0:00:19 > 0:00:22Hello, and welcome to our round up of the day at Westminster.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25Coming up in the next half hour.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28The government sets out the changes it's making to Universal Credit,
0:00:28 > 0:00:35but Labour urges ministers to go further.
0:00:35 > 0:00:39This is a comprehensive package which response to concerns raised
0:00:39 > 0:00:44inside and outside the house.These measures are not enough. They must
0:00:44 > 0:00:45be brought forward amended and added to.
0:00:45 > 0:00:47The Chancellor's accused of missing an opportunity
0:00:47 > 0:00:48to tackle air pollution.
0:00:48 > 0:00:50And the Shadow Chancellor says Wednesday's budget shows
0:00:50 > 0:01:00the government's a shambles.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04But, first, the Work and Pensions Secretary,
0:01:04 > 0:01:07David Gauke has set out the details of the changes the government's
0:01:07 > 0:01:09making to its controversial welfare payment, Universal Credit.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12After weeks of pressure from MPs across the house the Chancellor
0:01:12 > 0:01:16announced in his autumn budget that he'd be tweaking the system.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19Universal Credit combines six working age benefits into one
0:01:19 > 0:01:22and is meant to make the system simpler, whilst helping claimants
0:01:22 > 0:01:25move more easily into work.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28But critics said a six week wait for payments is leading
0:01:28 > 0:01:35to debt and rent arrears.
0:01:35 > 0:01:40We are now offering a balanced package of improvements which puts
0:01:40 > 0:01:42more money into claimants hands earlier ensuring support for those
0:01:42 > 0:01:43who need it most.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46So, housing benefit claimants would be able to have the benefit
0:01:46 > 0:01:49paid direct to the landlord and larger advances could be claimed
0:01:49 > 0:01:53and repaid more slowly.
0:01:53 > 0:01:57This is a comprehensive package which response to concerns raised
0:01:57 > 0:02:02inside and outside the house. We have a clear objective, to ensure
0:02:02 > 0:02:07that has many people as possible get the opportunity to work and to
0:02:07 > 0:02:11maximise their potential to better their circumstances. We will
0:02:11 > 0:02:14continue to roll-out Universal Credit in a steady and considered
0:02:14 > 0:02:18manner and in doing so deliver a welfare reform that will positively
0:02:18 > 0:02:23transform lives.We welcome any steps to improve the programme, not
0:02:23 > 0:02:28least these small reduction in so-called Long hello or those on
0:02:28 > 0:02:30lowest incomes waiting only five weeks for sport to arrive compared
0:02:30 > 0:02:36with the six under current design. Before I addressed the detail of
0:02:36 > 0:02:40today's announcement, let's step back and look at the big action. The
0:02:40 > 0:02:45government introduced Universal Credit with three promises. To
0:02:45 > 0:02:49reduce child poverty by 350,000, to simplify the Social Security system,
0:02:49 > 0:02:55and to ensure work always pays. As the mounting evidence has shown, Mr
0:02:55 > 0:02:57Speaker, Universal Credit isn't living up to these ambitions.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01She argued many of the waiting times for payments were still too long.
0:03:01 > 0:03:06These measures are not enough. They must be brought forward, amended and
0:03:06 > 0:03:11added to. We stand ready to work with the government to make the
0:03:11 > 0:03:15necessary changes. Failing that, they should stand aside and let a
0:03:15 > 0:03:24Labour government get on with the job.Where to start? Let's start
0:03:24 > 0:03:29first or forward this point about people having to wait five weeks.
0:03:29 > 0:03:34People do not have to wait five weeks. They can get a payment within
0:03:34 > 0:03:46five days. And this dismissal of an interest-free advance as being
0:03:46 > 0:03:50immaterial, I'm afraid it is just completely unreasonable.I thank the
0:03:50 > 0:03:55Secretary of State to listening to colleagues across the house and this
0:03:55 > 0:04:00very welcome packet of changes to Universal Credit, and scrapping the
0:04:00 > 0:04:04seven working days and the packaging has introduced to improve the loans
0:04:04 > 0:04:08that are available, the advances up front and the changes to housing
0:04:08 > 0:04:13benefit.May I congratulate him also in applying the financial armlock
0:04:13 > 0:04:18that he loaned to the Treasury to his boss to such good.Universal
0:04:18 > 0:04:24Credit is supposed to be improving. Will he respond to my concerns and
0:04:24 > 0:04:28those of the Child Poverty Action Group and others who claim the
0:04:28 > 0:04:33government is knowingly putting 200 thousand children into poverty as a
0:04:33 > 0:04:38result of the two child cap, and having a disproportionate impact on
0:04:38 > 0:04:43religious minorities as a result of that cap and it is stigmatising
0:04:43 > 0:04:53women putting them in danger?Of course, we have transitional
0:04:53 > 0:04:57protection. She represented Scottish constituency and of the Scottish
0:04:57 > 0:05:02government wants to provide support for third, fourth and fifth
0:05:02 > 0:05:04children, they can provide exactly that.
