Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre

Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton Excerpts

Tuesday 17th December 2013 Written Statements

[The Prime Minister (Mr David Cameron)]

The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) reported in June 2013 on foreign investment in critical national infrastructure. The ISC raised concerns about the Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre (HCSEC) and recommended that the National Security Adviser undertake

“a substantive review of the effectiveness of HCSEC as a matter of urgency”.

The Government responded in July to the ISC report, agreeing that a review would be carried out. This has now been completed and shared with the Chair of the ISC. An executive summary of the review has been published. Copies of this have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The Government’s main conclusion, which reflects discussion with the Chairman of the ISC, is that oversight of HCSEC should be enhanced, and that GCHQ should take a leading and directing role in its future senior appointments.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton Excerpts

Wednesday 11th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)]

Q1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 11 December.

[The Prime Minister (Mr David Cameron)]

This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall have further such meetings later today.

[Stella Creasy]

I am sure that the Prime Minister is as concerned as Labour Members are about the 42% increase in long-term unemployment among young women that has taken place on his watch. Will he confirm that the reason he does not support the No More Page 3 campaign is that, like his hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset (Richard Drax), he believes that at least page 3 provides jobs for the girls?

[The Prime Minister]

We have seen quite a rapid reduction in unemployment over recent months under this Government, and there are a million more people in work than when I became Prime Minister. Of course, there is a lot more to be done to get the long-term unemployed, in particular, back into work, but the Work programme is performing twice as successfully as some of its predecessors. I think that the hon. Lady should get behind such programmes, rather than making points such as the one she has just made.

[Mr David Burrowes (Enfield, Southgate) (Con)]

Last Tuesday Joshua Folkes, aged 17, died in my constituency following a knife attack. Serious youth violence has fallen by some 19% in Enfield, and the Government have toughened knife laws, but what more can be done to rid the streets of Enfield, and those elsewhere in the country, of the carnage caused by knife attacks?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes a very good point in speaking on behalf of his constituent. As he has said, we have toughened the law, and I think that that has made a difference, but I think that the most important thing for us to do now is get rid of this dreadful culture of people carrying knives and educate young people about the dangers of carrying them. Those who carry knives often end up being stabbed themselves, and sometimes tragically die. It is to that work that we should now give priority.

[Edward Miliband (Doncaster North) (Lab)]

Does the Prime Minister agree that, given the crisis in living standards that ordinary families are facing, Members of Parliament should not be awarded a pay rise many times above inflation in 2015?

[The Prime Minister]

I do agree with the right hon. Gentleman about this issue. I think that it would be wrong for MPs to be given a big pay rise at a time of public sector pay restraint. All three party leaders agree on that, and we have all made the point to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. However, we should be clear about the fact that what IPSA has said is not a final recommendation.

Let me briefly make three points. First, I think that the idea of an 11% pay rise in one year at a time of pay restraint is simply unacceptable. Secondly, I think that IPSA needs to think again, and that unless it does so no one will want to rule anything out. No one wants to go back to the system of MPs voting on their own pay, but we must have a process and an outcome that can build public confidence. Thirdly, I think that all this should be accompanied by a cut in the cost of politics.

[Edward Miliband]

I am glad that the Prime Minister agrees with me about this issue. Does he also agree that we should not let it hang around as an issue until after the general election, and hang over trust in politics? May I urge him to work with me, on a cross-party basis, to find a way of making IPSA think again, and to stop this package happening?

[The Prime Minister]

My door is always open to the right hon. Gentleman, and I am always happy to discuss this or, indeed, any other issue. Let me stress, however, that what IPSA has said is not a final recommendation. I think that if the three party leaders and others in the House unite in saying that it is not right to award this pay rise, that will be the strongest message we can give.

[Edward Miliband]

I agree with the Prime Minister, but I hope he agrees with me that waiting and seeing will not work and that we do have to get together to deal with this. The reason this is not the right time for this pay rise is that most people are going through the biggest cost of living crisis in a generation, and I want to turn to that cost of living crisis. Last Thursday, the Chancellor claimed living standards were rising. That just is not the case, is it?

[The Prime Minister]

Let me add one point on the issue of MPs’ pay. This Government have shown respect for the difficulties people face: when we came into office we cut Ministers’ pay by 5% and froze it for the whole of the Parliament. That is not something Labour did.

The right hon. Gentleman wants to get on to the economy and, frankly, after last week’s exchange I cannot wait to get on to the exchange on the economy. We discovered a new duo: red Ed and redder Ed. I am looking forward to discussing these things. I thought the Institute for Fiscal Studies put this very clearly. It said: we have had a great big recession. We have had the biggest recession we have had in 100 years. It would be astonishing if household incomes had not fallen and earnings had not fallen, but the fact is that is the legacy of what Labour left us. The right hon. Gentleman’s entire approach seems to be: “We made the most almighty mess, why are you taking so long to clear it up?” Well, we are clearing it up.

[Edward Miliband]

In case the right hon. Gentleman has forgotten, he has been the Prime Minister for three and a half years. But I think we are making progress, because last Thursday the Chancellor said that living standards were rising. [Interruption.] His own Office for Budget Responsibility says:

“Almost whichever way you look at it…average earnings, wages and salaries…the levels have been falling”. [Interruption.]

[Edward Miliband]

The OBR went on to say that it is “inconceivable” to suggest otherwise, but that is exactly what the Chancellor did last Thursday. Why will the Prime Minister not just come out and admit it: there is a cost of living crisis in this country?

[The Prime Minister]

Well, it comes to something when the right hon. Gentleman is being heckled from his own side. I do not know how you are going to keep us all in order, Mr Speaker.

I will tell the right hon. Gentleman what has been happening over these three years: we have got the deficit down by a third, we have got 1 million more people in work, we have got 400,000 more businesses operating in Britain, and we have got one of the fastest rates of growth now of any major western economy. But the truth about living standards and the cost of living is this: if we do not have a long-term economic plan to get our economy moving, we do not have a plan to deal with living standards. We have a plan. Our plan is to keep interest rates low, to get the country back to work, to cut people’s taxes, to boost business. Our plan is working. The right hon. Gentleman does not have a plan, as we discovered last week, apart from more borrowing, more spending, more taxes—all the things that got us into the mess in the first place.

[Edward Miliband]

Utterly complacent and out of touch with the country—that is this Prime Minister absolutely all over. Let us be fair to him: he does understand that some people are really struggling because today we learn of his plan to cut the top rate of tax further, from 45p to 40p. Can he explain why he is even contemplating a further tax cut for millionaires, who have received hundreds of thousands of pounds-worth of tax cuts, when ordinary families are so squeezed?

[The Prime Minister]

The top rate under this Government is higher than at any time when the right hon. Gentleman was in the Cabinet, the Government or was working in the Treasury trying to wreck the economy in the first place. If he wants to talk about the cost of living, let us compare our records. The Labour Government doubled council tax; we have frozen it. They put up petrol tax 12 times; we have frozen it. They put up the basic rate of pension by a measly 75p; we have increased it by £15 a week. I am happy to compare our records any time of day, but the British public know this: if we want to sort out the cost of living, if we want to help families, we need more jobs, we need more growth, we need a long-term economic plan. We have got one; he has not.

[Edward Miliband]

I will tell the right hon. Gentleman what happened—[Interruption.]

[Edward Miliband]

I will tell the right hon. Gentleman what happened. Under the last Labour Government, real earnings went up £3,600. Living standards went up: under him, they are down £1,600. Living standards are down under this Government. We have always known how out of touch he is, but he is now taking it to a whole new level. The Government are in denial about the cost of living crisis, and they are not satisfied with one millionaires’ tax cut—they think it is time for another. Once again, the Prime Minister proves that he stands up for the wrong people.

