Transcripts For BBCNEWS Thursday In Parliament 20170210

Thursday in parliament, our look at the best of the day in the commons and the lords. On this programme, labour describes as shameful the governments decision to wind down a scheme allowing vulnerable refugee children into britain. Where does it say that instead of the 3000 that Parliament Debated, we will only help a tenth of that number . Where does it say that when we get the chance we will somehow turn our backs once again . Egging on their lordships. An snp mp encourages the House Of Lords to delay the brexit bill. For us it is very much a win win whatever the outcome is here because i say to their lordships, reach for these barricades and take on this government. And are they really the future . Smart Energy Meters are criticised for not being very smart. Last year, the telegraph reported that over 130,000 smart meters were now operating in this dumb mode as a result of switching. But first, the government is insisting its not abandoning vulnerable refugee children despite winding down its scheme, which allows unaccompanied youngsters into the uk. 350 children, mostly from syria, are to be offered sanctuary under the project. Campaigners had hoped that more than 3000 youngsters, some of whom have already made their way to mainland europe, would be accepted. Answering an urgent question in the house of commons, the Home Secretary amber rudd described how the scheme had operated. Within europe in 2016, we transferred over 900 unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children to the uk. This included more than 750 from france as part of the uks support for the calais camp clearance. And i am proud that as Home Secretary the uk played such a key role in supporting the french to safely and compassionately close the camp. Yesterday, the government announced that in accordance with section 67 of the immigration act, we will transfer the specified number of 350 children pursuant to that section who reasonably meet the intention and spirit behind the provision. She said the scheme was not being closed. The government has always been clear that we do not want to incentivise perilous journeys to europe, particularly by the most vulnerable children. That is why children must have arrived in europe before the 20th March 2016 to be eligible under section 67 of the immigration act. The section 67 obligation was accepted on the basis that the measure would not act as a pull factor for children to europe and that it would be based on local authority capacity. The government has a Clear Strategy and we believe that this is the right approach. This week the government cancelled the dubs scheme after it had been running for less than six months. She said it hasnt closed, but will she confirm what it said in the statement yesterday that once those 350 children are here, thats it, it is closed. Where does it say in the hansard debate that i have here from our debates on the dubs amendment that we will only help lone child refugees for six months . Where does it say that instead of the 3,000 that Parliament Debated we will only help a tenth of that number . Where does it say that when we get the chance, we will somehow turn our backs once again . It doesnt because we didnt say that at the time. She said the Home Secretary had acted shamefully. And there are still so many children in need of help. She knows there are thousands in greece in overcrowded accommodation or homeless, or in italy, still at risk of human trafficking. 0r teenagers in french centres, which are being closed down now and they have nowhere left to go. She talked about clearing calais, they are heading back to calais, back to dunkirk, back to the mud, back to the danger, back into the arms of the people traffickers and the smugglers, the exploitation, the abuse, the Prostitution Rings and back into the modern slavery that this parliament and this government has pledged to end. These are children who need looking after over a period. When we accept them here it is notjob done. It is making sure that we work with local authorities, that we have the right safeguarding in place and thats why we engage with the local authorities, why we make sure that they have sufficient funds, which we have increased, to look after those young people. I completely reject her attack. The uk has a strong reputation in europe and internationally for looking after the most vulnerable. That will continue. We have a different approach to where those most vulnerable are. We believe that they are in the region. Thats why we have made a pledge to accept 3000 children from the region and we are committed to delivering on that. And how does she live with herself Leaving Thousands of people, Leaving Thousands, and members opposite canjeer, how does she live with herself, Leaving Thousands of children subject to disease, people trafficking, squalor and hopelessness . She describes how she doubts that the children in france are looked after. And i can say to the right honourable lady, the children who are most vulnerable are the ones in the camps out injordan, out in lebanon. These are the ones who are really vulnerable and those are the ones that we are determined to bring over here. It