10/01/2018

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0:00:17 > 0:00:18Hello, and welcome to the programme.

0:00:18 > 0:00:20Coming up:

0:00:20 > 0:00:27The Labour leader mocks the Prime Minister over her reshuffle.

0:00:28 > 0:00:33We know the Prime Minister recognises there is a crisis in our

0:00:33 > 0:00:37NHS because she wanted to sack the Health Secretary last week but was

0:00:37 > 0:00:38too weak to do it.

0:00:38 > 0:00:42Theresa May defends her health policy.

0:00:42 > 0:00:46Preparations for winter in the NHS have been more extensive and

0:00:46 > 0:00:48meticulous than ever before.

0:00:48 > 0:00:54And is the head of the energy regulator Ofgem just too laid back?

0:00:54 > 0:00:58Do you ever just roll your sleeves up and get stuck in, because I don't

0:00:58 > 0:00:59really see the evidence of that?

0:00:59 > 0:01:01It was the first Prime Minister's Questions since Theresa May

0:01:01 > 0:01:02reshuffled her cabinet.

0:01:02 > 0:01:05But, to be honest, you did have to look quite hard

0:01:05 > 0:01:06to spot the new faces.

0:01:06 > 0:01:08Sitting on the front bench for the first time

0:01:08 > 0:01:10were Esther McVey, the new Work and Pensions Secretary,

0:01:10 > 0:01:13and Brandon Lewis the new Conservative Party chairman.

0:01:13 > 0:01:16A few victims of the reshuffle had returned to the backbenches -

0:01:16 > 0:01:18Damian Green, the former First Secretary of State.

0:01:18 > 0:01:21And in a corner, quite near to where the Brexit

0:01:21 > 0:01:24rebels seat themselves, was Justine Greening,

0:01:24 > 0:01:27lately of the Education Department.

0:01:27 > 0:01:34So with everyone in their places we were off.

0:01:34 > 0:01:40Mr Speaker, I know it seems a long time ago, I know it seems a long

0:01:40 > 0:01:44time ago but just before Christmas I asked the Prime Minister about the

0:01:44 > 0:01:4912,000 people left waiting more than half an hour in the back of an

0:01:49 > 0:01:54ambulance at A&E departments. She told the House the NHS was better

0:01:54 > 0:02:01prepared for winter than ever before. So what words of comfort

0:02:01 > 0:02:06does the Prime Minister have two the 17,000 patients waiting in the back

0:02:06 > 0:02:12of ambulances in the last week of December? Is it that nothing is

0:02:12 > 0:02:19perfect, by any chance?I fully accept that the NHS is under

0:02:19 > 0:02:24pressure over winter. It is readily and a pressure at wintertime is. I

0:02:24 > 0:02:29have been very clear that I apologise to those people who have

0:02:29 > 0:02:32had those operations delayed and those people who have had their

0:02:32 > 0:02:37admission to hospital delayed but it is, indeed, the case that the NHS

0:02:37 > 0:02:42was better prepared this winter than ever before.Be known Prime Minister

0:02:42 > 0:02:46recognises there is a crisis in our NHS because she wanted to sack the

0:02:46 > 0:02:53Health Secretary last week but was too weak do it. If the NHS is so

0:02:53 > 0:02:58well resourced and so well-prepared, why was the decision taken last week

0:02:58 > 0:03:04to cancel the operations of 55,000 patients during the month of

0:03:04 > 0:03:12January?In terms of being prepared, this is what NHS providers said only

0:03:12 > 0:03:18last week, preparations for winter in the NHS have been more extensive

0:03:18 > 0:03:22and meticulous than ever before.The Health Secretary said that the

0:03:22 > 0:03:27government wanted to be the best in the world for cancer diagnosis,

0:03:27 > 0:03:32treatment and care. Today, according to a memo from the head of

0:03:32 > 0:03:35chemotherapy at Oxford Churchill Hospital, terminally ill cancer

0:03:35 > 0:03:39patients will have their chemotherapy cut because of a

0:03:39 > 0:03:45massive shortfall in specialist nurses. Will the Prime Minister

0:03:45 > 0:03:49apologise to cancer patients and their families for this appalling

0:03:49 > 0:03:53situation?I say to the honourable lady that the trust have made clear

0:03:53 > 0:03:56there are absolutely no plans to delay the start of chemotherapy

0:03:56 > 0:04:01treatment or reduce the number of cycles given to cancer patients.