[The Prime Minister]

Oh, dearie me! At the end of six questions, we are back to denial and the record of the last Labour Government. I know that I have had a long flight, but I could not have written the script better if I had done it myself. The last Labour Government gave us the biggest budget deficit virtually anywhere in the world, and the biggest banking bust anywhere in the world. They created a giant mess that this Government are clearing up. That is the truth. Since the autumn statement, why cannot the right hon. Gentleman mention the fact that business optimism is up, manufacturing is up and the number of job vacancies is up? Pretty soon, we will be able to add two to that list.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

Q2. Unemployment in my constituency is 21% lower than it was at the time of the last election. We have had a 90% increase in apprenticeship start-ups, manufacturing output is up and business activity is at a 32-month high in the west midlands. Does the Prime Minister agree that, due to the hard work of my constituents and people across the country, the Government’s long-term economic plan is working and delivering benefits to every region of the United Kingdom?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is right. During the boom years, the number of people employed in the private sector in the west midlands actually went down, but we are now seeing better news. Employment is up 25,000 since the election, with private sector employment up 14,000 this year. The youth claimant count is falling in the west midlands. I know how much time my hon. Friend puts into things such as the apprenticeship fair that he held earlier this year. This shows that our long-term plan is the right plan, and that it is beginning to work.

[Stephen Doughty (Cardiff South and Penarth) (Lab/Co-op)]

Q3. What does the Prime Minister have to say to women across the country who are working full time and whose disposable incomes have fallen by an average of almost £2,500 since his Government came into office?

[The Prime Minister]

The first thing to say is that we welcome the fact that there are more women in work than at any time in our history. The second thing to say is that, because we are lifting the first £10,000 that people earn out of income tax, they will be better off by £705 next year. That is progress, but if the hon. Gentleman is asking whether it takes time to recover from the mess left by his party, the answer is yes it does, but we are going to do it.

[Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam) (LD)]

Dementia is the disease most feared by the over-50s in this country. The Government are rightly doubling investment in dementia research during this Parliament, and the Prime Minister is hosting the G8 summit on dementia this week. Will he now lift the country’s and the Government’s sights by committing to doubling again this country’s investment in dementia research?

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for that question. He is absolutely right to say that this is a real challenge facing not only this country, where there are 670,000 people suffering from dementia, but the whole world. We are having the G8 conference today in London to share intelligence, expertise and scientific research and learn lessons from each other. And yes, I can confirm that this Government are already planning to double research into dementia up to 2015, and we plan to double it again thereafter.

[Dan Jarvis (Barnsley Central) (Lab)]

Q4. Given that the implementation of universal credit has become a shambles, how can the public have confidence in those who are responsible for it?

[The Prime Minister]

I think it is absolutely right that we introduce this benefits system in a very slow and deliberate way. I remember sitting in my surgery as a constituency MP when the tax credit system came in, in one big bang, and having case after case where people’s household finances were completely wrecked by the last Labour Government. I will not let that happen again. As we introduce this vital benefit, let us remember the fact that 480,000 fewer people are on out-of-work benefits and it is this Government who are making work pay.

[Stephen Metcalfe (South Basildon and East Thurrock) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the best way to raise the living standards of my constituents is for the Government to stick to their long-term plan to rebuild this economy and not abandon it in favour of more borrowing and more taxes, as proposed by the Labour party?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is entirely right. The biggest hit to living standards would be if we let spending and borrowing get out of control and interest rates went up. That is what we want to avoid, which is why we got the deficit down, and we must continue with our difficult spending decisions. That has enabled us to cut the taxes of people working and living in Basildon. By next year, with the first £10,000 of income coming out of tax, people on the minimum wage who are working a full-time week will see their income tax bill come down by two thirds. That is real action on the side of people who work hard.

[Mr Michael Meacher (Oldham West and Royton) (Lab)]

Q5. Is the Prime Minister aware that FTSE 100 directors now get £86,000 a week on average, while at the other end of the scale 5 million workers get less than the living wage and three quarters of a million people who cannot get a job and get sanctioned get nothing at all and are left to starve? Is there no end to the brutality and nastiness of Tory Britain?

[The Prime Minister]

I say to the right hon. Gentleman, who served in Labour Government after Labour Government with a 40p tax rate—it is now 45p—and a bonus bonanza in the City 85 times higher than it is now, that he has a lot of brass neck.

[Greg Mulholland (Leeds North West) (LD)]

New figures show that the second largest pub company in this country, Punch Taverns, overcharged the British consumer in its pubs, on beer alone, by £4.3 billion over 10 years. Clear market manipulation is taking place, so will the Prime Minister commit to deal with this crony capitalism? Will he listen to the Federation of Small Businesses and back the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee’s solution to this problem?

[The Prime Minister]

I know of my hon. Friend’s long-standing interest in not only beer, but pubs and how pub landlords are treated, particularly by the pub companies. Let me look very carefully at what he said. I am a great believer in a healthy pub industry. Pubs are often the heart of the village and the heart of our communities, and I will look carefully at the beer report that he mentions.

[Jonathan Edwards (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr) (PC)]

Q6. During his autumn statement, the Chancellor said that “people should expect to spend…a third of their adult lives in retirement.”—[Official Report, 5 December 2013; Vol. 571, c. 1106.]Given that life expectancy in some communities in my country is only 75, what does the Prime Minister think would be a fair retirement age in a Welsh context?

[The Prime Minister]

The point my right hon. Friend the Chancellor was making is that this should be assessed independently but it is right to set a guide—an expectation—rather than just having Ministers announce from time to time what retirement ages should be. If the point the hon. Gentleman is making is that we need to tackle health inequalities better in our country and that we need ring-fenced budgets for public health, as this Government have brought in, then I would agree with him.

[Jackie Doyle-Price (Thurrock) (Con)]

Q7. Bomber Command veteran Stan Franks recently passed away at the age of 88. As a teenager, he flew some 31 missions, a staggering achievement for such a young man. Will my right hon. Friend congratulate the Thurrock RAF Association and the Thurrock Enquirer on their efforts in raising the funds to ensure that his passing is marked appropriately?

[The Prime Minister]

I would certainly praise all those in Thurrock who have raised money in this way. The story of Stan Franks is a truly remarkable one. He is believed to be the youngest airman to complete more than 30 missions—he did this in 1944-45, before he was 20 years old. It is a real reminder to our generation of just how much previous generations put in to make sure that we could live in freedom. One of the greatest privileges I have had in this job has been welcoming veterans of Bomber Command to No. 10 Downing street and making that announcement about ensuring that they have that clasp on their medal, which I know many value so much. As Winston Churchill rightly said in 1940:

“The fighters are our salvation but the bombers alone provide the means of victory.”

We should never forget those brave crews in Bomber Command. So many now are coming to the end of their lives—so many who did so much for our country.

[Mr Speaker]

I call Mr Tom Harris.

[Mr Tom Harris (Glasgow South) (Lab)]

Q8. A great start.I thank the Prime Minister for saving my marriage. Carolyn was just about to sign the divorce papers when she heard the report that if we stayed together we would be in line for a sweet £150 a year tax break. If, as the Prime Minister says, marriage must be underpinned by the tax system, why is it that, since the married person’s tax allowance was abolished in 2000, the divorce rate has gone down?

[The Prime Minister]

I am delighted that happiness is maintained in the Harris household. I could put it another way. It was only when I started to talk about the married couple’s allowance that the Leader of the Opposition tied the knot. The tax system moves in mysterious ways.

[Mr Peter Lilley (Hitchin and Harpenden) (Con)]

In the light of the call by the Leader of the Opposition for urgent action in response to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority’s proposal for an increase in MPs’ pay, will my right hon. Friend immediately retable the Boundary Commission report, which would simultaneously pay for any increase and increase the workload of MPs? It would surely be hypocritical for the Leader of the Opposition or the leader of the Liberal Democrats to oppose that measure.

[The Prime Minister]

My right hon. Friend tempts me. The point I was trying to make is that cutting the cost of politics has a role to play alongside this argument—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Members must not shout at the Prime Minister. It is discourteous to keep gesticulating at the man. Let us hear the Prime Minister.

[The Prime Minister]

It is no good shouting from the Opposition Benches. Labour Members had the opportunity to reform the Lords, and they were the ones who stopped it.

