06/12/2017 Prime Minister's Questions

changed in response to public

consultation. I wouldn't be doing my

duty if I couldn't in my final words

wish Paisley every success in the

City of Culture competition.

Order,

order. Questions to the Prime

Minister.

The question tabled by the

honourable member for Lichfield,

relating to economic performance and

public services in the West

Midlands, question five, has in Eire

been omitted from the printed copies

of the order paper. -- has been in

error. A corrigendum has been made

available in the vote office, and

copies are on the table. Order,

questions to the Prime Minister.

Ruth George.

Thank you, question

number one.

The Prime Minister.

Mr Speaker, I'm sure the whole house

will wish to join me in offering

condolences to the family, friends

and colleagues of police constable

James Dixon from Thames Valley

Police, who was killed while on

motorcycle duty yesterday, and also

to the family and friends of the

passenger car involved in the

collision. I'm sure the House would

like to join me in offering

condolences to family and friends of

the former member of this house who

was a former miner and strong voice

of Lanarkshire in this place for

nearly 30 years. This morning I had

meetings with ministerial colleagues

and others, and I shall have further

such meetings later today.

Ruth

George.

My constituent Kate has run a

successful nursery for over 14

years, but after two months on the

Government's funding for three and

four-year-old she says she can't

make it work, she's having to sell

her home to pay her staff

redundancies. Over 1000 nurseries

have already closed and 58% say they

cannot continue. If nurseries close,

parents can't work. Please will the

Prime Minister meet with me and

nursery owners to discuss such

widespread and critical problems?

Well, I can say to the honourable

lady that I have indeed recently met

with some nursery owners looking at

this issue, and they've given a very

clear message that actually there

are parts of the country where Local

Authorities are operating the system

very efficiently are very well and

there are parts of the country where

that is not happening. Of course,

what underpins this is the decision

taken by this government to improve

the childcare offer for parents, so

that they actually have a better

opportunity and ensure their

children get the childcare they

need.

Will the Prime Minister give a quick

update on the Brexit negotiations

and does she agree with me that post

Brexit...

LAUGHTER

It's crucial that we enhance skills

and apprenticeships in the

construction housing sector and does

she agree that now is not the time

for the construction training board

to be proposing to close their site

in West Norfolk, putting at risk 600

jobs in a rural area? Will she make

me to discuss this and will she help

me in my campaign?

Can I say to my honourable friend

that he is a great champion for his

constituency. He's been a great

supporter of the CI TB at Birch. I'm

happy to support his campaign, I

wish him well and I'm happy to meet

him. He asked about Brexit and, of

course, what we're doing in the

Brexit negotiations is ensuring we

can indeed build those houses and

build that country for the future

that we to seek, and the principles

we are working to our that the text

that is currently being discussed is

a report on the progress of

negotiations, on which basis the

European Commission will decide

whether sufficient progress has been

made and we can move onto the next

stage of talks. It is for those

future talks to agree precisely how

we ensure cross-border trade, while

maintaining constitutional integrity

of the United Kingdom. We are

leaving the European Union, the

singles market on the customs union.

But we will do, we will do what is

right in the interests of the whole

of the United Kingdom, and nothing

is agreed until everything is

agreed.

Jeremy Corbyn.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I joined the

Prime Minister in offering

condolences to the police officer

and passenger who lost their lives

yesterday and in paying tribute to

Jimmy Hood, he was a good friend of

all of us, and he was a great

fighter for the coal industry and

the mine workers union during the

strike and after that, during his

time here. We thank Jimmy for his

work in the labour movement.

Mr Speaker, in July, the

international trade Secretary said

Brexit negotiations would be the

easiest in human history. Does the

Prime Minister still agree with that

assessment?

LAUGHTER

I am very pleased to report to the

right gentleman, as I've just said,

negotiations are in progress and

very good progress has been made.

But... What my right honourable

friend has been focusing on is the

trade negotiations for the future,

and indeed, because we are already a

member of the European Union, when

we leave we will not be at the same

basis, like Canada was in

negotiating a trade agreement, and

we do expect that be will get a deal

that is right for the whole of the

United Kingdom. What we need to do

to be able to do that is to move on

to phase two, and if he is so

concerned about easing negotiations,

why did his MPs vote against us

being able to do that?

