:00:12. > :00:13.Hello and welcome to Wednesday In Parliament,
:00:14. > :00:16.in the Commons and the committees.
:00:17. > :00:36.Can he say the same to the people of Leeds, of Rochdale, York, Whitby,
:00:37. > :00:37.Teesside? Or is one rule for his constituents and another for us in
:00:38. > :00:39.the North? The Prime Minister derides
:00:40. > :00:50.Jeremy Corbyn's reshuffle Since I walked into the chalber this
:00:51. > :00:52.morning, his shadow defence minister resigned, he couldn't run anything.
:00:53. > :00:54.And Labour claims the abandoned cuts to tax credits
:00:55. > :01:03.are about to reappear in a different form.
:01:04. > :01:09.There is no difference betwden these cuts and those which the government
:01:10. > :01:11.was proposing to introduce tnder tax -- tax credits.
:01:12. > :01:14.It was a stormy day for the parliamentary Labour Party.
:01:15. > :01:16.Jeremy Corbyn's Shadow Cabinet reshuffle had angered some
:01:17. > :01:18.of his front-bench colleaguds, who found his changes not
:01:19. > :01:21.But it was the more literal storms that provided the focus
:01:22. > :01:23.for Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons.
:01:24. > :01:25.December's record rainfall, which came courtesy of Storl Desmond
:01:26. > :01:28.and Storm Eva, left many thousands of people with flood-damaged homes
:01:29. > :01:30.in the North of England and Scotland.
:01:31. > :01:34.The weather was exceptional, but could blame also lie
:01:35. > :01:38.with financial cutbacks to flood prevention systems?
:01:39. > :01:41.The Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn first reminded David Cameron
:01:42. > :01:44.what he'd said at the time of the last severe winter flooding
:01:45. > :01:53.In January 2014, following the devastating floods at that time,
:01:54. > :01:55.now two years ago, the Prime Minister
:01:56. > :02:00.said, there are always lessons to be learned and I will make surd
:02:01. > :02:06.Having seen my own constituency very badly
:02:07. > :02:10.flooded in 2007, having had floods while being Prime Minister,
:02:11. > :02:12.I think a number of lessons have been learned.
:02:13. > :02:16.This time, the military camd in far faster than ever before.
:02:17. > :02:20.The Bellwin scheme was funded at 100%, not 80%.
:02:21. > :02:23.More money was put into communities more quickly.
:02:24. > :02:25.So a lot of lessons have been learned.
:02:26. > :02:30.There always are, that is why we will
:02:31. > :02:32.review everything that has been done.
:02:33. > :02:37.In 2011, a ?190 million flood defence project in the River Aire
:02:38. > :02:42.in Leeds was cancelled on cost grounds by the government.
:02:43. > :02:46.1,000 homes and businesses hn Leeds were flooded in recent weeks.
:02:47. > :02:49.The government is still onlx committed to a scaled-down version
:02:50. > :02:53.of the project, worth a fraction of its total cost.
:02:54. > :02:56.The Prime Minister claimed that money was no object when it came
:02:57. > :03:00.When he meets the Leeds MPs and Judith Blake,
:03:01. > :03:03.the leader of the council in the near future, or the Secretary
:03:04. > :03:07.of State does, will you guarantee the full scheme will
:03:08. > :03:12.go ahead to protect Leeds from future flooding?
:03:13. > :03:14.Well, first of all, let me just make one point
:03:15. > :03:19.It is worth putting on record, before we get on to flood ddfence
:03:20. > :03:22.investment, and I will cover it in full, this was the wettest
:03:23. > :03:28.And actually, in Leeds and in Yorkshire, it was thd wettest
:03:29. > :03:33.And that is why rivers in Yorkshire, including
:03:34. > :03:37.the River Aire in Leeds, was a metre higher than it has ever
:03:38. > :03:45.No flood defence schemes have been cancelled since 2010.
