17/01/2018 Prime Minister's Questions

happening at the ground. We wish to

help developing nations not just in

terms of their economies but also in

terms of rights, human rights, and

civil society. Questions to the

Prime Minister. Catherine McKinnell.

Number one, Mr Speaker.

This morning I had meetings in

addition to my duties in this House,

I shall have further such meetings

later today.

The Government must

take responsibility for its role in

the mess now left by Carillion.

Thousands of staff face

unemployment. SME suppliers face

going bust. But I'm concerned for

the 1400 Carillion apprentices, some

of whom I've met locally. It's not

good enough to pass the buck. Wilbur

Prime Minister guarantee today that

everyone of those apprentices will

be able to complete their training

and will be paid?

Well, can I say to

the honourable lady that I recognise

that of course this has been a

difficult time for a number of

people, concerned about their jobs

and public services and about their

pensions. I want first of all, if I

may, Mr Speaker, to provide

reassurance to all employees who are

working on public services for

Carillion that they shall continue

to turn up the works confident in

the knowledge that they will be paid

for the work that they are

providing. Of course, the Government

is not running Carillion. The

Government is actually a customer of

Carillion. Our focus has been on

ensuring that we are providing the

public services that they are

continuing to be provided and

interrupted -- and interrupted, to

reassure workers on those public

services that they will get paid. To

reassure pensioners, the support is

there for them. Yes, I'm coming onto

the apprentices. But it is important

that the Government is undertaking

its role to ensure that the services

it provides are continuing to be

provided. And I can assure the

honourable lady that we are aware of

the issues around apprentices, and

that's why the Minister with

responsibility for that will be

looking very carefully at what

action he takes.

Simon Hoare.

What

better way to start the year of

engineering than to see

Manufacturing output at its highest

level in a decade? And productivity

on the up. Can I invite my right

honourable friend to commit and

confirm her Government to secure and

support UK manufacturing and the

important export it delivers?

Well,

I'm very happy, I'm very happy to

give my honourable friend that

commitment from the Government. And

he's absolutely right. It's very,

very pleasing to see the figures

that the ONS produced last week,

which show that production has now

grown for eight months, the longest

streak since 1994. Manufacturing

output is at its highest since

February 2008. And earlier this

month we saw the productivity growth

has had its best quarter since 2011.

That shows that our economy remains

strong, that we are continuing to

deliver secure, better paid jobs,

and we will continue to do that in

supporting our manufacturing sector.

Jeremy Corbyn.

Thank you, Mr

Speaker. In the last six months, the

Government has awarded more than £2

billion worth of contracts to

Carillion. It did so even after the

share price was in freefall, and the

company had issued profit warnings.

Why did the Government do that?

It

might be helpful if I just set out

for the right honourable gentleman

that a company's profit warning

means that it believes it will not

make as much profit as it had

expected to make.

LAUGHTER

If... If... The Government did... If

it was the case, if it was the case

that the Government pulled out of

contracts, or indeed private sector

companies pulled out of contracts

whenever a profit warning was

issued, that would be the best way

to ensure that companies failed and

the jobs were lost. It would also,

for the Government, raise real

issues about providing continued,

and interrupted public services.

Yes, we did, we did recognise that

it was a severe profit warning. And

that's why we took action in

relation to the contracts that we

issued. And we ensure that all but

one of those contracts was a joint

venture. What does that mean? It

means that there was another company

available to step in and take over

the contract. But I say the right

honourable gentleman, this wasn't

just an issue of the Government

issuing contracts. Actually we see

that the Labour run Welsh Government

issued a contract after a profit

warning last July. And only last

week, in the public sector, a public

sector body announced that Carillion

was their preferred bidder. Only

last week. Was that the Government?

No, that was Labour run Leeds City

Council.

Mr Speaker, for the record,

Leeds have not signed a contract

with Carillion. It's the Government

here's been handing out contracts.

