:00:00. > 3:59:59today but copperhead civilly -- on Prensa three. It is now time for
:00:00. > :00:17.prime ministers questions. I know the whole house will want to
:00:18. > :00:31.join me in wishing Wales lock this evening.
:00:32. > :00:41.Chloe Smith. Mr Speaker, I am a Conservative because I believe it is
:00:42. > :00:46.not where you are coming from, it is where you are going to. Does my
:00:47. > :00:49.right honourable friend agree? Does my right honourable friend agree
:00:50. > :01:00.that the opportunities to succeed no matter what your background is what
:01:01. > :01:04.we want for Britain? I absolutely agree, making sure all citizens have
:01:05. > :01:07.life chances to make the most of their talents should be the driving
:01:08. > :01:12.mission for the rest of this Parliament. Yesterday we were
:01:13. > :01:15.talking about boosting national citizens service, which I think will
:01:16. > :01:18.play a key role in giving young people the confidence and life
:01:19. > :01:27.skills to make the most of the talents they have. I think today it
:01:28. > :01:31.would be appropriate if we pause for a moment to think of those people
:01:32. > :01:36.who lost their lives in the bombings in Baghdad in recent days. The
:01:37. > :01:41.people that have suffered and their families, the end of Ramadan, it
:01:42. > :01:46.must be a terrible experience for them and we should send our
:01:47. > :01:53.sympathies and solidarity. I join the Prime Minister in wishing Wales
:01:54. > :02:00.well. I'll be cheering for them along with everybody else. That's
:02:01. > :02:13.quiet, isn't it? There is life after all! 30 years ago, Mr Speaker, the
:02:14. > :02:18.Shire Brooke colliery employed thousands of workers in skilled,
:02:19. > :02:25.well played, unionised jobs, digging coal. Today, thousands of people
:02:26. > :02:33.work on the same site. The vast majority are an zero hours
:02:34. > :02:41.contracts, no union representation, the minimum wage is not even paid.
:02:42. > :02:47.Doesn't it sum up Britain? Let me join the honourable gentleman in
:02:48. > :02:53.giving my thoughts to those killed in these terrible terrorist attacks.
:02:54. > :02:57.On the issue of what has happened in our coalfield communities, to see
:02:58. > :03:00.new jobs and new investment come, we have made sure that there is not
:03:01. > :03:08.only a minimum wage, but now a national Living Wage. Yes, he talks
:03:09. > :03:18.about one colliery. I recently visited the site of the Grimethorpe
:03:19. > :03:21.colliery, there is a business there, Asos, employing 5000 people. We are
:03:22. > :03:24.never going to succeed as a country if we try to hold onto jobs in
:03:25. > :03:29.industries that have become uncompetitive. We have to hold onto
:03:30. > :03:34.jobs of the future. The problem is, if you are on a zero hours
:03:35. > :03:38.contracts, the minimum wage does not add up to a living wage. He must
:03:39. > :03:44.understand that. Can I take him to the Lindsey oil refinery? In 2009,
:03:45. > :03:48.hundreds of oil workers worked out on strike because agency workers
:03:49. > :03:53.from Italy and Portugal were brought in on lower wages to do the same
:03:54. > :04:01.job. Just down the road in Boston, low pay is endemic. The average
:04:02. > :04:10.hourly wage across the whole country is ?13.33. An East Midlands, ?12. In
:04:11. > :04:14.Boston, it is ?9. Isn't it time the government intervened to step up for
:04:15. > :04:18.those communities that feel they have been left behind in modern
:04:19. > :04:20.Britain? We have intervened with a national Living Wage, we have
:04:21. > :04:24.intervened with more fines against companies that don't pay the minimum
:04:25. > :04:29.wage. We have intervened, for the first time, something that Labour
:04:30. > :04:32.never did, naming and shaming companies involved. Those
:04:33. > :04:37.interventions help and can make a difference. The real intervention
:04:38. > :04:44.that you need is an economy that is growing and encouraging investment.
