12/07/2017 Prime Minister's Questions

we have led the way in humanitarian and emergency food assistance, given

help to over 2.4 million people. Questions to the Prime Minister.

Caroline Flint. Question number one. Mr Damian

Green. My right honourable friend is

welcoming the king and queen of Spain on their state visit to the

United Kingdom and I am sure the whole House wishes them well. Isn't

today's report that the National Grid made ?3 billion profit in 2016

at the expense of households further evidence the Government is not

delivering their energy prices? Will the Government agreed to an

immediate rebate for overcharging, and will the Government now commit

and energy price cap for the households on the most expensive

tariffs? The right honourable lady is right to identify the issue and I

am sure she will welcome the announcement in the Queen's Speech

that the Government will ensure there are markets for consumers and

this will include bringing forward measures to help tackle unfair

practices in the energy market to help produce energy bills. I am sure

this is an issue on which we can work across the House together. Mr

Speaker, yesterday you kindly hosted discussions on the future of health

and social care and their funding, including one by Mike honourable

friend. My right honourable friend knows that NHS in Staffordshire and

Stoke is delivering fine carer but under great financial pressure along

with other parts of the country. Can I encourage the Government to bring

together people from across this House to make this Parliament one

that puts the NHS and social care on a firm foundation. I am grateful to

my honourable friend and I know he has been campaigning vigorously on

behalf of the health service in his constituency, including his local

hospital, and he is absolutely right to do so. He and I I am sure both

welcomed the fact that the Government has committed an extra ?8

billion over this Parliament to the NHS, and are also committed to

having a full debate across the House and indeed much wider with

people about how to improve our social care system because this is

indeed one of the big issues facing this country. Emily Thornberry.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Let me welcome the first secretary to his

new role. By my reckoning in the 20 years since he first joined this

House ease the 16th member of the party opposite to be represented at

prime ministers questions, so how about I give him until the end of

this session to be able to name all the others?

LAUGHTER In the meantime I am sure he and a

whole House will join me in congratulating the British and Irish

Lions on their historic achievement in recent days. Mr Speaker, on the

subject of British and Irish cooperation, the secretary has huge

expertise on the practicalities of the Common travel area. On that

basis can he tell the House what will happen to the Irish land border

if no deal is reached between Britain and Europe by the end of

March 2019? I am grateful to the Saffie for her kind remarks -- I am

grateful to the right honourable lady for her kind remarks. I might

pick up the offer in the tearoom later rather than disturb the House

no. Many distinguished people, of both sexes, who have dealt with this

in this party, because we of course elect women leaders. I am also... I

also absolutely share her view about the British and Irish Lions, though

it strikes me as a particularly British thing to do to celebrate and

drawn series quite as hard as we have, but nevertheless that is the

way we do sport, and I know you, Mr Speaker, will be very keen in

following Joe contact's progress through Wimbledon, as well as Andy

Murray. -- Johanna Konta through Wimbledon. Let's hope we have two

finalists over the weekend. On the question of the Irish border, she

will know it is the aim of this Government to make sure we get the

best deal for Britain, and as the prime ministers set out in her

Lancaster house speech, one of the key issues we want to bring forward

and have brought forward at the start of the negotiations is

precisely the issue of the Irish border, because it is extremely

important, not just for our own citizens in Northern Ireland, but

for the Irish Republic, that we get that right, and indeed I have

already had meetings with my opposite number on this and other

matters. I mentioned at the outset he is the 16th member to represent

his party in jaw-mac since beginning and seven. Only three of those have

been women and the last before the current Prime Minister was 16 years

ago -- his party in the House since 1997. If I might turn to the

question, it was not what deal do we hope to get, but what happens if we

get no deal at all? This isn't some sinister nightmare drugged by

Remains. It was the Prime Minister who first floated the idea of no

deal -- this is not some sinister nightmare

dreamt up. Well the first Secretary clear this up? Are ministers just

making it up as they are going along? Or is it still the

Government's clear policy that no deal is an option? I recommend the

right honourable lady read the Prime Minister's Lancaster house speech,

the principle on which we are negotiating. Also seeing it is

conceivable we would be offered a kind of punishment deal that would

be worse than no deal. That is not our intention because we want a good

deal. It is for a leader and her party's position that whatever is on

offer they will accept it, can I point out? That is a terrible way to

go into a negotiation, and all I can congratulate them on is their

consistency. They have been consistently in favour of unilateral

disarmament, but they don't only apply that in military matters, they

clearly applied in matters of negotiation on Britain's future

prosperity as well. The first secretary apparently did not get the

Prime Minister's mammal. You are supposed to be building consensus,

mam. -- man. And if we ignore the political bluster, I think what we

heard was that no deal is indeed still an option, and if that is the

case, can we turn to what I might call the East India club question?

