Browse content similar to 25/01/2017. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Hello, and welcome to Wednesday in Parliament. | 0:00:16 | 0:00:18 | |
The main news from Westminster: The Prime Minister bows to demands | 0:00:18 | 0:00:23 | |
for a policy document on Brexit. | 0:00:23 | 0:00:27 | |
I can confirm to the house that our plan will be set | 0:00:27 | 0:00:29 | |
out in a white paper. | 0:00:29 | 0:00:31 | |
The Labour leader is worried what the Government has | 0:00:31 | 0:00:33 | |
in mind for Brexit Britain. | 0:00:33 | 0:00:35 | |
The Prime Minister, Mr Speaker, is threatening the EU that | 0:00:35 | 0:00:39 | |
unless they give in to her demands she will turn Britain into a bargain | 0:00:39 | 0:00:42 | |
basement tax haven off the coast of Europe. | 0:00:42 | 0:00:48 | |
Also on the programme: Rousing words from the Chief | 0:00:48 | 0:00:50 | |
Minister of Gibraltar. | 0:00:50 | 0:00:55 | |
My blood is red but I am red, white and blue inside out, | 0:00:55 | 0:00:58 | |
and so is that rock, | 0:00:58 | 0:00:59 | |
and we will never ever countenance changing that. | 0:00:59 | 0:01:01 | |
APPLAUSE. | 0:01:01 | 0:01:03 | |
That was... | 0:01:03 | 0:01:05 | |
That was a most passionate answer. | 0:01:05 | 0:01:06 | |
Come and see for yourself. | 0:01:06 | 0:01:07 | |
An eloquent answer. | 0:01:07 | 0:01:12 | |
But first, when the Brexit Secretary David Davis came to the Commons | 0:01:12 | 0:01:15 | |
on Tuesday after the Government lost its case in the Supreme Court, | 0:01:15 | 0:01:17 | |
MPs from all parties called for a white paper setting out | 0:01:17 | 0:01:20 | |
a strategy for Brexit. | 0:01:20 | 0:01:26 | |
David Davis batted away their requests, pointing to a speech | 0:01:26 | 0:01:29 | |
the Prime Minister made last week. | 0:01:29 | 0:01:30 | |
Well, it looks as if, in just one day, there's | 0:01:30 | 0:01:32 | |
been a change of heart. | 0:01:32 | 0:01:34 | |
The Prime Minister laid out a clear and bold plan for Brexit | 0:01:34 | 0:01:37 | |
in her speech last week. | 0:01:37 | 0:01:38 | |
Honourable members, honourable members quite | 0:01:38 | 0:01:42 | |
rightly want an opportunity to scrutinise that plan. | 0:01:42 | 0:01:47 | |
Does the Prime Minister agree that the best way of facilitating | 0:01:47 | 0:01:51 | |
that scrutiny would be a government White Paper laying out our vision | 0:01:51 | 0:01:54 | |
for a global Britain based on free trade in goods and services, | 0:01:54 | 0:01:57 | |
that will be to the benefit of us and other European countries. | 0:01:57 | 0:02:07 | |
Prime Minister. | 0:02:08 | 0:02:10 | |
My honourable friend raises the question | 0:02:10 | 0:02:13 | |
of parliamentary scrutiny. | 0:02:13 | 0:02:16 | |
I have been clear, as have senior ministers, that we will ensure that | 0:02:16 | 0:02:20 | |
Parliament has every opportunity to provide that scrutiny on this | 0:02:20 | 0:02:23 | |
issue as we go through this process. | 0:02:23 | 0:02:25 | |
But I recognise, I set out that bold plan for a global Britain last week | 0:02:25 | 0:02:28 | |
and I recognise there is an appetite in this house to see that plan set | 0:02:28 | 0:02:32 | |
out in a White Paper. | 0:02:32 | 0:02:33 | |
My honourable friend's question | 0:02:33 | 0:02:34 | |
and the question from my honourable friend the member for Broxtowe last | 0:02:34 | 0:02:37 | |
week on the same vein, and I can confirm to the house | 0:02:37 | 0:02:42 | |
that our plan will be set out in a White Paper | 0:02:42 | 0:02:45 | |
published this month. | 0:02:45 | 0:02:46 | |
The Prime Minister has wasted 80 days between the time | 0:02:46 | 0:02:54 | |
of the original judgment and the appeal, and has now | 0:02:54 | 0:03:01 | |
finally admitted today, after pressure from all sides, | 0:03:01 | 0:03:03 | |
that there is going to be a White Paper. | 0:03:03 | 0:03:05 | |
Could we know when this White Paper is going to be available to us? | 0:03:05 | 0:03:09 | |
And why it has taken so long to get it? | 0:03:09 | 0:03:14 | |
Prime Minister. | 0:03:14 | 0:03:21 | |
Can I say to the right honourable gentleman, | 0:03:21 | 0:03:23 | |
he asked for debates, I was very clear there would always | 0:03:23 | 0:03:25 | |
be debates in this house, and there have been and will | 0:03:25 | 0:03:28 | |
continue to be. | 0:03:28 | 0:03:31 | |
He asked for votes, there have been votes in this house. | 0:03:31 | 0:03:33 | |
The house voted overwhelmingly for the government to trigger | 0:03:33 | 0:03:35 | |