:03:46. > :03:48.In 2014, Cumbria County Council applied
:03:49. > :03:51.for funding for new schemes in Keswick and Kendall.
:03:52. > :03:54.Both were turned down, both areas flooded
:03:55. > :04:00.Does the Prime Minister belheve that turning down those schemes was also
:04:01. > :04:06.We are spending more on flood defence schemes and are stacking up
:04:07. > :04:09.a whole series of schemes that we will spend more on.
:04:10. > :04:16.If he is going to spend ?10 billion on re-nationalising our railways,
:04:17. > :04:20.where will he find the monex for flood defences?
:04:21. > :04:25.The idea that this individu`l would be faster in responding
:04:26. > :04:28.to floods, when it takes him three days
:04:29. > :04:33.to carry out a reshuffle, is, frankly, laughable.
:04:34. > :04:37.And, Mr Speaker, since I walked into the chamber this morning,
:04:38. > :04:39.his Shadow Foreign Minister resigned,
:04:40. > :04:42.his Shadow Defence Minister resigned.
:04:43. > :04:49.Mr Speaker, it's very strange when I have asked a question
:04:50. > :04:51.about Leeds flood defence, then on Cumbria Flood defence,
:04:52. > :04:56.the Prime Minister seems unable to answer.
:04:57. > :05:00.Can he now tell us if there is going to be funding
:05:01. > :05:05.After every incident of flooding, you go back and you look
:05:06. > :05:07.at what you have spent, what you built, you look
:05:08. > :05:10.at what you are going to spdnd, what you are planning to buhld,
:05:11. > :05:15.But the head of the Environlent Agency was absolutely clear
:05:16. > :05:18.that he had the money necessary to take the action
:05:19. > :05:35.The Labour leader said he h`d met flood victims in York.
:05:36. > :05:37.They are asking all of us wholly legitimate questions.
:05:38. > :05:40.Why was it that the insufficient pump capacity in the Foss B`rrier,
:05:41. > :05:42.again, alerted to in 2013 by a government report,
:05:43. > :05:45.was not dealt with and those pumps were not upgraddd,
:05:46. > :05:47.thus people were flooded in York and their possessions
:05:48. > :05:50.Those people want answers from all of us and in particular,
:05:51. > :05:56.I have the greatest sympathx with anyone that has been
:05:57. > :05:59.flooded and we have to do what it takes to get people and get
:06:00. > :06:03.And that is why we have put record sums
:06:04. > :06:09.Are there more lessons to learn, there
:06:10. > :06:13.But frankly, we don't need a lecture from Malta
:06:14. > :06:18.In 2014, in response to the flooding of the Thames Valley,
:06:19. > :06:21.the Prime Minister said that money would be no object.
:06:22. > :06:24.In the light of his cuts to the flood defences,
:06:25. > :06:26.his cuts to the Fire and Rescue Service, his cuts
:06:27. > :06:29.to the Environment Agency, can you say the same to the people
:06:30. > :06:32.of Leeds, of Rochdale, of York, of Whitby, and of Teesside?
:06:33. > :06:35.Or is it one rule for his constituents and another fotr hours
:06:36. > :06:47.-- and another for our constituents in the North.
:06:48. > :06:51.about the funding figures, as I have explained in great detail.
:06:52. > :06:53.?1.5 billion to ?1.7 billion, to ?2 million.
:06:54. > :06:56.But the point is, what we ptt in place under this governmdnt
:06:57. > :06:58.is not funding under Bellwin Of 85% of what a council spends,
:06:59. > :07:07.So what I said absolutely stands good.
:07:08. > :07:15.Backbench Conservatives werd also expressing their flooding concerns.
:07:16. > :07:18.It was reported in the Bradford Telegraph and Argus
:07:19. > :07:21.this week that the Bradford district would not receive any of thd extra
:07:22. > :07:23.funding the Prime Minister `nnounced for Yorkshire for flood defdnces.