Before the member for Newton Abbot suddenly turned herself into Nick

Griffin, this was the question she was trying to ask. What does no deal

mean for our people, our businesses, and for issues such as the Irish

land border? Can the first secretary addressed this question now? What

does no deal look like in practice? I am very happy to address her first

point of it consensus. Am always, as she knows, a moderate person keen on

consensus, so I very much look forward to sharing the Labour

Party's view this morning on the unemployment figures. Unemployment

is now down to its lowest level since the early 70s. There are many

members of this House who were not born when unemployment was as low as

this Government has made it. I would hope that she can bring herself in

the course of her questions actually to welcome lower unemployment. On

the substance of her question, as she knows, we are seeking a good

deal for Britain that will enable us to trade as freely as possible with

the European Union to protect our prosperity, at the same time as

getting trade deals with other important markets around the world.

In the last week alone, both the United States and Australia have

said they would like to sign trade deals with Britain as fast as

possible. So I am happy to report to her and that negotiations are going

well and that her fear of no deal is probably overstated. If he wants to

talk about unemployment, let me ask him, specifically, will he publish

the Treasury's assessment of the impact of what they're no deal

outcome would have on jobs and growth in Britain? -- the impact of

what they know deal outcome would have. I didn't think so. Let's

continue. If the first secretary will not tell the House... Order.

Honourable lady must be heard, and she will be, as well first secretary

Green. Members must calm themselves. Emily Thornberry... Thank you, Mr

Speaker. If the first secretary will not tell the House what no deal

means can he is least clear up the confusion over whether a plan for no

deal actually exists? Yesterday the Foreign Secretary told me that

indeed there was no plan for no deal. Two hours later, Number ten

for it back and said there was a plan. That Brexit secretary might be

laughing, but I am turning to him next.

LAUGHTER The Brexit secretary was so busy

fighting with himself, that on March the 12, he said that there was a

plan, and on March 17th he said there was not. On May 19th he said

he spent half his time thinking about it, and yesterday he said he

was not prepared to comment. So can the first secretary clear up the

confusion today? Is there a contingency plan for no deal, or is

there not? If there is, will you undertake to publish it?

The honourable ladies says she is happy to talk about an employment,

but you cannot bring herself to welcome the figures. --

unemployment. We will have to work harder to establish consensus on

something that I would hope genuinely unites all sides of this

House. On the report, the OBR is publishing its fiscal risks report

tomorrow, so if she can be patient, she will see the report she wants.

Emily Thornberry! So let's be clear, the First Secretary seems to be

saying that no deal is still on the table, but he won't say what it

means, and there is a no deal contingency plan that he will not

publish. This is two steps forward and two steps back. After all, if

the Government seriously once open, cross-party debate about the best

way forward for Brexit, surely they have to spell out what all the

options look like. So can the First Secretary at least provide some

clarity on one issue, and let's try to make some progress today. He has

said repeatedly that we want to avoid a cliff edge Brexit. But and a

no deal scenario, he knows that must be impossible, because the Prime

Minister can hardly storm out of the negotiating room saying she will not

accept the deal, then pop her head around the door and say, can she

have two more years to prepare, because that is not how it works.

Does he accept that no deal means no transitional arrangements? That me

try harder to establish consensus with the right honourable lady. We

both want a deal, I hope we will agree to that, a deal at the end of

this, and the reason why I am optimistic because of our negotiated

stands and the position set out by the Prime Minister we will get a

deal, is that we have, for example, paid a fair and realistic offer

about citizenship to try to remove that problem from the equations.

