earlier on, there will be i said earlier on, there will be consequential is following from the fantastic announcements we have made today and other modes of transport. thank you prime minister for your statement and vision. historically, scunthorpe steel has been used for many infrastructure projects such as hms two. should we be using world —class hms two. should we be using world—class seals such as the steel produced in scu nthorpe world—class seals such as the steel produced in scunthorpe for projects like this? most of our train tracks come from british steel, whether in scunthorpe or elsewhere, come from british steel, whether in scu nthorpe or elsewhere, and come from british steel, whether in scunthorpe or elsewhere, and we will do our utmost, notwithstanding the difficulties that that plant faces, we will do our utmost to ensure that that remains the case in the future. years ago we were not talking about the climate emergency. given the

landscape has changed in that respect, surely there government should be investing behind regional and subregional transport systems, buses and cycle systems on the level that the french and continental systems a re that the french and continental systems are doing. i have built more cycle lanes than anybody else in this house. even when it was not a lwa ys this house. even when it was not always popular, what i did was nothing compared to what we are about to do. this investment we are about to do. this investment we are about to do. this investment we are about to making buses is absolutely colossal and i am surprised that he finds grounds for criticism. colossal and i am surprised that he finds grounds for criticismlj warmly welcome my honourable friend's attention to the spine of the country, but will he apply his orthopaedic talents to what should be the muscular limb that connects london to hastings, which will take longer to get to than the hour it will take to get to manchester in future? my right honourable friend

makes an extremely good point, and i will certainly examine the london to hastings route. i don't know which pa rt hastings route. i don't know which part of the anatomy... it should be, but it is vital to our nation's prosperity whatever it is. is the prime minister seriously suggesting that there will not be a single extra penny as the result of the today's extra announcements of wales. he promised that they were going to electrify the line all the way to swansea. they said that by 2017 the valleys line to my constituency would be electrified. none of that came to pass. all we wa nt none of that came to pass. all we want is a new railway line and to open the tunnel. will he promise that today? we have electrified the line up to cardiff, and when it comes to tunnels, the welsh... it is not widely known fact.

the welsh labour government, which he supports, spent £141; million on a study about whether or not to open the brynglas tunnels. open those tunnels. unblock the nostrils of the welsh dragon, mr speaker. tunnels. unblock the nostrils of the welsh dragon, mr speakerlj tunnels. unblock the nostrils of the welsh dragon, mr speaker. i welcome my right honourable friend patrick commitment to a ticketing system. many of my constituents commuting into london for a better worklife balance three or four days a week, but have no choice but to pay for a month season for a full season ticket. my right honourable friend assures me that is the decision. we have had downgrades in hull, from trains taking longer to arrive at

their destination, and while i was like to welcome northern powerhouse rail, i'm slightly disappointed that whenever you mention it, you mention it between leeds and manchester, when we all know it begins in hull. i would like the prime minister is talk to talk about the northern powerhouse rail from talk to talk about the northern powerhouse railfrom hull talk to talk about the northern powerhouse rail from hull and talk to talk about the northern powerhouse railfrom hull and when it will arrive in my constituency. we will make sure that we have hull is fully apart is our decision. i agree that we need both buses and trains to connect our communities, but can he reassure my constituents in penistone and stockbridge that their buses and trains will benefit oui’ their buses and trains will benefit our rural villages and notjust the big cities? my right honourable friend is

exactly right, everybody knows that talking to our constituents, a decent bus route can be absolutely tra nsformative constituents, a decent bus route can be absolutely transformative to your life and to the lives of your kids. birmingham airport 30 minutes from mulder oak, we won't need another airport. use and is still in the construction, and what will he do about disruption and overcrowding at old oak which is very happy with its historic name? i thank the honourable gentleman for his support for the name old oak common. we will ensure that we take control properly of that project. it presents a potential link between the great

western line and hsz, and we will ensure also that we take control properly of what is happening at euston, which he will agree has been a shambles, and we have a special purpose vehicle established to get optimum value for the taxpayer from that. anybody who is interested in increasing productivity and global britain could not fail to appreciate the announcement. in response to the question as to moment ago, could i ask about the rural provision for buses. these buses could help achieve a boost. could rural sparsity be taken into account is one of the tropes? rural sparsity will certainly be taken into account, as we will take into account, as we will take into account the needs of all towns and

communities. it is not only that these buses will help people to get to work or to wherever. of course, what they do is they give businesses the certainty and confidence that they can invest in that town in the knowledge that they will have people who will be able to commute easily. in relation to buses in greater manchester, could we have an urgent decision on funding for the clean freight and green bus funds? these will be the cleanest, greenest buses this country has ever seen. we will certainly be making use of the green bus fund. can i urge my right honourable friend, and indeed anybody that seeks to celebrate the hs2 decision to keep central in their mind, the blight that they hope will bring to communities up and down the route? notjust on the landscape but on peoples lives.

