0:00:10 > 0:00:13Hello and welcome to Wednesday in Parliament, our look at the best
0:00:13 > 0:00:16of the day in the Commons and the Lords.
0:00:16 > 0:00:17On this programme:
0:00:17 > 0:00:19Should we shop till we drop?
0:00:19 > 0:00:22Or ought we to continue to make Sunday a little bit
0:00:22 > 0:00:24different from the rest of the week?
0:00:24 > 0:00:29We are all capable of deciding whether we work or shop on a Sunday.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32Why is it that in this country, this Government thinks
0:00:32 > 0:00:37that we should put the free market above everything else?
0:00:37 > 0:00:41That deal between the EU and Turkey aimed at easing the migrants crisis.
0:00:41 > 0:00:45One MP sounds a stark warning about Turkey.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48Over a period of time, the president of Turkey has
0:00:48 > 0:00:52done his best to undermine democratic rights
0:00:52 > 0:00:54in that country.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57And the Health Secretary says it's time for a cultural change
0:00:58 > 0:01:00in the NHS.
0:01:00 > 0:01:04Other industries, in particular the airline in nuclear
0:01:04 > 0:01:06industries, have learned the importance of developing
0:01:06 > 0:01:11a learning culture and not a blame culture if safety is to be improved.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15But first - ministers have suffered a defeat in the Commons
0:01:15 > 0:01:18over their plans to allow shops in England and Wales to open
0:01:18 > 0:01:19for longer on Sundays.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22Rebel Conservative backbenchers combined with Labour and the
0:01:22 > 0:01:26SNP to inflict the second Government defeat in the Commons
0:01:26 > 0:01:28since last year's election.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30Under the plans, local councils would be given
0:01:30 > 0:01:34the power to allow large shops to open longer than the current
0:01:34 > 0:01:37six hours on Sundays.
0:01:37 > 0:01:39Trade unions say the changes might have added
0:01:39 > 0:01:42as much as another six hours to the time the shops would stay
0:01:42 > 0:01:44open for business.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47The Commons battle was keenly fought.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49Don't we understand that while we have this
0:01:49 > 0:01:52great job here with all the privileges we have,
0:01:52 > 0:01:54we have a duty to look after people who are much
0:01:54 > 0:01:58less better off than us, who work unbelievably hard,
0:01:58 > 0:02:00often in fairly grim jobs.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03And do we want to force them - because ultimately all the pressure
0:02:03 > 0:02:05will be on them, from these big businesses -
0:02:05 > 0:02:08do we want them to sit behind a till on a Sunday,
0:02:08 > 0:02:11or do we say to them, yes, we do believe that
0:02:11 > 0:02:13Sunday is special.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15Doesn't he agree with me that we should actually just
0:02:15 > 0:02:20trust our constituents to make up their own minds?
0:02:20 > 0:02:24In life we all have to find our own balance,
0:02:24 > 0:02:28and we are all capable of deciding whether we work
0:02:28 > 0:02:30or shop on a Sunday.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33This isn't actually the most complicated
0:02:33 > 0:02:37decision that our constituents will make in their lives.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39Isn't it also misleading of the Government to
0:02:39 > 0:02:42describe this as a devolutionary measure?
0:02:42 > 0:02:45Isn't it simply the fact that the moment one particular
0:02:45 > 0:02:47council adopts these powers,
0:02:47 > 0:02:51every other neighbouring council will be forced to follow suit?
0:02:51 > 0:02:54I think it is important to bear in mind that the laws
0:02:54 > 0:02:58in England and Wales on trading were last updated in 1994,
0:02:58 > 0:03:00back when the only time we heard of Amazon
0:03:00 > 0:03:03was when you were talking about a river.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06The high street faced no external pressure.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09The internet is liberating, it changes the way we
0:03:09 > 0:03:10live and work.