0:05:04 > 0:05:05David Gauke.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07MPs have demanded answers about a potentially massive data
0:05:07 > 0:05:10breach by the taxi-hailing firm Uber.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12The company concealed a hack that affected 57 million
0:05:12 > 0:05:15customers and drivers.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18The incident happened in 2016, but was not revealed and the firm
0:05:18 > 0:05:25paid hackers $100,000, around £75,000, to delete the data.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29The minister told MPs the first he'd known of the hack was on Tuesday
0:05:29 > 0:05:36when he'd found out from the media.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40The breach appear dated back over a year and appears to have involved
0:05:40 > 0:05:45Uber paying criminals money to try to prevent further data loss. We are
0:05:45 > 0:05:51told some UK citizens data is affected. We are verifying the
0:05:51 > 0:05:56extent and the amount of information, and when we have made
0:05:56 > 0:06:01the assessment we will publish the details of the impact on the UK
0:06:01 > 0:06:04citizens, and we plan to do this in a matter of days.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08He said the hack didn't seem to have come from the UK.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13At this stage, our initial assessment is that for Uber
0:06:13 > 0:06:17customers, the stolen information is not the sort of information that
0:06:17 > 0:06:21would allow direct financial crime but we are working urgently to
0:06:21 > 0:06:25verify this further and we rule nothing out. Our advice to Uber
0:06:25 > 0:06:31drivers and customers is to be vigilant, to monitor accounts,
0:06:31 > 0:06:35especially for fishing activities, and, if you think you are a victim,
0:06:35 > 0:06:36contact the actual fraud
0:06:36 > 0:06:39The MP who'd put down the question reckoned action should
0:06:39 > 0:06:43be taken against Uber.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47Uber apparently paid criminal hackers $100,000 to delete the data
0:06:47 > 0:06:51and keep it quiet. What assurances do we have that the data of Uber
0:06:51 > 0:06:57customers and drivers isn't in the hands of hackers or criminals today?
0:06:57 > 0:07:00UK authorities have acted swiftly since the security breach came to
0:07:00 > 0:07:04light. Will the government therefore push for the toughest penalties to
0:07:04 > 0:07:07punish Uber for this outrageous dereliction of their ethical and
0:07:07 > 0:07:12legal obligations to the public? Isn't it time the government stopped
0:07:12 > 0:07:15cosying up to this grubby and unethical company and started
0:07:15 > 0:07:17standing up for the public interest?
0:07:17 > 0:07:18Replying the minister said legislation currently
0:07:18 > 0:07:21going through parliament would allow for higher fines, and mean
0:07:21 > 0:07:23that the authorities would have to be told about data breaches
0:07:23 > 0:07:28within 72 hours.
0:07:28 > 0:07:34Delaying notification is not acceptable, unless there is a very
0:07:34 > 0:07:38good reason for it. As I said, it is an aggravating factor in how the
0:07:38 > 0:07:41information Commissioner looks into this sort of case.When transport
0:07:41 > 0:07:47for London announced they would not be renewing Buber's license and 22nd
0:07:47 > 0:07:51of September, Uber e-mailed its customers to ask them to protest
0:07:51 > 0:07:55against this decision the very same day. Does the Minister agree that if
0:07:55 > 0:08:02any e-mail was sent them, it should e-mail them now and begin that
0:08:02 > 0:08:06communication with an apology? People across the UK will be shocked
0:08:06 > 0:08:16Uber failed to give this information to anyone. Given the current
0:08:16 > 0:08:19climate, covering up this breach and paying hackers could actually
0:08:19 > 0:08:20stimulate the growth of cyber crime.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23Drew Hendry wanted to know what would be done to hold Uber
0:08:23 > 0:08:25to account, the minister Matt Hancock said he
0:08:25 > 0:08:26ruled nothing out.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28You're watching Thursday in Parliament, with me Alicia McCarthy.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30Don't forget you can find more editions of this
0:08:30 > 0:08:32programme on the BBC iPlayer.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40A leading clinical professor specialising in air pollution has
0:08:40 > 0:08:42condemned the Chancellor for not targeting "white van
0:08:42 > 0:08:44man" in the Budget.
