:00:17. > :00:19.Hello there and welcome to Thursday in Parliament.
:00:20. > :00:22.The Foreign Secretary paints a positive picture
:00:23. > :00:28.MPs ask for more to be done to cut the number of stillbirths.
:00:29. > :00:31.And there's strong condemnation of the UK's sales of arms
:00:32. > :00:37.Saudi Arabia is one of the lost barbaric countries in the world
:00:38. > :00:43.with beheadings, amputations and the enslavement of women.
:00:44. > :00:46.But first, the Foreign Secrdtary Boris Johnson has told MPs
:00:47. > :00:51.that those who "prophesied doom over Brexit will be proved wrong.
:00:52. > :00:54.He predicted that the UK wotld get a trade deal "of greater value"
:00:55. > :00:57.with the European Union than it currently has as part
:00:58. > :01:02.Appearing before the Foreign Affairs Committee, he said the UK
:01:03. > :01:06.would have a new identity as a "global Britain."
:01:07. > :01:12.It is vital to understand what Brexit is and what it hs not.
:01:13. > :01:15.Yes, it means restoring our democracy and control
:01:16. > :01:18.of our laws and our borders and a fair bit
:01:19. > :01:21.of cash, but Brexit is emphatically not
:01:22. > :01:26.any kind of mandate for this country to turn in on htself,
:01:27. > :01:31.to detach itself from the international community.
:01:32. > :01:34.Foreign Secretary, in welcoming you to your post,
:01:35. > :01:36.To many of us, the referendum gave a very
:01:37. > :01:38.clear message and that is, we're leaving.
:01:39. > :01:40.The Government's position is very clear on this.
:01:41. > :01:43.We are going to take back control on immigration,
:01:44. > :01:47.we're going to introduce a fair immigration policy
:01:48. > :01:49.that will no longer discriminates against
:01:50. > :01:54.outside the EU and we are going to obtain the best possible
:01:55. > :01:57.deal with regards accessing EU markets.
:01:58. > :02:05.Some would perhaps unfairly perhaps call them the Remoaners
:02:06. > :02:10.who believe that we are heading to hell in a handbasket
:02:11. > :02:16.and what would you say to those who are genuinely concerned about
:02:17. > :02:21.developments and the uncert`inty that this has created?
:02:22. > :02:25.I think that those who prophesied doom before the
:02:26. > :02:29.referendum have been proved wrong and I think they will continue
:02:30. > :02:35.I think obviously it will t`ke time before the full benefits
:02:36. > :02:41.we haven't even begun the process of leaving,
:02:42. > :02:44.so, you know, the whole thing is really vdry
:02:45. > :02:50.I do think that businesses investing in the UK
:02:51. > :02:55.can have the maximum possible certainty and assurance
:02:56. > :02:59.that our partners, our friends across the Channel
:03:00. > :03:05.have a huge interest in doing the best possible deal in
:03:06. > :03:11.goods and services for the sake of their companies and our fridnds
:03:12. > :03:14.in the political world across the Channel have a symmetrical
:03:15. > :03:17.interest in doing a deal that will be for the benefit
:03:18. > :03:20.of their constituents and the people who elect thdm,
:03:21. > :03:24.and that's a deal that's gohng to promote the growth and prosperity of
:03:25. > :03:28.both the UK and EU and I'm sure that's what we will produce.
:03:29. > :03:30.Maybe some Sturm und Drang along the way,
:03:31. > :03:35.One of the great attractions obviously
:03:36. > :03:38.to our partners overseas is access and membership
:03:39. > :03:42.Do you still believe we should retain membership
:03:43. > :03:47.Well, let's be clear that we are going to get
:03:48. > :03:54.The term, I think as the Prhme Minister herself said,
:03:55. > :03:56.the term "single market" is increasingly useless.
:03:57. > :03:59.We are going to get a deal that will be of
:04:00. > :04:03.huge value and possibly of greater value.
:04:04. > :04:06.I make these wearisome points but we are the
:04:07. > :04:09.single biggest consumers of French champagne,
:04:10. > :04:18.We drink both more than anybody else.
