MPs vote on Northern Ireland Brexit plan – watch live

councilman mentions is is very important as we move forward from this point um we've had 25 years of peace and stability which has float flowed from the Belfast Good Friday agreement and its signing and when we uh I'd like to think as we look forward we not just have peace and stability but we also have prosperity for the next 25 years a career State Peter Kyle thank you Mr Speaker and can I associate my myself with your important words about PC Keith Parma it's been reported that psni has requested 330 officers from other UK forces for support during the forthcoming presidential visit from President Biden next month can he confirm that his department will continue to work closely with psni during this challenging period and anticipate any assistance they might need stay um yes we we have a number of uh very uh big visitors uh coming to Northern Ireland to Mark the uh this very important anniversary and I know I know um that actually the Pierce and I are remarkably well organized and and preparing for this and of course uh the government will happily support the psni and its Endeavors future Kyle I'm grateful for his words uh P.S and I will also need support after Air Force One departs due to a funding shortfall officer numbers will fall soon to a record low in fact there will be 800 fewer officers than agreed in new decade new approach does the Secretary of State think this is fair for a force that faces unique challenges on a daily basis I I completely recognize that the Pearson I um firstly I'd like to pay attributes to all the officers in the Police Service of Northern Ireland for all they work they do across communities to the chief Constable who has uh brought in uh community policing that most of us in this house would be completely cognizant of in our own areas but it's almost newer it's almost new in Northern Ireland um policing is actually one of those matters as he all knows but is devolved to the institutions uh the executive in Northern Ireland I'm well aware of the of the chief constables Austin in this area and I'm talking to him on this Scott Benton question two Mr speedy thank you Mr Speaker um I encourage the member for Blackpool South my honorable friend to attend uh the debate later today in this chamber which will focus precisely on the regulations uh for implementing this powerful Democratic mechanism in very short term in very in short 30 mlas from two political parties may use the break if there's anything significantly different about a new rule whether in its content or scope and if its application will have a significant impact specific to everyday life that is liable to persist in your mining awesome thank you Mr Speaker even if a significant number of mlas objective proposals from the EU the decision to veto them will still rest with the UK governments and there would no doubt be an Institutional reluctance to use Evita which would be met with retali reaction from the EU given the impact this would likely have on UK EU relations and wider trade surely it is very unlikely that the storm won't break will in fact ever be used even if mlas want it to be triggered um I think the honorable transfer um for his question and with respect I think he underestimates the power of this mechanism the government will be under a legal obligation to trigger the break where the conditions under the Windsor framework uh were met actually compared with the protocol bill um this is a significant advancement because the remedial measures that he talks about if should the EU choose to take them would only be uh proportionate and would have to be related to ni to EU trade whereas in in the protocol bill it would have been um across the piece no one wants to use this uh mechanism for trivial reasons but once triggered the regulations set out that the government must not agree a rule at the Joint Committee unless there's cross-community support for it in the assembly that it does not create regulatory borders within the United Kingdom or there are exceptional circumstances like Stormont not sitting or foot and mouth outbreak of something of that nature Mr Speaker and will the Soviets did agree that rather than an emergency break that it's more like a handbrake which does have the ability to stop a moving car but rather than potentially or partially slow the vehicle and that they only break an accelerator can come from the EU who retain the complete control over nordana and did by extension control the will of this house and they shouldn't and that is indeed a tragedy and also a travesty Thursday um I I I Thank The Honorable Jennifer's question um essentially if the assembly says no to something the presumption is the government would veto it um but without this measure Northern Ireland would continue to have full and automatic Dynamic alignment with EU Goods rules with no say whatsoever in the Northern Ireland assembly and no veto on amending and replacing measures the storm on break is a very good thing Alexander Scotland number three sir Mr Speaker The Windsor framework restores the free flow of trade from Great Britain to Northern Ireland the agreement guarantees unfettered access for Northern Ireland's businesses to the UK Market on a permanent basis and we have secured an alternative alternative Arrangements which remove any proposed requirements to provide export declarations or equivalent information for goods moving from Northern Ireland to Great Britain Alexander Stafford thank you very much Mr Speaker Roller Valley has many amazing many amazing businesses especially butchers such as gilomas and South anston Grazer thurcroft Stuart Sanders and Maltby and Lawns Farm in Northern I want everyone to try their products what assurances can the minister give me that everybody no matter where they are in the United Kingdom can taste rather Valley sausage I am delighted to confirm to my honorable friend that uh residents of Northern Ireland will be able to enjoy the sausages produced by the great businesses in his constituency the framework ends the ban on chilled Meats like sausages and seeds and lamb joints meaning that Supermarket shelves in Northern Ireland will be able to stop the products customers want and have had access to for years so Jeffrey Donaldson thank you Mr Speaker but the reality is for my constituents and for for example McCartney's Delicatessen in Moira that once they can bring sausages from Yorkshire or from any other part of the United Kingdom that are made to British standards the sausages they make in Northern Ireland part of the United Kingdom have to be made to EU standards because EU law applies for all manufactured goods in Northern Ireland so why is it right to bring sausages from Great Britain to North Island and sell them in Northern Ireland but it's not right to sell British sausages made in Northern Ireland in Northern Ireland well Mr Speaker I understand the force and passion with which he makes this point but he knows that what we've done is reduce the extent of EU law in Northern Ireland to the absolute minimum consistent with keeping open and infrastructure free border with the Republic of Ireland and I appreciate that this is a compromise which for many people will go too far but I believe that it is the right decision in these circumstances can I just say to the memory please take notes of questions Sir Jeffrey and thank you Mr Speaker but the reality is uh Mr Speaker the northern Ireland's place within the UK internal Market has not been fully restored by the winter framework because EU law applies for all manufactured goods in Northern Ireland despite the fact that of 77 billion pounds worth of goods manufactured in North around 65 billion are sold in the United Kingdom and yet all of those goods must comply with EU law regardless of where they are sold count to the proposals in the protocol bill which mean that UK law applies unless a business wants to trade with EU in which case they must follow EU law Mr Speaker on the proposal for dual regulation that was not what constituent businesses in Northern Ireland um Wanted and you know at some point even unrelenting figures like myself do need to compromise and give the voters they want and but but what I would say to him is that I recognize that compromise is extremely difficult and um we are in a position where we've got an opportunity to move forwards together he knows as I know I'm sure that manufacturing of most of the kind of goods to which he's referring is done to International standards and so I think in all of the circumstances this is a reasonable compromise for Northern Ireland cruiserable is question number three Mr Speaker sir number four number four so I think um Mr Speaker the Northern Ireland economy has the ingredients required for economic success exceptional Talent creativity Innovation and a healthy Spirit of private sector entrepreneurship last week the secretary of state was delighted to visit the United States and next week I'll be visiting the USA and Canada to promote the excellent investment opportunities in Northern Ireland we are of course also planning an investment Summit Theresa Villas one of the ways to attract foreign direct investment is by creating the right regulatory climate and the minister has been a very strong advocate for post-brexit regulatory reform to make our world more competitive more targeted more agile more modern so when does he think we'll get to the position where we can do that in Northern Ireland in the same way brexit allows us to do it in Great Britain also she and I have walked a long way in these various battles together and she knows very well what she asks me in relation to Goods we do have to make sure we can keep open that infrastructure-free border north south but what I would say this that the unique position of Northern Ireland is that on Services regulation Northern Ireland will be subject to UK law and UK trade agreements so where we have comparative advantage particularly in Northern Ireland on issues like fintech they'll be subject to UK law and UK regulation and they'll have access to global markets through the kind of trade agreements and services which is in all of our interests to strike to serve the comparative advantage of the whole UK this is the unique opportunity now facing Northern Ireland I want us all to seize Caesar in every way we can Ireland now has the highest percentage accessibility for gigabit capable Broadband in the UK twice that of the Republic of Ireland and one of the highest in the world will they ensure that the energy infrastructure is such to complement this thereby offering one of the best inward investment and Indigenous business opportunities anywhere in the world well um Mr Speaker he will know that energy is devolved and I hope that he will join me in doing everything possible to ensure that the maximum invest investment can be made in energy in Northern Ireland and he knows exactly what he and his colleagues need to do to help me to serve him and serve Northern Ireland and that is of course to restore the devolved institutions John Berlin thank you Mr Speaker does my right on the rule friend agree that in restoring the balance of the Belfast agreement the best way is to pass the Windsor framework today in this place that we have to be pragmatic we we have to open that that will then follow for the benefit of all communities in the province Mr Speaker I agree with him strongly the reality is that the window Windsor framework is a dramatic Improvement on the protocol I don't think anyone can reasonably argue otherwise of course it includes compromises neither Ryan or my right or friend nor the prime minister is suggesting that it doesn't the question that everyone needs to answer is whether this is a step forward for Northern Ireland I'm absolute absolutely sure that it is and I agree with him Stephen Farley personal spending is also very important the minister will be aware that the northern tourist Alliance is very concerned about the application of the forthcoming electronic travel authorization on the sector in Northern Ireland giving our unique marketing and our unique offer so one of the minister work with the home office to try to find a practical solution to this problem yeah Mr Speaker I'm well aware of the case that he makes and of course we're in a conversation with colleagues from the home office with the government's position is that we're determined to make sure that tourists understand that they will need to comply with UK immigration requirements to visit the UK and that will mean that they will need that travel authorization to go to Northern Ireland I am aware of the concerns of Tourism authorities uh north and south and indeed the concerns of the Irish government we continue to take those seriously as we talk with the home office said spokesperson Richard Thompson thank you Mr please Richard Thompson thank you Mr Speaker um Jonathan Haskell uh external member of the bank of England's monetary policy committee has estimated that brexit has resulted in the loss of approximately 29 billion pounds of business investment to the UK as a whole does the minister believe that the Windsor framework will undo that proportion of the damage that has been done to the northern Irish economy and if so why does he consider that the market access at that framework underpins is good enough for one part of the United Kingdom but not good enough for the rest of us [Applause] the speaker I'm honored that he should think that on the Fly I would be able to do my own economic modeling on that subject but what I would say to him is that it is undoubtedly the case that the political turmoil of the last several years has been unhelpful but what I would say to him and it should be a salutatory lesson to everybody on his benches that is it it is extremely important that when the public vote for a thing that they get the thing they voted for and the public voted for the whole UK to stay together the whole UK to stay together in a once in a generation reference referendum on Scottish independence and then the UK as a whole voted to leave the European Union and that's what we'll deliver well Fletcher action number five please Mr Speaker thank you Mr Speaker and thank you to my own friend for his question the Northern Ireland troubles Legacy and Reconciliation bill which continues its Passage through Parliament will establish an independent body to conduct reviews into trouble related deaths and serious injury with the primary objective of providing information to families victims and survivors the legislation seeks to ensure the process for dealing with the past focuses on measures that can deliver positive outcomes for as many people affected by the troubles as possible well Fletcher Legacy is an extremely complex and sensitive issue in setting up an effective information recovery process we must ensure that power is in the hands of victims and families rather than the perpetrators so what consultations has his Department had with victims of fat and their families to ensure the right balance is achieved um can I thank my honorable friend for his question he's absolutely right that Legacy remains a highly complex and difficult issue and the government's absolutely determined to deliver mechanisms that provide better outcomes for those most affected by the troubles including victims from their families and I know that no solution that we will ever find will be perfect or easy but we're working tirelessly to find a practical Way Forward by the Legacy bill as for engagement I'm myself and my ministerial colleagues have had over 60 nearly 70 engagements with groups and individuals concerning this and we continue to meet people on a regular basis don't the minister Chris Elmore thank you very much Mr Speaker the government has made some changes to the Legacy building its passage in this house if the changes are not enough and all Northern Ireland parties vote against it again on its return to the house will the minister commit to a different approach as reconciliation cannot be imposed on Northern Ireland I I I I Thank The Honorable gentleman who I welcome to his place and I hope that the uh the minister the shadow Minister he's replacing is is all as well um but uh and he's got big shoes to film so um it's a good start um but I thank him for noticing that what's going on in the other place because in the other place we've already tabled amendments that seek to address a number of key issues that have been raised by the stakeholders that we've been meeting including echr compliance strengthening the commission's independence sanctions for individuals found guilty of lying and to the commission and creating stronger incentives for individuals to engage with the commission and we will be bringing forward more such amendments at report stage where I hope we can get everybody on board or at least to acknowledge that we're doing a decent job number six Mr Speaker Mr Speaker the UK government is steadfastly committed to the Belfast Good Friday agreement and the institutions and rights established by it we recognize the importance of the right safeguards the quality of opportunity Provisions within the agreement to the people of Northern Ireland and the Secretary of State discusses the subject regularly with cabinet colleagues and There lives The Good Friday agreement led to peace in Northern Ireland and enshrined human rights into Northern Irish law yet the Tories Bill of Rights is nothing but a rights removal Bill does the minister therefore recognize that the proposed bill would be a breach of an international agreement The Good Friday agreement [Applause] no not at all um I I confessed I thought she was going to ask me about the Bill of Rights Provisions in the agreement itself but she ought to know that the parties have been working together towards that Bill of Rights and it will need consensus to deliver a framework in Northern Ireland but of course the UK is continued continues to be committed to the ech office [Applause] uh Mr Speaker with permission I'll answer questions [Applause] the leader of the opposition knows uh how much this Parliament likes it when you group questions together with permission Mr Speaker I will answer questions 7 10 and 13 together the Windsor framework restores the free flow of trade from Great Britain to Northern Ireland through Greenland guarantees unfettered access to Northern Ireland's businesses to the UK Market on a permanent basis and a whole host of other benefits thank you the world's most exciting economic zone is how the Prime Minister described Northern Ireland b in the UK market and having access to the European market does the Secretary of State agree with that assessment and if he does does that not mean that the rest of the UK's nations are at a disadvantage being less exciting on living part of the UK Market I thank him for acknowledging what a good deal the Windsor framework is and as the Prime Minister has said Northern Ireland will now be in the unique position of being part of the UK UK internal Market the fifth biggest Market in the world but also enjoying the EU single market and as part of the UK Northern Ireland's businesses and consumers are able to benefit from the new trade agreements we are able to negotiate in the new UK regulatory regime for trade and services that we can do outside of being a members of the European Union Kirsten Oswald by the Secretary of State and the prime minister's own admission Northern Ireland is in in a position than the rest of the UK because of its place in the European single Market the Prime Minister also said this would lead to more companies investing in Northern Ireland so that won't be new money so if companies are investing more in Northern Ireland does he see that that means that they'll be investing Less in the rest of the UK would the Secretary of State see that as a win-win ah all right and I hadn't even answered the question um so I I think the honorable lady has kind of missed the point there's a huge a huge a huge amount okay so she has completely missed the point uh because