00:12.Now on BBC News ` The Week in Parliament.
:00:13. > :00:18.Hello and welcome to The Week In Parliament. Was it an election`
:00:19. > :00:23.winning Budget? It was certainly one that ruffled a few feathers in the
:00:24. > :00:27.pensions industry. The message from this Budget is this. You have earned
:00:28. > :00:31.it, you have saved it and this Government is on your side. Living
:00:32. > :00:35.standards down, month after month, year after year. Looking for that
:00:36. > :00:38.all`important present for the five`year`old Wannabe MP? We found
:00:39. > :00:42.the very thing in the Parliamentary Gift Shop. And we asked no less a
:00:43. > :00:48.person than the Deputy Commons Speaker to road test it. We bring
:00:49. > :00:55.George on, years there, he is ready to go, he has himself lined up and
:00:56. > :01:00.we start. The Chamber of the Commons, a perfect model of
:01:01. > :01:03.democracy. Well, a model, anyway. But first, it was the fifth Budget
:01:04. > :01:06.of Chancellor George Osborne, and it was almost certainly the one he most
:01:07. > :01:09.enjoyed delivering, as the economy slowly climbs towards the sunlit
:01:10. > :01:11.uplands from its years in the doldrums. Budget day started on
:01:12. > :01:14.Wednesday in traditional fashion, with the Chancellor and his Treasury
:01:15. > :01:21.team posing for photographs in Downing Street. Then on to the
:01:22. > :01:35.Commons, and a roar of delight from the Conservative benches.
:01:36. > :01:40.Mr Deputy Speaker, I can report today that the economy is continuing
:01:41. > :01:47.to recover and recovering faster than forecast.
:01:48. > :01:54.And so on to his announcement, firstly on income taxes. There will
:01:55. > :01:58.be no income tax on the first ?10,500.
:01:59. > :02:10.10,500 pounds tax`free. ?800 less in tax every year for the typical
:02:11. > :02:14.taxpayer. News for savers and pensioners.
:02:15. > :02:20.So we will launch the new pension bond. It will be issued by national
:02:21. > :02:23.savings and investments, open to everybody aged 65 and over and
:02:24. > :02:27.available from January next year. The exact rate will be set in the
:02:28. > :02:30.autumn to insure the best possible offer but our assumption is 2.8% for
:02:31. > :02:34.a one`year bond and 4% on a three`year bond. The ?15,000 new
:02:35. > :02:47.ISA. The message from this Budget is
:02:48. > :02:54.this. You have earned it, you have saved it and this Government is on
:02:55. > :02:58.your side. And it is goodbye to the old pound coin. One in ?30 coins are
:02:59. > :03:01.counterfeit and that costs businesses and taxpayers millions
:03:02. > :03:13.each year. So I can tell them we will move to a new highly secure ?1
:03:14. > :03:17.coin. It will blend the security features of the future with the
:03:18. > :03:21.inspiration from our past. In honour of our Queen, the coin will take the
:03:22. > :03:28.shape of one of the first point she appeared on, with a more resilient
:03:29. > :03:38.pound for a more resilient economy. And to sum it all up... The
:03:39. > :03:41.forecasts are presented show growth up, jobs up, the deficit down. Now
:03:42. > :03:44.we are secure in Britain's economic future with manufacturing promoted,
:03:45. > :03:48.working toward it, saving supported, with the help of the British people,
:03:49. > :03:52.we're turning our country around. We are building a resilient economy.
:03:53. > :03:54.This is a Budget for the makers, the doers and the savers, and I commend
:03:55. > :04:19.it to the House. It The opposition leader said Mr
:04:20. > :04:24.Osborne had ignored something. He spoke for nearly an hour but he did
:04:25. > :04:27.not mention one central fact. The working people of Britain are worse
:04:28. > :04:29.off under the Tories. Living standards down, month after month,
:04:30. > :04:32.year after year. 2011, living standards down. 2012, living
:04:33. > :04:34.standards down. 2013, living standards down. And since the
:04:35. > :04:39.election, working people's living standards, ?1600 a year down. You
:04:40. > :04:43.are worse off under the Tories. All the Prime Minister needs to do is
:04:44. > :04:46.nod his head if he is going to rule out cutting the 45p tax rate down to
:04:47. > :04:52.40p in the next Parliament. Just nod your head. Come on, come on! There
:04:53. > :04:56.you have it! There you have it, Mr Deputy Speaker. There they go again!