:04:19. > :04:20.We import more German cars than any other country.
:04:21. > :04:29.And we are going to continue to do that.
:04:30. > :04:31.As you'll be aware, you'll forgive me for mentioning,
:04:32. > :04:34.the French drink more whiskdy in a month than they do cognac
:04:35. > :04:37.in a year, and I suspect th`t's not going to stop either.
:04:38. > :04:43.The question I asked, do you think that we should retain
:04:44. > :04:46.membership of the single market or is it your
:04:47. > :04:50.negotiating objective to retain membership of the single market
:04:51. > :04:52.That's a simple question, without getting into how much
:04:53. > :04:55.we are buying and selling and all the rest of it.
:04:56. > :04:58.We are going to get the best possible deal...
:04:59. > :05:05.I think as I said, the most useful thing
:05:06. > :05:12.I can say to you is that thd phrase "single market" probably is one
:05:13. > :05:16.that not many people really understand and I think that...
:05:17. > :05:23.There are many countries, as Mr Barrow pointed out,
:05:24. > :05:27.that sell very effectively into the single market
:05:28. > :05:28.and that is certainly what we will do.
:05:29. > :05:30.So we'll be outside the single market?
:05:31. > :05:34.We're going to get the best possible deal for trade
:05:35. > :05:38.So you don't know if we're going to be in the single m`rket
:05:39. > :05:41.or not is what I take away from this and what I t`ke away
:05:42. > :05:43.from the Secretary of State for leaving the European Unhon
:05:44. > :05:47.is that nobody appears to have a Scooby, if you like,
:05:48. > :05:51.I'll tell you what, I'll do it one last time.
:05:52. > :05:54.Is it even your objective to retain membership of the single market
:05:55. > :06:04.You seem to think the singld market is like...
:06:05. > :06:08.You know, the Groucho Club or something.
:06:09. > :06:17.We will continue to have access to trade in
:06:18. > :06:21.goods and services to the ET, and I think we will do a de`l
:06:22. > :06:27.that will be to the benefit of. . both sides.
:06:28. > :06:30.Another MP turned to the opportunities for the Commonwealth.
:06:31. > :06:33.So I assume that you agree with me the Commonwealth flag should fly
:06:34. > :06:36.from British embassies and high commissions around the world
:06:37. > :06:49.Sorry, OK, you're testing my sigillography here.
:06:50. > :06:53.Or vexillology I think is the word I want.
:06:54. > :06:59.I don't think I'm going to make any particular commhtments
:07:00. > :07:03.You're happy for it to fly from embassies and high comlissions?
:07:04. > :07:06.As soon as somebody can identify it to me.
:07:07. > :07:14.I'm unaware of the exact configuration
:07:15. > :07:31.Well, just in case your vexhllology is a little rusty, this is the flag
:07:32. > :07:38.But Mr Johnson wouldn't makd any promises on where it would be flown.
:07:39. > :07:44.Every year in the UK around 3500 are stillborn.
:07:45. > :07:48.Another 2000 babies die before they're four weeks old.
:07:49. > :07:51.A Commons debate, held to coincide with Baby Loss Awareness Wedk,
:07:52. > :07:54.was an opportunity for MPs to talk about their own experiences,
:07:55. > :07:56.and to keep up the pressure on ministers to cut
:07:57. > :08:00.The debate was called by two Conservatives,
:08:01. > :08:03.Will Quince and Antoinette Sandbach, who have talked before
:08:04. > :08:10.But for a Labour member, this was the first time
:08:11. > :08:13.about the death of her daughter Veronica.
:08:14. > :08:17.When I was 16 years old, I became unexpectedly pregn`nt.
:08:18. > :08:22.At first, I was terrified and even debated having her adopted.
:08:23. > :08:25.But during my pregnancy, something changed.
:08:26. > :08:30.I was excited, I was going to be the best mum ever.
:08:31. > :08:34.Me and my partner at the tile named our baby girl Veronic`.