:04:45. > :04:49.What we want are the industry the future. Record numbers are aware,
:04:50. > :04:54.and the British economy has been one of the strongest in the G7. Mr
:04:55. > :05:01.Speaker, this Government promised it would rebalance our economy. It
:05:02. > :05:03.promised a Northern Powerhouse. Yet half of 1% of infrastructure
:05:04. > :05:09.investment is going to the north-east. London is getting 44
:05:10. > :05:13.times more than that. Does he not think it is time to have a real
:05:14. > :05:19.rebalancing of our economy and invest in those areas that are
:05:20. > :05:23.losing out so badly? I think he is talking down the performance of
:05:24. > :05:26.parts of our economy that are doing well. If you look at the
:05:27. > :05:31.fastest-growing part of our economy, it has been the north-west, not the
:05:32. > :05:34.south-east. If you want to see where exports are growing faster, it is
:05:35. > :05:37.the north-east and not London. There is a huge amount of work to do to
:05:38. > :05:44.make sure we feel that North-South divide. For the first time, we have
:05:45. > :05:46.a Government with a proper strategy, investing in infrastructure,
:05:47. > :05:49.training and skills that will make a difference. For years, regional
:05:50. > :05:53.policy was just trying to distribute a few government jobs outside
:05:54. > :05:59.London. Now we have a strategy about skills, training and about growth
:06:00. > :06:02.and delivery. The idea of this redistribution is a very
:06:03. > :06:07.interesting. The investment in London is more than the total of
:06:08. > :06:13.every other English region combined. Does he not think these issues
:06:14. > :06:17.should be addressed? In March, the government investment was cut in
:06:18. > :06:20.order to meet its fiscal rules. How does the Prime Minister think the
:06:21. > :06:25.economy can be rebalanced when investment is cut and what little
:06:26. > :06:30.investment remains reinforces the regional imbalances in this country?
:06:31. > :06:34.Well, first of all, again, he is talking down the North in the
:06:35. > :06:38.questions he asks. The unemployment rate in the north-west is lower than
:06:39. > :06:42.the unemployment rate London. I think, actually, his figures are
:06:43. > :06:47.wrong. In terms of investment, yes, of course, we need to have the
:06:48. > :06:51.Government investment. We got it in HS2, in the railways, the biggest
:06:52. > :06:55.investment programme since Victorian times, the biggest investment in our
:06:56. > :06:59.roads since the 1970s. You can only invest if you have a strong and
:07:00. > :07:03.growing economy. We know what Labour's recipe is, more borrowing,
:07:04. > :07:09.more spending, more debt, trashing the economy, which is what they did
:07:10. > :07:13.when in office and that is when investment collapses. The Chancellor
:07:14. > :07:15.finally did this week what the Shadow Chancellor asked him to do in
:07:16. > :07:19.the Autumn Statement and what I asked the Prime Minister to do last
:07:20. > :07:24.week, abandoned a key part of the fiscal rule. We now know the deficit
:07:25. > :07:30.was supposed to vanish by 2015, and it will not even be gone by 2020.
:07:31. > :07:34.Isn't it time to admit that austerity is a failure and the way
:07:35. > :07:40.forward is to invest in infrastructure, invest in growth and
:07:41. > :07:44.invest in jobs? What he says is not the case. The rules we set out
:07:45. > :07:48.always have flexibility in case growth didn't turn out the way...
:07:49. > :07:51.Well, the point I would make to him, I would take his advice more
:07:52. > :07:56.seriously if I could think of a single spending reduction that he
:07:57. > :08:01.had supported at any time in the last six years. The fact is, this
:08:02. > :08:03.Government and the last one, the Coalition Government, had to take
:08:04. > :08:08.difficult decisions to get our deficit under control. It's gone
:08:09. > :08:13.from 11% of GDP that we inherited, the biggest in the entire world,
:08:14. > :08:16.almost, to under 3% this year, because of difficult decisions. If
:08:17. > :08:20.he can tell me one of those decisions he has supported, I would
:08:21. > :08:28.be interested to hear it. Mr Speaker, concerns about the fiscal
:08:29. > :08:31.rule investment are obviously spreading on his own ventures. The
:08:32. > :08:33.Work and Pensions Secretary and Business Secretary have seen the
:08:34. > :08:35.light. They agree with my honourable friend the Shadow Chancellor in
:08:36. > :08:38.backing the massive investment programme we have been advocating.