0:03:10 > 0:03:18But the pressures on our high street are rising and internet
0:03:18 > 0:03:21But the pressures on our high street are rising and the internet
0:03:21 > 0:03:22plays a part.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24Surveys of internet shoppers show there is no relationship
0:03:24 > 0:03:26between them internet shopping on a Sunday,
0:03:26 > 0:03:29because they can't or want to go to extended hours at local stores.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32If we follow that argument, those who are on the internet
0:03:32 > 0:03:34between midnight and 3am, is that an argument for shops
0:03:34 > 0:03:35being open at that time?
0:03:35 > 0:03:38In my own constituency - which I accept is a relatively
0:03:38 > 0:03:39exceptional constituency in a city centre -
0:03:39 > 0:03:43there would be a demand, particularly at tourist times,
0:03:43 > 0:03:45that the local authorities should give permission.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48But it would be up to the local authority to manage that.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51I think this is a good compromise, given the great changes
0:03:51 > 0:03:54that have taking place in the last 30 years,
0:03:54 > 0:03:57not least with the internet, in that shopping pattern.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00Even in workplaces with trade union reps to support members,
0:04:00 > 0:04:04many staff are pressured into not using the Sunday opt-out.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08In fact, something like a third of workers,
0:04:08 > 0:04:12shop workers, are pressured into working Sundays
0:04:12 > 0:04:16or having their working hours cut.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18To those who say we need to keep Sunday special,
0:04:18 > 0:04:20I respect that.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23But I ask, do you not shop on the internet on a Sunday?
0:04:23 > 0:04:25Do not visit your local leisure centre?
0:04:25 > 0:04:28Goods are delivered on a Sunday, we eat in restaurants on a Sunday,
0:04:28 > 0:04:32call centres are open on a Sunday, many sectors work on a Sunday.
0:04:32 > 0:04:34You talk about rights, what about their rights?
0:04:34 > 0:04:40Many of us been abroad, Spain, Portugal or France -
0:04:40 > 0:04:42and we have found real restrictions on
0:04:42 > 0:04:45finding things open on a Sunday.
0:04:45 > 0:04:50We have been out at lunchtime and found the shops on siesta.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53Why is it, in this country, this Government
0:04:53 > 0:04:58thinks that we should put the free market above everything else?
0:04:58 > 0:05:03I rise to speak in favour of Sunday trading, because I feel in a place
0:05:03 > 0:05:06like central London, and I stand as a London MP,
0:05:06 > 0:05:09we should have some freedom for people to trade and choose how
0:05:09 > 0:05:11they do business.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14You don't have to go shopping, but if you want to go shopping,
0:05:14 > 0:05:16you should have the opportunity to do so.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18The Treasury have been taking media flak for this.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20The Treasury are putting out the lines to take.
0:05:20 > 0:05:25In fact, if you are and obscure backbench Tory MP, you're likely -
0:05:25 > 0:05:28In fact, if you are an obscure backbench Tory MP, you're likely -
0:05:28 > 0:05:31if you vote the right way today - to get a brand-new bypass.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33Or perhaps become special representative to some warm
0:05:33 > 0:05:36and exotic place you've never heard of.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39Before entering this place, I was in business for 25 years.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42It is absolutely right to consider the needs of business
0:05:42 > 0:05:47and the family lives of workers.
0:05:47 > 0:05:53But as all business people know, shouldn't the customer first?
0:05:53 > 0:05:56But as all business people know, shouldn't the customer come first?
0:05:56 > 0:05:59If the customer wants to shop at other times in a
0:05:59 > 0:06:00weekend, shouldn't they be allowed to do that?
0:06:00 > 0:06:03Isn't a pilot the right way to take this forward?
0:06:03 > 0:06:05People work to live, they don't live to work.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08There are lots of other things we could do that would be more
0:06:08 > 0:06:11efficient - we could propose to our partners by text,
0:06:11 > 0:06:13we could read to children on Skype from the office,
0:06:13 > 0:06:14no-one would suggest these things!
