07/09/2016 Prime Minister's Questions

Parliament, we have an ambitious target of more than a third of

projects and I had to work with her to make sure we achieve that target.

I would like to congratulate the British Olympic team on a great

medical -- medal haul, finishing second, in front of China. CHEERING

I know everyone would wish to give the very best wishes to our

Paralympic athletes and wish them the best of success. This morning I

had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others, and I will

have further such meetings later today. May I add my warm wishes to

those, all Paralympians and those from Bristol in particular, they

will do us Brown. The whole house will be delighted that this house

houses a disproportionate number of the worlds finest university -- that

this country. However, some are being shutout in anticipation of

Brexit, this is so important for scientific, medical, engineering and

other research, and for our economic prosperity. Can the Prime Minister

please tell us what her strategy is? Can I first of all say come out very

good it is to see her in this house. We agree of the importance of

valuable adversities and the work they do and the research and

collaboration they have -- of the value of our universities. We have

given certain guarantees to universities in relation to funding

decisions which have been taken by the European Union and we are

standing by them because we recognise the value they bring to

the country. Neil Parish. Thank you, Mr Speaker. I welcome the statement

from the Chancellor on support payments for farmers after 2020, to

give confidence to farming and the countryside, but with trade deals

now being done, bridges farmers produce some of the best welfare and

friendly food in the world and we need to make sure they are not both

farming... We need to make sure the food industry is protected through

trade deals in the future and I seek reassurance from the Prime Minister.

-- British farmers. You are right, the announcement I referred to just

now, to answer the first question the Chancellor gave, gave guarantees

to the farming industry about the support available to them after 2020

but we need to recognise the very significant role that the food and

farming industry plays in the United Kingdom and we will be looking to

work with the sector. The Environment Secretary will be doing

that to see how we can develop those industries looking into the future.

And looking at the trade deals we will be doing and how they will play

their part. Jeremy Corbyn. Thank you. Can I join the Prime Minister

in congratulating the entirety of the Olympic team for their fantastic

achievements at the Olympics in Rio and wish the Paralympic team all the

best and can she tell us, did this set the visit off to China in a good

way or was there a bit of tension? If bragging rights were allowed. The

average house price in Britain is now ?215,000 and over eight times

the average wage. The average price of a first-time buyers home has

risen by 12% in the past year. Isn't the dream of home ownership for many

people just that? A dreamer? First of all, in response to the first

point, I actually... The Chinese president congratulated me on the

success of the United Kingdom in the Olympic Games. He raises the issues

of housing which he has raised on a number of occasions with my

predecessor and also with me before we broke for the summer recess. Of

course it is important for us to look at helping people get their

first... Their step on the first rung of the housing ladder or stop

that is why I'm pleased that house-building has been up under a

Conservative government compared to Labour, but we are not complacent

and we will be doing more. We will have more houses being built under

this Conservative government and also providing support for people to

make sure they have the financial support which helps them to own

their own home. House-building under this government is 45,000 a year

less than it was under the last Labour government. And for those who

are desperate to get their own place, I referred the Prime Minister

to an note I received from a lady called Jenny, her partner and

herself work in a supermarket, they are trying to get a mortgage and

they have been told they can borrow ?73,000. Not much hope for them,

then. The former Prime Minister promised there would be a wonderful

one replacement for every council house that is sold under right to

buy -- there would be a one for one. Sadly there is only one for every

five that are sold. Will the prime to give us a commitment on the one

for one replacement and when will it be a reality? Can I say to Jenny

that I fully understand and appreciate the concerns that

individuals have about wanting to be able to have their own home and to

set up that home and I recognise the difficulties that they are after

some people in doing that. I have to say, in relation to the figures on

council houses, he is wrong, we have delivered on the one for one

replacement on leave to buy. I'm very interested. I noticed that the

right honourable gentleman had asked his Twitter followers what questions

he should ask me this week and I thought I would love to see what

responses he would receive, and I thought the first one was quite good

-- I would look. He might want to stay sitting down. Lewis writes,

does she know that in a recent Paltan who would make a better Prime

Minister, -- does she know that in a recent poll on who would make a

better Prime Minister, don't know rated higher than Jeremy Corbyn. We

do know that we're not going to let Labour anywhere near power again.

