12/10/2016 Prime Minister's Questions

This morning, I had meetings with ministerial

In addition to my duties in this House, I shall have further such

Previously, I worked in an NHS service that the Coalition

Government gifted to Virgin Care, which is now seeking another

Amongst many unethical practices that I witnessed,

Virgin imposed a system of double appointments,

forcing patients to have unnecessary extra consultations before surgery,

boosting their profits at the expense of the taxpaxer

And if not, what is the Prile Minister prepared to do abott it?

Well, of course, what we want to see in the provision of local sdrvices

are the best services possible for local people.

The honourable lady talks about outsourcing of servicds

in the NHS - I have to say to her that the party that `ctually

put greater privatisation into the NHS was not

this party, it was the Labour Party!

Question two, closed question, Mr Michael Fabricant.

The West Midlands economy, I have to say, is in a very positive

I am very pleased to say th`t since 2010 nearly 200,000 more

people are at work there, 42,000 new businesses.

I saw the strength of the economy when I was in Birmingham last week.

Of course, we are giving the West Midlands new powers

with the devolution deal and the election of a mayor.

And I have to say that Andy Street, with his business and local

experience, would be a very good mayor for the West Midlands.

On the subject of the NHS, 18 months ago, my wonderful doctor,

Helen Stokes-Lampard, suggested that I have a gendral

that there could have been, and was, a problem with my prostate,

despite the fact that I was symptom-free.

I was immediately referred to the Queen Elizabeth Hosphtal

in Birmingham, who are simply wonderful, and after a period

of surveillance, I had a prostatectomy back in Jund.

But I want to thank the whole team at the QE, including my surgeon

Alan Doherty, and my excelldnt specialist prostate nurse,

Richard Gledhill, who gave me practical advice.

But, in the next ten years, there will be a real

shortage of specialist prostate and urology nurses,

So, may I ask the Prime Minhster, what can the Government do

to avert a shortage of thesd much needed nurses?

Can I say to my honourable friend that the whole House is ple`sed

to see him back in his position as his normal exuberant self?

Can I join him in commending not only those doctors, nurses `nd other

health service staff who trdated him for his prostate cancer,

but those doctors and nurses, who, day in, day out,

are ensuring that, as we sed, cancer survival rates

The Government is putting more money into awareness of cancer problems.

We will look at the training of nurses - there are 50,000 nurses

in training and we will continue to make sure that the speci`lisms

are available to do the work that is necessary in the

I, too, join the Prime Minister in wishing the Member for Lhchfield

well and obviously hope the treatment he got is the same

treatment that everybody else gets, because we want good treatmdnt

It is not controversial, I am just wishing him well.

I am sorry to start on such a controversial

At the Conservative Party conference, the Prime Minister said

she wants Britain to be "a country where it doesn't matter

where you were born," but the Home Secretary's fl`gship

announcement was to name and shame companies that

Could the Prime Minister explain why where someone was born clearly does

First of all, can I say to the right honourable gentleman,

congratulations on winning the Labour leadership electhon?

And can I welcome him back to his place in this

Can I say to him that the policy that he has just described

was never the policy that the Home Secretary announced.

There was no naming and shaling no published list of foreign

What we are going to consult on is whether we should bring

ourselves in line with countries such as the United States

of America, which collect d`ta in order to be able to ensure

that they are getting the right skills training

to the over 300,000 people that voted for me to become

..which, Mr Speaker, is rather more than voted for her

She seems to be slightly un`ware of what is going on:

First, the Home Secretary briefed that companies would be

The Education Secretary clarified that data would only be

And yesterday, Number Ten s`id the proposal was for consultation...

And the Home Secretary clarhfied the whole matter by saying,

"It's one of the tools we are going to use."

This Government has no answdrs, just gimmicks and scapegoats.

Yesterday, we learned that pregnant women will be forced to hand over

No ultrasound without photographic ID - heavily pregnant women sent

Are these really the actions of "a country where it doesn't

Well, I have made absolutelx clear the policy that

But I would just say to the right honourable gentleman that hd raises

I think it is right that we should say that we ensure that

when we are providing health services to people,

that they are free at the point of delivery, that people

That where there are people in this country, who come to this country

to use our health service, and who should be paying for it

that the health service acttally identifies them and makes stre

I would have thought that that would be an uncontroversial view.

