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  • >>Mr Speaker: Order! Questions to the Prime Minister! Angela Crawley!

  • >>Angela Crawley (Lanark and Hamilton East) (SNP): If he will list his official engagements

  • for Wednesday 1 July 2015

  • >>The Prime Minister (Mr David Cameron): I am sure the whole House will wish to join

  • me in congratulating the England women's football team on reaching the semi-finals

  • of the world cup in Canada and wishing them well for their match against Japan this evening.

  • This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others and, in addition to

  • my duties in this House, I shall have further such meetings later today.

  • >>Angela Crawley: The Prime Minister's plans for English votes for English laws will reduce

  • my rights and the rights of other Scottish MPs in this House—[Interruption.]

  • >>Mr Speaker: Order. The hon. Lady must and will be heard.

  • >>Angela Crawley: The Prime Minister's plans for English votes for English laws will reduce

  • my rights and the rights of other Scottish MPs in the House of Commons, but the real

  • issue is my ability to protect the interests of my constituents. Will the Prime Minister

  • guarantee today that, under his plans, a Bill that has a direct or indirect effect on Scotland's

  • budget will not be certifiable as England-only?

  • >>The Prime Minister: First, let me welcome the hon. Lady to her place. We will publish

  • our proposals shortly and Parliament will have plenty of time to consider and vote on

  • them, but let me be very clear: we are not creating a system of two tiers for MPs. All

  • MPs will still vote on all Bills, but what we are saying is that laws which apply only

  • in England should pass only if they are supported by a majority of English MPs. That seems to

  • mein a devolved system where Members of the Scottish Parliament can determine their

  • own future on health, housing and an increasing number of subjectsto provide fairness across

  • our United Kingdom. >>Graham Stuart (Beverley and Holderness)

  • (Con): Yesterday the National Audit Office called for the introduction of a fairer schools

  • funding formula so that it is

  • related more closely to their”—

  • that is, pupils'—

  • needs and less affected by where they live.”

  • Can the Prime Minister confirm from the Dispatch Box that the additional and very welcome £390

  • million awarded last year as a first step towards a fairer funding system will be incorporated

  • into the baseline for future years?

  • >>The Prime Minister: I can say that we will implement the pledges in our manifesto on

  • this issue because we need to make funding fairer across the country. If we look at the

  • figures today, it is clearly unfair that a school in one part of the country can receive

  • over 50% more funding than an identical school in another part of the country. We have already

  • made some progress on this, but I want us to go further.

  • >>Ms Harriet Harman (Camberwell and Peckham) (Lab): I join the Prime Minister in his congratulations

  • to England's women's football team. With only a fraction of the resources that the

  • men get, they are showing the men how it is done.

  • Sadly, we now know that 22 British citizens have been confirmed dead in the Tunisia attack.

  • Our thoughts are with the bereaved and injured, and the help they and their families will

  • need. The bereaved and those who have experienced life-changing injuries and trauma will need

  • long-term practical and emotional support. The experience after 7/7 was that to really

  • help those affected families, there needs to be co-ordination across Departments and

  • agencies, so will the Prime Minister establish a dedicated taskforce reporting to a Minister

  • to support those who have suffered in that terrible attack?

  • >>The Prime Minister: Yes, I can give the right hon. and learned Lady that assurance.

  • Let me update the House, because I am sad to say that the confirmed number of British

  • citizens killed in this appalling attack is now 27 and, as we have said, we expect it

  • to rise still further. Today we are repatriating eight bodies from Tunisia on an RAF C-17 plane.

  • The plane is now in the air and will land at RAF Brize Norton this afternoon. Every

  • family of a victim now has a dedicated Foreign Office liaison officer, but—I can confirm

  • what she asked—I have asked the Cabinet Secretary for advice on creating a ministerial

  • committee to ensure that work is properly co-ordinated right across Government to provide

  • all the support that the victims of this appalling attack deserve and to ensure that, as a nation,

  • we mark and commemorate this event appropriately.

