Transcripts For BBCNEWS The Week In Parliament 20171015

Jeremy corbyn challenges the Prime Minister over a 55 pence a minute helpline for benefits claimants. Will the prime minsiter intervene and make at least the helpline free . I want people to be able to get betterjobs, to be able to earn more, to be able to get on without government support. Also on this programme, we hear from the new chairman of the Foreign Affairs committee on parliaments role in shaping britains place in world affairs. And a liberal democrat peer surprises the house with a revelation about his televisual habits. I dont know whether he is a regular watcher of love island. This was parliaments first week back since its three week break for the Party Conference season. Days before, the Prime Minister endured her trouble hit speech in front of the conservative faithful, shed been in italy, addressing european leaders in florence. There, theresa may set out the governments aims and objectives in the brexit process. The Prime Minister expressed enthusiasm for a friendly and wide ranging future relationship. When mps returned to westminster on monday, mrs may updated them on her proposals. Mr speaker, a new deep and special partnership between a sovereign United Kingdom and a strong and successful European Union is our ambition and our offer to our european friends. Achieving that partnership will require leadership and flexibility, notjust from us, but from our friends, the 27 nations of the eu. And as we look forward to the next stage, the ball is in their court, but im optimistic it will receive a positive response. Because what we are seeking is not just the best possible deal for us, but i believe that will also be the best possible deal for our european friends too. 16 months on from the referendum, no Real Progress has been made. The Prime Minister delivered yet another definitive speech designed to herald a breakthrough which instead only confirmed the confusion at the heart of government. Our european friends are looking aghast at the chaos that the cabinet is creating. The Prime Minister has got to put an end to the backstabbing briefing and counter briefing from her ministers and their surrogates. Can my right honourable friend simply point out to people who are complaining that these negotiations and are going to slowly that after the referendum on the 23rd ofjune last year, the European Union refused to negotiate until we had triggered article 50. But even then, when we had triggered article 50, they refused to discuss the long term relationship that they want to have with the United Kingdom. And even after her emollient and conciliatory florence speech, they are still refusing to discuss the long term relationship between the eu and the uk. When does she call time . Well, the question of how prepared the government was to pull the plug came into focus two days later, when the chancellor, Philip Hammond wrote an article for the times asserting that he needed to ensure the uk was prepared for all outcomes, including a no deal scenario. But would only spend money when it was responsible to do so. Appearing before the Treasury Committee, he was pressed on that point by a conservative mp. You write that you will release funding only when it is responsible to do so, you said earlier it is not a demonstration point. Can you explain further what you mean by that, and what circumstances you envisage it would be responsible to spend funds preparing for a no deal . So the point i was making is that some are urging me to spend money simply to send a message to the eu that we mean business. I think the eu knows that we mean business, they know that we are planning for a no deal scenario, that we have to do that. In terms of when we start spending money on Programme Expenditure related to a no deal exit, where that is uniquely required in a no deal scenario, some of it will need to be spent anyway. But where it is uniquely required in the no deal scenario, we need to work backwards from the 29th of march 2019 and identify where we need to make the commitment decision in order to deliver on time but not commit public funds on a potentially abortive basis. Well, Philip Hammond made that appearance in front of the Treasury Committee just a few hours ahead of Prime Ministers questions. The chancellor was in his place next to theresa may on the government front bench when the conservatives former leader, iain duncan smith, asked the Prime Minister about those no deal preparations. On monday, my right honourable friend was very clear about her negotiation, that it remains the governments priority to get a very good free trade arrangement before we leave with our european friends and partners. She also made it clear that alongside that, we would make plans and arrangements, or necessary arrangements, to depart under World Trade Organization terms should no such agreement be available. Could she confirm, then, that all monies necessary will be allocated as and when required to this project . Im very to give my right honourable friend that confirmation. Im very happy to give my right honourable friend that confirmation. We are preparing for every eventuality, we are committing money to prepare for brexit, including a no deal scenario. The public have witnessed the most extraordinary spectacle of the Prime