Browse content similar to 20/04/2016. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Hello there and welcome to Wednesday in Parliament. | :00:13. | :00:15. | |
Coming up - the Prime Minister defends plans to force all schools | :00:16. | :00:18. | |
The Home Secretary is accused of scrabbling around to find | :00:19. | :00:24. | |
money to patch up holes in the Border Force budget. | :00:25. | :00:27. | |
And a group campaigning for the UK to leave the EU | :00:28. | :00:30. | |
is accused of using misleading literature. | :00:31. | :00:34. | |
Do you think it might be a good idea to think twice about putting out | :00:35. | :00:38. | |
But first to Prime Minister's Questions where David Cameron | :00:39. | :00:44. | |
defended his plans to force all schools in England | :00:45. | :00:47. | |
to become academies free from local authority control. | :00:48. | :00:51. | |
The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, attacked the idea, | :00:52. | :00:53. | |
describing it as a "top-down reorganisation" that even senior | :00:54. | :00:57. | |
Could the Prime Minister explain why he is | :00:58. | :01:04. | |
intent on forcing good and outstanding schools to become | :01:05. | :01:08. | |
academies against the wishes of teachers, parents, school governors | :01:09. | :01:13. | |
The short answer is, because we want schools to be | :01:14. | :01:20. | |
run by head teachers and teachers, and not by bureaucrats. | :01:21. | :01:23. | |
But we also support it because of the clear | :01:24. | :01:28. | |
If you look at converter academies, 88% of them | :01:29. | :01:34. | |
And you look at schools started by academies, they see a 10% | :01:35. | :01:40. | |
improvement on average, over the first two years. | :01:41. | :01:43. | |
The results are better, education is improving. | :01:44. | :01:46. | |
Every teacher, every parent, every pupil | :01:47. | :01:50. | |
wants the best they can get for their schools and they want | :01:51. | :01:53. | |
What many are concerned about is this top-down reorganisation. | :01:54. | :02:01. | |
If he won't listen to the former chair of the Education | :02:02. | :02:06. | |
Select Committee, will he listen to his friend the member for | :02:07. | :02:09. | |
Colchester, who said this, if a school is well governed, | :02:10. | :02:12. | |
well-run and performing well, it should be left alone | :02:13. | :02:16. | |
Can the Prime Minister explain why good school leaders should focus | :02:17. | :02:22. | |
their time and resources not on educating children, but on arbitrary | :02:23. | :02:27. | |
Let me make two points on the specific issue he raises. | :02:28. | :02:35. | |
I would say to outstanding or to good schools, | :02:36. | :02:39. | |
they have nothing to fear from becoming academies but a huge | :02:40. | :02:42. | |
The truth is, even about outstanding or good schools, | :02:43. | :02:47. | |
we want them to be even better and the truth is, | :02:48. | :02:50. | |
academies and greater independence, letting headteachers | :02:51. | :02:52. | |
run their schools, has been hugely effective. | :02:53. | :02:56. | |
And this is something started by the Labour government, | :02:57. | :03:00. | |
given rocket boosters under this government. | :03:01. | :03:04. | |
We have seen massive improvements in our schools because | :03:05. | :03:07. | |
of academies and we say let's get on with it, | :03:08. | :03:09. | |
finish the job and give all our children a great opportunity. | :03:10. | :03:13. | |
Mr Speaker, we appear to be heading into some kind of fantasyland, here. | :03:14. | :03:17. | |
The Institute for Fiscal Studies states that school spending is | :03:18. | :03:27. | |
expected to fall by at least 7% in real terms in the next four years. | :03:28. | :03:33. | |
So why on earth is the Prime Minister | :03:34. | :03:40. | |
proposing to spend ?1.3 billion on a top-down reorganisation that | :03:41. | :03:46. | |
wasn't in his manifesto, teachers don't want it, | :03:47. | :03:49. | |
parents don't want it, governors don't want it, | :03:50. | :03:52. | |
headteachers don't want it, even his own MPs | :03:53. | :03:55. | |
Can't he just think again and support schools and education, | :03:56. | :04:01. | |
