31/01/2018 Prime Minister's Questions

European Union but I will also point

out to the Honourable member, 80% of

Welsh exports go to the rest of the

UK maintaining the integrity of the

UK market should be the first

priority.

Audero, questions to the

Prime Minister.

Number one.

I have been asked to reply my right

honourable friend the Prime Minister

is in China building on existing

strong ties between our two

A number of Carillion employ use and

former in please live in my

constituency and indeed, the company

has a training centre in Gateshead

-- Carillion employees. Will the

government act now to correct a

similar future corporate theft where

private directors have siphoned off

what should have been millions of

pounds in pension contributions to

pay bogus dividend and unearned

corporate bonuses to themselves?

What action does the government

propose to take?

First of all, Mr

Speaker, I completely understand the

anxiety that must be affecting the

apprentices and their families in

the honourable gentleman's

constituency. He probably heard me

say Jerry last week's debates that

the construction industry training

board had taken responsibility for

finding alternative employers to

enable all those in apprentices who

were with Carillion to continue and

complete their qualifications. They

are making good progress in that

work but I shall certainly insure

that the particular concern he has

concerned about Gateshead is brought

to their attention. On the broader

question, the House will understand

that it will be wrong for me to

pre-empt findings by an independent

inquiry by the official receiver but

we have already made clear that we

will be publishing proposals later

this year to stop directors being

able to siphon off pension funds in

any way that he described.

Mr

Speaker, my right honourable friend

will be aware that the country faces

significant cyber threats from other

countries and from non-state actors.

He will also be aware that we are

protected from those by our security

and intelligence services including

the men and women at GCHQ in my own

county of Gloucestershire. When the

government publishes the results of

the security review, will he confirm

that we will continue as we have

since 2010 two invest in those

capabilities to keep our country

safe?

Mr Speaker, my right

honourable friend is absolutely

correct and I'm happy to give him

that assurance on behalf of the

government. The sad truth is, in

this country, we face a growing

threat of cyber attacks from States,

serious crime gangs and hacking

groups. We do have a robust strategy

to protect services such as our

democratic process is underpinned by

2 billion in government investment.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Let me start

by welcoming the minister back to

his role but diving from the Prime

Minister. Last time he did so in

December 2016, his party was 17

points ahead in the polls, and he

told the House that the Labour Party

was, I quote, quarrelling like the

film mutiny on the Bounty, reshot by

the team who made carry on. Well,

what a difference a year makes!

Oh,

how the tables have turned!

But I'm

not going to intrude further on the

government's private grief because I

genuinely hope that we can reach

consensus across this house today on

a very important issue. Next Tuesday

will beat the centenary of women

gaining the right to vote in

Britain, followed later in 1918 by a

second right, to stand for

Parliament. I'm sure the minister

will agree that we have a long way

to go in regard to the second right.

After all, I am the only Emily

elected since 1918, and he is one of

155 Davids. And the women behind me

on these benches represent one

quarter of all the women elected in

the last 100 years but it is still

not good enough. So does the

Minister think, will the Minister

tell us how he can best increase

female representation in this house?

Mr Speaker, can I first of all thank

the right honourable lady for her

worlds of welcome and clearly my

previous remarks struck a chord with

her to have been treasured in the

way that they clearly have. It's a

delight to me to see the right

honourable lady still in her place

when no fewer than 97 members of her

front bench have either been sacked

or resigned since we took office.

JEERING.

You know, I play credit to her

sticking power though she must

sometimes whisper to myself, surely

I'm a celebrity, please get me out

of here!

The point that she raised is a

serious one. And I think that all

political parties represented here,

she's right to seek to make this

conceptual, wants to encourage more

women candidates to come forward. I

am played that my party, since I was

first elected to 25 years ago, has

made very considerable progress but

I also accept that there is more to

be done. I hope that she for her

part will accept that we have now

had two women leaders and by

minister so they have a bit of

catching up to do.

I've got to say,

Mr Speaker, that if the party

opposite is so proud of having a

female leader, why are so many of

them trying to get rid of her? And

why has she had to run away to China

to get away from them? But I thank

him for that answer and I totally

agree with your sentiment. But let

me ask him also about the first

right that I mentioned. I write that

million to Mecca of women received

100 years ago this week, the basic

right to vote. It was originally

restricted to women with property

over the age of 30, then 90 years

ago was extended to all women over

21, then 50 years ago, to all men

and women over the age of 18. So can

I ask the minister of simple

question? How many more years to be

have to wait until the vote is

extended to everyone over 16?