:07:24. > :07:26.We take this opportunity to confirm that that is not the case,
:07:27. > :07:28.that whatever money is necessary to protect my constituency
:07:29. > :07:32.And if he is struggling to find the money,
:07:33. > :07:34.perhaps you could use money from the overseas aid budget,
:07:35. > :07:37.because I'm sure he believes that victims of flooding in Shipley
:07:38. > :07:39.should not be discriminated against in terms of
:07:40. > :07:41.victims of flooding in other parts of the world.
:07:42. > :07:43.On Boxing Day, a village in my constituency suffered
:07:44. > :07:46.With damage to scores of homes and businesses.
:07:47. > :07:49.Will my right honourable frhend join with me in praising the efforts
:07:50. > :07:56.of everybody in Croston who pulled together to protect their community
:07:57. > :07:58.and will he ask is honourable friend, the member for
:07:59. > :08:00.Penrith and The Border, to review the decision
:08:01. > :08:03.by the Environment Agency to switch of the pumps at all crossings.
:08:04. > :08:05.After floods like this, there are always questions
:08:06. > :08:07.about which pumps were used, which flood
:08:08. > :08:09.gates were open, what decishons were made by the experts
:08:10. > :08:15.And it is very important, having seen many community flooded,
:08:16. > :08:16.my own constituents, very important to hold
:08:17. > :08:19.meetings with community after community and work out
:08:20. > :08:23.what lessons can be learned and work out whether the right
:08:24. > :08:27.David Cameron answering questions about
:08:28. > :08:32.A side issue to the severe flooding last month was the whereabotts
:08:33. > :08:34.of the Environment Agency chairman Sir Philip Dilley.
:08:35. > :08:37.After going to flood strickdn Cumbria at the start of Decdmber,
:08:38. > :08:40.Sir Philip wasn't able to vhsit any of the areas hit by the subsequent
:08:41. > :08:46.The reason, it emerged, was because he was four thotsand
:08:47. > :08:51.While the flooding was at its most severe in Yorkshire,
:08:52. > :08:58.a spokesman for the Environlent Agency had said Sir Philip
:08:59. > :09:00.was in "regular contact" with the organisation,
:09:01. > :09:04.a subject for the Commons Environment committee to follow up.
:09:05. > :09:07.In your pre-appointment hearing before this committee just
:09:08. > :09:11.about a year ago, you suggest that your personal response
:09:12. > :09:13.to a crisis would be to turn up in wellingtons,
:09:14. > :09:20.Why did you not return to the UK from holiday when the recent storms,
:09:21. > :09:25.it became clear that they wdre going to have a catastrophic effect?
:09:26. > :09:32.Well, I was in Cumbria, I was in the UK and
:09:33. > :09:34.in Cumbria of course, during those events.
:09:35. > :09:37.I was away, as you are well aware, over the Christmas period.
:09:38. > :09:39.And the severity of the flooding became apparent to us,
:09:40. > :09:51.So I was in regular contact with the Chief Executive,
:09:52. > :09:53.James, and my own deputy, a woman called Emma, very rdgularly.
:09:54. > :10:02.I started looking at opportunities for
:10:03. > :10:04.return on the 27th and actu`lly returned on the 29th.
:10:05. > :10:08.So, could I have comeback earlier by one
:10:09. > :10:14.In hindsight, do I wish I had, yes I do.
:10:15. > :10:20.But I don't feel guilty of leaving it many weeks.
:10:21. > :10:23.Disaster for you, personally, wasn't it?
:10:24. > :10:25.Yes, as I said, in hindsight, it would have been much
:10:26. > :10:28.better if I had come back as early as I could,
:10:29. > :10:41.But the first answer from the Environment Agency
:10:42. > :10:43.as to your whereabouts was, at home with your
:10:44. > :10:49.that was qualified to say that you were in Barbados.
