0:00:19 > 0:00:21Hello and welcome to The Week In Parliament.
0:00:21 > 0:00:29Coming up, Carillion's senior executives seem lost for words.
0:00:29 > 0:00:36And you are still all right? All of you, argue?
0:00:36 > 0:00:42The Brexit debate gets a bit shouty.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46Stand up to the man to the EU and get on with living that you.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49And 100 years after the first women get the vote, female MPs
0:00:49 > 0:00:52are still suffering abuse.
0:00:52 > 0:00:56What this is about is about misogynists seeking to silence women
0:00:56 > 0:00:57who dare to speak out.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00But first, the chairman of the collapsed construction firm
0:01:00 > 0:01:02Carillion has told MPs how upset he is at the firm's demise.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04The company which provided services for schools,
0:01:04 > 0:01:06hospitals, and prisons went into liquidation last month.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10An array of senior executives gave a joint committee
0:01:10 > 0:01:13of MPs their side of the story.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16But the chairs of those committees were not impressed,
0:01:16 > 0:01:19saying afterwards that the directors were "delusional characters"
0:01:19 > 0:01:21who "maintained that everything was hunky dory" until it all went
0:01:21 > 0:01:29suddenly and unforeseeably wrong.
0:01:29 > 0:01:38Words cannot describe the depth of my despair. I am devastated. By the
0:01:38 > 0:01:42impact that the collapse has had and as I said, on the pensioners, on
0:01:42 > 0:01:49customers, on suppliers, on staff. We have had one session where
0:01:49 > 0:01:52everyone is pointing figures, your main evidence so far is that you had
0:01:52 > 0:01:56these advisers, and ineffective pointed her finger at them, but what
0:01:56 > 0:02:02is your, out to this question is what is your responsibility for the
0:02:02 > 0:02:13collapse?Full and complete. No question in my mind about that. Full
0:02:13 > 0:02:16responsibility, no question, and if I look back, there are things I
0:02:16 > 0:02:20would do differently.I am asking whether you think it is justified at
0:02:20 > 0:02:23a time when the share price of the company is falling quite
0:02:23 > 0:02:31substantially, whether it is right to increase the renumeration of the
0:02:31 > 0:02:35chief executive...It was right at the time because he wanted to retain
0:02:35 > 0:02:40the chief executive in that business, and period when the
0:02:40 > 0:02:44separate -- it was volatile.Do think that decision was right?I
0:02:44 > 0:02:47have thought a lot about many of the decisions that we would have made,
0:02:47 > 0:02:58and I think that decision was correct.All of you sitting here,
0:02:58 > 0:03:02with multi-million pounds of payment from the company over a period of
0:03:02 > 0:03:04years, and you say how sad and disappointed you are, but what
0:03:04 > 0:03:09actions do you take to show that? Because it is just words, is it not?
0:03:09 > 0:03:13It is just worth, I am saddened by I am disappointed, which I could do
0:03:13 > 0:03:19things differently, but the money is in the bank but it does not for the
0:03:19 > 0:03:24people who are retired or coming for retirement?All for if you have done
0:03:24 > 0:03:28rather well from the company, which you then in different ways helped to
0:03:28 > 0:03:37crash. Does that not movie you at all? I mean, why should we believe
0:03:37 > 0:03:42you, that you feel so sad about all of this? It does not extend to your
0:03:42 > 0:03:50chequebook.I am genuinely, shocked and saddened by the events. I
0:03:50 > 0:03:57genuinely am. And I am very happy to engage with the company and
0:03:57 > 0:04:04understand what...You do not have to wait for someone to have an
0:04:04 > 0:04:10engagement with you, it is part of your DNA. Is it not?It is, but I do
0:04:10 > 0:04:15need to understand what the position is, I do not know what the position
0:04:15 > 0:04:20is today.It is clear is it not? As she said pages are taking cuts
0:04:20 > 0:04:23people are not going to get paid for contrast, other people have lost
0:04:23 > 0:04:34their jobs, you are still all right. I love you. Argue? -- are you not?
0:04:34 > 0:04:36Carillion's executives, lost for words there.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38Well, the next day it was the turn of the Government.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41The Liaison Committee which is made up of the chairs
0:04:41 > 0:04:43of all the other committees summoned the Cabinet Office minister.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45But he was being very cautious in his answers.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49This exchange was typical.