Mr Speaker, the Prime Minister can

always look behind herself. Mr

Speaker, she hasn't, she hasn't

succeeded in convincing many people

and yesterday on Tory donor told the

papers and I quote, "Yesterday

proved beyond doubt that the Prime

Minister is not only weak but it's

her incompetence that is hobbling

the UK." And he wasn't very kind

about the rest of her from bench

either, describing them as a bunch

of jellyfish masquerading as a

cabinet.

Mr Speaker, this is... This is truly

a coalition, this is truly a

coalition of chaos. At the start of

the week, it all seemed to be going

so well. The Prime Minister had

scheduled a lunch with Jean-Claude

Juncker followed by a press

conference and then to triumphantly

returned to the House to present her

deal.

Order, order. Let me make it clear

for the umpteenth time, no, order. I

know what's going on, I can look

after these matters. No one in this

chamber is going to be shouted down.

It will not happen, and if people

think they can sit where I can't see

them and make a raucous noise

they're very foolish. I know where

they are and I know what they're up

to, and it's not going to work. End

of subject.

Jeremy Corbyn.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. On her way

back to Britain, someone forgot to

share the details of the Irish

border deal with the DUP. Surely

there are 1.5 billion reasons why

the Prime Minister really shouldn't,

shouldn't have forgotten to do that.

I think it was a little difficult to

detect the question is that

interruption. Let me say to the

right honourable gentleman, as

President Jean-Claude Juncker said

Monday, there are still a few things

we are negotiating on... LAUGHTER

And he is confident, he is confident

that we will be able to achieve

sufficient progress. But if he wants

to wonder about plans for

negotiations, perhaps he should look

at his own front bench! The Shadow

Chancellor used to say staying in

the single market was not respecting

the referendum. Now he says it's on

the table. The shade -- shadow trade

secretary used to say staying in the

customs union was very unattractive,

now he says it is not off the table.

We now know from the Shadow

Chancellor what their approach

really is, it's not having a plan at

all, because when asked what the

Labour Party plan was, the Shadow

Chancellor said, well, that's

difficult for us. As we all know,

the only thing the Labour Party is

planning for is a runner on the

pound.

Jeremy Corbyn.

Mr Speaker, the Prime Minister was

unable to support her Brexit

secretary when he tried to explain a

deal was supposed to be done in

October but still hasn't been done

by December. The leader of the DUP

told Irish television she only got

sight of the deal on Monday morning,

five weeks after she first asked for

it. Two months after the original

deadline for the first phase of

talks and after Monday's shambles,

is the Prime Minister now, now able

to end the confusion and clearly

outlined what the Government was my

position is now, with regard to the

Irish border?

I'm very happy to outline the

position that I've taken on the

Irish border with Northern Ireland.

It is exactly the same position that

I took in the Lancaster House

speech, that I took in the Florence

speech, that we have taken

consistently in the negotiations,

which is that we will ensure there

is no hard border between Northern

Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

We will do that while we respect the

constitutional integrity of the

United Kingdom. And while we respect

the internal market and protect the

internal market of the United

Kingdom. Those Labour members who

shout "How?", that's the whole point

of the second phase of the

negotiations... Because we will

deliver this, we aim to deliver this

is part of our overall trade deal

between the United Kingdom and the

European Union, and we can only talk

about that when we get into phase

two. We have a plan, he has none.

Jeremy Corbyn.

18 months after the referendum, the

Prime Minister is unable to answer

the question. And on Monday, and on

Monday, as she thought she was

coming here to make a statement, it

was vetoed by the leader of the DUP,

the tale really is wagging the dog

here. Mr Speaker, the Brexit

secretary told the BBC's Andrew Marr

programme in June, "In my job I

don't think out loud and I don't

make guesses. I try and make

decisions. You make those based on

data, the data is being gathered, we

have 50, nearly 60 sector analyses

done." The House voted to see the

analyses but today the Brexit

secretary told the select committee

they don't exist. Can the Prime

Minister put us out of our misery,

do they exist or don't they, have

they done the work or haven't they?

That is surely one question she can

answer after 18 months.

Can I make a gentle suggestion to

the Leader of the Opposition? He

asked me a question on the Northern

Irish border, I answered the

question. He then stood up and said

I had answered the question. Perhaps

he should listen to the answers that

I give. The House requested, as I

understand it, 58 sectoral impact

assessments. There were no 58

sectoral impact assessment. There

was sectoral analysis, over 800

pages of sectoral analysis has been

published and made available to the

select committee and arrangements

have been made available for members

of this house to see it. We are very

clear that we will not give a

running commentary on negotiations,

but what we will do, what we will do

is work for what this country wants.