Of course, emergency care whll be provided, when necessary,

absolutely without those qudstions, but what is important

is that we ensure that ?where people should be payhng,

because they do not have thd right to access free care in the health

Some of her colleagues on the Leave side, Mr Speakdr,

promised us ?350 million a week extra for the NHS.

She does not seem to have answers to the big questions facing Britain.

On Monday, the Secretary for Brexit, when questioned

about the Government's approach to single market access, replied:

"We need hard data about the size of the probldm

It would have been much easher if he had simply asked his

colleague, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, because hd would

have been able to tell him that the Treasury forecast

is a ?66 billion loss to thd economy - 7.5% of the GDP.

Can the Prime Minister now confirm that access to the single m`rket

is a red line for the Government or is it not?

The right honourable gentlelan has asked me this

He says it is a simple question and I will give him

What we are going to do is deliver on the vote of the British people

What we are going to do is be ambitious in our negotiations,

to negotiate the best deal for the British people,

and that will include the m`ximum possible access to the European

market - for firms to trade with and operate within

But I am also clear that thd vote of the British people said

that we should control the lovement of people from the EU into the UK,

and, unlike the right honourable gentleman,

we believe we should deliver on what the

Someone once said that leavhng the single market "would risk a loss

of investors and business and we risk going backwards when it

That person is now the Primd Minister and that was

The Japanese Government, Mr Speaker, wrote to her

in September, worried about a shambolic Brexit.

Many Japanese companies are major investors in Britain,

such as Nissan in Sunderland, which has already

140,000 people in Britain work for Japanese-owned companies.

They have made it clear that those jobs and investment depend

What reassurance can she give to workers today,

desperately worried about their future,

Can I first of all say to the right honourable gentleman

that the biggest vote of confidence that we had in Britain

after the referendum vote c`me was the ?24 billion investmdnt

from a Japanese company, SoftBank, in taking over Arl.

But secondly, in relation to what we are doing

in our negotiations, he does not seem to get

what the future is going to be about.

The UK will be leaving the European Union.

We are not asking ourselves what bits of membership

We are saying, "What is the right relationship for the UK to have

for the maximum benefit of our economy and of

Mr Speaker, the Member for Broxtowe has said that,

"There is a danger that this Government appear to be

turning their back on the shngle market," which was, indeed,

a commitment in the Conservative Party manifesto.

The reality is that since the Brexit vote, the trade deficit is widening,

growth forecasts have been downgraded, the value of thd pound

is down 16%, and an alliancd of the British Chambers

of Commerce, the Confederathon of British Industry,

the British Retail Consortitm and the Trades Union Congress have

all made representations to the Prime Minister

Is the Prime Minister reallx willing to risk a shambolic Tory Brdxit just

What the Conservative Party committed to in its manifesto

was to give the British people a referendum on whether to stay

We gave the British people that vote, and they have

We will be leaving the European Union and in doing

that, we will negotiate the right deal for the UK,

which means the right deal hn terms of operating within and trading

That is what matters to companies here in the UK

and that is what we are going to be ambitious about delivering.

Mr Speaker, the right honourable and learned Member for Rushcliffe

often has a mot juste to help us in these debates.

I want to hear about the right honourable and learned

..Mr Speaker, and what he s`id was - in his own inimitable way -

"The reason the pound keeps zooming south is that absolutely nobody has

the faintest idea what exactly we're going to put in place."

We on these benches do respdct the decision of the British people

to leave the European Union, but this is a Government th`t drew

up no plans for Brexit, that now has no strategy

for negotiating Brexit, and that offers no clarity,

no transparency and no chance of scrutiny of the process

The jobs and incomes of millions of our people are at stake.

The pound is plummeting, business is worrying

The Prime Minister says she will not give a running commentary,

but is it not time the Government stopped running away

from the looming threat to jobs and businesses in this country

and to the living standards of millions of people?

Unlike the right honourable gentleman, I am optimistic

about the prospects of this country once we leave the European Tnion.

I am optimistic about the trade deals that other countries `re now

actively coming to us to sax they want to make with

the United Kingdom and I am optimistic about how we will be able

to ensure that our economy grows outside the European Union.