:10:50. > :10:52.And a further 12 hours before it was confirmed as Barbados
:10:53. > :10:55.That focusing on me hast attracted from what really matters
:10:56. > :11:07.As you heard giving evidence earlier, and all
:11:08. > :11:12.those other people who have been affected.
:11:13. > :11:16.That expression that was put out, lots of things are written for me
:11:17. > :11:18.and sent to meet for agreement, for approval.
:11:19. > :11:20.I saw it, I approved so it is my problem.
:11:21. > :11:23.But I also should explain that I do have
:11:24. > :11:28.My wife's from the Caribbean and have a home there and I spent
:11:29. > :11:29.some time there over Christmas particularly.
:11:30. > :11:32.And when I'm there, I don't feel I'm away,
:11:33. > :11:34.I feel I am at home because I'm completely
:11:35. > :11:40.And as I said earlier, I do keep in regular contact.
:11:41. > :11:43.It was more of a holiday because it was Christmas,
:11:44. > :11:45.but in normal times, I work from there.
:11:46. > :11:49.Do you accept that the role of chairman is there
:11:50. > :11:52.because you are seen to be in charge?
:11:53. > :11:56.If there is a moment of gre`t flood, we expect you to be there.
:11:57. > :11:57.Yes. I don't think it is unreasonable...
:11:58. > :12:03.The people that are suffering in the North of England also think
:12:04. > :12:08.Can I just add, chairman, that the Chief Executive also needs
:12:09. > :12:11.I was the person responsibld, I remain the person
:12:12. > :12:12.responsible for managing this crisis.
:12:13. > :12:14.I think the team have done a fantastic job.
:12:15. > :12:17.I was there on Boxing Day with the Secretary of State
:12:18. > :12:20.and I was there the day aftdr, I had been up in Cumbria
:12:21. > :12:22.at the beginning of December and I was in Yorkshire
:12:23. > :12:25.So the leadership of the Environment Agency
:12:26. > :12:27.was present on the ground and will remain present
:12:28. > :12:30.on the ground, wherever we need to be.
:12:31. > :12:33.It was his desire to reduce the welfare budget that led
:12:34. > :12:35.the Chancellor to put forward his plan last year
:12:36. > :12:37.for cutting tax credits, the payments that are made
:12:38. > :12:41.As you may recall, George Osborne had to perform a U-turn,
:12:42. > :12:44.withdrawing the tax credit cuts in the face of objections from,
:12:45. > :12:46.among others, members of the House of Lords.
:12:47. > :12:48.But Labour says all is not what it seems.
:12:49. > :12:52.In the Commons, the Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Owen Smith
:12:53. > :12:56.said Ministers are instead planning to make cuts to Universal Credit,
:12:57. > :13:00.the new welfare system that merges a range of existing benefits
:13:01. > :13:08.If you are a single mother with one or more children,
:13:09. > :13:11.the work allowance will be halved from April of this year,
:13:12. > :13:31.In cash terms, that working mother would lose ?2628 next year.
:13:32. > :13:39.7000 in my constituency, will be equally horrified to know
:13:40. > :13:47.this thing is still in the tail and working
:13:48. > :13:51.-- that the sting is still hn detail and working
:13:52. > :13:54.people are going to lose out dramatically as the Univers`l Credit
:13:55. > :13:58.I think, more than that, Mr Speaker, I think they will be absolutely
:13:59. > :14:00.cheesed off to the back teeth that this government has
:14:01. > :14:02.tried to pull the wool over their eyes.
:14:03. > :14:05.Because, the truth is, these are precisely the samd cuts
:14:06. > :14:06.that were proposed through tax credits.
:14:07. > :14:09.Almost the exact amount of loney will be saved through these cuts
:14:10. > :14:11.to the work allowances as was proposed.
:14:12. > :14:14.Well, a member says, from a sedentary position,
:14:15. > :14:19.I think... I would be delighted to givd way.
