Oral Answers to Questions

Wednesday 4th March 2020 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Gareth Bacon (Orpington) (Con)]

1. What steps her Department is taking to help increase the ease of doing business throughout the developing world.

[Dr Jamie Wallis (Bridgend) (Con)]

6. What steps her Department is taking to help increase the ease of doing business throughout the developing world.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

12. What steps is her Department taking to promote the ease of doing business throughout the developing world.

[The Minister for Asia (Nigel Adams)]

The UK Government work in 35 low and middle-income countries to implement legal, regulatory and policy reforms to make it easy for business, including from the UK, to operate. Business-enabling environment reform was also discussed at the UK-Africa investment summit, which secured commercial deals between UK companies and African partners worth more than £6.5 billion.

[Gareth Bacon]

Does the Minister agree that now we have formally left the European Union we have an exciting opportunity to build on our historic ties with the Commonwealth and use close business links to help developing countries create wealth?

[Nigel Adams]

I could not agree more with my hon. Friend. He makes a good point. The Government are committed to working with our Commonwealth partners to support and deepen intra-Commonwealth trade, to improve the business environments in Commonwealth countries to enable them to be more globally competitive, and to facilitate the economic empowerment of women and young people by providing more business and educational opportunities. He will have an opportunity on Monday to take part in the Commonwealth debate.

[Dr Wallis]

Now that we have left the EU, the UK can deepen and expand its trade with countries and businesses across Africa. Can my hon. Friend update the House on progress made to develop that potential to the benefit of constituencies across Wales?

[Nigel Adams]

Indeed. This is a great opportunity for constituencies across all the nations of the UK. Leaving the EU provides an opportunity to explore the best ways to develop our trade and investment relationships across Africa. [Interruption.] Does the hon. Member for Brighton, Kemptown (Lloyd Russell-Moyle) want to intervene? The trade connect programme, announced at the Africa investment summit, will support African businesses to increase their presence in international markets while supporting UK firms to source products. This will benefit UK customers with more choice and quality and lower prices.

[Greg Smith]

I welcome my hon. Friend’s comments on the success of the Africa investment summit. Can he update the House on how we can further strengthen our economic partnerships with African nations?

[Nigel Adams]

I certainly can. My hon. Friend raises an important point. We are working with African countries to promote mutual prosperity. This incorporates a range of initiatives to increase trade and investment, including a new growth gateway, which will enable businesses to access the UK Government’s trade, investment and finance offer for Africa all in one place.

[Chris Law (Dundee West) (SNP)]

All of us should be truly proud of our contributions to international development, yet the opening questions demonstrate the dangerous direction in which many in the Tory party are looking to take aid spending. The Department for International Development does not exist to increase the size of our business abroad, and nor is it part of the Department for International Trade. Indeed, the public good will and trust in the Department has been because every penny spent has been on helping the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people. As the Government undertake their integrated review, will the Secretary of State reaffirm the Government’s commitment to a fully independent Department, with Cabinet-level representation, and does she agree that this should not be compromised for quid pro quo deals made to facilitate aid for trade?

[Nigel Adams]

I can assure the hon. Gentleman that the Department has Cabinet representation. I just make the point that trade can be and is a key driver for economic growth. It triggers positive changes in a country’s economy, which helps raise incomes in the poorest countries, creates job, lifts people out of poverty and helps countries to move beyond trade dependency.

[Chris Elmore (Ogmore) (Lab)]

I welcome the Secretary of State to her place. I will take an answer from the Minister, but I warmly welcome her to her new position in the Cabinet.

On the Department’s role around investment in developing countries, the International Labour Organisation sets global standards for employment rights. As DFID invests in African nations, will the Minister ensure that those Governments meet international labour standards, if not even higher standards?

[Nigel Adams]

I can assure the hon. Gentleman that where we have these interests in developing countries we take those rights incredibly seriously. Our network fully engages with them, and this fantastic array of Ministers, who will shortly do some travelling, will ensure that that is the case.

[Drew Hendry (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey) (SNP)]

2. What recent progress her Department has made on meeting sustainable development goal 13 on climate action.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (Wendy Morton)]

Climate action is a priority for the UK Government and the Department for International Development. We have recently doubled our commitment to international climate finance and will spend £11.6 billion over the next five-year period on helping poorer countries tackle climate change. Since 2011, ICF has helped 57 million people cope with the effects of climate change and provided 26 million with improved access to clean energy.

[Drew Hendry]

Drawing climate finance solely from the 0.7% will not be sustainable as climate change takes its toll, and drawing from the aid budget will mean cuts for health, education and life-saving measures, so what plans does the Minister have to establish new and additional sources of climate finance?

[Wendy Morton]

I absolutely disagree with the hon. Gentleman. Finance is critical, but this is about more than just finance. The UK will be hosting COP26 this year in partnership with Italy and, as I am sure he is aware, this will be happening in Glasgow. Tackling climate change is about so much more than just finance; it cuts right across the work that we do in the Department for International Development.

[Tommy Sheppard (Edinburgh East) (SNP)]

3. What recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding allocated to her Department.

[The Secretary of State for International Development (Anne-Marie Trevelyan)]

My apologies: I am short on voice today, about which many in the House will no doubt be very relieved. The Government’s 2019 spending review allocated sufficient funding to ensure that the UK can deliver on our commitment to spend 0.7% of gross national income on official development assistance in 2020-21. Thanks to this Government’s focus on a strong economy, we can deliver on this commitment, improving the lives of millions in developing countries—for example, by giving more than 14 million children access to a decent education, immunising 56 million children and supporting 52 million to access clean water and better sanitation in the past two years alone.[Official Report, 4 March 2020, Vol. 673, c. 8MC.]