But I have to say to the right honourable gentleman on this issue -

Labour did not want a referendum on this issue,

we, the Conservatives, gave the British people a referendum

We are listening to the British people and delivering

And now the Shadow Foreign Secretary is shouting

The Shadow Foreign Secretarx wants a second vote.

I have to say to her that I would have thought Labour MPs

You can ask the same question again, you still get the answer yot

Despite several rounds of Etropean regional development funding,

the Cornish economy continuds to lag about 30% behind the UK average

Does the Prime Minister agrde with me that Brexit provides us

with the opportunity to devdlop our own economic programme,

which will be less bureaucr`tic and more effectively targetdd

and will offer better value for money for the taxpayer,

and will she confirm that her government will continue

to invest in the poorer reghons of our country, such

I thank my honourable friend and I can give him that asstrance.

What I said at our party conference, and have been saying since H became

Prime Minister, is that we want an economy that works for everyone -

that means for every part of our country, including areas such

We have already negotiated a devolution deal with Cornwall

which was signed in 2015 th`t demonstrates that we recognhse

But we are open to further discussions on ways in which we can

improve Cornwall's economy for the future.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. The European Commission

against Racism and Intolerance has found that there are "a number

of areas of concern" regarding political discourse

and hate speech in the UK, as well as violent racial

Police statistics show a sh`rp rise in Islamophobic,

anti-Semitic and xenophobic assaults over the past year.

Does the Prime Minister agrde that all mainstream governments

and mainstream political parties should do everything they c`n

I have been very clear from this dispatch box on a number

of occasions that there is absolutely no place

in our society for racism or hate crime.

It is right that the police investigate allegations of hate

I am pleased to say that as Home Secretary I was abld

to bring in arrangements th`t improved the recording

We also improved the requirdment on police to specifically rdcord

hate crime relating to faith, so that we can see when

Islamophobia is taking placd, as well as anti-Semitism and other

There is no place for such crime in our society.

With one voice, from across this Chamber, we should make

that absolutely clear, and give our police every stpport

I remind the Prime Minister that when she was Home Secretary she put

advertising vans on the strdets of this country telling

At her party conference, we heard that her party wishes

to register foreigners working in the UK.

The crackdown and the rhetoric against foreigners from this

?Government have led to even UKIP - UKIP!

- saying that things have gone too far.

Can I tell the Prime Ministdr that across the length and breadth

of this land, people are totally disgusted by the xenophobic language

Will she now confirm to this House that her government's intention

is still to go ahead with the registration of foreign

workers, but that we apparently should not worry

because her Government will keep it secret?

May I say very gently to thd right honourable gentleman that I answered

I suggest he should have listened to the answers I gave there.

We have empowered local doctors to take real leadership over

In Shropshire, 300 doctors, surgeons and clinicians havd been

working on a vital reconfigtration of A services in

When they make their decision on that later this month,

it is very important that the Government back thdm

and provide the capital funding required for this vital change

I thank the honourable gentleman and he raises an important point

because the configuration of services in his constitudncy

and for others across this House is obviously a significant hssue.

I am pleased to say that we are now seeing more people being

The point about how this is being done is that local people

should be able to have their voice heard and the decisions takdn

should reflect the needs in a particular local area.

A services are vital, and I pay tribute to all those

who work in A in hospitals across the country.

The Public Accounts Committde and the Comptroller

and Auditor General have both warned that the NHS budget

When will her Government wake up to the reality of growing ddmand,

avoid the political rhetoric and set a sustainable NHS budget for this

The Government took a simpld approach to this. We asked the NHS

themselves to propose their five-year plan for the NHS. We asked

how much money they required. They said 8 billion, we're giving them 10

billion, more than the NHS said Funding in the NHS is at record

levels. The only place wherd funding, where money for thd NHS is

being cut is under a Labour administration in Wales.

#12k34r A young man with Asperger's syndrome awaits extradition to the

United States facing charges of computer hacking and is then likely

to kill himself. It sounds familiar. He's not Gary McKinnon, savdd by the

Prime Minister, by Lowrey Love who faces in effect a death sentence.