Let me answer his question very directly about spending. | :04:02. | :04:08. | |
Because we have protected spending per pupil all the way | :04:09. | :04:12. | |
through the last Parliament and all the way through this Parliament and | :04:13. | :04:16. | |
we are spending ?7 billion on more school places to make up for the | :04:17. | :04:20. | |
woeful lack of action under the last Labour government. | :04:21. | :04:24. | |
I think it is the Labour Party that this week entered | :04:25. | :04:32. | |
fantasyland where they are now | :04:33. | :04:34. | |
have selected somebody who sits on platforms | :04:35. | :04:38. | |
with extremist in London, and they have now decided... | :04:39. | :04:42. | |
When I read they were going to ban McDonald | :04:43. | :04:44. | |
it was the first sensible decision they've made! | :04:45. | :04:51. | |
But it turns out it wasn't the job destroyer they wanted | :04:52. | :04:53. | |
to keep away from their conference, it was one of Britain's's | :04:54. | :04:56. | |
Well, David Cameron made reference there to appearing | :04:57. | :05:10. | |
on platforms with extremists, a jab at Labour's candidate | :05:11. | :05:12. | |
for Mayor of London - Sadiq Khan - who Mr Cameron accused of appearing | :05:13. | :05:15. | |
in public alongside an Islamic extremist. | :05:16. | :05:19. | |
It was an accusation picked up by a Conservative MP. | :05:20. | :05:24. | |
Does my right honourable friend agree that is the duty of all | :05:25. | :05:28. | |
members of this House to condemn without caveat, all extremism and | :05:29. | :05:33. | |
never, never to share a platform with any extremist? | :05:34. | :05:38. | |
I think my honourable friend is absolutely right. | :05:39. | :05:42. | |
If we are going to condemn and not just violent | :05:43. | :05:45. | |
extremism but also the extremism that seeks to justify filers and | :05:46. | :05:58. | |
it is very important that we do not back these people | :05:59. | :06:11. | |
and we do not appear on platforms with them. | :06:12. | :06:13. | |
And I have to say, I am concerned about Labour's candidate for Mayor | :06:14. | :06:17. | |
of London who has appeared again and again... | :06:18. | :06:19. | |
Well the leader of the Labour Party is saying it's | :06:20. | :06:23. | |
Solomon Ghani, the honourable member for Tooting has | :06:24. | :06:26. | |
appeared on a platform with him nine times. | :06:27. | :06:28. | |
This man supports IS. He even shared a platform... | :06:29. | :06:31. | |
Well, Mr Speaker, I think they are shouting | :06:32. | :06:32. | |
down this point because they don't want to hear the truth. | :06:33. | :06:35. | |
Anyone can make a mistake about who they appear | :06:36. | :06:39. | |
We're not always responsible for what our political opponents say. | :06:40. | :06:44. | |
But if you do it time after time after time, it is right | :06:45. | :06:47. | |
Mr Cameron faced a wall of noise as he made those accusations. | :06:48. | :06:55. | |
No Labour MPs stood up to counter them but speaking a short time later | :06:56. | :06:59. | |
outside the chamber Sadiq Khan said the Tories were "running a nasty, | :07:00. | :07:03. | |
dog-whistling campaign that is designed to divide London's | :07:04. | :07:06. | |
He added that he had fought extremism all his life | :07:07. | :07:10. | |
and would "keep focusing on keeping Londoners safe". | :07:11. | :07:16. | |
Regular viewers will remember last week the Chair of the Home Affairs | :07:17. | :07:19. | |
Committee Keith Vaz lost his patience with a senior Home Office | :07:20. | :07:23. | |
official and dismissed him from his committee hearing. | :07:24. | :07:27. | |
The subject which so provoked Mr Vaz was whether or not | :07:28. | :07:30. | |
the UK Border Force had been told what its budget was for | :07:31. | :07:33. | |
The force is part of the Home Office, responsible | :07:34. | :07:39. | |
for front-line border control operations at air, sea and rail | :07:40. | :07:42. | |
It's responsible for checking the immigration status of people | :07:43. | :07:48. | |
arriving in the UK, searching bags, vehicles and cargo for illegal goods | :07:49. | :07:53. | |
or immigrants and patrolling the UK coastline, alerting the security | :07:54. | :07:57. | |
