c-span, where history unfolds daily. in 1979, c-span was created as a public service by america's tape -- cable television companies. today, we continue to bring you unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the supreme court, and public policy events in washington dc and around the country. c-span is brought to you by your cable or satellite provider. british prime minister theresa may held meetings with leaders in belfast, northern ireland over the past week and did not attend question time in the house of commons. standing in for her was david lymington, minister for the cabinet. he does best -- discussed domestic issues. this is 45 minutes. help protect voters and show they voted their own.

>> questions for the prime minister. >> chancellor of lancaster. the right honorable gentlemen, a notable celebrity in this house. >> the right honorable gentlemen. >> my right honorable friend, the prime minister, is in northern ireland outlining the government commitment to the people there and thekingdom, le

those champions, clement and ernie bedding. and in london, home to the first nato headquarters. we will continue to play a key role in nato as it continues its method of keeping 1 billion people safe. >> mister speaker, i consider the unreconstructed marxist, in light of video footage i may well have to change that view. and referendums in ireland. we do not wish to live under european empire of the 21st-century. in the spirit of cross party consensus will my right honorable friend join the leader of the opposition to dispense any prospect of a second eu

referendum in reaffirm we are living on 29 march. >> mister speaker, i can say the government's position is clear. we said to the bridge people in 2016 we would respect their vote as decisive, and to implement the result of the referendum and not suggest the public got it wrong to undermine trust and democracy. >> not only in this house but emily thornberry. >> i'm glad to renew my acquaintance for minister of the cabinet office, or as the new state called them officially the prime minister, will the only occasion these days when the words prime minister and defect are used in the same sentence.

[shouting] >> there are many important issues, they start with a cabinet office, sadly none is more vital or urgent than brexit. i would like to use our time to have a sensible grown-up discussion about what the actual plan is on march 29th. can i ask him this? if the briefing is correct, this is not a fresh meaningful vote on withdrawal agreement next week. if that is right, when will the vote take place? >> i think my right honorable friend the prime minister was clear on the dispatch box last week. she said that the meaningful vote itself would be brought back as soon as possible and if it were not possible to bring the meaningful vote back by the

13th next wednesday, the government would make a statement and would then table a motion for debate the next day. >> i think the minister for the answer and i take that into the briefings we heard that the time for a fresh vote is after the prime minister secured a significant and legally binding change for withdrawal agreement. this house has something genuinely different. minister safely clarify what will happen if we approach march 29th and those significantly legally binding changes have not been achieved. >> the prime minister has been announced by number 10, is going to be in brussels tomorrow where

she will be seeing president younger, president tusk and the president of the european parliament to discuss the changes, the recent votes in this house, to reject the deal on the table and support the amendment, for altering the sale west. i do think the honorable lady does need not just perfectly fairly to question the government but actually to face up to the fact that if both she and i wish to leave the eu in an orderly manner with a deal, it requires this house in favor of a deal and not just declared it doesn't want a no deal scenario. >> the prime minister think if she gets anything different than responses we heard from the eu

in recent days, any encouragement they are willing to reopen with stall agreement, unless the prime minister is willing to reconsider red lines that is based. the sensible, cautious thing to do at this late stage to seek extension of article 50 so we have time to see where negotiations succeed or pursue a different plan. >> the proposition the right honorable lady put forward is she would simply defer the need for this house including the opposition front bench to face up to some difficult decisions. the right honorable lady criticized the approach to my right honorable for the parameter has taken but i have to put it to her that the leader of the opposition last week having met the prime minister,

in front of the cameras and demanded changes to the backstop as part of the approach he wanted to see for the future. the right honorable lady said she would be comfortable with the backstop. does she agree with the leader or is she sticking to her guns. >> it doesn't seem to get any answers. i appreciate his attempt but i hope he will understand the concerns all of us have not just in this house but across the country. and treading water in the niagara river where they are taking us over the falls. >> be quiet. any useful contribution to make other than nodding and shaking his head in appropriate places. it is required and will persist.