  • >>Ms Harman: That is a really important step that the Prime Minister has taken. We fully

  • support it and thank those who will be working in that respect. Reports over the past few

  • days have suggested that it was not just a lone gunman who perpetrated the attack, but

  • an organised cell. Following the Home Secretary's visit to Tunisia and the deployment of 50

  • police officers, will he update the House on the progress being made to help identify

  • the perpetrators and bring them to justice?

  • >>The Prime Minister: On that specific issue, there is still a lot of work to be done to

  • identify all the circumstances of this appalling attack and the support that the gunman received.

  • As we get that information and confirm it, I will ensure that the House is regularly

  • updated. I can confirm that the discussions between my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary

  • and the Tunisians went ahead and were successful. As I have said previously, that is looking

  • at everything, from the protective security in hotels and resorts to intelligence co-operation

  • at the highest levels between Britain and Tunisia, so that we can help with its capacity

  • to combat such appalling events. It will need a lot of long-term work between our two countries,

  • but the French, the Germans and the Americans are also willing to help, and we need to co-ordinate

  • between ourselves how best to support that country on its road to democracy.

  • >>Ms Harman: The Prime Minister has rightly said that this was an attack on our values

  • and everything we stand for, and there is radicalisation in this country, too. Last

  • November the Intelligence and Security Committee said that the Prevent programme had not been

  • given sufficient priority and that counter-radicalisation programmes are not working. Today a new statutory

  • duty to challenge radicalisation comes into effect. Will there be sufficient training

  • and support for those covered by the duty, and will he look again at the concern that

  • the Prevent programme has not focused sufficiently on engaging with the communities?

  • >>The Prime Minister: The right hon. and learned Lady raises very important issues. Let me

  • answer them as directly as I can. First, we have now put more money and resources into

  • the Prevent programme. Secondly, on her point about the statutory duty on public sector

  • bodies, I think that is very important, because we are saying to schools, universities, local

  • authorities and others that they have a duty to deal with radicalisation and to confront

  • extremism, because this effort is not just for the police and security services, or indeed

  • just for the Government, it is an effort for us all. On her specific question, which goes

  • back to whether it was right to split the Prevent work into work that is done to deal

  • with extremism under the aegis of the Home Office and the programmes to encourage integration,

  • which should be done by the Department for Communities and Local Government, I maintain

  • that that was the right decision. It followed a review in 2011 by Alex Carlile, who found

  • that

  • there have been cases where groups whom we would now consider to support an extremist

  • ideology have received funding.”

  • As we discussing in the House on Monday, it is very important that that does not happen.

  • Yes we should work with community groups, but not those that encourage an extremist

  • narrative.

  • >>Ms Harman: It is important that the Prime Minister does not just defend the decisions

  • he has made, but continues to reflect on this and really tries to make absolutely sure that

  • he gets it right. If he does that and gets the right outcomes, we will strongly support

  • him on that.

  • Let me turn to another issue. With all-party support, the Prime Minister commissioned the

  • Davies report to look at the question of airport capacity. Now that the commission has recommended

  • a third runway at Heathrow, does he agree with us that, subject to key environmental

  • tests being met, there should be no further delay and that it should go ahead? Will he

  • now take that forward?

  • >>The Prime Minister: First, let us all thank Howard Davies and the team for the very thorough

  • piece of work they have done. I think that there is a lot of common ground across almost

  • all parts of the House that there is the need for additional airport capacity in the south-east

  • of England, not least to maintain this country's competitiveness, but it is important that

  • we now study this very detailed report. I am very clear about the legal position; if

  • we say anything now before studying the report, we could actually endanger whatever decision

  • is made. The guarantee that I can give the right hon. and learned Lady is that a decision

  • will be made by the end of the year.

  • >>Ms Harman: The Prime Minister says there is common ground, and there is common ground

  • across the House; the worry is the lack of common ground on his side of the House. He

  • gives the impression that there is going to be a proper process, but something very is

  • different coming out of No. 10, because it is briefing that it is not going to happen.

  • It looks like the Prime Minister has been overruled by the hon. Member for Uxbridge

  • and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson); he should tell him that he is not the leader of the

  • Tory party yet. Will the Prime Minister stand up for Britain's interests or will he just

  • be bullied by Boris?

