20/02/2018 Tuesday in Parliament

Hello and welcome to the programme.

Coming up, and a comfortable morning

of questioning for Oxfam bosses.

We

are sorry for the damage that Oxfam

has done the.

MPs demanded the law

is changed to help a 6-year-old boy.

I would urge them to break the law

because the law in this case is

cruel and lacks compassion.

And the

case for a bridge across the

channel.

It is a curiosity that two

of the most powerful economies in

the world separated by barely 21

miles of water are connected by only

one railway line.

Oxfam has lost

7000 regular donors since it emerged

some of its staff paid... MPs spent

two hours grilling senior executives

on the accusations. Then there were

the comments made by Oxfam's chief

executive.

In your interview

published on Saturday, you appeared

to be downplaying the scandal, using

the parallel with the murder of

babies in their cots which many

people regarded as grossly

inappropriate. I give you

opportunity to apologise?

Certainly.

I do apologise. I was thinking under

stress. I had given it interviews. I

had given many decisions to try and

lead Oxfam's response to this. I was

thinking about the amazing work I

had seen Oxfam do across the world

for refugees coming from EMR. I

should not have said those things.

It is not for Oxfam to judge things

as far as Porsche elegy --

personality. I am sorry. We are

sorry for the damage that Oxfam is

done, both for the people of Haiti

but also for wider aid and

development, possibly undermining

the book support.

People in our

country behaved well as citizens not

because they are pleased... This is

about aligning our people with the

values of Oxfam. Some hideous men

came into our organisation and

abused the trust of the British

people, the supporters. But they

were able to get away. This was

wrong. We are going to change that

culture and working on that culture

cost money.

A Conservative said she

had been highlighting the problem of

sexual explication for two years but

no one had taken any notice.

Everybody knew this happened.

Everybody knew that the aided sector

was pretty rotten because it had got

all these people who were abusing

women and girls regularly in all

countries. But nobody, not one

organisation, was actually tackling

it in doing anything about it.

That's shocking. You are all

supposed to be good people trying to

help the world but it would appear

you are not as good as you should

be.

It's really heartbreaking that

we are in the situation. But I want

to assure you that we are not doing

nothing. We working on it but we

have reached a point where the world

has woken up to the situation in a

very special way and we find

ourselves not to of done enough. But

we did something. We have been

improving every year, but we are not

where we want to be.

But your

organisations are not the victims in

this. It is the women and girls who

are being abused by the men who you

employed and other agencies. This is

so shocking. No wonder the world is

angry and no wonder the people are

questioning whether anybody should

be giving to charities. Sadly, the

people who should benefit from this

are the poor people in the different

countries and they're going to lose

out because of all of your

behaviours in the Aida sector.

I can

see that indeed, some people entered

our system who did not share our

values. They abused the trust of

Oxfam, the power of Oxfam in their

hands, they abused the trust of the

British public. And turned on the

very people they were supposed to

protect.

Over in the comments of the

International Development Secretary

gave a verdict on the previous

leadership, using directors of

putting the reputation of Oxfam

above the people they were supposed

to help.

We must trust organisations

to report and follow-up incidents of

wrongdoing when they occur. In the

this duty, Oxfam failed under the

watch of Barbara stocking and Penny

Lawrence. They did not provide a

full report to the charity

commission. They did not provide a

full report to their donors. They

did not provide any report to press

getting authorities. In my view, Mr

Speaker, they misled quite possibly

deliberately.

Eight Labour shadow

was equally appalled, but she said

the good UK good to do...

Even at

this darkest moment far exceeds

evil. The Secretary of State says

she believes in aid but I have not

heard her call out those simple

opportunities, including her own

predecessor and many in her own

party who have jumped on this

scandal and attacked aid. If she

won't, then I will. Because it is

wrong. It does an injustice to our

country and it will distract us from

what's really happened needs to

happen to happen, which are reforms.

The Ministers that she did not

recall hearing anyone doing that.

When Conservative had a blunt

question.

Should the UK Government

ever be working with an organisation

that thinks they are above the law

in one of the poorest countries of

the world, which is Haiti?

