0:00:18 > 0:00:22Hello, and welcome to the programme as MPs back Theresa May's call
0:00:22 > 0:00:27for a general election on June 8th.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31The ayes to the right, 522.
0:00:31 > 0:00:33The noes to the left, 13.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36So, the ayes have it, the ayes have it.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38Unlock.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42At Prime Minister's Questions, Theresa May is challenged over why
0:00:42 > 0:00:45she won't take part in televised debates, and on her previous promise
0:00:46 > 0:00:49not to call an early election.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51She wants us to believe that she is a
0:00:51 > 0:00:53woman of her word.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56Is it the truth that we cannot believe a single word
0:00:56 > 0:00:57she says?
0:00:57 > 0:00:59The Prime Minister defends her decision.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02I think it is right now to ask the British people to put their
0:01:02 > 0:01:08trust in me and the Conservative Party to deliver on their vote last
0:01:08 > 0:01:11year, a Brexit plan that will make a success for this country
0:01:11 > 0:01:14and deliver a stronger, fairer, global Britain
0:01:14 > 0:01:16in the future.
0:01:16 > 0:01:20Also on this programme - is it time to ditch diesel cars?
0:01:20 > 0:01:26And the Energy Secretary promises muscular action over fuel bills.
0:01:26 > 0:01:27But first...
0:01:27 > 0:01:33The House of Commons has backed the Prime Minister's call
0:01:33 > 0:01:34for a general election on June 8th.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38MPs voted by 522 to 13, meaning Theresa May secured well
0:01:38 > 0:01:43over the two thirds majority she needed to dissolve Parliament.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47Mrs May took Westminster by surprise on Tuesday by announcing she wanted
0:01:47 > 0:01:50to go to the country - having previously said
0:01:50 > 0:01:53she wouldn't hold an early poll.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56She argued the vote was needed to give her a strong hand
0:01:56 > 0:01:58in the Brexit negotiations.
0:01:58 > 0:02:00At Prime Minister's Questions the Labour leader challenged
0:02:00 > 0:02:02Mrs May's record.
0:02:02 > 0:02:04We welcome the general election...
0:02:04 > 0:02:06HECKLING.
0:02:06 > 0:02:12But this...
0:02:12 > 0:02:19But this is a Prime Minister who promised there wouldn't be one.
0:02:19 > 0:02:26A Prime Minister who cannot be trusted.
0:02:26 > 0:02:31She says it is about leadership, yet is refusing to defend her record
0:02:31 > 0:02:38in television debates.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42And it is not hard to see why.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46The Prime Minister says we have a stronger economy.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49Yet...
0:02:49 > 0:02:55Yet she can't explain why people's wages are lower today
0:02:55 > 0:03:04than they were ten years ago, or why more households are in debt,
0:03:04 > 0:03:096 million people earning less than the living wage,
0:03:09 > 0:03:13child poverty is up, pensioner poverty is up, so why
0:03:13 > 0:03:21are so many people getting poorer?
0:03:21 > 0:03:24Well, I can assure the right honourable gentleman, first of all,
0:03:24 > 0:03:29I would point out to the right honourable gentleman that I have
0:03:29 > 0:03:33been answering his questions and debating these matters every
0:03:33 > 0:03:34Wednesday that Parliament has been sitting since
0:03:34 > 0:03:37I became Prime Minister.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41And I will be taking, I will be taking out to the country
0:03:41 > 0:03:49in this campaign a proud record of a Conservative government.
0:03:49 > 0:03:54A stronger economy, an economy of a deficit nearly two thirds down,
0:03:54 > 0:03:57with 30 million people with a tax cut.
0:03:57 > 0:04:014 million people taken out of income tax altogether.
0:04:01 > 0:04:09Record levels of employment and ?1250 more a year for pensioners.
0:04:09 > 0:04:14That is a record we can be proud of.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17Mr Speaker, if she is so proud of her record,
0:04:17 > 0:04:23why won't she debate it?
0:04:23 > 0:04:26Wages...
