18/01/2012

:00:40. > :00:43.Morning, folks, this is the Daily Politics.

:00:43. > :00:46.Talking tough on welfare - the Government says it will push

:00:46. > :00:49.through its reforms whatever opposition the Lords might throw up.

:00:49. > :00:53.Many peers have spent the last week trying to scupper Iain Duncan

:00:53. > :00:56.Smith's bill and the battle's not over yet. We'll be talking to the

:00:56. > :01:00.man in charge. Poor old Ed. He's been taking a lot

:01:00. > :01:04.of stick from his buddies in the unions. Will his week get any

:01:04. > :01:11.better when he faces the PM across the despatch box?

:01:11. > :01:14.We'll be asking if this puts you off visiting Westminster.

:01:14. > :01:24.And stop burying your head in the sand. Rosie Boycott tells

:01:24. > :01:24.

:01:24. > :01:27.politicians to wake up when it All that coming up in the next 90

:01:27. > :01:35.minutes of "we've never been nominated for a BAFTA award"-

:01:36. > :01:38.winning television. And with us for the duration, we have a couple of

:01:39. > :01:41.political giants. At least I think they are. We believe Iain Duncan

:01:41. > :01:44.Smith is the Work and Pensions Secretary, and we think Andy

:01:44. > :01:47.Burnham is the Shadow Health Secretary. Unfortunately, though,

:01:47. > :01:53.Wikipedia is down for 24 hours and the programme production staff have

:01:53. > :01:57.no idea who is who and what is what. With their only research engine

:01:57. > :02:01.down, I'm told all our researcher have gone down the pub. Anyway,

:02:01. > :02:04.welcome to both of you. First this morning, let's talk

:02:04. > :02:06.about the radical Muslim cleric Abu Qatada because yesterday, the

:02:06. > :02:13.European Court of Human Rights blocked the Government's attempt to

:02:13. > :02:15.depart Mr Qatada back to Jordan. The militant cleric, who's been

:02:15. > :02:25.described as Osama Bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe, is

:02:25. > :02:29.currently being held at a high security prison in Worcestershire.

:02:29. > :02:33.By Iain Duncan Smith, the Government wants to deport him.

:02:33. > :02:39.I suspect public opinion wants to deport him. The Labour Party wanted

:02:39. > :02:43.to deport him in power, and British judges want to deport him. Why

:02:43. > :02:47.would we let the European Court of Human Rights stock that? Because

:02:47. > :02:54.whether you like it or not, and a lot of people don't like it, we are

:02:54. > :02:59.bound by the Convention. There is the root... It is a disappointing

:02:59. > :03:03.result, a deplorable individual, a supporter of terrorism, he should

:03:03. > :03:08.go back. I think we have the route to appeal. They are looking to see

:03:08. > :03:13.whether they can appeal. appeals hardly ever work. I agree.

:03:13. > :03:18.It is a mess. You go to the full chamber for by an appeal and

:03:18. > :03:23.overwhelmingly they are turned over. -- don't work. A 5% chance. Let's

:03:23. > :03:30.assume we lose the appeal, what do we do next? You have to keep him

:03:30. > :03:35.under arrest. Then go back to the European Court and say you are

:03:35. > :03:38.infringing his European -- human rights. We are proposing to reform

:03:38. > :03:42.the relationship with the convention and that is something

:03:42. > :03:45.the Home Secretary is bringing forward. One of the ways ahead in

:03:45. > :03:53.due course is to modify the way it's worked so we don't have these

:03:53. > :03:57.decisions. They are not living in the real world, this court, they

:03:57. > :04:02.are still living in a world where terrorism was an occasional affair.

:04:02. > :04:07.We have a very dangerous man, supporter a very, very dangerous

:04:07. > :04:10.people, every body in Britain wants him out, we have to find a way of

:04:10. > :04:16.getting this man back to where he came from and face their judicial

:04:16. > :04:19.process. The European Court said you can't deport people back to

:04:19. > :04:24.countries where there's a good chance of them being tortured. The

:04:24. > :04:27.British said OK, we understand that, so your government negotiated a

:04:27. > :04:33.deal with Jordan to get commitments from the Jordanian government that

:04:33. > :04:37.people would not be maltreated. Correct. Now the European Court

:04:37. > :04:41.says that not enough. There's a chance he may face a trial in which

:04:41. > :04:46.some of the evidence will have come about by torture. They have changed

:04:46. > :04:52.the goalposts and when they do this, this is why there's a head of steam

:04:52. > :04:55.against the European Court in this country now. Maybe. It is a

:04:56. > :05:03.disappointing result. I read it more positively perhaps than you

:05:03. > :05:08.have done. The court accepted those bilateral agreements between the UK

:05:08. > :05:13.and Jordan. They said we accept that, but if the commitment has

:05:13. > :05:18.been given that evidence will not be directly used in respect of Abu

:05:18. > :05:23.Qatada, if it had been derived from torture. What they on helpfully

:05:23. > :05:26.then said was that because the system over there, torture is so

:05:26. > :05:31.prevalent, there's some evidence that may have been gained that way,

:05:31. > :05:36.we can't be certain it won't be used. If I was a Home Office

:05:36. > :05:39.minister now, I would now go back to the Jordanians and say, give us

:05:39. > :05:44.a cast-iron guarantee that no evidence will be introduced derived

:05:44. > :05:49.from other cases that could be categorised in that way and then go

:05:49. > :05:53.back to the European Court and say now we have the final assurances,

:05:53. > :05:57.this is the route and we get a verdict. What the Government wants

:05:57. > :06:02.to do is set the framework so when they appeal, they have strong

:06:02. > :06:06.grounds to appeal. That may be one of the solutions. The judges taking

:06:06. > :06:10.this decision have to think again. They are extrapolating away from

:06:10. > :06:18.the agreement made an coming up with some kind of possible IFS and

:06:18. > :06:23.buts. Yesterday they also made a different judgment about the

:06:23. > :06:26.state's and right to hold people in prison for life. Life meaning life.

:06:26. > :06:30.That is a sign they are listening to public opinion and the

:06:30. > :06:34.representations of government. It is easy to knock the court and so

:06:35. > :06:40.they are hope for us, but I thought the couple have run into gave

:06:40. > :06:46.grounds for hope. I don't think they are listening enough. It is

:06:46. > :06:49.like a swallow which doesn't... They make the occasional good

:06:49. > :06:55.judgment. My concern and the concern of the Government and of

:06:55. > :06:58.your government is that too often, they make judgments like the one

:06:58. > :07:03.yesterday which are almost dancing on the head of a pin. We had an

:07:03. > :07:08.agreement with Jordan. There was plenty enough for us to have got a

:07:08. > :07:14.right decision from them and yet again they failed. When Abu Qatada

:07:14. > :07:18.was arrested, because he was thought to be plotting to blow up

:07:18. > :07:23.the Christmas market in Strasbourg, which is packed with people, and

:07:23. > :07:31.that is what they thought he was doing, he was found to have

:07:31. > :07:35.�175,000 in cash on him. Why has he been on welfare all these years?

:07:35. > :07:41.Why have taxpayer has been paying his welfare when he has �170,000 in

:07:41. > :07:45.cash? If he has money and capital, he will not be available for the

:07:46. > :07:50.income related supports. He is getting hundreds of pounds a week.

:07:50. > :07:55.Hundreds of pounds. I know, and the reality is we are trapped in this

:07:55. > :08:04.position because he is incarcerated but still living outside a prison.

:08:04. > :08:07.He ends up being able to be supported. This is a man with

:08:07. > :08:12.�175,000 and a hard working taxes of British people were paying him

:08:12. > :08:16.hundreds of pounds a week in welfare. Nobody would justify that.

:08:16. > :08:20.We are dealing with a suspected serious international terrorist.

:08:20. > :08:24.They get their money from a range of sources and it is not easy for

:08:24. > :08:32.the benefits system to track down all of the global funds he has

:08:32. > :08:37.access to. He was found with �175,000. These networks have

:08:37. > :08:42.millions at their disposal. How can the benefits system track all of

:08:42. > :08:46.that movement? We are dealing with a very serious individual. We are

:08:46. > :08:51.getting closer to getting the right result. You don't mind paying the

:08:51. > :08:56.welfare? I said I did. Why did you do it? Under the rules, he avoids

:08:56. > :09:01.the rules. The man is able to work the system to his benefit. Which is

:09:01. > :09:04.why we are trying to reform it. will come on to that later!

:09:04. > :09:07.Imagine flying from Rio and landing at Boris Island on the Thames

:09:07. > :09:11.Estuary. It's the stuff dreams are made of, and according to the Mayor

:09:11. > :09:13.of London, it's not far off reality. Support for a new airport on the

:09:13. > :09:16.Thames Estuary is apparently gaining increasing support from

:09:16. > :09:23.ministers. Here's what Boris Johnson had to say earlier this

:09:23. > :09:28.morning. If you're going to expand your capacity and businesses making

:09:28. > :09:31.that case very powerfully to the Government, George Osborne is in

:09:31. > :09:35.China, he understand very clearly the need to communicate with the

:09:35. > :09:38.big growth the economies of Asia and Latin America, if you're going

:09:38. > :09:41.to do that, you have to look elsewhere.

:09:41. > :09:43.Well, I'm now joined by Bernard Jenkin, who is the Conservative MP

:09:43. > :09:51.for North Essex, and the Liberal Democrat transport spokesman,

:09:51. > :09:56.Julian Huppert. How enthusiastic is the Prime Minister about this idea?

:09:56. > :10:03.I think he has come to realise that a policy of no new runways in the

:10:03. > :10:05.south-east will strangle London as an international city and turn

:10:05. > :10:10.London into an international backwater. We have one major

:10:10. > :10:15.airport with two runways, Heathrow, competing with Frankfurt, with

:10:16. > :10:20.three runways, Paris with three runways. We are simply going to

:10:20. > :10:24.lose all of that aviation business and the people who travel on those

:10:24. > :10:28.routes to other European countries. It would be a disaster for the UK.