[Tommy Sheppard]

I asked that question because in 2013 the Secretary of State tweeted an article that questioned the 0.7% of GDP target and, more recently, she circulated an article by the former Development Secretary saying that the waste of cash on

“vanity projects in far-flung lands”

had kept her awake at night. Can the Secretary of State confirm today that she has changed her mind on this matter and is now committed to the 0.7% target?

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

I am absolutely committed to 0.7% and I am committed to spending it in value-for-money terms for the British taxpayers who are funding it and, most importantly, to ensuring that we help those countries that are most fragile and most in need of aid and then development, so that they can become strong independent countries themselves. Getting to that point involves doing lots of things, and not necessarily in the way we have done them before. We need to ensure that we have a long-term investment perspective to help those countries to become self-sufficient. I do not want countries always to be dependent on UK and international aid; I want them to be self-sufficient, proud countries that can stand on their own two feet.

[Dr Andrew Murrison (South West Wiltshire) (Con)]

Given the likely effect of covid-19 on populations that DFID works with, what plans exist to establish contingency funding to deal with mitigation for those populations and to shift funding to the development of a vaccine, which is a global equity?

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his question, and for the enormous amount of work that he has done in previous iterations of his posts in this Department and others. He is absolutely right; the challenge of finding a vaccine for covid-19 is something that we are actively involved in, and we have already supported £5 million to the World Health Organisation. I was speaking to Dr Tedros yesterday to find out what other support we could bring, not only in cash terms but in expertise such as the skills of epidemiologists and logisticians, which could help the WHO to drive forwards in the weakest health systems across the world to ensure that they have the support they need.

[Catherine McKinnell (Newcastle upon Tyne North) (Lab)]

Is the Secretary of State confident that her Department has sufficient resources to deal with the consequences of the ongoing conflict in Syria, especially given the recent call from the UN high commissioner for refugees for the international support for refugees trapped in Idlib to be sustained and stepped up?

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

I think we are all continually horrified by the increasing abandonment of any kind of respect for humanitarian law that we are seeing in Syria from the regime, supported by the Russians. I signed off an £89 million package last week to provide more immediate help in that area. The challenge is to get it in, and to ensure that those who are able to deliver that humanitarian relief are able to get in and out safely. The Foreign Secretary was in Turkey yesterday continuing to try to find ways to ensure that those communities are at least able to keep warm and fed while we find ways to really sort out this impossible humanitarian challenge.

[Laura Farris (Newbury) (Con)]

4. What steps her Department is taking to support female education in fragile states.

[Jonathan Gullis (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con)]

11. What steps her Department is taking to help ensure that girls throughout the world receive 12 years of quality education.

[The Secretary of State for International Development (Anne-Marie Trevelyan)]

Excuse me, Mr Speaker. My cold is a demonstration, if I may say so, of joint working with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, as it is the Foreign Secretary’s cold, which he has shared, most unreasonably. [Interruption.] We have sent him abroad.

Promoting 12 years of quality education for all girls by 2030 is a personal priority of the Prime Minister’s and of mine. Girls in fragile states are central to this. When girls are educated, societies are healthier, wealthier and more sustainable. The UK is the leading donor to the global fund for education in emergencies, which supported over 1 million children to attend school in 2018.

[Laura Farris]

There is a fantastic charity in Newbury, Afghan Connection, which has built or renovated over 100 schools in Takhar province, where most adult women are illiterate, yet their daughters go to school because the charity has offered separate school buildings and female-only teaching staff. What steps can my right hon. Friend take to support schooling that reflects social and religious sensitivities like this?

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising the excellent work done by her local charity, Afghan Connection, and I look forward to hearing more about the work it is doing. Perhaps we can join that up.

DFID supports marginalised girls’ access and stay-in-school through strategies such as gender-sensitive infrastructure and pedagogy. DFID supports two girls’ education challenge projects in Afghanistan specifically. The UK is the largest donor to the Global Partnership for Education and to Education Cannot Wait, which supports girls’ education across fragile states.

[Jonathan Gullis]

I thank my right hon. Friend for her previous answers. As a former secondary school teacher, I know first hand the role that education has in unleashing potential, so will she update the House on what steps her Department is taking to support women and girls in fragile and conflict-affected states to ensure that where somebody is born has no bearing on their future potential?

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

I thank my hon. Friend for his service to education before coming on to the green Benches, and I know that he will support our commitment to educating girls. Girls in emergencies and crises are more than twice as likely to be out of school, so the UK prioritises quality education in conflicts and crises. We are the largest donor to Education Cannot Wait, the global fund for education in emergencies, and bilaterally, we are supporting education for over 600,000 girls in Syria and surrounding countries.

[Preet Kaur Gill (Birmingham, Edgbaston) (Lab/Co-op)]

I welcome the Secretary of State to her place. International Women’s Day is a focal point of the year to celebrate the movement for women’s rights and gender equality, and we welcome her Department’s focus on girls’ education, but does she agree that girls’ education is a basic and universal human right, not something that should be used simply as a means to achieve other ends? Will she commit to implementing a gender-transformative approach across DFID’s work to help dismantle the structural causes of gender inequality?

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

I agree absolutely that education is a right for all, but especially for girls. We all know that if a girl is educated, that community gains so much more than just that education. That is something that at DFID and across this Government we are absolutely committed to. We are working in a number of areas on gender equality and reductions in violence against girls, and part of the focus that I am going to give to DFID around girls’ education for 12 years is the Prime Minister’s absolute commitment. We will be drawing together all those constituent parts.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

I welcome the new Secretary of State and also the fact that this morning marks the inauguration of the Speaker’s chaplain. It is lovely to see her in the Chamber and leading our prayers.

