:00:07. > :00:10.Hello and welcome to Wednesday in Parliament.
:00:11. > :00:12.The main stories from Westmhnster: At Prime Minister's Questions,
:00:13. > :00:14.Labour demands more action on housing.
:00:15. > :00:17.Six out of ten renters have issues such as damp,
:00:18. > :00:25.You can only restore existing houses.
:00:26. > :00:36.You can only support people into those houses
:00:37. > :00:39.The opposition accuses the Government of a sleight of hand
:00:40. > :00:42.when it comes to police funding in England and Wales.
:00:43. > :00:44.And there's an outbreak of honesty from a Conservative MP.
:00:45. > :00:47.On a point of order, Mr Speaker, I seek your guidance
:00:48. > :00:49.on a matter which is at best of marginal interest
:00:50. > :00:53.Find out what that is all about a little later
:00:54. > :00:56.But first, to Prime Minister's Questions, where Jeremy Corbyn
:00:57. > :01:00.The Labour leader accused David Cameron of presiding over
:01:01. > :01:05.He began, as usual, by asking the Prime Minister a question
:01:06. > :01:19.MPs cheered and laughed because the Labour Chief Whhp,
:01:20. > :01:21.Rosie Winterton, was sitting on the front bench just a fdw places
:01:22. > :01:31.The Rosie who has written to me is in her 20s and she says...
:01:32. > :01:35."I work incredibly hard at ly job, yet I'm still having to livd at home
:01:36. > :01:43.The lack of housing options, Mr Speaker, forcing her to consider
:01:44. > :01:49.She asks the Prime Minister what action he is going to take
:01:50. > :01:52.to help young people and falilies suffering from unrealistic house
:01:53. > :02:02.prices and uncapped rents to get somewhere safe and secure to live.
:02:03. > :02:05.Well, first of all, let me say to the right honourable gentleman
:02:06. > :02:07.when you get a letter from the Chief Whip,
:02:08. > :02:16.But what I would say to Roshe, the Rosie who wrote,
:02:17. > :02:20.is we want to do everything we can to help young people get
:02:21. > :02:26.That is why we have got these Help to Save ISAs and I hopd
:02:27. > :02:29.We are cutting Rosie's taxes so that this year,
:02:30. > :02:32.she will be able to earn ?10,00 before she starts paying anx taxes.
:02:33. > :02:35.If Rosie is a tenant in a Housing Association hole,
:02:36. > :02:38.she will be able to buy that home because we are introducing
:02:39. > :02:47.And, of course, with Help to Buy, she will have the opportunity
:02:48. > :02:52.to register for Help to Buy, which gives people the opportunity
:02:53. > :02:55.to have a smaller deposit on owning their own home.
:02:56. > :02:58.If Rosie is not earning that much money but wants to be a homd owner,
:02:59. > :03:00.shared ownership can make a real difference.
:03:01. > :03:03.In some parts of the countrx, you will only need a deposit
:03:04. > :03:05.of ?1000, ?2000 to begin thd process of becoming a homeowner.
:03:06. > :03:07.But I recognise in this Parliament, building more houses,
:03:08. > :03:10.following those schemes, we have got to deliver for Rosie.
:03:11. > :03:16.Mr Corbyn then turned to those renting a place to live.
:03:17. > :03:20.How many of the 11 million renters are living in homes that ard not,
:03:21. > :03:22.that do not meet the decent homes standard and therefore
:03:23. > :03:27.One third of those in the private rented sector do not meet
:03:28. > :03:31.Shelter found that six out of ten renters have issues such as damp,
:03:32. > :03:43.Millions are struggling to get the home they deserve.
:03:44. > :03:45.More families slipping into temporary accommodation.
:03:46. > :03:55.Families forced into low st`ndard, overpriced private rented sdctor.
:03:56. > :03:57.Young people unable to move out of the family home
:03:58. > :04:01.When is the Prime Minister going to realise there is a housing
:04:02. > :04:06.His government needs to address it now so that we do not continue
:04:07. > :04:12.with this dreadful situation in this country.
:04:13. > :04:16.Let me just take one of the figures that he mentions about homelessness.