0:04:26 > 0:04:30Wages are falling, more children are in poverty,
0:04:30 > 0:04:33and the last Tory manifesto, page 28, said...
0:04:33 > 0:04:37"We will work to eliminate child poverty."
0:04:37 > 0:04:42They only eliminated the child poverty targets, not child poverty.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46People will have a real choice at this election.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48They will have a choice between a Conservative government
0:04:48 > 0:04:51that has shown we can build a stronger economy,
0:04:51 > 0:04:55and a Labour Party whose economic policy would bankrupt this country.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59And what voters know is that under Labour it is ordinary working people
0:04:59 > 0:05:05who pay the price of the Labour Party.
0:05:05 > 0:05:10They pay it with their taxes, they pay it with their jobs,
0:05:10 > 0:05:13and they pay it with their children's futures.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16Most people know that the reason we are actually having a general
0:05:16 > 0:05:20election is because of the woeful state of the Labour Party.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23If the Prime Minister is so confident that her hard
0:05:23 > 0:05:28Brexit, pro-austerity immigration case is right, then she should
0:05:28 > 0:05:32debate it with opposition leaders during the campaign.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35We look forward to the straight fight between
0:05:35 > 0:05:37the SNP and the Tories.
0:05:37 > 0:05:42Can the Prime Minister tell the people why she is running scared
0:05:42 > 0:05:44of a televised debate with Nicola Sturgeon?
0:05:44 > 0:05:47I can assure the right honourable gentleman that I will be out
0:05:47 > 0:05:50there campaigning in every part of the United Kingdom,
0:05:50 > 0:05:53taking out there our proud record of a Conservative government that
0:05:53 > 0:05:56has delivered for every part of the United Kingdom.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00And I might suggest to the Scottish Nationalists that
0:06:00 > 0:06:03actually now is the time for them to put aside...
0:06:03 > 0:06:05HECKLING.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09Yes.
0:06:09 > 0:06:10HECKLING.
0:06:10 > 0:06:11Wait for it.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14Now is the time for them to put aside their tunnel vision
0:06:14 > 0:06:17on independence and actually explain to the Scottish people why under
0:06:17 > 0:06:20the SNP they are not putting as much money into the health service
0:06:20 > 0:06:25as they have been given from the UK, they are not exercising the powers
0:06:25 > 0:06:26they have been given, and Scottish education
0:06:26 > 0:06:28is getting worse.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31It is time they got back to the day job.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35The British public deserve to hear the party leaders
0:06:35 > 0:06:39set out their plans and debate them publicly.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42But the Prime Minister has refused to take part
0:06:42 > 0:06:44in televised leaders debates.
0:06:44 > 0:06:49The Prime Minister and I, back in 1992, debated publicly,
0:06:49 > 0:06:54forcibly and amicably when we were both
0:06:54 > 0:06:58candidates together.
0:06:58 > 0:07:00Indeed, Mr Speaker...
0:07:00 > 0:07:04Indeed, Mr Speaker, the Prime Minister called out
0:07:04 > 0:07:09the then incumbent who did not show up for some of those debates.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12Why will she not debate those issues publicly now?
0:07:12 > 0:07:16What is she scared of?
0:07:16 > 0:07:19I can assure the honourable gentleman that I will be debating
0:07:19 > 0:07:22these issues publicly across the country,
0:07:22 > 0:07:27as will every single member of the Conservative team.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29The Prime Minister yesterday said she was calling a general election
0:07:29 > 0:07:32because Parliament was blocking Brexit.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35But three quarters of MPs and two thirds of the Lords
0:07:35 > 0:07:39voted for Article 50.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41So that is not true, is it?
0:07:41 > 0:07:45And a month ago she told her official spokesman to rule out
0:07:45 > 0:07:50an early general election, and that wasn't true either, was it?
0:07:50 > 0:07:53She wants us to believe that she is a woman of her word.
0:07:53 > 0:07:58Isn't the truth that we cannot believe a single word she says?
0:07:58 > 0:08:08HECKLING.
0:08:12 > 0:08:13This...
0:08:13 > 0:08:15Order.