Article 50 before the end of March this year. | 0:03:35 | 0:03:40 | |
He asked for a plan, I set out, as my honourable friend | 0:03:40 | 0:03:43 | |
for Croydon South said, a clear plan for a bold | 0:03:43 | 0:03:45 | |
future for Britain. | 0:03:45 | 0:03:49 | |
He asked for it, he and others asked for a White Paper, | 0:03:49 | 0:03:52 | |
I have been clear there will be a White Paper. | 0:03:52 | 0:03:56 | |
But what I am also clear about is that the right honourable | 0:03:56 | 0:04:00 | |
gentleman always asks about process, about the means to the end. | 0:04:00 | 0:04:03 | |
I and this government are focusing on the outcomes, | 0:04:03 | 0:04:05 | |
we are focusing on a truly global Britain, building a stronger | 0:04:05 | 0:04:09 | |
future for this country, the right deal for Britain | 0:04:09 | 0:04:12 | |
and Britain out of the European Union. | 0:04:12 | 0:04:17 | |
Jeremy Corbyn was critical of the Prime Minister's | 0:04:17 | 0:04:19 | |
negotiating stance. | 0:04:19 | 0:04:22 | |
The Prime Minister, Mr Speaker, is threatening the EU that | 0:04:22 | 0:04:31 | |
unless they give in to her demands she will turn Britain into | 0:04:31 | 0:04:34 | |
a bargain basement tax haven off the coast of Europe. | 0:04:34 | 0:04:38 | |
Well, Mr Speaker, we, on this side of the house, | 0:04:38 | 0:04:40 | |
are very well aware of the consequences that would have, | 0:04:40 | 0:04:45 | |
the damage it would do two jobs and living standards | 0:04:45 | 0:04:47 | |
and our public services. | 0:04:47 | 0:04:49 | |
Is she now going to rule out the bargain basement threat | 0:04:49 | 0:04:51 | |
that was in her speech at Lancaster House? | 0:04:51 | 0:04:56 | |
Prime Minister. | 0:04:56 | 0:04:57 | |
I expect us to get a good deal for trading relationships | 0:04:57 | 0:05:00 | |
with the European Union but what I am also clear | 0:05:00 | 0:05:03 | |
about is that this government will not sign up to a bad deal | 0:05:03 | 0:05:06 | |
for the United Kingdom. | 0:05:06 | 0:05:07 | |
And, as to the threats that the right honourable gentleman | 0:05:07 | 0:05:13 | |
claims about what might happen, and he often talks about this, | 0:05:13 | 0:05:16 | |
uses those phrases and talks about workers' rights, | 0:05:16 | 0:05:22 | |
perhaps he should listen to his former colleague in this house, | 0:05:22 | 0:05:25 | |
the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, who has today said, | 0:05:25 | 0:05:27 | |
"To give credit to the government, I don't think they want to weaken | 0:05:27 | 0:05:31 | |
"workers' rights," and goes on to say, "I have seen no evidence | 0:05:31 | 0:05:34 | |
"from the conversations I have had with senior members | 0:05:34 | 0:05:36 | |
"of the government that that is the aspiration | 0:05:36 | 0:05:38 | |
"or their intention or something they want to do, which is good." | 0:05:38 | 0:05:41 | |
As usual with Labour, the right hand is not | 0:05:41 | 0:05:43 | |
talking to the far left. | 0:05:43 | 0:05:48 | |
The Prime Minister is heading off to the United States on Friday | 0:05:48 | 0:05:50 | |
to meet the President, Donald Trump. | 0:05:50 | 0:05:53 | |
She's one of the first foreign leaders to meet the new president. | 0:05:53 | 0:05:56 | |
On the agenda are discussions about trade deals and security. | 0:05:56 | 0:05:59 | |
The Prime Minister insists she will not be afraid | 0:05:59 | 0:06:02 | |
to speak her mind. | 0:06:02 | 0:06:04 | |
I am pleased that I am able to meet President Trump so early | 0:06:04 | 0:06:07 | |
in his administration. | 0:06:07 | 0:06:08 | |
That is a sign of the strength of the special relationship | 0:06:08 | 0:06:11 | |
between United Kingdom and the United States of America, | 0:06:11 | 0:06:16 | |
a special relationship on which he and I intend to build. | 0:06:16 | 0:06:20 | |
But can I also say to the Leader of the Opposition, I am not afraid | 0:06:20 | 0:06:23 | |
to speak frankly to a president of the United States. | 0:06:23 | 0:06:28 | |
I am able to do that because we have that special relationship, | 0:06:28 | 0:06:32 | |
a special relationship that he would never have | 0:06:32 | 0:06:35 | |
with United States. | 0:06:35 | 0:06:39 | |
Jeremy Corbyn. | 0:06:39 | 0:06:40 | |
Mr Speaker, we would never allow Britain to be sold off on the cheap. | 0:06:40 | 0:06:45 | |
How confident is she of getting a good deal for global Britain | 0:06:45 | 0:06:48 | |
from a president who wants to put America first, buy American, | 0:06:48 | 0:06:52 | |