The number of first-time buyers has halved in the last 20 years and the

average age has increased a great deal. There is a housing crisis in

Britain. 10 million people now live in the private rented sector and

many are forced to claim housing benefit to cover costs of rents.

Devastating figures released over the summer show that ?9.3 billion of

public money is paid through housing benefit directly into the pockets of

private landlords. Does the Prime Minister think this ?9.3 billion

into the private rental market is really money well spent? I have to

say, he talks about the importance of people being able to buy their

own homes and then challenge is one of the measures which helps people

to get into their own homes through housing benefit, support in the

private rented sector, so it might be that he has an ideological

objection to the private rented sector, but what this government is

doing is making sure that what we are doing is looking across the

board so we will see more houses being built. We are looking to make

sure there is a diversity of opportunity for people in terms of

getting their own home, but I have to say, everything he says tells us

all we need to know about modern Labour, the train has left the

station, the seats are empty, the leader is on the floor, and even on

rolling stock they are a laughing stock. CHEERING

Mr Speaker... Mr Speaker... Her predecessor... Mr Speaker, her

predecessor in discussing this issue said the simple point is that every

penny you spend on housing subsidy is money you can't spend on building

houses. And if landlords rent outhouses in a very bad state, such

as heavy damp wet walls, no working toilet, they need to be getting

fined. The government has got to regulate, that is what choice wrote

to me, and the citizens advice bureau says one sixth of housing

benefit goes to private sector landlords renting out on safe homes,

is this really a satisfactory state of affairs gridlock -- on safe. What

I would say, if he thinks housing benefit is actually such a bad

thing, why was it that when we change the rules on housing benefit

the Labour Party opposed those changes that we took? He talks about

bad landlords, we have changed the rules on selective licensing and we

are making changes and we have given councils free reign to impose

burdens of the Chrissy on landlords -- burdens of bureaucracy on

landlords, we think that will lead to problems in the market with high

costs on tenants and landlords. We are looking at all of these issues.

I recognise as every MP does the problems that people have when they

are living in accommodation that is not up to the standard that we would

wish to see people living in. That is why we are looking and changing

the rules and we are making sure that the regulations are there. That

is extremely interesting. Only a year ago the Prime Minister voted

against a Labour amendment to the housing bill which simply said all

homes for rent in the private rented sector should be fit for human

habitation. Just over a year ago the Treasury estimated that it is losing

half ?1 billion per year on unpaid tax on landlords renting in the

private rented sector. ?9.5 billion in housing benefit, half a billion

not being collected and a large number of homes not really fit for

human habitation. Does this require government intervention on the side

of the tenant and those in housing need? The right honourable gentleman

asks for the government to intervene, and the government has

the housing and panning act introduced further tough measures --

planning act. Banning orders for serious offenders and repayment

orders, we have provided money so local authorities can conduct more

inspections of properties, people's homes, we have seen more people and

more properties being inspected, we now have thousands of landlords

facing further action. Far from not taking action in this area, the

government has. But I say to the right John -- honourable gentleman,

he might have a vision of society where he doesn't want private

landlords and he would like the government deliberating on

everything about that is not what we want. We want opportunities for

people -- but that is not what we want. They're big difference between

him and me is that we want people to take opportunities. We want to make

sure that those living in the private rented sector are properly

treated and not having to pay excessive levels of rent. Womens Aid

has said that two thirds of women refugees are going to close because

of the benefit cap when it comes into force and that 87% of women and

children who are in those refuges will suffer as a result and most of

those refuges require an income level which comes mainly from

housing benefit, 90% from vat. Does the Prime Minister recognised that

these are very vulnerable women in those refuges and the closure of

them would be devastating for them and very dangerous for the most

vulnerable people within our society? Will should take action to

make sure the cat doesn't apply to Womens Aid refuges? -- the cap.

