11/01/2017 Daily Politics

Morning folks, welcome to the Daily Politics.

Record numbers of patients facing long waits in A and dangerously

high levels of bed occupancy - why is this winter proving worst

It was supposed to be Jeremy Corbyn's big re-launch -

so why did it end in confusion about the party's policy

Will the Labour leader do any better at the despatch box today

as he takes on Theresa May in the first Prime Minister's

We'll bring you that live and uninterrupted at midday.

Jared is a very successful real estate person, but I actually think

he likes politics more than he likes real estate,

I'm going to tell you, and he's very good at politics.

And Donald Trump has been accused of nepotism over the appointment

But is it sometimes better to keep it in the family?

We'll ask Neil and Christine Hamilton.

All that in the next 90 minutes of the finest public service

broadcasting you'll have seen in 2017.

And with us for the duration today - two MPs who obviously wanted

to start the New Year with a work out for old grey matter

in the interrogational boot camp that is the Daily Politics -

Wrote that? I could barely say it! It was a struggle but we got through

it! Work and Pensions Secretary,

Damian Green and his Shadow, First this morning -

the Royal College of Nursing has said that conditions in the NHS

are the worst they have ever experienced, and in a letter

to the Prime Minister 50 leading doctors have warned the prime

minster that lives are being put Charities working with elderly

people said long-term solutions were needed,

with a similar call from a group of Conservative, Labour

and Lib Dem MPs this morning. So how bad are things this winter

in the NHS in England and what's Much of the focus has been

on England's A departments, with hospitals struggling to meet

the target that they treat or discharge 95% of patients

within four hours. Since the start of December,

hospitals have seen only 82.3% of patients within this time -

the worst performance since a target Over the last decade,

there's been a substantial increase in the number

of patients turning up at A In 2015-16, five million more people

passed through the doors Most of the increase

in attendance has been at minor injuries departments,

and this week Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt reiterated statistics

that show a third of people attending A are only

in need of advice. A shortage of GP appointments -

and problems with the NHS 111 advice line - could be contributing

to the increase in the number But more fundamentally the size

of the UK population has grown - partly because of immigration,

but also because people The number of people aged 90

plus has almost tripled Research shows older people tend

to have higher rates of A attendance and are also more likely

to need a hospital bed. Patients waiting for admission tend

to wait longer in A, especially Last month the NHS reported

dangerously high levels of bed occupancy, with 94.7% of beds full -

well above the "safe" Local councils and charities

have said a lack of investment in social care means

many older people are stuck in Official figures suggest this

affects a third of patients. While the government has said that

councils will be able to raise an extra 3% this year and 3% next

year for spending on social care, council leaders called

it a sticking plaster, and are demanding

a longer-term solution. Thank you. Damian Green, the

government says that the problem is caused by unprecedented demand, on

NHS services. What causes that? Some of it is what you have been talking

about, pressure is always high, there is a permanent pressure on the

NHS, it is high in winter... But we know that when winter comes... And a

rising population. What causes this unprecedented demand? The

unprecedented demand is partly due to rising populations, as you have

just said, and things the government is addressing, not just inside of

the NHS where we spend more money, we have met demands for Simon

Stephens plan... We will come back to that... But also there is the

social care aspect. We will come to that... You say the demographics,

people are living longer which creates a pressure, people tend to

use more health care in their later years. You have failed to control

migration, quite a lot of migrants come to the country and they do not

have doctors and A in there... But even young people get old.

Demographics and migration, both are entirely predictable, they don't

come out of the blue, why didn't you plan for them? We did, specifically

this year, you were right about winter, we could see it coming and

we did. We spent ?400 million last autumn on a specific plan for this

winter, and... Why isn't it working? It is, in some ways. Interestingly,

if you go below the surface of the figures, it is how patchy these

problems are. Clearly there are problems there and there have been

some bad events but, you find they are concentrated in a relatively

small area. It is not a straightforward NHS problem but in

19 specific areas. But some of this unprecedented demand is caused by

things in the pipeline for years, we were entirely able to enter is about

them. You say it is working but in one week this month already, three

times the number of people have had to wait for more than 12 hours on a

trolley than in the whole of January last year, three times the number!

12 hours on a trolley! In one week... How is that working? We can

swap statistics. As it happens... That is a human story, not a

statistic. As you mentioned, Jo, bed occupancy figures were lower at

Christmas this year than last year. Bed blocking is up 25% in two years.

The OECD statistic there. It is three times bigger than other

countries. Three times bigger than Denmark, twice as big as Norway. It

is a real problem and is caused, I would suggest, because you, in your

funding formula, slashed social care to councils? But actually, we are

increasing social care funding... I'm sorry, Minister, that is just

not true. You are increasing it after you cut it, you cut local

government funding by 37% and the result is, social care funding has

been cut by 25%. The figures are quite dramatic on this. The number

of days people had to wait for a care home is up 224%, 260 care homes

have closed! But, that is why we've introduced both the better care

fund, which is straightforward national funding, and the allowance

for local councils to increase this... I will come to you in a

moment, but I think you appreciate what I'm doing here. Yes. That is

try to hold the government to account, you are increasing some

money now but after you have slashed it and the increases will in no way

compensate for the slashing of this. The amount of people who cannot get

back out of hospital, and into social care, it is just growing and

growing. The Royal College of Physicians is paralysed by

spiralling demand going on. You have shut daycare centres, for the

elderly and disabled. 260 daycare centres have closed. An elderly

woman died after 35 hours on a trolley. In Britain, in 2016. In the

fifth richest country in the world. She died after 35 hours on a

trolley. And your government has spent ?5 million on the Ethiopian

Spice Girls. How does it work? We have stopped spending that now. I'm

happy to defend the aid budget... 35 hours on a trolley... Absolutely

that is unacceptable, nobody thinks it is acceptable. But the point

about the social care fund is that the raw parts of the country where

there is not bed blocking -- there are parts. But there are always

parts! But they are significant parts. The idea that there is a

uniform national problem is simply not the case. I do not need to be

remotely partisan on that. To pick two areas where there is not a

problem with bed blocking and social care, one is Rutland, a pretty Tory

area, the other is Barnsley which is as Labour as you can get.