0:04:49 > 0:04:55One of the lessons from the financial crisis, was to have more
0:04:55 > 0:05:01tougher rules about being able to pull back bonuses, and when things
0:05:01 > 0:05:04go wrong at a business, do you think we should look again at the
0:05:04 > 0:05:09claw-back arrangements for bonuses so that we can get some of that
0:05:09 > 0:05:15money back?Again sitting here today, I am open-minded on that, but
0:05:15 > 0:05:23there have been serious allegations of misconduct by the Board and
0:05:23 > 0:05:31former board members of them. Those are being independently did --
0:05:31 > 0:05:34investigated by the receiver and it would be wrong before a Minister to
0:05:34 > 0:05:39make any comment that could be prejudicial of the findings on that.
0:05:39 > 0:05:43I know this isn't the first time I've said this and it won't be
0:05:43 > 0:05:45the last, but it's been a big week for Brexit.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47Theresa May chaired two key meetings with senior ministers.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49The Brexit cabinet committee sketched out what the future
0:05:49 > 0:05:52relationship between the UK and EU might look like.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54What conclusion they came to, they haven't told me,
0:05:54 > 0:05:57but the issue came up several times in the Commons.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01First, in a spirited intervention by one DUP MP,
0:06:01 > 0:06:09echoing the words of his father during the Troubles.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12Does the Minister agreed that but it is time the Government demonstrated
0:06:12 > 0:06:21that no surrender attitude to the bureaucrats who bully us over air
0:06:21 > 0:06:24flights, passenger and everything else and stand up to them and stand
0:06:24 > 0:06:27up to the EU and get on with leading it.
0:06:27 > 0:06:28Well, that plea came moments before the start
0:06:28 > 0:06:35of Prime Minister's Questions where the matter was raised again.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38The Prime Minister will be aware that all free-trade agreements
0:06:38 > 0:06:42involve some customs checks and therefore infrastructure at
0:06:42 > 0:06:45frontiers of which will be completely incompatible with
0:06:45 > 0:06:52maintaining an open border between Northern Ireland and the time
0:06:52 > 0:06:56subcommittee is getting around to discussing this, could be a Minister
0:06:56 > 0:07:00explained to the House at why she's so opposed to the UK remaining and a
0:07:00 > 0:07:04customs union with the EU when not only would these be better for the
0:07:04 > 0:07:08British economy, and a vague partnership whatever that is, but
0:07:08 > 0:07:12would also help to ensure that that border remained as it is today,
0:07:12 > 0:07:19which is what we all want.The UK's leading the EU, that means relieving
0:07:19 > 0:07:23the single market, we are leaving the customs union, because if we
0:07:23 > 0:07:26were members of it, we would not be able to do trade around the rest of
0:07:26 > 0:07:30the world. And we are going to have an independent trade policy and due
0:07:30 > 0:07:33the stills. And he asks me about the arrangements, well I have second,
0:07:33 > 0:07:36say to data looks of the paper that was published by the Government last
0:07:36 > 0:07:37summer.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40And a question about reports that the EU could suspend "certain
0:07:40 > 0:07:42benefits" during any transition phase, came from the other end
0:07:42 > 0:07:47of the Brexit spectrum.
0:07:47 > 0:07:52In the committee last December I wonder about all tomatoes from the
0:07:52 > 0:07:56EU, and again and might you queue only last week, which he be good
0:07:56 > 0:07:59enough to be very robust in discussing the matters and the
0:07:59 > 0:08:03Brexit committees, I'm sure she will be, in order to ensure that we
0:08:03 > 0:08:10repudiate any of these threats.As I said from the beginning, we will
0:08:10 > 0:08:14hear all sorts of thing being said about positions are being taken.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17What matters is the position that we take in the negotiations as we sit
0:08:17 > 0:08:21down and the best deal we has shown that we can do that we did in
0:08:21 > 0:08:23December, I would do it again.
0:08:23 > 0:08:25Jeremy Corbyn's battleground of choice for this week's
0:08:25 > 0:08:27Prime Minister's Questions was crime figures.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29Last month the Office for National Statistics said
0:08:29 > 0:08:31the number of violent crimes and sex offences recorded by police
0:08:31 > 0:08:35in England and Wales has risen sharply over the past year.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39But the separate Crime Survey, based on people's experiences, suggested
0:08:39 > 0:08:42crime was continuing to fall.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45And with that in mind, battle commenced, with
0:08:45 > 0:08:51a particularly pithy question.
0:08:51 > 0:08:56With crime rising, does the PM regret cutting down police officers?
