:00:16. > :00:17.Hello and welcome to Wednesday in Parliament, our look at the best
:00:18. > :00:20.of the day in the Commons and the Lords.
:00:21. > :00:28.The party leaders clash over public sector pay.
:00:29. > :00:40.The Lope epidemic is a threat to our economic stability. It isn't fair to
:00:41. > :00:41.bankrupt economy because it means for people losing their homes and
:00:42. > :00:43.losing their jobs. Claims that some young people voted
:00:44. > :00:55.twice in the General Election. This is straight out of the Donald
:00:56. > :00:56.Trump file, because again they are trying to suppress voter
:00:57. > :00:58.participation. to tears as he speaks
:00:59. > :01:11.about the Grenfell The families I have met have been
:01:12. > :01:12.through unimaginable pain. This is a tragedy that should never have
:01:13. > :01:13.happened. With the current increasing focus
:01:14. > :01:16.on whether the Government's cap on public sector pay should be
:01:17. > :01:19.lifted, the issue was a near certainty to be raised at the weekly
:01:20. > :01:22.round of Prime Minister's Questions. The Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson
:01:23. > :01:25.was said in recent days to have come round to the view that the 1
:01:26. > :01:29.per cent pay cap could now be lifted The new Environment Secretary
:01:30. > :01:32.Michael Gove also suggested While the Chancellor Philip Hammond
:01:33. > :01:37.went public to defend the cap. In the Commons, the Labour leader
:01:38. > :01:40.Jeremy Corbyn said the cap on public sector pay
:01:41. > :01:55.was causing real hardship. I had a letter last week from a
:01:56. > :02:03.teacher called David. It is all right, here's a teacher, all right?
:02:04. > :02:08.And he said, and I quote, I have been teaching for ten years. I see
:02:09. > :02:13.my workload increase, I have seen more people leave the profession
:02:14. > :02:18.than start, and no form of pay increase in seven years. The only
:02:19. > :02:23.thing holding the education system together is the dedication to
:02:24. > :02:28.struggle on for the students and staff, and he said this dedication
:02:29. > :02:33.is starting to run out, so what we are doing with this pick-up is we
:02:34. > :02:36.are saying to the Prime Minister is recklessly exploiting the goodwill
:02:37. > :02:41.of public servants like David. They need a pay rise. Let me remind the
:02:42. > :02:49.right Honourable gentleman why it has been necessary to exercise
:02:50. > :02:56.restraint. It is because we inherited the biggest deficit in
:02:57. > :03:00.history. The Prime Minister phoned ?1 billion to keep her own job, why
:03:01. > :03:04.can't she find the same amount of money to keep nurses and teachers in
:03:05. > :03:10.their job who after all serve all of us? Contrary to all of what he said,
:03:11. > :03:15.we have more nurses working in the NHS today compared to 2010. Let me
:03:16. > :03:21.remind the right honourable gentleman of what happens when you
:03:22. > :03:26.don't deal with the deficit. It's not a theoretical issue. Let's look
:03:27. > :03:34.at those countries who failed to deal with it. In Greece, where they
:03:35. > :03:45.haven't dealt with the deficit... What did we see with failure to deal
:03:46. > :03:52.with the deficit? Spending on the health service cut by 36%. It
:03:53. > :03:56.doesn't help nurses are patients. I hope the Prime Minister is proud of
:03:57. > :03:59.her record of controlling public sector pay to the extent that
:04:00. > :04:10.hard-working nurses have two axis that banks in order to survive. And
:04:11. > :04:15.we frozen wages of teaching assistants, paramedics and council
:04:16. > :04:21.workers, but it is not just in public sector but across the economy
:04:22. > :04:27.wages are rising by 2.1% while inflation is nearly 3%. 6 million
:04:28. > :04:31.workers already earn less than a living wage. What does the Prime
:04:32. > :04:34.Minister think that tells us about seven years of a Conservative
:04:35. > :04:40.government and what it has done to the living standards of those people
:04:41. > :04:45.on whom we all relied to get our public services and health services
:04:46. > :04:50.delivered to us? Let me just say what isn't free. It isn't fear to
:04:51. > :04:59.refuse to take tough decisions and to load bets on our children and
:05:00. > :05:04.grandchildren for the future. It isn't fair to bankrupt economy bit
:05:05. > :05:09.cause that means for people losing their jobs and losing their homes.