and build a wall between his country and Mexico? | 0:06:52 | 0:06:55 | |
Yesterday the government lost in the Supreme Court and today | 0:06:55 | 0:06:59 | |
we have a very welcome U-turn on a White Paper in regards | 0:06:59 | 0:07:09 | |
to Brexit so, in the spirit of progress for Parliament, | 0:07:10 | 0:07:12 | |
in advance of meeting President Trump, will | 0:07:12 | 0:07:14 | |
the Prime Minister tell Parliament what she wants to achieve | 0:07:14 | 0:07:16 | |
in a UK/US trade deal? | 0:07:16 | 0:07:18 | |
Well, it is very simple, we want to achieve an arrangement | 0:07:18 | 0:07:25 | |
that ensures that the interests of the United Kingdom | 0:07:25 | 0:07:27 | |
are there, are put first, and that is what I will be doing, | 0:07:27 | 0:07:30 | |
and we see a trade arrangement with the United States, | 0:07:30 | 0:07:32 | |
as we will be looking for with other parts of the world that | 0:07:32 | 0:07:36 | |
can increase our trade, bring prosperity, bring growth | 0:07:36 | 0:07:38 | |
to the United Kingdom, and then my aim in this | 0:07:38 | 0:07:41 | |
government is to ensure that | 0:07:41 | 0:07:43 | |
that economy works for everyone in every part of the United Kingdom. | 0:07:43 | 0:07:45 | |
Ed Miliband. | 0:07:45 | 0:07:46 | |
Britain... | 0:07:46 | 0:07:48 | |
It brings... | 0:07:48 | 0:07:50 | |
CHEERING. | 0:07:50 | 0:07:53 | |
The right honourable gentleman never knew he was quite that popular! | 0:07:53 | 0:07:56 | |
SHOUTING. | 0:07:56 | 0:07:57 | |
Ed Miliband. | 0:07:57 | 0:07:59 | |
I was going to say, Mr Speaker, it brings back memories actually. | 0:07:59 | 0:08:03 | |
Can I say to the Prime Minister that as the first foreign leader | 0:08:03 | 0:08:06 | |
to meet President Trump, she carries a huge responsibility | 0:08:06 | 0:08:08 | |
on behalf of not just this country, but the whole international | 0:08:08 | 0:08:11 | |
community in the tone that she sets. | 0:08:11 | 0:08:13 | |
Can I ask her to reassure us that she will say to the president | 0:08:13 | 0:08:17 | |
that he must abide by, and not withdraw from, | 0:08:17 | 0:08:19 | |
the Paris climate change treaty. | 0:08:19 | 0:08:21 | |
In case it is helpful, can she offer the services of UK | 0:08:21 | 0:08:29 | |
scientists to convince the president that climate change is not a hoax | 0:08:29 | 0:08:32 | |
invented by the Chinese. | 0:08:32 | 0:08:34 | |
Prime Minister. | 0:08:34 | 0:08:38 | |
Well, I recognise the role that the right honourable gentleman | 0:08:38 | 0:08:40 | |
has played in looking at this issue of climate change and I hope | 0:08:40 | 0:08:47 | |
he recognises the commitment that this government has shown | 0:08:47 | 0:08:55 | |
to this issue of climate change, with the legislation | 0:08:55 | 0:08:58 | |
we have put through, and the changes that we have brought | 0:08:58 | 0:09:00 | |
about in terms of the energy sector and the uses of different forms | 0:09:00 | 0:09:03 | |
of energy. | 0:09:03 | 0:09:04 | |
The American, the Obama Administration obviously signed up | 0:09:04 | 0:09:06 | |
to the Paris climate change agreement and we have now | 0:09:06 | 0:09:09 | |
done that and I would hope that all parties would continue to ensure | 0:09:09 | 0:09:12 | |
that that climate change agreement is put into practice. | 0:09:12 | 0:09:14 | |
Gibraltar's Chief Minister has been speaking passionately to MPs | 0:09:14 | 0:09:16 | |
about the historic links between the people of | 0:09:16 | 0:09:18 | |
Gibraltar and the UK. | 0:09:18 | 0:09:20 | |
Fabian Picardo was giving evidence to the committee | 0:09:20 | 0:09:23 | |
on exiting the European Union. | 0:09:23 | 0:09:27 | |
Gibraltar voted to remain in the EU because of concerns, | 0:09:27 | 0:09:32 | |
the Chief Minister said, about Spain's intentions. | 0:09:32 | 0:09:36 | |
He was asked about the border between the British overseas | 0:09:36 | 0:09:38 | |
territory, which is not a member of the Customs Union, | 0:09:38 | 0:09:40 | |
and Spain, which is. | 0:09:40 | 0:09:41 | |
Gibraltar has always had what I see now described as a hard frontier, | 0:09:41 | 0:09:45 | |
in the context of potential future relationships with the UK | 0:09:45 | 0:09:47 | |
and the European Union, but that does not mean that | 0:09:47 | 0:09:49 | |
goods don't flow into Gibraltar. | 0:09:49 | 0:09:50 | |
They take a little longer. | 0:09:50 | 0:09:52 | |
Those who are involved in the logistics of getting goods | 0:09:52 | 0:09:55 | |
into Gibraltar know that they need to allow two or three hours | 0:09:55 | 0:09:58 | |