0:04:01 > 0:04:05What Simon Stephens has said is happening in the NHS in relation to

0:04:05 > 0:04:10this is over the past three years highest cancer survival rates ever,

0:04:10 > 0:04:15latest survival figures show an estimated more than 7000 more people

0:04:15 > 0:04:22surviving cancer after successful NHS cancer treatment compared to

0:04:22 > 0:04:24three years prior.With record funding our NHS is doing more than

0:04:24 > 0:04:28ever, but when the UK is in the bottom third of countries for heart

0:04:28 > 0:04:31attack deaths, when we have significantly worse survival for

0:04:31 > 0:04:35stroke than France and Germany and when our closest match for cancer

0:04:35 > 0:04:40survival as Chile and Poland, is it not time to act on calls from across

0:04:40 > 0:04:45this House and backed this week by the Centre for Policy Studies to

0:04:45 > 0:04:51establish a Royal commission on health and social care in the 70th

0:04:51 > 0:04:55anniversary year of our most cherished national institution.My

0:04:55 > 0:04:59honourable friend is right. We need to continue looking at the national

0:04:59 > 0:05:03health service and continuing to ensure we improve the performance in

0:05:03 > 0:05:05a variety of areas.

0:05:05 > 0:05:08And the NHS remained firmly on the agenda later in the afternoon

0:05:08 > 0:05:10when Labour used an opposition debate to highlight

0:05:10 > 0:05:12the strain winter was placing on the health service.

0:05:12 > 0:05:15It was the first chance MPs had to questions the Health Secretary

0:05:15 > 0:05:17since the reshuffle, when he'd not only held on to his

0:05:17 > 0:05:20job, but extended it to encompass social care.

0:05:20 > 0:05:23The Shadow Health Secretary said the NHS was suffering from a winter

0:05:23 > 0:05:31crisis that was "entirely preventable".

0:05:31 > 0:05:36This is not just a winter crisis. This is an all-around year funding

0:05:36 > 0:05:42crisis. A year around staffing crisis and social care crisis and

0:05:42 > 0:05:47the deer health inequality crisis, manufactured in Downing Street by

0:05:47 > 0:05:53this government. Isn't the truth that doctors and nurses have lost

0:05:53 > 0:05:57confidence in him? Patients have lost confidence in him? The Prime

0:05:57 > 0:06:00Minister in seem to have lost confidence in him? He fights for his

0:06:00 > 0:06:06own job but he won't fight for the NHS. Our patients are crying out for

0:06:06 > 0:06:10change.It is a big deal for patients who are told that their

0:06:10 > 0:06:14planned procedure is going to be postponed and no one wants to

0:06:14 > 0:06:17minimise the distress that it causes, but what happened last year

0:06:17 > 0:06:22and what has happened in previous winters is that operations have been

0:06:22 > 0:06:26cancelled at the last moment and that is much more distressing and it

0:06:26 > 0:06:31is much more challenging for hospitals to plan around that said

0:06:31 > 0:06:35the decision was taken this year to do it in a much more planned way and

0:06:35 > 0:06:38we actually hope that overall we will see fewer operations cancelled

0:06:38 > 0:06:39at the last moment.

0:06:39 > 0:06:44And he defended the government from accusations of under-funding.

0:06:44 > 0:06:51We spent 9.9% of our GDP on health, that is 1% above the EU average and

0:06:51 > 0:06:55about the same as the EU 15, the Western countries. We want to spend

0:06:55 > 0:07:00more so this is what we have been doing, in England from 2011 funding

0:07:00 > 0:07:07went up by 15.6%. In Wales Labour chose to only increase it by 8%.