That is a first indication of how we will approach these negotiations, we

approached them in a positive state, and we believe that it is not just

in the interests of Great Britain but also in the interests of the

other member states of the European Union to reach a deal with what is

one of their biggest trading partners. Though it is in everyone's

interest to reach this deal, and frankly she said nothing

constructive to contribute to a deal so far, but I will give her another

chance. Emily Thornberry! I know the right honourable gentleman is new to

this, but the way the rules work... Order! I do not know whether it is

spontaneous or orchestrated, and I don't really care which, but

whichever it is, the idea that it is going to stop the honourable lady

asking her questions is for the birds. Members are wasting their

vocal chords, we will carry on as long as necessary to accommodate the

backbench members who I wish to accommodate. Emily Thornberry. I

know that the honourable and is new to this, but I ask the questions and

he... LAUGHTER

And I quite happy to swap places with them! Frankly, if he doesn't

want to continue under these rules, plenty of other people on the front

bench would love the opportunity to audition as Prime Minister. But I do

appreciate, I do appreciate the first Secretary's answers, but they

just serve to illustrate what a mess the Government has got itself into

by threatening to walk away even before talks began. Isn't the truth

now that we have a no deal option on the table but they will not tell us

what it means, contingency plans that they will not let the public

see, a Chancellor demanding transitional arrangements, which a

no deal option makes impossible, a Foreign Secretary making it up as he

is going along, we have got a Brexit Secretary so used to overruling his

colleagues that he has started overruling himself! And we have got

a Prime Minister who is so be reft of ideas that she started putting

suggestion boxes around Parliament! But as a country, as a country, we

have got 20 months until Brexit. We absolutely have got to get a grip,

and if the party opposite hasn't got the strength or the task, then we

have absolutely got to get rid of them.

I think there may have been a question somewhere in that! Can I

issue at the right honourable lady of two things? First of all, that is

Government is already in the negotiations, she will have seen

that, we have started negotiations, they are going well. We said the

first thing we wanted to do was negotiate citizens' writes, that was

the first item on the agenda of the first meeting. We want to make sure

that European citizens in this country and, British citizens living

in other European countries have as much certainty about their rights as

soon as possible, and that is what we are negotiating, that is the sign

of a practical, pragmatic government getting on with work in the

interests of the British people. What we would have, as we have seen

from the Labour Party, they have so far had nine different plans on

Europe. They want to be both in and out of the single market, in and out

of the customs union, they said they wanted to remain, they voted for

Article 50, they split their party on that, and she made a point about

whether she would prefer to be at this despatch box rather than as

that despatch box. I would also remind her of the other event that

has happened recently, where the Conservative Party got more votes

and more seats than the Labour Party, and won the election. David

Morris! Thank you, Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, I welcome the jobs that

have been announced today. Furthermore, Mr Speaker, at the 65

years in my constituency of talking about a link road, one actually

occurred on my watch, and furthermore there is an enterprise

zone stroke business park that we are trying to retain, and we have

had a very productive meeting with the minister, and the First Minister

of the Isle of Man, who I believe is here today. Would my right

honourable friends help to ensure that this business park does become

a reality to create more jobs in Morecambe and Lunesdale?! I agree

with my honourable friend, he will be interested to know that, in the

north-west of England, employment has increased by 2.5% over the past

year, and the Labour benches may wish to welcome that. He is

absolutely right to highlight the importance of having business parks

and enterprise zones as tribe is for economic growth. I wish him well,

and I'm sure my right honourable friends the Business Secretary would

be happy to look into the matter. Thank you, Mr Speaker, I am sure the

whole House would want to join with me and my colleagues in marking the

anniversary of the sad events in Srebrenica and thank those who held

the memorial in London to make sure we never forget. Mr Speaker, will

the First Secretary of State confirmed that the devolved

administrations will not face a day munition of powers as a result of

the Repeal Bill? I joined the honourable gentleman in

commemorating the dreadful events at Srebrenica, and I am happy to

reconfirm what my right honourable friend the Prime Minister and others

have said, that yes, under the terms of the Brexit deal that we will

negotiate, there will be no diminution of the devolved

administrations' powers, and indeed that we look to devolve more powers

during the process. I thank the Secretary of State for that answer.

