tv The Week in Parliament BBC News July 5, 2020 3:30pm-4:00pm BST
3:30 pm
to stop mass redundancies. next week's financial statement could be the last chance to save millions ofjobs. but the prime minister remains positive. we are the builders, they're the blockers. we're the doers, they're the ditherers. we're going to get on with it and take this country forward! also on this programme, the government announces that up to three million hong kong residents are to be offered the chance to settle in the uk. the education secretary announces plans to get all of england's children back to school in september. and one mp reflects on how her life might have been different. my mum, who has regularly said, "katherine, i've been saying since you were two you'll either be a stripper, a social worker or a scientist!" but first, boris johnson was in bullish form as he set out what he called an "ambitious" post—coronavirus recovery plan. in a speech in the west midlands,
3:31 pm
the pm vowed to "use this moment" to fix longstanding economic problems and promised a £5 billion "new deal" to build homes and infrastructure. it was also confirmed that the chancellor would deliver an economic update onjuly 8. critics argued there was little new in the plans or the funding. at pmqs, the labour leader reckoned there had been one striking line in borisjohnson‘s speech. the prime minister said, "we know that the jobs many people had injanuary are not coming back". i fear that this is the equivalent line to the line in the prime minister's speech of march 12, when he said, "i must level with you. many more families are going to lose loved ones before their time." and we know what happened next. that's why there needs to be a laser—like focus on protecting jobs. so how manyjobs does the prime minister think yesterday's announcement will protect?
3:32 pm
mr speaker, i think he first of all might pay tribute to the work of this government in protecting 11 million jobs throughout this crisis. he might draw attention to the fact that we have supported huge sectors of the uk economy at a cost of £120 billion. and i'm not going to give a figure for the number ofjob losses that may or may not take place but, of course, the risk is very, very serious, as he rightly says. but that is why we're proceeding with the new deal, the fair deal for the british people, which will be notjust massive investment in our national health service — £34 billion in our nhs, £14 billion more into our schools — but an investment in infrastructure going up to £100 billion. we are going to build, build, build and deliver jobs, jobs, jobs for the people of this country. but keir starmer said what had been announced had amounted to £100 per person. not much of this announcement was new, and it certainly wasn't much of a deal.
3:33 pm
meanwhile, as the prime minister was speaking, airbus announced 1,700 job losses, easyjet, 1,300 job losses, tm lewin and harveys, 800 job losses. that's just yesterday. and there was nothing in the prime minister's speech for the 3.2 million people in hospitality or the 2.9 million in retail. next week's financial statement could be the last chance to save millions ofjobs. will the prime minister start now by extending the furlough scheme for those parts of the economy that are still most at risk? borisjohnson said the package he'd announced was worth £600 billion of investment, but the best thing would be to get people back to work and get the virus under control. the best thing, actually, that the opposition could do is stop equivocating and doing one thing one week and one thing another week and decide that they emphatically support ending the lockdown, they emphatically support kids being back in school rather than being bossed around by the unions.