[Mark Durkan (Foyle) (SDLP)]

Q9. The Prime Minister says that the G8 and his attendance at the investment conference advertised his commitment to Northern Ireland and its economy. However, his Whitehall is busy removing jobs from Northern Ireland in the Driver and Vehicle Agency and now also in Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, with the proposal to close offices in Newry and Enniskillen and halve the office in my constituency of Foyle. How does the removal of jobs by Whitehall contribute to balancing both the economy in Northern Ireland and that region?

[The Prime Minister]

I understand why the hon. Gentleman makes his point. My hon. Friend the Exchequer Secretary will meet him to talk about the HMRC issues. As for the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, the Department for Transport is still considering the results of its consultation. Let me make this point. Employment in Northern Ireland has risen by 32,000 since the election, and he knows, as I do, that the real long-term answer for the economy in Northern Ireland is a private sector revival. The public sector is very large in Northern Ireland. We need more small and medium-sized enterprises and more investment in Northern Ireland, and we need those jobs to come, which is what the G8 and the investment conference were all about.

[Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) (Con)]

Q10. My constituent Jack Scerri, who has recently completed the National Citizen Service programme, visited my surgery on Saturday with Lisa Farrell of Staffordshire NCS to let me know just how much the programme had given him personal confidence and a clear sense of what he wished to do with his future. What plans does my right hon. Friend have for enabling as many young people as possible to take part in that transformative programme that he has championed?

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for what he has said. It is a transformative programme. Some 66,000 young people have already been through it since 2010. It now forms part of what Prince Charles wants to see—a decade in which we encourage volunteering and we get 50% of all young people taking part in volunteering. I hope that Members from all parts of the House are having an experience similar to that of my hon. Friend, with people stopping them and talking about the NCS and what it has done for young people and their confidence. It really is a good programme, and I am delighted that it has all-party support.

[Fiona O'Donnell (East Lothian) (Lab)]

As the Prime Minister is trying to come over all family friendly, can he confirm whether maternity and paternity pay will be included in the benefits cap announced in the autumn statement?

[The Prime Minister]

As the Chancellor announced at the time, what is out of the benefit cap is the basic state pension. I think that is important. On all other welfare spending, we need to ensure that we are distributing properly the different sorts of welfare.

[Sir Tony Baldry (Banbury) (Con)]

Q11. Three hundred and thirty new jobs were created in my constituency in the past three months alone and I expect many more to be created over the next few months, particularly as housing and construction projects accelerate. Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is important that young people are not left behind and that abolishing the jobs tax on young people aged under 21 shows that the Government are serious about tackling youth unemployment?

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for what he says. As the economy recovers, it is vital that it is a recovery for all—that it is a recovery for north and south, for young and old. There is always a danger in an economy that young people who are not in the work force will be locked out of it, and that is why the change that the Chancellor announced about abolishing the jobs tax on those young people to make it cheaper for employers to take them on can have a real impact on ensuring that young people participate in our growing economy.

[Mr Dave Watts (St Helens North) (Lab)]

Given the fact that the Work and Pensions Secretary was left alone on his Benches when he made his statement on universal credit, does the Prime Minister still have confidence in him and in the universal benefit changes?

[The Prime Minister]

I think the Work and Pensions Secretary has probably done more than anyone else in British politics to transform the debate about welfare. That is happening because of his dedication to the issue. We see fewer people out of work and the number of workless households at its lowest since records began. He is introducing a system that includes the benefit cap that Labour voted against and the household benefit cap that Labour voted against, and that is making work pay. We should be proud of that work.

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

Q12. Does the Prime Minister agree that in the long term the best plan to improve the living standards of my hard-working constituents in Bury, Ramsbottom and Tottington is to continue to cut their income tax, which can only be achieved by a growing economy and by the Government cutting spending so that our country lives within its means and does not have to borrow every month to pay its bills?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes a very important point. At the end of the day, you can talk all you like about how you want to help people with their living standards and to keep their tax bills—[Interruption.] Is it not extraordinary? After last week, and all that, the shadow Chancellor is at it again—heckling. We learned something last week: he can dish it out but he can’t take it—[Interruption.] I will tell the House what is going down: his career. That is what is going down. The simple point is that if we want to get people’s taxes down, we have to make difficult decisions about spending. That is what we have done. That is why we can cut taxes, whereas the Opposition would have to put them up.

[Mr Frank Roy (Motherwell and Wishaw) (Lab)]

In towns across the United Kingdom, there are parents in deep despair because they cannot afford a decent Christmas for their children. Why is that?

[The Prime Minister]

What is happening in our country is that we are recovering from the longest, deepest and most difficult recession in living memory. It takes time, but what we see is 1 million more people in work—that is a positive development. We see 400,000 more businesses operating in our country—that is a positive development. The growth rate in our country is now the second-highest of any major western economy. The job is not done yet; it is not halfway done yet. That is why we need a long-term economic plan, which is what we are dedicated to delivering. Frankly, we would get nowhere if the first thing we did was to increase spending, increase borrowing and increase taxes—all the things that got this country into the mess in the first place.

[Mr Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley) (Ind)]

Q13. British Aerospace has 1,000 apprentices at any one time, and 221 in Samlesbury in the Ribble Valley and neighbouring Warton in Lancashire. What can the Prime Minister do to encourage other firms to follow the excellent example of British Aerospace and take on more apprentices, particularly in engineering and science? That would in itself encourage more youngsters to study those subjects in school and university.

[The Prime Minister]

I have seen with my own eyes what BAE Systems does in respect of apprenticeships, including higher level apprenticeships, and it is extremely impressive. We have to take action at every level. We have to make sure that more young people are studying science and maths subjects, and that is beginning to happen. We have to make sure that setting up apprenticeships is simpler. It must be less expensive. We need a culture where companies really want to get involved in this programme, including small companies, but we also need to attract more investment to our shores. That is why it is particularly good news today that GSK, one of the giants of the pharmaceutical industry, is announcing another £200 million invested into our country, because alongside engineering, life sciences is an area where Britain can win in the global race.

[Meg Munn (Sheffield, Heeley) (Lab/Co-op)]

Q14. When the House debated Syria in late August, the estimate of dead in the conflict was around 100,000. Just over three months later the estimate is over 120,000. We cannot allow this to become a conflict in a faraway land that we do not know anything about. Is it not time for the Government and, indeed, the whole House to urge greater action by the international community and show that we do care about the suffering of the Syrian people?

[The Prime Minister]

I absolutely agree with the hon. Lady, who has a long record of speaking out on this issue and believing, as I do, that Britain should be fully engaged in all the work to try to bring those involved in this dreadful war to the negotiating table, under the terms of the Geneva II process. At the same time, we must continue with the work that we are doing on humanitarian aid to help those who are suffering because of the conflict, but we should also, in my view and, I suspect, in hers too, continue to work with all those in Syria who want a free, democratic and pluralistic future. We must not allow the argument to develop that the only opposition in Syria is an extremist opposition. That will become the case only if we stop working with those who care about democracy in the future.

[James Duddridge (Rochford and Southend East) (Con)]

In Rochford and Southend, employment is up, the number of apprentices is up and small business numbers are up, largely owing to the impact of the expanding Southend airport. I know the Prime Minister is probably a bit sick of airports, having just come back from one, but would he consider coming to Southend airport in the new year to celebrate its success Essex-style, bringing the family, if he wants? I promise to buy them all a Rossi ice cream on the sea front.

[The Prime Minister]

Who could resist the idea of an Essex-style celebration in the new year—although I might need to find out a little bit more of what it involves before I fully commit? We should not underestimate the importance of airports in driving regional growth. Clearly, that is the case in parts of Essex.

[Steve Rotheram (Liverpool, Walton) (Lab)]

Q15. Despite the Government’s savage cuts, next year Liverpool will host the international festival of business. Why will the Prime Minister not commit to attending the event? Will he ensure that the same level of support that Boris would enjoy is afforded to the mayor of Liverpool? Will he tell his green-eyed bête noir that despite a short sleepover in London, the Beatles are and always will be made in Liverpool?