Labour demanded the Home Secretary come to the Commons to tell MPs | :07:58. | :08:04. | |
Theresa May insisted Border Force spending was being "protected" | :08:05. | :08:10. | |
compared to the previous financial year, | :08:11. | :08:13. | |
despite Labour claims of a "revenue cut". | :08:14. | :08:22. | |
Border Force spending to all intents and purposes is | :08:23. | :08:27. | |
protected compared to 2015-16 with increased capital investment to | :08:28. | :08:29. | |
improve the technology at the border, to improve security and | :08:30. | :08:31. | |
Over the next four years, we will invest ?130 million in | :08:32. | :08:36. | |
state-of-the-art technology at the border. | :08:37. | :08:37. | |
Since I became Home Secretary six years ago, we have | :08:38. | :08:39. | |
pursued an ambitious programme of reform | :08:40. | :08:42. | |
at the border, to keep this country safe. | :08:43. | :08:44. | |
She has been furiously backpedalling for the last two | :08:45. | :08:47. | |
weeks, patching holes in the Border Force budget. | :08:48. | :08:52. | |
But Mr Speaker, let's be clear about what has just been announced. | :08:53. | :08:55. | |
She has just announced to this House a cut, a revenue cut to | :08:56. | :08:58. | |
She has announced a budget of ?558 million. | :08:59. | :09:05. | |
In 2012-13, the budget was ?617 million. | :09:06. | :09:11. | |
So the budget is down by over ?50 million on her watch. | :09:12. | :09:15. | |
That is this Home Secretary's record on border funding. | :09:16. | :09:19. | |
The question, he said, was whether that was anywhere near enough. | :09:20. | :09:22. | |
A whistle-blower working at the port of Immingham, | :09:23. | :09:25. | |
the country's largest freight port, | :09:26. | :09:27. | |
has been in touch with me to reveal | :09:28. | :09:33. | |
that the staff of ferry companies who | :09:34. | :09:35. | |
are carrying out her border exit checks, some | :09:36. | :09:42. | |
That the passports of lorry drivers are not checked on arrival | :09:43. | :09:46. | |
by anyone and worst of all, school leavers | :09:47. | :09:48. | |
are now being recruited to | :09:49. | :09:49. | |
check passports, replacing experienced board officers. | :09:50. | :09:51. | |
This is the reality of what is happening at | :09:52. | :09:59. | |
Britain's borders today under this Home Secretary. | :10:00. | :10:01. | |
It is the direct consequence of the cuts that she has | :10:02. | :10:04. | |
already made it to the UK border in her time in office. | :10:05. | :10:06. | |
And unbelievably, Mr Speaker, she wanted | :10:07. | :10:11. | |
to make even further cuts to the UK border before we | :10:12. | :10:14. | |
on the side of the House stopped her. | :10:15. | :10:15. | |
The Home Secretary has spent the last two weeks running scared, | :10:16. | :10:23. | |
scrabbling for loose change behind the back of the Home of the sofa. | :10:24. | :10:27. | |
But worse, she has weakened our borders, | :10:28. | :10:32. | |
damaged our security and is only now pledging to stop the cuts. | :10:33. | :10:35. | |
Well, I have to say to the right honourable gentleman that in so much | :10:36. | :10:38. | |
of what he has said, he simply doesn't know what he's | :10:39. | :10:41. | |
It was under Labour that we saw the creation of the | :10:42. | :10:50. | |
dysfunctional UK Borders Agency that we had to abolish and change | :10:51. | :10:52. | |
It was under the last Labour government | :10:53. | :10:56. | |
that the border, at the border, there was no operating mandate and | :10:57. | :10:59. | |
it was under the last Labour government that as people came | :11:00. | :11:01. | |
through the primary checkpoints, they won't all getting the 100% | :11:02. | :11:04. | |
We have enhanced security, and will continue to do so. | :11:05. | :11:08. | |
You're watching Wednesday in Parliament, with me, | :11:09. | :11:12. | |
The increasingly bitter EU referendum battle has | :11:13. | :11:16. | |
produced lively scenes at a Commons committee session. | :11:17. | :11:18. | |
The director of the Vote Leave campaign group, Dominic Cummings, | :11:19. | :11:20. | |
called the EU institutions in Brussels undemocratic | :11:21. | :11:22. | |
