20/12/2017 Prime Minister's Questions

that we can and re-injecting further

momentum into seeing that executive

re-established and seeing devolved

government functioning all the

people of Northern Ireland.

Questions to the Prime Minister.

May I start, Mr Speaker, by wishing

all members and staff a Merry

Christmas and a happy New Year. I'm

I am sure the whole house will want

to join me in sending our warmest

Christmas messages to the Armed

Forces who are stationed overseas.

They make great devices on our

behalf. This morning, I had meetings

with ministerial colleagues and

others and I will have further such

meetings later today.

In 2009, the Prime Minister said it

was a tragedy that the number of

children falling into the poverty

cycle was continuing to rise. Every

child deserves to have a roof over

their head and food on the table.

Yet on her watch, in Wandsworth

alone, the number of families forced

to survive on food banks is

continuing to rise, and 2500

children, yes, children, will

wake-up homeless on Christmas Day.

My question is simple. When will

this austerity driven government say

enough is enough and put an end to

this tragedy?

Thank you, Mr Speaker. The

honourable lady should note that

this government has lifted hundreds

of thousands of children out of

absolute poverty. But I think it is

important, it is important for all

those who have heard her question to

be aware of this. She talks of 2500

children in Wandsworth waking up

homeless on Christmas Day. Anybody

hearing that will assume that what

that means is that 2500 children

will be sleeping on our streets. It

does not mean that.

Order. Order.

Honourable and right honourable

member 's are accustomed to these

exchanges taking somewhat longer. So

be it. The questions will be heard

and the answers from the Prime

Minister will be heard. I am in no

hurry at all. The Prime Minister.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. It is

important that we are clear about

this for those who hear those

questions, because as we all know,

families with children who are

accepted as homeless will be

provided with accommodation. And I

would also point out to honourable

members opposite that statutory

homeless is lower now than it was

for most of the period of the last

Labour government.

If I could draw my right honourable

friend away from Brexit which is

about to crop up I suspect, I

believe it is common knowledge that

the Conservative party is the party

that strives to protect our green

belt. Therefore, it was a shock to

me and my constituents when

Guildford Council submitted their

draft local plan. The Council are

seeking to build 57% of the houses

in their plan on green belt. Would

my right honourable friend agree

that local authorities should focus

their imaginations on developing

buildings of sufficient height,

density and imagination on

Brownfield sites, not green belt?

My

right honourable friend is right to

raise this issue on the half of his

constituents. A local authority may

only alter green belt boundary in

exceptional circumstances. In our

highs to Leave Housing White Paper

this was clear that it is when they

have fully examined other options

for meeting development needs and

that includes looking at Brownfield

sites and building on Brownfield

sites. In the case of Guildford, I

understand the local plan has been

submitted for examination earlier

this month and it will be examined

by an independent inspector in due

course, but I can assure my right

honourable friend that he is

absolutely right, that we want to

ensure that green belt is detected.

Jeremy Corbyn.

Thank you Mr Speaker.

Could I take this opportunity to

wish you, Ormond is of the House,

all our public servants and all of

our Armed Forces are very happy

Christmas and all the Best wishes

for 2018. And could I paid tribute

to our very hard-working National

Health Service staff, many of whom,

unlike us will not get a break this

Christmas. Is the prime minister

satisfied that the National Health

Service has the resources it needs

this winter?

First of all, can I

join the right honourable gentleman.

He refers to those NHS staff who

will be working very hard this

Christmas and will not get a break.

It is not only our NHS staff who

will be working hard this Christmas.

It is also our emergency services

and many others who go to work on

Christmas Day so others can enjoy

their Christmas Day, and we thank

all of them. He asks about

preparations for winter. I can say

to him, the health service has

prepared more extensively for this

winter than ever before. These plans

are helping to ensure safe, timely

care for patients. As it happens,

those are not my words, they are the

words of the chief Executive of NHS

providers.

Well, Sir Simon Stevens

did say the NHS needs £4 billion

next year just to stand still, and

the reality of the Government has

given the NHS less than half of what

he asked for. Mr Speaker, the Prime

Minister talks about the money the

NHS needs, but 50,000 people were

left waiting on trolleys in hospital

corridors last month. Last week,

more ambulances were diverted to

other hospitals because of A&E

pressures. 12,000 patients were kept

waiting in the back of an ambulance

because there was no room at the

A&E. I asked the Prime Minister a

game, has the NHS got the resources

it needs this winter to deal with

this crisis?