0:07:07 > 0:07:11This motion is about money and I just want to conclude by saying

0:07:11 > 0:07:16this, when it comes to NHS funding, Labour give the speeches but

0:07:16 > 0:07:23conservatives give the cash.This government is putting an extra £437

0:07:23 > 0:07:27million specifically for the winter period. Would he not at least give

0:07:27 > 0:07:31the government credit for that planning, which we have never seen

0:07:31 > 0:07:35before?All of us recognise this is a particularly tough winter because

0:07:35 > 0:07:48there has been an outbreak of flu on top of a bad freeze. I would point

0:07:48 > 0:07:51for those of you who think the worst is passed that the flu season goes

0:07:51 > 0:07:54until March and at the moment this is an outbreak, it isn't an

0:07:54 > 0:07:57epidemic, it is an outbreak. But it comes on top of underlying pressures

0:07:57 > 0:07:59and obviously we see right across the four nations that this is

0:07:59 > 0:08:04involved staff having to really, as I said, go above and beyond the call

0:08:04 > 0:08:08of duty.The money they came in the budget was too little too late. It

0:08:08 > 0:08:11is really hard as a commissioner and a provider to spend that money when

0:08:11 > 0:08:14you get it at the last minute because you have to get people to

0:08:14 > 0:08:19come into work in order to do work to do -- to spend the money. If the

0:08:19 > 0:08:24money had come earlier than they would have been able to put in place

0:08:24 > 0:08:28better contingencies.Since 1984I cannot remember a winter when there

0:08:28 > 0:08:33was not talk of pressure, we have to understand this is not a new

0:08:33 > 0:08:37phenomenon. I remember particularly the bad winter of 2009, and

0:08:37 > 0:08:41actually, to be fair, the very positive way in which the then

0:08:41 > 0:08:46opposition approaches and helped the government at the time, in the

0:08:46 > 0:08:57interests of not

0:09:02 > 0:09:05politicising and westernising the issue and it is a pity we haven't

0:09:05 > 0:09:07seen the same repeated.One of the real problems or the real absences I

0:09:07 > 0:09:09have seen is any acknowledgement from ministers about the huge

0:09:09 > 0:09:12knock-on effect rescheduling a whole month 's worth of operations will

0:09:12 > 0:09:14have. It will simple make patients already on the waiting list have to

0:09:14 > 0:09:17wait even longer and it will be very, very difficult to bring back

0:09:17 > 0:09:17down.

0:09:17 > 0:09:19Labour's motion condemning government spending on the NHS

0:09:19 > 0:09:21was later passed unopposed, as Conservative MPs continued

0:09:21 > 0:09:24their tactic of abstaining on opposition motions.

0:09:24 > 0:09:32You're watching Wednesday in Parliament, with me, Mandy Baker.

0:09:32 > 0:09:34Now the Chief Executive of the energy regulator Ofgem has

0:09:34 > 0:09:37admitted the organisation should have done better for

0:09:37 > 0:09:39vulnerable consumers.

0:09:39 > 0:09:40Dermot Nolan was given something of a roasting

0:09:40 > 0:09:47by the Commons business committee.

0:09:47 > 0:09:51Can you just explain to me how you think the price cap will help

0:09:51 > 0:09:56vulnerable custard to switch?By itself it will not help them to

0:09:56 > 0:10:01switch.Warble of gem do to make sure that they do have adequate

0:10:01 > 0:10:05protections for vulnerable customers?I would say there are

0:10:05 > 0:10:10three answers to that. First is they will have a basic level of price

0:10:10 > 0:10:15protection. It strikes me that standard variable, vulnerable

0:10:15 > 0:10:18customers on standard variable are now paying some of the highest

0:10:18 > 0:10:21prices in the market and a price cap will reduce their prices and offer

0:10:21 > 0:10:26them direct protection. The second point would be in general as we go

0:10:26 > 0:10:30forward, and I think it was said by the CM a panel before Christmas as

0:10:30 > 0:10:34well, we will attempt to promoting gauge route and specifically attempt

0:10:34 > 0:10:37to promoting gauge meant for vulnerable customers and thirdly we

0:10:37 > 0:10:43have a variety of other protections including the vulnerability

0:10:43 > 0:10:46principle that every supplier in the market must treat its vulnerable

