:00:22. > :00:28.Hello there and welcome to Wednesday in Parliament. The first Prime
:00:29. > :00:35.Minister's Questions of the new term sees Theresa May being urged to lift
:00:36. > :00:39.the public sector pay cap. NHS staff of 14% worse off than they were
:00:40. > :00:43.seven years ago. Is she really happy that NHS staff use food banks? As a
:00:44. > :00:47.result of the decisions the Labour Party took in government, we now
:00:48. > :00:54.have to pay more on debt interest than an NHS pay. Peers argue it is
:00:55. > :01:00.time for a new approach to illegal drug-taking. And their support for
:01:01. > :01:06.the Government's plan for letting fees in England. If one letting
:01:07. > :01:16.agent can charge ?6 for a check, how can others charge ?300? We start
:01:17. > :01:19.with the first Prime Minister's Questions after the summer recess.
:01:20. > :01:24.The Brexit talks have been continuing, in the mornings news
:01:25. > :01:27.have been dominated by leaked report suggesting the UK could take a much
:01:28. > :01:31.tougher approach to immigration once we have left the EU. Jeremy Corbyn
:01:32. > :01:34.didn't raise the potential change for overseas workers, but did raise
:01:35. > :01:40.pay and conditions for workers already here. With nurses protesting
:01:41. > :01:46.outside the Houses of Parliament, Jeremy Corbyn stepped up his calls
:01:47. > :01:52.for an end to the public sector pay cap. Mr Speaker, today, thousands of
:01:53. > :01:57.nursing and other health care staff are outside Parliament. They are
:01:58. > :02:01.demanding that this government scrapped the 1% pay cap. Poor pay
:02:02. > :02:07.means experienced staff are leaving and fewer people are training to
:02:08. > :02:11.become nurses. There is already a shortage of 40,000 nurses across the
:02:12. > :02:16.UK. Will the Prime Minister please see sense and end the public sector
:02:17. > :02:24.pay cap and ensure our NHS staff are properly... There are two pay body
:02:25. > :02:26.review reports to be published, for police and prison officers, that
:02:27. > :02:32.will happen shortly, and then later, as always happens every year, Lady
:02:33. > :02:35.in the autumn we will publish the framework for 2018/19, and we will
:02:36. > :02:38.continue to balance the need to protect jobs, the need to protect
:02:39. > :02:42.public sector workers and the need to ensure that we are also
:02:43. > :02:48.protecting and being fair to those who are paying for it, including
:02:49. > :02:52.public sector workers. He asks consistently for more money to be
:02:53. > :02:57.spent. He can do that in opposition because he knows he doesn't have to
:02:58. > :03:02.pay for it. The problem with Labour is they do it in government as well,
:03:03. > :03:08.and as a result of the decisions the Labour Party took in government, as
:03:09. > :03:15.a result of the decisions the Labour Party took in government, we now
:03:16. > :03:21.have to pay more on debt interest than an NHS pay. That's the result
:03:22. > :03:24.of Labour. The Prime Minister had no problems finding ?1 billion to
:03:25. > :03:32.please the DUP, no problems whatsoever. And NHS staff are 14%
:03:33. > :03:40.worse off than they were seven years ago. Is she really happy that NHS
:03:41. > :03:44.staff use food banks? Warm words don't play food bills. Pay rises
:03:45. > :03:51.will help to do that. She must end the public sector pay cap. The
:03:52. > :03:55.Westminster leader did turn to Brexit. Does the Prime Minister
:03:56. > :03:58.agree with me that immigration is essential to the strength of the UK
:03:59. > :04:05.economy as well as enhancing our diversity and cultural fabric? As I
:04:06. > :04:09.have said on many occasions before, overall immigration has been good
:04:10. > :04:14.for the UK, but what people want to see is control of that immigration.