for their vehicles to come through the commercial gates. | 0:09:58 | 0:10:03 | |
They will be inspected, there will be documentation | 0:10:03 | 0:10:06 | |
to prepare but if you get into the rhythm of things, | 0:10:06 | 0:10:09 | |
this can be quite easy. | 0:10:09 | 0:10:12 | |
Although of course there are days, if, you know, Gibraltar football | 0:10:12 | 0:10:16 | |
team has scored a goal and been allowed into Uefa, for example, | 0:10:16 | 0:10:21 | |
that we might find that the frontier for some reason doesn't work | 0:10:21 | 0:10:24 | |
as well as it might, so this is more about goodwill than | 0:10:24 | 0:10:30 | |
it is about the rules necessarily. | 0:10:30 | 0:10:31 | |
So, would I be correct in understanding that | 0:10:31 | 0:10:34 | |
difficulties occur at the border when politicians, the Spanish, | 0:10:34 | 0:10:40 | |
choose to be difficult, is that correct? | 0:10:40 | 0:10:42 | |
That would be absolutely the way that the people of Gibraltar have | 0:10:42 | 0:10:47 | |
traditionally understood it for the past 35 years | 0:10:47 | 0:10:50 | |
since the border opened. | 0:10:50 | 0:10:52 | |
But if the Spanish choose to be co-operative, then the border | 0:10:52 | 0:10:55 | |
operates in a fairly fluid fashion. | 0:10:55 | 0:10:56 | |
In an absolutely fluid fashion that doesn't interfere | 0:10:56 | 0:10:58 | |
with anybody's lives, that enables people to move | 0:10:58 | 0:11:00 | |
across the frontier, for goods to move across that | 0:11:00 | 0:11:03 | |
frontier and without more control than is necessary. | 0:11:03 | 0:11:11 | |
During the two hours of questioning, the Chief Minister paid tribute | 0:11:11 | 0:11:14 | |
to the Conservative former Prime Minister, Sir John Major, | 0:11:14 | 0:11:16 | |
calling him a champion of the rights of the people of Gibraltar. | 0:11:16 | 0:11:19 | |
Thank you for what you said about the former Prime Minister, | 0:11:19 | 0:11:21 | |
it's so easy to airbrush people when they have gone | 0:11:21 | 0:11:24 | |
and it is rather nice that you say what you do. | 0:11:24 | 0:11:26 | |
Thank you very much. | 0:11:26 | 0:11:27 | |
I soon expect to be discarded as well and I hope that people | 0:11:27 | 0:11:30 | |
are kind to me about what I have done, but that is political life. | 0:11:30 | 0:11:34 | |
It is indeed, but there's always a chance of revival. | 0:11:34 | 0:11:36 | |
So I wouldn't worry too much about that. | 0:11:36 | 0:11:41 | |
The former Tory Cabinet Minister Michael Gove joining | 0:11:41 | 0:11:42 | |
in the laughter there. | 0:11:42 | 0:11:45 | |
And later there was applause when the Chief Minister defended | 0:11:45 | 0:11:47 | |
the right of Gibraltarians to British citizenship. | 0:11:47 | 0:11:50 | |
So why should we change? | 0:11:50 | 0:11:51 | |
We are born British and that rock is red, white and blue for us. | 0:11:51 | 0:11:54 | |
There is nothing else that we have known. | 0:11:54 | 0:11:56 | |
The system of government that we know, the system | 0:11:56 | 0:11:58 | |
of education that we know, the make up of my understanding | 0:11:58 | 0:12:01 | |
of the world is British. | 0:12:01 | 0:12:02 | |
How can I suddenly now do something else? | 0:12:02 | 0:12:04 | |
I can speak fluent conversational Spanish but I don't speak | 0:12:04 | 0:12:09 | |
professional or political Spanish in the way that I might be expected | 0:12:09 | 0:12:12 | |
to should I need to navigate the waters of the Spanish system. | 0:12:12 | 0:12:14 | |
You look at the Spanish political system today, | 0:12:14 | 0:12:16 | |
it doesn't have much to commend it to the people of the world. | 0:12:16 | 0:12:20 | |
I mean, the British system, we criticise | 0:12:20 | 0:12:21 | |
ourselves so constantly, and so constructively, | 0:12:21 | 0:12:24 | |
that we make it stronger, that's the system that we believe in. | 0:12:24 | 0:12:28 | |
That is the rule of law that we believe in. | 0:12:28 | 0:12:31 | |
The Supreme Court that ruled yesterday and that everybody | 0:12:31 | 0:12:33 | |
respects the views of, that is what makes up | 0:12:33 | 0:12:36 | |
the Gibraltarean. | 0:12:36 | 0:12:37 | |
My blood is red, but I am red, white and blue inside out, | 0:12:37 | 0:12:41 | |
and so is that rock, and we will never ever | 0:12:41 | 0:12:43 | |
countenance changing that. | 0:12:43 | 0:12:46 | |
APPLAUSE. | 0:12:46 | 0:12:50 | |
That was... | 0:12:50 | 0:12:51 | |
That was a most passionate answer. | 0:12:51 | 0:12:53 | |
Come and see for yourself. | 0:12:53 | 0:12:55 | |
