0:00:19 > 0:00:21Hello and welcome to the programme in a Westminster week
0:00:21 > 0:00:28dominated by one big event.
0:00:28 > 0:00:38European Union withdrawal bill, committee.Order.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42How are we going to leave the EU? I will be reporting on the big debates
0:00:42 > 0:00:43in the Commons.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46MPs keep up the pressure on the government to cut payment
0:00:46 > 0:00:48waiting times for claimants being switched to a controversial
0:00:48 > 0:00:49new benefit.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52Universal credit has forced them into debt, made it harder for them
0:00:52 > 0:00:59to stay in work and left many of them facing eviction.I have been
0:00:59 > 0:01:03talking to the Conservative MP in elected to chair the liaison
0:01:03 > 0:01:08committee, but what does it do?We are there because we are used to
0:01:08 > 0:01:11cross-party consensus working and we want to develop ideas, influence and
0:01:11 > 0:01:14understand what policy is.
0:01:14 > 0:01:16But first, on the long road to Brexit,
0:01:16 > 0:01:18this week will go down as something
0:01:18 > 0:01:20of a Parliamentary milestone, as MPs held their first two days
0:01:20 > 0:01:22of line-by-line scrutiny on the EU Withdrawal bill.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24We asked Henry Mance, of the Financial Times,
0:01:24 > 0:01:29for his take on the week's debates..
0:01:29 > 0:01:31It's one of the most constitutionally significant bills
0:01:31 > 0:01:33in recent British history, and this week MPs got a chance
0:01:34 > 0:01:35to get their teeth into the detail.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37The EU withdrawal bill, formerly the Great Repeal Bill,
0:01:37 > 0:01:41entered the committee stage in the Commons on Tuesday.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44The bill's primary purpose is to ensure legal continuity
0:01:44 > 0:01:46after Brexit, converting EU law into British law.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50Before the debates began, David Davis offered one major
0:01:50 > 0:01:52concession to MPs who wants to ensure that Parliament
0:01:52 > 0:01:58will have a full vote on any deal agreed with Brussels.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01I can confirm that once we have reached an agreement we will bring
0:02:01 > 0:02:04forward a specific piece of primary legislation to implement
0:02:04 > 0:02:06the agreement, to be known as the withdrawal
0:02:06 > 0:02:09agreement implementation bill.
0:02:09 > 0:02:10But clever politicians know you always have
0:02:10 > 0:02:13to read the small print, so what happens if MPs
0:02:13 > 0:02:14vote no to a deal?
0:02:14 > 0:02:16Will the consequence be that we will still leave
0:02:16 > 0:02:19on the 29th of March, 2019 but without an agreement?
0:02:19 > 0:02:25Yes.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29And what happens if the UK doesn't reach a deal with the EU?
0:02:29 > 0:02:31If we don't have EU withdrawal agreement, we can't
0:02:31 > 0:02:33have a withdrawal agreement bill.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37In other words, no deal, no full vote for Parliament.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39That wasn't the only thing that some pro-EU MPs didn't
0:02:39 > 0:02:41like about the EU withdrawal bill.
0:02:41 > 0:02:43Some Conservatives rejected an idea from the government
0:02:43 > 0:02:45of inserting a specific date, the 29th of March, 2019,
0:02:45 > 0:02:50at 11pm London time, into the bill.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53What if, said the Conservative former Chancellor Ken Clarke,
0:02:53 > 0:02:56the EU and the UK decided they needed a few more days,
0:02:56 > 0:03:00or a few more weeks to conclude negotiations?
0:03:00 > 0:03:04It would be utterly foolish if 28 governments all agreed to extend
0:03:04 > 0:03:09the process and the British representative had to say,
0:03:09 > 0:03:12but we have put into British law a timing which says,
0:03:12 > 0:03:18to the second, when we are actually leaving.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21Steve Baker, junior Brexit minister, wasn't interested in hypotheticals.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24The government intends the United Kingdom to leave the EU
0:03:24 > 0:03:26on the 29th of March, 2019, and that is why
0:03:26 > 0:03:30we intend to put that on the face of this bill.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33Occasionally, the debate seemed a rerun of the referendum.