3:34 pm
mr speaker, we are the builders, they're the blockers. we're the doers, they're the ditherers. we're going to get on with it and take this country forward. there was not a single penny for scotland out of what was supposed to be a reset speech from the prime minister yesterday. this was a speech devoid of action, devoid of ambition and devoid of any support for the most vulnerable in our society. there will be plenty of wonderful things that we want to do with him, working with him, working with the scottish administration to improve transport and other infrastructure across the whole of the united kingdom, including scotland. borisjohnson. well, the reality of coronavirus job cuts was brought home to people in wales, when airbus announced 1,700 job losses in the uk. it was later confirmed thatjust over 1,400 of those would be at the firm's factory at broughton in north wales. a total of 15,000 jobs are to be cut globally. the company hopes to avoid
3:35 pm
compulsory redundancies. at first minister's questions, mark drakeford pledged to stand by the firm. i want to be absolutely clear that the welsh government will do all we can to support the company and its workforce in these very difficult times, but the global nature of the current crisis in aviation means that local solutions will not be sufficient by themselves to ensure the future of this important strategic industry. i am absolutely furious and, frankly, upset. for months now, i have been telling the uk government that they must intervene to support jobs in the aviation and aerospace sector. honestly, i've heard nothing back! this is an industry that had furloughed jobs. this is not the fault of the company, nor its workforce. we may find ourselves in a situation where there will be some airbus jobs that will be lost and, obviously, our priority must be ensuring minimising the number of those jobs that are lost here herein wales,
3:36 pm
and so, to a certain extent, there's an element of competition there. mark drakeford said the plant at broughton had always had to compete with other sites in europe, but it was at the leading edge of production, efficiency and health and safety. meanwhile in northern ireland, there was a funding boost for the health service. it's to receive almost £90 million as part of a £250 million reallocation of funds. the so—called ‘monitoring round' reallocates unspent money within stormont departments. the total also includes £12 million for free school meal payments for children over the summer months. these allocations help our public services, including the health service. they assist in economic recovery and they protect the most vulnerable in our society, including children entitled to free school meals, and the homeless. scotland's first minister announced that face coverings will become mandatory in shops in scotland from july 9 as coronavirus restrictions are eased.
3:37 pm
nicola sturgeon also said the two metre physical distancing rule would be eased for some premises onjuly 10. back in the commons, in an attempt to kick—start at least one bit of the economy, mps fast—tracked legislation to allow pubs and restaurants in england and wales to turn pavements, terraces and even car parks into outdoor areas. under temporary measures, pubs and restaurants would be able to apply for pavement licences more easily so they could put tables and chairs outside. the law would cut the time to receive approvalfor a licence from an average of 42 working days to just ten. 127,000 pubs, restaurants and cafes, employing around two million people, are the lifeblood of our high streets and town centres. social distancing guidelines
3:38 pm
significantly affect capacity to accommodate customers. food and beverage service activity has fallen by nearly 90% in the last quarter. the bill introduces a temporary fast—track process for pubs, cafes and restaurants to obtain local council permission to place tables and chairs on the pavement outside their premises. this measure, with seven days' notice, allows an enormous amount of off sales, which is already causing havoc in my constituency, with people defecating, urinating and leaving problems in parks. people talking about 'fake glastonbury'. this is going to cost a lot of money to my borough, to police. we are not party poopers but we don't want the other kind of pooping, either, so would the secretary of state make sure that there is some provision in this to allow councils to have some discretion where, particularly, there is a problem with a licensed premises causing anti—social behaviour? i cautiously welcome the government's move to lift restrictions on people visiting pubs, cafes and restaurants,
3:39 pm
although, like many of my constituents, i remain anxious about how this can be achieved while maintaining social distancing guidelines. this virus remains far from beaten and i am dismayed about the mixed messages from the government about how people should conduct themselves in the face of what is still a major threat both to our health and the economy. labour's shadow business minister wanted to look at the wider context, and particularly the furlough scheme, which will end by october. we are not asking the impossible of government, but what we are saying is look at what other countries are doing. whether it's spain or italy or new zealand or france or germany, they are taking a sectoral approach to the furlough. they are saying that there are specific sectors that are more affected by the public health measures and therefore, the economic measures have to match that. ed miliband there. well, any hopes of going to a pub or bar in leicester were dashed when the health secretary said people in the city would have
3:40 pm
to continue with the tighter restrictions for at least two weeks, due to a surge in coronavirus cases. unfortunately, while cases in most parts of the country have fallen since the peak, in leicester, they've continued to rise. the seven—day infection rate in leicester is 135 cases per 100,000 people, which is three times higher than the next highest city. non—essential retail and schools would close and the relaxation of shielding wouldn't go ahead. labour thought the government had been slow to respond. the prime minister talks of his whack—a—mole strategy to suppress local outbreaks. we were alerted to the situation in leicester 11 days ago, and now we have got, from the secretary of state tonight, the whack—a—mole strategy. but doesn't he agree that if we are as a nation to ease from lockdown smoothly, then those areas who do see flare—ups will need greater speed in the response?