0:10:46 > 0:10:50customers fairly.Given that you accept a high proportion of

0:10:50 > 0:10:54vulnerable customers are being failed by the current system, isn't

0:10:54 > 0:10:57that a failure of engagement and the failure of regulation by off gem?I

0:10:57 > 0:11:01think it is a problem and I accept that point we could have done better

0:11:01 > 0:11:05and we should have done better on vulnerable customers. We put in

0:11:05 > 0:11:08place principles for vulnerability relatively recently which will give

0:11:08 > 0:11:15a strong level of protection.Given that you accept you have a statutory

0:11:15 > 0:11:18duty to protect the vulnerable customers, do you think that you

0:11:18 > 0:11:21have effectively admitted that you have failed them to date? I think we

0:11:21 > 0:11:26have not done as well as we could have. I fully accept that.You are

0:11:26 > 0:11:29the single most important player in the market because extraordinary

0:11:29 > 0:11:34powers as a regulator and yet your testimony sounds so incredibly

0:11:34 > 0:11:37passive. Do you ever just roll your sleeves up and really get stuck in,

0:11:37 > 0:11:43because I don't really see the evidence that?I apologise if I seem

0:11:43 > 0:11:48passive, I honestly do not feel passive. I said before that I wished

0:11:48 > 0:11:54we'd moved earlier in putting price caps in.What lessons have you taken

0:11:54 > 0:11:57from that and how has it changed your behaviour?We're rolling up our

0:11:57 > 0:12:01sleeves very strongly at the moment and have been doing so in the last

0:12:01 > 0:12:05year. Since the CMA finished in terms of bringing forward a price

0:12:05 > 0:12:10cap for vulnerable customers which is at the limit of the powers that

0:12:10 > 0:12:14we have.You just admitted that you wished you'd acted earlier and the

0:12:14 > 0:12:17consequence has been a vulnerable customers have paid much more money

0:12:17 > 0:12:23than they should have done.I accept we should have moved earlier on

0:12:23 > 0:12:29vulnerability.Due apologise to those consumers?I do.

0:12:29 > 0:12:31Dermot Nolan also told the committee that, if Parliament

0:12:31 > 0:12:34passed the necessary legislation by the end of July, an energy cap

0:12:34 > 0:12:35could come into effect by Christmas.

0:12:35 > 0:12:38Labour has told ministers that they're rewarding failure by bailing

0:12:38 > 0:12:39out train companies that run into trouble.

0:12:39 > 0:12:42In 2014, Virgin and its partner, Stagecoach, signed a deal to run

0:12:42 > 0:12:48the East Coast line until 2023, promising the government more

0:12:48 > 0:12:51than £3 billion in premiums.

0:12:51 > 0:12:53But in November, ministers allowed the companies to withdraw

0:12:53 > 0:12:57from running the service three years early.

0:12:57 > 0:13:01The Shadow Transport Secretary condemned the move.

0:13:01 > 0:13:03In 2016, the Department for Transport set out its aims

0:13:03 > 0:13:06and objectives for rail franchising.

0:13:06 > 0:13:10These were to encourage a flourishing, competitors passenger

0:13:10 > 0:13:15rail market which secures high performing value for money services

0:13:15 > 0:13:20for passengers and taxpayers while driving cost effectiveness.

0:13:20 > 0:13:22Madam Deputy Speaker, it's clear that the department has

0:13:23 > 0:13:25failed to meet these objectives.

0:13:25 > 0:13:27The latest collapse of the East Coast franchise

0:13:27 > 0:13:32announced in November makes a mockery of the

0:13:32 > 0:13:35Department's 2016 aims.

0:13:35 > 0:13:40The Virgin Stagecoach didn't deliver and defaulted on their contract,

0:13:40 > 0:13:43and the Secretary of State has given them a gift.

0:13:43 > 0:13:44I'll give way.

0:13:44 > 0:13:46I'm very grateful to my honourable friend for giving way.