We will ensure we leave the European

Union in March 2019. We will leave

the internal market, we will leave

the customs union at the same time,

and we will ensure there is no hard

border between Northern Ireland and

the Republic of Ireland when we do

it.

Jeremy Corbyn.

Mr Speaker, this really is a

shambles. All they've done... All

they've done is offered a heavily

redacted abbreviated version that

has not been widely shared, and the

Brexit secretary said in September,

Mr Speaker, that 50 billion divorce

payment was complete nonsense. The

Foreign Secretary rejected any

payment and said the EU could go

whistle, so can the Prime Minister

put before the House a fully

itemised account that could be

independently audited by the Office

for Budget Responsibility and the

National Audit Office on any

proposed payment?

We are at the point of progressing

to the next stage. Snog agreed until

everything is agreed. So the final

settlement won't be agreed until we

have actually got the whole of the

deal agreed. But I have to say to

the right honourable gentleman, he's

asked me questions earlier about

hard borders, half the Labour Party

wants to stay in the single market,

half the Labour Party wants to leave

the single market. The only hard

border around is right down the

middle of the Labour Party.

18 months since the referendum, no

answers to the questions. Today,

they haven't yet concluded phase

one. No answers to the questions.

And the DUP appear to be ruling the

roost and telling her what to do.

Whether it's Brexit, the National

Health Service, social care, our

rip-off railways, rising child

poverty, growing pensioner poverty,

or universe credit, this Government,

this Government is unable to solve

important issues facing this

country. In fact, it's making them

worse. The economy is slowing. More

people in poverty. Brexit

negotiations in a shambles. This

Government is clearly not fit for

the future. If they can't negotiate

a good deal, wouldn't it be better

if they just got out of the way?

Can

I say to the right honourable

gentleman, week in and week out, he

comes to this House making promises

that he knows he can't deliver. And

they keep doing it. At the election

he told students they would write

off their student debt. Then he said

I did not commit to write off the

debt. What are the Labour Party

doing? They're putting around

leaflets which say Labour will

cancel xooising student debt. --

existing. It's time the right

honourable gentleman apologises for

grossly misleading Labour leaflets.

Order. Order! Closed question,

MrMichael Fabricant.

Question five.

Prime Minister.

I am pleased to say

that employment in the West Midlands

has risen by 198,000 since the 2010

election. And in the budget my right

honourable friend the Chancellor

confirmed people living and working

in the West Midlands will benefit

from second devolution deal and a

£250 million allocation for regional

transport projects.

The devolution

deal, the budget, and now the

establishment of the national

battery R and D centre in the West

Midlands puts the whole region at

the very heart of European

autonomous drive and electric drive

cars. So will my right honourable

friend commit to continue to support

this important industry and will she

make a very important promise to me?

Yes. Will she get rid of that gas

guzzler Jagielka of hers -- Jaquar

and get a modern one from the West

Midlands, because we are the party

of the future, not the old Labour

Party danosaurs opposite.

Perhaps I

could just...

Perhaps I could just let my

honourable friend know that, sadly,

the Jaguar Number 10 Downing Street

is not mine. But my honourable

friend is absolutely right, that the

West Midlands is at the heart of

this important industry. We are

investing £31 million in the West

Midlands for the development of

testing infrastructure for connected

and autonomous vehicles and we will

also build on the West Midlands

expertise and self driving cars as

we invest a further £5 million in an

initial test bed and I certainly

look forward to seeing this

technology developing further.

Can I

associate myself with the remarks of

the Prime Minister regarding the

late Jimmy Hood and pass on

condolences to his family and

friends. I am sure the House will

want to join me in welcoming Billy

Irvine, one of the Chennai six who

has arrived back in Scotland this

morning. Now we know that the deal

that was done with the DUP to keep

the Prime Minister in office gave

the DUP a veto over Brexit. It is

embarrassing that it was being

briefed on Monday morning that the

Prime Minister had a deal, only to

take this off the table after a call

with the DUP. Is this the Prime

Minister who is in office but not in

power?