Local authorities are coping with their NHS trusts, and some are doing

better than others. But the overall picture is... Let me bring in Labour

here. There's clearly a major problem. Money does not grow on

trees but it is clear that social care and the NHS need more money,

where'd you get it from? It is about the choices you make. We heard the

promised during the EU referendum about ?350 million a week being made

available to the NHS. Of course, that was not the government promised

that... We had not left the EU yet! The government has been a bit

disingenuous in terms of the amount of investment that they have put

into the NHS, ?4.6 billion instead of the ?10 billion that they

actually... That is the health select committee? You are absolutely

right about social care funding, 4.6 million cut since 2010. In my own

area of Oldham, what used to be one quarter of the budget and social

care is now three quarters and they will not go anywhere near addressing

the problem. Let's put it to you. You have cut social care budgets

because of the huge 37% cuts to local authorities which has resulted

in a 25% cut in social care. And, you are actually in the process of

increasing NHS spending, in real terms, by much less than ?10

billion. It's not that, if you look at the 2014-15 figure, the NHS

budget was about ?99 billion but by 2021 it will be about 120 billion,

we will have gone up about ?10 billion in real terms. Those are the

facts... What do you say to that? We are back to this situation of the

1990s, well below the EU average in terms of percentages spend, and we

have brought it up now. That is the title, not government spending. I

understand that but the OECD figures are comparable. It is less. France

and Germany are 11, Switzerland 11.5, Sweden is 11. That is private

and... And we have a growing population... Few European countries

are growing as fast as we are per capita, and we are on track to

overtake Germany's population by 2025. The point that Jo makes is

that by per capita spending on health, it is falling under your

government. But what is important is the outcome, that's the point I'm

making... But we are failing on that as well! No, we aren't. What you

mentioned recently was our target. Look at Europe, does anyone else

match it? You have essentially abandoned the four our target. We

are at 80%. But hold on, Minister. One in four people wait for more

than four hours in A That is for emergency care. It was not Jeremy

Hunt but the director of acute services in the NHS who said that

30% of people turn up at A who do not have an emergency. The point is,

nobody else even aspires to get this target. But what is the point in

getting a target that you cannot hit for one in four people? 80,000

people waited 12 hours or more on a trolley. Last week. 485 people had

to wait for more than 12 hours? That is not... Your target. If they are

waiting for emergency care of course that is not good enough. But at 85%,

we are in the high 80s. But the point is, you say that somehow we

are worse than other comparable European countries, other comparable

European countries do not aspire to do what the NHS does. They have much

better health outcomes, cancer recovery rates are far higher,

higher in almost every measure of output. Germany, France,

Scandinavian countries, they are better than us and we are around

Slovenia and the Czech Republic. We are addressing those specifics

and the cancer bond is getting better, stroke services are getting

better. We are addressing those issues which have been there for

decades. Cuts in public and mental health... We are spending more money

on mental health. We had better leave it there.

So - it was supposed to be Jeremy Corbyn's big relaunch day.

In the wake of the success of political insurgents

like Donald Trump, could the Labour advisors sprinkle the same magic

Well, yesterday they scheduled a major speech setting out

the party's Brexit policy, alongside a series

However, on the Today programme, Jeremy Corbyn got diverted

into talking about pay, saying he would like to see

a "high earnings cap", suggesting it could cover

Later on, he had to clarify his plans, suggesting

for companies bidding for government contracts.

On the issue of Brexit, it had been briefed that Labour

would no longer be "wedded to freedom of movement for EU citizens"

but, in an interview with Laura Kuenssberg,

Corbyn suggested he was still comfortable with the number

We've asked you previously whether or not you think

the levels are too high, and you've said that you don't think

the levels are too high, and for many of your supporters

that is a proud principle that you've always stuck to.

No. My mind is quite clear, that we need to end the exploitation

that is going on, we need to maintain market access

within Europe and we need to ensure there are good relations

Debbie Abrahams, where does Labour now stand on freedom of movement for

EU citizens? Should it end or continue? What Jeremy was setting

out was that we needed to recognise that they needed to be flexibility

in our labour market. You didn't see the whole interview. But he doesn't

clarify exactly. On that point, he was meant to say that Labour was not

wicked -- wedded to the principle of the EU's freedom of movement rules,

but he went on to say that they wouldn't rule it out. So should it

end or carry on? What he was trying to say is that we need to value our

migrants. They contribute ?20 billion to the economy. One in five

care workers comes from Europe. 135 -- 130,000 doctors and nurses. They

are an invaluable part of society and the economy and we need to

recognise that. We can't cut off our noses to spite our faces. We need to

recognise the contribution migrants make to the economy and not during

the negotiations scupper any potential... So you are underlining

what Jeremy Corbyn said, which is that he doesn't rule out keeping EU

freedom of movement in exchange for full access to the single market. He

wants to make sure these are part of the negotiations. That is important.

The speech was supposed to answer some of the concerns of Labour

voters about levels of immigration. Does the Labour Party pose

uncontrolled migration to the UK? No, we don't. There are controls in

terms of migration. And we need to make sure that we continue those. So

you want the levels of immigration, you are happy, like Jeremy Corbyn

said in that clip, that levels of immigration to the UK are not too

high? We must make sure that any controls around immigration could

potentially affect the economy. Nobody voted to potentially damage

the economy. They wanted to make sure they will do better for

themselves and their families, and we need to be careful about this.

Can I say also, about the tone of the debate around this. There has

been some deplorable language, which has really cast aspersions around

migrants. Goodwillie has vilified migrants. -- it really has vilified.

People want to know the policy of the Labour Party, and Jeremy Corbyn

was supposed to make that clear yesterday, but I put to you that

Labour MPs and voters are still confused. Does the Labour Party want

levels of immigration to come down? Yes, we do. How much? We can't state

that. Do you have an aspiration? 1.3 million workers employed from

recruitment agencies. That figure isn't monitored by the government.

But we know that in 2007 there are estimates that one in seven of those

agency workers came from Europe. If you ended the worker exploitation,

which Jeremy Corbyn talked about and you are alluding too, how many fewer

people would you like to see coming to the UK? I think this is a red

herring. You don't think that Labour voters would like to know that the

Labour Party is committed, either by curbs or freedom of movement to EU

citizens or by dealing with exploitation, that they would like

to see a lower figure? Yes, we would. But Jeremy Corbyn says he is

happy, and the levels are not too high. It isn't helpful to talk about

ratios and numbers. That is for the reasons the Tory doesn't have found.