0:13:46 > 0:13:49Given, on the East Coast Main Line, that this will be the third occasion

0:13:49 > 0:13:53in just over a decade that the private contractor has

0:13:53 > 0:13:56announced that it wishes to hand back the keys,

0:13:56 > 0:14:00was it not a fundamental mistake on the part of the government not

0:14:00 > 0:14:04to have allowed East Coast Trains, that successfully ran the franchise

0:14:04 > 0:14:06for over five and a half years, paid back £1 billion

0:14:06 > 0:14:11to the Treasury, to allow carrying on its good work,

0:14:11 > 0:14:14and instead idealogically demanding that anyone could bid to run it

0:14:14 > 0:14:20but not the company that had done it so successfully?

0:14:20 > 0:14:23My right honourable friend has made an absolutely perfect point,

0:14:23 > 0:14:25and it's a theme that will be consistent throughout this debate,

0:14:25 > 0:14:27I have absolutely no doubt.

0:14:27 > 0:14:32Indeed, the government should have followed the example of Labour

0:14:32 > 0:14:37in 2009 when the operator defaulted and taken the contract back

0:14:37 > 0:14:38into the public sector.

0:14:38 > 0:14:42If a company defaults, it doesn't deserve the contract.

0:14:42 > 0:14:46That way, there'd be no reward for failure,

0:14:46 > 0:14:51and other companies in the industry wouldn't expect the same treatment.

0:14:51 > 0:14:54When it came to his turn, the Transport Secretary was scathing.

0:14:54 > 0:14:58We've just heard something like 45 minutes of complete nonsense

0:14:58 > 0:15:00from the party opposite.

0:15:00 > 0:15:03I suspect you might also say it would be unparliamentary of me

0:15:03 > 0:15:06to call him hypocritical, so I would call him personally

0:15:06 > 0:15:09hypocritical, but I've no doubt that others in the know will be

0:15:09 > 0:15:12astonished by the gall with which they simply

0:15:12 > 0:15:15forget their actions in government with which they pretend their ideas

0:15:15 > 0:15:16won't cost a penny.

0:15:16 > 0:15:18I keep hearing their ideas won't cost a penny,

0:15:18 > 0:15:21it's absolutely untrue, and with which they make inaccurate

0:15:21 > 0:15:23claims based on a lack of facts on subjects

0:15:23 > 0:15:26they appear not understand.

0:15:26 > 0:15:27Chris Grayling.

0:15:27 > 0:15:31The Government has been warned that moves to cut the size of the House

0:15:31 > 0:15:33of Lords could be undermined if the Prime Minister

0:15:33 > 0:15:35appoints new peers.

0:15:35 > 0:15:39Reports have suggested Theresa May is preparing to create 12

0:15:39 > 0:15:42new Conservative peers to help get Brexit legislation

0:15:42 > 0:15:43through the Lords.

0:15:43 > 0:15:46In a debate last year, there was strong support among peers

0:15:46 > 0:15:48for the recommendations of a committee led by

0:15:48 > 0:15:52the independent peer Lord Burns to reduce the numbers

0:15:52 > 0:15:54from 800 to 600.

0:15:54 > 0:15:58At Question Time, Mrs May was urged to show restraint.

0:15:58 > 0:16:02Would it not be an embarrassment and make a nonsense of any further

0:16:02 > 0:16:06consideration of the Burns report if the Prime Minister was to go

0:16:06 > 0:16:11ahead and make a series of nominations before we had

0:16:11 > 0:16:14considered it fully?

0:16:14 > 0:16:17The point that the noble Lord has just made was made

0:16:17 > 0:16:21during the debate and I thought, if I may say so, it was dealt

0:16:21 > 0:16:25with very well indeed by the Lord Butler of Brockwell

0:16:25 > 0:16:26and he said this.

0:16:26 > 0:16:28We are told that a further list of appointments

0:16:28 > 0:16:31is about to be published, but I do not share the apocalyptic

0:16:31 > 0:16:35view expressed earlier by the noble Lord, Lord Steel.

0:16:35 > 0:16:38I believe this can be regarded as a legacy issue arising

0:16:38 > 0:16:41from the May general election that does not inhibit the adoption

0:16:41 > 0:16:43of the approach in the Burns report.

0:16:43 > 0:16:46I hope the noble Lord is reassured by the words

0:16:46 > 0:16:48of the former Cabinet Secretary.