It's the Goverment's responsibility

to ensure Carillion is properly

managed. Between July, Mr Speaker,

between July and the end of last

year, the share price of Carillion

fell by 90%. Three profit warnings

were issued. Unbelievably, some

contracts were awarded by the

Government even after the third

profit warning. Mr Speaker, it looks

like the Government was handing

Carillion public contracts either to

keep the company afloat, which

clearly hasn't worked, or it was

just deeply negligent of the crisis

that was coming down the line.

Mr

Speaker, I'm very happy to once

questions when the right honourable

the woman asks one, but he didn't!

-- when the right honourable

gentleman.

Mr Speaker, I ask the Government if

they have been negligent or not, and

they clearly have been very

negligent. Tory MPs might shout, Mr

Speaker, but the reality is, as of

today, over 20,000 Carillion workers

are very worried about their future.

For many of them, the only recourse

tonight is the phone a DWP hotline.

The frailties were well-known. Hedge

fund is well betting against

Carillion since 2015. RBS banks,

state owned, making provision

against Carillion last year. The

Government is supposed to protect

public money through Crown

representatives, who was supposed to

monitor these powerful corporations

who get huge public contracts. So,

white, and this is a question, that

the Prime Minister needs to answer,

and the question is this... Why did

the position of Crown representative

to Carillion remained vacant during

the crucial period of August to

November, when the profit warnings

were being issued, the share price

was in freefall, and many people

were very worried?

I'm afraid I have

to say to the right honourable

gentleman, of course... And can I

say to the shadow front secretary, I

will indeed answer the question, but

I know that she herself has praised

Carillion in the past for the work

that they have done -- the Shadow

Foreign Secretary.

Can I say to the right honourable

gentleman, yes, there is obviously

now a Crown representative who's

been fully involved in the

Goverment's response. Before the

appointment of the Crown

representative, to replace the one

that had previously been in place,

the Government chief commercial

officer and the Cabinet Office

director of markets and suppliers

took over those responsibilities. It

was not the case that there was

nobody from the Government who was

looking at these issues, that's a

standard procedure, to ensure that

there was oversight of Carillion's

contracts with the Government during

the appointment of the Grand Rapids

and if.

Well, they clearly weren't

looking very well! Carillion went

into liquidation with debts we now

understand to be £1.29 billion. A

pension deficit of £600 million.

And, at the same time, this company

was paying out ever-increasing

shareholder dividends, whilst the

excessive bonuses to directors, and,

today, 8000 Carillion workers on

private sector contracts will no

longer be paid. The chief executive

is going to be paid, however, for

another ten months. One rule for the

super rich, another for everybody

else. Can the Prime Minister assure

the House today that not a single

penny more will go to the chief

executive or the directors of this

company?

Can I first stage of a

right honourable gentleman that

obviously this is a situation that

is changing as decisions are being

taken, but my understanding is that

there are a number of private sector

contracts who have now come to an

agreement, and facilities management

contractors who have come to an

agreement with the official receiver

that means that their work is --

their workers will indeed continue

to be paid. The official receiver is

doing their job of working with

those companies. He has raised the

issue of bonuses. Of course, people

are concerned about this issue and

want, and are rightly asking

questions about it. That's why we

are making sure that the official

receiver's investigation into the

business dealings of the company is

fast tracked, that it looks into the

conduct not just of current

directors, but also of previous

directors and their actions. And the

official receiver does have the

powers to ensure that, in reviewing

payments to executives, where those

payments are lawful are justified he

can take action to recover those

payments. -- are unlawful or

unjustified. It is important that

the official receiver is able to do

their job. It is also important, the

Goverment's job is to continue the

bright public services, and that is

what we are doing. The right

honourable gentleman said earlier,

it was the Goverment's job to ensure

that Carillion was properly managed.

We are because the of Carillion, not

the manager of Carillion, that is

the important difference but we are

the customer of Carillion. And it is

also important that we have

protected taxpayers from an

unacceptable bailout of a private

company.

