:00:06. > :00:15.between what they pay and what other taxpayers pay. Questions to
:00:15. > :00:20.This morning I had a meeting with colleagues and others. Initial to
:00:20. > :00:26.know why duties, I shall have further meetings later.
:00:26. > :00:30.Thousands of people in my constituency work hard at for less
:00:30. > :00:36.than �26,000 a year. Does my right honourable friend agree with me
:00:36. > :00:44.that everybody who believes in the necessity of capping benefits must
:00:44. > :00:48.vote for the Welfare Reform Bill tonight? My honourable friend is
:00:48. > :00:54.right. We are right to reform welfare. Welfare costs have got out
:00:54. > :00:58.of control in our country. We want to make sure that work always pays.
:00:58. > :01:02.We want to make sure that if people do the right thing, we are on their
:01:02. > :01:06.side. It cannot be right for some families to get over �26,000 a year
:01:06. > :01:11.in benefits that is paid for by people who are working hard and pay
:01:11. > :01:15.their taxes. Everyone in the House should support the welfare bill
:01:15. > :01:25.tonight. It is disappointing that Labour talk about welfare, but will
:01:25. > :01:29.
:01:29. > :01:34.not vote for welfare reform. THE SPEAKER: Ed Miliband.
:01:34. > :01:39.Mr Speaker, when the Prime Minister signed off his welfare bill, did he
:01:39. > :01:47.know that it would make 7000 cancer patients worse off by as much as
:01:47. > :01:50.�94 a week? That is not the case. We are using the same definition of
:01:50. > :01:54.people who are suffering and are terminally ill as the last
:01:54. > :01:59.government. We want to make sure those people are helped and
:01:59. > :02:02.protected. If you are in favour of welfare reform, you want to
:02:02. > :02:07.encourage people to do the right thing, it is no good talking about
:02:07. > :02:16.it, you have to vote for it. usual, he does not know what is in
:02:16. > :02:21.his own bill. Listen to Macmillan Cancer Support. On 13th June 2011 -
:02:21. > :02:25.cancer patients to lose up to �94 a week. These are people who have
:02:25. > :02:29.worked hard all their lives, who have done the right thing, who have
:02:29. > :02:35.paid their taxes. And when they are indeed, the Prime Minister is
:02:35. > :02:43.taking money away from him. I ask him again, how can it be right that
:02:43. > :02:50.people with cancer, 7000 of them, are losing �94 a week? We are using
:02:51. > :02:54.the same test as the last government supported. All we see
:02:54. > :02:59.here is a Labour Party desperate not to support welfare reform, and
:02:59. > :03:03.try to find an excuse to get off supporting welfare reform. Anyone
:03:03. > :03:08.who is terminally ill get immediate access to the higher level of
:03:08. > :03:13.support. We will provide that to all people who are unable to work.
:03:13. > :03:17.That is the guarantee we make. He has to stop reading of his
:03:17. > :03:27.responsibilities and back the welfare reform he talks about.
:03:27. > :03:31.
:03:31. > :03:38.Speaker, he doesn't know the detail support allowance after one year
:03:38. > :03:48.for those in work-related activity, cancer patients, 7000 of them, are
:03:48. > :03:49.
:03:49. > :03:56.losing �94 a week. I ask him again, how can that be right? Order. The
:03:56. > :04:02.question has been asked. Order. Order. The answer will be heard.
:04:02. > :04:09.is wrong on the specific point. First of all, our definition of
:04:09. > :04:13.terminally ill is the same one used by the last government. Anyone out
:04:13. > :04:17.of work will be given the extra support that comes from employment
:04:17. > :04:22.support allowance, irrespective of a person's income or assets. That
:04:23. > :04:27.will last for 12 months. He is wrong, and he should admit it. On a
:04:27. > :04:31.means-tested basis, this additional support can last indefinitely. That
:04:31. > :04:36.is the truth. He should check his facts before he comes to the house
:04:36. > :04:40.and chickens out of welfare reform. Let's be clear about this. In the
:04:40. > :04:45.first answer, he said his policy was the same as the last government.
:04:45. > :04:50.Now he has admitted that they are ending contributory best employment
:04:50. > :05:00.support allowance after one year. Let me tell him what Macmillan
:05:00. > :05:02.
