23/02/2018 The Week in Parliament

Hello and welcome to the week in

Parliament, coming up an

uncomfortable morning of questioning

for Oxfam bosses.

I am sorry, we are

sorry for the damage that Oxfam has

done.

More grating for Caribbean,

this time it's those responsible for

pensions and auditing.

They are

striking out onto the street thing,

I thought it was surprised, you

wildly to after this.

If you can

stand the noise, get out of the

chamber. We get the lowdown on

volume.

Disapprove, disapprove of

this sort of behaviour. Of both

sides stop it.

But first, it was the

feelings by Oxfam which dominated

the early part of the week. The

sense of anger wasn't just down to

the wrongdoing, the fact that

charity workers had paid woman for

sex in earthquake ravaged Haiti, it

was also the wake the organisation

dealt with it and so Oxfam bosses

steeled themselves for two

uncomfortable I of

cross-examination. First it was the

issue of The Commons made by this

charity chief executive.

You

appeared to be downplaying this

Scandella using the parallel with

the murder of babies in their pots

which many people regarded as

grossly inappropriate. Can they give

you the opportunity to apologise?

Certainty chairman, I do apologise.

I was thinking under stress, I'd

given many interviews and given many

decisions to try and beat Oxfam's

response to this, I was thinking

about amazing work I had seen Oxfam

do across the world most recently

for refugees coming from Myanmar. I

should not have said those things.

It is not for Oxfam to judge issues

of proportionality were motivation.

I repeat Oxfam's broader apology and

my personal apology, I am sorry, we

are sorry for the damage that Oxfam

has done. Both of the people of

Haiti but also to wider efforts for

aid and development by possibly

undermining public support.

People

in a country behave well as

citizens, because they are policed,

this is about aligning our people

with the values of Oxfam. Some

hideous men came into her

organisation and abused the trust of

the British people, the supporters,

but they were able to get away, to

get a recommendation to leave. This

was wrong.

So we're going to change

the culture. The Conservatives said

she had been highlighting the

problem of sexual exploitation for

two years but no one had taken any

notice.

Everybody knew this

happened. Everybody knew that the

ape that there was pretty rotten

because it had gotten all these

people who are abusing women and

girls regularly in all countries but

nobody, not one organisation was

actually attacking it or doing

nothing about it. That's shocking.

They are supposed to be good people.

Trying to help the world but it

would appear that you're not as good

as you should be.

It's really

heartbreaking that we are in the

situation with I want to assure you

that you are not doing nothing. We

were working on it but we have

reached a point where the world has

woken up to the abuse of women and

girls in a very special way and we

find ourselves not to have done

enough but we did something. We have

been improving every year but we are

not very want to be.

In the Commons,

the International Development

Secretary gave a withering verdict

on the previous leadership. Accusing

directors of putting the protection

of Oxfam reputation ahead of those

they were supposed to help.

We must

be able to trust organisations not

only to do all they can to prevent

harm but to report and follow-up

incidents of wrongdoing when they

occur. In this duty, Oxfam failed,

under the watch of Barbara and

Penny. They did not provide a full

report to the Charity commission,

they did not provide a full report

to their donors. They did not

provide any report the prosecuting

authorities. In my view Mr Speaker,

they misled quite possibly

deliberately.

The International

Development Secretary. The exchanges

between Theresa May and Jeremy

Corbyn at prime ministers questions

are usually a Brexit free zone. But

the Cabinet were convening at their

residents the next day to pin down

the UK future relationship with the

EU. And so, the opposition leader

made an exception. He began with

David Davis is comforting

reassurance that post Brexit Britain

would not descend into a desert work

society had collapsed.

Yesterday,

the Brexit said -- secretary assured

the country that Brexit will not

plunge Britain into a mad Max style

world borrowed from the dystopian

fiction. Those of the Prime Minister

feels he could set the bar just a

little bit higher?

Prime Minister!

As the right honourable gentleman

knows, be very clear we are going to

ensure that when we leave the

European Union we will be able to

take back control of our borders,

our money, and our laws. And I have

to say to him the only fiction

around in relation to Brexit and the

European Union is the Labour Party

front bench who can't even agree

with themselves what their policy

is.

