:00:12. > :00:14.Hello and welcome to Wednesday In Parliament,
:00:15. > :00:17.our look at the best of the day in the Commons and the Lords.
:00:18. > :00:21.The party leaders clash over the move to turn
:00:22. > :00:29.Why are they abolishing those maintenance grants?
:00:30. > :00:32.If you want to be on the side of more university students,
:00:33. > :00:35.if you want to want to help people make the most of their lives,
:00:36. > :00:37.the system we've got is one that's working.
:00:38. > :00:40.Outrage in the Commons about the red paint applied to front doors that
:00:41. > :00:47.housed asylum seekers in Middlesbrough.
:00:48. > :00:49.If there is an acceptance that these doors were
:00:50. > :00:51.painted in a certain colour, that is appalling.
:00:52. > :00:53.And the outgoing Chief Inspector of Prisons says the independence
:00:54. > :00:57.When Mr Grayling was Secretary of State, we had some
:00:58. > :01:01.pretty robust discussions about the content of what I was saying.
:01:02. > :01:04.But first, the replacement of grants with loans for less well-off
:01:05. > :01:06.students in England has dominated the weekly round of
:01:07. > :01:10.The Chancellor announced the change last summer,
:01:11. > :01:12.saying the ending of maintenance grants represented a good deal
:01:13. > :01:18.for the taxpayer, as well as being fairer to students.
:01:19. > :01:22.The grants were costing the Government ?1.6 billion a year,
:01:23. > :01:25.but Labour has criticised the move and say Ministers have brought it
:01:26. > :01:31.The party leader Jeremy Corbyn told David Cameron the policy hadn't
:01:32. > :01:35.featured in the Conservative election manifesto.
:01:36. > :01:36.This proposal will affect 500,000 students -
:01:37. > :01:43.I have a question from a student by the name
:01:44. > :01:46.of Liam, who says, I am training to be a mathematics teacher,
:01:47. > :01:51.and will now come out at the end of my course
:01:52. > :01:56.to debts in excess of ?50,000, which is roughly twice as much
:01:57. > :02:07.What I would say to Liam is that he is now in a country
:02:08. > :02:10.with a university system with more people going to university than ever
:02:11. > :02:11.before, and more people from low-income backgrounds
:02:12. > :02:15.going to university than ever before.
:02:16. > :02:19.In addition, what I'd say to Liam, and I wish him well,
:02:20. > :02:22.is that he will not pay back a penny of his loan
:02:23. > :02:31.I'm pleased to say, Mr Speaker, that Liam is actually trying to be
:02:32. > :02:34.a maths teacher, which might be able to help the Prime Minister,
:02:35. > :02:39.because he did say he was earning ?25,000, which is more than ?21,000,
:02:40. > :02:50.In 2010, Mr Speaker, the Prime Minister's Government
:02:51. > :02:55.trebled tuition fees to ?9,000, defending it by saying they would be
:02:56. > :02:58.increasing maintenance grants for students
:02:59. > :03:06.They're now scrapping those very same grants -
:03:07. > :03:09.they used to boast about them being increased.
:03:10. > :03:15.Why are they abolishing those maintenance grants?
:03:16. > :03:18.The sense in doing this is we want to uncap university
:03:19. > :03:21.places, so as many young people in our children...
:03:22. > :03:26.In our country, who want to go to university, can go to university,
:03:27. > :03:30.And before too much shouting from the party opposite,
:03:31. > :03:32.when they were in Government, it was Labour
:03:33. > :03:36.that introduced the fees and loans system.
:03:37. > :03:39.If you want to be on the side of aspiration, if you want to be
:03:40. > :03:42.on the side of more university students, if you want to help people
:03:43. > :03:46.make the most of their lives, the system we've got is one that's
:03:47. > :03:51.Mr Speaker, that is from the very same Prime Minister who is taking
:03:52. > :03:53.away the grants that are designed to help the poorest
:03:54. > :04:01.within our society, and give them access to higher education.
:04:02. > :04:05.Then on to plans to axe bursaries for student nurses.
:04:06. > :04:08.The Prime Minister and I would probably agree that we need to be
:04:09. > :04:10.spending more and directing more resources in dealing with
:04:11. > :04:15.the mental health crisis in this country.
