Coming up the governments challenged over its plans to delay its proposals to clean up our air. Should children be able to take their books into their English Literature exams . And with Parliament Due to come to an end this week, so mps can hit the campaign trail, a Lords Minister is gearing up for a busy time. When all the mps disappear to try and get re elected, it is the Lords Minister who does all the work. The Environment Secretary says the government will publish draft plans to tackle Air Pollution on 30th june, with a final plan in mid september. The courts had given ministers until 4pm on monday to set out measures to combat illegal levels of Nitrogen Dioxide pollution. On friday the department for environment, food and Rural Affairs lodged an application with the high court to postpone publication of its draft clean air plan until after the election. It argued the move was necessary to comply with election purdah rules limiting Government Announcements with political implications during the election period. Answering an urgent question in the commons, the Environment Secretary said significant progress on air quality had been made since 2010, but. Due to the failure of Euro Vehicle Emission Standards to deliver the expected improvement in air quality, the uk is among 17 european countries, including france and germany, not yet meeting eu Emissions Targets for Nitrogen Dioxide in parts of our towns and cities. We are taking strong action to remedy that. My department, since last november, has been working jointly with the Department For Transport to update the Governments National air quality plan for Nitrogen Dioxide. We have updated the analytical base for the plan to reflect new evidence, following the vw scandal, and the failure of the eu Regulatory Regime to deliver the improvements expected on emissions. The plan adapts to these new circumstances by setting out a framework for action. But the new plan had been postponed in line with longstanding guidance and convention. The propriety and ethics team in Cabinet Office had told us that it would not be appropriate to launch the consultation and publish the air quality plan during this time. So the government has therefore applied to the high court for a short extension of the deadline, to publishing the National Air Quality plan for Nitrogen Dioxide. So that the government can comply with pre election propriety rules. So the government is seeking to publish a draft plan by the 30th ofjune and a final plan by 15th september. Nearly 40 Million People in britain live in areas with illegal levels of Air Pollution. 2000 schools and nurseries are close to roads with damaging levels of fumes and nhs estimates are that poor air quality contributes to 40,000 premature deaths every year. This situation has gone from bad to worse on this governments watch. And it has now escalated into what the committee calls a Public Health emergency. It is unacceptable to hide behind the election to delay publishing her plans. Cabinet office rules are clear that purdah is not an excuse to delay acting on vital Public Health matters. Once the uk leaves the eu, the commission are no longer able to levy fines on the uk government for failing to act with due speed on the premature deaths of 40,000 people a year, caused by toxic air. Who does the government expect will be levying fines, initiating cases against the government for Air Quality Breaches . I agree with the honourable gentleman again that this is a very significant and serious issue, and ifind it rather distasteful that he would suggest the only reason we might be motivated as a government to deal with this is because of the threat of eu fines. We absolutely intend to deal with the issues, to make sure that the air is cleaner for the people of our country and to ensure that we are the generation that leaves our environment in a better state than we found it. Cani can i encourage her to look at the article in this weeks british medical journal, article in this weeks british medicaljournal, which barely sets out the growing evidence for the benefits of active commuting, particularly by bicycle, and to encourage asked to get britains cycling. She has been dragged to the house to make this statement. She has been putting off major decisions right across the future of her department on all those important issues. But can i put the record straight . Just on the fact, my constituents wont understand, where children are being poisoned now, where pregnant women are being poisoned, now, pedestrians and cyclists are being poisoned, and she is bringing some obscure mention about purdah to stop us doing something about it. Can i remind her that it is two years since we knew that volkswagen had the scandal which broke and she has been here for two years and done nothing well, in truth, what this government did was to leave the eu in sorting out the emissions calculations to make sure that they were accurate. So, a few years ago, the eu assessment and the vw cheating and the wrong headed Emissions Assessments were just that, they were wrong. Subsequently, led by this government, we have pressed for better