Mr

Speaker, the age of 18 rather than

16 is widely recognised as the age

at which one becomes an adult and

that is when full citizenship rights

are attained. There's only a handful

of countries in the world that have

a nationwide voting age below 18 and

we believed that the age of

majority, 18, should continue to be

the age at which people become

eligible to vote.

The honourable

gentleman makes international

comparisons but I have to say to the

Minister that it was this country

and a Labour government that led the

way in Europe and India speaking

world in reducing the -- and the

English speaking world and reducing

the age of vote to 18 and where we

lead others followed, and it will be

the same here. Let me move on to the

second question I would like to ask

the honourable gentleman. I have

listened carefully to his answer but

I didn't hear any logical

explanation for the different rights

that we give 16-year-olds in this

country. At 16, we are free from

parental control, we can leave home

and start a family, get married,

start work, pay taxes, join the

forces, so can the minister give us

a logical explanation why a

16-year-old should not have the

right to vote?

Mr Speaker, I am, I

have to say, slightly baffled by the

honourable lady's comments when

compared with what her party did in

office. Because it was the last

Labour government that raised the

legal age for buying cigarettes to

18, raised the age of selling knives

to 18, raised the age to buy

fireworks to 18, and raised the age

for using a sunbed to 18.

LAUGHTER

I think that if she wants a lesson

in inconsistency, she might want to

examine the mirror.

Mr Speaker, he mentions a range of

restrictions that we have until the

age of 18 but those are for the most

part to do with public health,

public sector data and the

prevention of crime. They are not

the same as the basic right to vote

on issues that affect your life.

What a heart considered old enough

-- once you are considered old

enough to make other decisions on

your life such as leaving school,

leaving home, getting married. Let

me give the Minister of specific

example.

Order, I'm sure it will not

have escaped public notice and it is

rather a sad irony, that when a

woman is addressing the House, quite

a lot of noisy boorish and in one

case rather stupid individuals are

trying to shout the Right Honourable

lady down. Cut it out.

Thank you

very much, Mr Speaker. I wanted to

give the Minister of specific

example to illustrate what I'm

talking about. According to the

government's own figures, the number

of 16 and 17-year-olds receiving

carer's allows for looking after

disabled relatives at home has risen

by more than 50% in four years. --

carer's allowance. Over 2016 and

17-year-olds last year gave up their

youth and -- 2000, 1617 -year-olds

last year gave up their youth and

education to look after relatives.

How can it be fair to expectancies

take on the responsibility because

of failures of the state and deny

them the say on how that state is

run?

Mr Speaker, the logic of the

honourable lady's arguments is that

she wishes to lower the age of

majority from 18 to 16. She listed a

number of areas in which she

supported the age at which activity

should be allowed at 18 on grounds

that only then could people be

expected to have sufficient maturity

and responsibility to have those

rights. My argument to her is that

the age of majority should be set

matching both rights and

responsibilities. And I think that

it is perfectly reasonable to say

that from the age of 18, we entrust

young men and women to exercise

those rights and responsible if he's

in full. On Havard Nordtveit -- on

her final point, it is right that

sensible local authorities have

particular care for the role of

young carers, and in my experience,

local authorities, whichever party

runs them, makes every effort to do

that.

I'm genuinely surprised at the

Minister's response because after

all, this is what he said two years

ago speaking to the youth

Parliament. And let me quote him.

When the voice and the vote of young

people is absent, decisions are made

that affect young people's lives

that they have not always chosen. So

not for the first time in these

exchanges, I've got to say, Mr

Speaker, I agree with the Minister.

All of us on this side agree with

the Minister. So why does he no

longer agree with himself?

Well, if

she had been with me at the youth

Parliament which was indeed a

memorable and enjoyable occasion,

she would have discovered that a

significant number of the young men

and women there were actually over

voting age. But I fully support the

role that the youth Parliament does,

the role that their members do

throughout the country, the role

that organisations like school

councils do, in getting young people

used to the idea of exercising

democratic responsibility. That

seems to me and excellent training

for the full adult responsibility is

that they will inherit when they are

18, and I hope and encourage more

young people to go out and vote.

He says he was only talking about

18-year-olds but you were there. He

was talking to 370 under 18s. But

what these discussions have revealed

is that there is no logical

principled objection to votes at 16.