there is a huge amount of of inward investment that will it wants to flow into Northern Ireland from outside of these Isles and yes we should be welcoming inward investment into Northern Ireland because Prosperity Builds on the peace and stability that Belfast Good Friday agreement has bought for the last 25 years which is why we should all welcome The Windsor framework and then Kezar thank you Mr Speaker Scotland like Northern Ireland rejected brexit both were dragged out of the EU despite voting remain yet Northern Ireland has retained access to the EU single Market in economic benefits that it brings so does the minister agree that Scotland should have a similar deal to his economically competitive is Northern Ireland I thank you for a question and with the uh the greatest of respect that positions of Northern Ireland and the other nations of the UK are as I've said before not completely comparable Northern line is out undoubtedly a wonderful place but it has a complex and troubled history and we've talked about uh the need and the wonders of the Belfast Good Friday agreements 20 uh celebrating its 25th marking its 25th anniversary but it also has a land border the only one between the UK and the EU that the whim wins the framework is in place and the Windsor framework is a place to safeguard the achievements of the Belfast Good Friday agreement and the hard-won gains of the peace process it recognizes these unique circumstances including the all Island dimensions of economic life between Northern Ireland and Ireland and the need to avoid a hard border not to Neil Hudson thank you Mr Speaker I strongly support the Windsor framework and welcome the veterinary and SPS measures can my right armor friend update the house on progress towards securing the long-term supply of Veterinary medicines in Northern Ireland and also smoothing the safe movement of animals between GB and Northern Ireland to include not only pets but also farm animals and horses I think the honorable gentleman for his question he knows a lot of a very a great deal about this subject as he knows there is a a grace period in place until the end of December 2025 on Veterinary medicines I would like to think that the the new atmosphere that has been created between the United Kingdom and the European Union uh as we move forward has demonstrated that we can talk and negotiate about these things and we fully expect to be able to be in a position to address all of his concerns in good time before we come to prime minister's questions I'd like to point out the live subtitles the sign language interpretation but proceedings are available to watch on parliamentlive.tv we start with questions to prime minister Joe Gideon question one Mr Speaker this morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others in addition to my duties in this house I shall have further such meetings later today Joe Gideon thank you Mr Speaker day of reflect Amari Curie LED initiative bringing together communities across the UK to remember family friends neighbors and colleagues we have lost will the Prime Minister join me in thanking Stoke City Council for supporting my call for a post box to heaven in car mountside cemetery and on the second anniversary of the tragic death of my constituent two-year-old Harper Lee vanthal who swallowed a button battery will he thank her courageous mother Stacy for leading the campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of button batteries and will he back my call for legislation to ensure greater product safety Mr Mr Speaker of course I join honorable friend thanking Stoke City Council I'm very sorry to hear of Harper Lee's tragic case and my thoughts are with her friends and family and particularly her mother Stacy and we are aware of the concerns about button batteries the law is very clear that products available in the UK must be safe the office for product and safety standards has published guidance on exactly this for manufacturers and is working with a child accident prevention trust to educate parents and Child Care Professionals on button baton safety this is the opposition uh thank you Mr Speaker today we remember the innocent lives lost six years ago in a terror attack on Westminster Bridge amongst those tragically killed was PC Keith Palmer who sacrificed his life to protect others police officers up and down the country worked tirelessly every day to keep us safe and we thank them for that but as we saw this week those Brave officers are being let down Dame Louise Casey found institutional homophobia misogyny and racism in the metropolitan police I accept those findings in full does the prime minister prime minister Mr Mr Speaker I joined with the honorable gentleman paying tribute to PC Palmer and indeed all the other police officers who have lost their lives serving and those who do so much keep us safe I was appalled Mr Speaker to read the descriptions of the abhorrent cases of officers who have betrayed The public's trust and abused their powers and let me be clear it is and was unacceptable and should never have happened we have taken a series of steps already and the government will also now work with the mayor and the Metropolitan commissioner to ensure that culture standards and behavior all improve at the heart of this matter other people whose lives have been ruined by what has happened and I know the whole house will agree with me that it is imperative that the Met works hard to regain the trust of the people it is privileged to serve I take it from that answer that the Prime Minister does accept the Casey findings in full including the institutional failures because nobody reading the Casey report can be left in any doubt about how serious this is and doubt for a second that it's restricted to the Met the report lays bare how those unfit to join the police are aided by Patchwork vetting systems that leave the door open if the government-backed Labor's plan for proper mandatory National vetting we could end the farce that sees different Police recruitment standards in different forces will he back that plan so we can make Speedy progress prime minister Mr Speaker there's no need about that Pam because we're already taking action to tackle the issues that are raised in the Casey report and it was actually two months ago it was two months ago that I met with Dame Louise Casey and the Metropolitan commissioner and we introduced a series of measures for instance the College of policing is currently updating the statutory code of practice for police officer vetting that all forces legally have to follow all police forces are in the process of checking their offices against the police National Database and in weeks Her Majesty's independent inspectorate will report back on their re-inspection of all forces vetting procedures now these steps of course won't undo the terrible damage that have been previously committed but we owe this action and more to the victims and survivors to ensure that such tragedies never happen again well the problem with the prime minister's answer is what he's referring to isn't mandatory how can it possibly be right to have different standards for recruitment in different police forces no wonder the Casey report criticized what she calls the government's hands-off attitude to policing over the last 13 years but let's call it what it really is sheer negligence the report also exposes chronic failures by the police to deal with rape cases with officers using and I quote overstuffed or broken fridges containing the rape kits of victims on his watch rape charges are 1.6 percent yet the government still hasn't backed Labor's plan to have proper high quality rape and serious sexual offenses units in every police force why not prime minister Mr Mr Speaker what what Louise Casey also says is that primary public accountability of the Met sits with the mayor of London [Applause] she described that relationship between the mayor and the Met as in her words dysfunctional [Applause] so confirmed to the house so he will take up these matters with the labor mayor of London so that he plays his part but but Mr Speaker the way rape victims were treated by the criminal justice system wasn't good enough and that's why the government published an ambitious rape review action plan it's right that we've extended operation saltaria across all police forces in the country we've tripled the number of independent sexual violence advisors we've improved the process of collecting phone evidence and being cross-examined and since 2010 we've quadrupled funding for victim support services that is a conservative government doing everything we can to support victims and Tackle predators [Applause] people are fed up to the back teeth with a government that never takes responsibility and just tries to blame everyone they can shout if they're proud if they're proud of the fact that over 98 of rapists are never put before if they want to shout about that that's their record let them shout about it should be ashamed of yourself the truth is simple after 13 years of Tory government crime is out of control and people are paying the price Before Christmas the BBC reported the shocking case of a woman in armthorpe who'd been beaten with a baseball bat by burglars three years ago nobody had been charged with that burglary and she couldn't sleep at night under their watch tragically that's not an unusual case so couldn't the Prime Minister tell us what's the charge rate for theft and burglary across the country Mr Mr Speaker actually since 2019 neighborhood crime is down by 25 but he he asked he asked he asked it rightly about what's happening with rape cases so let me just let me just tell him that we are on track to meet our Target of doubling the number of rape cases that are reaching our court since since the rape review action plan was published we've seen police referrals double and last year there was a 65 increase in rape convictions but importantly we also changed the law to ensure that rapists would spend more time in prison but what did his shadow policing police at his shadow policing Minister say prison doesn't prevent crime it tells you everything that you need to know about the labor party you can't trust them to keep Britain safe Mr Speaker prime minister stands there and pretends that everything's fine he is so totally out of touch he needs he needs to get out of Westminster get out of Kensington and and Mr Speaker I don't it's a big day today in the house and it's a very important day we do want to make progress holding us up is no Advantage as to any of us Mr Speaker he needs to get out of Westminster get out of Kensington and I don't mean to Malibu to the streets of Britain go there and tell people it's all fine and see what reaction he gets the answer he didn't want to give although he knows it is four percent of cases four percent of burglary charges are charged 96 of theft and burglary cases not even going before the courts burglar is twice as likely to get away with it now as they were a decade ago they should be ashamed of that record and that cul-de-sat in Armed Force has apparently seen 10 burglaries in 18 months but only one of them has resulted in a prosecution so rather than boasting and blaming others why doesn't he tell the country when he's going to get the theft and burglary charge rate back to where it was before they wrecked policing first of all let me say but further away the north London I'd like the lines as well but I prefer to hear them the rather than jeering come on Mr no then we are going to make progress Mr shelbrook will be buying the cheese in the Tea Room if we're not careful and and they'll be York cities Mr Speaker because since the conservatives came into power crime is down 50 percent Mr Speaker I link Prime down 40 percent burglary why because we've recruited 20 000 more police officers we've given them the powers to tackle crime and we've kept serious offenders in prison for longer all they've done is vote against greater protections for emergency workers they've opposed tougher sentences for violent criminals and they are failing to give the police the powers that they need it's the same old labor soft on crime soft on criminals the only criminal investigation he's ever been involved in is the one that found him guilty of breaking the law [Music] due to countless rapists on that primary I I want tough [Applause] I am determined to hear the questions whether it's the leader of the opposition the prime minister so I can sorry I think you'll be I think you've got your first customer for team Mr Kerns we keep having this little problem we'll have no more know that just a moment so please let's get through and let's just show to some respect to both people at dispatch boxes okay Starman thank you Mr Speaker I've prosecuted countless rapists and I support Tupper sentences but you have to catch the criminals first and when 98 of rapists are not even being put before the court that's a massive failure of God and if he wants to go to arm Port which is in Yorkshire why doesn't he go to that cul-de-sac when he gets out and about Yorkshire and and ask them about those 10 burglaries that haven't been prosecuted the reality is after 13 years of Tory government they've done nothing on standards neighborhood policing has been shattered and burglars and rapists walk the streets with impunity it's the same every week from the Prime Minister whether it's the cost of living crisis crime running out of control or the state of the NHS why is this answer always to tell this British people they've never had it so good Mr Speaker let me just address that the issue The Honorable gentleman raised because I said at the time I respected the decision the police reached and I offered an unreserved apology but but for the avoidance of downward speaker at the moment that happened there was a full investigation by a very senior civil servant the findings of which the findings of which confirmed that I had no Advanced knowledge about what had been planned having arrived early for a meeting he does he tells me to tell him that he's probably spoken to the report's author much more frequently than I have [Applause] Luke the Prime Minister needs to answer the question he doesn't need you to oh I don't think we need any more let's keep it that way prime minister Mr Speaker we're getting on we're halving inflation by paying 50 percent a freezing fuel Duty we cut it and it's the same for this side Mr Gwen I don't need any more from the back benches here either can I just say let's come I'm just quite seriously today's a very big day support importantly since you're going to be taken so please I want to get this post moving on prime minister miss Mr Speaker we're also cutting NHS waiting lists by resolving Bay disputes octave and Mr Speaker we're stopping the boats with a new build and migration that's a conservative government delivering on the people's priorities [Applause] [Applause] yeah prime minister for the efforts he has made to support the UK's steel industry can I tell him that we remain very concerned about Job losses at British Steel in scunthorpe so will he today reassure my constituents in North Lincolnshire that we will never see the end of UK steel making under his watch Mr Speaker the UK steel industry can have no greater Champion than my honorable friend and I know that this must be a concerning time for British steel employees and we stand ready to work with her to support them now she's right industrial sectors including steel have been able to bid into competitive government funds worth one billion pounds to help support them to cut emissions and become more energy efficient and the government's recently announced British industry supercharger fund can help boost competitiveness in UK's Key Energy intensive Industries and I look forward to working with her to ensure a thriving steel industry in our United Kingdom the SMP Sim fled yeah so thank you Mr Speaker I'd like to begin by paying tribute to PC Palmer who's so tragically lost his life in defense of this Parliament and indeed what we all stand for democracy Mr Speaker what what is the prime minister most about brexit right now is it the likely four percent hit to UK productivity or is it three former Tory leaders planning to vote down his deal this afternoon oh Mr Speaker Mr Mr Speaker The Windsor framework the winter framework represents just just to help the chamber I yourself everybody I understand it's true prime minister Mr Mr Speaker The Windsor framework represents a good deal for the people and families and businesses of Northern Ireland it restores the balance of the Belfast Good Friday agreement and ensures Northern Ireland's place in our precious Union uh but what I would say to him I was more intrigued to see the words of his own party's president who just this past week have described his own party as being in their words in a tremendous mess Mr Speaker the reality is that whilst waste minster is once again consumed by the damage being caused by brexit the public at home are facing the biggest fall in living standards ever the highest tax burden since the end of the second world war an inflation at 10.4 when are the conservative party and indeed the labor party going to realize the break Mr Speaker the actions that this government is taking are ensuring that fully half of most families energy bills are being supported by this government we're also making sure that we're doing people with cutting NHS waiting list and that's something that we're happy to work with the Scottish government to learn and share best practice with them on but we're also Mr Speaker delivering on the people's number one priority which is to stop the boats and end illegal migration [Applause] rate has declined significantly over the last decade but there are still vacancies to fill and the Pacific groups to help and on Monday the employment Minister and I have visited Arnold job center where Kelsey and a team are welcoming local employers to speak directly to job Seekers are dedicated over 50 plus work coach is going north on that bracket into work so with my right to my friends join me congratulations staff at Arnold and other job centers across the country on the proactive work that they're doing and when time allows them to come to visit Arnold Jobcentre in person consider great idea or can I thank my honorable friend and join him in thanking all the staff at Arnold jobcenter for their hard work I shall keep his kind invitation to visit in mind he mentioned the uh over 50s and uh or emerged in the over 50s whereas my honorable friend the chancellor describe them are more experienced workers and he was right to focus on them because together with the work and pension secretary we are putting in place a range of measures to help support them to return to and stay in the labor market and that is something that not only will help us continue to bring inflation down but will support those people to have healthy productive fulfilling lives Bill Hamby government recently confirmed that Scotland generated and sent south 35 billion kilowatt hours of energy in 2021 that number will rise to 124 billion in less than eight years time for this multi-billion pound Bounty Scotland will see no Revenue no manufacturing or supply chain jobs in our land of energy plenty why should our people be cold and hungry and businesses failing as a result of his government's robbery so what has the prime minister to say in defense of this naked exploitation of Scotland's people and its resources Mrs Mr Speaker actually this government is a strong supporter of Scotland's naughty oil and gas industry and actually it's an economically illiterate policy of I think almost all opposition parties to prohibit any new exploration of fossil fuels in the North Sea which would have us then pay billions of pounds to foreign energy companies and then ship that energy here with twice the carbon emissions it's a completely absurd policy Mr Speaker that's bad for all security it's bad for our economy and that's why we're better off with the conservatives thank you very much today