An eloquent answer. | 0:12:55 | 0:12:57 | |
The Committee chair, Labour's Hilary Benn, | 0:12:57 | 0:13:00 | |
speaking there after clapping and desk-banging - a very unusual | 0:13:00 | 0:13:02 | |
sight at such a hearing. | 0:13:02 | 0:13:05 | |
You're watching Wednesday in Parliament with me, | 0:13:05 | 0:13:07 | |
Kristiina Cooper. | 0:13:07 | 0:13:13 | |
Schools in every constituency are going to lose money, | 0:13:13 | 0:13:15 | |
Labour has warned. | 0:13:15 | 0:13:18 | |
The party's Shadow Education Secretary, Angela Rayner, | 0:13:18 | 0:13:21 | |
said that flew in the face of a promise made by the previous | 0:13:21 | 0:13:24 | |
Prime Minister, David Cameron, before the general election | 0:13:24 | 0:13:26 | |
in 2015. | 0:13:26 | 0:13:29 | |
A pledge that was repeatedly made | 0:13:29 | 0:13:32 | |
by the last Prime Minister - the one that actually | 0:13:32 | 0:13:36 | |
fought an election - and he was very clear what it meant. | 0:13:36 | 0:13:39 | |
He said, "I can tell you, with a Conservative government, | 0:13:39 | 0:13:41 | |
"the amount of money following your child | 0:13:41 | 0:13:43 | |
"into school will not be cut." | 0:13:43 | 0:13:46 | |
There is one question that the Secretary of State | 0:13:46 | 0:13:48 | |
has to answer today - will she keep her party's promise | 0:13:48 | 0:13:51 | |
to the British people? | 0:13:51 | 0:13:54 | |
The National Audit Office has told us their answer. | 0:13:54 | 0:13:56 | |
They have revealed that, on the current spending settlement, | 0:13:56 | 0:13:59 | |
there will be an 8% cut in pupil funding between 2015 and 2020. | 0:13:59 | 0:14:09 | |
That was the same conclusion that was reached by the | 0:14:09 | 0:14:12 | |
Institute of Fiscal Studies. | 0:14:12 | 0:14:14 | |
This means that there will be schools in every region, | 0:14:14 | 0:14:17 | |
every city, every town, and yes, every constituency, | 0:14:17 | 0:14:21 | |
losing money because of this Government's failure to protect | 0:14:21 | 0:14:24 | |
funding for our schools. | 0:14:24 | 0:14:26 | |
I'll make some progress. | 0:14:26 | 0:14:28 | |
So will the Secretary of State tell us whether she intends to keep | 0:14:28 | 0:14:31 | |
that manifesto pledge? | 0:14:31 | 0:14:39 | |
We want to see every child, with the same chance to do | 0:14:39 | 0:14:42 | |
as well as they possibly can, no matter where they are growing up | 0:14:42 | 0:14:45 | |
in our country, or indeed where they are starting from academically. | 0:14:45 | 0:14:48 | |
And that's why, we have to make sure that resources going into the system | 0:14:48 | 0:14:51 | |
reflect the high ambitions that we've got for every child, | 0:14:51 | 0:14:54 | |
wherever they're growing up, and are distributed as well | 0:14:54 | 0:14:56 | |
to that effect. | 0:14:56 | 0:14:57 | |
And because of this Government's economic policy that has seen jobs | 0:14:57 | 0:15:00 | |
and growth and careful management of public finances, | 0:15:00 | 0:15:04 | |
that's how we've been able to protect the core schools budget | 0:15:04 | 0:15:07 | |
in real terms over the course of this Parliament. | 0:15:07 | 0:15:09 | |
In fact, the investment in our core schools is now | 0:15:09 | 0:15:13 | |
the largest ever on record, totalling over 40%. | 0:15:13 | 0:15:17 | |
I give way. | 0:15:17 | 0:15:20 | |
David Cameron's promise was that the funding | 0:15:20 | 0:15:23 | |
per pupil would be protected, it isn't being, as we've heard. | 0:15:23 | 0:15:27 | |
In my constituency, because of the formula, | 0:15:27 | 0:15:29 | |
it's being reduced further, per pupil. | 0:15:29 | 0:15:31 | |
Why is David Cameron's promise being broken? | 0:15:31 | 0:15:34 | |
It's not, we're protecting also the per-pupil funding as well. | 0:15:34 | 0:15:40 | |
We know that, in relation to making sure funding is fairly | 0:15:40 | 0:15:46 | |
apportioned between schools, it's time that we now look | 0:15:46 | 0:15:48 | |
at the school funding formula to make sure we bring one | 0:15:48 | 0:15:51 | |
in that is rectifying the current system, that is unfair and outdated, | 0:15:51 | 0:15:57 | |
as the right honourable member for Wokingham set out. | 0:15:57 | 0:16:01 | |
At the moment, the situation all schools face is that funding | 0:16:01 | 0:16:05 | |
isn't being distributed evenly across our country, and doesn't take | 0:16:05 | 0:16:08 | |
into account pupil needs. | 0:16:09 | 0:16:11 | |
We've heard a few complaints from the House of Lords | 0:16:11 | 0:16:14 | |