Does the Secretary of State agree that we need much more energy from legislators worldwide? If we are going to tackle girls’ education worldwide, as well as my own World Health Organisation work on reducing road accidents worldwide, can we not get the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, the Inter-Parliamentary Union and legislators around the world helping Ministers to do the job properly?

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

It sounds to me like the hon. Gentleman has just given himself a job to help me to draw up the plan that we want to bring together, which is exactly as he mentioned. If the focus is on ensuring that every girl across the globe has 12 years of education, we need to include all those things that make it possible, such as getting to school safely and appropriate sanitation in those schools so that girls can keep attending. I look forward to him coming to help us—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. We are going to have to speed up, seriously. You are very good, but you’re too detailed.

[Anthony Mangnall (Totnes) (Con)]

The Secretary of State will be aware of the preventing sexual violence in conflict initiative that was set up in 2012. Does she agree that the initiative needs to be relaunched and shown new leadership in a forthcoming conference later this year?

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

The short answer is yes.

[Fleur Anderson (Putney) (Lab)]

5. What recent assessment her Department has made of the effect of water projects in tackling climate change.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (Wendy Morton)]

More than 700 million people do not have enough water every day, and climate change will make it worse unless more action is taken. DFID is supporting poorer countries to understand how climate change will affect water availability and to manage their water resources sustainably. DFID spends about £300 million a year on water, which since 2015 has given over 51 million people across 30 countries clean water or a decent toilet.

[Fleur Anderson]

Some 800 million people across the world still do not have access to clean water, and clean water is the first line of defence in coping with climate change. We are currently seeing a need for handwashing, for which people need clean water, but the most climate-vulnerable countries across the world have some of the lowest levels of clean water. Only 5% of global climate finance is spent on helping countries adapt to climate change. Will the Minister increase funding for water, sanitation and hygiene projects to tackle the impact of climate change and adapt—

[Mr Speaker]

Order.

[Wendy Morton]

By 2030, 40% of the world’s population will be facing water scarcity unless action is taken, and we in DFID take that very seriously. This year is critical for galvanising global ambition on climate change, which is why COP26 is so important. DFID programmes cover many crucial aspects of water security, but there is much more to do to avert the global water crisis.

[Gareth Davies (Grantham and Stamford) (Con)]

7. What steps her Department is taking to help improve infrastructure in developing countries.

[Sir David Evennett (Bexleyheath and Crayford) (Con)]

8. What steps her Department is taking to help improve infrastructure in developing countries.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (James Duddridge)]

DFID has over 150 infra- structure programmes, including providing water, roads, electricity, schools and hospitals. This Government established the International Development Infrastructure Commission to accelerate our work in this area.

[Gareth Davies]

Infrastructure is critical for economic growth, creating jobs and boosting businesses, but we must also be mindful of the natural environment. What steps are the Government taking to ensure that new infrastructure development in developing countries is sustainable?

[James Duddridge]

DFID is directly investing in infrastructure programmes that will enhance climate resilience in developing countries. Our work is focused on creating the right enabling conditions to direct private finance into low-carbon infrastructure, expanding Africa’s financial markets and unlocking investment through innovative instruments such as green investment bonds.

[Sir David Evennett]

I welcome my hon. Friend’s work in this important area. As we look to the UN climate summit in Glasgow later this year, can he update the House on the work with countries across Africa to help them develop their clean energy potential?

[James Duddridge]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his passion for Africa. We are committed to working with African countries to boost renewable energy potential and cleaner energy alternatives. For example, the Africa clean energy programme is working in over 15 countries to increase the deployment of off-grid renewable energy.

[Meg Hillier (Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Department invested nearly £300 million of taxpayers’ money in the airport on St Helena. Will the Minister update us on whether aircraft can now land and take off from that expensive airport?

[James Duddridge]

I am familiar with the situation, as the hon. Lady knows, and I am more than happy to update her in writing.

[Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry) (DUP)]

Access to clean water is an essential prerequisite to development in sub-Saharan Africa. What steps are being taken to support small charities that excel in that much-needed activity in that land?

[James Duddridge]

The provision of water is essential, and the Department is particularly keen to enable small charities, particularly small British charities, in this sector. If the hon. Gentleman has any particular ideas, my colleagues and I are more than happy to receive them.

[Antony Higginbotham (Burnley) (Con)]

T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for International Development (Anne-Marie Trevelyan)]

We are proud to maintain our manifesto commitment to spend 0.7% of our income on international development, helping countries to become economically self-sufficient, free societies where liberal values can flourish. That is firmly in our own interests. The climate change challenges, alongside championing 12 years of girls’ education and tackling preventable diseases, will be our focus. These are global challenges, achievable thanks to DFID investment in world-leading British business, the talent of our innovators, and our world-class defence and diplomatic network. I am determined that the British public’s altruism will be reflected in the outcomes that we see from DFID funding.

[Antony Higginbotham]

The UK plays a leadership role in countries around the world, projecting our values and ensuring that free societies can flourish. Education is a key part of that, so, ahead of International Women’s Day, what steps is my right hon. Friend taking to ensure that every child gets 12 years of education?

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

Talent is spread around the world but, sadly, opportunity is not. Twelve years of quality education is a key priority, and I am proud that between 2015 and 2019 we supported 14.3 million girls to gain a decent education, across 70 of our most fragile countries. As another International Women’s Day is before us, we have the opportunity to refocus our energies on making sure that there is not a single girl who is not educated.[Official Report, 17 March 2020, Vol. 673, c. 8MC.]