Mr Speaker the island has been getting a better deal in recent years and I thank the Prime Minister for that especially before he was a prime minister when he was working with me in different roles in when he was in government to make that happen and I'm grateful however the island Remains the only sizable island in the UK without a fixed leak uh uh separated from the mainland by sea which does not receive a funding uplift to support local government services and this Injustice has been ongoing now for 50 years and all the evidence Mr Speaker shows that it costs more to provide local services on an island than on the mainland will the Prime Minister work with me and his ministers to overcome this Injustice this year well can I thank my honorable friend for his continued campaigning on behalf of his constituents uh it was a pleasure to spend many happy childhood holidays on the island and I enjoyed visiting him more recently there as well the Isle of Wight Council will benefit from a 10 increase in their funding in cash term to the next financial Year and have been awarded an additional million pounds in recognition of the unique circumstances of the island as honorable friend points out but I will ensure that he does get a meeting with the minister for local government to carry on the good work that he and I started and make sure that his local constituents get the support that they need Reb Stringer Mr Speaker we now know from the telegraph's lock files that during covid at the very heart of government science wasn't being followed and rational discourse had been abandoned uh this had dire consequences for children's education mortality rates amongst the elderly the economy and access to the Health Service lessons must be learned Mr Speaker but we can't wait 10 years for the independent inquiry to tell us what we should do next time when the inevitable epidemic arrives will the Prime Minister agree to a short-term focused inquiry that can give us recommendations so that we do better next time well Mr Speaker as with any public inquiry the process and timing of the inquiry stages are for the independent chair to decide as baroness Hallett has previously set out she intends to gather written evidence throughout this year with public hearings also starting this year they held a preliminary hearing in February which covered pandemic preparedness and resilience and they've set out dates for preliminary hearings into core political and administrative decision making across the UK throughout this month but most importantly The Honorable gentleman will recognize it is an independent inquiry and it's for the independent chair to set the terms Jerome Mr Speaker more than one and a half million people living outside London stand to be impacted by the mayor's new london-wide ultra low emission Zone labor and the liberal Democrats they're all for the Euless charge they don't care about the cost of living crisis so does my right on of a friend agree with me that the best way to protect commuters and small businesses from the spread of this unfair 12 pound 50 a day tax is to vote conservative on May the 4th well Mr Mr Speaker my honorable friend is absolutely right and and he I think he also failed to mention that just this week we've seen we've seen labor in Wales introduce more plans for further Road charging as well increasing cost pressures for public and businesses and I'd urge the party's opposite to listen and stand up for the public and small businesses just as the conservatives do thank you very much Mr Speaker when my wee brother was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis eight years ago it's fair to say it turned our lives upside down I'm incredibly proud of the manias and all that he's achieved whilst living with this life limiting condition and my Livingston constituent Stephen sharp manages local football team the field sheet and storyburn he has Crohn's disease and he lives with a stoma and he's like many of our constictions up and down the UK living with a life limiting condition trying to provide for the families whilst holding down jobs with a condition and disease that wreaks havoc on their body so Mr Speaker given one in four people wait more than a year for diagnosis will the Prime Minister and indeed the house support the campaign to cut the crap and get diagnosed early for a Crohn's and Colitis and would he meet with my constituent Stephen and I to look look at what more can be done for awareness research and funding can I Thank The Honorable lady for her question and pay tribute to I think her brother and also Stephen for everything that they're doing to raise awareness of this issue I'd be very happy to meet with her and Stephen is is something that I am familiar with and it is a very difficult condition for people to live with and it's right that they get the support and attention that they deserve and I look forward to that discussion with her so Jeremy Wright thank you very much Mr Speaker my constituent Jamie Scott spent four weeks in a coma and remained seriously disabled as a result of a covet vaccination he and his family continue to believe that mass vaccination is the right policy but it must also surely be right to ensure that those that tiny minority who are seriously injured as a result are properly compensated in the absence of court cases it's in no one's interests to litigate the current limit on compensation is a hundred and twenty thousand pounds even for very serious and lifelong injury and anyone who is disabled by less than 60 percent gets nothing at all that cannot be right well my right or my friend look urgently at changing it Mr Speaker it is important to start by recognizing the importance of vaccines in protecting us all and not least the Fantastic roll out of the covert vaccines across the UK but I am very sorry to hear about the case that my right honorable friend raises in the extremely rare case of a potential injury from a vaccine covered by the scheme a one-off payment can be awarded this is not designed to be a compensation scheme and it does not prevent the injured person in pursuing a legal compensation claim with the vaccine manufacturer we are taking steps to reform vaccine damage payment schemes by modernizing the operations and providing more timely outcomes but of course I'll be happy to talk to The Honorable gentleman further about them thank you Mr Speaker the new inflation starts this morning so food inflation is at 18 the highest in 45 years millions are living in food and fuel poverty because of this government's failures and political decisions to enable go test profiteering at the expense of our communities how on Earth can the Prime Minister claim his plan is working or is it in his eyes is it a success that so many people are struggling with their weekly food shop Mr speakers of the Mr Speaker the figures that have been recently published showed that since 2010 there are two million fewer people living in poverty thanks to the actions of this and previous conservative government of course no one wants to see people struggling with week-to-week bills like fluid which is why it's so imperative we stick to our economic plan and as the obr have said we are on track to halve inflation by the end of this year that is the most important thing we can do to ease a burden on people and in the meantime we have a range of programs whether that's free School meals or indeed the holiday activities and food program to provide support to the most vulnerable families who need our help thank you thank you Mr Speaker 60 million to improve transport links from Wednesday the rest of black country 4 million for Wednesday High Street and last week the most important part of the budget the 22 and a half million pound to level up Tipton Town Center Mr Speaker this government has put vote of confidence in my communities one they've not had for nearly 50 is can I ask my honorable friend delivery is gonna be absolutely killing these projects because it can eat short using his good office that we absolutely get this delivered on time and realize the potential of my communities and tips and awareness or can I pay tribute to my honorable friend for his tireless campaigning on behalf of his local communities I'm delighted that we are investing across the West Midlands but particularly in places like wednesbury and Tipton and again we will work with him to ensure that those Investments are indeed delivered working with the local councils transport for West Midlands and the West Midland combines Authority those Investments are going to transform people's lives and spread opportunity in his area and he deserves enormous credit for making that happen your mom's really grateful Mr Speaker Mr Speaker households in gateshead have seen their energy builds triple over the last two years they've endured not just the energy unit price increase but the daily electricity standing charges increased from an average of 22 pence in 2019 to 58 pence from next month an increase of 155 percent in standing charges over 200 pounds per year to many of my constituents particularly those in low-income households this seems like a company Tax just for having the temerity to be connected to the network and these schemes will continue long after energy support schemes have ended so will the Prime Minister commit to ending the regressive increases in standing charges and in stroke off chapter Return of the 2019 levels or even end them completely Mr Mr Speaker thanks to the chancellor the government is providing support to a typical household Energy bill around half of that bill over the winter support that was extended in the budget and will be worth 1 500 pounds to a typical family but we went further Mr Speaker for those most vulnerable families with a chance to announce we will be ending the discrepancy between unit charges for those on prepayment meters something that many in this house have called for and also providing generous cost of living payments worth 900 pounds to the most vulnerable families thank you Mr Speaker uh Mr Speaker two of my constituents George and Carol Ellis are my guests here in the gallery today sadly in 2021 their son died by Suicide George was a member of the Yorkshire regiment and had become depressed uh following uh a comp one of his comrades who had taken his own life in memory of George uh Adrian and Carol have set up a support group which marries up one veteran uh with another who is able to talk through and hopefully help them uh the uh support group is called get your get emotions out after George would the Prime Minister join me in offering condolences to Adrian and Carol and also his support for the work that they're now doing can I join my honorable friend in sending Maya and the whole House's condolences to George's friends and family and thank his parents for the brave work they are doing to raise awareness of veterans Mental Health support is available for anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts including from the Samaritan's helpline and thanks to the excellent work of our honorable friend the veterans Minister we are working specifically to support veterans mental health through op courage which is a bespoke mental health and wellbeing service for veterans in the NHS backed by considerable funding which was increased in the recent budget and that fully Integrated Service will be launched next month but again I pay tribute to George's parents for all the incredible work that they are doing yeah thank you Mr Speaker my constituent Mariam Amiri came to the UK from Afghanistan on a special on a special Visa back in 2016. the home office have just refused to Renewal and advise she should return to Afghanistan Mariam is an educator due to start a university course in September she's a valued Community activist she's a vocal opponent of the Taliban she is married to a man who worked for British forces and her family is currently being persecuted in Afghanistan she's been trying to get them here since Afghanistan fell can the Prime Minister think of any barriers or hardships Mario might face in returning to a country where there is not even any means of applying for a Visa and will he personally intervene as the immigration Minister has yet to reply to me despite raising this three weeks ago Mr Speaker obviously it wouldn't be appropriate for me to comment on an individual's Visa case but I will ensure I will ensure I will ensure that The Honorable lady gets a response from the home office with regard to that particular case Glenn Saxby you Mr Speaker can I ask the prime minister to pay tribute to and congratulate my constituent Max woozy best known as the boy in the tent whose three-year Adventure camping outside is drawn to a close today he has raised over three quarters of a million pounds for the excellent North Devon hospice and will my my honorable friend wish everyone taking part in his final Adventure a camping festival at broomhill estate great success oh can I join my honorable friend in paying tribute to Max and everyone else taking part in this fantastic initiative and congratulate them on raising such a considerable sum of money for a very worthy local local cause and I look forward to hearing how the rest of it goes but very well done final question Mr Speaker well how the treasury receives and actual 65 Belgium revenue from Scotland's oil and gas they've only allocated 20 billion for carbon capture but nothing for Scotland they've cut renewable energy budget by Third they've only allocated 10 million pounds for Scotland's World leading title stream and filter back pump storage Hydro but yet they want us to contribute our share towards a 35 billion size we see nuclear power station isn't it the case that within the union Scotland is the energy that Westminster takes the powers Mr Speaker not only are we supporting Scotland's North Sea oil and gas industry we're also providing 20 billion pounds of funding for further carbon capture and storage and does want to work and provide Clarity for acorn regarding their future path but also I think the honorable gentleman raised the issue of tidal power and I am pleased to tell him that actually that is now included in the contracts for different allocations and there's 40 megawatts of new tidal stream power by four projects across Scotland and Wales in the last year that's this government delivering energy security across the United Kingdom complete questions Celine Saxby thank you Mr Speaker I would like to raise a point of order regarding the honorable member for twickenham's speech yesterday in which she raised investment at one of my excellent North Devon schools this was done without prior notification to myself or the school and having spoken directly to the school and local education Authority this morning it does appear that the information presented was at best misleading as the school has an extensive Works program plan to expand the school's capacity and the timing of Future Works is being determined around the best interests of the pupils and the staff with professional advice certainly not held up by a lack of funding as a former teacher myself I find it deeply disturbing that liberal Democrat MPS are prepared to use schools outside their own constituencies as political Pawns in this place and Mr Speaker might you advise how best to correct the record and ensure there is no further repeat of this situation yeah could I just say sort of lady I presume she has Let The Honorable member know that she was going to raise this point to vote can I say well I'm grateful but grateful The Honorable member for giving notice of the point of order I assume she as I said she's given notice which she assures me how what I would say is as she knows it's not that the church is responsible for the accuracy of members contributions in the chamber if a member has made a mistake I would encourage that member to correct the record at the earliest opportunity but the honorable member was quite rightly put it on the record for result to know the situation Alice from the government thank you for accepting the point of now it's the in response to a question about his pretense that living standards are getting better in this country replied that he is halving inflation on the very day that we have found out that inflation is in fact Rising so can I ask you Mr Speaker as you said on this important day for this house could I ask you how the Prime Minister can correct the record and I know she does know the answer that what I would say is she's actually put it on the record what the situation is as you know it's not a matter for the church but it's a matter for each individual to try and make sure the correct impatiently thank you uh Mr Speaker as you know there will be a substantial piece of Northern business debate it today about the Windsor framework and the government has indicated that this is going to be an indicative indication how this Parliament feels about the entirety of the framework even though it's just about one component of the framework given that it will be signed over on Friday by the foreign circuit right why is this house only allocated 90 minutes for a debate and it's very important subject that will not give Northern Ireland members a loan enough time to bet that's let alone the rest of the size how can we fix this before Friday Mr Speaker as you know I have no responsibility for the amount of time that is done by the government to all the other papers I don't own the order paper and obviously I think he's down to speak and I'm sure he wants to raise the points at that time right no further points of War so we now come to presentation Bill thank you Jim might water quality surge discharge belt presentation uh second reading what day Friday 25th of April 3rd Friday the 21st of April you're right we now come to the 10 minute rule bill y outfit [Applause] a Grail please the member was standing to address me and Destroy is holding your answer take notice of what's going on it's totally unfair to the member it's a 10 minute rule bill please wait you are important but not that important not the outfit thank you Mr Speaker I beg to move that leave be given to bring in a bill to a man's schedule 9 to the equality act 2010 to prohibit age discrimination by Employers in relation to the provision of insurance or related financial services and for connected purposes there are more workers working over the age of 65 than ever before nearly 1.5 million people of whom around two-thirds a million workers are employed contributing 32 million hours of work in an average week there's been a rapid acceleration in the shape and scale of older working sectors in which Older Workers are most likely to be employed are some of those which are particularly important to our economy and our communities around a quarter are such Older Workers are employed in healthcare social work and education the car industry and Technical sectors also employ High numbers of older workers if we want people to have the option to work later in life we have to give them the tools support and legal protection that they can do so that includes protecting workers from discrimination solely on the basis of age age discrimination like any other form of discrimination is humiliating demeaning and damaging right now Provisions in schedule 9 of the equality act introduced in 2011 make it lawful to discriminate on the basis of age in relation to health and insurance employment benefits so let me explain why that is wrong I have a constituent Stephen who is here in the public Gallery today with his wife Marsha Stephen is a train driver with eurotunnel and has been since the tunnel first opened 30 years ago Stephen worked on the building of the tunnel itself at the age of 66 his statutory pensionable age he didn't get a birthday card from his bosses he got a letter the letter explained that while it wasn't possible to attack him on the grounds of age eurotunnel were terminating his health insurance death in service and income protection policy for long-term sickness and accidents now Stephen is doing the same job at 66 that