:00:16. > :00:17.Hello and welcome to Thursday in Parliament,
:00:18. > :00:21.our look at the best of the day in the Commons and the Lords.
:00:22. > :00:23.It's the green light for Hinkley.
:00:24. > :00:27.But the ?18 billion nuclear power plant doesn't exactly get a ringing
:00:28. > :00:33.Does the minister expect EDF to be solvent by the time this project
:00:34. > :00:41.The BBC will have to name its presenters earning more
:00:42. > :00:43.than ?150,000 a year in the interest of openness.
:00:44. > :00:49.If your agent is worth his salt, Mr Speaker, or her salt,
:00:50. > :00:52.they will know exactly how much you and all your
:00:53. > :01:03.Do we really need a new set of parliamentary
:01:04. > :01:07.And with the abolition of all those hard-working MEPs,
:01:08. > :01:19.why are we now reducing the number of MPs?
:01:20. > :01:22.But first, the Government has finally said yes to Hinkley C.
:01:23. > :01:26.The ?18 billion nuclear power plant is to go ahead with what ministers
:01:27. > :01:29.are calling significant new safeguards.
:01:30. > :01:32.It'll be built on this site in North Somerset and will be
:01:33. > :01:37.Britain's first new nuclear plant in 20 years.
:01:38. > :01:40.Construction will create 25,000 jobs and will take ten years.
:01:41. > :01:48.The plant will be built by the French energy company EDF
:01:49. > :01:51.Once complete, Hinkley C will deliver 7% of
:01:52. > :01:59.When Theresa May became Prime Minister, she ordered a review
:02:00. > :02:01.of the plan, fuelling speculation it might be scrapped.
:02:02. > :02:05.But the Energy Secretary said Hinkley was going ahead with a legal
:02:06. > :02:08.framework in place to protect the national interest.
:02:09. > :02:11.I can announce that the government has decided to proceed
:02:12. > :02:15.with the first new nuclear power station for a generation,
:02:16. > :02:18.however this decision is made with two important changes.
:02:19. > :02:20.The Hinckley Project, the government will be able
:02:21. > :02:22.to prevent the sale of EDF's controlling stake prior
:02:23. > :02:36.The agreement will be confirmed in an exchange of letters
:02:37. > :02:40.Existing legal powers and the new legal framework means
:02:41. > :02:43.the government will be able to intervene in the sale of the EDF
:02:44. > :02:48.He said the government would take a new approach to the scrutiny
:02:49. > :02:50.of who owns critical infrastructure projects.
:02:51. > :02:52.These changes will bring Britain's policy framework for ownership
:02:53. > :02:55.and control of critical infrastructure into line with major
:02:56. > :02:57.economies, allowing the government to take a fair and consistent
:02:58. > :02:59.approach to national security implications of critical
:03:00. > :03:01.infrastructure, including nuclear energy.
:03:02. > :03:04.The changes meanwhile the UK will remain one of the most open
:03:05. > :03:06.economies in the world, the public can be confident that
:03:07. > :03:09.foreign direct investment works always in the country's best
:03:10. > :03:20.The government created a commercial crisis,
:03:21. > :03:23.sent shock waves through the industry and unions and risked
:03:24. > :03:26.a diplomatic dispute with a future key trading partner and in the end
:03:27. > :03:29.all they have done is pretend to give themselves powers
:03:30. > :03:33.This statement is window dressing, it is face-saving by
:03:34. > :03:46.a government that talked big and eventually backed down.
:03:47. > :03:49.I think it unfortunate the government has decided to take
:03:50. > :03:57.There are improvements the Secretary of State outlined,
:03:58. > :04:02.The 30 billion that it will cost the Bill payer, he may say the risk
:04:03. > :04:06.is with EDF and construction companies but as outlined a 25% over
:04:07. > :04:09.budget and four years late and it will still make a profit,
:04:10. > :04:17.that profit will be at the expense of the Bill payer.
:04:18. > :04:21.I welcome proposals to make it more difficult for foreign interests
:04:22. > :04:25.Does the Secretary of State agree that future power stations would be
:04:26. > :04:27.better financed by private-sector British investors or even
:04:28. > :04:30.on occasion by Treasury investment, rather than foreign investors
:04:31. > :04:33.who will now be able to take enormous sums of money out
:04:34. > :04:44.of our country for 25 years or more while the project is up and running?
:04:45. > :04:47.He will be aware that Britain's most respected economy and finance
:04:48. > :04:51.publications have come out strongly against Hinkley C on value for money
:04:52. > :04:53.and energy policy grounds with the Economist describing it
:04:54. > :04:55.as a white elephant before it is built.
