09/03/2016 Prime Minister's Questions

This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues

and others, and in addition to my duties in this House,

I shall have further such meetings today.

People in Bristol South look forward to their share of the Government's

promised three million apprenticeships

yet question how this will happen on the eve

have a delivery plan or is he making it up as he goes along?

We achieved two million in the last Parliament,

we are confident of achieving three million in this Parliament.

We have a delivery plan, based on large companies continuing

with their plans for apprenticeships.

We want small companies to do more and the public sector to join

in with larger plans and we regularly review progress

Mr Speaker, many of my constituents get the train to central London

every day for work and are concerned about terrorist threats posed

Can my right honourable friend update the House on progress made

on tackling the source of that threat in Iraq and Syria?

It was very striking what Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said

Domestically we are protecting counterterrorism policing

and investing in counterintelligence and security services as we did

Domestically we are protecting counterterrorism policing

This is something we need to do domestically and overseas.

I was appalled to see yesterday that the Labour Party has readmitted

somebody to their party who says that the 9/11 suicide bombers must

never be condemned, and belongs to an organisation that says

that we defend Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.

Those are appalling views and I hope the Leader of the Opposition

will throw the person out of the party instead

I hope the Prime Minister will join me in mourning the death

today of the fifth Beatle, George Martin, and the wonderful

music that will last for all time that he gave us.

Last week the Prime Minister told the House we had a strong economy

If the economy is so strong, why this week has he forced

through a ?30 per week cut, hitting some of the poorest disabled

First let me join him in what he said about George Martin,

he was a massive figure, a giant in popular music

and responsible for some tunes that will live for ever more.

I'm only disappointed that he can't comment on my earlier point.

It seems to me that we have a responsibility as party leaders

He asked about the strength of the economy.

We do face an uncertain international environment

and all the experts warn of the danger we face.

Yet today we have inflation at 0%, unemployment at 5%, our economy

is growing, wages are growing and we are cutting the taxes that

That, combined with reforming welfare, and we are doing that,

is the way to get the deficit down, continue with growth

and help deliver for working people in Britain.

Mr Speaker, I do not believe that the majority of people in this

country are content to see someone diagnosed with cancer today

and unable to work next year reduced to poverty because of the cuts this

The Chancellor has found another ?6.6 billion to reduce corporation

Despite our corporation tax already being lower than any

Today, Action for Children, the Children's Society

and the National Children's Bureau show that local authority spending

on children and young people has been cut by ?2

Does this not show a wrong choice by the Prime Minister?

Let's look at what has happened to corporation tax receipts

That's the question because the point of setting tax

rates is to raise money rather than make a political point.

And the fact is that corporation tax receipts are up by 20% under this

Government so we have more money to spend on children, and children's

Whereas if we put up tax rates, as he seems to be suggesting,

That's the result, they care about making a political point,

we care about raising revenue and providing good services.

I asked, if there's more money available to be spent

on children's services, why are there half a million more

children in poverty in Britain because of the policies

If we really have the strong economy the Prime Minister claims,

why did the Chancellor warn last week, and I quote,

"We may need to make further reductions?"

Who will they fall on, young people, women?

Will he rule out attacking those groups?

He will see the Budget next week when my right honourable friend,

who has an excellent record of steering the economy,

About those remarks on poverty, let me say what has

There are 680,000 fewer workless households.

80,000 households where someone is bringing home a wage,

putting food on the table and, under us, paying less taxes.

There are 40,000 fewer households where no member has ever worked

and 480,000 fewer children living in workless households.

That is about tackling child poverty by having a growing economy,

growing real wages, falling taxes, and increased childcare -

all things never delivered by Labour.

Mr Speaker, the problem is the number of households

suffering from in-work poverty because of the insecure jobs,

because of zero-hours contracts, because of low wages.

As he well knows, the poorest have paid the most for the cuts and women

Mr Speaker, on 99 previous attempts to ask questions to the Prime

Minister, I have been unclear or dissatisfied by the answers,

So, on this auspicious 100th occasion, can I ask

the Prime Minister to help a young man named Callum.

Last week the Prime Minister told the Engineering Employers Federation

Callum is a bright young man, wanting to make his way in the world

Well, maybe the Prime Minister does as well...

Will the government acknowledge the importance of sixth form

colleges and post-16 education services in Britain?