[The Prime Minister]

Having happily visited the Beatles museum many years ago and enjoyed being there, I can confirm what the hon. Gentleman says. I have never had any problem working with the mayor of Liverpool and enjoyed appearing on a platform with him to advertise the brilliance of that city, and I will continue to co-operate with him in all the work that he is doing to attract investment into the city.

[Martin Horwood (Cheltenham) (LD)]

Abolishing roaming charges is one of the big wins for British consumers that we might get from remaining in the European Union. Has the Prime Minister had the opportunity to discuss international mobile phone usage with any other European Heads of Government in the past day or so?

[The Prime Minister]

You could say I have, in a roundabout way. It should be remembered that the television cameras are always on, but in my defence I would say that Nelson Mandela played an extraordinary role in his life and in his death in bringing people together, so of course when a member of the Kinnock family asked me for a photograph, I thought it only polite to say yes.

Tributes to Nelson Mandela

Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton Excerpts

Monday 9th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister (Mr David Cameron)]

Nelson Mandela was a towering figure in our lifetime, a pivotal figure in the history of South Africa and the world, and it is right that we meet in this Parliament to pay tribute to his character, his achievements and his legacy.

The Union and South African flags flew at half mast over Downing street for the day after his death, and they will do so again on the day of his funeral. Condolence books have been organised by the South African high commission. This evening, the Deputy Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and I will all fly to South Africa to attend the memorial service in Johannesburg. On Sunday, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales will represent this country at his funeral in Qunu. Here in this House, everyone’s thoughts are with the family of Nelson Mandela, his friends and the millions in South Africa and around the world who are mourning him today.

When looking back over history, it can be easy to see victories over prejudice and hatred as somehow inevitable. As the years lengthen and events recede, it can seem as though a natural tide of progress continually bears humanity ever upwards—away from brutality and darkness, and towards something better—but it is not so. Progress is not just handed down as a gift; it is won through struggle, the struggle of men and women who believe things can be better and who refuse to accept the world as it is, but dream of what it can be.

Nelson Mandela was the embodiment of that struggle. He did not see himself as a helpless victim of history; he wrote it. We must never forget the evil of apartheid and its effect on everyday life: separate benches, separate buses, separate schools, even separate pews in church; inter-racial relationships criminalised; pass laws and banning orders; and a whole language of segregation that expressed man’s inhumanity to man.

Nelson Mandela’s struggle was made ever more vital by acts of extreme brutality —such as at Sharpeville and Soweto—on the part of the South African authorities. His was a journey that spanned six decades: from his activism in the ’40s and ’50s, through nearly three decades of incarceration, to his negotiations that led to the end of apartheid and his election to the highest office in South Africa. It was, as he said, a long walk to freedom.

As a prisoner in a cell measuring 7 feet by 8 feet, there must have been times when Nelson Mandela felt that his fists were beating against a wall that would not be moved, but he never wavered. As he famously said at his Rivonia trial, he wanted to live for and achieve

“the ideal of a democratic and free society”,

but it was also an ideal for which, as he said very clearly, he was “prepared to die.” Even after long years of imprisonment, he rejected offers for his freedom until all conditions that would have prevented his struggle for justice were removed. What sustained him throughout it all was a belief in human dignity—that no one is naturally superior over anyone else, that each person has inherent worth. As he said so powerfully when he came to speak in this Parliament:

“In the end, the cries of the infant who dies because of hunger or because a machete has slit open its stomach will penetrate the noises of the modern city and its sealed windows to say, ‘Am I not human, too?’”

Nelson Mandela’s cries for justice pierced the consciences of people around the world.

Let me pay tribute to the Members of this House, including the right hon. Member for Neath (Mr Hain), who considered it part of their life’s work not to rest until the evil of apartheid was ended. Mandela knew that there were millions across our country who said no to apartheid in ways large and small, from mass concerts to quiet shows of solidarity. There can be no doubt that he had a warmth of feeling for this country. He visited just months after his release from prison and a number of times in the following years, including the time when he spoke so memorably in Trafalgar square at that great event to make poverty history.

The character of Nelson Mandela was shown not only in the determination with which he fought, but in the grace with which he won. Nearly three decades in prison could so easily have left him bitter. On his release, he could have meted out vengeance on those who had done him so much wrong. Perhaps the most remarkable chapter of Mandela’s story is how he took the opposite path. In victory, he chose magnanimity. Indeed, with characteristic generosity, he invited his former jailer to his presidential inauguration. He employed as his private secretary a young Afrikaner woman who became his confidant and, in an image that is printed indelibly on our minds, he roused his country behind the Springboks in the most powerful gesture of reconciliation.

Nelson Mandela’s Government pursued a very deliberate policy of forgiveness. F. W. de Klerk and other National party officials were brought into his Government of national unity. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established to break the spiral of recrimination and violence. Those were astonishingly brave moves. His desperate hope was for an African renaissance, with South Africa at its heart.

In Mandela’s time after office, he showed no less determination in stepping up the fight against AIDS. It has been one of the great honours of my life to go to South Africa and meet Mandela. I remember discussing that issue in his office and hearing his determination to ensure that antiretroviral drugs reached all those in need. Here was a man of 88 who had been imprisoned for decades and missed a lot of the rapid social change that had taken place, but who had the vision to see through the destructive attitudes towards AIDS in South Africa. All those actions were marks of his extraordinary personal leadership.

Today, although challenges remain in South Africa, that country is on a far more hopeful path because of what Nelson Mandela did. Indeed there are signs of hope across the whole continent in its growth, in its emerging middle class and in the birth of new democracies.

Around the world, there already exist many monuments to Nelson Mandela. Just a few hundred yards from here, in Parliament square, the champion of democracy is cast in bronze, arm outstretched, mid-speech, as if beseeching those in this House to remember that democracy is a gift, and a gift to be used well. There has been a lot of debate, rightly, about how to secure his legacy. Surely one part must be to rededicate ourselves to the task of eradicating poverty and conflict in Africa, in which our historic commitment to provide 0.7% of our gross national income in aid can ensure that Britain plays her full part.

Of course, the most important monument to Mandela must be the lessons he has taught us: that there is dignity and worth in every human being; that an ounce of humility is worth more than a ton of might; that lasting, long-term change needs patience, even the patience of a life-time, but that change can come with determination and sacrifice.

It is with sadness that we meet here today to remember Nelson Mandela, but it is with gladness that we can say this: it was a long walk to freedom, but the walk is over and freedom was won. For that, Nelson Mandela has the deepest respect of this House and his enduring place in history.

Point of Order

Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton Excerpts

Wednesday 20th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Meacher]

I want to ask, Mr Speaker, whether it is parliamentary to use such an unjustifiable, rude and offensive phrase about another hon. Member.

[The Prime Minister]

I completely respect the right hon. Gentleman and the important question he asked, which I tried to answer with the point about inward investment into Britain. I made a light-hearted remark—if it caused any offence, I will happily withdraw it. I think it is very important that we can have a little bit of light-hearted banter, and a sense of humour on all sides.

[Several hon. Members]

rose—

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton Excerpts

Wednesday 20th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Steve Brine (Winchester) (Con)]

Q1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 20 November.

[The Prime Minister (Mr David Cameron)]

I am sure the whole House will wish to join me in paying tribute to Warrant Officer Ian Fisher of 3rd Battalion the Mercian Regiment, who was killed on operations in Afghanistan on Tuesday 5 November. It is clear from the tributes paid that he was a professional and well respected soldier who made a huge contribution to the Army over many years on a number of operational tours. Our thoughts and our condolences should be with his family and his friends.

This morning, I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others, and in addition to my duties in this House, I shall have further such meetings later today.

[Steve Brine]

I am sure every Member will want to associate themselves with the Prime Minister’s tribute—a reminder that in this season of remembrance we will in faith always remember their service to our country.