The right honourable gentleman raises a very important issue. On

the issue of domestic violence we should come across this house, do

all we can to stop these crimes taking place and provide support to

the victims and survivors of these crimes. We are working on exempting

refuges from the cap. I would also remind him of the very good record

that we have on domestic violence. It was a Conservative government

that introduced the new offence of coercive control, that put into

practice those laws, that putting ?80 million to support domestic

violence victims in the period up to 2020. We are listening to these

problems and we are responding to them and we all take this very

seriously indeed. But I say to the right honourable gentleman, it is 50

days since he and I last met across this dispatch box. It would be nice

to see you, he said. It is nice to see him sitting in his place.

LAUGHTER And I have to say, if we just look

at the contrast is what -- of what has been done over the summer, the

Conservative government has been working tirelessly to support

everyone. Yanuyanutawa ?250 million of loans

to small businesses, introduced the racial disparity audit, looking at

public services and how they treat people and setting the groundwork

for new trade deals around the world.

What we have seen, what a contrast. What a contrast with the party

opposite, divided amongst themselves, and I'm capable of

uniting our country. What we do know is there is only one party that is

going to provide a country, a government, and economy, a society

that works for everyone, and that's the Conservative Party! CHEERING

. Last week the children Society published a report that showed 10%

of children feel their lives have little meaning or purpose. I know

the Prime Minister understands the importance of tackling mental

health, because she raised in her Downing Street speech. What further

action does she propose to increase mental health support in our

schools? My honourable friend raises a very

important point. I think there has been a collective concern about the

issue of the way in which mental health is dealt with. That is why we

put a record ?1.4 billion into transforming the dedicated mental

health support available to young people across the country. That

includes ?150 million for services to support children and young people

with eating disorders. There are other things, we are publishing a

blueprint for school counselling services. The role schools play is

very important in this. I know that my right honourable friend the

Education Secretary will be looking very closely at the report to see

what more we can do. May I join with the Prime Minister and leader of the

Labour Party in praising all Olympians. This is the first day of

the Paralympics, an inspiration to us all. Mr Speaker, there is very

real concern and worry about the prospect of Brexit, especially in

Scotland, where the of people voted Remain in the EU. The UK Government

has had all summer to come up with a plan, to come up with a strategy. So

far we've just had waffle. Can I ask the Prime Minister a very simple

question, she want the UK to remain fully in the single market?

What I want the UK is we put in place, into practice the vote taken

by UK people to leave the European Union. That we get the right deal

for the trade in goods and services with the European Union, a new

relationship we will be building with them and we also introduce

control of the movement of people from the European Union into the

United Kingdom. I say we can approach the vote that took place on

the 23rd of June in two ways. We can try and go back neck, have a second

referendum, say we didn't really believe it. Actually, we are

respecting the views of the people. -- we can go back on it. But more

than that, we will be seizing the opportunities that leaving the

European Union now gives us, to forge a new role for the United

Kingdom in the wild. We on these benches respect the

views of the people of Scotland who voted to Remain. The European single

market... One mast be heard, and he will be heard. Mr Angus Robertson.

The European single market is the biggest market in the world and it

really matters to our businesses and it really matters to our economy. I

asked the Prime Minister a very, very simple question. It's either in

or out answer. Let me ask again, does she want the United Kingdom to

remain fully part of the European single market? Yes or no?

The right honourable gentleman doesn't quite seem to understand...