:04:16. > :04:16.And I've got a question, from somebody
:04:17. > :04:20.who wants to help us get through this crisis,
:04:21. > :04:23.by becoming a mental health nurse, and it's a woman
:04:24. > :04:27.called Vicky from York, and she's got a very real problem.
:04:28. > :04:30.I would not have been able to, or chosen to study to be
:04:31. > :04:32.a mental-health nurse, without a bursary,
:04:33. > :04:39.I've got debts from a previous degree.
:04:40. > :04:42.I would not take on further debts, which
:04:43. > :04:46.would be impossible for me to pay back, and be fair on my daughter.
:04:47. > :04:50.She is somebody who we need in our NHS.
:04:51. > :04:55.We are losing her skill, her dedication, her aspiration
:04:56. > :05:06.Two out of three Vickys that turn up wanting to be nurses are sent away
:05:07. > :05:10.So we're bringing people in from Bulgaria or Romania,
:05:11. > :05:14.or the other side of the world, to do nursing jobs -
:05:15. > :05:17.we should be training British people who want to do it.
:05:18. > :05:20.The Prime Minister will be aware that nine out of ten hospitals
:05:21. > :05:25.Isn't what he is proposing for the nurse bursary scheme
:05:26. > :05:29.going to exacerbate the crisis, make it worse
:05:30. > :05:34.for everybody and make our NHS less effective, not more effective?
:05:35. > :05:41.I'll give him a very direct answer, which is we are going to see 10,000
:05:42. > :05:44.extra nurse degree places, because of this policy.
:05:45. > :05:47.Because we are effectively uncapping the numbers
:05:48. > :05:50.that can go into nursing, and I have to say, Mr Speaker,
:05:51. > :05:56.a retreat of the Labour Party into the past.
:05:57. > :05:59.We've seen it with wanting to bring back secondary picketing.
:06:00. > :06:01.Wanting to bring back flying pickets.
:06:02. > :06:04.We have seen it with the idea of stopping
:06:05. > :06:06.businesses paying dividends, and with the absurd idea that
:06:07. > :06:08.nuclear submarines should go to sea
:06:09. > :06:13.Anyone watching this Labour Party - and it is not now just
:06:14. > :06:17.the leader, the whole Labour Party - they are a risk to our national
:06:18. > :06:20.security, a risk to our economic security, a risk to our health
:06:21. > :06:26.service and to the security of every family in our country.
:06:27. > :06:28.A Tory backbencher used music titles to
:06:29. > :06:33.Does my right honourable friend agree with me that our nuclear
:06:34. > :06:35.deterrent only works against our nation's enemies
:06:36. > :06:36.if our nuclear submarines are actually equipped
:06:37. > :06:42.And that those, such as the Leader of the
:06:43. > :06:44.Opposition, who do not believe this, have a defence policy inspired
:06:45. > :06:49.And shows that while the members opposite may Twist And Shout,
:06:50. > :06:56.their current leader certainly needs Help.
:06:57. > :07:00.Well, I congratulate my honourable friend on his ingenious question.
:07:01. > :07:06.There is a comic element to sending submarines to sea
:07:07. > :07:11.but, in fact, it is absolutely serious, because the deterrent has
:07:12. > :07:15.been, on a cross-party basis, an absolutely key part
:07:16. > :07:18.of our defence, and making sure we've got the...
:07:19. > :07:21.We've got the ultimate insurance policy, which we support on this
:07:22. > :07:25.side, and we should vote on in this House, and all I can say when it
:07:26. > :07:29.I suspect that the Leader of the Opposition
:07:30. > :07:36.David Cameron using a Beatles approach to attack Labour.
:07:37. > :07:37.Well, the third-biggest party in the Commons is,
:07:38. > :07:39.of course, the Scottish National Party.
:07:40. > :07:41.Its leader at Westminster often takes up an international
:07:42. > :07:43.matter with David Cameron, and did so again this time,
:07:44. > :07:50.Thousands of civilians have been killed in Yemen,
:07:51. > :07:54.including a large number by the Saudi Air Force.
