Transcripts For BBCNEWS The Week In Parliament 20200628

At the week in parliament. Hello again and welcome to the week in parliament. Lifting the lockdown across the uk Boris Johnson relaxes Englands Covid 19 rules. Today we can say that our Long National hibernation is beginning to come to an end. But can we trust the Prime Minister . Hes been found out. He either dodges the question or he gives dodgy answers. And whats it like being a care worker during a pandemic . Mps try to find out. Do you feel valued for what you do . No. Not i feel valued by the company i work for. I dont feel valued by members of the public. All that to come and more from the uks four parliaments after a week dominated by the Prime Ministers announcement of a major relaxation of the coronavirus restrictions in england. Pubs, restaurants and hotels can re open from the 4th ofjuly with restrictions. So can places of worship, playgrounds, cinemas, libraries, theme parks and hairdressers. Small weddings are back. But gyms, nightclubs and swimming pools remain closed, and theres still no cricket. Borisjohnson said the progress made tackling the virus meant it was also safe to relax the two metre social distancing rule up to a point. Where it is possible to keep two metres apart, people should. But where it is not, we will advise people to keep a social distance of one metre plus meaning they should remain one metre apart while taking mitigations to reduce the risk of transmission. He said his governments principle was to trust the British Public to use their common sense. From now on, we will ask people to follow guidance on social contact instead of legislation. In that spirit, we advise from the 4th ofjuly, two households of any size should be able to meet you in any setting inside or out. That does not mean they must always be the same two households. It will be possible, for instance, to meet one set of grandparents one weekend, the others at the following weekend. Today, we can say that our Long National hibernation is beginning to come to an end. And life is returning to our streets and to our shops, the bustle is starting to come back, and a new but cautious optimism is palpable. But i must say to the house it will be all too easy for that frost to return. And that is why we will continue to trust in the common sense and the Community Spirit of the british people, to follow this guidance, to carry us through and to see us to victory over this virus and i commend, mr speaker, this statement to the house. From the opposition, a guarded welcome. We will, of course, scrutinise the details of this announcement. We will study the guidance, and there are obviously a number of questions that need to be answered, but overall, i welcome this statement. I believe the government is trying to do the right thing and in that, we will support them. And the snp warned that other countries were now experiencing a second wave. A similar experience here would amount to notjust a health disaster, but an economic disaster. It will wipe out all of the hard work, progress, it will wipe out all of the hard won progress, all the self sacrifice. It is vital that our collective efforts remained focused on preventing the disaster of a second spike. 2a hours after his lockdown statement, borisjohnson returned to face mps for Prime Ministers questions. And sir keir starmer returned to ask his promised questions about the performance of the nhs system to track those with the virus. If two thirds of those with covid i9 are not being contacted, that is a big problem. Because if we dont get track, trace and isolate properly running, we cannot open the economy, cannot prevent spreading. We cannot open the economy, we cannot prevent infection spreading. Borisjohnson said nhs test and trace was contacting the vast majority of those who tested positive. And it is a formidable achievement, mr speaker, and yesterday the honourable gentleman was kind enough to say that he supported our policy and supported our programme. And it is a formidable achievement, mr speaker, and yesterday, the honourable gentleman was kind enough actually that he supported our policy and supported our programme. I seem to remember him saying that loud and clear yesterday. Today i understand the constraints of the profession in which he used to work, i know how it works. Yesterday, he seemed to be yo yoing back into a position of opposition. Which is it . Is he supporting what we are doing, or is he against it . Keir starmer said their exchanges were following a pattern. A week earlier, the two leaders had clashed over Child Poverty, with the Prime Minister accused of getting his numbers wrong. Hes been found out. He either dodges the question or he gives dodgy answers. Mr speaker, no more witnesses. I rest my case. Will the Prime Minister do the decent thing and correct the record in relation to Child Poverty . Mr speaker, im happy to point out to my learned friend that actually there are 100,000 fewer children in absolute poverty, 500,000 children falling below thresholds of low income and material deprivation. This government, as he knows, is massively increasing universal credit seven billion more to help the poorest and neediest families in our country. Were getting on with it, were taking the tough decisions, and he still cannot make up his mind. Talking about Child Poverty. The Prime Minister. The lockdown is gradually being lifted in other parts of the uk too although in scotland and wales, the two metre rule remains. In wales, the message remains stay two metres apart, that is the safe way to behave. The science we have seen is from sage, saying that if you half the distance, the risk increases somewhere between two and five times greater than if you stay at a two metre distance. In scotland, people will be allowed to meet up with two other households indoors from the 10th ofjuly and pubs and restaurants can re open from the 15th of july. The first minister said the move was possible thanks to the real sustained progress made in suppressing coronavirus. Our challenge, which is not an easy one, is to manage all of this change while keeping this virus firmly under control. In fact, any stage that appears to be a risk of its resurgence, our path out of lockdown will be halted and we may even have to go backwards. To avoid that, we must get as close as possible to