:05:10. > :05:15.Mr Speaker, let me spell it out, this is the only country in which
:05:16. > :05:21.wages have not recovered since the global financial crash. More people
:05:22. > :05:26.are using food banks. 4 million children living in poverty. Record
:05:27. > :05:31.in work poverty, young people who see no prospect of owning the
:05:32. > :05:36.long-haul, and 6 million earning less than a living wage. The Lope
:05:37. > :05:44.academic is a threat to our economic stability. Can she take some tough
:05:45. > :05:49.choices and instead of offering platitudes, offer some real help and
:05:50. > :05:52.support for those in work, young people who deserve better and
:05:53. > :06:01.deserve to be given more optimism rather than greater inequality. We
:06:02. > :06:05.actually now see that the proportion of people in absolute poverty is at
:06:06. > :06:08.a record low. I know the right honourable gentleman has taken to
:06:09. > :06:17.calling himself a government in waiting. We all know what that
:06:18. > :06:20.means. Waiting to put up taxes, waiting to destroy jobs, waiting to
:06:21. > :06:29.bankrupt country. We will never let it happen. The UK Government has not
:06:30. > :06:34.announced any measures to address rising inflation and slowing wage
:06:35. > :06:38.growth which the IFS has described as dreadful. As workers face more
:06:39. > :06:43.than a decade of lost wage growth and endure the worst period for paid
:06:44. > :06:48.in 70 years, does the Prime Minister think she is looking out for the
:06:49. > :06:52.just about managing? What is important is that we ensure we have
:06:53. > :06:55.an economy which is increasing the number of jobs because the best
:06:56. > :07:01.route out of poverty is for people to be in work. That is what we are
:07:02. > :07:04.doing and we have seen nearly 3 million more jobs being created over
:07:05. > :07:11.recent years and that is important for people. We also help people, for
:07:12. > :07:14.example, by cutting taxes. That is what we have done for the low paid,
:07:15. > :07:15.introducing the national living wage. That is giving people real
:07:16. > :07:18.help. Theresa May. Straight after PMQs,
:07:19. > :07:20.the Conservative Kenneth Clarke warned that any removal
:07:21. > :07:22.of the public sector pay cap The former Chancellor said
:07:23. > :07:25.Ministers had to maintain what he called their 'sensible
:07:26. > :07:27.policy' of keeping His remarks followed the tabling
:07:28. > :07:45.of an urgent question If she were to give way to this week
:07:46. > :07:48.was by lobbying on this subject it would be a political disaster
:07:49. > :07:54.because the government would be accused of Utah and surrender and
:07:55. > :07:56.would set off a wave of pay claims across the entire public sector what
:07:57. > :08:03.the opposition are obvious and looking forward to taking part in.
:08:04. > :08:06.It would also possibly be an economic disaster and not in the
:08:07. > :08:13.interests of the many people in the public and private sector having
:08:14. > :08:17.economic difficulties in these times, and want to move forward to a
:08:18. > :08:22.much more prosperous future as they get our economy back into health
:08:23. > :08:25.again. In many services workers have received additional paid to the 1%
:08:26. > :08:34.national increase. Teacher attacked another rich pay rise of 3.3% in
:08:35. > :08:40.2015-16. More than half of nurses and other NHS staff had an average
:08:41. > :08:43.increase of over 3% in 2016. Government pay policy is designed to
:08:44. > :08:50.be fair to public sector workers who work so hard to deliver the strong
:08:51. > :08:57.public services. The Shadow Chancellor talked about tensions
:08:58. > :09:00.between ten and 11 Downing St. For the Prime Minister that must be
:09:01. > :09:03.tough living next to a disruptive neighbour you can't stand, you try
:09:04. > :09:11.to get rid of bad you can't get on with. We then receive in the press,
:09:12. > :09:14.Mr Speaker, the wisdom of are tolerable member for Oxbridge who
:09:15. > :09:18.according to spokesperson supports the idea public sector workers
:09:19. > :09:25.getting a better pay deal. This was followed up by his campaign
:09:26. > :09:35.manager,... His campaign manager turned political assassin, the new
:09:36. > :09:38.Environment Secretary, who actually supports the putsch against the
:09:39. > :09:42.Chancellor. It descends into farce when we have David Cameron earning
:09:43. > :09:47.300,000 a speech telling us that those want more than 1% are selfish.