Order! Thank you, Mr Speaker. I thank the Secretary of State for

that answer. Would he confirm that there will be a cast-iron guarantee

that all powers that come back to the United Kingdom on devolved

matters will be returned? Furthermore the, does the UK

Government intends to meet schedule five of the Scotland Act to change

any aspect of the devolved compensations with the approval of

the Scottish referendum in 1997? Answer that! I can only keep

repeating the assurances we have already given. I am slightly

surprised at the Scottish nationalist approach in that my

understanding of their position is that they want power is taken from

London to Edinburgh so that it can give them back to Brussels! As I

understand it, that is their position. But perhaps their

inability to explain the logic of that position might explain the

recent general election results they had. Thank you very much, Mr

Speaker. Earlier this year, a brilliant new hospital opened in my

constituency. The old cottage Hospital which it replaces contains

an important and unique warble Morrill. Will the First Secretary

agree with me that however the NHS we developed the site, it is vital

that that war memorial is preserved in a fitting way so that future

generations can remember the sacrifices of those who came before

us? I think perhaps particularly at the moment, when we are about to

commemorate the centenary of the terrible battle of Passchendaele, it

is very important that we consider the issue of war memorials like the

one he mentions, they call on us to remember the horrors of war and

honour the memories of those who died. In this case, I understand the

war memorial is protected by an historic England great two listing

so specific planning consent would be required to move it. I hope that

will provide the protection that he and his constituents need. My

constituent has had over 50 admissions to psychiatric care, she

requires regular monitoring to prevent her condition worsening, and

she could access a board and at the labour stands to lose ?110 under the

new regime. Will he look urgently at this case and change this to ensure

that people have the support they need to remain safe? The House will

be concerned to hear about the case of a constituent, as I am, and she

will know that one of the effects of the transition from DLA to PIP is

that more people are eligible for support, particularly those with

mental health problems, but the Secretary of State for Work and

Pensions will have heard her point, and I have no doubt, if she contacts

in, he will look into the case personally. Mr Speaker, some of the

most distressing cases that I and other members see in my constituency

surgery are those involving domestic violence. The Queen's Speech has

promised a bill to help strengthen our confrontation of this problem,

so I wonder if the First Secretary could tell us when we can expect the

legislation, urgently needed as it is, and what the Government is doing

about this problem while we await it? I agree, this is a hugely

important issue, and he is right that we have committed in the

Queen's Speech to introduce a domestic abuse bill in this session,

which I hope will be a landmark in this very important area. What we

want to do in the bill is set in motion a transformation not just to

protect and support victims, but to recognise the lifelong impact

domestic abuse can have on children, and to make sure that the agencies

respond effectively to domestic abuse. We will of course be

consulting with the relevant professions and voluntary groups on

this, but we are absolutely determined to press ahead with this

very, very important legislation. Max Johnson is nine, he is in

hospital and urgently waiting for a heart transplant. His mum Emma and

brother Harry join us today to support Max, but also 10,000 people

around the country who need an organ transplant. We can do more to help

them. In Wales, they have already moved to an opt out system, as

Scotland plan to do the same. Can the First Secretary say whether he

agrees with me that, in England, we should change the law to one of

presumed consent for organ donation to give Max and people like him the

best chance of light? I am sure that the thought of numbers across the

House are with Max and his family at this incredibly difficult time, and

I agree with him that organ donation is clearly a hugely important part

of our system, and I am pleased that there are now more than 23 million

organ donors on the register, and over the past year we saw the

highest ever donor and transplant rates in the UK. But of course there

is more that can be done, and as he says, the law is different in other

territories inside the UK. And absolutely I can commit the

Department of Health is looking at the impact of those changes to see

whether that can give rise to further improvements in the number

of available organs we have. Is my friend aware that the Greater

Manchester Chambers, in the course of their economic survey, predicts

economic growth that 3.25% annually, as it has been broadly since 2013?