He faced claims that Vote Leave had used misleading literature, | :11:23. | :11:26. | |
when he was questioned about leaflets distributed | :11:27. | :11:28. | |
You are saying, in hospitals, in your literature, | :11:29. | :11:35. | |
aren't you, that we can give a lot more money to hospitals? | :11:36. | :11:41. | |
You are distributing leaflets to that effect? | :11:42. | :11:44. | |
No. We're not. | :11:45. | :11:47. | |
We are not distributing any literature | :11:48. | :11:49. | |
So I have a piece of literature here with your logo. | :11:50. | :11:53. | |
Is this a pirated piece of literature? | :11:54. | :11:55. | |
It is badged up as your literature, it looks like... | :11:56. | :12:01. | |
It says "Help protect your local hospital." | :12:02. | :12:04. | |
And it has got here, at the bottom, Vote Leave. | :12:05. | :12:17. | |
I'm asking a straightforward, simple question, | :12:18. | :12:19. | |
we are getting down to very simple questions. | :12:20. | :12:21. | |
Is this leaflet one from your organisation? | :12:22. | :12:23. | |
Do you mean that design of leaflet, or do you mean | :12:24. | :12:25. | |
I'm asking you if this leaflet is one of your organisation's | :12:26. | :12:29. | |
Yes, it is. Good, we have arrived at a... | :12:30. | :12:33. | |
Do you think that it is reasonable that somebody might misconstrue | :12:34. | :12:42. | |
this leaflet at first glance as a leaflet produced by the NHS? | :12:43. | :12:49. | |
Since it has an NHS logo in the top right-hand corner? | :12:50. | :12:57. | |
No. It says "Vote Leave,take control" with our logo. | :12:58. | :12:59. | |
What do you mean, what do I make of it? | :13:00. | :13:06. | |
Do you think it looks like the logo of the NHS? | :13:07. | :13:09. | |
It looks roughly like it from here, yes. | :13:10. | :13:11. | |
Well, it looks roughly like it from any distance. | :13:12. | :13:15. | |
Here is an NHS document, encouraging you to eat better food. | :13:16. | :13:22. | |
And you will see that the logo is strikingly similar. | :13:23. | :13:25. | |
It takes an expert eye to tell that the one is not the other. | :13:26. | :13:30. | |
One of them is italicised slightly, one of them is not. | :13:31. | :13:33. | |
Do you, now that you have had a chance to consider whether you did | :13:34. | :13:39. | |
in fact produce this leaflet, and you have now agreed that it does | :13:40. | :13:42. | |
look like an NHS leaflet at any reasonable distance, do you think it | :13:43. | :13:46. | |
might be a good idea to think twice about | :13:47. | :13:48. | |
putting literature out as misleading as this? | :13:49. | :13:51. | |
I think you are confused about what my answer was before. | :13:52. | :13:56. | |
I thought you were asking me, is the leaflet you are holding | :13:57. | :13:59. | |
in your hand been put into a hospital, has | :14:00. | :14:02. | |
that come from cars, and I was saying | :14:03. | :14:14. | |
no, it hasn't come from us, as in, we did not distribute leaflets | :14:15. | :14:19. | |
to hospital, we are as baffled as anyone else about the | :14:20. | :14:22. | |
The questioning moved on to financial services. | :14:23. | :14:27. | |
If we were to leave the EU, you may get free trade agreements, | :14:28. | :14:30. | |
so no trade tariffs, but it's hard to see, | :14:31. | :14:33. | |
given the comments of people like Wolfgang Schauble, | :14:34. | :14:35. | |
the same sort of trade in services outside the European Union. | :14:36. | :14:38. | |
I mean, you may think it is a good thing, but would | :14:39. | :14:43. | |
You see, the most important thing with the City and | :14:44. | :14:47. | |
financial services is that we control the wideboys | :14:48. | :14:49. | |
and Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan who drove the economy | :14:50. | :14:51. | |
Britain has the number one financial centre in Europe. | :14:52. | :14:57. | |
They want to be here, using our services. | :14:58. | :14:59. | |
There is a great incentive for them to sort out the | :15:00. | :15:02. | |
passporting system, same as there is for us. | :15:03. | :15:04. | |
But my main point is, that's not the most important thing. | :15:05. | :15:06. | |
The most important thing is, we control the banks, | :15:07. | :15:09. | |