:08:39. > :08:40.Isn't it time that he thanked the honourable member for Hayes and
:08:41. > :08:45.Harlington for the education where he has been doing in this house?
:08:46. > :08:49.Will he confirm that the Chancellor's fiscal rule is dead and
:08:50. > :08:52.invest in the north-east, in Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, all of
:08:53. > :08:56.those places that feel, with good reason, that they have been left
:08:57. > :09:00.behind and the investment is going to the wrong places, and they are
:09:01. > :09:06.ending up with few jobs on lower wages, and insecure employment to
:09:07. > :09:10.boot? If the investment was going in the wrong places, we would not see
:09:11. > :09:14.2.5 million more people in work and we would not see a fall in
:09:15. > :09:18.unemployment, and a rise in employment in every single region in
:09:19. > :09:21.our country. The only area where I think the Right Honourable Gentleman
:09:22. > :09:24.has made a massive contribution is in recent weeks he has come up with
:09:25. > :09:32.the biggest job creation scheme I'd ever seen in my life, almost
:09:33. > :09:36.everyone on the benches behind him has had an opportunity to serve on
:09:37. > :09:40.the front bench! Rather like the old job creation schemes, it has been a
:09:41. > :09:44.bit of a revolving door. They get a job, sometimes for only a few hours,
:09:45. > :09:48.and then they go back to the backbenches. But it is a job
:09:49. > :09:55.creation scheme, nonetheless, and we should thank him for that!
:09:56. > :10:04.On a day when significant questions have been levelled at the collective
:10:05. > :10:07.decision-making of politicians, military leaders and intelligence
:10:08. > :10:11.services, many of our constituents will be seeking reassurance that the
:10:12. > :10:19.lives of their loved ones were not given in vain. That the mistakes
:10:20. > :10:21.made will never happen again. Can I ask the Prime Minister, will he
:10:22. > :10:28.ensure that the lessons learned will be fully examined and acted upon, so
:10:29. > :10:33.that there can never be a repeat of the tragic mistakes made over a
:10:34. > :10:35.decade ago? Well, I am grateful to my honourable friend for his
:10:36. > :10:40.question. I can certainly give that assurance. We will have plenty of
:10:41. > :10:43.time this afternoon to discuss the Chilcot Report and Sir John Chilcot
:10:44. > :10:47.is on his feet at the moment, explaining what he has found. I
:10:48. > :10:51.think the most important thing we can do is to really learn the
:10:52. > :10:55.lessons for the future. The lessons that he lays out, quite clearly. We
:10:56. > :10:58.will want to spend a lot of time, I'm sure, talking about the
:10:59. > :11:03.decisions on going to war and the rest of it. The most important thing
:11:04. > :11:07.for all of us is to make sure we find out how to make sure government
:11:08. > :11:10.works better, legal advice is considered better, those things are
:11:11. > :11:17.the best legacy we can sit from this whole thing. Angus Robertson. Today
:11:18. > :11:29.is hugely important for Muslims at home and abroad at the end of
:11:30. > :11:36.Ramadan. I am sure we wish them all Eid Mubarak. Our thoughts today are
:11:37. > :11:40.with those who have died in Iraq, and the families of those in Iraq
:11:41. > :11:45.who have lost loved ones. The Chilcot Report confirms that in
:11:46. > :11:49.2002, Tony Blair wrote to President Bush, saying, I will be with you
:11:50. > :11:54.whatever. Does the Prime Minister understand why the families of the
:11:55. > :11:57.dead and the injured a UK service personnel, the hundreds of thousands
:11:58. > :12:03.of Iraqis, feel they were deceived about the reasons for going to war
:12:04. > :12:05.in Iraq? First of all, let me join the Right Honourable Gentleman in
:12:06. > :12:11.wishing Muslims in this country and all over the world Eid Mubarak at
:12:12. > :12:15.the end of Ramadan. In terms of the report, we will discuss it in detail
:12:16. > :12:19.later, and I don't want to pre-empt all of the things I will say in my
:12:20. > :12:23.statement. Clearly, we need to learn the lessons of the report, we need
:12:24. > :12:27.to study it carefully. It is millions of words, thousands of
:12:28. > :12:33.pages. I think we should save our remarks for when we debated in the
:12:34. > :12:38.house after the statement. The Chilcot Report catalogues the
:12:39. > :12:42.failures in planning for post-conflict Iraq and then
:12:43. > :12:48.concludes that, and I quote, the UK did not achieve its objectives. That
:12:49. > :12:54.lack of planning has also been evident in relation to Afghanistan,
:12:55. > :13:01.Libya, Syria and, most recently, with no plan whatsoever, for Brexit.