0:16:48 > 0:16:52If the government is prepared to accept the Burns proposals,

0:16:52 > 0:16:57and that includes departures from and introductions to this House

0:16:57 > 0:17:02on the basis of two out, one in, as on a 15-year term limit,

0:17:02 > 0:17:08probably from the last general election, we will abide by that.

0:17:08 > 0:17:12Will the government agree to do so as well?

0:17:12 > 0:17:14As I said, the government is considering the report

0:17:14 > 0:17:17and will make its views known shortly, but if I can just pick up

0:17:17 > 0:17:21the point that the noble Baroness made in her speech,

0:17:21 > 0:17:27and she made a good speech, if I may say so, as did my noble friend,

0:17:27 > 0:17:28the Leader of the Lib Dems?

0:17:28 > 0:17:30What she said was this.

0:17:30 > 0:17:32It is not about giving up patronage or appointments

0:17:32 > 0:17:34but about showing some restraint, as it used to be.

0:17:34 > 0:17:37Now, the Prime Minister has demonstrated restraint.

0:17:37 > 0:17:41Putting on one side David Cameron's resignation honours,

0:17:41 > 0:17:43in the last 18 months, the Prime Minister has

0:17:43 > 0:17:48appointed eight new peers - five crossbenchers and three

0:17:48 > 0:17:49ministers.

0:17:49 > 0:17:54Now, I think that is demonstrating the restraint that the noble

0:17:54 > 0:17:56lady has just asked for.

0:17:56 > 0:18:00Is there not another way that this little dilemma might be resolved?

0:18:00 > 0:18:04Quite clearly, if you look at the electorate as a whole

0:18:04 > 0:18:07and the votes which have been cast at recent elections,

0:18:07 > 0:18:12the Lib Dem peers are grossly overrepresented here!

0:18:12 > 0:18:16Suppose 50 of them did the decent thing and resign,

0:18:16 > 0:18:21this would all be resolved!

0:18:21 > 0:18:24I think that question, if I may say so, from my noble

0:18:24 > 0:18:26friend is not addressed to me but addressed to

0:18:26 > 0:18:28the benches opposite.

0:18:28 > 0:18:33It is indeed the case that, on almost any objective basis,

0:18:33 > 0:18:35the Liberal Democrats are overrepresented and,

0:18:35 > 0:18:38in credit to them, they actually recognised this join the debate.

0:18:38 > 0:18:41The noble Lord, Lord Newby, when he spoke on behalf

0:18:41 > 0:18:45of the Lib Dems, recognised that their numbers would have

0:18:45 > 0:18:48to come down under the proposals of the Burns report.

0:18:48 > 0:18:52Whether one could expect the Lib Dems to unilaterally

0:18:52 > 0:18:56cut their numbers without anybody else doing anything at all would be

0:18:56 > 0:18:58to exhibit a generosity for which the Liberal Democrats

0:18:58 > 0:19:01are not well known!

0:19:01 > 0:19:04The whole of the proposals of the Lord Speaker's Committee

0:19:04 > 0:19:09are dependent on the Prime Minister accepting the proposal

0:19:09 > 0:19:12and the principle that is inherent right through their report that it

0:19:12 > 0:19:19must be two out before they=re can be one in.

0:19:19 > 0:19:22Will the ministers on the front bench make that clear

0:19:22 > 0:19:23to the Prime Minister?

0:19:23 > 0:19:26And if she's not prepared to respect that, how can we expect anything

0:19:26 > 0:19:27to come from this exercise?

0:19:27 > 0:19:30I thought he struck a slightly different tone in his wind-up speech

0:19:30 > 0:19:33to that of his noble friend, Lord Newby.

0:19:33 > 0:19:36Winding up for the Liberal Democrats, despite what the noble

0:19:36 > 0:19:39Lord has just said, he referred to Burns as a temporary

0:19:39 > 0:19:42expedient, a process appropriate for the membership

0:19:42 > 0:19:45of the gentleman's club, an incestuous process that

0:19:45 > 0:19:48runs the risk of leading to our abolition.

0:19:48 > 0:19:55That doesn't sound to me like wholehearted support for Burns!

