(11 years, 4 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Simon Hughes (Bermondsey and Old Southwark) (LD)
1. What priorities her Department has in Bangladesh for the next 12 months.
The Secretary of State for International Development (Justine Greening)
The Department for International Development has three key priorities in Bangladesh between 2011 and 2015: improving the provision of basic services, supporting private sector development and helping to reduce risks to development, including from natural disasters. Over the coming year, DFID will also focus on improving working conditions in the garment sector and supporting free, fair and credible elections.
Simon Hughes
I am grateful to the Secretary of State for that answer. Will she add to it by saying what our Government might be able to do to help people in Bangladesh achieve decent basic minimum wages for work and safer working conditions, and to enable poor people to receive the finance they need, either for their families or to start businesses so that they can succeed?
Justine Greening
We have a range of programmes to help improve livelihoods. Most recently, when my right hon. Friend the Minister of State visited Bangladesh, he announced an £18 million UK-funded programme to help people, particularly factory workers, to develop skills. We are taking a range of measures. I should add that we also work with international organisations such as the International Labour Organisation to improve workers’ standards and drive workers’ conditions upwards.
Keith Vaz (Leicester East) (Lab)
As the Secretary of State may know, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh was in London last week. I discussed with her the high level of diabetes in Bangladesh, which has one of the highest levels of any country in the world. What health projects do we have in Bangladesh specifically to help to reduce diabetes?
Justine Greening
I am grateful for the right hon. Gentleman’s question. DFID has health programmes and general programmes to lift people out of poverty, but also to ensure that they have access to services like health care that can help them get on with their day-to-day lives. I will write to him with a fuller update on whether we engage in any direct diabetes-related programmes, which I hope will be helpful to him.
Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)
What is the total size of our aid assistance to Bangladesh and how much of it goes on ameliorating the appalling environmental conditions, given that Bangladesh is situated on the Delta?
Justine Greening
The overall programme is about £200 million a year, which is split across a range of activities. Part of it is for basic services like health and education, as I have said; part of it is for economic development; and part of it is to address humanitarian conditions and disaster prevention, readiness and resilience. The final part of the programme is for governance programmes, as I said in my initial answer—these support the Electoral Commission and free and fair elections in Bangladesh—and supporting people so they can access the services and the welfare protection that they deserve.
Karen Lumley (Redditch) (Con)
2. What steps she is taking to improve the co-ordination of humanitarian support for Syria and the surrounding region.
The Secretary of State for International Development (Justine Greening)
Humanitarian actors are working tirelessly throughout the region, dealing with 1.7 million refugees now outside Syria and 4 million internally displaced people still inside Syria. Improving co-ordination and access is absolutely critical, which is why on 3 July I hosted a meeting with donors and key UN agencies in London to map out some steps on how we continue to up our game. Last week I also visited Lebanon.
Karen Lumley
Does the Secretary of State agree that an enormous burden is being placed on the countries that neighbour Syria, and that the international community must help them so that they can be fully supported?
Justine Greening
Yes, I do. It is projected that Lebanon, a country with a population of 4 million, will have 1 million refugees by the end of the year. If the same proportion of refugees were to arrive in the UK, the figure would be upwards of 15 million. We need to do everything we can to support not only the refugees but the host communities that they are going into.
Alison McGovern (Wirral South) (Lab)
The UNICEF ambassador Eddie Izzard recently returned from Syria. He said that
“missing from these discussions are the Syrian children, who are not made of steel, and who are facing desperate and harrowing conditions.”
He specifically drew attention to the lack of education for children there. What conversations has DFID had about providing schooling for children in Syria?
Justine Greening
This is something that DFID has particularly focused on. We have given funding directly to UNICEF to support educational facilities—when I was in the Zaatari camp in Jordan, I saw school facilities that had recently been built—and to support counselling. I would like to look more carefully with the United Nations agencies at what we can do to provide trauma counselling for children and their parents, because many of them have gone through awful experiences before ending up in the refugee camps.
Sir Malcolm Bruce (Gordon) (LD)
When King Abdullah of Jordan was in London recently, he told us that there was a massive problem with crime, violent assault, rape, prostitution and trafficking involving women who had been displaced by the violence in Syria. What action are we taking to ensure that those women and girls can be protected, because currently they are not?
Justine Greening
We do our best work with the UN agencies, which are co-ordinating much of the relief to ensure that the most vulnerable are protected. The right hon. Gentleman will be aware that about 75% of the refugees leaving Syria are women and children, so this is incredibly important. Alongside that work, we clearly need to work in the host communities in places like Jordan to ensure that they are able to cope with this huge influx of people who are placing added pressure on their services, which can often cause tension leading to the kind of trouble that he has mentioned.
Mr David Crausby (Bolton North East) (Lab)
The United Nations reports that the refugee crisis in Syria is the worst since that in Rwanda, and that 6,000 people—over half of them children—are fleeing the country every day. What does the Secretary of State intend to do to protect the health and education of those children in what is becoming a catastrophic humanitarian disaster?
Justine Greening
The hon. Gentleman is right to point out the comments of António Guterres, who is heading up the refugee operation. As I said earlier, we are particularly focused on what we can do to support the most vulnerable, and that includes children. We are doubling our support to over £300 million in the coming months, and I can assure him that we will put the appropriate amount of that into helping children cope with what is happening to them and ensuring that they are still preparing for the rest of their lives through education.
Mr John Baron (Basildon and Billericay) (Con)
14. Britain is leading the way in providing humanitarian relief, but some of our international partners are perhaps doing less well. Given that many refugee camps are still suffering desperate shortages of basic amenities, will the Secretary of State apply more pressure on her international partners and encourage them to step up to the plate?