  • >>The Prime Minister: I would have thought that with all her years of experience, the

  • right hon. and learned Lady would know not to believe everything that she reads in her

  • morning newspapers. It would probably be good for her blood pressure, as well as for mine,

  • if she did not. Let me give the mildest warnings about jumping to a conclusion before seeing

  • the results, because we had a classic example of that last week when the shadow Health Secretary

  • warned the Government that the poverty figures would make us all hang our heads in shame.

  • That was of course before the poverty figures were published, showing that relative poverty

  • was at its lowest level since the 1980s.

  • >>Ms Harman: The Prime Minister seems to be keen to get off the issue of airports. It

  • seems like he is in a holding pattern above Heathrow and Boris will not let him land.

  • Our economic infrastructure is essential for future jobs, for growth, and for our productivity,

  • but this week the Government have pulled the plug on electrification of the railways and

  • seriously undermined the renewable energy sector, and now they are backing off over

  • airports and risking losing the opportunity for Britain to be at the heart of the global

  • economy. If the Prime Minister makes a swift decision on the Davies Report, we will support

  • him and there will be a majority in the House, so will he put Britain's national interest

  • first?

  • >>The Prime Minister: It is an interesting day when the leader of the Conservative party

  • wants to talk about child poverty and the Leader of the Opposition wants to talk about

  • an airport report that none of us has yet had time to read. I seem to remember that

  • the last leader of the Labour partyalthough we have been churning through a few recentlyhad

  • a totally different position on airports to the one that the right hon. and learned Lady

  • is now putting forward. What I can say to her is that we will all read this report and

  • a decision will be made by the end of the year.

  • >>Simon Hoare (North Dorset) (Con): My constituents in rural North Dorset look increasingly to

  • superfast broadband to help in education, agriculture and business. Will the Prime Minister

  • commit the Government to do all that they can, with sufficient energy and resources,

  • to ensure that the 5% black hole is filled as quickly as possible?

  • The Prime Minister: First, let me welcome my hon. Friend to his place. Before coming

  • here, he was a very successful district councillor in an area I am familiar with, where he helped

  • to achieve the second lowest council tax in the country. I am sure that he will bring

  • that sense of good housekeeping to this place. He is absolutely right to raise the issue

  • of superfast broadband and how we fill in the last 5% to 10% of homes, particularly

  • in rural areas. We are providing extra funding and we are looking at all the different sorts

  • of technology that can help to deliver this.

  • >>Angus Robertson (Moray) (SNP): I associate myself and the Scottish National party with

  • all the tributes and condolences to the families and friends of everybody caught up in the

  • tragedy in Tunisia.

  • Because of the way the United Kingdom is structured, decisions on health, education and much English

  • legislation have an impact on the Scottish budget. Will the Prime Minister confirm that

  • he plans to exclude Scottish MPs from parts of the democratic process at Westminster that

  • will have an impact on Scotland?

  • >>The Prime Minister: The point I would make to the hon. Gentleman is that English MPs

  • are entirely excluded from any discussion of Scottish health, Scottish housing or Scottish

  • education. What we are proposing is actually a very measured and sensible step which says

  • that when there is a Bill that only affects, for instance, England, the Committee stage

  • should be composed of English MPs, but then the whole House will vote on Report and, indeed,

  • on Third Reading. What this will introduce, as it were, is a system for making sure that

  • the wishes of English MPs cannot be overruled. That, I think, is only fair in a system where

  • the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Parliament and, indeed, the Northern Irish Parliament

  • have increased powers.

  • >>Angus Robertson: On overruling MPs, it is very interesting that 58 of 59 Scottish MPs

  • have voted for the Scottish Bill to be strengthened, but they have been outvoted by English MPs.

  • Not content with outvoting Scottish MPs elected on a mandate to strengthen the Scotland Bill,

  • the Prime Minister is now going to introduce second-class status for MPs elected from Scotland

  • on issues that can have an impact on the Scottish budget. He is even planning to make the membership

  • of the Scottish Affairs Committee a minority pursuit for Scottish MPs. Is that what the

  • Prime Minister means when he says he has a respect agenda?

  • >>The Prime Minister: I shall tell the hon. Gentleman what I mean by a respect agenda:

  • every single thing Lord Smith represented in terms of welfare has gone into the Bill.