I understand they missed their target but, it Jeremy Corbyn is

saying he is happy the present levels and they are not too high,

but you have said you would like to bring those levels down. Jeremy said

that it is about making sure we stop recruitment solely from abroad. We

don't have a number. The government doesn't keep a number of how many EU

migrants come directly from these recruitment agencies. If 1.3

million, potentially, 600,000 have come from Europe, that gives an

estimate, but we don't know how reliable that figure is, so it would

be responsible... But Jeremy Corbyn is happy with the current level. If

we jeopardise the level of migration at the moment, we could potentially

impact on the economy. We can't do that. The speech was breached at a

change of policy and emphasis Labour, a change of direction for

Jeremy Corbyn, and in the end he stuck to the principles he has

always held there, which may be fine, but it wasn't what we were

told was going to happen. We've got to move on because we are short of

time. We can come back to it. A call for a cap on maximum salaries. Was

that something you discussed with him in Shadow Cabinet? We had Shadow

Cabinet yesterday morning and we certainly discussed it. You

discussed this idea of a cap for maximum salaries? We discussed the

idea of inequality around salary. Barry Gardiner said he had discussed

it at Shadow Cabinet with Jeremy Corbyn, so was there a specific

discussion? I can't be sure if Barry was there or not but we certainly

did discuss it. If you look at the context of the interview, it was

about the inequalities. We know that 7.4 working people, 7.4 million

working people are living in poverty, three out of four children,

4 million children are from working families. It isn't right that a

chief executive from a top company is earning 130 times the average

worker. Wright so you would like to see a maximum cap for CEOs of

private companies and footballers and bankers, as Jeremy Corbyn

suggested? It isn't right... So why did he wrote back? In the morning,

he said that a cap on salaries for chief executives and footballers, I

think was the other example he used but, by the afternoon, he had

changed his position to ensuring it would be bosses of companies with

government contracts, that they could earn more than 20 times the

pay of junior staff. Why did he change his position? I listened to

the interview and snippets have been played. No, there was a clear

change. In the morning, he said he wanted a general, maximum cap on

salaries in private and public sectors. In the afternoon, he

singled out the public sector and said it should be a ratio of 20 to

one. No, he didn't. He said it was a rat inequality. In the context of

high executive pay, it wasn't right. -- it was around inequality. In the

morning, he said, I'd back capping the maximum salaries of football. In

the afternoon, I want to ensure bosses of companies with government

contracts cannot earn 20 times their junior staff. That was adding to the

general direction. So he will do both? We are looking at a policy

document and when we have our manifesto I will come back and

explain in detail. This was the development of our thinking on a

ratios. Edge economic advisers said it was a lunatic -- lunatic idea and

unworkable. What do you say to that? We need to follow the evidence and

that is what we intend to do as part of policy development.

Now - we've learned more about the Queen's

Not only is Her Majesty said to be an avid viewer of this programme,

it turns out that she is also a fan of a quiz show called "Pointless".

The Queen is said to have stumbled upon it whilst waiting to watch

Not an "appointment to view" programme like this one then.

And, I'm told, it doesn't offer you the opportunity to win one

of these prized receptacles either - no wonder it's called "Pointless".

So - Ladies, gentlemen, your majesty - if you are looking

for something to drink from whilst watching the Daily Politics or even

Pointless, we're not fussy, let us know when this happened.

And this film does contain some flashing images.

# Don't ever stand aside Don't ever be denied

# You oughta be who you be if you're coming with me...

# I think I've got a feeling I've lost inside...#

# Look back before you leave my life...#

# Baby, if I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey...#

Sardines will be thrown into the sea.

# Please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you're used to...#

# Oh, I love the thought of coming home to you

# Yes, I love the thought of giving hope to you...#

Party leadership apparently said that they would endorse him

as a candidate in a future election, which I find extraordinary.

To be in with a chance of winning a Daily Politics mug,

send your answer to our special quiz email address -

Entries must arrive by 12.30 today, and you can see the full terms

and conditions for Guess The Year on our website - that's

It's coming up to midday here - just take a look at Big Ben -

The first Prime Minister's Questions of 2017 is coming up. Laura

Kuenssberg is here. Happy New Year to you. I must surely be right in

assuming that Mr Corbyn will go on the NHS. I think for once we can

assume that Jeremy Corbyn will go on the subject not just of the day but

the New Year. They are the day, there has been a drumbeat getting

louder and louder of warnings about the strain in the NHS. It is way

beyond the usual lobbying you see from interest groups, and it can't

be dismissed, not least because you now have a cross-party group of MPs,

former Health Secretary 's, Labour, Tory and Lib Dem is now really

trying to grapple with this idea and push Theresa May into considering a

big conversation, a national convention on the future of the NHS.

As we talked about on this programme many times, privately, many

politicians say, we've got to have a conversation about whether the NHS

can continue and be sustainable in its current form forced publicly,

not many of them are willing to say that in the record, but Jeremy Hunt

this week said that we have to have an honest debate about A in

particular, and I think that was a significant moment. And that would

be part of a long-term preparing the NHS for the 21st century. It

wouldn't help those waiting on trolleys at the moment. Is their

concern on Tory backbenches that this was an entirely predictable set

of events and that the May government, its first really big

challenge outside breakfast, has not really anticipated or dealt with it?

I think there is concern on the Tory benches and, as we have said many

times, there is a lot of concern among Tory councillors, many of whom

have gone on the record to say, look, this crunch of cuts in council

budgets, directly affecting the provision of social care, combined

with demographics, is a car crash. Central government so far, beyond

the precept, allowing councils to charge a bit more on council tax,

they haven't grapple with what many people see as a yawning gap between

the amount of resources needed on the ground and what is available. It

is worth saying, and what Number Ten consistently says, is that there is

more to it than that because, if you look at different parts of country,

there are different outcomes. Which is the point Damian Green was making

when I interviewed him. I imagine Theresa May may make that response

today, if she is pressed on this issue, as we expect she will be. The

other difficulty for the NHS in calling for more money, which

Theresa May is referred to publicly many times, which might go some way

to explaining the front page of the Times today, which suggests Number

Ten have been stirring the pot against the NHS chief executive,

Simon Stevens. They have set on the record that the NHS asked for an

amount of money and they were given the amount of money they asked for

so, for them to come back a year later and say it isn't enough, they

should take responsibility for that and deal with the cash better. What

they have actually done is dispute the amount of money so that doesn't

really agree with the government's figures. And it doesn't cover the

social care budget. Wright it was remarkable that the health budget

wasn't mentioned in the Autumn Statement. I would suggest he is

unlikely to get away with that in the budget, on March the 8th. One

senior minister has said to me, in the run-up to the Autumn Statement,

they didn't believe there would be more money available for the NHS in

the Autumn Statement but later in the year it was something they would

not be surprised to see. Let's go straight

The Prime Minister. This morning I had meetings with ministerial

colleagues and others in addition to my duties in this house, I will have

further meetings today. Happy New Year to you, Mr Speaker, let me

extend it to everyone in this house. It has been over six months since

European referendum and embarrassingly, for the Prime

Minister, the Scottish Government is the only administration on the

islands which have published a plan on what to do next. LAUGHTER

Has the Prime Minister read it yet? And, when will she be publishing her

own plan? Can I join the honourable gentleman in wishing everyone in the

house, not only members but the staff of the house a happy New Year.

Can I say that as I said to the liaison committee when I appeared in

front of them before Christmas, I will, in a matter of weeks, be

setting out more details of our proposals on the issue. I would like

to remind the honourable gentleman that when he talks about the

Scottish Government's plan, it is his party, the Scottish Nationalists

party, that wants to leave the UK and therefore the U. -- the EU. In

my constituency they employ over 1200 people in high skilled jobs,

Manufacturing nuclear fuel which generates 15% of the UK's

electricity. Do you agree that this industry is of crucial importance to

the Northwest economy and will you support the new generation of power

stations to guarantee jobs? I certainly agree with my honourable

friend that new nuclear has a crucial role to play in securing our

future energy needs, especially as we are looking to move to a low

carbon society. The industrial strategy that the government will be

setting out will have a strong emphasis on the role of regions in

supporting economic growth and ensuring the economy works for all.