Justine Greening
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We played a leading role in galvanising donors at the Kuwait conference earlier this year, and I regularly raise this issue with donors and with the UN. I will continue to do that at the UN General Assembly in September. It is critical that, when countries come to a donor conference and make pledges, they should honour them. It is also critical that the region itself should take steps to ensure that it, too, is playing its full role.
Ann McKechin (Glasgow North) (Lab)
The UN emergency relief co-ordinator, Valerie Amos, has highlighted the need for cross-border access for international agencies so they can provide appropriate medical and other help to refugees. What progress has been made in the UN Security Council towards obtaining such access without requiring the consent of the Syrian Government?
Justine Greening
The short answer is not nearly enough. Access to Syria is still overly restricted, particularly by the regime, and we are seeing attacks and violence against humanitarian workers and convoys. That is totally unacceptable, and we will continue to raise our concern about it at the highest levels of the UN.
Sheila Gilmore (Edinburgh East) (Lab)
3. What support her Department provides for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; and if she will make a statement.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (Lynne Featherstone)
The UK provides support to the fund, both financially and through membership of its governing board. We are the fund’s third-largest donor. Through DFID country offices, we provide a range of complementary funding and support to national health plans and global fund-supported programmes.
Sheila Gilmore
I thank the Minister for that answer. What steps is the UK now taking to galvanise support for the global fund from other donors?
Lynne Featherstone
We are using our influence with all other donors to ensure that they step up to the mark in the autumn replenishment, as we intend to do.
Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)
What discussions has my hon. Friend had with the Department of Health to ensure that the right sort of drugs, particularly antibiotics, are prescribed in these development areas?
Lynne Featherstone
I personally have not had such discussions, but we nevertheless work closely with the Department of Health and drug companies to ensure that the right drugs get to the right people for the right diseases in the right places.
Mr Ivan Lewis (Bury South) (Lab)
Ministers have consistently suggested that the UK would be willing to consider doubling its contribution to the global health fund. In view of the fact that the fund has made major changes and is under new leadership, will the Minister advise the Secretary of State to stop dithering and confirm the UK’s increased contribution before the summer recess? That would incentivise other countries to step up to the plate and ensure that not one more day is wasted in the fight to defeat AIDS, TB and malaria. Will the Government please get on with this?
Lynne Featherstone
What we are doing is the absolute opposite of dithering. We have stepped up to the mark: we are providing £1 billion as promised and ahead of schedule. The hon. Gentleman is right inasmuch as the global health fund has made serious moves towards reform and has overhauled its strategy and governance. We want to look at it strategically, and we need to look at the “mini-MAR”—multilateral aid review—the International Development Committee response, the National Audit Office report and the HIV provision paper. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman would not want us to spend money inappropriately. We will lead, we are leading and we intend to carry on leading.
Martin Horwood (Cheltenham) (LD)
Stop TB UK described the Government’s response on malaria as a model aid agency response, but it is worried that TB is a poor relation of the three diseases. It hits the poorest hardest, but interventions to stop TB are very cost-effective. Will the Minister meet Stop TB UK to discuss its concerns?
Lynne Featherstone
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has met Stop TB UK, and I have just returned from South Africa, where I convened a round table on TB, particularly on the theme of TB and HIV in the mines. This is such an important issue that we want to move forward on it. Spending money to stop TB in other countries helps us to stop TB in this country.
George Freeman (Mid Norfolk) (Con)
4. What plans she has to support the application of agricultural science, research and innovation in developing economies.
The Secretary of State for International Development (Justine Greening)
DFID is scaling up its agricultural research work in developing countries, particularly programmes that address the slow pace of agricultural innovation in sub-Saharan Africa.
George Freeman
I thank the Secretary of State for that answer, and congratulate her on the recent announcement of the £7 million international trade centre and the £57 million trade support package for Kenya and Uganda. Does she agree with me that trade is the best form of aid and that integrating our aid and trade missions, particularly in the field of agricultural technology, is the best way to drive really sustainable development?
Justine Greening
My hon. Friend is right, which is why I am very pleased that DFID is a central part of the agri-tech strategy that is shortly to be set out by the Government. It is absolute clear that we have an important role in helping poor countries to improve their agricultural systems and, in doing so, to help develop trade both domestically and internationally.
Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab)
Will the Secretary of State also commit to working with the scientific community in this country and abroad to explore the myths on both sides of the argument about the use of genetically modified food and agriculture in developing countries so that the UK can take an evidence-based position?
Justine Greening
The hon. Lady will know that ultimately it is up to each individual country to work out how it wants to deal with the issue of GM foods. She will have been pleased to see that at the recent G8 event on nutrition, science and accessing scientific experts was a key part of our nutrition push over the coming months and years.
Oliver Colvile (Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport) (Con)
5. What steps her Department takes to reduce the impact of natural disasters by increasing the resilience of communities.
The Minister of State, Department for International Development (Mr Alan Duncan)
Resilience means equipping communities better to withstand disasters and giving them the means to recover afterwards. DFID’s programmes include investments before disasters, such as in flood defences and setting up systems to give people early warning. We also help people bounce back after the event, for example by setting up insurance schemes and by providing income support.
Oliver Colvile
My right hon. Friend will know of the devastating impact that natural disasters have on developing countries and the role that Devonport-based ships play in sorting out disaster relief. What is his Department doing to build the capacity of state institutions in the developing world to deal with the impact of these natural disasters?