:07:55. > :07:58.They have done that using British-built planes,
:07:59. > :08:02.with pilots who are trained by British instructors,
:08:03. > :08:06.who are dropping British-made bombs and are coordinated by the Saudis
:08:07. > :08:12.in the presence of British military advisers.
:08:13. > :08:15.Isn't it time for the Prime Minister to admit that Britain
:08:16. > :08:19.is effectively taking part in a war in Yemen that is costing thousands
:08:20. > :08:21.of civilian lives, and he has not sought
:08:22. > :08:32.I think the right honourable gentleman started in a serious place
:08:33. > :08:41.It is in our interest that we back the legitimate government of Yemen,
:08:42. > :08:45.We have some of the most stringent arms measures
:08:46. > :08:48.of any country anywhere in the world, but just to be
:08:49. > :08:50.absolutely clear about our role, we are not a member
:08:51. > :08:54.British military personnel are not directly involved
:08:55. > :08:58.in the Saudi-led coalition's operations.
:08:59. > :09:02.The Government has been defeated in the House of Lords over
:09:03. > :09:08.Labour believes it that it will lose as much as ?6 million in its income
:09:09. > :09:12.each year as a result of alterations the bill makes.
:09:13. > :09:15.Under the bill, each trade union member would have to agree
:09:16. > :09:19.in writing every five years to opt in to paying what's called
:09:20. > :09:23.the "political levy", as opposed to opting out.
:09:24. > :09:26.The new rules would apply to all 4 million political levy-payers
:09:27. > :09:30.in the unions that are affiliated to the party.
:09:31. > :09:33.In the Lords, the leader of the Labour peers said the whole
:09:34. > :09:36.issue of the future funding of parties should be handed over
:09:37. > :09:44.Our genuinely-held concern is that this aspect of the bill
:09:45. > :09:48.will have a significant impact on the resources of one major
:09:49. > :09:53.political party - my party, the Labour Party -
:09:54. > :09:57.and in doing so, it will both disrupt the political balance
:09:58. > :09:59.in the UK and have a damaging effect on the electoral
:10:00. > :10:06.But whatever our views are, I hope we would be able to find agreement
:10:07. > :10:10.that it would be totally wrong for any Government,
:10:11. > :10:15.any Goverment of any colour, to use its power to attack the funding
:10:16. > :10:17.of any political party, other political parties,
:10:18. > :10:25.My Lords, we now have, in this measure presented
:10:26. > :10:29.as a technical change to make union members'
:10:30. > :10:31.donations to political parties more transparent,
:10:32. > :10:33.an extraordinary attempt to fully stymie
:10:34. > :10:42.I believe that it is wrong to single out one political party,
:10:43. > :10:48.if we are looking at the funding of parties in this country,
:10:49. > :10:53.and, frankly, to suggest that this bill is not
:10:54. > :10:59.singling out a political party is disingenuous.
:11:00. > :11:01.Here today, we have a proposition that this...
:11:02. > :11:05.These clauses have no impact, they are related to the trade unions
:11:06. > :11:09.and nothing to do with political parties, and yet we know
:11:10. > :11:11.the practical effect on one political party
:11:12. > :11:17.We have to reconcile and resolve those issues
:11:18. > :11:20.and have them debated in a committee, where they can be
:11:21. > :11:26.To attack the funding, I think, is misguided,
:11:27. > :11:31.The people will say, well, let's have a look at the Tory party.
:11:32. > :11:34.And we will get into a war of mutual destruction,
:11:35. > :11:38.and in so doing, I do not think this will help to enhance the reputation
:11:39. > :11:41.of Parliament or of the political parties.
:11:42. > :11:44.And those who support this bill will actually say,
:11:45. > :11:47.that certain supervisions are actually designed to enhance
:11:48. > :11:52.and freedom of choice of trade union members, etc.
:11:53. > :11:55.I understand that that is a possible argument,
:11:56. > :11:58.but, Lords, matters will not start here.
:11:59. > :12:01.We are in a different place and the way that these matters
:12:02. > :12:05.It is impossible that wider questions about the big donor
:12:06. > :12:11.culture, and the role of business, will go away.
