Hello again and welcome to the week in parliament the week the Prime Minister apologised to rape victims failed by the state. Of course i say sorry for the trauma that they have been through, the frustration that they go through because of the inadequacies of the criminalJustice System. We are fixing that. For labour, the buck stops with thejustice secretary. Enough is enough. Will he reverse these failures within a year or will he resign . Also in this programme, Mental Health and the pandemic. Children as young as five | disposing of the contents of their lunch box in the bin and leaving the wrappers. I in to tell teachers that theyd i eaten what was in the lunch box when they hadnt. And all aboard is the queen about to get a new boat . Its not a new royal yacht, its a new national flagship. In my book, thats. Laughter. I think thats a very good thing but first, why are so few rapists convicted . Only 1. 6 of rapes recorded by the police in england and wales currently lead to prosecutions. The Prime Minister has denied that budget cuts are to blame, although thejustice secretary said cuts had self evidently been a factor. Robert buckland said that the government was determined to reverse with urgency what he said had been an alarming decline in the number of prosecutions, charges and convictions over the last five years. And i want to pay tribute to the bravery of victims and to commend their courage in coming forward to report these crimes. Its crucial, mr speaker, that the system gives all victims the reassurance that they will be believed and that they will receive the right support, right from the moment they report their crime to the conclusion of their case and beyond. Ten years of cuts to the court, to legal aid, the police and the Crown Prosecution Service has created an environment in which victims are denied justice and criminals are let off the hook. Mr speaker, the Lord Chancellor swore an oath to ensure the provision of resources for efficient and effective support of the courts. Clearly, he has failed. And he went further. Enough is enough. Will he reverse these failures within a year or will he resign . Mps on the Home Affairs Committee have been trying to discover the reasons behind the fall in prosecutions. One campaigner told them the police often investigated the victim making a complaint, rather than the suspect. Everything that happens at the beginning of an investigation, when a Police Officer goes to take a victims phone, thats the beginning of us thinking that we need to look at whether or not the victim is worthy or credible, instead of running the name of the suspect. Others complained that the new review with its aim of returning to 2016 standards didnt go far enough. Weve kind of gone from really bad to non existent and the government ambitions set out in this report is to return to really bad levels. And ijust think that i cant see that that is a kind of solution and i think, almost, the report reflects a gradual kind of eroding of standards in this area of policing and this area of prosecution. The victims commissioner gave her own verdict. The proposals, some and i emphasise only some of which are capable of being powerful seem to me to be, albeit the rest of the report is underwhelming, the rest of the proposals wont take a great deal of difference and theres a very large amount of kicking the can down the road, having more pilots and causing delay in there, nonetheless, this is a watershed. At Prime Ministers questions, the labour leader sir keir starmer said even the government admitted victims were being failed. Theres no escaping that appalling figure, Prime Minister 98. 4 of rape cases ending without anybody being charged. And those that do get in the system take years to go through. Does the Prime Minister accept that cuts to the criminal Justice System have contributed to that appalling situation . No, mr speaker, because weve increased the numbers of people in the cps by at least 200, mr speaker, specifically dedicated to helping to prosecute the crime of rape and sexual violence. And, mr speaker, we are absolutely determined to stamp it out. This is a problem that has been going worse because of the evidential difficulties caused by the Data Recovery process and the lack of the lack of unity, the Lack Ofjoined up thinking between all parts of the criminalJustice System. That is something that this government is now addressing by more investment, by putting more police out on the street, and also by having tougher sentences. Mr speaker, on the Prime Ministers watch, Rape Prosecution Convictions are at a record low, Court Backlogs are at a record high, victims are waiting longerforjustice and criminals are getting away with it. This wasnt inevitable. Its the cost of a decade of conservative cuts. And even now, even now, the government isnt showing the urgency and the ambition thats needed. Mr speaker, thejustice secretary has done the rarest of things for this government and apologised. But i note the Prime Minister hasnt done that today. Its time he did, that he took some responsibility and backed it up with action. Would he do so . And of course, to all the victims of rape and sexual violence, all the victims and survivors, of course i say sorry for the trauma that they have been through, the frustration that they go through because of the inadequacies of the criminalJustice System. We are fixing that. We are helping them by getting our courts moving again. The fastest, most efficient way to do that, as he knows, is to get our country moving again, which is