:09:48. > :09:51.As the Shadow Chancellor knows well the former Prime Minister didn't say
:09:52. > :09:56.it was selfish for dedicated public sector workers to ask for a pay
:09:57. > :09:59.rise. He argued that is selfish and immoral for politicians to offer
:10:00. > :10:03.benefits to the voters of today paid for by the borders of tomorrow, so
:10:04. > :10:07.would my right honourable friend agree that for her children in mind
:10:08. > :10:11.it is important to balance the treatment of the public sector with
:10:12. > :10:18.handing money strong country not saddled by excess debt. In the
:10:19. > :10:22.exceedingly fine city of Norwich we have three NHS trusts, two local
:10:23. > :10:26.authorities, a teaching hospital, thousands of public sector workers
:10:27. > :10:30.to contribute to our economy and who at present are struggling to make
:10:31. > :10:34.ends meet. Surely this government must understand that austerity is
:10:35. > :10:38.dying on its feet. Invest in these people and left the public sector
:10:39. > :10:47.cake up and invest in the Norwich economy. We know that since 2010,
:10:48. > :10:53.there have been 30,000 more nurses employed in the NHS but I am worried
:10:54. > :11:01.that the party opposite's unfunded proposals can actually lead to a cut
:11:02. > :11:09.in the number of nurses. A ?68 billion black hole in their
:11:10. > :11:13.manifesto. Mr Speaker, right now 130 workers at the DUP office have been
:11:14. > :11:17.told their place of work will be closed and jobs relocated up to an
:11:18. > :11:22.hour's drive away. Haven't these public sector workers suffered
:11:23. > :11:25.enough from the pay cap? The last thing they now need to be told as
:11:26. > :11:31.you have to find more money to pay via travel to and from work. That is
:11:32. > :11:38.a fundamental difference in the economic conditions when the 1% pay
:11:39. > :11:41.cap was introduced, with the fear of large-scale unemployment and
:11:42. > :11:45.inflation, from the present Dave when the chronic labour shortages
:11:46. > :11:51.throughout the public sector and salaries have been eroded by rising
:11:52. > :11:55.inflation. Will she not left the pay cap to reflect basic economic
:11:56. > :11:58.reality? It is not fair to say it is solely the 1%. Public sector workers
:11:59. > :11:59.are awarded on a number of ways. There've been claims that
:12:00. > :12:07.when the nation went to the polls one month ago,
:12:08. > :12:10.at the June 8th General Election, some young people may have
:12:11. > :12:12.deliberately voted twice - both in the place where they're
:12:13. > :12:15.a student and in their home town. The claims of double voting led
:12:16. > :12:17.to some robust exchanges in the Commons on the extent
:12:18. > :12:23.of electoral fraud in the UK. Is the Minister aware
:12:24. > :12:28.that there is now clear evidence that many students boasted on social
:12:29. > :12:30.media of voting twice - once at university, and once
:12:31. > :12:32.by post at home? Surely this is straightforward
:12:33. > :12:43.electoral fraud. Indeed, it is nothing less
:12:44. > :12:53.than an abuse of our democracy. I am meeting Sir John Holmes,
:12:54. > :12:55.the chair of the Electoral Commission, this afternoon,
:12:56. > :12:57.and I intend to raise this Let all of us in this House be
:12:58. > :13:02.clear: this is a crime. If anyone has any evidence
:13:03. > :13:04.of people voting twice, they should report it to their local
:13:05. > :13:07.returning officer and the police, Are we not supposed to have
:13:08. > :13:10.policy driven by evidence, and is it not significant
:13:11. > :13:13.that the Minister gave not one shred Quite frankly, in every election
:13:14. > :13:19.there are one or two cases of people being convicted of fraud,
:13:20. > :13:23.out of tens of millions of voters. This is straight out
:13:24. > :13:26.of the Donald Trump disinformation playbook, because Ministers
:13:27. > :13:30.are again trying to suppress The Minister cannot come up
:13:31. > :13:33.with any evidence - if anyone has such evidence,
:13:34. > :13:35.they should take it to the police - and he should