Mr Speaker, when Carillion

went into liquidation, many

contractors were still unpaid. This

company, Carillion, were notorious

late payers, taking 120 days to pay,

placing a huge burden on small

companies. Four times longer than

the 30 days in the prompt payment

code that Carillion had indeed

themselves signed up to. So, why did

the Government allow a major

Government contractor to get away

with this? Will she commit to

label's policy that abiding by the

prompt payment code should be a

basic requirement for all future

Government contracts?

Of course, we

look at the behaviour of companies

that we contract with in relation to

payments. This question of prompt

payment has been one that has been

brought up in this House, I have to

say, for as long as I have been in

this House. And work is always being

done on it. But the right honourable

gentleman has raised an important

point about the impact of

Carillion's liquidation on small

companies. That's why this morning

the Business Secretary and the city

Minister held a Round Table with the

banks to discuss credit lines to

small and medium-sized enterprises,

and to make clear that SMEs are not

responsible for the collapse of

Carillion. The Business Secretary

has also held further round tables

today with representatives of small

businesses. Construction trade

associations, and trade unions,

workers unions, to make sure that we

are on top of the potential effects

on the wider supply train. It is

right that we look at those very

carefully and take this action. And

it is also right that we do put in

place through the DWP support for

any workers who do find themselves

no longer employed as a result of

this.

Jeremy Corbyn.

It's a bit late

for one subcontractor, floor attack

of £800,000 by Carillion have

already had to make some of their

staff redundant by the collapse. --

Florette Tech. This is not an

isolated case of Government

negligence and corporate failure. It

is a broken system. Under this

Government, this Government, virgin

and Stagecoach, can spectacularly

mismanaged the east Coast Main line

and be let off a £2 billion payment.

Capita and a toss can continue to

wreck the lives through damaging

disability assessment of many people

with disabilities, and win more

Government funded contracts. G4S

promised to provide security at the

Olympics, and fail to so, do and the

army had to step in and save the

day. These corporations, Mr Speaker,

need to be shown the door. We need

our public services provided by

public employees with a public

service ethos, and a strong public

oversight. As the ruins of Carillion

lie around her, will the Prime

Minister act to end this costly

racket of the relationship between

Government and some of these

companies?

I might first to mind the right

honourable gentleman that a third of

the Carillion contracts with that

Government were led by the Labour

government. What we want is to

provide good quality public

services, delivered at best value to

the taxpayer. We're making sure in

this case that public services

continue to be provided, that the

workers in those public services are

supported and taxpayers are

protected. But what Labour oppose

isn't just a role for private

companies and public services but

the private sector as a whole. The

vast majority of people in this

country in employment are employed

by the private sector, but the

Shadow Chancellor calls businesses

are the real enemy. Labour won the

highest taxes in our peacetime

history, Labour policies would cause

a run on the pound. This is a Labour

Party that has turned its back on

investment, on growth, on jobs, a

Labour Party that will always but

politics before people.

Mr Speaker, can I thank the Prime

Minister for visiting Cheam on

Saturday, where she heard from local

residents about the poor services

provided by the complacent Lib Dem

council. People should not have to

settle for second best so would she

agree with me back to unlock Sutton

and London's potential on May the

3rd, by giving residents the

opportunity to get great services

and value for money by voting

Conservative?

I was very happy to

join my honourable friend on the

doorsteps in Cheam and hear from

people about the issues, about

Liberal Democrat services in Sutton

and Cheam, particularly around the

rubbish bins. I believe they are now

up to 6p per household. I think they

are trying to get to one Bendtner

every Liberal Democrat member of

Parliament. But he is absolutely

right, the evidence is that

Conservatives deliver better

services at less cost the council

taxpayer. And well we are talking

about customer council taxpayer,

only last week Labour's Ben Fryer

minister announced that Labour

policy was to put council tax up on

every average typical home by £320.