In December that for an

secretary and the Environment

Secretary were briefing that the

working Time directive would be

scrapped. The CBI and the unions are

very clear that they are not looking

for a bonfire regulation, quite the

opposite. The only party it wants to

scrap work relation protections are

the party opposite.

I have been

clear since I became Prime Minister.

That this is a government that will

not only protect workers' rights but

enhance workers' rights. And that's

just look at the conservatives

record in government. Who was it?

Which government was it that took

action on zero-hours contracts? A

conservative government. Not labour.

Which government it it? That adopted

Matthew Taylor to report on the new

economy to -- a conservative

government, not labour. Which

government is it that ensuring that

workers voices are heard on the

boards of companies a conservative

government, not labour.

I don't know

if she's had a chance to read the

Daily Telegraph today but 62 of her

backbenchers want a bonfire of

regulations, want to destroy

workers' rights in this country.

Well as usual during premises

questions, the Commons was extremely

noisy. And here is the point I think

of peak rowdiness.

Will the Prime

Minister joined me in urging with

the neighbour obese and crime

Commissioner to put more police on

the streets instead of increasing

his budget for his staff by £10

million?

Minister! No, the

microphones only pick up the sound

around the person who's speaking, I

was in the press gallery which looks

over the green benches and the noise

across the chamber is absolutely

incredible, it's like a wall of

sound.

Eventually the Speaker had

had enough. More money is going to

policing.

Quarter! Order! Please.

The questions and the answers must

be heard and I make no apology for

beating that the discussions here at

prime ministers questions should

bear some resemblance to what the

House is saying in relation to

culture. We have recently had a

report on harassment. Let's try to

behave properly in the session.

Well, one person who has heard many

prime ministers questions is marked

our parliamentary correspondent. I

hope is not affected your hearing?

It was a wall of sound when you're

in there, what you don't quite get

from the television coverage is the

cauldron like atmosphere, everywhere

you look there are people jabbing

their fingers and shutting out at

whoever is speaking with is the

Prime Minister or Jeremy Corbyn or

somebody else and the speakers point

there I was simply that you can't

isolate that from the rest of what

goes on in Parliament and if there

is a bullying culture of crime --

prime ministers question time that's

going to filter through into a lot

else that goes on in Parliament and

he does not want that to happen he

does not want people to get that

impression of the place.

Why do they

do it? In the newsroom we don't yell

at each other, why do MPs do that?

It's partly a bit of political

theatre, don't forget a lot of this

is quite calculated behind the

scenes. People actually sort of look

through the batting order of PMT was

an think all hang on he will be

talking about something very serious

and someone we don't want to shout

at him but that person is going to

be saying and they political point

and we want to try and disrupt them

and they know there are some MPs who

can be knocked off their stride by a

really good heckle and a lot of

conservatives think that Jeremy

Corbyn can be goaded and can get

very angry and you suddenly hear

that back of the throat voice he

gets when he's a bit under pressure.

And they like to get him into that

situation. And Theresa May also?

Yes, she tends to sort of carry on

fairly serenely but you can see

occasionally that she gets a little

bit rattled in the body language

which changes a bit and anyone can

in there, it's not all, comment on

anyone's character it can be a

horrible place when you're at the

centre of attention.

We had this

report about harassment at

Westminster, do you think that might

change the tone of prime ministers

questions, there are people who say

that it should, there are people who

argue and say you can't isolate the

beer basing phase of the

parliamentary week from the rest of

what Parliament does.

And this kind

of leakage from one part of

parliamentary life to all the rest

and can contaminate everything if

they're not careful in terms of how

the public sees it. That the Incas

is the moment in Parliament that is

most seen so that the moment when

they make a public impression and

the Speaker in particular is very

conscious of the dangers of that

being some kind of beer pit.

He's

always saying the public hate this,

is that true?

To the public hate it?

Well, sometimes I think people can

condemn violent TV and violent

cinema but still watch it and I

think that maybe an adamant about pm

queues, it's the most entertaining

bit of the week. Whether it actually

matters or really changes peoples

perceptions except on a few very

dramatic occasions I think is

another question. It does liven up

the week for us. It certainly does.