3:41 pm
otherwise we risk no moles getting whacked. if we're going to rely on local authorities and local public health officials to manage this outbreak, we need postcode—based data so that outbreaks on a street, on an estate, in a ward can be picked up very early and dealt with and, preferably, broken down by ethnicity. that data is available to directors of public health in local councils who have signed a data protection record, and i'm committing to the house to publish it at as local a level as possible so that everybody will be able to see and analyse that data. matt hancock. the prime minister announced that up to 3 million hong kong residents are to be offered the chance to settle in the uk and ultimately apply for citizenship following china's introduction of new national security measures in the former british colony. hong kong police have made their first arrests under
3:42 pm
more than 300 others were detained at a banned rally. the law targets secession, subversion and terrorism borisjohnson said the change threatened freedoms and breached thejoint declaration between the uk and china agreed at hong kong's handover. we made clear, mr speaker, that if china continue down this path, we would introduce a new route for those with british national overseas status to enter the uk, granting them limited leave to remain with the ability to live and work in the uk and thereafter, to apply for citizenship, and that is precisely what we will do now. later, the foreign secretary made a statement. today, i have the depressing but necessary duty to report to the house that the enactment of this legislation imposed by the authorities in beijing on the people of hong kong constitutes a clear and serious breach of the joint declaration. beijing has ripped this treaty up
3:43 pm
in the foreign secretary's face, in full view of the international community. no amount of shiny new planes can disguise the fact that this is a humiliating affront, both for global britain and for the foreign secretary personally. i remain deeply concerned that while this announcement is to be welcomed, his counterparts at the treasury see chinese investment as a central plank of the uk recovery, and that the government's approach remains deeply confused. for too long in relation to china, we have had no strategy at home and no strategy abroad. the basic difference is that we believe that freedom of expression and peaceful protest supports social stability, where as the chinese government thinks it undermines social stability. surely all countries and all institutions must understand that this is a moment where we have to pick a side. either you can be on the side and stand with hong kong
3:44 pm
and the joint declaration or else you choose to stand with the chinese communist party. staying with china, the government saw off for now at least a measure designed to stall the involvement of chinese firm, huawei, in the uk's telecommunications network. several senior conservatives have already warned that the firm's involvement in the uk's next generation mobile internet network poses a security risk. huawei insists it's independently of the chinese state and a world leader in 5g. in the lords, a crossbench or independent peer put forward an amendment to a telecoms bill preventing companies from using uk telecommunications infrastructure to facilitate human rights abuses. if companies supplying our leasehold infrastructure with internet services are also abusing human rights, our infrastructure therefore becomes a tool in that abuse. my lords, the notion that we can carve up a digital company
3:45 pm
into the parts which are abusing human rights, the parts which are not is absurd. but the minister argued this bill wasn't the right place for the proposed change. we don't believe the amendment will achieve the aims of the noble lords who support it. and secondly, i absolutely understand that is not your lordship‘s intent but that it will wreck we believe the purpose of the bill, namely to facilitate the provision of fibre broadband to leasehold properties, starting with blocks of flats. perhaps i should repeat at this point that this bill is about broadband, not about 5g. at the end of that debate lord alton withdrew his amendment, but warned he would come back if progress wasn't made. the education secretary gavin williamson set out plans to fully reopen schools in england in september telling mps
3:46 pm
it was "critical" that children are able to resume their education. limits on class sizes will be scrapped, while all schools will be supplied with testing kits if pupils or staff show symptoms of coronavirus. schools will continue minimising contact between children, including through grouping children together in bubbles and encouraging older children to distance. at a minimum, this will mean keeping year groups in schools and colleges separate. in these challenging times, we are committed to ensuring the nation's children have not just a safe education, but also an excellent one. from september, we are asking schools and colleges to return to a broad and balanced curriculum. we expect exams to go ahead in the summer of 2021. labour's new shadow education secretary welcomed some of the measures, but said... for too long, the government has been asleep at the wheel.