There is

no organisation that is too big for

our work with them too complex to

have us withhold funding if they do

not meet the standards.

Penny

Mordaunt. Karen Bradley has to

become is that Northern Ireland

cannot remain in a state of limbo.

She promised to provide clarity on a

budget for civil servants to work

from a soon as possible. This the no

functioning government in Stormont

for more than a year after the

coalition collapsed in a bitter row.

That Northern Ireland Secretary also

said she was looking into the

salaries of Assembly Members who are

still being paid.

A number of

challenging decisions will have to

be taken. Ultimately, the Government

has a responsibility to ensure good

governance and the continued

delivery of public services. In

particular as the head of the

Northern Ireland civil service is

made clear, the Nice to be certainty

and clarity about a budget for

Northern Ireland for next year as

soon as possible. I intended to take

steps to provide clarity on the

budget and I will update the House

as soon as I'm in a position to do

so. This is clearly not what I want

to be but in the absence of an

executive in Northern Ireland, I

have no other choice.

Talks between

the DUP and Sinn Fein last week over

legislation for the Irish language,

with both sides isolating each

other.

I must commend the Secretary

of State for the Herculean optimism

that she continues to still hope for

a deal to be done and for the clear

statement that she's rejecting the

calls to exceed to direct with

immediate effect. Optimism the vital

ingredient in Northern Ireland... I

will not criticise the Government

for remaining hopeful. But clarity

and contingency planning has also

been important features of the

process, Mr Speaker. So people know

where they are in the process and

what it will follow if there is no

progress. And on this question, Mr

Speaker, I fear that many in

Northern Ireland will be with all

the wiser after the Secretary of

State's statements afternoon.

I've

just come from a meeting of a group

of charities and others who want

somebody to lobby the Minister to

argue about mental health funding in

Northern Ireland. There've been no

Ministers for 13 months. That cannot

continue. It's time Secretary of

State to set a budget, let the

efforts for devolution continue post

ideas, we want to see devolution but

it is a dereliction of duty to

continue without a budget without

ministerial decisions. It's time to

get on with it.

Does the Secretary

of State sure my exact he said some

of the drumbeat coming from the hard

Brexit causes of the debate to the

Good Friday Agreement has failed,

that it's outlived its usage?" Which

he did this opportunity to reassert

the Government's view that nothing

should be done to jeopardise this

carefully brokered peace settlement?

No Brexit ideology, no attempts to

justify introducing any order. But

the Government is 100% the Good

Friday Agreement.

Mr Speaker, I can

confirm the Government is 100 behind

the goods to the Mac -- Belfast

agreement and that it was

specifically referenced in the

report...

The people of Northern

Ireland want their assembly up and

running. It is their assembly. And

they were extremely disappointed and

very angry last week when he talks

collapse. I'm not putting the

figure. That's not going to help

anybody. The people of Northern

Ireland will also be externally

angry at and LA's receiving their

full salary. What possible

justification can there be from

paying their full salary?

The

Minister said the sellers were being

discussed and eight decision will be

made shortly. You're watching

Tuesday in Parliament with me, Mandy

Baker. The home honest Minister said

the Government explore every option

in the current law to try and help a

6-year-old boy who has a rare form

of epilepsy -- the Home Office

industry. He as many as 30 violent

seizures a day. His parents wanting

to be treated with cannabis oil,

which is illegal in the UK. His

condition improved he took the drugs

abroad...

Failure for the Government

to move from its current position

would sentence out feedback to the

steroid macro likely to give an

early psychosis and a premature

death. It also means that British

citizens are being denied more

potential medical... To cannabis

based medicines. If we don't spend

the money to do the research cannot

they went after the product. And we

will not have to rely on the wisdom

of crowds on the source and

unreliable product but on pure

brewed -- peer-reviewed...

It is

clear there are some special

circumstances to this case which

needs to be respected. I have

undertaken to meet the family and I

would do that as quickly as

possible, and undertake to explore

every option within the current

regulatory framework that exists. I

give that undertaking.

It's not just

one case. There are thousands of

people who have the choice of

suffering terrible pain and seizures

every day or can mobilise themselves

by breaking the law. I would urge

them to break the law because the

law in this case is cruel and lacks

compassion.