That is why the Welsh and Scottish

Government support it, that is why

every single political party in this

House supports it, except, of

course, the Conservative Party and

the DUP. Once again, joined in

opposition to change. They're not

the Coalition of chaos, Mr Speaker,

they are the Coalition of cavemen.

But does the Minister... And does

the Minister not realise the

lesson...

Order! Order! One member

who thinks he knows what he is

talking about is gesticulating at me

and the answer is, it is a matter of

taste, not of order, and it

shouldn't escape somebody of great

intelligence.

I was talking about

cavemen and what I wanted to say was

this... Why doesn't the Minister

realise the lesson that we women

taught his predecessors 100 years

ago - when changes it cannot be

resisted for ever, and this is a

change time has come.

Mr Speaker, I

think my advice to the right

honourable lady is to wean herself

off the habit of watching old

versions of the Flintstones on the

relevant cartoon channel. I just

think that we ought to salute the

fact that not just the parliament

but many schools and other youth

organisations throughout the country

are working hard to get young people

use to the idea that as they grow

up, they should take an interest in

current affairs and then when they

reach the relevant age exercise the

full rights and responsibilities of

an adult by participating in

elections and in political

campaigning. But the situation we

have here, Mr Speaker, with the

national voting age at 18, is one

that is followed by 26 out of 27

other members of the European Union,

by the United States, Canada, New

Zealand and Australia. Unless she is

going to denounce all of those

countries as somehow inadequate to

her own particular standards, then

quite honestly, Mr Speaker, I wish

she ought to grow up and try and

treat the subject with a greater

degree of seriousness.

Thank you, Mr

Speaker. The government's attacks

has made what the UK one of the most

competitive basis to do business so

does my right arable friend agree

that raising tax would damage the UK

economy, as we have seen in

Scotland, where growth has fallen

behind the rest of the UK?

Mr

Speaker, I'm very happy to agree

with my rubble friend. We did

devolve promise has new powers to

Hollywood and it is obviously for

the Scottish Government to determine

how to use them. It is a matter of

great regret that they have chosen

to use those powers to break their

promises and penalised aspiration in

Scotland's. In our own budget, we

increased the Scottish Government's

spending power by £2 billion, so the

SNP have no excuse for hiking the

taxes of hard-working people,

including public servants, and

penalising businesses. The leader of

the Scottish Nationalists in

Westminster used to champion wealth

creation and free enterprise. I hope

he will ask the First Minister of

Scotland to think again.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Can I welcome

the Minister to his place. If

reports are true, he may be

auditioning for a new role and I

wonder if he is sending out a

heart-warming letter. And if you are

single market is essential to the

Government's agenda for trade and

competitiveness. Since Buzzfeed

published the analysis, does the

Minister recognise that the single

market is essential for jobs and

prosperity? Mr Speaker, when we

leave the EU next March, we will, as

a matter of legality, leave the

single market and the EU customs

union. The Prime Minister and the

entire Government have set out in

both the Lancaster House and

Florence speeches, also making it

clear that we are seeking a new

partnership with our neighbours in

the European Union that ensures that

we continue to have frictionless

trade, which is the interest of not

just our people but the people of

every one of the 27 EU countries.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I must say I

am surprised at the Minister because

it is not a question... Or we are

going to be an transitional deal and

will still be in the single market.

This is a Government in crisis and

an international embarrassment. The

Chancellor, the Scottish Secretary,

the Scottish Conservatives, the Home

Secretary have all supported

membership of the single market.

Despite this, the Government is

still prepared to make everyone

poorer. Where is the leadership?

Mr

Speaker, the leadership which the

right honourable gentleman wants was

set out very clearly both that

Lancaster House and then again in

Florence, and by right on oral

friend the Prime Minister will be

making further speeches on these

issues in the weeks and months to

come. But can I just say to the

honourable gentleman that the most

important single market to the

people of Scotland is the single

market of the United Kingdom, which

is worth nearly £50 billion every

year to the Scottish economy, four

times more than trade with the

European Union. It is our deep and

special partnership with the EU in

the future that will help deliver

prosperity to Scotland, not the

separatist policies pursued by the

Scottish National Party.

I know my

right honourable friend shares my

passion for ensuring that all

children get opportunity to succeed,

regardless of who they are or where

they come from. Can he confirm what

progress the Government has made in

reducing the attainment gap between

less well off second risk pupils and

their peers, and that positive

impact of when the next preschool

applications will open?