Mr Duncan
My hon. Friend is right. Navy ships such as those from his constituency have been crucially important in the past—for example, three years ago in Haiti. He is also right about the importance of a country’s capacity. We help in that regard through, for instance, pre-earthquake planning in Nepal and flood preparedness in Bangladesh.
Mr Tom Clarke (Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill) (Lab)
As the Minister knows, DFID has a deservedly high reputation for helping in disasters, but is there not a case for making some programmes last longer than they have been in the past? We want to move not just from disaster to aid, but from disaster to development.
Mr Duncan
That is absolutely true. We need long-term preparation in advance, and a longer-term response following any disaster. Those were the conclusions of a review conducted at the beginning of the current Parliament, whose recommendations we are implementing as best we can.
Sir Tony Cunningham (Workington) (Lab)
Those who are hit hardest by disasters are almost always the most vulnerable members of society. What steps has the Department taken to ensure that inequality is considered in resilience planning?
Mr Duncan
People who live in poverty are indeed the ones who suffer most as a result of natural disasters, which pull them into a cycle of debt, illness and thence even deeper poverty. Investing in measures to help communities to cope with disasters protects lives and livelihoods, and safeguards investment in a country’s development.
Richard Ottaway (Croydon South) (Con)
6. What assessment she has made of likely population growth in north and west Africa by 2050; and if she will make a statement.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (Lynne Featherstone)
The United Nations released revised population projections on 13 June. The population in north Africa is projected to increase from 200 million in 2010 to 319 million in 2050, while in west Africa the projected rise is from 305 million in 2010 to 815 million in 2050.
Richard Ottaway
The region is already experiencing substantial instability and extremism, and the likely outcome is that millions of young men and women will have bleak economic prospects. Given that no country has emerged from poverty without first addressing its levels of population growth, will the Minister give the region priority in her population programmes?
Lynne Featherstone
My hon. Friend has made an important point. West Africa has particularly high rates of population growth, and there is much less take-up of family planning there. DFID’s work involves not only family planning—which is a complex issue—but the delaying of first pregnancies, access to economic assets for girls, getting girls through secondary school and preventing violence, all of which contribute to making the population richer and more successful.
Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)
11. The international remittance trade is worth $500 billion a year. How will DFID support United Kingdom links with countries in north and west Africa where many people depend on remittances?
Lynne Featherstone
Remittances are indeed very important. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has met the head of Barclays to discuss the issue, with the aim of ensuring that remittances can be sent back to a country when they have the potential to increase that country’s GDP.
Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (Con)
7. What steps her Department is taking to end aid dependency through jobs and economic development.
The Secretary of State for International Development (Justine Greening)
I am ramping up my Department’s economic development efforts to ensure that we adopt a more systematic and structured approach in order to unlock more trade and investment. That includes embarking on a new relationship with the CBI, meeting representatives of the extractive industries and engineering companies, and starting to work with United Kingdom retailers to drive up standards.
Andrew Jones
Does my right hon. Friend agree that poverty can only be reduced in the long run through economic development, and that DFID can play a major role in helping companies to grow and get people into work so that they can raise their own tax revenues to fund their own services?
Justine Greening
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. United Kingdom companies also have a key role to play, and companies in his own constituency, such as Taylors of Harrogate, demonstrate how that can be done.
Simon Wright (Norwich South) (LD)
T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.
The Secretary of State for International Development (Justine Greening)
Last week, I visited Lebanon, where I announced that the UK will allocate a further £50 million to help Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Lebanese people in host communities. I also visited Tanzania and Pakistan, and hosted donors and United Nations agencies in London to map out steps on aid co-ordination. Following my visit to Rwanda last month, I would like to inform the House that although the latest assessment of the partnership principles has shown some welcome progress, our overall assessment remains that it is not right to release general budget support, and we will re-programme the payment of £16 million to support specific education and poverty alleviation programmes.
Simon Wright
In 2010, the UK provided much-needed help to the people of Haiti following the outbreak of cholera. However, an NGO has recently raised concerns that five of the seven recommendations of a UN report on the epidemic have been either only partially implemented or not implemented at all. Will the Secretary of State urgently investigate those concerns?
Justine Greening
I had the chance to visit Haiti earlier this year, and I understand my hon. Friend’s concerns. The report he is talking about has not yet been formally endorsed by the UN or peer-reviewed, but I can assure him that the UK’s contribution to tackling cholera in Haiti has been substantial since 2010. We have provided support for more than 1.3 million people.
Mr Ivan Lewis (Bury South) (Lab)
Members on both sides of the House will be extremely concerned at the latest outbreak of violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The DRC needs better political leadership, and an army and police force worthy of the name. It also requires the Secretary of State to provide effective leadership, so will she confirm to the House that UK budget support will be reinstated to the Government of Rwanda only if they cease all support for the M23 and militia activities in eastern DRC?
Justine Greening
The hon. Gentleman obviously was not listening to my opening statement in topical questions, so I refer him back to that.
Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) (Con)
T3. What indications has my right hon. Friend received from fellow G8 development Ministers that they will also meet their commitments on providing 0.7% of gross national income, given that the money is also needed to maintain the impressive gains made in tackling the scourges of maternal and child mortality?
Justine Greening
I pay tribute to some Scandinavian countries that have also reached the 0.7%—indeed, they have exceeded it. I regularly raise this issue with other EU development Ministers and with other donor countries.