Is he further aware that Manchester Airport is planning a ?1 billion

investment in the coming years? Doesn't this indicate a welcome

rebalancing of the economy, underpinned by sound economic

management? And will he undertake to continue that sound economic

management that is so necessary to our country? My honourable friend

makes a number of important points, particularly about Manchester

Airport, which I know has been a significant driver of the excellent

growth figures of the increasingly excellent economy of Manchester, and

the surrounding areas. Everything he says is true, and I think it is a

tribute to the work that is being done on the Northern Powerhouse that

we are now spreading that prosperity across the North of England. Thank

you, Mr Speaker. The First Secretary said the other day that we need to

have a national debate on tuition fees, and he admitted that student

debt is a huge issue. With the PM touting for ideas, can I recommend

page 43 of our manifesto? Can I ask that they adopt Labour's pledge to

abolish tuition fees? I don't remember the contents page 43, so I

would quite like to hear this! Mr Speaker, can I recommend that they

consult page 43 of our manifesto and commit to Labour's policy of the

abolition of tuition fees? People often stand at this despatch box and

say I am pleased she raised that question, I am genuinely pleased,

because it allows me to point out the very slight problem with their

arguments which is that her own education spokesman has admitted

that the tuition fees policy has a ?100 billion... She has admitted

that there is a ?100 billion hole, black hole in Labour's student fees

policy. That is as much money nearly as we spend on the NHS in a year,

two years worth of disability benefits. Labour, in this area, were

particularly incredible at the general election, I am astonished

they want to bring it up at Prime Minister's Questions, and I would

remind them that misleading students and young people is a very dangerous

thing to do. If they don't believe me, they can ask the Liberal

Democrats. Just one in five of our public arts sculptures is of a

woman, to mark the anniversary of Jane Austen... Will my right

honourable friend join me in calling for more people to do what business

to has done and celebrate their famous daughters?

I welcome this call for the statue in Basingstoke. I am genuinely

astonished there is not a statue of Jane Austen anywhere else around the

country, one of our greatest authors, and still popular 200 years

since her birth, and I would be very happy also to echo her desire for

more statues for great women spread around the country. Mr Speaker,

politicians are said to be here today and gone tomorrow, but

whatever tomorrow may bring the Prime Minister is not even here

today to mark the first -- end of her first year in power. Listen, you

might like to hear this. For the first time since she has become

Prime Minister image has now been removed from the page of the

Conservative Party website. Can the first secretary tell us why she has

gone from being the next Iron Lady to the Lady vanishes? The honourable

gentleman is ingenious in asking personal questions and I commend him

for it. Unfortunately he has his own record on the subject. As recently

as June last year the members said the leader of the Labour Party is

not destined to become Prime Minister and he called on him to

resign. I suggest he makes peace with his own front bench before

turning to ours. Today's jobs figures show we have the highest

employment rate since compatible records began. We have more people

in full-time employment and we are touching on the lowest youth

unemployment since records began. In light of the Matthew Taylor review

and the modern working practices, what more can be done to ensure this

record continues and that low youth unemployment continues and that we

read this country of that scourge? -- and that we rid this country of

that scourge. Yes, one of the particularly welcome figures of the

consistently low and falling unemployment figures over which this

Government has provided, youth unemployment figures. It is now at

historically low levels and lower than many other comparable

economies. We will continue this not just with our moves on more

apprenticeships in this parliament but also with the introduction of

new and better technical and vocational education, which is key

to providing long-term prosperity, not just for the economy as a whole,

but for everyone in this country. Thank you, Mr Speaker. How can the

Government continue to justify not providing fair and equitable funding

arrangements for West Lancashire to support drainage boards, to help

protect homes and agriculture and horticulture industries, critical to

the local economy, instead of causing threats to turn off the

pumping station? V Saffie raises a reasonable point -- the Saffie

raises a reasonable point about the Environment Agency and it is the

Environment Agency's duty to ensure water supplies are good and safe and

I am sure if she wishes to bring this up with my right honourable

friend, he will be happy to talk to her about it. Zero energy Bill

Holmes at market prices are being built with the support of the

building research Establishment. Given that the potential to help

people find affordable housing, what more can the Government do to help

expand this type of housing, as part of our commitment to both enterprise

and social justice? I know my honourable friend is an energetic

campaigner for social justice and this is a very good example of how

having a dynamic and flexible economy is not just good for the

economy but is actually good for the whole of society, and I am happy to

join him in welcoming this type of innovation. This firm is a good

example of such innovation, and I know it has been supported by the

Government's enterprise investment scheme, so the Government is doing

its best to support this type of measure, and with stimulating the

growth of the off-site construction sector which enables homes to be

built through our accelerating construction programme and the whole

building fund, another very important issue to make sure that we

spread the benefits of prosperity around this country. Mr Speaker, I

wonder if the first secretary might imagine what it feels like to be a

parent forced to up their children from their settled home to flee war

and persecution, as millions of refugees around the world have done.