  • Is it not interesting that the hon. Gentleman objects to a vote in the UK Parliament on

  • a UK issue, which is what has happened? Let me tell him again: instead of endlessly talking

  • about the process, is it not time that the SNP started to talk about how they are going

  • to use these powers? Why do they not tell us? Which welfare benefits do they want to

  • put up? Which taxes do they want to increase? Why do they not start to tell us? I have been

  • following the debate very closely and have noticed that none of Scotland's 59 MPs is

  • arguing that the state pension should be devolved. In other words, the principle of pooling and

  • sharing our resources and risks across the United Kingdom, which I believe in as leader

  • of the United Kingdom, is apparently shared by the Scottish National party.

  • >>Mrs Anne-Marie Trevelyan (Berwick-upon-Tweed) (Con): My constituent Paul Short from Wooler

  • showed great courage during the Tunisian massacre last week by helping to save the life of an

  • injured victim with first aid skills he had learned as a member of the Territorial Army.

  • Will the Prime Minister set out how the new measures in the extremism Bill will tackle

  • extremists and stand up for our values of democracy, equality, free speech and respect

  • for minorities?

  • >>The Prime Minister: First of all, let me take this opportunity to praise my hon. Friend's

  • constituent and the skills that were used on that dreadful day in Tunisia. The Bill

  • will reinforce the work we have already done to increase funding for counter-terrorism

  • and counter-terrorism policing; make sure there is a duty on public authorities to combat

  • radicalisation; and go after the fact that there are groups and individuals who are very

  • clever at endorsing extremism but then stopping one step short of actually condoning terrorism.

  • That is what the new banning orders we are looking at aim to achieve, because we are

  • clear that people who support the extremist narrative have no place in our public debate.

  • >>Mark Durkan (Foyle) (SDLP): Given regional wage profiles, many families in the north

  • of Ireland will identify with the concerns raised today by the four children's commissioners

  • about tax credits. Further to heeding those wider warnings, will the Prime Minister have

  • the Chancellor take particular care to ensure that no supposedly more targeted changes to

  • child benefit or tax credits will end up being misdirected against natural, everyday, cross-border

  • working families in my constituency and its hinterland?

  • >>The Prime Minister: When we talk about cross-border working families, it is still the case that

  • welfare arrangements in the United Kingdom are far more generous than what is available

  • in the Republic of Ireland. Our view is clear: the right answer is to create jobs, cut taxes,

  • raise living standards and reduce welfare. I want an economy that has high pay, low taxes

  • and low welfare, instead of low pay, high taxes and high welfare.

  • Let me share with the House one important statistic. Under the last Labour Government—[Interruption.]

  • I know that Labour Members do not want to talk about the last Labour Government. [Interruption.]

  • Well, under the last Government, inequality and child poverty fell. Now for the history

  • lesson: let us go back to the last Labour Government. Under Labour, the number of working-age

  • people in in-work poverty rose by about 20%. That was at the same time as welfare spending

  • on people in work went up from £6 billion to £28 billion. What that shows is that the

  • Labour model of taking money off people in tax and recycling it back to them in tax credits

  • has not worked. It is time for a new approach of creating jobs, cutting taxes and having

  • businesses that are creating the livelihoods we need.

  • >>Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con): Having led a campaign and authored

  • a letter signed by over 120 Members of Parliament from across the House to the Prime Minister

  • and to the BBC against calling the so-called Islamic StateISILorISIS”, I

  • thank the Prime Minister for not calling itIslamic State”, but an issue remains

  • with calling itISIL”. Will the Prime Minister lead the way by officially calling

  • itDaesh”, as do France, Turkey and other countries in the middle east, which is acceptable

  • to Muslims in this country and around the world?

  • >>The Prime Minister: My hon. Friend, who has spoken about this a lot, makes a very

  • strong point. The argument I would make is thatIslamic Stateis inappropriate,

  • because it is neither Islamic in the true meaning of the word nor, indeed, is it a state;

  • it is a bunch of terrorist thugs. I am happy for people to useDaesh”. I think ISIL

  • is an alternative because it does not confer such authority. I am pleased that the BBC

  • seems to have moved its position, because until yesterday it was calling itIslamic

  • State”. It looks like it is going to change its approach, and I really welcome that.