:04:17. > :04:18.Homelessness is less than h`lf the peak today than it was tnder
:04:19. > :04:31.You can only restore existing houses, you can only build
:04:32. > :04:34.new houses, you can only support people into those houses if you have
:04:35. > :04:40.Now, we inherited mass unemployment, an economy that has completdly
:04:41. > :04:44.collapsed, a banking crisis, and now we have got zero inflation,
:04:45. > :04:47.which is growing, unemploymdnt at 5%, an economy growing and people
:04:48. > :04:51.able for the first time to look to their future and see thex can buy
:04:52. > :04:59.The SNP's Angus Robertson ttrned to the talks between Holyrood
:05:00. > :05:01.and Westminster over a financial deal to underpin new
:05:02. > :05:08.Talks over what's called "the fiscal framework" have been
:05:09. > :05:11.going on for several months, and are yet to be resolved.
:05:12. > :05:13.The Smith Commission on further powers for Scotland said anx deal
:05:14. > :05:19.should not impact adversely on Scotland or the rest of the UK.
:05:20. > :05:22.Mr Speaker, the Prime Minister made a vow and his party signed
:05:23. > :05:24.an agreement that there would be no detriment to Scotland
:05:25. > :05:31.Why is the UK Treasury proposing plans that may be detriment`l
:05:32. > :05:37.towards Scotland, to the tune of ?3 billion?
:05:38. > :05:40.First of all, we accept the Smith principles of no detriment
:05:41. > :05:47.First of all, no detriment to Scotland, quite rightly,
:05:48. > :05:49.at the time when this transfer is made.
:05:50. > :05:51.In terms of Scotland having these new tax-raising powers.
:05:52. > :05:55.And then no detriment to Scottish taxpayers,
:05:56. > :05:58.but also, to the rest of the United Kingdom taxpaxers
:05:59. > :06:01.who we have to bear in mind as we take into account
:06:02. > :06:02.this very important negotiation.
:06:03. > :06:04.I want the Scottish National Party here and in Holyrood to havd
:06:05. > :06:12.What are you going to do with benefits?
:06:13. > :06:17.I want to get rid of, frankly, this grievance agenda and ldt
:06:18. > :06:20.you get on with the governing agenda, and then we can see
:06:21. > :06:23.Meanwhile, a Conservative MP turned to comments apparently made
:06:24. > :06:26.by the Shadow Defence Secretary Emily Thornberry, during a lively
:06:27. > :06:29.meeting of the Parliamentarx Labour Party.
:06:30. > :06:31.Reporters outside the room were told she'd said the UK's nuclear weapons
:06:32. > :06:34.system, Trident, could soon be as obsolete as the Spitfire fighter
:06:35. > :06:42.The Spitfire was a crucial dlement in our winning the Battle
:06:43. > :06:48.And keeping our country free from tyranny.
:06:49. > :06:54.However, there are some, there are some who fear
:06:55. > :06:56.that our independent nuclear deterrent could be as obsoldte
:06:57. > :07:03.Now, could my right honourable friend the Prime Minister assure
:07:04. > :07:07.the House and the country that this is not the case?
:07:08. > :07:09.In reply, David Cameron quoted Labour MP for Bridgend,
:07:10. > :07:13.Another week, another completely ludicrous Labour
:07:14. > :07:20.I think the last word should go to the honourable member
:07:21. > :07:33.Who, as she came out of the meeting, tweeted this: Oh, dear.
:07:34. > :07:39.Need to go to rest in a darkened room.
:07:40. > :07:42.I expect she will find the rest of her party with her!
:07:43. > :07:45.Well, down the corridor in the Lords, Labour's Defence
:07:46. > :07:48.spokesman urged the Prime Mhnister to "pull his finger out" and get
:07:49. > :07:50.on with it when it came to renewing Trident.
:07:51. > :07:52.The last Government gave the go-ahead for initial work
:07:53. > :07:54.to start on replacing the UK's ageing Vanguard submarines,
:07:55. > :07:57.which are due to end their working lives in the late 2020s.
:07:58. > :08:00.But this parliament is due to vote on replacing the Trident
:08:01. > :08:03.A Labour peer and former First Sea Lord began the qudstioning
:08:04. > :08:05.by urging the Government not to exploit Labour's
:08:06. > :08:10.The noble minister, I know, understands how crucially ilportant
:08:11. > :08:18.the replacement of these submarines and the maintenance of the deterrent
:08:19. > :08:20.to the security of our nation are, and yet the decision,
:08:21. > :08:24.which has to be made in the other place, is being delayed and delayed.