[Dan Carden (Liverpool, Walton) (Lab)]

I welcome the new Secretary of State to her post. She leads one of the most important Departments, which literally saves lives every day. More than 60 countries across the world have reported at least one case of coronavirus, but, as yet, we have not seen a widespread outbreak in sub-Saharan Africa. What immediate steps is she taking to ensure the preparedness of the world’s poorest nations in the event of such an outbreak?

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

The hon. Gentleman is right to say that the great challenge is to be able to provide support to those countries where their health systems are weakest, should they need that support. Alongside our colleagues at the Department of Health and Social Care, I am working closely with the World Health Organisation to make sure that we can support it with technical skills as well as funding. We have already given £5 million to its initial fund to make sure that it can be as prepared as possible and reach as quickly as possible those countries that will need this.

[Dan Carden]

The situation in Idlib and across Syria has reached a horrifying new level: indiscriminate bombings are killing civilians and humanitarian workers; 1 million people have fled their homes; people are sleeping in freezing conditions; and children are dying. We welcome the Government’s increased humanitarian response, but what is the UK, as a member of the Security Council, doing? When will the Prime Minister play his part to lead diplomatic efforts to protect civilian lives in Syria?

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

The Foreign Secretary is in the region at the moment, continuing to work with regional leaders to try to find ways to move forward supporting the Turkish communities who are looking after so many displaced people. As I said, we continue to be horrified and appalled by the humanitarian legal breaches that are going on, and we continue to provide support. I signed off £89 million last week to make sure that we can provide support as best we can.

[Ruth Edwards (Rushcliffe) (Con)]

T4. British scientists led the world in vaccine development. What steps is DFID taking to support the next generation of inoculation and vaccine development?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (Wendy Morton)]

The UK is hosting the global vaccine summit in June, supporting Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance to raise at least $7.4 billion towards vaccination for the world’s poorest children. Ahead of the summit, we are convening world-leading British academics, the private sector and civil society in Liverpool to highlight UK research in global health that helps to unlock barriers to ending preventable deaths.

[Alison Thewliss (Glasgow Central) (SNP)]

T2. Has the Secretary of State read the UNICEF report on ending preventable child deaths? What specific actions and finance will DFID employ to meet the aim of ending preventable child deaths by 2030?

[Wendy Morton]

We welcome that report and its recognition of the work the UK is already doing. The report is in line with the Government’s ambition to end preventable maternal, newborn and child deaths by 2030. We will be publishing a paper shortly setting out how we will work with others to reach that goal.

[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

The coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome and similar illnesses are believed to have been started in unsanitary butcheries in eastern and south-east Asia. What role does, and can, the Department have in producing cleaner butcheries, so that we do not get this transfer from animal to human disease?

[The Minister for Asia (Nigel Adams)]

Research and development is incredibly important, which is why we have thus far committed more than £40 million. I take my hon. Friend’s question seriously. Through our networks, we can project and promote good practice, and I am sure that that is what we are doing.

[Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Brighton, Kemptown) (Lab/Co-op)]

T5. Peace in Colombia is currently very unstable and the peace process is fragile. We are giving money for security reform, but no money for policing and community development. This year alone, 52 trade unionists and community leaders have been assassinated. Will the Government put in money to support policing and investigations?

[Wendy Morton]

The Government are aware of the situation in Colombia and Venezuela. The UK is one of the largest donors to the humanitarian response in Venezuela and the top donor to the Central Emergency Response Fund and Education Cannot Wait. I will come back to the hon. Gentleman in respect of his specific point on policing.

[Mr Speaker]

This is not the normal situation, but it is very important that I welcome the Pakistani Governor of the Punjab, Mohammad Sarwar, who is a former colleague and Member of this House and is in the Gallery today. We welcome him. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”]

The Prime Minister was asked—

[Richard Graham (Gloucester) (Con)]

Q1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 4 March.

[The Prime Minister (Boris Johnson)]

It is now two years to the day since a chemical weapon was deployed by Russian military intelligence on the streets of Salisbury. All our thoughts remain with those affected and their families and loved ones. We will continue to seek justice for them. I am pleased to say that, two years on, Salisbury is back on its feet, focused firmly on the future and welcoming visitors with open arms. I am sure the House will want to pay tribute to the people of Salisbury and Amesbury and wish them well for the future.

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.

[Richard Graham]

As the Government prepare the nation for the worst of the coronavirus, while working for the best, now is the time to wash our hands and pull together, so does the Prime Minister agree that we need in place a robust plan to cover any significant cash-flow losses for businesses, so that employees and their mortgages, rents and benefits will still be paid? Will the Treasury consider delaying VAT and pay-as-you-earn collection, if need be? Does the Prime Minister agree that, come what may, as we saw during the devastating floods of Gloucester in 2007 and elsewhere recently, Britain will find the strength, perhaps aided by a cup of not-necessarily-Yorkshire tea, to pull through?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is entirely right. We are of course monitoring the situation and are prepared to support individuals, businesses and the economy to maintain economic confidence, quite rightly. Our action plan—our battle plan—points to mitigations that already exist, such as Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs’ Time to Pay arrangements, which are available on a case-by-case basis to support firms struggling with payments.

[Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North) (Lab)]

I am sure the whole House will join me in congratulating the Prime Minister and his partner on the news that they are expecting a baby. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”]

I join the Prime Minister in wishing the people Salisbury well. It is a wonderful city and I have visited it many times, and what happened to them was of course utterly appalling. Their safety and security is paramount for all of us.

I pay tribute to all the medical staff and, indeed, expert public servants, here and overseas, who are doing vital work to combat the spread of coronavirus and are looking after those affected.