People should know that a vote for

Labour is a vote to pay more.

Thank

you, Mr Speaker. Can the Prime

Minister tell the House what

official advice she has had on the

impact on the UK economy from

leaving the EU single market and

when she requested any such advice?

I have to say to be honourable

gentleman that of course as we go

through the Brexit negotiations, we

are constantly looking at the impact

that decisions that are taken will

have on our economy. What we want to

ensure is that we maintain good

access, a good conference of free

trade agreement with the EU, while

also, as leaving the EU, we will be

able to ensure that we get good free

trade agreements with other parts of

the world.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. 19

months after the EU referendum and

the Prime Minister has not a shred

of economic analysis on the impact

of leaving the single market. On

Monday, Scottish Government

published its second analysis paper,

revealing some horrifying facts.

Leaving the single market will cost

each Scottish citizen up to £2300 a

year. How many jobs have to be lost

and how much of a hit will families

take before this Prime Minister

recognises the folly of leaving the

single market?

He asks me for

economic analysis. I will give him

some economic analysis. We saw the

figures this morning for GDP growth

in Scotland. In the third quarter,

GDP in Scotland group by 0.2%. In

the rest of the UK it grew by 0.4%.

Over the last year, GDP in Scotland,

under an SNP government in Scotland,

grew by 0.6%. In the United Kingdom

as a whole, it grew by 1.7%. My

economic analysis, 1.7% is better

than 0.6 percentage you are better

off with a Conservative government

than an SNP won.

Will the Prime

Minister look at the case of my late

constituent and barnyard, who was

badly injured by a shoplifter. She

recently died, partly because of

these injuries at the young age of

70. -- Anne Banyard. Her claim has

been delayed and her family worries

that it will collapse completely.

Will she support me and the local

paper in supporting this case and

will to make clear that the rights

of victims should be a part of our

criminal policy?

My honourable

friend is right to put the case for

the rights of victims that he is

absolutely right that we should

always remember victims. I'm very

sorry to hear the case of his late

constituent Anne Banyard and I know

that the whole house will want to

join me in offering condolences to

her family in this tragic case. Of

course, as my honourable friend

knows, the criminal compensation

authority administers the scheme and

applies the rules dependably of

government but I'm sure the Justice

Secretary will be happy to meet with

my right honourable friend to

discuss this case.

At the

internationally embarrassing news of

the Tory council leader from my

neighbour in Maidenhead and Windsor

and his disregard for the homeless

around the royal wedding and the

recent put-downs to the Prime

Minister and our government by

President Trump, can the Prime

Minister confirm whether she

actually wants an invite to be

extended for the royal wedding and a

state visit to the very stable

genius from the US who, by the way,

seems to be copying all the

buzzwords from his not so strong and

stable -- from this not so strong

and stable government?

He knows that

we have a special during

relationship with the United States.

An invitation to President Trump for

a state visit has been extended. I

have to say to the honourable

gentleman, I'm not responsible for

invitations to the royal wedding to

take place but he did reference the

Royal Borough of Windsor and

Maidenhead council. I just think he

should be aware that the Royal

Borough has taken a number of

actions to support vulnerable

residents, including those who are

homeless. The establishment of an

emergency night shelter, open 365

days a year, a day service attached

to that, providing support services

to vulnerable residents, a

comprehensive seven day a week

service for the homeless or those at

risk of homelessness, and they

applied the severe weather emergency

protocol. They offered accommodation

to, I think, 32 homeless people on

the streets, of whom 21 took about

accommodation and 11 did not.

Thank

you, Mr Speaker. Cancer can strike

anyone no matter where they live in

the UK. The sunrise appeal in

Cornwall raised £300 million since

2000 to fund equipment and buildings

for cancer care. Brussels by the NHS

could see radiotherapy services

moved from Cornwall to Devon. This

would see many constituents having

to travel hundreds of miles to

access treatment many times a week.