elimination of the virus now and build confidence in our ability to control it in future through surveillance, testing, Contact Tracing and, where necessary, targeted suppression measures. Nicola sturgeon. The home secretary priti patel has promised to implement the recommendations of a review into the windrush scandal in full. She made a commons statement to Mark Windrush day 72 years after the empire windrush arrived at tilbury docks in essex, carrying people from the caribbean who would make new lives here. But thousands of people who came to the uk from commonwealth countries between 19118 and 1971 were wrongly told they were in britain illegally. Wendy williams, an inspector of constabulary, carried out a review into the episode, making 30 recommendations, including the appointments of a migrants commissioner. Mps were angry about the slow rate of compensation payments. Priti patel said the victims had suffered unspea kable injustices. The review itself was damning about the conduct of the home office and unequivocal about the ignorance and institutional thoughtlessness towards the race and the history of the Windrush Generation by the department. I was clear when Wendy Williams published her Lessons Learned review that i would listen and i would act. I have heard what she has said. And i will be accepting the recommendations she has made in full. The governments windrush Compensation Scheme managed to compensate just 60 people in its first year of operation. The home secretary talked about more progress today but she must know that that rate of progress is just too slow. Given the number of years that have elapsed since this scandal first came to light, and already this scheme has been in operation for over a year. I agree. The payments and in the way in which payments have been made have been far too slow im not apologising for that at all. I have outlined in my statement that it is right that we treat each individual with the respect and the dignity that they deserve. These are complicated cases. The snp said the windrush scandal was a direct result of the governments hostile environment policy. Im concerned, mr deputy speaker, that in todays statement, the home secretary does not unequivocally commit to the sort of root and branch review of the hostile environment policy recommended by the Lessons Learned review. It is all very well to agree that black lives matter, but actions speak louder than words. The root causes can be traced back to legislation from the 19605 and 80s, much of which is complex. But of course, i appreciate the honourable lady has not fully read the report and has quoted selectively and as i said, i will come back to the house before the summer recess to discuss the specifics as to how we will be implementing. Answer my questions as ive said, mr deputy speaker, i will be returning back to the house to outline how we will be implementing the recommendations from the Lessons Learned review. Of the 1,275 people who have claimed compensation thus far, only 60 payments have been made and 529 people have had to wait for more than a year so does the home secretary concede that this just about neatly sums up the attitude of this government and the contempt in which it holds long suffering individuals . And just like with the hapless victims of the deadly grenfell fire tragedy, this callous government has no intention whatsoever of delivering full, proper and timely justice for those who have been so unconscionably wronged i hope the honourable gentleman, having listened to my statement, understands the complexities around individual cases and how we are working to get justice and provide compensation for individuals. That approach is the right approach, that approach has been based upon Stakeholder Engagement with the victims of the Windrush Generation itself. That is the right approach going forward, and i am very sorry that the honourable gentleman has chosen to politicize this in such an unhelpful and unconstructive way. That was the home secretarys second commons statement of the week. On monday, priti patel came to update mps on a suspected terror attack that killed three men in reading. The killing of david wails, Joe Ritchie Bennett and james furlong in a knife attack at a park prompted tributes to those who died and questions about Counter Terror operations. The local mp spoke movingly about the impact on the town. Mr speaker, reading is a friendly and peaceful town with a diverse and tolerant community and this whole incident is completely unknown to us. Its something which has never occurred before in our community and, as such, is deeply upsetting. Im very proud by the way that our community is pulling together at this difficult time and the way in which local people have been supporting one another. We can and we will come through this difficult time. Thank you, mr speaker. There were also tributes to an mps researcher who found himself at the scene. Mr speaker, i would like to pay particular tribute to james antell, a member of my own staff who not only used his own shirt to stem the bleeding of one victim, but continued resuscitation on a second victim until the paramedics arrived. Recent protests on the streets of westminster have highlighted concerns about War Memorials such as the cenotaph. A conservative, jonathan gullis, is proposing a new law to protect War Memorials from desecration, with higher penalties for offenders. Ministers have promised to look at the issue. Let us not forget the sacrifice and bravery of those who paid the ultimate price young men and women who gave up theirfutures, their loves, their lives and their dreams to ensure the freedoms they once knew were protected from tyranny for us, the unborn generations who sit idly by as monuments dedicated to their eternal memory are desecrated. I will not sit idly by, and nor will i be silenced. Its more than six months since the general election, but some mps have yet to make their first speech in the commons. A conservative, mark eastwood, who won the seat of dewsbury from labour, used his maiden speech to pay tribute to his mother. At the age of three, i was abandoned by my father, forcing me and my mother to move to a Council Estate in thornhill lees, dewsbury, and the wilton estate in batley. At first, it was a real struggle for my mother, raising a child as a lone parent while working