0:08:44 > 0:08:49Medical experts say air pollution can be a contributory factor
0:08:49 > 0:08:51in cases of heart attacks, lung cancer, asthma,
0:08:51 > 0:08:54pneumonia and stroke.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57There's also concern that pollution may affect the developing organs
0:08:57 > 0:09:00of babies in the womb and contribute towards conditions such
0:09:00 > 0:09:04as diabetes and dementia.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07Four committees joined forces to take evidence on the issue.
0:09:07 > 0:09:13Professor Stephen Holgate laid out the scale of the problem.
0:09:13 > 0:09:20We are affecting people will who are at the extremes of life, we are
0:09:20 > 0:09:23affecting people who are disadvantaged with diseases that put
0:09:23 > 0:09:27them at increased risk, and we are affecting people who live in
0:09:27 > 0:09:31disadvantaged communities to a greater extent. So, there is an
0:09:31 > 0:09:35equality issue in all of this and it is preventable because we now have
0:09:35 > 0:09:40such strong evidence that we demonstrate not in this country is
0:09:40 > 0:09:43yet but in other countries that if you start reducing pollution, he
0:09:43 > 0:09:47will improve the health of the nation.It was interesting the
0:09:47 > 0:09:52figure you gave about the danger inside a car. It seemed quite
0:09:52 > 0:09:55counterintuitive that you breathe then around ten times more.Up to
0:09:55 > 0:10:03ten times.If you are sitting in a car than if you are cycling behind
0:10:03 > 0:10:08or walking on the street. Explain how that works.This is research
0:10:08 > 0:10:12shown in other parts of the world now. What happens in all modern
0:10:12 > 0:10:16cars, we have these ventilators which draw in air and as your
0:10:16 > 0:10:21vehicle stops right in front of an exhaust pipe, you just venting the
0:10:21 > 0:10:25fumes, the fresh, most toxic pollutants coming right out of the
0:10:25 > 0:10:29tower back straight into your car into your child sitting in the
0:10:29 > 0:10:34back-seat. It is the same with buses and taxis, not ten times but two or
0:10:34 > 0:10:38three times higher than walking on the street.So, the parent who
0:10:38 > 0:10:41drives their child to school thinking they are protecting them
0:10:41 > 0:10:45with this nice, clean, enclosed environment is actually poisoning
0:10:45 > 0:10:48their child ten times worse than they would if they walked or cycled
0:10:48 > 0:10:49them to school?Correct.
0:10:49 > 0:10:53One MP asked about Wednesday's Budget.
0:10:53 > 0:11:00The Chancellor explicitly heralded the fact that he's not going to
0:11:00 > 0:11:04target white van man, white van woman as if it was a good thing
0:11:04 > 0:11:09going forward.It is a lost opportunity, I'm afraid. Mr White
0:11:09 > 0:11:16Van, I'm afraid. If you look at our Graaf, it is the one area that is
0:11:16 > 0:11:19increasing as people become... This is a big issue.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21Environmental lawyers, Client Earth, took the government to Court
0:11:21 > 0:11:24of over pollution levels.
0:11:24 > 0:11:34If Brexit happens, how are we going to enforce all this stuff?You've
0:11:34 > 0:11:39hit on a very important point and one that keeps me awake at night. At
0:11:39 > 0:11:44the moment the understanding is that the current standards under the air
0:11:44 > 0:11:49quality directive and the regulations will transfer across
0:11:49 > 0:11:58through the withdrawal bill. But it is a big but, we are very concerned
0:11:58 > 0:12:03that the enforceability of standards will decline post Brexit. There are
0:12:03 > 0:12:09a few aspects to that. Number one is we are unsure of the role of the
0:12:09 > 0:12:13European commission in the future. Alongside this case, they've also
0:12:13 > 0:12:14been a very important factor in this.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17Later MPs heard from the Mayor of London, who called
0:12:17 > 0:12:20for a new Clean Air Act.