>> can we go back to the central issue, there is no way we can avoid the border in ireland after brexit without a full customs union are permanent backstop or new technological solution. can the minister tell us which of those options government is currently working toward? >> the right honorable lady makes a commitment saying labor party wants to see a permanent customs union, but what most people who support customs union say they want is to ensure that businesses can expect to export to the eu without tariffs, quotas, or checks, that is precisely what the prime minister's deal does, but also allows the country to establish

trade agreements with other nations around the world but what part of the deal does the right honorable lady actually objected to? >> if the honorable gentlemen would like me to answer questions i would be happy to hold a seminar for him at another stage, what a proper brexit to look like. may i continue my job and he can continue his and ask some questions. the technological solution is a nonstarter, a permanent backstop will never be acceptable to the ert or du p and the only solution that will actually work is a full customs union. that is what i said in 2016 and that is the answer that is staring the government in the face. it would command a majority in this house. it would avoid the mayhem and chaos of no deal and it would

protect the jobs here and elsewhere which are currently at grave risk. can the minister explain why the prime minister is so dead against it. >> even if we take the right honorable lady's somewhat ill defined description of the customers union, that would not address with respect to northern ireland and ireland in respect to either regulatory standard, or checks for food stops and livestock's. even in her own terms her answer is inadequate. she may go on to say she wants to be part of a single market. the right honorable lady said she would be happy with the same place as norway but that means pre-movements continuing at her

party's manifesto explicitly said free movement would stop them. is the right honorable lady supported norway model, or the manifesto. >> said that i am the minister feels it necessary to ask me questions, i feel it is important to make it clear i ask these questions today, the minister for the cabinet office understands europe, and any of his cabinet colleagues so anyone -- there are no answers. plan a has been resoundingly rejected by parliament. plan b was ruled out by the eu months ago and the government is in danger of sleepwalking the country toward leaving with no plan and no deal at all. with just over 50 days to go,

can i give the minister a final opportunity to tell us whether there is a better plan than this or for goodness sake will they let parliament take charge instead? >> mister speaker, the prime minister will be reporting back to this house following her discussions in brussels and elsewhere? i have to say to the right honorable lady the 2-year deadline, 29 march deadline stems from european law and the wording of article 50 which lays down the two years. the right honorable lady, as i recall, voted in favor of triggering, perhaps, mister speaker, it was one of those votes that was going present and not involved. i have to say to her that if

they are worried about no deal they have to vote for a deal but anytime they vote against the deal the risk of no deal is greater and it is time for the opposition front bench to put the national interest to the right thing and vote for a deal. >> the secretary made a superb visit meeting inspirational staff doing outstanding work for patients but sewage is coming into the operating theater. our infrastructure is failing which will my all right honorable friend get the funding so that is what we really need. >> my right honorable friend, the health secretary is

impressed by what he saw. my right honorable friend, the members, will remain a very odd champion of the renewal of hospital facilities. he knows part of the government's long-term hand, and capital investments for the future. my right honorable friend will be driving his case home with them. >> ian blackburn. >> can i welcome the minister to his place? the kiosk of the uk government brexit negotiations dominated the headlines. this government sneaked through a cut, some couples up to 7000 pounds a year. an estimated 300,000 pensioners

living in poverty than in 20,012. does the minister agree as the government needs to change course, instead of robbing pensioners, start supporting them? >> i think the right honorable gentlemen, where one is over pension and the other is working age. and what the house voted for some years ago is perfectly logical and -- >> mister speaker, support for that, as this government continues to put houses into the pockets of our society. in fact, and the proposal for the way -- this conservative government denying women born in the 1950s equal rights to seek

pension and this government provides the lowest state pension age than any developed country, quite simple. it is a reality. mister speaker, scottish pensioners have been shortchanged by the uk government but the minister must agree pension, poverty in scotland is to -- people in retirement. it was taken by the scottish government and independent scotland. >> the right honorable gentlemen has some nerve here. he knows that it is in the power of the scottish government to

talk up social security benefits. he knows, mister speaker. >> there's a lot of wild just a collation and people looking at me, difficult to hear what is being said. i was trying to listen to the minister but there is too much noise. >> the right honorable gentlemen knows his party voted against the government's budget even though they have been reducing tax upon the lowest paid. he knows the budget set by the scottish parliament last week have led to scott's being more highly taxed than people in any other part of the united states and that, in a year, when the

scottish government, resolve the chancellor's budget decision was increased by 950 million pounds. the s&p has squandered the union dividend. you have an s&p government, scottish people pay more and get less. [shouting] >> this has been a cornerstone of my community for four decades. does my right honorable friend share my dismay about the process of getting 60% of funding wiped out overnight and will he join me in calling on the council to do everything to ensure the survival of my brilliant local citizens advice? >> i certainly understand not

least from my own constituency the valuable service in different parts of the country. my honorable friend knows funding available for the government settlement, these are decisions that are a matter for elected local authorities to take their discretion but i am sure local authority, my honorable friend's concern. >> my constituents, rich, wrote to me saying he is trying -- prescriptions are early. no limits what you can order and keep and no idea how bad this could get. i lie awake at night wondering about this. in the eu, the home secretary and foreign secretary leader of