What we are doing is working

for a deal that will work for the

whole of the United Kingdom. There

are particular circumstances for

Northern Ireland because it is the

one part of the United Kingdom that

shares a land border with a country

that will be remaining in the

European Union. But as we look ahead

and during the negotiations as the

honourable gentleman will know, we

are consulting and talking with all

parts of the United Kingdom, with

the Welsh Government and the

Scottish Government, and we want to

ensure that we get the right deal

for the UK and that's the deal that

I have set out, we will be leaving

the European Union, we will be

leaving the single market, leaving

the customs union, but we will

ensure that we get that good trade

deal for the future.

The clock is

ticking. We need a deal that keeps

us in the single market and the

customs union. To do otherwise will

devastate our economy and cost jobs.

Will the Prime Minister recognise

that such a deal will resolve the

Irish border question and protect

jobs throughout the UK, anything

less will be a failure of

leadership.

I have to say to the

right honourable gentleman that he

continues to washing up -- bark up

the wrong tree. We are leaving the

European Union, that means we will

be leaving the single market and the

customs union. We will take back and

we will ensure that we can go trade

deals around the rest of the world

and that will be important for us

and it's important, he references

jobs, it will be important in

ensuring jobs in this country. We

will get a good deal on trade and

security because this isn't just

about trade for our future

relationship. I set out in my

Florence speech the deep and special

partnership we want to continue to

have with the European Union. That

is about a trade deal that ensures

jobs and prosperity across the whole

of the United Kingdom.

I politely

observe that the front bench

exchanges have absorbed a

disproportionately large share of

time. I am determined to accommodate

backbenchers who are waiting to ask

questions.

Thank you. The bottleneck

on the A417 continues to cause

dreadful accidents and traffic

misery in Gloucestershire. Now

following the leadership of the

Transport Secretary and the support

of Gloucestershire honourable

members the vital consultation stage

of the short listed improvement

proposals will begin shortly. Does

my right honourable friend back the

scheme and does she agree by

committing hundreds of millions of

pounds for this crucial project that

Government is backing the

Gloucestershire economy?

Thank you.

I know my honourable friend has been

working tirelessly on this

particular issue and I understand

concerns and frustrations that

drivers in his constituency and

elsewhere have about this vital

strategic road for, not just

Gloucestershire but the wider region

as well. I am happy to assure him we

are backing the development of the

multimillion pound roundabout scheme

announced in 2014. A consultation

will begin shortly. So we can

develop the right solution to tackle

this pinch point and continue this

support which as he says is good for

the whole of Gloucestershire's

economy.

The Prime Minister has been

unable to provide us with a single

plausible Brexit scenario that will

meet her red lines, and be

acceptable to the Cabinet, Ireland

and the DUP. Isn't it therefore time

that she either dropped her red

lines, the DUP, or the pretence she

can govern this country.

I have to

say to the honourable lady she's

completely wrong, this Government

has published a number of documents

which set out various option that is

can be taken forward in relation to

the trade relation for the future,

that address the question of the

customs relationship in relation to

customs, address the issue of the

Northern Ireland border. We have

already published those proposals.

They're not part in detail - those

details are not part of the

negotiations at the moment. They

will become part of the negotiations

when we move on to phase two.

When

the British people voted to leave

the European superstate they voted

to end the free movement of people,

they voted to stop sending billions

of pounds to the EU each and every

year. They voted to make our laws in

our own country judged by our own

judges. Prime Minister, are we on

course still to deliver that? If we

have a problem, would it help if I

came over to Brussels with you to

sort them out?

Well, I say to my honourable friend

I am always happy to spend time in

his company and I hope his petition

on chicken farms went down well the

other evening. The answer is yes, we

are on course to deliver what the

people of this country voted for

when they voted to leave the

European Union.

Will the Prime

Minister support new transpen nine

rail links, namely high speed three,

but also the restoration of the

Skipton coal link which as well as

providing an economic boast to pen

nine towns has the additional merit

of starting in the Government Chief

Whip's constituency.

Can I say to

the honourable gentleman that we are

of course looking very seriously and

have been supporting with this

concept of the railway. We are

waiting as I understand it for

specific proposals to be brought

forward and we will look at those

proposals seriously.

I am sure the

whole House is aware that 40 years

ago today this House came together

and voted for a new charity,

mobility charity which has

transformed the lives of disabled

people and their families. Would the

Prime Minister agree that - it

should be carried forward and gives

a golden opportunity for disabled

people to get into the workplace and

enjoy things everybody else does in

this country.