:04:57. > :05:01.They won't rule it out. Doesn't it say all about them? They really do
:05:02. > :05:05.believe that the way you make the rich work hard is to make them
:05:06. > :05:09.richer and the way you make everyone else were card is by making them
:05:10. > :05:14.poorer! So that was Wednesday in the Commons. There's on odd technicality
:05:15. > :05:17.about the Budget. It's not chaired by the Speaker. He hands over to his
:05:18. > :05:23.deputy, who has the additional title of Chairman of Ways and Means. That
:05:24. > :05:26.ancient post is now occupied by the MP Lindsay Hoyle, for many years a
:05:27. > :05:32.foot soldier on the Labour backbenches. He took a particular
:05:33. > :05:33.interest in the Post Office. Here's a reminder of his inquisitorial ways
:05:34. > :05:47.in a committee session back in 2008. Had you written to us, we would have
:05:48. > :05:52.responded to you directly. You really don't want to make matters
:05:53. > :05:56.worse. Let's go through it. Why does it take at least two to three weeks
:05:57. > :06:00.for you to answer him that you manage to answer on the day he
:06:01. > :06:02.closed the Post Office? You have to feel embarrassed by that yourself,
:06:03. > :06:08.surely? Or have you no shame whatsoever?! You don't know the
:06:09. > :06:17.upset this has caused. You don't care. I care and it is time you have
:06:18. > :06:28.a conscience as well. Lindsay Hoyle, a man in charge of our miniature
:06:29. > :06:33.Commons Chamber. Welcome to the programme. A fairly lively backbench
:06:34. > :06:38.MP. Did you find it fairly easy to make the transition to being a
:06:39. > :06:41.Deputy Speaker of the Commons? Well, people keep saying, we remember you,
:06:42. > :06:44.and of course it is a different transition but you make your choice
:06:45. > :06:48.and I've made my choice. And I'd have to say, I am very happy with
:06:49. > :06:53.doing this job. I love this job and it is an absolute privilege. Why
:06:54. > :06:58.were you so keen to be Deputy Speaker? I knew nobody would tap me
:06:59. > :07:03.on the shoulder and ask me, would you like to be Deputy Speaker? But
:07:04. > :07:07.when they created elections for it, I thought, I am pretty good at
:07:08. > :07:12.winning marginals, I could have a go at this. It was now time for a
:07:13. > :07:17.change because they had done the marginals and Select Committees for
:07:18. > :07:21.years. And I've got support from both sides of the House. This
:07:22. > :07:29.historic title, it doesn't mean a lot to everybody. Why is it called
:07:30. > :07:32.that? Obviously it is about the ways and means of gathering taxation, the
:07:33. > :07:36.raising of it and the spending of it. So it was Chairman of ways and
:07:37. > :07:42.Means and supply, and the supply being how it is then spent, and that
:07:43. > :07:45.is where it comes from. It was about the House saying to the speaker and
:07:46. > :07:52.the King, we are going to be in charge of this, and then they
:07:53. > :07:53.sidelined the speaker and the King. Let's see you in action during
:07:54. > :08:06.Wednesday's debate. Order! The gentleman needs to get to
:08:07. > :08:10.the end of his speech without myself... Without anybody having to
:08:11. > :08:14.intervene. Chancellor of the Exchequer. I think the deputy chief
:08:15. > :08:20.whip knows better and I hope he will calm down a little bit more. We have
:08:21. > :08:23.not even got started! There may be an influence of the Wolves in the
:08:24. > :08:29.pack building around. It won't be used in this chamber. It can be used
:08:30. > :08:33.in the zoo but not here! I won't tell you again. I am sure he will be
:08:34. > :08:35.better off giving a little bit of meat rather than what he is giving
:08:36. > :08:52.at the moment! Well, that is something! You don't
:08:53. > :08:56.want to be too heavy`handed. It is trying to bring some humour and keep
:08:57. > :09:00.it at a level. What you cannot have is a sterile chamber. I've recognise
:09:01. > :09:04.that. So it is about control without being too heavy`handed. We got
:09:05. > :09:07.through it. Lots of people came up from different sides of the House
:09:08. > :09:10.and said, well done, not easy. Other people seem to be pleased with my
:09:11. > :09:14.performance but it is very hard judging yourself. You look back and
:09:15. > :09:18.it seems to go OK. Easier than last year. It wasn't as rowdy as last
:09:19. > :09:23.year, so from that point of view, that is good. What is your formula
:09:24. > :09:28.for dealing with a rowdy and from bust years House of Commons? Do you
:09:29. > :09:32.have an approach that you think is the secret? It is always about
:09:33. > :09:40.knowing where the trouble is going to come from. The groupings. I had a
:09:41. > :09:43.look out and when I came in, had a quick peep around and look where to