:05:02. > :05:06.Cancer Support says. I think they should listen. This is what they
:05:06. > :05:13.are saying. I think it is a disgrace that Conservative members
:05:13. > :05:18.are shouting while we are talking about people with cancer. This is
:05:18. > :05:23.what they say. Many people will lose this benefit simply because
:05:23. > :05:27.they have not recovered quickly enough. Mr Speaker, asking the
:05:27. > :05:34.question again, will he now admit that 7000 cancer patients are
:05:34. > :05:42.losing up to �94 a week? Let me explain it again to him. I do not
:05:42. > :05:46.think he has got the point. Order. Order. I think it is a disgrace
:05:46. > :05:49.that members on both sides of the house are shouting their heads off
:05:49. > :05:54.when matters of the most serious concern are being debated. I repeat
:05:54. > :06:01.what I have said before. The public despise this sort of behaviour.
:06:01. > :06:03.Let's have a bit of order. This is important, and I want to explain to
:06:03. > :06:09.the honourable gentleman why he has got it wrong and what we are
:06:09. > :06:16.proposing is right. The definition of who is terminally ill, these are
:06:16. > :06:19.horrible things to discuss, but let me explain. It is the same
:06:19. > :06:23.definition, six months. Anyone out of work who lives longer than that
:06:23. > :06:28.will be given the extra support that comes from employment support
:06:28. > :06:33.allowance. That is irrespective of a person's income or their assets,
:06:33. > :06:37.and will last for 12 months, not the six months that the Leader of
:06:37. > :06:40.the Opposition said. On a means- tested basis, this additional
:06:40. > :06:45.support can last indefinitely. It is the same test as the last
:06:45. > :06:50.government. It is put in place fairly. We have listened to
:06:50. > :06:54.Macmillan Cancer Support, and we have made sure someone is reviewing
:06:54. > :06:57.all the medical tests that take place under the system. I know he
:06:57. > :07:01.wants to create a distraction from the fact that he will not support
:07:02. > :07:07.welfare reform, but I have answered his question. He should now answer
:07:07. > :07:12.mind - why will you not back the bill? In case he had forgotten, I
:07:12. > :07:18.asked the questions, and he fails to answer them. Let me try and
:07:18. > :07:22.explain it to him. Listen to professor Jane Mayer, chief medical
:07:22. > :07:26.officer or of Macmillan Cancer Support. "in my experience, one
:07:26. > :07:29.year is simply not long enough for many people to recover from cancer.
:07:29. > :07:33.The serious physical and psychological side-effects can last
:07:33. > :07:36.for many months, even years after treatment has finished. It is
:07:37. > :07:41.crucial that patients are not forced to return to work before
:07:41. > :07:45.they are ready". Macmillan Cancer Support and Britain's cancer
:07:45. > :07:48.charities have been making this argument for months. I am amazed
:07:48. > :07:51.that the Prime Minister does not know about this argument. Why
:07:51. > :07:55.doesn't he know about these arguments? The House of Commons is
:07:55. > :07:59.voting on this bill tonight. He should know about these arguments.
:07:59. > :08:06.I ask him again, will he now admit that 7000 cancer patients are
:08:06. > :08:12.losing up to �94 a week? I have answered his question three times.
:08:12. > :08:17.With a full explanation. The whole point about our benefit reforms is
:08:17. > :08:21.that there are proper medical tests. So we support those who cannot work
:08:21. > :08:27.as a generous and compassionate country should, but we make sure
:08:27. > :08:30.those who can work have to go out to work so that we do not reward
:08:30. > :08:34.bad behaviour. He is attempting to put up a smokescreen, because he
:08:34. > :08:38.has been found out. He made a speech this week about the
:08:38. > :08:43.importance of welfare reform, but he cannot take his divided party
:08:43. > :08:52.with him. That is what this is about, weak leadership of a divided
:08:52. > :08:58.party. Mr Speaker, what an absolute disgrace to describe cancer
:08:58. > :09:01.patients in this country as a smokescreen. This is about cancer
:09:01. > :09:05.charities who are concerned on their behalf, and he does not know
:09:05. > :09:09.his own policy. It is not about those who are terminally ill, it is
:09:09. > :09:14.about those recovering from cancer who are losing support as a result
:09:14. > :09:19.of this government. We know he does not think his policies through.