:04:15. > :04:19.But I think what people want to see as a result of coming out of the
:04:20. > :04:24.European Union. We are already able to exercise controls in relation to
:04:25. > :04:26.those who come to this country from outside the countries within the
:04:27. > :04:31.European Union, and we continue to believe as a government that's it
:04:32. > :04:34.important to have net migration and sustainable levels. We believe that
:04:35. > :04:37.to be in the tens of thousands because of the impact particularly
:04:38. > :04:43.at has on people at the lower end of the income scale in depressing their
:04:44. > :04:46.wages. From the backbenches, a Conservative raise the EU withdrawal
:04:47. > :04:51.bill which MPs are due to begin debating on Thursday. It transfers
:04:52. > :04:54.EU laws into UK legislation, but there will need to be some changes
:04:55. > :04:59.to make those laws work after Brexit. That has caused concern that
:05:00. > :05:01.the Government may use potentially sweeping powers to make alterations
:05:02. > :05:15.without Parliamentary scrutiny. Could my right honourable friend
:05:16. > :05:18.assure me that she would use those measures to affect the withdrawal
:05:19. > :05:25.bill so that it doesn't become an unprecedented and unnecessary
:05:26. > :05:28.government power grab? I'm very grateful to my right honourable
:05:29. > :05:32.friend from raising this issue, and I know that like me she wants to see
:05:33. > :05:36.an orderly exit from the European Union, and will be supporting this
:05:37. > :05:39.bill which enables is not just to leave the EU but to do so in an
:05:40. > :05:46.orderly manner with a functioning statute book. As we do that, we will
:05:47. > :05:50.require certain powers to make corrections to the statute book
:05:51. > :05:53.after the Bill becomes law, because the negotiations are ongoing, and we
:05:54. > :05:57.will do that via secondary legislation which will receive
:05:58. > :06:03.Parliamentary scrutiny, an approach which has been endorsed by the House
:06:04. > :06:07.of Lords Constitution committee. From this month, all three and
:06:08. > :06:11.four-year-olds in England are entitled to 30 hours of free
:06:12. > :06:15.childcare week, up from 15 hours. But Labour says parents are in limbo
:06:16. > :06:18.because of failings in the Government's scheme. The shadow
:06:19. > :06:23.Education Minister attacked the Tory policy for being shrouded in
:06:24. > :06:26.secrecy, misinformation and mayhem. From the beginning, the application
:06:27. > :06:33.process was not fit for purpose. Settings were run ragged trying to
:06:34. > :06:37.help parents, and this afternoon, there are parents who have been
:06:38. > :06:40.waiting weeks and are still in limbo. This childcare has been
:06:41. > :06:46.advertised as free, but it is clear it will be subsidised by parents or
:06:47. > :06:50.providers. This risks pricing out the poorest, and top providers
:06:51. > :06:57.leaving the sector. Will he now listen and commit to reevaluating
:06:58. > :07:01.the policies funding? Thank you, Mr Speaker. I'm afraid the honourable
:07:02. > :07:07.lady's rhetoric doesn't accurately reflect the experience on the
:07:08. > :07:12.ground. I can update her in terms of we predicted that around 75% of
:07:13. > :07:15.eligible parents would apply and the scheme. There are some parents who
:07:16. > :07:21.have a very good reasons in terms of family childcare would not apply,
:07:22. > :07:25.that figure would have been 200,000, so we have exceeded that prediction,
:07:26. > :07:31.and I can confirm that as we are only six days into September,
:07:32. > :07:36.152,829 parents have secured a place, that is 71% of those parents
:07:37. > :07:41.have now found a place six days in. That is a great success story. But
:07:42. > :07:46.MPs continue to raise questions, some hostile and some not. He knows
:07:47. > :07:51.that I wrote as the incoming chairman of the Treasury select
:07:52. > :07:54.committee to the head HMRC over the summer, he replied the the 17th of
:07:55. > :07:58.August saying that a total of ?45,000 or thereabouts had so far
:07:59. > :08:01.been paid in compensation. Is that the list are able to update the
:08:02. > :08:04.House, and Kenny confirm what he said about those parents who had
:08:05. > :08:11.codes by the 31st of August that they will be able to access
:08:12. > :08:15.childcare this autumn? I thank my right honourable friend for the
:08:16. > :08:19.question. It is indeed a pledge that is being delivered. It is no secret
:08:20. > :08:23.that there were technical problems with the IT system, and indeed my
:08:24. > :08:29.honourable friend from the Treasury is here, listening to what we say.