0:03:33 > 0:03:38Two world wars took place before the existence of the European Union,
0:03:38 > 0:03:44and the fact that we, in Europe, have lived in this
0:03:44 > 0:03:46country and in Germany and France for decades in peace,
0:03:46 > 0:03:51is that not because of France and Germany and other countries now
0:03:51 > 0:03:56being in a position of never, ever will they be going to war
0:03:56 > 0:03:57because of the European Union?
0:03:57 > 0:04:00By Wednesday, we had returned to the technical stuff,
0:04:00 > 0:04:04in particular whether the government would commit to maintaining all
0:04:04 > 0:04:07workers' rights and environmental protections after Brexit.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10Theresa May has said she will do that but Labour want her to promise
0:04:10 > 0:04:13that any changes that are made are made by primary legislation,
0:04:13 > 0:04:17not by delegated powers.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20Throughout the referendum, prominent Leavers consistently drew
0:04:20 > 0:04:23attention to what they claimed were the high costs of the EU
0:04:23 > 0:04:25implementing regulations, including the working time directive
0:04:25 > 0:04:30and the temporary agency workers directive.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32Prominent members of the Cabinet are on record as having called
0:04:33 > 0:04:35for workers' rights to be removed.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39That time-honoured Labour message, you can't trust the Tories.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41The Conservatives didn't like that, among them Priti Patel,
0:04:41 > 0:04:43returning to the backbenches after resigning as
0:04:43 > 0:04:46International Development Secretary a week earlier.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48I am pleased to speak in this debate, particularly
0:04:48 > 0:04:50to clause two and three.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52Of course, I am speaking today in this debate
0:04:52 > 0:04:55following an intensive course over the past week on how to stage
0:04:55 > 0:05:00an exit, which was the focus of a degree of international attention.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02She welcomed the freedom that ministers would have
0:05:02 > 0:05:05before and after Brexit.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08We can do that in terms of how we can modernise laws more quickly,
0:05:08 > 0:05:12more efficiently, making them more relevant, because we will have
0:05:12 > 0:05:14control over them.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18That is the fundamental point.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20And that way we can have modern regulations that
0:05:20 > 0:05:23will maintain and protect rights, as the Prime Minister herself has
0:05:23 > 0:05:26guaranteed that we would, and as the Solicitor General
0:05:26 > 0:05:27mentioned.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30But we can also look at reducing many of those that are not
0:05:30 > 0:05:34functional, add costs.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37Some Conservatives did agree that the bill needed to be amended
0:05:37 > 0:05:39to put more constraints on the government.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42I put the government on notice that we are going to have
0:05:42 > 0:05:46to draw together the issues that we are debating today,
0:05:46 > 0:05:50and I'm convinced there will be similar issues next week,
0:05:50 > 0:05:54all of which derive from the same problem as to the way the government
0:05:54 > 0:05:58has approached this and drafted this legislation at the moment,
0:05:58 > 0:06:00and it must be remedied.
0:06:00 > 0:06:05The government could lose a vote on these points if as few as 20
0:06:05 > 0:06:09Conservative MPs rebel, but the conciliatory attitude
0:06:09 > 0:06:13explains why none of this week's debates were in doubt.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16No MPs rebelled and the government defeated the amendments
0:06:16 > 0:06:18by a minimum of 12 votes.
0:06:18 > 0:06:23The tests will get tougher as the committee stages progress.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25A crescendo is expected in mid-December, when MPs
0:06:25 > 0:06:28will finally debate and vote on what happens if Britain does not
0:06:28 > 0:06:33reach a deal with the EU.
0:06:33 > 0:06:35Henry Mance.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37MPs and peers have kept up the pressure on the government
0:06:37 > 0:06:41all week over the welfare payment universal credit.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43It merges half a dozen working age benefits into one.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46It's being rolled out across the country
0:06:46 > 0:06:48with the aim of simplifying the system and making it easier
0:06:49 > 0:06:51for claimants to move into work.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54But critics say the six-week wait before the first payment
0:06:54 > 0:06:57is made is leading to debt and rent arrears.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00At Prime Minister's questions Jeremy Corbyn read out a letter sent
0:07:00 > 0:07:08by one lettings agency.