What the vote on the 23rd of June was about. The United Kingdom will

leave the European Union and we will build a new relationship with the

European Union. That new relationship will include control of

the movement of people from the EU into the UK and it will include the

right deal for trade in goods and services. That is how to approach

it. I also say this to the right honourable gentleman, in looking at

negotiations it would not be right for me or this government to give a

running commentary on negotiations. Or... Order, order. Just as the

right honourable gentleman must've been heard, the Prime Minister's

answer be heard. It would not be right for us to

prejudge those negotiations. We will be ensuring we achieve opportunities

for growth and prosperity across the UK, including growth and prosperity

in Scotland. As we saw from figures released this summer, what gives

growth and prosperity in Scotland is being a member of the United

Kingdom. Thank you Mr Speaker. Last week

hundreds of local residents and businesses attended my faster

broadband fair. Many of those with the very slowest speeds a ?500 about

voucher to fund an alternative broadband connection capable of

delivering at least 10 megabits per second. Will the Prime Minister join

me in congratulating Somerset County Council on this excellent scheme and

confirm the Government remains committed of delivering a service of

10 megabits a second by 2020? I am happy to give my assurance and join

with him in paying tribute to his council and the work they are doing,

and all those involved in that innovative scheme. High-speed

broadband is an important part of 21st-century infrastructure. We will

be doing everything we can to ensure it is there and available for

people, because that will enable us to have jobs and prosperity in this

country. Penman engineering established in

1859 was forced into administration in my constituency this week. I

can't name the debtor, it is an impossible decision. They have to

continue to trade with this debtor as well as pursuing the debt. Will

the Prime Minister put me in touch with the Business Secretary to

discuss support that can be given on how we can ensure these companies,

who receive enormous amounts of public money, don't hold our supply

chain to ransom and pay bills on time?

First of all, I said the honourable gentleman that of course our

thoughts are with all those families who are affected by what has to

Penman engineering. The administrator has a role in ensuring

any sale of the business protects the maximum number of jobs and my

right honourable friend the Scottish Secretary has made clear that that

is his priority. I hope the Scottish Government will offer their support

of this long-standing business. Our thoughts are with all those who have

been affected and the administrator will be looking to ensure the best

possible options are found for the company.

In adding my congratulations to the Prime Minister, can I say following

the EU referendum and under her leadership, I feel more confident

about the future of this country than ever in my lifetime.

And we'll surely beware of those who are trying to make leaving the

European Union ever more complicated and protracted, and to that end.

Order, order. Progress is very slow. There is too much noise.

The honourable gentleman will be heard. Will she confirm there is no

basis in law to require the Government to seek the permission of

parliament before invoking Article 50?

Prime Minister I thank my honourable friend for his comments.

He is absolutely right. The Government's position is very clear.

This is a prerogative power. It is a power that can be exercised by the

Government. As he alludes to in his question I don't think anyone should

be in any doubt that those people who are trying to prolong the

process by their legal references in relation to Parliament are not those

who want to see us successfully leaving the European Union, they are

those who want to stop us leaving the European Union. The Prime

Minister seems less keen than her predecessor on the northern

powerhouse, but she also says post Brexit Britain is open for business.

Where better in 2025 than the great city of Manchester to host the world

Expo, where the atom was split and where graphene was invented, to

showcase the best of Britain's world. Will she back our bid?

I say to the honourable gentleman I'm interested to hear the lobby he

is making for Manchester. And can I say how pleased I am Manchester will

be hosting the parade for are Olympic athletes.

In this process Brexit world, will the Prime Minister agree with me

that Nato is more important cornerstone than ever, particularly

article five that lays down an attack on one is an attack on all.

Any politician who will not sign up to that commitment or even worse,

who tells Nato they should give up, go home and go away, is recklessly

risking the defence of all? I absolutely agree on all the points

my right honourable friend made. We must never forget the importance of

Nato, is the cornerstone of our defence and security and that

strength is based on the fact that all of those partners within Nato

have committed to article five and operating under the basis of article

five. Anybody who says, rejects that, is rejecting that security on

that defence, they'd be undermining our national security and the

National security of our allies. What we know from the Labour Party

is far from delivering stronger defence, they would cut defence

spending, undermine Nato and they've scrapped the nuclear deterrent.

Prime Minister, I have just had a debate in Westminster Hall on the

police ombudsman's report into the Northern Ireland massacre, in which

six men were shot dead by the UVF in a period of direct rule in my

constituency. I have a letter from my predecessor in which he

acknowledged this unspeakable evil and said the Government accepts the

police ombudsman's report and any allegations of police misconduct are

taken very seriously. Will the Prime Minister detail what action she will

take to ensure prosecutions are pursued, an apology is forthcoming

from the Government and compensation is provided for lost lives?