:10:29. > :10:33.Is the Thames estuary the answer? It will take decades to build and

:10:33. > :10:43.that the vast cost. This will be capitalised by the private-sector,

:10:43. > :10:50.I have no doubt. There are three win-win Win Crew murkier. Building

:10:50. > :10:55.at Heathrow is not an option. This is a -- the best environmental

:10:55. > :10:59.option for it airport expansion in the south-east. Secondly, it will -

:10:59. > :11:03.- sustain London and the south-east as an international centre. Third,

:11:03. > :11:13.it will maintain our leadership of the aviation sector. It will take

:11:13. > :11:17.time, but it is the best option. win-win-Winup deal. Not in the

:11:17. > :11:22.slightest, this is a fantasy for Boris. It is not really a workable

:11:22. > :11:28.solution. We are certainly going to stay opposed to it. Most of the

:11:28. > :11:32.Conservatives I've spoken to have been as surprised by the sleek out

:11:32. > :11:37.of Number Ten. -- this league. They have been saying they are against

:11:37. > :11:42.it. It is not the right place from an environmental perspective. It is

:11:42. > :11:49.very damaging. Whether you look at the animal life or carbon dioxide.

:11:49. > :11:53.It is almost right next to the SS Montgomerie, a sunken Liberty ship

:11:53. > :11:57.with over 3,000 tonnes of munitions. If that explodes, it will be

:11:57. > :12:01.devastating to the whole area. You would not build a new airport quite

:12:01. > :12:05.next we ship that might explode. This is far off reality? The Lib

:12:05. > :12:09.Dems won't let this happen even if Nick Clegg allows the consultation

:12:09. > :12:13.to go ahead. The Department of Transport has been dedicated to the

:12:13. > :12:17.expansion of Heathrow and Stansted for the last 50 years. They are a

:12:17. > :12:20.prisoner of the vested interests, particularly the airlines and the

:12:20. > :12:24.operators. It is time for new thinking because Heathrow is not a

:12:24. > :12:30.sustainable option in the long term if we are going to remain in this.

:12:30. > :12:35.It is another Sujit vantage to developing the Thames estuary which

:12:35. > :12:41.may or may not be Boris Island. We will wait and see. Her or Bernard

:12:41. > :12:47.Ireland! Thank you very much. I am not worthy. But the economic

:12:47. > :12:49.regeneration of the Thames estuary has been a great challenge facing

:12:49. > :12:52.successive governments for decades. This is the great opportunity for a

:12:52. > :12:59.new airport to lead the regeneration of the Thames estuary.

:12:59. > :13:04.Do we need a new airport? The country's natural demand for air

:13:04. > :13:08.travel is set to expand to 260 million passengers a year. There is

:13:08. > :13:12.still capacity around a number of airports. We should not focus on

:13:12. > :13:17.just the south-east. As planes become bigger and bigger, you can

:13:17. > :13:20.fit more passengers on without having to build new runways or new

:13:20. > :13:24.terminals and having all of the damage that involves. It is not

:13:24. > :13:28.needed. They are run much better things we can do with that money to

:13:28. > :13:33.improve our connectivity. Let's connect ports with high-speed rail

:13:33. > :13:36.so we can move freight that way. This is simply a fantasy. Borrowers

:13:36. > :13:44.will talk about it quite a bit until the elections and then it

:13:44. > :13:48.will go very quiet. -- Boris will talk. That is rubbish. Thank you

:13:48. > :13:51.boats. Iain Duncan Smith, is this just the stuff dreams are made of

:13:51. > :13:56.all is the Government considering it? It is an idea that has been

:13:56. > :14:01.around a long time. We go back to Ted Heath. This sort of thing

:14:01. > :14:05.should have been... In principle, I think it is a very good idea to see

:14:05. > :14:10.whether it is feasible both environmentally and financially.

:14:10. > :14:14.What is clear is Heathrow as an airport, in a modern city the size

:14:14. > :14:19.of London, is in the wrong place. You would not put an airport there

:14:19. > :14:23.if you have to. We all accept London will require greater

:14:23. > :14:26.transport, the question is how you will manage that. The fact that the

:14:26. > :14:33.chancellor and prime minister have both said let's have a look at that

:14:33. > :14:37.means it's worth looking at. Is it worth looking at? When I heard

:14:37. > :14:41.about Boris Island, I thought we were putting him in exile! I

:14:41. > :14:45.thought Boris Johnson gave the game away on the radio this morning. He

:14:45. > :14:52.said my mates Dave and George have sorted it out for me. This is all

:14:52. > :14:54.about the London election. It is all about doing Boris a favour. To

:14:55. > :14:58.bring it ahead of the aviation strategy, this is not the way to do

:14:58. > :15:03.things. The Lib Dems are crying foul. This has to be taken with a

:15:03. > :15:06.massive pinch of salt. What about Heathrow? We saw the case for the

:15:06. > :15:09.expansion of Heathrow and the Government set its face against

:15:09. > :15:13.that, but it has set its face against this. They said there

:15:13. > :15:17.should not be an expansion of capacity in the south-east. If this

:15:17. > :15:21.is true, it is a massive U-turn anyway because they have set their

:15:21. > :15:27.face against Heathrow and if they are doing this, I don't know, it is

:15:27. > :15:31.in chaos. I it is straight forward. It is an idea that is worth looking

:15:31. > :15:37.at. Her but will it ever happen? There's every possibility it will

:15:37. > :15:42.providing all of those features stack up. In any big project, the

:15:42. > :15:47.reality is, as Bernard said earlier, London is one of the big global

:15:47. > :15:52.cities and yet we have a very diverse area of airports. What does

:15:52. > :15:56.it do to Heathrow? You have got an airport. There are jobs. You get

:15:56. > :16:01.nothing but problems right now coming out of Heathrow. You set

:16:01. > :16:06.your face against that. You guys work for an extended run way which

:16:06. > :16:10.would cause massive environmental problems. What about the people who

:16:10. > :16:14.live in the Medway towns? reality of this is that it has to

:16:14. > :16:19.be taken into consideration. But it is worth thinking about. It is

:16:19. > :16:23.difficult for people who live near Heathrow, but most people who went

:16:23. > :16:28.to live venue they were living near a big airport. You don't want to

:16:28. > :16:31.carry on spreading a big airports. You are spreading the misery.

:16:32. > :16:41.may be a way of consolidating so it is worth looking at. You guys did

:16:42. > :16:48.

:16:48. > :16:52.not use your imagination very much. It has been a topsy-turvy week for

:16:52. > :16:56.Iain Duncan-Smith's welfare group. The Government faced stiff

:16:56. > :17:00.opposition from the Peers and was defeated in the Lords three times

:17:01. > :17:05.last week. This week the Government is getting tougher.

:17:05. > :17:09.The grand old Secretary of State, Ian Duncan-Smith has been marching

:17:09. > :17:15.his troops up the hill of welfare reform. Last year it total spending

:17:15. > :17:20.on benefits and pensions was �201 billion. 52 billion of that was

:17:20. > :17:26.spent on benefits of people of working age. He has come under

:17:26. > :17:29.attack from the House of Lords. Last week Labour and crossbench

:17:29. > :17:32.Peers inflicted three separate wounds on the welfare bill,

:17:32. > :17:39.rejecting plans to limit payments to those with serious illnesses and

:17:39. > :17:42.to young people. Last night the Cabinet defeated another amendment

:17:42. > :17:46.from the former paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson on changes to

:17:47. > :17:49.disability benefits. Disability Living Allowance is being replaced

:17:49. > :17:53.by the Personal Independence Payment, which involves a more

:17:53. > :17:58.rigorous assessment. The Government says its plan will cut the

:17:58. > :18:03.disability costs by 20%. Baroness Grey-Thompson had wanted ministers

:18:03. > :18:07.to hold trials before replacing the delay, but this proposal was

:18:07. > :18:11.defeated. But Mr Duncan-Smith is not out of the woods yet, the bill

:18:11. > :18:18.is back in front of the Lords on Monday when they will debate his

:18:18. > :18:22.plans for an annual cap. We are now joined by the former

:18:22. > :18:28.paralympian and crossbench peer, Tanni Grey-Thompson. Welcome to the

:18:28. > :18:33.Daily Politics. Thank you. Do you believe there are some people are

:18:33. > :18:41.currently getting DLA that probably do not need it, and there is a case

:18:41. > :18:44.for a tougher assessment? I think benefit fraud is only 0.5%, so I

:18:45. > :18:50.think there are probably some people who are pulling the wall and

:18:50. > :18:53.I think there is a tiny minority of people who are right on the edge.

:18:53. > :18:57.Figures released on Monday show half a million disabled people

:18:57. > :19:02.might lose in the transition to the Personal Independence Payment. I

:19:02. > :19:08.worry about them because we might be making short-term payments, and

:19:08. > :19:12.that is why I wanted an in depth trial, but by removing it at the

:19:12. > :19:17.lower rate, we could be pushing them into having much higher care

:19:17. > :19:21.needs. They could be putting a bigger bill on the NHS. The aim of

:19:21. > :19:26.saving money might cost us more in the long run and that is a real

:19:26. > :19:31.worry to me. Since you can get delay without a medical evaluation

:19:31. > :19:37.and once you get it, you get it effectively forever, why would you

:19:37. > :19:41.think that fraud is so low? I think it is a complex form to fill in. I

:19:41. > :19:46.had to fill one in and I have been reassessed, not recently, but a

:19:46. > :19:52.while ago. Come pennies make money out of helping you. I disagree with

:19:52. > :19:57.that. That is not a positive way forward. DLA is by no means perfect,

:19:57. > :20:01.but it helps a huge number of disabled people with the recognised

:20:01. > :20:07.extra costs of being disabled. Public transport is not great. I

:20:07. > :20:12.can only drive an automatic car which is more expensive. It costs

:20:12. > :20:16.disabled people more or to be in work and there is a great deal of

:20:16. > :20:21.discrimination against disabled people. Delay is kind of buying

:20:21. > :20:28.people's rights. I would love to be in a position where we do not have

:20:28. > :20:34.to buy that at all. You have got the Secretary of State here. What

:20:34. > :20:37.would you like to say to him? it right for disabled people. We

:20:37. > :20:41.hear an awful lot about the people with the broadest shoulders will

:20:41. > :20:48.bear the brunt of austerity and cuts and I am not feeling too many

:20:48. > :20:52.impinge manse and things that I am experiencing. But I am getting

:20:52. > :20:56.hundreds of e-mails from disabled people and organisations who are

:20:56. > :21:01.terrified they will be ghettoise and pushed out of society and there

:21:01. > :21:05.is nowhere for them to go. We need reform, but we have to be convinced

:21:05. > :21:11.this is the right reform and I do not believe it is. What do you say

:21:11. > :21:15.to that? First of all the Personal Independence Payment will be making

:21:15. > :21:20.sure that those who need the benefit, which is based on care and

:21:20. > :21:24.mobility, they will still remain as criteria. Those who need the

:21:24. > :21:27.benefit will get it. We will see more people with more severe

:21:27. > :21:33.conditions get better level of settlements, so people will gain as