He is

absolutely right and the

Government's clear ambition and

purpose is to ensure that our school

system works for every child in

every community in this country. Our

reforms have already raised school

standards. We are seeing now nearly

2 million more children attending

good and outstanding schools and the

attainment gap between disadvantaged

pupils on their peers has shrunk by

10% at GCSE and 10.5% at key stage

two since 2011. I know education

ministers will be happy to talk to

my honourable friend about their

plans further to improve standards

in schools.

Mr Speaker, last Sunday

in my constituency, 17-year-old was

stabbed with life changing results.

The knife crime across our country

is not being driven by my nose and

young people but driven by

gangsters, organised criminals and

dirty money. -- driven by miners.

Cocaine alone is driven £12 million

in this country, so I asked the

Minister, why are we cutting our

Border Force, why are we cutting our

police and why has London been

offered only in their violence

reduction strategy a community fund

of more 5p. You could not buy a

house for not .5 million in London.

--

Can I first say that I, like

every other member of this House,

would have nothing but the most

heartfelt sympathy for the victim

himself and for his family and

friends at the most appalling

experience that they have endured

and are still living through. The

honourable gentleman is right to say

that there are complex causes to

what we are seeing in terms of knife

crime. There is no doubt, I agree

with him, that organised crime is

contributing to this, and organised

crime is exploiting young people who

they try to groom to attract into

criminal gangs and the Government is

to publish later this year a violent

crime strategy that will be not just

to look at the criminal justice

system but how we work effectively

with all other agencies to ensure

that young people are diverted away

from that sort of activity in the

first place. But it is also true

that we have... If you carry a

knife, you can expect to end up in

jail. We have toughened and

sentences and we have protected,

despite what he said, police

budgets. A quarter of all police are

in London.

Demand full school places

in the London Borough of Bromley are

forecast to grow by some 20 present

over coming years but repeatedly

proposals for much-needed schools

have been delayed in no small

measure because of concerns at the

way the educational schools funding

agency has handled the planning

application process. On behalf of

the Prime Minister, will my right

honourable friend agreed to meet me

to discuss the very real concerns

that local parents have out of the

competency of the agency?

Can I say

either I or my right horrible friend

the Education Secretary will be

happy to talk to him. The purpose of

the education and Skills Funding

Agency formed at the start of this

financial year was to provide a more

joined up approach to funding,

covering schools, colleges and other

providers. I do note that Bromley

has increased both primary and

secondary school capacity by more

than 6300 places since 2010 and the

ESF a is delivering nine schools in

Bromley but there is more work to be

done and ministers will gladly talk

to my honourable friend about that.

Recent research shows that

international students are worth a

staggering £20 billion to the UK

economy. That research was

commissioned by Nick Hillman, who

was the Conservative Party candidate

in green ridge in 2010 and a former

adviser to Lord Willets, yet the

policies of the Prime Minister have

stopped that steady increase of a

number of international students

commit our country. Does he agree

with me this is a touch careless of

the Prime Minister to have

squandered the billions of pounds

that could have been available to

our schools and hospitals?

Mr

Speaker, what the facts actually say

is that we are the second most

popular destination in the world for

students, and university sponsored

these applications are up by nearly

one fifth since 2010 so I would

argue that contrary to what he

alleges, we are doing a good job in

attracting international students.

South Dorset is the most beautiful

constituency in the whole of the

United Kingdom.

No, it is not!

So

improving the infrastructure is

difficult, to create jobs and

prosperity. What we can do is

improve our rail links on the

Salisbury line and Yeovil Junction

to get faster trains to Weymouth.

Will my right honourable friend

reassure my constituents and me that

the Government is behind this scheme

to do exactly what the Government

wants, to create more wealth and

prosperity in South Dorset?

Mr

Speaker, as my honourable friend

will know, the Chancellor last year

set aside a very considerable sum of

money, more than £20 billion, to

finance infrastructure improvements,

rail, road and broadband, in order

to generate growth around the

country and to facilitate housing

development. I know my honourable

friend's constituency is one that

has seen considerable housing

development in recent years. I will

ensure that transport ministers talk

to him about the particular concerns

he has expressed.

On the 25th of

January 1985, the Conservative

government promised there would be

no nuclear waste dumped in

Billingham on a mine. Will be

confirmed that that promise still

stands?

He will have to forgive me

if I say that my memory for

statements that were given in 1985

is a little bit rusty. It was seven

years before even I was first

elected to this House. I will look

into the point that he has raised

and I will write to him to set up

the position.