MPs from across the House will have grave concerns about the nightmare unfolding at the Co-operative bank. Does the Prime Minister share my sense of disbelief that a person such as Reverend Flowers, responsible as he was for such large sums of our constituents’ money, was ever appointed to the position of chairman? What can my right hon. Friend now do to find out how on earth that happened?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. Constituencies across the House will have people who hold Co-op bonds who are very worried about what will happen to their investment. Let me be clear that the first priority is to safeguard this bank—and to make sure that it is safeguarded without using taxpayers’ money. That must be the priority. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor will be discussing with the regulators what is the appropriate form of inquiry to get to the bottom of what went wrong, but there are clearly a lot of questions that have to be answered. Why was Reverend Flowers judged suitable to be chairman of a bank, and why were alarm bells not rung earlier, particularly by those who knew? In the coming days, it will be important for anyone who has information to stand up and provide it to the authorities.

[Edward Miliband (Doncaster North) (Lab)]

I join the Prime Minister in paying tribute to Warrant Officer Ian Fisher of 3rd Battalion the Mercian Regiment. He died serving his country, and all our thoughts are with his family and friends.

Can the Prime Minister tell us how his campaign to save the Chipping Norton children’s centre is going?

[The Prime Minister]

I support children’s centres across the whole of the country. The fact is that, in spite of very difficult decisions that have to be made right across the country, the number of children’s centres has reduced by around 1%. Like all Members of Parliament, I fight very hard for services in my constituency.

[Edward Miliband]

The Conservatives are going round saying that children’s centres are safe and there is no threat to them. Things are so bad that the Prime Minister has even signed a petition in his own area to save his local children’s centre. Can he clarify: is the petition addressed to his local Tory council, or is he taking it right to the top?

[The Prime Minister]

More people are using children’s centres than ever before in our country. The right hon. Gentleman does not want to give the figures, but there are 3,000 children’s centres. This Government can hold their head up high, because we are increasing the amount of money that is going to local councils for children’s centres. That is what is happening under this Government.

[Edward Miliband]

We all wish the right hon. Gentleman luck in his fight as a local Member of Parliament. Imagine what he could achieve if he were Prime Minister of the country!

I think that we have established the Prime Minister’s double standards in Oxfordshire. Let us take another example. In Tory Essex—[Interruption.] I know that the Tories do not care about children’s centres, but they should hush down a bit and listen. In Tory Essex, they propose to close 11 centres and downgrade 37, whose opening hours will fall from 50 a week to as few as five. So there will be fewer centres, fewer staff and fewer hours. How is that doing what the Prime Minister promised to do before the election, which was to protect and improve Sure Start?

[The Prime Minister]

Let me tell the right hon. Gentleman what is happening to child care under this Government. For the first time ever, there are 15 hours a week of child care for every three and four-year-old in the country. That never happened under Labour. For the first time, under this Government, there are free child care hours for every disadvantaged two-year-old in the country. That never happened under Labour. Also, to come, there will be tax-free child care under this Government. That never happened under Labour. And the child tax credit has been upgraded by £420 under this Government. That is what is happening, but let me be clear: there is one policy that we will not adopt, and that is Labour’s policy of funding more hours through its bank levy. I will tell you why: Labour has already spent the bank levy 10 times over. The youth jobs guarantee, VAT cuts, more capital spending—Mr Speaker, that is not a policy; it is a night out with Reverend Flowers.

[Edward Miliband]

Let us talk about the people the Prime Minister associates with—[Interruption.]

[Edward Miliband]

The Prime Minister obviously wants to talk about who he associates with. He has taken nearly £5 million from Michael Spencer, whose company was found to be rigging LIBOR; he has a party chairman who operated a company under a false name and was investigated for fraud; he has taken millions from tax exiles and tax avoiders; his party has never paid back the money from Asil Nadir—and they are just the people I can talk about in this House. Did not the planning Minister have it right yesterday, when he said

“the single biggest problem the Conservative party faces is being seen as the party of the rich”?

[The Prime Minister]

How extraordinary that, today of all days, the right hon. Gentleman wants to talk about the people he associates with and takes money from, because what we can now see is that this bank, driven into the wall by this chairman, has been giving soft loans to the Labour party, facilities to the Labour party, donations to the Labour party, has trooped in and out of Downing street under Labour, and is still advising the leader of the Labour party—and yet now we know that Labour knew about his past all along. Why did Labour do nothing to bring to the attention of the authorities this man who has broken a bank?

[Edward Miliband]

I think we can take it from that answer that the Prime Minister does not want to talk about his planning Minister. Where is the planning Minister? Where is he today? Only last January, the Prime Minister was praising him to the rafters, saying that he was leading the debate. I think that the House should hear more from him. This is what he says about the Tory party: that it stands for people who

“work for private equity”

and

“make a ton of money.”

He is right, isn’t he?

[The Prime Minister]

We have finally found a public inquiry that the right hon. Gentleman does not want. He comes to the House and asks for inquiry after inquiry into the culture and practices of this and that, but when it comes to the Co-op bank, he is absolutely frightened of it.

This is also an interesting week in which to talk about people on the Front Bench. This week, the right hon. Gentleman referred to his own shadow Chancellor as a “nightmare”. I am sorry; I hate to say “I told you so”, but I have been saying that for three years. However, that is not the most interesting thing in this fascinating exchange of e-mails. Labour’s head of strategy—yes, they do actually have one—replied to the shadow Chancellor:

“When did built to last become a part of our thing?”

I agree. Their policies are not built to last; they are built to self-destruct in about five seconds.

[Edward Miliband]

What the Prime Minister has shown comprehensively today is that he has no answers on the cost of living crisis facing families up and down the country. That is the truth and his close friend the planning Minister is right. [Interruption.]

--- Later in debate ---

[The Prime Minister]

What this proves is the right hon. Gentleman cannot ask about the economy because it is growing, he cannot ask about the deficit because it is falling, he cannot ask about the number of people in work because that is rising, and he cannot even ask about banking because he is mired in his own banking scandal. [Interruption.] What we have learned in the last fortnight is that he is too—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The Prime Minister’s answer must, and will, be heard.

[The Prime Minister]

What we have learned in the last fortnight is that the right hon. Gentleman is too weak to stand up to his paymasters in the trade unions, too weak to stand up to his bankers and too weak to stand up to his shadow Chancellor. We all know that it would be a nightmare, and that is why we are dedicated to making sure the British people do not have to live through it.

[Jackie Doyle-Price (Thurrock) (Con)]

Q2. My right hon. Friend will recall visiting the London Gateway port in Thurrock, which is now open for business, but is he as appalled as I am to hear that Unite is picketing the potential clients of that port and encouraging its sister unions to boycott any ship that docks there? Is that not more evidence that Unite’s bully-boy tactics cost jobs, not save them?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I have visited the London Gateway port and it is one of the most compelling things I have seen in recent years about Britain’s industrial renaissance. It is an extraordinary investment that is going to be of huge benefit, bringing about 12,000 direct and indirect jobs. She is absolutely right about the dangers of union intimidation and bully-boy tactics. That is why it is important that we have a review and, frankly, it is important that both Unite and the Labour party take part in that review.

[Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North) (DUP)]

I am sure the Prime Minister will agree that the victims of terrorism deserve not just words of sympathy but our full support and help and must be at the core of any process dealing with the past in Northern Ireland. Given the very worrying statement by the Attorney-General for Northern Ireland overnight, made on his own account and his own behalf and without consultation, does the Prime Minister agree there can be no question of an amnesty for any terrorist atrocities and crimes and that all victims of terrorism deserve truth and justice?

[The Prime Minister]

First, let me agree with what the right hon. Gentleman has said, which is that the words of the Northern Ireland Attorney-General are very much his own words and not made at the behest of anybody else. I can reassure the right hon. Gentleman that the Government have no plans to legislate for an amnesty for crimes that were committed during the troubles. As he knows, Richard Haass is currently consulting all the Northern Ireland parties on issues from the past as well as parades and flags, and I think that is the right forum in which to discuss these issues.

