11/01/2017 Prime Minister's Questions

focus in targeted spending on public schemes such as health and education

programmes within the region. Order. Questions to the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister. This morning I had meetings with ministerial

colleagues and others in addition to my duties in this house, I will have

further meetings today. Happy New Year to you, Mr Speaker, let me

extend it to everyone in this house. It has been over six months since

European referendum and embarrassingly, for the Prime

Minister, the Scottish Government is the only administration on the

islands which have published a plan on what to do next. LAUGHTER

Has the Prime Minister read it yet? And, when will she be publishing her

own plan? Can I join the honourable gentleman in wishing everyone in the

house, not only members but the staff of the house a happy New Year.

Can I say that as I said to the liaison committee when I appeared in

front of them before Christmas, I will, in a matter of weeks, be

setting out more details of our proposals on the issue. I would like

to remind the honourable gentleman that when he talks about the

Scottish Government's plan, it is his party, the Scottish Nationalists

party, that wants to leave the UK and therefore the U. -- the EU. In

my constituency they employ over 1200 people in high skilled jobs,

Manufacturing nuclear fuel which generates 15% of the UK's

electricity. Do you agree that this industry is of crucial importance to

the Northwest economy and will you support the new generation of power

stations to guarantee jobs? I certainly agree with my honourable

friend that new nuclear has a crucial role to play in securing our

future energy needs, especially as we are looking to move to a low

carbon society. The industrial strategy that the government will be

setting out will have a strong emphasis on the role of regions in

supporting economic growth and ensuring the economy works for all.

Like my honourable friend I welcome the proposals from Toshiba to open a

new power station in Cumbria and they continue to work closely with

developers as they bring proposals forward. Jeremy Corbyn... Thank you,

Mr Speaker, it is nice to have such a warm welcome and may I wish all

members a happy New Year, as well as all members of staff in the house. I

hope the whole house will join me, I'm sure that they will, in playing

tribute to 22-year-old Lance Corporal Scott Hetherington who died

in a non-combat incident in Iraq last Monday, I'm sure that the whole

house will send condolences to family and friends of Katie Rough

who died in York this week, it is right to send condolences. Last

week, 485 people in England spent more than 12 hours on trolleys in

hospital corridors. The Red Cross described this as "A humanitarian

crisis". I call on the Prime Minister to come to Parliament on

Monday. She did not. She sent the Health Secretary, but she agree that

the best way of solving the crisis of the four-hour wait is fiddling

the figures so that people are not seem to be waiting so long on

trolleys in NHS hospitals? Well firstly, may I join the right

honourable gentleman in sending condolences to the family of Lance

Corporal Hetherington who died in a non-combat incident in Iraq, from

everything I have seen and read, he was a very fine young man. We were

delighted -- he was delighted to be in the Armed Forces and we are proud

that such a fine young man was in the Armed Forces. I also join the

right honourable gentleman in expressing condolences to the family

and friends of little Katie, who died so tragically. Now, he talks

about pressures on the NHS, and we acknowledge that there are pressures

on the national Health Service. There are always extra pressures on

the NHS over the winter, but of course we have at the moment added

pressures of the ageing population, and the growing complex needs of the

population. He refers to the British Red Cross term of a "Humanitarian

crisis" but I must say that we have all seen humanitarian crisis around

the world. And, to use that description of a national health

service... Which, last year, saw 2.5 million more people treated in A

than six years ago, was irresponsible and overblown. Mr

Speaker, 1.8 million people had to wait longer than four hours last

year in A departments. The Prime Minister may not like what the Red

Cross said, that on the same day, the British Medical Association said

conditions in hospitals across the country are reaching a dangerous

level. The Royal College of Nursing has said NHS conditions are the

worst ever. The Royal College of Physicians told the Prime Minister

that the NHS is underfunded, not enough doctors, and overstretched.

If she will not listen to the Red Cross, who will she listened to?