we don't let the corrupt institutions | :15:10. | :15:11. | |
Will the Vote Leave campaign be setting out their analysis | :15:12. | :15:17. | |
of the macroeconomic impact of leaving the European Union? | :15:18. | :15:22. | |
We will be publishing all sorts of things on the macroeconomic | :15:23. | :15:24. | |
impact, but we won't be publishing these spuriously | :15:25. | :15:26. | |
I have heard, Mr Cummings, what you won't be publishing, | :15:27. | :15:36. | |
analysis about international trade, how we think things will improve. | :15:37. | :15:44. | |
Macroeconomic impact assessment is not just | :15:45. | :15:54. | |
about international trade, it is about GDP, inflation, | :15:55. | :15:56. | |
the currency, productivity, all those range of issues, | :15:57. | :15:58. | |
so what I am asking, Mr Cummings, and if the answer is no, | :15:59. | :16:07. | |
you can just tell us that, will the Vote Leave campaign be | :16:08. | :16:10. | |
setting out their analysis of the macroeconomic | :16:11. | :16:12. | |
We will set out the analysis of the macroeconomic | :16:13. | :16:20. | |
impacts of Brexit, but it won't look like these. | :16:21. | :16:25. | |
I have heard, Mr Cummings, what you won't be doing. | :16:26. | :16:28. | |
What I am asking is, what will you be publishing? | :16:29. | :16:30. | |
You have to let me answer the question. | :16:31. | :16:32. | |
Of course we will be publishing that. | :16:33. | :16:33. | |
I also asked, Mr Cummings, who will be doing | :16:34. | :16:36. | |
You will find out when we publish it. | :16:37. | :16:39. | |
When do you intend to publish it, Mr Cummings? | :16:40. | :16:44. | |
You will find out when we publish it. | :16:45. | :16:46. | |
Do you think we should continue with single market access | :16:47. | :16:49. | |
as we currently, as the United Kingdom currently have? | :16:50. | :16:51. | |
Definitely not, because single market access as we currently have | :16:52. | :16:54. | |
Single market access that we currently have forced us | :16:55. | :16:57. | |
to implement the clinical trials directive, which kills an unknown | :16:58. | :16:59. | |
number of people every year because we cannot test | :17:00. | :17:01. | |
We would be much better off going outside things like that. | :17:02. | :17:06. | |
Do you not see that leaving Europe puts at risk inward investment | :17:07. | :17:09. | |
Read all of the same stuff on the euro. | :17:10. | :17:12. | |
Well, staying with the EU referendum, not surprisingly | :17:13. | :17:15. | |
the subject was raised at PMQS, mostly by David Cameron's | :17:16. | :17:18. | |
First to question the PM, was veteran EU opponent, | :17:19. | :17:21. | |
Can I ask my right honourable friend whether he agrees | :17:22. | :17:24. | |
with the Treasury forecast issued on Monday, which warns that | :17:25. | :17:26. | |
if we stay in the European Union, there will be 3 million more | :17:27. | :17:30. | |
Last year, my right honourable friend and I were elected on a clear | :17:31. | :17:34. | |
manifesto pledge to reduce net migration to the tens of thousands. | :17:35. | :17:37. | |
How are we going to be able to deliver on that pledge unless we | :17:38. | :17:41. | |
The point of the Treasury forecast is, it takes the Office | :17:42. | :17:57. | |
of National Statistics figures and the ORB figures and it | :17:58. | :17:59. | |
It is trying to make a very clear and pure argument, | :18:00. | :18:03. | |
backed by the governor of the Bank of England yesterday, | :18:04. | :18:05. | |
that shows what would happen if Britain leaves the EU. | :18:06. | :18:07. | |
There is a demand out there for independent | :18:08. | :18:09. | |
and clear statistics, and that is exactly | :18:10. | :18:11. | |
Mrs Thatcher used to occasionally organise seminars for ministers | :18:12. | :18:14. | |
and senior academics for colleagues like myself, | :18:15. | :18:16. | |
whose knowledge of modern science she thought | :18:17. | :18:18. | |
Would he contemplate similar seminars for some of his senior | :18:19. | :18:24. | |
and very respected Cabinet colleagues with businessmen | :18:25. | :18:32. | |
on the nature of independent international trade, | :18:33. | :18:35. | |