These proposals are unacceptable to

my constituents and the vast

majority of people in Cornwall. Does

the Prime Minister agree with me

that travel time should be taken

into account when making these

decisions, and will she join me in

encouraging the people of Cornwall

to respond to the NHS consultation?

My honourable friend raises an

important point and we do want to be

sure that patients get the best

cancer services. We want to see them

getting access to treatment and

ensuring that they get that on a

timely fashion, of course. The

length of time it takes them to

travel to that treatment is an

important issue. That's why we are

establishing radiotherapy networks

that will review any access issues

and service provision on a regular

basis and address any shortcomings

in the area, and that is backed up

by £130 million on new and upgraded

radiotherapy machines. But he is

absolutely right that these

decisions should be taken primarily

at a local level and I would join

him in encouraging the people of

Cornwall to respond to the

consultation.

Mr Speaker, last week

my constituent Carol's son had a

mental health crisis. He was

admitted to the nearest available

psychiatric adult bed in West

Sussex, a 450 mile round trip from

his home and family in Manchester.

The lack of mental health beds is a

national crisis and scandal so when

will the Prime Minister turn her

warm words on mental health into

action to solve the crisis?

I can

say to the honourable gentleman,

obviously I am sorry to hear of the

experience of his constituent. We

are turning the words that we have

put on in terms of a priority for

mental health into action. Is them

over a slew? Yes, that is why we are

continuing to put an emphasis on

this. We do see more people being

able to access mental health

services everyday. We've increased

the number of people having access

to therapies, we've increased the

funding available for mental health.

There is more for us to do but we

are putting more money in and taking

more action on mental health than

any previous government.

Sir Desmond

Swayne.

CHEERING

Order! Order! The right honourable

gentleman is extremely alert! Order!

And I want to hear what he is going

to say.

A question keeps me awake at

night...

LAUGHTER

How will companies be encouraged to

follow her lead in the way that

Iceland has done?

I am very pleased

to say that we have seen Iceland

this week making a commitment to be

plastic free. We have seen other

companies making commitments to

ensure that any plastics they use

are recyclable in a number of years

and I'm very happy to join my

honourable friend in saying that we

will be encouraging companies to

follow Iceland's lead. We will also

be consulting on how the tax system

or the introduction of charges could

further reduce the amount of waste

we create and we are launching a new

plastics innovation fund, backed up

by additional funding that the

Government is investing in research

and develop and, to ensure that we

do really reduce the amount of

plastic that is used and leave this

land and environment in a better

state than we found it.

We can all

learn about brevity, myself

included, from the right honourable

gentleman. David Linden...

A

constituent of buying has profound

mental health difficulties and was

put on Universal Credit in 2016 and

received a 276 day sanction. A judge

ruled that that sanction was wrong

and it has been overturned. Will the

Prime Minister agree to look into

that case but above all, will she

apologised to my constituent?

Obviously, I am sorry to hear the

case that the honourable gentleman

has set out. I am very happy to

ensure that that cases properly

looked into.

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Following transport for the North's

announcement on northern Powerhouse

rail, will the Prime Minister

confirm that given its commitment to

invest in northern transport

infrastructure and ensuring that the

northern Powerhouse materialises?

I

am happy to give a commitment to the

northern Powerhouse and given the

great cities across the North --

giving very great cities of the

North begins a search of a need to

create that Northern Powerhouse. We

are spending a record £13 billion to

transform transport across unaltered

top we have made transport for the

north of a need to create that

Northern Powerhouse. We are spending

a record £13 billion to transform

transport across unaltered top we

have made transport for the North

the first-ever subnational transport

authority. They have published their

strategic plan for consultation and

I would hope that all members with

an interest in this issue would

engage in that consultation and make

sure their views and their

constituents' views are heard.

His

Holiness Pope Francis has this week

condemned hostility to migrants in

communities across Europe. They must

open themselves without prejudice to

the rich diversity of immigrants. As

a committed Christian, would Prime

Minister agree with Francis that

hostility to migrants is a sin?