:08:30. > :08:32.Round about 1% of cases who applied online were stuck, that is a
:08:33. > :08:36.technical reason those cases were not processed. There were another
:08:37. > :08:45.group of cases that could not have been processed online, for example
:08:46. > :08:49.person who applies for child care on the basis of a job offer rather than
:08:50. > :08:52.on the basis of the job, that would give us a Catch-22 situation that a
:08:53. > :08:55.person could deprive childcare Fichardt Kevin Olimpa a job and
:08:56. > :08:58.didn't get the job because they didn't have childcare, so in
:08:59. > :09:09.situations like that there is a manual system. There were 2200 stuck
:09:10. > :09:13.cases, there are now 1500, but there are many new cases summer which have
:09:14. > :09:18.only been on the system for a week, and certainly my honourable friend
:09:19. > :09:21.will write to her with regards to compensation, but we have a small
:09:22. > :09:25.number of people affected by this. The situation was operational 93% of
:09:26. > :09:32.the time during which people could apply. I wonder if the Minister has
:09:33. > :09:35.read the report published last week with the social market foundation
:09:36. > :09:39.that showed that of the extra money the Government is pumping into the
:09:40. > :09:45.early years over the course of this Parliament, 75% of that expenditure
:09:46. > :09:50.is going on the top earners, the top 50% of earners, lesson 3% is going
:09:51. > :09:54.on the most disadvantaged. This comes at a time when the
:09:55. > :09:57.Government's own evaluation of the two-year-old office showing a good
:09:58. > :10:02.quality early education is life changing for those families that
:10:03. > :10:05.receive it. Is he happy with this distribution of expenditure, and
:10:06. > :10:09.what more is he doing to ensure that low-income and disadvantaged
:10:10. > :10:14.families are accessing this high-quality education? The SNP
:10:15. > :10:20.Scottish Government confirmed that childcare entitlement will double
:10:21. > :10:25.from August 20 20. The Tories have decided to cherry pick who receives
:10:26. > :10:28.the childcare. The Minister told the SNP that he wouldn't take any
:10:29. > :10:33.lessons from the Scottish Government. The Conservatives were
:10:34. > :10:39.committed to spending billions of pounds and to transforming the lives
:10:40. > :10:42.of working parents. You are watching Wednesday in Parliament with me,
:10:43. > :10:44.Alysia McCarthy. Don't forget was much more from this programme on our
:10:45. > :10:58.website. In Westminster Hall, there was broad
:10:59. > :11:05.support for a Government plan to ban fees paid to letting agents in
:11:06. > :11:07.England. A new tenants fees bill was announced in the Queen's Speech
:11:08. > :11:12.which. Tenants having to pay. The money is used to taking references,
:11:13. > :11:15.getting credit checks or investigating immigration status,
:11:16. > :11:18.but MPs argued the amounts charged could be excessive.
:11:19. > :11:21.A leading figure in the estate agency history was talking to
:11:22. > :11:22.me about his daughter who went to college
:11:23. > :11:26.student house with four fellow students and were charged ?500 as a
:11:27. > :11:37.They use it to lower their charges to
:11:38. > :11:39.landlords, to attract more landlords, and then
:11:40. > :11:40.transfer that cost on
:11:41. > :11:48.Others use it simply to maximise profits.
:11:49. > :11:49.Take my constituent, David, for example.
:11:50. > :11:52.He rents a small room in what was originally a three-bedroom
:11:53. > :11:56.There are now two further bedrooms in the loft and two
:11:57. > :11:59.reception rooms on the ground floor used as bedrooms.
:12:00. > :12:01.There are currently ten households in that house.
:12:02. > :12:03.And he is charged ?550 a month for his
:12:04. > :12:11.Not the highest in the constituency, but still high enough.
:12:12. > :12:14.And he was charged an astounding ?1250 in letting fees and a further
:12:15. > :12:17.?50 to simply get the letter that explained how much his deposit was
:12:18. > :12:31.On average, I'm told that it's up to five
:12:32. > :12:35.hours repair for a tenancy, looking at all the different documentation,
:12:36. > :12:37.going through the reference request, checking on the credit
:12:38. > :12:41.history, liaising with external referencing companies.
:12:42. > :12:44.I had a session with a couple of agents and
:12:45. > :12:49.they explained to me all the work that has to be done.
:12:50. > :12:51.And what they pointed out was that this is, in
:12:52. > :12:56.And that is why it I was saying to the Minister that are there no other
:12:57. > :12:59.possible ways forward that could be looked at?