calculations and assessments. We have been working extremely hard to get our plans ready, and this is a very short deferral to deal with propriety rules. We will be publishing our plan as soon as possible after the general election. Andrea leadsom. Mps have approved legislation that allows for Fresh Assembly elections in Northern Ireland to be deferred until the end ofjune. The government has said it hopes the move will allow an agreement to be reached on the creation of a new power sharing executive, following the latest Assembly Election in march. Talks on setting up a body stalled before easter. Ministers hope a deal can be agreed, avoiding the need for direct rule or fresh elections. The Northern Ireland secretary said talks were continuing. The restoration of devolved government remains achievable and remains the absolute priority. This will require more time and more focused engagement by the parties on the Critical Issues that remain, building on the discussions over the course of the past several weeks. Building on the discussions over the course of the past seven weeks. The bill before this house today would provide the space and the opportunities for the parties to do just that. We will remove the present legal barriers so that the assembly can meet and an executive can be formed at any point from royal assent to the 29th ofjune, three weeks after the general election. We recognise that there will be focus on the general election. That is why the bill provides parties with the scope and space to continue discussions to resolve their outstanding issues, while providing a period of reflection for the new government, if a deal does still prove impossible. To be absolutely clear about this, is the Secretary Of State stating to the house today from the dispatch box that the choice is very clear, and by putting in place the points he has made about appropriations, the groundwork has been laid for direct rule if that is required . Devolution or direct rule . I dont want in any way to prejudge the outcome of the coming weeks. I earnestly hope and believe and want to see devolved government re established in Northern Ireland. That is what is profoundly in the best interests of Northern Ireland, seeing that local decision making. And i think the strong message should come across this house of wanting to see that into position at the earliest possible opportunity. The shadow Northern Ireland secretary, backed the legislation, and called on the government to set up and called on the government to set up an enquiry about the Renewable Energy scheme that brought the executive down. The shadow Northern Island secretary backed. We need to see parties trust each other and move away from entrenched positions. I say this to sinn fein clearly from this box, drop your demand for the dup to stand aside while this inquiry goes on. She has given assurances that she will fully cooperate with the inquiry, she will accept its outcomes and she wont hinder its progress in any way. That would be a huge step in the direction of building the trust and confidence that allowed sworn enemies to govern in Northern Ireland in previous years. People feel that they need answers and deserve answers. Many of those who want answers are not nationalists. I have met many unionists who are horrified by the events around that situation. I will leave it at that. Clouds of confusion and poking each other in the ie only makes things worse. I say to the Secretary Of State that it is vital that no stone is left unturned until devolution is restored in Northern Ireland. For me, as a supporter of the Peace Process going forward, i am left now with a very serious doubt in my mind about whether sinn fein really want to be in government at all. And i am left with a very serious doubt in my mind about the workability of the mandatory coalition model, as a basis for government, giving, as it does, madam deputy speaker, sinn fein, a veto over the formation of government. Sinn feins mps dont take their seats at westminster, so could not reply to, that but another unionist thought it was time to find a new way of doing things. We need to find another way of working together whether it is a voluntary coalition, if we have that, we have to make sure that we look after the minorities, so it is not without difficulties. We could even have a Minority Government if the two major parties cannot agree. We need to sit down, all of us, and find a way forward, because i know every Single Person sitting here wants solutions and can Work Together and yet, one party that isnt here, doesnt make it easy but it doesnt mean the other parties here are not at fault, too. Being able to bring English Literature books into the exam room would make testing harder, not easier, a labour mp has told the education minister. Following a petition signed by more than 110,000 people, the government was taken to task on closed book examinations. Do teenagers really need to be able to recite the lines of works of fiction . The chair of the Petitions Committee is herself a former english teacher. I must confess when i saw this petition i had mixed feelings. English is my