he did at 65. but now he does not get the same money's worth for terms and conditions in relation to his contract of employment in simple terms Stephen does not get equal pay and conditions to another younger worker simply by reason of age if Stephen Falls ill he cannot get access to the same Speedy Private health care cover that other people working with a company can and this includes in relation to a workplace injury if heaven forbid he died his wife Marsha would no longer have compensatory insurance through death in service benefits however he is doing exactly the same job as someone else it's the same job he did before he reached retirement age that he is doing now and for the same company the attitude demonstrated by eurotunnel seems to me to communicate to Stephen and The Wider employment community in Kent that it thinks a person who is older is worth less than him now Stephen has made it clear to me that he loves working at Euro tunnel he wants to carry on working at Euro tunnel but he does of course feel let down in Stephen's case I have written to the chief executive of get link The Operators of eurotunnel to ask them to reconsider not least in light of Stephen's long service and commitment to the company standing here today they haven't as yet although they have said they are discussing it with their insurers we need to tackle this issue if people are to stay in the workplace longer we should tackle it because it is simply unfair and wrong it must be tackled here in this place by changing the law because and I do want to be really clear about this Euro tunnel is perfectly within their legal rights to act as they have done it is entirely a matter for them whether or not they want to include all their workers fairly and equally or discriminate against one who've reached retirement age the bill that I'm seeking to introduce today seeks to put that right for every older worker in this country by changing the law on workplace benefits so that older people are treated on the same basis as any other part of their employment relationship Mr Speaker there was a time when a pregnant woman had to quit her job and she just had to leave the workplace then she didn't have to leave lose her job and then it was said that if women were given paid maternity leave then women wouldn't get jobs if they were of childbearing age there are those who claim this reform to end age discrimination would be costly to business just as they used to say the same about women who went on maternity leave yet as we know employers found that retaining women in the workplace didn't just benefit the mothers it benefited the businesses themselves businesses who were able to retain the vital skills and knowledge of female workers in the same way older workers have skills and knowledge gained over many years in the workplace treating older workers fairly will encourage them to stay and benefit the companies that they work for [Music] I remember a time when employers would say that a woman did not need to work did not need to get the same bonuses as a man that a woman didn't need to be offered over time because it was men who had the families to feed we've outlawed that because equal pet work is not about who is doing the work it is about what the work is and that applies very much to a younger worker as an older worker doing essential another excuse given is that covering older people becomes more expensive for everyone the premium for the company itself goes up this is of course an absurd excuse because applying that logic would it be okay to exclude from employment benefits people have heart conditions cancer bad bikes people with disabilities or chronic conditions of course not we would say it was discriminatory in wrong because it is so unless we tackle age discrimination we will continue to have a working environment where it's very difficult for people who are working in older age Mr Speaker an example of why the law needs to change is sitting here today in the public gallery Stephen horn a man whose Blood Sweat and hard work helped to build one of the great wonders of our time the tunnel under the English tunnel from the UK to France a working man treated worse treated badly solely by reason of his age Stephen is my constituent and I'm putting forward this bill because I don't think that Stephen should have been treated in this way is disgraceful and unacceptable and neither should any other older worker yeah yeah the support I've received from right across this house has given me a real heart this bill is increa has received incredible cross-party support I would like to thank my honorable friends for North Devon Hastings and Rye South and West Bly Valley as well as the honorable members for Liverpool West Derby Vermin and Sally Oak and those on the face of the bill who I shall name shortly and a number of others we are at our very best in this place when we come together to address injustices and right wrongs I very much hope that Stephen's eurotunnel law will be a turning point for protecting older workers in the workplace in the years to come I commend this bill to the house [Applause] The Honorable members I believe to bring into them the question is that the honorable member have believed to bring in the bill as many of that opinions say aye the country no I think the eyes have it the eyes have it who will prepare to bring in the bill Caroline noakes Dame Diana Johnson David Linden Jim Shannon Bob Blackman Rachel maskel Marion fellows Henry Smith Tony Lloyd Marco longy and myself [Applause] there you go employment equality Insurance Etc Bill secondary DeWalt day Friday the 24th of November we now come to motion number two on the Northern Ireland minister to move speaker I beg to move that the draft wins a framework Democratic scrutiny regulations 2023 which they were labeled for the house on 20th of March be approved before I start Mr Speaker can I mention that it is my normal practice to take as many interventions as I possibly can during a debate however this debate is on a statutory instrument and therefore Limited in time so I will take interventions but I won't take the normal number that I would and I will try and mop up all the questions raised in the debate at the end with the leave of the house the stoma break is at the heart of the Westminster framework IT addresses the Democratic deficit restores the balance of the Belfast Good Friday agreement and ends the prospect of dynamic alignment it restores practical sovereignty to the United Kingdom as a whole and to the people of Northern Ireland in particular for giving way as someone who served in the province during the troubles and saw firsthand the pain and anger endured by all communities does he agree with me that the Windsor framework not only restores the balance of the Belfast agreement but also offers the province much greater Prosperity by way of inward investment and greater prosperity helps most situations I thank my uncle friend for his into his uh his words and yes I do agree with him entirely we are just coming up to the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Belfast Good Friday agreement which has built peace and stability across Northern Ireland and I very much hope as I do believe every single politician from Northern Ireland does that the next 25 years of the Belfast Good Friday agreement augmented helped Along by this Windsor framework um will bring an age of prosperity to Northern Ireland like we've never seen before um I'll take uh can I say I'll take three members I'll go uh Mr Shannon first sorry Mr Speaker can I thank the the uh the other ones but it's always a pleasure on the winter framework or as we in unionism called The Windsor knot uh is not a data enjoys or receives Union a support indeed the United Kingdom gives the EU sovereignty over the courts and Par over Northern Ireland it has I say it's respectfully to statistic because I'm a spiteful person has been shoved through the house by the government the conservative and unionist party was some dismay I actually questioned now conservative and where is the unionist and a form and a format that doesn't allow for scrutiny or due processes and on that point it's like this there honorable members and others across this house should take note and they should vote against us essay today because at others are gravely important constitutional issue and we're very concerned I Thank The Honorable gentleman for his words um which I fundamentally disagree with I am a unionist I'm very proud to be a unionist um and I believe that the foundations of this of of our wonderful country make it all each of them make it stronger and I do believe that this is a massive step forward in both progress for Northern Ireland but the the Union as well um I actually disagree with him entirely on his point um this actually adds to the Democratic scrutiny that is available and as one of Michelle barnier's former advisors put it it does amount to a clear veto possibility for the UK government directive by directive at the behest of minority in the Northern Ireland assembly I think people who know what they're talking about understand that this is a very very good deal I'm happy to wait to The Honorable gentlemen he said it takes three I thought about investment forgiving who does the Secretary of State will help me remember the cake Masters thank you Mr Speaker um I want to say one thing to write on a gentleman which is he talks about Prosperity but I have seed potato Growers from my consistency telling me that this framework is very welcome indeed it means that they can access the normal large market and in turn via that via mechanism access the Republic of Ireland Market that is most welcome that's about the prosperity of my constituency and perhaps this may lead to access to the Spanish and French Market which could be useful in the future so that's why I believe we should support the framework I thank the first gentleman for his very very pro-unionist uh commentary he's absolutely right this for sea potatoes and for a whole host of other products that were no longer being through the protocol not available in Northern Ireland The Windsor framework solves those issues and opens that market up I have to give away to the onward very grateful for secularists did forgive me where father's gonna have to do a whole lot of squats there just to get in um one of the one of the criteria for using the storm and breaker for signing uh the petition says that MLA is it must be individually and collectively seeking in good faith to fully operate the institutions including through the nomination of ministers and support for the normal operation of the assembly does this mean that gem Alistair will be excluded from using from signing that petition if if the assembly's sitting and he's sitting in it which he would be as a fully elected member um uh from his political uh party um then I'm absolutely sure he could sign said uh said uh for the for the Break um I believe there was one more person behind me very grateful uh Mr Speaker could I commend the Prime Minister and my right on my friend for the work that he's done does it not so that when you build Bridges when you show pragmatism when you work with our Continental colleagues we can actually provide results does he also agree that along with orcas along with the parrot Summit and he did the budget this is now a return to statecraft that we want to see in number 10. it is without doubt statecraft emanating from number 10 and I pay tribute to the Prime Minister for everything that he does in that in that way I'm going to continue just for a bit if I may I will come back in in a moment but in a democracy we all believe as Democrats here people should have a say over any change to the laws under which they live but under the old protocol that was not the case changes to laws were automatically imposed on Northern Ireland whether it wanted them or not and a secretary state for Northern Ireland I like many other members of this house found this to be an unacceptable State of Affairs the storm won't break not only ends that but ensures that changes to rules and regulations have both the have the consent of both communities asserting a fundamental principle of the Belfast Good Friday agreement I'll happily give way to this little gentleman here I'm I'm very grateful to my right honorable friend who has made this progress uh hugely possible through his hard work does he agree with me that wherever you're starting from by comparing the Northern Ireland protocol with the Windsor framework it is quite clear to everyone that good progress has been made and that it is an improvement and that it is welcomed by most of the communities in Northern Ireland very strongly indeed and for that reason we should be supporting it tonight and then it will continue and yes of course I thank the minister for giving way and he's making a powerful case about Democratic scrutiny in that Spirit then will he also confirm in order to support the Windsor agreement that he will use his powers as a secretary of state to retain all the existing EU law that will be deleted by the EU law bill by the end of this year because the European Union has written to us today to warn that if he does not do that this agreement will be in doubt it's not to do with the storm or broke it is the existing legislation that will be deleted by the sunset Clause he has the power to retain it is he going to to support this legislation I I I'm afraid I've not seen that later I don't I know nothing of it and I do believe that the retained EU law bill is going to do a good job of work for the whole of the United Kingdom I'm going to give way to my Olive friend for rally I'll take who's on their feet I thank Texas State I fear today we will respectfully have to agree to disagree but he has described the break on multiple occasions including in BBC interviews as a veto given that if Stormont pulls it UK ministers may still not exercise the break in exceptional circumstances so it's down to ministerial Fiat and also given that even if they do the EU can object and it's referred to Independent arbitration where the UK could lose that is a route to arbitration isn't it that is not a veto will he accept that um it is a veto two it is a route to arbitration and three it removes any element of the ecj being relevant in this decision so I think we've actually delivered on some of the things that the honorable gentleman and I have campaigned on over the years gentlemen over there I am grateful in respect of grounds for seeking to apply the break in response to a written question uh to the foreign office the Parliamentary in the secretary of state is replied as to exports to Northern Ireland through the ports of holyhead he said the Green Lane is open to all UK businesses where they import or sell Goods that are not ultimately destined for the EU markets this includes Goods traveling from Wales to Northern Ireland in transit through the Republic of Ireland using the transit position procedure can you confirm that this is indeed the case and elaborates now mobile how that procedure will actually work so stay um I I thank you for his question which I I don't think I heard this book um completely but the Green Lane will be open for goods traveling into Northern Ireland for consumption in Northern Ireland there is a red lane that is for goods that are going into the Republic itself misheard The Honorable gentleman's question um I'll write to him and clarify if that's okay I'm gonna yes I'm gonna give away to The Honorable gentleman great go to the Secretary of State why do EU laws apply to businesses in Northern Ireland under this agreement that are not trading with the EU how many EU laws apply and why don't we see a list of them it preserves access for Northern Ireland businesses who are to the single market and uh as um I detailed yesterday I listed a whole host of the different areas by which uh this uh laws EU laws are disapplied um in uh Northern I'm going to take two more interventions one from the gentleman there and one from a form of Secretary of State I'm extremely uh grateful to the executive State um he's of course right to say that any political political entity within a wider economic structure should have a say or some way of expressionism expression I guess if you will listen to the rules and regulations of that economic structure with that in mind will the British government be bringing forward a CNN Hollywood break when it comes to the UK internal Market foreign just reconfirm that this storm break stops and gives total control to the assembly in Northern Ireland on any new EU law or regulation and secondly that this deal has made huge strides from seed potatoes to vat to state aid to customs to all aspects of the protocol that we in this house have debated for so long I I have to agree with my right honorable friend um and I think what I best should do now Mr Speaker is go continue with this so I can explain this all to the house because the break is triggered if 30 members of the legislative assembly in a moment if I may um from two parties object to an amending rule or regulation these mlas can be from the same Community designation so they can in theory and in practice come from two unionist parties or indeed two nationalist parties the exercise of the break will require no other process and no vote in the assembly once the break has been pulled the law will automatically be disapplied in Northern Ireland after two weeks the EU could challenge only challenge the use of the Breakthrough International arbitration after the law had been suspended where the bar to overturn it would be exceptionally High the score month in a moment if I may the storm up break is one of the most significant changes that my right humble friend the Prime Minister has secured is a robust change that gives the United Kingdom a veto over Dynamic alignment with EU rules but just as importantly Mr Mr Speaker the regulations we are debating today put the democratically elected representatives of the people of Northern Ireland in the driving seat when it comes to whether and when that veto will be used I'll happily give away to The Honorable gentleman in fact I thank the sacrament of State for giving way could he answer very clearly this one simple question isn't it the case that every single vehicle a lorry vehicle that will depart the port of carne Ryan to Northern Ireland will have to have customs declaration papers for every product on that vehicle and is it right that one vehicle traveling from one part of the United Kingdom to another part of the United Kingdom continues to be treated in that way those Vehicles will be using the trusted Trader service 21 fields of information mostly Auto populated which would mean no certificates needed from vets or from any uh uh per person I think the honorable gentleman I'm afraid it is I think I'm right actually honorable gentleman um I'll happily give way to uh my old original friend I I'm I'm grateful to him for giving way when he appeared before the European scrutiny committee yesterday my right honorable friend promised to deliver the list of the three percent of the EU laws he says will remain as a consequence of this process can you please tell us where that list is and I I did give that the majority of that list uh in the course of that product and I did say I would write to The Honorable gentleman which I will do of course Mr Speaker the old protocol did have some measures that were aimed at giving it Democratic legitimacy the UK did have a vote over any new laws that the EU wanted to add to the protocol but that veto did not extend to Amendments of laws that were already there and crucially there was no role for the North Nine assembly in deciding whether and when to use that veto and of course it contained the Democratic consent mechanism an important means of giving the assembly the right to end the application of Articles 5 to 10 of the old protocol those measures were important and the Windsor framework maintains them but they were not in themselves enough to address the Democratic deficit