He knows full well that NHS funding

is at record levels. And in the

autumn budget, we put some extra

funding in to the NHS this winter,

in addition to the £6.3 billion

extra which is given to the NHS over

the coming years. Time after time

again, the right honourable

gentleman will come to this House

and complain about what is happening

in the health service. Can I just

say to him? Can I just tell the

House what is happening in the

health service. We see 7 million

more diagnostic tests than seven

years ago. 2.2 million people

getting operations, and survival

rates for cancer at their highest

ever level. Those are figures, but

what does it mean? What it means is

more people getting the treatment

they need. It means more elderly

people getting their hip operations,

and it means that today, there I

nearly 6500 people alive who would

not have been if we had not improved

our cancer care.

In the first three weeks of this

winter, 30,000 patients were left

waiting in the back of an ambulance

for more than half an hour. These

delays risk lives. If the NHS had

the resources it needs, you would

expect it to be meeting its key

waiting time targets. Can the prime

Minister give us a cast-iron pledge

that all of those targets will be

met in 2018?

What we are looking to

do in 2018 is yes, improve the

standard of care that we provide in

our health service and ensure we can

improve on those figures that I have

just given him, that we did see more

people being treated in our health

service, that we do see better

survival rates. That is why we have

been putting the extra money into

the National Health Service. But it

is not just about putting extra

money into the National Health

Service. It is about ensuring that

we see the proper integration of

health and social care at grassroots

level, that is what the SDPs are

about in many areas, opposed by the

Labour Party. It is why we have

lifted the cap so we see more nurse

training places opposed by the

Labour Party. This is about ensuring

we have the staff and capability in

the NHS to deliver a first-class

world-class service that our NHS is.

We should be proud of our NHS. We

are and we are going to make it even

better.

A&E waiting time targets

have not been met for 2.5 years.

Cancer treatment targets have not

been met for two years. Our A&E

departments are bursting at the

seams, because people cannot get a

GP appointment when they need one.

The Government promised to recruit

an extra 5000 GPs by 2020. Where are

they?

We are seeing more GPs, we are

seeing more training places for our

GPs, that he wants to talk that

targets, if he wants to talk about

targets, let's look at what has

happened in Wales will stop. The

standard on A&E in Wales was last

met in 2008. Let me just think.

Which party is in government in

Wales? Is it the Conservatives? No.

It is the Labour Party in government

in Wales. On cancer care, the

standard was last met in June 2008

in Wales. He should look at what the

Labour Party are actually delivering

before he comes to this House and

complains.

The Welsh Government

relies on a Brock grant from England

which has been cut by 5% by 2020 --

a block grant. Despite that, in

Wales, 85.5% of cancer patients

start their treatment within 62

days, higher than is achieved in

England. Mr Speaker, my question was

about GPs. Perhaps the prime

minister is not aware that there are

1000 less GPs than there were the

days she became Prime Minister. It

is not only the lack of GPs. Another

issue that is driving people into

A&Es are the 6 billion cuts made to

social care budgets. 2.3 million

older people have unmet care needs.

Does the Prime Minister regret, and

the Chancellor is sitting absolutely

next to her, that he did not put 1p

in his budget for social care?

We

have £2 billion extra money into

social care. We did that in the

spring budget. But he started his

question by referencing the record

of the last Labour government on

health. Well, you know, the last

Labour government's record on

health, their NHS legacy was

described as a mess. We are clearing

that up. We are putting more money

into the NHS. But who was it that

described, who was it who described

Labour's NHS legacy as a mess? It

was the right honourable gentleman.

When he is running for leader, he

denounces the Labour Party, now he

is leader of the Labour Party, he is

trying praise it.