:08:35. > :08:45.I went full term and was ten days overdue, so they had to indtce me.
:08:46. > :08:49.I was sick, tired and in a huge amount of pain.
:08:50. > :08:52.Veronica's heartbeat was chdcked regularly and everything was fine.
:08:53. > :08:56.Then, once I was dilated, they checked for a heartbeat again
:08:57. > :09:02.This went on for about 20 mhnutes, checking with different machines
:09:03. > :09:04.because they weren't sure whether or not
:09:05. > :09:10.Eventually, the doctor was called and I was rushed to the emergency
:09:11. > :09:14.room where I had to push and forceps were used to get her out.
:09:15. > :09:17.The umbilical cord had been wrapped around her throat
:09:18. > :09:23.She lived for five days, but we had to agree to the life
:09:24. > :09:32.I got to hold her then for the first time until her
:09:33. > :09:40.My Baby Loss Awareness Week is every year from the 22nd to
:09:41. > :09:49.She was never able to cry, to smile, but I loved her
:09:50. > :09:57.She is always in my thoughts all these years afterwards,
:09:58. > :10:00.even if I don't talk about her all the time.
:10:01. > :10:04.I don't not talk about her because I'm embarrassed, I'l not.
:10:05. > :10:07.It's because it hurts so much to do so.
:10:08. > :10:10.The pain does get easier to deal with overtime,
:10:11. > :10:18.I really welcome this debatd today and genuinely pay tribute
:10:19. > :10:22.to the members for bringing it forward and I hope one day nobody
:10:23. > :10:27.else has to endure this pain and I want my experience to be heard
:10:28. > :10:31.by young women in my constituency and across the country who have
:10:32. > :10:34.or may go through this in the future, just
:10:35. > :10:47.Mr Deputy Speaker, I hope that the whole house will rdad
:10:48. > :10:54.the honourable lady's speech and will feel that she
:10:55. > :10:59.has done something incredibly brave today.
:11:00. > :11:08.And to my honourable friends who have proposals to make,
:11:09. > :11:13.nothing but the greatest respect is due and to my honourable
:11:14. > :11:18.friend who first talked about this with such couragd
:11:19. > :11:24.and straightforwardness, all our thoughts are with hdr
:11:25. > :11:31.and all the other parents who have suffered these terrible losses.
:11:32. > :11:34.The Health Minister, Philip Dunne, said the Government was fully
:11:35. > :11:37.committed to reducing the ntmber of babies who die during prdgnancy
:11:38. > :11:43.or soon after birth, and to supporting bereaved families.
:11:44. > :11:53.You're watching Thursday in Parliament with me, Alicia LcCarthy.
:11:54. > :11:54.Senior tax officials and a leading executive
:11:55. > :11:56.of the American firm, Concentrix, have apologised
:11:57. > :11:57.after tax credits were incorrectly withdrawn
:11:58. > :12:08.They gave evidence to the Work and Pensions committee
:12:09. > :12:09.after it was announced the Concentrix contract
:12:10. > :12:16.The firm was hired to cut fraud and overpayment.
:12:17. > :12:22.The MPs first heard from people who'd lost tax credit payments.
:12:23. > :12:25.What's the impact of this on your life?
:12:26. > :12:27.It has been horrendous, I work part-time
:12:28. > :12:31.My wage pays for my rent and utilities.
:12:32. > :12:34.I rely on my tax credits evdry week to feed my children,
:12:35. > :12:40.My daughter was about go to university, I did not have money
:12:41. > :12:51.to fill up her food cupboard when she went to university,
:12:52. > :12:53.she had to take second-hand stuff from home rather
:12:54. > :12:56.than new stuff as most studdnts do when they go to university.
:12:57. > :13:02.I take a payday loan out whhch HMRC is refusing to give me my ltmp sum.
:13:03. > :13:08.So I cannot pay off debts that I have accrued stew
:13:09. > :13:11.So I cannot pay off debts that I have accrued due
:13:12. > :13:15.I cried all day after that phone call and it has been very elotional.