seems that the government tried to sneak out what they knew would be a very unpopular announcement when they were avoiding scrutiny in this house about the brexit deal. Is this The Shape Of Things To Come and is this what comes of Cosying Up To President Trump . I think many in this house have listened to what she has said with total disbelief. We cannot understand, given the intensity of the discussion and debate around the dubs, an amendment that was put and accepted by this house, that the Home Secretary has come forward with what essentially is a closure of that scheme at a number well below what any of us would have expected. Does she not agree with me that the reality will be that many children across europe in desperate need will be left with no hope . I am glad to hear there is going to be another 150 children coming to the uk under this scheme before it closes but can the Secretary Of State tell the house, is she able to look the 151st child in the eye and say no . Well, i want to know how the honourable lady feels about the children who are from the region, the children who are in the camps, they are not in france, they are not in italy, they are the ones in the camps where the conditions are much, much worse. How would she feel about looking them in the eye . Amber rudd. Well, the scheme for giving sanctury to unaccompanied children has always been associated with the name of the 84 year old labour peer lord dubs. He himself first arrived in britain from czechoslovakia in 1938 as part of the kindertransport fleeing the nazis. In the lords, lord dubs gave his reaction to the latest developments. He said to him it seemed the scheme was being closed. My lords, i must confess im slightly puzzled because if the government says that there is a specified number of children, then after that total has been reached, the scheme has been closed. My lords, it was not long ago that i remember the Prime Minister when she was Home Secretary told me that the government was prepared to accept the amendment. It was on the same day that the then Immigration Minister said to me that the government would accept the letter and the spirit of that amendment. I believe in arbitrarily closing down the scheme without any good reason for doing so, the government is in breach of its own commitments. My lords, the scheme is not closed. As the noble lord said, we will be accepting up to the limits of 350 at at this point in time, the scheme is not closed. What i think, well, more children will come, the scheme is not closed. What i think we have to appreciate, and i think noble lords generally have appreciated, is that the capacity of local authorities is limited. Noble lords might rubbish that, but the capacity of local authorities is limited. We have relied on their goodwill, it has been an entirely voluntary approach from the local authorities and of course i would encourage more local authorities to come forward who think that they might have places. There are many people who have expressed an interest to help but the government, both the churches, the other place, local authorities, i myself know several people who have indicated their willingness to help their local authority but have had little response back. Obviously the government is quite disinterested in taking any more. My lords, that is absolutely wrong. Yes, we have had expressions, we have had informal expressions of interest and i would encourage the noble lady if she has the names of those individuals, the names of those Community Groups and the names of those Church Groups to please contact us so that we can get matters in train. Lady williams. Now, its not been the best 12 months for the game of football. The england manager had to resign when he was filmed making covert deals behind the backs of Football Association officials, stories surfaced about incidents of historical abuse on youngsters by scouts and coaches, and there was the little matter of a humiliating International Knockout for the England National team at the hands of iceland last summer. So, is part of the solution for footballs varied problems better governance of the sport . The commons has been holding a special debate. The Premier League, its primaryjob is to promote its competition and it does so brilliantly all around the world. However, it exerts an enormous amount of influence over football because of the vast amount of money that it raises and it funds back into the game. So therefore we do need a strong Premier League, that is good for football, but we need a Strong National Governing Body forfootball that is ultimately responsible for the sporting and ethical decisions that football has to take. It is necessary to reform the structure of the fa board to make the fa more independent, to give it the power to act. We have been calling for this for years, the select committee has been calling for it in previous reports. We believe now that legislation is the only way in which this can be delivered. That was the recommendation of the last three chairmen of the fa to the select committee, to say the fa cannot reform itself, the turkeys would not vote for christmas, there has to be external pressure and external action through legislation to achieve it. What i am