I say to the honourable lady she is absolutely right. What happened was

a terrible, terrible evil. I am sure that everybody across the House will

want to join me in expressing our sympathies to all of those who were

affected by the appalling atrocity. As she has said, and as my right

honourable friend for Whitney said, the Government accepts the

ombudsman's report. It is important that where there are allegations of

police misconduct they are taken seriously, and properly looked into,

if there has been wrong doing it must be pursued. Obviously it is a

matter for the PSM eye, although I would remind the Chief Constable has

been very clear he wants to be sure he is determined where there is

wrongdoing people will be brought to justice. A long-running review into

hospital services in Bedford and Milton Keynes was an abject failure.

By publishing recommendations for significant changes to services and

refusing to answer any questions. Can the Prime Minister assure me

their sustainability and transformation plans for

Bedfordshire and elsewhere, to be released by NHS England will be

subject to proper local accountability and for local

decision authority? I say to my honourable friend it is

it is absolutely the point of these plans, that they should be locally

driven, that they will be considered locally, they should be taking into

account the concerns and interests locally, not just by commissioning

groups but Local Authorities and the public. These must be planned that

are driven from the locality. I give my honourable friend that assurance.

Nearly 2 million people signed up to vote in the European Union

referendum earlier this year. It surely right that constituency

should be based on the actual electorate that want to vote. Is the

Prime Minister concerned the review going ahead next week without

including those 2 million voters? I'd say to the honourable gentleman

all parties across this house supported the proposal that the

commission would follow this timetable, bring forward these

proposals and by 2018 those commission proposals would be put in

place. All parties supported that and I continue to support that. Does

the Prime Minister share my anger that on the weekend of the 23rd of

July, up to 250,000 people on the road to Dover were stuck in gridlock

in the sweltering heat for up to 17 hours without food, water or even

able to go to the toilet and will she support my campaign to make sure

we get better infrastructure to the Channel ports, starting with a lorry

car park and getting some proper motorways to Dover? I say to my

honourable friend he has been a passionate advocate for the support

for his local area, given some of the pressures that Dover finds

itself under as a cross Channel port. It is an important issue. We

are committed to providing support. The money for the lorry park was

announced last November. The site was announced in July and I believe

consultation is taking place on the design for that particular site. On

the issue of the possible dualling of the A2-macro, we do want to

support local infrastructure to handle the growth in traffic,

particularly given their right expansion plans for the port. I

assure him Dover will be considered as part of that plan.

As many children return to school this week I am sure the Prime

Minister will join me in wishing them all the very best of the school

year ahead. Will she also provide reassurance to my constituents and

to children across London that the objectives of changes to the

school's funding formula will be achieved by levelling up, not

levelling down on funding for schools in London will not be cut by

up to 20%? I join the honourable lady in

wishing all those going to school, many for the first time, well in

their education. I hope what we will be aiming to do is ensuring every

child has the education right for them and the opportunities that are

right for them. It is right that we look at the National funding

formula. That will be done carefully to see what the impacts will be

across the country. Our world leading universities are one of our

country's great assets. When I next meet with the Vice Chancellor of

York University, to discuss Brexit and higher education, what

assurances can I pass to him from my right honourable friend the Prime

Minister that our universities will continue to receive the vital

funding they need to thrive beyond 2020?

I say to my honourable friend again he raises an important point about

the relevance and significance of our universities. My right

honourable friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer was able to give

confidence and reassurance to universities in the summer about the

funding arrangements that will continue while we are still members

of the European Union and while we are members of the European Union we

will maintain our full rights of obligation and obligations of

membership and expect others to deal with us on that same basis. Looking

ahead we have a higher education Bill going through this house, which

is about how we can ensure we are seeing the places, the university

places available in this country, to provide the education we want to

provide. We have a great record on higher education in this country, we

want to build on that and develop it for the future. I would like to put

to the Prime Minister a request I know she will think is reasonable.

