0:00:13 > 0:00:19Hello and welcome to Thursday In Parliament.
0:00:19 > 0:00:21On this programme, after reaching a deal in the junior doctors
0:00:21 > 0:00:24dispute, the Health Secretary holds out an olive branch.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26The Government has heard and understood the wider
0:00:26 > 0:00:28frustrations that you feel as about the way you're valued
0:00:28 > 0:00:32and treated in the NHS.
0:00:32 > 0:00:39But Labour thinks that strikes could have been avoided.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42It was a "computer says no" attitude and that's no way to run the NHS.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44An Education Minister says, despite a recent court ruling,
0:00:44 > 0:00:46parents shouldn't take their children on holiday
0:00:46 > 0:00:50during term time.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52And MPs and peers continue the debate on the Queen's Speech.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54But first, the doctors' union, the British Medical Association,
0:00:54 > 0:01:04is to ask its members to vote on a deal over weekend working
0:01:08 > 0:01:11to end the long-running dispute over a new contract for junior
0:01:11 > 0:01:12doctors in England.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14The agreement came after a series of strikes by junior doctors
0:01:14 > 0:01:16which led to thousands of appointments and operations
0:01:16 > 0:01:17being delayed and rescheduled.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20A ten-day round of talks at the conciliation service ACAS
0:01:20 > 0:01:21finally produced a breakthrough.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23Announcing the deal in the Commons, the Health Secretary
0:01:23 > 0:01:25praised the BMA.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27The agreement will facilitate the biggest changes to the junior
0:01:27 > 0:01:29doctors contract since 1999.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33It will allow the Government to deliver a seven-day NHS,
0:01:33 > 0:01:38improve patient safety, support much-needed
0:01:38 > 0:01:40productivity improvements, as well as strengthening the morale
0:01:40 > 0:01:44and quality of life of the junior doctors with a modern contract fit
0:01:44 > 0:01:47for a modern health service.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50He said the Government recognised safer care was more likely
0:01:50 > 0:01:52to come from well motivated and rested doctors.
0:01:52 > 0:01:59So he announced a series of changes to the work/life balance
0:01:59 > 0:02:03which he hoped would improve morale and retention rates.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07Whatever the progress made with today's landmark changes,
0:02:07 > 0:02:10it will always be a matter of great regret that it was necessary to go
0:02:10 > 0:02:13through such disruptive industrial action to get there.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15We may welcome the destination but no one could have
0:02:15 > 0:02:17wanted the journey.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20So today I say to all junior doctors, whatever our disagreements
0:02:20 > 0:02:22about the contract may have been, the Government has heard
0:02:22 > 0:02:26and understood the wider frustrations that you feel
0:02:26 > 0:02:34about the way you're valued and treated in the NHS.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37But the Opposition insisted strikes could have been avoided.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40I am pleased and relieved that an agreement has been reached
0:02:40 > 0:02:43but I am sad that it took an all-out strike of junior doctors to get
0:02:43 > 0:02:51the government back to the table.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54What is now clear, if it wasn't already, is that a negotiated
0:02:54 > 0:02:59agreement was possible all along.
0:02:59 > 0:03:04So I have to ask the Health Secretary why couldn't this deal has
0:03:04 > 0:03:06been struck in February?
0:03:06 > 0:03:11Why did he allow his pride back then to come before sensible compromise
0:03:11 > 0:03:15and constructive talks?
0:03:15 > 0:03:18When he stands up, he might try to blame the BMA
0:03:18 > 0:03:28for the negotiations breaking down but he failed to say what options
0:03:29 > 0:03:33he was prepared to consider in order to ensure that the junior doctors
0:03:33 > 0:03:36who work THE most unsociable hours are fairly rewarded.
0:03:36 > 0:03:43It was a "computer says no" attitude and that's no way to run the NHS.
0:03:43 > 0:03:48She is wrong today, as she has been wrong throughout this dispute.