the house and we need extra time. when will the government allow a delay in article 50? >> concerns about a particular case, they are happy to discuss it with the honorable gentlemen but the more general point about supplies of insulin for contingency planning my right honorable from the health secretary and his the permit of talked about supplies of insulin and other key medicine and treatment to ensure supplies remain available to patients who need them whatever the outcome in the current brexit negotiations. >> health and safety is followed by school but we expect our children to cross dangerous roads to get to school gates. will my right honorable friend consider new minimum crossings, signage and reductions of the limit to ensure children are looked after and don't have to

cross such dangerous roads in the future. >> i understand the concerns not just my honorable friend but many parents have about this issue. a lot depends on the location of an individual's school and circumstances in which the school stands but i am sure a minister from the department of transport would be happy to me meet my honorable friend to discuss it further. >> mister speaker, this week is children's mental health we, massive deterioration in children's mental health, one in 7 children of mental health disorder much linked to rising poverty yet there is a chronic shortage of trained psychiatrists for these children and we rely on the eu for one in 7 psychiatrists and much of the primary research the what is it going to do to avoid a further

deterioration in brexit and would he agree with me that parents who voted to leave didn't vote to leave their children at greater risk of mental disorder and reserve the final say. >> of the honorable gentlemen sought my advice i would have provided it. he would have cut it off 25 words earlier. >> the point about the eu health workers, with the end of freedom of movement we need to put new arrangements in place in the immigration bill before the house provides the framework where more detailed arrangements can be made for the future and i say to the honorable gentlemen the health service in wales has devolved into the matter for the wells government and assembly, nhs england's long-term plan is going to see the largest expansion of mental health

services in a generation. >> listen carefully to the exchange between my right honorable friend and the right honorable lady on the subject of arrangements for brexit and i formed the impression they were trying to find detailed points on which they disagree and of left of them they would take 5 minutes to agree on a proposal which would take us smoothly through march 29th. can i ask on february 14th, we finally have some indicative votes in this house so the sensible majority can express her opinion, we can start proper negotiations based on customs arrangement and regulatory alignment in the transition period and stop being so

dominated by the european research group. >> mister speaker, i would say the last couple weeks, one of the things i'm spending time doing is talking to the right honorable members from all parts of the house about their views on the way forward, the labor party and the right honorable lady wants to see me i would be happy to talk to her. it is a pity that the leader of the opposition waited a fortnight for opening discussions with the government. >> people watching expect mps to work together in the national interest. the prime minister is chasing political fixes, he knows the brexit crisis could be resolved in this house because many members would support a deal that was then put to the public

for their approval. why, mister speaker won't he offer this public final say when he knows that it would break the deadlock? >> the honorable member has been a champion of the second referendum. he knows the concerns that this would lead to an erosion of public trust in the political process and would not settle the question because whoever lost the referendum, i have to say to the honorable member he needs to persuade his own front bench, was deep in both major parties in this house.

>> i just came from speaking at the launch of the uk trade agreement which way is back 300 pages of what the agreement would look like and invites government and businesses to engage. it is inside, could my right honorable friends notwithstanding the exchange recommit himself to our manifesto commitment to be inside the customs union with the eu in the future relationship. >> my right honorable friend made reference to the manifesto in 2017 and i could refer him to many statements by my right honorable friend the prime minister to the same effect. what i would say to him is for the contract negotiations needed for the detail of future economic partnership between ourselves and the european union we need to have implementation

the transition period specified in the withdrawal agreement. that is what businesses are asking us in this house to do an white house to come together and support a deal. >> thank you. will the minister explain why councils like berry with less brownfield land available cannot use the most recent independent figures on household projections to determine local housing need, the most precious greenbelt saved from development. >> there have been new tests of housing need recently introduced and those are designed to reflect the fact that under successive governments of political parties we as a country have been building fewer new homes and our country and our younger generation now need

and i can say to the honorable gentlemen representing one part of the country with the fastest housebuilding rates anywhere in england, this is a social justice challenge we have to face up to but the national planning policy contained very strong tests to protect against inappropriate development in the greenbelt and the government will stand by that approach. >> lucy allen. >> last week it was announced the most conservative and women and children are going to -- i asked the health secretary to coin the decision for review because the needs and health outcomes have not been considered. will my right honorable friend join me in urging the health secretary to recuse the decision and listen to the concerns of