You can get it marks for technical

every time.

Thank you. You may

remember a few weeks ago, for

Carillion executives lost for words

in the face of questions from a

joint committee, investigating why

the company failed. On Thursday it

was the pensions regulator and

auditors who face similar treatment

about their roles in the firms

collapse. Carillion provided

services for schools, hospitals and

prisons. It went into liquidation at

the beginning of the year and a hole

in the company's pension scheme at

hundreds of millions of pounds. More

than a thousand people lost their

jobs and there was widespread

disruption amongst subcontractors

and suppliers. First to face the

music was the pensions regulator.

How many other schemes work we did

all these extra years, but paying

dividends? How many in that

position, could you tell?

I cannot

answer that question either, this is

complicated, numbers of our period

of time that changed constantly I

will be happy to send the committee

on Notes on how many schemes are in

that situation.

That should be your

daily diet, every week you should

meet your that and say here is the

most vulnerable, still paying huge

dividends, what action are we

taking?

I can assure you that we

take forward these issues I have

unidentified beer with our very

committed staff down in Brighton.

We

doubt your actions. Next it was the

turn of the auditors.

I think it's

quite simple and for me it comes

down to this. I would not hire you

to do an audit of the contents of my

fridge because when I read it, I

would not know what is actually in

my fridge or not. And that's the

point of auditing isn't it? To tell

us what exists and what's there or

not.

We'll tell you what was there

for the company records with is

73.9.

And good to tell you what's in

it, I'm going to show you the

receipts from the supermarket.

That's enough, I mean you have to

open the fridge and have a look

what's in there.

His reply was to

the effect that the fridge had been

opened in 2014 and 15 but not in

2016. No, let's take a look at some

of the news from around with

Minister in brief. Up to 500 lives a

year could be saved if the laws on

organ donation in England were

changed MPs were told. It were

debating altering the rules on

consensus of people would expressly

have to opt out if they did not want

their organs used after that. A

conservative told the story of

nine-year-old hero who was killed in

a car accident.

One of her kidneys

was given to a man in his 30s who

had been on the waiting list for an

organ for 25 years. The other kidney

was given to a woman in her 50s who

had been on the waiting list for

nine and a half years. The young boy

he received hero's pancreas and

liver. And her heart, her heart was

given to a ten-year-old boy.

The

Health Secretary admitted the

response to the way medical problems

caused by three NHS treatments have

not always been good enough. Hormone

based pregnancy test claimed that

the miscarriages and birth defects.

Sodium valproate used to treat

epilepsy was linked to autism and

learning difficulties when taken in

pregnancy. And the general mesh

implants used after complications in

childbirth caused some patients

crippling side effects.

Sometimes

the reactions felt overly focused on

defending the status quo rather than

addressing the needs of patients.

And as a result, patients and their

families of spent too long feeling

they were not being listened to,

making agony of a complex medical

situation even worse.

So today, in

addition to practical steps, for

each of these three cases, I'm also

setting up plans to establish a

fairer, quicker and more

compassionate way of addressing

issues when they arise.

To try and help the boy who has a

rare form of epilepsy. For more up

sure, suffers as many as 30 filing

seizures a day. Being treated with

cannabis oil, which is illegal in

the UK. His epilepsy improved when

he took the drug.

There are

thousands of people who happy choice

of suffering terrible pain, and

seizures, every day, or criminalize

themselves by breaking the law. I

would urge them to break the law!

Because the law in this case is cool

and lacks compassion!

Northern

Ireland is in a state of limbo, is a

good ape promised to provide clarity

for civil service, as soon as

possible. There has been no

functioning government for more than

a year after the coalition collapsed

in a bitter...

A group of charities

and others who want somebody to

lobby and minister to argue with

about mental health in Northern

Ireland. Eric had been the

ministers, that

there have been no ministers, let

them continue, yes we want to see

the evolution. But it is a

dereliction, to continue without a

budget without ministerial

decisions. It is time to get on with

it.