:21:33. > :21:40.well as lose. Do you accept only a small number of people are cheating

:21:40. > :21:44.the system? There is a different way of looking at this. Fraud

:21:44. > :21:50.represents a certain amount of money, but there is another area as

:21:50. > :21:54.well. Because in DLA people get 70% for their lifetime and I never

:21:54. > :21:59.looked at again and most are never looked at in the first place, what

:21:59. > :22:04.happens is there has been a whole series of overpayments, roughly

:22:04. > :22:08.about �600 million. It is a significant amount of money that is

:22:08. > :22:12.going to people who we think do not need as much or who do not need

:22:12. > :22:17.that money. Yet others inside DLA are legitimately complaining they

:22:17. > :22:22.do not get enough to support their care needs and their mobility. The

:22:22. > :22:27.purpose of the reform, which we are consulting on, will continue to

:22:27. > :22:32.consult on, are all about saying the balance of this is to make sure

:22:32. > :22:35.we have a sustainable allowance for people who are disabled. She quite

:22:35. > :22:41.rightly said there is discrimination and people take a

:22:41. > :22:45.dim view of people getting benefits, but half of the problem is their

:22:45. > :22:49.view is there are people who are getting it who should not. Personal

:22:49. > :22:53.independence payments will be able to say, we have got a system which

:22:53. > :22:57.is very robust, which will give to people who need the right money and

:22:58. > :23:01.now you can respect that benefit. That respect will be required and

:23:01. > :23:07.you can say, I do not mind giving my money because it is going to the

:23:07. > :23:14.right people. That is the balance. Your response? I would like to ask

:23:14. > :23:18.about the half-a-million people who might lose out through the process.

:23:18. > :23:22.What about these have a million people if we really find they are

:23:22. > :23:27.losing out if they are being discriminated against, if they are

:23:27. > :23:30.losing their jobs? Will they be allowed to have some support.

:23:30. > :23:35.point about the half-a-million losing out his we also do not talk

:23:35. > :23:40.about those who will be gaining from this. Well half-a-million lose

:23:40. > :23:44.out? If they are not eligible under the criteria. If their condition

:23:44. > :23:51.changes, if it gets worse, they will get a higher level of payment.

:23:51. > :23:57.The criteria that we believe that level of people are not necessary

:23:57. > :24:02.in on DLA, we believe there are others support areas for them. They

:24:03. > :24:08.may be eligible for that. DLA right now if we do nothing to it is set

:24:08. > :24:15.to grow to well over 2 million. The cost will spiral. It is already

:24:15. > :24:19.over 12 billion. It is not being respected. I have one question here

:24:19. > :24:24.because I have got and the sitting on my left. The last Government

:24:24. > :24:28.wanted to reform delay and they have an opportunity to support our

:24:28. > :24:32.reforms. Yet again they voted against them last night not saying

:24:32. > :24:37.what they would do in their place. The Labour opposition is to decide

:24:37. > :24:43.whether it is in support of welfare reform or whether it is going to

:24:43. > :24:47.cop out. We support the case for reform and we have said that. The

:24:47. > :24:53.public are with you when it comes to tackling fraud, waste, or giving

:24:53. > :24:57.people benefits who do not need them. But Tanni Grey-Thompson makes

:24:57. > :25:02.an eloquent case. You go beyond that line and you take help away

:25:02. > :25:07.from people who desperately need it. I am hearing those fears and

:25:07. > :25:12.concerns in my surgery. From my own policy perspective, you are a man

:25:12. > :25:17.of compassion and integrity, how can you possibly take money off

:25:17. > :25:21.them when people are recovering from cancer, you cannot take a time

:25:21. > :25:26.limit for that. How can you give them the extra worry of worrying

:25:26. > :25:30.about their benefits. ESA was a benefit you left behind and you

:25:30. > :25:35.already allowed for cancer sufferers to have it taken off

:25:35. > :25:40.completely. We have brought cancer patients in on a number of areas.

:25:40. > :25:44.You have overturned the Lords. you take ESA and say, we will take

:25:44. > :25:50.you out on your condition, why can't you do it on every other

:25:50. > :25:55.condition? It is different. Cancer takes people out of the workplace

:25:55. > :26:00.and give them lots of extra costs. Car parking, the hospital, the

:26:00. > :26:05.stress. That is over the line. would love to let us continue, but

:26:05. > :26:09.we have got Prime Minister's Questions and thank you to Tanni

:26:09. > :26:14.Grey-Thompson for joining us. You through a little fire into our

:26:14. > :26:18.studio, come back again. Spare a thought for the poor old

:26:18. > :26:25.Education Secretary. First he suggests an ace and should give the

:26:25. > :26:28.Queen and new royal yacht to lift our spirits. But then he should bat

:26:28. > :26:33.said it should be privately funded. Then he finds out his plan to send

:26:33. > :26:37.a copy of the Ken Jones Bible with a forward by himself to every

:26:37. > :26:40.school and the country has fallen by the wayside as well. He had to

:26:40. > :26:46.find private funding for that. Michael, if you are watching, there

:26:46. > :26:50.is one thing the Queen and every school in the country needs, a

:26:50. > :26:54.Daily Politics mug. If you are clever enough you could win 23,000

:26:54. > :27:00.of these and send one to every school in the country. That would

:27:00. > :27:06.take some time. We have only got about 10. Is he sending these

:27:06. > :27:13.Bibles to everybody who can pay for a job? Everyone can pray they will

:27:13. > :27:23.never have a Labour Government again. We will remind you how to

:27:23. > :27:32.

:27:32. > :27:42.enter in a minute, but let's see if Cynthia Diane pain. 193. The pain

:27:42. > :27:49.

:27:50. > :27:56.# The only way is up, baby, you and me now. # We have been invaded by

:27:56. > :28:06.some people who we hope to be removing very shortly.

:28:06. > :28:11.

:28:11. > :28:18.# You had to sneak into my room just to read my diary. # For a

:28:18. > :28:26.stock # Every time I see you, something happens to me.

:28:26. > :28:35.Like a chain reaction, between you and me.

:28:35. > :28:39.My heart starts missing a beat every time. #.

:28:39. > :28:44.How youthful those politicians looked in that film. To be in with

:28:44. > :28:54.a chance of winning a Daily Politics Macca centre answer to our

:28:54. > :29:03.

:29:03. > :29:13.It is coming up to midday, let's take a look at Big Ben. It is a

:29:13. > :29:13.

:29:13. > :29:18.very gloomy day in London. There is a good Scottish word for that.

:29:18. > :29:23.does that mean? Yes, Prime Minister's questions is on its way

:29:23. > :29:29.and that is not all. Nick Robinson is here. We will do it with

:29:29. > :29:39.subtitles in future. That should happen every week. I am pretty sure

:29:39. > :29:43.Mr Miliband will agree with that. PM queues is a test of his

:29:43. > :29:48.leadership. The year has been defined by the questions about his

:29:49. > :29:53.leadership. But it was just before Christmas when I got some flak from

:29:53. > :29:57.people in the Labour Party because I suggested he had had a rough time.

:29:57. > :30:02.That was the moment in which people in his own party started to say

:30:02. > :30:09.they were worried. I think he wants to get back to good, solid, raising

:30:09. > :30:16.the issue questions. I suspect his advisers will say keep it low-key.

:30:16. > :30:20.It is about not losing, but the intriguing question for Cameron is

:30:20. > :30:23.does he try and tease him about Labour's economic policy or do the

:30:23. > :30:29.Tories take the view it might be working for Labour and avoid it

:30:29. > :30:36.This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others

:30:36. > :30:40.and I shall have further such meetings later today. The prime

:30:40. > :30:44.minister will be aware of the very strong uptake of Academy Schools in

:30:44. > :30:48.Gloucester, but is he aware of the enormous differences and funding

:30:48. > :30:53.which put Stowe School is at the bottom of the league table in terms

:30:53. > :30:57.of the lax a funding? I welcome the Government's move towards a

:30:57. > :31:01.national funding formula, but will he look at the serious situation in

:31:01. > :31:05.Gloucester in regards to those schools? Who my honourable friend

:31:05. > :31:09.is quite right, we need to sort out this problem even before looking at

:31:09. > :31:13.national funding formula. It is a funding formula we inherited and I

:31:13. > :31:17.believe it is flawed and that is why we are reforming it. The

:31:17. > :31:21.Secretary of State has met with Academy heads in his constituency

:31:21. > :31:25.and will discuss with him how we can deal with this problem. The

:31:25. > :31:29.growing evidence is that Academy Schools are not just good for the

:31:29. > :31:33.pupils who go, but by raising standards and aspirations in those

:31:33. > :31:43.areas, they are raising the standards of all schools.

:31:43. > :31:47.

:31:47. > :31:53.Mr Speaker, the Prime Minister told us that unemployment would fall in

:31:53. > :31:58.each year of this Parliament. Today, unemployment rose for the 6th month

:31:58. > :32:01.in a row. Does he think it has anything to do with his government?

:32:02. > :32:07.The Government takes absolute responsibility for everything that

:32:07. > :32:10.happens in our economy and I take responsibility for that. Any

:32:10. > :32:14.increase in unemployment is disappointing and it is obviously a

:32:14. > :32:18.tragedy for the person who becomes unemployed and can lead to real

:32:18. > :32:23.difficulty for that family and that is why we are taking so much action

:32:23. > :32:27.to help people to get back into work. If you look at the figures

:32:27. > :32:31.today, it is noteworthy that while the increase in unemployment is

:32:31. > :32:36.usually unwelcome, there's still an increase in the number of people

:32:36. > :32:39.employed, another 18,000 people in work. That shows we need more

:32:39. > :32:45.private sector employment, you need to move further and faster on that

:32:45. > :32:50.agenda. It is also noteworthy that there's a small decrease in long-

:32:50. > :32:53.term unemployment and I hope that shows that schemes like the work

:32:53. > :32:57.programme we are introducing are beginning to have an effect. But we

:32:57. > :33:00.need them to go further and faster, there's not one ounce of

:33:00. > :33:05.complacency in this government, we will do everything we can to get

:33:05. > :33:12.people back to work. Doesn't the Prime Minister understand, when he

:33:12. > :33:18.boasts about rising employment, it shows how part of touchy is? -- out

:33:18. > :33:23.of touch. In some parts of London, 100 people are chasing three

:33:23. > :33:26.vacancies. That is the situation people are facing. Can he confirm

:33:27. > :33:32.that under his policies, far from things getting better over the

:33:32. > :33:37.coming year, he expects things to get worse and unemployment to rise

:33:37. > :33:42.to 2.8 million? Forecasts are no longer set out by the Government,

:33:42. > :33:47.they are set out by the Independent office of a budget responsibility.