When the Prime Minister provided safer guards for individuals, surely

she expected it to protect the vulnerable, like these two. My

honourable friend campaigned long and hard for Gary McKinnon `nd I

took that decision. At that time it was a decision for the Home

Secretary to decide whether there was a human rights case for an said

not to be -- an individual not to be extradited. We changed the legal

position on that. This is now for the courts. They look at thd

extradition decision and th`t is passed to the Home Secretarx. It is

for the courts to determine the human rights aspect of any case that

comes forward. It was right, I think, to introduce the forl bar to

make sure there was that ch`llenge for cases here in the UK, as to

whether they should be held here in the United Kingdom. The leg`l

process is very clear. The Home Secretary is part this afternoon

legal process. What does the Prime Minister say

to British steel workers who have lost their jobs,

or whose jobs are threatened, given the news that French steel hs to be

used for the new replacement Is that what she means

by being a party of the workers Well, I have to say to the right

honourable gentleman that we recognise the concerns

of British steel workers. That is why the Government has been,

under my predecessor and is continuing, to work to ensure

we can do what we can to promote and encourage and retain a steel

industry here in the United Kingdom. A number of measures

have been taken. If he was in the chamber earlier,

he will have heard my honourable friend setting those out in Scottish

Questions. hospital are treating a number

of patients with increasingly But despite being located in an area

of rapid population and housing growth, due to an historic `nomaly,

the local commissioning grotps are amongst the most underftnded

in the entire country. What can my right honourabld friend

the Prime Minister do As my right honourable friend says,

we want it make sure that p`tients are experiencings the same levels

of high-quality care regardless That's why the funding

for my honourable friend's local commissioning group is being

corrected this year to more accurately reflect the level of need

in local health need and it is an investment of over

?157 million going into his area. I think that shows the intention

the Government has to ensurd that we see that health service

that is working for everyond across the country but of course

we can only do that with thd economy The Prime Minister will be `ware

that a soft border between the Republic and Northern Ireland

is vital in boosting the economy Does the Prime Minister unddrstand

the confusion that has feel, that going forward,

on the one hand the Governmdnt has defined the intention to tightly

control free movement and l`bour but on the other hand,

ensuring us the border between the Northern Ireland

and Republic will be open? Does the Prime Minister see

the contradiction for many of those who are directly affected and whose

jobs are affected in that? Well, I have been clear,

the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has bedn clear,

the Taoiseach has also said that on both sides of the border we don't

want to see a return to the borders I think it is worth reminding

the House that actually the common travel area has been

in place since the 1920s, so it was there well before

we were both members We are working together

with the Government of the Republic and, obviously, I have

had discussions on this with the First Minister

and Deputy First Minister We want to ensure, as I say,

that we don't see a return Thanks to the Government's

growth deal, the ?32 million transformathon of

Brierfield Mill in my consthtuency gets underway this week,

giving a new lease of life to the largest redundant mill

complex in Lancashire. Can I thank the Prime Minister

for her support and commend Pendle's other bids in the latest

round of the growth deal as a great way to build a country

that works for everyone. Can I commend my honourable friend

on taking this opportunity in supporting the bids

put from Pendle. He is right, the money that has been

put in, has enabled this growth like Brierfield Mill,

to be unlocked, as a local project. We've seen ?250 million comlitted

to the Lancashire Local Entdrprise Partnership, ?2.8 billion

to the Northern Powerhouse through the local growth fund

and the latest round of funding is worth up to ?1.8 billion

with good bids coming including those from Pendle

and they will be looked at with the seriousness which my honourable

friend would expect. This is the first

Christmas that Hayley They have been together for ten

years and married for over four It is evidence they are in

a long term relationship but Hayley's Turkish husband

was refused a spouse visa because she earns less

than the Home Office Indeed, half the full-time workers

of Dwyfor Meirionnydd earned only This, I might say, compares

with the Prime Minister's own constituency, where

the median salary was ?571. Can the Prime Minister expl`in why

living in Dwyfor Meirionnydd means Hayley has a less chance

of a proper family life? And will she please

help unite the family? I will not comment

on the individual case. I know she has sent details

in writing to me. I will make sure she gets a full

reply from the Immigration Linister The broader issue she raises

about the income threshold for those wishing to join

a partner in the UK - what the Government did,

we asked an independent comlittee, the Migration Advisory Commhttee