0:06:14 > 0:06:21This constant denigration of family life is truly unhelpful.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23And at the end of the debate, MPs voted in favour
0:06:23 > 0:06:26of an Opposition amendment.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29The ayes to the right, 317,
0:06:29 > 0:06:35the noes to the left, 286.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42The "skill ambitions" of young people in the UK are being held back
0:06:42 > 0:06:43by the Government's economic policies -
0:06:43 > 0:06:46the claim of Jeremy Corbyn as he tackled David Cameron
0:06:46 > 0:06:50at the weekly round of Prime Minister's Questions.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53It was during this latest half-hour session that the Labour
0:06:53 > 0:06:57leader notched up his first hundred questions to the Prime Minister.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00Mr Corbyn focused on the state of the economy.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02Last week, the Prime Minister told the House that we had
0:07:02 > 0:07:05a strong economy with a sound plan.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09If the economy is so strong, then why this week has he forced
0:07:09 > 0:07:13through a ?30 per week cut, hitting some of
0:07:13 > 0:07:18the poorest disabled people in the country?
0:07:18 > 0:07:23As we speak today we have inflation at 0%, unemployment at 5%,
0:07:23 > 0:07:26our economy is growing, wages are growing, and we're cutting
0:07:26 > 0:07:29the taxes that people are paying.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33That, combined with reforming welfare - and we are reforming
0:07:33 > 0:07:36welfare - is a way to get the deficit down, continue
0:07:36 > 0:07:40with growth and help deliver for the working people of Britain.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43Mr Speaker, I don't believe the majority of people in this
0:07:43 > 0:07:49country are content to see someone diagnosed with cancer today,
0:07:49 > 0:07:51unfit to work next year, reduced to poverty,
0:07:51 > 0:07:53because of the cuts this Government is putting through.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56If we really do have the strong economy
0:07:56 > 0:07:59the Prime Minister claims, then why did the Chancellor warn
0:07:59 > 0:08:03last week, and I quote, we may need to make
0:08:03 > 0:08:06further reductions?
0:08:06 > 0:08:07Who will these reductions fall on?
0:08:07 > 0:08:08The disabled?
0:08:08 > 0:08:09Pensioners?
0:08:09 > 0:08:10Young people?
0:08:10 > 0:08:11Women?
0:08:11 > 0:08:21Is he going to rule out attacking those groups?
0:08:21 > 0:08:24He will see the budget next week, when my right honourable
0:08:24 > 0:08:26friend the Chancellor - who has an excellent record
0:08:26 > 0:08:29of steering this nation's economy - will stand up to give that.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31As he well knows, the poorest have paid the most for the
0:08:31 > 0:08:34cuts, and women have paid for 81% of those cuts.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37Mr Speaker, on 99 previous attempts to ask questions
0:08:37 > 0:08:41to the Prime Minister, I've been unclear or dissatisfied
0:08:41 > 0:08:48by the answers, as indeed many other people have.
0:08:48 > 0:08:53So, on this auspicious 100th occasion, can I ask the
0:08:53 > 0:08:57Prime Minister to help out a young man called Callum.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00Last week, the Prime Minister told the Engineering
0:09:00 > 0:09:03Employers Federation that we have a skills shortage -
0:09:03 > 0:09:08a good admission.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12Callum asks - and he's a bright young man who wants to make his way
0:09:12 > 0:09:14in the world - says, will the Government acknowledge...
0:09:14 > 0:09:15Maybe the Prime Minister does as well.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18Will the Government acknowledge the importance of sixth-form
0:09:18 > 0:09:25colleges and post-16 education services in Britain?
0:09:25 > 0:09:28First of all, let me congratulate the honourable gentleman on getting
0:09:28 > 0:09:31to 100 not out.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35I'm sure it will be welcomed across the House.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38What I say to Callum is what we are introducing
0:09:38 > 0:09:41in our country is a situation where we uncap university places,
0:09:41 > 0:09:44so as many people who want to go can go.