Let me congratulate the honourable gentleman on getting to 100 not out,

that will be welcomed across the House.

What I would say to Callum is what we are introducing

is a situation where we uncap university places so as many people

who want to go can go and we will introduce in this

Parliament three million apprentices.

That, combined with better funded sixth forms and further education

colleges, means we've got a proper education system that can really

Let me come back once more on child poverty, let me give

800,000 fewer people in relative poverty than 2010.

300,000 fewer children in relative poverty than in 2010.

That is the Labour measurement used so when he gets to the Dispatch Box,

he can tell us that he was wrong about child poverty.

The Prime Minister seems to be answering the last question but one.

If I could bring him back to the question from Callum,

and point out that there has been a 10% cut in real terms in sixth

form and further education and adult education has been cut by 35%

during his time as Prime Minister, the construction output in Britain

has shrunk for two consecutive quarters now.

Is this not a sign that this economic recovery has been

Let me first confirm that we have protected 16-18 education

We want to see every part of our economy growing and it is,

unlike so many in what is a difficult and dangerous

Yet if you look at our construction plans, because we have a strong

economy we can commit to HS2, the biggest road programme

since the 1970s, the largest rail programme since Victorian times

and together with huge infrastructure projects in energy

Those things are only possible because we have a strong

His spending plans are a risk to the nation's finances,

his tax plans a risk to every family in the country and we know

what he wants, which is to put up taxes on people

That's the plan and it would wreck this country's finances.

Mr Speaker, we have the construction industry in recession at a time

when there is an acute need for new housing.

Construction apprenticeships have fallen by 11% since 2010.

We have the lowest rate of house building since the 1920s,

Will the Prime Minister look again at this issue, stop the cuts

to skills training and the cuts to investment that are holding back

this country, holding back the skill ambitions of so many young people

and invest in them and invest in our future?

I have to pick up the right honourable gentleman

on his statistics because we have seen a massive boost to

apprenticeships and apprenticeship funding under this Government.

Two million in the last Parliament, three million in this one.

House-building under Labour fell by 45% and has since increased

by two thirds, over 7,000 new homes delivered since 2010

and now completions are up, housing starts at the highest level

since 2007, last year they nearly doubled the low point of 2009.

They wrecked the economy, created that instability,

we have been building a strong economy and that is what

Unemployment in Sherwood has halved since 2010.

Given that the Chancellor will make his Budget statement next

week, can the Prime Minister assure the House he will continue

to support quality education, employment generation

and infrastructure to get to jobs, so maintaining a Conservative

My honourable friend is right, the school improvement programme

we are driving forward combined with uncapping university places

and investing in apprenticeships is giving people a ladder

of opportunity to make the most of their lives and the most

of the employment opportunities clearly being created in this

country where there are two million more people in work.

I know he has a particular interest in his constituency,

and extending the Robin Hood line, and is meeting with

Just the sort of infrastructure project this Government wants

Mr Speaker, the refugee crisis is the biggest issue facing

Is the Prime Minister ashamed that a UK Government programme,

we now know that in Folkestone trafficking victims were locked up

without food, asylum seeking children were forced

to sleep on concrete floors, patients with diarrhoea denied

access to showers and a naked woman was allegedly beaten

Is the Prime Minister ashamed of this?

Well, I will look very carefully at the points the right

I would say that our asylum system is fair and Britain,

down the ages, has given people asylum who are

When it comes to the issue of resettling Syrian refugees,

it was instructive at this week's European Council with the chart

showing how many countries have actually resettled Syrian refugees.

Britain has done far better than any other

This week the Scottish Refugee Council called for an investigation

into allegations about the way asylum seekers are treated

They want the Home Office to commission an independent inquiry

into claims of substandard housing and dehumanising treatment

of refugees by the private company contracted to provide accommodation

Will he commission that investigation?

We're very happy for these issues to be properly investigated.

The Home Affairs Select Committee in this House of Commons has just

done a report into the way that asylum, housing is commissioned.

Of course, if the Scottish Parliament wants to carry out those

investigations, of course the United Kingdom Government

What we need to do is make sure that when we take people,

in, we make sure they're properly housed, properly look after,

their children at schooled, because that's the sort of generous

I welcome the Government's excellent See Potential initiative

to encourage employers to hire ex-offenders.