:13:00. > :13:02.For example, what about a cap on fees, would that not solve this?
:13:03. > :13:05.What about taking referencing fees at the scope of the action
:13:06. > :13:14.And further to the point the honourable member
:13:15. > :13:16.made, he was saying that the landlord should pay
:13:17. > :13:18.for those, to be fair, the potential
:13:19. > :13:21.tenant would go to the agent and the tenant farms that
:13:22. > :13:25.The agent carries out the referencing work on that
:13:26. > :13:27.particular tenant and then the tenant has the
:13:28. > :13:30.opportunity through the agent of bidding for those properties.
:13:31. > :13:32.So what I would suggest is that, if the
:13:33. > :13:44.onus is put on the landlord, that rents will go up.
:13:45. > :13:50.The shadow Housing Minister pointed this out:
:13:51. > :13:53.If the tenant wishes to stay in the property
:13:54. > :13:56.beyond the length of the initial contract, they can be charged a fee
:13:57. > :13:57.for renewing their tenancy, which well
:13:58. > :13:58.in practice is as simple as
:13:59. > :14:00.changing the dates on the contract, can set
:14:01. > :14:02.tenants back by as much as
:14:03. > :14:05.For an average of ?400 per household, private renters
:14:06. > :14:07.received the servers that the landlord has already paid
:14:08. > :14:10.The fees charged by different letting agents
:14:11. > :14:14.Which shows that they bear little or no relation to the
:14:15. > :14:17.One letting agent contract just ?6 for a
:14:18. > :14:19.reference check, how can other agents justify charging the hundred
:14:20. > :14:23.We hope that a ban will help to deliver
:14:24. > :14:25.a more competitive and more affordable and transparent lettings
:14:26. > :14:30.And I think we have heard from Scotland, it hasn't had a
:14:31. > :14:39.negative consequences that some suggested that it might do.
:14:40. > :14:48.Good letting agents provide a valuable service. The problem is
:14:49. > :14:52.that the letting agent is chosen by the landlord, so tenants can be
:14:53. > :14:57.charged on fair or excessive fees, with a limited ability to negotiate
:14:58. > :15:00.or opt out. Evidence shows that this is a problem right across England,
:15:01. > :15:04.and colleagues have referred to this. By banning tenant fees we will
:15:05. > :15:07.enable tenants to see what a given property will cost them and the
:15:08. > :15:11.advertised rent levels without any hidden costs. We believe this will
:15:12. > :15:15.reduce the upfront costs that tenants face when moving home and
:15:16. > :15:17.ensure that they are only committed to a property that they know that
:15:18. > :15:30.they can afford. A new fleet of warships will be
:15:31. > :15:34.built over the next six years. The Defence Secretary told the Commons
:15:35. > :15:39.that they will be constructive at a cost of no more than ?250 million
:15:40. > :15:42.each. So Michael Fallon acknowledged that previous warships have been
:15:43. > :15:45.over budget and delivered late, but this time, the prize will be fixed
:15:46. > :15:49.in advance. The first chips are said to be in service by 2023.
:15:50. > :15:51.So, this will be the first demonstration of our
:15:52. > :15:55.The new frigate will be procured competitively,
:15:56. > :15:57.providing an opportunity for any shipyard across the United Kingdom
:15:58. > :16:07.The strategy confirms in the clearest statement of this
:16:08. > :16:13.policy for a decade that all warships will have a UK owned,
:16:14. > :16:15.designed, and will be built and integrated
:16:16. > :16:26.Warship build will be by competition between United Kingdom shipyards.
:16:27. > :16:33.The Government's commitment to a ship building strategy
:16:34. > :16:35.must be complemented by a comprehensive
:16:36. > :16:40.So can I ask the Secretary of State, how he intends
:16:41. > :16:43.to maximise opportunities for the UK supply chain?
:16:44. > :16:47.And when determining best value, will he commit to giving weight
:16:48. > :16:50.to the positive impact on local economies and employment
:16:51. > :16:55.opportunities when awarding contracts?