To secure our future

prosperity and to meet the

employment challenge posed by

artificial intelligence, this

country has an urgent need to

improve its digital skills base.

Will my right honourable friend

therefore congratulate the open

University in my constituency for

securing a leading role in the

Government's new Institute of

coding?

Can I first of all join my

honourable friend in congratulating

the open University for securing

that lead role in the Institute of

coding. I think the Institute is

going to be a very important new

initiative to get universities to

work together closely with

businesses to develop specialist

coding skills, and the Government is

investing £84 million to deliver a

comprehends a programme to improve

the teaching of the computer

curriculum. We look forward to

working closely with the University

and the Institute.

After ten years of this country, my

constituent missed out on the right

to indefinite leave bite into two

days when she went away from the

country and broke a leg making it

unable for her to come back. She has

to wait ten years to apply again

which means that she will be unable

to adopt a child which might be the

only way she could have family in

this country. Can we have a meeting

to discuss this in Justice when she

returns?

I don't know more about the

detail about the case went the

honourable gentleman has just

described in the House, but like

many members, I have immigration

casework my constituency so I'm

familiar with the type of problem

that he has described. If you would

like to write to me after these

exchanges, setting out the details,

I will discuss that with my right

honourable friend the Home Secretary

and the relevant minister will meet

him.

Last week, I visited RNAs

called Rose as part of the Armed

Forces polymer tree scheme and was

delighted to see an outreach

programme to promote skills to the

local community in STEM. Does he

agree that these initiatives to

inspire the skills of the Armed

Forces and the country will need to

succeed in the future and their

approach at cold the area should be

defended?

He raises an important

point, I did know about the

important role that STEM plays in

the life of Cornwall but he has

highlighted the work of Culdrose in

the science and mathematics skills

that we will need in the growing

economy highlighted in the

government strategy and what he has

described as happening at Culdrose

will go towards that.

It is an

extraordinary fact that this year,

last year, every for over a decade,

one London Borough, the London

Borough of Islington, has received

more arts Council funding than the

entirety combined of the Midlands

and Northern X coalfield

communities. Who is going to be

brave enough to reverse this is

equity so that my constituents,

especially young constituents, can

have fair and equitable access to

arts funding?

Well, I'm not sure

whether that was meant as an attack

directed on the Right Honourable

member for Islington North or

Islington South. But what I can say,

to the honourable judgment, is this,

obviously if there is a particular

bid that he feels was unfairly

treated, he is welcome to take that

up with the new arts minister who I

know will want to examine that case

carefully. But in general terms,

more than half of the arts funding

in England is awarded to arts

activities outside Greater London.

Mr Speaker, holiday homes in

Cornwall are a mixed blessing. They

provide important support our local

economy but they also take up

vitally needed housing stock and

push up prices beyond the reach of

many local people. In addition, many

of them avoid paying council tax by

switching to business use and

enjoying the benefits of small

business rate relief. Does my right

on role boyfriend agree with me that

this

-- does my right honourable friend

agree with me that this situation is

unsustainable and he will find a way

to post this loophole?

He raises a

valid point, it is clearly right

that holiday owners should pay the

correct tax. The individual

decisions on council tax and

business tax rates on the properties

rests with the department which is

independent of ministers, but if a

property is available for rent for

140 days or more year it is subject

for business rates, and if he does

not meet this test, council tax is

due. If an individual provides false

information to seek business rate

relief, that person is liable to

summary conviction or a fine or

both.

Mr Speaker, the Prime Minister

wants to bring forward legislation

to tackle domestic violence and

abuse. But her government is

currently taxing the same survivors

for using the child maintenance

service. For survivors of domestic

abuse, using the collect and pay

service is not a matter of choice,

it is a matter of safety. Will he

urged the Prime Minister to commit

to using this bill to scrap the tax

for survivor Primakov domestic

abuse?

-- survivors of domestic

abuse? There is a government

consultation imminent and I would

urge her to make representations to

that.

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Following last year's terrorist

attack in Manchester, the government

has committed £24 million to the

city. The effect being felt across

the area and in my constituency,

will the government give an

assurance that they will continue to

support Manchester?

We will

certainly continue to support

Manchester, right across government.

Through the various agencies and

spending programmes that government

has a available. And I think that

the Manchester area demonstrated

last year its resilience and strong

sense of community identity and

purpose, and I think that will serve

it well economically and socially in

the years ahead.