0:08:15 > 0:08:16The House is rather...
0:08:16 > 0:08:18Order.
0:08:18 > 0:08:19The House is rather overexcited.
0:08:19 > 0:08:20The question has been heard.
0:08:20 > 0:08:21The answer will be heard.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25The Prime Minister...
0:08:25 > 0:08:31This House and this Parliament voted to trigger Article 50.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34But the Labour Party made it clear they were thinking of voting
0:08:34 > 0:08:37against the final deal.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39The Scottish Nationalists...
0:08:39 > 0:08:41The Scottish...
0:08:41 > 0:08:43HECKLING.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45The Scottish Nationalists...
0:08:45 > 0:08:48The Scottish Nationalists have said that they would vote
0:08:48 > 0:08:52against the legislation necessary to leave the European Union.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54The Liberal Democrats since they are going to grind
0:08:54 > 0:08:56government to a standstill.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59And the House of Lords have threatened to stop us
0:08:59 > 0:09:00every inch of the way.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04I think it is right now to ask the British people
0:09:04 > 0:09:07to put their trust in me and the Conservative Party
0:09:07 > 0:09:10to deliver on their vote last year a Brexit plan that will make
0:09:10 > 0:09:14a success for this country and deliver a stronger, fairer,
0:09:14 > 0:09:17global Britain in the future.
0:09:17 > 0:09:19A veteran Labour MP raised alleged breaches of election expenses
0:09:19 > 0:09:21from the 2015 election which are still being investigated
0:09:22 > 0:09:26by some police forces.
0:09:26 > 0:09:34Will the Prime Minister give a guarantee that no Tory MP
0:09:34 > 0:09:39who is under investigation by the police and the legal
0:09:39 > 0:09:46authorities over election expenses in the last general election be
0:09:46 > 0:09:51a candidate in this election?
0:09:51 > 0:09:55Because if she won't accept that, this is the most squalid election
0:09:55 > 0:10:04campaign that has happened in my lifetime.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08I stand by all the Conservative MPs who are in this House
0:10:08 > 0:10:13and who will be out there standing again, campaigning, campaigning
0:10:13 > 0:10:16for a Conservative government that will give a brighter and better
0:10:16 > 0:10:18future for this country.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21Well, a short time later MPs began their debate on the motion -
0:10:21 > 0:10:23with Theresa May returning to the despatch box
0:10:23 > 0:10:26to set out her case.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30I have set out the divisions that have become clear on this issue.
0:10:30 > 0:10:32They can and will be used against us, weakening our hand
0:10:32 > 0:10:37in the negotiations to come, and we must not let that happen.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40I believe that at this moment of enormous national significance
0:10:40 > 0:10:44there should be unity here in Westminster, not division.
0:10:44 > 0:10:48And that is why it is the right and responsible thing for all of us
0:10:48 > 0:10:51here today to vote for a general election, to make our respective,
0:10:51 > 0:10:55to make our respective cases to the country and then to respect
0:10:55 > 0:10:58the result and the mandate that provides to give Britain
0:10:58 > 0:11:03the strongest possible hand in the negotiations to come.
0:11:03 > 0:11:07The question is that there shall be an early
0:11:07 > 0:11:09Parliamentary general election.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12Mr Jeremy Corbyn.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15Thank you, Mr Speaker.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17LAUGHTER.
0:11:17 > 0:11:19We welcome the opportunity of a general election,
0:11:19 > 0:11:25because it gives the British people the chance to vote for a Labour
0:11:25 > 0:11:30government that would put the interests of the majority first.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32Britain is being held back.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35Held back by her government.
0:11:35 > 0:11:37The Prime Minister talks about a strong economy,
0:11:37 > 0:11:40but the truth is most people are worse off than they were
0:11:40 > 0:11:44when the Conservatives came to power seven years ago.