:16:56. > :16:59.The news that only 50% of the steel in the type 26 is UK sourced
:17:00. > :17:04.So how does the Government intend to improve on this
:17:05. > :17:12.Can you confirm that the type 31 frigate is a complex naval warship
:17:13. > :17:15.and therefore should be built at the centre of excellence
:17:16. > :17:18.which is on the Clyde which he entered them Prime Minister
:17:19. > :17:22.promised in November 2015, and finally, in respect
:17:23. > :17:25.of fleet and support ships, why are these being procured
:17:26. > :17:27.internationally when surely the UK shipyards could be
:17:28. > :17:36.Well, the honourable gentleman is doing his
:17:37. > :17:37.best to turn sunshine into a grievance, and...
:17:38. > :17:42.It is, you know, it is extraordinary,
:17:43. > :17:45.just to be clear about Govan, Govan is going to build for 20
:17:46. > :17:51.That is a frigate factory by any definition.
:17:52. > :17:54.Will he give an undertaking today that wherever possible,
:17:55. > :17:58.we will use British steel in the building of these ships?
:17:59. > :18:02.Well, we are going, as I said, to take a very, very close interest
:18:03. > :18:05.in the percentage of steel that will be used in each of the bids
:18:06. > :18:12.We'll be watching that extremely closely.
:18:13. > :18:15.I do remind the House, there are some specialist steels
:18:16. > :18:17.that are not produced in this country that are needed
:18:18. > :18:25.But we will be looking to those who submit their bids to demonstrate
:18:26. > :18:30.just how much British steel they are using and also show how
:18:31. > :18:36.they are going to fully engage their local supply chains
:18:37. > :18:46.and indeed take the opportunity to refresh local skills in their area.
:18:47. > :18:49.I recently wrote to the Secretary of State asking if he would consider
:18:50. > :18:53.naming one of the type 26 frigates HMS Colchester and I got a very
:18:54. > :18:55.pleasant and polite response from the Undersecretary of State
:18:56. > :18:59.saying no, but I'm nothing but persistent and I would ask,
:19:00. > :19:03.we waited patiently since 1746 for another HMS Colchester
:19:04. > :19:06.and I would ask the Secretary of State to please consider one
:19:07. > :19:14.of the new type 31 E class as HMS Colchester.
:19:15. > :19:18.If my honourable friend has waited since 1746,
:19:19. > :19:19.perhaps he can wait a little longer.
:19:20. > :19:35.The Government says it has no plans to review a new law banning
:19:36. > :19:41.psychoactive substances, formerly known as legal highs, following a
:19:42. > :19:44.prosecution last month. The propagation service is reviewing two
:19:45. > :19:51.cases after a judge said that nitrous oxide, no one is exempt from
:19:52. > :19:54.the ban. The gas gas can be held as a recreational drug but the court
:19:55. > :20:02.ruled it wasn't covered by the law as it is also used by doctors for
:20:03. > :20:03.painterly. -- pain relief. It is believed that highlighted a flaw in
:20:04. > :20:06.the legislation. It hasn't taken long for the courts
:20:07. > :20:09.to expose the on work ability Faced with a very serious
:20:10. > :20:12.and pressing problem of new psychoactive substances,
:20:13. > :20:14.will the Government now see reason and accept that prohibition,
:20:15. > :20:17.the orthodoxy of the last half-century, and reiterated
:20:18. > :20:18.on a peculiarly crude model in the 2016 Act,
:20:19. > :20:21.has failed with disastrous consequences in terms
:20:22. > :20:26.of the growth of crime, the blighting of innumerable
:20:27. > :20:29.lives, not to mention Will the Government now
:20:30. > :20:35.both its policy not on the wishful thinking and populism,
:20:36. > :20:42.but on the evidence of science, the analysis of specific harms
:20:43. > :20:45.and the experience here and in other countries of what does work
:20:46. > :20:49.and what does not work? My lords, I disagree with the noble
:20:50. > :20:51.lord about the psychoactive substances act not working,
:20:52. > :20:57.because we have managed to close down over 300 retailers
:20:58. > :21:03.across the UK who sell psychoactive substances, and in 2016
:21:04. > :21:12.there were 28 convictions in England and Wales and seven people jailed
:21:13. > :21:16.under the new powers. Additionally coming from Manchester,
:21:17. > :21:18.I would have to disagree with the noble lord if he saw some
:21:19. > :21:21.of the sites that I have seen on the streets