0:19:55 > 0:19:57The understated view of Lord Young.

0:19:57 > 0:20:00The House of Lords has voted for a proposal requiring

0:20:00 > 0:20:02the Government to proceed with the second stage

0:20:02 > 0:20:04of the Leveson Inquiry.

0:20:04 > 0:20:08Stage two would examine unlawful conduct by media organisations

0:20:08 > 0:20:12and the relationship between journalists and the police.

0:20:12 > 0:20:14The Government opposed the amendment, but it was approved

0:20:14 > 0:20:20by 238 votes to 209.

0:20:20 > 0:20:23The Brexit debate of the day concerned the return of the EU

0:20:23 > 0:20:27Withdrawal Bill to the Commons next week and, more particularly,

0:20:27 > 0:20:28Clause 11 of it.

0:20:28 > 0:20:31This is all about the restriction on the ability of the devolved

0:20:31 > 0:20:35legislatures to modify retained EU law.

0:20:35 > 0:20:41A Conservative raised the issue of LCMs or Legislative Consent Motions.

0:20:41 > 0:20:44The minister will be aware that personal assurances were given to me

0:20:44 > 0:20:48and colleagues that the government would bring forward amendments

0:20:48 > 0:20:51to clause 11 of the Repeal Bill, and it has failed to do so.

0:20:51 > 0:20:54Can he assure me that the government remains committed to working

0:20:54 > 0:20:57with the devolved administrations to find a form of words that will be

0:20:57 > 0:20:59agreed and allow LCM to be passed?

0:20:59 > 0:21:02I can certainly give my honourable friend

0:21:02 > 0:21:04that commitment and, when I spoke to the Deputy First

0:21:04 > 0:21:09Minister of Scotland last night, I said that we were disappointed

0:21:09 > 0:21:12that we had not been able to reach agreement with the devolved

0:21:12 > 0:21:16administrations on an acceptable form of words for such an amendment

0:21:16 > 0:21:19but that I was committed now to intensifying our discussions

0:21:19 > 0:21:22with the devolved administrations to seek to reach an agreed form

0:21:22 > 0:21:25of words in time for proceedings in the House of Lords.

0:21:25 > 0:21:27The Scottish Nationalists returned to the issue

0:21:27 > 0:21:31at Prime Minister's Questions, quoting Paul Masterton.

0:21:31 > 0:21:35The government's EU withdrawal bill is quite simply not fit for purpose

0:21:35 > 0:21:38and must be changed.

0:21:38 > 0:21:39These are not my words.

0:21:39 > 0:21:41These are the words of the honourable member

0:21:41 > 0:21:43for East Renfrewshire.

0:21:43 > 0:21:46Does the Prime Minister agree with her colleague

0:21:46 > 0:21:49that we must amend clause 11, which is nothing more

0:21:49 > 0:21:55than a power grab from Scotland?

0:21:55 > 0:21:58The honourable gentleman knows full well that we have

0:21:58 > 0:22:00said that we will look to improve clause 11.

0:22:00 > 0:22:05Indeed, if he was in his place when my right honourable friend,

0:22:05 > 0:22:06the Chancellor, the Duchy of Lancaster, was answering

0:22:06 > 0:22:10questions earlier, he made it very clear that we continue to look

0:22:10 > 0:22:12to amend clause 11.

0:22:12 > 0:22:14We are, however, and this is something I discussed

0:22:14 > 0:22:19with the First Minister before Christmas, we are looking to work

0:22:19 > 0:22:22with the devolved administrations to ensure that we put the right

0:22:22 > 0:22:24frameworks in place so that, when we come to bring

0:22:24 > 0:22:32any amendment forward, it is being donw in

0:22:32 > 0:22:34possible way in the interests of all concerned.

0:22:34 > 0:22:36I thought that had been accepted by the SNP,

0:22:36 > 0:22:39but we will be looking to bring forward amendments in the Lords.

0:22:39 > 0:22:40Ian Blackford.

0:22:40 > 0:22:42Mr Speaker, that simply is not good enough!

0:22:42 > 0:22:44The Secretary of State for Scotland promised a power bonanza

0:22:44 > 0:22:48for Scotland and that, crucially, amendments would be

0:22:48 > 0:22:50tabled ahead of next week's debate.