Catherine McKinnell (Newcastle upon Tyne North) (Lab)
T2. HIV/AIDS is a devastating illness affecting 34 million people worldwide, 69% of whom are in sub-Saharan Africa. This week, the White House published its HIV/AIDS strategy, so when will the Government commit to publishing one for the UK?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (Lynne Featherstone)
We are in the middle of reviewing our HIV position paper. I have just returned from a round table meeting in South Africa that examined this issue. It is an important issue and we are on it.
Mr Mark Spencer (Sherwood) (Con)
T6. The Secretary of State will be aware that there is a new Government in Pakistan. Will she update the House on how she plans to co-operate with and support Pakistan to bring stability to the region?
Justine Greening
I was in Pakistan last week, when I had the chance to meet senior members of the Government and at the provincial level. We will be—[Interruption.]
Mr Speaker
Order. The Secretary of State is answering questions on extremely important matters, which have an impact on some of the most vulnerable people on the face of the planet. We ought to do her and the House a service by preserving some calm.
Justine Greening
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. We will continue to work with the new Government on stability in border areas. I am sure the House will be delighted to hear that I agreed a tax package with Pakistan’s Government that will see Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs going in to help them broaden their tax base and improve their tax collection.
Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North) (Lab)
T4. Will the Secretary of State tell the House what assurances the Burmese President has given the UK about respect for human rights in Burma, and, specifically, the treatment of Rohingya community, during his recent visit to Britain?
Justine Greening
I had a chance to meet the Burmese President earlier this week, when I did raise those issues, particularly the importance of access for humanitarian support. I hope I managed to get his assurances that the Burmese Government will work with us as we try to improve the lot of those people and will play a leadership role in reducing ethnic tensions.
Mr Speaker
I might tell the hon. Gentleman that I met the President here yesterday and I conveyed some of those messages on behalf of colleagues.
Mike Freer (Finchley and Golders Green) (Con)
T7. The UK contributes £30 million a year to the Palestinian Authority’s general budget. Does the Secretary of State agree that the pooled and general nature of that budget means that it is impossible to track how all donor money is actually spent?
The Minister of State, Department for International Development (Mr Alan Duncan)
UK funding to the Palestinian Authority is used specifically to pay civil servants’ salaries, and that is subject to audit. It is absolutely right, and essential for peace, that we continue to support the Palestinian Authority.
Hugh Bayley (York Central) (Lab)
T5. In a Westminster Hall debate on 4 July, the Minister of State, who has just left the Front Bench, said that he would take on board my concerns about workers in debt bondage in Pakistan. Will he undertake to get the DFID office in Pakistan to write a plan of action over the summer and then to make a written statement when the House comes back in September?
Justine Greening
I am sure that I can speak on my right hon. Friend’s behalf by assuring the hon. Gentleman that we will follow up his comments in that Westminster Hall debate. We have a close working relationship with the new Pakistan Government and it will involve improving the lot of workers.
Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)
Q1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 17 July.
The Prime Minister (Mr David Cameron)
This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this House, I shall have further such meetings later today.
Nic Dakin
People using Scunthorpe general hospital today are asking for reassurance. Given that Sir Bruce Keogh says that now is not the time for hasty reactions or recriminations, will the Prime Minister commit the resource and support—as well as setting the challenge—to ensure that the hospital delivers high-quality care across all its departments?
The Prime Minister
First, let me echo what the hon. Gentleman says about the Keogh report. That good report says that even those hospitals facing these challenges that have been investigated have many instances of excellent care. On resources, the Government are putting the money in—£12.7 billion extra over this Parliament—and we are going to help the hospitals that are challenged to ensure that they provide the very best that they can in our NHS.
Richard Harrington (Watford) (Con)
I am sure that you, Mr Speaker, will be as delighted as I am that unemployment in Watford has fallen once again—to its lowest level since the end of 2009. Does the Prime Minister agree that that is a good example of how the Government’s policies are working for small businesses, because those businesses were the ones providing the 1,000 jobs and apprenticeships that were shown at the Watford jobs fair two weeks ago?
The Prime Minister
My hon. Friend is absolutely right that today’s unemployment figures are welcome. They show a very large fall in the claimant count—20,000 in the past month—and encouraging signs of employment growth, some of which is due to the extra resources that we put into apprenticeships. We can be proud of the fact that more than 1 million people will have started apprenticeships in this Parliament, and I hope that the fall in unemployment is welcomed across the House.
Edward Miliband (Doncaster North) (Lab)
The vast majority of doctors and nurses working in the NHS perform to a very high standard day in, day out, but everyone in the country will be worried that some hospitals are letting people down. Sir Bruce Keogh’s excellent and important report found
“frequent examples of inadequate numbers of nursing staff”.
Will the Prime Minister tell the House what he is doing to ensure that there are adequate numbers of nurses in the health service?
The Prime Minister
First, let me agree with the right hon. Gentleman that the Keogh report is excellent. When there is a problem of relatively high mortality rates in some hospitals, it is right to hold an investigation to get to the truth, and then to take action to deal with the situation.
The right hon. Gentleman asks what steps we will take. We are putting £12.7 billion into the NHS and, over the course of the past year, we have seen an extra 900 nurses in our NHS, which backs up the 8,500 extra clinical staff in place since this Government came to office.
Edward Miliband
But the reality is that there are 4,000 fewer nurses than when the Prime Minister came to power. Nursing staff was one of the issues raised in Sir Bruce’s report, and that was also reflected in the Francis report with regard to benchmarks for nursing staff numbers. Given that there are 4,000 fewer nurses, will the Prime Minister say whether that is helping or hindering the process of sorting out the problems?