And I have a

constituent, Vicki Clark, who is now

just five stone in weight in Saint

Giles hospice in my constituency

suffering from the final stages of

multiple sclerosis. Her husband

under the only drug that cured her

pain or alleviated her pain was

cannabis and twice he has been

investigated by the police.

We urge

the UK Government to look again very

seriously at decriminalizing the use

of cannabis for medicinal use. If

they do not, we would ask they

devolve the power of Scotland said

the Scottish Government can take the

appropriate steps. We say we would

like this for everybody in the

United Kingdom.

There are good

reasons for the Government's current

position but as I said, I made very

clear in the statement we are

looking very closely at what other

approaches taken by other countries

and we have a keen eye and what the

global experts, the WHO, conclude in

terms of the therapeutic and

medicinal benefits of cannabis.

May

I help the Minister and suggest that

he speak to his colleague, the

Secretary of State for Health, and

ask about the extensive trial known

as Delta nine which took place in

the royal hospital 40 years ago?

With cannabis. To be an excellent

prophylactic against nausea. The

data is there, the evidence is

there. Why does he not save time and

trouble and talk to the Secretary of

State for Health and let's resolve

this matter for once and for all?

In

addition to the... Sufferers denied

access to cannabis for medicinal

purposes.

I think that answer is the standard

by the Department of Health. What I

am keen to register at the Hess is

our determination to try and explore

every option to see if we can

support this case. The Education

Secretary has admitted that changes

to higher education in England

haven't delivered the range of

choice and Ministers wanted. On

Monday Theresa May launch a

government review of tuition fees

and university funding. Putting a

little flesh on the bones, it was

told MPs that reviews would look up

parts of the system that were not

working well.

Does not always offer

a copper handset range of

high-quality alternative routes for

the money and people to receive a

technical or vocational path at that

stage. And universities have not

seen the extent of an increase in

choice that we would have wanted.

The great majority is to be same

level and three-year courses... Even

the funding system has built-in

protections the elements are not

always entirely understood.

He said

the review would also look at the

cost of higher education.

We must

maintain a protect key elements of

our education system network a while

already. We will maintain the

principle that students should

contribution because of their

studies and we will not place

account on the number of students

who can benefit from it. In Scotland

controls as the numbers continue to

restrict the aspirations of young

people.

Amid welcome the Prime

Minister his admission yesterday

that the system is not working.

Surely talked about the choices

facing a working-class teenage girl

today. I have faced those choices as

a working-class teenage go myself

but every part of the education

system that helped me has been

attacked by this government. The

truth is that a year-long review is

an unnecessary waste of time and

energy when action is needed now. So

let me offer him a simple conclusion

to his review. A fully costed plan

to scrap tuition fees, bring back

maintenance support and reverse the

rest... It is called for the many

not be few. And that is exactly what

our education system should be.

An

SNP MP re-highlighted the Scotland

education.

This support package

works, the Scottish 18-year-olds

from the most disadvantaged

backgrounds are now 67% more likely

to apply to higher education than 12

years ago. And they graduate with

the lowest debt in the UK. Isn't it

time that we stop the nonsense and

abolish the fees is? And match not

just Scotland but the rest of the

developed world?

One fifth to a

third of graduates are not getting

graduate jobs. And the number of

state school graduates have gone

down in the past year. Is it not the

case that our home education system

is not providing value for money

from any disadvantaged people? That

is why this review must focus on

skills and addressing social

injustice.

There is no such thing as

free and higher education. Somebody

must pay. There only two types of

people who confront higher

education, the people who have

benefited from and we know that over

their lifetimes they typically earn

much more and narrative people who

have entered. There is a public

subsidy that goes towards education

and O'Reilly reflects the societal

benefit that we do think it is right

that if you are one of those ones

who benefits you should contribution

to the cost. The alternative, the

labour alternative is to have the

tab picked up by other taxpayers

entirely. Many of whom will not have

benefited from this advantage is.

About is a regressive policy, it

would mean less money going to

universities and fewer people going

to university. To be a policy for

the few, not the money.