0:12:20 > 0:12:30It's about nitrogen oxide. Half of the noxious air comes from
0:12:30 > 0:12:37transport. The other half comes from construction, it comes from the
0:12:37 > 0:12:45river, it comes from builders.So, in terms of if there was new
0:12:45 > 0:12:49legislation of the type described, what are you asking for it to do?We
0:12:49 > 0:12:56hope it would give mayors and regions the powers and will
0:12:56 > 0:13:01resources powers to tackle the other half, in relation to emissions
0:13:01 > 0:13:06standards, in relation to who is in charge of it and how we can move
0:13:06 > 0:13:08forward with the clean air that we desperately need.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11Sadiq Khan.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13MPs spent most of the afternoon on their second day
0:13:13 > 0:13:14of debate on the budget.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16It's the first opportunity for the Shadow Chancellor
0:13:16 > 0:13:20to have his say in the chamber.
0:13:20 > 0:13:30John McDonnell reckoned the Government was a shambles.
0:13:30 > 0:13:34What this budget showed was just how out of touch and cut off from the
0:13:34 > 0:13:40real world and the economy and the real lives of people the Chancellor
0:13:40 > 0:13:43and this government really is. No government in modern times has ever
0:13:43 > 0:13:48presented a set of growth forecasts where growth and every year is less
0:13:48 > 0:13:55than 2%. Productivity growth is forecast to have ground to a halt
0:13:55 > 0:13:56this year and Bailey increase next year.
0:13:56 > 0:14:01He said Labour would borrow to invest and grow the economy.
0:14:01 > 0:14:06I accept his point that he wants to borrow to invest, borrow more to
0:14:06 > 0:14:11invest. The problem is we are already paying interest more than we
0:14:11 > 0:14:15spend on defence and police just in paying the interest so what I want
0:14:15 > 0:14:20from him as I understand where he is coming from but whatever spend it on
0:14:20 > 0:14:23the interest will still accrue so how will he deal with that?Debt
0:14:23 > 0:14:32under his government has gone up and it is bit to pay for a failure. To
0:14:32 > 0:14:36pay for a failure rather than to pay for investment, because if you
0:14:36 > 0:14:40borrow to invest you grow the economy and on that basis you put
0:14:40 > 0:14:45more people to work with more skills, higher wages, they pay more
0:14:45 > 0:14:49taxes and it pays for itself. That is the lesson they still haven't
0:14:49 > 0:14:51learned.
0:14:51 > 0:14:52He attacked the budget's most eye catching announcement,
0:14:52 > 0:14:56the end of stamp duty for the majority of first time
0:14:56 > 0:15:00buyers, he quoted the Office for Budget Responsibility.
0:15:00 > 0:15:07The main gainers from the policy are people who already own property. The
0:15:07 > 0:15:16problem is simple. Maybe perhaps it needs explaining. You can't solve a
0:15:16 > 0:15:19problem of housing supplied by driving up housing demand.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21He argued not enough money had been given to England's NHS,
0:15:21 > 0:15:23and attacked ministers approach to Brexit.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27This was he said a government no longer fit for office.
0:15:27 > 0:15:29Replying for the government was the housing minister, Sajid Javid.
0:15:29 > 0:15:39He defended the government's record on home building.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43Last year, 217,000 net additions to the housing stock was the highest
0:15:43 > 0:15:47such figure in almost a decade but we are under no illusions that there
0:15:47 > 0:15:53is much more to be done. Labour's answer to the housing crisis and in
0:15:53 > 0:15:59fact everything is simply to throw more of someone else's money at the
0:15:59 > 0:16:05problem and hope that it goes away. The last time they tried it, we
0:16:05 > 0:16:14ended up with a house-building at its lowest level since the 1920s and
0:16:14 > 0:16:18an economy that was on its knees.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21He said the country Labour described was not one he recognised.
0:16:21 > 0:16:26We have one of the world's biggest and most successful economies and we
0:16:26 > 0:16:29speak the language of global business and of the World Wide Web
0:16:29 > 0:16:36that we invented. We are home to more Nobel prizewinners bar one. Our
0:16:36 > 0:16:40legal system is the most respected in the world and we are unrivalled
0:16:40 > 0:16:45in art and culture in the creative industries. The NHS is the envy of
0:16:45 > 0:16:49countless nations. We have given the world everything from steam engines
0:16:49 > 0:16:56that Shakespeare and even cricket. We may not be the biggest, we may
0:16:56 > 0:17:01not be that, but Britain is without doubt the best country in the world
0:17:01 > 0:17:06to work, to play and learn and live. A country what an incredible history
0:17:06 > 0:17:08and an amazing history still yet to come.