:21:22. > :21:24.of Manchester recently. The UN changed the basis of global
:21:25. > :21:27.drug policy in April last year We now know that banning drugs
:21:28. > :21:37.will never create a drug-free world. The UN therefore wants nations
:21:38. > :21:41.to pursue evidence -based policies as the noble lord has mentioned,
:21:42. > :21:44.public health policies to reduce addiction and reduce
:21:45. > :21:54.the harm star young people. My lords, the Psychoactive
:21:55. > :21:56.Substances Bill runs It increases the risks
:21:57. > :22:01.to young people. They were the last vestige of any
:22:02. > :22:06.kind of protection for young people, So I will therefore reiterate
:22:07. > :22:12.the point already made, really. Will the Minister give an assurance
:22:13. > :22:15.to this House that she will give the most serious consideration
:22:16. > :22:19.to instigating an independent review We are simply making matters worse,
:22:20. > :22:29.and to come forward I must say to the noble lady
:22:30. > :22:42.that I don't disagree. In fact, on previous occasions
:22:43. > :22:44.I haven't disagreed that evidence -based policies are absolutely
:22:45. > :22:46.the right way forward, in fact the WHO is currently
:22:47. > :22:49.undertaking some work of its own and will report next year
:22:50. > :22:56.on the various elements of cannabis, and we wait with interest
:22:57. > :23:16.on the results of that work. Finally, back to the Commons, where
:23:17. > :23:21.MPs were debating finance. Nothing unusual about that, but this is
:23:22. > :23:28.what's known as a ways and means debate, about the Budget. The Khan
:23:29. > :23:33.budget was back in the spring but ways to enact it were delayed and
:23:34. > :23:36.MPs are only just getting round to it now.
:23:37. > :23:40.I appreciate having a chance to take part in this ways and means debate,
:23:41. > :23:43.which I understand is one of very few that doesn't follow a Budget,
:23:44. > :23:46.somebody told me that this is the first one since 1987 that
:23:47. > :23:57.A Treasury minister argued it was much needed.
:23:58. > :23:59.It changes this bill will make are important,
:24:00. > :24:01.making a major contribution to the public finances,
:24:02. > :24:04.tackling tax avoidance and evasion and addressing areas of unfairness
:24:05. > :24:10.But the Labour front bench thought it was in a muddle.
:24:11. > :24:12.A chaotic Government chaotically stumbling from crisis to crisis,
:24:13. > :24:14.not knowing one part of its anatomy from another.
:24:15. > :24:16.And after the election, we return to a zombie Parliament
:24:17. > :24:21.where little in the way of business was put forward to be debated
:24:22. > :24:23.in this House and I think the Speaker referred to this whole
:24:24. > :24:26.question today about scrutiny, which we are supposed to be doing
:24:27. > :24:28.and the Government is not putting anything forward
:24:29. > :24:32.So not only is the Prime Minister one of the walking dead,
:24:33. > :24:39.but she wants Parliament to be, to join her.
:24:40. > :24:43.But the minister argued the alternative plan brought by Labour
:24:44. > :24:47.at the election would not be good for the country.
:24:48. > :24:51.To be going out there with a plan which will basically see corporation
:24:52. > :24:53.tax rising up to 26%, for small companies as well,
:24:54. > :24:55.and changing the higher rate tax threshold to bring many,
:24:56. > :24:59.many more people into the higher rate of tax is not a way
:25:00. > :25:11.of incentivising jobs, wealth and economic growth.
:25:12. > :25:14.The SNP had reservations about the proposal in the bill but did well,
:25:15. > :25:19.one item. -- welcome one item. The fact that the Government
:25:20. > :25:22.is going to be taking action on those people that have been
:25:23. > :25:24.enabling tax avoidance schemes and not just those people have been
:25:25. > :25:27.participating in tax avoidance schemes, I think that is a really
:25:28. > :25:30.positive move and I hope it will do what the Government is intending
:25:31. > :25:33.in that it will discourage people from being clever and covering up
:25:34. > :25:35.tax avoidance schemes. So my fingers are crossed
:25:36. > :25:46.on that, we will wait That's it from me for now but to
:25:47. > :25:49.join me at the same time tomorrow as MPs hold their first big debate on
:25:50. > :25:58.the EU withdrawal bill. But now, from the, goodbye.