:13:02. > :13:05.When will the UK Government actually start learning from the mistakes of
:13:06. > :13:10.the past, so we are not condemned to repeat them in future? First of all,
:13:11. > :13:14.he is right that what Sir John Chilcot says about the failure to
:13:15. > :13:17.plan is very, very clear. I can read from his statement, that is
:13:18. > :13:20.something he has given. He says when the invasion began, UK policy rested
:13:21. > :13:26.on an assumption that there would be a well executed, US lead and UN
:13:27. > :13:30.authorised operation in a relatively benign environment. He told the
:13:31. > :13:38.inquiry that the difficulties have been known in advance, Mr Blair.
:13:39. > :13:43.What I would say to the Right Honourable Gentleman in terms of
:13:44. > :13:49.planning is what I put in place, following what happened in Iraq, a
:13:50. > :13:51.National Security Council, a properly staffed and national
:13:52. > :13:56.Security Secretariat, all of those things, including listening to
:13:57. > :14:00.expert advice on a National Security Council, all of those things are
:14:01. > :14:06.designed to avoid the problems that the government have in the case of
:14:07. > :14:10.Iraq. The only point I would make is that, actually, there is no set of
:14:11. > :14:15.arrangements and plans that can provide perfection in any of these
:14:16. > :14:19.cases. Military intervention, we can argue whether it is ever justified,
:14:20. > :14:22.I believe it is. Military intervention is always difficult.
:14:23. > :14:25.Planning for the aftermath, that is always difficult. I don't think in
:14:26. > :14:29.this house we should be naive in any way that there is a perfect set of
:14:30. > :14:31.plans or a perfect set of arrangements that can solve these
:14:32. > :14:37.problems in perpetuity. There aren't. Would my right honourable
:14:38. > :14:44.friend join me in congratulating Southend Council, once again under
:14:45. > :14:50.the control of the Conservative Party, for swiftly acting to sort
:14:51. > :14:55.out the mess left by the previous, hopeless administration? And would
:14:56. > :14:58.he agree with me that Southend-on-Sea, being the
:14:59. > :15:03.alternative City of Culture next year, will produce a considerable
:15:04. > :15:07.boost to the local economy? Let me pay tribute to my honourable friend
:15:08. > :15:11.for his long-standing efforts to promote Southend and all it has to
:15:12. > :15:15.offer. While Hull is the official City of Culture next year, I am sure
:15:16. > :15:19.that Southend will benefit from the tireless campaign he has run. I join
:15:20. > :15:20.him in encouraging people to go and see this excellent seaside town for
:15:21. > :15:30.themselves. Is the Prime Minister aware that two
:15:31. > :15:38.miles north of Shire Brooke, already mentioned today, is a town called
:15:39. > :15:47.Bolsover and at the same time they were seeing the notices on the bus
:15:48. > :15:53.saying ?350 million for the NHS. At that time, they decided this
:15:54. > :16:00.government, with the help of the local people, to close the hospital
:16:01. > :16:05.Bolsover. We need the beds. I'm sure he understands that. When the
:16:06. > :16:11.hospital is closed, it is gone forever. I want him here to date to
:16:12. > :16:18.use a little bit of that money, not very much, to save the Bolsover
:16:19. > :16:24.hospital, save the beds, save the jobs and the press might have a
:16:25. > :16:31.headline saying, "The Prime Minister, dodgy Dave, assists the
:16:32. > :16:40.beast to save the Bolsover hospital". What a sensation! I will
:16:41. > :16:44.look very carefully. I don't have the information about the exact
:16:45. > :16:47.situation at the Bolsover hospital. I'll look at it very carefully and
:16:48. > :16:51.write to him. What I would say is that we are putting ?90 billion
:16:52. > :16:54.extra into the NHS in this Parliament. As for what was on the
:16:55. > :16:59.side buses and all the rest of it, my argument has always been, and
:17:00. > :17:07.will always be, but it is a strong economy you required to fund the
:17:08. > :17:10.NHS. -- ?19 billion. Last week I held my first apprenticeship is fair
:17:11. > :17:13.in my constituency. Does my right honourable friend agree with me that
:17:14. > :17:17.apprenticeships are an absolutely vital part of economic develop and