I am grateful to my

right honourable friend for marking

the whoth anniversary of mobility in

this way and I am happy to join him

in marking that and I am looking

forward to becoming a senior patron,

they do excellent work for people in

enabling them to stay mobile and

active and there are more people

with a mobility car today than there

were in 2010. Can I also wish my

right honourable friend well as I

understand he will be going to the

Palace tomorrow to receive his

knighthood.

Thank you. Prime

Minister, in light of the news today

and the reported terrorist threat on

the Prime Minister and others, can I

assure her of our prayers for her

and Her Majesty's Government on this

side of the House and thank the

security forces for their sterling

efforts. Prime Minister, can you

give us specific commitment that

nothing will be done that creates

any barrier, constitutionally,

politically, economically, or

regulatory between Northern Ireland

and the rest of the United Kingdom?

Can I thank the honourable gentleman

for the remarks that he made. Can I

say to him the simple answer to his

question is yes. He will know as

other members of this House will,

that there are already areas where

there are specific arrangements

between Northern Ireland and the

Republic of Ireland, for example,

the single energy market that exists

between the Republic of Ireland and

Northern Ireland. But we want to

ensure that there is no hard border,

that is exactly what we are working

for. We are also working to respect

the constitutional integrity of the

United Kingdom and protect the

internal market of the United

Kingdom and I think we share those

aims.

The Prime Minister will be

aware of citizens advice Scotland

report issued yesterday that said in

Scotland up to a million consumers

pay on average 30% more to have

parcels delivered than the rest of

the country: In my constitute at

this time there is a huge issue

where ridiculous prices are put on

to deliver. In some cases companies

refuse to deliver at all. Can my

right honourable friend tell me what

the UK Government can do with myself

to ensure we right this wrong once

and for you will.

My honourable

friend is right to raise this issue

and speak up on behalf of his

constituents. I am sure he knows

rail mail does provide a service

that includes parcel service at a

uniform price throughout the UK but

there are commercial issues at play

outside this service. But I am sure

that my right hon friend the

Business Secretary will be happy to

meet and discuss this issue.

The

recognition by Donald Trump of

Jerusalem as the capital of Israel

will do grave damage to the

prospects for a just and lasting

peace settlement with the Israelis

and Palestinians which has been

British and indeed American foreign

policy for decades. Was she

consulted about this announcement

and if so what did she say? Will she

hear and -- here and now clearly

condemn it?

Well, I say to the right honourable

gentleman that I am intending to

speak to President Trump about this

matter. But our position has not

changed. He says it's been a

long-standing position and it's also

a very clear one, that the status of

Jerusalem should be determined as a

- in a negotiated settlement between

the Israelis and the Palestinians

and Jerusalem should ultimately form

a shared capital between the Israeli

and Palestinian states. We continue

to support a two-state solution. We

recognise the importance of

Jerusalem and our position on that

has not changed.

Today

GlaxoSmithKline and many other

companies invested in genetics, does

my honourable friend agree

investment in science and research

underpins jobs and revolution in

medical treatment that will save

lives and give hope to many patients

for new treatments.

Well, I

absolutely agree with my honourable

friend and what she has highlighted

is a sector which is important for

the United Kingdom and I welcome the

investment that she has referred to.

That is why this is one of the

sectors that has been given

significance in the industrial

strategy that my right honourable

friend the Business Secretary has

delivered, has published, because

this is exactly an area where we see

there are Ben bsh -- benefits here,

jobs, but also improving the

treatments available to patients and

improving their lives.

When the

Prime Minister rings Donald Trump to

express our concern about his moves

concerning Jerusalem and the US

Embassy, will she also be informing

President Trump that we will be

proceeding to recognise the state of

Palestine as a central part of

keeping the two-state process under

way?

We want to see a negotiated

settlement between the Israelis and

the Palestinians, we believe that

should be based on a two-state

solution, that should be a Sovereign

and viable Palestinian state but

also a secure and safe Israel. That

should be a matter for negotiation

between the parties.

The whole House

will support what the Prime Minister

said last week in the Middle East on

her visit about the unfolding

humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen.

Will she continue to provide the

maximum amount of pressure to lift

both the humanitarian and the

commercial blockade and use

Britain's good offices at the United

Nations to secure a resumption of

some sort of political peace process

which is inclusive and which does

not have any preconditions?