[Sir Tony Baldry (Banbury) (Con)]

Q3. General Synod is meeting today and hopefully will find a way to enable women as soon as possible to be consecrated as bishops in the Church of England. If this is successful, will my right hon. Friend and the Government support amendments to the Bishops Act to ensure that women bishops can be admitted to the House of Lords as soon as possible rather than new women bishops having to queue up behind every existing diocesan bishop before we can see women bishops in Parliament?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend follows these matters closely and asks an extremely important question. I strongly support women bishops and hope the Church of England takes this key step to ensure its place as a modern Church in touch with our society. On the problem he raises—there is, of course, a seniority rule for bishops entering the House of Lords—the Government are ready to work with the Church to see how we can get women bishops into the House of Lords as soon as possible.

[Katy Clark (North Ayrshire and Arran) (Lab)]

Q4. Does the PM believe that the proposal from the Conservative Free Enterprise Group, supported by 42 of his own MPs, to put VAT on food and children’s clothes shows the true face of the party he leads?

[The Prime Minister]

I do not support that policy.

[Mr Adrian Sanders (Torbay) (LD)]

I recently joined the Plough and Share credit union in my constituency. Credit unions can help to ensure that a lot of people do not have to go to payday lenders. What more can the Government do to support credit unions and encourage anybody with a few pounds to spare to put them into a credit union and take trade away from awful payday lenders?

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this issue. The Government strongly support credit unions and think them a big part of the answer to the problems of payday lending. We have invested £38 million in credit unions and want to see them expand. Also, for the first time, we are properly regulating payday lending through the new regulator and are prepared to consider all the steps that can be taken to sort out this problem.

[Alex Cunningham (Stockton North) (Lab)]

Q5. Today is universal children’s day, and the Prime Minister will be aware that Save the Children has highlighted the importance of early years in children’s development. Does he accept that the closure of three Sure Start centres a week is undermining the life chances of countless needy children?

[The Prime Minister]

I would challenge the hon. Gentleman’s figures. Whereas the pot of money for children’s centres was £2.3 billion in 2012-13, it is going up to £2.5 billion in 2014-15; there are 3,000 children’s centres open; and as I said, only about 1% have closed, so I think the Government have an excellent record on this front.

[Mr David Burrowes (Enfield, Southgate) (Con)]

Q6. Now that the changes to Enfield’s A and E and maternity services have been given the green light—not by politicians and bureaucrats, as happened under the previous Government, but by local GPs—will the Prime Minister confirm that Enfield is getting increased primary care funding and that Chase Farm hospital is getting 24/7 access to urgent care?

[The Prime Minister]

First, let me pay tribute to my hon. Friend, who I know has worked hard on this difficult issue for his constituents. I understand that the Barnet, Enfield and Haringey strategy has been approved, and once it has been implemented Chase Farm hospital will provide a service giving access to GPs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Enfield is also getting an increase in primary care funding. That is part of our plan of not cutting but expanding our NHS.

[Karl Turner (Kingston upon Hull East) (Lab)]

Will the Prime Minister join me in congratulating the good people of Hull on winning the city of culture 2017?

[The Prime Minister]

I am absolutely delighted to join the hon. Gentleman, and everyone in Hull and around the country, in celebrating this great award of the city of culture to Hull. It is a very exciting opportunity for Hull. We will be able to celebrate the birthplace of Wilberforce and the fact that Andrew Motion lectured there and Philip Larkin was the librarian. Slightly more incongruously, Peter Mandelson is the high sheriff—but every city has its burden to bear. And of course Hull has a fantastic record on popular music. I remember some years ago that great Housemartins album, “London 0 Hull 4”—so named because they said they were the fourth-best band in Hull. I am sure it will be a huge success for Hull and for Humberside more generally.

[Mary Macleod (Brentford and Isleworth) (Con)]

Q7. My constituency registered 600 new business start-ups last year, putting it among the top-10 places in the UK for new business growth. In preparation for small business Saturday on 7 December, will my right hon. Friend meet me to discuss a review of business rates to encourage future growth, especially in London, where rateable values are very high and therefore rates are excessive?

[The Prime Minister]

I am very happy to discuss this issue with my hon. Friend, who always stands up for business and enterprise. She refers to the number of start-ups. It is a real success story for our country, with an extra 400,000 businesses now operating. The Minister for Skills and Enterprise, my hon. Friend the Member for West Suffolk (Matthew Hancock), will shortly be telling the House about the 10,000th StartUp loan—a Government scheme that has got off the ground extremely quickly. Of course, there are concerns about business rates, and I am happy to discuss those with her, but may I take this opportunity to encourage all colleagues to take part in small business Saturday? It is a brilliant initiative that worked well in the United States and which will allow everyone to demonstrate how much they care about small businesses on our high streets.

[Sarah Champion (Rotherham) (Lab)]

Does the Prime Minister agree with his planning Minister that when modern Britain looks at the Conservative party it sees an old-fashioned monolith?

[The Prime Minister]

We have had some interesting interventions from Front Benchers past and present. I hope I can break records by explaining that a tweet has just come in from Tony McNulty—we remember him—the former Labour Security Minister, saying this:

“Public desperate for PM in waiting who speaks for them—not Leader of Opposition indulging in partisan Westminster Village knockabout.”

So I would stay up with the tweets if you want to get on the right side of this one.

[Dr Matthew Offord (Hendon) (Con)]

Q8. I refer the House to the Register of Members’ Financial Interests because I have recently returned from a delegation to Israel—[Interruption.]

[Dr Offord]

I will repeat my declaration, Mr Speaker. I refer the House to the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as I have recently returned from a delegation to Israel and the Palestinian Authority with Conservative Friends of Israel. On the Israeli streets and in the corridors of power, Iran remains the No. 1 issue of concern. Earlier this week, French President Hollande visited Israel to discuss this matter with Israeli counterparts and appears to have clearly understood Israel’s legitimate concerns. When will our Prime Minister be visiting Israel, our close democratic ally in the region, to discuss the Iranian nuclear issue and other regional concerns?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. I know that many people in his constituency care deeply about this issue and about the future of Israel. I will never forget the visit that I made as Leader of the Opposition, and I look forward to visiting, I hope, next year. I completely understand—

[Sir Bob Russell (Colchester) (LD)]

What about the Palestinians?

[The Prime Minister]

Of course. When I went to Israel, I visited not only occupied east Jerusalem but other places in Palestine as well, as is proper. I do understand the very real concern that Israelis have about the potential Iranian nuclear weapon. That is why I spoke to President Rouhani of Iran last night to make it clear that we want a good outcome to these talks, but it has got to be an outcome that takes Iran further away from a nuclear weapon rather than one that retains the status quo.

[Mr Peter Hain (Neath) (Lab)]

While agreeing with the right hon. Member for Belfast North (Mr Dodds) that there should be no question of an amnesty, surely there is some merit in the proposal from the Northern Ireland Attorney-General that rather than incurring enormous expenditure pursuing crimes committed during the troubles decades ago—where the evidence is difficult, if not impossible, to establish—the justified grievances of victims, including widows of police officers and prison officers, should be addressed in other ways so that Northern Ireland can move on from its hideous past.

[The Prime Minister]

I have great respect for the right hon. Gentleman’s views on this issue. He served in Northern Ireland and knows how important these issues are. I would make two points. First of all, I do think it is important to allow Richard Haass to do his work about parades, about flags and about dealing with the past. Clearly, the dealing with the past part is the most difficult of the three and the most difficult to unlock. The second point I would make is that we are all democrats who believe in the rule of law and believe in the independence of the police and prosecuting authorities, who should, if they are able to, be able to bring cases, and it is rather dangerous to think that you can put some sort of block on that. But of course we are all interested in ways in which people can reconcile and come to terms with the bloody past so that they can build a viable future and a shared future for Northern Ireland.

[Mr David Ruffley (Bury St Edmunds) (Con)]

Q9. The people and the businesses of Suffolk are driving economic growth in the east of England, but they are increasingly fearful that the proposed A14 road toll will put Suffolk at a serious competitive disadvantage compared with other counties. Will my right hon. Friend seriously reconsider the current road toll proposal?