:17:18. > :17:22.in our proud northern towns and cities? She is absolutely right and
:17:23. > :17:25.that's why we've set the target for 3 million apprentices in this
:17:26. > :17:28.Parliament. I think it is achievable, just as we achieved the
:17:29. > :17:32.2 million apprentices trained in the last Parliament, and I wish her well
:17:33. > :17:38.with what I hope is the first of many apprenticeship fares in her
:17:39. > :17:42.constituency. Mr Speaker, before I ask my question, can I thank the
:17:43. > :17:48.Prime Minister for the support he gave my campaign about getting an
:17:49. > :17:55.inquiry into a certain drug which is given to pregnant women, resulting
:17:56. > :18:00.in thousands of babies being born with deformities. I thank him for
:18:01. > :18:03.supporting the campaign. Our universities, the global success
:18:04. > :18:06.stories, outward looking, open for business with the world, and
:18:07. > :18:13.attracting the brightest and the best students and researchers to
:18:14. > :18:19.reduce ground-breaking research on cancer to climate change. In the
:18:20. > :18:22.last year, the... I need a single sentence question. Forgive me but
:18:23. > :18:29.there are a lot of other colleagues who want to take part. The
:18:30. > :18:33.University has received ?836 million last year. What assurances can the
:18:34. > :18:38.Prime Minister give us that in light of the fact that we are now out of
:18:39. > :18:40.the EU, that money will be saved? First of all, let me thank the
:18:41. > :18:46.honourable lady for her thanks because she has raised this case
:18:47. > :18:48.many times and I can tell the Medicines and health care Products
:18:49. > :18:52.Regulatory Agency has been gathering evidence for a review by expert
:18:53. > :18:54.working groups on medicines and they have met on three occasions so I
:18:55. > :18:59.think we're making progress. The point she makes about universities -
:19:00. > :19:04.until Britain leads the EU we get the full amount of funding under the
:19:05. > :19:07.programmes as you would expect. All contracts under that have to be
:19:08. > :19:11.fulfilled, but it will be for a future government, as it negotiates
:19:12. > :19:15.the exit from the EU, to make sure that we domestic league continue to
:19:16. > :19:21.fund our universities in a way that makes sure they continue to lead the
:19:22. > :19:24.world. As my right honourable friend will know, the potential closure of
:19:25. > :19:31.the BHS store in Torquay town centre with the loss of over 100 jobs as
:19:32. > :19:34.again raised the need for urgent regeneration of town centres. Would
:19:35. > :19:39.he outline what support will be made available by the government to
:19:40. > :19:43.ensure plans can be taken forward? It is worth making the point that it
:19:44. > :19:48.is a very sad moment for those BHS staff who have worked so long for
:19:49. > :19:52.that business. For them, it was simply a high-street brand, it was a
:19:53. > :19:54.job, it was a way of life, it was a means of preparing for their
:19:55. > :19:59.retirement and their pensions and we must do all we can to help them and
:20:00. > :20:02.find them new work and there are many vacancies in the retail sector,
:20:03. > :20:06.and we must make sure we help them to get those jobs. What we've done
:20:07. > :20:08.in terms of high street is around ?18 million has gone to towns
:20:09. > :20:13.through them of initiatives and we should keep those up because keeping
:20:14. > :20:16.our town centres vibrant is so vital that this sits alongside the biggest
:20:17. > :20:20.ever cut in interest rates in England, worth some ?6.7 billion in
:20:21. > :20:23.the next five years and I think we need to say to those on our high
:20:24. > :20:29.streets to make the most of that business rate cut. One of my
:20:30. > :20:32.constituents who I've been working with for some time has had her
:20:33. > :20:40.mobility cart removed after falling victim to a flawed assessment by
:20:41. > :20:44.Atos. Atos have admitted their error and yet my vulnerable constituent
:20:45. > :20:48.still remains housebound and without a car. Will the Prime Minister of
:20:49. > :20:51.his full assistance to rectify this cruel situation and will he look
:20:52. > :20:55.again at the regulations which allowed this situation to come
:20:56. > :20:59.about? Let me congratulate the taking of this constituency case.