:13:36. > :13:38.be ashamed of himself. The last Electoral Commission report
:13:39. > :13:43.on the subject shows that 38% of people felt that electoral fraud
:13:44. > :13:46.was an issue. Since 2010, 2,394 alleged cases
:13:47. > :13:48.of electoral fraud have been reported to the Electoral
:13:49. > :13:55.Commission. In Eddisbury there was clear
:13:56. > :14:00.evidence of double registrations, Does the Minister agree
:14:01. > :14:07.that we should have a central system that flags up people
:14:08. > :14:11.who are double-registered, But surely the time
:14:12. > :14:17.has come for automatic How can it possibly be fair that,
:14:18. > :14:22.according to the Office for National Statistics,
:14:23. > :14:25.in my inner-city Nottingham constituency, less than three
:14:26. > :14:28.quarters of adults are on the electoral register,
:14:29. > :14:30.but in the Minister s constituency, Is not the real electoral fraud
:14:31. > :14:43.those policies that stand in the way of citizens
:14:44. > :14:46.exercising their democratic rights? It has been highlighted that
:14:47. > :14:49.all someone needs when they go In theory, someone could get
:14:50. > :14:53.hold of a telephone directory and vote all day
:14:54. > :14:55.in different polling stations. Does the Minister agree
:14:56. > :14:58.that it is time to use photo identification to prevent
:14:59. > :15:00.electoral fraud? People deserve to have confidence
:15:01. > :15:07.in the security of our democratic Voter ID has been in place
:15:08. > :15:13.in Northern Ireland for decades, and the use of photographic ID
:15:14. > :15:16.was introduced in 2003 under The Electoral Commission has
:15:17. > :15:19.consistently called for use of ID in polling stations to protect
:15:20. > :15:23.the integrity of the polls. The Government will conduct voter ID
:15:24. > :15:27.pilots in the local elections in May 2018 to enable us to learn
:15:28. > :15:31.what works best, and to ensure that we develop a system
:15:32. > :15:33.in which there is You're watching our round-up of the
:15:34. > :15:39.day in the Commons and the Lords. Still to come: MPs declare
:15:40. > :15:41."something must be done" It's three weeks since
:15:42. > :15:50.the Grenfell Tower fire - Theresa May promised that all those
:15:51. > :15:55.who had lost their homes in the tragedy would be offered
:15:56. > :15:59.temporary housing by this date. The Government has announced that
:16:00. > :16:03.a taskforce will be sent in to take over parts of Kensington
:16:04. > :16:05.and Chelsea Council. The Council has been
:16:06. > :16:07.heavily criticised for its Updating MPs, the Housing Minister
:16:08. > :16:12.said 158 families had been identified as needing temporary
:16:13. > :16:14.housing - where, he said, they could live, rent-free,
:16:15. > :16:16.while permanent accomodation I can confirm that every family
:16:17. > :16:30.that is ready to talk to the housing team has been offered a temporary
:16:31. > :16:33.home, and that 139 families have However, 19 families have not yet
:16:34. > :16:41.been ready to engage in the process, Some are still in hospital
:16:42. > :16:46.as a result of their injuries. In some cases, the people
:16:47. > :16:53.on the ground offering those families support have made clear
:16:54. > :16:55.that it would be inappropriate at this time to ask them to make
:16:56. > :16:58.a decision about where They have been through
:16:59. > :17:09.unimaginable trauma, and we need to go at the pace
:17:10. > :17:13.at which they want to go. What matters above all else is
:17:14. > :17:15.what the families individually want. As he came to the end
:17:16. > :17:18.of his statement, the Minister My visits to the Westway,
:17:19. > :17:26.hearing the harrowing accounts of survivors,
:17:27. > :17:28.have been the most humbling The families I have met have been
:17:29. > :17:39.through unimaginable pain. This is a tragedy that should
:17:40. > :17:43.never have happened, and we are determined to do
:17:44. > :17:46.all that we can to make sure something like this
:17:47. > :17:53.never happens again. I welcome the Minister