what we are doing with the fastest Vaccination Rollout anywhere in europe, mrspeaker. We are getting on with thejob, mr speaker. They jabber, we jab, mr speaker. They dither, we deliver. They vacillate and we vaccinate, mr speaker. That answer later prompted a complaint from labour. The Prime Minister, when questioned about the falling rape conviction rate, asserted that this was merelyjabber and not something that sees, for every 60 people who come forward to say that they have been raped, one charge. And that doesnt even cover convictions. I would simply encourage all members to remember, in the words of erskine may, that good temper and moderation are the characteristics of parliamentary language and that moderation should be observed at all times. Downing street said later that the Prime Minister had been making a broader point. Now, theres been some encouraging news about the pandemic. According to the minister for sport, test events held at sporting, music and other venues have not caused any covid i9 outbreaks. Pilot events included the fa cup final at wembley, The Brit Awards and the World Snooker championships. Next months wimbledon finals are also scheduled to be played in front of full crowds. But the government is facing legal action and political pressure over its reluctance to publish the details of the findings from the Events Research programme. Mr speaker, i am sure the house recognises how vital this research is in supporting the reopening of venues and sectors that we and our constituents are so passionate about. However, it is important to recognise that Public Safety is the main priority. Although we are not yet in a position to publish the full report, i can assure the house that post event data is closely monitored and have not shown any evidence of the events causing outbreaks. If they had, we would have communicated that information urgently. The minister was answering an urgent question from labour. The terms of reference for the programme were published on the 22nd of february. Were four months on and no results have been published. Last month, the Secretary Of State said in a Newspaper Interview that 15 of 15,800 erp participants tested positive for covid, but still no results published, and im afraid there was nothing, really, in the ministers response just now to explain the failure to publish the results. Whats the secret . Why wont the government tell the public, tell industry, tell us what the results are . Because all of those who have spent time and money organising and hosting test events and those relying on this programme would like to see the results. Jo stevens said those results should be published now. Nigel huddleston said theyd be revealed very soon and before Covid Restrictions are lifted, but he struggled to win over mps. Covid restrictions are eased, but he struggled to win over mps. The events and live music sector has been calling i for government covid insurance help for months. So has the snp and many tory mps, including members of the select committee. So why are ministers not listening to their colleagues on this . What are the arguments against offering insurance help for this vital sector . They desperately need it. The government is very aware of the wider concerns around securing indemnity for the live events sector and we do continue to assess options to provide further support to the sector within the Public Health context, so they are live considerations. Im a little confused, mr speaker. Normally, when the government doesnt publish something, its normally because its bad news and its trying to hide it away. Ive got a very strong suspicion that this set of data is fantastically positive. It must be ready for publication, because it must have been prepared for last week, when step four was due to be announced, so it must be ready to go. My fear, mr speaker, is it demonstrated the opposite of the decision the Prime Minister announced last week it would have demonstrated that we could have safely opened on the 21st ofjune. Thats the real reason why it hasnt been published. So why doesnt he publish it today and put our minds at rest . Im afraid some of the Conspiracy Theories around this, im afraid, i wouldnt buy into. We have said already i stated at the beginning that if there were major concerns, we would have made sure that information was in the public arena. That would be the responsible thing to do. Would the Minister Consider making this House Of Commons a pilot event, for one wednesday before recess, ripping out these stupid i barriers, getting the public back in, voting in the lobbies, to see what happens . Im not sure thats the ministers decision, but mine to deal with. Laughter. I dare not step on anybody� s toes in answering this one. Im sure im sure the appropriate authorities have heard the honourable members question, and its an intriguing one. Nigel huddleston. The chancellor says its his Hope And Expectation that Lockdown Restrictions in england will be lifted on the 19th ofjuly. Earlier this month, mps voted to extend those restrictions meaning pubs, clubs and theatres had to continue operating within capacity limits, and nightclubs remained closed. More than 50 conservative mps rebelled. One of them put this question to the chancellor. Some employers in my constituency with employees still on furlough tell me theyre desperate to get those employees back to work, but it is the uncertainty over when restrictions will finally be lifted that are holding them back. Take the events supply chain, for example, where customers