subject, it is what i was most interested in at school, i read english at university. My firstjob was teaching english. And being of the generation i am, my head is stuffed full of quotations, from shakespeare to keats to dh lawrence. My colleagues here know that my party piece around this time of year is to recite to them the opening of the general Prologue To The Canterbury Tales in middle english, which i wont inflict on people this afternoon. The former Chief Regulator said in a blog, assessment is about learning and understanding, not memory. Now, i would be convinced by that were in not for one thing. In literature, the exact words are important. A great writer chooses words with precision and an approximation of what they have said need not have the same force or convey the same sentiments. I think the minister is perhaps old enough, like me, to perhaps remember the old Morecambe And Wise sketch, where shakespeare is writing rubbish, and the milkman keeps coming in and helping him. So shakespeare writes, its very cold, i said to yorkie. And the milkman suggests how about, now is the winter of our discontent . I also think that Open Book Exams can actually ask more Testing Questions and can do what the government says it wants to do, that is ensure that the brightest pupils are able to show what they are capable of. So there is, in fact, i think, a case for both kinds of examination. The government should think very seriously about part, at least, of English Literature exams in future being done on an open book basis. English literature enlightens us. There is a popular quote that says life depends on science, but then art makes it worth living. Well, English Literature is not an exact science and it makes no sense to test it in a way which basically amounts to a glorified memory test. Many universities do not examine their literature students in this way because they know that Rote Learning is not a sign of intelligence or original thought. It is robust analysis and understanding that counts and what undergraduates are rightly tested on, so why on earth do we expect our children to learn lines . The schools minister, nick gibb, said there was no expectation that students would have to memorise large amounts of text. Id like to reassure the honourable member, all honourable members of this chamber, that this is not the case. Pupils do not have to reproduce word for word what they have read in order to pass the gcse. The examination is not about Testing Pupils ability to recall portions of the text that they have read, but it is a test of how well they understand and can interpret the literature that they have studied. And the minister said there were circumstances where having a text to hand might encourage a student to waste valuable time. If pupils have a good understanding of the text prior to the assessment, there is a risk that they might spend significant portions of the Exam Searching for references in the mistaken belief that this will secure them higher marks. Again, unless the text is provided, the mark schemes for the reformed qualifications do not expect extensive quotes from memory. The schools minister, nick gibb. Youre watching monday in parliament, with me, alicia mccarthy. The Communities Secretary has warned labour not to play politics with the issue of homelessness. The exchange was part of an often bad tempered question time in the commons, which also saw the conservatives accused of being a friend of the slum landlord. The scale of Rough Sleeping Homelessness in britain today shames us all. And in a country as decent and as well off as ours it is not inevitable. But the level has more than doubled since 2010, directly as a result of the decisions that conservative ministers have made since then. Mr speaker, there are very few simple rules in politics but this is one. With a labour government, homelessness falls. Under the tories, it goes up. And onjune the 8th, people will ask themselves, do we really want more of the same . I know the honourable gentleman, he cares deeply about this issue, as we do on this side of the house, and he shouldnt play Party Politics with it. This, mr speaker, is a very serious issue that unites everyone in this house. We all want to see an end to rough sleeping, but the honourable gentleman knows as well as i do that the causes of rough sleeping are complex, they are notjust economic. There are Mental Health problems, there are Addiction Problems and the honourable gentleman knows that. And we do have lessons to learn from abroad, but i am sure if he works with us, if we Work Together, we can all unite in helping rough sleepers for good. Then labour questioned the governments record on cracking down on rogue landlords. If he actually cares about private tenants, why is this minister blocking borough wide, Private Sector Licensing Schemes . Is his party still the Slum Landlords friend . Thats terrible mr speaker, the suggestion that members on this side of the house dont care about these issues is as ridiculous as it is insulting. The work of Labour Councils that the Shadow Minister refers to is being funded by funding from this