I'll have to give away tomorrow I'm great for tomorrow item a friend for giving away and I wonder if we can just clarify something for me he's spoken about the green channel for goods movements from Great Britain into Northern Ireland okay so this is a genuine question as I understand it the Northern Ireland economy produces about 77 billion pounds worth of goods of which 65 billion go to the rest of Great Britain is it not the case though that everything manufactured in Northern Ireland would have to meet EU standards even if it's going to the rest of the UK yes we're very specifically clear that we are maintaining it's basically three percent of EU law in online which is the bare minimum to maintain Northern Ireland's access to the single Market which just about every business I've spoken to in Northern Ireland and have made representations is delighted to be maintaining um and indeed I've been lobbied by individual members around uh from Northern Ireland to to actually have this maintenance of access to both the UK Market the fifth largest economy uh in in the world and indeed the EU market for goods I'll have to give away to my right it's great for grateful to my right honorable friend and I feel a full prime minister and the whole of the Northern Ireland team have done a great job and does he agree with me that this Windsor agreement enables a huge opportunity in Northern Ireland not just to be a Precious part of our United Kingdom but also to be the target of enormous amounts of foreign direct Investments coming into Northern Ireland because it will have the advantage of being an integral part of the United Kingdom but having open access to EU markets as well and by maintaining that three percent of EU law she helps answer the question but my right normal friend for Litchfield uh posed um as I say there'll be a binding statutory obligation in domestic law on ministers to pull the break when a valid notification um is provided by 30 mlas and actually just to address these these regulations will add a new Democratic scrutiny schedule to the northern 1998 to codify this break in domestic law the the UK government must let me repeat that um Mr Speaker must notify the EU when a valid notification of the break has been provided by mlas this is an important new function for members of the assembly it's vital that it exercises new function with the right information and expertise after Consulting with Northern Ireland parties these regulations provide for a standing committee of the assembly to provide to properly scrutinize the relevant rules Mr Speaker I'll help you take it yeah I'm very grateful for the second giving way and because I I'm treating this vote tonight as a recognition of The Wider package and voting for it with the government on the issue of the Democrats strictly committee this is a new to the assembly it will require a lot of resources as will the the necessity of engaging with Brussels in terms of the developments of new law for fresh principles will the secretary have a conversation with the assembly write the potential for new resources to make sure you can actually do its job fully in that regard and I very much look forward to having that conversation with a fully functioning assembly and executive uh Mr Speaker some have describe as a consultant this is a consultative role for mlas it is not it's a robust power for mlas to stop the application of amended EU rules a power that neither the UK government nor the European Union can override provided the conditions in the framework are met some have claimed I'm going to keep going for a bit if I may please um some have claimed that the EU must have some means of blocking the break these regulations demonstrate Mr Speaker that this process is entirely one for the United Kingdom the process is firmly and unambiguously within strand one of the Belfast Good Friday agreement there is no role for any institutions outside the United Kingdom whether that be the EU or anyone else to determine whether the break is pulled it will be a choice of the UK alone its Sovereign government alongside elected mlas whether the break is pulled some also claim Mr Speaker that the government might simply ignore the break these regulations make clear that the government has no discretion here mlas cannot be ignored valid notifications of the break must be notified to the European Union the government's actions um will in a moment I will if the government's actions will be subject to all the Normal Public Law principles that attach to decision making and for the avoidance of doubt the regulations are clear that the prospects of any remedial measures by the EU cannot be a relevant factor in the government's determination Mr Speaker it is enough it is not enough to Simply allow mlas to temporarily halt the application of a rule but then allow the United Kingdom to United Kingdom government to Simply override them when the joint committee decides whether the rule should be permanently disapplied so these regulations go much further and provide a clear robust directive role to determine whether the government should use its veto or not unless there is cross-community support in the assembly ministers will be legally prohibited from accepting an amended or new EU law which creates a regulatory border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom except in exceptional circumstances and let me be clear exceptional circumstances means just that the threshold for that exception is unbelievably High and a minister invoking exceptional circumstances must be able to defend that decision robustly and in line with normal Public Law principles and what's more a minister must account to Parliament where they have concluded that exceptional circumstances apply or where they consider that a measure would not create a regulatory border this represents one of the strongest statutory constraints on the exercise of ministerial functions under a treaty ever codified in our domestic law I have to give way thank you secretary for giving away will you just confirm to the house if there is no storm and will there be a storm and break without this break cannot even start to be a thing until Stormont goes back in the in the executive functions missed sorry I'm very grateful to the Secretary of State for giving away thank him for setting out the way this break will operate would he join me in urging those considering these proposals before the house today to note that this is something that for many years people said was impossible an application to stop the ratchet of EU law and to keep Northern Ireland in the Union yeah so I absolutely agree with my honorable friend I was told um this would be an impossible ask as well uh and throughout my time in the European Parliament and indeed as chairman of an illustrious body of MPS in in this place I never thought this would be achievable and yet this government has managed to achieve it um finally Mr Speaker as with many internet any International agreement the if the EU has considered um actually before I go Mr Speaker these regulations could scarcely make things clearer the overwhelming presumption is that unless the assembly says yes the government must say no finally Mr Speaker and as with any International agreement if the EU considers that the UK is improperly pulled the break it may choose to initiate a dispute but we need to be clear that any dispute could only arise after the rules have been disapplied in Northern Ireland and the resolution of that dispute would be for an arbitration panel the European court of justice would have no role in resolving that dispute Mr Speaker these regulations make the case for a functioning for the functioning devolved institutions in Northern Ireland even more compelling these measures will become operable only when the institutions are restored denying the people of Northern Ireland will not only deny them the basic right to an effective stable government but will also deny them the full Democratic input into the laws that apply to Northern Ireland and that denial cannot be justified Mr Speaker these regulations give domestic legal effect to this Democratic Safeguard and restore the UK's sovereignty we should consider carefully how we vote on this measure without this measure Northern Ireland would continue to have full and automatic Dynamic alignment with EU Goods rules with no say for the Northern Ireland assembly and no veto on amending or replacing those measures that is an intolerable situation Mr Speaker and I urge all honorable and right honorable members to vote to end that full and automatic Dynamic alignment I therefore commend this order to the house and beg to move the question is that's on the order paper I know call The Shadow Secretary of State Peter Kyle thank you Mr Speaker the right honorable gentleman the member for Hobart and Saint Patrick's saint pancreas the leader of my party said in January that any protocol deal struck between the UK government and the EU would by definition mean real progress in mitigating the problems caused by the original deal that they negotiated he pledged that in these circumstances labor would support such a deal it is a pledge that we will be honoring today so whereas the government has once again been distracted by rebellion and infighting within their own party thanks to the labor party they can be sure that the national interests will be served today of course a good boy I'm grateful to The Honorable gentleman for giving me because he actually makes a very important point to you for the last quarter of essentially the house has proceeded in relation to the peace process in Northern Ireland and today is about the peace process let's be quite clear about that on the basis of bypass design or non-partisan politics for that reason my party will also be joining him under government in the lobbies tonight yeah I'm grateful for the right honorable gentleman's intervention and taking the similar position and coming to a similar view as a labor party is a Scottish MP I should also want to express my uh sympathies with the incident which is unfolding in Edinburgh with a ship which is capsized and is injuring will be believe 15 or more people so our sympathies are with with him and the people of Scotland today uh the uh the government has said that the vote today is the main vote on The Windsor framework it's the main vote that this house will get my speech will focus on why labor supports the deal overall but I will also begin on the Storm up break itself which is the subject of the regulations that this regular the this SI puts in place today the Democratic deficit was also was always one of the hardest parts of the protocol deal to reconcile of course businesses and most people in Northern Ireland want to continue access to the European market as well as the internal Market but the cost of this access was having no say in the rules which had to be followed the storm won't break will give Representatives a say once devolved government is restored it is impossible to argue that this is not an improvement on the current situation 30 mlas from two parties will be able to trigger the break but I think just just as important is the new Committee in the assembly that will scrutinize new laws and which will affect Northern Ireland there are understandable concerns about how the break will work in practice but the best way of stress testing this can only be done through experience and you can only get the experience by restoring Stormont getting Northern Ireland's devolved government back up and running is what we all want to see I know also it's what the dup members want to see too I want to State the obvious before going further the economy in Northern Ireland has huge potential the economy in Northern Ireland is doing well the Prime Minister rather eloquently explained why during his last visit to Northern Ireland he didn't need to because everyone who lives there or runs a business already knows but the challenge is posed by the protocol go much deeper than the market access and that's what needs most attention during these torturous period of renegotiation and I give way to my older fans I thank my honorable friend for giving me and I think he was right to acknowledge that there were legitimate concerns that unionism had around the operation of the protocol would he agree with me though that anyone looking at this objectively would say objectively would say that those have been addressed both by the EU and the UK government but further to that the fundamental point is that businesses and Saint Helens would give their right arms to have the opportunities that Northern Ireland has Logistics medical manufacturing and agriculture to have access to those two Market yeah I'm grateful for my honorable friends intervention I'm also pleased that he recognized the legitimate concerns that the dup have but yes I think all of us right across the United Kingdom want to see devolved Administration in Northern Ireland up and running that's what the purpose of this whole torturous process has been and hopefully we can get a reckon we can get resolved uh soon I give way to The Honorable gender right on General for work so what is the point of rushing through a vote on this protocol when it is the protocol on the agreement behind it that prevents Stormont meeting which means the protocol would never be used well he makes the argument for why you should have voted against the protocol in the first place we on this side did oppose a protocol when it was imposed he voted for it now there are lots of people on that side Mr Speaker Mr Deputy speaker that I listened to with great interest because they often contribute a lot of thoughtful insight into the way we debate but let's just reflect on what the honorable the right old member for wokingham said in the run-up to the brexit referendum the promises that he made to this country this all came from his website because I read it with great interest one there will be more growth in the economy two it'll rebuild our Fisheries three food will be cheaper four our power will be cheaper we will have fewer unhelpful regulations well if that's the case we wouldn't be here debating this today would we six we will get a U.S trade deal and seven our balance of payments will improve there are many people who should be contributing to this debate in a thoughtful way he I'm afraid is not one of them the challenges posed by the protocol go much deeper than Market access and that's what's needed most attention joiners torturous process of renegotiation the union is concerns were mostly twofold firstly there were impediments to the flow of goods traveling across the Irish sea some products and shipment some in a moment some products and ship and shipments were more effective than others having a disruptive effect on Supply chains and the ability of retailers to keep their stores stocked in a manner familiar to pre-protocol Shoppers Shoppers this of course leads to the second source of concern which is the existential impact that these impediments have are to the free flow of goods within the United Kingdom and what that poses for unionism I give way I'm grateful to The Honorable member for giving way would the honorable member agree with me that the government has made tremendous progress with this Windsor framework in terms of Veterinary and sanitary and phytosanitary measures and what has been achieved with the securing of human medicines long term and the direction of travel for securing Veterinary medicines after up until the grace period ends shows that what can be achieved through dialogue and it really shows to us all that we should be strongly supporting this framework deal it does indeed show that negotiating and talking rather than rowing delivers more but it also shows that you should think very carefully about what you vote for in the first place it is right it is a right enshrined in treaty that anyone in Northern Ireland who wants to associate themselves as British should be able to do so without impediment I understand this of course I do if produce made in Sussex faced checks on the border with Hampshire I would have something to say about it and I've also asked myself this if the protocol checks were taking place between Ireland and Northern Ireland instead of the Irish sea would nationalist communities be demanding action today I believe they would so demand for Action is warranted it is based on real concerns not confected ones so the mystery to me has always been why the government took so long to act why wait until devolved authorities had collapsed before seeming to Care by the time I was appointed to this job the dup had been voicing concerns about the protocol for well over six months they were ignored a month before I was appointed the right animal member for the lagam valley had published an article calling for article 16 to be triggered it was met with silence then in February the executive was collapsed followed four months later by the assembly in all that time there was no visits by the prime minister no meetings with party leader leaders either in Northern Ireland or in Downing Street not a single statement to this house as a result of this neglect and believe me it is neglect we are now faced with two problems the first is solving the technical issues created as a direct result of the original protocol negotiated by that government and voted for by every single person sitting on those benches that protocol I remind the house was created negotiated and hailed as a great deal for Britain by this government at the time unless we forget it was voted for by every single member on those benches including those Affiliated by the ear through the ERG faction secondly that period of neglect created a political problem that this government is paying the price for right here today put simply when the dup were expressing their concerns over the protocol from within the devolved institutions they were ignored by the government in Westminster when they collapse those institutions they were rewarded with the prime minister's Prime ministerial visit and ultimately the renegotiation of the protocol the message from government couldn't be to sit it couldn't be clearer the learned behavior of dealing with this government is that if you act functionally within the devolved Administration you are ignored of course but if you act fight if you act outside of the administration you are unignorable of course in this period the other Northern Ireland parties have been denied their place within the government as well through no fault of their own in just one moment so if you disrupt an act outside of the structures of government you get all the attention in the world you even get the Prime Minister traveling abroad on your behalf to renegotiate a deal with hitherto been told was unrenegotiable I give way to The Honorable General from Stanford I think this is not only neglect or ignorance does the shuttle Minister recognize that Tony Blair the former leader of the labor party said you can't move forward without unionist participation in this process in this agreement uh this framework Bernie Ahern also with a former an instrument and the peace process also said you can't ignore unionism agree when it comes to moving forward unionism cannot be ignored in our point of view has to be core to the whole issue of how we find a process to go forward I'm very grateful for his intervention and I'm very grateful for the opportunity to have the exchange between us and it gives me the opportunity to say that I can only speak for the labor party I can speak for myself as a shadow Secretary of State and that is that his party and no party in Northern Ireland will ever be ignored by this by this party or a future labor government but also as I'm about to explain that you will be most rewarded and you'll have most attention and have most agency in politics in political life right across the United Kingdom from a position within the devolved authorities so I do understand his point uh Tony Blair and others were right but uh but these are all leaders who