0:11:44 > 0:11:46The election gives the British people the chance
0:11:46 > 0:11:49to change direction.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51Jeremy Corbyn.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54It was then the turn of the smaller parties
0:11:54 > 0:11:55and backbenchers to have their say.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58There was strong support from the Prime Minister's own side -
0:11:58 > 0:12:03but accusations of opportunism from opposition MPs.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06A Conservative began by telling MPs that he'd told his local
0:12:06 > 0:12:09newspaper there was no chance of a snap election.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13And as I told them, with absolute confidence,
0:12:13 > 0:12:19turkeys will not vote for Christmas.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23I congratulate my right honourable friend for having achieved
0:12:23 > 0:12:26the impossible and secured the fact that today those turkeys
0:12:26 > 0:12:29will indeed vote for that.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32If this election is, as the Prime Minister says,
0:12:32 > 0:12:35about a more secure future for this country, if it is an election
0:12:35 > 0:12:37of such national significance, we should have an urgent change
0:12:37 > 0:12:40in the law to give Britain's 1.5 million 16 and 17-year-olds
0:12:40 > 0:12:43a say in what will be very much their future
0:12:43 > 0:12:49on the 8th of June.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52The people of Northern Ireland will have a clear choice.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55They will have a clear choice as to whether or not
0:12:55 > 0:12:58they will want to rally round and say very, very firmly
0:12:58 > 0:13:01they want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom,
0:13:01 > 0:13:05or whether they want to go down the route presented by Sinn Fein,
0:13:05 > 0:13:07which is this Marxist, Leninist concept of a republic
0:13:07 > 0:13:10which has been rejected even by most people who accept their nationalism
0:13:10 > 0:13:13at reject what they stand for in terms of their economic
0:13:13 > 0:13:21outlook and all the rest of it.
0:13:21 > 0:13:25And the only way to support the union is by rallying behind
0:13:25 > 0:13:27the Democratic Unionist Party on the 8th of June.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29She has accused others of playing games in this Parliament.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32In essence, the Prime Minister's argument is that she has no
0:13:32 > 0:13:35confidence in Parliament, so we have this bizarre situation
0:13:35 > 0:13:39where we had a referendum that was about taking back control,
0:13:39 > 0:13:41that was about Parliamentary sovereignty, but then
0:13:41 > 0:13:43we have a Prime Minister who pronounces she has no
0:13:43 > 0:13:44confidence in Parliament.
0:13:44 > 0:13:48She doesn't trust parties in the opposition.
0:13:48 > 0:13:52She confers on them all sorts of exaggerated powers
0:13:52 > 0:13:55to block out to wreck, and then of course she has
0:13:55 > 0:13:56complaints about the House of Lords.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58Mr Speaker, against the European Union,
0:13:58 > 0:14:00for the European Union, then against again.
0:14:00 > 0:14:02Against holding a general election, and now determined
0:14:02 > 0:14:06to have a general election.
0:14:06 > 0:14:11Mr Speaker, the record is about as straight as a legendary
0:14:11 > 0:14:12European Union banana.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16Brexit for us is a very different and brittle world.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19We fully support as Ulster Unionists that we need to find
0:14:19 > 0:14:21the right way forward, but it is going to be used
0:14:21 > 0:14:24by Sinn Fein to really try and break up the union.
0:14:24 > 0:14:25And we need that support.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33The justification which is given for having a general election
0:14:33 > 0:14:34is quite frankly disingenuous.
0:14:34 > 0:14:36To suggest that she needs a mandate to negotiate
0:14:36 > 0:14:41Brexit is just ridiculous.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44She was given that mandate on the 24th of June by a majority
0:14:44 > 0:14:46of the British people, and it's up to her now
0:14:46 > 0:14:50to carry that out.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54If she then wishes to have another election at the end of the process,
0:14:54 > 0:14:56or to have another referendum, then so be it, but to
0:14:56 > 0:14:59justify it now is just, as my honourable colleague
0:14:59 > 0:15:06says, purely opportunistic.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09I believe this is the sort of thing that gives politics a bad
0:15:09 > 0:15:11name in our country, and it's what's leading
0:15:11 > 0:15:15to the alienation of many of our citizens from the political process.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19There was only one reason why the Prime Minister wants a general
0:15:19 > 0:15:22election on the 8th of June, and that is she figures she has
0:15:22 > 0:15:25a better chance of winning it now than she does in the future.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28It is therefore the most blatant abuse of the democratic procedure
0:15:28 > 0:15:29for party political advantage.