:09:19. > :09:28.Isn't this one occasion when if ever there was a case to pause,
:09:28. > :09:32.listen and reflect, this is it. Why doesn't he do so? This week, we
:09:32. > :09:40.have seen the honourable gentleman get on the wrong side of every
:09:40. > :09:45.issue. If it is cutting the deficit, we now have these CBI, the IMF, his
:09:45. > :09:50.brother, Tony Blair, all on our side and only he is on his own. On
:09:50. > :09:53.welfare reform, we have everyone recognises that welfare needs to be
:09:53. > :09:59.reformed, apart from the right honourable gentleman. On the health
:09:59. > :10:02.service, yes, we now have the Royal College of GPs, the Royal College
:10:02. > :10:06.of Nurses, the Royal College of Physicians, the former Labour
:10:06. > :10:10.Health Minister and Tony Blair all on the side of reform. And on his
:10:10. > :10:20.own, the right honourable gentleman, a weak leader of a divided party.
:10:20. > :10:28.
:10:28. > :10:33.That is what we have learned this Prime Minister, Mike constituent's
:10:33. > :10:37.mother, a British national, on a recent visit to India, was
:10:37. > :10:41.kidnapped and then beheaded in a horrendous murder incident. Can I
:10:41. > :10:45.ask the British Government to urge the Indian authorities to carry out
:10:45. > :10:49.a fall and transparent and thorough investigation and bring to account
:10:49. > :10:54.those responsible for this horrendous murder so that my
:10:54. > :10:57.constituents and his family can get justice for their mother?
:10:57. > :11:01.understand why my honourable friend wants to raise this case. On behalf
:11:02. > :11:04.of the house, we send our condolences to the family. I
:11:04. > :11:08.understand their wish for justice to be brought to bear on the
:11:08. > :11:12.perpetrators. The Foreign Office has been providing the family with
:11:12. > :11:16.consular support, and they will arrange to meet my right honourable
:11:16. > :11:18.friend and the family to see what further assistance we can give.
:11:18. > :11:22.However, responsibility for investigating crime committed
:11:22. > :11:26.overseas has to rest with the police and judicial authorities in
:11:26. > :11:32.that country. We cannot interfere in the processes, but I take to
:11:32. > :11:42.heart the points he makes. Speaker, we know that the deficit
:11:42. > :11:44.
:11:44. > :11:51.was the price paid to avoid a depression caused by... Are caught
:11:51. > :11:55.by the bankers. But in March, the forecast for the budget deficit was
:11:55. > :12:00.increased by �46 billion, �1,000 per person. Will he now at last
:12:00. > :12:05.accept that cuts are choking growth, that that is stoking inflation, and
:12:05. > :12:10.both are increasing the deficit? He is going too far, too fast,
:12:10. > :12:20.hindering and not helping the recovery. Yes or no? The deficit is
:12:20. > :12:25.the price paid for Labour's profligacy in office. Tony Blair in
:12:25. > :12:28.his memoirs, I know they do not want to hear about Tony Blair any
:12:28. > :12:36.more, funny, that. He was a Labour leader who used to win elections.
:12:36. > :12:40.He said that by 2007, spending was out of control. We have to get on
:12:40. > :12:43.top of debt and spending and the deficit. I understand that the
:12:43. > :12:52.Labour leader is trying to persuade the shadow Chancellor of that. Good
:12:52. > :13:02.The Prime Minister will be aware that yesterday was the anniversary
:13:02. > :13:10.