0:09:44 > 0:09:46And we will be introducing in this Parliament
0:09:46 > 0:09:48three million apprentices.
0:09:48 > 0:09:53Mr Speaker, we have a construction industry in recession at a time that
0:09:53 > 0:09:56has an acute need for new housing.
0:09:56 > 0:10:06Construction apprenticeships have fallen by 11% since 2010.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08With the lowest rate of house building since
0:10:08 > 0:10:10the 1920s, almost 100 years ago.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13Will the Prime Minister look again at this issue,
0:10:13 > 0:10:16stop the cuts to skills training, and cuts to
0:10:16 > 0:10:19investment which are holding back this country, holding back the skill
0:10:19 > 0:10:23ambitions of so many young people, and invest in them and invest
0:10:23 > 0:10:28in our future?
0:10:28 > 0:10:32I do have to pick up the right honourable gentleman
0:10:32 > 0:10:35on his statistics, because we have seen a massive boost to apprentices
0:10:35 > 0:10:37and apprenticeship funding under this Government.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40Two million in the last Parliament, three million in this Parliament.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42On housing, let me give him the figures,
0:10:42 > 0:10:46house building under Labour fell by 45%, since then it's increased
0:10:46 > 0:10:48by two thirds.
0:10:48 > 0:10:50David Cameron.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53104 days to go until the European Referendum -
0:10:53 > 0:10:57plenty of time for both the Leave EU camp and the Remain In camp to argue
0:10:57 > 0:11:00their respective cases.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02David Cameron faced questions from both sides
0:11:02 > 0:11:05at Prime Minister's Questions, including one that concerned
0:11:05 > 0:11:07him very directly.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11If the British people vote to leave the European Union,
0:11:11 > 0:11:15will the Prime Minister resign, yes or no?
0:11:15 > 0:11:18No.
0:11:18 > 0:11:26JEERING
0:11:26 > 0:11:31It is very much to the Government's credit that over two million jobs
0:11:31 > 0:11:36have been created since 2010.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40But nearly one million of those have gone to non-UK EU nationals.
0:11:40 > 0:11:45Does the Prime Minister agree with me that the EU's free movement
0:11:45 > 0:11:48of people is damaging UK nationals' employment prospects,
0:11:48 > 0:11:51and has contributed to the 1.6 million British
0:11:51 > 0:11:53people remaining unemployed?
0:11:53 > 0:11:56And this has not been compensated for by equivalent-level jobs
0:11:56 > 0:12:00in other European countries for UK nationals?
0:12:00 > 0:12:03In combination with the welfare reform we've introduced
0:12:03 > 0:12:07for EU citizens and the tougher control of migration from outside
0:12:07 > 0:12:12the EU, we should see welfare reform in the UK as the flip side
0:12:12 > 0:12:13of migration control.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16We want to make sure it always pays for
0:12:16 > 0:12:19British people to train up to do the jobs that are being made
0:12:19 > 0:12:21available, so we should see immigration control and welfare
0:12:21 > 0:12:24reform together with a growing economy as the way of getting
0:12:24 > 0:12:26more of our people into work.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29Does the Prime Minister agree with me that it is very important
0:12:29 > 0:12:32that we make the positive case for Britain remaining in the EU?
0:12:32 > 0:12:37That each of us get ?1200 back for every ?120 we put in.
0:12:37 > 0:12:41We have lower prices and choice in shops and easier travelling
0:12:41 > 0:12:43for holidays and businesses.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46Can the Prime Minister explain how our
0:12:46 > 0:12:51membership of the EU benefits so many aspects of our lives?
0:12:51 > 0:12:55I think the honourable lady makes an important point,
0:12:55 > 0:12:58which is in all the arguments about single markets and sovereignty
0:12:58 > 0:13:02and the rest of it, we can sometimes lose some of the simple consumer
0:13:02 > 0:13:06benefits of being a member of the European Union.