0:15:29 > 0:15:36And as this campaign goes on, it will be seen as that.
0:15:36 > 0:15:38I know that this Government, which has delivered so much already
0:15:38 > 0:15:41and has so much more to deliver, will have a resonance
0:15:41 > 0:15:44with the British public when they look at what's on offer
0:15:44 > 0:15:46from the other parties who are divided, they are wrangling,
0:15:46 > 0:15:50they are scaremongering and they are in Brexit denial.
0:15:50 > 0:15:52This Government will give us the best deal
0:15:52 > 0:15:56for all of our businesses and all of our constituencies.
0:15:56 > 0:16:01And at the end Mrs May comfortably got her way.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04THE SPEAKER: Order, order.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12The ayes to the right, 522.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17The noes to the left, 13.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21And that vote means the election will definitely go
0:16:21 > 0:16:22ahead on June the 8th.
0:16:22 > 0:16:27You're watching Wednesday in Parliament with me, Alicia McCarthy.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34A scrappage scheme to encourage people to stop driving their diesel
0:16:34 > 0:16:37cars should be carefully targeted, according to the chair of
0:16:37 > 0:16:43Parliament's Environment Committee.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46Neil Parish said the scheme mustn't become a subsidy for the well-off
0:16:46 > 0:16:48motorist living in a rural location.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50A decade ago, motorists were happily selling their petrol cars
0:16:50 > 0:16:53and replacing them with diesel models - opting for better fuel
0:16:53 > 0:16:56efficiency and heeding the advice of politicians at the time,
0:16:56 > 0:16:57who believed diesel's lower emission of carbon dioxide
0:16:57 > 0:17:05was crucial in curtailing greenhouse gas emissions.
0:17:07 > 0:17:08Then came the discovery that environmental advantages
0:17:08 > 0:17:11from driving diesel cars were more than outweighed by some
0:17:11 > 0:17:15serious disadvantages.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20Diesel engines emit a higher level of nitrogen oxides.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24These gases cause or worsen health conditions like asthma
0:17:24 > 0:17:26and bronchitis, and even risk of heart attacks and strokes.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29They are also linked to tens of thousands of premature deaths
0:17:29 > 0:17:30in Britain every year.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34Would he agree with me that many drivers of diesel cars will feel
0:17:34 > 0:17:39that they were encouraged to go and buy these cars, and now
0:17:39 > 0:17:44they are staring at the prospect of local authorities seeking
0:17:44 > 0:17:46to fleece them for taxes in order to raise money
0:17:46 > 0:17:49to plug their own funding gaps, and they will feel that
0:17:49 > 0:17:54this is deeply unfair?
0:17:54 > 0:17:56Yes, the honourable gentleman does raise a very good point,
0:17:56 > 0:17:59and that's very much partly behind the idea of the scrappage scheme.
0:17:59 > 0:18:03Not only would it help with air quality, but it is some recompense
0:18:03 > 0:18:06for the fact that those who were perhaps moved
0:18:06 > 0:18:11towards diesel will get a carrot as well as a stick.
0:18:11 > 0:18:18However, I do not want a scrappage scheme becoming a subsidy entirely
0:18:18 > 0:18:19for the middle classes.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21Households should not just be able to trading multiple
0:18:21 > 0:18:26diesels for a cash subsidy.
0:18:26 > 0:18:27Instead, the Government should particularly consider targeting
0:18:27 > 0:18:30a scrappage scheme at poorer households, or those earning less
0:18:30 > 0:18:34than 60% of the median UK household income.
0:18:34 > 0:18:38Given that most of the concentration of nitrous oxide and nitrogen
0:18:38 > 0:18:41dioxide and particulates is in urban area, does he think that in any
0:18:41 > 0:18:44scrappage scheme there should be a priority given to people who live
0:18:44 > 0:18:49in urban areas?