Minister ramping up the no deal rhetoric on brexit and backtracking on her commitment to stay in the Single Market and Customs Union for transition, all because she is afraid of the most right wing rabid elements in her own party. Dont the british people deserve better than a Prime Minister simply running scared . Whoops. The honourable lady could not be more wrong. First of all. First of all, we are not ramping up a no deal scenario. We are actively working. Actively working with the negotiations with the European Union to ensure that we set out, we get a good deal, the right dealfor britain, for a Brighter Future for this country. On thursday, the fifth round of talks on brexit concluded with the eus chief negotiator Michel Barnier saying that there had not been enough progress to move to the next stage trade talks as the uk wants. He said there was new momentum in the process, but there was still deadlock over the so called divorce bill, which he said was disturbing. But the brexit secretary, david davis, insisted considerable headway had been made. Back in the commons, mps were still digesting Philip Hammonds assertion that taxpayers money would not be spent on preparing for a no deal brexit until the very last moment a comment the Prime Minister appeared to contradict at pmqs when shed made the comment that the government was ready to spend whatever was needed to make sure the uk was ready to leave. At questions to the trade secretary on thursday, a conservative wanted clarification. Can he inform the house that the treasury is giving him all the resources he needs to prepare for no deal in terms of preparing schedules, making deals with other countries, which is absolutely vital. There is no difference between the chancellor and myself. The chancellor says we need to spend money only as necessary. I think that is correct. But we also need to be sure we spend money on all areas where contingency plans are necessary. The trade secretary liam fox. Well, away from international trade, a think tank has published a report stressing why it thinks parliament has a vital role to play in debates about britains place in the world. Policy Exchange Says with divisive brexit legislation coming up the government will be hoping to avoid a major commons vote on a controversial Foreign Policy issue. It also states that the uk cant afford to give the impression that it no longer aspires to be a problem solving nation something i put to the mp who wrote the foreword to the report, the new chair of the Foreign Affairs committee tom tugenhadt. The point is that the uk has always set itself apart from many other nations by being engaged in helping others to solve problems. That doesnt mean that we are necessarily interventionalist, because some of the ways we solve problems are in co oporation. So we were instrumental, for example, in setting up the United Nations or setting up the World Trade Organisation and we have been instrumental in setting up and supporting organisations like nato. So when we say problem solving, it doesnt necessarily mean intervening in somebody elses country, but it means playing our part in a rule based system and playing our part where our strengths lie. Now, the report also suggests that parliament shouldntjust be a place for set piece debate and that the committees have a role to play in encouraging some Strategic Thinking. Now, my thought about that was that you could have all the Strategic Thinking that you like, but as we know, governments can take lovely Committee Reports and put them on a shelf. They can, but good reports are quite noticeable and really get listened to. In fact, my predecessor in the committee produced a report in which he challenged the syrian policy, and that caused a debate, and you will remember the Prime Minister came to the house to respond to it. So good Committee Reports can really change things. In fact, notjust in Foreign Affairs. Frank field has done Amazing Things on welfare by using the committee he chairs strategically and properly. Now, given that this government has got quite a lot on its plate and it doesnt have a majority, do you think that there is going to be a tendency to have fewer contentious Foreign Policy issues debated on the floor of the commons . I think it is going to be certainly the intention of government to avoid too much contentious debate on the floor of the commons. That is the nature of government. And of course, that is what they will try to do. But the truth of Foreign Policy, as you know, it is not you who chooses what happens, it is others, and therefore the ability to decide timing and to decide whether or not a debate is necessary may not always be in the governments hands. What do you think the role of Public Opinion is in all of this . I mean, how is the public having its voice heard on these big Foreign Policy issues . Well, the role of parliament, lets not forget, is to represent Public Opinion. I mean, myjob as a member of parliament is to represent the community that i love very much in tunbridge and malling. 