Mr Speaker, an idea of some, Mr

Speaker, I could quote the prime

Minister something she may be

familiar with. If the Government

wants to reduce the pressure is on

the health service and keep people

out of hospital in the first place,

then he needs to tackle other

chronic underfunding of care and

support service in the community,

which are tipping point. Who said

that? The Conservative leader of

Warwickshire County Council. Mr

Speaker, the question was on social

care. But the issue is about the NHS

as a whole. It is there, Mr Speaker,

to provide care and dignity to all

if they fall ill, but our NHS goes

into this winter in crisis. Nurses

and other workers, no pay rise for

years. NHS targets not met four

years. Staff shortages, GP numbers

falling. The reality is, mental

health budgets have been cut, social

care budgets have been cut, public

health budgets cut. The Prime

Minister today has shown just how

out of touch she is. The truth is,

Mr Speaker, our NHS is being

recklessly, recklessly that at risk

by her government. That is the

truth, Mr Speaker.

The right honourable gentleman is

wrong because NHS funding has gone

up. He is wrong because social care

funding has gone up. But, you know,

not that long ago, the right

honourable gentleman was saying that

he would be Prime Minister by

Christmas... Well... He was wrong. I

am, and the Conservatives are in

government!

CHEERING

Not that long ago, you said we would

not deliver on phase one on the

Brexit negotiations but he was

wrong, we have made sufficient

progress and we are moving on to

phase two of Brexit negotiations.

Not that long ago he predicted that

the budget would be a failure, in

fact the budget was a success and is

delivering more money for our

National Health Service. Labour -

wrong, wrong, wrong. Conservatives,

delivering and Brexit, a budget for

homes and the health service,

delivering a Briton fit for the

future.

Mr Speaker... Mr Speaker,

thank you very much. Gloucestershire

College is building a brand-new

campus in my constituency made

possible by millions of pounds of

government support, can I thank the

Prime Minister for that investment?

Doesn't it show that this is a

government committed to investing in

skills necessary to make this an

economic and country fit for the

future? Hull Prime Minister!

May I

say to my right honourable friend

that I'm very pleased that that has

taken place in his constituency and

I'm also pleased to agree with him,

I know he believes very strongly in

this, the importance of skills and

training for the future. That is a

good commitment of this government.

It's more important than ever that

people in this country are

developing the skills they need to

get the highly paid jobs of the

future. As we are doing -- that's

what we are doing for the future,

and the Conservatives play an

important part of that.

Ian

Blackford. Thank you, Mr Speaker.

May I take this opportunity to wish

yourself, our members of staff,

emergency personnel and Merry

Christmas and a happy New Year when

it comes. Can we wish for a peaceful

election tomorrow in Catalonia? Mr

Speaker, in 2013, the then

Chancellor of the Exchequer George

Osborne, when reflecting on his

position and representing the

majority interest in the Royal Bank

of Scotland, on the departure of the

then chief executive of the Royal

Bank of Scotland, said of course, my

consent and approval was sought. Was

the government right to intervene in

the departure of the chief executive

of the Royal Bank of Scotland?

Prime

Minister...

I say to the right

honourable gentleman, that obviously

decisions were taken in the past

relating to RBS, the key decision

was taken at the time of the

financial crisis, in relation to

support the government provided to

the Royal Bank of Scotland. If he's

going to raise branch closures like

you did last week, I'm afraid he

will get the same answer as last

week. The government does ensure

that, through the protocol that is

in place, through the work done with

the Post Office to provide extra

services, that services are

available to people.

Mr Speaker, it

is supposed to be Prime Minister's

Questions, the Prime Minister is

supposed to at least try and answer

the question. If it was right in

2013 for the Chancellor of the

Exchequer to intervene on the

departure of the Chief Executive

Officer, then of course it is quite

right that the government takes its

responsibilities when the last 13

branches in town are going to be

closed in Scotland? Prime Minister,

show some leadership! Stand up for

our communities, bring Ross commune

in and say that you are going to

stand up for national interests and

stop these bank closures.

The

decision on individual bank branches

is operational decisions by the

banks themselves. He talks about

standing up for communities, and

standing up for people across

Scotland but I had to say to him,

that's a bit rich coming from an SNP

and government in Scotland, that's

going to increase taxes for 1.2

million Scots. The Conservative

government is reducing tax for 2.4

million Scots. There is one clear

message to people in Scotland, the

Conservatives back you but the SNP

tax you!