The Prime Minister
The right hon. Gentleman makes a link between the 11 hospitals that have been put into special measures and nursing numbers, but he might be interested in the figures. Eight of those 11 identified hospitals have more nurses today than in 2010. For instance, although Scunthorpe hospital is on that list of 11 hospitals, an extra 100 nurses are working there compared with three years ago. In addition, 10 of those 11 hospitals have higher numbers of clinical staff. The Francis report did not support mandatory nursing numbers, but let me say this: all well-run hospitals will have the right number of nurses, doctors and care assistants. One of the purposes of these reports is to ensure that hospitals are better run.
Edward Miliband
The reality is that the Prime Minister’s reforms are diverting money from patient care and that across the health service the number of nurses is falling. Let me turn to one of the biggest health problems the country faces: deaths from cancer. The Government planned legislation on plain cigarette packaging but changed their view after the Prime Minister hired Lynton Crosby, who also happens to work for big tobacco in the shape of Philip Morris. Are we really supposed to believe that is a coincidence?
The Prime Minister
First, it is clear that the right hon. Gentleman does not want to have a proper conversation about the health service and that he has not done his homework on nursing numbers. He asks about plain packaging for cigarettes. Let me be absolutely clear about this: the decision not to go ahead for the time being was made by me and the Health Secretary. If the right hon. Gentleman does not agree with that decision, he can attack me for making it. Funny enough, it is the same decision the previous Government made. I have here the letter that the former Labour Secretary of State for Health wrote to another Minister, the right hon. Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Dame Tessa Jowell), explaining why he was not going ahead. He said this:
“No studies have shown that introducing plain packaging of tobacco products would cut the number of young people smoking… Given the impact that plain packaging would have… we would need strong and convincing evidence”
in order to go ahead. He did not go ahead. Let me summarise: if the Leader of the Opposition’s attack on me is that we are not doing something he decided not to do, I suggest a different line of questioning.
Edward Miliband
Once again the Prime Minister does not know his facts, because in February 2010 my right hon. Friend the Member for Leigh (Andy Burnham), in his tobacco strategy, set out quite clearly that he was in favour of plain cigarette packaging, and that quote is from before then. Here is the difference: my right hon. Friend moved to that position in February 2010; but the Prime Minister used to be in favour of plain cigarette packaging and then changed his mind. Can he now answer the question that he has not answered for weeks: has he ever had a conversation with Lynton Crosby about plain cigarette packaging?
The Prime Minister
I have answered the question: he has never lobbied me on anything. If the right hon. Gentleman wants a lobbying scandal, why does he not try the fact that the trade unions buy his policies, buy his candidates and even bought and paid for his leadership? That is a scandal, and he should do something about it.
Edward Miliband
The whole country will have heard the same weasel words that the Prime Minister is sticking to. He cannot deny that he had a conversation with Lynton Crosby about this issue. Even by the standards of this Prime Minister, this is a disgraceful episode. His own hon. Friend the Member for Totnes (Dr Wollaston) described it as
“A day of shame for this government.”
He is the Prime Minister for Benson and Hedge funds, and he knows it. Can he not see that there is a devastating conflict of interest between having a key adviser raking it in from big tobacco and then advising him not to go ahead with plain packaging?
The Prime Minister
All this on a day when this Government are doing something the Labour party never did for 13 years: publishing a lobbying Bill. Let us remember why we need a lobbying Bill. We had former Labour Ministers describing themselves as cabs for hire, Cabinet Ministers giving passports for favours and a Prime Minister questioned by the police over cash for honours. They are in no position to lecture anyone on standards in public life. Is it not remarkable that on a day of a massive fall in the claimant count, a fall in unemployment and a rise in employment the right hon. Gentleman has nothing to say, and is not this the reason: last year he said that
“next year, unemployment will get worse, not better, under his policies. Nothing that he can say can deny that”—[Official Report, 18 January 2012; Vol. 538, c. 739.]?
Is it not time he withdrew that and admitted he was wrong?
Edward Miliband
The reality the Prime Minister cannot admit is that against the advice of every major public health organisation he has caved in to big tobacco. That is the reality about this Prime Minister and he knows it. It is Andy Coulson all over again. He is a Prime Minister who does not think the rules apply to him. Dinners for donors, Andy Coulson, and now big tobacco in Downing street—he always stands up for the wrong people.
The Prime Minister
The reason the right hon. Gentleman’s leadership is in crisis is that he cannot talk about the big issues. We are getting to the end of a political session when the deficit is down, unemployment is falling, crime is down, welfare is capped, and Abu Qatada is back in Jordan. Every day this country is getting stronger and every day he is getting weaker.
Dr Sarah Wollaston (Totnes) (Con)
I know that the Prime Minister will want to thank all the fantastic NHS staff who are rolling up their sleeves and doing everything they can to reduce avoidable early deaths. They are asking the Prime Minister for minimum unit pricing in order to help them do their job and stop people falling into addiction in the first place. Minimum pricing is sitting nervously on death row. Will the Prime Minister give it a reprieve, at least until we know the outcome from the Sheffield report and the Scottish courts?
The Prime Minister
First of all, let me say that my hon. Friend fights a strong and noble campaign on this issue that she cares a huge amount about, and I respect that. What we are able to do—[Interruption.]
The Prime Minister
We will be able to introduce something that the last Government never did, which is to say that it should be illegal to sell alcohol below the price of duty plus VAT. That is something, with all the binge-drinking problems we had under Labour, that they never managed to do.