75, 000 electors, about 100,000 souls all in. And to reflect the views and the interests of the people of my community and the views and interests of my country, the United Kingdom. But if the government wont timetable time for debates on contentious issues, that doesnt matter . Well, as you know very well, there are various ways in which time can be allocated. There is urgent questions and statements, there is emergency debates, as they are called, s0 2a debates, as this is the week in parliament, im going to assume people are more interested in parliamentary process than at other times. And of course there is the committees. And so one of the things that we are certainly going to be looking at is things that are very topical, so impact that is why we started, as you know, were first round of enquiries with an enquiry into the rohingya the crisis in northern burma. From which weve had plenty of warm words from the government about what a terrible situation this is, but are you going to be able to nudge them in any direction . Well, we are just taking evidence that the moment. So, im not going to pre empt what the enquiry will say. But if we need to give the government to push, we certainly will. If we need to support the government, we certainly will. The purpose of the Foreign Affairs committee is not to bully or to praise, but simply to point out where parliamentarians think government should be going, and that is exactly why we are 11 members of parliament from three different parties. There are five conservative, five labour, and one scottish nationalist. But youve got no lib dems, no dup, and nobody from what you might call the corbynista wing of the labour party. So how representative are you, really . Well, it is up to the labour party how they elect their members onto the committee, it is up to the labour party to decide how they are represented. It is up to the conservative party, likewise, to decide how they are represented. And the scottish nationalists were the ones who put themselves forward. So, i cant speak for the other two parties because they didnt claim the seat. The truth is we are representative of parliament in the sense that we are made up of our parties and we are certainly representative in that sense. Ourjob now, however, is notjust to reflect our own views, whichever particular wing in the various parties we may come from, but to reflect the views of our colleagues as well. So, the purpose of the select Committee Process is notjust the public enquiry that you see, and i know you broadcast quite a lot on this channel, but it is actually the debate that is held in private as well because that is where the enquiries are decided, that is where the relations are shaped. And that debate is absolutely essential to the governance of our current tree. Of our country. We will watch the debates with interest. Tom tugendhadt, thank you very much indeed for coming into the programme. Thank you. Tom tugendhadt. Now lets go back to Prime Ministers questions, which wasnt all about brexit. The labour leader challenged theresa may over the rollout of universal credit. It replaces six existing working age benefits and is being rolled out across the uk. But mps, former Civil Servants and charities have all expressed concern about the delay before some claimants receive any money. The government has promised to speed up the system of advances for those in need, butjeremy corbyn said that wasnt the only concern. Not only are people driven into poverty, but absurdly, mr speaker, the universal credit helpline costs claimants 55p per minute for the privilege of trying to to get someone to help them claim what they leave they are entitled to. Will the Prime Minister today show some humanity, intervene, and make at least the helpline free . It is working because more people are getting into work on universal credit than were on jobseekers allowance. And i do want people to be able to find work. I want people to be able to get betterjobs, to be able to earn more, to get on without government support. Now for a look at some other stories from around westminster in brief. Britains leading defence manufacturer, bae systems, announced almost 2,000 job cuts. 1,400 of the posts are going from its militaryjet business, with factories in lancashire and east yorkshire badly hit. The firm, which makes the eurofighter typhoon, is facing a drop in demand. Its the result of internal restructuring and a drive to transform its businesses so it can continue to be one of our most efficient and Effective Companies generating export orders across the world. If these redundancies go ahead, there is a very real risk that these skills will be lost for ever with a knock on impact for this countrys long term inca pability. Countrys long term manufacturing capability. Labour accused the government of putting politics ahead of bombardier workers in Northern Ireland. The Canadian Firm employs more than 4,000 people in belfast. Its been hit by proposed massive new tariffs on its aircraft in a row with the us over state aid. Labour accused the government of inaction as it wanted a post brexit trade deal with the united states. But the minister said he wouldnt rest until the groundless action was ended. Theresa may launched her race disparity audit on tuesday. Ministers have challenged Public Services over how they treat people of different races, as data on ethnic minorities was released on a new government website. The approach the government is taking is explain or change where significant disparities between ethnic groups cannot be explained by wider factors, we will