:13:16. > :13:20.My kids, my one-year-old and four-year-old have seen me cry.
:13:21. > :13:31.She described trying to wring Concentrix. -- trying to ring
:13:32. > :13:33.Concentrix. I recalled that I'd try to ring them
:13:34. > :13:36.and got the engaged tone ovdr 7 I checked my phone bill,
:13:37. > :13:40.for my mobile phone, and I have recorded that I had been
:13:41. > :13:44.on the phone to HMRC and Concentrix over this six week period 18 hours
:13:45. > :13:46.and 57 minutes. We would like to say at the start
:13:47. > :13:51.that we apologise to Mark, Marie, Sarah, Peter
:13:52. > :13:53.and the others who were imp`cted. What part of your procedures is it
:13:54. > :13:59.that allows you to identify deceased people as receiving tax credits
:14:00. > :14:04.or a former tenant or partndr, what part of the process has gone
:14:05. > :14:07.wrong that allows you to re`dily identify these people
:14:08. > :14:20.as being cohabitees? I think the minister previotsly
:14:21. > :14:23.spoke of the fact that this The burden of proof
:14:24. > :14:28.is on the claimants, which hs a big part of the issue in this cxcle
:14:29. > :14:34.in this HRR programme. The burden of truth was
:14:35. > :14:38.on the claimant and if they do not provide the evidence,
:14:39. > :14:44.we market it as not provided. provide the evidence,
:14:45. > :14:47.we mark it as not provided. As part of that, it
:14:48. > :14:49.goes through a cycle There's been a lot of
:14:50. > :14:52.discussion around Concentrix stopping the payment,
:14:53. > :14:54.but the payment is stopped... On our recommendation,
:14:55. > :15:03.but only following a process. The head of HMRC explained the
:15:04. > :15:10.decision not to renew the contract. Let me reiterate my apologids
:15:11. > :15:12.to those people and everyond else, what seems to me to have happened
:15:13. > :15:16.is that there was a collapsd So, what you have not heard
:15:17. > :15:19.is anything about the stand`rds So, I think it was Sarah who said
:15:20. > :15:27.that you receive a letter, xou try and get through on the phond,
:15:28. > :15:33.and make multiple calls. We announced nonrenewal
:15:34. > :15:35.on the 13th of September because we are in a period
:15:36. > :15:38.where we've had a month of not being able to answer the phone
:15:39. > :15:44.and there is a deep concern here because this is very
:15:45. > :15:47.much a customer business and it was my opinion that we had
:15:48. > :15:50.to focus very much on sorting out the customer situation
:15:51. > :16:04.and we stopped giving Mr Cassidy was technically right
:16:05. > :16:07.that you took away their tax credits but only because he told U2, was the
:16:08. > :16:15.case? -- told you to. People in Concentrix would press
:16:16. > :16:18.the right buttons in the system to say that they had taken
:16:19. > :16:20.the decision and the only sdnse in which it was HMRC taking away
:16:21. > :16:24.the money would be because ht But there was a change,
:16:25. > :16:26.Concentrix were judge and jury
:16:27. > :16:28.in that situation? Peers have called on the UK
:16:29. > :16:32.government to review arms sales to Saudi Arabia -
:16:33. > :16:34.in the wake of a recent air strike in Yemen.
:16:35. > :16:37.Saudi Arabia is leading a coalition against rebels in Yemen known
:16:38. > :16:39.as Houthis, who forced the president An air strike last week killed more
:16:40. > :16:46.than 140 people who were attending The United States has launched
:16:47. > :17:04.an "immediate review" Bomb fragments found that the scene
:17:05. > :17:10.of the funeral carnage were those from an MK82 American guided bomb.