The whole house

will warmly welcome the fantastic

news which has saved thousands of

news at bombardier in Northern

Ireland. And we should pay tribute

to the management of Bombardier in

Northern Ireland and Canada, the

workforce and unions who worked well

together, the honourable members on

this bench and the government who

went in very strongly to support the

company. Can I I urge the Chancellor

of the Duchy of Lancaster to get

behind improving manufacturer

of the Duchy of Lancaster to get

behind improving manufacturing in

Northern Ireland? , gently urge the

government, which I know always

listens very carefully, to get on

with it?

Can I first of all thank

the right honourable gentleman for

his word and although it is a few

years ago since I had the

opportunity to visit Bombardier in

Belfast, Ireland how important that

enterprise is for the provision of

high-quality -- I remember how

important it is for the provision of

high-quality work in the area. The

government worked closely with

leaders and politicians, in Northern

Ireland, the Prime Minister rate --

rate this with President Trump and

Justin Trudeau in Canada and we have

been very active, we are pleased by

the outcome. You can rest assured

the government will remain a strong

supporter of business in Northern

Ireland but I would perhaps add that

the sooner we can get back to

devolved government in Northern

Ireland, the easier it will be to

ensure the practical benefits

flowing back to Northern Ireland.

A

vibrant high Street is critical in

traditional market towns like

Knaresborough in my constituency

where there has been a market since

1310. In this age of Internet

shopping, will my right honourable

friend confirmed the government

support for traditional markets and

policies that will boost our high

streets?

Mr Speaker, my honourable

friend is right to speak up on

behalf of his constituents, I know

he is a tireless campaigner for

Harrogate and Knaresborough. And

markets like the one in

Knaresborough are part of the local

fabric and tradition of towns right

across this country. The government

wants to help those markets and town

centres to prosper in what is at the

same time a rapidly changing retail

environment, and I'm sure the right

honourable friend the community

Secretary will write to him with

further details.

Lincoln's walk-in

centre will close in a few weeks

despite the fact that there is

inconsistent and inconsistent

service provision in place to

mitigate the closure. Will the

Minister pass on to the Prime

Minister my request to meet meet to

discuss review of that closure?

If

she would like to set out a bit more

detail, than she has had the time to

do today, I will ensure that a

minister sees her about this.

Thank

you, Mr Speaker. Next Wednesday, we

will be assessing and voting on the

local government finance settlement.

A group of us from the shire

counties are very concerned that

there is not enough money for rural

counties like ours when adult social

care costs are spiralling out of

control, in my own county we have a

black hole the £10 million. What

message should I take back to the

leader of my counsel?

That is

thicker, I think one -- Mr Speaker,

I think one message to send to my

honourable friend is the government

has made an extra £2 billion in

funding available to local

authorities, particularly for social

care. And local authorities are

obviously deciding at this moment

whether they use the more flexible

powers that they have in respect of

social care. I know my honourable

friend met my right noble friend,

the community secretary a few days

ago, and I would encourage him to

continue to talk to the community

secretary and other ministers in

that department about the particular

circumstances in Shropshire.

The

current edition of the Economist

magazine carries an article which

says that the hostile takeover bid

for GKN by Melrose, quote, costs

down not only on the survival of

GKN, Britain's third largest and

independent aerospace defence firm,

but the rest of the industry as

well. The honourable gentleman knows

that when national security issues

are involved, ministers have the

power to intervene to protect the

public interest. Will they do so in

this case?

As I understand it, the

bid for GKN is being examined by the

relevant independent authorities,

clearly this is something that the

appropriate ministers in defence and

business departments will be

monitoring closely. It would be

wrong of me to spec in more detail

about this case for now.

--

speculate in more detail. My

constituency of Chelmsford is a very

popular place to live. And this

week, we've had very good news that

there are more first-time buyers

getting on the housing ladder than

any time in the past decade. Can my

right honourable friend update us on

the progress the government is

making to help people to buy a

house?

Mr Speaker, I'm pleased to be

able to say that the number of

first-time buyers is now at the

highest level for about ten years.

And that is a tribute to the various

initiatives that both the community

secretary and the Chancellor of the

Exchequer have put in place to

introduce us time buyers, things

like the cut in stamp duty -- Raqqa

first-time buyers, things like the

cut in stamp duty which will benefit

95% of first-time buyers. We need to

improve housing supply and

constituencies like hers and mine

are showing the way to the rest of

the country about the need to build

houses to meet the legitimate

demands and expectations of young