Wayne David (Caerphilly) (Lab)
Q2. In February I asked the Prime Minister if he thought it was fair that Mr and Mrs Goodwin, both of whom are registered blind, should pay the bedroom tax. He promised to look into the case. Mr and Mrs Goodwin’s family wrote to the Prime Minister but did not receive a reply. Why does he not keep his word?
The Prime Minister
I will look urgently at this case, because I reply to hon. Members’ correspondence right across the House, and I always will. We have put in place very fair rules on the spare room subsidy, whereby it does not affect pensioners and does not affect people who need to have that spare room. Perhaps when I do write back there is one question I will not be able to answer, which is that we still do not know whether Labour is going to replace this, because they will not give us an answer.
Mr Graham Stuart (Beverley and Holderness) (Con)
Q3. Will the Prime Minister assure me that while Labour Members are in Blackpool this summer on their Unite beach towels his Government, free both from weak leadership and from Len McCluskey, will not put into law welfare benefits as a human right?
The Prime Minister
My hon. Friend makes a good point, because last week there was a rare piece of candour from Labour Members. They now have a welfare reform they are in favour of: they want to make welfare a human right. That is the policy of the Labour party. They opposed the welfare cap, they opposed the reforms to housing benefit, they opposed getting the deficit down, and now they want to make it a human right to give people benefits.
Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry) (DUP)
Will the Prime Minister—[Interruption.]
Mr Campbell
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Will the Prime Minister join me in wishing a speedy recovery to my right hon. Friend the Member for Belfast North (Mr Dodds), who was injured when seeking to resolve problems in his constituency during the recent unacceptable disturbances? Will he also join with many in Northern Ireland who want to see the initiative headed up by Dr Richard Haass from the United States of America, which will require considerable effort and good will to resolve all the outstanding parading issues, which have been plagued by violent opposition for far too long?
The Prime Minister
Everyone across the House will have been very concerned to hear the news about the right hon. Member for Belfast North (Mr Dodds) being knocked unconscious at the protests in his constituency. Everyone wishes him well and I gather he is now improving. We look forward to welcoming him back to this House.
On the issue, it is very important that we see responsibility on all sides in Northern Ireland and that we take steps, as the hon. Member for East Londonderry (Mr Campbell) suggests, to make sure that these marches can go ahead in a way that respects the fact that communities must be good neighbours to each other. That is what is required in Northern Ireland and I know my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will help in any way she can.
Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)
Q4. How many foreign national prisoners (a) are in prison and (b) were in prison in May 2010; and what steps are being taken to send them to secure detention in their own countries and to negotiate compulsory prisoner transfer agreements with high-volume countries.
The Prime Minister
Overall, over 4,500 foreign national offenders were removed from the UK in 2012 and the annual removal rate has remained broadly consistent since then. However, the number of foreign nationals in prison in England and Wales is still far too high, and while it is lower than at the election, we can do more. That is why the Justice Secretary is working to secure compulsory prisoner transfer agreements with those countries with the highest populations of foreign offenders. The Government will make it clear in the immigration Bill this autumn that foreign national offenders will be deported except in exceptional circumstances. I think that everyone in this House can celebrate the removal of one foreign prisoner, Mr Abu Qatada, who has returned to Jordan, and I congratulate the Home Secretary on her hard work.
Mr Hollobone
Now that my right hon. Friend and the Home Secretary have deported Abu Qatada—something the previous Government completely failed to do—will he do all he can to send foreign nationals in prison in our country back to prison in their own country, which would save British taxpayers hundreds of millions of pounds?
The Prime Minister
I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend on this issue and the fact that it requires real drive from the centre of this Government. That is why we have held a National Security Council meeting on it and why we are trying to sign compulsory prisoner transfer agreements with countries such as Albania and Nigeria. I make sure that all Ministers raise these issues in all their meetings with other countries where there are foreign national prisoners to be returned to. We should not rule out any steps, including in some cases helping countries such as Jamaica with their own prison regime so that it is easier to return people. This is a major priority for the Government and I want us to do better.
Emma Reynolds (Wolverhampton North East) (Lab)
Q5. The Prime Minister claims that he did not know that Lynton Crosby worked for big tobacco, yet Crosby is at the heart of Tory party policy and strategy. Why is the Prime Minister developing a bad habit—perhaps an addictive one—of turning a blind eye to who his advisers actually work for?
The Prime Minister
Let me explain to the hon. Lady: the role of Lynton Crosby is to advise me on how to defeat a divided and useless Labour party, but I have to say that on the basis of today’s evidence I am not sure he is really necessary.
Glyn Davies
Q6. In my Welsh constituency, patients have to wait 36 weeks for elective treatment, while the figure in the English constituency of Shropshire next door is 18 weeks. What lessons does the Prime Minister believe the Government can learn about how the NHS has been managed in Wales over recent years?
The Prime Minister
There is a very clear lesson, which is do not vote Labour, because people can see what is happening in Wales, where Labour is in control of the NHS. It cut the budget by 8% and as a result Wales has not met a single waiting time target since 2009. Meanwhile, in England we are increasing spending on the NHS. The shadow Chancellor keeps pointing at the shadow Health Secretary, but the fact is that the shadow Health Secretary is the man who said it would be irresponsible to increase spending on the NHS. I have a summer tip for the leader of the Labour party: if you want to do better, you need to move the two people next to you and you need to do it fast.
Mr Speaker
Order. Just as I said for Mr Davies, Mr Flynn should be heard with courtesy.