about the problems faced by travellers on Southern Rail, | 0:16:14 | 0:16:16 | |
which has been subject to months of delays and industrial action. | 0:16:16 | 0:16:19 | |
Well, one peer has come up with a novel solution - | 0:16:19 | 0:16:24 | |
replacing it with a roadway for driverless vehicles. | 0:16:24 | 0:16:26 | |
He wondered if the Government would commission a feasibility study? | 0:16:26 | 0:16:30 | |
My Lords, I beg leave to ask the question standing | 0:16:30 | 0:16:32 | |
in my name on the order paper. | 0:16:32 | 0:16:36 | |
My Lord, we have no current plans to commission such a study. | 0:16:36 | 0:16:40 | |
However... | 0:16:40 | 0:16:41 | |
Shame, shame! | 0:16:41 | 0:16:43 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:16:43 | 0:16:44 | |
However, we are investing over ?100 million in research | 0:16:44 | 0:16:47 | |
and development into connected and autonomous vehicles, | 0:16:47 | 0:16:50 | |
and a further ?100 million into testing infrastructure. | 0:16:50 | 0:16:54 | |
We have commenced a programme of regulatory reforms that will keep | 0:16:54 | 0:16:56 | |
pace with technology as it comes to market. | 0:16:56 | 0:17:00 | |
And we continue to invest in our national rail infrastructure | 0:17:00 | 0:17:03 | |
through transformative projects like Thameslink | 0:17:03 | 0:17:05 | |
and Crossrail, to meet ever-increasing passenger demand. | 0:17:05 | 0:17:09 | |
My Lords, I'm very grateful to my noble friend for the access | 0:17:09 | 0:17:12 | |
he gave me to Department for Transport | 0:17:12 | 0:17:14 | |
officials and contractors. | 0:17:15 | 0:17:17 | |
And congratulate him on the progress being made | 0:17:17 | 0:17:19 | |
by his autonomous vehicle projects. | 0:17:19 | 0:17:23 | |
Would my noble friend not agree that the successful pilot currently | 0:17:23 | 0:17:27 | |
underway at Heathrow demonstrates the potential of autonomous | 0:17:27 | 0:17:31 | |
vehicles to serve on a branch line, such as Lewes to Seaford? | 0:17:31 | 0:17:37 | |
And if we demonstrate success on that line, | 0:17:37 | 0:17:39 | |
it is technology that would suit a very well the peripheral parts | 0:17:39 | 0:17:43 | |
of the Southern network. | 0:17:43 | 0:17:45 | |
And if we succeed at that, we shall have an industry | 0:17:45 | 0:17:48 | |
which would be in a great position in an industry with worldwide | 0:17:48 | 0:17:52 | |
applications which is just what we're trying to do | 0:17:52 | 0:17:55 | |
with the industrial strategy? | 0:17:55 | 0:18:00 | |
My Lords, we, of course, welcome the cutting-edge nature | 0:18:00 | 0:18:05 | |
of transport innovation in the rail sector. | 0:18:05 | 0:18:07 | |
In particular, my noble friend talked about the new systems | 0:18:07 | 0:18:12 | |
and new operations at Heathrow in terms of the pods | 0:18:12 | 0:18:15 | |
which are being used. | 0:18:15 | 0:18:16 | |
And certainly, there are other parts of the network structures, | 0:18:16 | 0:18:20 | |
such as the DLR, and the new rolling stock which will be coming online | 0:18:20 | 0:18:23 | |
from Siemens on Thameslink, there will be a use of technology | 0:18:23 | 0:18:27 | |
and autonomous vehicles in what I believe to be | 0:18:27 | 0:18:30 | |
a controlled environment. | 0:18:30 | 0:18:33 | |
He mentioned about further innovations in terms | 0:18:33 | 0:18:36 | |
of the wider network. | 0:18:36 | 0:18:37 | |
I think it's important to recognise that we need to see how technology | 0:18:37 | 0:18:40 | |
can be adapted on existing systems. | 0:18:40 | 0:18:46 | |
The wisdom of closing down 100 local tax offices and creating | 0:18:46 | 0:18:49 | |
new regional hubs has been questioned by a Commons committee. | 0:18:49 | 0:18:51 | |
Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs is reducing its service from | 0:18:51 | 0:18:54 | |
177 offices around the country to 13 offices in regional cities, | 0:18:54 | 0:18:59 | |
as well as four specialist centres. | 0:18:59 | 0:19:02 | |
Officials say the changes could save the taxpayer | 0:19:02 | 0:19:05 | |
around ?500 million. | 0:19:05 | 0:19:07 | |
But at the Public Accounts Committee, one MP doubted that | 0:19:07 | 0:19:10 | |
figure would be achieved. | 0:19:10 | 0:19:12 | |
Originally, it was assumed there would be efficiency savings | 0:19:12 | 0:19:17 | |
of around ?500 million, and already that has | 0:19:17 | 0:19:21 | |
reduced to 212 million. | 0:19:21 | 0:19:25 | |
So this looks to me, it bears all the hallmarks, | 0:19:25 | 0:19:31 | |