commit ourselves to working with partners to change that. History has shown that positive change only happens under a labour government, and we are ready, once and again, to deliver a more fair and equal society for the many and not the few. The government published legislation designed to lower the cost of gas and electricity bills. It will give the Energy Regulator ofgem the power to cap what are called standard variable tariffs. But one former labour leader felt hed heard this policy suggested somewhere before. Given that this policy was once described from that dispatch box as a con, ajoke, disastrous, living in a marxist universe, it would be churlish not to welcome his conversion to it today. Well done. He is very welcome to the party. In a report this week, the Care Quality Commission reported that englands Health System was straining at the seams. Labour was concerned. Now, winter is coming. And last week, the tory party made £15 billion worth of spending commitments but not a penny extra for the nhs. So this winter, will the nhs fair worse or better than last year . Or are we set for another winter crisis made in downing street . What the cqc actually said this morning was that the majority of health and care systems across the nhs are providing good or outstanding quality. The safety of care is going up, and performance is improving. But he is right that we are always concerned about winter. Let me tell him the new things that are happening this year to help prepare the nhs. £1 billion more going into the social care system in the budget that we have just had. £100 million Capital Programme for a e departments. 2,400 beds being freed up. And increasing clinicians at 111 call centres. So, a lot is happening. Overall, let me remind him that our nhs has seen 1,800 more people every single day within four hours. That is something to celebrate. There were demands in the house of lords for an independent, judge led inquiry into the Police Handling of child abuse allegations against the late former conservative Prime Minister, sir edward heath. Wiltshire police launched operation conifer in 2015 when the former pm was accused of historical child sex abuse. This week, the force said sir edward would have been questioned over sex abuse claims, but insisted that statement shouldnt infer guilt. Many of sir edwards friends have been angered by the handling of the allegations. As he is dead, the normal provisions and processes of the law are not available to resolve the matter. And the cloud of suspicion remains hanging in the air indefinitely. My lords, justice delayed isjustice denied. The dead deservejustice no less than the living. Does the noble lady not agree that the best, perhaps the only way of arriving at some finality ofjudgment would be to set up an independent review of the Police Investigation . Lady williams said the bar for being interviewed under caution was low and didnt infer guilt. As to the calls for an inquiry. Operation conifer is, as i said initially, an independent Police Investigation. It is not appropriate for government ministers to comment on an operationally independent investigation, and any decision to follow this line of enquiry would in fact be a matter for the chief officer. Lord macgregor told peers hed worked closely with edward heath as head of his private office in the 1960s. And i have to say that i think the most damning indictment of operation conifer was from ken macdonald, the former director of public prosecutions, who was in the best position to know when he called it a sham. And there is another problem. If distinguished contributors to our public life, like edward heath, are treated in this way, is that not a major disincentive to others to enter public life . But Lady Williams said she thought the public would complain if allegations were not investigated. The Commons Speakerjohn Bercow has suggested changing the system under which backbenchers bring in legislation. Private members bills are debated on certain fridays but have little chance of becoming law without government backing. And mps who oppose such a bill can talk it out until it runs out of debating time. Gary connor reports. The brutal truth is that today, while we set aside 13 sitting fridays for 20 such bills, the chances of any more than a handful becoming law are meagre. The talking out of bills, though done within our rules, and often with destructive skill, has, in my opinion, not enhanced the reputation of the house. The Commons Procedure Committee recommends a time limit on private members bills debates. And a peer review process, leading to fewer but Higher Quality bills. Colleagues should have time to debate the matter, and to decide whether they are attracted by this particular blueprint, wanted an alternative version of it, or were inclined to be bolder and shift these measures out of fridays. Alternatively, at the other end of the spectrum, the house could determine that fridays were constituency days, and if private members bills have to be sacrificed in order to make that happen, then so be it. He also suggested mps should be able to recall parliament if there is a major crisis during a recess. Providing the system could not be abused. To offer one model, a petition for a recall could be offered if it involved a relatively high number of 600 mps, perhaps a quarter of them, provided that at least a quarter of them were drawn from those that support the government and at least a quarter from the opposition. This would ensure both the degree of balance and a testing the threshold for a recall it to cross. And you can watch that speech in full on Bbc Parliament on saturday evening at 10. 