:09:44. > :09:46.see whether potential noise would come from. It is trying to work out
:09:47. > :09:50.where the noises coming from and trying to assess the mood of the
:09:51. > :09:54.House and then you can begin to use the House in the best way possible
:09:55. > :09:56.to get it through the Budget, making sure everyone can be heard and
:09:57. > :10:00.giving some leniency and allowing some to come back. You have to allow
:10:01. > :10:06.the excitement, the thing to breathe and people enjoy it without it going
:10:07. > :10:15.too far. So the temperature rising nicely without reaching boiling
:10:16. > :10:18.point. OK. In the studio, we have this splendid new addition from the
:10:19. > :10:23.Parliamentary gift shop. The replica, the miniature replica House
:10:24. > :10:30.of Commons chamber. It is not exactly hi`tech, is it?! No, but
:10:31. > :10:35.some might say the House of Commons still has to come forward to the
:10:36. > :10:40.modern age. I think it is good as it is and maybe this reflects the
:10:41. > :10:44.House. I have the speaker here and I want you to take him and pretend he
:10:45. > :10:47.is the Deputy Speaker. Can you pretend this is Budget day, we are
:10:48. > :11:01.waiting for the Chancellor, so here we go. This is me? My word! I have
:11:02. > :11:07.lost some weight! I come in and have look where the potential noise could
:11:08. > :11:10.come from. I have a quick peek spot where the MPs are and as we are
:11:11. > :11:13.coming towards the last Prime Minister's Questions, Islip around,
:11:14. > :11:17.and we work of 18 so Mr Speaker slips out and Islip straight into
:11:18. > :11:22.the chair. `` I slip around. `` we work as a team. I shout out, order,
:11:23. > :11:33.order, the Chancellor, George Osborne.
:11:34. > :11:39.He comes on and is ready to go and he has himself lined up. We have the
:11:40. > :11:42.opposition side there, the Leader of the Opposition, the Chancellor with
:11:43. > :11:46.the dispatch boxes. As well as the Mace! It is fantastic! This is
:11:47. > :11:51.superb! This is the kit to have. I think my grandkids will love this
:11:52. > :12:00.when I'd buy it! Thank you so much for coming in. You were the Deputy
:12:01. > :12:03.Speaker of the Commons. `` are. Do you fancy the top job? Like
:12:04. > :12:07.everything, I worked as a team. We have a speaker and I'm happy to work
:12:08. > :12:11.with him. Obviously, I love the job and it is an absolute privilege to
:12:12. > :12:14.be the Deputy Speaker. It is a great job have already so let's worry
:12:15. > :12:22.about the job I've got. Thank you very much indeed.
:12:23. > :12:28.September the 18th is gradually getting closer. Yet the race for and
:12:29. > :12:34.against Scottish independence is still too close to be called with
:12:35. > :12:37.absolute certainty. We're currently mid`way through the Scottish party
:12:38. > :12:40.conference season. Last week, it was the Conservatives, this weekend
:12:41. > :12:44.Labour, and coming up soon, the Lib Dems, and the SNP. The first three
:12:45. > :12:46.of those parties are firmly on the pro`unionist side, and they're
:12:47. > :12:52.planning the post`referendum future of Scotland, assuming of course
:12:53. > :12:55.there's a No result. The Lib Dems are pushing for a Federalist UK with
:12:56. > :13:00.Scotland responsible for virtually all domestic decision`making. The
:13:01. > :13:02.Scottish Conservatives have announced increased control for the
:13:03. > :13:05.Scottish Parliament over income tax raising, with an inquiry by Lord
:13:06. > :13:12.Strathclyde to come up with further initiatives. As for Labour, Holyrood
:13:13. > :13:20.would get control over housing benefit and be able to vary tax by
:13:21. > :13:22.up to 15 pence in the pound. And I'm joined now by BBC Scotland's
:13:23. > :13:34.Westminster correspondent David Porter. Welcome. We saw three policy
:13:35. > :13:36.statements from the main UK political parties. Do you detect
:13:37. > :13:42.anything like a unified approach from them? We are inching towards a
:13:43. > :14:04.consensus for those parties who want Scotland to remain part of a United
:14:05. > :14:08.Kingdom. If they win the vote, the status quo will not be the situation
:14:09. > :14:11.that they will have to offer the Scottish Parliament and Scotland
:14:12. > :14:13.more powers. Who knows what happens after September? They may have the
:14:14. > :14:17.equivalent of a new constitutional question but what they will want to
:14:18. > :14:19.do, at least initially, is then come up with policies for their
:14:20. > :14:24.individual manifestoes, but each would end up giving Scotland more
:14:25. > :14:26.power. Do you find it more surprising that the Conservatives
:14:27. > :14:30.have an initiative or Labour's proposals are quite modest and
:14:31. > :14:35.cautious? It's hard to get total agreement within all the parties.