0:07:08 > 0:07:15The agency is issuing all of its tenants with a pre-emptive notice of
0:07:15 > 0:07:18eviction, because universal credit has driven up arrears where it has
0:07:18 > 0:07:25been rolled out. Will the Prime Minister pause universal credit so
0:07:25 > 0:07:29it can be fixed? Or does she think it is right to put thousands of
0:07:29 > 0:07:35families through Christmas in the trauma of knowing they are about to
0:07:35 > 0:07:38be evicted because they are in rent arrears, because of universal
0:07:38 > 0:07:44credit?After four months, the number of people on universal credit
0:07:44 > 0:07:49in arrears has fallen by a third. It is important that we look at the
0:07:49 > 0:07:52issues on this particular case. The right honourable gentleman might
0:07:52 > 0:07:57like to send the letter through. In an earlier Prime Minister's
0:07:57 > 0:08:04Questions, he raised a specific constituent case, who had written to
0:08:04 > 0:08:09him about her experience, Georgina. As far as I am aware, he has not let
0:08:09 > 0:08:14-- scent that letter to me despite the fact that I asked for it.
0:08:14 > 0:08:19The following day universal credit was debated by both MPs and Peers.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23One mother visited a church in Hartlepool with her disabled son.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26She was moved onto universal credit and waited seven weeks for her
0:08:26 > 0:08:30money. She told one of my clergy that sheet of paper napkins from
0:08:30 > 0:08:34McDonald's because she was unable to afford toilet paper. Her son's
0:08:34 > 0:08:38condition means that he wears nappies, which she was also unable
0:08:38 > 0:08:44to afford. Can any of us imagine the stress and indignity of such a
0:08:44 > 0:08:50situation?I am as concerned as anyone else in this chamber that
0:08:50 > 0:08:56there are glitches in the workings of the system involved. It is not to
0:08:56 > 0:09:00be amazed about, actually. It is to certainly worry about, but look at
0:09:00 > 0:09:04the glitches we have had in the IT systems through our Parliament and
0:09:04 > 0:09:10throughout this government. They are being tackled. These are being
0:09:10 > 0:09:15tackled, and they will be overcome. Our local council has had to spend
0:09:15 > 0:09:19£3 million to stop people being evicted because of late payment for
0:09:19 > 0:09:24rent. Local food banks are running out of food because of the increase
0:09:24 > 0:09:28in people having to go there, going hungry because of what the
0:09:28 > 0:09:33government scheme has done to them. Glasgow will be the last major city
0:09:33 > 0:09:38to be subject to the full roll-out, but before that, how many thousands
0:09:38 > 0:09:40of families, children and vulnerable people will have to suffer and
0:09:40 > 0:09:49starve?Members on all sides, the cross-party working pensions select
0:09:49 > 0:09:52committee, peers, charities, the children's Commissioner and our
0:09:52 > 0:09:57constituents have raised concerns. We can't all be wrong.I am firmly
0:09:57 > 0:10:00of the view, as are most people on both sides of this house, that work
0:10:00 > 0:10:05should always pay. That is the principle that underlines universal
0:10:05 > 0:10:07credit.
0:10:07 > 0:10:08The minister said universal credit
0:10:08 > 0:10:11was being rolled out at a measured pace over nine years
0:10:11 > 0:10:14with frequent pauses in the process.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18Universal credit is a vital reform and it changes how we support people
0:10:18 > 0:10:22out of work and in work, and how we help them progress from one into the
0:10:22 > 0:10:28other. It is a lot of change, a new benefit, a new IT system, new
0:10:28 > 0:10:33operational system, new ways of working with partners and that
0:10:33 > 0:10:37brings challenges. We will continue to work with claimants, with
0:10:37 > 0:10:39stakeholders and partners, with honourable and right honourable
0:10:39 > 0:10:43member is to resolve these challenges as they arise, and
0:10:43 > 0:10:46improve universal credit as it is introduced across the country.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48At the end of the debate MPs voted
0:10:48 > 0:10:50without a division to call on the Government to cut
0:10:50 > 0:10:52the time claimants have to wait before receiving their first
0:10:52 > 0:10:53universal credit payment.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56And the chair of the Work and Pensions Committee called
0:10:56 > 0:10:59on the Work and Pensions Secretary to come to the Commons on Monday
0:10:59 > 0:11:04to explain what the government would now do to reform the benefit.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07The Government has said it doesn't intend to impose direct rule
0:11:07 > 0:11:09in Northern Ireland despite introducing an emergency
0:11:09 > 0:11:12bill to allow public spending to continue.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15The Northern Ireland Secretary told MPs the recent round of talks
0:11:15 > 0:11:19between the Democratic Unionists and Sinn Fein had failed
0:11:19 > 0:11:22to break the deadlock over power-sharing in Stormont.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25Despite his strong preference for a restored executive to bring
0:11:25 > 0:11:27forward its own budget, James Brokenshire explained why
0:11:27 > 0:11:35the Government now had to step in.