Speaking as someone who myself employs a female ex-offender,

via the excellent Working Chance charity, could the Prime Minister

assure the House of his commitment to ensuring that employers

in the public, private and charity sectors all play their part

in providing greater opportunities for ex-offenders?

Well, I absolutely agree with my honourable friend

and I salute what he has done to help ex-offenders.

Of course, if people are applying for a job,

they have at some stage to declare the criminal record that they have

and the offences they may have committed.

The question is, do they have to do it absolutely at the CV stage?

We believe in this idea of banning the box, and the civil service

is going to introduce this, so that you don't have to put that

information on the initial CV, you might at least get the chance

of an interview, so you're not ruled out.

When we talk about life chances for people in our country and giving

sometimes people a second chance to make a go of their life,

we're putting our money where our mouth is.

If the British people vote to leave the European Union,

will the Prime Minister resign - yes or no?

It is very much to the Government's credit that over 2 million jobs have

But nearly 1 million of those have gone to non-UK EU nationals.

Does the Prime Minister agree with me that the EU's free movement

of people is damaging UK nationals employment prospects and has

contributed to the 1.6 million British people remaining unemployed?

And this has not been compensated for by equivalent level jobs

in other European countries for UK nationals.

The point I make to my honourable friend is actually, if you look

at the figures over the last five years, two thirds of the rise

of employment over the last five years has been made up by jobs

Where I would agree with her is, in combination with the welfare

reform we've introduced for EU citizens and the tougher control

of migration from outside the EU, we should see welfare reform

in the UK as the flip side of migration control.

We want to make sure it always pays for British people to train up,

to do the jobs that are being made available.

So we should see immigration control and welfare reform,

together with a growing economy, as the way of getting more

Does the Prime Minister agree with me that it's very important

that we make the positive case for Britain remaining in the EU?

Each of us get ?1,200 back for every ?120 we put in,

we have lower prices and choice in shops and we have easier

travelling for holidays and businesses.

Can the Prime Minister explain how our membership of the EU

benefits so many aspects of our lives?

I think the honourable lady makes an important

In all the arguments about single markets and sovereignty,

and all the rest of it, we can sometimes lose some

of the simple consumer benefits of being a member

The things she mentions about cheaper air travel,

ease of travel, not having any tariffs, these are things

that we take for granted now, but simply weren't the case

I agree, that's a strong part of the very positive case

that we should make for remaining in the EU.

But with her own constituency in mind, I also think we should

point to the enormous success of the British car industry,

which now employs and is responsible for over 140,000 jobs.

That is a great European success story.

A lot of those cars go to the European market

and we want to make sure that continues, tariff-free.

Our security is guaranteed under Nato and this Government's action

to meet our 2% commitment is most welcome.

I recently visited RAF Odiham in my constituency

where the chinooks, which do so much for the United Kingdom

Will my right honourable friend look at plans to improve the quality

of accommodation for airmen and airwomen in RAF Odiham,

which I am sure he agrees they deserve?

I thank my honourable friend for that question.

Let me, through him, pay tribute to the Chinook pilots

and all the crews who service those helicopters.

I think I visited Afghanistan something like 13 times,

over the last few years, and their bravery,

their professionalism, their brilliance in flying,

often at very low levels, is absolutely remarkable.

They've rightly been decorated and commended for the work they do.

We have got an upgrade programme for the Chinooks,

which will mean new helicopters replacing part of the existing fleet

I think I'm right in saying, some ?2 million has been spent

on RAF Odiham but, if more is needed, we'll make

THE SPEAKER: Catherine McKinnell.

In 1949, aged 11 months, my constituent William Bradney

He has worked from the age of 15, he continues to work at 67,

but following a clearly flawed PIP assessment he's set

to lose his Motability car, potentially within three weeks.

He says it will leave him unable to leave the house

Will the Prime Minister urgently review his case and the case

of 14,000 disabled people who have lost this essential lifeline?

I will certainly have a look at the case because what we have

found so far with personal independence payments is actually

we are spending more money on disability,

rather than less money on disability.

But I'll look very carefully at the case.

The whole point about PIP compared to DLA is there is more of a proper

medical assessment process to find out what is required.

