25/05/2016 Prime Minister's Questions

Questions to the Prime Minister.

Maria Caulfield.

Number one, Mr Speaker.

Wait a minute.

The right honourable gentleman is a bit ahead of himself.

There is a process to be followed, he can wait his turn.

Number one, Mr Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.

As always.

The Prime Minister is attending the G7 in Japan, I have been asked

to reply on his behalf.

This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues

and others and in addition to my duties in this house

I will have further such meetings later today.

Maria Caulfield.

I am sure members opposite will disagree, but the first

priority of any Government has to be the defence

and security of our country.

Here, here!

Therefore could the Chancellor outline for me the steps that this

Government is taking to replace our Trident nuclear defence?

My right honourable friend is absolutely right.

The first duty of Government is to defend the country,

and for almost 70 years, an independent nuclear deterrent has

provided the ultimate ensurance of our freedom.

We will review our Trident deterrent, we will bring forward

votes in this house and we ask MPs from all sides of the House

to support this vital commitment to our national security.

And when she stands up, the honourable lady representing

the Labour Party should indicate that support today.

Angela Eagle.

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

We look forward to the vote on Trident and he should get

on with it.

Mr Speaker, given the overnight news of the French authorities' dawn raid

on Google investigating allegations of aggravated financial fraud

and money-laundering, does the Chancellor now regret

calling his cosy little tax deal with the same company "good news

for the British taxpayer"?

Well, it is good news that we are collecting money in tax

from companies that paid no tax when the Labour Party was in office.

And she seems to forget that she was the Exchequer Secretary

in the last Government, so perhaps when she stands up

she can tell us whether she ever raised with the Inland Revenue at

the time the tax affairs of Google.

Mr Speaker, I think obviously the Chancellor has done a bit

more research this time.

I regard that as a compliment.

Mr Speaker...

I think from that answer that the Chancellor is far

too easily satisfied.

I note, Mr Speaker, that even the honourable member for Uxbridge

and Ruislip labelled his cosy little deal derisory.

The British public think it is even worse, so despite all the rhetoric

on his watch, the tax gap has actually gone up,

his tax deal with the Swiss raised a fraction of the revenue he boasted

that it would, and the OBR blames the lack of resources

in Revenue and Customs.

So, why, Mr Speaker, has he sacked 11,000

tax staff since 2010?

When is he going to give them the resources they need

to do a proper job?

Well, we increased resources for the HMRC to tackle tax

evasion and avoidance.

We have introduced a diverted profits tax so companies like Google

cannot shift their profits offshore any more.

We have made sure the banks pay a higher tax charge than they ever

did under the last Labour Government, but I come

back to this question.

She was a Treasury minister, she stood at this dispatch box.

She is asking me what we have done to tackle tax evasion

and tax avoidance.

Did she ever raise as the Exchequer Secretary the tax affairs of Google?

We should know this before she asks questions of this Government.

Mr Speaker...

Members must calm themselves and remain calm.

Order!

On both sides they should take the lead from the right honourable

who as always is sitting calm and in a statesman-like manner.

That is the way to behave.

Angela Eagle.

Mr Speaker, we all have a great deal of respect for the right honourable

member for Rushcliffe.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer will now that the Exchequer

Secretary deals with taxes on vices, not Google.

I did my job in taxing vices when I was in the Treasury.

He will be judged on results.

He has been in office for six years, and with France demanding ten times

more from Google then he is, the public will make

their own judgment.

Mr Speaker, while Labour is campaigning to ensure that the UK

remains in the European Union, because it is the best way to defend

rights at work, as well as jobs and prosperity, the party opposite

is split right down the middle.

And, Mr Speaker, it is descending into vicious acrimony.

Last week the Employment Minister...

Mr Speaker, last week the Employment Minister called

for Brexit, so there could be a bonfire of workers' rights.

Does the Chancellor agree with her, or does he agree with Len McCluskey

that a vote to stay in the European Union

is the best deal for Britain's workers?

First of all, she confirmed that when she was in the Treasury,

she asked absolutely no questions about the tax affairs of Google.

When it comes to the European Union, as she knows, we agree on this.

I think it is better that Britain remains in the European Union.

Why don't we have some consensus now on some other issues like having

an independent nuclear deterrent?

Let's have a consensus on that.