:21:00. > :21:01.Many of us have done exactly the same thing with constituents who
:21:02. > :21:06.have had assessment that haven't turned out to be accurate. If she
:21:07. > :21:13.gives me the details, I'll look at the specific case and see what can
:21:14. > :21:16.be done. A report recently commissioned by transport for the
:21:17. > :21:19.North, a body created by this government, highlights the
:21:20. > :21:23.opportunity to uphold the growing divide between the north and South
:21:24. > :21:30.and creates several new jobs and billions of pounds of growth by
:21:31. > :21:34.2015. -- 2050. Does he agree that to build an elegant and prosperity we
:21:35. > :21:36.need to continue to rebalance infrastructure spending from London
:21:37. > :21:42.to the regions, particularly to the north of England? I think he is
:21:43. > :21:46.absolutely right. What that report shows is if we don't take the
:21:47. > :21:51.necessary actions, you are going to see a continued north-south divide
:21:52. > :21:55.and that's why we are committed, for instance, to seeing increased
:21:56. > :21:57.spending on transport infrastructure go up to ?61 billion of this
:21:58. > :22:02.Parliament and in my right honourable friend's area, we're
:22:03. > :22:05.spending ?380 million upgrading the A1 from Leeming to Barton, which
:22:06. > :22:13.will be a big boost for the local economy. I recently met a
:22:14. > :22:18.constituent whose husband, a British citizen, has been an Ethiopian's
:22:19. > :22:21.death row for two years and was kidnapped while travelling in and
:22:22. > :22:25.illegally rendered Ethiopian. You are sentenced to death six years ago
:22:26. > :22:30.as a trial he was neither present that nor able to present any defence
:22:31. > :22:36.in direct contravention of international law. Given it has been
:22:37. > :22:44.accessed two legal wrappers and Titian, and has not spoken to his
:22:45. > :22:50.family, there are reports he's suicidal. In your last few weeks in
:22:51. > :22:53.office, will you make the case for him to be allowed him to be
:22:54. > :22:57.re-elected with his wife and children? We are taking a very close
:22:58. > :23:03.interest in this case. The Foreign Secretary was an Ethiopian recently,
:23:04. > :23:06.our consul has been able to meet with the man in question on a number
:23:07. > :23:12.of occasions and we are working with him and the Ethiopian woman to try
:23:13. > :23:15.to get this resolved. One of the reports that won't get so much
:23:16. > :23:20.attention is the CQC report into North Middlesex Hospital, which
:23:21. > :23:23.confirms that emergency care is inadequate. Why has it taken so many
:23:24. > :23:27.years, and why does it need the regulators to know what many of my
:23:28. > :23:31.constituents will know, that there has been another quick effort to
:23:32. > :23:34.long, too few doctors, to view consultants? And the Primus assure
:23:35. > :23:37.me that we now have in place the right plans on the right number of
:23:38. > :23:42.doctors and consultants to ensure my constituents get the care they
:23:43. > :23:47.deserve? I think he raises an important point, which is that I do
:23:48. > :23:50.think the CQC is now acting effectively at getting into
:23:51. > :23:55.hospitals, finding bad practice, reported on its 50. In some cases
:23:56. > :23:58.that bad practice has always been there but we haven't been as
:23:59. > :24:01.effective in some cases as we should be at shining eyed and. What we have
:24:02. > :24:05.seen in North Middlesex is one of the busiest emergency department of
:24:06. > :24:08.the country, the practice was an acceptable. We've now got a new
:24:09. > :24:13.clinical director of the trust, additional two doctors in A and we
:24:14. > :24:17.have been the ones that have set up the role of the Chief Inspector of
:24:18. > :24:24.hospitals to have a zero tolerance approach to practice like this and
:24:25. > :24:27.make sure things are but right. The Secretary of State for Business,
:24:28. > :24:30.Innovation and Skills has stated he wants the UK to borrow tens of
:24:31. > :24:35.billions of pounds to create a green Britain fund worth up to 100
:24:36. > :24:39.billion. Can I ask the PM whether this is a formal plan or whether
:24:40. > :24:44.this is merely an attempt to come up with a plan amid a vacuum of
:24:45. > :24:47.government? We are spending billions of pounds on the British economy and
:24:48. > :24:52.an investment and that has clear consequences under the Barnett
:24:53. > :24:55.formula for Scotland but clearly my colleagues during a leadership
:24:56. > :25:01.election, and at least the side of the House we're actually having a
:25:02. > :25:06.leadership election, rather than the never-ending... I thought you wanted
:25:07. > :25:11.one. You don't want one? Hands up who wants a leadership election! Oh,