3:47 pm
the announcement today comes just three weeks before the end of term. and an immense amount needs to be done to prepare. a senior official in the secretary of state's own department as one a senior official in the secretary of state's own department has warned the attainment gap could widen by as much as 75% as a result of the crisis. the new shadow education secretary, kate green. the prime minister's decision to appoint the chief negotiator in the brexit talks, david frost, as the new national security adviser came underfire in both the commons and the lords, with borisjohnson accused of politicising a key whitehall role. david frost's appointment was part of a wider shake up at the top of government, which saw the current national security adviser, sir mark sedwill, who is also the cabinet secretary, and the country's top civil servant standing down. answering an urgent question from labour, the minister for the cabinet office michael gove defended the move. he is now the uk's brexit
3:48 pm
negotiator, shaping our future relationship with the eu, covering issues from trade and tariffs to security and defence corporation. as nsa, david frost will help to deliver this government's vision for britain's place in the world, supporting the prime minister in reinvigorating our national security architecture and ensuring we defend our interests and values across the globe. but labour questioned the appointment. the first duty of any government is to keep people safe. in carrying out that duty, any government should have objective and at times challenging advice from its national security advisers. it is why making a political appointment takes this government into such dangerous territory. weak prime ministers take advice only from those who agree with them. a former prime minister also questioned the appointment. i served on the national security council for nine years. six years as home secretary and three as prime minister. during that time, i listened to the expert independent advice
3:49 pm
from national security advisers. on saturday, my honourable friend said we must be able to promote those with proven expertise. why then is the new national security adviser a political appointee with a no proven expertise in national security? we have had previous national security advisers, all of them excellent, not all of them necessarily people who were steeped in the security world, some of whom were distinguished diplomats in their own right. sir david frost is a distinguished diplomat in his own right and is entirely appropriate that the prime minister of the day should choose an adviser appropriate to the needs of the hour. david frost is to be made a peer but their was disquiet about his appointment in the lords too including from the first ever national security adviser. since mr frost has not, as far as i know, worked on defence or security or intelligence matters in the way each of his predecessors have done, how is mr gove‘s dictum
3:50 pm
about all of this is to be read in the light of mr frost's appointment? the minister in the lords said he was sure david frost would " display his skills". the government's been accused of only implementing "the spirit" of recommendations from a review into bias against ethnic minorities in the justice system in england and wales. labour's david lammy, who carried out the report for former prime minister david cameron, wanted all 35 of his recommendations implemented. the minister insisted progress was being made. so the position now is that 16 recommendations have been completed, two have been rejected and 17 are in progress. of those 17 in progress, 11 will be completed within12 months and six thereafter. let me close by saying this, madam deputy speaker. enormous progress has been made, particularly in respect to the functioning and fairness of prisons.
3:51 pm
the government needs to go further than my review went. not cover up for those recommendations it ignored. change will only happen when you look in the mirror honestly. change will only happen when you tell the truth. when we recognise that black lives matter. do not take the community involved for fools. the government has seen off attempts by some of its own and opposition mps to make changes to its immigration bill. the proposals will see the end of the free movement of people into the uk from the european union, when the brexit transition period expires at the end of the year and paves the way for a points—based system. but during detailed debate, a former conservative cabinet minister led calls for immigration detention to be limited to 28 days, saying those being held were more often victims not villains.
3:52 pm
i have heard case at the case of people who have suffered human trafficking, torture, rape, forced prostitution, and modern slavery. many are damaged people whom the world has dealt a very, very rough hand. and what do we do when they come here for help? we lock them up for an indefinite period. 97% of people currently in detention are foreign national offenders. they have committed some of the most serious and heinous disgraceful crimes. crimes like murder, rape and child abuse. but by implementing an arbitrary time limit on immigration detention, this could make it much more difficult for these offenders to be removed from our country. opposition mps had their own demands for changes. several wanted the system allowing unaccompanied asylum—seeking children to be united with family living in the uk to remain unchanged.