0:18:49 > 0:18:51It seems slightly generous and pointless to support people
0:18:51 > 0:18:57who own diesels in the middle of North Yorkshire, say.
0:19:01 > 0:19:03I think the honourable gentleman raised an interesting point,
0:19:03 > 0:19:05because I think, yes, priority does need to be
0:19:05 > 0:19:07given to the inner city, because that is where
0:19:07 > 0:19:10we are particularly trying to get the quality better, in these
0:19:10 > 0:19:14hotspots of poor air quality.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17But another Labour MP criticised the scrappage idea.
0:19:17 > 0:19:21It's all very well to say, yes, we'll give somebody ?1000.
0:19:21 > 0:19:22?1000 towards what?
0:19:22 > 0:19:25Towards buying a new vehicle?
0:19:25 > 0:19:30What does that say to someone who needs his car for going to work,
0:19:30 > 0:19:33probably has seen a drop in the value already
0:19:33 > 0:19:36of around ?2000 in his asset, for people who are asset poor,
0:19:36 > 0:19:43and who need their vehicle for going to work?
0:19:43 > 0:19:45We're going to give them ?1000.
0:19:45 > 0:19:46Who's going to lend them the money?
0:19:46 > 0:19:48Are they buying new vehicles?
0:19:48 > 0:19:50Are they buying vehicles from further up in the chain?
0:19:50 > 0:19:53There may be answers out of this, but figures came there none
0:19:53 > 0:19:58during the course of this debate.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01The minister said the Government was consulting on diesel vehicles
0:20:01 > 0:20:04and listed what had been done to improve air quality so far.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07Since 2011, the Government has invested 2 billion to increase
0:20:07 > 0:20:10the uptake of low emission vehicles and support greener transport
0:20:10 > 0:20:13schemes as well as pledging 290 million to support electric
0:20:13 > 0:20:20vehicles and low emission buses and taxis in the 2016 Autumn Statement.
0:20:20 > 0:20:25But more than that, just last week, 109 million of Government funding
0:20:25 > 0:20:28was awarded to 38 cutting edge automotive research and development
0:20:28 > 0:20:29projects focused on greatly reducing automotive emissions
0:20:29 > 0:20:34and their footprint.
0:20:34 > 0:20:41So those are the facts.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44The honourable member for Tiverton and Honiton proposed to put ultra
0:20:44 > 0:20:46low emission vehicles up the heart of the scrappage scheme.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49We are already investing a suitable amount of money to support the low
0:20:49 > 0:20:51emission vehicle market, because we believe that the switch
0:20:51 > 0:20:56to a zero emission economy is both inevitable and desirable.
0:20:56 > 0:21:00We want almost every car to be low emission by 2050,
0:21:00 > 0:21:02as the honourable gentleman will know because he has
0:21:02 > 0:21:03heard me say it before.
0:21:03 > 0:21:05The Transport Minister, John Hayes.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09Energy companies have been warned that they face "muscular and strong"
0:21:09 > 0:21:13action from the Government over "damaging" price rises.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16The Business and Energy Secretary, Greg Clark, told MPs that he planned
0:21:16 > 0:21:18to take decisive action - although, because of the imminent
0:21:18 > 0:21:20election, he couldn't give a date for this move.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22Appearing before MPs, he was challenged by the Labour
0:21:22 > 0:21:27chair of the Energy Committee.
0:21:29 > 0:21:35You say some really good warm words, but there is no action.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37And in terms of energy customers facing price rises now,
0:21:38 > 0:21:42what action is being taken?
0:21:42 > 0:21:46Or do you think that energy prices are justified in increasing?
0:21:46 > 0:21:48No, I think it is clear that the market isn't
0:21:48 > 0:21:51working for those customers on the default tariffs.