because some very respected figures appear to believe that you simply | :18:36. | :18:38. | |
turn up and sell goods and services that comply with British made rules | :18:39. | :18:42. | |
but don't have to comply with any rules agreed with the country | :18:43. | :18:45. | |
Back on the Eurosceptic side of the argument, | :18:46. | :18:50. | |
another Conservative raised the forthcoming visit | :18:51. | :18:51. | |
Would my right honourable friend point out to President Obama that | :18:52. | :18:58. | |
in a series of European Court judgements such as Davis | :18:59. | :19:03. | |
and Schrems, using EU data protection laws and the EU Charter | :19:04. | :19:09. | |
of Fundamental Rights, the EU has established its jurisdiction | :19:10. | :19:11. | |
over our intelligence data, and sought to prevent our | :19:12. | :19:14. | |
intelligence sharing with the United States? | :19:15. | :19:27. | |
Will he warn the president that if we vote Remain, | :19:28. | :19:29. | |
far from the US gaining influence in the EU, the United States | :19:30. | :19:32. | |
is losing control and influence over her closest ally? | :19:33. | :19:34. | |
This decision is a decision for the British people | :19:35. | :19:37. | |
We are sovereign in making this decision. | :19:38. | :19:40. | |
Personally, I believe we should listen to advice from friends | :19:41. | :19:44. | |
and other countries, and I struggle to find the leader | :19:45. | :19:47. | |
of any friendly country who thinks we should leave. | :19:48. | :19:49. | |
The so-called Islamic State group is guilty of genocide | :19:50. | :19:53. | |
against Christian, Yazidi and other ethnic groups in Syria and Iraq. | :19:54. | :20:01. | |
That was the view of MPs who have voted overwhelmingly | :20:02. | :20:03. | |
in support of a motion calling on the Government to | :20:04. | :20:05. | |
ensure the United Nations and the International Criminal Court | :20:06. | :20:08. | |
In a backbench debate, every speaker condemned the group - | :20:09. | :20:11. | |
also known as Daesh - for its brutality. | :20:12. | :20:13. | |
Many set out in shocking and emotional detail atrocities | :20:14. | :20:17. | |
Several quoted the testimony of a young Yazidi girl | :20:18. | :20:20. | |
My father and brothers were killed in front of me. | :20:21. | :20:29. | |
He grabbed my arm and my leg and then he raped me. | :20:30. | :20:39. | |
He was 32 years old, I was 15. | :20:40. | :20:50. | |
After they raped me, they took my friend and they raped her. | :20:51. | :20:56. | |
I could hear her shouting, "Where is the mercy? | :20:57. | :20:58. | |
"There must be some mercy in their hearts." | :20:59. | :21:07. | |
We also heard from another woman, Yvette, who had come directly | :21:08. | :21:10. | |
She spoke of Christians being killed and tortured, | :21:11. | :21:13. | |
of children being beheaded in front of their parents. | :21:14. | :21:15. | |
She showed us recent film footage of her talking with mothers, | :21:16. | :21:18. | |
and more than one who had seen her own children crucified. | :21:19. | :21:20. | |
We know that those who are perpetrating this these crimes | :21:21. | :21:23. | |
are doing so to exterminate and extinguish a people. | :21:24. | :21:25. | |
We know that they mean what they are doing | :21:26. | :21:27. | |
We know that those who are suffering these terrible crimes know | :21:28. | :21:32. | |
that it is genocide and know that it is meant as genocide. | :21:33. | :21:35. | |
Why should we hesitate to say as a chamber? | :21:36. | :21:38. | |
We know what the word genocide means and we know it is being committed | :21:39. | :21:41. | |
The word that describes the ultimate crime, only that one, | :21:42. | :21:51. | |
single word accurately describes the full horror of what is happening | :21:52. | :21:54. | |
here to these communities in Syria and Iraq. | :21:55. | :21:59. | |
Madam Deputy Speaker, we all know what that word is. | :22:00. | :22:02. | |
Let us be united, here in this House, and hopefully outside | :22:03. | :22:04. | |
as well, and to say what is happening is genocide | :22:05. | :22:07. | |
Here is the chance for the United Kingdom to show | :22:08. | :22:17. | |