0:17:08 > 0:17:12The SNP called for a new approach.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16If the Chancellor was conveyed yet, if you consulted on measures and
0:17:16 > 0:17:19approach this year like stamp duty and small tanks duty and then
0:17:19 > 0:17:26contacts with the tension to review the whole system we would see much
0:17:26 > 0:17:30better policy decisions being made. We need more coherence from
0:17:30 > 0:17:35government and less drama from chancellors. They should not be
0:17:35 > 0:17:40trying to pull rabbits out of hats. They should be trying to create a
0:17:40 > 0:17:42system that works rather than a system that will give them a big
0:17:42 > 0:17:43headline.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45The former Defence Secretary made his first commons appearance
0:17:45 > 0:17:52since his resignation and focussed on trade.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55Outside the single market, we are going to live or die by what we can
0:17:55 > 0:18:04sell to the world in goods and services. We now need to hard-wire
0:18:04 > 0:18:09exporting into every British business, exporting should be a
0:18:09 > 0:18:13condition of all our major government support schemes, our
0:18:13 > 0:18:14grants and loans.
0:18:14 > 0:18:16Sir Michael Fallon.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18The former head of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority,
0:18:18 > 0:18:20John Clarke, has taken "full responsibility" for the handling
0:18:20 > 0:18:22of a botched contract to clean up 12 former
0:18:22 > 0:18:23nuclear sites in the UK.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25After a complex two-year bidding process, the contract
0:18:25 > 0:18:31for the "Magnox" sites was won by Cavendish Fluor Partnership.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35The task turned out to be much bigger and more
0:18:35 > 0:18:37expensive than anticipated.
0:18:41 > 0:18:52We are here today to look at the report on the botched Magnox
0:18:52 > 0:18:58contract which had a value of £6.2 billion, one of the largest ever
0:18:58 > 0:19:03contracts let by government and the report shows a catalogue of failures
0:19:03 > 0:19:08which played the contract from the start.When you bid for a vessel
0:19:08 > 0:19:13process, how far was known what the state of the various sites were?
0:19:13 > 0:19:18When you first started investigating, did you are NDA know
0:19:18 > 0:19:23what the state of these sites were? The bid documentation was what we
0:19:23 > 0:19:30had to rely on. At the time of the bidding, that was the only
0:19:30 > 0:19:34information we had available to us. We had no other knowledge that he
0:19:34 > 0:19:41could bring to bear.Knowing what you know now, wasn't it more or less
0:19:41 > 0:19:45set up to feel? Not deliberately but wasn't it almost impossible for you
0:19:45 > 0:19:53at any body else to have actually really succeeded in little process?
0:19:53 > 0:19:55Had the bed documentation been an accurate reflection of what was on
0:19:55 > 0:20:00the sites then the style of contract that was put in place would have
0:20:00 > 0:20:00worked.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03The companies that lost out to CFP successfully sued the NDA over
0:20:03 > 0:20:04the bidding process last year.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06The High Court agreed that the process had been flawed.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09The mistakes cost the government more than £122 million
0:20:09 > 0:20:12in compensation and legal costs.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14The NDA also terminated the contract with CFP,
0:20:14 > 0:20:17saying that a "material change" to the required work rendered
0:20:17 > 0:20:22the contract "illegal."
0:20:27 > 0:20:32Hull is the relationship and do you think they now have sufficient staff
0:20:32 > 0:20:36with sufficient skills in place to be able to manage this contract, the
0:20:36 > 0:20:40whole decommissioning contract going forward?I think it is a very
0:20:40 > 0:20:43professional relationship and we have been through a pretty torrid
0:20:43 > 0:20:51time together, on either side of the contractual boundary. It is a solid
0:20:51 > 0:20:57professional relationship. The new team under the new chief executive
0:20:57 > 0:20:59are looking to recruit and looking to recruit the right areas.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03Next, the committee heard from the former boss at the NDA.