What

I say to her is that this country

has a fine record over not just

decades but centuries, of welcoming

refugees and ensuring that people

can come to this country and make

their home in this country, and that

is what we will continue to do.

John

Worboys is likely to be one of the

worst sex attack is our country has

ever known and when he was in court

he denied his guilt and was

continuing to deny it until 200

years ago. He dismissed his crimes

as banter and only last year was

deemed too dangerous to be put into

open release conditions. The short

sentence he has served is an insult

to his victims and shows a contempt

for Justice. Does the Prime Minister

agree with me that the decision must

now be judiciary the -- judicially

reviewed and that those cases should

be broader when tried in court?

I

thank him for raising this and this

is a case that is rightly raising

deep concern among the public but

also all members across this House.

As my honourable friend will know,

the Parole Board is rightly

independent of government and even

insensitive cases such as this, we

must ensure that independence is

maintained and we don't prejudice

decisions. But although they have

decided to approve his release with

stringent licensing decisions --

conditions, the Justice Secretary

has made clear she is taking legal

advice on the possibility of a

judicially -- judicially review on

Mr Dock it is right that we would

conduct a review to look at options

for change and this... Public

protection is our priority and I

think often people are concerned

when they see decisions of the

Parole Board being taken and they

are not aware of the decisions

behind that. There may be limits to

what can be done but I figured it's

right that we look into this case

and question the issue of

transparency.

Many thanks. By

constituent informed me that she had

been raped and beaten by her

ex-partner, requiring an injunction.

Much to her horror, the bank would

not close a joint account unless she

attended with the perpetrator. When

banks were left to their discretion,

women's lies are being put at risk.

Will the Prime Minister ensure

policy to protect survivors is

included in a pending domestic

violence spills?

The honourable lady clearly raises a

very distressing case. We want to

ensure that we give problems of bot

to all of those -- we give proper

support to those who have been

subjected to be abuse of the kind

that the honourable lady has been

referred to. The Home Secretary will

be issuing consultation on the

proposed legislation which is an

opportunity for issues such as this

to be raised.

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

A brutal attack occurred in my

constituency over the weekend, a

young woman tragically died. Will

the Prime Minister ex then to her

sympathies to the family and pay

tributes to the hard work of the

emergency services who attended the

scene?

Can I say to my honourable

friend Comey he told me about this

very distressing case last night,

and this is a horrific case. And I

do extend my sympathies, and I'm

sure the whole House extends their

sympathies and condolences to her

family and friends at this tragic

death that has occurred. I will also

congratulate the emergency services

on the action that they have taken.

But also, I think, from the

description my honourable friend

gave to me last night, I think we

should have some thought and care to

all of those who were witnesses to

this particular incident, through

their fault of their own other than

happening to be at a particular

premises at liberty to The Times or

through no fault of their own.

The

Prime Minister will be aware that

Northern Ireland has not have the

government now for over a year.

Decisions need to be taken to

protect our health service,

education and local communities.

Does the Prime Minister agree that

in the absence of a Government being

formed, it is imperative that her

Government takes the decision to

appoint direct rule ministers as

soon as possible so that a budget

can be put forward to deal with this

urgent problem?

We are committed to

re-establishing fully functioning,

inclusive devolved administration

that works for everyone in Northern

Ireland. I don't underestimate the

challenges that remain involved

here, but we still believe that a

way forward can be found under the

agreement can be reached. I would

say it is imperative that the

parties re-engage in intensive

discussions aimed at resolving the

outstanding issues so that the

assembly can meet and an executive

can be formed. We do recognise,

however, that we have a

responsibility to ensure political

stability and good governance in

Northern Ireland. As I say, our

priority was on ensuring that we can

work with bodies to re-establish the

devolved government in Northern

Ireland. But we recognise the need

to ensure that Northern Ireland can

continue to operate and that public

services can continue to be

provided.

