c-span now, your front row seat to washington anytime, anywhere. >> next, british deputy prime minister dominic taking questions from embers of the house of commons while prime mr. boris johnson was attending the nato summit in madrid. topics include the cost of living, taxes, abortion access, any potential for another referendum on scotland's independence from the united kingdom. this is just over 35 minutes. minute. -- minutes.

speaker hoyle: before we start today's hearing i'd like to remind members of the service which is being held today at 1:00 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the end of the

>> 52% of disabled people are in work compared with nondisabled people. >> they are doing terrific we arg awareness through campaigns and partnerships and also disability organizations and also working specifically on a d l make it more assessable and visible. >> thank you, mr. speaker. it can i share with the deputy prime minister's deepest condolences and personal experience as we mourn the loss. it is to inspire so many and i

am sure it will no doubt save the lives of more. and also one who was tragically murdered on the streets. i also want to congratulate the honorable members and the members from waitsfield. mr. speaker, this week the government lost two elections in one day, the first in three decades and it is no wonder that the prime minister fled the country and less the honorable member handle it. the people held their own and the prime minister isn't just losing the room appeared he is losing the country. does he think the cabinet will

prop him up for this long? >> thank you right honorable lady. a working majority of 75, delivering for the reddish people. this wouldn't have happened if we had listened to the labour party. assisting that she voted against the labour party. i will protect the public from the damaging rail strike. >> mr. speaker, the truth is, my

honorable right friend is not the leader of the opposition. this prime minister for eight years, if they continue to prop him up, mr. speaker, i doubt he will s for eight seconds in the ballot box. let's imagine the prime minister is still clinging on. under the tory government, at this rate by 2030 the british public will have endured 55 tax rises how many more will this government inflict on working families before he says enough is enough? >> i think she was right the first time.

[laughter] >> we are doing near record of youth unemployment, 3.8 unemployment. there cutting taxes for 330 million pounds. what about the labour party? their plan is no plan or deliver -- leader said he is wiping the slate clean and starting from scratch. he has only been on the job for two years. there is a gaping hole in the policy and all the while, we are getting on with it. mr. speaker i revel for the

people to have more than just elections to see what they think. that this is a man who wants said high levels of government taxation, and now wants to put taxes up team times. at this rate working people will be paying 500 billion pounds more in taxes by 2030. how high does he think the burden on working people should get before he says enough is enough? >> we are the ones helping working people. the support for those on the lowest incomes, with the 650 pounds support for 8 million on

the lowest income. frankly, the record level of investment coming into this country is from the one billion by moderna pivot for vaccines. the highest level investment in europe. we are the ones with a plan. it is back to zero. at labor. -- zero at the labour party. >> if you tend to emphasize with those struggling with the cost crisis, once you set users simply have a cash flow problem. he spent over a million pounds in nine months on private jets. he shows how out of touch this government is, is to speaker. at this rate by 2030, a million more people will be using food banks. how many more working people will be pushed into poverty by his prime minister before he says enough is enough? >> it is the labour party. if the right honorable lady wants to help working people, it

-- they should be standing up against the militant strikes. the right honorable lady has flip-flopped all over the place and it came to the strikes. she said workers were left with no choice. she was asked by the bbc's trick, she's normally a straight shooting politician, do you like the rnc? she says i've got to go now, i've got a train to catch. [laughter] she talks about working people -- she talks about working people, where was the lady when the comrades were on the front -- picket lines last thursday? where was she when they were standing up to the public. she was at the music festival sipping champagne.

champagne socialism is bucking -- backing the labor party. >> well, mr. speaker. that says a lot about the party opposite. i will tell you a few things about militancy. it is the government that is acting in a militant way. they should've been at the negotiating table but they were getting hundreds of thousands squeezed out of their donors instead of dealing with the crisis. he talked about trade. knowing can get trade because we failed talks. >> could have a quiet period want to hear the question and the answer. >> i think we will just have a -- two intervene.

they don't like it when the public say it. i will tell you the honorable gentlemen opposite has a stronger stomach than his colleagues behind him. >> i want to hear the question and i want to hear the answer. i hate to say it, so do your constituents. think about the constituents for once. >> thank you, mr. speaker. when they were asked about the absent prime minister's plans to stick around until 2030, one of honorable members said he had lost the plug. another z -- another one said anyone with half a brain would realize how dire things are. that the country would be better off under new leadership. and now the prime minister is at war with his own defense secretary after confirming he will break his manifesto plan to increasing defense spending.