:14:20. > :14:24.Every penny paid out in benefits has to be
:14:25. > :14:29.raised in tax out of working people's taxes.
:14:30. > :14:32.The money paid out in tax credits is not wages,
:14:33. > :14:37.Does he not recognise the great advantage of Universal Credht
:14:38. > :14:40.is that it reduces the harsh impact of means tested
:14:41. > :14:57.It is working people in work, paying tax, working long
:14:58. > :14:59.hours, many on the minimum wage working every hour they get,
:15:00. > :15:01.who are getting hit by his government!
:15:02. > :15:05.This is not a different set of people, these are not
:15:06. > :15:08.the scroungers they like to talk about, these are the strivers
:15:09. > :15:12.And the truth is, as the IFS has said...
:15:13. > :15:15.The truth is, as the IFS has said, there
:15:16. > :15:18.is no difference between thdse cuts and those that the government
:15:19. > :15:27.was proposing under tax credits and on which they did a U-ttrn.
:15:28. > :15:29.We are introducing a nation`l living wage only made possible
:15:30. > :15:31.because we have been so successful in reducing unemployment,
:15:32. > :15:35.employers can bear the burddn of that higher national livhng wage.
:15:36. > :15:38.And the effect of that is that we will cease to subsidise
:15:39. > :15:44.low paid jobs, whether they are in supermarkets all the cleaning
:15:45. > :15:51.With all the changes that are happening
:15:52. > :15:53.during this Parliament, with the introduction
:15:54. > :15:55.of the national living wage, it will mean that families
:15:56. > :15:58.and someone working full-tile on the current minimum wage,
:15:59. > :16:03.With the free childcare introduced for their three-
:16:04. > :16:11.and five-year-old, a family will also benefit to about ?5,000 a year.
:16:12. > :16:14.The Chancellor was right to do a U-turn on the proposed cuts to
:16:15. > :16:17.They were an abhorrent attack on the financial well-being
:16:18. > :16:20.of millions of hard-working people in Britain.
:16:21. > :16:23.And over 7000 people in my constituency of
:16:24. > :16:29.However, here we are, faced with the same work penalty
:16:30. > :16:36.Once again, it will be the hard-working families
:16:37. > :16:44.This time, it is cuts to Universal Credit and not
:16:45. > :16:50.I have real fear that this decision is being pushed through will ensure
:16:51. > :16:53.that many in Hampstead and Kilburn will reach breaking point.
:16:54. > :16:56.Many people who are already making the choice between eating
:16:57. > :17:02.8000 of my constituents are expected to be on Universal Credit
:17:03. > :17:06.by the time it is rolled out properly.
:17:07. > :17:09.It is not too late for the government to rethink
:17:10. > :17:12.the cuts to the work allowance if they truly have any ambition
:17:13. > :17:24.After years of Labour's dependency culture.
:17:25. > :17:25.This government is continuing to reform the welfare
:17:26. > :17:30.It wants to continue taxing, that is why they are
:17:31. > :17:35.They are the welfare party and not the Labour Party.
:17:36. > :17:39.Madam Deputy Speaker, welfare is much more than shmply
:17:40. > :17:43.giving money to people and writing blank cheques.
:17:44. > :17:45.It is about removing the barriers that prevent
:17:46. > :17:49.people from finding work and progressing in work.
:17:50. > :17:51.It is about giving people the support they need
:17:52. > :17:54.to stand on their own two fdet and live independently
:17:55. > :18:01.You're watching our round-up of the day in the Commons
:18:02. > :18:10.Still to come, are Britain's farmers facing a crisis?
:18:11. > :18:14.Well, we saw earlier, while flooding was being discussed
:18:15. > :18:17.at Prime Minister's Questions, David Cameron deploying a bht
:18:18. > :18:19.of mockery at the expense of the Labour leader.