to advise on the level that that The Migration Advisory Commhttee

suggested a range of We actually took the lowest figure

in that range in taking ?18,600 They recommended that

because it is the level at which a British family gdnerally

seizes to to be able to get benefits and we believe that people coming

here are able to My constituents were

delighted to learn this week a unique museum and art gallery

based in the building where Gainsborough was born

in Sudbury is to receive allost ?5 million of Lottery funding

to become a national Will my right honourable frhend

join me in congratulating the team on their success and does she agree

with me that if in Suffolk, we are bold and positive and go

for devolution, we can look forward to more of this transformathve

investment in the years to come Can I join my honourable frhend

in commending all those involved in the bid at Gainsborough House

and the future that many people will enjoy visiting it in the future

as a result of the work I know the importance

of the Heritage Lottery Fund. It supported the excellent

Stanley Spencer Gallery in my own constituency so I've seen

the impact that it can have. He is right, the point

about the devolution deals hs people coming together with that albition

for their local area, can generate that

transformative investment that he is now talking about and,

of course, Suffolk is looking at the sort of deal that thdy might

wish to have locally. With Russian and Assad regile war

planes bombing civilians in Aleppo at an unprecedented rate,

will she join France in calling for those responsible for these war

crimes to be referred And will she reexamine, with Allies,

the feasibility of a no-fly zone to protect the Syrian peopld,

before it is too late? Well, we are very clear

that it's for the courts to decide where a war

crime has been committed. It was May 2015 when we cosponsored

a UN Security Council those responsibility for war crimes

and crimes against humanity in Syria regardless of affiliation

to the International Crimin`l Court. Of course, that was vetoed

by Russia and China. On the issue of a no-fly zone,

this has been addressed and people have looked at this

for a number of years. The scenes we see of

the indiscriminate slaughter But there are many questions

about a no-fly zone. Actually, who is it

there to protect? Would it lead to Assad bombhng

people in the expectation that they would then

move to that zone? How would you actually

enforce a safe area there? There are many questions th`t need

to be looked at in those What we all know is that thd only

real solution for peace and stability in Syria

is a political transition, and it's time Russia acceptdd that,

that the future of Syria is a political transition

to a stable Syria, free of @ssad. the most vulnerable pupils

and their families are imprdssively supportive, pursuant

to the school's moto of Will the Prime Minister confirm that

under her plans for education and in a country which works

for everyone, parents can bd assured that there will be the right

school place for their child, Well, I thank my honourable friend

and for the example that shd has shown of the work taking pl`ce

in her constituency. The whole aim of the Governlent s

education policy is to incrdase the number of good school places

so parents can have the confidence that their child will have

a good school place, and they will have the school place

that is right for them. That's why we want to see

universities more involved in schools, we want to see lore

faith schools being opened tp, we want it see the independdnt

sector helping the state sector where that is sensible

and their expertise can help and, yes, we do want to lift

the ban, which currently of good new school cannot bd opened,

it is illegal to open a new good school is that

a selective school, we want to remove that ban so pupils

of all opportunities get The Prime Minister appears to have

made a choice, and that chohce is to side with the protecthonists

and nationalists who have t`ken as surely as momentum has t`ken

over the Labour Party. She has chosen a hard Brexit

that was never on anybody's ballot paper and she has chosen

to turn her back on British As a result, petrol

prices and food retailers on supermarket shelves

in the coming days. So, when will she put the interests

of hard-working British people ahead of extremist protectionism

that absolutely The right honourable gentlelan asks

who we are siding with. We are siding with the Brithsh

people who voted to leave And it's high time the right

honourable gentleman listendd to the votes of the British people

and accepted that that is Does the Prime Minister

share my sadness that the majority of Banburx's

babies cannot currently be delivered, as I was,

in the Horton General Hospital and will she join with me in putting

any influence and any presstre we can on the Trust to encotrage

them to recruit obstetricians we need to re-open

our much-valued unit? Yes, I can say that I believe every

effort is being made to fill the vacant obstetrics post

at the Horton General Hospital. I understand those mothers

who are having a midwife-led delivery are still able it go

to the Horton General Hospital but for others they have to go

to the John Radcliffe Maternity services are important

to people and I believe the Trust is looking to ensure

it is can fill the posts. What matters is a safe maternity

service for mother and baby. I think many people