:04:56. > :05:08.Can he confirm nothing he has announced is an improvement
:05:09. > :05:11.on the dreadful deal negotiated by the former Chancellor
:05:12. > :05:22.on guaranteed price, absolutely dreadful?
:05:23. > :05:24.Having pressed the pause button why is he now pressing
:05:25. > :05:28.Does he recognise this project does not represent value for money
:05:29. > :05:34.Does he except the cost to consumers has gone to 30 billion from six
:05:35. > :05:36.and that now his government are willing to put in public
:05:37. > :05:39.subsidy, something they said would not happen, and this
:05:40. > :05:43.is happening when the cost of renewables is plummeting.
:05:44. > :05:46.Can I thank the Secretary of State and the Prime Minister for making
:05:47. > :05:50.the right decision and how important it is to Bridgwater and Somerset
:05:51. > :05:53.and I invite him to come down to visit the Hinkley Point power
:05:54. > :05:56.station and also say we look with urgency at the nuclear
:05:57. > :06:06.college we need to build with urgency at Cannington.
:06:07. > :06:10.Can he confirm at the end of its life, this power plant
:06:11. > :06:12.will have generated the most expensive energy in the history
:06:13. > :06:17.Can he tell us if he agrees with the National Audit Office that
:06:18. > :06:23.in its lifetime consumers will have subsidised EDF to the
:06:24. > :06:28.And what about the waste it will generate?
:06:29. > :06:31.The principle on energy and adversity from him was that
:06:32. > :06:42.diversity was the key and I think that is the right approach.
:06:43. > :06:47.And there were some forthright views about the new nuclear plant over
:06:48. > :06:55.We had some time ago the resignation of the finance director of EDF.
:06:56. > :06:58.I noticed, looked at the share price since the announcement,
:06:59. > :07:03.My question would be, does he expect EDF to be solvent
:07:04. > :07:12.by the time this project should be delivered?
:07:13. > :07:16.It is charming in this post Brexit era to throw out a lifeline to EDF
:07:17. > :07:19.as the noble lord pointed out, is on the verge of bankruptcy
:07:20. > :07:22.and has never ill a power station of this kind.
:07:23. > :07:38.Both of which are hopelessly behind schedule and in deep trouble.
:07:39. > :07:41.Can I congratulate the government on boosting the national security
:07:42. > :07:44.element in future civil procurements but alluding to the contribution can
:07:45. > :07:47.I ask the minister the submissions her department receives on small
:07:48. > :07:50.module reactors could be placed in the library for the illumination
:07:51. > :07:57.Before we go in for these water reactors, maybe the future lies
:07:58. > :08:07.The latest thoughts on nuclear power.
:08:08. > :08:11.The government has published a draft of the BBC's next Royal Charter -
:08:12. > :08:13.an agreement with the government over what the organisation intends
:08:14. > :08:17.The Culture Secretary, Karen Bradley, told the Commons
:08:18. > :08:21.the BBC will have to name all employees and presenters paid
:08:22. > :08:33.Currently, the Corporation reveals the salary details of executives
:08:34. > :08:46.Karen Bradley started by saying she was a huge fan of the BBC.
:08:47. > :08:50.Our aim is to ensure a strong, distinctive, independent BBC
:08:51. > :08:58.And also to improve the BBC where we can.
:08:59. > :09:01.A new board will be created to run the BBC, and new rules introduced
:09:02. > :09:06.The government-sponsored BBC as open and transparent as possible.
:09:07. > :09:08.The charter sets out new obligations in this regard,
:09:09. > :09:10.including publishing salaries of those employees and talent
:09:11. > :09:29.Would she act set by introducing mid-term reviews of the charter this
:09:30. > :09:33.will put pressure on the BBC to look over its shoulder to seek to avoid
:09:34. > :09:37.upsetting governments of the day when it should be free to comment
:09:38. > :09:39.without fear of what governments do and when governments
:09:40. > :09:43.How will viewers and listeners be assured the health check will not
:09:44. > :09:55.put undue pressure on the BBC and be interpreted as review in fact.
:09:56. > :09:59.Karen Bradley dismissed his concerns - as did her predecessor as Culture
:10:00. > :10:07.Will my right honourable friend confirmed this draft charter is not
:10:08. > :10:11.as some have said a damp squib nor the brainchild of Rupert Murdoch?
:10:12. > :10:13.Dishy agreed the charter makes it difficult to changes,
:10:14. > :10:15.including the new structure, requirements, diversity,
:10:16. > :10:17.distinctiveness and impartiality, opening up of schedules,
:10:18. > :10:20.to competition, and for access to the NAO and these changes
:10:21. > :10:23.will ensure the BBC continues to be the best broadcaster in the world?