Order, I wish the

honourable member for Filton and

Bradley Stoke and his honourable

friend the member for Morley and

Outwood all the best for their

wedding on Friday of this week... I

look forward to attending that.

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I

look forward to seeing you there!

I'm sure the Prime Minister agrees

with me that defence of the RAM and

protection of our people is the

first duty of government but would

you further agree that any future

government which fails to support

our Armed Forces, which wants to

abolish nuclear deterrence, that

would endanger security as well as

placing hundreds of thousands of

jobs at risk across the country as

well as 12,000 in my own

constituency?

Mr Speaker, may I join

you in congratulating my honourable

friend and my honourable friend, the

member for Morley and Outwood on

their forthcoming wedding,

unfortunately due to my travels I

will not be able to attend. I wish

them the best. He has raised a very

important issue, and I absolutely

agree that defence is the first

responsibility of the first duty of

government and that is why we are

committed to our Nato pledge to

spend at least 2% of GDP on defence

every year. We had a £36 billion

defence budget which will rise to

almost £40 million by 2021 and we

are spending £178 billion over the

next ten years on equipment. He is

absolutely right, a party like the

one opposite which wants to get rid

of our nuclear deterrence, cut the

Armed Forces and get out of Nato,

that would not strengthen us but we

can us.

The Prime Minister would be

aware of the strong affection and

support for Gibraltar across this

house. In light of the guidelines

published this morning, will she

give a commitment not to enter into

agreement with the EU, that excludes

Gibraltar from the transitional or

implementation no arrangements and

periods?

Can I say to the honourable

gentleman that we, in the EU, have

been clear that Gibraltar is covered

by the withdrawal agreement and our

Article 50 exit negotiations and to

confirm what I said on Monday, our

negotiations, as we negotiate, are

being negotiated to ensure

relationships are there for

Gibraltar as well. We will not

exclude Gibraltar from negotiations

for the fermentation period or the

future agreement. I can give the

honourable gentleman that assurance.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. As the Prime

Minister would be aware, Derry is

important for growing children as

part of their healthy diet. The

sector is integral to great British

food and drink -- dairy. Will she

support our campaign next year to

rebrand milk, to ask supermarkets to

include it as part of their meal

deals elections and as part of a

healthy diet promotes drinking milk

in schools? Will she join me this

Christmas in raising a glass to our

fabulous dairy farmers?

I'm very

happy to join my honourable friend

in commending the work our dairy

farmers do. He talks about the

importance of dairy. He is a great

advocate of oral issues and he is

right, it is one of the most

efficient, innovative and high

quality dairy industries in the EU.

On the point that he has raised, can

I suggest, the Environment Secretary

would be happy to discuss those

particular points but I do join him

in recognising the importance of the

dairy industry.

Ronnie Coward.

Thank

you very much. I minister, in eight

European countries and Canada they

have drug consumption rooms which

reduce the spread of HIV, hepatitis

C and reduce crime. It's worth

noting that drug-related deaths in

the last 40 years continued increase

in the UK but there has never been a

drug overdose in a supervised drug

consumption room. In the interest of

public health, will be Prime

Minister introduced these rooms in

UK or devolve relevant powers to the

Scottish parliament so that the

Scottish Government can do so.

I'm

sure you are aware that the Home

Office recently updated the

government drug strategy but I had

to say that I have a different

opinion to some members of this

house. Some members of the house are

very liberal in their approach to

the way that drugs should be

treated. I'm very clear that we

should recognise the damage that

drugs do to people's lives. Our aim

should be to ensure that people come

off drugs and do not go on drugs in

the first place. Then people keep

clear of them. That is what we

should be focusing on.

Thank you, Mr

Speaker. Can I pay tribute to the

Prime Minister for listening so

carefully to myself around issues

for women's health, particularly

surrounding pregnancy, around mesh

implants, or all issues raised by my

constituents. Like my right

honourable friend they feel very

strongly about tackling female

health issues and are very grateful

to be heard. Can the Prime Minister

assure me that she will continue to

listen so that women do not feel

that they are left behind or

forgotten when it comes to help

equality in this country?

I was very

happy to meet my honourable friend

to discuss these issues, and indeed

to meet others to talk about this.