:14:36. > :14:38.There are some who want to go further than others, which means
:14:39. > :14:41.they are having to go at a fairly slow pace. The Conservatives have
:14:42. > :14:44.decided that they are having to look at thinking afresh, embracing
:14:45. > :14:58.devolution more than they have ever embraced it before. As far as Labour
:14:59. > :15:00.is concerned, this is a pragmatic approach. They know there are
:15:01. > :15:03.different shades of opinion. Some favour more devolution, some never
:15:04. > :15:06.really wanted to embrace in the first place. Gordon Brown has made
:15:07. > :15:08.an intervention but is not part of the campaign. He seems to have a
:15:09. > :15:30.different campaign. It is not a terribly co`ordinated
:15:31. > :15:37.approach. That is a criticism people have made. Gordon Brown has made a
:15:38. > :15:41.few interventions. He made an intervention a couple of weeks ago
:15:42. > :15:44.and the document Labour has come up with is very similar to the one he
:15:45. > :15:48.was putting forward but so far, he has not been willing to stand under
:15:49. > :15:59.the campaign. He has wanted to ally his view to that of the Scottish
:16:00. > :16:07.Labour Party. That is partly tribal. She feels more at home in that
:16:08. > :16:10.environment. `` He. He probably also calculates as well that the key part
:16:11. > :16:13.of the electorate they have to achieve, some people in the West of
:16:14. > :16:16.Scotland. If he speaks to them directly, he may have more success.
:16:17. > :16:23.Opinion polls still suggesting the most popular option is for Devo Max,
:16:24. > :16:31.greater devolution for Scotland. It will be, should Scotland be an
:16:32. > :16:34.independent country? People think if opinion polls are correct and the
:16:35. > :16:37.people of Scotland vote no to independence, the other parties will
:16:38. > :16:41.come forward with their own plans. You could get Devo Max by the back
:16:42. > :16:56.door but that will take a few years to come. Thank you for joining us.
:16:57. > :17:02.And you can watch live coverage of labour's conference.
:17:03. > :17:06.And now a look at some of the other stories around Parliament in the
:17:07. > :17:09.last seven days. Following the Russian annexation of Crimea, David
:17:10. > :17:12.Cameron has condemned what he described as "the land grab" by
:17:13. > :17:15.President Putin. The Prime Minister told MPs the forthcoming meeting of
:17:16. > :17:17.the G8 group of leading industrial nations should consider expelling
:17:18. > :17:20.Russia. We should be absolutely clear about what has happened here.
:17:21. > :17:22.This is the annexation of one country's territory by another
:17:23. > :17:26.country. We need to move together with our allies and partners and we
:17:27. > :17:41.should be discussing whether or not to expel Russia permanently from the
:17:42. > :17:45.G8. The Prime Minister should know that from this side of the House, he
:17:46. > :17:46.will have our support for the toughest possible diplomatic and
:17:47. > :17:51.economic measures against the Russian Federation.
:17:52. > :17:59.What's the future of teaching assistants? Are they all needed?
:18:00. > :18:02.After suggestions that teachers could start doing the tasks that
:18:03. > :18:16.assistants do, an Education Minister says their jobs are safe. Are there
:18:17. > :18:24.plans to axe them? There is a misconception, which I want to
:18:25. > :18:36.address. There are claims that many will lose their jobs. I can assure
:18:37. > :18:38.the honourable gentleman and his colleagues that neither the
:18:39. > :18:42.Department of Education nor the government has any plans or powers
:18:43. > :18:45.to do this. Can we rely on what it says on the tin or are there Trading
:18:46. > :18:48.Standards problems surrounding much of our food? A Labour peer questions
:18:49. > :18:59.if we actually know what we're eating. Call me old`fashioned, but I
:19:00. > :19:06.like my ham to actually be ham! And not poultry dyed pink or meat
:19:07. > :19:10.emulsion, whatever that is! I want fruit juice to be just that and not
:19:11. > :19:20.laced with vegetable oil that is used in retardants. I agree with
:19:21. > :19:24.much of the sentiment behind this question. In his interim report,
:19:25. > :19:27.Professor Elliott recognises that the United Kingdom has access to
:19:28. > :19:30.some of the safest food in the world but we should not be complacent. We
:19:31. > :19:33.are working to improve our intelligence gathering and sharing.