:33:47. > :33:52.Unlike in his day, these forecasts are not fixed and fiddled by

:33:52. > :33:55.ministers, they are set out by independent economists. What the

:33:55. > :33:59.Government's responsibility is to do everything we can to help people

:33:59. > :34:04.into work. That is why we have the work programme that is helping 3

:34:04. > :34:09.million people, the youth contract that will get a private sector jobs

:34:09. > :34:14.for 160,000 young people, that is why we have work experience for

:34:14. > :34:19.250,000 young people and half of those are off benefits within two

:34:19. > :34:23.months. That is 20 times better value than the Future Jobs Fund.

:34:23. > :34:27.There's no boasting about anything. What we have is growth in the

:34:27. > :34:31.private sector, contraction in the public sector, but Lee need to get

:34:31. > :34:36.the economy moving and key to that is having low interest rates that

:34:36. > :34:40.his plans would put at risk. doesn't seem to understand. The

:34:40. > :34:44.reason the OBR figures matter is that they show over the next year,

:34:44. > :34:50.unemployment will get worse not better on his policies. Nothing he

:34:50. > :34:54.can say can deny that. That long list of policies, according to the

:34:54. > :35:01.OBR, will make no difference. Let's talk about young people. In the

:35:01. > :35:05.last year, can he confirm that we have now 147,000 young people out

:35:05. > :35:12.of work for more than six months? That is double what it was a year

:35:12. > :35:18.ago. An increase of 100 to descend. Why has he allowed it to happen? --

:35:18. > :35:22.102%. Her over the last year, unemployment amongst young people,

:35:22. > :35:27.measured by the Independent Labour Organisation, the proper way of

:35:27. > :35:31.measuring, is up by 7%. It is not the 40% increase we had under

:35:31. > :35:35.Labour, but it is far too high. We need to help those young people

:35:35. > :35:39.into work and that is what our programmes are doing. Let me make

:35:39. > :35:42.this point because it's important. There's a fundamental difference

:35:42. > :35:48.between the way this government measures youth unemployment and the

:35:48. > :35:52.way the last government did. This is important. His government

:35:52. > :35:56.counted young people who were on jobseeker's allowance but in any

:35:56. > :36:00.form the scheme as not unemployed. This government is saying until you

:36:00. > :36:04.get a permanent job, we will measure you as unemployed. That is

:36:04. > :36:14.not complacent, that is frank and straightforward and what we never

:36:14. > :36:15.

:36:15. > :36:25.got from them. It really is back to the 1980s. A Tory government... A

:36:25. > :36:30.A Tory government blaming unemployment on the figures. No

:36:30. > :36:34.wonder he has rehired Lord Young! The employment secretary in the

:36:35. > :36:39.1980s. On long-term youth unemployment, he's wrong on the

:36:39. > :36:43.facts. Long-term youth unemployment, which has that scarring effect on

:36:43. > :36:48.young people, desperate for work, out of work for more than six

:36:48. > :36:53.months, that has doubled. That has doubled in the last year. However

:36:53. > :36:58.much he twists and turns, can he confirm that central fact? It is up

:36:59. > :37:02.by 102% -- 102%. Love I have explained the figures. If you look

:37:02. > :37:07.at the number of young people out of work for longer than 12 months,

:37:07. > :37:10.that number is starting to go down. That is not nearly enough, far more

:37:10. > :37:15.needs to be done, but that is what the work programme is all about and

:37:15. > :37:19.that is what he needs to understand. There's a context. If we want to

:37:19. > :37:23.get unemployment Dell, we have to keep interest rates down and we've

:37:23. > :37:27.had own reminder on what happens if you don't have a plan to get on top

:37:27. > :37:31.of your deficit and get your economy moving. That is what he

:37:31. > :37:35.doesn't understand. What you have is a government that is absolutely

:37:35. > :37:40.clear about its plans and an opposition that has absolutely no

:37:40. > :37:46.idea. Last year he marched against the cuts, now he tells us he

:37:46. > :37:51.accepts the cuts. And yet... And yet today he is telling us he wants

:37:51. > :38:01.to spend more and borrow more. He is so incompetent, he can't even do

:38:01. > :38:02.

:38:02. > :38:11.a U-turn properly. Her he is simply... Mr Speaker... The House

:38:11. > :38:14.must try to calm down. Ed Miliband. Mr Speaker, I know he doesn't want

:38:14. > :38:19.to talk about the young people out of work in this country, because

:38:19. > :38:23.he's embarrassed by his record on what is happening, but he owes it

:38:23. > :38:27.to them to tell the facts as they are about what is happening to them.

:38:27. > :38:31.I come back to this point. The prime minister said that long-term

:38:31. > :38:37.unemployment among young people is going down. It is not going down,

:38:37. > :38:42.it is going up. He mentions the work programme. He introduced it

:38:42. > :38:46.with great fanfare in June. What has happened to long-term youth

:38:46. > :38:51.unemployment since he introduced his work programme? Let me give him

:38:51. > :38:57.the figures. I will give him the figures exactly. There are far too

:38:57. > :39:02.many young people who are long-term unemployed. There are 246,000 young

:39:02. > :39:07.people unemployed for over a year. That is down 11,000 on the last

:39:07. > :39:12.quarter. That is not enough, we want to do more, but it is because

:39:12. > :39:17.we have the work programme, because we have used contract, because we

:39:17. > :39:20.have 400,000 apprenticeships, because we have got 250,000 people

:39:20. > :39:25.going into work experience, we make a difference. Why doesn't he come

:39:25. > :39:35.up with something constructive instead of knocking everybody down?

:39:35. > :39:42.

:39:42. > :39:47.I will tell him what he should do. Yeah. Yeah. Because wide is

:39:47. > :39:53.unemployment rising? Why is unemployment rising? Because he is

:39:53. > :39:57.cutting too far and too fast. It is his record, however much he twists

:39:57. > :40:02.and turns, it is his record, that is why unemployment is going up.

:40:02. > :40:05.What we have is women's unemployment are the highest since

:40:05. > :40:08.the last time there was a Tory government. Youth unemployment the

:40:08. > :40:12.highest since the last time there was a Tory government. And

:40:12. > :40:16.unemployment since the last time there was a Tory government. Isn't

:40:16. > :40:19.the truth, the defining characteristic of this government

:40:20. > :40:26.is it stands aside and does nothing as thousands of people find

:40:26. > :40:30.themselves unemployed? Mr Speaker, to be Fairford -- to the honourable

:40:30. > :40:37.gentleman, he does actually changed course every day. He is an expert

:40:37. > :40:40.in changing course. Labour's Shadow Chancellor said two days ago, my

:40:40. > :40:45.starting point is we are going to have to keep all the cuts. That is

:40:45. > :40:49.what he said. Then Labour's deputy leader said yesterday, we are not

:40:49. > :40:52.accepting the Government's cuts, we are totally opposed and we are

:40:52. > :41:00.fighting them. He is flip-flopping on a daily basis. No wonder

:41:00. > :41:04.Labour's founder... At a time when the nation needs strong political

:41:04. > :41:08.leadership, Labour offers nothing. The Pru prisoners pragmatic

:41:08. > :41:12.approach to wealth and Enterprise have all gone. Instead there is a

:41:12. > :41:22.vision and leadership vacuum. What total adequate to estimate of what

:41:22. > :41:27.My right honourable friend will be aware that I recently raised the

:41:27. > :41:30.case of my late constituent Mr Martin Pratt with the Armed forces

:41:30. > :41:35.Minister, as also he will be aware of the excellent fighting fit

:41:35. > :41:38.report written by my honourable friend the member for South West

:41:38. > :41:43.Wiltshire dealing with post- traumatic stress disorder among

:41:43. > :41:46.veterans. Due to the stigma often attached to mental illness, many

:41:46. > :41:49.veterans wait years before seeking help. I hope my right honourable

:41:49. > :41:54.friend can tell the House what plans the Government has in this

:41:54. > :41:58.area. My honourable friend is entirely right to raise this issue.

:41:58. > :42:02.The mental scars that people who served this country often receive

:42:02. > :42:06.can be every bit as deep as the physical scars and it is not

:42:06. > :42:10.something we have always accepted and understood properly. That is

:42:10. > :42:13.why the report by my honourable friend for the member for South

:42:13. > :42:17.West Wiltshire is so important, as someone with real experience and

:42:17. > :42:22.understanding of this. We have implemented almost all of its

:42:22. > :42:26.recommendations, we have launched the 24 hour helpline, we are

:42:26. > :42:28.introducing the enhanced mental health assessments for service

:42:28. > :42:33.personnel and the veteran month -- veterans information service we

:42:33. > :42:37.hope to get up and running in April this year. Her with a tragic

:42:37. > :42:43.accident involving the cruise ship Costa Concordia, and with the 50

:42:43. > :42:47.plus liners the same size or bigger which will visit the dock of green

:42:47. > :42:50.knock on the Clyde in the coming months and years ahead, does the

:42:50. > :42:54.Prime Minister still think it is the correct decision to close the

:42:54. > :42:58.Clyde coastguards decision? Good God! Her the case in Italy is

:42:58. > :43:02.clearly tragic and our hearts should go out of the people who

:43:02. > :43:06.have lost loved ones, people from countries across the world. We need

:43:06. > :43:10.to wait and see what the exact cause of the accident was before we

:43:10. > :43:13.jump to conclusions about any changes in regulations or other

:43:13. > :43:18.things that need to be changed. If there are changes that need to be

:43:18. > :43:24.made, including to the issue he raises, we will look at it of

:43:24. > :43:27.course. The Prime Minister has very kindly undertaken to bring forward

:43:27. > :43:32.a comprehensive water bill early in the next parliamentary session.

:43:32. > :43:36.Will he end the uncertainty for water customers and industry alike

:43:36. > :43:42.by publishing the draft Bill now so we can have proper parliamentary

:43:42. > :43:46.scrutiny? High can say to right honourable friend that we will be

:43:46. > :43:51.publishing a draft water bill for pre-legislative scrutiny in the

:43:51. > :43:54.coming months. As she knows, there are many important parts to this

:43:54. > :43:59.water bill can't one part that stands up is the prommers we have

:43:59. > :44:03.made and the funding we have supplied to help cut water bills in

:44:03. > :44:08.the south-west from �50 in 20th April 13. This has dresses and

:44:08. > :44:18.historic unfairness where people have been a south-west felt they

:44:18. > :44:18.