Yesterday, our part-time Prime Minister finally published the steps that his Government will take to tackle the outbreak of the disease. The strategy broadly has our support, but a decade of Tory austerity means that our national health service is already struggling to cope. Bed-occupancy levels are at 94% and hundreds of our most vulnerable people are being treated on trolleys in corridors. What additional funding will our overstretched and underfunded NHS be given to deal with this crisis?

[The Prime Minister]

As the right hon. Gentleman knows, this Government have put record funding into the NHS and we have pledged that we will give it everything that it needs to cope with the crisis.

It might be for the advantage of the right hon. Gentleman and the House if I update the House on where we are with the coronavirus outbreak. As yesterday’s plan made clear, we are not at the point yet where we are asking large numbers of people to self-isolate, but that, of course, may come if large numbers of people have the symptoms of coronavirus. If they stay at home, the House will understand that they are helping to protect all of us by slowing the spread of the virus and that is what the best scientific evidence tells us. If they stay at home and if we ask people to self-isolate, they may lose out financially, so I can today announce that the Health Secretary will bring forward, as part of our emergency coronavirus legislation, measures to allow the payment of statutory sick pay from the very first day you are sick, instead of four days under the current rules. That is the right way forward. Nobody should be penalised for doing the right thing.

[Jeremy Corbyn]

I thank the Prime Minister for that, but I want to ask him a couple more questions on this subject. Is it true, as has been reported, that police forces are likely to become so overstretched by coronavirus that 999 response times will have to be extended and that even investigations into some murders will have to be halted as a result of this?

[The Prime Minister]

We are not at that stage, or anything like that stage, yet. The right hon. Gentleman knows that our police forces are well able to cope with all types of eventualities and have long-standing arrangements to prepare them for such pressures.

[Jeremy Corbyn]

Under this Government, there are 2 million workers on low pay, many of them women in the care sector who are not eligible for statutory sick pay at the present time. It is not clear whether the Prime Minister’s statement just now covers them or not, and those on social security could face sanctions if they miss appointments and, therefore, they and their families will face terrible hardship. When the Prime Minister brings forward the emergency legislation, will he guarantee that workers’ rights to sick pay from day one—he has just indicated that that will apply on statutory sick pay—will apply to all claimants? Those people who are not currently eligible for statutory sick pay will have to make a terrible choice between health and hardship.

[The Prime Minister]

The right hon. Gentleman is raising a very important point. We are, of course, very much aware of the issues faced by the self-employed and those on zero-hours contracts. I should stress that some of them will be entitled to statutory sick pay—[Interruption.] A great many. Others will be entitled to help through the existing system, such as universal credit. We are urgently looking at the application process to reflect on the advice on self-isolation. I think that members of the public have appreciated the way that, hitherto, Members have come together across the Floor of this House to deal with the crisis. I think it would be common ground between us all that we would want to do everything we can to avoid penalising those who are doing the right thing.

[Jeremy Corbyn]

The Prime Minister is not being clear about this. The reality is that, if a person is on universal credit or has just been put on to it, they have a five-week wait before they get any benefits. Will he be absolutely clear that nobody—nobody—will have to choose between health and hardship, because it is a matter of public health concern for everybody?

Our part-time Prime Minister failed to turn up on Monday to answer a question about a breach of the ministerial code. In his own foreword to that code, the Prime Minister wrote:

“There must be no bullying and no harassment”.

Will he now commit to an independent investigation into the Home Secretary’s conduct, led by an external lawyer, and commit to a date when its findings will be made public?

[The Prime Minister]

Of course, it is right that there should be an investigation into any allegations of bullying, and that is what the Cabinet Office and Sir Alex Allan will be doing. Since the right hon. Gentleman mentions the Home Secretary, let me just remind him that she is keeping this country safe by putting in place record numbers of police officers, she believes in stopping the early release of offenders, and she is bringing in an Australian-style, points-based system to tackle our migration crisis. The right hon. Gentleman would scrap stop and search, he believes in getting rid of our security services and he certainly would not tackle our immigration system.

[Jeremy Corbyn]

This is about whether the Prime Minister will release the findings of an investigation into the Home Secretary’s behaviour. I repeat to him that a Government cannot be judge and jury over their own conduct; there has to be an independent element to that investigation. Overnight, further allegations have emerged that the Home Secretary repeatedly harassed and humiliated her private secretary while she ran the Department for International Development. If that is true, it suggests a shocking and unacceptable pattern of behaviour across three Government Departments. On each occasion, tens of thousands of pounds of hard-earned taxpayers’ money has been spaffed up the wall to buy their silence. Was the Prime Minister aware of these allegations about the Home Secretary? If he was, why did he appoint her?

[The Prime Minister]

I repeat the point I just made—the Home Secretary is doing an outstanding job and I have every confidence in her. If there are allegations, of course it is right that they should be properly investigated by the Cabinet Office, and that is what is happening. But I take no lessons about bullying from the leader of a party where female MPs were bullied so badly in the matter of antisemitism that they actually left the party, and where the shadow Chancellor has still not apologised for his call for a Member of our party to be lynched.

[Jeremy Corbyn]

The Prime Minister said, “If there are allegations”. Is he completely unaware of all the allegations that have been made over the last few days? Is he completely unaware of the resignation of a permanent secretary because of his treatment by the Home Secretary? We have a part-time Prime Minister who barely turns up but is determined a cover up for bullies in his Government. There cannot be one rule for workers across this country, and another for him and his Ministers. His Home Secretary has been accused of repeated bullying and harassment, leading to hard-working staff attempting suicide by overdose, and he has given her his full support. How can the people of this country have faith in a Prime Minister who cannot be bothered to turn up and, when he does, has no shame in defending bullying in his own Government?