  • >>Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North) (DUP): Given the vital importance of Parliament and Members

  • from both sides of the House and from all parts of the United Kingdom being able to

  • hold the Government of the day to account properly and effectively, will the Prime Minister

  • confirm whether he intends to try to reduce the size of the next House of Commons to 600

  • Members?

  • The Prime Minister: I am committed to what is in the Conservative manifesto, which is

  • to complete the work that should have been done in the last Parliament so that we have

  • equal-sized constituencies in a smaller House of Commons and cut the cost of politics.

  • >>Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con): Owing to ongoing issues with the Post

  • Office's Horizon software accounting system, I believe that many honest, decent, hard-working

  • sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses have lost their reputations, their livelihoods,

  • their savings and, in the worst cases, their liberty. This is a national disgrace. Will

  • my right hon.Friend consider the requests from Members across the House for a judicial

  • inquiry into this matter and bring it to a conclusion?

  • >>The Prime Minister: My hon. Friend has done a real service in campaigning tirelessly on

  • this issue, and I know that he has led a debate in the House on it as well. The Post Office's

  • answer is to say that it set up an independent inquiry which has not found evidence of wrongdoing,

  • but, clearly, that has not satisfied many Members on both sides of the House who have

  • seen individual constituency cases and want better answers.

  • What I think needs to happen next is for the Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation

  • and Skills, my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Norfolk (George Freeman), to convene a

  • meeting involving Members of the House, the Post Office and representatives of sub-postmasters

  • to discuss their concerns and see what should happen next. I would hope that it would not

  • be necessary to have a full independent judicial inquiry to get to the bottom of this issue,

  • but get to the bottom of it we must.

  • >>Mr Speaker: Question 5 is a closed question.

  • >>Mr Graham Allen (Nottingham North) (Lab): Number 5, Mr Speaker

  • >>Prime Minister I regularly reflect on Prime Minister's Question time with Cabinet

  • colleagues and others. For all its faults, and there are many, I would say that it has

  • two important points: it puts the Prime Minister on the spot to the public, but it also puts

  • the Government on the spot to the Prime Ministerneeding to know issues right across every Department

  • before coming to the House at 12 o'clock on a Wednesday is an important mechanism of

  • accountability.

  • >>Mr Allen: Given that Parliament may be moving out of this place in 2020, will the Prime

  • Minister take that opportunity to share the joys of Prime Minister's questions, which

  • he has just outlined, and this federal Parliament by convening it in each of the nations of

  • the United Kingdom and thereby symbolise his Government's and this Parliament's commitment

  • both to the Union and to devolution?

  • >>The Prime Minister: As I said in an earlier answer, I am committed to trying to cut the

  • cost of politics, and I am not sure that that would help. It is important that we take our

  • politics and issues to all the different regions of the country, and that is something the

  • Government are very committed to do, not least with our regional economic plans for every

  • region of our country. As for the future of this House of Commons and where we stand and

  • where we debate, that is a matter for the House of Commons, but I have to say that I

  • have a slight emotional attachment to this placethe place at this Dispatch Box specifically.

  • >>Richard Benyon (Newbury) (Con): The brass fittings on that Dispatch Box are worn paper

  • thin by the sweat from the palms of Prime Ministers and Ministers down the ages. That

  • is a visual example of parliamentary accountability. Although our constituents rightly feel that,

  • at times, this session is a little absurd, does my right hon. Friend agree that it would

  • be a great pity if senior members of the Executive were not held to account in that way?

  • >>The Prime Minister: I agree with my hon. Friend. I remember taking some constituents

  • on a tour when I first became a Member of Parliament and hearing for the first time

  • something I had not knownnamely, that after this Chamber was bombed some of Winston Churchill's

  • most important speeches and parliamentary occasions took place in the other place rather

  • than here. I do not want to start a complete fight between both Houses, so I think I will

  • leave it at that.

  • >>Neil Gray (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP): The Prime Minister has been asked repeatedly about

  • his plans to exclude Scottish MPs from decisions that will directly and indirectly impact on

  • Scotland's budget and my constituents in Airdrie and Shotts. Will he finally tell the

  • House and the people of Scotland whether it is right to create a second-class status for

  • Scottish MPs through the back door, or is he content to press ahead with plans that

  • will bring about the break-up of Britain?