:08:25. > :08:28.It could have been made at `ny time since last November.
:08:29. > :08:30.I know it's fun to watch Labour wriggling in anguish and having
:08:31. > :08:35.cartoons such as in The Timds, with pictures of Spitfires
:08:36. > :08:45.Actually, this is too important to score party political pohnts
:08:46. > :08:49.My Lords, I have no wish to score party political points on a matter
:08:50. > :08:53.The noble lord may remember that Parliament voted in 2007 to support
:08:54. > :08:58.the programme to replace the Vanguard class submarinds,
:08:59. > :09:02.that authorised the investmdnt in the programme, including
:09:03. > :09:07.the design work, and that is the stage we are at at the loment.
:09:08. > :09:15.If we had not commenced the work when we did, it would not h`ve been
:09:16. > :09:21.possible to design and construct the successor submarines before
:09:22. > :09:24.We are moving ahead with all speed on this.
:09:25. > :09:27.And I can say to him that the Parliamentary vote,
:09:28. > :09:29.which we are committed to, is only right and proper
:09:30. > :09:31.because it is right to give the democratically elected chamber
:09:32. > :09:33.of Parliament the opportunity to endorse the principle
:09:34. > :09:40.Under this government, we have seen a reduction in the size
:09:41. > :09:44.We have no aircraft carriers any longer.
:09:45. > :09:46.At a time when the Russians are increasing submarine patrols
:09:47. > :09:56.by 50%, we have no maritime control aircraft.
:09:57. > :09:59.On top of this, the governmdnt wants to extend the life
:10:00. > :10:07.I would be less than honest to stand here and say,
:10:08. > :10:10.if I did not admit that my party have some problems
:10:11. > :10:15.Noble Lords might have been reading about it in the newspapers.
:10:16. > :10:18.But there is one policy that does unite the two frontbenches `t least
:10:19. > :10:24.So can I ask the noble Earl the Minister if he will put a simple
:10:25. > :10:26.question to his friend the Prime Minister?
:10:27. > :10:35.Dave, pull your finger out, and damn well get on with committing
:10:36. > :10:37.ourselves to replacing the Trident programme.
:10:38. > :10:40.Because it is the first dutx of any government to protect our country.
:10:41. > :10:43.My Lords, I think the noble lord is being less than generous
:10:44. > :10:46.to the government which, for the first time in a long time,
:10:47. > :10:47.has increased the defence budget with an extensive
:10:48. > :10:56.And he added the message was well taken and the Government
:10:57. > :11:02.was proceeding apace with the successor programmd.
:11:03. > :11:03.You're watching Wednesday in Parliament, here on BBC
:11:04. > :11:10.Parliament, with me, Alicia McCarthy.
:11:11. > :11:13.Labour has accused the Government of a "sleight of hand"
:11:14. > :11:16.in its funding of the policd in England and Wales.
:11:17. > :11:17.The Chancellor, George Osborne, announced in November
:11:18. > :11:21.that there would be no cuts to police grants this year.
:11:22. > :11:23.Figures show the funds from central government will fall,
:11:24. > :11:27.but budgets will be maintained, with money raised through council
:11:28. > :11:33.The minister insisted policd forces would face no real-terms
:11:34. > :11:48.We need to make sure that our constituents are m`de aware
:11:49. > :11:55.of how generous the settlement is up to 2020.
:11:56. > :11:59.Still, at times, when we are continuing to pay
:12:00. > :12:01.for the maladministration of the finance of this country
:12:02. > :12:03.by the previous administrathon and by the previous ministers now
:12:04. > :12:06.Let's just get something straight here.
:12:07. > :12:10.When I came into the job as Shadow Home Secretary,
:12:11. > :12:13.he and his other colleagues in the government were proposing
:12:14. > :12:23.And it was pressure from thdse benches, led by my honourable
:12:24. > :12:25.friend, a full Opposition D`y Debate, that forced them
:12:26. > :12:28.So let's just get our facts straight here!
:12:29. > :12:36.He is standing there seeming to suggest there will be no cuts.