gave the attention to the dep and every other party at the point at which they needed it they didn't wait until the evolution had collapsed before paying you and them and their parties the respect that they are owed and due I will give way Mr Speaker if the shadow Minister some credit he is excellent at articulating the problem but what's his solution I'm very grateful because we'll be getting to it and of course part uh he he he he also he also well it's it's interesting that members there want me to speed up but they keep intervening so uh I'll I'll get through to speech if you allow me to get to it but he makes uh the the most blinding the obvious Point here my party will be voting in unlimity today it is his party that is getting in the way of getting this across the line because it is his party it is split over how to vote on the issue before us today we're acting in the National interest they are Riven with division so people like me aspire to government because we want to deliver positive change but the dup now have to ask themselves because of the way they've been treated by this government would a return to government mean relinquishing power this inversion of the very principle of government this absurdity is a direct consequence of the manner in which Northern Ireland has been treated by this government and subsequent conservative administrations over the last 13 years and I want to be clear to members who represent communities in Northern Ireland in what they can expect from a future labor government to answer the point of the last intervention so let me reassure them that we haven't forgotten the lessons of 25 years ago and the tough years following the peace deal to me those lessons are first that leadership matters Tony Blair's first visit outside of London as prime minister was to Belfast he visited five times in his first year as Premier as Premier he didn't neglect Northern Ireland and nor will my writable friend the member for Hoban and some pancreas second in a moment second work towards a strong trusting relationship with the Irish government because when our two countries work together closely it eases the anxiety that some people in Northern Ireland feel regarding their Irish or British identities as well as creating the conditions for economic progress across the island of Ireland we need to have the same ambition for Northern Ireland as we do for every other part of our Union I give way The Honorable gentleman for giving way and I note what he's saying and he's absolutely right the agreement 25 years ago would not have been possible without the the sacrifices and the statesmanship of so many others but would he acknowledge that actually it was John Major and his government that started that process and that this isn't a part of political matter this is something that this house should be proud of uh firstly I thank her for her time as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland as well and I readily acknowledge that many many people made peace possible in in Northern Ireland 25 years ago we in this house will have the opportunity to debate these issues in a general debate coming up uh and there will be plenty of opportunity over in in Belfast as dignitaries from across the world come in to celebrate the great achievement of that time uh John Major of course laid the foundations and I think at the time and and subsequently all labor leaders including Tony Blair at the time paid a great uh respect to the contribution that he made um if I start listing the names of everyone then we'll be here for a very long time and indeed third we need to have the same ambition for Northern Ireland as we do for every other part of the union for example it is not good enough to roll out home heating support months after citizens and every other part of the UK have received their support fourth we should aspire to to build respect among communities and be a voice for all communities here in Westminster the last Labor government positioned the UK as an honest broker for all of Northern Ireland and so will the next and finally Mr Speaker labor will never give up on Northern Ireland however insurmountable the challenges might seem those involved in the negotiations 25 years ago have plenty of stories of frustration and moments of hopelessness but perseverance is rewarded it was then and it will be again today and into the future it always is in Northern Ireland while this deal is not perfect it is an improvement so the interest of Northern Ireland and the rest of our country we will be voting for it today thank you Brenda thank you very much as you can see there's a great deal of interest in this debate so can I please ask people when they do that make their contributions to make it short please so as many people can get in Julian Smith thank you Mr Deputy speaker I welcome the debate and uh the vote today and the Windsor framework has my full support I also welcome the fact that the labor party lib Dem party and almost the s p I think are supporting the government and the conservative party today those of us who have followed this issue closely probably never expected to be here debating a renegotiation of the treaty uh itself and it's Testament to the prime minister's determination that of the Secretary of State the foreign secretary and others that this focus and through this Focus they've been able to achieve that um as someone also who's been slightly traumatized by brexit votes over the years um I'm also delighted that this is the end chapter um and notwithstanding further improvements and changes I think this chapter is one we're probably all delighted to be ending [Laughter] standing only ones actually said may I suggest that still this remains unfinished business as regards our leading the European Union some people have never finished Mr deputies some things never change uh but I I paid tribute to my rightful friend for his focus and continued monomaniacal focus on this issue I want to also acknowledge the work done by honorable members in Northern Ireland although we'll be in different division lobbies today I believe the right honorable member for Lagoon Valley spoke powerfully about the Democratic deficit and the need for cross community safeguards which are now at the heart of the storm won't break as one of Michelle banu's top advisors said that the secretary of state has just told us there has actually been a big victory for the Democratic unionist Party The Honorable member for upper Barn worked um harder than anybody else to finally fix the issue of seed potatoes for her farming constituents and The Honorable members for North down foil and South Belfast have all engaged closely with businesses Northern Ireland Enterprises to find practical Solutions I believe that the huge progress has been achieved and we now need to maximize the potential for Northern Ireland to become one of the most attractive places in to invest in in the UK I want to finish briefly by talking about the union the greater strength we have in securing Northern Ireland's place in the union is the majority of people in Northern Ireland who support it we must cherish nurture and expand that support and consent at every opportunity yeah recent polling has shown there is huge support across Northern Ireland above 70 for the Windsor framework and for solving this issue and particularly cross-community support for the access it provides to both the UK and EU markets I believe if we can Bank the winds in this deal and secure over time stable power sharing then we can look forward to decades and Decades of overwhelming support for Northern Ireland remaining an integral part of the United Kingdom and that was a three-minute contribution from a former secretary of state so I'm sure if we can all follow that we'll get a lot of people in Richard Thompson thank you Mr Deputy speaker perhaps I should begin by addressing the remarks made just there by the right honorable member for Skipton and ripping when he said that he thought the SNP was almost uh ready to support him uh support this I can say to him he's almost right because we will in fact be uh supporting uh this uh this agreement we welcome it and we will be voting in favor uh this this evening uh certainly the the mechanism has set out in the SI provides what looks at first glance like a a reasonably effective uh means of scrutiny withinstormant although I do have to say that in terms of its function as a break it's uh perhaps questionable whether or not that break Weaver is actually connected to anything and only time will tell so in terms of the good aspects we welcome that uh long last the UK government has engaged constructively over a prolonged period with EU Partners to come to an agreement which improves the the protocol we welcome that the protocol bill has been left abandoned as always should have been aware in the prospect of a catastrophic series of tit-for-tat trade reactions over the protocol which would have been disastrous but all parts of the UK and the task now is for ministers to start repairing some of the damage that's been caused in the intervening period now from our perspective in Scotland this uh well it certainly restores access for Scottish producers to the northern Irish Market it still leaves us deprived of equivalent access to the European single market so in that respect uh it's not my natural disposition to be a party pooper in any way as I'm sure the house would agree but this only serves to make an already poor situation slightly less bad and there are a number of questions that still need to be asked about how the UK government will continue to try and improve trade conditions for other devolved nations in the UK whether the government can provide Clarity over the how the port of care and Ryan will operate and what infrastructure is did with our cows and sheep being transported between Northern Ireland and Scotland can qualify for the Green Lane and how the UK government is in more broad terms going to tackle the food security crisis that affects us all now occasionally in politics you'll get uh you're you're blessed with a rare flasher Candor we had one in the budget speech last week when the chancellor said to Greater claim from these benches that Independence is always better than dependence but we also had it from the the Prime Minister when he went across to Northern Ireland to excel as he saw the benefits of the steel now I don't know if the Prime Minister thought that uh just because he was seeing it in Northern Ireland that uh nobody would be able to hear what it was over on Great Britain and particularly in Scotland when he had to say but hey I described Northern Ireland under this uh this framework as would be the the world's most exciting economic zone because of access to both GB and EU markets he also went on to say that this very special position made Northern Ireland an incredibly attractive place to invest in fact it was no less than the world's most exciting economic zone and just to make sure that he doesn't feel left out the right honorable member for High Wycombe also said that what an extraordinary opportunity for Northern Ireland dual access to both markets well of course this very special position is precisely part of the entirety of the UK had prior to brexit now I certainly Mr Deputy speaker do not Grudge one iota that lose benefits for Northern Ireland I just wonder why members opposite whatever view they take on this have been so utterly determined to deprive those benefits to the rest of us William cash give us Deputy speaker uh Mr Speaker Mr Deputy speaking I believe in the real Union of the United Kingdom and the sovereignty of its Parliament here at Westminster article one and two of the protocol clearly State the principle of consent for Westminster and then territorial Integrity of the United Kingdom is fundamental consent and veto are different things we have left the EU and we have passed section 38 the guarantee of the sovereignty of the United Kingdom Parliament and yet all laws passed before we left in relation to the single Market still apply to and subjugate the people of Northern Ireland to the EU but not to the rest of the UK there is no such thing as Northern Ireland sovereignty there is only constitutional Westminster sovereignty and I'm afraid I do not recognize the expression practical sovereignty used by the Secretary of State in this debate and the letter he wrote to the joint committee chairman on Saturday instruments of the 20th of March why should two million Northern Ireland citizens and voters for Westminster be treated differently from say the two million people from Birmingham Liverpool or Manchester of course um I think the old magenta is making it happen speech and obviously he's a subject matter expert and I know he has passionate views on this um but listening to him the the phrase that comes to mind it's a German one I'm afraid it's pathological reality takes vibrant it needs a pathological denial of reality the the simple fact is that live reality in Birmingham Manchester is entirely different we aren't against another National border we don't need to have some form of alignment with um with a neighbor but the freedom to goods and services there's not a situation where they're for example a single I think it's only a single milk processing plant on the island of Ireland though there has to be some sort of practical uh recognition of the difficulties in the live reality well unfortunately the heading of the statue instrument was discovered we're discussing in this motion today says constitutional law and I'm very sorry I have to say that what the honorable gentleman said and it's some references to pathological something rather I'm afraid makes absolutely no sense in relation to constitutional law which is that we in this country operate a rule of law and a constitutional law which confers the sovereignty of of to Westminster Parliament which includes the people of Birmingham Manchester Liverpool and Northern Ireland and should do so equally yeah so since brexit Mr Deputy speaker over 640 laws which we see each week in the European scrutiny committee which I chair have been passed already for Northern Ireland by the EU Council of ministers behind closed doors in Brussels by majority vote without even a transcript can we imagine laws being passed in this country in Westminster without Hansard without a transcript and by majority of eight it's unthinkable of course I can great very grateful uh for the honorable member for giving away of course I think if memory serves me right he did vote for the protocol that didn't have a storm and break and had far more checks and that could explain why he's voting against this well very simply because we agreed that we were going to bring in the Northern Ireland protocol bill I'll come on to that in a minute that is the difference that's what would have dealt with the situation so we in we we in the rest of the UK have left the EU and have done have been subjected to our own laws not those of the EU for the past as they were in the for the last 50 years this as I've said to the right honorable gentleman it remains unfinished business pre-brexit single Market legislation continues in Northern Ireland the Northern Ireland protocol bill dealt with the unacceptable imposition of EU laws but this bill is now being disposed of to my very grave concern although it was passed in this house by a majority of 72 on third reading and most of them are going to say are vulnerable members who are here today on our side of the house anyway voted for it The Windsor framework does not effectively disappoint EU law as such in for example the Customs regime because this Falls within the legal competence of the EU relation to Goods indeed if the UK purports to use its so-called veto in relation to this question of the Stormont break the EU will be able to get around this sooner or later in respect to the green Lanes a main vote for territory measures I'm afraid I'm not impressed by the expression exceptional circumstances words mean what you choose them to mean said Humpty Dumpty the question is who is to remastered that is all and I believe firmly that would be the European Union in fact one of my sadnesses about this whole business here today is that there really was a need for proper time to discuss in consultation with the government alternative legal arguments there are papers that have been produced in the last 48 hours and over the last few weeks there are blogs there are commentaries by distinguished lawyers which quite clearly demonstrates that the arguments that are presented by the government are not those which are agreed by other eminent lawyers and this point of law as well appoint as well as a point of fact and as to the question of democratic consent and the inadequacy of the storm won't break I'm sure that this will be addressed by the dup members today this is as important to all of us as the main principle of the Union the procedures have been rushed and I simply cannot accept that it is right for a statutory instrument to approved in this house today when there is not yet a legal decision in the withdrawal agreement joint committee until Friday so we're here furthermore I now hear that the House of Lords itself which is part of the joint committee is not going to consider the statue instrument until Wednesday the 29th of March which is after the withdrawal agreement joint committee sits so the government in seeking approval of this stature instrument today is not doing it in synchronization with the House of Lords and I find this manifestly unsatisfactory I am deeply concerned too that these procedures are not following the criteria of standing order 151 of the joint committee on statutory instruments and I do think that the chairman if I may say with great respects that the chairman of the joint committee on Saturday instruments who is a member of this house for Mortal should really be here today to explain their position I was surprised to see a letter from the Secretary of State to the chairman of that joint committee on statutory instruments dated 20th of March in which the Secretary of State in which I certainly will I'd like to thank him for giving ways one of the few members of this house was born and raised in Northern Ireland can I make it very clear that this is not about his correspondence but about the future of the people of Northern Ireland the vast majority of whom support the Windsor framework the business Community Support the ruins of framework they believe that this is a much better deal negotiated by the Prime Minister than they ever thought possible the people of Northern Ireland and indeed the people of the UK need to move on and focus on more important things thank you I mean it's not and this is really very time limited the debate has to finish at 21 minutes past two I'm just about to conclude by saying that this is about the rule of law and it's about constitutional law as well as the very fair points that The Honorable lady has just made I don't doubt the importance to the stability of Northern Ireland I have taken a great interest in these matters for many many years but I will insist that the Constitutional position is not reflected by the arrangements in this Windsor agreement and I would simply make this as a final point the proof of the pudding as the deputy speaker will be in the eating so Jeffy Donaldson yeah thank you Mr Deputy speaker and I will try to be brief but you will appreciate that there is a lot we would like to say today in very limited time and these regulations which we are debating today uh known to many as the storm and break but they do touch on many very important legal and political matters and can I at the outset thank the Prime Minister the Secretary of State and others for their continued engagement with my party for the efforts that they have made although at this stage we may differ on our views in relation to the Windsor framework I'm not here to question the motivation of ministers in seeking to make improvements but they must and I hope will continue to work with us and