  • >>The Prime Minister: I am quite baffled. I thought the whole point of the SNP is that

  • SNP Members want to exclude themselves from the UK Parliament forever. I thought that

  • was the whole point. What we are putting in place is a fair and balanced system that is

  • fair to all parts of our United Kingdom. Long may it stay together.

  • >>Edward Argar (Charnwood) (Con): Over the past five years, increasing numbers of people

  • in the east midlands and the UK have decided to take the courageous and important step

  • to set up their own businesses and become self-employed. What steps will the Prime Minister

  • and the Government take in future further to support those entrepreneurs in my constituency

  • and beyond who represent and personify aspiration and hard work?

  • >>The Prime Minister: Let me welcome my hon. Friend to his place. I agree with him that

  • people taking that step to become self-employed and start their own business has been a very

  • big part of the jobs and enterprise revolution in our country over the past five years. Things

  • such as start-up loans have made a real difference, which is why we are increasing them in this

  • Parliament, but when we look at helping self-employed people, it is important to look at all the

  • aspects of being self-employedhow people interact with pensions, benefits, maternity

  • leave, public authorities and social housing rules. That is why I am asking Julie Deane,

  • the founder of the fantastic Cambridge Satchel Company and a model for how self-employed

  • people can achieve great things, to lead a review for the Government. Let us look at

  • all the ways in which we can help self-employed people to get going.

  • >>Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab): Given the Prime Minister's commitment to

  • localism, will he stand by and respect the decision made by Lancashire County Council

  • this week to reject fracking, yes or no?

  • >>The Prime Minister: Those decisions must be made by local authorities in the proper

  • way, under the planning regime we have. Personally, I hope that, over time, unconventional gas

  • sites will go ahead, whether in Lancashire or elsewhere, because I want our country to

  • exploit all the natural resources we have. I want us to keep energy bills down and I

  • want us to be part of that revolution, which can create thousands of jobs. I also want

  • to ensure that we can exploit our own gas reserves rather than ship gas from the other

  • side of the world, which has a higher carbon footprint. We should do that, but if the Labour

  • party wants to paint itself into a background of not wanting any unconventional gas at all,

  • it should say so.

  • >>Alok Sharma (Reading West) (Con): Labour-controlled Reading Borough Council recently received

  • a damning report from Ofsted for not doing enough to help struggling schools under its

  • control. Will the Prime Minister tell us what the Government intend to do to ensure that

  • systemically failing local education authorities such as Reading do not continue to ruin the

  • life chances of our young people?

  • >>The Prime Minister: My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise that. Frankly, one extra term

  • in a failing school is too long for our children. In the past, Governments and LEAs have been

  • too tolerant in allowing schools to continue to fail year after year, so this Government

  • have set a very testing regime for failing schools and for those that are inadequate.

  • As my right hon. Friend the Education Secretary set out this week, we will do similar things

  • to schools that we would define as coasting and that could be doing better. We can now

  • see the model of academy chains taking over a failing school, changing some of the leadership

  • and putting in place the things that are necessary. We can see radical increases in the results,

  • which is what we want. We will today talk about how we tackle poverty in the long term.

  • Tackling sink schools and educational underachievement is vital to the life chances of our children.

  • >>Chris Law (Dundee West) (SNP): After four opportunities, the Prime Minister still has

  • not answered the question regarding the impact of English votes for English laws. May I strongly

  • urge him to finally reassure the people of my constituency that their elected MP will

  • not be given minority status in matters affecting the Scottish budget and, consequently, the

  • lives of the citizens of Dundee? Moreover, last night 58 out of 59 Scottish MPs

  • >>Mr Speaker: Order. We are very grateful. We have got the gist of it.

  • >>The Prime Minister: The hon. Gentleman has had a very clear answer. It may be that the

  • Scottish National party does not like the answer, but the proposals we discussed at

  • great length in the last Parliament for solving this issue will now be introduced. The absolutely

  • key point is that if, in some future Parliament, there is disagreement between English MPs

  • who want one thing and the House of Commons as a whole which wants another, there would

  • have to be a way of resolving the deadlock. This is effectively a block for English MPs.