0:08:56 > 0:09:00Will you seem from the crime survey, is that crime is now down at record
0:09:00 > 0:09:09low levels. That is, that is what is being achieved and it has been
0:09:09 > 0:09:11achieved by conservative government that the symptom has been protecting
0:09:11 > 0:09:17the budget.The Chief Constable says we do not have the resources to keep
0:09:17 > 0:09:22residents safe the position is a scandal. Too many people do not feel
0:09:22 > 0:09:26safe and too many people are not safe. We had just enough highest
0:09:26 > 0:09:31rise in recorded crime for a quarter of a century. The Chief Constable of
0:09:31 > 0:09:35Lancaster said that the gut -- the police can't make it much more
0:09:35 > 0:09:43difficult to keep people safe. Is he wrong?Can I say to the right
0:09:43 > 0:09:48honourable gentleman, on this issue of recording crime, he mentions it
0:09:48 > 0:09:52is precisely because when I was Home Secretary, I asked them to look at
0:09:52 > 0:09:57the recording of bullies crime, to make sure that police forces were
0:09:57 > 0:10:00doing it properly and indeed, some changes were made as a result of
0:10:00 > 0:10:06that. So we now see the better recording of a crime post-op we also
0:10:06 > 0:10:12see, 450 million pounds extra being made available to the police. But
0:10:12 > 0:10:18what have we seen and ICS? The creation of the national crime
0:10:18 > 0:10:22agency, our police taking more notice to protect multiple victims,
0:10:22 > 0:10:27doing more on modern slavery and domestic violence. Taking issues
0:10:27 > 0:10:35seriously, that they were not taking seriously before.If you asked to
0:10:35 > 0:10:37look at unrecorded crime in Italy what is going on, the least you
0:10:37 > 0:10:41could do is act out what they tell you.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43This week marked a 100 years of the Representation
0:10:43 > 0:10:46of the People Act, which gave women over 30 who had property,
0:10:46 > 0:10:47the right to vote.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50And in a debate to mark the centenary, the Commons
0:10:50 > 0:10:52was awash with the white, purple and green emblem
0:10:52 > 0:10:59of the suffrage movement.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03I am proud to be part of the most diverse House of Commons in British
0:11:03 > 0:11:10history. We have our second female Prime Minister. A third of those
0:11:10 > 0:11:12attending Cabinet are women and we had the highest ever number of
0:11:12 > 0:11:19female MPs. Outside of politics, we have seen so much progress since
0:11:19 > 0:11:241918. More women are in a more diverse range of jobs than ever
0:11:24 > 0:11:28before, and are increasingly at the top of their field.I was hoping
0:11:28 > 0:11:31that the Minister was going to make an announcement today that the
0:11:31 > 0:11:38Government was going to issue may be an official apology to the women of
0:11:38 > 0:11:44the suffragette movement or a part in maybe, for those who were wrongly
0:11:44 > 0:11:49imprisoned. And sexually assaulted in their battle to get women the
0:11:49 > 0:11:54vote. But instead, all we have is a nether renouncement, how utterly
0:11:54 > 0:11:58disappointing.I would be doing a disservice to suffragette who stood
0:11:58 > 0:12:01up for the causes which are more than just getting a book for women,
0:12:01 > 0:12:04if I did not say that today we still have a government that pursues
0:12:04 > 0:12:09policies like the rape clause, and Social Security cuts, which hit one
0:12:09 > 0:12:13budget 85% of the cuts have come from their pockets, and we are yet
0:12:13 > 0:12:18to see a justice for the campaign is.I support the Government moved
0:12:18 > 0:12:21to asked the Lord commission to consider the case for making it and
0:12:21 > 0:12:25that went to the brain and abused Parliamentary candidate. What this
0:12:25 > 0:12:29is about, is about misogynist seeking to sign into women who dare
0:12:29 > 0:12:34to speak out. Particularly, very lately, this against younger women
0:12:34 > 0:12:40and black women. Voters have the right to choose who they want, man
0:12:40 > 0:12:45or woman, to represent them. And once that Representative is elected
0:12:45 > 0:12:49to Parliament, it is the right and duty to be able to get on with the
0:12:49 > 0:12:53job without being subjected to intimidation, threats, or Biden.
0:12:53 > 0:12:58This is about our democracy. So I hope members on our side of the
0:12:58 > 0:13:01House will get this our -- their full support.
0:13:01 > 0:13:03And women MPs past and present...