0:11:35 > 0:11:40But the ongoing lack of agreement has had tangible consequences for
0:11:40 > 0:11:44people and public services in Northern Ireland. Without an
0:11:44 > 0:11:49executive, there has been no budget. And without a budget, civil servants
0:11:49 > 0:11:53have been without political direction to take decisions on
0:11:53 > 0:11:55spending and public services in Northern Ireland.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57The Democratic Unionist Ian Paisley
0:11:57 > 0:12:01said the situation could not continue indefinitely.
0:12:01 > 0:12:06In taking this decision, there is no political accountability in Northern
0:12:06 > 0:12:09Ireland, either to a non-functioning executive, and importantly tonight,
0:12:09 > 0:12:15to him and his ministerial team in Northern Ireland either. That is not
0:12:15 > 0:12:18sustainable for any period of time. There must be political
0:12:18 > 0:12:23accountability and he must move urgently to appoint ministers and
0:12:23 > 0:12:29take political control.That is not a step that I do intend to take.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31Labour backed the bill but described it as a twilight
0:12:31 > 0:12:33zone between devolution
0:12:33 > 0:12:38and direct rule, and urged the Prime Minister to step in.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42We are told so often that the reason she is still persisting in this
0:12:42 > 0:12:46difficult role at this difficult time is because she has a great
0:12:46 > 0:12:50sense of duty and public service. I can think of no greater duty or
0:12:50 > 0:12:54public service that she could play right now than to serve the peace
0:12:54 > 0:12:57process in Northern Ireland by intervening personally, by getting
0:12:57 > 0:13:02her hands dirty to try and bring about the breakthrough that we all
0:13:02 > 0:13:09so desperately require.
0:13:09 > 0:13:10Owen Smith.
0:13:10 > 0:13:11Members of the Welsh Assembly held a-minute's
0:13:11 > 0:13:14silence on Tuesday in tribute to their colleague Carl Sargeant.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17He was found dead on November the 7th, four days after being
0:13:17 > 0:13:18sacked from his post as Cabinet Secretary
0:13:18 > 0:13:19for Communities and children.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22A ruling by the Supreme Court has cleared the way for Scotland
0:13:22 > 0:13:25to become the first country in the world to set a minimum
0:13:25 > 0:13:26unit price for alcohol.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28The policy was first announced five years ago
0:13:28 > 0:13:30but its implementation stalled when the Scotch Whisky Association
0:13:30 > 0:13:33launched a legal challenge.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36The First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said the policy would improve public
0:13:36 > 0:13:41health and would be introduced as soon as possible.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44Now for a look at some news from around Westminster in brief.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47MPs have denounced an inquiry into a controversial pregnancy test
0:13:47 > 0:13:50as a whitewash and a cover-up.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53A major scientific review of hormonal tests widely used
0:13:53 > 0:13:58in the 1950s, '60s and '70s concluded that they did NOT cause
0:13:58 > 0:14:00major birth defects.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03The inquiry was set up after a long-running campaign
0:14:03 > 0:14:07by parents whose children suffered heart problems, missing limbs,
0:14:07 > 0:14:10spina bifida and other conditions.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14All the available evidence on possible association has been
0:14:14 > 0:14:18extensively and thoroughly reviewed with the benefit of up-to-date
0:14:18 > 0:14:19knowledge by experts in the relevant specialisms.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23The evidence which has been reviewed by the expert group will be
0:14:23 > 0:14:26published in the next year once it has been rightly checked in line
0:14:26 > 0:14:28with legal duties and data protection confidentiality.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30In addition to the overall completion, the expert working group
0:14:30 > 0:14:33has made a number of recommendations to safeguard future generations
0:14:33 > 0:14:38through strengthening the systems in place in detecting,
0:14:38 > 0:14:41evaluating, managing, and communicating safety concerns
0:14:41 > 0:14:43in the use of medicines in early pregnancy.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47Having had some experience as a former public health minister,
0:14:47 > 0:14:50and knowing about contaminated blood, I'm afraid to say I smell
0:14:50 > 0:14:52something suspicious in all of this.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56I think there have been cover-ups.