Let's have a consensus on supporting businesses rather

than disparaging businesses.

Let's have a consensus and not piling debts on the next generation,

but dealing with our deficit.

Let's have a consensus that the parties in this house should

have a credible economic policy.

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

I think he has just agreed with Len McCluskey.

Now, the former Work and Pensions Secretary said this

week that the Chancellor's Brexit report should not be

believed by anyone.

He branded the Chancellor Pinocchio with his nose just getting longer

and longer with every fib.

Meanwhile, the general secretary to the TUC said that the Treasury's

report gives us half a million good reasons to stay

in the European Union.

Who does the Chancellor think the public should listen to?

His former Cabinet colleagues or the leader of Britain's

millions of trade unionists?

I don't think it is any great revelation that different

Conservative MPs have different views on the European Union.

That is why we are having a referendum,

because this issue does divide parties and families

and friends and we made a commitment

in our manifesto that the British people would decide this question.

I might just observe that if she wants to talk

about divisions in parties, while she is sitting here,

the leader of the Labour Party is sitting at home wondering

whether to impeach the former leader of the Labour Party for war crimes.

Mr Speaker, I am glad that he agrees with Frances O'Grady,

it is just a pity that he can't get half his backbenchers and most

of his own party to agree with him.

Given that the former Work and Pensions Secretary has just

called the Prime Minister disingenuous, and the former

Tory Mayor of London has called him demented, I would not talk

about Labour splits.

If I were him, I would get his own house in order before

he talks about us.

Mr Speaker, following his second omnishambles budget earlier this

year, I see the Chancellor's approval ratings have collapsed

by 80 points amongst his own party.

Given that he seems to be following a similar career path,

isn't it time he turned to Michael Portillo for advice?

Last week the former would-be leader said of the Queen's Speech,

"After 23 years of careful thought about what they would

like to do in power..."

Order, order.

This question will be heard.

Those prating away should cease doing so.

It is stupid and counter-productive.

Angela Eagle.

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

After 23 years of careful thought about what they would like to do

in power, Michael Portillo said, the answer is nothing.

There is nothing they want to do with office or power.

The Government has nothing to do, nothing to say and thinks nothing,

is what he said.

But even this nothing Queen's Speech has caused a revolt

on his own backbenchers and forced yet another U-turn to avoid

the first defeat of a government on its legislative

programme for 92 years.

Mr Speaker, doesn't that tell you all you need to know about this

Prime Minister and Chancellor?

It seems they can't even get their back benches to vote

for nothing without a fight.

I will tell you what we have done in recent weeks.

We have taken another million people out of tax altogether.

We have frozen fuel duty, we have cut business rates

for small businesses.

We have seen the deficit fall by another 16 billion.

We delivered a record number of jobs and we have introduced

a national living wage.

That is what we have been up to.

What have the Labour Party been up to?

She talks of U-turns.

They have turned the Labour Party from a party that gave

Britain its nuclear deterrent to a party that wants to scrap it,

from a party that created the academies programme but now

wants to abolish all the academies.

From a party that once courted businesses that now disparages it.

The prawn cocktail offensive is just plain offensive these days.

As a result they have gone from a Labour Party that won

elections to a Labour Party that is going to go

on losing elections.

Mr Speaker, with 29 days to go until the most important

decision this country has faced in a generation,

we have before us a Government in utter chaos, split down

the middle, at war with itself.

The stakes could not be higher, and yet this is a Government adrift

at the mercy of its own rebel backbenchers, unable to get

their agenda through Parliament.

Instead of providing the leadership the country needs, they are fighting

a bitter proxy war over the leadership of their own party.

I notice that no Outer, all the Brexiters have been banished

from the front bench.

Well...

Well, Mr Speaker, it is nice to see the Justice Secretary here.

I think the Chancellor has put the rest of his Brexit

colleagues in detention.

Instead of providing the leadership the country needs,

they are fighting a bitter proxy war over the leadership

of their own party.

Instead of focusing on the national interest, they are focusing

on their narrow self interest.

What we need, Mr Speaker, is a Government which will do

the best for Britain.

What we have got is a Conservative Party focused only on themselves.

She talks about our Parliamentary party.

Let's look at her Parliamentary party.

They are like rats deserting a sinking ship.