:17:54. > :17:58.to the Dispatch Box for his first oral statement in this job
:17:59. > :18:02.and thank him for making a copy John Healey said it had
:18:03. > :18:07.been a testing first few weeks for the Minister -
:18:08. > :18:09.but he had to say that After the fire, the
:18:10. > :18:15.Prime Minister said: "I have fixed a deadline of three
:18:16. > :18:20.weeks for everybody affected to be The three weeks are up,
:18:21. > :18:29.yet whole families, who have lost everything,
:18:30. > :18:31.are still in hotels and hostels. We have learned today that three -
:18:32. > :18:38.just three - of the 158 families from Grenfell Tower have moved
:18:39. > :18:40.into a fresh home, and these are only temporary, which was not
:18:41. > :18:44.what the Prime Minister first said. Is the Minister aware that,
:18:45. > :18:47.despite the press narrative of survivors refusing ?1 million
:18:48. > :18:50.luxury flats, some are being offered One man in particular,
:18:51. > :18:57.whom I think the Minister has met, runs his own business and cares
:18:58. > :19:00.for his elderly disabled mother. He was offered a home in a poorly
:19:01. > :19:03.maintained, rat-infested estate What kind of peace and stability
:19:04. > :19:09.could that traumatised family, who escaped with their lives
:19:10. > :19:11.while rescuing their neighbours, possibly find in that
:19:12. > :19:15.frankly shameful offer? I would really like to know
:19:16. > :19:17.who considered that kind We do not want any family to be
:19:18. > :19:26.placed in accommodation Lady to join me and the shadow
:19:27. > :19:36.Minister - let us go and visit some of these properties and make sure
:19:37. > :19:40.that she is happy with the quality I want to share the words
:19:41. > :19:43.of my constituent, Jess. She says: "I am a firefighter
:19:44. > :19:46.and went into Grenfell Tower, rescuing an unconscious girl
:19:47. > :19:48.from the 12th floor. Myself and my fellow firefighters
:19:49. > :19:50.will never forget the horrors of that night and the fact
:19:51. > :19:53.we couldn t rescue everyone. But we are not to blame for these
:19:54. > :19:57.deaths, the shocking and tragic fire I have never seen a building go up
:19:58. > :20:02.in flames so quickly, it took minutes for the fire to hop
:20:03. > :20:04.from floor to floor. This tragedy has shown that the laws
:20:05. > :20:07.on fire safety in buildings say to my constituent,
:20:08. > :20:17.and what support has been put In reply, Mr Sharma paid tribute
:20:18. > :20:22.to the "incredible work" that the firefighters did, and do,
:20:23. > :20:25.every day of the year. He said trauma
:20:26. > :20:27.counselling was vital. He said a public inquiry had been
:20:28. > :20:31.set up to get to the bottom There was discussion also
:20:32. > :20:37.in the House of Lords on the Government's latest moves
:20:38. > :20:39.in the aftermath In the Prime Minister s Statement
:20:40. > :20:43.on 22 June, she first outlined that the accommodation will be
:20:44. > :20:46.on the same terms as the original accommodation, and we have seen
:20:47. > :20:51.a definition of that today. Unfortunately, I understood "same
:20:52. > :20:53.terms" to be in the personal injury lawyer sense,
:20:54. > :20:56.which is to put the person back into the position they would have
:20:57. > :21:00.been in had none of this happened. People who have been placed
:21:01. > :21:05.in accommodation with more bedrooms should be in the same position -
:21:06. > :21:07.having the same money still in their pocket -
:21:08. > :21:10.as if they were in the house This tragedy should
:21:11. > :21:15.never have happened. Everything must be done to make sure
:21:16. > :21:18.it never happens again, to do right by the victims
:21:19. > :21:24.and their families, to treat them with care and respect,
:21:25. > :21:26.and to give them the support they deserve and the
:21:27. > :21:29.answers they need. There is a real risk that
:21:30. > :21:31.something will happen - It is quite clear that
:21:32. > :21:39.the organisation in London of individual boroughs is not
:21:40. > :21:42.properly equipped to handle There is no wonder that