My local hospital, Saint Helena Hospital, which delivers, which is a

high performing hospital and delivers excellent care, built in

the 1930s and is in need of very substantial investment, will she

agree to earmark the first two weeks of the ?350 million is going to be

available each week post Brexit to spend on the reconstruction of my

hospital? I have to say to the honourable

gentleman his question tempts me to go down a number of routes and

answering him. What I would say is I recognise the importance of his

local hospital trust. I'm pleased to say that over the last six years

we've seen more doctors and nurses in that trust able to provide more

services and more facilities and since 2010 the capital spend on the

trust has already gone up. ?72.7 million. We will be looking to

ensure we provide the health service that is right for everyone in this

country. At the moment there rather AET

vulnerable elderly patients in Kettering General Hospital awaiting

delayed transfer to social care. The national guideline says there should

be 25. In the next few weeks the number is likely to rise to 200, the

highest in the country, with a similar number in Northampton

General Hospital, because of proposals by Northamptonshire County

Council to extend it from three days to four weeks. In order to prevent

this crisis, will the Prime Minister organise a joint meeting of

government and ministers, the local NHS and Council to bang heads to

prevent this crisis happening? What I will say to my honourable friend

is ensure the health Department is aware of the request he has put

forward. Everybody I think in this house is well aware of the challenge

we have in relation to the interaction of social care with

hospitals. This is an issue we have already looked at. We've put money

into the better care fund. We've been looking at the better working

together of health services and social care and social services and

Local Authorities. It is one of the challenges we see. There are some

areas where this has been done very well and I think it's right we look

at those and try to spend, spread that good practice. I will make sure

the health Department is aware of that concern.

Nine months after signing the Paris climate agreement the Government

still hasn't ratified the treaty. According to the committee on

climate change it lacks half the policies it needs to reach its

climate targets. With the delayed carbon induction plan and the risk

of missing our energy targets, or will the Prime Minister take this

opportunity to reassure people it remains committed to climate action

and follow the example of 26 states that have ratified, will it give us

a firm date for ratification before the follow-up negotiations in

November. What I'm happy to give the honourable lady is the assurance we

will be ratifying the Paris agreement. My right honourable

friend, the current Home Secretary, then as energy secretary, played a

key role in ensuring that Paris agreement was actually achieved. I

would also hope the honourable lady will want to congratulate the

Government. We've been identified as being the second best country in the

world for tackling climate change. I would have hoped she would have

congratulated us on that. Today is the day designed to bring

attention to the muscle wasting disease. Will the Prime Minister

join me in welcoming the recent announcement that a drug is now

going to be available to these young boys in NHS England and will she

congratulate my constituent Archie hill, Mustard dystrophy UK and all

the colleagues in this house. -- muscular dystrophy. I am very happy

to join my right honourable friend in congratulating all of those

involved in making sure this innovative drug available. I thank

her for weight raising awareness of an important issue. I know the right

honourable member for Whitney as Prime Minister met Archie, the young

man with muscular dystrophy and was inspired by him. I am sure all

members across this house will welcome the fact that this

innovative drug is now available on the NHS. We are committed to making

sure that patients with rare conditions get access to the latest

medicines and are taking some bold steps to speed up the process. Will

the Prime Minister join me, and I'm sure the rest of the House, in

sending our deepest sympathy and sincere condolences to the family

and friends of Roseanne Cooper and her ten-year-old nephew, who were

mown down by a stolen car last week in Penge. And send best wishes to

the three young girls also involved. Whilst enquiries by the police and

the Independent Police Complaints Commission are undertaken on the

matter is now before the courts, I will say no more about this specific

case, other than to ask the Prime Minister, if she is aware of the

widespread public concern that the law on causing death by dangerous

driving is wholly inadequate, and will she undertake a review, both of

its suitability and its applicability as the courts enact

it? Can I first of all join the

honourable member in expressing our sympathies to all those who were

involved in this terrible accident that took place, this terrible

tragedy, when this stolen car mowed down two people and affected others

as well. I'm aware of the concern that there is about the law in

relation to dangerous driving. I've had a particular case about the

daughter of someone in my constituency, who was killed as a

result of dangerous driving and they have raised concerns with me

specifically about their case. This is a matter I believe the Justice

Department is looking at. Order.