so far, people have been left in severe financial hardship. can we have an independent body with real power to scrutinise every decision the hs2 mix? he is entirely right in what he says, and sb care for it and mp on the route and like his constituency thousands of people have faced confusion and uncertainty about hsz, and it is vital that people are properly treated, and that is why the construction commission will be looking at making sure that everybody is treated fairly. the scottish environmentaljournalist group has been warning since 1985 about the omissions dumped by mod in the dyke. will the prime minister

abandon this project and give the money instead to the northern northern irish and scottish governments directly so that we can invest in those places directly? we will look at those proposals in due course. i thank the prime minister, the transport secretary for working with the west midlands mayor andy street. can you confirm that as we move towards net zero that this extra capacity on our railways will allow lorries carrying freight to come off our motorways? that is one of the many advantages of the proposal. is a nearby west london mp, cani proposal. is a nearby west london mp, can i as the mp —— the prime minister over to my patch where hs2 is already impacting

lives? also to see what the reality on the ground ofa see what the reality on the ground of a super development opportunity looks like for people who tend to be fo rg otte n ? looks like for people who tend to be forgotten? i have fond memories of walking the streets of her constituency and listening to her will lobby me in person, and no doubt i will be doing so again all too soon. does the prime minister agree with me that we now have a wonderful opportunity to win hearts and minds on high—speed north by getting smes involved in procurement, apprentices getting trained up, huddersfield university doing innovation, and fully integrating it with northern powerhouse rail, linking it with the northern cities and my northern town of huddersfield? my right honourable friend speaks passionately for huddersfield which is one of the

many towns which will benefit from hs2. many towns which will benefit from h52. is a green infrastructure improvement, it's a completejoke. if he agrees that we need many more continuous segregated cycle routes, how can he cant begin to explain that 250 miles across the country will cut it? this isjust the beginning. i am delighted to hear that when it comes to buses and bikes we are all going dutch. will my right honourable friend make sure that rapidly growing areas like essex and the east of england get oui’ essex and the east of england get our share of the funding? absolutely, mr speaker. to double the rate of cycling from 2% to li% of all trips, will the government mean £5 billion worth of funding at

leeds. how much of today's announcement would will actually be spent on cycling? in the first stage £350 million. matt hancock. with permission, i would like to update the house in response to the wuhan coronavirus. i have laid an instrument before the house to confirm the powers to be taken to isolate those from spreading the virus, and if necessary to keep them isolated as part of our approach to protecting the public. the plaza proportionate and will help slow down the transmission of the virus, and will make it easier for down the transmission of the virus, and will make it easierfor nhs staff to do theirjobs. the clinical advice about the risk to

the public has not changed and remains moderate. as of today, eight people in england have tested positive for coronavirus. all are receiving expert care from the nhs, which is well prepared and equipped to deal with the situation. contact tracing of the first four cases has undertaken rapidly and is now complete, while tracing for the latest four cases is ongoing. this contact tracing itself identified five of the cases, a tribute to the skill and tenacity of public health england's star. as well as finding a further five british nationals england's star. as well as finding a furtherfive british nationals in france woo hoo also tested positive for the virus. they are now receiving treatment, and the foreign office is following up with consular support. on sunday, 105 more british nationals from hubei province landed in the uk. they

are now in facilities that can sell park in milton keynes and are receiving all the necessary medical attention. i wa nt to the necessary medical attention. i want to pay tribute to milton keynes council and milton keynes hospital, and my own team for their hard work and my own team for their hard work and efficiency in ensuring that this went smoothly. this is of course in addition to those now reaching the end of their isolation on the wirral. turning to the efforts to contain the outbreak in china, the foreign office is advising against all foreign travel to the hubei province and all but essential travel to mainland china. last week, we issued new advice to all nationals returning to the uk from china, hong kong, macau, malaysia, singapore, south korea, taiwan, and thailand. if you develop symptoms of

cough, fever, or shortness of breath, you should call nhs when and immediately isolate for 1h days even if symptoms are minor. if you have returned to hubei, you should self isolate and call nhs returned to hubei, you should self isolate and call nh5111 even if you have have no symptoms. we have discussed... the current evidence shows that a 1k day incubation period remains important. as i said last week, dealing with this disease isa last week, dealing with this disease is a marathon and not a sprint. the situation will get worse before it gets better. we will be guided by the science. being no doubt that we will do everything that is effective to tackle this virus and keep people safe. we a re to tackle this virus and keep people safe. we are a0 million in vaccine

