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| Politics live blog: MPs debate health bill | |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| 9.50am: In the Guardian today Jill Treanor reports on the latest figures for the number of women on FTSE 100 boards. The government has welcomed the fact that the numbers are going up although, as Jill reports, 11 of those 100 companies still do not have any female directors. | |
| Theresa May (left), the home secretary and minister for women, has taken the "glass half full" approach. This is what she said about the figures. | |
| I'm delighted by this unprecedented progress. While there's still much to be done, today we should celebrate just how far we have come. It is particularly encouraging that this progress has been led by businesses. | |
| At the launch of the report this morning, May said that the figures showed that the government was right to resist imposing quotas. And she claimed that, in the number of women on FTSE 100 boards continued to rise at this rate, Britain would meet the 25% target set by Lord Davies for 2015 when he published a review on this for the government. | |
| As today's reports shows, significant progress can be made through a business-led approach. Yes, it's hard work, and, yes, progress sometimes isn't as quick as we all might like. But, as a woman, I've never wanted to get anywhere because I was part of a quota. I've wanted to get there because I'd worked hard for a job and because I deserved it ... If such strong progress continues, then by 2015 the percentage of women on the boards of our top firms could more than double, outstripping even Lord Davies' ambitious target. | |
| 9.30am: Alan Johnson (left), the former Labour home secretary and health secretary, was on Radio 5 Live this morning, talking about the health bill and phone hacking. PoliticsHome were monitoring. Here are the key points. | |
| • Alan Johnson denied suggestions that the Home Office blocked an independent inquiry into the phone hacking affair in 2009. At the Leveson inquiry yesterday Sir Denis O'Connor, the chief inspector of police, said that the Home Office had "no appetite" for Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) to carry out an investigation. But, when Johnson was asked if he had said at the time that an investigation was unnecessary, he denied it. | |
| That's absolutely wrong and I don't think Denis actually said that and if he did I will take it up with Denis. I asked whether the HMIC could do any independent inquiry in 2009 when the Gordon Taylor story came out. The advice I received is that they were up for it, but there were serious problems with how stretched they were with a number of big inquiries and it was an issue about the capacity they had to take it on. | |
• Johnson said he did not think David Cameron or Andrew Lansley were anti-NHS. | |
| I've never thought that David Cameron is anti-NHS, I've never incidentally thought that Andrew Lansley is anti-NHS. The problem comes in the issue of the reorganisation ... They are introducing a top-down reorganisation and, because everything's been thrown in the air, and incidentally will be up in the air for a long time, this Spaghetti Junction of commissioning groups now, the NHS just can't deal with the real challenges it faces because it's mired in this reorganisation. That's the real problem with this bill. | |
• He said the bill would hinder NHS reform. "I don't oppose this bill because it reforms the NHS," he said. "I oppose this bill because it actually hinders the reform of the NHS." | |
| 9.00am: We've got another day of battle on the health bill. The Independent is splashing on a story headlined "Doctors give up fight with Government over NHS reforms". But Labour are still fighting. There's another report stage debate in the Lords and this afternoon MPs will debate a Labour motion saying the bill should be dropped. | 9.00am: We've got another day of battle on the health bill. The Independent is splashing on a story headlined "Doctors give up fight with Government over NHS reforms". But Labour are still fighting. There's another report stage debate in the Lords and this afternoon MPs will debate a Labour motion saying the bill should be dropped. |
| The Indie story is based on a letter that Clare Gerada, the chair of the Royal College of GPs, has written to David Cameron saying that the RCGP and the government should "find a way through the tensions". Gerada has been touring the broadcasting studios this morning saying that this does not mean that the RCGP is running up the white flag. She's just trying to be practical. | |
The Royal College of GPs are still asking for this flawed bill to be withdrawn. We think this bill will cause irreversible damage to the NHS. But nevertheless, come what may, we're doctors and whatever happens, we have to work with the government and the Department of Health to make whatever happens work. | The Royal College of GPs are still asking for this flawed bill to be withdrawn. We think this bill will cause irreversible damage to the NHS. But nevertheless, come what may, we're doctors and whatever happens, we have to work with the government and the Department of Health to make whatever happens work. |