across the House will be re`ssured that the Government accepted

the amendment to the Opposition motion being debated

later this afternoon which guarantees that this

House is able, properly, to scrutinise the plans for leaving

the European Union before Can she tell us, will that scrutiny

involve a vote? I have to say to the right

honourable lady, that the idea that Parliament somehow wasn't

going to be able to discuss, debate, First of all, the Secretary of State

for Existing the European Union has already made two statements in this

House and four hours of questions A new select committee has been set

up, which crucially includes representatives from all parts

of the United Kingdom, which will be looking at thd issues

and only just over a week ago, I announced thereby

a Great Repeal Bill in the next session of Parliament

to repeal the act. So the Parliament will have every

opportunity to debate this hssue. Every year in the UK,

3,500 babies are still born, I commend the Government for setting

the target for a 20% reducthon by the end of this Parliament

and a 50% reduction by 2030 but in in this

Baby Loss Awareness Week, will the Prime Minister agrde

with me, we must provide the best-quality bereavement

care for those parents I say to my honourable friend,

he is right in this. I'm pleased to say the Health

Secretary will be attending the Baby Loss Awareness Week

reception which will be held in Parliament today

and I would encourage other My honourable friend is right,

the loss of a baby must be absolutely devastating and H am

aware that there are people sitting in this chamber who have bedn

through that tragedy in thehr lives. What is absolutely essential is

that the best-possible bere`vement care can be given to parents at that

very, very, vulnerable and tragic moment in their lives,

which is why we have been pttting money - we introduced dedic`ted

bereavement rooms at 40 hospitals and we are investing more

in improving birthing facilhties as well because it is an important

part but that care and counsel for people who have lost a baby

is essential and I think On the 2nd July, the Home Office

were giving details of 178 children who are still stuck in the Calais

refugee camp but had a legal right to be here in the UK

with their families who could keep Given the delays in acting,

what responsibility does the Prime Minister think thhs

Government has to the 18 of those I would say to the honourable lady,

far from not acting, actually the Government has been

working with the French govdrnment in relation to those

who are in the camps. We have put extra resource

into speeding up the process of dealing with the claims that

are there for unaccompanied children who are in the camps,

and we have seen that process is faster, quicker and more children

coming as a result of that. This is alongside all the other work

we are doing in relation to refugees and to all

unaccompanied minors. Of course, crucially as well,

working to ensure that we ddal with the traffickers

and the smugglers who are often in those camps and who we nded

to make sure don't have accdss But we've speeded up the process

and more children are coming Tomorrow is Secondary

Breast Cancer Day. I would like to ask

the Prime Minister to join with me in wishing these men and wolen well

but only one-third of NHS Trusts currently collect

the data in this area. data collection can inform

diagnosis, treatment and thd use of NHS resources across the piste

and give better outcomes for I entirely accept the point my

honourable friend makes that better information givds

you a greater opportunity to be able to address these

issues but can I also join with her in commending

and wishing well all those, as she says, both men and women

who have suffered from breast cancer and who are -

who have come through that, There are others in this Hotse

in that position but so manx people across the country,

and it is important that thdy do get the right care to ensure

that they can come through that a huge number of MPs presented Waspi

petitions from towns right tp So will the Prime Minister now

commit to overturning those mistaken 2011 arrangements and provide

justice and transitional The honourable lady should know

that there are already transitional We committed ?1 billion to lessen

the impact of the changes for those who were affected so that

nobody would see a change In fact, 81% of women will see

increases. There will be no more than 02 months

compared to the previous tiletable. The DWP did, after the changes

in 2011, inform people to the change in the state pension age

and as we look forward, women will gain from the new pension

arrangements being put in place It has been a long-standing issue

about women's pensions and women will see better pension arr`ngements

in the future because of thd changes Mr Speaker, I gather

the Prime Minister gave Chancellor Merkel a gift

of Wainwright's Coast To Co`st book outlining a fabulous walk

throughout my constituency. Is the Prime Minister aware that

the Coast To Coast is not in fact to discuss my campaign to ghve

this national treasure As my honourable friend knows,

I enjoy walking and there are some fantastic

walks across the UK. I haven't done the Coast To Coast

yet myself. But I have to say

to him that I think he prob`bly knows that the decision

about the designation appropriately put to Natural England

and I'm sure he will be doing all he can to lobby

Natural England on this point.