These are important issues, they are

issues that have had a real impact

on women's lives. They are issues

where women want answers as to what

has happened in relation to this and

I can assure my honourable friend

that the government and I will

continue to listen on these issues

and we will continue to look to see

what we can do to ensure that we do

not see women suffering in the way

that we have in the past on issues

like this and we will keep that

clear focus on women's health.

Life

effort. Poo-mac Mr Speaker...

Mr Speaker, happy Christmas. Last

year the Prime Minister told the

radio Times that on Christmas Day

she likes to prepare and cook her

own goose... You know what is

coming! In the spirit of Christmas

can I suggest that in order to

extract the maximum pleasure from

the messy job of stuffing her cues

that she names it either Michael or

Boris? -- stuffing her goose.

LAUGHTER

CLAPPING

Order, I'm sure that the Prime

Minister has better taste than that!

LAUGHTER

Can I say to the honourable

gentleman that I will be having to

resist the temptation to call the

goose Jeremy! Wing Mr Speaker, on

Thursday last night, there was an

important local referendum in

Christchurch.

The result was, 84% of

the people of Christchurch want to

keep Christchurch as an independent

sovereign borough and are against

the abolition of Christchurch.

Order! Order! I cannot understand

this atmosphere, I want to hear

about the views of the good burghers

of Christchurch!

Will my right

honourable friend ensure that the

government respects the views of the

people of Christchurch and will she

also ensure that the government

gives sufficient time, indeed extra

time, for the Council to draw up

alternative proposals which properly

reflect the wishes of the people of

Christchurch?

I thank my honourable

friend for his question. As I am

aware, and as he knows being close

to this, this issue has been

considered by local councils over a

significant period of time. This

issue has been considered by the

Department for Communities and Local

Government. As was said from a

sedentary position by my honourable

friend, it is also the case that

other councils in the area that do

support a change to the government

structure, of course DCLG will

carefully look at the issues of

these councils to ensure the best

result is there for the people of

Dorset.

Laura Peacock.

Thank you

very much, Mr Speaker. We have some

of the best schools in North West

Durham...

It may be moderately

good-natured, but nevertheless it is

disruptive. The honourable lady is

entitled to be heard! For as long as

she is in this house and I am in

this chair, the honourable lady will

be heard! That's the end of it.

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. We

have some of the very best schools

in North West Durham but whatever

the new fund and formula they deal

with deficits from years of

real-time cuts, feeling the

corrosive effect of a cad I is

eight, school staff are working for

longer and for less. Please, do not

tell me there is more money in our

schools. The fact is that a

significant proportion of schools in

North West Durham C a reduction in

their funding. They have run out of

ways to make cuts.

What do they do

next?

The honourable lady asked me

not to stand up and say there is

more money going into our schools

but of course, there is more money

going into our schools. That's the

reality. Funding for our schools

will rise by over £1.4 billion next

year and almost 1.2 billion a year

after. We have protected the Pupil

Premium to support those who need it

most. And if you listen to the

Labour Party, education only seems

to be about the amount of money put

in. What parents are looking for is

the quality of education provided

and I noticed that there is an

increase of over 12,000 children in

the County Down local authority now

in good or outstanding schools

because of this government.

Suella

Fernandes...

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

2017 has been an excellent year for

Fareham College, rated outstanding

by Ofsted and short listed by the

Times educational supplement as

College of the year. Successful in

its bid to deliver civil engineering

provision. Will my right honourable

friend join me in sending a happy

Christmas to the principal and his

staff, congratulating them on

supporting our young people into

work and because it is Christmas,

creating a Briton fit for the

future.

Can I say to you, my right

honourable friend, I'm very happy to

send good wishes to the principal

but also the staff and students at

Ferrum College, and congratulate

them that because of their hard

work, they have achieved excellent

results and she is absolutely right,

it's about ensuring young people

have the skills, education and

training for jobs of the future

building a Britain fit for the

future. -- Fareham College.

Fourth

terminally ill -- the terminally ill

people this Christmas, this

Christmas could be their last

Christmas. Does the Prime Minister

agree that it can never be

appropriate for terminally ill

people to be forced to meet with

work coaches or fit into an

arbitrary six months prognosis in

order to claim support? Will she

finally listen to the experts at

Macmillan and MND, that these people

faced the end of their lives?