0:14:56 > 0:15:01Mr Speaker, I am so disappointed with the Minister's response.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05Clearly, he is just quoting what his staff at the ministry
0:15:05 > 0:15:07have been telling him.
0:15:07 > 0:15:12I do wish the Minister would actually go through the occupants
0:15:12 > 0:15:15that have been submitted to the enquiry and the
0:15:15 > 0:15:18documents we have had.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21Because if he had read those documents, he would never have come
0:15:21 > 0:15:23to this dispatch box and said what he has said.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26I'm not just quoting notes that have been put before me,
0:15:26 > 0:15:29I'm quoting evidence from an expert working group, an expert panel.
0:15:29 > 0:15:33And it would really be something if members in this House suddenly
0:15:33 > 0:15:37started to second guess expert scientific and medical evidence.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41I'm not just quoting what is before me.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44The Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has apologised and admitted he made
0:15:44 > 0:15:48a mistake in the case of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe,
0:15:48 > 0:15:50the British-Iranian woman who was jailed
0:15:50 > 0:15:51while on holiday in Iran.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53She was accused of spying.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55Her family believe her situation was made worse
0:15:55 > 0:15:58by Boris Johnson's suggestion that she was training journalists.
0:15:58 > 0:16:03Will he finally take the opportunity today to state
0:16:03 > 0:16:06simply and unequivocally, for the removal of any doubt,
0:16:06 > 0:16:11either here or in Tehran, that simply got it wrong?
0:16:11 > 0:16:19Mr Speaker, I am more than happy to say again what I said
0:16:19 > 0:16:22to the right honourable lady last week.
0:16:22 > 0:16:27That, yes, of course I apologise for the distress and suffering that
0:16:27 > 0:16:31has been caused by the impression that I gave that the government
0:16:31 > 0:16:34believed, that I believed that she was there in
0:16:34 > 0:16:36a professional capacity.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39She was there on holiday.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43The top civil servant at the Ministry of Justice has
0:16:43 > 0:16:45admitted his department was too ambitious when it attempted
0:16:45 > 0:16:47to introduce a new form of electronic tagging for criminals.
0:16:47 > 0:16:52The ankle tagging scheme uses GPS satellite technology.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56It was meant to be a cheaper alternative to prison.
0:16:56 > 0:17:00But a National Audit Office report found that by March it had cost
0:17:00 > 0:17:03the Government £60 million and still hadn't been implemented.
0:17:03 > 0:17:07Having been an IT procurement manager myself, I do
0:17:07 > 0:17:08have some insights here.
0:17:08 > 0:17:12The procurement was absolutely shambolic.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16You had untested providers.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19You had no clue of liability for who was responsible for the service.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22And you wouldn't have an integrator.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25So whoever put this down as a procurement strategy
0:17:25 > 0:17:31I don't think had any idea what they were trying to achieve.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34It was completely fundamentally flawed.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38We pushed ahead with this model, cognisant of the risks,
0:17:38 > 0:17:42thinking that we would successfully disaggregate the market,
0:17:42 > 0:17:44thinking, and again this was a mistake we made,
0:17:44 > 0:17:47thinking that as part of a reprocurement that we could
0:17:47 > 0:17:49somehow get suppliers to invent on the hoof tags that
0:17:49 > 0:17:50could do everything.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54Now, that was an overly ambitious reading of what the market
0:17:54 > 0:17:55was capable of delivering.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58We could be facing a return to the medical dark ages
0:17:58 > 0:18:01unless action is taken to tackle antibiotic resistance and get people
0:18:01 > 0:18:03to use them only when appropriate.
0:18:03 > 0:18:08Antibiotic resistance, known as AMR, already represents a major
0:18:08 > 0:18:10global health issue.
0:18:10 > 0:18:15In the UK alone, it is estimated that every year at least 5,000
0:18:15 > 0:18:19deaths result from antibiotics no longer working for some infections.
0:18:19 > 0:18:24If we do not act now, antimicrobial resistance will be
0:18:24 > 0:18:28responsible for 10 million deaths per year by 2050.
0:18:28 > 0:18:33This is more than the worldwide number of people who are
0:18:33 > 0:18:35killed by cancer in 2015.
0:18:35 > 0:18:39We run the risk of returning to a medical dark age where routine
0:18:39 > 0:18:44operations such as hip operations cannot be carried out,
0:18:44 > 0:18:49and the standard infections of today become deadly.