Well, my

right honourable friend has raised

an important issue and I am sure

everybody across this House is

deeply concerned at the humanitarian

crisis and the spiralling crisis

that we have seen in the Yemen and

the lingering threat of famine

there. I did indeed as he said raise

my concerns when I visited Saudi

Arabia last week. I made it clear

that the UK's view is that we want

to see not just a border open for

humanitarian aid to get in but it

should be open for commercial

vessels as well. This is absolutely

crucial and important and he revenss

the need for peace talks, that is

our top priority. The best way to

bring a long-term solution and

long-term stability is to have a

political solution and we will

continue to support the efforts of

the UN special envoy and play a

leading role as he says in

diplomatic efforts to ensure a

political solution can be reached.

Due to the one billion deal that the

DUP MPs - each one is worth more

than Ronaldo. We need to consider

the cut to Scotland's budget, £600

million rail shortfall, the £200

million... And £140 million VAT

refund. Each one of the Scottish

Tories cost Scotland £265 million.

Can we transfer them?

I have to say

it's time that when he stood up for

questions he actually looked at the

facts. It's my Scottish Conservative

colleagues who have ensured that in

the budget we were able to take

steps in relation to the VAT status

of police Scotland and the fire

services in Scotland and he

obviously hadn't noticed but I am

happy to repeat as a result of this

budget £2 billion extra will come to

Scotland.

In 2010 the

Conservative-led Government set out

to reform the school curriculum to

give children skills they need to

succeed. Does the Prime Minister

agree yesterday's reading standard

results are a vindication of our

reforms and amazing teachers'

efforts which will allow our

children to forge a truly global

Britain.

Well, I thank my honourable

friend, she has raised an important

issue and I am happy to agree with

her. Yesterday we learned how the

UK's revolution in phonetics has

dramatically improved school

standards. I would like to pay

particular tribute to my honourable

friend the Minister for schools

standards who has worked tirelessly

to this end through his time here in

this House but also pay tribute to

the hard work of teachers up and

down the country. We have, just for

the figures, in 201258% of

six-year-olds passed reading checks,

this year it's 81%. We are indeed

building a Britain fit for the

future.

In October the Prime

Minister wrote an open letter saying

EU citizens living lawfully in the

UK today will be able to stay. But

this week my constituent was told by

UK she had to wait until Brexit was

done and take her chances. Can the

Prime Minister tell us are the EU

citizens living here just pawns in

the Brexit negotiations or will she

change UK operating systems to

ensure EU citizens can stay?

The

position on EU citizens that I set

out in the open letter that I sent

is the position of the United

Kingdom Government and I suggest to

the honourable lady if she has a

complaint about something said she

sends that information to the

immigration Minister.

Yesterday the

all-party group on cancer held its

annual Britain against cancer

conference, the largest one-day

gathering of the capser community in

the UK to launch a report on the

cancer strategy. We heard from the

Government and NHS England many good

things that were happening, there

was one issue causing real concern

to frontline services, and that is

the delay in the release of the

transformation funding to those

frontline services, with additional

requirement applied to the funding

after the bidding process closed.

Having discussed the issue with the

Secretary of State who was a jolly

chap, would the Prime Minister meet

with me to discuss this matter

further.

Well, I say to my

honourable friend of course this is

an important issue and we have as he

said seen great progress being made

in relation to this issue of

providing higher standards of cancer

care for all patients. Survival

records are now at a record high.

Around 7,000 more people are

surviving cancer after successful

NHS treatment compared to three

years ago. Of course we want to do

more in relation to this issue. He

has raised a very specific point and

I understand that the Department of

Health are adopting a phased

approach to investment as the

national cancer programme does run

for a further three years but I

would be happy to meet to discuss

this.

Contrary to her previous

answer on the subject, only the

Prime Minister's Government can

remove barriers to universe credit

for ter minutally ill people in

Scotland, England, Wales and

Northern Ireland. Will she answer

this question again this time, will

she end the cruel requirement for

people across the UK who don't want

to know they're dying to

self-certify on universal credit?

Can I say to the honourable

gentleman that I suggest that this

is an issue I will ask the Secretary

of State for work and pensions to

look at. We do want to ensure that

as knows we are working on how

universal credit is rolled out and

how that is dealt with in relation

to individuals. I am sure he will

understand that if there are

particular things that apply to

people and particular circumstances

then they can only apply if - if the

universe credit and Jobcentres are

aware of those circumstances but I

will ask the Department for Work and

Pensions to look at this.