The

Education Secretary. I'm Boris

Johnson propose the 22 mile long

bridge connecting tent with France

last month experts are quick to

point out the hazards of a giant

concrete structure in the middle of

one of the worlds busiest shipping

lanes and the matter came up again

at four and office questions.

You'll

be aware of the warning that the

Channel ports face gridlock if I

transition arrangement for Brexit is

not simple lace urgently. What is

the point of a 20 mile Bridge

affairs went to be a 20 mile queue

to get onto it?

I congratulate the

honourable member for crowbar and

Brexit and to that question. I think

most people would appreciate that

the euro tunnel, the existing

channel tunnel is likely at the

present rate to be full within the

next seven years. It is a very short

time. It is a curiosity that to have

the most powerful economies in the

world, separated by barely 21 miles

of water are connect it by only one

railway line. And I think it is a

matter for legitimate reflection by

our two countries.

In terms of links

across the channel with France and

many other European partners,

yesterday the Brexit select

committees on Michel Barnier and it

is absolutely clear that the ED

partnership that we are looking for

will be a unique and specific

agreement. -- deep relationship that

will benefit the side of the channel

anonymously. As the Foreign

Secretary agree with me that this

should be the outcome of the talks

that will be starting again soon?

On

the subject of crowbarring the

question is about a fixed link, not

about Brexit.

If I may say so I

think my honourable friend has hit

upon the notion of a metaphorical

fixed link, a great swollen,

throbbing connection of trade

between us. Each side neutrally

nourishing the other. I very much

approve of the note about to visit

many strikes.

In 1971 the French and

the English counterparts started

talking about the Channel tunnel.

And they were mocked. Can we have

more visionary and less mockery of

the ideas of havoc and take forward

future relationships?

I would remind

honourable members opposite, it is

invariably conservative of

ministrations to come forward with

these things it was the

Conservatives who revive the east

End of London with the Canary

project and it was Margaret Bacher

who green-lighted the first channel

tunnel. A bridge to France, it could

yet happen. Is too much money being

spent on sports? That too few of us

actually play? Several MPs have

claimed up basketball is a popular

sport that has been unfairly

deprived of funds by the UK sport

government body which helps recruit

promote. A London Labour MPs said

basketball is very important for

inner-city youngsters.

Almost 60% of

adults in this sport are from black,

Asian or minority backgrounds. 75%

if you look at the figure for adult

men particularly. But a staggering.

What that is in reality is role

models, I desperately need. You

cannot have role models that there

is no prospect of making it you'll

eat. And so I say to the Minister,

one of the cookie figures I have to

ask for this urban sport and this

sport which attracts black, Asian

and minority ethnic communities in

the number is that it does, why is

it that hockey received 28.1 million

and the rugby league received 51.6

million? Why is it that canoeing,

cycling, rowing all do so much

better? Where is the equity in that

formula? And can she satisfy herself

that there is no unintended or

unconscious bias in the way that

judgements are being made about that

funding?

But the Minister was not

convinced.

As other colleagues have

mentioned, basketball is the only

Olympic sport that UK sport do not

find. It can offer great

opportunities in communities, many

other sports can send out equally

credible reasons to receive equal

support.

Finally the House of Lords

has a new black rod, for the first

time in 650 years it is a woman.

Sarah Clark, previously ran the

Wimbledon tennis championships and

will be known as the lady Usher of

the black rod. She replaces David

and a role that involves more than

having a door slammed in your face.

As a Leader of the House explained

in her tribute.

Behind the scenes

during his time as black rod, David

was responsible for arranging a six

state openings, a huge operation

which he and his team including the

doorkeepers always managed with

skill and sensitivity. David

supervised nine state visits and the

six addresses by number of notable

heads of government and states.

The

shadow Leader of the House recorded

particularly memorable state

openings.

The Queen's Speech

unfortunately clashed with the

previous commitment and the overall

calendar. In a full House of Commons

such formal ceremony, it was a

delight to watch David to struggle

to keep a straight face.

Ladysmith

on the delights that await the new

black rod. But as I would have time

for, goodbye.