:12:12. > :12:13.My Lords, this bill is a package of
:12:14. > :12:14.measures, and it is disappointing
:12:15. > :12:15.that the party opposite have chosen
:12:16. > :12:21.We would merely be adding confusion if
:12:22. > :12:28.Our reforms in this bill look at how trade union members choose
:12:29. > :12:31.to contribute to trade union and political funds.
:12:32. > :12:35.We are not looking at how trade unions fund political parties.
:12:36. > :12:39.Opt-ins and opt-outs for trade union political funds have always been
:12:40. > :12:42.a matter for trade union legislation.
:12:43. > :12:46.Party funding and its regulation have always been a matter
:12:47. > :12:49.Party funding is rightly outside the scope
:12:50. > :12:56.of this bill and I call on the House to reject this motion.
:12:57. > :12:59.At the end of the debate, Labour peers won the day.
:13:00. > :13:00.My Lords, they have voted:
:13:01. > :13:08.Contents - 327. Not contents - 234.
:13:09. > :13:10.You're watching our round-up of the day in the Commons
:13:11. > :13:18.An MP tells the Commons he's a popper-user.
:13:19. > :13:21.The front doors of houses used by asylum seekers in Middlesbrough
:13:22. > :13:24.are to be repainted, after claims they were targeted
:13:25. > :13:28.because nearly all of the doors were red.
:13:29. > :13:31.Asylum seekers in the town told The Times newspaper that
:13:32. > :13:34.eggs and stones had been thrown at their houses because the doors
:13:35. > :13:43.The newspaper visited 168 houses in Middlesbrough owned by Jomast,
:13:44. > :13:54.a subcontractor for the global security firm G4S.
:13:55. > :13:58.In the Commons, a Minister was summoned to explain
:13:59. > :14:02.Anything which identifies asylum seeker accommodation for those
:14:03. > :14:04.who may wish to harm those accommodated in the properties
:14:05. > :14:10.I have spoken to the Chief Executive of G4S this morning,
:14:11. > :14:14.and he has assured me that neither they, nor Jomast,
:14:15. > :14:16.their subcontractor in Middlesbrough, have a policy
:14:17. > :14:18.which states that asylum seeker property should be identified
:14:19. > :14:24.Although, Jomast does accept that the company uses
:14:25. > :14:29.red paint across its portfolio of properties.
:14:30. > :14:33.The local MP questioned how long the sub-contractor was going to take
:14:34. > :14:38.At the moment, Jomast is saying that they are acknowledging it now,
:14:39. > :14:41.and will do it over a three to six months.
:14:42. > :14:44.I just suggest to the Minister that that is simply not acceptable.
:14:45. > :14:47.This must be done as a matter of supreme urgency.
:14:48. > :14:50.I had more in mind of a timescale of three to six weeks,
:14:51. > :14:56.And if the Minister concludes that this is discriminatory action,
:14:57. > :14:59.a discriminatory action on their behalf,
:15:00. > :15:04.In short, if you could outline what penalties he has available
:15:05. > :15:08.to him to make sure that this contractor G4S,
:15:09. > :15:11.who, quite frankly, have suffered a great deal of reputational damage
:15:12. > :15:17.over recent times, and Jomast, are held to account?
:15:18. > :15:20.If what is required in the short term is to repaint 150 front doors
:15:21. > :15:23.then frankly this should not be taking three months,
:15:24. > :15:26.the painters should be out now and it should be done
:15:27. > :15:35.I hope the minister can assure the house that will be shown.
:15:36. > :15:37.It's extraordinary with all these inspections that have occurred it
:15:38. > :15:39.took a journalist as distinguished as Andrew Norfolk to expose
:15:40. > :15:47.Though I accept what the minister says, he has acted with speed to put
:15:48. > :15:52.measures in place, the fact remains the home affairs committee has
:15:53. > :15:56.written to ministers in the past worrying and concerned
:15:57. > :16:10.What ministers have done is given contracts to big companies like G4S
:16:11. > :16:12.and Serco who are removed from the real providers.
:16:13. > :16:15.And G4S, as this house knows, are serial offenders in respect
:16:16. > :16:25.And with the greatest will the world and his commitment to make sure
:16:26. > :16:30.something is done, I don't believe an audit will be sufficient.