0:13:06 > 0:13:11And the things she mentions about cheaper
0:13:11 > 0:13:13air travel, ease of travel, not having any tariffs,
0:13:13 > 0:13:15these are things that we take for granted now, that simply
0:13:15 > 0:13:17weren't the case 40 years ago.
0:13:17 > 0:13:19I agree that's a strong part of the very
0:13:19 > 0:13:22positive case we should make remaining in the EU.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25The SNP's Westminster leader focused on allegations about how
0:13:25 > 0:13:29some refugees arriving in the UK are being treated.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32Mr Speaker, the refugee crisis is the biggest issue
0:13:32 > 0:13:34facing governments right across Europe.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37Is the Prime Minister ashamed that in a UK Government
0:13:37 > 0:13:42programme, we now know that in Folkstone, trafficking victims
0:13:42 > 0:13:46were locked up without food, asylum-seekign children were forced
0:13:46 > 0:13:50to sleep on concrete floors, that patients with diarrhoea
0:13:50 > 0:13:52were denied access to showers, and also a naked woman was allegedly
0:13:52 > 0:13:56beaten at a detention centre.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59Is the Prime Minister ashamed of this?
0:13:59 > 0:14:01I will look very carefully at the points the right
0:14:01 > 0:14:03honourable gentleman makes.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06I would say our asylum system is fair, and Britain,
0:14:06 > 0:14:09down the ages, has given people asylum who are fleeing
0:14:09 > 0:14:11torture and persecution.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14When it comes to the issue of resettling
0:14:14 > 0:14:17Syrian refugees, it was instructive at this week's European Council
0:14:17 > 0:14:20there was a chart showing how many countries have actually resettled
0:14:20 > 0:14:24Syrian refugees, Britain has done far better than any other
0:14:24 > 0:14:27country bar Germany.
0:14:31 > 0:14:33David Cameron talking about claims about the treatment of some
0:14:33 > 0:14:39refugees reaching Britain.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42Earlier this week a deal was drawn up aimed at easing the migrant
0:14:42 > 0:14:44crisis, generally reckoned to be the biggest mass movement
0:14:44 > 0:14:46of people since the Second World War.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50Last year, more than a million people, most fleeing the conflict
0:14:50 > 0:14:53in Syria, entered the EU by boat, mainly going from Turkey to Greece.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55Under Monday's deal, all migrants arriving in Greece
0:14:55 > 0:14:59from Turkey would be returned.
0:14:59 > 0:15:01For each Syrian sent back, a Syrian already in Turkey would be
0:15:01 > 0:15:05resettled in the EU.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07Turkey would also get extra funding and progress on EU integration.
0:15:07 > 0:15:17MPs have been discussing the plan.
0:15:17 > 0:15:27Agreements that were reached in principle at the EU-Turkey summit
0:15:28 > 0:15:31on Monday represent a basis that could mean that in future
0:15:31 > 0:15:33all migrants who arrived in Greece could be returned to Turkey.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35That would, if implemented, break the business
0:15:35 > 0:15:38model of the people smugglers and end the link between getting
0:15:38 > 0:15:39in a boat and getting settlement in Europe.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42This is something which the Prime Minister and the government
0:15:42 > 0:15:44have been arguing for for nearly a year.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47The agreement would not impose any new obligations on the UK in respect
0:15:47 > 0:15:48of either resettlement or relocation.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52Does the Minister agree that the only way to deal with this
0:15:52 > 0:15:54crisis is to work with our European neighbours and with other countries
0:15:54 > 0:15:57affected in the region, including Turkey?
0:15:57 > 0:16:00We welcome the fact, therefore, that European nations are working
0:16:00 > 0:16:02together to try to find a solution rather than individual
0:16:02 > 0:16:05countries trying to find individual solutions to what is clearly
0:16:05 > 0:16:08a collective challenge.