others to get the further improvements that we need to enable the restoration of the world government in Northern Ireland and to be clear Mr Deputy speaker I want to see the restoration of devolved government in Northern Ireland my party is a party of devolution we believe that delivering Effective Government for our people is the best way forward working alongside this house and this Parliament and that is where we want to get to but we've got to get it right and I Echo the comments of The Honorable member for stone about the rush to bring this statutory instrument forward I have written to the Joint Committee and statutory instruments expressing my concern that we haven't had adequate time for scrutiny of this statutory instrument but today the government has indicated that we're not just dealing with the S.I before us but this today is also an indicative vote on The Windsor framework itself and therefore it's important that in my comments I reflect not just on what the storm and break does but where it fits in to that wider Windsor framework fundamentally for us Mr Deputy speaker the problem with the Northern Ireland protocol is the continued application of EU law in Northern Ireland in circumstances where it covers all manufacturing of goods in Northern Ireland irregardless of whether those goods are being sold in the United Kingdom or sold to the European Union and I repeat the statistics that I quoted earlier at Northern Ireland questions of all goods manufactured in Northern Ireland the vast majority of them some 65 billion pounds worth of goods out of 77 billion manufactured are sold in the United Kingdom and therefore the solution must be proportionate to the difficulty and the difficulty is the eu's desire to protect its single market and to maintain an open border on the island of Ireland but the price for that Mr Deputy speaker cannot be that Northern Ireland businesses at manufacturing goods for sale in the United Kingdom are inhibited in many ways from Trading within their own market and so I say to the Secretary of State that in relation to the Windsor framework while it's undoubtedly improvements have been made we have not yet fully addressed this fundamental problem which is the continued application of EU law for the manufacturing of all Goods in Northern Ireland and we believe the real solution here is similar to that which was proposed in the Northern Ireland protocol bill which is that where goods are being sold in the United Kingdom staying in the United Kingdom United Kingdom law and standards apply and where goods are being manufactured by Northern armed businesses for sale in the Republic of Ireland or any other EU member State EU rules apply and thus the solution we're looking for and the Windsor framework does not deliver that solution I will give way to to thank my brother my friend for giving away uh would he agree that on the point he's made or any other improvements or changes that needs to be made the best way to influence now is for Stormont to return and for Stormont to be the center of what I'm sure will be ongoing uh improves and iterations in this area well I I I thank the right honorable uh gentleman the former Secretary of State for his continued interest in Northern Ireland and I say to him simply this that my ministers in the Democratic unionist party sat in Stormont for over a year after the protocol was implemented and we plead it with the government as the right honorable member the the opposition spokesperson reminded the house today we plead it with the government to intervene to do something to help us with the difficulties that the protocol was creating and the government did not act and I had to take action and it was our action that brought the EU back to the table and yes we have made progress as a result of that but more is needed what is the more that is needed it is to deliver the pledge given by the government in the new decade new approach agreement to protect North Alliance place within the internal Market of the United Kingdom and whilst The Windsor framework goes some way to doing that in relation to the movement of goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland it does not deal for example with the real potential for Divergence between laws that apply in Northern Ireland EU laws and laws that apply in Great Britain UK laws where the UK decides to change change regulations that were formerly EU regulations and there is a bill before this house that will Fast Track and significantly broaden the number of UK laws that are going to be changed and where EU laws disapplied and that creates the potential for Divergence between Northern Ireland and Great Britain it harms our ability to trade with Great Britain it harms the Integrity of the internal Market of the United Kingdom and The Windsor framework doesn't address that problem and we need it addressed so I say to the right honorable member I want to see storm it up and running but we need the government to deliver the commitment it made when he was the Secretary of State to protect our place in the internal Market of the United Kingdom I give way very grateful and what do you also agree that because the EU will have powers over things like vat and state AIDS in Northern Ireland it will also have powers on a drag through basis over the whole United Kingdom and doesn't the whole United Kingdom need a veto well I agree with the right honorable gentleman and I say that that is why we need a solution that enables the United Kingdom government on this Parliament to regulate the entirety of the United Kingdom internal Market that is the solution I'm I am not saying that we're Northern armed businesses trade with the EU EU standards and rules should not apply I'm saying we can allow for that but what I am not accepting is a situation where every business in my constituency must comply with EU rules even if they don't sell a single widget to the European Union and that is wrong because it harms our place in the internal Market of the United Kingdom the storm would break seeks to address the Democratic deficit that I have mentioned and to an extent it provides a role for Stormwind to pull that break when changes to EU law are occurring but note it does not give us any ability to deal with existing EU law that impacts on all manufacturing in Northern Ireland laws that have been applied without our consent and therefore to that extent the break cannot apply it applies to amendments or to EU law or changes new EU laws that are introduced and I also note Mr Deputy speaker that in the proposed Arrangements it is available to the EU to take retaliatory action in the event that the UK government applies a veto to a new EU law now this is a matter of concern to us in Northern Ireland because retaliatory action could bring could come in a number of forms and could include the suspension of Arrangements in the Green Lane which would impact our ability to bring goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland so we need to be clear that it is wrong for the EU to be able to intervene at that level in the free flow of goods from one part of the United Kingdom to the other and so I highlight that issue as a real matter of concern to us we take this intervention so Jeffrey there is now nine minutes and also when you resume your seat I'm introducing a three minute time limit to get as many people in so please be recognizant of that I'm very grateful Mr Deputy speaker my right honorable friend we'll know of the exchange the Secretary of State and I had yesterday at the European scrutiny committee and the invitation given to him to indicate that an article 18 of the storm and break exceptional circumstances old would preclude a material consideration being the EU retaliatory action that he has so referred the secretary of state was quick yesterday to agree with the interpretation can I ask through my red honorable friend to the Secretary of State at least will consider reaffirming the commitment that he was given yesterday it features in article 14 it does not feature article 16 but just to be clear retaliate reaction would not allow the the threat of a child traction would not allow a secretary of state to consider that as an exceptional circumstances when exercising a veto well I think that that my honorable friend for that intervention uh and I welcomed what the Secretary of State said yesterday uh that we must not allow the threat of EU retaliatory action to influence ministers in exercising their powers under the storm and break I also welcome the clear commitment that the Prime Minister gave to me recently that the application of this uh Power the Storm at break is entirely a matter for the United Kingdom it is a strong one issue under the terms of the Belfast agreement and that does not involve a rule for the Irish government in relation to these matters and that's a very important principle for us Mr Deputy speaker the Prime Minister has also indicated to uh to me that in this process the the wishes of storm will be respected but it I have made clear that in exercising the storm would break we are we are simply applying um in in our terms uh the the possibility the the potential of a veto by the United Kingdom government on one aspect of EU law this does not deal with all of the problem and that's the difficulty that we have the continued application of EU law in Northern Ireland is what creates the problem for us in our ability to trade within the internal Market of the United Kingdom as I come to a conclusion Mr Deputy speaker um I think it is important uh that the the government of the United Kingdom takes stock of where we are now I understand that the uh the foreign secretary is going to the Joint Committee of the the UK EU joint committee on Friday to sign off on the Windsor framework and the indicative vote taken today in this house will be used as justification for doing so what can I say to the Secretary of State surely our shared objective here as was esposed by the former Secretary of State earlier is to see the political institutions in Northern Ireland restore and therefore we need to continue engaging with the government to get this right my party is committed to doing that we are committed to continue working with the Secretary of State working with the Prime Minister and that has to be about delivering on the commitment given to protect Northern Ireland's place within the internal Market of the United Kingdom that where EU law is applied to facilitate cross-border trade that it does not impede our ability to trade with the rest of our own country within the internal Market of our own country that is the bottom line for us and until that is resolved I can't commit to the government that we will restore the political institutions it's what I want to do but we need to get this right I want Stormont restored on a sustainable basis on a stable basis where there is cross community consent and consensus that does not exist at the moment and therefore we need to see that command consensus restored Mr Deputy speaker for our part we will continue to work intensively to solve these issues doing so in the knowledge that what has already been achieved has been because we were not prepared to accept the undermining of Northern Ireland's place within the union of the United Kingdom the economic Union of the United Kingdom that's what we stand for that's what we will fight for we want to get it right we will work with the government to do that three-minute limit Karen Bradley very much Mr Deputy speaker now my original befriend the secretary of state will know that I rarely rise to speak in debates that he leads not because I disagree with what he's doing but I think it's important that predecessors do not comment too often on their successes work I know how hard the job of Secretary of State of Northern Ireland is but I Rise to stand today because I support wholeheartedly what he has achieved together with the Prime Minister and I want to see this structure instrument go through with an overwhelming majority of this house today two weeks ago the British Irish parliamentary assembly which I co-chair met in Belfast to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Belfast Good Friday agreement we met in the currently empty assembly chamber of stormland we met with representatives from legislatures across the islands that make up the British Isles and we reflected on the leadership that had been required in order to deliver that deal 25 years ago leadership that didn't take just a few weeks leadership that took years and years people making sacrifices going above and beyond and being prepared to recognize that no deal is perfect but the combination of getting to the result of that Belfast Good Friday agreement for the people of Northern Ireland and the people across these islands was so significant that that sacrifice was worth making of course I gave away I'm very grateful apply right honorable friend does she also agree that another great virtue of this agreement which is much to be commended is it enables us to resolve those issues in a way which does not need into breach of any of our international law obligations as would have been the case have we proceeded with the northern line and protocol bill that has got to be a win for the UK's reputation as well as for the people of Northern Ireland I agree heartedly with my honorable friend he speaks with great wisdom as he always does um one of the things that was clear to me when I was Secretary of State for Northern Ireland uh and the job that he now does is that leaving the European Union without a deal would have been devastating for Northern Ireland it would have been devastating economically and it would have been devastating for Community cohesion and that was why I wanted to find a way when I was in the role and then subsequently to make sure that there was a deal that we could all get behind now we had a deal that saw the whole of the United Kingdom leave the EU together in a in in exactly the same way that deal wasn't exceptional it wasn't acceptable to that side of the house and it wasn't acceptable to many of my honorable and right-honorable friends I recognize that I acknowledge why that was the case they felt it would have meant to have been too close to the European Union and I fully respect that we then had a deal presented to us by the former prime minister the right honorable member for Uxbridge and South ruislip now there were many many faults with that deal but I really believed prime minister when he said that he wanted me to vote for that deal that it was imported for the people of Northern Ireland and I was prepared to do that even though I knew that there would result in checks on Goods on the IRSC even though that was clear from that uh from that agreement but I was prepared to do that because it's so important and my prime minister asked me to vote for it now we must remember that when the Belfast Good Friday agreement was drawn up and the Northern Ireland agreement Act was enacted we and the United Kingdom and north and Ireland were both members of the EU so that meant many of the issues did not have to be codified we didn't have to set out what happened to Goods traveling we didn't have to set out rights because those rights came from our joy but both of us having membership of the EU leaving the EU means that some of these issues now need to be codified they can only be done through negotiation they can only be done by there being accommodation made on both sides what the Prime Minister has come back with with the Windsor framework shows enormous uh accommodation actually from the EU side the storm of break is an absolutely extraordinary thing for the EU to agree to and people around the world are looking at the what we have achieved and congratulating the right our right of a friend the Prime Minister for what he has achieved so I say to this house what is the alternative to the Windsor framework what is it we think we're going to get there is nothing better on the table this is a significant move forward and I urge my vulnerable and right honorable friends to vote for it Hillary Ben very much indeed Mr Deputy speaker I must confess that when I read the Windsor framework I was surprised and pleasantly surprised because as the Secretary of State told the house earlier there are things in there I didn't think the negotiation would manage to achieve and it to the great credit of the negotiators I would also say it is to the great credit of the dup that they have achieved so much in this agreement and the EU has had to move a long way and I think it is a very sensible proposal because leaving the European Union always confronted us with a choice about what to do about the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic apart from those who say well that's not my problem leave it to the EU everybody knew that some arrangement had to be put in place the result was the protocol it didn't work the Windsor framework I think provides a way forward and the storm won't break in particular answers the point that I've heard members of the dup make in this house about future EU legislation because the break is available the second point I want to make is to respond very directly to the point the right honorable gentleman for Lagoon Valley made about existing EU law that continues to apply in the European Union many of that many of those bits of legislation have applied in the European Union in Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom for years for years have they impacted on the ability of Northern Ireland businesses to trade with the rest of the United Kingdom no they have not and they apply in Great Britain because of EU retained law now the government has a choice when it decides which of those bits of retained law it wants to dispose of or change through the EU retained law Bill to what extent it wants to create Divergence I suspect that by the time we get to the end of this year many of those pieces of legislation will still be applying in Great Britain because Divergence creates problems it's the point that the former prime minister who is in her place made in one of her speeches shortly after the referendum she said Divergence results in us having to make a choice and the final point I want to make is that it is very striking that businesses will take decisions for themselves there was a recent example that EU decided to reduce the amount of permitted arsenic in baby foods now what did manufacturers in Britain do in response it didn't wait for the government to say well we might or might not follow suit they said henceforth we will of course produce baby foods matching the EU standard because they want to continue to be able to sell their products and ultimately businesses will decide the standard that works for them this is a very sensible measure I congratulate the negotiators and I really hope the house is going to vote for it Sir Jeffrey Cox thank you Mr Speaker I think we must avoid the danger of hyperbole and I hope I don't disappoint my honorable friends on the front bench by saying that I do not think we can characterize this as the last word that will ever be spoken on this subject but it does represent material and real progress and if I had seen three years ago if my right honorable friend and I had seen in 2019 a similar flexibility on behalf of the European Union history might have turned out rather differently my right honorable friend the Prime Minister has achieved considerable things with this agreement no it is not the last word yes it is true that to any of those who prize the constitutional principles my honorable friend for stone has spoken of it will always leave a lasting sense of dissatisfaction that there are certain rules that apply in Northern Ireland that do not apply on the mainland of Great Britain but Northern Ireland is a special case it was already recognized to be a special case when the Good Friday agreement was introduced and when even then by the British Irish agreement the full and absolute sovereignty of the United Kingdom government was Abridged by the