| And Labour are trying to be practical too. They have drafted their opposition day motion in a way that is designed to attract as much support as possible. This is what it actually says. | |
| That this House notes the e-petition signed by 170,000 people calling on the government to drop the health and social care bill; and declines to support the bill in its current form. | That this House notes the e-petition signed by 170,000 people calling on the government to drop the health and social care bill; and declines to support the bill in its current form. |
| In theory the entire Lib Dem parliamentary party should vote for this, because, following the vote at the Lib Dem spring conference on Sunday, not supporting the bill seem to be the party's official policy. But parliament doesn't work like that, not least because MPs are reluctant to vote with their opponents on declaratory motions of this kind that don't make law. Five Lib Dem MPs - Andrew George, John Pugh, Adrian Sanders, Greg Mulholland and David Ward - have tabled an amendment of their own saying that they also don't support the bill "in its current form" but, beyond that, we are not likely to see a wholesale Lib Dem rebellion. | In theory the entire Lib Dem parliamentary party should vote for this, because, following the vote at the Lib Dem spring conference on Sunday, not supporting the bill seem to be the party's official policy. But parliament doesn't work like that, not least because MPs are reluctant to vote with their opponents on declaratory motions of this kind that don't make law. Five Lib Dem MPs - Andrew George, John Pugh, Adrian Sanders, Greg Mulholland and David Ward - have tabled an amendment of their own saying that they also don't support the bill "in its current form" but, beyond that, we are not likely to see a wholesale Lib Dem rebellion. |
| Here's the full agenda for the day. | Here's the full agenda for the day. |
| 9am: The cabinet meets. | 9am: The cabinet meets. |
| 10am: Scotland Yard press officers Dick Fedorcio and Sara Cheesley give evidence to the Leveson Inquiry. | 10am: Scotland Yard press officers Dick Fedorcio and Sara Cheesley give evidence to the Leveson Inquiry. |
| 10.05am: Sir David Higgins, chief executive of Network Rail, gives evidence to the Commons transport committee. | 10.05am: Sir David Higgins, chief executive of Network Rail, gives evidence to the Commons transport committee. |
| 10.30am: Ed Vaizey, the culture minister, gives evidence to the Commons culture committee on library closures. After 11.30am: Peers resume their debate on the health bill. 12pm: Tom Winsor gives evidence to the Commons home affairs committee about his review of police pay and conditions. | 10.30am: Ed Vaizey, the culture minister, gives evidence to the Commons culture committee on library closures. After 11.30am: Peers resume their debate on the health bill. 12pm: Tom Winsor gives evidence to the Commons home affairs committee about his review of police pay and conditions. |
| 2.30pm: Sir Nicolas Bratza, president of the European court of human rights, gives evidence to the joint committee on human rights. | 2.30pm: Sir Nicolas Bratza, president of the European court of human rights, gives evidence to the joint committee on human rights. |
| 3.30pm: Philip Hammond, the defence secretary, makes a Commons statement on the Nigeria hostage deaths. 4pm: Lord Heseltine is awarded the Freedom of the City of Liverpool. | 3.30pm: Philip Hammond, the defence secretary, makes a Commons statement on the Nigeria hostage deaths. 4pm: Lord Heseltine is awarded the Freedom of the City of Liverpool. |
| Around 4.30pm: MPs begin debating a Labour motion on the health bill. | Around 4.30pm: MPs begin debating a Labour motion on the health bill. |
| At some point today Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary, is launching a social justice strategy. As Patrick Wintour reports in the Guardian, he wants the City and local authorities to invest up to £10bn to prevent social breakdown in a public-private partnership. | At some point today Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary, is launching a social justice strategy. As Patrick Wintour reports in the Guardian, he wants the City and local authorities to invest up to £10bn to prevent social breakdown in a public-private partnership. |
| David Cameron is flying to Washington today. But, by the time he arrives, it will be out of my time. | David Cameron is flying to Washington today. But, by the time he arrives, it will be out of my time. |
| As usual, I'll be covering all the breaking political news, as well as looking at the papers and bringing you the best politics from the web. I'll post a lunchtime summary at around 1pm and another in the afternoon. | As usual, I'll be covering all the breaking political news, as well as looking at the papers and bringing you the best politics from the web. I'll post a lunchtime summary at around 1pm and another in the afternoon. |
| If you want to follow me on Twitter, I'm on @AndrewSparrow. | If you want to follow me on Twitter, I'm on @AndrewSparrow. |
| And if you're a hardcore fan, you can follow @gdnpoliticslive. It's an automated feed that tweets the start of every new post that I put on the blog. | And if you're a hardcore fan, you can follow @gdnpoliticslive. It's an automated feed that tweets the start of every new post that I put on the blog. |