0:03:48 > 0:03:54She spent a lot of time in the last ten months criticising the way
0:03:54 > 0:03:57the Government has sought to change this contract.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01What she didn't dwell on was why it needed to be changed in the first
0:04:01 > 0:04:04place, namely the flawed contract for junior doctors
0:04:04 > 0:04:07put in place in 1999.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09And we had many disagreements with the BMA but one
0:04:09 > 0:04:11thing we agree on - Labour's contract was
0:04:11 > 0:04:13not fit for purpose.
0:04:13 > 0:04:17One concern that remains is the issue of rota gaps.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20We actually don't have enough junior doctors and we don't have enough
0:04:20 > 0:04:24junior doctors in the most acute specialties.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28So I would ask how is the Secretary of State planning to
0:04:28 > 0:04:30re-establish a relationship?
0:04:30 > 0:04:34How is he going to recruit people to fill that gap?
0:04:34 > 0:04:36Because that was actually the core fear of junior doctors -
0:04:36 > 0:04:40a lack of doctors simply being spread further.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43Does the Secretary of State realise that even if this
0:04:43 > 0:04:45dispute is now settled, which we hope it will be,
0:04:45 > 0:04:48there has been a really serious impact on goodwill in the health
0:04:48 > 0:04:51service which could affect service delivery going forward?
0:04:51 > 0:04:54A lot of this has been caused by political shenanigans that should
0:04:54 > 0:04:56not have been allowed to get to this stage,
0:04:56 > 0:04:58and the failure of this is that junior doctors themselves have
0:04:58 > 0:05:01lost prestige throughout the United Kingdom because they were
0:05:01 > 0:05:03used as political pawns by by two organisations.
0:05:03 > 0:05:08I welcome the potential resolution of this dispute and I do thank
0:05:08 > 0:05:10the Government for negotiating but I also think we should thank
0:05:10 > 0:05:13those junior doctors for having the courage to go on strike,
0:05:13 > 0:05:17which no one does lightly, to get a better deal for the NHS.
0:05:17 > 0:05:22I was contacted by a constituent who told me how his four-year-old
0:05:22 > 0:05:27daughter fell through a pane of glass, severely cutting her face.
0:05:27 > 0:05:34Unfortunately, this accident happened on a Friday evening and,
0:05:34 > 0:05:38because there were insufficient doctors working over the weekend,
0:05:38 > 0:05:40she couldn't have an operation to remove any remaining glass
0:05:40 > 0:05:43from the wound until Monday, by which time the wound had started
0:05:43 > 0:05:44to heal and was misaligned.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46That four-year-old girl will now suffer severe facial scarring
0:05:46 > 0:05:48for the rest of her life.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50Does my right honourable friend agree with me this is why
0:05:50 > 0:05:52we need a seven-day NHS?
0:05:52 > 0:05:54Jeremy Hunt said he couldn't have put it better himself.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56The main business of the day was the continued debate
0:05:56 > 0:05:58on the Queen's Speech, where MPs turned their attention
0:05:59 > 0:05:59to transport and infrastructure.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02But before dealing with the measures announced on Wednesday,
0:06:02 > 0:06:06the Transport Secretary made a brief statement on the missing EgyptAir
0:06:06 > 0:06:11plane which crashed while flying between Paris and Cairo.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14The flight, with 66 people on board, one of them British,
0:06:14 > 0:06:17vanished from radar screens just after entering Egyptian
0:06:17 > 0:06:21airspace in the early hours of the morning, UK time.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25I know the House will want to join me in saying our thoughts
0:06:25 > 0:06:28are with the family and friends of all those on board.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30The Government is in touch with the Egyptian and French
0:06:30 > 0:06:34governments, French authorities, and has offered full assistance.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37The Air Accident Investigation Branch has offered to assist
0:06:37 > 0:06:41with the investigation in any way that it can.
0:06:41 > 0:06:48I'm extremely grateful to my right honourable friend.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51As chairman of the All-party Egypt Group, may I thank him
0:06:51 > 0:06:54for the measures that he is seeking to take, and associate myself
0:06:54 > 0:06:58and the group with the condolences that he has expressed?