asking in this debate today is that if the government is unsuccessful in getting reform from the fa that a bill is prepared to be introduced into the next session of parliament after the queens speech to deliver the reform the fa so badly needs. Club ownership, safe standing, 20 is plenty, kick off times, disabled access, tackling homophobia are all issues that need to be addressed by a reformed fa and with more supporter input, i hope that will now happen. I hope this debate will show that we are serious about reform. In the end you look at the situation where an ordinary premier League Player in two months can earn more than Sheffield City council can spend on its junior football pitches in a whole year. Theres something wrong with that. It shows that there is a wrong balance of money in the game. So, if we are going to have that reformed board, it has to be able to divert more money into Grassroots Football and actually stop the cliff edge between the Premier League and the English Football League as well. But we should not belittle everything the fa does. It has done some great things. It has done really well on the womens game at local level and at professional level and it has tackled racism. Many fans would want to see, for instance, the fa have more influence over the number of home grown players that are developed in our league. It is woefully inadequate. We have far too many of these Pret A Porter players that are imported on the basis of the fact that there is so much wealth knocking about in the Premier League that rather than develop and take a chance on a youngster, they buy someone off the peg and bring them in and we dont impose the rules that should be applied in terms of how those players contribute and add to this game and many fans would like to see an fa that can deal with issues like that. Is in need of fundamental reform, that is a settled point, mr speaker, but that the leadership of the fa has been so grossly ineffective in bringing forward these reforms in the face of criticism from the cross party culture, media and sport select committee. At best they are dragging their feet, at worst theyre wilfully failing to act. We know that the fa are failing to regulate the power of Football Agents. They have a Football Agents exam, which im told can be passed by an 11 year old. They are failing to regulate correctly the Transfer Negotiations and there is still the potential for a bung culture within those negotiations. The structures arent right and so the management below isnt right and the enforcement below isnt right. The fas current model does not, in my opinion and clearly that of other colleagues, stand up to scrutiny. Reform is therefore required. But i repeat the Governing Body has every opportunity to bring that about themselves. While i believe a vote of No Confidence in the fa today is six weeks premature, they and other Governing Bodies should be fully aware that the clock is ticking fast and failure to reform will lead notjust to the withdrawal of public money but further consideration of legislative, regulatory and Financial Options to bring about this change needed. If we want to see better governance of football across the world then let it begin here. The commons debate on football. Youre watching our round up of the day in the commons and the lords. Still to come. Could the House Of Lords frustrate the Brexit Process . Mps have called on the government to consider formally recognising a Palestinian State. The suggestion was made during a debate on a backbench motion demanding an immediate halt to the planning and construction of israeli settlements in the occupied palestinian territories. Given the investment that we have made in a Two State Solution, my question to the minister is, aside from standing on the touchlines watching the players on the field and shouting advice, what more can we do whilst our friend and ally pursues a policy on settlements which is bound, so proceeding, to deliver a situation where the Two State Solution becomes actually geographically and economically unworkable. He might consider giving effect to this houses instruction that we should recognise the Palestinian State. Now, i have heard my honourable friend say that we can only do this once and therefore we need to choose the moment where that will make the maximum impact, and i agree with him, but he needs to consider this. It would be truly absurd if we were to delay that recognition till after the point at which the reality of any such Palestinian State could actually be delivered. So will the minister agree with me that when the Two State Solution that we all support is now under threat like never before that now is the time to act on that bilateral recognition . We have to ask ourselves, if not now then when, and if not now, arent those palestinians who believe that we talk a good story, but we do nothing to end their misery, are actually right . Supporters of israel argued that settlements are not the sole barrier to peace or indeed the main one. As supporters of a Two State Solution, we should commit ourselves to Building Trust with and between both israelis and palestinians. We should do that in both our words and our actions. In our words, we should seek to