:12:37. > :12:40.Can he guarantee there will be no real-term cuts to any policd force
:12:41. > :12:47.There is, if they go to the precept limits they have
:12:48. > :12:54.As he knows, I have always opposed cuts to the police budget every
:12:55. > :12:57.single year and the Minister has always had a good argument by saying
:12:58. > :13:04.that crime is going down and so that justifies the government's position.
:13:05. > :13:06.In my local paper, the Bradford Telegraph and @rgus,
:13:07. > :13:09.last week, it pointed out crime had gone up by 15% across the Bradford
:13:10. > :13:12.district over the course of the last year.
:13:13. > :13:14.So if falling crime was a justification for a f`lling
:13:15. > :13:20.police grant, now we have got significant rising crime
:13:21. > :13:23.in the Bradford district, including in my constituencx.
:13:24. > :13:26.By the same logic, does that mean we will get a substantial increase
:13:27. > :13:34.Well, Mr Speaker, my honour`ble friend is nothing but deterlined
:13:35. > :13:41.Types of crime have increasdd and we are having reported crime,
:13:42. > :13:42.especially on sexual assaults and domestic violence,
:13:43. > :13:47.I am very pleased people have the confidence to come forward,
:13:48. > :13:51.which they would not have done in the past.
:13:52. > :13:54.To add insult to injury, not only are the Tories continuing
:13:55. > :13:57.to cut police funding, but they are expecting the public
:13:58. > :14:05.The Tory sums rely upon loc`l people being charged an extra
:14:06. > :14:16.Our citizens therefore and the communities that we serve
:14:17. > :14:18.are being asked to pay more for less.
:14:19. > :14:21.He is absolutely right to bd pointing out this sleight of hand
:14:22. > :14:24.Because the real unfairness to areas like West Midlands and
:14:25. > :14:32.We have a relatively low council tax base.
:14:33. > :14:37.So the precept brings in relatively small amounts of funding.
:14:38. > :14:39.Nothing like the amounts of funding that are being ctt
:14:40. > :14:46.But added to that, they are the areas that tend
:14:47. > :14:51.So need is not matched by the resources.
:14:52. > :14:54.It is a double whammy for the urban areas and it really penalisds places
:14:55. > :15:05.In a forward-looking county like Hertfordshire which has
:15:06. > :15:12.the pressures of supporting London and Luton, major roads to police,
:15:13. > :15:14.it has been possible through modern methods to use more
:15:15. > :15:16.police on the front line, more modern methods,
:15:17. > :15:19.and they are actually cutting the precept in Hertfordshird
:15:20. > :15:21.for the police and finding the funding settlement
:15:22. > :15:27.And at the end of the debatd, the police grant for the next
:15:28. > :15:30.Back now to Prime Minister's Questions, where there was one
:15:31. > :15:33.moment when the entire chamber fell silent.
:15:34. > :15:42.A Conservative MP raised the plight of Yazidi women,
:15:43. > :15:45.being captured and forced into sexual slavery by the so called
:15:46. > :15:54.Robert Jenrick gave just one example.
:15:55. > :16:12.They killed most of the famhly, tortured and
:16:13. > :16:18.raped, made her day slave. She is the same as thousands of Yazidi
:16:19. > :16:22.women, except they are held in captivity, but now there managed to
:16:23. > :16:25.escape. She's in the public gallery today. Will the Prime Minister
:16:26. > :16:37.celebrate the essential qualities which helped to escape
:16:38. > :16:47.Daish. She and a community of suffered at the hands of thhs brutal
:16:48. > :16:51.group in Iraq. It is a violdnt ideology. We are playing a leading
:16:52. > :16:59.role in the global coalition. In terms of Iraq where Sony Yazidis
:17:00. > :17:03.have suffered, Daish has lost 4 % of the territory a control. We are
:17:04. > :17:08.making progress, but this whll take a long time. Building up Ir`qi
:17:09. > :17:13.security forces, working with Syrian opposition forces. Building the
:17:14. > :17:17.capacity of governments in both countries to drive this evil
:17:18. > :17:18.organisation out of the Middle East. However long it takes, we mtst stick
:17:19. > :17:20.at it. The refurbishment of the Palace
:17:21. > :17:23.of Westminster provides the perfect opportunity to introduce a system
:17:24. > :17:26.of electronic voting in the Commons, She's a member of the Digit`l
:17:27. > :17:29.Democracy Commission, which is recommending a tri`l scheme
:17:30. > :17:32.of "smart-card" voting by MPs to replace the traditional system
:17:33. > :17:34.of walking through two With the Speaker, John Bercow,
:17:35. > :17:39.looking on, Ms Hillier set out the case - quoting a consultation
:17:40. > :17:57.carried out in 1998. Just over half of MPs, 53% prefer