0:06:58 > 0:07:00Could I just ask him, though, one question?
0:07:00 > 0:07:04Will the Government be seeking to discuss with the French
0:07:04 > 0:07:09authorities in particular whether the French authorities
0:07:09 > 0:07:13are satisfied that the measures that they are taking to screen
0:07:13 > 0:07:17passengers and luggage at Paris meet the kind of requirements
0:07:17 > 0:07:23that we in the United Kingdom feel are necessary, bearing in mind
0:07:23 > 0:07:25that I believe a number of people in Paris have
0:07:25 > 0:07:27had their authorisation revoked because of their association
0:07:27 > 0:07:29with Islamic extremism?
0:07:29 > 0:07:33Well, Mr Speaker, as I said, it's far too early yet to make any
0:07:33 > 0:07:37assumptions as to what's happened but of course we will be wanting
0:07:37 > 0:07:40to look at all these issues and discuss them with the French
0:07:40 > 0:07:46authorities and others as well and I can assure my honourable
0:07:46 > 0:07:49friend that is something we want to take further forward.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51Patrick MacLachlan.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54And we'll return to the debate on the Queen's Speech a little
0:07:54 > 0:07:55later in the programme.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58An education minister has repeated his determination to stop
0:07:58 > 0:08:01parents taking their children on holiday during term time,
0:08:01 > 0:08:08despite a High Court ruling.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11A father who refused to pay a ?120 fine for taking his daughter
0:08:11 > 0:08:14on holiday to Florida during term won a High Court
0:08:14 > 0:08:15ruling in his favour.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19It was ruled last week that John Platt had no case to answer,
0:08:19 > 0:08:23as, overall, his daughter had attended school regularly.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27A Conservative MP asked the Minister to come to the Commons and set out
0:08:27 > 0:08:30the Government's position.
0:08:30 > 0:08:32The need to take time off school in exceptional circumstances
0:08:32 > 0:08:36is important but there are no special circumstances
0:08:36 > 0:08:38where a ten-day family holiday to Disney World should be allowed
0:08:38 > 0:08:41to trump the importance of school.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43The rules must and should apply to everyone.
0:08:43 > 0:08:47This is about social justice.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50When parents with income available to take their children out of school
0:08:50 > 0:08:53go to Florida, it sends a message to everyone that school
0:08:53 > 0:08:57attendance is not important.
0:08:57 > 0:09:03The Government understands, though, the fact that many school holidays
0:09:03 > 0:09:06being taken at roughly the same time does lead to a hike in prices.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08But that's precisely the reason we've given schools the power
0:09:08 > 0:09:12to set their own term dates in a way that works for the parents
0:09:12 > 0:09:19and local authorities.
0:09:19 > 0:09:20-- and local communities.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22Already, schools such as Hatcham College in London and
0:09:22 > 0:09:25the David Young Community Academy in Leeds are doing just this.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27In areas of the country such as the south-west,
0:09:27 > 0:09:29where a large number of the local population are employed
0:09:29 > 0:09:32in the tourist industry, there is nothing stopping schools
0:09:32 > 0:09:33from clubbing together and collectively changing
0:09:33 > 0:09:35or extending the dates of their summer holidays are doing
0:09:35 > 0:09:37so as part of a multi-academy trust.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39In fact, this government would encourage them to do so.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42But the MP who asked the question wasn't satisfied.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44There is another aspect to this policy that sadly to date
0:09:44 > 0:09:45has been ignored.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48That is the economic impact this policy is having on tourist areas.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50Particularly in Cornwall.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53In 2014, a report published indicated that the tourist industry
0:09:53 > 0:09:57in Cornwall had lost ?50 million as a result and I would,
0:09:57 > 0:10:00with respect, say to the minister there is nothing socially mobile
0:10:00 > 0:10:04for a family if your parents lose their job or have their hours
0:10:04 > 0:10:07cut because of the downturn in the tourist industry and the way
0:10:07 > 0:10:11that it affects their job.