I've said to the right honourable gentleman that I have acknowledged

that there are pressures on the NHS, the government has put in extra

funding and the fact that we are seeing more people being treated in

our NHS, 2500 more people are treated within four hours every day

in the NHS because of the government adding extra funding and the hard

work of medical professionals in our NHS. But I also say to him it is not

just a question of targets in relation to the health service. We

continue to have a commitment, as the Health Secretary made clear, to

the four hour target. It is a question of making sure people are

provided with appropriate care for them and the best possible care in

their circumstances. Jeremy Corbyn! Mr Speaker, she seems to be in a

degree of denial about this and will not listen to professional

organisations who have spent their whole lifetime doing their best for

the NHS. But, can I ask if she will listen to Sian, who works for the

NHS. She has a 22-month-old nephew who went into hospital, there was no

bed and he was treated on two plastic chairs pushed together with

a blanket. She says one of the nurses told her sister that it is

always like this nowadays. She asks the question to all of us. Surely,

we should strive to do better than this? Does the Prime Minister and

Health Secretary think that this is an acceptable way of treating a

22-month-old child needing help? Shameful! I accept there have been a

small number of incidents... Where, an acceptable practices have taken

place. But, what matters, we do not want those things to happen, but

what matters is how you deal with them. That is why it is so important

that the NHS looks into issues where there are unacceptable incidents

which have taken place and learned lessons from them. But I come back

to the point I was making earlier. He talks of the hard-working health

care professionals, like Sian, in the NHS. And indeed, we should be

grateful for the work that all of those working in the NHS do, over

Christmas, we saw the busiest day ever in the NHS and over the few

weeks around Christmas, we saw the day where more people were treated

in A within four hours than had ever happened before. This is the

reality of the National Health Service. Jeremy Corbyn!

We all thanked NHS staff and praise them, but her government is

proposing through sustainability and transformation to cut one third of

beds in all of our hospitals in the very near future. On Monday, she

spoke about mental health, and doing more to help people, particularly

the young, with those conditions. I welcome that, except last night

the BBC revealed that over five years, there had been an 89%

increase in young people with mental health issues, having to go to A

departments. So, doesn't she agree that the 1.25 billion committed to

child and adolescent mental health in 2015 should have been ring

fenced? Rather than used as a resource to be raided to plug other

holes in other budgets within the NHS? If we look at what is happening

in relation to mental health treatment on the NHS we see 1400

more people every day accessing mental health services. When I spoke

about this issue on Monday, I said that there is, of course, more for

us to do. It is not a problem that will be

resolved overnight. I have set out ways in which we will see an

improvement in the services we see in relation to mental health but it

is about appropriate care for any individual and, as I mentioned

earlier, it is not just about A When I was in Aldershot on Monday, I

spoke to service users with mental health problems, who said that they

did not want to go to A, the provision of alternative services

has meant that the A locally has seen their numbers stabilising

rather than going up. It is about the appropriate care for the

individual, and we want to see good practice spread across the whole

country. Jeremy Corbyn! Mr Speaker, nobody wants people with mental

health conditions to go to A departments, A departments do not

want them to go there but under the government, there are 6000 nurses

fewer working in mental health, 400 fewer doctors working in mental

health, it is obviously they will go somewhere to get help when they are

in a desperate situation. Mr Speaker, our NHS is under a huge

pressure, and much of it is caused by cuts to social care. The Royal

College of Physicians has said that it is pushing more people into our

hospitals and trapping them there for longer. We'll be Prime Minister

do what my friend, the member for Leicester South has called for, and

bring forward the extra 700 million allocated in 2019 now into social

care so that we did not have this problem of people staying too long

in hospital when they should be cared for by a social care system?

The right honourable gentleman has asked me these questions before

Christmas in the last PMQs... He may find it difficult to believe that

somebody will say the same thing that they said a few weeks ago...