:17:58. > :18:00.the current system. 17% found it was acceptable, although there were
:18:01. > :18:07.suggestions that voting could be quicker through smart cards, bingo
:18:08. > :18:10.readers, or handsets. Why the commission did not push harder for
:18:11. > :18:15.remote voting was a strong concern for members of the opportunhty to
:18:16. > :18:24.speak to ministers and have contact with other members. The lobby is
:18:25. > :18:26.dubbed the lobby for a reason. I thank the honourable lady for giving
:18:27. > :18:32.way, interested to hear the points she is making. Also in importance
:18:33. > :18:36.for people to physically be present. Near the chamber or in parlhament to
:18:37. > :18:41.vote. The key part of this, having electronic methods of recording we
:18:42. > :18:47.would find out how people's MPs voted, not having a situation like
:18:48. > :18:50.yesterday when he gets to r`ised a point of order, how Cabinet
:18:51. > :18:53.ministers were voting, she could give no answer. There are problems
:18:54. > :19:03.with the current system. been talking to the clerks of the
:19:04. > :19:08.House, how they record, and for those not initiated, they crossed
:19:09. > :19:11.off the list with a marker pen. That piece of paper is taken by
:19:12. > :19:15.Parliamentary staff, and not reconcile. Texas 15 minutes to walk
:19:16. > :19:20.through the lobby. Takes a considerable length of time before
:19:21. > :19:24.the vote published digitallx. My office worked out in the last
:19:25. > :19:30.Parliament we spent 245 hours queueing up in order to cast 11 3
:19:31. > :19:34.votes. Would she agree having electronic way of voting me`ns we
:19:35. > :19:41.could record extension is. Sometimes they matter, not meaning MPs were
:19:42. > :19:45.not here, but between the two choices, neither were good. She
:19:46. > :19:49.raises important issues, whx we should be debating and disctssing.
:19:50. > :19:54.In the last session of Parlhament they were 540 divisions in the
:19:55. > :19:58.Commons, even if three minutes were saved on each one, then moddrn
:19:59. > :20:00.improvement, it would have saved 27 hours for each MP.
:20:01. > :20:03.The Deputy Leader of the Colmons said voting by means of electronic
:20:04. > :20:05.cards might raise security and identity issues,
:20:06. > :20:07.and she had clear reservations about the the idea suggesting it
:20:08. > :20:19.I really do believe that thd valued tradition of linking debates to
:20:20. > :20:25.votes. That matters. I recognise the swipe card idea but still do that.
:20:26. > :20:27.The physical presence of MPs is one of those things that really matters.
:20:28. > :20:30.MPs have been asked to approve new rules on the notification
:20:31. > :20:37.of Parliament if a member is arrested.
:20:38. > :20:40.By ancient tradition, the arrest of an MP for any reason
:20:41. > :20:43.is noted in the business documents sent out to MPs every sitting day.
:20:44. > :20:46.This dates back to the time when such arrests were a tactic used
:20:47. > :20:50.After a number of recent cases it's been argued that this is unfair
:20:51. > :20:53.and the Commons Procedure Committee asked for a change in the rtles
:20:54. > :20:56.so that arrests are only reported where they could be interprdted
:20:57. > :21:08.Let me be absolutely clear, the procedure committee is not `sking
:21:09. > :21:13.for members of Parliament to receive special treatment in the eyds of the
:21:14. > :21:17.law. Such a request, if madd, would be alien to the values of otr
:21:18. > :21:21.committee, and alien to thehr wishes of our constituents. All of us on
:21:22. > :21:28.the committee believe the l`w should be applied equally, to all citizens
:21:29. > :21:35.of the United Kingdom. This presently is not the case in this
:21:36. > :21:38.House. In this House, in matters of policing and Public order, the point
:21:39. > :21:43.of public notification occurs not at the point of charge, as is the case
:21:44. > :21:49.with constituents, but at the point of arrest. If people wish to change
:21:50. > :21:53.the law, in relation to what happens when people are arrested, change the
:21:54. > :21:58.law. Plenty of time on the Parliamentary agenda for people to
:21:59. > :22:02.change the law. Plenty of opportunities for the gunmen to
:22:03. > :22:05.change the law. This is not the way to change it for members of
:22:06. > :22:10.Parliament. Therefore we should oppose this proposal. What we are
:22:11. > :22:15.doing is bringing members of parliament in line with the law
:22:16. > :22:21.that covers our constituents. The question is the notification of the
:22:22. > :22:29.arrest of members of Parlialent As many as are of the opinion, say
:22:30. > :22:34."aye". To the contrary, "no".. I think the ayes habit. -- have it.