[The Prime Minister]

That is a question from a full-time neo-Marxist who has failed to stamp out bullying in his own party. I am very proud of the record of this Government, just over the last 82 days. We have taken back control of our borders, our laws and our money. We have got Brexit done. We have set out a new points-based immigration system. We have put more money into people’s pockets through the biggest ever increase in the living wage, and have guaranteed more funding for schools by increasing the minimum funding for every pupil. We have restored the nurses’ bursary, introduced a Bill to set out a record cash boost for our NHS and ensured that there will be free hospital car parking for everybody who attends a hospital. And we are delivering gigabit broadband for the entire country. That is to say nothing of the police we are recruiting. That is just in the last 82 days. We are getting on with delivering the people’s priorities.

[Claire Coutinho (East Surrey) (Con)]

Q4. My constituents in East Surrey care enormously about climate change. Does my right hon. Friend agree that yesterday’s news that the UK’s carbon emissions have been reduced by a third over the past 10 years is a fantastic and important Conservative achievement, and will he set out his plans to continue this progress?

[The Prime Minister]

I will indeed. Today I will chair the first ever Cabinet Committee on Climate Change, in recognition of this Government’s revolutionary commitments to cut to net zero by 2050—one of the many ways in which the Government are leading Europe and the world in tackling climate change.

[Ian Blackford (Ross, Skye and Lochaber) (SNP)]

Like the Prime Minister, I note the two-year anniversary of the terrible attack in Salisbury. It is important, on these matters and on other crises that we face, such as coronavirus, that, where appropriate, we do stand together.

Coronavirus is causing deep and genuine concern across society. We know that up to 80% of the population are at risk of infection. We must all provide clear, calm and practical leadership in the days, weeks and months ahead. In the past few days, Scotland’s First Minister, the Scottish Government and the Westminster Government have been working closely together to put plans in place to protect all our people. Yesterday, the Governor of the Bank of England suggested that a financial bridge may be available to assist markets through any volatility. If there is a financial bridge for markets, can the Prime Minister tell us: will there be a financial bridge for all workers and, indeed, those who rely on benefits, who should not risk the threat of sanction if they cannot make an appointment?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for the excellent co-operation that Scotland and, indeed, all the devolved Administrations have given in preparing the battle plan. Yes, really to recapitulate my answer to the Leader of the Opposition, we will take every step that we can to ensure that businesses are protected, that the economy remains strong and that no one, whether employed or self-employed—whatever the status of their employment—is penalised for doing the right thing.

[Ian Blackford]

I thank the Prime Minister for that answer, and I commit my party and our Government in Scotland to work constructively together.

Of course, people are worried about their health, but there are millions of workers who are worried about the consequences for their incomes, their job securities and their families, so I do ask that the Prime Minister give specific guarantees. Certainly, we will work together in the SNP in pushing for emergency legislation. Will he give the clarification that all workers will be fully protected from the first day of sickness, that those payments should be up to the level of the real living wage and that there will be emergency legislation to guarantee that staff who are asked to self-isolate, and their businesses, are fully supported? That is the leadership that is required. I ask if the Prime Minister will commit himself to working constructively with us all to that end.

[The Prime Minister]

Again, I thank the right hon. Gentleman for the spirit in which he asks the question. He will have seen from my earlier answer that what we are indeed doing is advancing the day, on a temporary basis, on which people are eligible for statutory sick pay from the fourth day to the first day. I think that is the right thing. Again, I repeat that we will support business and we will make sure that we keep the economy strong. No one should be penalised for doing the right thing. I am sure that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor will be happy to engage in further conversations with the right hon. Gentleman about the detail of how we propose to do that.

[Steve Double (St Austell and Newquay) (Con)]

Q8. Tomorrow is St Piran’s day, when Cornish men and women around the world will be celebrating our national saint and all things Cornish. St Piran is also the patron saint of tin mining, but mining is not just something assigned to Cornish history. Is the Prime Minister aware that significant deposits of lithium have been identified in Cornwall, which provides the opportunity of levelling up the Cornish economy and providing the UK with a domestic supply of this critical mineral? Will he commit his Government to enabling Cornwall to make the most of this opportunity, and wish all Cornish men and women a happy St Piran’s day?

[The Prime Minister]

This country, as my hon. Friend knows, leads the world in battery technology. It is a wonderful thing that Cornwall indeed boasts extensive resources of lithium, and we mean to exploit them. I know that there is no more passionate champion of Cornwall than my hon. Friend. I wish him a happy Saint Piran’s day—and Kernow bys vyken!

[Caroline Lucas (Brighton, Pavilion) (Green)]

Q2. Last week’s historic judgment against Heathrow expansion found that the Prime Minister’s Government broke the law by ignoring the Paris climate agreement and by breaching their own sustainable development duty to future generations when they drafted the airports national policy statement. Will the Prime Minister tell the House today precisely how many of the Government’s other national policy statements have been assessed against the Paris climate agreement, and will he commit, right now, to reviewing and, if necessary, revising all those that have not?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question. She can take it that we will ensure that we abide by the judgment and take account of the Paris convention on climate change, but I do not believe for one second that that will be an impediment to our delivery of an infrastructure revolution across this country.

[Shaun Bailey (West Bromwich West) (Con)]

Q9. Communities like mine in West Bromwich West are grateful for this Government’s commitment to 366 police officers for the west midlands. Will my right hon. Friend reaffirm that, unlike the Labour police and crime commissioner, who is decimating communities like mine in Tipton with the closure of our police station, this Government are committed to keep our communities safe through investment in the police and tougher sentences for the criminals who are ruining the lives of my constituents in Tipton?