But... We have put extra money into social care. In the medium term, we

are ensuring that best practice is spread across the country, because

he talks about delayed discharge. There are some local authorities

working with their health service locally where there are virtually no

delayed discharges. 50%, half of the delayed discharges, are in only 24

local authority areas. What does that tell us? That it is not just

about funding but best practice. If the right honourable gentleman comes

back to me and talks about funding again, he should think on this. We

can only fun social care and the NHS if we have a strong economy with the

Conservatives! Mr Speaker, I'm sorry to have to bring the Prime Minister

back to the subject of social care which I raised before Christmas, the

reason I did so and will continue to do so is because she has not

addressed the problem! The government has cut ?4.6 billion from

social care budgets. The Kings fund says there is a social care funding

gap of ?2 billion almost this year. Earlier this week, the Prime

Minister said that she wanted to create a "Shared society". We

certainly have that. More people sharing hospital corridors on

trolleys! More people sharing waiting areas and A departments.

More people sharing an anxiety created by this government. Our NHS,

Mr Speaker, is in crisis but the Prime Minister is in denial. Can I

suggest to her, on the economic question, cancelled the corporate

tax cuts! Spend the money where it is needed, and people in desperate

need in social care, or in our hospitals! The right honourable

gentleman talks about crisis, I suggest that he listens to the

honourable member for Don Valley, a former Labour health minister, who

said the following. With Labour, it is always about crisis. The NHS is

on its knees, we had to be a bit more grown-up about this. And come

he talks to be about corporation tax. -- and he talks to me about

corporation tax and cuts, the Labour Party has already spent that money

eight times! The last thing the NHS needs is a check from Labour which

bounces, the only way we can ensure we have funding for the NHS is a

strong economy. Yesterday, the right honourable gentleman proved that he

was not only incompetent but would destroy our economy which would

devastate our NHS. Cyber bullying, sexting and revenge

pornography are part of British teenage life today, and so is a

rapid increase in mental health problems among our teenagers. How is

the Prime Minister helping to tackle the pressures teenagers face in

Britain today? My right honourable friend raises an important point,

and one of the things I spoke about when I spoke about mental health on

Monday was trying to ensure we can provide better training for staff

and teachers in schools to identify the early stages of mental health

problems for young people, so that those problems can be addressed. I

think it is something like half of all mental health problems start

before age 14, so it's a real issue we need to address. We are going to

look at how we can provide that training, and we will be looking at

a number of other ways and reviewing the mental health services provided

for young people to ensure we can identify what is working and make

sure that good practice is spread across the country. May I begin with

a tribute to father George Thompson, who died shortly before Christmas.