0:21:51 > 0:22:01The CMA established that.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04It has been my very clear view as expressed to this committee
0:22:04 > 0:22:07and expressed to the House of Commons, and when I say
0:22:07 > 0:22:12that we have a duty to act, you will see that action.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16It will be decisive, and it will address this completely
0:22:16 > 0:22:21unacceptable detriment that ordinary working people have been suffering.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25But you have not acted, Secretary of State, and one
0:22:25 > 0:22:29of the arguments for EDF's price rise, its second, last week,
0:22:29 > 0:22:31was that it is pre-empting any Government action.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34Your delay is actually putting up energy prices for customers.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38So why can't you act now?
0:22:38 > 0:22:42There is no delay.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45The response that we will make I think will be, you will see
0:22:45 > 0:22:48will be muscular and will be strong, and it will apply to all
0:22:48 > 0:22:50of the companies that are disadvantages consumers
0:22:50 > 0:22:57in this way.
0:22:57 > 0:22:59Greg Clark.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03It's two years since a policy allowing fathers to take time off
0:23:03 > 0:23:05to be with their children came into force.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08The policy gives parents the right to split up to 52 weeks
0:23:08 > 0:23:11of shared parental leave.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14But some campaigners worry it's not being taken up by many families.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17A former employment minister appeared in front of a committee
0:23:17 > 0:23:22of MPs and was asked what could be done to make the policy work better.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27How do you think that it needs to change, in your opinion,
0:23:27 > 0:23:30to encourage more employers to be promoting that option?
0:23:30 > 0:23:33We know that from our research last year more than seven in ten
0:23:33 > 0:23:37employees did say that they thought shared parental leave
0:23:37 > 0:23:44was complicated or very complicated, and that is an issue.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46So part of that is about communication and leadership.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48And I think looking at how it could be simplified,
0:23:48 > 0:23:53I know from ministerial experience how it is difficult as a policy
0:23:53 > 0:23:59to legislate for every single type of relationship and circumstance.
0:23:59 > 0:24:03There is an element to which, just like maternity leave,
0:24:03 > 0:24:06the detail of the policy does need to account for all of those.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10But in many cases, the ways in which people use it will be
0:24:10 > 0:24:13more straightforward, and I think that the working family
0:24:13 > 0:24:17videos that Matthew mentioned were a really good example actually
0:24:17 > 0:24:20of how by using different case studies you could actually explain
0:24:20 > 0:24:22very simply what looks like a context policy and how
0:24:22 > 0:24:25it works in real life.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28And the other thing that I noticed was that there are four different
0:24:28 > 0:24:31forms for notifying employers about shared parental leave,
0:24:31 > 0:24:35and a little grid about which forms you need to fill in if both parents
0:24:35 > 0:24:38are taking it, or just the mother or just the father.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41And it struck me that actually, if you could have just one form,
0:24:41 > 0:24:43possibly with different sections, certainly when I was in Government
0:24:43 > 0:24:46that was my request, that there be one form that both
0:24:46 > 0:24:49parents would sign, and that would actually mean that it
0:24:49 > 0:24:52could go to both employers, they would know the score
0:24:52 > 0:24:55and you wouldn't need to have this employers having to talk to each
0:24:55 > 0:24:57other, which anecdotally I have heard many employers feel
0:24:57 > 0:25:00that they do have to have that communication, and it was always
0:25:00 > 0:25:05the intention that that wouldn't need to happen.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09So I do think the Government needs to look at all of those ways that it
0:25:09 > 0:25:12could be made simpler, and there is a review
0:25:12 > 0:25:15that is planned which could pick up these issues as well as some
0:25:15 > 0:25:18of the issues about paternity allowance or when it actually kicks
0:25:18 > 0:25:21in in terms of day one right, and I think that would be a sensible
0:25:21 > 0:25:24thing for the Government to do, to tweak and improve the policy.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27Former Lib Dem MP Jo Swinson.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30And that's it from me for now, but do join me at the same time
0:25:30 > 0:25:32tomorrow for another round-up of the best of the day
0:25:32 > 0:25:34here at Westminster, including environment questions
0:25:34 > 0:25:37and a debate on the lessons to be learned from the EU referendum.
0:25:37 > 0:25:42But for now, from me, Alicia McCarthy, goodbye.