The shadow health minister wants to be the Mayor of Liverpool.

The member for Bury South wants to be the Mayor for Manchester,

the Shadow Home Secretary wants to be the Mayor for both cities.

When we said we were creating job opportunities, we did not

mean job opportunities for the whole Shadow Cabinet.

They are like a Parliamentary party on day release.

They know the member for Islington will be back and it is four more

years of hard labour.

Mr Speaker, today we are voting on a Queen's Speech that

delivers economic security, protects our national security,

enhances life chances for the most disadvantaged and it doesn't matter

who stands at that dispatch box for the Labour Party these days.

They are dismantling our defences, they are wrecking our economy,

they want to burden people with debt, and in their own report

published this week, called Labour's Future,

surprisingly long, they say this...

They are becoming increasingly irrelevant to the working people

of Britain.

Richard Drax.

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

What a privilege it is to be called by you,

because if the remaining team have their day on the 24th of June,

I will have to reply by e-mail to Herr Juncker to ask a question.

Airbus, Mr Speaker, a wonderful example of European cooperation.

Note European, not EU.

The fuselage is built in France and Germany and the wings

in this country.

And planes cannot fly without wings, Mr Speaker.

Whether we remain inside or outside the EU will have no

effect on this business.

As the Chancellor knows, it is trade and hard work

of businessmen and women who create jobs and prosperity,

not politicians and bureaucrats.

It is their job to nurture growth and enterprise...

Order!

I was looking for a question mark.

Does my right honourable friend agree with me it is their job

to nurture and not to make threats to business,

enterprise, jobs and aspiration?

Well, I completely agree with my honourable friend that jobs

and enterprise are created through the ingenuity of private

businesses that we should support and nurture in this house.

Angus Robertson.

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Lachlan Brain is seven years old and he attends the Gaelic medium

primary school in Dingwall in the Scottish Highlands.

Next week, as the Home Secretary is currently briefing him,

the Home Department plans to deport him and his family,

despite the fact that he arrived as part of a Scottish Government

initiative backed by the Home Office to attract people to live

and work in the region.

This case has been front-page news in Scotland and has been repeatedly

raised in the House.

What does the Chancellor have to say to the Braine family

What does the Chancellor have to say to the Brain family

and the community who want them to stay?

As I understand it the family do not meet the immigration criteria...

The Home Secretary says she is very happy to write to the right

honourable gentleman on the details of the specific case.

Mr Angus Robertson.

I am sorry, this has been going on for weeks and that frankly

is not good enough.

Appeals have been made to the Home Secretary

by the First Minister, by the local MP, by the local

MSP, by the community.

It is wall-to-wall across the media of Scotland, and the Chancellor

of the Exchequer clearly knew nothing about it.

The problem in the Highlands of Scotland is not immigration,

it has been emigration.

Even at this late stage, knowing nothing about it,

will the Chancellor speak to the Home Secretary,

the Prime Minister, and get this sorted out?

As I say, the Home Secretary will write to the right honourable

gentleman on the details of the case.

Can I make a suggestion to the Scottish Nationalist Party.

They now have very substantial tax and enterprise powers.

If they want to attract people to the Highlands of Scotland,

why don't they create an entrepreneurial Scotland that

people want to move to from the rest of the United Kingdom

where they can grow their business and have a successful life?

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

The honourable gentleman will be heard.

Why is the Chilcot report not being published before the EU referendum?

Is it because the Prime Minister and the Chancellor don't want

the public to be reminded of how the Government of the day

and the establishment are prepared to produce dodgy dossiers,

make things up and distort the facts to con the public into supporting

something they otherwise would not ahead of the EU referendum?

Er, no, it is because it is an independent

report and they decide when to produce that report.

In the spirit of consensus, Mr Speaker...

May I say that there are few things that unite the House more

than a concentration on the periodic reviews of the Boundary Commission,

which is being studied with a fierce intensity and covetous

eyes occasionally cast on neighbouring constituencies.

However, we do note that the electorate of the Royal Borough

of Kensington and Chelsea and the City of Westminster has

declined precipitously and against all logic.

Does the Chancellor believe that the Prime Minister should be

concerned about this?

And if so, what should he be doing?

Well, I thought he was the member of Parliament for Ealing,

but there we...!

The Boundary Review on doing their work.