He led a remarkable life as a teacher, priest and SNP member for

Galloway. We extend our sympathies to his family. All of us in this

house and across these islands care about the peace process and the

democratic institutions in Northern Ireland, so may I wish the premise

done well, the Taoiseach, the Northern Secretary, the political

parties all the best in trying to resolve the serious political

difficulties there. Will the Prime Minister tell us what consequences

will be if no agreement be found? I join the honourable gentleman in

offering condolences to the family and friends of George Thompson, the

member for Galloway between 1974 and 1979. On the issue he has raised

about the situation in Northern Ireland, we are treating this with

the utmost seriousness, and as he will know the Northern Ireland

Secretary made a statement in this house earlier this week on this

issue. He has spoken to the First Minister and the former Deputy First

Minister and he is urging all parties to work together to find a

way forward. I have also spoken to the Taoiseach about this issue, so

we are putting every effort into this. The legislation is that, if,

within seven days, we don't have a nomination for a Deputy First

Minister, the matter would go to an election. The Prime Minister has

indicated that she wants to date the views of the elected representatives

and the devolved institutions on Brexit seriously. So it stands to

reason then that, if there is no Northern Ireland Assembly and there

is no Northern Ireland Executive for much of the time before the March

timetable she has set before invoking Article 50, that she will

be unable to properly consult, to fully discuss and find agreement on

the complex issues during this time period. In these circumstances, will

the Prime Minister postpone invoking Article 50? Will she postpone

Article 50, or will she just plough on regardless? It's about ensuring,

as he says, we all want to ensure that we do hear the views from all

parts of the UK. That is why we have established the GMC, European

committee, specifically to take the views and the GMC plenary, which is

also meeting more frequently than previously. First, we want to ensure

that, within this period of seven days, we can find a resolution to

the political situation in Northern Ireland so we can continue to seek

the assembly government continuing, but I am also clear that, in the

discussions we have, it will be possible and it is still the case

that actually ministers are in place and that obviously there are

executives in place, and we are still able to take the views of the

Northern Irish people. Closed question, Michael fabricant. Thank

you, Mr Speaker. Apologies. The fundamentals of the UK economy are

strong, including in Staffordshire and the West Midlands. Employment in

Staffordshire has risen by over 20,000 since 2010. We have protected

schools and police budgets and we have seen more doctors and nurses in

the Burton hospitals trust. We are going further than this in the West

Midlands by giving new powers to the region with the devolution deal and

the election of a directly elected mayor, and I think Andy Street, with

his business and local experience, would be a very good mayor for the

West Midlands. I think the Prime Minister for that answer.

Unemployment in my constituency, my beautiful Litchfield constituency,

is around 0.7%, which is fantastic, but I want it even lower. I have

found out that 24% of my constituents work in the area of the

West Midlands combined authority. So can I press my right honourable

friend just a little bit further about what she thinks is needed in

the West Midlands combined authority to improve employment still more?

Well, I think my honourable friend, and of course I have had the

advantage, having visited his beautiful constituency. In relation

to the Midlands, we have very strong ambitions to make the Midlands and

engine for growth in the UK. That is why we have plans for a Midlands

engine that demonstrates that, when we say we are going to build an

economy that works for everyone, we actually mean it. In the Autumn

Statement, ?5 million was confirmed for a Birmingham rail hub, 250

million Midlands engine investment funds, and we will shortly publish a

strategy for the Midlands engine, but I repeat that I think, for the

West Midlands, having the devolution deal, the mayor and the right person

elected as mayor, who I think we'll be Andy Street, is important. Sur

Ivan Rogers, in his resignation letter, said people may have to

deliver messages to the government that they may find disagreeable, so

here is one. Her lack of priority for the single market is putting

jobs in Scotland and the economy at risk. That means that government is

as big a threat to the union as the SNP. Her government is not worthy of

the trust Scots, let alone their blind trust, so will the Prime

Minister take this opportunity to apologise for threatening the union

and give a solemn promise to every single person in this country that

they will not be a penny worse off after a Tory Brexit? The honourable

gentleman will be well aware that I want to see the best possible trade

deal for the UK with the EU, the best possible deal for trading with

an operating in the single European market. When we enter the

negotiations, obviously that is one of the issues I have said I want to

see, and we will be out there and delivering on it. Unlike the

downplaying he does about the approach we are taking, it is

government that is ambitious for the opportunities available to this

country once we leave the EU. Cheshire schools in areas of reality

and high deprivation will receive some of the lowest per-pupil funding

rate in the country under the new proposed funding formula. -- in

rural areas. Does the Prime Minister agreed that these discrepancies must

be addressed to ensure that pupils in my area receive the best possible

start in life? I think everybody recognises that the way schools have

been funded in the past has been unfair and many pupils have missed

out, and that is why it is right for us to look at bringing forward a new

fair funding formula, making sure funding is attached to children's

needs. We recognise the issues of rural areas in this, which is why,

within the fair funding formula, additional funding for such schools

has been included, but of course the Department for Education as this out

for consultation at the moment and I would urge my honourable friend to

make a representation is part of that consultation. Dewsbury hospital

A is set for downgrade this year. Over Christmas, I had constituents

waiting over 20 hours for a bed, in a facility that might not even exist

next year. Would the Prime Minister now please face reality and act now

to stop this vital A service from disappearing? The honourable ladies

referring to the plans being put forward at local level to

consider... shouting. IF THE HONOURABLE MEMBER FOR DEWSBURY, IF

SHE WERE BEHAVING LIKE THAT IN ANOTHER AREA, WOULD PROBABLY BE

SUBJECT TO AN ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR ORDER. I returned to the point,

decisions about services in the local area are rightly taken by the

local National Guard service, because we believe that it is local

clinicians and local patients and leaders who know what is less for

their area, so it is about trying to tailor services to provide the best

possible needs for local people, modernising care and facilities and

making sure the services are appropriate to the local area. This

trust has an extensive improvement plan to ensure both hospitals within

it can care for patients attending A within as timely a way as

possible. Next Thursday evening, I will host the first session of the

Bedford community business school, free of charge, open to all, with

250 local people sharing a passion for entrepreneurship and learning

tips about business from national and local business leaders, so will

my right honourable friend ensure that her forthcoming national

strategy is that it's part be passionate interests of Britain's

small business leaders and entrepreneurs? -- has at its heart.