people? >> as i expect my right honorable friends is a strong advocate for the health needs of her local area. she met the secretary of state yesterday and he will be reflecting on the case she put to him. >> minister, what i sent your government is an important avenue that needs to receive them. i received an emails a week and however, i have constituents in my ward, based on measurements, 20 miles away and for these payments for the good people in these cases. >> mister speaker, the

government is committed to ensuring the most vulnerable people get support when they need it most and it is important people keep their homes warm during any cold snaps and cold-weather payments and winter fuel payments and able them to do that. i will insure the relevant minister looks into the constituency that is raised. >> off of my honorable friend in his constituency i want to thank fire rescue and the police for their help in the horrific fire that occurred this weekend i want to thank local schools for the thought be given to children, my right honorable friend join me in condolences for the family and friends involved. >> i don't believe there is any member of this house whose reaction to that ghastly news

yesterday was other than horror and the most deeply felt sense of sympathy with the family and friends of the children and parents involved. any of us thinking through what that family has had to live through, must be almost unendurable. i would hope on behalf of the whole house join my honorable friend paying tribute to the emergency services and for those that were called to the scene this would have been a traumatic experience and pay tribute to local schools, the fire and rescue service will have an investigation into the causes of this tragedy and the outcome of

that before deciding anything further. >> jim mcmahon. >> my friend the honorable member to share the story of the pain she went through. 9 months ago the prime minister committed to establishing a children's funeral fund meaning parents would cover the cost of burying their child but 9 months on 3000 families who bury their children because the government does not put the fund in place. when can we see the form? will the government commit to payments, the data the announcement made. >> mister speaker, as the prime minister said it isn't right grieving parents have to worry about meeting the funeral costs, parents will no longer have to meet the cost of burial or

cremation and fees waived by local authorities and paid for by governments. we've been working as the honorable gentleman acknowledged, the most effective way to deliver the fund because we have to get this right but i take the point about the need to step up the pace and we will provide an update for policy implementation as soon as possible and i will be drawing his comments and the support he has from other members across the house to the attention of ministers concerned. >> derek thomas. >> the start of the link to london and elsewhere, 5 years since the track was cut off but coastal erosion, the application got into create a resilient railway will the right honorable friend show the constituents that adequate funds will be made

available to avoid further delay? >> my honorable friend is right about the critical importance of this stretch of line not just to southaven but southwest in particular, people living in cornwall. the first phase of work to protect the seawall began november of last year with repairs to breakwaters, part of the 50 million pounds weight of investment to make the railway more resilient to extreme weather and top-quality engineers have carried out detailed ground investigations to develop a long-term solution to protect the railway and minimize disruption for passengers. >> last year my constituents talked about 55 pounds per week

and she was diagnosed as having fibromyalgia a severe disability and condition, summoned from the assessment and the government chooses to meet to say she is healthy and stocks benefits, leaving her 2000 votes per year than she was before punishing my constituents, how could the government justify such a thing? >> the honorable gentlemen raised a particular constituency case. i don't know the extent to which he relayed that to the house, that i will ask to talk to him to talk about details in this case in greater depth. >> the house already had

indicative votes that the house didn't like the agreement as it stands and would prefer not to leave without a withdrawal agreement at all in the whole government voted to replace the backstop. what progress are the discussions making which have been led by a remarkable alliance for those promoting what is known as the compromise that would replace the backstop with a perfectly viable scheme to secure an open border in northern ireland under all circumstances? what is holding it up? >> no attempt to hold anything up. the government is very determined that we need to make progress under article 50 and the importance of leaving the eu in an orderly manner with a

withdrawal agreement but the agreement, meeting with my right honorable friend the exit secretary. those talks continue. >> private contractors, in kingston hospital, they won't pay them sick pay after suffering a stroke and coercing people who are sick to come into a hospital risks infecting vulnerable patients and threatened to break off negotiations with the trade union, including contacting mps. will he condemn workers basic democratic rights, and to pay their workers fairly including when they are sick.

>> the point about access to a member of parliament, there is no excuse for any organization or individual to try to stop it constituents from approaching a member of parliament. there have been previous occasions where such attempts have been ruled into a contempt of parliament. on the substantive point, the operation of the contract, the health secretary indicated he is willing to talk through the details of this. >> going to the excellent question from my honorable friend, can i remind the chancellor on 29 january the house past the brady amendment, 317 members were actively

involved, the amendment requires the backstop to be replaced with alternative arrangements to avoid harm to border. is the government voted for it, if not, which bit of replaced was not clear? >> subject to those changes, would be willing to accept, my right honorable friend the prime minister spelled it out yesterday, how she intends to take forward the work following the vote for the amendment in the name of the member.