:44:18. > :44:21.had paid unfair charges to provide clean beaches. In America, six

:44:21. > :44:26.directors from the bail dealt Freddie Mac and Fanny Mae company

:44:26. > :44:29.have been taken to court for gross mismanagement. The FSA in this

:44:29. > :44:34.country say they can't bring enforcement action against the

:44:34. > :44:40.Royal Bank of Scotland because they don't have legal tender. Will the

:44:40. > :44:41.prime minister consider introducing a legal sanction of strict

:44:41. > :44:45.liability into his draft Financial Services Bill so those responsible

:44:45. > :44:47.for the banking crisis will be taken to task? After all, we are

:44:47. > :44:51.all in this together. honourable gentleman makes an

:44:51. > :44:54.important point and the whole point about overhauling the financial

:44:54. > :44:58.services regulation is it gives us the opportunity to look around the

:44:58. > :45:02.rest of the world, see who has tougher penalties and work out

:45:02. > :45:05.whether we can introduce them to our system. That is why we will

:45:05. > :45:08.introduce this bill with a major overhaul of how the FSA and the

:45:08. > :45:18.Bank of England work and deal with the regulars Tree system that was

:45:18. > :45:25.A year ago the Prime Minister told me the reason for the new health

:45:25. > :45:30.bill was, simply this country does not have a European levels of

:45:30. > :45:33.success. Now we know that that is not the case, will the Prime

:45:33. > :45:39.Minister pleased shelf the disruptive Bill which is struggling

:45:39. > :45:44.in another place, go back to the coalition agreement and built up

:45:44. > :45:48.from there? I have great respect for my honourable friend, but I do

:45:48. > :45:52.not agree with him. With the help build a huge exercise was

:45:52. > :45:58.undertaken which the Deputy Prime Minister and I both played quite a

:45:58. > :46:01.large role in in listening to health professionals, nurses, to

:46:01. > :46:07.understand what they most wanted to see in the NHS reform bill and that

:46:07. > :46:11.is what we are delivering. He says it is not the case we have outcomes

:46:11. > :46:16.that are less than some parts of Europe. I am afraid it is the case.

:46:16. > :46:22.In some cases we could be doing a lot better. To argue the case the

:46:22. > :46:25.NHS simply needs money and not reform, I do not believe is right.

:46:25. > :46:30.In the north-east unemployment amongst women is rising at twice

:46:30. > :46:35.the rate of men. Where does the Prime Minister think the women's

:46:35. > :46:40.place is? In the home, the workplace or the JobCentre? I want

:46:40. > :46:44.to see many more women have the opportunity to be in the workplace.

:46:44. > :46:49.What you have seen in the figures, of course there is a disappointing

:46:49. > :46:54.increase in unemployment amongst women, but since the election there

:46:54. > :46:59.are 59,000 more women in work today than there were at the time of the

:46:59. > :47:04.last election. That is why we are boosting childcare to help women

:47:04. > :47:10.into work. We are introducing through universal credit support

:47:10. > :47:15.for all women with childcare for work and by lifting over 1 million

:47:15. > :47:22.people out of tax, the majority of whom are women, that helps women

:47:22. > :47:28.enter the workforce. That is what I want to save. Last week, I met a

:47:28. > :47:34.couple in Redditch who were appalled that a family unless were

:47:34. > :47:38.getting benefits than they were and they were working full-time

:47:38. > :47:42.questing knight does he think it is fair? Let me say this about the

:47:42. > :47:52.benefit cap. We owe it to people who work hard and pay their tactics

:47:52. > :47:53.

:47:54. > :47:57.to make -- taxes, that it is fair. You would have to earn �35,000 in

:47:57. > :48:03.order to achieve a certain standard of living and I believe the

:48:03. > :48:09.benefits cap is fair and that is why we are going to introduce one.

:48:09. > :48:13.Some of the most vulnerable people in our society, cancer and heart

:48:13. > :48:17.patients, will be financially penalised as a result of the

:48:17. > :48:23.measures going through the Lords. Is it any wonder people say it is

:48:23. > :48:27.the same old Tories and the Tories are the nasty party? I do not

:48:27. > :48:29.accept what the honourable gentleman says. The whole point

:48:29. > :48:34.about employment and support allowance is there are two groups.

:48:34. > :48:38.There are those who cannot work and need help and many people will go

:48:38. > :48:42.into that group and were received that benefit for us long as they

:48:42. > :48:48.need it. If you look at what we have said and look at the report,

:48:48. > :48:51.there will be more cancer sufferers getting benefits and fewer people

:48:51. > :48:58.facing the face-to-face interview. He shakes his head and should look

:48:58. > :49:03.at the evidence before asking the question. I was shocked to discover

:49:03. > :49:09.that mainstream, terrestrial television carries adverts for

:49:09. > :49:14.bingo at 5 o'clock in the afternoon, 35 hours and 55 minutes each week

:49:14. > :49:20.is dedicated to live casino and betting Gaming. It has been

:49:20. > :49:24.classified as Tele shopping. At a time when there are trillions of

:49:24. > :49:27.pounds worth of personal debt in this country and we are encouraging

:49:28. > :49:32.people to be moderate in their expectations, with the Prime

:49:32. > :49:41.Minister protect consumers Colored children and the vulnerable from

:49:42. > :49:44.this kind of activity? Order, order. The question was too long.

:49:44. > :49:49.honourable lady raises an important issue about gambling advertisements

:49:49. > :49:55.on television. I am in favour of the regulation and trying to allow

:49:55. > :49:59.businesses to get on and succeed. Betting advertising and gambling

:49:59. > :50:03.programmes were not permitted until the last Government allowed them.

:50:04. > :50:09.They are regulated by Ofcom and the Advertising Standards Authority.

:50:09. > :50:13.But it is not just a question of regulation, it is the question of

:50:14. > :50:19.responsibility for those companies concerned. If you enjoy watching a

:50:19. > :50:21.football match, you see quite aggressive advertisements on telly.

:50:21. > :50:27.The companies have to ask themselves whether they are

:50:27. > :50:32.behaving responsibly. On the subject of gambling in Hackney we

:50:32. > :50:36.have 90 bookies, three times the national average. Will the Prime

:50:36. > :50:40.Minister listened to the debate that took place yesterday and

:50:40. > :50:43.instruct his ministers to support the private member's bill before

:50:43. > :50:47.the size which would give local authorities more planning powers

:50:47. > :50:56.over bookies? I will look at the debate she mentions and look at the

:50:56. > :51:01.ideas in it. We are all for giving local authorities greater powers.

:51:01. > :51:05.Will the Prime Minister agree with me that in this 30th ear of the

:51:05. > :51:10.Falklands War or the actions of the Argentine Government are wholly

:51:10. > :51:14.deplorable? Will he remind Argentina that they lost the

:51:14. > :51:21.Falklands War and it is up to the Falkland dares to determine their

:51:21. > :51:27.own future? First of all, it is very important we commemorate the

:51:27. > :51:31.Falklands War on this year, the 30th anniversary, and we remember

:51:31. > :51:36.all those who served and those who gave their lives and did not come

:51:36. > :51:40.home, we should remember all those people this year. We are clear that

:51:40. > :51:44.the future of the Falkland Islands is a matter for the people

:51:44. > :51:50.themselves. If they want to remain part of the United Kingdom, they

:51:50. > :51:54.should be able to do so. I am determined we should make sure our

:51:54. > :51:59.defence and everything else is in order, which is why the National

:51:59. > :52:03.Security Council discussed this issue yesterday. We support the

:52:03. > :52:08.Falkland Islanders right to self- determination. But the Argentinians

:52:08. > :52:12.have been saying I would argue is far more like colonialism. These

:52:12. > :52:22.people want to remain British and the Argentinians want them to do

:52:22. > :52:23.

:52:23. > :52:29.something else. Hear, hear. We have seen a rise in unemployment to data

:52:29. > :52:34.over 3000 in my constituency, a 16% increase in the past year. When

:52:34. > :52:38.does the Prime Minister expect unemployment to start falling?

:52:38. > :52:42.forecast is set out by the Office of Budget Responsibility and it is

:52:42. > :52:48.for them to make the forecasts and they expect unemployment to be

:52:48. > :52:52.lower at the end of this Parliament and for implore met -- and plummet

:52:52. > :52:57.to be higher. We are doing everything we can to help the

:52:57. > :53:01.constituents into work. The apprenticeship schemes, the work

:53:01. > :53:11.experience, and we are keeping interest rates low so that our

:53:11. > :53:12.

:53:12. > :53:18.economy can grow. Closed questions. Number 10, Mr Speaker.

:53:18. > :53:22.honourable lady raises an important issue about the working time

:53:22. > :53:28.directive and its effect on the NHS. Nobody wants to go back to the time

:53:28. > :53:31.when junior doctors were working 90 hours a week, but we have all seen

:53:31. > :53:35.in our constituencies that the working time directive has had a

:53:35. > :53:39.bad effect on the NHS and particularly on training programmes

:53:39. > :53:43.for junior doctors and that is why the Government is discussing this

:53:43. > :53:48.issue with the Royal Colleges and others to make sure we have

:53:48. > :53:52.flexibility. I thanked the Prime Minister for his answer. Does he

:53:52. > :53:57.share widespread concerns coming from the medical profession that

:53:57. > :54:00.whilst we wait for lengthy EU processes, where it has not been

:54:01. > :54:09.decided what they are going to discuss, we are seeing a critical

:54:09. > :54:12.undermining of junior doctors? We are seeing a roach and of the Peter

:54:12. > :54:17.professionalism and putting patient care and patient lives at risks.

:54:17. > :54:21.What steps can he take to make sure we sort this out quickly? This has

:54:21. > :54:26.got nothing to do with the single market. This has got to do with how

:54:26. > :54:30.we run our health service and particularly when it has an effect

:54:30. > :54:35.on training programmes, often in rural areas where we do not have

:54:35. > :54:39.large hospitals. What we can do is the Health and the business

:54:39. > :54:44.secretaries are committed to revising the directed at an EU

:54:44. > :54:49.level to deliver the best, safest service to patients and will work

:54:49. > :54:54.urgently to bring that about. Denis MacShane. Is the Prime

:54:54. > :55:00.Minister aware that every single medical problem at the hospital in

:55:00. > :55:05.my constituency is related to weekend working by exhausted at

:55:05. > :55:10.junior doctors? Far from this director have been a problem, it is

:55:10. > :55:17.a solution to the fact we have had far too many exhausted doctors in

:55:17. > :55:21.charge of patients. I do not doubt, well, in fact, I do doubt, what the

:55:21. > :55:27.honourable gentleman says. I cannot believe every problem is down to

:55:27. > :55:31.that. The local hospital in my constituency in Chipping Norton was

:55:31. > :55:35.threatened with massive downgrading partly because of the working-time

:55:35. > :55:38.directive because they could not supply the training modules for

:55:38. > :55:43.junior doctors. This seemed a classic example of the card being

:55:43. > :55:51.put in front of the horse. We have to determine what hospitals we want

:55:51. > :55:54.and then thinking about the working models. I welcome the announcement

:55:54. > :56:00.of closer co-operation between financial centres in Hong Kong and

:56:00. > :56:03.London. Does the Prime Minister agree this helps highlight the

:56:03. > :56:07.opportunities for trade in Asia and the importance of promoting this

:56:07. > :56:12.country to the commitment of free trade and showing this country is

:56:12. > :56:17.open for business? My honourable friend makes a vitally important

:56:17. > :56:21.point. Clearly the markets in Europe are going to be difficult.