avoid emotive language which feeds a narrative of victim and villain. We should recognise and encourage the need for compromise, and we should never fail to acknowledge the complexities of a conflict which has endured for decades and whose roots run deep. Its often said that israeli settlements are illegal, but stating this repeatedly does not make it true. The west bank, and please bear with me, because i realise thats quite an inflammatory comment, so bear with me for a moment. The west bank and gaza remain, as they have always been, disputed territories, under international law. There has never been a Palestinian State. So the territory remains ownerless, and thats a strong argument for some. I am deeply disappointed that this government continues to fail to recognise the Palestinian State. Now is the time and i would ask him to give some comment on that. Secondly, what thought has the government put into how it can be that settlement goods can be separated from other israeli goods . There are many people who do not wish to buy settlement goods, and is the government doing any further work on that, and how can we persuade British Companies not to invest in Settlement Areas . But most importantly i hope that when President Trump and the Prime Minister netanyahu visit london later this year, our Prime Minister will have the courage to set out those views in no uncertain terms. The Foreign Office minister, tobias ellwood, voiced concern that territory for a Palestinian State was being eroded by settlement building, but he said the palestinian leadership needed to do more to prevent the incitement of violence. President abbas condemns certain aspects of it but we are still seeing schools and squares being named after terrorists. This is not the confidence Building Measures that we need to see. There is no relationship with hamas at all. These are the steps that will allow us to move forward so there can be a recognition in the long term of the state of palestine, but they are not there yet. A Younger Generation has given up on their own leadership, choosing instead to try and take a fast track to paradise by grabbing a knife and killing an israeli soldier, and that is a very terrible State Of Affairs to be in. The latest debate on the palestinian territories. Dont mess about or youll get abolished. That was reported to be the blunt warning issued to members of the House Of Lords on wednesday night by government supporters shortly after the moment when the so called brexit bill finally cleared the commons. So could peers delay the whole process of triggering article 50, the legal means by which the procedure is started for the uk to leave the eu . The Scottish National party is normally fiercely critical of the lords but the Snps Pete Wishart appeared to be supportive of peers finding fault with the brexit bill. Mr speaker, the bill now goes on its way to our friends down the corridor and what weve seen is that the unelected friends have been threatened with abolition if they dare mess with this governments bill. I am sure they are now quaking in their ermine if they dont do their patriotic duty, as the Secretary Of State said. Can ijust say i offer nothing other than encouragement to these fine tribunes in ermine who will now pick up the case. For us its very much a win win, whatever the outcome is here. So can i say to their lordships, reach for these barricades and take on this government. 0n the question of the House Of Lords, the House Of Lords has a valued function under our constitutional arrangements in terms of scrutinising and reviewing legislation coming up from the house of commons, as i am sure they will do that on the bill weve been debating this week, as they do on every other bill, but that they will also bear in mind the reality of the referendum and the popular mandate that lies behind the article 50 decision. Would the leader of the house accept that this Parliament Works because we have two houses, and sometimes the other place doesnt agree with this house and annoys the government. That is no reason whatsoever to threaten it with abolition. Can we have a statement from the leader of the house confirming that . I mean, the governments position is that we respect completely the constitutional role of the House Of Lords, and as i said earlier the House Of Lords itself accepts that as an unelected house it needs to abide by certain conventions. David lidington. Now, how smart is Smart Metering of gas and electricity . The idea is that your handy smart meter device sends automatic messages to your gas and Electricity Supplier so you dont need to. No more estimated bills. And you can see how much energy youre actually using. The government is in favour of large scale introduction of smart meters but in a debate in Westminster Hall several mps had doubts. 