This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/blog/2012/mar/20/health-bill-andy-burnham-queen
The article has changed 19 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Politics live blog: MPs debate health bill and Queen addresses Parliament | Politics live blog: MPs debate health bill and Queen addresses Parliament |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| 9.49am: Andy Burnham, the shadow health secretary, was on Radio 5 Live this morning renewing his call for the publication of the NHS's transitional risk register (the one explaining the risk associated with the health bill). He insisted publication would not pose a risk. | |
| Let's clear this up. The information tribunal dealt very clearly with this issue. It said government shouldn't publish its assessment of on-going risks beyond direct control. They're the most serious risks such as a terrorist attack or a health pandemic. But it said it should publish a specific assessment of ministers' own policies. Let's be clear about this. It's this government that's chosen to reorganise the NHS at this moment of the greatest financial challenge and that policy is putting the NHS at risk and our argument is they should be honest about those risks before they ask Parliament to approve them. | |
| And this is what Simon Burns, the health minister, told the same programme about why the government would not publish the risk register. | |
As you know the risk register is an internal management document issued by civil servants and ministers to formulate policy, and for those reasons we think it is wrong to put it in the public domain because it means you can't have full and frank discussions between civil servants and ministers which will consider a range of options. | |
| Having a risk register is one of the ways in which government, and it's across government, not just the Department of Health, formulates and considers policy from all angles. If one had that in the public domain immediately then you can just see people like Andy Burnham jumping on it, taking a worst case scenario and then distorting it and you could not have government functioning. | |
| I've taken the quotes from PoliticsHome. | |
| 9.44am: Downing Street has released the text of a letter that David Cameron has sent to Nicolas Sakozy about the shootings at the Jewish school in Toulouse yesterday. Here it is. | |
| Dear Nicolas, | |
| I was appalled to learn of the recent shootings that France has suffered, including in Toulouse this morning. People across Britain share the shock and grief that is being felt in France, and my thoughts are with the victims, their friends and their families. I know that France will draw strength and comfort from your resolute leadership at this difficult time. You can count on my every support in confronting these senseless acts of brutality and cowardice. | |
| Yours, | |
| David. | |
| 9.32am: Here are the headline inflation figures. | |
| • The consumer prices index rate of inflation fell to 3.4% in February, from 3.6% in January. | |
| • The headline retail prices index rate of inflation fell to 3.7% in February, from 3.9% in January. | |
| • The underlying RPI rate of inflation fell to 3.8% in February, from 4% in January. Here's the Office for National Statistics bulletin, with the full details (pdf). | |
| 8.45am: It's special occasion time at the Houses of Parliament. The entrance to Westminster Hall has been spruced up, the security seems tighter than usual and the broadcasters are camping out on Abingdon Green. All this for the final day of the health and social security bill? No, it's because the Queen is coming to address Parliament. We don't know what she's going to say because, as a BBC correspondent was complaining on the Today programme this morning, Buckingham Palace doesn't go in for advance briefing (unlike the Treasury, which has been pumping out yet more information about tomorrow's budget, including plans for everyone to get a detailed statement about how their taxes are spent and details of its credit-easing scheme). It would be fun if the Queen were to use her speech to urge the government to drop the health bill. But somehow I think that's unlikely. | 8.45am: It's special occasion time at the Houses of Parliament. The entrance to Westminster Hall has been spruced up, the security seems tighter than usual and the broadcasters are camping out on Abingdon Green. All this for the final day of the health and social security bill? No, it's because the Queen is coming to address Parliament. We don't know what she's going to say because, as a BBC correspondent was complaining on the Today programme this morning, Buckingham Palace doesn't go in for advance briefing (unlike the Treasury, which has been pumping out yet more information about tomorrow's budget, including plans for everyone to get a detailed statement about how their taxes are spent and details of its credit-easing scheme). It would be fun if the Queen were to use her speech to urge the government to drop the health bill. But somehow I think that's unlikely. |
| MPs will be debating the health bill in the afternoon. The bill cleared the Lords last night and today's debate should be the final stage before the bill gets Royal Assent. My colleague Denis Campbell, the Guardian's health correspondent, will be contributing to the blog. | MPs will be debating the health bill in the afternoon. The bill cleared the Lords last night and today's debate should be the final stage before the bill gets Royal Assent. My colleague Denis Campbell, the Guardian's health correspondent, will be contributing to the blog. |
| Here's the full agenda for the day. | Here's the full agenda for the day. |
| 9am: The cabinet meets. | 9am: The cabinet meets. |
| 9.15am: Sir Michael Wilshaw, the Ofsted chief inspector, gives a speech to the Policy Exchange thinktank. | 9.15am: Sir Michael Wilshaw, the Ofsted chief inspector, gives a speech to the Policy Exchange thinktank. |
| 9.30am: Inflation figures are published. | 9.30am: Inflation figures are published. |
| 9.45am: Unions learn whether they have won their Court of Appeal battle against a government decision to change the way public sector pension increases are calculated. | 9.45am: Unions learn whether they have won their Court of Appeal battle against a government decision to change the way public sector pension increases are calculated. |
| 10am: Bernard Hogan-Howe, the commissioner of the Metropolitan police, gives evidence to the Leveson Inquiry. Other witnesses will include crime correspondents Justin Penrose of the Sunday Mirror and Tom Pettifor of the Daily Mirror, and West Midlands Police chief constable Chris Sims. | 10am: Bernard Hogan-Howe, the commissioner of the Metropolitan police, gives evidence to the Leveson Inquiry. Other witnesses will include crime correspondents Justin Penrose of the Sunday Mirror and Tom Pettifor of the Daily Mirror, and West Midlands Police chief constable Chris Sims. |
| 10.30am: The Queen addresses MPs and peers in Westminster Hall to mark her Diamond Jubilee. | 10.30am: The Queen addresses MPs and peers in Westminster Hall to mark her Diamond Jubilee. |
| 1.30pm: Unison hold a protest in Westminster against the health bill. | 1.30pm: Unison hold a protest in Westminster against the health bill. |
| 2.30pm: Nick Clegg answers deputy prime minister's questions in the Commons. | 2.30pm: Nick Clegg answers deputy prime minister's questions in the Commons. |
| 3.40pm: MPs debate the emergency motion about whether the health bill should be postponed until the bill's risk register has been published. The debate will last for 90 minutes. | 3.40pm: MPs debate the emergency motion about whether the health bill should be postponed until the bill's risk register has been published. The debate will last for 90 minutes. |
| Around 5.30pm: MPs start their final debate on the health bill. | Around 5.30pm: MPs start their final debate on the health bill. |
| At some point today Andrew Mitchell, the international development secretary, is giving a speech to the Africa Investment Summit. | At some point today Andrew Mitchell, the international development secretary, is giving a speech to the Africa Investment Summit. |
| 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. |