I thank her for her

earlier response to my colleague

from North Cornwall. NHS England are

investing £130 million in the

radiotherapy treatment for air and

less common cancers. Can she confirm

and reassure my constituents that

there is no need for existing good

radiotherapy services in Somerset to

be moved in order to deliver this

cancer treatment for our cancers?

Well, as I said in relation to the

earlier question from my honourable

friend -- for rare cancers. We

recognise the importance of ensuring

that people have access to these

treatments, and we do recognise the

issues that people sometimes face in

relation to travelling to the

centres where these services are

available. This is primarily a

decision to be taken at local level.

As I did earlier, I would encourage

people to take part in the

consultation, to respond to the

consultation, so that local views

can truly be heard and taken into

account.

My constituent, Chris

Robinson, has the weight 52 weeks

for her pain relief treatment,

instead of the 18 weeks that a

properly funded NHS would deliver.

How much longer will it take for the

Prime Minister to sort things out?

Can I say to the honourable

gentleman, that we are putting more

money, as he knows, into the

National Health Service, in the

autumn budget the Chancellor of the

Exchequer but a further £2.8 billion

into the National Health Service.

But if we are looking at the issues

of treatment across the National

Health Service, we have to be very

clear that while Labour's answer is

always does, more money, this is

about ensuring that all hospitals

across the NHS are operating and

acting in accordance with best

practice. We have world-class

hospitals in our NHS, we want to

ensure they are all world-class.

I

understand London has been mentioned

as a potential host to the Bayeux

Tapestry. Given that visitors to

London wish to see two site chucking

at each other or already very well

catered for by the gallery in this

chamber, can I ask the Prime

Minister to put in a good word for

Battle Abbey in East Sussex, where

viewers cannot just see the tapestry

-- can not just see the tapestry but

can also see the views of the Sussex

countryside.

I think it is very

significant that the Bayeux Tapestry

is going to be coming to the United

Kingdom and that people are going to

be able to see this. I hear the bid

that he has put in. I have to say to

him that from a set of true position

on the front bench my right

honourable friend the Home Secretary

and member for Hastings also put in

a bid for this particular issue and

I'm sure we will be looking at very

carefully to ensure that the maximum

number of people can take benefit

from seeing this tapestry.

Thank

you, Mr Speaker. The Prime Minister

pledged to consign slavery to the

history books. On... The National

Audit Office said that the Home

Office has not set out how a

reduction will be measured. The Home

Office does not set clear

anti-slavery activity, the Home

Office does not knowing what

activity will be going on across

Government and does not monitor

business compliance with the Modern

Slavery Act. Is the Prime Minister

satisfied with that analysis of her

flagship policy, and what action

will be Government by taking?

It is

this government that introduced the

Modern Slavery Act. It is this

Government that... It is this

Government that has improved the

response to victims, the response

from police in catching

perpetrators. We see more cases

being brought the prosecution than

we have done before, we see more

victim is willing and able to come

forward and having the confidence to

come forward. Have we dealt with the

problem? Of course there are still

problems out there. But we want to

ensure, as my right honourable

friend the International Development

Secretary said earlier in

international element questions, not

just that we take action here in the

United Kingdom, that we work with

countries where the women are doing.

Members across this House have sung

for Syrians. Last week in Idlib, a

clinic and a kindergarten that we

support were bombed by Syrian

government destroyers. Will the

Prime Minister join me in paying

tribute to the bravery of the staff

at the hands up foundation, who

continued to work there, and also in

reassuring ordinary Syrians that in

the seventh year of this terrible

war that we haven't forgotten them

by.

Well, can I say to my honourable

friend, she has been a great

champion for charities working in

Syria, and particularly for the

singing for Syrians. And I am very

happy to join her in praising the

bravery of all of those working for

the hands up foundation. And also

others working for other charities

in the region, doing valuable and

important work. We continue to make

every effort to achieve our goals in

Syria. That is of course defeating

the scourge of Daesh. But also

ensuring that we achieve a political

settlement that end the suffering

and provides the ability for all

Syrians and the wider region. And we

continue to provide significant

humanitarian assistance, £2.46

billion to date.

