Business of the House

Will the Leader of the House please give us the forthcoming business?

The business for the week commencing 24 February will include:

Monday 24 February—Motions relating to the police grant and local government finance reports.

Tuesday 25 February—If necessary, consideration of Lords amendments, followed by Opposition day (4th allotted day). There will be a debate on tax avoidance and evasion followed by a debate on social care. Both debates will arise on a motion in the name of the official Opposition. That will be followed by, if necessary, consideration of Lords amendments.

Wednesday 26 February—If necessary, consideration of Lords amendments; followed by Second Reading of the Environment Bill; followed by, if necessary, consideration of Lords amendments; followed by a motion to approve a statutory instrument relating to terrorism.

Thursday 27 February—General debate on Welsh Affairs.

Friday 28 February—The House will not be sitting.

The provisional business for the week commencing 2 March will include:

Monday 2 March—Second Reading of the Medicines and Medical Devices Bill following which the House will be asked to agree all outstanding estimates.

I thank the Leader of the House for the business for the last week of February. I cannot believe time has flown so quickly! It is nine weeks since the last election, and already it seems that the few are abdicating their responsibilities for the many. Nothing has been said about the deaths resulting from smart motorways. The Minister who signed them off, the right hon. Member for Hemel Hempstead (Sir Mike Penning), has called for a halt and accused Highways England of “casually ignoring commitments” on safety systems. At the same time, the bosses at Highways England have received a pay rise, with the number who have salaries over £100,000 rising from six to 63 since 2013. Why is this happening when the staff at the bottom have received a pay rise of 0% or 1%? Who are those bosses accountable to? This is exactly what contributes to the democratic deficit. May we have a statement on why they were able to award themselves that pay rise, and on when smart motorways will end?

It is nine weeks since the last election, and now it has all been revealed: border checks are inevitable. We did not hear that phrase during the Brexit debate. The smart border will apparently not be in place until 2025. The British Retail Consortium says an increase in border checks will affect fresh food supplies unless there is a massive upgrade in border facilities. Importers and exporters are going face huge costs. Could we have a statement on the readiness of smart borders or at least on what they are going to look like?

It has been nine weeks since the last election, and already the Government have run out of files, or did they intend to publish their process and procedure on their position on financial negotiations? We now know that the financial sector will get its permanent equivalence for decades, while the fishing industry may be under threat, from Grimsby to Brixham. We know that the EU wants existing reciprocal arrangements to be maintained. Could the Leader of the House say whether the fishing industry is going to be sold down the river—or the ocean—from Grimsby to Brixham?