under this government, is send it to have less troops, less planes, and less chips. the only thing the prime minister is interested in is befriending his own job. just how many more troops have to lose their jobs before he finally says enough is enough? >> thank you, mr. speaker. there is 24 billion increase pounds for armed forces. again making us the largest military spender in europe. and frankly we will take no less -- lessons from the right honorable lady. the first thing she did when she came nmp was vote against it. she was campaigning for the honorable member to be prime minister. someone who would take us out of nato. >> mr. speaker, talking about nato, where was the honorable member when the situation in

afghanistan [indiscernible] that's where the honorable member was, on a lounger. the prime minister said he felt no shame over the election defeats. he said they have been exceptional. i agree they have been exceptional all right. an exceptional record on stagnant wages, rising poverty and broken promises. and the prime minister wants to drag this out until 2030. how much more can he stomach? -- stomach for he finds the guts? how many more tax rises? how many more families driven into poverty? how many more manifesto pledges broken? i hope for the sake of the british public that we never find out. when will the deputy prime minister finally grow a backbone and tell the prime minister the game is up?

>> mr. speaker, the honorable lady is auditioning for the contest on that side. she's got the support of the honorable member. we are putting in place the politics to grow to grow our economy. >> where putting support for the right honorable lady. we are putting in places the economic plans to help people with the cost of living and the labour leader is getting ready for your zero. we are the ones supporting ukraine with sanctions on russia with military support. the honorable lady wants to abolish it. we are the ones making the streets safer under the police

crimes sensing act. she voted against those. they've got no plans. they are not fit for government. >> thank you, mr. speaker. we've gone through three prime ministers, four chancellors. the leveling up is going to go shortly. we have four planning commissions. is the money not worth spending? >> there is no bigger campaigner for his constituents. he will know i cannot discuss the details of any specific thing. the next round of funding allocations will be announced in the autumn. you won't have to wait much longer. >> thank you, mr. speaker. can i associate myself with the leader of the labour party, with

the sad death of mr. james, our thoughts and prayers are with the family at this time. we thank her for all that she has done to raise money for anticancer. scotland's first minister has set the date and started the campaign. our nation will have the independence reparation -- referendum on the 19th of october. the reality is, scotland has already paid the price for not being independent. westminster government, we did not support the policies breaking international law. ,dragging scotland through a damaging brexit. we did not want it. contrast that with our european neighbors we have greater income inequality, lower poverty rates and higher productivity. , mr. speaker, why not scotland? in the weeks and months ahead,

we will make the positive case for independence. while the opposition makes the case for continued westminster rule. >> it is not the right time for another referendum given the challenges we face as one united kingdom. you referred to the challenges in scotland. i think the people of scotland want their governments to work together. we are willing. >> mr. speaker, the harsh reality is that the tories at the democratic debates but they don't have the right to block scottish democracy. what if the other voice we know so well respond by saying we say no.

we are the state. well, we say yes. and we are the people. just last year, the leader no less put it in his own words a vote for the scottish national party is another vote for an independent referendum. you won't often hear me say this. i agree with him. so do the scottish people. scottish democracy will not be a prisoner of any prime minister in this place. so why is the u.k. government scared of democracy? or is it simply that they have run out of ideas to defend the failing westminster system? >> i think he's airbrushing history with a long soliloquy. he mentioned the problem scotland faces. huge tax burden imposed by the smp. scotland's record on science and

math under the international rankings now have dropped below england and wales. the smp presided the worst drug death rate in europe, the highest since records began. i think the people of scotland expect there government to work together to tackle the issues facing them in their day-to-day lives. >> deputy speaker, there are great opportunities. there are great opportunities to create exciting new jobs in low-carbon energy along the east anglian coast and east coast college are up for the challenge of providing local people with the necessary skills. however, they and other collies -- colleagues are

finding it -- colleges are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain teachers in engineering and construction. well my friend and sure the government come up with a cross departmental strategy to address this stefan crisis in our colleges which could undermine the leveling of agenda? >> there are obviously deputies there. >> my friend is absolutely right. and that's why we're investing nearly 52 million pounds and recruiting and retaining excellent staff and in particular looking at focusing on the experience and skills we can find an industry to train the next generation of technical experts. >> thank you, mr. speaker. no country values its independence and self-respect would agree to the economic and self-government and the membership of any union that involves pulling up sovereignty can only be sustained with the consent of the people. does the deputy prime minister agree with the prime minister and his predecessor? yes or no? >> that's what we had the

referendum a few years ago. the people of scotland have spoken. we think it's not the right time to be relitigating this issue. >> john berlin. >> they could, mr. speaker. speaking with lord ahmed yesterday, i think the government for not listening and allowing high-risk british council contractors in afghanistan to be processed immediately upon the replications of the citizenry settlement scheme and not having to wait a further two months until the application window closes. with taxation at a 40-year high, when will the government be bolder and cutting taxes given all the evidence the world over shows that lower taxes, increases prosperity, raises living standard, and better enables the government to help the less fortunate even if such policy means cutting spending such as hs2? >> my honourable friend makes an