Like my honourable friend I welcome the proposals from Toshiba to open a

new power station in Cumbria and they continue to work closely with

developers as they bring proposals forward. Jeremy Corbyn... Thank you,

Mr Speaker, it is nice to have such a warm welcome and may I wish all

members a happy New Year, as well as all members of staff in the house. I

hope the whole house will join me, I'm sure that they will, in playing

tribute to 22-year-old Lance Corporal Scott Hetherington who died

in a non-combat incident in Iraq last Monday, I'm sure that the whole

house will send condolences to family and friends of Katie Rough

who died in York this week, it is right to send condolences. Last

week, 485 people in England spent more than 12 hours on trolleys in

hospital corridors. The Red Cross described this as "A humanitarian

crisis". I call on the Prime Minister to come to Parliament on

Monday. She did not. She sent the Health Secretary, but she agree that

the best way of solving the crisis of the four-hour wait is fiddling

the figures so that people are not seem to be waiting so long on

trolleys in NHS hospitals? Well firstly, may I join the right

honourable gentleman in sending condolences to the family of Lance

Corporal Hetherington who died in a non-combat incident in Iraq, from

everything I have seen and read, he was a very fine young man. We were

delighted -- he was delighted to be in the Armed Forces and we are proud

that such a fine young man was in the Armed Forces. I also join the

right honourable gentleman in expressing condolences to the family

and friends of little Katie, who died so tragically. Now, he talks

about pressures on the NHS, and we acknowledge that there are pressures

on the national Health Service. There are always extra pressures on

the NHS over the winter, but of course we have at the moment added

pressures of the ageing population, and the growing complex needs of the

population. He refers to the British Red Cross term of a "Humanitarian

crisis" but I must say that we have all seen humanitarian crisis around

the world. And, to use that description of a national health

service... Which, last year, saw 2.5 million more people treated in A

than six years ago, was irresponsible and overblown. Mr

Speaker, 1.8 million people had to wait longer than four hours last

year in A departments. The Prime Minister may not like what the Red

Cross said, that on the same day, the British Medical Association said

conditions in hospitals across the country are reaching a dangerous

level. The Royal College of Nursing has said NHS conditions are the

worst ever. The Royal College of Physicians told the Prime Minister

that the NHS is underfunded, not enough doctors, and overstretched.

If she will not listen to the Red Cross, who will she listened to?

I've said to the right honourable gentleman that I have acknowledged

that there are pressures on the NHS, the government has put in extra

funding and the fact that we are seeing more people being treated in

our NHS, 2500 more people are treated within four hours every day

in the NHS because of the government adding extra funding and the hard

work of medical professionals in our NHS. But I also say to him it is not

just a question of targets in relation to the health service. We

continue to have a commitment, as the Health Secretary made clear, to

the four hour target. It is a question of making sure people are

provided with appropriate care for them and the best possible care in

their circumstances. Jeremy Corbyn! Mr Speaker, she seems to be in a

degree of denial about this and will not listen to professional

organisations who have spent their whole lifetime doing their best for

the NHS. But, can I ask if she will listen to Sian, who works for the

NHS. She has a 22-month-old nephew who went into hospital, there was no

bed and he was treated on two plastic chairs pushed together with

a blanket. She says one of the nurses told her sister that it is

always like this nowadays. She asks the question to all of us. Surely,

we should strive to do better than this? Does the Prime Minister and

Health Secretary think that this is an acceptable way of treating a

22-month-old child needing help? Shameful! I accept there have been a

small number of incidents... Where, an acceptable practices have taken

place. But, what matters, we do not want those things to happen, but

what matters is how you deal with them. That is why it is so important

that the NHS looks into issues where there are unacceptable incidents

which have taken place and learned lessons from them. But I come back

to the point I was making earlier. He talks of the hard-working health

care professionals, like Sian, in the NHS. And indeed, we should be

grateful for the work that all of those working in the NHS do, over

Christmas, we saw the busiest day ever in the NHS and over the few

weeks around Christmas, we saw the day where more people were treated

in A within four hours than had ever happened before. This is the

reality of the National Health Service. Jeremy Corbyn!

We all thanked NHS staff and praise them, but her government is

proposing through sustainability and transformation to cut one third of

beds in all of our hospitals in the very near future. On Monday, she

spoke about mental health, and doing more to help people, particularly

the young, with those conditions. I welcome that, except last night

the BBC revealed that over five years, there had been an 89%

increase in young people with mental health issues, having to go to A

departments. So, doesn't she agree that the 1.25 billion committed to

child and adolescent mental health in 2015 should have been ring

fenced? Rather than used as a resource to be raided to plug other

holes in other budgets within the NHS? If we look at what is happening

in relation to mental health treatment on the NHS we see 1400

more people every day accessing mental health services. When I spoke

about this issue on Monday, I said that there is, of course, more for

us to do. It is not a problem that will be

resolved overnight. I have set out ways in which we will see an

improvement in the services we see in relation to mental health but it

is about appropriate care for any individual and, as I mentioned

earlier, it is not just about A When I was in Aldershot on Monday, I

spoke to service users with mental health problems, who said that they

did not want to go to A, the provision of alternative services

has meant that the A locally has seen their numbers stabilising

rather than going up. It is about the appropriate care for the

individual, and we want to see good practice spread across the whole

country. Jeremy Corbyn! Mr Speaker, nobody wants people with mental

health conditions to go to A departments, A departments do not

want them to go there but under the government, there are 6000 nurses

fewer working in mental health, 400 fewer doctors working in mental

health, it is obviously they will go somewhere to get help when they are

in a desperate situation. Mr Speaker, our NHS is under a huge

pressure, and much of it is caused by cuts to social care. The Royal

College of Physicians has said that it is pushing more people into our

hospitals and trapping them there for longer. We'll be Prime Minister

do what my friend, the member for Leicester South has called for, and

bring forward the extra 700 million allocated in 2019 now into social

care so that we did not have this problem of people staying too long

in hospital when they should be cared for by a social care system?

The right honourable gentleman has asked me these questions before

Christmas in the last PMQs... He may find it difficult to believe that

somebody will say the same thing that they said a few weeks ago...

But... We have put extra money into social care. In the medium term, we

are ensuring that best practice is spread across the country, because

he talks about delayed discharge. There are some local authorities

working with their health service locally where there are virtually no

delayed discharges. 50%, half of the delayed discharges, are in only 24

local authority areas. What does that tell us? That it is not just

about funding but best practice. If the right honourable gentleman comes

back to me and talks about funding again, he should think on this. We

can only fun social care and the NHS if we have a strong economy with the

Conservatives! Mr Speaker, I'm sorry to have to bring the Prime Minister

back to the subject of social care which I raised before Christmas, the

reason I did so and will continue to do so is because she has not

addressed the problem! The government has cut ?4.6 billion from

social care budgets. The Kings fund says there is a social care funding

gap of ?2 billion almost this year. Earlier this week, the Prime

Minister said that she wanted to create a "Shared society". We

certainly have that. More people sharing hospital corridors on

trolleys! More people sharing waiting areas and A departments.