government. He is factually wrong to suggest that this government is blocking borough wide selection licences. I can also point out to him the many reforms we are introducing like banning Letting Agent fees, assisting Client Management protection, reforms that when the Shadow Housing Minister was running this department were not in place. This is expected to be the last week that parliament will sit before the general election. From next week politicians will be in full on campaigning mode. The election onjune the 8th caught Westminster Watchers by surprise when it was announced by theresa may last week, and comes as the uk gears up to begin formal brexit talks. A Liberal Democrat wanted to know. Can he tell us what assessment the government has made about the amount of parliamentary time that will be lost thanks to having a general election, and whether that can be added in so there is adequate parliamentary scrutiny of the negotiations, given that the limit for negotiations is two years and we are going to lose about two months . I can assure the Noble Baroness and all your noble lordships that there will be ample time i am sure for a debate about the matters before us, notjust over the months to come after the general election, but indeed in the weeks before it. I am sure everyone is looking forward to it. As regards the actual time lost, let me just draw the Noble Baronesss attention to the fact that my understanding is, my lords, that the General Affairs council will not adopt the commissions Draft Negotiating Guidelines until may the 22nd at the earliest, and therefore political negotiations would not begin before earlyjune at any rate. And as the commission has said, those negotiations will now begin after the general election onjune the 8th. Isnt the deeper problem that the eurocrats are much more interested in keeping their sinking project of European Integration afloat because it pays them so well than they are in meeting the needs of the real people of europe which are much the same as ours . Well, the noble lord has his own unique way of saying things and not mincing his words. My lords, it is in all our interests on this side of the channel and right across europe to ensure that the withdrawal negotiations are to our interests and to europes interests and to ensure that our exit is smooth and orderly, and that we continue to trade with our European Partners as we have done for generations in the past. I think that is the overriding intention and it is good to see that so many of our European Partners are saying similar things as we speak. On the subject of making the best use of parliamentary time, wouldnt it be a good start after the general election if every party in this house accepted the results of the referendum . That would be a very good thing, my lords, and it would be a very good thing as the Prime Minister has said that this party on our side of the house will be searching for a clear approach to those negotiations to ensure that we get the very best deal for this country in the months ahead. Would the noble lord Minister Care to confirm, as he haa in the past, that accepting the results of the referendum does not have to imply not scrutinising what comes after . I have absolutely said many times before, and i have enjoyed the debates we have had in this house, that clearly this place, this house and the other place will obviously have a considerable role to play as we leave the eu in scrutinising the governments proposals and the way ahead, and indeed obviously in the significant pieces of legislation, not least the great repeal bill that parliament will be asked to pass. Lord bridges. Now, rightly or wrongly, gardening is often thought of as a pursuit to be taken up in later life, but in the lords, one childrens campaigner thought it could have real benefits for youngsters, too. Tv presenter and Liberal Democrat peer Lady Benjamin is an ambassador for the Royal Horticultural Society or rhs. Numerous reports have shown that children as young as four are suffering from depression and anxiety, and Research Proves that gardening is not only therapeutic for them, it helps them and gives them a sense of continuity, a responsibility and understanding of Food Production and helps them with subjects across the curriculum, even a career in horticulture. So will the government work with the rhs schools gardening campaign to deliver Gardening Opportunities to schools across the country and urge ofsted to take this provision into account when inspecting schools . Well, the noble lady is quite right about the therapeutic benefits of gardening for children. I know that the rhs, to which i pay tribute to her ambassadorship, it does a Great Campaign in schools for this, their campaign has over 32,000 schools and organisations, including 68 of primaries and 78 of secondaries engaged, reaching 6 million children. As far as ofsted is concerned we dont want to load ofsted up with too many specific, narrow requirements, but as part of school inspections, inspectors consider the breadth and depth of the School Curriculum and its impact on its children and where the schools use of outdoor