[The Prime Minister]

That is precisely why my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary is working so hard to recruit 20,000 more police officers and to enhance stop-and-search powers. That is why we have set out plans to build more prisons and keep violent and sexual offenders in prison for longer. I am delighted that the west midlands, thanks partly to my hon. Friend’s lobbying, is receiving another 366 police officers.

[Charlotte Nichols (Warrington North) (Lab)]

Q3. I note that, in the interests of public safety, the Government have taken emergency measures to rush through legislation to ensure that those convicted of terrorist offences serve their full sentences. Given the far smaller conviction rate and far more substantial reoffending rate for those convicted of sexual offences, will the Prime Minister commit to a wider sentencing review, so that communities can rest assured that sex offenders who pose a threat to children and women are serving their full sentences, to ensure their rehabilitation?

[The Prime Minister]

I congratulate the hon. Lady on what she just said, which may have come as a bit of a bombshell to some of her colleagues—

[Charlotte Nichols]

indicated dissent.

[The Prime Minister]

Perhaps those on the shadow Front Bench, at any rate. The hon. Lady is entirely right, and that is what we are doing, as I said in my earlier answer.

[Ian Levy (Blyth Valley) (Con)]

Q11. Will my right hon. Friend commit to ensure that Blyth Valley benefits from the Government’s ambition to unite and level up across this fantastic country?

[The Prime Minister]

I can indeed. That is why we are supporting the Ashington to Blyth to Tyne rail line—the start of our £500 million investment in connecting towns whose stations were closed during the Beeching cuts. That is among many other benefits that we will bring to the people of Blyth. I thank my hon. Friend for his support. We are going to repay the trust and confidence of those people by investing in their communities.

[Ian Mearns (Gateshead) (Lab)]

Q5. Karbon Homes, a registered social landlord, has over 30,000 homes in the north and north-east. Detailed research that it has conducted shows that the five-week delay in universal credit payments ensures that many families amass huge rent arrears before receiving anything and are trapped in debt for years. Some 72% of its tenants on universal credit are now in significant rent arrears, with over half of them technically destitute. The Prime Minister’s mantra that work is the route out of poverty is true only if there are jobs that are full time, permanent and decently paid. When will he stop this deliberate policy of inflicting impoverishment and destitution on tenants of Karbon Homes and other registered social landlords in the north-east?

[The Prime Minister]

I am happy to study the particular case that the hon. Gentleman raises. Universal credit is available from day one—[Interruption]—and I stick firmly to my belief that the best route out of poverty is not benefits but work, and what this Government have achieved is record low unemployment and record gains in employment across the country. Wages are now rising—[Interruption.] They don’t want to hear it, but the truth is that wages are now rising for the low-paid as well.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

Q13. Last Thursday, in the dead of night, the Prime Minister made a secret visit to Kettering General Hospital. There was no media entourage. This was no photo call; he had come to listen. He listened to staff. He listened to patients, and he left at 3.30 am. One patient said, “I thought Boris was a bit of a dopey bloke, who doesn’t really know what’s going on, but he was a lovely bloke and actually caring to all other patients.” Prime Minister, what did you learn from your listening visit?

[The Prime Minister]

I learned what a wonderful staff we have in the NHS, and I am delighted to say that Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust will receive £3.7 million seed funding for a full redevelopment, in addition to the £46 million that we are now putting in to its urgent care hub. This is the party of the NHS—delivering on the people’s priorities in Kettering and across the country.

[Matthew Pennycook (Greenwich and Woolwich) (Lab)]

Q6. For the purpose of clarity, if the Cabinet Office inquiry into allegations that the Home Secretary breached the ministerial code establishes that her conduct fell below the standard expected of a Minister in any way and on any occasion, can the Prime Minister confirm that she will be expected to resign or be removed from office?

[The Prime Minister]

I return to the point I made earlier on, which is that the Home Secretary is doing an outstanding job—delivering change, putting police out on the streets, cutting crime and delivering a new immigration system—and I am sticking by her.

[Theo Clarke (Stafford) (Con)]

Q14. Having knocked on doors across Stafford in my constituency, it is clear that the A&E at County Hospital is a vital local service, so does the Prime Minister agree with me that A&E units at medium-sized hospitals such as County are essential for the future delivery of care in our NHS?

[The Prime Minister]

My right hon. Friend the Health Secretary has just told me—passing the ball swiftly down the line—that, yes, my hon. Friend’s A&E is certainly staying open, and I thank her for the point that she makes.

[Thangam Debbonaire (Bristol West) (Lab)]

Q7. Resignation of an experienced civil servant, sacking of a Government aide—with this Government it seems that allegations of bullying or just being incompetent gets you promoted, whereas standing up to it, you lose your job. What does this say about this Prime Minister?

[The Prime Minister]

I loathe bullying, but I am not taking any lessons from a party that has presided over systematic bullying and discrimination against those who stick up for the Jewish community and for Israel in this country, and we still have yet to hear a proper apology from the Labour party or from the Labour leadership for what they have done.

[Ms Nusrat Ghani (Wealden) (Con)]

The Taliban have resumed their attacks in Afghanistan, and today the US has undertaken defensive airstrikes, undermining the fragile peace deal, which will mean the release of thousands of prisoners and the continued export of opium to fund extremism. Does my right hon. Friend share my concern that no peace deal can bypass the Afghan Government, and will he give me his assurances that we will stand shoulder to shoulder with Afghan women, many of whom have already lost their lives just fighting for dignity under Taliban rule?