More people sharing an anxiety created by this government. Our NHS,

Mr Speaker, is in crisis but the Prime Minister is in denial. Can I

suggest to her, on the economic question, cancelled the corporate

tax cuts! Spend the money where it is needed, and people in desperate

need in social care, or in our hospitals! The right honourable

gentleman talks about crisis, I suggest that he listens to the

honourable member for Don Valley, a former Labour health minister, who

said the following. With Labour, it is always about crisis. The NHS is

on its knees, we had to be a bit more grown-up about this. And come

he talks to be about corporation tax. -- and he talks to me about

corporation tax and cuts, the Labour Party has already spent that money

eight times! The last thing the NHS needs is a check from Labour which

bounces, the only way we can ensure we have funding for the NHS is a

strong economy. Yesterday, the right honourable gentleman proved that he

was not only incompetent but would destroy our economy which would

devastate our NHS. Cyber bullying, sexting and revenge

pornography are part of British teenage life today, and so is a

rapid increase in mental health problems among our teenagers. How is

the Prime Minister helping to tackle the pressures teenagers face in

Britain today? My right honourable friend raises an important point,

and one of the things I spoke about when I spoke about mental health on

Monday was trying to ensure we can provide better training for staff

and teachers in schools to identify the early stages of mental health

problems for young people, so that those problems can be addressed. I

think it is something like half of all mental health problems start

before age 14, so it's a real issue we need to address. We are going to

look at how we can provide that training, and we will be looking at

a number of other ways and reviewing the mental health services provided

for young people to ensure we can identify what is working and make

sure that good practice is spread across the country. May I begin with

a tribute to father George Thompson, who died shortly before Christmas.

He led a remarkable life as a teacher, priest and SNP member for

Galloway. We extend our sympathies to his family. All of us in this

house and across these islands care about the peace process and the

democratic institutions in Northern Ireland, so may I wish the premise

done well, the Taoiseach, the Northern Secretary, the political

parties all the best in trying to resolve the serious political

difficulties there. Will the Prime Minister tell us what consequences

will be if no agreement be found? I join the honourable gentleman in

offering condolences to the family and friends of George Thompson, the

member for Galloway between 1974 and 1979. On the issue he has raised

about the situation in Northern Ireland, we are treating this with

the utmost seriousness, and as he will know the Northern Ireland

Secretary made a statement in this house earlier this week on this

issue. He has spoken to the First Minister and the former Deputy First

Minister and he is urging all parties to work together to find a

way forward. I have also spoken to the Taoiseach about this issue, so

we are putting every effort into this. The legislation is that, if,

within seven days, we don't have a nomination for a Deputy First

Minister, the matter would go to an election. The Prime Minister has

indicated that she wants to date the views of the elected representatives

and the devolved institutions on Brexit seriously. So it stands to

reason then that, if there is no Northern Ireland Assembly and there

is no Northern Ireland Executive for much of the time before the March

timetable she has set before invoking Article 50, that she will

be unable to properly consult, to fully discuss and find agreement on

the complex issues during this time period. In these circumstances, will

the Prime Minister postpone invoking Article 50? Will she postpone

Article 50, or will she just plough on regardless? It's about ensuring,

as he says, we all want to ensure that we do hear the views from all

parts of the UK. That is why we have established the GMC, European

committee, specifically to take the views and the GMC plenary, which is

also meeting more frequently than previously. First, we want to ensure

that, within this period of seven days, we can find a resolution to

the political situation in Northern Ireland so we can continue to seek

the assembly government continuing, but I am also clear that, in the

discussions we have, it will be possible and it is still the case

that actually ministers are in place and that obviously there are

executives in place, and we are still able to take the views of the

Northern Irish people. Closed question, Michael fabricant. Thank

you, Mr Speaker. Apologies. The fundamentals of the UK economy are

strong, including in Staffordshire and the West Midlands. Employment in

Staffordshire has risen by over 20,000 since 2010. We have protected

schools and police budgets and we have seen more doctors and nurses in

the Burton hospitals trust. We are going further than this in the West

Midlands by giving new powers to the region with the devolution deal and

the election of a directly elected mayor, and I think Andy Street, with

his business and local experience, would be a very good mayor for the

West Midlands. I think the Prime Minister for that answer.

Unemployment in my constituency, my beautiful Litchfield constituency,

is around 0.7%, which is fantastic, but I want it even lower. I have

found out that 24% of my constituents work in the area of the

West Midlands combined authority. So can I press my right honourable

friend just a little bit further about what she thinks is needed in

the West Midlands combined authority to improve employment still more?

Well, I think my honourable friend, and of course I have had the

advantage, having visited his beautiful constituency. In relation

to the Midlands, we have very strong ambitions to make the Midlands and

engine for growth in the UK. That is why we have plans for a Midlands

engine that demonstrates that, when we say we are going to build an

economy that works for everyone, we actually mean it. In the Autumn

Statement, ?5 million was confirmed for a Birmingham rail hub, 250

million Midlands engine investment funds, and we will shortly publish a

strategy for the Midlands engine, but I repeat that I think, for the

West Midlands, having the devolution deal, the mayor and the right person

elected as mayor, who I think we'll be Andy Street, is important. Sur

Ivan Rogers, in his resignation letter, said people may have to

deliver messages to the government that they may find disagreeable, so

here is one. Her lack of priority for the single market is putting

jobs in Scotland and the economy at risk. That means that government is

as big a threat to the union as the SNP. Her government is not worthy of

the trust Scots, let alone their blind trust, so will the Prime

Minister take this opportunity to apologise for threatening the union

and give a solemn promise to every single person in this country that

they will not be a penny worse off after a Tory Brexit? The honourable

gentleman will be well aware that I want to see the best possible trade

deal for the UK with the EU, the best possible deal for trading with

an operating in the single European market. When we enter the

negotiations, obviously that is one of the issues I have said I want to

see, and we will be out there and delivering on it. Unlike the

downplaying he does about the approach we are taking, it is

government that is ambitious for the opportunities available to this

country once we leave the EU. Cheshire schools in areas of reality

and high deprivation will receive some of the lowest per-pupil funding

rate in the country under the new proposed funding formula. -- in

rural areas. Does the Prime Minister agreed that these discrepancies must

be addressed to ensure that pupils in my area receive the best possible

start in life? I think everybody recognises that the way schools have

been funded in the past has been unfair and many pupils have missed

out, and that is why it is right for us to look at bringing forward a new

fair funding formula, making sure funding is attached to children's

needs. We recognise the issues of rural areas in this, which is why,

within the fair funding formula, additional funding for such schools

has been included, but of course the Department for Education as this out

for consultation at the moment and I would urge my honourable friend to

make a representation is part of that consultation. Dewsbury hospital

A is set for downgrade this year. Over Christmas, I had constituents

waiting over 20 hours for a bed, in a facility that might not even exist

next year. Would the Prime Minister now please face reality and act now

to stop this vital A service from disappearing? The honourable ladies

referring to the plans being put forward at local level to

consider... shouting. IF THE HONOURABLE MEMBER FOR DEWSBURY, IF

SHE WERE BEHAVING LIKE THAT IN ANOTHER AREA, WOULD PROBABLY BE

SUBJECT TO AN ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR ORDER. I returned to the point,

decisions about services in the local area are rightly taken by the

local National Guard service, because we believe that it is local

clinicians and local patients and leaders who know what is less for

their area, so it is about trying to tailor services to provide the best

possible needs for local people, modernising care and facilities and

making sure the services are appropriate to the local area. This

trust has an extensive improvement plan to ensure both hospitals within

it can care for patients attending A within as timely a way as

possible. Next Thursday evening, I will host the first session of the

Bedford community business school, free of charge, open to all, with

250 local people sharing a passion for entrepreneurship and learning

tips about business from national and local business leaders, so will

my right honourable friend ensure that her forthcoming national

strategy is that it's part be passionate interests of Britain's

small business leaders and entrepreneurs? -- has at its heart.