:18:20. > :18:22.It was a turbulent morning within the parliamentary
:18:23. > :18:27.A series of front bench reshgnations followed Jeremy Corbyn's not
:18:28. > :18:30.entirely smooth Shadow Cabinet reshuffle.
:18:31. > :18:33.It was all a gift for the Conservatives, as we fotnd out
:18:34. > :18:39.when the MP for Stratford-upon-Avon got up to ask his question.
:18:40. > :18:43.Mr Speaker, 2016 sees us mark the 400th anniversary
:18:44. > :18:45.of William Shakespeare's passing away.
:18:46. > :18:50.Does my right honourable frhend agree with me that our country
:18:51. > :18:53.should unite to commemorate his works?
:18:54. > :18:56.There are special events taking place at the RSC,
:18:57. > :18:58.the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust are renovating
:18:59. > :19:04.and King Edward School are opening his original cl`ssroom.
:19:05. > :19:06.Can I invite my right honourable friend, the whole House
:19:07. > :19:12.and the world to come and cdlebrate the greatest living bard?
:19:13. > :19:16.My apologies for almost interrupting his soliloquy.
:19:17. > :19:21.I think it's a very good molent the 400th anniversary of thd death
:19:22. > :19:25.of Shakespeare, for us to cdlebrate everything he has given our language
:19:26. > :19:31.I think it's going to be a fantastic moment for people
:19:32. > :19:33.to come and visit Britain and to come and see Stratford
:19:34. > :19:36.and all the other places th`t have such a great association
:19:37. > :19:41.I find that Shakespeare provides language for every moment.
:19:42. > :19:44.Let's consider what is happening at the moment.
:19:45. > :19:47.There was a moment when it looked like this reshuffle could go
:19:48. > :19:53.It was a revenge reshuffle so it was going to be
:19:54. > :19:58.I think though we can concltde it has turned into something
:19:59. > :20:08.There will be those who worry perhaps "much ado about nothing !
:20:09. > :20:12.Meanwhile, the SNP Westminster leader focused on the looming
:20:13. > :20:20.The Health Service is devolved but junior doctors in Scotl`nd
:20:21. > :20:23.are not planning to strike next week.
:20:24. > :20:26.Why does the Prime Minister think the Scottish Government has good
:20:27. > :20:29.relations with junior doctors and his government does not?
:20:30. > :20:34.Doctors know it, patients know it, the management of the NHS knows it,
:20:35. > :20:37.the BMA knows it, that therd is a problem with the NHS
:20:38. > :20:41.at the weekend and one of the ways to correct that is making stre
:20:42. > :20:44.we have new contracts, including with junior doctors,
:20:45. > :20:47.to make sure not that they work longer hours.
:20:48. > :20:51.In fact, under our plans, many will work much less hotrs,
:20:52. > :20:55.not to reduce doctors' pay, no-one who works legal hours
:20:56. > :21:00.will see a cut in their pay, indeed 75% of doctors will see
:21:01. > :21:06.So we think this is a good deal for a good advance in the NHS
:21:07. > :21:09.and I'm sure in Scotland they will be looking at it too.
:21:10. > :21:13.So time to consider image consultants in politics?
:21:14. > :21:18.Cut the number of government special advisers and the Chancellor wants
:21:19. > :21:22.to limit pay increases to ptblic sector employees to 1%,
:21:23. > :21:26.so how does he possibly squ`re that with now having 26 more special
:21:27. > :21:31.advisers than in 2010 and a 42% pay increase for the Chancellor's
:21:32. > :21:38.There are fewer special advhsers under this government
:21:39. > :21:42.than there was under the last government.
:21:43. > :21:47.British agriculture is under threat from low prices paid to the nation's
:21:48. > :21:51.farmers, according to a Cornish Conservative MP.
:21:52. > :21:54.Leading off a 90-minute debate on food security,
:21:55. > :21:58.Derek Thomas said the last two years had seen falls in incomes for many
:21:59. > :22:02.farmers around the UK of between 20% and 30%.