[The Prime Minister]

We of course stand shoulder to shoulder with the Government of Ashraf Ghani, and my hon. Friend is right, by the way, in what she says about women in Afghanistan. It is one of the great achievements of this country, despite all the sacrifices that we experienced in the operations in Helmand, that millions of women in Afghanistan were helped into education, thanks to the interventions of this country, and we can be very proud of what we did.

[Carol Monaghan (Glasgow North West) (SNP)]

Q10. We are all becoming increasingly concerned about covid-19—the coronavirus—but every week 650 of us come here from every part of the UK, spend several days operating in close proximity and meeting people from all over the world, and we then return to our constituencies, potentially becoming the very vectors that we are trying to shut down. Parliament must stay open, but what plans does the Prime Minister have to utilise systems such as conference calls and electronic voting to ensure that we do not become part of the problem?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Member is raising a very important point. The chief medical officer and the chief scientific adviser, together with my right hon. Friend the Health Secretary, will be saying a little bit more in the next couple of days about what we are going to do to delay the advance of coronavirus—in Parliament and in other large gatherings. We are still at the containment stage—she will understand the distinction that the Government are making—and when we come to the delay phase, she will be hearing a lot more detail about what we propose to do with large gatherings and places such as Parliament.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

My consituent Tom Channon was just 18 years old when he tragically died at the Eden Roc complex in Majorca in July 2018. This incident was totally preventable and avoidable. It came just five weeks after Tom Hughes from Wrexham fell to his death at the same site in similar circumstances. Nothing had been done to make the site safe. An independent surveyor report has pointed to serious health and safety deficiencies, Tom’s parents, John and Ceri Channon, have been campaigning for a criminal case to be brought against those responsible. Will my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister use all his influence to press the Spanish authorities to pursue a criminal prosecution that not only seeks justice for Tom but also sends a clear message to other accommodation-owners in Majorca to prevent similar tragedies from occurring in future?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my right hon. Friend very much for raising what sounds like an appalling case, and I am sure the whole House will join me in expressing our deepest sympathies to Tom’s family and friends. To seek justice for Tom, I am very happy to ask the Foreign Office to begin talks first with my right hon. Friend and then with their Spanish counterparts.

[Taiwo Owatemi (Coventry North West) (Lab)]

Q12. Last month, a young man from my constituency was fatally stabbed, and just this weekend another young man was stabbed in Coventry. Violent crime in the city is rising, yet I only have 10 police officers in my constituency, some of whom I share with my Coventry colleagues. As the Prime Minister makes such a big deal about his 20,000 new police officers, can he tell my constituents whether we are going to get our fair share?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right to raise the issue of stabbings and violent crime, which I agree with her are too high and must come down. That is one of the reasons why we are increasing the number of police officers in this country, and, as she will have heard in the House just now, in the west midlands that number is going up by 366 immediately.

[Paul Maynard (Blackpool North and Cleveleys) (Con)]

The Prime Minister will be aware that, due to coronavirus, demand for air travel has decreased around the world. Is he aware that, due to slot allocation rules, there are perverse incentives for airlines to fly half-empty planes around the globe so as not to lose lucrative slots? Will he seek a derogation for UK airlines from these international rules, if only for the sake of the environment?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend raises a characteristically brilliant point, which I confess has not been drawn to my attention so far. I will look at it, and it certainly seems crazy that planes should be flying simply to retain the slots to which they are entitled, and we will see what we can do.

[Liz Kendall (Leicester West) (Lab)]

Q15. The Prime Minister promised on the steps of Downing Street to fix the crisis in social care. We need an extra 580,000 care workers, not to improve services, but just to fill existing vacancies and meet the basics of growing demand. Even if the Government fund increases in the pay and status of carers, where on earth are we going to find all these extra staff when EU workers will be excluded under the Prime Minister’s new immigration system? [Interruption.] Our families and the NHS—[Interruption]—depend on—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I make the decisions; please, we want shorter questions. Now, just finish, very quickly—and when I get up, please give way.

[Liz Kendall]

Will the Prime Minister meet me to discuss a special migration route into social care, to stop the current crisis getting even worse?

[The Prime Minister]

I do not know quite what the hon. Lady means by excluding EU workers, since there are record numbers of EU workers currently in this country, and indeed more can come until the end of the year, when they can register. I have every confidence that we will solve the issue of social care. We will be bringing forward plans very shortly, which I hope will attract cross-party support, to ensure that everybody gets the dignity that they need in old age and nobody is forced to sell their home.

[Sir John Hayes (South Holland and The Deepings) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend has, with righteous zeal, acted to curb the early release of terrorist prisoners, but he must know that those plans will be put at risk by malign, bourgeois-liberal judicial activists, so will he, in the spirit of our wonderful new Attorney General, agree an urgent review of the legislative means they use to do their work and to put our people at risk and the Government’s plan to tackle that in jeopardy?

[The Prime Minister]

It is certainly true that people have been let out far too early, far too often. That is why we are not only looking into stopping the early release of serious sexual and violent offenders, but have already produced legislation to stop the early release of terrorist offenders.

[Sir Jeffrey M. Donaldson (Lagan Valley) (DUP)]

The Prime Minister will be aware of continuing concerns in Northern Ireland among business about the Northern Ireland protocol. Will the Prime Minister agree to meet a cross-party delegation of Members of Parliament representing Northern Ireland and business representatives to discuss his commitment to maintain unfettered access to the UK market for Northern Ireland business?

[The Prime Minister]

I have no difficulty at all making such an undertaking, because it is very clear from the protocol that unfettered access for Northern Ireland will continue.