:13:10. > :13:13.of the liberation of the Falkland Sees the United States will he
:13:13. > :13:17.remind the President that they will never be acceptable to her
:13:17. > :13:23.Majesty's government, and if the special relationship means anything,
:13:23. > :13:28.it means that they defend British sovereign treat -- sovereignty over
:13:28. > :13:31.our own territory. He makes an excellent point and I'm sure
:13:31. > :13:35.everybody will want to remember the anniversary of the successful
:13:35. > :13:39.retaking of the Falkland Islands and the superb bravery and courage
:13:39. > :13:44.of all our armed forces who took part in that action. We should also
:13:44. > :13:49.remember those that fell in terms of taking back the Falklands. The
:13:49. > :13:54.point he makes is a good one. What I would say is this, as long as the
:13:54. > :13:58.Falkland Islands want to be a sovereign British territory, they
:13:58. > :14:03.should remain so. End of story. This week we have seen the
:14:03. > :14:06.government changed its mind on the NHS, and sentencing, student visas
:14:06. > :14:12.and dustbin collection, so will the Prime Minister tell us now whether
:14:12. > :14:17.the Prime Minister will change his mind on a government plans to force
:14:17. > :14:21.women to wait up to two years longer before they qualify for
:14:21. > :14:25.their state pensions? All parties supported the equalisation of the
:14:25. > :14:28.pension age between men and women. That needed to happen. It also
:14:28. > :14:32.needs to happen that we raise pension ages to make sure the
:14:32. > :14:36.pension system is affordable. Appoint a would make is because we
:14:36. > :14:40.have been able to do that, we have really into pensions back to
:14:40. > :14:42.earnings, and pensioners are �15,000 better off in their
:14:42. > :14:46.retirement than they would have been under Labour. I think that is
:14:46. > :14:49.a good deal and the right thing to do. If anyone in the party opposite
:14:49. > :14:59.wants to be serious about pension reform and dealing with the deficit,
:14:59. > :15:00.
:15:01. > :15:05.I agree with the government's timetable for increasing the men's
:15:05. > :15:12.state pension age to 66, because it happens gradually. But I would ask
:15:12. > :15:16.the Prime Minister to think again about women's state pension age.
:15:16. > :15:21.The timetable has women's state pension age going up too quickly
:15:21. > :15:25.and leaves women of my age, born in 1954, without enough time to plan
:15:25. > :15:30.for what could be two years extra work. Will the Government please
:15:30. > :15:34.look at this again? I understand the concerns about this. But I said
:15:34. > :15:39.in the House last week that over 80 % of those affected will only see
:15:39. > :15:43.their pension age come in one year later. So it is actually a very
:15:43. > :15:48.relatively small number. But the key thing is making sure that the
:15:48. > :15:51.pension system is sustainable so we can pay out higher pensions. There
:15:51. > :15:54.is a similar argument that the house was having in the previous
:15:54. > :15:58.set of questions about the sustainability of public sector
:15:58. > :16:01.pensions. We have to take these difficult decisions. They are right
:16:01. > :16:06.for the long term and they mean a better pension system for those who
:16:06. > :16:10.are retiring. Does the Prime Minister agree with the Institute
:16:10. > :16:14.for Fiscal Studies that with inflation at 4.5 %, more than twice
:16:14. > :16:18.the government target, it is hitting pensioners and lower income
:16:18. > :16:23.families the hardest? The point about pensions is there is the
:16:23. > :16:27.triple guarantee that they will go up by earnings or 2.5 %, or
:16:27. > :16:31.whichever is higher, so it won't affect them in that way. We clearly
:16:31. > :16:33.want to see inflation come down. There is a shared agreement across
:16:33. > :16:36.the House that it is right for the Bank of England to have the
:16:36. > :16:40.responsibility. I notice he does not raise today the welcome news
:16:40. > :16:44.that we have seen the biggest fall in unemployment in one month
:16:44. > :16:50.figures than we have seen at any time in a decade. I think it is
:16:50. > :16:54.time the party opposite started welcoming that good news. There is
:16:54. > :16:58.increasing concern within the house and across the country about the
:16:58. > :17:02.hidden suffering of traffic to children and re- trafficked
:17:02. > :17:06.children. Does the Prime Minister agree that it is essential that a
:17:06. > :17:10.co-ordinated, multi-agency approach across the country from borders to
:17:10. > :17:15.local authorities and local police forces, including the excellent
:17:15. > :17:18.charitable organisations involved in the work, is promoted urgently?
:17:18. > :17:22.My Honourable Friend makes extremely good point and I know how
:17:22. > :17:26.hard the party works on this group. I listen very carefully on what
:17:26. > :17:29.they have to say. One thing that I hope will make a difference is the
:17:29. > :17:34.formation of the National crime agency which should bring a greater
:17:34. > :17:39.co-ordination to vital issues such as this.