:16:31. > :16:32.If there is an acceptance the doors were painted
:16:33. > :16:35.in a certain colour, that is appalling and it should have
:16:36. > :16:44.My understanding is that concerns of painting doors read was raised
:16:45. > :16:51.in 2012 by the Lib Dem colleague and Middlesbrough councillor.
:16:52. > :16:55.She has pursued the issue doggedly ever since and it is largely due
:16:56. > :16:59.to her influence the matter has come to light today.
:17:00. > :17:02.She was told by G4S that they had received no complaints
:17:03. > :17:09.That could manifestly not be the case.
:17:10. > :17:12.Now, the Government has faced calls from MPs to order a fresh
:17:13. > :17:14.investigation into the case of Poppi Worthington.
:17:15. > :17:18.A family court judge ruled that 13-month-old Poppi had been sexually
:17:19. > :17:20.assaulted by her father, Paul Worthington, at the family home
:17:21. > :17:22.in Barrow, in Cumbria, shortly before her sudden
:17:23. > :17:29.and still unexplained death back in 2012.
:17:30. > :17:31.Paul Worthington denies any wrong-doing.
:17:32. > :17:40.The area's MP tabled an urgent question about the case.
:17:41. > :17:46.Justice Jackson was clear in the judgment yesterday that
:17:47. > :17:54.Paul Worthington raped the child and she died soon afterwards.
:17:55. > :17:57.Yet it was a full eight months later that the parents were first
:17:58. > :17:59.questioned by the police despite a pathologist saying,
:18:00. > :18:01.raising at the time the death was caused
:18:02. > :18:09.By this time, crucial evidence had been lost by the police such
:18:10. > :18:15.as her nappy she was wearing and her bedding.
:18:16. > :18:19.He said social services allowed the siblings to return to the family
:18:20. > :18:26.home. Although the failures happened
:18:27. > :18:28.after the child's death and not before, the combined failure
:18:29. > :18:35.of several agencies is every bit as serious as if it contributed
:18:36. > :18:38.to the death of Victoria Climbe Will the government make clear
:18:39. > :18:45.that they value Poppi Worthington's life by ordering a similarly
:18:46. > :18:47.thorough independent investigation He knows there was an investigation
:18:48. > :18:56.by Ofsted in 2015 into Cumbria social services and it was found
:18:57. > :18:59.to be inadequate and the Department is currently in the process
:19:00. > :19:02.of intervention into Cumbria social services to ensure child social
:19:03. > :19:04.services are properly working in Cumbria and all children
:19:05. > :19:10.in Cumbria have the support We need to learn lessons from this
:19:11. > :19:21.case but we need to wait for the second inquest,
:19:22. > :19:29.the attorney general has granted that and until the inquest has
:19:30. > :19:32.completed, we will not tap the full facts and he knows for the case
:19:33. > :19:35.to be reopened new evidence will need to come to light which may
:19:36. > :19:38.or may not be the case depending I urge her to keep pursuing the case
:19:39. > :19:43.and not to be deterred And also particularly to clarify
:19:44. > :19:49.what is the situation about the police investigation now
:19:50. > :19:52.because we don't need to wait for the inquest for the police
:19:53. > :20:02.investigation to be continuing. The IPCC are verifying
:20:03. > :20:05.whether the police previously did
:20:06. > :20:07.the right job or not, investigation now into this case
:20:08. > :20:10.and could that be done The right honourable lady has
:20:11. > :20:15.campaigned on these matters for years and I assure her I will
:20:16. > :20:19.personally take this case and make sure we get to the bottom of it
:20:20. > :20:22.and we learn the lessons Robust, hard-hitting and forthright,
:20:23. > :20:30.the adjectives used to describe Nick Hardwick who is stepping down
:20:31. > :20:34.as HM Inspector of prisons. Since he took over the job,
:20:35. > :20:37.six years ago, he has published a series of damning reports charting
:20:38. > :20:40.a growing crisis inside jails. He has been critical
:20:41. > :20:42.of the arrangement where the Inspectorate receives funds
:20:43. > :20:50.from the Ministry of Justice. It has or has been my view
:20:51. > :20:59.since I started that it is not appropriate for us to be sponsored