space is having a positive impact inspectors will know this. They also expect schools to provide rich and varied Extracurricular Activities which may well include gardening. Now that the minister has had a windfall of time land in his diary over the next few weeks, can i ask him whether or not he will find time to dig through the weeds of the School Funding formula to see whether or not head teachers would have enough resources for school gardens, and then perhaps the seeds of doubt will sprout that the line he is about to give us about the School Funding formula wears a little thin . I am most impressed with the noble lords ability to weave into this question something that might appear to be so off piste but he will know from his previous experience of having done myjob that when all the mps disappear to try and get re elected it is the Lords Minister who does all the work. But i will attempt to come back to him with a more fulsome answer to his question. Lord nash. Finally, tributes have been paid to sir david beamish, the clerk of the parliaments, the most senior official in the lords, whos retiring after more than 40 years in westminster. He leaves a very different house from the one he arrived at back in 1974, not least because i wasnt born then. He leaves a more modern and diverse institution. He leaves the house and its administration well equipped to handle the considerable challenges to be phased in the coming years. My lords, parliament and politics has changed considerably in those years since david first stepped through the doors of parliament as a new, young clerk. The Noble Lady Leader of the house has rightly paid tribute to the past he has played in overseeing, managing and also leading change. Perhaps he took the advice of his mastermind Specialist Subject nancy astor when she said, the main dangers in this life id those people who want to change everything or nothing. Lady smith referring there to the fact that away from his job at westminster sir david won the bbc quiz show mastermind in 1988, with nancy astor as his Specialist Subject. And after those triubes, Edward Ollard was appointed as the new clerk of the parliaments, taking overfrom sir david beamish. And thats it from me for now, but do join me at the same time tomorrow for another roundup of the best of the day here at westminster, as the government tries to get the last handful of bills passed before Parliament Dissolves for the general election. But for now from me, alicia mccarthy, goodbye. Hello. It feels a bit like we have been plunged into deep freeze. Temperatures will struggle over the next few days. A frosty start for tuesday, plenty of wintry showers. This cold air has, all the way from the arctic, Working South across british isles. Brought in our direction by a pretty strong northerly wind. Tightly squeezed isobars across north east scotland. It will be gales at times, a lot of showers as we start the day in areas exposed to that northerly wind. Across the north of scotland, plenty of showers. Some heavy, a mix of rain, sleet, hail and of showers. Some heavy, a mix of rain, sleet, hailand some of showers. Some heavy, a mix of rain, sleet, hail and some snow, especially but not exclusively over high ground. Plenty of showers in North East England and some in Northern Ireland. South west scotland, across the spine of england and wales, starting off dry. Not many showers, cold and just three degrees in birmingham. In two parts of cornwall in devon, one or two showers. Especially in areas exposed to the northerly wind. Those wintry showers becoming more widespread throughout the day. Just about anywhere you could catch a shower. Low levels, some rain, sleet, hail, thunder. Could be some snow the high ground. Temperatures 7 13 snow the high ground. Temperatures 7 13 degrees, but some of us, such as aberdeen, it will feel like freezing, even in the middle of the afternoon. As we go through tuesday night into wednesday, most of the showers becoming confined to eastern areas. Some clear spells further west. These temperatures you can expect right in the centre of our big towns and cities. In the countryside, could be as cold as 6 oi countryside, could be as cold as 6 or minus seven. Changes on wednesday. I pressure coming in, cutting off the worst of that cold, northerly flow. Not quite as cold as the high builds in from the west. Showers pushing to the south east. Some of those could be heavy, some hailand some of those could be heavy, some hail and plunder and possibly wintry over high ground. More cloud into Northern Ireland and western scotland. Temperatures beginning to creep upwards. That is the story for the end of the week. Cold air not last for long. Slowly but surely, things will turn a little bit milder from the west. Ats all from me for 110w. from the west. Ats all from me for now. Thats. This is bbc news. Broadcasting to oui this is bbc news. Broadcasting to our viewers in North America and around the globe. My name is mike embley. Our top stories President Trump warns of new sanctions on north korea over its nuclear and missile tests. 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