0:13:03 > 0:13:05Were in Westminster Hall on Tuesday to mark that centenary.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08The suffrage campaigns were led by women, but some male
0:13:08 > 0:13:10supporters played a key role.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13In a film for BBC Parliament, the former deputy speaker
0:13:13 > 0:13:16Natascha Engel reports on the Votes for Women campaign and the men
0:13:16 > 0:13:26who backed the cause.
0:13:26 > 0:13:32We get thousands of petitions from 1860 to 19 it is signed by more than
0:13:32 > 0:13:383 million women.A were undermined, questions raised about their
0:13:38 > 0:13:48manliness, their fitness for their careers. They tried to rush the
0:13:48 > 0:13:51building and chained themselves to doctors and so long, they're in the
0:13:51 > 0:14:01height of the storm.You will go down in history as the man who
0:14:01 > 0:14:06tortured innocent women.They went on how the strikes. -- hunger
0:14:06 > 0:14:12strikes. Daley from his first election he introduced a women's
0:14:12 > 0:14:18suffrage bill every year. But this was the great opportunity.This is
0:14:18 > 0:14:22also a story about Parliament. Campaigners ended to win allies from
0:14:22 > 0:14:25the all-male Parliaments of the day. We will be looking at the
0:14:25 > 0:14:28politicians have eventually agreed to change the law.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31And the film, Suffragette Allies, is on BBC Parliament on Sunday
0:14:31 > 0:14:32evening at half-past-eight.
0:14:32 > 0:14:38MPs who are found to have bullied or harassed their staff could be
0:14:38 > 0:14:41be suspended and voters could force them to face a by-election.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44The Leader of the Commons announced a package of measures to tackle
0:14:44 > 0:14:50misconduct at Westminster.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54The working group was formed to bring about change. It is a right,
0:14:54 > 0:14:59not a privilege, to be treated with dignity and respect at work. This
0:14:59 > 0:15:05ambitious report is a major step towards a safer and more
0:15:05 > 0:15:10professional environments.This is a significant, substantial document
0:15:10 > 0:15:14that has managed to secure all partisan support, as signal the
0:15:14 > 0:15:19beginning of the end of the poison is culture that has characterised so
0:15:19 > 0:15:23many other relationships of this House. Of such harassment is will
0:15:23 > 0:15:26now have a process to make formal complaints independent of the
0:15:26 > 0:15:32political parties and that is the key feature of what is being
0:15:32 > 0:15:35designed and delivered today.The media spotlight can be very harsh on
0:15:35 > 0:15:39a member of Parliament on the basis just of an accusation made. But it
0:15:39 > 0:15:44can also be very harsh on a complainant. We have to bear that in
0:15:44 > 0:15:50mind.Publication of the accused's name might bring forth corroborating
0:15:50 > 0:15:54evidence of what otherwise might be one person buys that against the
0:15:54 > 0:16:02other. Where should the difficult balance lie?My honourable friend
0:16:02 > 0:16:07will appreciate that this has been an incredible difficult balancing
0:16:07 > 0:16:12act. But we all made clear, all of us on the working group is that the
0:16:12 > 0:16:14commitment to protecting the interests of the complainants would
0:16:14 > 0:16:18be at the heart of this. And that means very often that complainant
0:16:18 > 0:16:22does not want and will not come forward with a complaint if they
0:16:22 > 0:16:29then run the risk of being hounded Indymedia and having effectively --
0:16:29 > 0:16:33Indymedia and having a trial in the full glare of the public spotlight.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37And that was one of the core areas that we sought to address. What that
0:16:37 > 0:16:43inevitably means is that there are compromises.Which you not agree
0:16:43 > 0:16:46that we need consent training but also mandatory, and sanctions
0:16:46 > 0:16:50available for those members were not persuaded to take it up because
0:16:50 > 0:16:54quite frankly, those members who are likely to be resistant to taking up
0:16:54 > 0:16:59training are those who need it most? The training we've mentioned in
0:16:59 > 0:17:02consent and unconscious bias and had to recruit and how to employ people
0:17:02 > 0:17:08and what constitutes harassment, all of these things are vital. They will
0:17:08 > 0:17:13be available as compulsory sanctions and we will be seeking means to
0:17:13 > 0:17:16encourage people across the estate to take him up voluntarily where we
0:17:16 > 0:17:18make it mandatory.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21The head of the Parole Board has said action is needed to make
0:17:21 > 0:17:23the reasons for its decisions public and its judgments
0:17:23 > 0:17:25easier to challenge.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27The comments come in the wake of the decision
0:17:27 > 0:17:28to release John Worboys.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31Worboys was jailed indefinitely in 2009, with a minimum
0:17:31 > 0:17:35term of eight years, for drugging and sexually
0:17:35 > 0:17:36assaulting women.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38Two of his victims have been given the go-ahead
0:17:38 > 0:17:41to challenge his release at a judicial review next month.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44The Government has ordered a review of the transparency
0:17:44 > 0:17:50of Parole Board decisions.