:56:21. > :56:24.We are seeing a freezing effect across the European Union, but the

:56:24. > :56:29.rest of the world economy is growing and we need to get out

:56:29. > :56:35.there and sell to those markets. Exports to China were up by 20%

:56:35. > :56:38.last year. The arrangement the Chancellor has come to, which will

:56:38. > :56:45.make London one of the great trading centres, is one important

:56:45. > :56:50.breakthrough. Could the Prime Minister clarify what the coalition

:56:50. > :56:59.Government's position is on inheritance tax? In my constituency

:56:59. > :57:02.we have received, if the Tories were governing alone, it would be

:57:02. > :57:08.cutting inheritance for millionaires and they would pay for

:57:08. > :57:15.it by reducing public spending even more, is that true? Deposition on

:57:15. > :57:20.inheritance tax is covered in the coalition agreement. Last week on

:57:21. > :57:25.the Syrian border I met Syrian army deserters who refused to kill their

:57:25. > :57:30.fellow-citizens and a small child winded by that regime. If things

:57:30. > :57:33.there are to get better, the world must stop selling arms to Syria.

:57:33. > :57:37.What evidence does the Prime Minister have of the country

:57:37. > :57:42.shipping arms to that regime? honourable gentleman makes an

:57:42. > :57:46.important point. We need to lead the way in making sure we tighten

:57:46. > :57:50.the sanctions, the travel bans, the asset freezing on Syria. In terms

:57:51. > :57:56.of who is helping the Syrian Government to a press their people,

:57:56. > :57:59.there is growing evidence Iran is providing a huge amount of support

:57:59. > :58:04.and there have been interceptions of shipments by Turkey which is

:58:04. > :58:08.interesting in this regard. Hizbollah is also an organisation

:58:08. > :58:16.that is standing up and supporting this wretched time into his killing

:58:16. > :58:19.so many of his own people. -- erected tyrant. There are reports

:58:20. > :58:24.from international aid agencies saying the crisis in the Horn of

:58:24. > :58:28.Africa was made worse by the delay in the international community

:58:28. > :58:32.responding. There is a similar crisis now threatening in West

:58:32. > :58:37.Africa. What will the Government do to ensure a speedy international

:58:37. > :58:42.response? He raises a very important point. My understanding

:58:42. > :58:46.is the British aid effort was very swift at getting aid into the Horn

:58:46. > :58:51.of Africa and was leading the pack in terms of the extent of the

:58:51. > :58:57.response, but also the speed at which it went in. The Horn of

:58:57. > :59:01.Africa is very difficult to deliver aid to, not least because of the

:59:02. > :59:09.control of Al-Shabab, a terrorist organisation, in large parts of

:59:09. > :59:13.Somalia. I will make sure we learnt any lessons. On 26th October I

:59:13. > :59:18.raised the case of my constituent who was killed outside her home by

:59:18. > :59:23.a driver under the influence of drugs. The Prime Minister met the

:59:23. > :59:28.family to talk about the case to change the law so we can deal with

:59:28. > :59:32.drug driving. Can he update the House on the progress? I pay

:59:32. > :59:37.tribute to the work my honourable friend is carrying out on this

:59:37. > :59:41.issue. It is important we take the issue of drug driving seriously. We

:59:41. > :59:47.are committed to making the drug- testing equipment available for use

:59:47. > :59:51.as soon as possible in police stations. The Casey is making that

:59:51. > :59:57.you need an equivalent law to drink driving is a strong one and we are

:59:57. > :59:59.examining its and we need to look at whether there will be an

:59:59. > :00:06.opportunity in the second legislative session to take forward

:00:06. > :00:09.this opera to edit. Does the Prime Minister share my concern that

:00:09. > :00:16.yesterday's ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that Abu

:00:16. > :00:19.Qatada cannot be deported? Will he agree to initiate all-party

:00:19. > :00:24.discussions focused not on rhetoric about ripping up the Human Rights

:00:24. > :00:27.Act, but how in practice this court could operate more proportionately,

:00:28. > :00:33.so that rights are respected, but the safety of the public is always

:00:33. > :00:37.paramour? I agree wholeheartedly with what the honourable gentleman

:00:37. > :00:43.is saying. It is difficult to understand because huge efforts

:00:43. > :00:47.have been gone to buy the British Government to have deportation with

:00:47. > :00:50.assurances agreement with Jordan to make sure people would not be

:00:50. > :00:54.mistreated. In this case the European Court of Human Rights has

:00:54. > :00:59.found he was not going to be tortured, but they were worried

:00:59. > :01:03.about the process of the court case in Jordan. A country like Britain

:01:03. > :01:08.that has got such a long tradition of human rights it should be able

:01:08. > :01:12.to deport people who mean us harm. We are not just going to have

:01:12. > :01:17.strong rhetoric about it. I am going to Strasbourg next week to

:01:17. > :01:21.make the argument that this is a good time to make reforms to the

:01:21. > :01:31.European Court of Human Rights and make sure it acts in a more

:01:31. > :01:35.proportional way. On 26th March, 2010, a two-and-a-half year-old boy

:01:35. > :01:40.it was kidnapped from his home in Cannock Chase and taken to Thailand

:01:40. > :01:44.by his mother. Six months later his father tracked him down in a remote

:01:44. > :01:48.village, finding his son could not speak, had his teeth broken and

:01:48. > :01:56.bruises all over his body. He believes had he not got him back

:01:56. > :01:59.then, he would have been sold. Each year in the UK, over 500 children

:01:59. > :02:05.are kidnapped in certain circumstances. With the Prime

:02:05. > :02:10.Minister meet with me to discuss what the Government can do to help

:02:10. > :02:15.parents of abducted children alike Joe? My right honourable friend is

:02:15. > :02:19.right to raise this case. It is an appalling case and any parents

:02:19. > :02:25.cannot help but be chilled to the bone about what happened to this

:02:25. > :02:32.poor boy. It is vital we put in place the best possible

:02:32. > :02:36.arrangements. I very much hope we will be able to legislate for the

:02:36. > :02:40.National crime agency and make sure it is properly resourced. It is

:02:40. > :02:44.vitally important when these appalling acts happened we get on

:02:44. > :02:54.top of them right away. The early effort is vital in saving these

:02:54. > :02:55.

:02:55. > :02:59.children. When does the Prime Minister expect to be cross-

:02:59. > :03:05.examined by the Leveson inquiry? Does he not agree that the British

:03:05. > :03:09.people deserve an answer as to why he appointed one of Rupert market's

:03:09. > :03:15.top lieutenants, Andy Coulson, to the heart of the British

:03:15. > :03:19.Government? I will be delighted to appear at the Leveson inquiry

:03:19. > :03:24.whenever I am invited and I am sure other politicians will have exactly

:03:24. > :03:29.the same at Bute and I will answer all the questions when it happens.

:03:29. > :03:33.It is good to see the honourable gentleman on such good form. I

:03:33. > :03:39.often say to my children, there is no need to go to the National

:03:39. > :03:48.History Museum to see a dinosaur, come to the House of canons at

:03:48. > :03:54.I think that was a joke from the Prime Minister! Ed Miliband used

:03:54. > :03:59.all of his questions on the unemployment figures out today. He

:03:59. > :04:02.kept it quite low key, sticking to the facts. That was probably the

:04:02. > :04:07.tactic of the day given the controversy around his leadership

:04:07. > :04:11.at the moment. We are going to hear what you told us first.

:04:11. > :04:14.The vast majority of e-mails were about unemployment and the

:04:14. > :04:18.discussion between the Prime Minister and the Leader of the

:04:18. > :04:26.Opposition. The argument was a score draw, although Ed Miliband

:04:26. > :04:30.saying it is back to the 1980s, he has a point. Matthew, better from

:04:30. > :04:35.Ed Miliband, unemployment, particularly long-term youth

:04:35. > :04:39.unemployment, is solid ground. Damien from Manchester, Ed Miliband

:04:39. > :04:44.moans that unemployment is rising but it was always tight. It was

:04:44. > :04:49.just his government hid the figures. Patrick, I am getting frustrated by

:04:50. > :04:53.V debate on youth unemployment. I'd turned 27 and have been out of work

:04:53. > :04:58.for nine months and there's no support for people like me. Colin

:04:58. > :05:02.in rugby, I can't believe David Cameron is trying to play with

:05:02. > :05:05.statistics to dampen the impact of the latest unemployment figures.

:05:05. > :05:15.Cuts to public spending will result in job losses. Why does he feel the

:05:15. > :05:24.need to hide behind excuses? And about Ed Miliband, pointing out the

:05:24. > :05:28.Labour Party... OK. Nick, there seemed to be a

:05:28. > :05:32.change of tactics from the Leader of the Opposition today, not going

:05:32. > :05:36.for the scripted one-liners he hopes you will pick up for the news.

:05:36. > :05:40.Let's stick with the facts, let's grill on Lomu -- unemployment and

:05:40. > :05:43.keep it low-key. That's right, low key and factual and something

:05:43. > :05:47.people care passionately about, and about something he cares

:05:47. > :05:53.passionately about and he knows unemployment is likely to rise in

:05:54. > :06:01.the next year. Also striking, and we see it better in here, we have

:06:01. > :06:06.an enormous green, watched the other bed next to him. Silent. A

:06:06. > :06:12.lot of nodding and shaking of heads, but the actions he took in the past,

:06:12. > :06:17.which the Prime Minister described as like watching a man with to read

:06:17. > :06:21.syndrome, and then apologised, he was not shouting out, flatlining

:06:21. > :06:26.about the economy, he was quite different. There was a deliberate

:06:26. > :06:31.attempt to take some of the steam out of it. But David Cameron had up

:06:31. > :06:35.his sleeve a joke at Ed Miliband's expense about not even being able

:06:35. > :06:39.to conduct any do you turn. I think the Labour leadership will think

:06:39. > :06:44.they made a bit of progress, but there is a long way to go. Could

:06:44. > :06:48.you sum up what Labour policy is towards the cuts? We said it was

:06:48. > :06:52.wrong to go too far and too fast and that remains our position. But

:06:52. > :06:57.the Government have set a course, they have set spending plans for

:06:58. > :07:02.this Parliament and we are seeing the consequences of those plans.