0:18:49 > 0:18:54For the first time in 650 years of the role, the next
0:18:54 > 0:18:55Black Rod will be a woman.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59Sarah Clarke currently organises the Wimbledon Tennis Championships.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02She will take over early next year, replacing David Leakey,
0:19:02 > 0:19:05who is standing down.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07There was good news for bees.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10The Environment Secretary has announced that an extended ban
0:19:10 > 0:19:14on controversial neonicotinoid pesticides will be
0:19:14 > 0:19:15supported by the UK.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17Such chemicals can cause bees to lose their buzz,
0:19:17 > 0:19:20according to new research.
0:19:20 > 0:19:21One MP was delighted.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24Although there are over 250 species of the, including 25
0:19:24 > 0:19:27species of bumblebee, they have some remarkable
0:19:28 > 0:19:29characteristics in common.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32For example, a bee can find its way in an astonishingly sophisticated
0:19:32 > 0:19:36way with a combination of using the angle of the sun,
0:19:36 > 0:19:38counting landmarks, and exploiting electrical fields.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41And, remarkably, they can exchange information with other bees
0:19:41 > 0:19:45about the precise location of the perfect flower,
0:19:45 > 0:19:49and some evidence suggests they do so using movements known
0:19:49 > 0:19:51as a waggle dance.
0:19:51 > 0:19:55But beyond their own intrinsic value, they play a vital role
0:19:55 > 0:19:56in the broader environment.
0:19:56 > 0:20:01And that role was summarised beautifully by the poet
0:20:01 > 0:20:04who said: To the bee, a flower is the founding
0:20:04 > 0:20:09of life and to the flower, that the is the message of love.
0:20:09 > 0:20:19Parliament has a plethora of select committees that scrutinise the work
0:20:20 > 0:20:23of different government departments and put ice cold fear into the heart
0:20:23 > 0:20:24of many a bureaucrat or mandarin.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27But a couple of times a year, the heads of all those committees
0:20:27 > 0:20:30come together to put questions to the prime minister of the day.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32And this liaison committee now has a new chair,
0:20:32 > 0:20:33the Conservative Dr Sarah Wollaston.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36A little earlier I asked her just what the committee was for.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38The Liaison Committee coordinates all the work
0:20:38 > 0:20:39of the select committees.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42It is made up of all the select committee chairs
0:20:42 > 0:20:44so it is a bit like a super committee within Parliament.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47It's best known role perhaps is being able to check evidence
0:20:47 > 0:20:54with the high minister, which we do three times a year.
0:20:54 > 0:21:01Its best known role perhaps is being able to take evidence
0:21:01 > 0:21:04from the Prime Minister, which we do three times a year.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07But it also has a very important role, if you like,
0:21:07 > 0:21:09in giving more power to the select committees, giving
0:21:09 > 0:21:10them a stronger voice.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13From the public's point of view, when they in politics seems to be
0:21:13 > 0:21:15at a particularly low ebb, people watch the work
0:21:15 > 0:21:17of select committees, and I think they see Parliament
0:21:17 > 0:21:20at its best, with MPs working across party lines to get things
0:21:20 > 0:21:23done in a much more constructive way than they often see
0:21:23 > 0:21:24in the Commons Chamber.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27So, you say you wanted give the committee is a stronger voice.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29What kind of things do you have in mind?
0:21:29 > 0:21:34How would you make their voice stronger?
0:21:34 > 0:21:38I think coordinating so they together more.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42Because we know for example in the last Parliament we saw
0:21:42 > 0:21:43the Health Committee and the Communities
0:21:43 > 0:21:46and Local Government Committee and the Public Accounts Committee
0:21:46 > 0:21:48working to have on social care and crises in social care.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51I think that sort of coordinated action was able to persuade
0:21:51 > 0:21:54the Chancellor with clear evidence the case for why you needed an extra
0:21:54 > 0:21:55£2 billion for social care.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58So, that kind of work I think is very important.
0:21:58 > 0:22:02I think that is something I would like to see developed,
0:22:02 > 0:22:03committees working together to get things done.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05The Liaison Committee perhaps holding one-off concessions perhaps
0:22:05 > 0:22:08to call in people on very important issues that cover several
0:22:08 > 0:22:09departmental areas.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12You say the thing that the Liaison Committee is best
0:22:12 > 0:22:14known for is its hearings with the Prime Minister which it has
0:22:15 > 0:22:16a couple of times a year.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18How are you going to handle that?