0:16:08 > 0:16:16Actually this deal is a rather grubby one.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18We all know that the government, our own
0:16:18 > 0:16:20government in particular but the whole of the European Union,
0:16:20 > 0:16:30is desperate to try and be seen to be
0:16:33 > 0:16:35resolving this migration crisis, that this is a self-inflicted crisis
0:16:35 > 0:16:38to some extent because the free movement area in the Schengen area
0:16:38 > 0:16:40is a temptation, and attraction for refugees to get
0:16:40 > 0:16:43into the European Union so they can travel anywhere,
0:16:43 > 0:16:45and the refusal to close down the Schengen agreement means
0:16:45 > 0:16:48they want to keep that invitation open, so they are doing a very
0:16:48 > 0:16:50grubby deal with a country with a very
0:16:50 > 0:16:52indifferent human rights record to subcontract the deportation
0:16:52 > 0:16:54of these terrori...
0:16:54 > 0:16:56these refugees back to their country of origin.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59We share the deep concern expressed by the United Nations that these
0:16:59 > 0:17:01proposals would contravene refugees' right to
0:17:01 > 0:17:05protection under European and international law.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07Vincent Cochetel, the UNHCR Europe regional director,
0:17:07 > 0:17:10said yesterday that an agreement on this basis would not be
0:17:10 > 0:17:14consistent with either European or international law.
0:17:14 > 0:17:19Over a period of time the President of Turkey has
0:17:19 > 0:17:23done his best to undermine democratic rights in that country,
0:17:23 > 0:17:29outright intimidation of critics, a newspaper taken over last week
0:17:29 > 0:17:33by his henchmen and has now become a mouthpiece for the regime.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37More recently than that, a news agency.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41Does the Minister realise that there can be no question
0:17:41 > 0:17:45of Turkey becoming in any way associated
0:17:45 > 0:17:49with the European Union while this intimidation of critics continues,
0:17:49 > 0:17:53and indeed the President of Turkey gives a very good example of trying
0:17:53 > 0:18:03to follow Putin.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06I wish to associate the Liberal Democrats with the comments
0:18:06 > 0:18:10on free speech and also the comments just made with regard to the very
0:18:10 > 0:18:12troubling one-for-one refugee agreement, which raises both
0:18:12 > 0:18:13practical and moral concerns.
0:18:13 > 0:18:15The Minister is a very honourable man.
0:18:15 > 0:18:16Surely he cannot be comfortable with an
0:18:16 > 0:18:20agreement that actually requires refugees to risk their lives
0:18:20 > 0:18:23travelling to the EU in return for another refugee only from Syria
0:18:23 > 0:18:24to get safe passage.
0:18:24 > 0:18:32That is entirely unacceptable.
0:18:32 > 0:18:37The purpose that...we have is to put in place a set of arrangements
0:18:37 > 0:18:40which remove the incentives for people to entrust
0:18:40 > 0:18:44their safety to the people traffickers, and unless we are able
0:18:44 > 0:18:48to do that then the risk is exactly that the flow of people
0:18:48 > 0:18:57and the appalling casualties that result
0:18:57 > 0:18:59from that flow of people across the Aegean will continue.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02You're watching our round-up of the day in the Commons
0:19:02 > 0:19:03and the Lords.
0:19:03 > 0:19:08Still to come...
0:19:08 > 0:19:10A minister declares himself at the end of his tether over
0:19:10 > 0:19:11the issue of broadband.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13Now, how safe is the NHS?