research and working in therapeutics. i can announce the immediate launch of a capital facility to support any urgent work that the nhs needs in the coronavirus response such as isolation areas under the necessary facilities. finally, there are actions that each one of us can take. simple but effective steps like washing hands and using tissues. my deputy speaker, we will ta ke tissues. my deputy speaker, we will take all necessary precautions to keep the public safe. take all necessary precautions to keep the public safelj take all necessary precautions to keep the public safe. i thank the secretary of state for advance notice of his statement and advance notice of his statement and advance notice of his statement and advance notice of the what he was going to invoke yesterday. our thoughts are with those in quarantine and those affected by the coronavirus, and tribute to all staff involved

in responding to the outbreak. in specific issue i understand the approach the government has taken. in last week's statement, i asked him what would happen should then evacuate wish to leave our impact. he reminded the house that evacuees have signed contracts that have allowed passage back to the uk within the restrictions. given the wider questions about what was allowed under human rights legislation, i understand why the secretary of state has invoked the regulations that he is entitled to do under the public health act. he has our support. ouara ntine arrangements must be seen to be necessary , arrangements must be seen to be necessary, proportionate and in accordance with law. and enforcement of those quarantine arrangements, including with powers of restraint

when necessary, must be fully transparent, and the rights and freedoms of the quarantined evacuees must be fully understood so as to ensure they are treated with dignity and respect. we agree that a legislative framework to this is far prefera ble legislative framework to this is far preferable to ad hoc contracts which we re preferable to ad hoc contracts which were the official basis for the quarantine. in order to maintain public confidence in these arrangements, that framework must be understood and scrutinised by parliament. with that in mind, with respect to the instrument that he has laid respect to the instrument that he has [aid for the house yesterday, at what point with their house get the opportunity to consider those regulations, and that will —— will that be on the floor of the house? if he could give us some clarity on that point at this point we would appreciate it. turning to the uk response more generally. can you tell the house that he is making plans should this

outbreak turn into a pandemic in the coming months? what measures is he making to ensure those plans will be robust? what communications of directors of public health received and will they continue to be informed? is he confident that 111 has sufficient capacity to deal with those calls? and that those health trusts that will be tasked with visiting individuals in their homes to carry out swab tests, will they be given resources to upscale the activity, or will they be expected to fund this extra work from their existing baselines? with respect to capital, i understand that hospitals have been given extra pods to quarantine patients and access this facility. do gps have

the night necessary resources to cope with patients that may present with symptoms of the coronavirus? i welcome the advice of the secretary of state on travel arrangements, not least because of school holidays coming up next week. there will be many people wanting clarification. can ensures that this advice is pulled fully aligned with public health advice. finally, can he update the house and international efforts into research effo rts international efforts into research efforts and a time scale? on behalf of the official opposition, can we again thank all our hard—working nhs staff, particularly those on the front line, some of which themselves have been diagnosed with coronavirus? we reiterate our hope

and thanks to the secretary of state for coming to the house and hope that he will continue to keep the house updated in the weeks ahead. thank you very much. i am grateful for the support from the opposition for the support from the opposition for the support from the opposition for the measures we have taken. and the best way to deal with an outbreak like this is on a bipartisan basis, and i think that the approach that the house has taken has thus far helped enable as efficient and capable a response is possible to what is obviously a difficult situation. i entirely agree with the honourable gentleman that the use of the powers that we brought into force yesterday must be proportionate and enforcement, too, needs to be reasonable, and that is a very important consideration. he is right to ask about nhs a very important consideration. he is right to ask about nh5111. we will ensure that nhs 111 services have the support available. we have

plans in place to expand the support for those taking support on 111 if necessary. thus far, we haven't had to do that, because compared to the huge scale of calls to nhs to do that, because compared to the huge scale of calls to nh5111 that are made, the number concerning those who have... think that they may have coronavirus are still relatively small crime but of course we are ready to do that if necessary. in terms of timing, as far as necessary. in terms of timing, as farasi necessary. in terms of timing, as far as i understand it a debate is not yet scheduled on the procedure for the statutory instruments that we re for the statutory instruments that were made available yesterday. they become law the moment that they are signed, and thus our law now, and they remain in force with the requirement for the house to pass debate and pass them, and in fact the whole of parliament to debate and pass them 28 days.