>> the premise has never been consulted on yet multibillion pounds, multilane highway carved through the landscape and affects millions. there is a consultation later this year but will the minister guarantee there will be a consultation on whether the expressway is the right thing to do? >> mister speaker, the expressway is part of a strategic plan for the oxford cambridge core door, the best opportunity for economic growth, innovation, job creation anywhere in europe. i think the constituency is -- there will be a public

consultation later this year and a public consultation on the preferred route and communities will comment on all aspects of the expressway during those consultations. >> there can be no doubt that the people of venezuela are suffering. 40 were killed in recent protests, many more details and, they are voting with their feet and leaving. what more can we do to help these people? does my right honorable friend agree with me that sanctions are a valuable tool? >> what is happening in venezuela is what we have seen, the suppression of democratic institutions and 3 million people forced to leave their country and live as refugees. we end, our eu partners are clear we have to put pressure on

those around maduro and looking at what further steps in sure decent democracy including possible sanctions. it would be a help if we could speak with the united voice. the leader of the opposition looking to maduro's venezuela as a role model for this country. >> the prime minister is on record saying she does not want a relationship with russia. could he then explain why in the last year the conservative party, 1 million pounds in donations with strong links to the kremlin including the defense minister and the wife of vladimir putin's former financer. >> >> the government

responsibility, i can say to the honorable gentlemen that all donations to the conservative party were declared and accounted for with the electoral commission in accordance with the law. there are people of russian origin who are united kingdom citizens, as entitled to any naturalized united kingdom citizen, to support and donate to the political party of their choice. >> the children online, and track for what happens with brexit? this will be a priority for this government? >> i talked to the council secretary about the need to

press with urgency on this task. we heard the cars for internet regulator and considering these options and set out clear responsibilities and how they should be met and what should happen if they are not. >> rory mccormick met his russian spouse six years ago and obtain a valid eu residence card, and his wife is lawfully resident in the uk under the immigration act of 2014 being refused -- does the deputy prime minister believe it is defensible for a british citizen and his family to be made homeless in his own country because the home office guidance wrongly rules out article 10 cards issued outside the uk as eligibility documents.

>> the honorable gentlemen will appreciate, i'm not only with the details and i wasn't certain the way he posed the question whether the problem is over documentation or whether there was a more substantive problem behind that but the immigration minister will have to talk to the honorable gentlemen and get it sorted out. >> does my honorable friend agree brexit provides the opportunity of introducing a controlled and fair immigration system that does not discriminate against the rest of the world outside the eu. and that system should be the least bureaucratic possible? >> i agree on both those points and it is important to have a system that is fair, makes it better for the brightest and best to work and study here, but

on their skills, they bring to this country, and their commitment to this country. >> the minister will recall my colleagues and i introduce the naming and shaming of companies which fail to pay the minimum wage, this practice has ceased since last summer because civil servants are tied up on brexit. what does this tell us about the newfound enthusiasm for labor rights and when will these lists be published? >> i would have hoped the right honorable gentlemen, continue to take forward and strengthen further the policies on national living wage. we may discuss it with the secretary of state for industry and to say what we could do.

announcer: you can go to c-span.org and find video of past prime minister questions and other british public affairs programs. say that walter b jones has died in greenville, north carolina. he served in the third district and was a member of the armed services committee. his father also served in the house as a democrat who represented north carolina's first district. in january, his staff released a statement saying the congressman was in declining health and was in hospice care. he is survived by his wife and daughter. wasressman walter b jones

76 years old. monday night on the communicators from the state of the net conference in washington, d.c. we will discuss internet regulations and monitoring with rebecca's letter and -- rebecca slaughter. they can say to industry, here are the rules of the road. here is how you have to treat traffic and privacy. and we do not have the ability to do that across the board when it comes to consumer protection issues. we have much more limited role making authority and we have sector specific laws that protects some data some of the time. but data is not housed in sector specific silos anymore. >> people mean so many different

things when they talk about privacy that it is hard to see how congress does anything specific. people have not yet agreed on what the problem is. i think there are a lot of areas where people could agree that these are the types of injuries we are trying to stop customers from suffering. and i think we could get there but for now the conversation is very vague and talks about privacy as a general idea and people mean really given things about privacy. announcer: watch the communicators on c-span2. minnesotalobuchar of of --ces her candidacy for presidency on boom island. this runs about 25 minutes. ♪