0:19:13 > 0:19:15The Health Secretary has announced a number of changes
0:19:15 > 0:19:17designed to improve patient safety in England.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20He told MPs that progress was being made, but still too many
0:19:20 > 0:19:25mistakes were taking place.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28Twice a week in the NHS we operate on the
0:19:28 > 0:19:29wrong part of someone's body.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32Twice a week we leave a foreign object in someone's body.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35The pioneering work of Helen Hogan, Nick Black and Ara
0:19:35 > 0:19:38Darzi has estimated that 3.6% of hospital deaths have a 50%
0:19:38 > 0:19:40or more chance of being avoidable, which equates to over 150
0:19:40 > 0:19:44deaths every week.
0:19:44 > 0:19:51We should remember that, despite this, our standards
0:19:51 > 0:19:54of safety still compare well to many other countries but I want England
0:19:54 > 0:19:56to lead the world in offering the highest possible standards
0:19:56 > 0:19:59of safety in healthcare.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01He called for cultural change.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03Other industries, in particular the airline and nuclear industries,
0:20:03 > 0:20:07have learned the importance of developing a learning
0:20:07 > 0:20:11culture and not a blame culture if safety is to be improved,
0:20:11 > 0:20:15but too often the fear of litigation or
0:20:15 > 0:20:22professional consequences inhibits the openness and transparency
0:20:22 > 0:20:24we need if we are to learn from mistakes.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27Madam Deputy Speaker, I will always support sensible steps
0:20:27 > 0:20:31to improve safety and transparency in the delivery of health services
0:20:31 > 0:20:36but what I can't do is stand here today and pretend that other
0:20:36 > 0:20:39actions taken by this government won't have a detrimental effect
0:20:39 > 0:20:45on patient care.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49The Health Secretary's kamikaze approach to the junior-doctor
0:20:49 > 0:20:52contract means that no matter how this dispute ends he will have lost
0:20:52 > 0:21:00the goodwill of staff on which the NHS survives.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03How can he stand here and talk about patient safety when it is him
0:21:03 > 0:21:08and him alone who is to blame for the current industrial
0:21:08 > 0:21:12action, for the destruction of staff morale and for the potential exodus
0:21:12 > 0:21:15of junior doctors to the southern hemisphere?
0:21:15 > 0:21:20We do need to look at the ratio of staff.
0:21:20 > 0:21:27Both France's and other research has shown the importance of nursing
0:21:27 > 0:21:30staff - staff who do not have a minute to stop and think
0:21:30 > 0:21:33will make mistakes and they will not have time to report them.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36We need to make it easy, people do need to have time
0:21:36 > 0:21:38to minimise mistakes and there has to be that culture.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41A minister has declared himself "at the end
0:21:41 > 0:21:46of his tether" with BT Openreach.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48Ed Vaizey was replying to a debate about customer-service
0:21:48 > 0:21:50standards at the firm, which provides cables,
0:21:50 > 0:21:53fibre and infrastructure for BT's phone lines and broadband.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56A recent report by the regulator Ofcom pledged to introduce tougher
0:21:56 > 0:22:00rules on BT's faults, repairs and installations.
0:22:00 > 0:22:02The Conservative who raised the subject in Westminster Hall said
0:22:02 > 0:22:12she'd had a myriad of complaints about the service.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16Caroline Nokes gave the example of the village of Up Somborne
0:22:16 > 0:22:17in her Hampshire constituency.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20We had an interesting experience a few weeks ago when most
0:22:20 > 0:22:22of the village's lines were crossed and neighbouring houses
0:22:22 > 0:22:24were providing a message service to each
0:22:24 > 0:22:26other as lines were swapped and numbers redistributed
0:22:26 > 0:22:27in an apparently random fashion.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31The spectacle of neighbours running up
0:22:31 > 0:22:36and down the road passing messages to each other may sound amusing
0:22:36 > 0:22:39but in the 21st century it is really not acceptable.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41Another Conservative had an altogether more serious example.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45In my constituency there was a 99-year-old lady whose phone
0:22:45 > 0:22:52line was down with BT refusing to send an engineer out.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56Thankfully my office forced BT to send an engineer -
0:22:56 > 0:23:00after the work was done when she had a stroke and her son managed to make
0:23:00 > 0:23:01phone contact to discover this.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04It could have been so very different had the line not been fixed
0:23:04 > 0:23:06and her son unable to get through.