important point about driving growth in the economy. that's why we are cutting taxes with the 130% super deduction for capital investment that will not just create good jobs, but well paid jobs by boosting production. that's why we are increasing the employment allowance, which represents a tax cut for the thousands for have a small million businesses. that's what we provided relief of 7 billion over the next five years and of course cutting national insurance next month worth 330 pounds for a typical employee. >> patricia gibbs. >> thank you, mr. speaker. scotland has a third of britain's landmass. half its territorial waters and over 60% of u.k. fishing zones, 60% of natural gas, a quarter of europe's offshore wind resources in 90% of the uk's freshwater. can the deputy prime minister explain if his opposition to

scottish independence is because he fears the loss of these invaluable resources? >> she's absolutely right, in what she just said. there are huge assets right across scotland and that's why we think we are stronger together in delivering for the people of scotland. >> oliver hill. >> the deputy prime minister will be aware that in the northeast hertfordshire, we have some of the best farmland in the country. at a time when there are concerns about food production, food security, at a time when the government is considering rural land use, isn't it time to ensure that our productive farmland is in covered in solar plants and that they are positioned rather on brownfield sites, on buildings and on low-grade agriculture? >> i think he makes a powerful point. in our land use framework will

set out authorities for land use across the country. and he's right that we've got to protect the most versatile agricultural land. and any plans for ground-mounted solar installations will have to take that very point into account. his point is well-made. >> rosie duffy. >> so far this year, 52 women have been killed in the u.k. our rights to free speech, safe spaces, fairness and sport and even the words we use to describe our own bodies are all under threat. will the deputy prime minister set a clear signal of some of his cabinet colleagues have done this week that britain respects the rights of women and will he accept the cross party amendment to his forthcoming bill of rights, which enshrines a woman's right to choose in law? >> i thank the honourable lady for her question. i respect the way she has stood up for women's rights. and frankly the appalling harassment, trolling, bullying

that she's faced. the position as she knows is settled in u.k. law in relation to abortion. it's decided by honorable members across his house. it's an issue of conscience. i don't think there's a strong case for change. what i wouldn't want to do is find ourselves with a greater respect in the u.s. position where this is being litigated through the courts rather than settled as it is now settled by honorable members in this house. >> thank you, mr. speaker. in february, 2019, this house passed my excellent civil partnerships marriages act mandating government extent options to opposite sex couples enabling marriage records to include details and the justice secretary to produce a report empowering coroners to investigate stillbirths. the first two are coming into force successfully. despite further shocking revelations about deaths of babies at several hospitals no

-- hospitals no report has yet , been published nor regulations to give corners the powers they need. why not? >> he is absolutely right to raise this. stillbirth is an appalling tragedy which has the most devastating impact on families across the country. he's right the moj, the dhsc have jointly consulted on proposals to provide coroners new powers in this guard. i have looked at this personally. we will be publishing the response very shortly. >> thank you, mr. speaker. threatened. terrified. alone. this was how survivors of sexual violence told me they felt when they were pressured into signing nondisclosure agreements and gagging clauses by the universities. no victim of sexual assault or harassment should ever be coerced into silence by the very institutions were meant to protect them. not at university. not at work. not anywhere. so will the government back my

bill to ban the use of ndas in cases of sexual harassment, bullying, and misconduct, and consider meeting with me in his role as justice secretary to discuss how we'll put a stop to this deplorable practice once and for all? >> i will look very carefully at any proposals you have. we have got to do everything we can to protect women and girls in this country. and also frankly to make them feel more confident in the justice system. that is why i am relieved the volume of rape convictions in the last year alone is up by two thirds and of course in the police courts sentencing and crime act enforced this week, we have taken extra measures by extending the time limit for reporting domestic abuse and criminalizing taking photos of a mother breast-feeding without consent. and i'll certainly look at the proposals that she's raised with me. >> daniel kochinski.

>> thank you, mr. speaker. we are investing nearly 190 billion pounds this year into the nhs and yet many of us see disturbing deficiencies within nhs management. no more so than the shrewsbury and telford nhs trust. four years ago in 2018, my right honourable friend the member for ludlow and i secured 312 million pounds for a major amd modernization within our local hospital trust. four years on, construction has still not started. what message can the deputy prime minister give to the people of shrewsbury as to how government can intervene to break this gridlock and finally allow the 312 million pounds we have secured to be utilized for the benefits of the people of shropshire and mid wales? >> my honourable friend is a champion of his constituents , particularly on nhs which

recently received the transformation of any services, it is still being processed. i can tell him that the trust is aiming to present the full business case in 2023 with construction starting the same year. >> when he announced his bill of rights last week, the deputy prime minister said it will strengthen our u.k. tradition of freedom. freedom. shameless, from a government whose contempt for the rule of law and the evolution can be judged in equal measure. they're scrapping welsh law against our will. denying scotland the right to choose their own future. that isn't freedom. will he prove me wrong? by enshrining self-determination in his bill of rights?