:17:39. > :17:43.The SNP won a landslide in the recent elections and the mandate to
:17:43. > :17:47.improve the powers of the Scottish parliament. So will the Prime
:17:47. > :17:50.Minister respect the Scottish electorate and accept the six
:17:50. > :17:55.proposals for improvement in the Scotland Bill by the Scottish
:17:55. > :17:59.government? For we listened very carefully to what people have to
:17:59. > :18:03.say and week of course respect that the SNP won the mandate in Scotland
:18:03. > :18:06.and we are responding positively. But the first point I would make is
:18:06. > :18:11.that the Scotland Bill before the house is a massive extension of
:18:12. > :18:16.devolution. He shakes his head, but is an extra �12 billion of spending
:18:16. > :18:20.power. We will go ahead with that and look at the proposals that Alex
:18:20. > :18:23.Salmond has had. I take the respect agenda seriously, but it is a two-
:18:23. > :18:28.way street. A street in which I respect the views of the Scottish
:18:28. > :18:33.people, but they also have to respect we are still part of, and
:18:33. > :18:39.will always be part of, I believe, a United Kingdom. Last Friday was
:18:39. > :18:41.the 9th anniversary of the British Legion, and on Tuesday, 120
:18:41. > :18:45.soldiers from the Air assault Brigade will march into Parliament
:18:46. > :18:51.to welcome them back from Afghanistan. Can have a Prime
:18:51. > :18:54.Minister repeat his assurance that the armed forces covenant will be
:18:54. > :18:58.rewritten for the first time in history and written into law?
:18:58. > :19:00.give that assurance and I'm delighted that the Royal British
:19:00. > :19:04.Legion have agreed an approach we will take in the Armed forces Bill
:19:04. > :19:07.and that is being passed through the house. I am glad that the
:19:07. > :19:10.forced -- House of Commons will be welcoming the soldiers from the
:19:10. > :19:14.Brigade as the rest of the armed forces, the bravest of the brave,
:19:14. > :19:17.the best of the best, there isn't too much we can do for the people,
:19:17. > :19:21.which is why the armed forces covenant matters and why we kept
:19:22. > :19:27.our promise Stoop double the operational allowance to soldiers
:19:27. > :19:31.serving in Afghanistan. Millions of our constituents are once more
:19:31. > :19:34.facing big increases in their gas and electricity bills. Many will
:19:34. > :19:38.find it very difficult to make ends meet. What action will the
:19:38. > :19:45.government take to help them? are taking a range of actions.
:19:45. > :19:50.Obviously, the fact we have or oil costing $115 per barrel and gas
:19:50. > :19:54.prices rising by 15 % over a year, that has an impact, but we are
:19:54. > :19:59.putting �250 million into the warm home discount and funding a more
:19:59. > :20:02.targeted warm front scheme that will help 47,000 families this year.
:20:02. > :20:07.We are legislating so social tariffs have to offer the best
:20:07. > :20:10.prices available. We are keeping a promise to say that Post Office
:20:10. > :20:14.card account holders should get a discount. We are keeping the winter
:20:14. > :20:17.fuel payment. And we have permanently increase the cold
:20:17. > :20:19.weather payments. We didn't just allow him to be increased in an
:20:19. > :20:27.election year. We are keeping the higher payments that are very
:20:27. > :20:32.valuable to his constituents. week my Honourable Friend the
:20:32. > :20:36.Member for Stoke visited a school near Stafford. In meetings, parents
:20:36. > :20:40.expressed the excellent teaching -- gratitude for the excellent
:20:40. > :20:43.teaching but also of a provision of their children after the age of 19.
:20:43. > :20:48.Knowing his deep concern in the area, what encouragement can my
:20:48. > :20:52.right honourable friend give them? We have to support special schools.