0:10:11 > 0:10:15I would also put to the Minister that is it not the case that only 8%
0:10:15 > 0:10:18of school absenteeism is as a result of family holidays?
0:10:18 > 0:10:20When you actually look at the attainment of those children,
0:10:20 > 0:10:24there is no drop-off in attainment.
0:10:24 > 0:10:26I don't believe we should be returning to the Dickensian world
0:10:26 > 0:10:29where the needs of industry and commerce take precedence over
0:10:29 > 0:10:33the education of children.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37I doubt, Mr Speaker, that the Cornish tourist industry
0:10:37 > 0:10:42will be best pleased by my honourable friend's assertion
0:10:42 > 0:10:45that tourism in Cornwall is dependent on truant
0:10:45 > 0:10:48children for its survival.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51The Shadow Education Minister called on the Government to get a grip.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54All evidence shows regular attendance in school
0:10:54 > 0:10:57is crucial to ensure children fulfil their potential.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59100% attendance records should be the ambition
0:10:59 > 0:11:02of all children in all schools.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05But this problem is of the Government's own making.
0:11:05 > 0:11:10Changing the guidance to head teachers back in 2013,
0:11:10 > 0:11:13they should have done a full impact assessment much earlier and acted
0:11:13 > 0:11:14to address concerns.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16The honourable member led a Westminster Hall debate
0:11:16 > 0:11:19on the 50,000-strong petition back in the autumn.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23The Government said then they would look at the concerns raised.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26So they have known this ruling was coming for a long time.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28They could have clarified the law and they haven't.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31This ruling is now the worst of both worlds.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33It puts parents and headteachers in a very difficult position
0:11:33 > 0:11:38and is not in the best interests of children.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41Taking children out of school to come to the mother
0:11:41 > 0:11:45of all parliaments and to learn about our democracy is one thing
0:11:45 > 0:11:50but taking them to Orlando, Florida is another.
0:11:50 > 0:11:55Can I welcome the rigour that he has brought to the subject of education,
0:11:55 > 0:11:57moving away from the sort of play ways Labour approach?
0:11:57 > 0:12:01Does he agree with me that if this country is going to succeed,
0:12:01 > 0:12:02it needs to take education seriously?
0:12:02 > 0:12:05My honourable friend is absolutely right.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07This is about social justice.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10When parents with income take their children out
0:12:10 > 0:12:13of school to go to Florida, it does send a message
0:12:13 > 0:12:16to everyone that school attendance is not important,
0:12:16 > 0:12:19and there is no circumstance in which a trip to Disney World can
0:12:20 > 0:12:22be regarded as educational.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25A Labour MP thought the fundamental problem was that school summer
0:12:25 > 0:12:28holidays were squeezed into a six-week period
0:12:28 > 0:12:31when prices rocketed.
0:12:31 > 0:12:37I am on the side of being tough.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39I have constituents with great pressure from the Muslim community,
0:12:39 > 0:12:42especially from Pakistan, to take their children out
0:12:42 > 0:12:44and they are the very children that have been suffering,
0:12:44 > 0:12:48so I am on the side of being tough, but let's look at this in a more
0:12:48 > 0:12:51fundamental way, please.
0:12:51 > 0:12:52Well, the honourable gentleman,
0:12:52 > 0:12:53who I have huge respect for
0:12:53 > 0:12:55as a former Chair of the Education Select Committee,
0:12:56 > 0:12:57is right.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00We do need to look at these issues in a more
0:13:00 > 0:13:02fundamental way and that is why we have given them
0:13:02 > 0:13:04the freedom to set the term dates.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06And I would say to the honourable gentleman,
0:13:06 > 0:13:07and my honourable friend,
0:13:07 > 0:13:12that they should be helping to coordinate schools
0:13:12 > 0:13:14so that they do set different term dates
0:13:14 > 0:13:17that help their own tourist industries.