They are drawing up an independent way, which is a good

thing about our country.

And we will see their proposals.

I think later, their initial proposals.

Will the Chancellor join me in congratulating Barnardo's,

the UK's oldest and largest children's charity,

which is this year celebrating 150 years of supporting

and protecting vulnerable children?

But does he agree that young people need support beyond the age of 18

to maximise their life chances, and that the Government's new care

covenant which extends the duty of care to 25 is therefore a fitting

way to build on Barnardo's proud history of giving young people

the best opportunities in life?

I certainly agree with my honourable friend.

Barnardo's is a brilliant charity and we should all congratulate them

on the work that they do.

And also that we have a huge responsibility to do the people that

are in the care of the state and that responsibility does not end

when they are 18 years old.

That is why in the Queen's speech, we are announcing new measures

to include for example support from a personal adviser

until they are 25 and make sure that other bodies like local authorities

have a care for those people and make sure that all

the opportunities are brought to their attention.

It is part of the life chances strategy which lies at the heart

of this Queen's Speech.

The Chancellor wanted a march of the makers.

Today, hundreds of steelworkers are marching to Parliament for their

future and their communities.

Why does this government put China's bid for market economy status

against the interests of British steelworkers?

Why does this Chancellor block changes to the lesser duty tariff

against the interests of British steelworkers?

And when will he set down an industrial strategy to put

British steelworkers' interests ahead of his own?

The first thing I would say is that of course our thoughts

are with the steelmakers and their families in this

very difficult time.

If we take a step back, I think we should all acknowledge

in this House that there is a global crisis in the steel industry.

Tens of thousands of jobs have been lost across Europe alone,

and many tens of thousands beyond that.

We are taking specific action today to help Tata Steel and the Port

Talbot works and the related works across the country and my right

honourable friend the Business Secretary has been in India

with the First Minister of Wales in a cross-party effort.

And, then, nationally, we have taken action to reduce

energy charges on energy-intensive industries, we have taken action

to make sure there is more flexibility with emission

regulations, doing everything we can to help this industry in a very

difficult time, including making sure there are tough

tariffs on Chinese dumping, and as a result of the tariffs that

have been introduced on steel, those imports are down over 90%.

Could the Chancellor confirm to this House reports in the press today

that former Labour minister Lord Sugar has joined the Government

as our new enterprise czar?

Does he agree with me that this is a sign of people abandoning

Labour for the prosperity, security and jobs offered

by this government?

But will he finally confirm to me that he has no

new plans for a sugar tax?

Well, I can confirm that we have hired Lord Sugar

to advise on enterprise, and he will bring his

knowledge and expertise.

And apparently, Lord Sugar has told the Labour Party, you're fired.

I have a 14-year-old autistic constituent who got on very well

at primary school, but since the move to secondary school,

has found the secondary school's uncompromising, one size fits

all approach has left him with a special school

being his only option.

What will the Chancellor do to make sure that when the independent

expert group looking at initial teacher training reports back,

that ministers will ensure that specific autism training forms part

of their curriculum?

Well, I think the honourable lady does raise an important issue

and I think she will have a lot of sympathy from colleagues

around the House.

I can tell you that the Education Secretary has raised her concern,

shares her concern and has personally raised it the issue

with the chair of the initial teacher training

review, Stephen Munday.

And my honourable friend is stressing that it is important

that teachers are trained properly to support young people

with special educational needs and specifically autism.

As a result, he will be including recommendations as to how core

teacher training should cover special educational needs in this

report, and this report will be published very shortly.

My local clinical commissioning group are currently consulting

on their appalling plans to downgrade A at

Huddersfield Royal Infirmary.

Will the Chancellor agree with me and thousands of Hands Off HRI

campaigners led by Karl Deitch, that all options should remain

on the table and that a plan B must come forward to keep good quality

local health services?

My honourable friend is a strong champion of his local area

and we all know that Huddersfield Royal Infirmary had

been struggling with the PFI contract which they signed under

the last Labour government.

Any service changes need to be made by the local NHS and they need to be

based on clear evidence that they will deliver better

outcomes for patients.

It is right that these decisions are made by local clinicians

rather than politicians, but they do need to meet the four

key tests that have been set out.

They need to demonstrate public and patient engagement,

have the support from GP commissioners, be based on clinical

evidence and consider patient choice.