:20:52. > :20:56.The pendulum again special education swung too far against
:20:56. > :20:59.inclusion, and it is important we give parents and carers proper
:20:59. > :21:03.choices to make sure they can choose between mainstream and
:21:03. > :21:07.special education. He raises the important point that many parents
:21:07. > :21:10.of disabled children when they become young adults want them to go
:21:10. > :21:13.on studying in further education colleges and elsewhere, but the
:21:13. > :21:17.current rules seem to suggest that once they have finished the course,
:21:17. > :21:20.that is it. Parents asked what we will do now and we have to find a
:21:20. > :21:24.better answer for parents who are finding their much-loved children
:21:24. > :21:30.living for much longer and want them to have a purposeful and
:21:30. > :21:34.complete life. In the face of what are crippling energy price rises,
:21:34. > :21:39.driving pensioners and one off family into fuel poverty by the
:21:39. > :21:45.thousands every day under the coalition, can I ask him, he's heat
:21:45. > :21:48.struggling with his energy bill or are any others of the 21
:21:48. > :21:54.millionairess in his Cabinet struggling with the energy bills?
:21:54. > :21:58.And when is he going to take a personal grip of this situation?
:21:58. > :22:03.From reading the papers this week the people who seem to be coining
:22:03. > :22:08.it are the ones who worked for the last government, but there we are.
:22:08. > :22:11.Clearly fuel prices have gone up because of what has happened to
:22:11. > :22:15.World War -- world gas and oil prices, but we are serious about
:22:15. > :22:18.helping families. That is why we have frozen the council tax and a
:22:18. > :22:21.lifting one million people out of tax and a taken a set of measures
:22:22. > :22:27.to help with energy bills which I describe. We have also managed to
:22:27. > :22:31.cut petrol tax this year, paid for by the additional tax on the North
:22:31. > :22:36.Sea oil industry. I notice that while the party opposite wants to
:22:36. > :22:40.support the petrol price tax, they don't support the fuel -- increase
:22:40. > :22:45.in the North Sea oil tax. Absolutely typical of an
:22:45. > :22:50.opportunistic opposition. The Prime Minister will be aware that this
:22:50. > :22:53.week is National diabetes wheat and the theme this year is let's talk
:22:53. > :22:59.diabetes to encourage people with the condition to speak out and not
:22:59. > :23:03.feel stigmatised all worried about being discriminated against, or
:23:03. > :23:10.joked against in school or in the workplace. Would the Prime Minister
:23:10. > :23:14.please support the campaign? certainly will. And my Honourable
:23:14. > :23:17.Friend makes extremely good point, that many people with diabetes find
:23:17. > :23:21.it an embarrassingly honest and something they don't want to talk
:23:21. > :23:24.about, yet it is affecting more and more people. We have to find a way
:23:24. > :23:28.to encourage people to say that there is nothing abnormal or wrong,
:23:28. > :23:31.but we need to help people manage their diabetes, particularly
:23:31. > :23:35.because you want to see them have control over health care and spend
:23:35. > :23:39.less time in hospital if at all possible. I fully support the
:23:39. > :23:43.campaign and we have to look at the long-term cost of people getting
:23:43. > :23:47.diabetes and recognise there is a big public health agenda,
:23:47. > :23:51.particularly about exercise, that we need to get hold of. The Prime
:23:51. > :24:01.Minister will know that this is the first opportunity I have had to ask
:24:01. > :24:03.
:24:03. > :24:06.him a question. I stand here fresh and full of hope, so why would give
:24:06. > :24:10.the Prime Minister one more chance to answer the question. People in
:24:10. > :24:15.my constituency and up and down the country faced enormous increases in
:24:15. > :24:19.their energy bills announced by Scottish Power. They need help now.
:24:19. > :24:26.When is the Prime Minister going to keep his promise, made in
:24:26. > :24:30.opposition, to take tough action on it excessive energy prices? As I
:24:30. > :24:34.said in answer some moments ago, we are taking action. There is only a
:24:34. > :24:39.certain amount you can do when you see fuel prices go up by as much as
:24:39. > :24:44.they have over the last year, a 50 % increase in oil and gas, but we
:24:44. > :24:47.do have the warm home in Kuyt -- Discount, the warm front scheme,
:24:47. > :24:51.and making sure that where there are special tariffs, companies have
:24:51. > :24:54.to offer them to their users. That makes a difference and there is the
:24:54. > :24:58.point about the Post Office card account holders who currently don't
:24:58. > :25:02.get all the discounts available to people who paid by direct debit. We
:25:02. > :25:12.are making sure they get the discount. She shakes her head, but
:25:12. > :25:17.