0:13:17 > 0:13:23You're watching Thursday in Parliament with me, Alicia McCarthy.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29It was day two of the debate on the Queen's speech,
0:13:29 > 0:13:32setting out the government's legislative plans
0:13:32 > 0:13:33for the coming year.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36Giving their verdicts were two regular sparring partners,
0:13:36 > 0:13:39the Leader of the House and his Labour shadow.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41Labour's Chris Bryant started with a reference to Jeremy Corbyn's
0:13:41 > 0:13:45refusal to give the floor to other speakers
0:13:45 > 0:13:46during his response to the Queen's speech.
0:13:46 > 0:13:51CHEERING
0:13:51 > 0:13:52Mr Speaker, if only the rules
0:13:52 > 0:13:54allowed me to take some interventions.
0:13:54 > 0:14:00LAUGHTER
0:14:00 > 0:14:02And he called the Queen's speech truly awful.
0:14:02 > 0:14:04I love a bit of dressing up...
0:14:04 > 0:14:05just as much as any other defrocked vicar.
0:14:06 > 0:14:12Almost as much as you, Mr Speaker.
0:14:12 > 0:14:18But I do think yesterday was a case of all fur coat and knickerbockers.
0:14:18 > 0:14:19There were so many ironies.
0:14:19 > 0:14:21Her Majesty announced that the government will legislate
0:14:21 > 0:14:23for driverless cars and space ports
0:14:23 > 0:14:27and arrived in a horse-drawn carriage.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29She announced that the government intends to tackle poverty
0:14:29 > 0:14:33to a room full of Barons and Countesses dressed in tiaras,
0:14:33 > 0:14:35and even the door handles on the Royal
0:14:35 > 0:14:37coach, I understand, were decorated
0:14:37 > 0:14:41with 24 diamonds and 130 sapphires.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43You can say you wanted to tackle
0:14:43 > 0:14:46some of the deepest social problems in society till you're blue
0:14:46 > 0:14:50in the face but when you have cut public services to the bone, when
0:14:50 > 0:14:53you have afflicted the toughest cuts on the poorest communities,
0:14:53 > 0:14:55and when you systematically undermine the very concept
0:14:55 > 0:14:56of public servers,
0:14:56 > 0:14:58all your blandishments are nothing
0:14:58 > 0:15:04but a sugar-coating for a cyanide pill.
0:15:04 > 0:15:05-- public service.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07Mr Speaker, he is such an old misery.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10I thought yesterday was Britain at its finest.
0:15:10 > 0:15:15Strong institutions, great tradition, things that make this
0:15:15 > 0:15:18great city one of the finest - if not the finest -
0:15:18 > 0:15:21in the world, a monarch we should be proud of, and a programme
0:15:21 > 0:15:24for government that is fulfilling the commitments we made
0:15:24 > 0:15:27to the electorate last year,
0:15:27 > 0:15:36an election, I remind them, that they lost and we won.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39He started talking about interventions and here I have
0:15:39 > 0:15:41sympathy because actually he did better this morning than his
0:15:41 > 0:15:43leader did yesterday and I have to say I looked
0:15:43 > 0:15:46yesterday and I thought, "There is a man," looking at the
0:15:46 > 0:15:47Shadow leader,
0:15:47 > 0:15:49"who spent 41 minutes try to look at the shoes
0:15:49 > 0:15:52"of the people on this side, rather than looking "at his
0:15:52 > 0:15:54party leader making such an awful speech yesterday."
0:15:54 > 0:15:56What a few weeks we are going to have.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59We are going to have to spend most of time discussing
0:15:59 > 0:16:01this turgid stuff in the Queen's speech when all
0:16:01 > 0:16:04they want to do is to knock lumps out of each other
0:16:04 > 0:16:05for the EU referendum.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08And the debate in the Tory party is largely reaching
0:16:08 > 0:16:10Churchillian standards of discourse, but apparently it is all about
0:16:10 > 0:16:12insults, personal attacks and tabloid smears, according to the
0:16:12 > 0:16:16honourable member for Wickam this morning on radio.