Through her can I also say to her constituent that I'm sure he,

like others, will welcome that we are so close to eradicating

polio entirely from our world and this Government is committed

to going the extra mile and making that happen.

Schools in South Suffolk were delighted this week to see

the publication of the Government's consultation on fairer funding.

Given that the first part of this consultation will focus on the core

principles, does my right honourable friend agree with me,

one of those principles must be to recognise that rural schools face

unique and unavoidable costs that are not well funded under

I certainly agree with my honourable friend that it is right

that we are examining this formula and trying

I think that everyone can see now that the figures

between the best-funded schools and the worst-funded schools,

I also agree with him, it will be vital the specific needs

of schools in rural areas are properly considered.

That's why our consultation proposes that we should direct additional

funding to small schools in sparsely populated areas.

Mr Speaker, to follow up the question from my right

honourable friend, the Leader of the Opposition,

Official figures show 12,000 vacancies in construction are hard

to fill due to a lack of skilled applicants.

Can the Prime Minister explain why the number of construction

apprenticeships have fallen under him?

The point is, we are building more houses, we're investing more

in construction, we're training more apprentices.

The money is there from the Government and now we're

going to have the apprenticeship levy on the larger businesses that

can make sure we can fund apprenticeships long through this

through this Parliament.

The Prime Minister will be aware of a recent tragic fatality

on the A17 in Terrington St Clement in my constituency.

Whilst we must await the result of a full inquest and the police

inquiry, does he agree with me that it's vital that the local parish

council is fully consulted when it comes to looking

I have heard about this tragic accident and I'm sure,

on behalf of everyone, we should send our sympathies

I think he's right to say that in so many of these cases the parish

council has a lot of expertise about areas of roads that aren't

safe and things that could be done and, of course,

they should be listened to in this and other cases.

THE SPEAKER: Dr Roberta Blackman-Woods.

On Sunday we celebrated Mother's Day and just yesterday

Members opposite, rightly, were keen to celebrate women

Why has then has this Government introduced cuts to public services,

a freeze to child benefit and reductions in work-related

benefits that have left mothers ?13 billion worse off?

The one thing I share with the honourable lady

is it was right to celebrate Mother's Day, I shared it

with my mother, but I think I've probably said enough

Also, it was a privilege to welcome to Number Ten yesterday some

inspirational women from all walks of life,

I'm not saying this Government has sold all of these problems,

I'm not saying this Government has solved all of these problems,

but we've got more women in work, they're getting higher pay,

they're paying lower taxes, they're getting more childcare

and they're retiring with better pensions.

When it comes to the things that Government needs to do,

actually we're appointing more women to senior positions,

The honours system is now properly reflecting women.

Someone shouted out, "what about the pay gap?"

The pay gap is now at its lowest published level.

We have abolished the pay gap for the under 40s.

When it comes to protecting women, this is the Government that

This is the Government that introduced the duty to report

This is the Government that set out a specific

We introduced Claire's Law so that people can find out

I accept there's more to be done, but let me say this to the Labour

One thing you could help with, no more segregated political meetings.

Let us end the process of having people with bigoted religious views

treating women as second-class citizens.

I think you should all take the pledge,

The UK still has relatively poor superfast broadband and far too many

Great work has been done, but what will my right honourable

friend be discussing with his right honourable friend,

the Chancellor, in advance of the Budget Statement next week,

in how we can improve coverage further, particularly for rural,

I think my honourable friend is absolutely right to raise this.

Since 2010, we have nearly doubled the number of homes and businesses

We are on track for the 90% and 95% target, but there's clearly more

I think this is something for members right across the House.

10 years ago, I think we were all rather guilty of leading

campaigns against masts and all the rest of it.

Our constituents now want coverage for their Internet,

they want coverage for mobile phones.

We need to make sure that we change the law,

in all the ways necessary, to make sure the wayleaves

are granted, that the masts are built, we increase coverage

and make sure everyone is connected to the information superhighway.

76% of the cost of a bottle of whisky is tax.

Last year the Government's 2% cut in duty increased revenue

Will the Prime Minister accept that one of our greatest products

is taxed too much and will he join with me and the Scotch Whisky

Association in calling for a further 2% reductin in duty

My right honourable friend, the Chancellor and I,

have consistently backed Scotland, Scottish whisky

On the day that the profit and loss account comes out for Scotland,

you can see there is a ?15 billion gap that Scotland would face

if it was outside the United Kingdom.