I can absolutely give that commitment. The industrial strategy

will look to the economy of the future, what is the sort of economy

we want in this country, and crucial to that will be the growth generated

by entrepreneurs, small businesses and the very passion he speaks

about. We want to see an environment in which those who can grow can

emerge and develop and provide future jobs for people, so they can

contribute to the strength of the economy. That is what the industrial

strategy is about and I agree with my honourable friend. The Prime

Minister, I am sure, will understand, despite the

reassurances, that there are genuine and really serious concerns among

staff across the NHS and the care system and patients and their

families about the pressures they are under. It is for that reason

that MPs from her own party, from the Labour Party and my own have

come together to call for the government to establish an NHS and

care convention to engage with the public, so we can come up with a

long-term settlement for the NHS and care. Would the Prime Minister be

prepared to meet with us just to discuss it so she can hear our case?

I recognised the interest and attention the honourable gentleman

has given to these issues, and he is a former health minister himself and

I will be happy to meet with him and others as he suggests. There can be

nothing as distressing for a parent as the death of their child,

particularly where that child has been murdered. That is what happened

to the two ladies, one of them a constituent of mine, who set up

Justice After Acquittal, successfully campaigning for

voluntary national standards of support by the CPS and policed by

the families of murder victims following an acquittal. They are due

to be launched next Tuesday. -- for the families. Would the Prime

Minister join with me in paying tribute to determination and energy

with which they have campaigned, and will she continue to ensure that the

voices of the victims of crime and their families are always listened

to? My honourable friend raises an important point and I am happy to

join with him in paying tribute to these campaigners. I am sure the

whole house would want to pay tribute to the work they are doing.

I remain committed to ensuring that the voices of victims are heard.

That is what I did as Home Secretary, looking at issues such as

introducing new measures to tackle modern slavery, strengthening BIP

CC, legislating in relation to police complaint and discipline

systems to strengthen public confidence in policing, and I'm

pleased to say that the Home Secretary is taking that same

passion to ensure the voices of victims of crime are heard. --

strengthening the IPC C. Across the UK, many banks are accelerating

their closure of local branches, with adverse effects on vulnerable

and older people and the high street. The Royal Bank of Scotland

is closing down branches across Scotland, including Juniper Green in

my constituency. Local convenience stores are taking the strain,

processing bills and often facing exorbitant bank charges for the

privilege of doing that. Will the Prime Minister meet with me to

discuss how we can realise a situation where banking across the

UK services customers and the real economy? The issue of bank branches

and accessibility of bank services is one which is for individual banks

themselves to take and consider, and there are many ways in which people

are now accessing bank services other than going physically into a

branch, but I will certainly look at the issue she has raised. Building a

country that works for everyone means doing even more to tackle

economic and social deprivation that has come to afflict pockets of

seaside towns such as Rhyl in my constituency. Would the right

honourable friend support a locally developed plan to invest in rail

infrastructure to help unlock the true potential of the north Wales

and Mersey economic region as an integral part of the northern

powerhouse, connected to the rest of the country by the proposed a Harb

at Crewe? I welcome the establishment of the north Wales and

Mersey rail task force and the work they are doing. The plan he mentions

sets out an ambitious programme of improvements for the area. I am sure

they will prioritise the most promising option, but I can say that

the Department for Transport will continue to work closely with the

top force and the Welsh government to consider what can be jointly

accomplished. As pensions Minister, Steve Webb... The value of a single

rate pension. He also gave us the 2011 act. It is now deemed suitable

for a knighthood. Unless this couldn't take action to help the

struggling mostly women, that knighthood is a final insult to

these women. Action has been taken in relation to women's pensions. The

government took action to ensure that the number of people affected

and the period for which they were affected would be reduced, and money

was put in to that was possible, but I also say to the general -- the

honourable gentleman that, if you look at the new structure being put

in place, women will be some of the greater beneficiaries. I welcome the

Prime Minister raising the awareness of the importance of child mental

health this week. Not least because, last year, 65% of young people

requiring mental health support in south Warwickshire had to wait over

12 weeks before starting treatment. Can my right honourable friend

outline how the new proposals will By honourable friend raises an

important issue, we are investing more in mental health than ever

before, spending a record ?4 billion per year, and it was conservative

led government which introduced the parity of the scheme between mental

and physical health but there is more for us to do in ensuring that

we see the appropriate care available for people, and I cited

that example earlier where I saw excellent work being done to provide

care and support for people in the community. Which was relieving

pressure on accident and emergency and ensuring that people get the

best possible care for them which is obviously what we want to see.

Strained accident and emergency provisions in my constituency are

under review and further up the Cumbrian coast the community risks

losing 24 hour access to A and consultant led maternity from its

local hospital. I understand that she will save these decisions are to

be made locally but will she at least say that she can understand

the anxiety of expectant mothers who face a 40 mile journey on difficult

roads which are often blocked if they have a difficult birth? I say

to the honourable gentleman that I think the problems facing the health

service in Cumbria are widely recognised and I understand the

concerns of the local people in terms of services available to them.

We put robust national support in place to address long-standing

challenges in Cumbria and are developing a lasting plan to deliver

high-quality sustainable services which are what patients rightly

expect. He is right in that in relation to these decisions they are

taken locally, no final decisions have been taken. I recognise the

concern raised previously particularly about services at West

Cumberland Hospital and there will be considerable involvement in

taking these decisions but I recognise that there are

long-standing challenges for health service provisions in Cumbria.