0:17:50 > 0:17:55We could do much more than we do at present. To explain individual
0:17:55 > 0:18:04decisions. But there are a number of risks to doing that. And they need
0:18:04 > 0:18:07to be carefully explored and considered.It's an awareness and
0:18:07 > 0:18:14education programme. What proposals can you second to train yourself?If
0:18:14 > 0:18:17there are a number of different steps that we are in the process of
0:18:17 > 0:18:22taking. I think there is... We need to have information accessible about
0:18:22 > 0:18:28the process in a number of different formats and it is never a different
0:18:28 > 0:18:34platforms. I think we should use, we are talking about some very
0:18:34 > 0:18:39impressive stuff from other jurisdictions. Written information
0:18:39 > 0:18:44that can be produced to be much improved. But we can't do and we're
0:18:44 > 0:18:52absolutely... Approved by Parliament earlier, is explain anything about
0:18:52 > 0:18:58any individual case. Even the most basic things. For an example,
0:18:58 > 0:19:05talking about completely different cases, you have victims ask for
0:19:05 > 0:19:09information about licence commissions. We have information
0:19:09 > 0:19:11about licence conditions that would reassure them. They would find them
0:19:11 > 0:19:17comforting. And we can't tell them. We can go much further. In
0:19:17 > 0:19:20explaining our decisions to people so they have a real sense of what we
0:19:20 > 0:19:26are doing. They may not like what we are doing, or they may agree with
0:19:26 > 0:19:30what we have done. But at least they have a basis to know why they do
0:19:30 > 0:19:38agree or not. Then it makes it challenging -- it makes a child
0:19:38 > 0:19:41process better. You can challenge it at the moment. So then you have to
0:19:41 > 0:19:53grant funded.That he said needed to change.Is undignified to me. I
0:19:53 > 0:19:59don't think it's acceptable. But we can't make every decision twice.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01Professor Nick Hardwick.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04It's not often a reality TV star is called to give evidence in front
0:20:04 > 0:20:05of a parliamentary committee.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08But on Tuesday the model Katie Price appeared before MPs to make
0:20:08 > 0:20:11an impassioned plea for criminal action to be taken against malicious
0:20:11 > 0:20:14trolling on social media.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16Katie Price has long campaigned on behalf of her son, Harvey,
0:20:16 > 0:20:24who has several disabilities.
0:20:24 > 0:20:30What I am thinking is it's bad. What goes in people's had when what they
0:20:30 > 0:20:36want to do this to an innocent child who can provide back. I went to a
0:20:36 > 0:20:40bunch of governments and the police. I went to the police twice and they
0:20:40 > 0:20:43arrested two people, got their computers, microphones, and the
0:20:43 > 0:20:46police were embarrassed because it got to the point where they couldn't
0:20:46 > 0:20:50take it any further because it could not charge him because there was
0:20:50 > 0:20:56nothing in place. They had to drop the cases. Since then, it has
0:20:56 > 0:21:01discontinued and got worse. My petition, I have 220,000 signatures.
0:21:01 > 0:21:08A lot of people say that I don't... We are not fans of yours. We don't
0:21:08 > 0:21:12like you, but what you are doing is amazing. Because it will help a lot
0:21:12 > 0:21:18of people. I know that you don't sit there and agree with me, really.
0:21:18 > 0:21:20Now, you'll remember civil servants came under fire
0:21:20 > 0:21:22for pessimistic Treasury reports about the effects of Brexit.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26On BBC Radio, the Tory backbencher Jacob Rees-Mogg accused civil
0:21:26 > 0:21:29servants of "fiddling the figures".
0:21:29 > 0:21:31So can the Treasury be trusted?