3:53 pm
consider the case of a iii—year—old, stuck in the awful camp on lesbos, whose older sister or whose aunt may be living here and could care for them. if the home office loses, ignores or refuses that greek request for a transfer to the uk to join family, there will be nothing that the child or the family or anyone else can do. that is wrong. it is plain to see that despite them talking a good game, the government proposals mean that it is backsliding on earlier requests made to the house, it means fewer safety routes for children to get to family here and that means more children risking dangerous and unsafe routes. the government'd stance is a boon for traffickers and people smugglers and a disaster for children. others called the bill as it stood damaging. if however instead we accepted this jigsaw of amendments, which we have before us, we could turn that bill on its head and it could become a positive and welcoming piece of legislation. which would value people who come to this country and make a contribution.
3:54 pm
christine jardine. finally, six months after the general election, westminster‘s new mps are continuing to make their first or maiden speeches in the commons. these are traditionally more personal contributions, focusing on an mp‘s constituency and background. katherine fletcher, the mp for south ribble, shared her story. my mum, the woman who said, "no, you cannot go and knock on and go out and play, you have to do this next practice paper for your exams. " my mum, who has regularly said "katherine, i've been saying since you were two you'll either be a stripper, a social worker or a scientist..." well, mum... laughter. given i have a biology degree, and the nature of modern politics, there's a very good chance i'll be all three. thank you, mum. you're right about the exams. katherine fletcher.
3:55 pm
and that career advice brings us to the end of the week in parliament, but dojoin me on bbc parliament on monday night at 11 for the start of the new westminster week. but for now from me, alicia mccarthy, goodbye. for the beginning ofjuly but, even though temperatures haven't reached much more than about 20 degrees, we still had some high levels of uv today, and the sunshine, with some showers, will continue for what's left of daylight. gale force winds blowing around this area of low pressure, particularly across parts of scotland, northern ireland, northern england and north wales, but it's windy across the board. we're even getting gusts of wind of 30—40 mph further south as well. and lots of showers.
3:56 pm
fewer are getting across the southern half of the uk, so there's more sunshine on offer than yesterday, but the showers in the north are heavy with some hail and thunder, but they're moving through quickly because of the strength of the wind today. look at those gusts of wind further south as well. but up to 50—60 mph potentially across the transpennines and north wales. further north, pretty blustery as well — as i've mentioned, 50—60 mph here, so it is tempering the feel of the day. temperatures a little bit below average for the time of year. the wind direction switches more to a north—westerly overnight, so it's still carrying in lots of showers. still some of those will be heavy, but what will be noticeable tonight is the loss of the humidity, so it'll be more comfortable for sleeping. so a fresher start to our monday. the low pressure by that stage is pulling away into scandinavia — some very wet and windy weather to come here. and high pressure is starting to build in from the atlantic, so that will tend to dampen down the shower activity. but it'll be a windier day for the northern isles. there'll still be some heavy showers with hail and thunder in northern and eastern areas,
3:57 pm
but they'll tend to become fewer as the day goes on and less intense with more sunshine coming through, and that's more strong sunshine. so it should, with a little bit more sunshine than today with lighter winds than today on the whole, feel a little warmer. and that high pressure ridge will last for many parts into tuesday. but this is where we become more uncertain. the models that help us forecast the weather are tending to diverge. so, at the moment, it looks as if tuesday should be a mostly fine and dry day with plenty of sunshine but, later in the day, the next atlantic low pressure will start to push rain in as we head towards the evening and then move it eastwards gradually through tuesday night. so a fine start, but potentially quite a wet end to the day. either side of that area of cloud and rain, there's some drier weather, and it'll be slightly warmeraircoming in, but still it could hang around in southern areas for the rest of the week. more showers further north.
4:00 pm
this is bbc news. i'm tim wilcox. the headlines at four: the head of nhs england calls on the government to put in place plans to adequately fund the social care system within a year. after at least two decades of talking about it, we do not have a fair and properly resourced adult social care system with a proper set of workforce support. police say the vast majority of people who enjoyed their first night out in england since lockdown had done the "right thing" and acted responsibly, but there are concerns about social distancing. lockdown is reimposed in the australian city of melbourne as thousands of residents are told not to leave their homes for at least five days.
4:01 pm
36 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
BBC NewsUploaded by TV Archive on
![](http://athena.archive.org/0.gif?kind=track_js&track_js_case=control&cache_bust=361978788)