we will ensure that that happens. we will then make sure that they stay in force for two years or until the end of the health emergency is declared. he asked about links to the public health authority in brighton, an incredibly important question. i understand that the links have been very close, and that the public health officers had been working very closely with public health england. i thank them as well. he asked about access for capital to gps. 0f asked about access for capital to gps. of course, if gp facilities or if other parts of the nhs need to capital upgrades, yes, we will look at them. in the first instance, though, it is very important that people don't go immediately to their gp but rather call nhs 111. if they do go to a&e, we will ensure that these pads are available to ensure that people are separated from the vast majority of people who are

going to a&e who we don't want to get contaminated. the advice here remains absolutely clear. if you suspect that you may have coronavirus, call 111 and do not leave home until you have spoken to a clinician. can i thank the health secretary for the way he has handled this crisis, because we are all very aware that appearances before this house are only a tiny fraction of the huge amount of work that is going on behind the scenes, and also thank the shadow secretary for the nonpartisan way in which the party is approaching this crisis. one of the distressing things about what is happening that you see on tv in china and provinces, is the treatment because the hospitals are full whether or not is his coronavirus or other illnesses they may have. can

i ask what preparations are being made to protect people who continue to have urgent illnesses like count said that we'll need to be dealt with very very promptly, even in such a situation as the virus exploding in the uk? this is a very important strand of our prepare and mitigate pa rt strand of our prepare and mitigate part of our policy, to ensure that should things get worse here that the nhs is fully prepared. that the nhs has the capability to cope now with their highest level of care and two is banned that to 500 cases, to do that without an impact on the wider work of the nhs. of course, if the numbers of cases get bigger, then we will need to take further steps. as he knows, from his time in my shoes, there are

extensive plans already in place for how that should happen should we reach that eventuality. i to happen should we reach that eventuality. ito welcome happen should we reach that eventuality. i to welcome the secretary of state that make we will leave that statement for now. we will be continuing coverage throughout the afternoon. matt hancock said telling mps that the risk remains moderate in this country. eight people have tested positive but the nhs is well prepared. this is a marathon and not a sprint. man hancock told mps prepared. this is a marathon and not a sprint. man hancock told mstust there. much more coming up. let's leave you with the weather. we have a good covering of snow across the

ground in places. the main risk of snow settling on the ground for any length of time remains across the hills of northern ireland, northern england and into scotland as well. further showers are in the forecast, and we have seen a bit of snow in some of the showers across the moors of south—western england and across the salisbury plain. it stays very windy. coastal gusts in excess of 60 mph, and in—line gusts in excess of a0 to 52 mph. spells of sunshine in between. it will make it feel pretty cold. during this evening, as temperatures fall away, there is a greater risk of snow settling across southern scotland. the met office haveissued southern scotland. the met office have issued an amber warning for this. this brings an enhanced threat of some transport disruption here, but there will continue to be and snow showers elsewhere. into northern ireland and northern england particularly in some of

those hilly areas. with that, comes the risk of some icy patches. this is particularly over high ground and countryside. more of those wintry showers to come, but further southwards as a ridge of high pressure builds in, for a time at least the shower will fade away and there will be more sunshine, until we see some thick cloud arriving from the south—west, and ultimately that will be bringing some wet weather into south—west england. overnight, this rain will be pushing northwards and eastwards across the country, and as it does so it will turn to snow across the pennines and perhaps even lower levels. we could see some further disruption as we head into thursday morning. a little bit mildly further south on thursday. a deep area of low pressure comes off the atlantic. this is storm tennis. tightly packed isobars and lots of

rain. the winds are strong enough to bring some transport disruption, and the rain more than enough to cause flooding in places.

hello, you're watching afternoon live — i'm simon mccoy. today at two: full steam ahead for hsz. the prime minister confirms that the whole of the high speed rail plan will go ahead, with the first trains running by the end of the decade. the cabinet has given high—speed rail the green signal. we are going to get this done. i'll be reporting live from the hs2 construction site here in birmingham and getting reaction to the 00:30:50,1000 --> 00:30:51,434 prime minister's announcement from the mayor of the west midlands. the british businessman linked to 11 coronovirus cases says he's fully recovered

but still in quarantine, after catching the virus in singapore. poor manufacturing figures, particuarly in the car industry, mean there was no economic growth in the last three months of last year. coming up on afternoon live: all the sport. as manchester united apply for a section of safe standing, are we any closer to seeing it rolled out? thanks, john. and nick miller has all the weather. concern about heavy snow showers today in scotland, and a new named storm on the way this we can. all you need to know, coming up. with a little help from his dad.. prince william and prince charles take to the basketball court — as they tour facilities for injured service personnel.