:22:35. > :22:37.Now, it's not unusual for MPs and peers to disagree
:22:38. > :22:40.but there's currently something of a set-to between the two Houses
:22:41. > :22:42.on an issue of tradition, with the Commons taking the side
:22:43. > :22:48.A Conservative MP sought the help of the Speaker.
:22:49. > :22:57.I seek your guidance on a m`tter that is of marginal interest to the
:22:58. > :23:05.outside world, but with risk jobs, and the traditions of the standards
:23:06. > :23:06.of the House. The change of use from paper recording of Acts of
:23:07. > :23:11.Parliament. It's the House of Lords which has
:23:12. > :23:14.proposed ditching the traditional velum, made from calfskin,
:23:15. > :23:16.for recording acts of Parli`ment. The material is famously durable,
:23:17. > :23:18.with the Domesday Book and Magna Carta surviving
:23:19. > :23:20.because they'd been made up - at least partly -
:23:21. > :23:22.of long-lasting vellum. But the Chairman of Committdes
:23:23. > :23:25.in the Lords has argued it's expensive, and switching to special
:23:26. > :23:30.archival paper would save ?80,0 0 James Gray wondered if therd
:23:31. > :23:40.was anything he could do if I were to call a debate tnder the
:23:41. > :23:45.orders of the business commhttee with a substantive notion which
:23:46. > :23:49.would require this retrograde decision to be reversed, cotld you
:23:50. > :23:53.advise me what effect that would have and our decision in thhs place,
:23:54. > :23:55.and when the other place wotld have to listen to that decision?
:23:56. > :23:57.The Commons Speaker admitted he had thought the Commons
:23:58. > :24:17.I had expected a vote would take place in this House. The matter does
:24:18. > :24:25.fall within the influence of the other place. For that reason, on
:24:26. > :24:29.account of their desire to proceed, there is no entitlement for this
:24:30. > :24:35.House to supersede the other place's will. Secondly, the honourable
:24:36. > :24:39.gentleman quite correctly jtdges it would be open to him and other
:24:40. > :24:46.members to seek a backbench business committee debate on this matter I
:24:47. > :24:48.wish the honourable gentlem`n or success, presumably in a cross-party
:24:49. > :24:50.effort to secure such a deb`te. John Bercow advised Mr Gray to go
:24:51. > :24:53.ahead and marshall his forcds. Finally, there was a warm wdlcome
:24:54. > :24:58.in the Commons at the start of the day for the new
:24:59. > :25:00.Serjeant at Arms. Kamal El-Hajji was selected
:25:01. > :25:14.by a panel of MPs headed I hope the House will join le in
:25:15. > :25:16.welcoming to the Sergeant's chair, the new Sergeant.
:25:17. > :25:18.The Serjeant at Arms is responsible for keeping
:25:19. > :25:20.order within the Commons ch`mber, committee rooms and public `reas.
:25:21. > :25:23.They are the only officials in Parliament allowed to carry
:25:24. > :25:26.weapons, including a gilt, fine-blade sword.
:25:27. > :25:30.The Serjeant at Arms, or their deputy, is also prdsent
:25:31. > :25:32.during every Commons sitting and have occasionally been required
:25:33. > :25:36.to escort unruly MPs from the chamber.
:25:37. > :25:39.And that gentle ripple of applause brings us to the end of this edition
:25:40. > :25:43.But do join me at the same time tomorrow for another round tp
:25:44. > :25:46.of the best of the day here at Westminster.