:25:17. > :25:19.in one year that's a lot more than Would my Right Honourable friend
:25:19. > :25:24.congratulate the ladies in Ilkeston who made part of the lace on the
:25:24. > :25:28.Duchess of Cambridge's wedding dress. This is the last traditional
:25:28. > :25:32.lace factory here, and that town centre has declined in the recent
:25:32. > :25:36.years over those losses. Would my Right Honourable Friend agree with
:25:36. > :25:43.me that the review into revitalising our town centres has
:25:43. > :25:46.come at a perfect time and time by the Prime Minister to attend our
:25:46. > :25:50.constituents as part of this. would be delighted to come to the
:25:50. > :25:55.constituency. I didn't know that their constituents were responsible
:25:55. > :25:59.for the lace on the Duchess's incredible dress, but I feel I
:25:59. > :26:03.leave today's session enriched by the knowledge. We do want to see
:26:03. > :26:06.the growth in manufacturing and production in Britain, and what we
:26:06. > :26:10.are seeing in the economy, difficult as the months ahead will
:26:10. > :26:18.inevitably be, a growth of things made in Britain, whether that is
:26:18. > :26:27.cars, vans or lace for people stresses. Mr Speaker, the United
:26:27. > :26:32.States secretary of state, Robert Gates, has said - I beg your pardon,
:26:32. > :26:42.Secretary of Defence - has said that the NATO operation in Libya
:26:42. > :26:46.
:26:46. > :26:52.has exposed serious security gaps. A first -- but First Sea Lord,
:26:52. > :26:55.Admiral Mark Stanhope, has said that the operation in Libya cannot
:26:55. > :27:05.be sustained for longer than three months without serious cuts
:27:05. > :27:13.
:27:13. > :27:16.elsewhere. Given those problems... Isn't it time that the Prime
:27:16. > :27:23.Minister reopened at the defence review and did another U-turn on
:27:23. > :27:27.his failed policies? He is called Mark Stanhope, that is his name. I
:27:27. > :27:31.had a meeting of the First Sea Lord yesterday, and he agreed we could
:27:31. > :27:34.sustain the mission as long as we need to, and that is exactly the
:27:34. > :27:38.words that the chief of defence staff used yesterday, because we
:27:38. > :27:42.are doing the right thing. I want one simple message to go out from
:27:42. > :27:48.every part of this government and every part of this House of Commons,
:27:48. > :27:52.that time is on our side. We have got NATO, the United Nations, the
:27:52. > :27:55.Arab League and we have right on our side. The pressure is building,
:27:55. > :27:58.militarily, diplomatically, politically and time is running out
:27:59. > :28:03.for Colonel Gaddafi. On the issue of the defence review, I would say
:28:03. > :28:08.this. For 10 years they haven't had a defence review, now they want to
:28:08. > :28:11.win a row. At the end of this review we have the 4th highest
:28:11. > :28:15.defence budget for any country in the world. We have superb armed
:28:15. > :28:25.forces, superbly equipped and they are doing a great job in the skies
:28:25. > :28:27.
:28:27. > :28:31.By the time PMQs have finished, 450 children will have died from
:28:31. > :28:35.preventable disease and famine. Is it not the case that increasing
:28:35. > :28:41.Britain's aid budget is very much the right thing to do and will save
:28:41. > :28:46.millions of lives across the world. I very much welcome the support
:28:46. > :28:51.from the Honourable Gentleman for the policy of increasing our aid
:28:51. > :28:53.budget and reaching the 0.7 % target of gross national income. I
:28:54. > :28:57.think there are good reasons for doing this. First of all, we are
:28:57. > :29:01.keeping a promise to the poorest people in the poorest countries of
:29:01. > :29:04.the world and we are saving lives. Yes, of course, things are
:29:04. > :29:07.difficult at home but I think we should keep the promise even in the
:29:08. > :29:12.midst of difficulties. The second point I would make is that we are
:29:12. > :29:16.making sure our aid budget is spent very specifically on things like
:29:16. > :29:20.that she Nations for children that will save lives. -- vaccinations.