Doctor Caroline Johnson... Thank you. I know from my career in

medicine that the men and women of our East Midlands Ambulance Service

do a brave and sterling job for the people of Sleaford and North Hykeham

and others, they save people's lives every day. East Midlands Ambulance

Service responded to a total of 11,662 999 calls over the Christmas

and bank holiday weekend alone. 2500 of which were in Lincolnshire. We'll

be Prime Minister join me in paying tribute to their dedication,

particularly over the busy winter period and say what more can be done

to support our Ambulance Services and improve response times in rural

areas like Sleaford and North Hykeham. Can I thank my honourable

friend for her question and bringing her personal experience as a medical

professional in relation to this issue, I am very happy to join her

in paying tribute to the men and women of the Ambulance Service and

the dedication and commitment that they show. She asked what the

government have been doing and we recognise that the Ambulance

Services are very busy which is why we see over 2000 more paramedics now

compared to 2010 and are increasing paramedic training places by over

60% this year. Also, the Department of Health, NHS employers and

ambulance unions have agreed changes in compensation for paramedics,

potentially giving them a pay increase of up to ?14,000 as they

progress but we recognise that excellent work. Can I commend the

Prime Minister for her considered statement last night, and indeed the

words she gave this afternoon. She knows our commitment to the

institutions in Northern Ireland but would she agree that nothing can be

or should be gained from threatening the peace process, the progress that

we have made, or the institutions that we have fought so hard to

sustain in Northern Ireland? Well, the progress that has been made in

Northern Ireland has been hard won. And we should all recognise that we

do not want to put that progress in jeopardy. That is why I think it is

so important for the government and all parties to work as hard as we

can to see a resolution to this issue, so there we can see a return

to the power-sharing institutions and ensure, as we say, that progress

that has been hard-won can be continued. Nicky Morgan... Hankey Mr

Speaker. Let me welcome what I said -- thank you Mr Speaker. Let me draw

attention to a burning injustice, a constituent of mine has been

battling cancer for four years, she is recovering from an operation and

has taken 28 weeks off work, and is on half pay. Her working tax credits

have been stopped so she is worrying about making ends meet rather than

her recovery. Can I ask my right honourable friend to look at this in

the Treasury in the course of budget preparations? Let me thank my right

honourable friend about the comments about mental health announcements

I've made. I'm sorry about the particular difficulties she has set

out that her constituent is experiencing and the distressed

cause -- the distress caused. These tax credits are designed to

incentivise people to increase working hours. We will be with the

universal credit system, having a system of benefits with single

streamlined payments which encourages work. In the individual

case my right honourable friend has raised, I'm sure the financial

Secretary to the Treasury would be happy to look at that case and the

issue that it has set out. Order... STUDIO: Prime Minister's Questions

comes to an end, the first of 2017. Jeremy Corbyn used all six of his

questions on the NHS, as we expected. Beginning with the number

of people waiting in trolleys and in hospitals, A, so on. A range of

medical institutions and representative bodies have been

mentioned, the Prime Minister decided to attack the Red Cross in

saying there was a humanitarian crisis which is why Jeremy Corbyn

then named other medical institutions, that were not the Red

Cross. I am not sure that the exchange produced anything that we

did not already know. Jeremy Corbyn moved on to social care cuts which

we have been discussing, before we went to PMQs. We did not any

indication, that the Prime Minister has any intention of changing policy

or adding more money, or whatever. But she has just decided to tough it

out. Jeremy Corbyn finished with remarks about the Prime Minister 's

speech, what she has called a "Shared society". Not Mr Cameron's

"Big society". He defined it as "Shared misery".

We will get comments shortly from the panel. But let's hear what you

thought. Jo, you have e-mails? A lot on the subject of the NHS.

And funding. Peter Kane said it was a strong performance from Jeremy

Corbyn but he faced an open goal, Theresa May struggle to face those

points. No doubt that health care cuts voters more than any other

issue. The choice of words was clear and rebuke for that organisation was

noteworthy. PMQs gave us a glance at the future of exchanges to come

between frontbenchers. Marjorie says that sadly Jeremy Corbyn 's

criticisms could be legitimate but how can we have confidence that he

could govern better? Easy to criticise but difficult to govern.

Noreen says that with cuts and the release of patients, why does no one

ask about putting up taxes to cover the problem? What did you make of

it? I think Theresa May struggled to come back with convincing answers on

what was going on in the NHS. It was interesting she acknowledged that in

her words there were a small number of cases where an acceptable things

had taken place. She's gone slightly further -- and unacceptable number

of things had taken place. A small number of things are going on which

are unacceptable, that could come back to haunt her, to some people it

would sound dismissive. The argument put forward on the other side...

Remember that why this matters so much, voters care hugely about the

NHS and David Cameron invested huge amount of political capital and

energy into detox of the Tories reputation on the NHS. He did not

completely overcome the perception of voters, Labour is seen as the

party of the NHS. And more trusted. There is a real danger for the

government of squandering some of the work that the previous

administration had gone into to try and get the Tories to catch up on

people's perceptions in terms of stewardship of the NHS. As you said,

at this stage, she does not seem willing to budge on how things have

gone but there is a big danger in it seems that she is putting her

fingers in her ears. Yesterday, the former Health Secretary Andrew

Lansley said on the programme or certainly suggested that Theresa May

had not quite grasp grasped the seriousness in this

issue. Nor the amount of money needed at one end of the social care

or A Is that the case? Certainly there is something in the suggestion

that the NHS is not one of her issues. She was at the Home Office

for a long time and understands those issues and security, she is

very familiar with that. It was suggested to me that there is not

necessarily a problem and people would not stated is that necessarily

but the NHS is not her turf, and it could well be that Number ten has

not been up for understanding the scale of the challenge that the NHS

faces but they do have a very strong defence. Simon Stephens asked for a

certain amount of cash and the government gave them it, as they

would argue. Of course, it is disputed... But it is hotly

disputed. By all sorts of people. In terms of political necessity,

there's a sense among some in government that for the moment, it's

kind of been dealt with. You were shaking head there? With that point

that in some way the Prime Minister does not regard the health service

as her issue, or an issue she wants to get involved in, actually it is

her first big speech of the year, it was about mental health and of

course she cares as much as anyone about the health service. She chose

to make this speech to illustrate her ideas about a shared society. On

the issue of mental health, which, for years, we've all been discussing

and agreeing that mental health is the Cinderella of the health

service, and dealing with one of the mystical parts of the NHS. I do

disagree with that analysis. Mr Corbyn has said that the government

has planned to close a third of hospital beds in the near future, is

that true? According to the sustainability and transformation

plans, we did a Freedom of information request,

and a third of all... With consultations there is not a single

plan to close these, it is wholly bogus. It is good to know... They

are all local plans but the point about these transformation plans...

They are plans developed by local and clinical commissioning groups.

They are clearly not top-down reorganisations and they are all

after consultations. Are you saying that there are local

plans to close hospital beds that, when you add them all up, will

amount to a third...? There are no plans at all. They are at the

initial stages of consultation. The overall thrust is what Simon Stevens

has been saying since 2014, there is nothing new in it, which is that

people who shouldn't been in hospital, what we have been saying

about people staying too long. The more services you provide outside

hospital, the better treatment. But this is in the context of a

dwindling budget. I am a former NHS Trust chair and former public health

consultant. I can remember that you work within the budget limitations

you add. The government has reduced the amount of funding available.