And then would he imagine further how it might feel for those who had

become separated from their family members, with one family member

making it, for instance, to the United Kingdom, needlessly kept

apart from their families due to cruel and unnecessary barriers to

family reunification? Will the Government today endorse the

Baroness's bill in the other place to bring those desperate families

back together? The right honourable gentleman raises an important issue

and he will be aware that this Government, this country, has done a

huge amount, particularly in the region, but also here at home to

help refugees from countries such as Syria. We have expanded the

vulnerable persons resettlement scheme, so we make sure our doors

continue to remain open to people who most need our help, and in

particular we work very closely with the UNHCR to identify and refer the

most vulnerable refugees. That is the most sensible humanitarian way

we can help these very desperate people. Can also say, since I should

visitors last question, I suspect, as leader office party, can I wish

him a fond farewell from that job? And say I am delighted the Liberal

Democrats have taken so seriously the Government's full working life

strategy which is about providing more jobs for older workers, and

they are about to skip a generation...

LAUGHTER -- since I assumed that this is his

last question, I suspect. At the recent T20 meeting the Prime

Minister had excellent and constructive trade discussions with

the leaders of India, China, Japan and America -- at the recent G20

meetings. These represent 43% of the world population, these countries,

and six times the population of the European Union. Would my right

honourable friend agree with me that this demonstrates the potential for

a positive future for Britain post-Brexit, and it really is time

for the pessimists to look at the cup being half full rather than half

empty? I am happy to endorse my honourable friend's approach and

just to emphasise to him in the house it is important to do both. We

need a good trade deal with the European Union, still a hugely

important trading partner for us, but also we need to take the

opportunity to strike trade deals with economies round the world, not

just currently advanced economies, but those that are growing very fast

as well. That is the route to future global prosperity to this country.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. We have had to make general elections where the

Government has promised investment to the northern powerhouse, and yet

again within weeks they have made a U-turn on the electrification of the

trans-Pennine. Is the ?1 billion deal to keep the Prime Minister in

power with the DUP being funded at the expense of the North? No, not at

all. The money that has gone for infrastructure in Northern Ireland

is richly needed there. We have signed for example city deals in

England, Scotland and Wales, but none yet in Northern Ireland. I

would hope... I mean, she is right about the importance of the northern

powerhouse, and we will continue with that programme which is hugely

important, and as she has already heard in this session, what we see

is unemployment falling consistently in the north of England, as a sign

of how the economy in that part of England is going as well as anywhere

else in the country, and we are determined to continue that. Mr

Speaker, I know the title might first secretary will be delighted to

see Parliament Square now displays every flight of every British

Overseas Territory to welcome the king of Spain this week, including

the flag of Gibraltar. Would he as my right honourable friend the Prime

Minister to remind the King of Spain that Gibraltar is British and their

sovereignty will remain paramount? I am happy to assure my honourable

friend that the Government's position on Gibraltar and the

privacy of the wishes of its inhabitants which are overwhelmingly

to stay British will be respected by the Government. What assessment has

the Government made of the effect on radiotherapy for cancer patients of

its decision to withdraw from the deal given the Royal College of

radiologistss said this week that half a million scans per year are

done using imported radioisotopes, and that thousands of patients could

be affected by this decision? I am genuinely again happy to answer this

question because it is a very important issue, and there has been

some unnecessary worry caused to cancer patients by speculative on

this. Let me set out the position. The import or export of medical

radioisotopes is not subject to any particular licensing requirements.

Euratom places no restrictions on the export of medical isotopes to

countries outside the EU, so after leaving Euratom our ability to

access military isotopes produced in Europe will not be affected. So I

hope that clears it and I hope that reassures cancer patients around the

country that the scaremongering going on is unnecessary.