:21:00. > :21:04.by the Ministry of Justice. It was considered and
:21:05. > :21:09.that was not successful. As long as we continue to be
:21:10. > :21:12.sponsored by the Ministry of Justice, we do need a clear
:21:13. > :21:18.protocol that sets out how that relationship works and it respects
:21:19. > :21:23.where we should be independent and it is important there
:21:24. > :21:30.is a proper distinction that... If it is necessary to make life
:21:31. > :21:37.uncomfortable for the Department, the Inspectorate feels
:21:38. > :21:40.it is able to do that. You set out that ideally
:21:41. > :21:48.the Ministry of Justice would not be the sponsor but in those
:21:49. > :21:51.circumstances what measures do
:21:52. > :21:53.you say could be put in place independence or are you
:21:54. > :22:01.saying it can't be done? You can improve the situation
:22:02. > :22:06.from how it is now. My experience has been that it has
:22:07. > :22:08.worked in a very British constitutional way, nothing has been
:22:09. > :22:11.written down clearly but by and large it has worked,
:22:12. > :22:18.there has been proper... People understand it and personnel
:22:19. > :22:21.move and they forget what the relationship should be
:22:22. > :22:26.and it is we educate chin. It would be possible
:22:27. > :22:29.to have a protocol that sets some Can you assist the committee
:22:30. > :22:36.with one or two points you think should be the pillars
:22:37. > :22:41.of the protocol? Well, it should be clear
:22:42. > :22:44.for instance and written out that the basic principles
:22:45. > :22:47.are the reports and findings and the criteria we use
:22:48. > :22:54.for the inspections are down to the Chief Inspector to decide
:22:55. > :22:58.and not the ministry so you might
:22:59. > :23:00.want to consult the Secretary proper notice of what he says
:23:01. > :23:14.but they should be for Presumably it would reject
:23:15. > :23:17.the suggestion ministers have exercised any influence over
:23:18. > :23:19.the content of your policy. I reject they have been
:23:20. > :23:22.successful in doing that. Isn't that the most important
:23:23. > :23:23.influence, indicator It is the most important
:23:24. > :23:33.indicator, I certainly had with when Mr Grayling
:23:34. > :23:36.was Secretary Of State robust discussions about the content
:23:37. > :23:39.of what I was saying. So, I think it would be helpful
:23:40. > :23:43.to make sure those things The Conservative MP Crispin Blunt
:23:44. > :23:53.has said in the Commons he's a user of the recreational drug known
:23:54. > :23:56.as poppers and said a ban on its supply would be
:23:57. > :23:59."fantastically stupid". Mr Blunt, a former Prisons Minister,
:24:00. > :24:02.said users of the drug Supply of the drug could be outlawed
:24:03. > :24:08.under the Pyschoactive Substances The government wants to crack down
:24:09. > :24:14.on the sale and use of so-called legal highs, substances chemically
:24:15. > :24:17.designed to mimic drugs that There is sometimes when something
:24:18. > :24:25.is proposed which becomes personal to you and you realise
:24:26. > :24:28.the government is doing something fantastically stupid and I think
:24:29. > :24:31.in those circumstances one has I would be directly affected
:24:32. > :24:43.by this legislation. And I am astonished to find
:24:44. > :24:50.it is proposing to be banned. And frankly so are
:24:51. > :24:57.many other gay men. And if I follow my own mindset
:24:58. > :25:02.reaction to this, it is simply serving to bring the whole
:25:03. > :25:06.law into disrepute. Including poppers in the ban may
:25:07. > :25:09.undermine the bill and make it far more difficult to get
:25:10. > :25:12.across the vital message that psychoactive substances can be
:25:13. > :25:19.and often are very dangerous. There is a risk the bill
:25:20. > :25:22.would become synonymous with a ban on poppers a substance thought to be
:25:23. > :25:26.relatively harmless. And that as a result the public
:25:27. > :25:29.will come to believe all the substances banned
:25:30. > :25:34.by the bill are relatively harmless. Later, MPs voted not to exempt
:25:35. > :25:37.poppers from a ban on psychoactive Do join me for our
:25:38. > :25:45.next daily round-up. Until then, from me,
:25:46. > :25:50.Keith Macdougall, goodbye.