Paul Flynn
Will the Prime Minister study the precise meaning of the word “question” and the precise meaning of the word “answer”, and consider the need for a link between the two following the record number of unanswered questions and pre-prepared party-political jibes last week at Question Time, which was a demeaning spectacle that shamed him and his office? Will he make a start by giving me an answer to this question that is both relevant and courteous?
The Prime Minister
That question was a bit complicated for a Whip’s handout, so the hon. Gentleman probably did think of it himself. This Government are far more transparent than any of our predecessors in the information that we publish and the public spending data that we provide. We are far more transparent than the last Government.
Michael Ellis (Northampton North) (Con)
Q7. I am pleased to say that unemployment in Northampton North continues to go down. Does the Prime Minister agree that today’s jobs figures prove that the Government’s economic policy has not led to “the disappearance of a million…jobs”, which was the forecast of the Leader of the Opposition?
The Prime Minister
It is extraordinary that on a day when there has been a fall in unemployment, the Leader of the Opposition had nothing to say about it. In fact, I have done a bit of checking and he has not asked a full set of questions about the economy since February, because he knows that our policies are working and Britain’s economy is mending. My hon. Friend is absolutely right that the forecast was made that we would not make up for the loss of public sector jobs with jobs in the private sector—[Interruption.] I know that Labour Members are shouting. They are shouting because they do not want to hear good news about falling unemployment, but people want to hear about more jobs, more businesses and progress in our economy.
Mr Speaker
There is too much shouting on both sides of the House, not just on one side. That is the reality.
Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck (South Shields) (Lab)
How many of the Conservative party’s millionaire donors asked the Prime Minister to cut the 50p top rate of tax?
The Prime Minister
That was definitely a Whip’s handout—there is no doubt about that one. Let me explain to the hon. Lady an important distinction—[Interruption.]
The Prime Minister
The top rate of tax will be higher in every year of this Government than it was in any year under the previous Government. Let me explain how it works in the hon. Lady’s party: the trade unions give Labour money and that buys the policies, it buys the candidates, it buys the MPs and it even buys the leader. I am not surprised if they are worried about the product that they have ended up with.
Mr David Burrowes (Enfield, Southgate) (Con)
Q8. Enfield has had the early advantage of a welfare cap for the past three months. With jobseeker’s allowance claims in Enfield falling at twice the rate of claims in the rest of the country and with youth unemployment in Enfield at the lowest level since early 2009, will the Prime Minister ensure that where Enfield leads, the nation follows?
The Prime Minister
I join my hon. Friend in paying tribute to the people in Enfield who have found work. Not only is the welfare cap right because it would be wrong for people who are out of work to be able to earn more than the typical family that is in work, but it is working because the figures show how many people, seeing that a welfare cap is coming down the road, are getting out there, looking for work and finding jobs. That is good news for them and good news for our economy.
Stephen Timms (East Ham) (Lab)
Q9. Would Mr Adrian Beecroft have been asked to provide a report for the Government on employment regulation if he had not been a major donor to the Conservative party?
The Prime Minister
The right hon. Gentleman speaks as a member of Unite and someone who receives £6,000 for his constituency party. Adrian Beecroft produced an excellent report on encouraging enterprise, jobs and wealth creation. Let me explain the big difference one more time. The trade unions that give money to the Labour party can pick the candidates and vote for them, pick the leader and vote for him, and pick the policies and vote for them. I was elected by a one member, one vote system; the leader of the Labour party was elected by a trade union stitch-up.
Andrew George (St Ives) (LD)
Any Government should of course be able to introduce a reasonable cap on very high claims for taxpayer-funded benefits. However, if we are all in it together, why are the Government resisting the introduction of a cap on the taxpayer-funded benefits amounting to hundreds of thousands of pounds and, in some individual cases, more than £1 million that go to the largest and wealthiest landowners in the country through the farm support system?
The Prime Minister
This Government have done a huge amount on tax reform to ensure that people pay the taxes they owe. Of course, we always look at the common agricultural policy to make sure that it is fair.
Mr George Howarth (Knowsley) (Lab)
Q10. In order to save the Prime Minister a little time, I have been a member of the Unite union since I joined at the age of 16 as an engineering apprentice. I am happy to debate who spent their youth more productively. On 26 June, in response to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing North (Stephen Pound) on Tory dinners for donors, the Prime Minister said that he would be happy to publish the Gold report. Is the reason he has not done so because he is ashamed of the fact that his party has had more donors than a late-night kebab shop?
The Prime Minister
It is that time in Prime Minister’s questions when we ought to remember the donation of Mr Mills, the man who gave £1.6 million to the Labour party and got advice about how to dodge his taxes. When we get an answer to when the Labour party is going to pay that money back, I will answer the right hon. Gentleman’s question.
Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham) (Con)
While still hoping that the Prime Minister will agree with the CBI and me and withdraw support for HS2, he will remember last November giving me an undertaking that people disrupted by this project would be fairly and generously compensated. Is he aware that on phase 1, HS2 Ltd has not yet rerun the basic consultation on compensation, and on current plans will not do so for two or three months? Will he please intervene and speed up this process before those constituents, and others whose lives are affected, are totally ruined by this flawed project?
The Prime Minister
My right hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise this matter. We will be setting out further consultation later this year, as we have previously announced. We are committed to a very generous and fair compensation scheme. Matters relating to compensation are very important, which is why we have to consider them carefully and make sure that we get the decisions right. My right hon. Friend the Transport Secretary will be happy to meet her and discuss her constituents’ concerns.
Helen Goodman (Bishop Auckland) (Lab)
Q11. The Prime has been helping Jersey-registered companies with their exports. Perhaps he could tell the House whether the reason he took Petrofac’s Ayman Asfari with him to Kazakhstan was because he had donated £300,000 to the Tory party.