0:16:16 > 0:16:17-- hardly reaching.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19Now, I know my honourable friends are already considering
0:16:19 > 0:16:22our amendments for the driverless cars bill, most
0:16:22 > 0:16:25involving locking this Tory government into that said vehicle
0:16:25 > 0:16:29and heading towards the nearest cliff edge.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31Can we perhaps have a debate on World War II?
0:16:31 > 0:16:33And then it would allow all the senior members
0:16:33 > 0:16:36in the Labour benches and the Conservative benches to indulge
0:16:36 > 0:16:40their new passion in talking about Hitler.
0:16:40 > 0:16:41We could hear about the dodgy histories,
0:16:41 > 0:16:43all the spurious examples,
0:16:43 > 0:16:45and perhaps it would take their
0:16:45 > 0:16:47minds off the civil wars in the Labour Party
0:16:47 > 0:16:51and Conservative Party which we are immensely enjoying.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54Mr Speaker, I am really not sure this is the week
0:16:54 > 0:16:56for the Scottish National Party to be
0:16:56 > 0:17:01talking about stories in the tabloids.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03As I have read the news,
0:17:03 > 0:17:06there has to be something in the water in Scotland.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09Mr Speaker, as you remember me telling the House a few months ago,
0:17:09 > 0:17:11the honourable member for the Western Isles wrote to me
0:17:11 > 0:17:19about recess dates because he wanted to go to the ram in with the ewes.
0:17:19 > 0:17:20-- put the ram.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22At that time, I thought he was talking about sheep.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25And he defended the Queen's speech, calling it a powerful package that
0:17:25 > 0:17:27will deliver change to the whole of the United Kingdom.
0:17:27 > 0:17:31And when that Queen's speech debate got underway,
0:17:31 > 0:17:34MPs focused on transport and infrastructure.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38The Transport Secretary pledged that driverless cars
0:17:38 > 0:17:40will become a real option for motorists in the near future.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43Patrick McLoughlin pledged to make the UK a world leader
0:17:43 > 0:17:45in their development
0:17:45 > 0:17:47and said the Government was aiming to provide the
0:17:47 > 0:17:51infrastructure that will prepare Britain for the future.
0:17:51 > 0:17:55He pointed to the Modern Transport Bill.
0:17:55 > 0:17:56A bill to pave the way
0:17:56 > 0:17:59for the technologies and transport of tomorrow.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01We are already developing the charging infrastructure for
0:18:01 > 0:18:03electric and hybrid vehicles.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05Now, driverless cars and commercial space flights
0:18:05 > 0:18:08may seem like science fiction to some
0:18:08 > 0:18:10but the economic potential
0:18:10 > 0:18:13of these new technologies is vast.
0:18:13 > 0:18:15And we are determined that Britain will benefit
0:18:15 > 0:18:23by helping to lead their development.
0:18:23 > 0:18:24Driverless cars will come under new legislation
0:18:24 > 0:18:26so they can be insured under ordinary policies.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29Those new laws will help autonomous and driverless vehicles - cars -
0:18:29 > 0:18:31become a real option for private buyers and fleets.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33The UK is already established as one of
0:18:33 > 0:18:40the best places in the world to research and develop those vehicles.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43To gain support, the rhetoric will need to be followed with an
0:18:43 > 0:18:45inclusive vision that benefits all the nations of the UK.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48An area up where this is not yet clear is the investment
0:18:48 > 0:18:49in further research into autonomous vehicles.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51Obviously, safety implications and deployment
0:18:51 > 0:18:53will be considerations.