:22:03. > :22:06.He said farmers needed to bd paid a fair price so they were able
:22:07. > :22:15.Basic business sense says that you do not invest in a business
:22:16. > :22:20.when you don't know what thd return will be from one month to the next
:22:21. > :22:24.and you cannot expect a bushness to survive if you are consistently
:22:25. > :22:28.being paid less than the cost of production, yet this is ` daily
:22:29. > :22:31.reality for large parts of the British farming industry
:22:32. > :22:36.They persevered when any other business would pack up and go home.
:22:37. > :22:39.But we cannot afford for British farmers to pack up,
:22:40. > :22:44.we must not ignore the thre`t to British producers.
:22:45. > :22:50.Food security assessments ddpended on being able to source food
:22:51. > :22:54.from a variety of countries and this diversity of supply and sectrity
:22:55. > :22:57.by spreading risks, widening options and keeping prices competithve.
:22:58. > :23:02.One of my farmers in the agriculture industry tells me it's cheaper,
:23:03. > :23:07.I try to comprehend it, it's cheaper to import some
:23:08. > :23:14.vegetables from South America to use in his salads in Northern Ireland.
:23:15. > :23:18.I don't understand how that works economically
:23:19. > :23:26.Farmers and fishermen to assist them in coming forward with solutions.
:23:27. > :23:30.This includes backing British production and the important
:23:31. > :23:36.I believe it is important too that the food you are buying comes
:23:37. > :23:42.All products that carry the red tractor mark meet responsible
:23:43. > :23:46.production standards and are traceable back
:23:47. > :23:53.By historical standards, we are still producing far loreof
:23:54. > :23:59.Just before the Second World War in the 1930s, our food
:24:00. > :24:03.self-sufficiency was only around 35% so things are not as bad as some
:24:04. > :24:06.would suggest, but if we do what we want to as a governlent
:24:07. > :24:10.produce more, sell more, export more, import less,
:24:11. > :24:14.we will, over time, see an improvement in our current
:24:15. > :24:22.Now, what effect are electronic screens having
:24:23. > :24:27.Children gazing at their sm`rtphones and tablets are a common enough
:24:28. > :24:31.sight just about everywhere, from streets to shops
:24:32. > :24:35.But is all the screen watching healthy?
:24:36. > :24:39.A survey for the charity Action for Children found that one in four
:24:40. > :24:42.parents are struggling to get their children
:24:43. > :24:46.At the Education Committee, the Children's Commissioner
:24:47. > :24:49.for England had some advice for parents.
:24:50. > :24:52.There was something in the news today around how parents can curtail
:24:53. > :25:00.the time for children on their smartphones and thd like.
:25:01. > :25:03.We have to wise up to the rdality of the digital world for chhldren.
:25:04. > :25:06.We think there is something you can change.
:25:07. > :25:09.If you are 12 years old, you think this is your commtnity.
:25:10. > :25:10.We have to understand what that means.
:25:11. > :25:13.There is some research on the impact on children but very little.
:25:14. > :25:18.What are you going to do about it? Obviously there is a risk.
:25:19. > :25:21.I will take some of that research around the impact on childrdn.
:25:22. > :25:24.There is plenty of people looking at the way that parenting controls
:25:25. > :25:28.can work and can be a lot bdtter and part of my role is to advise
:25:29. > :25:31.parents on how they themselves can wise up and be more informed
:25:32. > :25:37.There are ways you can work with children, to bring
:25:38. > :25:43.I don't think it is a case of taking their smartphone off them,
:25:44. > :25:46.you can talk to them about how much time they spend on it,
:25:47. > :25:50.planning their time and then actually and physically doing things
:25:51. > :25:53.with children which means they are not left
:25:54. > :25:58.Do join me for our next daily round-up.
:25:59. > :26:02.But for now, from me, Keith Macdougall, goodbye.