:17:11. > :17:15.Saudi Arabia is one of the lost barbaric countries in the world with
:17:16. > :17:19.beheadings, amputations and the enslavement of women. At thd same
:17:20. > :17:26.time it is exporting its medieval version of Islam to neighbotring
:17:27. > :17:33.countries like Syria and thd Yemen. Can the Minister give me a good
:17:34. > :17:41.reason why the West princip`lly the United States and ourselves supply
:17:42. > :17:49.some ?7 billion worth of arls to Saudi Arabia every year? And, can I
:17:50. > :17:55.just add, that boosting our trade by exporting the means of mass killings
:17:56. > :17:59.is not a good reason. Given that the United Kingdom has licensed ?3.
:18:00. > :18:04.billion of weapons sales to Saudi Arabia since the conflict in Yemen
:18:05. > :18:09.began, while the Baroness and Minister explain why we are not also
:18:10. > :18:15.having a comprehensive revidw? We do look at these matters every single
:18:16. > :18:18.time, thoroughly. So, we do have a Consolidated criteria where we
:18:19. > :18:24.operate every single applic`tion. That applies to all export
:18:25. > :18:32.applications, not only thosd that would be, at first sight, obvious to
:18:33. > :18:40.be involved in in any conflhct. My Lords, what I can add is th`t my
:18:41. > :18:45.honourable friend, the Minister for the Middle East, has travelled
:18:46. > :18:49.overnight to Saudi Arabia, to have meetings with Yemeni and Satdi
:18:50. > :18:56.leaders, including the Yemeni president, as the US and UK, along
:18:57. > :19:00.with others, expressed concdrns over the continuing conflict. My lords,
:19:01. > :19:08.discussions will focus on the air strike on the funeral hall hn Sanaa
:19:09. > :19:10.on Saturday, and attempts to revive the political process.
:19:11. > :19:13.Staying in the Lords, the government has insisted
:19:14. > :19:15.new grammar schools will be engines of academic and social
:19:16. > :19:19.The claim came in a debate where the plans to allow gr`mmar
:19:20. > :19:22.schools in England to expand came under fierce attack.
:19:23. > :19:23.Opening the debate, Labour's Lady Andrews said
:19:24. > :19:25.the attainment gap was widest in areas with selection.
:19:26. > :19:28.She set out what she called the myths about the virtues
:19:29. > :19:31.One peer turned to unintenddd consequences of the change Whilst
:19:32. > :19:34.another drew on her own expdrience But the plan did have supporters.
:19:35. > :19:42.We are told that parents want grammar schools, that they close the
:19:43. > :19:47.attainment gap of rich and poor children, and they accelerate
:19:48. > :19:53.mobility, and they galvanisd all schools to do better. These claims
:19:54. > :19:57.are widely challenged, not by the usual suspects, but by our tnique
:19:58. > :20:01.correlation which has brought together previous secretarids of
:20:02. > :20:09.State for education, who sed record seriously undermined and opposition
:20:10. > :20:13.politicians, Academy trusts, networks, think tanks and the Chief
:20:14. > :20:18.inspector of schools himself. What we are presented with in thhs
:20:19. > :20:25.consultation paper is a divdrsion away from raising standards and
:20:26. > :20:30.once again, in structures. One peer turned to the unintended
:20:31. > :20:34.consequences of the change. What happened, I admire and salute this,
:20:35. > :20:41.migrant and first-generation kids from Asia, we know already that
:20:42. > :20:45.Bangladeshi girls are best performing, from Asia and E`stern
:20:46. > :20:50.Europe, they will sweep into those schools, and God bless them, but the
:20:51. > :20:53.problem of disgruntled and disconnected white working class,
:20:54. > :21:03.who believed they would get better schools, will not get in. Another
:21:04. > :21:08.Drew on her own experience. I was the lucky one. I passed. I was
:21:09. > :21:16.offered a place, a very good face, considered to be the best. Ly best
:21:17. > :21:20.friend was not unlucky, bec`use she failed. She actually passed. But
:21:21. > :21:31.when you took the 11 plus then, your parents had to sign a form that said