:10:24. > :10:40.The SNP spokesman returned to the issue of pay.
:10:41. > :10:43.I wonder if the Secretary of State agrees that the BBC argument this
:10:44. > :10:45.will be a charter to poach talent is nonsense?
:10:46. > :10:49.If your agent is worth his salt, or her salt, they will know exactly
:10:50. > :10:51.how much you and all your competition are paid.
:10:52. > :10:58.Watch the danger of this announcement is, perhaps
:10:59. > :11:02.the Secretary of State will agree, is the BBC will be forced to reveal
:11:03. > :11:05.the salaries of many of its more mediocre but overpaid employees
:11:06. > :11:11.and there may be some national teeth gnashing as a result
:11:12. > :11:23.when they discover exactly what goes on behind closed doors.
:11:24. > :11:26.We've seen the BBC unable increasingly to afford sport events
:11:27. > :11:29.and the Great British Bake Off, unable to afford that now,
:11:30. > :11:32.we are seeing pressures on services and mergers between News channels.
:11:33. > :11:35.Is it the case the government top slices and undermines.
:11:36. > :11:38.The BBC has to fund World Service, local TV, and over 75s licenses.
:11:39. > :11:43.This government does not care about the BBC.
:11:44. > :11:51.I will quote the director-general who said far from being a cut
:11:52. > :11:54.the way the financial settlement is shaped gives us
:11:55. > :12:08.A lot of us do not share the sentimentality often expressed
:12:09. > :12:11.about the BBC especially being at the brunt of its bias
:12:12. > :12:14.In terms of transparency, why has this been limited
:12:15. > :12:16.to the publication of expenses or salaries over ?150,000?
:12:17. > :12:20.Why can it not be brought in line with members of Parliament 's
:12:21. > :12:42.expenses and all other expenses including travel and accommodation?
:12:43. > :12:44.The honourable gentleman has longer-term issues perhaps is,
:12:45. > :12:48.the best way of putting it, with the BBC and his view of bias
:12:49. > :12:51.but I am sure he agrees there are many BBC programmes
:12:52. > :12:55.It is something we should cherish and really want to protect.
:12:56. > :13:07.This is Britain at its best when it is at its best.
:13:08. > :13:10.Karen Bradley said the rules would bring the BBC in line
:13:11. > :13:18.with the civil service in terms of transparency.
:13:19. > :13:27.You are watching the round-up of the day in the Commons and Lord's. Still
:13:28. > :13:36.to come, do we really need a new set of parliamentary constituencies?
:13:37. > :13:39.Angela Smith has shared with the Commons of the heartbreaking story
:13:40. > :13:43.of one of her constituents, Claire, whose two sons were killed IVF
:13:44. > :13:49.rather. She relayed the story as part of a debate on domestic abuse.
:13:50. > :13:54.She said it supported her view that family courts need to stop believing
:13:55. > :13:55.man with a history of abusing children could be good fathers. She
:13:56. > :14:06.read what the victim wrote. It took just 15 minutes for my life
:14:07. > :14:12.and heart to be broken completely beyond repair. I had warned those
:14:13. > :14:18.involved with my case that my happy, funny boys would be killed by their
:14:19. > :14:24.own father. I was right. My boys were both with their father Nat
:14:25. > :14:31.October day and at around 6:30pm he enticed Paul, nine, and Jack, 12,
:14:32. > :14:38.both into the attic with the promise of trains. When they were in the
:14:39. > :14:44.attic he lit 16 separate fires around the house, which he had
:14:45. > :14:51.barricaded. So my son is could not get out and the firemen could not
:14:52. > :14:56.get in. Only 15 minutes later the doorbell rang at my mum's. We were
:14:57. > :15:02.staying there temporarily after the separation. I opened the door, blue
:15:03. > :15:07.lights were flashing. There has been an incident at your former home, the
:15:08. > :15:12.boys have been involved in a fire. Running into the hospital the first
:15:13. > :15:15.thing I saw was Paul receiving CPR. A doctor drenched in sweat and
:15:16. > :15:23.exhausted told me they were withdrawing treatment. I held Paul
:15:24. > :15:31.in my arms. I begged them to try to stay, to not leave me. He looked at
:15:32. > :15:36.me, smiled and the life left his beautiful, blue eyes. His hair was
:15:37. > :15:42.wet with my tears as I kissed his nose, then, Paul, my boy, was taken
:15:43. > :15:46.out of my arms and into another room. There was no further chance of
:15:47. > :15:51.catching him because his body, his little body, was now part of a
:15:52. > :15:54.serious crime enquiry. Detectives arrived and informed me that my
:15:55. > :16:00.former husband was responsible for the fire. And that he had also died.