0:21:03 > 0:21:10Who do you think was responsible for the failure of this contract?I am
0:21:10 > 0:21:15the chief executive of the NDA for the duration of this contract and I
0:21:15 > 0:21:18accept full responsibility for the actions during that period. We set
0:21:18 > 0:21:24out with the intent to do the best job we could and we did work hard,
0:21:24 > 0:21:29but it is clear that didn't go according to plan.It is a shared
0:21:29 > 0:21:33responsibility and although John is the accounting officer, the
0:21:33 > 0:21:38principal accounting officer, I have ultimate responsibility.I have two
0:21:38 > 0:21:41except it was our responsibility to understand the state of the sites
0:21:41 > 0:21:44and we believe their level of understanding was somewhat better
0:21:44 > 0:21:49than it was.I accept your candour on this but isn't it extraordinary
0:21:49 > 0:21:53when you had lots of technical people working for you that you
0:21:53 > 0:21:59didn't at least have an idea, given the scale of what was discovered
0:21:59 > 0:22:03during the consolidation process, that he didn't have some idea of the
0:22:03 > 0:22:06difference between your understanding at the time and what
0:22:06 > 0:22:12actually proved to be the case?Two factors. First of all we have a
0:22:12 > 0:22:17small organisation with over 200 people, not an army. We are
0:22:17 > 0:22:22deliberately set up to be a small organisation and we rely on auditing
0:22:22 > 0:22:23performance of contractors.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26He said the NDA had been aware of significant differences,
0:22:26 > 0:22:27but not HOW big they were.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29Finally, what next for Zimbabwe, following the resignation
0:22:29 > 0:22:33of its 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe?
0:22:33 > 0:22:36He had been in power since 1980.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39The Zimbabwean army stepped in last week, saying people were angered
0:22:39 > 0:22:42by the way the country was being run and the possibility that Mr Mugabe's
0:22:42 > 0:22:44wife Grace was being lined up as his successor.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47After the news that he had finally quit, Zimbabweans took
0:22:47 > 0:22:51to the streets to celebrate.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55In the Lords, Peers wondered what would happen now
0:22:55 > 0:22:58and what the UK could do to support the country.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08My Lords, the resignation of Robert Mugabe provides Zimbabwe with an
0:23:08 > 0:23:14opportunity to form a new path, free from oppression and misrule. The
0:23:14 > 0:23:17only wafers and bubbly to achieve a legitimate government is through
0:23:17 > 0:23:23free and fair elections. As the oldest friend we will do all we can
0:23:23 > 0:23:29to support a legitimate government to rebuild the country, working with
0:23:29 > 0:23:34international and regional partners, addressing economic, human rights
0:23:34 > 0:23:39and constitutional issues including free and fair elections.My Lords,
0:23:39 > 0:23:42in thanking my noble friend for the answer, can now recognise that we
0:23:42 > 0:23:48should not intrude on an independent country but given that we have tens
0:23:48 > 0:23:53of thousands of Zimbabweans resident in the UK, would it not be possible
0:23:53 > 0:24:00to bring together the expertise to help Zimbabwe, particularly given
0:24:00 > 0:24:04the IMF has identified the problems, the dramatic problem is that the
0:24:04 > 0:24:11country faces. Examples of which include the issuance of $100
0:24:11 > 0:24:17trillion notes, which were in general circulation.The government
0:24:17 > 0:24:24doesn't wish all intents to interfere in the affairs of Zimbabwe
0:24:24 > 0:24:31but there are approximately 113,000 Zimbabweans living in the UK. The
0:24:31 > 0:24:33Foreign and Commonwealth Office has a regular programme of positive
0:24:33 > 0:24:41engagement with the Zimbabwean diaspora and we will meet with
0:24:41 > 0:24:47representatives diaspora tomorrow to discuss issues including the need
0:24:47 > 0:24:51for deep and lasting economic reform.Effective election
0:24:51 > 0:24:55monitoring will be key to the holding of free and fair elections
0:24:55 > 0:25:00in Zimbabwe. What support can the government gives to the churches and
0:25:00 > 0:25:03other civil society organisations in the work they do on the grounds of
0:25:03 > 0:25:09successfully in Africa because that belongs to Africa, is rooted in
0:25:09 > 0:25:14Africa and can be owned by the whole community in Africa.We are putting
0:25:14 > 0:25:18together the potential package of measures to support a credible
0:25:18 > 0:25:21election process and encourage economic recovery to be delivered
0:25:21 > 0:25:26alongside international partners. I emphasise in exchange for a
0:25:26 > 0:25:28meaningful political and economic reforms.
0:25:28 > 0:25:32And that's it from me for now, but do join me on BBC Parliament
0:25:32 > 0:25:34on Friday night at 11pm for the highlights of
0:25:34 > 0:25:35a busy Westminster week.
0:25:35 > 0:25:45But for now, from me, goodbye.