0:23:06 > 0:23:07She could have died without immediate
0:23:07 > 0:23:09assistance and it shows the importance of phone lines.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12Ofcom will need the right kind of political support in order
0:23:12 > 0:23:15to ensure that these measures are put in place.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18As our digital infrastructure is critical and it is strategic,
0:23:18 > 0:23:21we have wasted five years in the policy wilderness,
0:23:21 > 0:23:24not improving our digital infrastructure.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27The Minister shared the frustration.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30I have no truck with Openreach and its
0:23:30 > 0:23:31customer-service levels.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35They are absolutely woeful.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39I find myself, as the Minister responsible for telecoms,
0:23:39 > 0:23:42a bit like a person who has had a sort of forced adoption
0:23:42 > 0:23:46of an unruly teenager.
0:23:46 > 0:23:51I tell my colleagues that he means well,
0:23:51 > 0:23:53he is doing his best, and they simply tell me
0:23:53 > 0:23:57about the latest outrage they have suffered at his hands,
0:23:57 > 0:23:59and that's unfortunately the position I find myself in,
0:23:59 > 0:24:01in terms of Openreach customer service.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03I am completely at the end of my tether, I agree
0:24:03 > 0:24:05with all of the complaints made by all of
0:24:05 > 0:24:08my colleagues in this debate, and I want to make sure
0:24:08 > 0:24:11there is action, and I hope we have this debate in a year's time
0:24:11 > 0:24:13and we have seen some action.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15You may see a different minister if I don't succeed
0:24:15 > 0:24:18but we will do our best to make some progress.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21Now, does the Lords have too many members who've come from the lofty
0:24:21 > 0:24:23heights of university and too few with a more practical background?
0:24:23 > 0:24:26That seemed to be thrust of a remark by the former
0:24:26 > 0:24:28Labour Minister Lord Rooker, as the Lords debated the value
0:24:28 > 0:24:36of working adults doing evening Further Education courses.
0:24:36 > 0:24:45Many noble Lords in this chamber will remember the day when night
0:24:45 > 0:24:48school was a major instrument of social mobility.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51Yet today night school has almost disappeared and the number of adults
0:24:51 > 0:24:52on part-time courses has plummeted.
0:24:52 > 0:24:57So please can I ask the Minister, what can the government do
0:24:57 > 0:25:01to increase the availability of part-time higher-education
0:25:01 > 0:25:03and further-education courses, including
0:25:03 > 0:25:05night school, and to encourage people in work to better themselves
0:25:05 > 0:25:08in this old-fashioned but tried and trusted way.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11For 2016-17, learners aged 19 and over studying at level
0:25:11 > 0:25:16three to six will be able to access this support,
0:25:16 > 0:25:20so we are doing what we can to provide people who want to study
0:25:20 > 0:25:25part-time support to do so.
0:25:25 > 0:25:33Would it not be a good idea with respect to further education,
0:25:33 > 0:25:37and I declare an interest as someone who did three nights a week in day
0:25:37 > 0:25:42release at one point, instead of stuffing this place
0:25:42 > 0:25:43with chancellors of universities of higher
0:25:43 > 0:25:46education, do we actually put some people with direct knowledge
0:25:46 > 0:25:47of further education into this place?
0:25:47 > 0:25:50I'm afraid I think the noble Lord has an over...over-view of my...
0:25:50 > 0:25:51Gosh, sorry!
0:25:51 > 0:25:54Basically there's nothing I can do about it but I have sympathy.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57Lady Evans trying to get the right words out in the House of Lords.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59I think we know what she meant.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01And that's it for this programme.
0:26:01 > 0:26:02Do join me for the next daily round-up.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05Until then, from me, Keith Macdougall, goodbye.