I can absolutely give that commitment. The industrial strategy

will look to the economy of the future, what is the sort of economy

we want in this country, and crucial to that will be the growth generated

by entrepreneurs, small businesses and the very passion he speaks

about. We want to see an environment in which those who can grow can

emerge and develop and provide future jobs for people, so they can

contribute to the strength of the economy. That is what the industrial

strategy is about and I agree with my honourable friend. The Prime

Minister, I am sure, will understand, despite the

reassurances, that there are genuine and really serious concerns among

staff across the NHS and the care system and patients and their

families about the pressures they are under. It is for that reason

that MPs from her own party, from the Labour Party and my own have

come together to call for the government to establish an NHS and

care convention to engage with the public, so we can come up with a

long-term settlement for the NHS and care. Would the Prime Minister be

prepared to meet with us just to discuss it so she can hear our case?

I recognised the interest and attention the honourable gentleman

has given to these issues, and he is a former health minister himself and

I will be happy to meet with him and others as he suggests. There can be

nothing as distressing for a parent as the death of their child,

particularly where that child has been murdered. That is what happened

to the two ladies, one of them a constituent of mine, who set up

Justice After Acquittal, successfully campaigning for

voluntary national standards of support by the CPS and policed by

the families of murder victims following an acquittal. They are due

to be launched next Tuesday. -- for the families. Would the Prime

Minister join with me in paying tribute to determination and energy

with which they have campaigned, and will she continue to ensure that the

voices of the victims of crime and their families are always listened

to? My honourable friend raises an important point and I am happy to

join with him in paying tribute to these campaigners. I am sure the

whole house would want to pay tribute to the work they are doing.

I remain committed to ensuring that the voices of victims are heard.

That is what I did as Home Secretary, looking at issues such as

introducing new measures to tackle modern slavery, strengthening BIP

CC, legislating in relation to police complaint and discipline

systems to strengthen public confidence in policing, and I'm

pleased to say that the Home Secretary is taking that same

passion to ensure the voices of victims of crime are heard. --

strengthening the IPC C. Across the UK, many banks are accelerating

their closure of local branches, with adverse effects on vulnerable

and older people and the high street. The Royal Bank of Scotland

is closing down branches across Scotland, including Juniper Green in

my constituency. Local convenience stores are taking the strain,

processing bills and often facing exorbitant bank charges for the

privilege of doing that. Will the Prime Minister meet with me to

discuss how we can realise a situation where banking across the

UK services customers and the real economy? The issue of bank branches

and accessibility of bank services is one which is for individual banks

themselves to take and consider, and there are many ways in which people

are now accessing bank services other than going physically into a

branch, but I will certainly look at the issue she has raised. Building a

country that works for everyone means doing even more to tackle

economic and social deprivation that has come to afflict pockets of

seaside towns such as Rhyl in my constituency. Would the right

honourable friend support a locally developed plan to invest in rail

infrastructure to help unlock the true potential of the north Wales

and Mersey economic region as an integral part of the northern

powerhouse, connected to the rest of the country by the proposed a Harb

at Crewe? I welcome the establishment of the north Wales and

Mersey rail task force and the work they are doing. The plan he mentions

sets out an ambitious programme of improvements for the area. I am sure

they will prioritise the most promising option, but I can say that

the Department for Transport will continue to work closely with the

top force and the Welsh government to consider what can be jointly

accomplished. on the 2011 pensions act. He has

been deemed someone who can accept a knighthood. Action has been taken in

relation to pensions. The number of people affected for the period they

were affected was resumes. Money was put in to show that was possible,

but I also said to the honourable gentleman that if you look at the

new structure that has been put in place, women will be some of the

greater benefit choose -- beneficiaries of the new structure.