The

honourable gentleman is right, we

need to ensure that we deal with

these cases where somebody has a

terminal illness with the utmost

sensitivity, these are issues that

have been raised before. The

conditions apply to terminally ill

people claiming Universal Credit are

the same as those claiming

employment and support allowance and

have remained the same for

successive governments. There are a

number of approaches that can be

taken and there were several options

for how people progress in the

system but he is right. We should

deal with people who are terminally

ill with sensitivity. That is what

the system is and what the system

intends to do. This morning I met

the Alan, young student whose life

was put on hold for two years and

had to endure torture until his case

collapsed this week, and another

case collapsed because of a lack of

disclosure.

Does the Prime Minister

agree that where there are these

allegations, there should be full

disclosure given to the CPS and both

lawyers.

My right honourable friend

raises an important point, the issue

of disclosure is one that has come

to a focus of concern, as is the

case that he has quoted and I

understand another case in the press

today. I can tell him that my right

honourable friend, the Attorney

General, had even before these cases

came up initiated a review into

disclosure. I do think it is

important that we look at it again

to ensure that we are truly

providing justice.

Thank you.

According to her own commission,

social mobility in Britain is

stalling and for many it is getting

worse, not better. Does she agree

with her former chief of staff that

last week's social mobility action

plan was disappointing, full of

jargon, short of meaningful policies

and should have been published.

The

social mobility action plan, it's

what the Sutton trust have said, so

that disadvantaged young people get

on in life, if she wants other

quotes, the Association of colleges

have said that this plan sets out an

ambitious agenda to tackle deep

seated in the qualities which the

education system struggles to

overcome. It's a good plan and will

make a big difference to people's

lives.

Mr Speaker, in the 1980s...

How very unfair on the honourable

gentleman.

I was saying, in the

1980s, Mrs Thatcher famously

commented that if the alarm was so

wonderful, why are millions of

people in boats to leave it? When my

right honourable friend goes into

the second phase of negotiations, if

WTO rules are so wonderful, why do

so many countries seek trade

agreements?

-- Vietnam. Of course,

countries around the world can trade

but on what terms are they trading?

We want to see a free trade

agreements negotiated with the EU

and we also want to see free trade

agreements negotiated with countries

around the rest of the world. The

reason for that, as we are believers

in free trade, the reason is we

believe that brings growth,

prosperity, jobs and a secure future

for this country.

Can I wish the

Prime Minister in Merry Christmas.

As she sits down to her Christmas

dinner, will she spare a thought for

the 1 million youngsters, the

Children's Society calculates are

set to lose their school dinners

because of the government's

Universal Credit plan? It's the

season of goodwill, why doesn't she

offered to fix this?

Can I wish the

honourable gentleman in Merry

Christmas and a happy New Year. In

fact, the introduction of the

arrangements for free school meals

under Universal Credit that is

proposed by the government will lead

to more children having access to

free school meals.

Geoffrey Clifton

Brown!

Given Michel Barnier's claim

that the UK banks will lose their

passporting writes her Spectre, as

opposed to the Bank of England

statement that EU banks will

continue to operate here, does this

not vindicate my right honourable

friend's principled and strong

stance in negotiating reciprocity

for EU and UK citizens?

I will say

that we value the important role

that the City of London plays, not

just as a financial centre for

Europe but also for the world. We

want to retain that and maintain

that. Michel Barnier has made a

number of comments recently about

the negotiation position on clear

and the Bank of England and the

Treasury has set out reassurance to

ensure that the banks will be able

to continue to operate and will

continue to ensure that the City of

London retains a global position but

of course this will be part of

negotiations on phase two of Brexit.

We are clear on how important this

is.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Mr and

Mrs Walker from great word in my

constituency have a son with

learning difficulties. Mr Walker was

knocked down by a driver over the

summer who had taken drugs, was

drunk, and was speeding. He is 69

and now a quadriplegic. He is not

entitled to PIP, he cannot access

mote ability and they are now paying

£400 per calendar month for a hire

car. I wrote to the DWP about this

case on the 21st of November and

haven't had a reply. Isn't it

shocking that this country and

government cannot look after the

elderly and the disabled and I would

ask the Prime Minister looks into

this case urgently?