:07:02. > :07:05.are -- we are seeing growth stagnating, unemployment going up.

:07:05. > :07:10.We have to deal with the consequences of those plans. We

:07:10. > :07:13.will have to face up to difficulties. It is jobs. What Ed

:07:13. > :07:18.Balls and Ed Miliband said last weekend about paid in the public

:07:18. > :07:21.sector, it is basically about jobs, preserving as many jobs as possible.

:07:21. > :07:25.Labour will make jobs our top priority this year. Everything we

:07:26. > :07:30.do has to be about jobs because this is the Government's big

:07:30. > :07:34.failure. They haven't grasped what is happening out there to places

:07:34. > :07:39.like my constituency where I have parents and grandparents, every

:07:39. > :07:42.week, saying what are we going to do for my son and daughter? That is

:07:42. > :07:48.what we are experiencing in our constituencies and that is what we

:07:48. > :07:54.will push away on all year. Let me ask you again, what is Labour's

:07:54. > :07:58.policy towards cuts now? By just explained that. I will go further.

:07:58. > :08:01.You didn't come up with respect. You went on about jobs, it would be

:08:01. > :08:06.surprising if the Labour opposition at a time of 2.6 million unemployed

:08:06. > :08:13.did not go on about jobs, that is different from a policy. What is

:08:13. > :08:18.your policy? A just said. -- I just said. Ed Miliband said they should

:08:18. > :08:22.change course. We have set out a plan for a banker's bonus tax to

:08:23. > :08:29.pay for jobs for young people. That is the policy we have on the table.

:08:29. > :08:33.It is a costed policy. They were wrong to scrap our Future Jobs Fund,

:08:33. > :08:36.they were wrong to scrap the education maintenance allowance.

:08:36. > :08:40.They are now desperately trying to scrabble around to deal with what

:08:40. > :08:45.they are facing. You would not reinstate them? We said they were

:08:45. > :08:49.wrong to do it. Will you reinstate them? They have set a spending plan

:08:49. > :08:53.for this Parliament so what can we do? We can't say we won the world

:08:53. > :08:57.we wanted a couple of years ago. They have put these plans in place

:08:57. > :09:03.and damaged young people's job prospects. We have to face up to

:09:03. > :09:08.that reality. What was the change in policy announced by Mr Balls and

:09:08. > :09:12.Mr Miliband last week? It was about public sector pay. They said that

:09:12. > :09:16.although it is difficult, it is the right policy because that enables

:09:16. > :09:22.us to ensure as many people as possible are helped to stay in jobs

:09:22. > :09:30.in the public sector. Right now, this is the problem. Acceptance of

:09:30. > :09:36.the pay freeze. Accepting a pay freeze was the change? That was it?

:09:36. > :09:43.We have to face up to the mess at George Osborne is creating. That

:09:43. > :09:47.was it, that was the one change? That was the change. That's all?

:09:47. > :09:52.are accepting the circumstances the Government has created. We have to

:09:52. > :09:57.work in the real world, the world George Osborne has created. At the

:09:57. > :10:01.moment, the Government is borrowing about �125 billion a year, but

:10:01. > :10:06.you're urging it to borrow more because you think the cuts are too

:10:06. > :10:10.fast and too deep. But in 2015, if you were to meet, even though the

:10:10. > :10:16.Government's policy is to win the election, due even if that policy

:10:16. > :10:21.is not a massive success, borrowing will be less than 102 �5 billion.

:10:21. > :10:24.But you are saying you were not -- would not borrow any Mawtus --

:10:24. > :10:30.reinstate some of the plans. You were borrowed more now from a

:10:30. > :10:37.higher plateau. If I could get a word in! Let me explain. You have

:10:37. > :10:41.had a lot of words! They've made the wrong choice. No, no! I am

:10:41. > :10:46.trying to lay out the choices so that our views as can see what your

:10:46. > :10:50.answers are. Answer the question. The choices they made were the

:10:50. > :10:56.wrong choices. I will argue strongly they were false economy.

:10:56. > :11:01.If you cut EMA, the money we spent on DNA... That is not the answer.

:11:01. > :11:05.The few cut EMA, you have to give people benefits, you have to

:11:05. > :11:08.subsidise them to do unproductive things. If you cut the Future Jobs

:11:08. > :11:13.Fund, you have young people going on to the benefits system. It is a

:11:13. > :11:17.false economy, the wrong choice. If you cut schools for the future...

:11:17. > :11:22.will have one more go. At the moment, borrowing is very high but

:11:22. > :11:28.you want to borrow more. By 2015, borrowing will be less, but use a

:11:28. > :11:31.borrow more. That is the point. We will not just borrow more money to

:11:31. > :11:35.fulfil all these promises, we can't do that, that would be

:11:35. > :11:39.irresponsible. We now have to face up to the world that has been

:11:39. > :11:43.created by this government, a world of no growth, where the deficit and

:11:43. > :11:50.borrowing is even higher and a world where more and more are

:11:50. > :11:54.paying for the cost of failure. I don't understand point. I will

:11:54. > :11:58.not be a referee! What is interesting about what has happened

:11:58. > :12:01.this week, and what the Labour Party have found difficult, is

:12:01. > :12:06.whether to signal their as a significant change in policy or not.

:12:06. > :12:11.I think Andy Burnham is not only being clear, but he is right that

:12:11. > :12:16.it actually one thing changed. The shadow Chancellor said the Labour

:12:16. > :12:21.Party would back a cap on public sector pay if it was a way of

:12:21. > :12:24.preserving jobs. It was chosen as a signal, if you like, that Labour

:12:24. > :12:28.understood there were some difficult decisions and that in

:12:28. > :12:32.addition, he repeated it and said something in his party conference

:12:32. > :12:34.speech that many people did not notice. He could not pledge to

:12:34. > :12:39.reverse the coalition's cuts because he didn't know the state of

:12:39. > :12:45.the public finances. His answer to your question would be wait and see.

:12:45. > :12:49.We might borrow more, we might not. The reason the Labour Party has got

:12:49. > :12:52.itself into difficulty, some people behind the scenes have been saying

:12:52. > :12:56.hugely important speech, changed everything, our attitude is

:12:56. > :12:58.different, others say we have not changed very much at all and

:12:58. > :13:06.frankly the Leader of the Opposition seemed to endorse that

:13:06. > :13:12.view by using the phrase too fast and too much. Let me ask you this,

:13:12. > :13:16.Iain Duncan Smith. I want to come back to disability payments. The

:13:16. > :13:22.Macmillan Cancer Support, which has a very well established and highly

:13:22. > :13:26.regarded charity, estimates that 7,000 cancer patients, too sick to

:13:26. > :13:31.work, will see their income drop by �94 a week from April. What do you

:13:31. > :13:39.say to that? It is not correct. Let me explain. Viewers will be

:13:39. > :13:44.confused. We are talking about the contributory end of this benefit.

:13:44. > :13:48.This contributory level starts if you have savings of �16,000. When

:13:48. > :13:53.you reach �10,000, you will start to get the income related, when you

:13:53. > :13:57.get to �6,000, you are fully on income related benefits. It is not

:13:57. > :14:02.an absolute like that. People will be sliding into the income related

:14:02. > :14:07.as they reduce their savings. Vicki point is I think it is right, after

:14:07. > :14:11.a year in which you have received benefits, we ask you to use some of

:14:11. > :14:15.your savings because the taxpayer simply can't go on paying money to

:14:15. > :14:23.people who have savings and don't want to use them. Use some of your

:14:23. > :14:26.savings and when you get to a level, average savings for British

:14:26. > :14:30.families of �450. Most people will not be touched by this. With

:14:30. > :14:34.regards to this, we have done everything Macmillan asked. More

:14:35. > :14:39.people will go on to the support group if they can't work and the

:14:39. > :14:44.support group is beyond a contributory point. Macmillan's

:14:44. > :14:48.research discovered two thirds of cancer patients get a drop of

:14:48. > :14:52.income simply following the diagnosis. They skip meals to save

:14:52. > :14:56.money, they are scared of losing their homes. The point about this

:14:56. > :14:59.is if they don't have the income, they will go straight on to the

:14:59. > :15:03.income related benefit and if they are too ill to work, which will be

:15:03. > :15:07.a large number, they will go straight on to the income related

:15:07. > :15:11.benefits. There is a sliding scale even if they have savings. As you

:15:11. > :15:16.reduce those savings, you go on to the income related benefits. For

:15:16. > :15:20.most viewers, this is the real point. If you have savings, after a

:15:20. > :15:24.year, all we are asking is that you dip into some of those savings and

:15:24. > :15:27.as you reduce them, then you will go back under the income support.

:15:27. > :15:31.Frankly, what happens here is that people who made a contribution can

:15:31. > :15:34.expect to receive a certain amount of support and then at some point

:15:34. > :15:40.taxpayers need to know it is not an open-ended... We have run out of

:15:40. > :15:46.time. If Nick Nairn are watching, you will have seen Iain Duncan

:15:46. > :15:56.Smith's reply. -- if mack Millom are watching. We can post your

:15:56. > :15:58.

:15:58. > :16:02.reply be viewed the Merlot - We can release youth. NK, ago.

:16:02. > :16:06.Cross-party talks began yesterday to try to reach a consensus on a

:16:06. > :16:10.long-term settlement for funding social care in England. At the

:16:10. > :16:15.moment older people with savings are expected to pay an unlimited

:16:15. > :16:20.amount towards their own care costs. But many people who moved into care

:16:20. > :16:25.homes are forced to sell their houses. The journalist Rosie

:16:25. > :16:33.Boycott saw how the system worked, or failed to work, when her father

:16:33. > :16:38.developed Alzheimer's and now works for the Alzheimer's Society.