0:22:18 > 0:22:21The feeling is that it can be a bit unwieldy and that liaison committees
0:22:21 > 0:22:24never really lay a glove on the Prime Minister at all.
0:22:24 > 0:22:26I think the way to do it is to focus it.
0:22:26 > 0:22:28So, to plan beforehand what you want to discuss.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31The first meeting with the Prime Minister will be
0:22:31 > 0:22:33on the 20th of December, and what I envisage,
0:22:33 > 0:22:36because that will be shortly after the European Council,
0:22:36 > 0:22:39is that we spend an hour of that having the opportunity
0:22:39 > 0:22:41to drill down on the issues.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44Rather than it being like PMQs where you only get one
0:22:44 > 0:22:47question and one answer, having the time to develop those
0:22:47 > 0:22:50questions, but also not forget some really important domestic issues.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54So, I imagine we will spend the rest of the time thinking in advance
0:22:54 > 0:22:57about what they key issues of our domestic agenda
0:22:57 > 0:23:04that we want to question her about.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07So what advice would you give Theresa May about how she should
0:23:07 > 0:23:08approach the committee?
0:23:08 > 0:23:11I think not to regard it like PMQs, not just to bat things
0:23:11 > 0:23:13off, to actually take the opportunity to engage.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16There is a huge amount of expertise in the room.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18People aren't there as select committee chairs to create
0:23:18 > 0:23:20trouble, we genuinely of their because we are used
0:23:20 > 0:23:24to cross-party consensus working and we want to be able to help
0:23:24 > 0:23:26develop ideas and influence and understand what policy is.
0:23:26 > 0:23:31And to share that expertise with Number ten in a way that isn't
0:23:31 > 0:23:37driven in a party political manner but given by the expertise
0:23:37 > 0:23:41of members across all select committees.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45Sarah Wollaston, newly appointed chair of the Liaison Committee.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48Let's take a look at some of the other stories making
0:23:48 > 0:23:49the political news this week.
0:23:49 > 0:23:56Here's Julia Butler with our countdown.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00Conservative MP Johnny Mercer revealed his new facial hair
0:24:00 > 0:24:04in aid of Movember - a campaign committed to changing
0:24:04 > 0:24:07the face of men's health.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09What is your excuse for not doing your homework?
0:24:09 > 0:24:12Labour peer Lord Stevenson gave a pretty detailed account
0:24:12 > 0:24:13of why he hadn't done his.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17It's not been a good day so far.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20I attended a wonderful memorial service for a noble Lord
0:24:20 > 0:24:23and it was a moving experience, so moving that I left
0:24:23 > 0:24:27the church without my bag and nearly all my possessions,
0:24:27 > 0:24:29all my keys, my wallet, and everything else.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31Somebody found the bag, didn't hand it in, took it home,
0:24:31 > 0:24:35thought it was the other of Lord Stevenson, and spent four
0:24:35 > 0:24:42hours trying to find him, and then realised it wasn't him
0:24:42 > 0:24:45and it was me, and I got my bag back.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47Australia is this week voted in a referendum
0:24:47 > 0:24:52to legalise same-sex marriage.
0:24:52 > 0:24:54Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he hopes to introduce
0:24:54 > 0:24:55legislation before Christmas.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57At the Lord Mayor's banquet at Guildhall,
0:24:57 > 0:25:00the Prime Minister almost had a run-in with the golden mace.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03It wasn't the first time she has had to back off
0:25:03 > 0:25:06from a ceremonial ornament.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09And two new peers were introduced to the House of Lords this week.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12The addition of Christopher Guy and Sir Bernard Hogan Howe brings
0:25:12 > 0:25:16the current total in the Upper House to 801, and counting.
0:25:20 > 0:25:21Julia Butler.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25And that's it from us for now but do join us every weeknight next week
0:25:25 > 0:25:28at 11 O'Clock on BBC Parliament for a full roundup of the day
0:25:28 > 0:25:31at Westminster as MPs continue their scrutiny of the EU
0:25:31 > 0:25:36Withdrawal Bill, and the Chancellor Philip Hammond delivers his budget.
0:25:36 > 0:25:42But, for now, from me, Alicia McCarthy, goodbye.