shifts at batley hospital and, eventually, the then newly opened dewsbury hospital. There are significant challenges facing any single mother when raising a child, let alone one as difficult as me. Mps well, those who can have returned to westminster, and holyrood and stormont are meeting physically. But the senedd in cardiff remains the only Uk Parliament to sit only virtually, despite the protests of one ms, neil mcevoy, of the Welsh National party, who was logged out after a chamber brief sit in on wednesday. I am aware that one member is in the chamber and filming himself and broadcasting to that point on social media. I will ask for that member to be removed now from the Virtual Parliament and we will be closing the chamber in due course. My advice to mr mcavoy is not to play games with your parliament. Elinjones, with a fleeting appearance by neil mcavoy there. Now, more than 18 months ago, the retired judge Dame Laura Cox found that bullying and Sexual Harassment have long been tolerated and concealed at westminster. Mps have now agreed to set up an independent Disciplinary Panel to deal with claims of wrongdoing. The leader of the commons, jacob rees mogg, said that the behaviour of some mps has disgraced and shamed parliamentary democracy. Ive had people come to see me who have been treated in a way that senior people would have behaved to people subordinate to them in such a way in any workplace let alone in the house of commons, which ought to be a model of good behaviour and thats why we have to have the counterbalancing bit, that we cant give mps an opportunity to delve into the personal details of a case, and try it effectively a second time. There were fears that allowing mps to debate the independent panels findings in the commons could give members a platform to blacken their accusers name. Labours shadow leader of the commons had also been contacted by a victim. What the complainant said was, i do not want the serious case. And i wont say what it is, but it is very serious. Being debated, of being named, of being called a liar or slandered. And where complainants feel that if the report is debated and that will take place, they will not come forward because they are too scared. But a conservative thought voters should decide an mps fate. There is a very fundamental difference between members of parliament and all other staff members. Its that we are elected by the people and we are responsible to the people. And the people must have the final say, whether we come here in the first place or when we leave or how we leave, and thats very important. However distinguished an independent panel is, only the people have the final say. Does any honourable member honestly, in this house, think that their constituents will complain when this house takes action against something that is abhorrent enough to mean expulsion from this house . Good luck selling that on the doorstep ive been found completely wanting, but youve certainly voted for me, so you should get carry on getting your say. It is a nonsense and its not what our constituents are calling for. No constituent will have been in touch with anyone in this house saying, do you know what . I really want my right to keep my slightly wronged mp in place. Not a single one. And in the end, mps did vote to block all commons debates on complaints. Now, the coronavirus pandemic has shone a light on how we care for older people in care homes. And the weekly clap for carers also highlighted the work of those who care for Vulnerable People either in institutions or in their own home. Mps on the health and social Care Committee took evidence from care workers, who told them they felt undervalued, poorly paid and demoralised. Do you feel valued for what you do . No. Not i feel valued by the company that i work for. I dont feel valued by members of the public. Especially since covid, its been tough. We get tutted out because were in uniform out in the street because people are telling us we shouldnt have our uniforms on, but they dont understand what a domiciliary care worker does, that we go to peoples houses, we work in our uniforms and we keep those uniforms on throughout the day in everybodys house. We cant change. I was pulled over on my way into work and told i wasnt a key worker because they didnt recognise the role of a registered manager. And thats really sad, and we just need to really get the message out there that this sector does do quite a lot to support the wider system and it needs to be that we have that recognition. At the weekend, there was this amazing sign in a shop window saying, 30 off for all nhs employees. Well, i think thats really demoralising for them because theyre making the same effort, theyre doing the same work. There was people here that worked 14 hour days, went to the shops at the end of the evening, trying to provide for their family, but werent given the opportunity to cut the line just because they didnt wear an nhs badge. Turnover of staff among care home workers and home care workers can be more than 40 a year. How much is pay a factor in terms of recruitment and retention of staff . Its a big factor. Im sure marlene will agree. And that is based on the funding for these beds, because the majority of them are funded by the local authority or ccgs. Ccgs or clinical commissioning groups. Sue ann balcombe said what her home was paid defined what she could pay her staff. We arent able to pay a london living wage, were only able to pay them a minimum wage, and it would be something that wed consider if the funding was there for that to happen. The mps were told that people did not understand the complexity of what care workers were asked to do, especially in response to coronavirus. Theyre having to make critical judgements about peoples medical condition, they were being asked to support nursing tasks, which had previously been done by primary care. And alongside that, they were then not getting recognition about what they were doing, and i think thats had an impact on morale. I think the clap for the carers, some of the aspects of key worker recognition was great, but we had similar stories to marlene and sue ann. We had people being told they werent important, they werent key workers. Raina summerson. In northern ireland, an independent review into mass resignations at the watchdog which oversees