I welcome the Prime Minister raising the awareness of child mental health

this week. Not least because last year 65% of young people requiring

mental health support in South Warwickshire had to wait over 12

weeks before starting treatment. Can my right honourable friend outline

how the new proposals will improve our support network for such

vulnerable young people? My honourable friend raises important

issue that was alluded to earlier in this session of PMQs. We are

investing more in mental health. We are spending ?11.4 billion a year.

It was the Conservative led government that introduced the

parity of esteem between mental and physical health. There is still more

for us to do to ensure we see the appropriate care available for

people and I cited an example earlier of where I saw excellent

work being done to provide care and support for people which relieve

pressure on Accident and Emergency. Strain Accident and Emergency in my

constituency is under review and further up the Cumbrian coast the

community could lose access to 24 hour Accident and Emergency and

maternity led services. No decisions will be made locally, but can she at

least say that she can understand the anxiety of expense and mums who

face a 40 mile journey on difficult roads that are often blocked. --

expectant mums. I think the problem that are facing the health service

in Cumbria are widely recognised and I understand the concerns of local

people in terms of the services available to them. We have put

robust national support in place. We are developing a lasting plan to

deliver high-quality sustainable services. He is writing saying that

in relation to the specific decisions they are being taken

locally. No final decisions have been taken. I recognise the concern

he has raised previously, particularly about services at West

Cumberland Hospital. There will be considerable involvement in taking

those decisions and we do recognise the concerns regarding long-term

health provision in Cumbria. Doctor Caroline Johnson. Thank you, Mr

Speaker. I never my career in medicine that the men and women of

our East Midlands ambulance do a brave and sterling job for the

people of the and North Hykeham and others, saving people's lives every

day. East Midlands Ambulance Service responded to 11,662 999 calls over

the Christmas and bank holiday weekend alone. 2500 of which were in

Lincolnshire. Will the Prime Minister join me in paying tribute

to the dedication, particularly over the busy winter period and tell the

house Watmore the government can do to support our Ambulance Services

and improve response times in rural areas like Sleaford and North

Hykeham? I thank my honourable friend for her question and for

bringing her personal experience as a medical professional in relation

to this issue. I'm happy to pay tribute to the men and women of the

Ambulance Service and the dedication and commitment they show. She asked

what the government has been doing. We recognise the Ambulance Service

is busy and that is why we have 2000 more paramedics compared to 2010.

Also at the Department of Health, NHS, employers and ambulance unions

have agreed changes in compensation to paramedics. We recognise the

excellent work they do. Can I commend the Prime Minister for her

considered statement last night and indeed the words she has given this

afternoon. She knows our commitment to the institutions in Northern

Ireland, but would she agreed that nothing can be or should be gained

from threatening the peace process, the progress that we have made or

the institutions that we have fought so hard to sustain in Northern

Ireland? Well, the progress that has been made in Northern Ireland has

been hard-won. We must all recognise that we don't want to put that

progress in jeopardy. That is why it is so important for the government

and for all parties to work as hard as we can to see a resolution to

this issue so we can see a return to the power-sharing institutions and

ensure, as we say, that the progress that has been hard-won can be

continued. Can I warmly welcome what my right honourable friend said

about children's mental health earlier this week, but can I draw

attention to another burning injustice. One of my constituents

have been battling cancer. She has taken 20 weeks off of work and she

is on half pay, yet her working tax credits have been stopped which

means she is worrying about how she makes ends meet instead of

concentrating on recovery. Could the Treasury look at this perhaps in the

course of budget preparations? I'm sorry to hear of these particular

difficulties that she has set out that her constituent is experiencing

and the distress this has caused her. Working tax credits provide

support for low income families and are designed to incentivise people

to increase their working hours. With the new universal credit system

we will have single stream I'm payments that encourage work, but in

the individual case that has been raised, I'm sure the financial

Secretary to the Treasury will be happy to look at the individual case

order. -- at the individual case it has set

out. Order.