of one of those cases where ministers say, | 0:19:31 | 0:19:34 | |
we need some savings, they're provided, and then it turns | 0:19:34 | 0:19:36 | |
out they're slightly illusory. | 0:19:36 | 0:19:38 | |
Do you believe that the 212 million savings will be achieved, | 0:19:38 | 0:19:42 | |
or will this all just disappear to zero at the end of the day? | 0:19:42 | 0:19:45 | |
No, I don't believe it will be 200 million, | 0:19:45 | 0:19:47 | |
I believe it will be significantly more than that. | 0:19:47 | 0:19:56 | |
You are seeing this project, well before the main | 0:19:56 | 0:19:58 | |
business case is approved, and there are advantages to that. | 0:19:58 | 0:20:01 | |
Clearly, because you want to be involved early. | 0:20:01 | 0:20:03 | |
But also what you are going to see is a bit of fluidity, | 0:20:03 | 0:20:06 | |
therefore, in the data. | 0:20:06 | 0:20:07 | |
We would expect our current estimate of the savings to be the other | 0:20:07 | 0:20:10 | |
side of 300 million, which is a very long | 0:20:10 | 0:20:12 | |
answer to your question. | 0:20:12 | 0:20:13 | |
So it started off at 500 million, then it became 212 million, | 0:20:13 | 0:20:16 | |
and now you're saying it'll be over 300 million? | 0:20:16 | 0:20:18 | |
Yes. | 0:20:18 | 0:20:19 | |
Ultimately, what we'll have to do is put that all together | 0:20:19 | 0:20:22 | |
in a business case to go to the Chief Secretary | 0:20:22 | 0:20:24 | |
by the end of March. | 0:20:24 | 0:20:25 | |
So you'll have some further data there. | 0:20:25 | 0:20:30 | |
I understand 40,000 HMRC staff will have to move office. | 0:20:30 | 0:20:32 | |
Do you think that might be too much too quickly? | 0:20:32 | 0:20:36 | |
It's actually spread over quite a long period of time. | 0:20:36 | 0:20:39 | |
Spread over five years. | 0:20:39 | 0:20:40 | |
And for the vast majority of the 38,000 people | 0:20:40 | 0:20:42 | |
who will be needed to move, they're not moving that far. | 0:20:42 | 0:20:45 | |
As the report says, the average is 18 miles. | 0:20:45 | 0:20:48 | |
Let's say you have someone in your, I think I'm right in saying | 0:20:48 | 0:20:51 | |
you have an office in St Ives or Redruth, in Cornwall | 0:20:51 | 0:20:57 | |
who has to move to Bristol, which is a long way. | 0:20:57 | 0:20:59 | |
Or indeed Inverness to Edinburgh. | 0:20:59 | 0:21:01 | |
Let's say you have some expertise in that office, | 0:21:01 | 0:21:03 | |
is there a risk to corporate memory with this kind of programme? | 0:21:03 | 0:21:06 | |
Yes. | 0:21:06 | 0:21:07 | |
How do you manage that? | 0:21:07 | 0:21:08 | |
We ask people to give us that corporate memory, | 0:21:08 | 0:21:16 | |
but it's definitely something we have to solve. | 0:21:16 | 0:21:18 | |
If you'd been working in Redruth for 32 years, | 0:21:18 | 0:21:20 | |
and you're not going to go to Bristol. | 0:21:20 | 0:21:22 | |
Meanwhile, we're going to recruit more people in Bristol. | 0:21:22 | 0:21:32 | |
We've got to find some way in which the knowledge that you've | 0:21:36 | 0:21:39 | |
built up about how we've worked over the years can be | 0:21:39 | 0:21:42 | |
translated into systems, or the wisdom of giving | 0:21:42 | 0:21:44 | |
it to other people. | 0:21:44 | 0:21:45 | |
But at the moment, we do not have a solution that I'm | 0:21:45 | 0:21:48 | |
aware of for that risk. | 0:21:48 | 0:21:49 | |
We end with a piece of parliamentary housekeeping that's | 0:21:49 | 0:21:51 | |
starting to worry some MPs. | 0:21:51 | 0:21:52 | |
How to carry out the renovation work | 0:21:52 | 0:21:54 | |
that the Palace of Westminster so badly needs? | 0:21:54 | 0:21:56 | |
There are a host of problems in the building, which is | 0:21:56 | 0:21:58 | |
a World Heritage site. | 0:21:59 | 0:22:00 | |
The plumbing fails regularly, causing leaks that | 0:22:00 | 0:22:01 | |
damage the interiors. | 0:22:01 | 0:22:02 | |
And the electrical system is faulty, increasing the likelihood of fires. | 0:22:02 | 0:22:05 | |
And, for good measure, there's a lot of asbestos | 0:22:05 | 0:22:07 | |
that needs removing. | 0:22:07 | 0:22:08 | |
There are strongly-held views on whether MPs should move out | 0:22:08 | 0:22:11 | |
or stay while the work is carried out. | 0:22:11 | 0:22:13 | |
Labour's Chris Bryant says the best - and cheapest - | 0:22:13 | 0:22:16 | |
option is for everyone to leave. | 0:22:16 | 0:22:18 | |
Many people think it's falling down, it's not falling down. | 0:22:18 | 0:22:22 | |
Though the clock tower does incline a little. | 0:22:22 | 0:22:24 | |