I dread to think what taxation would be have to be levied,

not just an whisky, but on petrol, on work,

That's the prospect of life outside the United Kingdom and that's why

I'm so glad we voted to stay together.

The Government has just presented three White Papers to Parliament

under their self-imposed legal duty to provide information under

The Minister for Europe, during the proceedings

between the two Houses, undertook to me that the Government

information under that Act would certainly,

as he put it, be accurate and impartial.

The three recent White Papers are not.

My right honourable friend is the enforcer of the ministerial

code, which demands ministers give accurate information to Parliament.

Will my right honourable friend issue instructions

to Foreign Office Ministers to review and correct these White

First of all, let me say to my honourable friend,

we believe in the sovereignty of Parliament.

Parliament dictated that these documents would be published

and that's why they're being published.

On the question of their content, their content has been prepared

by civil servants, under all the appropriate codes.

If he doesn't agree with some of the content, I would say to him

and other colleagues - challenged the content.

Stop having an argument about the process.

The Prime Minister's notes will indicate to him that I raised

the question of the National Wildlife Crime Unit earlier this

year, I'm delighted to report that its funding has now been

I read it on my website, so it must be true!

As my mother used to say, it never hurts to say thank you,

Can I ask him on a similar matter, how his manifesto commitment

to outlaw the use of wild animals in circuses is progressing?

Can I thank him for raising such effective questions

On circuses and wild animals, we have a manifesto commitment.

We didn't manage to meet it in the last Parliament.

We license these things so strictly that I think we are now talking

Two, thank you very much, but we are committed to legislating

Later today, colleagues from across the House and I will be

launching the all-party parliamentary group

Will my right honourable friend join me in welcoming the work

of organisations around the country, including Nash the Hope Centre

in my own constituency and pledge that, as a Government,

we will do all we can to help homeless people and to address

the causes of homelessness so we can end this problem once and for all.

I certainly welcome my honourable friend and the launch of this

We need to work both on rough sleeping, where we face particular

There are some good operations under way to try to deal with that

and on homelessness, at the heart of which is the need

That is why we have an ?8 billion housing programme to build 400,000

houses and we hope to build, by the end of this Parliament,

A friend of mine works a 39-hour week, including Sundays and bank

Can the Prime Minister imagine his shock when he discovered

that he would lose money as a result of the introduction

That's because to introduce it, B are cutting allowances.

As a result, he's going to take home ?50 a week less,

or ?2,600 a year, after the hourly rate goes up.

Can the Prime Minister and his Chancellor, in their Budget

next week, ensure that nobody working on a shop floor takes

We want to see people take home more moneyt and that is why we introduced

the national living wage, which will be at ?9 by 2020.

We're cutting the taxes of people like the friend to whom

the honourable lady refers, who will be able to earn ?11,000

from the 1st April before paying any taxes at all.

A recent study led by Imperial College has shown that

biomass, is progressed through the contracts

for difference, could save bill payers and the Treasury

This is an industry that supports thousands of jobs in the Humber

and in the constituencies of my honourable friends

Can the Prime Minister look at this as a sustainable business model?

The biomass comes from the US and Canada.

Will he look at this so we can try and get it into the CfD programme?

I will this, but what we all have to realise is the levy control

framework, the extra amount of money that we're prepared to put

into renewable energy is a finite amount and,

in the end, we have to make sure that what we get is cost effective.

Electricity and that we go green at the lowest cost. That is the aim,

but I will look carefully at what my honourable friend. Bare Gardiner. It

used to be said that an English family's home was their castle, but

following the Government's Housing Bill, new tenants in social housing

will be on fixed three to five-year contracts. Does the Prime Minister

think that it's right that a student beginning their secondary education

may face eviction at the very time they come up to their GCSE's and

A-levels. We want more people for their home genuinely to be their own

which is why we are extending the right-to-buy from council tenants to

Housing Association tenants so this millions of people will be able to

own their home. We want to make sure that social house something is there

are fo the people who need it most. No current tenant is going to be

affected. That is why we think this house Housing Bill will see more

homes built, more homes owned, more homes rented and will be good for

housing in our country. THE SPEAKER: Order.