:16:01. > :16:05.All this time I wasn't allowed to see Jack, as they were still
:16:06. > :16:10.fighting to save him. Thankfully he never knew that Paul had died. He
:16:11. > :16:15.had tried to save his little brother. The police later disclosed
:16:16. > :16:24.that Jack was still conscious when carried out of the fire. He told
:16:25. > :16:29.them, my dad did this and he did it on purpose. This was his final test
:16:30. > :16:33.to be. I want to pay tribute to Clare. In my 12 years as an MP I
:16:34. > :16:37.have never been asked to intervene in a case like this. No other case
:16:38. > :16:44.I've been presented with has touched me like this. No other constituent
:16:45. > :16:47.has impressed me so much with her bravery and determination to secure
:16:48. > :16:53.something positive out of something so dreadful. There is the ongoing
:16:54. > :16:58.assumption that men who are abusive towards women can nevertheless be
:16:59. > :17:03.good fathers. This belief, the Smith, is unbelievably in during a
:17:04. > :17:10.flight in the face of available evidence. There are indications that
:17:11. > :17:15.there are many into Dell Mac applications for children arising
:17:16. > :17:19.from domestic abuse. -- many implications. The stories we hear
:17:20. > :17:24.today have got to go some way to getting change in this area, so this
:17:25. > :17:41.is now our next point and I think it's a point that the public are
:17:42. > :17:45.going to get pretty involved with. I think what was said on Friday has
:17:46. > :17:50.done a huge amount to raise awareness of the issue. We are not
:17:51. > :17:53.complacent. We know there is room for improvement and we are closely
:17:54. > :17:56.working with the judiciary to consider what additional protections
:17:57. > :18:01.may be necessary for vulnerable we them is and witnesses in the family
:18:02. > :18:07.justice system. Another important point on domestic abuse was recently
:18:08. > :18:10.published by the parliamentary committee and highlighted a number
:18:11. > :18:16.of issues of concern and we are examining those carefully.
:18:17. > :18:20.A call for global action to stem the rise in drug-resistant infections
:18:21. > :18:25.was made in the House of Lords by a former Health Secretary. Lord
:18:26. > :18:27.Lansley has warned that future generations could be vulnerable to
:18:28. > :18:31.infections, which people thought were now eradicated. Next week the
:18:32. > :18:34.United Nations is meeting to reinvigorate the fight against
:18:35. > :18:40.superbugs that are resistant to antibiotics. The development of
:18:41. > :18:43.increasing antibiotic resistance across a range of bacterial
:18:44. > :18:49.infections has outstripped the limited further development of novel
:18:50. > :18:53.antibiotics and the extent of the use of those available, the
:18:54. > :19:00.antibiotics available, prompted increasingly the development of
:19:01. > :19:05.organisms capable of near resistance to all of the drugs available to
:19:06. > :19:09.combat them. For so long we have had many effective treatments for
:19:10. > :19:12.infectious diseases that we are in danger of being casual about
:19:13. > :19:16.infection control. After all, if we get an infection the antimicrobials
:19:17. > :19:25.will deal with it, with a? Perhaps not any more. -- won't they? Are
:19:26. > :19:29.many factors we have heard about in this debate, to make it easy for
:19:30. > :19:34.Michael to develop resistance, make me think the human race has become
:19:35. > :19:40.very cavalier about infection, at least in the West. -- microbial. All
:19:41. > :19:43.hospital wards and departments I have been in now have little
:19:44. > :19:47.machines at the entrance with antimicrobial stuff that you can rob
:19:48. > :19:56.on your hands, what do we always use them? I must admit I don't always.