Can I first of

all give my best wishes to Mr Walker

and his family, and how sorry we are

to hear of what has befallen him. He

references a letter made to the DWP,

I will ensure that this case is

investigated and that he receives a

response.

Will my right honourable

friend join me in praising the work

of Alice who supported. The separate

from the supported housing sector,

so that refugees can deliver

specialist support?

I thank my

honourable friend for raising the

question of refuges, but I am happy

to join him in praising the work of

four Tallis and services across the

country. You mention the reforms put

in place and that is because at the

moment we feel the system is not

responsive to the needs of

vulnerable women in local areas --

Fort Alice. So we want funding to go

to the hands of local authorities

but bring in new oversight to make

sure we deliver the right support

for the right people, ensuring we

focused support on those who need it

and that this is a system more

The inappropriate treatment of

smaller businesses by the Royal Bank

Of Scotland destroyed businesses,

ripped families apart and saw people

take their own lives. RBS is owned

by the Government. Will the Prime

Minister set up the full independent

enquiry which is needed to deliver

justice for victims?

My understanding is that this issue

is properly being looked into. I

recognise the Kearns did the smack

-- I recognise the concerns being

expressed and will look into this.

Does the prime Minister share my

dismay that the SNP government is

planning on raising taxes on

hard-working Scots, when it could

raise the same amount, if not more,

by just getting its own house in

order, and improving efficiencies?

Can I thank my honourable friend.

What the Scottish government is

proposing is there are 1.2 million

Scots earning £26,000 will be paying

more tax than people in England will

be paying. But I was interested

because I was not aware that the

fact...

Order. Apologies for

interrupting the prime Minister. Can

I just ask the prime Minister to

face the House because some of us

cannot hear fully and I would like

to hear fully.

Mr Speaker, I was making the point

that my honourable friend has made

an important point which is with the

SNP got its own house in order it

could save that amount of money by

raising taxes and act surely not

putting that extra tax burden on

people earning over £26,000.

In light of someone with a very

loose and inaccurate language coming

from politicians who should know

better, would she take the

opportunity to repeat to this House

and the public in Northern Ireland,

both sides of the community, the

well established three strand

approach to Northern Ireland, which

makes it clear that the internal

arrangements and decisions on

Northern Ireland are matter of the

United Kingdom government and the

parties in Northern Ireland?

I'm happy to make that clear to the

right honourable gentleman and

confirm what he says and we are very

happy about the decisions that we

have taken about Northern Ireland.

What we do want to see is a Northern

Ireland Executive restored so we can

see those devolve decisions being

taken by that Northern Ireland

Executive. I know the right

honourable gentleman also wants to

see that Executive restored and we

will continue to work with his party

and with other parties.

As one of the signatories to

Amendment 400 to the EU Withdrawal

Bill, may I seek an assurance from

the Prime Minister that its

provisions to change the date of our

leaving

March at 11pm. The bill that is

going through does not determine

that the UK leaves the EU, that's

part of Article 50 process and a

matter of international law and is

important that we have the same

position legally as the European

Union and that's why we have

accepted the amendment. I can assure

my honourable friend and a house

that we would only use this power in

exceptional circumstances for the

shortest possible time and an

affirmative motion would be brought

to the House.

The government

Department of Justice, NHS England,

Lancashire care foundation trust

should be thoroughly ashamed of

their part in the national disgrace

which is HMP Liverpool. Could the

Prime Minister assure this house,

this whole house, that those

responsible for the deplorable

conditions, the lack of care that

led to suicides of some prisoners

and has this harm has been caused to

staff and prisoners. Those people

will be held to account and proper

disciplinary action taken and they

not be allowed to move simply to

other jobs. We need accountability

for this tragedy.

As I understand

it, as my right honourable friend

the Justice Secretary said

yesterday, he expects this report on

HMP Liverpool to be published early

in the New Year. The number of

actions have been taken as I

understand it, including changes to

prison management. Overall, we are

increasing front line staff in our

prisons by putting more money into

that and increasing the support

available to vulnerable offenders

especially during the first 24 hours

of custody and we have also invested

more mental health awareness

training for prison officers but of

course, my right honourable friend

the Justice Secretary will look

carefully at this report when it's

published. Coda I'm sorry if I was

keeping the honourable gentleman

awake.