:21:43. > :21:45.Manchester City Council did a better job than Kensington and Chelsea:
:21:46. > :21:53.the resources available The Minister talked
:21:54. > :21:56.about a task force. There needs to be a permanent
:21:57. > :21:58.organisation so that if tragedy strikes in one of these ways,
:21:59. > :22:01.it can go straight I very much hope that that will be
:22:02. > :22:11.the outcome of this. What steps is the Minister taking
:22:12. > :22:14.to ensure that there are no other local authorities that are equally
:22:15. > :22:16.weak in disaster Although this was a terrible
:22:17. > :22:21.tragedy, in terms of managing the disaster,
:22:22. > :22:23.it was not particularly difficult. It was very concentrated
:22:24. > :22:28.geographically. What would have happened
:22:29. > :22:30.if a wide-bodied jet had landed My noble friend said that this
:22:31. > :22:35.case was easy to handle It might have been geographically
:22:36. > :22:43.concentrated, but the nature of this tragedy was such that it was,
:22:44. > :22:45.and still is, very I have no particular knowledge
:22:46. > :22:53.of detailed plans for the type of disaster he talked about,
:22:54. > :22:57.but the suggestion by my noble friend Lord King
:22:58. > :23:00.and the Prime Minister of some sort of civil action disaster task force
:23:01. > :23:03.is an appropriate one to deal with such awful occasions,
:23:04. > :23:14.which do happen over time - we can think of transport
:23:15. > :23:17.disasters or Hillsborough. Such situations would be helped
:23:18. > :23:20.by having an appropriate body with legacy ideas passed on from one
:23:21. > :23:22.awful disaster to another. It is an idea that is worth pursuing
:23:23. > :23:25.on a non-partisan basis. Councils in England are to be given
:23:26. > :23:28.access to a multibillion-pound fund It could mean new by-passes
:23:29. > :23:33.and relief roads for country towns Under the scheme, to be
:23:34. > :23:40.implemented in 2020, road improvement projects will be
:23:41. > :23:45.judged on how they contribute to creating a more
:23:46. > :23:47.geographically balanced economy, It was originally thought the money,
:23:48. > :23:53.held in the national roads, fund would be spent
:23:54. > :23:55.on motorways and A-roads. MPs in Westminster Hall have been
:23:56. > :23:58.staging a general debate on problems Can I perhaps be the first
:23:59. > :24:10.honourable member in this house to make an oral application to
:24:11. > :24:13.the Roads Minister for bypasses for Little Common off the A259
:24:14. > :24:16.and Hurst Green off the A21. I'm sure I will not be
:24:17. > :24:19.the last applicant today. I would like to talk about the A27
:24:20. > :24:22.that runs through my constituency. It was envisaged as a
:24:23. > :24:24.coastal highway, but anybody who has travelled
:24:25. > :24:26.along the road will know it is
:24:27. > :24:28.too often a If you ask many drivers and what
:24:29. > :24:46.their priorities are, they will say it is fixing
:24:47. > :24:49.damage local roads, not Potholes don't just
:24:50. > :24:55.impair the quality of driving, extended journey times
:24:56. > :24:58.and damage vehicles, they are a real safety risk for
:24:59. > :25:00.drivers and cyclists. Everyone is a road user,
:25:01. > :25:02.and tackling the poor condition of our roads should be
:25:03. > :25:10.a national priority. the Russian published Rhoda
:25:11. > :25:14.mentalist survey found almost one fifth of roads were improved
:25:15. > :25:18.condition while local authorities said one in six roads crossing
:25:19. > :25:23.England and Wales Mac are in such bad state they must be repaired
:25:24. > :25:28.within the next five years. The bypass has been waiting for 20
:25:29. > :25:32.or 30 years and we are progressing but this kind of fund is exactly
:25:33. > :25:39.what we need to get it over the line. The other three decade Rd in
:25:40. > :25:40.waiting is one that also affects the Tower Lane.
:25:41. > :25:43.And that's the end of the road for me for this programme.
:25:44. > :25:45.Do join me for our next daily round-up.
:25:46. > :25:48.Until then, from me, Keith Macdougall, goodbye.