leadership and to take action, to stand up before, to respond | :22:18. | :22:27. | |
leadership and to take action, to stand up, to respond | :22:28. | :22:30. | |
to her plea for help, for all of those who have suffered. | :22:31. | :22:33. | |
Show that, like in 1942, we will do the right thing in 2016. | :22:34. | :22:44. | |
Or are we just going to stand back, wring our hands and watch as Daesh | :22:45. | :22:48. | |
My honourable friend the Minister is sitting there, | :22:49. | :22:52. | |
He is now going to give a really strong and powerful speech, | :22:53. | :23:01. | |
he is going to condemn Daesh, he is going to say, yes, | :23:02. | :23:05. | |
we have listened to the debate, we will listen to the House | :23:06. | :23:12. | |
of Commons, we are going to act, and we are going to refer this | :23:13. | :23:16. | |
But the Minister would not give that promise, but did pledge | :23:17. | :23:26. | |
We will do everything we can to help gather evidence that could be used | :23:27. | :23:34. | |
by the judicial bodies who are the appropriate people | :23:35. | :23:36. | |
to judge these to make a judgement on this matter. | :23:37. | :23:38. | |
It is vital that this is done now, before evidence is lost | :23:39. | :23:41. | |
or indeed destroyed, because ultimately, this | :23:42. | :23:42. | |
is a question for the courts to decide. | :23:43. | :23:44. | |
It is not for governments to be the prosecutor, the judge | :23:45. | :23:47. | |
or indeed of the jury, and we are playing a leading role | :23:48. | :23:50. | |
in defeating Daesh on the battlefield, | :23:51. | :24:19. | |
and we are also holding Daesh to | :24:20. | :24:23. | |
In the courts, no matter how long it takes. | :24:24. | :24:27. | |
The government has agreed to a plan put forward by Labour | :24:28. | :24:30. | |
and the Lib Dems to protect tenants' and landlords' money in England | :24:31. | :24:33. | |
Some letting agents don't keep deposit money in a separate, | :24:34. | :24:36. | |
protected client account - meaning the letting agents can use | :24:37. | :24:39. | |
the money themselves, or it can be lost if the agent goes bust. | :24:40. | :24:42. | |
The government's been defeated a number of times on the Housing and | :24:43. | :24:45. | |
Labour's spokeswoman explained what the compromise was that had | :24:46. | :24:48. | |
To require every leading agent to have money they hold belonging | :24:49. | :24:52. | |
either to the tenant, by way of advanced rent, | :24:53. | :24:54. | |
or to a landlord as rent is received, to be protected, | :24:55. | :25:02. | |
so thats even if the letting agent disappeared or went bankrupt, | :25:03. | :25:04. | |
such money would be safe and made available to the landlord. | :25:05. | :25:07. | |
Another peer explained that it was often the most | :25:08. | :25:09. | |
Because they are vulnerable, credit checks, they do not | :25:10. | :25:12. | |
satisfy credit checks, and so, they cannot give | :25:13. | :25:14. | |
the guarantees that banks would very often offer, | :25:15. | :25:17. | |
so agents often are something like four year rent in advance. | :25:18. | :25:19. | |
Many tenants had to borrow to pay that much in advance. | :25:20. | :25:22. | |
And even if it isn't a client's account, which internally, | :25:23. | :25:25. | |
they make all the clients accounts, if it is not recognised | :25:26. | :25:27. | |
as such by the bank, then those monies can and often | :25:28. | :25:30. | |
are used by the agent for one purpose, and very often | :25:31. | :25:32. | |
because the agent is over trading and spends more money | :25:33. | :25:35. | |
than they should do, and they use that money. | :25:36. | :25:37. | |
Replying to the debate the minister said the amendment would allow | :25:38. | :25:40. | |
ministers to make regulations requiring letting and property | :25:41. | :25:42. | |
agents to belong to a client money scheme, and set out an enforcement | :25:43. | :25:45. | |
mechanism to ensure the changes had teeth! | :25:46. | :25:46. | |
Which brings us to the end of this edition of the programme, | :25:47. | :25:49. | |
but do join me at the same time tomorrow, when MPs and peers pay | :25:50. | :25:53. | |
tribute to the Queen on her 90th birthday. | :25:54. | :25:56. |