  • It is not the ability to legislate willy-nilly. He would know that if he read the manifesto.

  • >>Jack Lopresti (Filton and Bradley Stoke) (Con): Does the Prime Minister feel comfortable

  • with the fact that the Conservative Government have implemented a spending target for foreign

  • aid, but will not commit to a target of a minimum of 2% of GDP for defence? Does he

  • realise that this is damaging the relationship with our key strategic ally, the United States,

  • and risking our credibility with our NATO allies?

  • >>The Prime Minister: What I would say to my hon. Friend, who I know cares deeply about

  • this issue and has in his constituency some of the most important defence manufacturers

  • in our country, is that we have in every year met that 2% target. Many countries in the

  • European Union do not even meet 1% for defence investment. The commitment we have made already

  • is to invest £160 billion across 10 years into our equipment programme, with real-terms

  • increases every year. That is why we can say the aircraft carriers, the C-17s and the new

  • aeroplanes will all be coming forward. We will obviously make final spending decisions

  • in the spending review this autumn.

  • >>Mr Dennis Skinner (Bolsover) (Lab): For a man who seemingly is never away from Europe,

  • why is it that he has never taken the opportunity, when he has been there, to put in a claim

  • for state aid to save British miners' jobs? He is the man who, during the election campaign,

  • masqueraded as the workers' champion but he has not got the guts to help those miners.

  • He took £700 million out of the mineworkers' pension scheme and he has not given a penny

  • back. No wonder they call himdodgy Dave”. The man that went to Eton: educated beyond

  • his intelligence. [Interruption.]

  • >>The Prime Minister: It is very good to see the Labour party in full voice cheering on

  • Jurassic Park. I would stick to the movie.

  • There is a serious point here. The Government have offered £20 million to the owners of

  • Hatfield colliery to keep it going. We have been prepared to put forward money. Unlike

  • the previous Government, we have been prepared to make ministerial directions, because we

  • have some courage when it comes to these things.

  • >>Zac Goldsmith (Richmond Park) (Con): There is a very strong sense that the Airports Commission

  • began life three years or so ago with a conclusion and then spent £20 million backing up that

  • conclusion. The Prime Minister is going to have to make a decision on the back of those

  • recommendations shortly, but what assurances can he give the million or so Londoners who

  • stand to be affected by Heathrow expansion that he will engage with the real arguments

  • in a way that Sir Howard Davies has not?

  • >>The Prime Minister: Let me pay tribute to my hon. Friend for how strongly he campaigns

  • on this issue. I know how strongly he cares about it and how strongly his constituents

  • feel about it. The promise I can give him is that this very thorough report, which landed

  • on my desk yesterday afternoon, will be studied properly. This really does matter. If you

  • make some precipitate decision or rule out one particular option, you will actually make

  • the decision you would like to make impossible to achieve because of judicial review. We

  • may not like that in this House, but those are the facts and those are the ones we need

  • to operate on.

  • >>Mr Speaker: Last but not least, I call Clive Lewis.

  • >>Clive Lewis (Norwich South) (Lab): Thank you, Mr Speaker. The Norfolk and Suffolk NHS

  • Mental Health Trust, which serves my constituency, is refusing to publish the so-called Alexander

  • report on its operation. The report, which I have seen, raises serious questions about

  • patient safety and care owing to cuts to services. Does the Prime Minister agree with me that

  • the duty of candour should apply to NHS management as it does to NHS front-line staff? If so,

  • will he join me in the call for the report's publication?

  • >>The Prime Minister: First, let me welcome the hon. Gentleman to the House. I make no

  • apology for the Care Quality Commission's rigorous inspection regime, which is identifying

  • areas that need improvement. I would argue that the two things we need here are to uncover

  • bad practice and turn it round, and then to back it up with the resources the NHS needs,

  • including those recommended by the Stevens plan. As things stand, only this party is

  • backing the extra £8 billion into the NHSand not the Labour party.

>>Mr Speaker: Order! Questions to the Prime Minister! Angela Crawley!

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