>> i think we've all heard the benches today, the cats were -- the case for reinforcing free speech whether it's the judge , made privacy laws were some of the way people are shut it down when they spread legitimate opinions. i also think the people of wales want to join with us across the country making sure we can support more foreign national offenders. that is a reality for the people in wales and across the united kingdom and i think the bill of rights will be strengthening our tradition of freedom but also curbing those abuses and making sure we inject a bit more common sense into the system. >> johnny mercer. >> thank you, mr. speaker. my constituency as part of the new hospital build program announced by this government. a significant investment for the amazing staff and the brilliant chief executive and james who worked so hard. given the incredible pressures

on the real state, with my honorable friend consider prioritizing capital investment into that part of the u.k., to ensure that we can accelerate the plans particularly in digital so that people in health in plymouth got the world-class health care they deserve? >> thank you. he's absolutely right. this is the largest hospital building program in a generation and his constituents are going to benefit very directly. i can tell him that there will be a new integrated emergency care hospital scheme for university hospitals plymouth, nhs trust at the derriford emergency care hospital. yet on tech, he's absolutely right that facilities will be at the cutting edge of modern technology and that will really help drive up the policy of patient care. >> thank you, mr. speaker. they were able to challenge the police's failures to investigate its appalling crimes because of the human rights act. they would not have been able to do so under the deputy prime minister's new so-called bill of rights. why does he want to stop women

like the victims of john warboys ,, from making sure that police protect them from rape and sexual assault and getting the justice they deserve? >> i think you, honorable lady, for the opportunity. it was not the result of litigation that address the problems with the case. indeed if she wants to look after victims in cases like that and others, the labour party should join us not just in the bill of rights but reforms that will make sure dangerous offenders are not released and we protect the public. >> thank you, mr. speaker. my constituent joel lindop has suffered the abduction of his young children to poland. one of many families in the u.k. who go through a similar experience every year. and despite repeated judgments in his favor, in the courts and -- courts in poland he's been , unable to persuade polish authorities to fulfill their obligations under international law and return those children to their family.

will my honorable friend intercede and ensure that my constituents and the many other families who face this challenge are able to ensure their children are returned safely in a timely fashion in the future? >> i can't imagine how appalling that situation must be for any parent to find themselves in. he'll know we're committed to the 1980 hay convention on child abduction and that does provide a mechanism. he's right that that's one that has to be driven through the court, and that's not something we can directly interfere on. but i will make sure and i'll speak to the foreign office to see if there's anything further that we can do to support him. >> thank you very much, mr. speaker. a serious question on the conduct of the government. i cannot understate the fury of the international trade committee this morning that led us to unanimously empty chair the secretary of state for international trade. the government has broken its word to the committee and to the

house, and you, mr. speaker, on scrutiny of the australian trade deal by endangering a committee report. it is the unanimous view of the committee that krag should be delayed before proper scrutiny as was promised. will the government deliver on its promise and therefore delay it? >> i understand. the secretary of state for international trade has agreed to come back and address the committee as soon as possible. >> mr. speaker, i was privileged last week to attend the malaria summit in kigali. even today, malaria remains the biggest single killer of mankind ever and 1.7 billion people are living every day under its shadow of misery. but we're on the cusp of something really special and our british world leading vaccines cannot eradicate it forever.

will you ensure commitment to the global fund? >> i know just how powerful the global fund is. it is a high-performing international organization. he will know that since 2002, we've been the third largest donor. so we've stepped up to the plate and the u.k. hasn't yet determined our pledge for the seventh replenishment, but i know the foreign secretary will have heard loud and clear the uh the advocacy he has made in the final regard. >> final question. >> in their efforts to pursue a hostile environment, the home office routinely tears families apart and breaks human rights and equality legislation. they're reported to be sending yet another charter deportation flight to nigeria and ghana in pride month, they'll be deporting lgbt asylum-seekers, fleeing homophobia and grandmothers and mothers of british children who have lived in this country for over 25

years. given that the office legally it wrong, can the deputy prime minister tell me how many people have been removed from this flight already and when will they stop these inhumane deportation childhood flights? >> thank you. she is right in one respect. people who come here need to be treated decently and humanely. we are absolutely committed to that. we also need to make sure that we cut down the illegal routes. and those that have committed serious offenses can return ed home. what we can't allow is illegal routes to flourish into this country. otherwise, we'll just attract more. and we can allow people who commit serious offenses in this country to continue to pose a threat to the public. >> and -- ends questions.

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