The Prime Minister
First, let us remember which Government made sure that Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man and all the others paid taxes properly—it was this one. I will tell the hon. Lady directly why I took Ayman Asfari to Kazakhstan: Petrofac is a company that employs tens of thousands of people in this country. It is investing billions in the North sea and is a major British energy company. I am proud of the fact that we fly the flag for British energy companies, so when I have finished taking them to Kazakhstan, I will be taking them to India, to China and to Malaysia. We are not embarrassed about business, industry, enterprise and jobs on this side of the House—we want more of them.
Sir Peter Tapsell (Louth and Horncastle) (Con)
During my right hon. Friend’s friendly discussions with Chancellor Merkel, did they examine the evidence that the existence of the European single currency is a major cause of the despair now sweeping across southern Europe, threatening the democracy of Portugal, Spain and Greece?
The Prime Minister
When I meet Chancellor Merkel we often discuss the single currency. It is important, whatever one’s views about the single currency—I never want Britain to join—that we respect countries that are in the single currency and want to make it work. At the same time, I believe that there is an opportunity for Britain to argue that the European Union needs to change. We need to make this organisation one that both members of the single currency and members who are not in the single currency can be comfortable in. I think Chancellor Merkel understands that. I also think that Prime Minister Letta from Italy, whom I will be meeting straight after questions, understands that point too. That is why I think getting a better settlement for Britain is achievable, and one we can consider in a referendum by the end of 2017.
Mr Steve Reed (Croydon North) (Lab)
Q12. The Prime Minister failed to say last week when he would give back the stolen cash that Asil Nadir gave the Conservative party. When will he give it back?
The Prime Minister
I have to say, the Whips have been very active with the hand-outs this week. What we need to know is when we will get back the taxpayer money from Mr Mills’s donation. Never mind a donation that happened 20 years ago; this happened about 20 weeks ago.
Dr Matthew Offord (Hendon) (Con)
One of the first acts of the Government was to agree a request to fund security measures in Jewish voluntary-aided, maintained and free schools. Parents in my constituency and that of my hon. Friend the Member for Finchley and Golders Green (Mike Freer) were paying for these additional security measures from their own pockets, because the last Government refused to help. As this funding arrangement ends in 2015, will the Prime Minister support my campaign for the Education Secretary to continue the scheme?
The Prime Minister
I will look very carefully at what my hon. Friend says. I am a strong supporter of free schools and of the Community Security Trust, which I think has provided a lot of security for schools in his and neighbouring constituencies. My right hon. Friend the Education Secretary will be very happy to look at this issue to see how we can continue to give them support.
Joan Walley (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Lab)
Q13. Given the scandal of price fixing in the oil and gas industry currently being investigated by the EU, does the Prime Minister agree that it is important to be absolutely transparent about the oil and gas companies Lynton Crosby’s lobbying firm has represented?
The Prime Minister
Really, have they got nothing to say about unemployment, improving education or capping welfare? It pains me to point this out to the hon. Lady, but she has received £32,000 from affiliated trade unions. Let me explain the difference: the Conservative party gives Lynton Crosby money to help us get rid of Labour—that is how it works—whereas the unions give Labour money. She said on her website:
“I am a member of Unison and Unite…and regularly raise trade union issues in parliament.”
They pay the money in, they get the results out—that is the scandal in British politics.
Simon Hughes
Q14. Many water companies in England have paid huge dividends to their shareholders, have avoided paying tax and are not properly accountable, and in this region are proposing an annual increase of £80 a year on water rates. Will the Prime Minister ensure that no public subsidy is given to Thames Water or any other water company that puts its profits and shareholders ahead of the interests of ordinary ratepayers and taxpayers in his constituency and mine?
The Prime Minister
First, let me be clear: I have always said that companies should pay the tax they owe. I do not want to comment on an individual company’s business, but that is the case. Any support from the Government must be targeted to benefit customers’ bills and to provide value for taxpayers. There is merit in the Thames tunnel proposal, and we need to look at that carefully, because it would benefit London, including the right hon. Gentleman’s constituents and everyone else living in London, but I can assure him that we will use every tool at our disposal to get the best deal for London, bill payers and taxpayers.
Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)
Q15. Did the Prime Minister ask Lynton Crosby who his big business clients were before he employed him?
The Prime Minister
We can run through this one again; let me have another go at explaining. Right, it works like this: the Conservative party gives Lynton Crosby money and he helps us to attack the Labour party, right? The trade unions give money to the Labour party—the other way around—and for that they buy your candidates, they buy your MPs, they buy your policies and they even give you this completely hopeless leader.
Andrew Griffiths (Burton) (Con)
My constituent, Kelly Bridgett, was diagnosed with cervical cancer at the age of 25 when she had her first smear, and sadly she had to have a hysterectomy. Will the Prime Minister join me in congratulating Kelly on her “Drop your pants to save your life” campaign to raise awareness of cervical cancer, and will he talk to the Health Secretary about Kelly’s wish to bring the age at which young women can have a smear down from 25 to 20?
The Prime Minister
I pay tribute to my hon. Friend and to his constituent for their bravery in raising this campaign and speaking so frankly about it. The screening programmes we have had in the NHS under successive Governments have been one of its greatest successes in terms of early diagnosis of cancer and saving lives. We should always be asking what the latest evidence is for the screening programmes, and when they should start. I am sure that my right hon. Friend the Health Secretary will want to talk to my hon. Friend about this campaign.