0ne spoke about his own experience. The smart meter was fitted. Now, once a month i have to go outside and take a photo of my smart meter and send that photo over broadband to the supplier because i dont have connectivity. My smart meter isnt connected to anything because i dont have the mobile phone signal. Now, that is a challenge if were going to provide 20 million smart meters, or however many were supplying, its quite a lot, by 2020. Now, the interesting thing is, im the local mp. The local bbc reporter recently e mailed me to say that he had had a smart meter fitted. He has to do exactly the same thing. So its a bit worrying in terms of Winning Public support for this, if the local mp and the local bbc presenter actually have smart meters that dont work. Now, clearly this was a private meeting, so im not telling the world that my smart meter doesnt work, but i do enjoy telling the story. The idea of having complete knowledge of the energy youre consuming is a desirable objective. But we are not doing it in a way that will be appreciated by the consumer and will probably be at a cost to the consumer. There is a Great Variety in the meters that are being installed just now. Again ill say the ones i saw at scottish gas were all singing and all dancing, probably could make your cup of tea for you as well. The meter ive got is far less interactive, and there is a real danger, in fact weve seen this with a lot of people, that the meter, after a short time, or certainly the display unit, ends up getting tossed in a draw or a cupboard somewhere. And a conservative mp also saw some limitations. One of these relates to interoperability between suppliers. That is, customers who switch their Energy Supplier after installation run the risk of losing the meters smart functionality. Depending on who they are switching from and to. It could revert to being a dumb, or perhaps more kindly a traditional, meter. Last year the telegraph reported that over 130,000 smart meters part of ourinftasttucturer very significant part of our infrastructure. An upgrade of a technology that is 100 years old. An upgrade of a technology, at the moment far too many people, means that people are looking at bills where their consumption is estimated. We dont tolerate that in the supermarket, why on earth should we tolerate it at home in the modern age, in 2017 . That people should continue, and our energy system, absolutely functional to a smart and prosperous economy, should continue to be dependent on a technology that is so out of date. Nick hurd. And thats it for this programme. Do join me for the week in parliament, when we analyse the contribution to parliament made by the speaker of the commons, john bercow. Hello, there. There is a bit of wintry weather in our forecast over the next few days, but i think it will look quite unimpressive compared to what they have had across the other side of the atlantic. This was new york on thursday. And across parts of the north east usa they saw well over 10 inches, well over 25 centimetres of snow from a potent winter storm. Back home, no storms on the horizon instead High Pressure in charge of the scene. The High Pressure across scandinavia delivering these easterly winds. Once again, through the first part of friday, we will also see some wintry showers in eastern areas and that could give some issues with ice first thing, so bear that in mind if youre travelling. And through the day, again theyll be a lot of cloud and again therell be some wintry showers and again the best of the brightness will be out west. So through west devon into the cornwall, we could see some sunshine, butjust 5 degrees in plymouth, its a similar story for west wales. Some sunshine 4 degrees in aberystwyth. Through east wales though, there will be a lot of cloud and it will feel decisively chilly under those leaden skies. Through Northern Ireland though i think we will get some sunshine and up into north west scotland, here, a decent chance of blue skies eastern. And centnfl garts 77 7 therell be some wintry showers a mixture of rain and sleet mostly but one or two places could see some snow, maybe enough for a very small covering here and there. But temperatures just 2 or 3 degrees. Through friday night, we keep the easterly wind, we keep the wintry showers and for the many of us there will be quite a lot of clouds. Up to the north west, particularly north west scotland, under clear spells, temperatures could drop as low as 10 degrees. More widely those temperatures will hover around freezing. Now, into saturday, remember the wintry showers we have been experiencing, well, on saturday morning, as this Weather Front works into the picture, this area of rain, sleet and snow may become a little more organized, a little more wide spread, so through the day we are likely to see some rain, yes, but also some sleet and snow spreading westwards. However, as the day goes on, the air will turn a little bit less cold so the snow will increasingly become confined to high levels. At low levels more likely rain and sleet by the afternoon. Those temperatures though still not particularly impressive 3, 4 or 5 degrees. Welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in North America and around the globe. The top stories a major legal setback for donald trump. The federal Appeals Court refuses to reinstate his travel ban. See you in court. The president hits back, saying the security of our nation is at stake. A punch up in south Africas Parliament over president zumas state of nation speech. And the cost of conservation. We visit the Indian National park, where local people say they are paying the price. Hello