Before my

right honourable friend next goes to

Brussels, will she apply a new code

of paint to her red lines because I

fear on Monday they were beginning

to look a little bit pink?

No, I can

say, happy say to my honourable

friend that the principles on which

this Government is negotiating were

set out in the Lancaster House

speech and the Florence speech and

those principles remain.

This

morning London MPs were briefed by

the Metropolitan Police service on

the grave challenge of serious youth

violence and violent crime,

including the scourge of scooter

assisted crime. With robbers up 30%

in London, the Police Service in

London faces a £400 million squeeze

which will drive police numbers down

to the lowest in 20 years and my own

Borough has already lost is 98

police officers. Does the Prime

Minister still think we have the

police resources we need -- 198.

I

would say we are not reducing the

police budget, we are protecting

police budgets. They were protected

in the 2015 spending review. I

repeat as I said in this House

before, there is more money and

officers or each Londoner than

anywhere else in the country. Of

course it is up to the Mayor of

London to decide how that budget is

spent. But she also raised the

important issue of scooter or moped

crime and I am pleased to say the

Home Secretary has held a round

table with police and others in the

Home Office to look at how this can

be better addressed.

The industrial

strategy identifies that the world

will need 60% more food by 2050. As

we leave the EU will the Prime

Minister commit to supporting our

farmers?

I am very happy to commit

to supporting our farmers. And in

fact markets for British food are

growing around the world and we want

to see those Margetts grow even

further. Leaving the EU means we

will have an opportunity to design a

new approach to agricultural policy,

one that supports our farmers to

grow more, to sell more and to

export more of their world-class

proproducts. What we will be doing

is ensuring we have an agriculture

policy that meets the needs of the

United Kingdom.

This week motor

manufacturers announced a year on

year drop in car sales of over 11%.

They blame confusion caused by the

Government's incoherent policy on

clean air and diesels, budget

measures and uncertainty caused by

Brexit. This industry is vital for

both the national economy and jobs

in the West Midlands. What is the

Government going to do to turn this

around?

I have to say to the

honourable gentleman that if he had

listened to the answer I gave and

the questions from my honourable

friend earlier he would have heard

how we are supporting the automotive

industry, supporting the future of

the industry. We recognise its

importance for the West Midlands and

importance for the United Kingdom

and that's why it's one of those

sectors that we are clear in our

industrial strategy that we will be

supporting so we can support those

jobs and prosperity for the future.

Would my right honourable friend

confirm she is aware of the strong

enthusiasm for free trade deals with

the UK from countries like Canada,

Japan, United States, Australia, and

even for participation in - UK

participation in the

transpartnership. None of these

opportunities will come our way if

we are shackled to regulation after

we have left the EU.

Well, I am

happy to say to my honourable friend

that I do recognise the enthusiasm

there is out there around the rest

of the world for to us do trade

deals with other countries. I am

happy to say that my right

honourable friend the trade

Secretary was in Australia recently

discussing these opportunities. When

I go around the world I also hear

the same message from a whole

variety of countries, they want to

do trade deals for us in the future.

What we want to do is to ensure we

get a good trade deal with the

European Union and the freedom to

negotiate these trade deals around

the rest of the world.

On Monday evening during the opening

speeches of the EU withdrawal bill

the Government bench showed its true

colours. Revealed were the imperial

British Government's intentions

spelled out in red, white and blue.

Would the Prime Minister care to

echo the chair of the Welsh affairs

Select Committee and I quote, it is

a power grab, and what a wonderful

power grab it is too or would she

admit that the scrabble to

repatriate powers from Brussels

provides a grubby excuse to deny our

democratic rights in Wales.

The

honourable lady knows full well what

my honourable friend was saying was

that what we will be doing when we

leave the European Union is grabbing

powers back from Brussels to the

United Kingdom. That's exactly

right. Following that we will expect

to see a significant increase in the

decision-making power of devolved

administrations. As a result of

that. That is absolutely right. If

Plaid Cymru are saying they want to

see powers rest in Brussels, we take

a different view. We want those

powers to be here in the United

Kingdom.

Will the Prime Minister join me in

wishing them every success in their

bid to see Stoke become the next

capital of culture for Britain?

I

have been very happy to visit Stoke

on Trent on a number of occasions

and my honourable friend is a

valiant champion for Stoke. I wish

them all the best. I have to say as

I have been asked about a number of

other bids from cities around the

United Kingdom I am sure all of

those cities bidding have