:21:32. > :21:35.you stayed at school until 06. Her parents did not understand. They did
:21:36. > :21:42.not want to sign that form. And when they were eventually persuaded by my
:21:43. > :21:46.headteacher to do so, she wdnt without parental support, whthout a
:21:47. > :21:52.proper uniform, and four ye`rs later, when she was 15, thex paid a
:21:53. > :21:57.fine to the local Magistratds' Court and got her a job in the local
:21:58. > :22:02.grocery shop. But the plan had supporters. There is a diversity of
:22:03. > :22:05.education in this country and it will continue. Nobody is gohng to
:22:06. > :22:10.have a grammar school forced upon them against their will but my
:22:11. > :22:16.lords, we believe in choice. We all should believe in choice. Nor should
:22:17. > :22:20.any of us seem to deprive others of what we ourselves have benefited
:22:21. > :22:25.from. My lords, I've always been completely mystified by the amount
:22:26. > :22:32.of the rational, and ill informed animosity towards the princhple of
:22:33. > :22:34.selection in secondary educ`tion. It's a complete educational
:22:35. > :22:38.nonsense. A few may go at the right speed for them but the high,flyers
:22:39. > :22:43.will be held back, the lower fliers flounder and the teachers thme will
:22:44. > :22:51.be badly spent. Can our nathon's educational policy really bd,
:22:52. > :22:54.because some will not succedd, number strike? How depressing. A
:22:55. > :23:02.number of studies have found selective schools beneficial for the
:23:03. > :23:07.families who attend them, closing the attainment gap to almost zero.
:23:08. > :23:12.While it is hard to determine the gap on those who do not attdnd
:23:13. > :23:20.selective schools, Sutton trust and no adverse affect on GCSEs, while
:23:21. > :23:25.others found small adverse dffects. Selective schools could contribute
:23:26. > :23:30.to this in a number of ways, sharing expertise and resources, assisting
:23:31. > :23:34.with teaching and curriculul support, and providing support with
:23:35. > :23:38.University applications. The government's proposals hntend to
:23:39. > :23:41.make grammar schools engines of academic achievement for all pupils,
:23:42. > :23:43.whether in selective or nonselective schools.
:23:44. > :23:48.Finally the government's refused to get involved
:23:49. > :23:51.in the day's chewiest issue - the row over Tesco and its
:23:52. > :23:55.Along with PG Tips and Pot Noodles it's one of the dozens of household
:23:56. > :23:57.brands being taken off the supermarket's online site
:23:58. > :24:01.The company - one of Tesco's biggest suppliers -
:24:02. > :24:04.wants to put up prices in the UK to compensate for the sharp decrease
:24:05. > :24:07.The whole sticky mess spilled over into business
:24:08. > :24:14.Where the new Shadow leader of the house was making her debut.
:24:15. > :24:17.First week back and there is a crisis.
:24:18. > :24:21.This morning I received a tdxt, an upgrade from an e-mail,
:24:22. > :24:24.from Jeremy who says "We want our marmite back".
:24:25. > :24:27.So, can the leader do all he can to make sure
:24:28. > :24:36.Cut back on the salt and if you want to protest,
:24:37. > :24:40.do not sit on the floor and shave your beard.
:24:41. > :24:45.I'm sure that members on all sides of the house will have symp`thy
:24:46. > :24:52.I think the best advice I c`n give to her about her e-mail
:24:53. > :24:56.correspondent is to advise Jeremy that during the current comlercial
:24:57. > :24:59.dispute between the wholesaler and retailer, there are a ntmber
:25:00. > :25:02.of name brand yeast extracts that are available.
:25:03. > :25:07.And I am confident in an arda like Islington, there is a wealth
:25:08. > :25:10.of alternatives of both traditional and organic varieties
:25:11. > :25:25.that will be available to the discerning customer.
:25:26. > :25:28.David Lidington - on the spreading row over M`rmite!!
:25:29. > :25:34.And that's it for now, but do join me at the same time
:25:35. > :25:37.on Friday, for a round up of the week here at Westminster
:25:38. > :25:39.Including a round up of the latest on Brexit.
:25:40. > :25:41.But for now from me, goodbye.