:25:12. > :25:17.they don't want a leadership election! I'm so confused. One
:25:18. > :25:21.minute it is like the Eagle is going to sweep and the next minute it is
:25:22. > :25:25.Eddie the camera crew eagle at the top of the ski jump, not knowing
:25:26. > :25:31.whether to go or not. Anyway, in case you hadn't noticed, we're
:25:32. > :25:34.having a leadership election. Right from the start this United Kingdom
:25:35. > :25:36.has been an outward looking, international trading nation. I'm
:25:37. > :25:42.very glad to see the Trade Minister... The honourable gentleman
:25:43. > :25:48.the Member for Worcester is entitled to be heard and his constituents are
:25:49. > :25:51.entitled to be represented. And glad to see the Trade Minister out in
:25:52. > :25:54.Hong Kong today talking up the prospects for investment in the
:25:55. > :25:57.British economy but what steps can the Prime Minister take to bolster
:25:58. > :26:02.the resources available to UKTI and the Foreign Office to make sure we
:26:03. > :26:06.attract as much trade and investment from the wider world is possible? P
:26:07. > :26:11.Maytin important point and a very clear instruction has gone out to
:26:12. > :26:15.all our embassies around the world, to UKTI, that we should be doing all
:26:16. > :26:18.we can to engage as hard as we can with other parts of the world start
:26:19. > :26:21.to think about those trade deals, those investment deals and the
:26:22. > :26:26.inward investment we want to see in the UK. Business is very clear to us
:26:27. > :26:28.as well, whether they agree or disagree with the decision the
:26:29. > :26:36.country is made, they know we've got to go on and make the most of the
:26:37. > :26:41.opportunities we have. With the real prospect of a recession on the
:26:42. > :26:45.horizon, the offer from the Chancellor is cutting corporation
:26:46. > :26:50.tax, yet companies worry whether they will make a profit in the UK,
:26:51. > :26:53.not how much tax they are going to pay on it, so can the Prime Minister
:26:54. > :26:57.tell us what immediate action his government would take to protect
:26:58. > :27:03.people's jobs and livelihoods right now? Immediate action has been
:27:04. > :27:08.taken, not least the Bank of England decision to encourage bank lending
:27:09. > :27:11.by changing the reserve asset ratios that they insist on and I think
:27:12. > :27:15.that's very important because that's a short-term measure that can have
:27:16. > :27:18.some early effect. Clearly what the Chancellor was talking about is now
:27:19. > :27:21.we are in this new situation, we need to make sure that we configure
:27:22. > :27:25.all our policies to take advantage of the situation that we're going to
:27:26. > :27:29.be in and that's going to mean changes to taxes, changes to the way
:27:30. > :27:33.UKTI works, there's going to be a change in focus for the Foreign
:27:34. > :27:36.Office and the business department. All these things we can make a start
:27:37. > :27:41.on irrespective of the fact that she and I were on the same side of the
:27:42. > :27:45.referendum campaign. Further to my honourable friend from Worcester's
:27:46. > :27:49.question about UKTI, may I remind the Prime Minister that next Monday
:27:50. > :27:53.the greatest airshow in the world takes place at Farnborough in my
:27:54. > :27:58.constituency, to which all honourable and right honourable
:27:59. > :28:04.members are expected to attend! And may I remind my honourable friend
:28:05. > :28:07.that last time, two years ago, deals worth $201 billion were signed at
:28:08. > :28:10.the Farnborough airshow and may I prevail upon my right honourable
:28:11. > :28:14.friend, who may have some time on his hands, to come and open the show
:28:15. > :28:19.on Monday and encourage all other ministers to attend? I think I'm one
:28:20. > :28:21.of the first prime ministers in a while to attend the Farnborough
:28:22. > :28:26.airshow and I'm very happy to announce that I will be going back
:28:27. > :28:29.there this year because I think it's very important. We have the second
:28:30. > :28:33.largest aerospace industry in the world after the United States, and
:28:34. > :28:36.it is a brilliant moment to showcase that industry to the rest of the
:28:37. > :28:40.world and to clinch some important export deals, both in the military
:28:41. > :28:44.and in the civilian space and I will always do everything I can, whether
:28:45. > :28:51.in this job or in future, to help support British industry in that
:28:52. > :28:53.way. The UN committee on economic social and cultural rights have
:28:54. > :28:56.recently joined the UN committee on the rights of a child in expressing
:28:57. > :29:00.serious concerns about this Tory government's brutal welfare cuts.