:16:38. > :16:42.The issue of who should pay for adult, social care has been ignored

:16:42. > :16:45.for far too long. There are hundreds and thousands of elderly

:16:46. > :16:50.people suffering from dementia who are simply not getting the kind of

:16:50. > :16:55.care they should. Unlike being in hospital, being cared for at home

:16:55. > :16:59.when you have got dementia, means taking care of all sorts of

:16:59. > :17:04.fundamental, human needs like watching, getting dressed, going to

:17:04. > :17:10.bed, doing your shopping, getting your food together, going to the

:17:10. > :17:13.toilet. These are things everybody needs to maintain their dignity.

:17:13. > :17:17.But at the very moment when an elderly person is feeling most

:17:18. > :17:23.vulnerable they are being asked to pay huge sums to receive care that

:17:23. > :17:27.is not even adequate. I know after looking after my dad just how much

:17:27. > :17:34.care people with dementia needs. As the disease escalates you need more

:17:34. > :17:38.and more. In bad's is in the end we had round-the-clock carers. The

:17:38. > :17:43.Bills were getting horrendous. Then he went into a home, which we paid

:17:43. > :17:49.for us well. He spent his last 18 months there being well cared for.

:17:49. > :17:54.We were lucky we had the money to be able to do that. But many people

:17:54. > :17:59.are now paying in excess of �100,000 for poor quality care and

:17:59. > :18:04.that is only going to get worse as all local authorities are having

:18:04. > :18:07.their budgets continually carp. This affects us all. If we can keep

:18:07. > :18:13.people in their homes and look after them, then they do not need

:18:13. > :18:17.to go into hospital or a care home, so it is a false economy to cut

:18:17. > :18:21.down on the social care budget. Last summer the deal not Commission

:18:21. > :18:25.provided the best solution we have seen so far on how to fund adult,

:18:25. > :18:29.social care, but will the Government really listen? Right now

:18:29. > :18:36.we do not know. It is good the political parties are coming

:18:36. > :18:41.together to talk about this issue, but it is vital that people with

:18:41. > :18:44.dementia deserve the care and respect that we can give them 10

:18:44. > :18:52.families should not be left to cope with this horrible illness alone.

:18:52. > :18:55.They should not be punished as well. Rosie Boycott joins us now. You

:18:55. > :19:01.mentioned the Don not commission and they came up with a good plan.

:19:01. > :19:07.What are your views on the cap? think the cat that has been

:19:07. > :19:12.proposed, �35,000, is a reasonable sum. Certainly that would pay for a

:19:12. > :19:19.lot of care and after that you do not need to be penalised. But there

:19:19. > :19:24.are so many problems with care. One is it should be classed as an

:19:24. > :19:30.illness. Forgetting to feed yourself or forgetting to get out

:19:30. > :19:34.of bed is not the social problem, that is a medical problem. Right

:19:34. > :19:42.from the beginning we are assessing this wrongly. That has always been

:19:42. > :19:46.the case. It is not just recently. Alzheimer's is on the health and

:19:46. > :19:50.social care divide because it is a medical, degenerative condition,

:19:50. > :19:57.but the consequences are you need help with daily living, so you need

:19:58. > :20:02.social support. That really exposes the cruelty of the current system.

:20:02. > :20:08.But there are a lot of false economies. The longer you can keep

:20:08. > :20:13.someone at home, the cheaper it is. I completely agree. I tried to make

:20:13. > :20:18.a big change. This is by far and away the most urgent public policy

:20:18. > :20:23.challenge facing the country. The most vulnerable people get wiped

:20:23. > :20:28.out physically, emotionally and financially by their condition.

:20:28. > :20:35.Iain Duncan-Smith, let's go to the cap. Is that something you would

:20:35. > :20:44.like to see? �60,000 had been looked at. That is a different cap.

:20:44. > :20:49.That was a figure that came out about a cap on head costs. We are

:20:49. > :20:53.going to consult on this. The deal not report is a big breakthrough in

:20:53. > :20:59.terms of trying to find out what we are going to do about care in the

:20:59. > :21:05.home, and what will happen if people have to go into care homes.

:21:05. > :21:09.I am talking to Andrew Lansley at the moment. If we can all coalesce

:21:09. > :21:16.around there's, figure out the best way forward, economics come into

:21:16. > :21:22.play, but it is important to see the balance. The economics of this

:21:22. > :21:27.is incredibly important. Just one week of all dementia patients in

:21:27. > :21:33.hospital would relieve the NHS of �80 million at a stroke. It is

:21:33. > :21:40.getting worse, it is so important. We all live longer. It will be like

:21:40. > :21:46.Sure Start for the end of lives. a consensus lightly? We would all

:21:46. > :21:52.want to reach some kind of consensus. There had been some

:21:52. > :21:57.reports that they were looking at a bigger cap. But �35,000 would be

:21:57. > :22:02.per person, so it is �75,000 per couple. It would still blow a

:22:02. > :22:07.massive hole in the savings of my constituents. Let's be realistic

:22:07. > :22:12.about this. It is definitely a step forward. We should have talks about

:22:12. > :22:16.it to see if we can come to an agreement. These are all things

:22:16. > :22:20.that have to be debated. The Government is trying to be as

:22:20. > :22:30.positive as possible about the report, it is having discussions

:22:30. > :22:30.

:22:30. > :22:34.with ministers and all-party groups. You have got to do this. It does

:22:34. > :22:39.not have any respect of which party you are in. We are all possibly

:22:39. > :22:42.likely to end up their and our parents as well. It seems

:22:42. > :22:48.extraordinary that Government after Government takes a football into

:22:48. > :22:52.the next set of long grass. I will not go over does Coles today, but

:22:53. > :22:58.for older people they are looking to us to raise our game and to

:22:58. > :23:02.agree to do something. Have you dropped the compulsory levy idea?

:23:02. > :23:06.There is a case to say that care of older people should be provided in

:23:07. > :23:12.the same way that we provide other support in this country. That's how

:23:12. > :23:20.we provide the NHS and the benefits we are talking about earlier. What

:23:20. > :23:25.we are saying is in elderly care, I am not saying I was uniquely right,

:23:25. > :23:29.but do not rule it out. It is more unfair than saying the most

:23:29. > :23:37.vulnerable people pay massive amounts towards their care. There

:23:37. > :23:43.is a suggestion for more public money. They looked at �1.7 billion

:23:43. > :23:48.a year. We do like to see more of money being put into it? More money

:23:48. > :23:53.would undoubtedly help, but we need the whole package. People with

:23:53. > :23:58.Alzheimer's are not asking for any different deal. It is a disability

:23:58. > :24:06.and it needs careful stock this system is going backwards now, not

:24:06. > :24:16.forwards. Councils are increasing the charges on people. Whether you

:24:16. > :24:17.

:24:17. > :24:21.are in the postcode lottery... going to have to stop you.

:24:21. > :24:26.Someone is shedding in my ear. The National Security Council met this

:24:26. > :24:32.morning and it talked about nothing but the Falklands. It was the only

:24:32. > :24:36.matter on the agenda. They know something we do not. There has been

:24:36. > :24:41.talk around Westminster that Parliament is seen by the public as

:24:41. > :24:44.closed and unwelcoming. How preposterous. How anyone can find

:24:44. > :24:52.the armed police and the airport security scanner and welcoming is

:24:52. > :24:56.beyond me. What do they want? Bean bags and a hug from MPs. The

:24:56. > :25:00.portcullis logo that has been plastered all over Parliament for

:25:00. > :25:07.hundreds of years is being seen as the culprit. Is it an imposing

:25:07. > :25:10.relic or a harmless tradition? We sent Adam out for a rebrand.

:25:10. > :25:15.For centuries the portcullis has graced pretty much everything

:25:15. > :25:21.around here, from the buildings to the uniforms of the staff. But this

:25:21. > :25:26.week an adviser to the Speaker said that the legendary logo is putting

:25:26. > :25:32.up the public. The symbol is hardly a welcoming one. I know it has a

:25:32. > :25:41.great history, but it is seen by the public as a gate to keep people

:25:41. > :25:47.out. One MP was astonished. I was astounded about how you described

:25:47. > :25:52.the portcullis and our history. Frankly, is your aim Disney on the

:25:52. > :25:57.Thames? I do not understand where you think you are taking us. Let's

:25:57. > :26:02.put this to the test with some visitors from abroad outside the

:26:02. > :26:08.Parliamentary Bookshop. Would this put people off? No, I'm here. I am

:26:08. > :26:14.visiting and I am loving it. You do not find this scary? Are you trying

:26:14. > :26:21.to get me to say it is scary? looks like a prison, super imposed

:26:21. > :26:29.with the Crown. It is not like a symbolic thing with power for the

:26:29. > :26:34.parliament. Should they change it? Definitely. Change it to what? We

:26:34. > :26:39.asked this designer for some advice. One of the most fantastic bits of

:26:39. > :26:43.the Palace of Westminster is Big Ben. I know it is used on all the

:26:43. > :26:50.postcards on Oxford Street to talk about London, but that is the focus

:26:50. > :26:56.of Parliament for most people. It has time. If you set that alongside

:26:56. > :27:01.the portcullis and you build the Palace of Westminster into it as

:27:01. > :27:06.well, it becomes less dominant, but it starts to work as an identity

:27:06. > :27:12.and it becomes approachable. Nice idea, but the parliamentary

:27:12. > :27:18.authorities say there are no plans for a rebrand. It looks like a new

:27:18. > :27:23.logo is a no-go. It is the way he tells them. This

:27:23. > :27:27.suggestion has come from the speakers Advisory Council on Public

:27:27. > :27:31.Engagement. Given that the Speaker redesigned his own crest with a

:27:31. > :27:38.rainbow flag and a ladder, do you think you should be allowed

:27:38. > :27:44.anywhere near rebranding? These repressions never work. Did the oak

:27:44. > :27:52.tree work? And consider near four Royal Mail? The portcullis is great

:27:52. > :27:56.and Parliament is very open. A you need a new logo? No, and there is

:27:56. > :28:00.not an organisation out there who would not die to have a logo as

:28:00. > :28:05.recognised as that. It is ridiculous. Do you need to make

:28:05. > :28:11.Parliament a bit more welcoming? do hope people will come in, but

:28:11. > :28:16.that is not the reason why they might not come. I think the glass

:28:16. > :28:21.in the gallery is a bit too much. was against that, but that was

:28:21. > :28:28.because of terrorism. Check people properly when they come in. I was

:28:28. > :28:33.never in favour of that. agreement after 90 minutes! Time to

:28:33. > :28:39.give you the answer to our guess the Year competition. It is as Ed

:28:39. > :28:44.Miliband said, back to the 80s, the answer is 1988. That is all for

:28:44. > :28:48.today. That due to our guests, Iain Duncan-Smith and Andy Burnham. See