arrangements that were put in place then in 1997. for those of us who are unionists there will always be an aspiration to an ever increasing proximity between us but the stage we have now reached is the disagreement represents a significant and major achievement by this government it requires compels commands the ascent of every member on this side of the house I fully believe for it is a serious and significant Improvement on the protocol as it was agreed in 2019 and why would we not at least agree to an improvement even if we say at the same time it is not the last and final word and so looking back through the last few years with a degree of regret Nostalgia even for those times perhaps I commend most strongly I commend most strongly to this house urgently to this house the virtues and merits of this important and real staging post on the pathway ultimately to what I hope will be a final settlement yeah Columbus one thank you very much Mr Speaker in a very brief moment of time that I have I'll make a number of short points look we don't like the storm and break for a number of reasons I would never have agreed the storm and break I think it damages uh includes the investor proposition it is no specific role for the human rights or equality commissions the break can be pulled before the committee can even finish its work on scrutiny and most importantly I think it's a very bad idea given the number of years I spent them storming to give the dup a veto over anything I want to say something as well Mr Speaker but some of the people in this house who will go in and vote against this today former Prime Ministers members of the ERG all of whom supported the protocol that had no storm and break in it that far more checks for businesses in it they're more interested in internal Tory politics than they are in the wishes and interests of the people in Northern Ireland and I would urge the dup to learn the lesson of the past few years the people you can trust the people who want to work with you are sitting right here they're not over there on the back benches of the Tories Mr Speaker I Thank The Honorable member for giving way I just want to say two things the people that we trust are the people who elected us to stand for them secondly The veto that was given to the dup was given to the dup by the people of Northern Ireland as The Honorable member will well know who voted in a referendum for the Belfast agreement and that includes that includes a veto for unionists and therefore when he decries that he's decrying the agreement that his party supportive of course the agreement that the right on remember doesn't support but the reality is we will vote for this because it has been made very clear that this is a vote on the whole framework and we've been through many a negotiation in the past we know we understand when the negotiation is done and the decision has to be made and in every single negotiation and every single agreement there has been there have been parts of those agreements that we haven't lagged but we've had the stomach at for the good the greater good of the people of Northern and we see the unionist concerns we see many of them most of them addressed in this agreement and we are prepared to make the decision on that basis and but let me make this very clear to this house if the dup still refuse to go into Government after all of this more and more people I can guarantee you will figure out that the best way to make the north of Ireland work is within a new Ireland that is where this is going and people should be very aware of that the right honorable member for Lagan Valley the SEC I just did it myself we're all in the United States last week we know the President Biden has appointed Joe Kennedy as an economic Envoy to try to pick full advantage full advantage of dual Market access we met investors we met senior members of the U.S Administration who want to help us bring jobs to places like Derry that have been left behind over many years this is a huge opportunity it is it is facing us it is right in our face Jewel Market access to people around this house what somebody said earlier give their left arm to have for their own constituents why why Always despite some concerns even that I have within all of that why would you give that up the most important thing to remember though Mr Speaker it's done it's over the negotiation is finished the British government the European Union are moving forward they're moving on they're dealing with other issues it's time now to deal with the crisis in our Health Service which is at the point of collapse the deal with the economic stagnation to get into storm to do the work on behalf of the people and to come back together again and work the Common Ground there is no other alternative thank you Mr Speaker I am a passionate brexiteer and I still think our future outside of the European Union is the best possible thing for the United Kingdom but above all else I'm a passionate unionist and it really does pain me like my right honorable friend the member for Skipton and Ripon to see that here we are again having these same discussions that we had in the hung parliament of 2017-19 but for so many of us now we do believe the deal that's been struck by the prime minister with support from the front bench from other passionate brexiteers this is the best possible deal and at any time over the last seven years if we've been offered this deal as a United Kingdom as the way forward we would have bitten their arms off and it seems to me Mr Speaker the greatest pity that the dup honorable members and right honorable members opposite are not going to support this deal today it seems to me that this is a superb deal for people who live in Northern Ireland and whilst I fully respect the views and the knowledge of my honorable friend the member for stone I do think that the Constitutional issue has to be taken as slightly only very slightly different to the issue that faces us today today we're looking at a deal that really will work so much better for the people of Northern Ireland and for our Union and as my right honorable friend the member for West origin Devon says this will not be in all likelihood the last we hear on this subject but let's not make the perfect the enemy of the good let's move forward as one United Kingdom and vote for this S.I speaker let's be clear what we're given to be here today we're debating a lock or a break which isn't necessary because the government has allowed the EU to impose its law on part of the United Kingdom and the result of that is that we now have a border between one part of the United Kingdom and the other part of the United Kingdom a border which is going to be reinforced very shortly by the building of physical posts which will be used to monitor trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland where Goods which are going into Northern Ireland purely for the consumption of Northern Ireland will be checked 100 Customs checks and one in 20 physical checks and that can be varied of course by the EU and what's the answer government's answer to it well unionists can can have make a protest about it they can sign up and take some concern by the way a petition's concern which if there's anything will destabilize the Northern Ireland assembly it's a constant use of the position of concern and the members behind me will confirm that so first of all there's a limit on what can be done and secondly despite what the secretary of state has said that he would be buying too in fact he would have no option to the other listen to the particular concern from unions their whole sex in this bill which tells us groans on which he can refuse to do it and even when he does evenly if he does accept it he then has to go to the Joint Committee and he has to exercise a veto a veto which he knows will lead to material um impacts for the United Kingdom and that we can be absolutely sure if it's a choice between you disrupting relations with the EU ironically this Windsor framework is presented on the basis that is to normalize relations with the EU if that's the case How likely is it that we're going to have pick a fight with them over the implementation of some EU law in Northern Ireland the truth is this is not a storm break it's a storm and fake it should be rejected by this house it doesn't protect the union it doesn't protect the Democracy in Northern Ireland and it will not get the assembly back and running again in two seconds John Redwood the government should not put this to a vote now this will not work it cannot work as a break because storm up will not meet meat because of it and it gives amazing powers to the European Union order the question is As on the order paper as many of that opinions say I of the country no clear the lobby the question is the moisture related to the division as many of that opinions say aye aye the country no no oh tell us for the eyes Andrew Stevenson and Steve double for the nose in Paisley and Paul girvin [Music] thank you foreign oh my God [Music] thank you foreign thank you foreign foreign thank you foreign [Music] thank you foreign [Music] thank you today [Music] thank you um thank you foreign talk about this Museum okay thank you very much thank you foreign thank you [Music] order the eyes to the right 515 the nose to the left 29. [Music] thank you thanks a lot eyes to the right 515 the nose to let 29. the eyes of it the eyes of it elope sorry thank you all right nudge order order consideration of the Lord's message we will begin with the government motion to disagree with the Lord's Amendment 6B 6C 6D 6E and 6f and I call the minister to move the motion to disagree Crystal thank you Mr Deputy speaker the public order bill is about giving the police the tools they need to tackle the highly disruptive protest tactics we have seen in recent months which have blocked ambulances delayed passengers for making important Journeys stop children getting to school and prevented patience from receiving critical Medical Care we've seen our Capital City London being held to Ransom it cannot be right that a selfish minority committed to causing as much disruption as possible continue to get away with it these actions are not only impacting the public but are diverting the police away from the communities they serve I think in November last year alone October and November something like uh 10 000 hours of Metropolitan Police uh time were taken up and that is why this bill is so important Mr Speaker we've had some back and forth with the other place but there is only now one remaining issue to resolve between us and that is concerning the power to stop and search without suspicion which has been extended through this bill to enable the police to search for and seize articles related to protest activities and it is worth saying um that this power before it can be exercised requires a police officer of the rank of Inspector or above to have a reasonable belief that a number of offenses are may be committed in the area concerned it further requires that officer to believe that um the conditions being imposed the authority to carry out these searches are necessary to prevent the commission of offenses and moreover the power only lasts for 48 sorry 24 hours capable of extension for another 24 at the most so it's a power only to be used where it is reasonably suspected an offense may be committed only where it is believed to be necessary and only for a Time limited period so those are quite important restrictions on the way this power can be used stop and search is a vital tool that's used to crack down on crime and protect communities and we see it as appropriate in the face of large um fast-paced environments where it can be difficult for the police to reach the level of Suspicion required for a suspicion I'd stop and search for them to have this power available as well yes of course that way and I'm old enough uh Mr David speaker to uh remember when the policeman used his initiative is intuition uh to suspect that a crime has been uh was it probable or could be caused or had been caused does the minister feel that this legislation need to referring to ensures that the policeman still can use it and they sort of to ensure that those who are kind of crimes can be detained with the suspicion of course rather than without evidence well who my honorable friend makes a very the member for strangford makes a very good point uh police often will suspect crimes may be committed uh but in the exam but in a particular case of an individual may not reach the individual uh suspicion level and it's in those circumstances these rules will apply so I do completely agree with the point my normal friend uh made just a moment ago I do also want to be clear with members yes of course be good confirm as an illustration that the police may use this power for example if a demonstration is is about to take place by a group who use a particular tactic so for example gluing themselves to the road to intercept individuals with glue in their pockets before they then go and do what is then a an activity or a by gluing themselves occupies enormous amounts of police time puts themselves often in in danger and put police officers in danger and causes enormous inconvenience that in those circumstances the police will be able to use this power to get ahead of the problem I think the way my one of my friend puts it is is very good it is exactly circumstances where the police are concerned that a crime one of the specified crimes may be committed that they can use this power those crimes are specified in subsection one of the relevant uh clause and they include offenses under section 137 of the highways act that's obstructing the highway a willfully obstruction of the highway I should say um section 78 of the uh the relatively new pcsc act which is um recklessly or intentionally causing a public nuisance and various offenses under under just one moment under this bill um which include causing serious disruption by tunneling being present in a tunnel obstructing major transport works and interfering with critical National infrastructure as well as locking on which I think is the point my runnable friend was making yes of course the giveaway the last time we had this debate but he mentioned that the crime of nuisance and the threshold for that is incredibly low so you could have an inspector uh concerned that there's a chance that somebody would Commit This offense by being seriously annoying or inconveniencing somebody and then you let loose especially stop in search of hundreds potentially thousands of people for no further reason than that that's our ludicrously low threshold for triggering triggering these search Powers I'm not sure I'm not sure I entirely agree because I think the um intentionally or recklessly causing public nuisance as set out in section 78 of the police crime sentencing courts act 2022 I I don't accept the characterization of that offense as simply a minor one I think causing huge inconvenience to fellow members of the public or other members of the public is not something that I think this house should treat lightly particularly as we've seen examples in recent protests so the ambulance is not getting through we've seen examples of people unable to get their children to school people are unable to get to medical appointments so I'm not sure I do accept that characterization now turning to the Amendments made in The Other Place Mr Deputy speaker um there's a number of um changes proposed in uh Lord's Amendment 6B to 6f inclusive which we're debating this afternoon they firstly propose a higher level of authorization for suspicionless searches and by the way the Lord's the other place are not disputing the principle they're simply seeking to change some of the thresholds one of which is changing the authority uh level in a way that would in fact be inconsistent with the use of section 60 searches in other contexts and furthermore another of the changes relates to the time periods and as the mobile Lord Hogan Howe of course the former commissioner of the Metropolitan Police pointed out the use of the power has to be practical and reducing the time threshold to just 12 hours will limit the ability of police forces to use these powers in a meaningful way and I do think we should take seriously the opinion of that Noble Lord who used to be the commissioner of of the met and secondly the changes proposed in the other place would require that a chief superintendent provide authorization uh for this matter when an inspector is acceptable under the existing section 60 legislation which I think overlooks the urgency and speed at which these protests can unfold and therefore the speed at which decisions need to be made I think it also has the potential to cause confusion um if we have a different level of seniority here by compared by comparison to the well-established section 60 legislation and finally the Amendments proposed in the other place um would set out in statute a requirement for the forces to communicate the geographical extent of an order the government does recognize that communication of any power is important for understanding and transparency I'm aware that most forces do already communicate their section 60 authorizations only seen that happen frequently in Croydon and it's gratefully received when it happens but it is I think important to keep these new powers as close as we can to the existing legislation for consistency but I would like to make it clear that the government does encourage forces to communicate any use of this power in the same way they already do for Section 60 60 order where it is operationally beneficial to do so I do think consistency um does have a lot to be said for it and that is why I would respectfully encourage members of this house and to gently and politely disagree with the Lords at the other place in their amendments 6B to 6f question is that this house disagrees with the Lords in their Amendment 6B 6C 6D 6E and 6f segregates thank you Mr Pepsi speaker um government's tabled a motion to disagree with laws Amendment 6B to 6f to Clause 11. um stop and search is a crucial tool Mr Deputy speaker as we all um agree and its normal usage is based on intelligence around a crime or a potential crime be based on proper suspicion and applied for the right reasons and in our country we use stop and search with suspicion to look for weapons drugs and stolen property under particular circumstances we use suspicionless stop and search section 60 as we call it to search people without suspicion when a weapon has been used or where there is a a good reason to believe there will be a serious violence incident this government is introducing suspicion to stop and search for potential protests and overreach of the law that the police haven't asked for and which pushes the balance of Rights and responsibilities away from the British public yesterday we debated baroness Casey's report into the Metropolitan Police it is in excoriating report that among much else calls for a fundamental reset in how stop and search is used in London I was pleased to hear the Prime Minister accept all the findings and recommendations from the report today the report says racial disparity continues in stop and search in London this has been repeatedly confirmed in reports and research and our review corroborates those findings it's ironic Mr Deputy speaker that the day after this report was published the government is trying to pass laws that risk further damaging the relationship between the police and the public by significantly expanding stop and search Powers Way Beyond sensible limits he says that the the the these measures may damage races with the public well obviously the vast majority of the public feel very strongly about the fact their lives have been severely impacted uh by these protests so giving the police the tools to get ahead of them may in fact command widespread

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Id: 90_slIa-fsc

Length: 195min 0sec (11700 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 22 2023