But the mechanical and electrical engineering systems that keep | 0:22:24 | 0:22:27 | |
the place lit, heated, cooled, drained and dry are already | 0:22:27 | 0:22:32 | |
well past their use by date. | 0:22:32 | 0:22:35 | |
And the risk of catastrophic failure such as a fire or flood rises | 0:22:35 | 0:22:45 | |
exponentially every five years that we delay. | 0:22:47 | 0:22:49 | |
We should be in absolutely no doubt there will be a fire. | 0:22:49 | 0:22:52 | |
There was a far a fortnight ago, there are regularly fires. | 0:22:52 | 0:22:54 | |
And people patrol the building 24 hours a day to make sure | 0:22:54 | 0:22:57 | |
we catch these fires. | 0:22:57 | 0:22:58 | |
Chris Bryant was on a parliamentary committee set up to | 0:22:58 | 0:23:01 | |
examine the options. | 0:23:01 | 0:23:02 | |
In a report published last September, it recommended that | 0:23:02 | 0:23:04 | |
everyone should move out. | 0:23:04 | 0:23:05 | |
Today's MPs and peers hold this building in trust. | 0:23:05 | 0:23:09 | |
It's not ours, we hold it in trust. | 0:23:09 | 0:23:11 | |
Our predecessors got it hideously wrong in the 19th century, | 0:23:11 | 0:23:15 | |
they kept on delaying necessary work, and that delay made | 0:23:15 | 0:23:18 | |
the fire in 1834 not only possible, but inevitable. | 0:23:18 | 0:23:26 | |
And so we lost the Painted Chamber, St Stevens' Chapel, | 0:23:26 | 0:23:28 | |
and what was reputedly the most beautiful set of medieval | 0:23:28 | 0:23:32 | |
buildings in the world. | 0:23:32 | 0:23:33 | |
And then, they insisted on staying on-site whilst the new building | 0:23:33 | 0:23:36 | |
was built around them and constantly complained | 0:23:36 | 0:23:38 | |
about the noise and the design. | 0:23:38 | 0:23:40 | |
The result was long delays and a massive budget overrun. | 0:23:40 | 0:23:44 | |
But Sir Edward Leigh thinks parliamentarians should retain | 0:23:44 | 0:23:46 | |
a presence in the Palace of Westminster. | 0:23:46 | 0:23:49 | |
As during the Second World War, the House of Commons debating | 0:23:49 | 0:23:53 | |
chamber should, at all times, retain a presence in | 0:23:53 | 0:23:56 | |
the old Palace of Westminster. | 0:23:56 | 0:23:58 | |
Now, it's known, and this was briefly alluded | 0:23:58 | 0:24:00 | |
to by the gentleman, there is an alternative, expert, | 0:24:00 | 0:24:05 | |
independent point of view. | 0:24:05 | 0:24:06 | |
That, instead of building what I would deem to be a folly | 0:24:06 | 0:24:10 | |
costing ?85 million, of a replica chamber | 0:24:10 | 0:24:13 | |
in the courtyard of Richmond House, | 0:24:13 | 0:24:16 | |
that we should, as in the war, use the House of Lords chamber. | 0:24:16 | 0:24:21 | |
We've reached a point where make do and mend is simply not an option. | 0:24:21 | 0:24:27 | |
That approach has already been taken, and it has led | 0:24:27 | 0:24:31 | |
to decades of underinvestment, which we are now forced to confront. | 0:24:31 | 0:24:37 | |
Much of our infrastructure is well past - in some cases decades past - | 0:24:37 | 0:24:43 | |
its life expectancy, its planned working life. | 0:24:43 | 0:24:48 | |
The Government has undertaken to provide time for a full debate | 0:24:48 | 0:24:51 | |
and a vote in due course on the committee's report. | 0:24:51 | 0:24:54 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:24:54 | 0:24:55 | |
Time... | 0:24:55 | 0:24:58 | |
In due course, as the honourable gentleman knows. | 0:24:58 | 0:25:02 | |
Time is always at a premium. | 0:25:02 | 0:25:04 | |
And I know he will recollect that from his own duties in this place. | 0:25:04 | 0:25:09 | |
Time is always at a premium for business managers, | 0:25:09 | 0:25:11 | |
and particularly so, at the moment, with developments. | 0:25:11 | 0:25:17 | |
It's all very well, but, to be honest, due course is the kind | 0:25:17 | 0:25:21 | |
of phrase that weasels use. | 0:25:21 | 0:25:22 | |
Because it means you don't really intend to do it | 0:25:22 | 0:25:25 | |
in any expeditious way. | 0:25:25 | 0:25:31 | |
Responding to that accusation of weasel words, the Minister | 0:25:31 | 0:25:33 | |
found another phrase - promising that the Commons | 0:25:33 | 0:25:35 | |
would consider the matter "as soon as possible". | 0:25:35 | 0:25:37 | |
Well, that's it for now. | 0:25:37 | 0:25:38 | |
Do join me at the same time tomorrow for another round up | 0:25:38 | 0:25:41 | |
of the news from Westminster. | 0:25:41 | 0:25:42 | |
Until then, from me, Kristiina Cooper, goodbye! | 0:25:42 | 0:25:45 |