[The Prime Minister]

I will, and I know the Chancellor and the Transport Secretary will, listen carefully to the representations made by Suffolk MPs. I think we have all received representations. The important point is that we want new roads to be built, and we all know there are shortages in terms of the capital expenditure that we can bring forward. That is why the idea of having tolling for some new roads and new schemes is properly worth looking at, but we will listen carefully to colleagues and people in Suffolk, and businesses in Suffolk too.

[Mr Tom Harris (Glasgow South) (Lab)]

Bereaved parents coming to terms with their loss have no right to paid employment leave, which forces many of them to go back to work far too soon after the death of a child. Will the Prime Minister commit to amending the Employment Rights Act 1996 so as at last to give British parents the legal right and the time to grieve?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Gentleman raises an important issue, and I am happy to look at that, having suffered that experience myself. As a Member of Parliament, it is possible to take a little bit of time to stand back and come to terms with what has happened, because colleagues and the people who help us are ready to step in and do what they can. He has raised an important point; let me look at it and get back to him.

[Dr Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)]

Q10. If he will rule out the removal of continuous at-sea nuclear deterrence for as long as he is in office.

[The Prime Minister]

As I told my hon. Friend when he last asked about this issue, if we want a proper, functioning deterrent, we need to have the best. That means a permanent, at-sea, submarine-based posture, and that is what a Conservative-only Government after the next election will deliver.

[Dr Lewis]

May I reassure my right hon. Friend that that excellent answer will remain on my website for as long as it takes for the pledge to be fulfilled? I notice that he used the words “Conservative-only Government”. Will he reassure the House that never again will Liberal Democrats be allowed to obstruct or delay the signing of the main gate contracts, and will he undertake to sign those contracts at the earliest possible opportunity?

[The Prime Minister]

I would say a couple of things to my hon. Friend. First, investment in our nuclear deterrent has not ceased. Actually, we are taking all the necessary steps to make that main gate decision possible. Also, we have had the alternative study, which I do not think came up with a convincing answer. I have to say, however, that I do not feel that I would satisfy him even if I gave him a nuclear submarine to park off the coast of his New Forest constituency. [Laughter.]

[Mr Speaker]

I rather fear that that is true, having known the hon. Member for New Forest East (Dr Lewis) for over 30 years.

[Mr Michael Meacher (Oldham West and Royton) (Lab)]

Is the Prime Minister aware that, according to The Economist, Britain is now 159th lowest in the world in terms of business investment, just behind Mali, Paraguay and Guatemala? Will he therefore please tell the House when, under his esteemed leadership and that of his Chancellor, Britain can expect to catch up with Mali?

[The Prime Minister]

I can only conclude that the right hon. Gentleman, too, has been on a night out on the town with Rev. Flowers and that the mind-altering substances have taken effect. The fact is that in the first six months of this year, Britain has received more inward investment than any other country anywhere in the world.

[Mr Stephen O’Brien (Eddisbury) (Con)]

Q11. Had my right hon. Friend and the Government taken the advice of the Opposition, what would have been the impact on the cost of fuel and what would have been the consequences for families?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. Let us look at the cuts and freezes on fuel duty that we have made. Fuel duty would be 13p a litre higher under Labour’s plans than under our plans. To use a simple word, it would be a “nightmare”.

[Bill Esterson (Sefton Central) (Lab)]

The Prime Minister’s own Education Department has said that it has closed 578 children’s centres. How is that protecting Sure Start?

[The Prime Minister]

I gave the hon. Gentleman the figures, but I am afraid that he was unable to think on his feet and alter his question. The fact is that there are 3,000 such centres open, and only around 1% have closed.

[Neil Parish (Tiverton and Honiton) (Con)]

Q12. Aston Manor brewery in my constituency has invested £10 million and created lots of jobs in Tiverton. The OECD has upgraded its forecast for Britain while downgrading global forecasts. Does my right hon. Friend agree that reducing debt is the way to get the economy moving, rather than incurring more debt, as the party opposite would do?

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that question. The OECD forecast that came out this week shows a massive increase in the forecast for UK growth over the next couple of years. Of course, the Opposition do not want to talk about the economy. They told us that we were going to lose 1 million jobs, but we gained 1 million jobs. They told us growth would be choked off, but growth is growing in Britain. That is what is happening. The nightmare of the shadow Chancellor wants to talk about everything else. When it comes to debt, let me just remind him of this important point, which is directly relevant to the issue of debt. The former Mayor, Ken Livingstone, said this:

“Gordon Brown was borrowing £20 billion a year at the height of the boom in the first decade of this century in order to avoid having to increase taxes, because he wanted to increase public spending. It was an act of cowardice.”

That is, if you like, the “daymare”. [Interruption.] We are also hearing ranting from the nightmare.

[Teresa Pearce (Erith and Thamesmead) (Lab)]

The housing—[Interruption.]

[Teresa Pearce]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. The housing association that is landlord to some of the poorest people in my constituency recently voted its chief executive a non-contractual redundancy pay-off of £397,000. Will the Prime Minister join me in condemning the board’s action and asking for it to be repaid and invested in much-needed tenant services?

[The Prime Minister]

I am very happy to look at the case the hon. Lady mentions, because some of these pay-offs really are completely unacceptable, and we need to make sure that local authorities properly take responsibility for stopping such high pay-offs. In terms of other parts of the economy, we are making sure that if people are re-employed, having taken these pay-offs, they have to pay back the money. I think that is vitally important, and perhaps it might apply in this case too.

[Mr James Arbuthnot (North East Hampshire) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that a key element of the success of the plan for the Reserves would be if he joined with the Leader of the Opposition in inspiring employers to recognise that its success—because there is no plan B—is in the national interest?

[The Prime Minister]

I completely agree with my right hon. Friend. This is an important programme for the future of the country. Of course I understand hon. and right hon. Members’ concerns about this, but if we pass the amendment in the name of my hon. Friend the Member for Basildon and Billericay (Mr Baron), that would simply stop us investing in and improving our Reserves, rather than changing the overall stance.

I have noticed that Labour put out a statement today, saying,

“We are not calling for the reforms to be reversed. We are not saying the reforms should be shelved.”

In that case, if they vote against the Government, one can only assume that it is naked opportunism.

[Mrs Mary Glindon (North Tyneside) (Lab)]

Can the Prime Minister explain to the House why he wanted to delete his pledge of no cuts to public services from the Conservative party website?

[The Prime Minister]

What we promised is that we would not cut the NHS, and we have not cut the NHS. We made it absolutely clear before the last election we would have to take difficult decisions, but it is because of those difficult decisions that the deficit is coming down, employment is growing, there are 1 million more people in work and our economy is doing better. If we followed the advice of the party opposite, we would have more spending, more borrowing, more debt—all of the things that got this country into the mess in the first place.

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton Excerpts

Monday 18th November 2013 Written Statements

[The Prime Minister (Mr David Cameron)]

I will be making an oral statement to the House later today on the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Sri Lanka and the current situation in the Philippines following typhoon Haiyan.

Commonwealth Meeting and the Philippines

Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton Excerpts

Monday 18th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister (Mr David Cameron)]

With permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to make a statement on the disaster in the Philippines and the Commonwealth meeting in Sri Lanka.

Ten days ago a category 5 super-typhoon brought massive destruction across the Philippines, where the city of Tacloban was devastated by a tidal wave almost 2.5 metres high. The scale of what happened is still becoming clear, with many of the country’s 7,000 islands not yet reached or assessed, but already we know that more than 12 million people have been affected, with over 4,400 dead and more than 1,500 missing, including a number of Britons. This disaster follows other deadly storms there and an earthquake that killed 200 people in Bohol last month. I am sure the thoughts of the whole House will be with all those affected, their friends and families.

Britain has been at the forefront of the international relief effort. The British public have once again shown incredible generosity and compassion, donating £35 million so far, and the Government have contributed more than £50 million to the humanitarian response. In the last week HMS Daring and her onboard helicopter, an RAF C-17 and eight different relief flights have brought essential supplies from the UK and helped get aid to those who need it most. An RAF C-130—a Hercules—will arrive tomorrow and HMS Illustrious will also be there by the end of this week, equipped with seven helicopters, and water desalination and command and control capabilities.