care homes is to be carried out. Nine Board Members resigned after claiming they were not consulted on key decisions taken during the pandemic, when inspections at care homes have been reduced. Their departure prompted an urgent question to the Health Minister at stormont. Given your press statement over the last 2a hours, you said that you wished that the Board Members had approached you and raised the issue so you could resolve them. And now we know that e mails were coming forward from the former chair and the interim chief executive to your chief medical officer and permanent secretary as far back as the end of april. When did you become aware and what have you done in that time period to try and resolve the issues . I thank the member for her point. I was made aware in early may that there were tensions between the executive and the board of rqia. I wasnt aware that it was to the extent that it is, neither do i think is the chief medical officer or the permanent secretary within the department, so when their resignations did come through, they did come as a surprise. Robin swann. Now, the return of the wedding season up to a point has prompted great excitement in some quarters, even the odd purchase of a hat, although possibly not in one ministers household. I dont want to add to my reputation for eccentricity by admitting that my wife and i delayed our marriage because the late lord callaghan unexpectedly delayed the election in 1978, so i fully understand the frustrations that many young couples face. Lord true, the last of the great romantics, although he and lady true have been married for more than a0 years. The resumption of weddings is certainly good news for the church of england, but not necessarily for choirs. As the noble lord the minister will know, hymns are most often a focal point of a wedding service. And given yesterdays announcement about live performances, can the minister give us any more detailed guidance about singing in churches, both choral and congregational . Now, my lords, i do very much understand the point that the right reverend makes, but the scientific advice at the moment in relation to singing not only in relation to churches, i may say is that singing in public spaces, because of its impact, does carry the risk of spreading covid, so the scientific advice in relation to singing generally is that it should be avoided in all public spaces. The sadness at the singing ban is widely shared. A conservative mp feared it might deter otherwise regular churchgoers. I used to enjoy a hymn sandwich before this interdict, but ive broken the habit. How is he going to lure us back if were not allowed to sing . Can i suggest, as a minimum, shorter services, even shorter sermons, some comfortable words from the book of common prayer and an end to prating prelates . Well, andrew selous, sing to that one indeed, mr speaker. But what i would say to my right honourable friend is that i hope hes taken part in some of the uplifting online worship and services that have been available to him during lockdown, and i would say to him that its the warmth of the welcome, the opportunity for fellowship and the chance to grow in faith through proud worship and the revelation of gods word that will prove an irresistible temptation to my right honourable friend to return. Andrew selous skilfully negotiating that challenge about shorter sermons and prating prelates. Well, that was the week in parliament. Thank you for watching. Alicia mccarthy will be back on Bbc Parliament at 11pm on monday evening with the latest from the commons and the lords. But from me, david cornock, bye for now. Hello. Well, the fresh weather is here to stay for the foreseeable future, at least the next week or so. So, plenty of showers in the forecast, and on top of that, its also going to be windy, particularly on sunday. Really quite blustery for the time of the year. Now, the reason for it is this low pressure that swung out of the atlantic is being propelled by a jet stream. That jet stream has also introduced that much fresher air, and its here to stay. This is what it looks like through the early hours. So, the possibility of catching showers almost anywhere through the early hours, but more especially, i think, across the north west of the uk and really across parts of northern ireland, the north west of england, and the south western as well as western scotland. It could be really quite wet during the course of sunday. You can see these weather fronts spiralling into the area of low pressure, and around it, weve also got those strong winds circling. You can see those winds circling about scotland. This low pressure is also quite slow moving, which means that this weather is just going to carry on for the next 48 hours or so at least. And you can see where the heaviest the rain is across the north west of the uk here. Further south, its going to be brighter. There certainly will be some sunshine around, but those winds will be strong. Gusting in excess of a0 mph in places. Thats near gale force a real bluster out there. Lets have a look at the weather around 4pm in the afternoon. So, lets have a look at the forecast, then, as we go through the course of monday. The low pressure is still very much with us. You can see heavy rain affecting parts of Northern Britain once again, but to the south, so the further you are away from that area of low pressure, you can see its drier and brighter with temperatures getting up to around about 19 degrees celsius. So not even making 20 early in the week. Now, the temperatures will probably creep up a little bit into the low 20s through the course of the week, but plenty of showers, i think, on the cards across more northern parts of the uk. So, as i say, the fresh weather is here to stay. Good morning. Welcome to breakfast with chris mason and nina warhurst. Our headlines today build our way back to health the Prime Ministers plan to rescue the economy by fast tracking new schools, hospitals and major transport projects. As coronavirus cases in the us surge to more than 2. 5 million, florida becomes the latest state to reimpose lockdown. As reading remembers the three men stabbed to death in a park a week ago, a 25 year old man is charged with murder. No crowds, but theres still late drama in the fa cup as Manchester United beat norwich to become the first team