30. Lets take a look at whats been happening in the wider world of politics this week. Heres ben butcher with our countdown. Nicola sturgeon wasnt taking any chances at her Conference Speech on monday. Learning from the Prime Ministers coughing fit last week. At the risk of tempting fate, ive come prepared. She wasnt the only politician struggling with a sore throat. Conservative anna soubry standing up for fellow raspers. Women with bad throats wont be silenced. Labours paul flynn was trying to put marijuana legalisation on the agenda with the bill before joining activist for high tea on parliament green. Guess they didnt get the memo to stay off the grass borisjohnson has had problems getting into number ten before, but not this literally, as he tried to attend cabinet. And it is farewell to the prolific baroness trumpington, who announced she will leave the lords on her 90th birthday, after almost four decades of service. Finally, for now, one peer was getting rather heated about smoking on television. He prefaced his question to the minister with a sentence probably never heard before in the house of lords. I dont know if he is a regular watcher of love island, but if he were to look at the itv website, it describes love island as an emotional feast of lust and passion in the sun. The same website says that this programme captures 56 share of the 16 to 34 year olds. On this programme, those contestants are regularly smoking. What message does that say to young people . That i can live a glamorous life if i smoke as well. The question brought this admission. Lords, lam not a regular watcher of love island but i cant help noticing that the house is unusually full today. Peers have passionate opinions on many things, but it seems the glamorous world of love island had them stumped. There was a something of a pause after lord ashton sat down. Pause, then laughter. Peers not quite feeling the love for love island. And thats it from us for now, dojoin mandy baker on monday night at 11 for a full round up of the day here at westminster. But for now from me, alicia mccarthy, goodbye. Hello. Some turbulence and potentially troublesome weather on the way for the next 24 to 48 hours. It is all courtesy of this store much we have been watching for a few days now, hurricane ophelia. It is still fully formed category two hurricane a long way away in the atlantic. The storm is beginning to break aparta atlantic. The storm is beginning to break apart a little bit. It is starting to weaken slightly. As the leftovers of the hurricane move towards our shores tomorrow, we could see some very windy weather. But weather warning is for Northern Ireland particularly. Today, some rain in Northern Ireland and southern scotland. The wind on the blustery slide. In the south temperatures up to 20 degrees. Tonight we will see outbreaks of cloud and rain returning from Northern Ireland and scotland. In the south it will be an exceptionally mild night. The wind is starting to pick up out west, the first sign of what is to come. Ophelia is no longer a hurricane by this stage but still a deep area of low pressure. A lot of isobars squashed together on this chart. That shows us we will see some very strong winds in deed. We could see wind gusts of up to 80 mph, particularly across Northern Ireland through the afternoon. Some rain into Western Areas as well but such a different day down to the south east. Breezy, yes, but not as windy and very warm. 23 or 24 degrees cannot be ruled out. The roughest weather on monday will be towards Northern Ireland where we will see widespread gales, travel disruption and power cuts possible as well. By tuesday morning, the strongest of the winds moving into the central belt of scotland, where we could see gusts of 70 mph. If you are travelling on monday night or tuesday morning, there could be some travel problems. Your local bbc Radio Station and bbc weather will keep you up to date. Things are slowly calming down on tuesday. Some brighter skies further north. Temperatures cooler and fresher. 13 to 17 degrees. A lot going on this week. A stormy start in the west. Midweek looks quieter. Wind and rain starting to return by the end of the week. Check the latest weather warnings online. This is bbc news. The headlines at 3pm. Two more women come forward accusing Harvey Weinstein of rape. British actress Lysette Anthony says he attacked her in her home in the 1980s. The government insists it is confident of reaching a deal with the eu but the transport secretary says ministers are preparing for the possibility of a no deal brexit. Of course, we have to plan for an option where there is no deal. We dont expect that, we are not aiming for it and i dont think that is where we are going to end up. Austrians head to the polls for a snap general election polls suggest the right wing Freedom Party could be in a position to form a Coalition Party for the first time ina a Coalition Party for the first time in a decade. Also in the next hour