0:22:50 > 0:22:54Yesterday, it was revealed that no amendments would be lodged.

0:22:54 > 0:22:59The Tories always promise Scotland everything and deliver nothing.

0:22:59 > 0:23:02The Prime Minister has one last chance.

0:23:02 > 0:23:04Will she assure the House that these amendments will be

0:23:04 > 0:23:11tabled ahead of next week, as promised?

0:23:11 > 0:23:17The SNP say they want to work with us on the future frameworks,

0:23:17 > 0:23:19and we are doing exactly that.

0:23:19 > 0:23:21They say they want clause 11 amended, and we are

0:23:21 > 0:23:23doing exactly that.

0:23:23 > 0:23:26My right honourable friend is intensifying his discussions

0:23:26 > 0:23:30with the Scottish Government and indeed with the Executive

0:23:30 > 0:23:34in Wales as part of this.

0:23:34 > 0:23:37We will be bringing forward amendments, but the honourable

0:23:37 > 0:23:39gentleman says that this is a government that never

0:23:39 > 0:23:40delivers for Scotland.

0:23:40 > 0:23:43£2 billion extra as a result of the budget.

0:23:43 > 0:23:45That's delivering for Scotland!

0:23:45 > 0:23:48On a scale between 1-10, how does the Prime Minister

0:23:48 > 0:23:52think her Brexit is going, with ten being all going perfectly,

0:23:52 > 0:23:55we know what we want to achieve and we know how to get it,

0:23:55 > 0:23:57and one being chaotic cluelessness?

0:23:57 > 0:23:59I know what I'd give the Prime Minister.

0:23:59 > 0:24:03What would she give herself?

0:24:03 > 0:24:09Can I say to the honourable gentleman that I think...

0:24:09 > 0:24:12At this point, out of camera shot, Pete Wishart held up a banner

0:24:12 > 0:24:15which read "nul point".

0:24:15 > 0:24:17Let me just say to the honourable gentleman, who I've known

0:24:17 > 0:24:20for a long time, I think, when he comes to reflect

0:24:20 > 0:24:24on his conduct, he'll know he can do better than that.

0:24:25 > 0:24:26He can do better than that.

0:24:26 > 0:24:27The Prime Minister.

0:24:27 > 0:24:36Thank you, Mr Speaker.

0:24:36 > 0:24:39Can I say to the honourable gentleman that I think anybody

0:24:39 > 0:24:41who saw the success we had in negotiating phase one of Brexit

0:24:41 > 0:24:43and getting that sufficient progress will say that,

0:24:43 > 0:24:46actually, this is a government that knows what it's doing and is getting

0:24:46 > 0:24:48on with the job and is doing well?

0:24:48 > 0:24:50But she wouldn't put a figure on it.

0:24:50 > 0:24:53Well, during the course of the day, there were many words

0:24:53 > 0:24:55of congratulation for the various ministers who gained or moved

0:24:55 > 0:24:56jobs in the reshuffle.

0:24:56 > 0:24:59One of the main talking points on Monday was the erroneous and then

0:24:59 > 0:25:01hastily deleted tweet from Conservative Central Office

0:25:01 > 0:25:04that Chris Grayling had been made chairman of the party.

0:25:04 > 0:25:07The Shadow Transport Secretary felt it important to mark Mr Grayling's

0:25:07 > 0:25:10very brief achievement.

0:25:10 > 0:25:12And I also want to congratulate the Secretary of State

0:25:12 > 0:25:17for his superb stewardship of the Conservative Party.

0:25:17 > 0:25:20There's never been a finer record.

0:25:20 > 0:25:23No elections lost, no major scandals, and I think he's

0:25:23 > 0:25:27maintained his membership of around 70,000, so not bad for 27 seconds'

0:25:27 > 0:25:30work, so all the best to him.

0:25:30 > 0:25:35Chris Grayling - the mayfly of Conservative chairmen.

0:25:35 > 0:25:36And that's all we've got time for.

0:25:36 > 0:25:42So, for now, from me, Mandy Baker, goodbye.