And I would expect the local NHS to consider all these options in any

decision they reach.

The House of Commons library estimates that 4.9 million UK

citizens live or work in other countries.

And yet week in and week out, at my surgeries, I meet constituents

from overseas who can't get visas, residency or citizenship

here and the whole of Scotland is outraged at the threat

of deportation of the Brain family.

Can the Chancellor tell us in his view, what is the difference

between an economic migrant and an expat?

Well, I think all the honourable gentleman is demonstrating

is that we do have border controls in this country,

and we do have immigration rules that need to be complied with.

And that is a very important part of the European Union's bSchengen

Agreement that we are not part of.

And I think it is part of the special status we have

in the European Union.

Would the Chancellor join me in welcoming the crew of HMS Duncan,

our last and best of the Type 45 destroyers, presently moored

in London for the Battle of Jutland commemorations,

some of whom are watching from the gallery today?

And would he support the work that our all party group is doing

to ensure all the Armed Forces and their families have the very

best housing that we can offer them?

Well, I absolutely join her in welcoming the crew of HMS Duncan,

and celebrating all they do on behalf of this country to keep us

safe and to represent Britain around the world,

and of course in return, we owe them a duty of care.

The Armed Forces Covenant enshrines that duty.

No such covenant existed before we came into Downing Street.

Now we are in Downing Street, we are honouring our promise

to Britain's armed services and to the Royal Navy.

Not content with just trebling tuition fees, this government wants

to raise them even higher.

Why has the Chancellor changed his view since 2003,

when he said that tuition fees were attacks on learning?

Well, back then, the Labour Party were voting for tuition fees.

And the differences is this, that we learned our lesson

and they have forgotten theirs.

And, as a result, we have a credible higher education policy

that is giving us the best universities in the world,

a record number of students and, crucially, a record number

of students from disadvantaged backgrounds - something

the Labour Party said would never happen.

In return, they've got a completely incredible policy to abolish tuition

fees that they themselves introduced and create a ?10 billion hole

in the public finances.

It is time they were straight with students, that

that is completely unaffordable, and we go on funding our higher

education system and asking graduates, who will earn more

on average than other taxpayers, to contribute to their education.

St Albans and many areas in the south and east value

there green belt.

ONS figures say that 3 million people may come into this

country if we remain.

Would he like to suggest which bits of the green belt,

about a quarter of a million acres, will be needed,

and where will it go?

We need to provide houses and homes and infrastructure for these people.

We made a very clear commitment to protect the green belt,

and our planning laws that we have introduced and proposed

to introduce do meet those laws.

But I have to say to my honourable friend, we disagree on this issue

of European Union membership.

I have seen no particular evidence from the Leave campaign that

immigration would fall.

Indeed, they seem to be saying to some communities

they would let more people in.

But let us at least agree on this, that we have a referendum,

and it is not going to be up to her or me, but the British

people to decide.

No one should underestimate the public support for the BBC.

In the last week, over 200,000 people signed a petition over

the removal of the recipes website.

The Government may have been forced to pull back from some

of their more extreme proposals but there is still

plenty to cause concern.

Will the Chancellor now agree to hold a debate and vote

on the floor of this House so that MPs can provide the parliamentary

scrutiny that this charter renewal deserves?

We want a great BBC, a great public broadcaster,

and we have agreed a deal with the BBC that they have

themselves welcomed.

On the specific issue she raises, that was an operational

decision by the BBC, not one taken by members

of the government.

But I would make this observation - we have a great national public

broadcaster in the BBC, but we don't want a great public

newspaper in the form of the BBC.

And as the newspapers move increasingly online,

the BBC, as they have themselves acknowledged,

want to be careful about what information

they have on their website, so that we can also

have a flourishing private press.

And I think the BBC have got that balance right.

Will the Chancellor confirm and explain, as the House of Commons

library and the ONS figures for 2015 clearly show,

that whereas we export 44% of our goods and services

within the single market, why it is that in relation

to the other 27 member states, we run a disastrous loss or deficit

on these exports of 68 billion per annum, up 9 billion

since last year alone, whereas Germany, with the same 27,

runs a profit or surplus of a massive 82 billion?

Isn't this a bad deal?

We are a massive exporter of the services.