When Boris Johnson proposed a

mile-long bridge, to connect with

friends, experts were quick to point

out having a bridge in one of the

busiest shipping lanes. But he would

not let that put them off.

The

existing channel tunnel is likely,

at the present rate, within the next

seven years, is a short time and the

lifetime, it is a curiosity! That

two of the most powerful economies

in the world, separated by barely 21

miles of water, are connected by

only one railway line.

Overseeing in

emergency after the High Court ruled

its current plan to tackle air

pollution was unlawful. If court

victory for campaigners, the judge

said that the current approach, was

not sufficient. He said that steps

must be taken to comply with the law

as soon as possible. Any comments

there was clear anger from MPs.

The

fact is this is a national health

emergency, millions of people could

probably guide by recent estimates,

by 2040, this is not good enough.

She must act now.

Currently

exceeding legal limits of pollution,

and 2008, EU and get air quality

directive. It poses a serious

question as to whether this

conservative government can be

trusted with our environment.

Dealing with illegal air pollution

after they leave the EU, if this is

what we are witnessing now.

Frankly,

I am fed up with the opposition

simply not accepting that their hard

responsibility. To incentivize,

20000 and

to nearly half of all vehicles sold,

I am not saying that previous Labour

ministers did not do things in good

faith. But as we have found out,

labour and ignored advice that

diesel fumes were toxic.

By

they're removing scenes in England,

many politicians have been affected

by cancer. And one of them was

labours Karen Lee.

She was diagnosed

with breast cancer

there were two foreign secretaries

when, she was treated at Nottingham

City Hospital, she had chemotherapy,

and her treatment was just amazing.

They just could not have been

better. As well as that, she came

home for the final weeks of her life

to die. And the

team that came was just I cannot

thank them enough. I wish it could

be me, and she is to say, I wish it

could be no one. And I just think

that in those moments, we have the

power to influence and change, and

maybe can join together across his

and make 2050, know when you die of

breast cancer.

MPs went to comfort Karen Lee, on

the right of the picture. Something

the health minister noticed.

Does

always does one person that does not

leads a dry eye in the house. I

think the whole house wanted to give

her a hug, and many of them did and

bless them for that.

The incoming

head of the financial industry

regulator had to repay tax after

using an unapproved tax break

scheme. It emerged as Charles

Randall appeared before the treasury

committee, he put money into a

scheme that made use of tax breaks

and formal productions, it was an

error of judgement.

I was reassured

that this partnership had been

discussed with senior policy

officials who had indicated that

they had approved of it. It is clear

to me now that far from taking any

comfort or not, I should have seen

it as a warning signal because the

mere fact that an informant

insurance should be necessary,

should have been telling me that

this was an investment of which

there was no statutory framework.

Those who are seeking to be a chair,

but it would look like, how the

scheme works, it could well look

like some tax break so people can...

Sony not open to the consumers,

regulated by

Bohn he takes up his new position as

leader of the SCA in April.

What has

been happening in a lot of

Westminster, you be asking.

It got off to a bouncy start, from

basketball and the UK. MP reference

US hip-hop artist ice cube about the

benefits of the game. Yellow Nike

wraps which party will play in

basketball. It is an Olympic sport.

The House of Lords has its first

female

The House of Lords has its first

female, she is to be known as the

lady of the black rod, and she was

given a rousing reception as she was

given her duties.

We have all been

glued to our television, watching

Arnold Winter Olympics performance.

Winning three medals in one day.

Successfully defending her gold.

But

what is the skeleton? Basically it

is finding yourself down a frozen

track on a bobsled. Lying facedown!

Maybe the government will have a

head perspective now? In hot water

after making disparaging remarks at

a gig in Glasgow. He used it to

discredit the Scottish budget.

When

he said, of the First Minister,

those hands will be in everybody's

pocket!

The prime ministers Brexit

showdown, ham hock

as this is the first step to offer a

healthy Brexit?

And finally parliamentary procedure

can be a little baffling, but the

government business managers say

they are expecting to know all the

rules. Kelly was promoted to the job

last month, but she may not have

quite come to grips of what is what.

As amended in the public bill

committee, now.

She won't do that

again. And that is it for now, so

for me, goodbye.