0:21:31 > 0:21:38A Labour peer took up the issue.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42My lords, given that the Downing Street at Number 10 and the prime
0:21:42 > 0:21:48Minister have failed to slap down those Ministers and those MPs in
0:21:48 > 0:21:52their own party that had made these disgraceful slurs, is it too much to
0:21:52 > 0:21:57ask for the Prime Minister finally to show leadership?I think I have
0:21:57 > 0:22:03done on and off 20 years more than anyone else in this House with many
0:22:03 > 0:22:09discontinuities. -- with a discontinuities. And I have never
0:22:09 > 0:22:14had occasion to question the impartiality or the objectivity of
0:22:14 > 0:22:17civil servants. They have spoken truth onto power and quite often has
0:22:17 > 0:22:21said things I did not want to hear. But I would never accuse them of
0:22:21 > 0:22:25some of the accusations that have recently been levied against them.
0:22:25 > 0:22:30We should be proud of our civil service. And I reject these smears
0:22:30 > 0:22:35that have been made against them.He will be familiar with this document,
0:22:35 > 0:22:40the Treasury analysis of May 2016 forecasting the complete collapse of
0:22:40 > 0:22:44the British economy if we were to vote to leave. I have maintained
0:22:44 > 0:22:49this document as propaganda from top to bottom. And it turns out to be
0:22:49 > 0:22:53utterly untrue and reality. My noble friend as praise the objectivity of
0:22:53 > 0:22:56those who produce government statistics. And I asked my noble
0:22:56 > 0:23:01friend this. If I continue to criticise the mandarins and the
0:23:01 > 0:23:04Ministers who approved the statistics and this document, does
0:23:04 > 0:23:08that make me a snake oil salesman or a 1930s German Nazi or a bit of
0:23:08 > 0:23:18both?He impugned DM partiality and good faith of our civil servants.
0:23:18 > 0:23:23They marked the -- the remark as president Trump does in the United
0:23:23 > 0:23:26States with regard to the FBI.While I don't often want to open up a
0:23:26 > 0:23:33fresher front from the despatch box. But President Trump I hope will read
0:23:33 > 0:23:38what my noble friend... Has just said.
0:23:38 > 0:23:40And finally, the recently-appointed Secretary of State for Digital,
0:23:40 > 0:23:44Culture, Media and Sport fully embraced the Digital part
0:23:44 > 0:23:47of his new brief by becoming the first MP to launch his very
0:23:47 > 0:23:50own smartphone app.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53The Matt Hancock App features picture galleries and videos of him.
0:23:53 > 0:23:57It also allows users to sign up as friends and chat with other fans
0:23:57 > 0:24:00of the Matt Hancock app.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02But there've been concerns about the app's privacy policy
0:24:02 > 0:24:11and whether it complies with the Data Protection Act.
0:24:11 > 0:24:15What action does the Secretary of State think should be taken as the
0:24:15 > 0:24:20app which prevents key provisions of the data protection act and is not
0:24:20 > 0:24:27GDP are compliant?I think that all apps should be compliant with the
0:24:27 > 0:24:33law and I am delighted to say that the Matt Hancock app is, Mr Speaker.
0:24:33 > 0:24:38Exactly because the app I am talking about is not -- it doesn't belong to
0:24:38 > 0:24:44them. It is named after him. The general public needs protecting, Mr
0:24:44 > 0:24:47Speaker, from their privacy being invaded by Matt Hancock, their
0:24:47 > 0:24:51information be shared with third parties by Matt Hancock, and their
0:24:51 > 0:24:56private photos being accessed by Matt Hancock. Will the under take to
0:24:56 > 0:24:59ensure that Matt Hancock complies fully with all data protection
0:24:59 > 0:25:03protections in the future and why he things other people should abide by
0:25:03 > 0:25:08their legal obligations to data protection if Matt Hancock doesn't?
0:25:08 > 0:25:14Of course the app does comply. More importantly, I think we should use
0:25:14 > 0:25:18digital communications Mr Speaker to communicate with our constituents
0:25:18 > 0:25:22and all their modern forms. I am delighted by the response of the app
0:25:22 > 0:25:24has had so far is bigger than I could have possibly imagined. And I
0:25:24 > 0:25:30look forward to him -- can -- committed to it -- communicated with
0:25:30 > 0:25:33our decisions over Matt Hancock for years.
0:25:33 > 0:25:34Matt Hancock singing the praises of, Matt Hancock.
0:25:34 > 0:25:35And that's it.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38Parliament is on a short half-term break so we are too.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40We'll be back in a week's time.
0:25:40 > 0:25:44But for now, from me, Mandy Baker, goodbye.