With the 2012 health and social care act, there was an opportunity for

trusts to raise their income levels through privatisation of key beds,

up to 49%. I think we are going to uncover a lot in terms of the amount

of beds being used in terms of private health care, which is adding

to the pressure. 4 million people are now on waiting lists. We are

going back to the 90s, and it is dire that we have people dying on

trolleys. To say that these are small numbers, that won't give any

consolation to families that have been affected by this. This is

really complacent to the extreme. This consultation, this is part of

the 22 billion savings that have to be made, isn't it? Not cut... 22

billion savings that will then be spent better elsewhere is the plan,

I think. Indeed, it is the NHS's five-year plan that basically was

designed to have a more modern, better structure, more effective

health service. And there is a sort of problem with this, some people

see it, that you can make changes if you have got a bit scared -- a bit

of spare capacity. You can try to persuade a local town they would be

better served not having a local A because they have these different

provisions, whatever. You can make those changes and have those

discussions if you have a bit of headroom and spare cash around the

edges, but the rising demand and the fact we are living longer has sucked

out that spare bandwidth and capacity in the health service,

which is making it so difficult. You say that Theresa May is focused on

mental health, and she mentioned it in her speech, but it is also true,

according to the health minister, that there has been a drop of 6610

mental health nurses, representing a loss of about 1000 such specialists

per year since 2010. It is such a focus, why has there been a drop of

over six and a half thousand? There are many problems in mental health

provision around the country, and that is what we are starting to

address, not just in terms of the mental health professionals and the

numbers available... You are going to replace that number? Helping

schools, particularly in secondary schools, every secondary school

should have some help. In my own field, making employers much more

aware of the issues of people with mental health issues. But what about

the increase? Since 2010. People have talked about mental health

being the Cinderella inside the health service, and I think that is

largely true. For the first time, we now have a government and a Prime

Minister making serious attempts to get to grips with that. There has

been money given. More money was put through to the clinical

commissioning groups. There is some thought that some of that money

didn't reach mental health patients. Clearly it should have done and it

should do in the future. What about the Pledge on parity of esteem?

Theresa May was a senior movement of the government. Why hasn't this

happened? Last year, there was a cut of 3% in terms of the mental health

tariff. It didn't go up. These are warm words not backed up by action.

We must hold the government to account on this. The French,

Germans, Swiss and Swedes, four affluent countries, spent 11% or a

little bit more of their GDP on health. We said earlier that we

spend under ten. Both figures include private and public, but in

Britain it is 2% of private, in Germany 1.7, so they are all around

the same area. How would Labour increase the share of GDP to 11%, to

the European affluent level? These are about choices. Jeremy mentioned

corporation tax. We have committed around increasing the higher rate of

income tax. We need to make sure that we prioritise... How much would

that race? To be honest, I don't know. There is an argument that the

cuts in the higher rate of tax generating more revenue, it is an

opulent economists have and there is a consensus, so it may not raise you

much. -- an argument economists have. You seem to have spent the cut

incorporation tax many times. That isn't true. The plans we put forward

at all been costed. We are promising that, if we were in power, we would

make sure that women had access to pension credit. We made sure we have

a budget... How much would you save them by not cutting operation tax? I

don't have that figure to my fingers. I'm sorry. Can you also

assure us just that it is Labour policy? Is it written somewhere? Can

we go and see it? That the savings, if there are savings, from not cut

incorporation tax would be spent on the NHS? Public sector funding will

be an important one. That isn't what I asked you. Will the savings from

not cut incorporation tax you spent on the NHS? When I come back to talk

to you on our manifesto, I will be happy to go that detail. I can

hardly wait! One tangible example that Jeremy had was bringing forward

that 700 million in social care. Why can't that be done? That is a key

issue around delayed discharges which would free up beds and mean

people on waiting lists could have access, and it wouldn't mean that

their beds for people instead of them having to wait on trolleys in

A -- it would mean. The Prime Minister clearly has a problem with

the NHS and, if we are in for a very cold end of January, beginning of

February, as it was in 2009, it could be more than just a problem.

The government has been lucky that the winters have been relatively

mild in recent years, but given the manner in which Mr Corbyn approached

the questions today, he had pretty much an open goal. I see one

centre-left commentator saying that he actually just dribbled the ball

in front of the open goal. He didn't stick it in the net. To use another

sports metaphor, it wasn't necessarily a slam dunk. However, I

think the fact that he did, unusually, you might say, use six

questions to affect that Theresa May didn't particularly have convincing

answers for, that will be seen as having been a pretty decent

performance for him. I think it was a win for Jeremy Corbyn today, no

question. But we do see a lot Jeremy Corbyn's performance at Prime

Minister's Questions is undoubtedly better than it was 18 months ago,

but is he the most effective performer at that dispatch box? The

answer to that is no. Is Theresa May massively comfortable in this

particular format? Not particularly either. One interesting thing. I

have a feeling we will be coming back to all of this.

Now, this week, amid accusations of nepotism, Donald Trump

announced his 35-year-old son-in-law, Jared Kushner,

was taking a "key leadership role" in the White House,

advising him on both domestic and foreign policy.

But it's not just in the US that politicians have

So, let's see how many our guests can identify the famous politicians

that have a personal as well as professional relationship

Do you know who that is? I will give you clues in a second, but you might

know. No. He towers over his father. It's Seb Corbyn. Yes, some of Jeremy

and G. Two Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell. He hasn't yet grown the

trademark family bed. He has changed his hair since. This one is from

north of the border. Who is that? You are not allowed to answer,

Laura. He is married to the leader of a political party. He is the

Chief Executive of that political party. Presumably it is Mr Sturgeon.

Yes, Peter Murrell is his name. He is married to an Nicola Sturgeon.

The next lady is German, married to a British politician, and she

prefers to stay out of the limelight, but she has gone on

record to say her husband drinks and smokes too much. Crikey, that could

be a lot of people! That is Mrs Farage. Yes, also known as Kirsten

Mehr. You have done quite well. The last one, going back in history,

let's have a look... Finally, we're going back a bit

here, but this equine beast was the favoured advisor

to a particular leader, some might And to discuss we're joined

from the Welsh Assembly by two experts in political nepotism,

Neil and Christine Hamilton. Welcome to both of you. Tell us,

Christine, what is the advantage of working with or for Neil? I can keep

an eye on him 24/7. The most important thing is, if you employ a

member of your family, that they are the right and best person for the

job. That is the key. There is nothing wrong per se with employing

a family member, but only if they are the right person. I am happy to

say in the Welsh Assembly that they have a rigorous selection process. I

had to apply for my job. It was publicly advertised. I don't know

how many people applied, but quite if you did. I had an interview. Some

might say, so you should. I 100% agree. Neil will tell you the

disadvantages! So what are the disadvantages? We can did. I can't

get away with anything, not that I would want to, I am far too old. --

be candid. The great advantage for me is that I have got my secretary

on hand 24 hours of the day, in effect. If I had a brainwave in the

middle of the night, I can clobber her in the ribs and get her to take

a note. I think that is beyond the call of duty. Do you get fed up with

each other? Yes, but for other reasons. But shouldn't we end this

circular employing relatives? I understand where people are coming

from when they say that. When I was elected to the House of Commons in

1983, there were scandalous examples of members we employed wives, sons,

daughters, aunts, uncles, in one cases, even grandparents, who did

nothing at all or next to nothing. Clearly, that is an abuse and should

never curve. When Christine became my secretary in the House of

Commons, she had also worked for other MPs for 12 years. So she had

experience. Good luck to the two of you!

There's just time to put you out of your misery and give

It was 1995. Press the red button and we will find out the winner.

That is Walter Whatley from Bury St Edmunds. Congratulations.

The One O'Clock News is starting over on BBC One now.

Jo and I will be here at noon tomorrow with all the big political

We will be joined by Michael Howard, former Conservative leader.

Theresa May's planning on having a speech, but it doesn't say...

it doesn't say what's going to be said. No.

I know she bought a pair of trousers, ?900. I know she did.