Can the Prime

Minister tell me why the failed

Wakefield Academy was allowed to

take over schools in Bradford, even

though there were concerns as far

back as 2015 around them? Can she

give me assurances here today that

the hundreds of thousands of pounds

taken from schools in my

constituency, one of the

We have a priority to make sure

children across the country and

secret education whether in the

north or the size and seven of our

12 opportunity areas and providing

and support are in the north and the

Midlands, the front line of our

approach tackling inequality in

education outcomes. He is concerned

about Northern schools, we are

taking forward recommendations from

the school 's strategy and as

regards funding, we are putting

record levels of funding into our

schools and increase funding for our

schools in the next two years.

We

will be holding a meeting to discuss

how we can fight the problem of

loneliness and our community. At a

national level, what does the Prime

Minister doing to respond?

My

honourable friend has raised a very

important issue and he is right

though. For too many people,

loneliness is the sad reality of the

modern life, it has an impact on

people's mental health and physical

health and I'm pleased that later

today I will be hosting a reception

for the Jo Cox foundation looking at

the issue of loneliness. The work

that Jo Cox started which has been

continued by my honourable friend,

the member for South Ribble and the

honourable lady for Leeds West. It

is very important work and I'm

pleased to say that the government

has appointed a minister or

loneliness, I think it's an

important step forward and it

shows... There is more to do but it

shows you recognise the importance

of this issue and I pay tribute to

all those in the says that has

championed this.

Universal prelate

was supposed to remove benefit traps

but the Department for Education

wants to base eligibility for free

school meals on an income threshold,

so with a family earning just below

the threshold gets a small parent or

an increase in hours then

immediately lose the benefit of the

school meals and end up much worse

off. It's a farm workers benefit

chap than anything in the old

benefit system. Surely one the

parliament should not be torpedoing

the aim of getting rid of illicit

transfer. -- benefit transfer.

The

Right Honourable gentleman knows

that we believe Universal Credit is

a better system, a simpler system

and it encourages people to get into

the workplace and ensures the more

the errant, the more leaking. The

proposals mean that once Universal

Credit is fully ruled out we will

see 50,000 more children eligible

for free school meals than under the

old system.

Can I work on the great

speech that the Prime Minister gave

last Thursday on the environment. It

is right that the Prime Minister and

indeed this party supports companies

that promote sustainable growth but

does the Prime Minister also agree

with me that any commercial

development must take now into

account the needs of the

environment. Brad McKay said in my

honourable friend, I thank him for

the comments he made about the

speech but what it was about was the

25 year environment plan that the

government has published and I think

this is very important steps we have

taken to ensure that we do leave our

environment in a better state than

when he came into it. I also agree

with him that all too often people

see economic growth or protection of

the environment as opposites, they

are not and it is absolutely

possible for us to ensure we are

protecting our environment while

producing the economic growth, not

least because of the innovative

technologies that we can develop to

ensure we are protecting our

environment.

The people of Wales

have been taking back control since

1999 but the EU withdrawal bill will

put our power is back under lock and

key in Westminster. My colleague is

today proposing a Welsh continuity

bill to ensure our powers are at

liberty. When this bill wins a

majority in our assembly, will the

Prime Minister supported and respect

Wales's serenity?

I would say to the

honourable lady that her portrayal

of what is happening in the EU

withdrawal bill is simply wrong. We

are working with the devolved

administrations to ensure that we

deal with the issues that have been

raised around clause 11 and the

question our powers that need to

remain a new level to ensure our

internal market but the Paras will

be devolved and extra powers will be

devolved to the devolved

administrations. We continue to work

with them on this and we will bring

forward clause 11 in the House of