:29:01. > :29:04.How much more international condemnation would it take for this
:29:05. > :29:10.Prime Minister to scrap his aggressive to child policy and his
:29:11. > :29:14.rate" we've seen under this government many more people in work,
:29:15. > :29:18.many more households... Many fewer households where no one works and
:29:19. > :29:24.many fewer households where there are children when one works. All of
:29:25. > :29:28.this has been a huge success but she and her party now have the
:29:29. > :29:32.opportunity, now we've made some huge devolution proposals, including
:29:33. > :29:36.in the area of welfare, if you don't feel that what we're doing on a UK
:29:37. > :29:39.bases... I don't know why you're all shouting. You're getting these
:29:40. > :29:46.powers. Instead of whingeing endlessly, start to use them! Sir
:29:47. > :29:51.John Chilcot finds that the only people who come out of the 2003
:29:52. > :29:56.invasion of Iraq well our servicemen and civilians. Will the Prime
:29:57. > :30:01.Minister look at how he can make sure that the precedent he set last
:30:02. > :30:06.autumn for transparency and scrutiny ahead of military action becomes the
:30:07. > :30:10.norm for his successor? I think we have now got a set of arrangements
:30:11. > :30:15.and also a set of conventions that put the country in a stronger
:30:16. > :30:21.position. I think it is now a clear convention that we have a vote in
:30:22. > :30:24.this House, which we did on Iran, before military action, but it is
:30:25. > :30:27.also important that we have a properly constituted National
:30:28. > :30:30.Security Council, proper receipt of legal advice, a summary of that
:30:31. > :30:35.legal advice provided to the House of Commons, as we did both in the
:30:36. > :30:38.case of Libya and Iraq, and I think these things are growing up to be a
:30:39. > :30:42.set of conventions that will work for our country, but let me repeat
:30:43. > :30:46.again, even the best rules and conventions of the world doesn't
:30:47. > :30:49.mean that you always going to be confronted by easy decisions or ones
:30:50. > :30:56.that don't have very difficult consequences. The Prime Minister
:30:57. > :31:01.will no doubt be aware of my constituent Pauline Cafferkey, a
:31:02. > :31:09.nurse who contracted Ebola in Sierra Leone in 2014, and was there as part
:31:10. > :31:14.of the DFID response to the outbreak. She and around 200 the NHS
:31:15. > :31:21.volunteers have not received an equivalent bonus of ?4000 that was
:31:22. > :31:28.awarded to 250 Public Health England staff. Wilbur Prime Minister agreed
:31:29. > :31:34.to meet with me to discuss how DFID can rectify this situation. -- will
:31:35. > :31:37.the Prime Minister agree. Roll Pauline Cafferkey is one of the
:31:38. > :31:39.bravest people I've ever met and it was a great privilege to have come
:31:40. > :31:44.to Number Ten Downing St and I'm proud of the fact that she and many
:31:45. > :31:47.others, I believe, have received the medal for in Sierra Leone. It is
:31:48. > :31:52.something Britain should be incredibly proud of. We partnered
:31:53. > :31:55.with that country to deal with Ebola and it is now free of Ebola to talk
:31:56. > :31:59.I will look specifically into the issue of the bonus. I wasn't aware
:32:00. > :32:01.of that and I will get back to her about it.