:29:20. > :29:23.That will mean a child vaccinated every two seconds and a life saved
:29:24. > :29:28.every two minutes. The last point I would make to anyone who has doubts
:29:28. > :29:31.about this issue, is I really do think that as well as saving lives,
:29:31. > :29:35.it is also about Britain's standing for something in the world and
:29:35. > :29:41.standing up for something in the world, the importance of having a
:29:41. > :29:50.strong aid budget, mending broken countries, as well as having an
:29:50. > :29:54.issue as well. In that this carer's week when we celebrate the
:29:54. > :29:58.contribution of Birmingham's care assistants and the loving families
:29:58. > :30:04.who look after their loved ones, will the Prime Minister join with
:30:04. > :30:09.me in condemning Birmingham City Council for cutting care to 4,100
:30:09. > :30:16.of the most vulnerable in our city, branded unlawful by the High Court.
:30:16. > :30:18.Bank and I asked the Prime Minister what he intends to do to make sure
:30:18. > :30:24.that never again does Birmingham City Council fail the elderly and
:30:24. > :30:27.disabled? I think everybody in the House should welcome that it is
:30:28. > :30:31.Careys week, and I will have a reception in Number Ten tonight to
:30:32. > :30:35.celebrate that with many people who take part and are carers. This
:30:35. > :30:39.government is putting in �400 million to give carers more breaks
:30:39. > :30:43.and specifically putting in �800 million to make sure those looking
:30:43. > :30:47.after disabled children get regular breaks. What we have in Birmingham
:30:47. > :30:50.is an excellent Conservative and Liberal Democrat alliance doing a
:30:51. > :31:00.very good job recovering from a complete mess Labour made of the
:31:00. > :31:04.Last night on Channel 4 television there was documentary called the
:31:04. > :31:07.killing fields, showing the atrocities committed by the Sri
:31:07. > :31:12.Lankan government to the Tamil people which resulted in over
:31:12. > :31:14.40,000 people being killed. Would the Prime Minister join me in
:31:15. > :31:19.calling for justice for the Tamil people and the people who have lost
:31:19. > :31:23.their lives? I didn't see the documentary, but I understand it
:31:23. > :31:27.was an extremely powerful programme and it refers to some very worrying
:31:27. > :31:30.events that are alleged to have taken place towards the end of that
:31:30. > :31:33.campaign. And what the government has said, along with other
:31:33. > :31:36.governments, is that there should Lankan government does need this to
:31:36. > :31:41.be investigated and the UN needs this to be investigated and we need
:31:41. > :31:44.to make sure we get to the bottom of what happened. The Prime
:31:44. > :31:48.Minister will be aware of the shambles of corporate governance
:31:48. > :31:52.which is the duration at Natural Resources Corporation. I would not
:31:52. > :31:56.expect him to give specific comment on it, but would he agree on behalf
:31:56. > :31:59.of millions of pension holders and small shareholders across the
:31:59. > :32:03.country that high standards of corporate governance at the City of
:32:03. > :32:07.London is critical, as is the role of the Financial Reporting Council?
:32:07. > :32:12.I am aware of this problem and the Honourable Gentleman makes
:32:12. > :32:15.important point. We have caused want companies to come to London to
:32:15. > :32:18.access capital to float on the main market, and that is one of the
:32:18. > :32:20.attractions of Britain, that we are an open economy, but when the
:32:21. > :32:24.companies come they have to understand we have rules of
:32:24. > :32:27.corporate governance that are there for a reason and we need to obey
:32:27. > :32:31.the rules, and I'm sure the Chancellor will be addressing this
:32:31. > :32:41.not only in his speech tonight, but also in the papers we will publish
:32:41. > :32:45.in subsequent days. Mr Speaker, does the Prime Minister agree with
:32:46. > :32:50.me that if the coalition government had not adopted the economic policy
:32:50. > :32:55.that it has rather than listen to the advice of the Shadow Chancellor
:32:55. > :32:59.mortgage interest rates could be 5% higher than what they are now?
:32:59. > :33:03.Honourable Friend makes important point. In this country today,
:33:03. > :33:07.tragically, we have agreed levels of government debt that German
:33:07. > :33:11.interest rates. That is an enormous monetary boost to our economy and
:33:11. > :33:15.we should all welcome the cut in unemployment today. If we had not