:19:57. > :19:59.Resistance -- resistant trains a rise due to uncontrolled use of
:20:00. > :20:05.antibiotics anywhere in the world and can arrive in the UK within
:20:06. > :20:09.hours. Something like 60 million people per year travel through
:20:10. > :20:16.Heathrow Airport alone, each carrying millions of microbes on two
:20:17. > :20:22.legs, many of which may have been acquired only hours previously. Our
:20:23. > :20:25.aim is to halve by 2020 the number of inappropriate antibiotic
:20:26. > :20:32.prescriptions within the NHS. We are also taking steps to halve the
:20:33. > :20:36.number of the healthcare associated infections, like E. Coli, that
:20:37. > :20:41.caused the biggest threat to human health. Is Dahmer this is not to say
:20:42. > :20:47.the NHS has had already made progress. -- this is not to say. In
:20:48. > :20:51.2050 2 million fewer prescriptions were dispensed in two months,
:20:52. > :20:55.compared to the same period in 2014. This is a reduction of a little over
:20:56. > :21:00.7%. The House of Commons is shrinking,
:21:01. > :21:06.or at least it will come in the time of the next general election, as in
:21:07. > :21:11.the containing 650 MPs there will be 600. To achieve that almost all
:21:12. > :21:16.parliamentary constituencies are being withdrawn and the new map came
:21:17. > :21:20.out at the start of the week. -- we drawn. This could mean furious
:21:21. > :21:25.battles as MPs slugged it out for who gets what seat. At one Tory
:21:26. > :21:31.backbencher suggested events have overtaken the constituency shakeup.
:21:32. > :21:35.When the boundary changes were announced and we had the debating
:21:36. > :21:40.this House, we didn't know we were going to leave the EU ad with 75% of
:21:41. > :21:44.our laws made in EU, and with the abolition of all of those
:21:45. > :21:51.hard-working MEPs, why are we now reducing the number of MPs? The
:21:52. > :21:58.Prime Minister perhaps should look at this again. Could we have a
:21:59. > :22:05.statement next week? That is a decision which the House took when
:22:06. > :22:09.it passed the legislation that set out the reduction of members of
:22:10. > :22:15.Parliament and the framework with which the ground we commission would
:22:16. > :22:22.operate. -- boundary. The shadow of the Commons criticised the new
:22:23. > :22:25.periods set about by David Cameron. The Speaker of the House of Lords
:22:26. > :22:31.said there were 200 unnecessary people prancing around on the other
:22:32. > :22:36.end of the corridor and these changes introduced by the private
:22:37. > :22:43.investor would involve a spending of ?34 million. The exchanges that have
:22:44. > :22:48.taken place over the years. This is a waste of public money at a time
:22:49. > :22:51.when the Prime Minister said that his justification for the massive
:22:52. > :22:57.disruption amongst elected members by the changes in the boundaries
:22:58. > :23:03.will save peanuts. Will The Leader of the House and some -- add some
:23:04. > :23:17.new lustre to his parliamentary halo and not be just a leader, and take
:23:18. > :23:24.on real reforms? I find it a -- interesting that he renounces things
:23:25. > :23:28.today when so many of his right honourable friends have been in a
:23:29. > :23:37.rush to go and serve there. And only earlier this week a new Keogh, sent
:23:38. > :23:41.there by the current Leader of the Opposition, took her seat. I think
:23:42. > :23:43.the honourable gentleman needs to have some words with his own leader
:23:44. > :23:49.about this. Underlining the point made by Paul
:23:50. > :23:56.Flynn, the House of Lords has carried on expanding. Two new peers
:23:57. > :23:59.have been added. One is a conservative leader of Westminster
:24:00. > :24:02.City Council, by profession she is an investment banker and was a
:24:03. > :24:07.director of Citigroup. She entered politics in 2006 and once attempted
:24:08. > :24:14.to be the Conservative candidate for the Mayor of London.
:24:15. > :24:21.At the start of the day, in line with legal tradition of custom, the
:24:22. > :24:26.writ was moved. It triggers a parliamentary by-election. I beg to
:24:27. > :24:30.move that Mr Speaker do issue his warrant to the clerk of the Crown to
:24:31. > :24:36.make out a new writ for the electing of a member to serve in this present
:24:37. > :24:47.Parliament for the borough constituency of Batley and Spen.
:24:48. > :24:54.And that by-election in Batley and Spen, following the killing in June
:24:55. > :25:05.of the Labour MP Jo Cox, will be held on Thursday, October 20.
:25:06. > :25:11.Candidates won't be there. A 52-year-old man is the child -- is
:25:12. > :25:15.charged with of Jo Cox and is due to be on trial in November. Also on
:25:16. > :25:18.October 20, a by-election will be held in Oxfordshire following this
:25:19. > :25:24.week's departure of David Cameron from the Commons. That's it. MPs and
:25:25. > :25:28.peers are now off for the party conferences, for three weeks. They
:25:29. > :25:38.return to Westminster on Monday, October ten. Join me for the Week in
:25:39. > :25:45.Parliament when we talk about the redrawing of Cabinet constituencies.
:25:46. > :25:50.And we have an interview with the new Speaker of the House of Lords.
:25:51. > :25:53.They did to deal with. -- to deal with. From me, goodbye.