:19:34. > :19:36.It's 20 years since women were first ordained into the priesthood in the
:19:37. > :19:39.Anglican Church. No women bishops yet but they're coming soon. MPs
:19:40. > :19:41.mark two decades of female priests. One figure has described the role of
:19:42. > :19:53.women priests as transformational, both for the church and work of the
:19:54. > :19:57.churches in the local community. It fills me with great joy to be here,
:19:58. > :20:00.20 years on, and to celebrate something which is so unremarkable
:20:01. > :20:11.and look forward to a time this year when we may get our first woman
:20:12. > :20:13.consecrated as a bishop. And tributes are paid to the man whose
:20:14. > :20:16.parliamentary career spanned 50 years: Tony Benn. Speech`maker,
:20:17. > :20:26.campaigner, crusader, one of Parliament's finest. His son recalls
:20:27. > :20:30.his wicked sense of humour. On one occasion, as part of a group of
:20:31. > :20:35.Labour MPs, they decided to delay a division because they wanted to make
:20:36. > :20:37.trouble for the government. The sergeant was dispatched to
:20:38. > :20:49.investigate and told them if they didn't move, he would have to take
:20:50. > :20:52.their names. My father looked at him and said, but that would be
:20:53. > :20:57.completely contrary to Mr Speaker's ruling of 1622! After the sergeant
:20:58. > :20:59.had departed, dad turned to his fellow conspirators, and with that
:21:00. > :21:12.mischievous twinkle in his eye, admitted he had just named that. ``
:21:13. > :21:14.made that up. But it seemed to have done the trick. Hilary Benn
:21:15. > :21:20.recalling the mischievous side of his father, Tony. Now, following the
:21:21. > :21:23.stories of, shall we say, "creative" tax arrangements by companies such
:21:24. > :21:26.as Amazon and Google, the Fair Tax Mark was launched earlier this year
:21:27. > :21:29.to reward companies judged to have demonstrated good practice in their
:21:30. > :21:32.tax payments. In the Budget on Wednesday, the Chancellor announced
:21:33. > :21:37.further measures to crack down on avoidance. Earlier, the Green MP
:21:38. > :21:39.Caroline Lucas had led a debate on how to give greater recognition to
:21:40. > :21:45.companies which achieve high standards. Amidst the Budget day
:21:46. > :22:01.security helicopters, she explained to Kate Whannel exactly what the
:22:02. > :22:05.Fair Tax Mark is. It is very similar to the Fair Trade mark in the sense
:22:06. > :22:08.that it is a simple given to companies who are paying their fair
:22:09. > :22:10.share of tax. It has a group of academics, professionals,
:22:11. > :22:13.accountants behind it who will monitor companies and award this
:22:14. > :22:16.mark to those that are paying a fair share of tax and we are hopeful that
:22:17. > :22:19.will give consumers and other companies information they need when
:22:20. > :22:31.they are making decisions about how to use their money. Do consumers
:22:32. > :22:40.have the power to change companies' behaviour? We know that tax
:22:41. > :22:43.avoidance and evasion is the number one issue that people care about
:22:44. > :22:46.when it comes business relations. It would be a complacent company that
:22:47. > :22:52.didn't take account of the fact this is an issue more and more people are
:22:53. > :22:54.aware of. They are asking questions. If government wanted to change
:22:55. > :23:00.loopholes, they should, so why should companies act when government
:23:01. > :23:02.won't? I don't know why the government won't act more
:23:03. > :23:11.ambitiously on this. It's a matter of pressure to try and persuade them
:23:12. > :23:14.to do so. If we get more companies signing up to be Fair Tax mark, that
:23:15. > :23:17.might send a signal to government. Caroline Lucas. You're watching The
:23:18. > :23:21.Week In Parliament, after a week when the Budget debate was again
:23:22. > :23:32.chaired, impeccably, by the Deputy Speaker of the Commons.