unwillingness to pay deposits is holding those firms back. So will my right honourable friend agree with me that the way to get the economy moving and to get those employees back to work, is for restrictions to absolutely be lifted by the 19th ofjuly . Yeah, my honourable friend is absolutely right. And my Hope And Expectation is we do lift those restrictions on the 19th ofjuly, because by that point, we will have done what we set out to do, which is to get extra jabs in more peoples arms, to provide us with that extra level of protection we were seeking. But he is right. The only Sustainable Way to protect those jobs is to get the economy reopened, so those people can return to work and provide for their families and, indeed, move on to bright new opportunities. Independent experts have told the government 12 times that the failure to provide | adequate Financial Support to people self isolating has contributed to the spread. Of covid, endangering lives and livelihoods. | 12 times. Now we know that the treasury instructed government officials| to actively suppress information about the Furlough Scheme could be used by employers to financially support people self isolating. Can the chancellor now explain why this instruction was issued by the treasury . In all the government did no such thing. And, in fact, the guidance on usage of the Furlough Scheme was there in black and white im actually looking at it in plain for everyone to see at the start of that scheme as to how it should be used. But what i can say, mr speaker, is right at the beginning of this crisis, we improved the way that statutory sick pay works to deal with Self Isolation. It was one of the earliest steps that we took. Then we introduced a Rebate Scheme for small and medium sized businesses, to claim back the cost of statutory sick pay for isolating employees from the government. And thirdly, we introduced a £500 Self Isolation payment, mr speaker. In scotland, the easing of Covid Restrictions will be delayed by three weeks to allow more time for people to be vaccinated. The first minister, nicola sturgeon, told msps that increasing case numbers were behind the delay. At the moment, the high number of new covid case being recorded is a significant consideration. To use the race analogy that many have used before, we must not allow the virus to get too far ahead of the vaccines. Therefore, as indicated last week, we intend to maintain the current restrictions applicable in each part of scotland for the next three weeks. She hoped the remaining legal restrictions would be removed in early august. Will social distancing remain in place under these basic. Mitigations in hospitality venues . Will there be ongoing limits| on indoor social gatherings . And finally, Will The Mitigations after the 9th Of August conclude the wearing of masks in offices and in schools . If we go beyond level zero by the 9th Of August we hope, but we must assess the data that the legal requirement to physical distance will be removed indoors as well as outdoors. So therell be no legal requirement, if all goes according to plan, for physical distancing at all when we go beyond level zero. But we may still advise people if youre with somebody whos not fully vaccinated, if youre with someone vulnerable, if youre in a place where the ventilation is not particularly good it would make sense to continue to Pay Attention to a safe distance to people that are not within your close contact group. But that will be advised, not law and not regulation. I welcome what the government has said about the timetable around the vaccine. Can we get a commitment, if the supplies allow, we will ramp up that much faster if we can . Can we look to replicate whats happened in london, for example, where we have walk in Vaccination Centres for those that arent registered with a gp so we can get a spread of the vaccine as much as possible . Health wards are using drop in clinics where they think thats. Appropriate obviously that becomes more important. And is being used in otheri places for younger people. But if you look at first doses right now, and all four uk. Nations are much of a muchness in terms of vaccination uptake, i but we are slightly ahead of england and Northern Ireland in first dose vaccinations, i which suggests were doing all the things everybody else is doing and getting through that population quickly. Nicola sturgeon. Lets take a look at some other news in brief now. The Education Secretary has been challenged over help for pupils in england to make up for lost learning due to the pandemic. It follows the resignation of the so called catch up tsar, sir kevan collins, whose plans were largely rejected by the government. But Gavin Williamson told mps he was still keen to see one of them longer school days implemented. I think that there are some schools that currently close far too early. I think that, actually, i want to see, you know, i think lots of schools do it brilliantly, and we mustnt forget this, jonathan, because, actually, the examples that we pick on that our schools are doing exactly what we want to actually see where you have got the enrichment, the extra academic time, you have children with the opportunity to play at lunch time, being with their friends, do other activities, so we have got so many schools doing it, but we do have, sadly, a number of schools that are finishing too early, in my view. The Prime Minister has rejected snp complains about his government asking questions about attitudes to the union as part of publicly funded covid 19 surveys. The mov