0:18:53 > 0:18:54Madame Deputy Speaker, this investment is most welcome
0:18:54 > 0:19:00but will be meaningless to most of the UK nations
0:19:00 > 0:19:02if it is not supported by the required investment
0:19:02 > 0:19:04in the innovation to deliver a truly universal
0:19:04 > 0:19:07mobile communications network.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11Let's not, yet again, take the approach
0:19:11 > 0:19:16where the benefits are only seen in some urban areas of the UK.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18The Minister of State has said that the UK
0:19:18 > 0:19:20should adopt a light touch approach to driverless car
0:19:21 > 0:19:29development.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32But we do need to make sure that the risks have been
0:19:32 > 0:19:33fully analysed.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36It is important that ministers are not moving, to coin a
0:19:36 > 0:19:37phrase, too far and too fast.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40It should be said, however, that is just about the only area
0:19:40 > 0:19:41where the Government
0:19:41 > 0:19:43could be accused of acting too quickly.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45There is a reference to supporting the growing space industry
0:19:45 > 0:19:47by constructing the first UK's first spaceport.
0:19:47 > 0:19:48I will give way.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51I am very grateful to the honourable lady for giving way but
0:19:51 > 0:19:54will she accept that Toyota, Nissan, Mercedes and BMW have all welcomed
0:19:54 > 0:19:56the Government's initiatives to see driverless cars, or autonomous cars,
0:19:56 > 0:19:57being tested on British roads?
0:19:57 > 0:20:03They think Britain is a leader.
0:20:03 > 0:20:11I thank the honourable member for his intervention.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13As I have said, I do believe that offers a great
0:20:13 > 0:20:16opportunity for our excellent automotive industry but we do need
0:20:16 > 0:20:18to be aware of the potential difficulties of the technology
0:20:18 > 0:20:21and about the safety applications.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24Elsewhere in the debate, a Conservative MP turned to a
0:20:24 > 0:20:28controversial trade deal between the EU and the US, known as TTIP.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31Conservative MPs in favour of Britain leaving the EU are joining
0:20:31 > 0:20:36forces with Labour in an attempt to defeat the government with
0:20:36 > 0:20:39an amendment bemoaning the lack of protection in the Queen's speech
0:20:39 > 0:20:42with the NHS in connection with TTIP.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44William Wragg said the simplest
0:20:44 > 0:20:48and surest way to protect the NHS from forced privatisation was
0:20:49 > 0:20:52for the UK to leave the EU.
0:20:52 > 0:20:54The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership,
0:20:54 > 0:20:58which the EU is determined to pass, may potentially
0:20:58 > 0:21:02see the UK Government and the NHS facing legal challenge from foreign
0:21:02 > 0:21:06corporations if we refuse to put some of our public services,
0:21:06 > 0:21:10including the NHS, out to tender for privatisation.
0:21:10 > 0:21:12This could, in effect, force the partial
0:21:12 > 0:21:15privatisation of the NHS.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17And there could be nothing for the UK Government,
0:21:17 > 0:21:20or worse the British people, to do if we were to stay
0:21:20 > 0:21:23as a member of the European Union.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25And we, on these benches, must not be
0:21:25 > 0:21:27blind to this issue and leave it to other
0:21:27 > 0:21:30parties to make the case.
0:21:30 > 0:21:32The simplest and surest way, therefore,
0:21:32 > 0:21:36to protect the NHS from the strain of costs from forced privatisation
0:21:36 > 0:21:39and to save enough money to build a new hospital every week
0:21:39 > 0:21:41would be for Britain to vote to leave
0:21:41 > 0:21:44and take back control on the 23rd.
0:21:44 > 0:21:49There is going to be, presumably, at some stage, a trade agreement
0:21:49 > 0:21:52between the European Union and United States.
0:21:52 > 0:21:56If we want to protect ourselves from any unintended consequences,
0:21:56 > 0:22:00it is better to be in there arguing the case as part
0:22:00 > 0:22:02of those negotiations, rather than having
0:22:02 > 0:22:05to stay on the outside and then accept the negotiation
0:22:05 > 0:22:06once it is done,
0:22:06 > 0:22:09whatever is included in that agreement.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13And those arguments over TTIP and a proposed amendment to
0:22:13 > 0:22:15the Queen's speech will resurface when the debate resumes
0:22:15 > 0:22:19in the Commons next week.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22Meanwhile, down the corridor in the House of Lords,
0:22:22 > 0:22:24one part of the Government's programme was described as a bit
0:22:24 > 0:22:29like trying to win a Grand Prix on a sit-down lawnmower.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32The damning comment came from a Lib Dem peer,
0:22:32 > 0:22:35who was scathing about the Government's approach
0:22:35 > 0:22:37to improving Internet coverage.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40Lady Burt accused ministers of a lack of ambition
0:22:40 > 0:22:46in the targets they have set for improving broadband speeds.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48The universal service operation for broadband
0:22:48 > 0:22:53being proposed is for 10 megabytes per second by 2020.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55That is not close to what we need
0:22:55 > 0:22:59to be world leaders in the digital economy.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02The government's idea of
0:23:02 > 0:23:05superfast broadband is 25 megabytes per second.