We had some other pressing

business. I want to hear him.

Merry

Christmas to you, Mr Speaker, as

well. The Prime Minister has just

given an assurance that Amendment

400 would indeed be only used in

extremely in extreme circumstances

and for a short time. Are we

talking, if it's used, to be used at

all, could she assure those it would

only be used for a matter of weeks

or months maximum and no longer

because there is a concern that it

could be indefinitely extend our

stay within the EU.

Can I thank my

honourable friend for seeking

further clarification on this

particular point. Can I just start

by saying, as I did to my honourable

friend, the member for new Forest,

that actually we're going to leave

on the 29th of March 2019, that's

what we are working to. But we do

want to ensure that we have the same

legal position as the European Union

and that is why amendment 400,

tabled by the member for West Dorset

has been accepted. I can assure that

if it was the case this would be

used, it would only be an extremely

exceptional circumstances and it

would be for the shortest possible

time. We are not talking about

extensions...

Order. We would hear

better if members didn't keep

wittering, said entry position. New

Year 's resolution. An end to

sedentary chuntering, wittering and

hollering. The Prime Minister.

I

apologise for not facing the

opposition. I was hoping to ensure

my honourable friend actually heard

the response I was giving and I can

assure him that we are talking about

the shortest possible time for this,

should it be used, but I'm clear

we're leaving the European Union on

the 29th of March 20 19.

Last

Friday, Jo Cox's sister, Kim, the

honourable member, published the Jo

Cox manifesto. Werder Bremen is to

join us in urging everybody over

Christmas to look out for

neighbours, family and friends who

are struggling with the pain of

loneliness and will government play

its part by publishing a strategy

for loneliness and responding fully

early in the New Year to other

recommendations?

Can I say to the

honourable lady, I know that she has

worked extremely hard on this issue,

together with my honourable friend,

and this is an important issue and

we are getting more and more

awareness of the impact of

loneliness on people and I think we

already know is that social

isolation is an issue. It is of

importance to the government and we

are looking at a number of things we

can do to help reduce loneliness but

it's not just what government can

do, it's about what communities can

do, what neighbours can do and I'm

pleased to say that in my own

constituency of Maidenhead, the

churches together and Christmas Day

bring elderly people who would

otherwise be on their own together

or a community lunch. Just one small

example of what we can all do in our

communities to help them overcome

the problem of loneliness.

Is very

welcome that the Prime Minister is

taking personal charge of building

the homes of this country, such an

important social justice issue for

the future of our country. How does

the Prime Minister see us doing this

at this scale and that the speed

which is necessary.

My honourable

friend is right that we do need to

build more homes and we have to

build them at a scale. When I am

pleased to say that last year we saw

217,000 new homes built, this means

that we have seen a record level of

house building that apart from one

year has not been seen over the last

30 years. We need to go further,

that's why we propose a number of

changes both in support for

affordable housing, support for

councils, support for people helping

to get their foot on the housing

ladder and working with local

authorities in a number of ways to

make sure lenders released and we do

see builders building at the

planning permission is that they

have.

He's not have any seasonal response.

From the honourable gentleman from

Sefton, said entry position. I

expect better of the honourable

gentleman. Tim Farren.

Thank you

very much. Your characteristic

greeting and a Merry Christmas to

everyone, especially the honourable

member for Sefton. NHS England have

extended the deadline for the

consultation on the allocation of

radiotherapy services into the New

Year. Will she take this opportunity

to ensure that one of the criteria.

Ensure that travel distances they

take travel times have massive

impact on outcome. The people live

in places like South Cumbria can

access this safely and quickly.

I

say to the honourable gentleman, of

course we are aware of the need to

ensure not just the people are able

to access the treatment that they

need but they are unable to access

that in a way that is appropriate

and recognising in some rural areas

that means further distances to

travel than it would in other parts

of the country. There is a

consultation idea, NHS England will

be looking very closely at these

issues and I'm sure he will have

made representations to them.

Order.

We will come to the honourable

gentleman.