Services represent 80% of the British economy.

We are also the home to one of the most successful car

industries in Europe and we export cars to the continent.

We are also home to the world's second-largest aerospace

industry, and of course part of a European supply chain.

And that is why those leading businesses are in favour of our

membership of the European Union.

As I say to my honourable friend, of course we disagree on this issue,

and that is why, together, we stood on a manifesto

to have a referendum and let the British people decide.

Head teachers, NHS and private sector employers in my constituency

are telling me they have few, if any, qualified applicants

for a range of skilled roles, and too many experienced

staff are leaving.

The single most common reason for this key worker crisis

is the cost of rental and purchase housing in west London,

which the Government's housing policies will not address.

Even the subsidies to buy...

Order!

I'm sorry.

Order!

I'm sorry to say to the honourable lady, one sentence with a question

mark at the end of it, and it had better be a short one.

Sorry, but we must press on.

Will the Chancellor acknowledge this recruitment and retention crisis

and do something about it?

Well, of course, we have got 25,000 more clinically trained staff

in our National Health Service but I completely agree

with her that there is a challenge of housing in London.

I met with the new Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, earlier this week,

and we are going to see where we can agree on policies that will help

address exactly that issue.

In my right honourable friend's enthusiasm to bludgeon the British

voter into supporting the European Union that they don't

really like, how can he justify planning to break the law?

Is he aware that the Public Administration Select Committee has

now published three legal opinions from Speakers Council...

From Speakers Council...

Order!

I hope that the sentence is coming to an end and that there will be

a question mark at the end of it.

Very briefly!

Is he aware that the public Administration Select Committee has

now published three legal opinions from Speakers Council which make it

perfectly clear that it is illegal for the government to keep

their pro-EU propaganda up on the government websites

during the purdah period?

Well, of course, the government will comply with the law.

Government websites will comply with the rules and we are

confident that they do.

But can I make a general observation.

He and I have fought for this referendum

and the referendum is taking place.

There are some huge issues at stake about Britain's economy,

security and place in the world.

We have perfectly honourable disagreement on those big issues.

Let's debate the substance rather than the process, and then

the British people will feel that they have had a range

of opinions and they can make their own mind up.

The care sector faces a crisis made worse by the Chancellor's

failure to fund increases in the minimum wage.

The 2% precept does not cover all the costs

so the Local Government Association asks the Chancellor to bring forward

?700 million of better care funding from 2019 to help

with those increased costs.

Will the Chancellor listen to local councils and will he fund his own

minimum wage policy?

Well, of course we always listen to local authorities

and we are in dialogue with them.

But we have given them the power, which many of them have used,

to apply a social care precept and that is something that has come

in in April in many areas.

At the same time we put more money into the better care fund

and we are confident that therefore social care is funded.

But I agree with her that more needs to be done to help the social care

sector and I think the key here is going to be integration

with the National Health Service in the coming years

so it is a much more seamless service for our citizens.

Last year at the Conservative Party conference our right honourable

friend the Prime Minister said that the future that we, the state,

provide for children in care was shameful.

The dole and an early grave or the streets.

Yesterday, the Prison Reform Trust of which I am a trustee,

produced a report identifying that far too high a proportion

of children in care come in touch with the criminal justice system.

Will my right honourable friend and the Prime Minister ensure right

across Government that policies are implemented that prevent

the unnecessary contact between the criminal justice system

and children in care so that they can have a good future?

I think my right honourable friend speaks very powerfully.

Of course we have got to have a care system that does the very best

for children who find themselves in that care system.

As I was saying in reply to an earlier question,

the Queen's Speech has measures in that respect.

The other thing we are doing with my right honourable

friend the Lord Chancellor is reforming our prison system

so that people are punished for crimes, but they also

have a chance to rehabilitate themselves and that is one

of the social reforms I am proud to be part of.

Adam Whitehead.

A Southampton letting agency has recently been banned for trading

for three years for not giving tenants their deposits back

and using them for other purposes.

The situation, however, as far as letting agencies are concerned

is that they are almost completely unregulated and it is potluck

whether Southampton residents get a fair deal from letting

agents or not.

Is the Chancellor intending to do anything about this?

We are looking at what we can do to make sure that people who rent do

have proper consumer protection, including protection from landlords

who unreasonably withhold deposits.