0:23:05 > 0:23:13South Korea already has speeds of one gigabyte per second,
0:23:13 > 0:23:14and rising.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16We cannot compete on the world market
0:23:16 > 0:23:18relying on copper cables.
0:23:18 > 0:23:23It is like trying to win a Grand Prix on a sit-down lawnmower.
0:23:23 > 0:23:29If the Government were serious about being a world leader
0:23:29 > 0:23:33in the digital economy they would support fibre to
0:23:33 > 0:23:38home broadband, spending money on vital infrastructure.
0:23:38 > 0:23:40And it appears one peer was having problems with the broadband
0:23:40 > 0:23:43being provided to his home.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45I can tell you that we had interrupted service
0:23:45 > 0:23:49in a relatively straightforward part of London.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52I cannot imagine the stresses and challenges that other parts
0:23:52 > 0:23:54of the country have and I think...
0:23:54 > 0:23:56Hear, hear!
0:23:56 > 0:23:59Enough is enough, it has gone on far too long
0:23:59 > 0:24:01and this bill also will, in my view,
0:24:01 > 0:24:03address, hopefully, some of the weaknesses
0:24:03 > 0:24:06in Ofcom's approach to this, which I certainly
0:24:06 > 0:24:09believe has been utterly inadequate.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13From Internet connectivity to train connectivity.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15Newcastle, Sunderland, Hartlepool and Stockton
0:24:15 > 0:24:18would all lose out because there is such an emphasis
0:24:18 > 0:24:21on the Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool access.
0:24:21 > 0:24:26But the far north, both East and West, is not properly included.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29If we are to have HS2,
0:24:29 > 0:24:32I suggest we start building from Newcastle
0:24:32 > 0:24:36at the same time as we start from London.
0:24:36 > 0:24:38I have read recent newspaper articles
0:24:38 > 0:24:40suggesting that the costs of HS2 are escalating rapidly
0:24:40 > 0:24:44and that this may lead to the truncation of this
0:24:44 > 0:24:51project, possibly even as far south as Crewe.
0:24:51 > 0:24:52And onto broadcasting
0:24:52 > 0:24:55and the Government's plans for the BBC.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57The proposed health check review of the BBC,
0:24:57 > 0:25:00after just five years, will inevitably be politicised
0:25:00 > 0:25:04and should be dropped.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07The uncertainty and disruption will distract management
0:25:07 > 0:25:11from the task of creating the broadcaster of distinction
0:25:11 > 0:25:14promised in the title of the white paper.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17And anyway, is not Ofcom's new role
0:25:17 > 0:25:21to do such so-called health checks?
0:25:21 > 0:25:23And the BBC charter is to be reviewed,
0:25:23 > 0:25:27as the noble Lord mentioned, every five years.
0:25:27 > 0:25:31Always, by the way, coinciding with a general election.
0:25:31 > 0:25:35"An opportunity to check the reforms are working as we intend,"
0:25:35 > 0:25:39John Whittingdale said in his oral statement.
0:25:39 > 0:25:41"We intend."
0:25:41 > 0:25:44Chilling words, whoever is in government.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46Lady Bonham Carter.
0:25:46 > 0:25:47And that is it for now.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50But do join me at 11pm on Friday night for the Week in Parliament.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54Until then, from me, goodbye.