Beyond the immediate task of life-saving aid, the people of the Philippines will face a long task of rebuilding and reducing their vulnerability to these kinds of events. Britain will continue to support them every step of the way.

Let me turn to the Commonwealth, and then to the issues in Sri Lanka itself. The Commonwealth is a unique organisation representing 53 countries, a third of the world’s population and a fifth of the global economy. It is united by history, by relationships and by the values of the new Commonwealth charter which we agreed two years ago in Perth. Britain is a leading member. Her Majesty the Queen is the head of the Commonwealth and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales did our country proud acting on her behalf and attending last week.

As with all the international organisations to which we belong, the Commonwealth allows us to champion the values and economic growth that are so vital to our national interest. At this summit we reached important conclusions on poverty, human rights and trade.

On poverty, this was the last Commonwealth meeting before the millennium development goals expire. We wanted our Commonwealth partners to unite behind the ambitious programme set by the UN high-level panel which I co-chaired with the Presidents of Indonesia and Liberia. For the first time this programme prioritises not just aid, but the vital place of anti-corruption efforts, open institutions, access to justice, the rule of law and good governance in tackling poverty.

On human rights, the Commonwealth reiterated its support for the core values set out in the Commonwealth charter. Commonwealth leaders condemned in the strongest terms the use of sexual violence in conflict—an issue that has been championed globally by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. We also called for an end to early and forced marriage, and for greater freedom of religion and belief. We committed to taking urgent and decisive action against the illegal wildlife trade ahead of the conference in London next year. And Britain successfully resisted an attempt to usher Zimbabwe back into the Commonwealth without first addressing the deep concerns that remain about human rights and political freedoms.

The Foreign Secretary and I also used the meeting to build the case for more open trade and for developing our links with the fastest-growing parts of the world. The Commonwealth backed a deal at next month’s World Trade Organisation meeting in Bali that could cut bureaucracy at borders and generate $100 billion for the global economy. Before and after the summit in Sri Lanka, I continued to bang the drum for British trade and investment. I went to New Delhi and Calcutta in India before heading to Sri Lanka—the third time I have visited India as Prime Minister. And I went from the summit to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, where Airbus agreed new orders from Emirates and Etihad airlines that will add £5.4 billion to the British economy. These orders will sustain and secure 6,500 British jobs, including at the plants in north Wales and Bristol, and open up new opportunities for the Rolls-Royce factory in Derby.

The last Government agreed, late in 2009, to hold the 2013 Commonwealth meeting in Sri Lanka. That was not my decision, but I was determined to use the presence of the Commonwealth and my own visit to shine a global spotlight on the situation there, and that is exactly what I did. I became the first foreign leader to visit the north of the country since independence in 1948 and, by taking the media with me, I gave the local population the chance to be heard by an international audience.

I met the new provincial Chief Minister from the Tamil National Alliance, who was elected in a vote that happened only because of the spotlight of the Commonwealth meeting. I took our journalists to meet the incredibly brave Tamil journalists at the Uthayan newspaper in Jaffna, many of whom have seen their colleagues killed and who have themselves been beaten and intimidated. I met and heard from displaced people desperately wanting to return to their homes and their livelihoods. And as part of our support for reconciliation efforts across the country, I announced an additional £2.1 million to support de-mining work in parts of the north, including the locations of some of the most chilling scenes from Channel 4’s “No Fire Zone” documentary.

When I met President Rajapaksa, I pressed for credible, transparent and independent investigations into alleged war crimes, and I made it clear to him that if those investigations were not begun properly by March, I would use our position on the United Nations Human Rights Council to work with the UN human rights commissioner and call for an international inquiry. No one wants to return to the days of the Tamil Tigers and the disgusting and brutal things that they did. We should also show proper respect for the fact that Sri Lanka suffered almost three decades of bloody civil conflict and that recovery and reconciliation take time. But I made it clear to President Rajapaksa that he now has a real opportunity, through magnanimity and reform, to build a successful, inclusive and prosperous future for his country, working in partnership with the newly elected Chief Minister of the Northern Province. I very much hope that he seizes that opportunity.

Sri Lanka has suffered an appalling civil war—and then of course suffered all over again from the 2004 tsunami; but it is an extraordinary and beautiful country with enormous potential. Achieving that potential is all about reconciliation. It is about bringing justice, closure and healing to the country, which now has the chance, if it takes it, of a much brighter future. That will happen only by dealing with these issues and not ignoring them.

I had a choice at this summit: to stay away and allow President Rajapaksa to set the agenda he wanted, or to go and shape the agenda by advancing our interests with our Commonwealth partners and shining a spotlight on the international concerns about Sri Lanka. I chose to go and stand up for our values and to do all I could to advance them. I believe that that was the right decision for Sri Lanka, for the Commonwealth and for Britain. I commend this statement to the House.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for what he said about the response on the Philippines. I agree with him: other countries need to do more, and we will continue to work with them, through both the Department for International Development and the Foreign Office, to make sure everyone lives up to their responsibilities. He asked specifically how we will ensure that relief gets through. That is why HMS Illustrious, with seven helicopters, joining the American carrier there can make a difference—because of the lift capacity.

I am also grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his response on Sri Lanka and the Commonwealth, but it is worth recalling that, had we listened to his advice, we would not be having this statement now in the House and discussing this issue. Given that Labour agreed to this conference taking place in Sri Lanka, criticising my attendance breaks new records for opportunism and double-speak. Let me respond very directly. In 2009, some time after the end of war, the last Government agreed that the conference should take place in 2013 in Sri Lanka. If he knows anything about foreign affairs—I doubt it, because he barely gets out of Islington—he would know that this is a consensus organisation: once something has been agreed, it is very difficult to unblock it. So it was in 2009 that the pass was sold. I have to say to him that, more than that, this shows very poor judgment. This is a multilateral organisation of which we are a leading member and our Queen is the head. How do we advance free trade if we are not there? How do we stand up for issues such as tax, transparency, tackling poverty, and preventing sexual violence in conflict? How do we do all that from 4,000 miles away?

On Sri Lanka, the right hon. Gentleman specifically asked whether we pressed for our agenda. Yes, we did, very directly, on the importance of land reform, on the importance of human rights, on the importance of an independent inquiry. Of course, some other leaders decided to stay away, and everyone must take their own decision, but frankly, no country on earth has a more direct relationship with the Commonwealth than this one, and that is why it was right to go. If he is concerned about the rights of Tamils, as I am, and reconciliation, the right thing to do is to go and shine a spotlight on their plight. You cannot do that sitting at home. I remember when his brother said that we needed Foreign Secretaries and Prime Ministers who could stop the traffic in Beijing. He will not even get out of Primrose Hill. This whole area of judgment by the right hon. Gentleman is a sign of weakness. He was given a choice: an easy political path or a tough, right path, and he cops out every time—too weak to stand up to Len McCluskey, too weak to stand up for Britain abroad.

[Sir Menzies Campbell (North East Fife) (LD)]

May I associate myself with the Prime Minister’s observations about the Philippines and congratulate him and the Government on ensuring such a remarkable response on behalf of the United Kingdom?

I am not one of those who believes that the Prime Minister should not have attended. Unlike other Prime Ministers, he had a constitutional obligation to be present to provide support and, if necessary, advice for the Prince of Wales who was representing Her Majesty the Queen. Is not the rightness of the Prime Minister’s decision demonstrated eloquently by the quality and volume of the coverage he was able to achieve? Of course, the test will be the extent to which there is a proper follow-through. In that respect, will my right hon. Friend assure us that everything will be done to try to achieve unanimity of purpose at the United Nations for an inquiry of the kind he has outlined?

[The Prime Minister]

I am very grateful for what my right hon. and learned Friend says about the importance of attending. This point about media organisations is important, because they have been unable to travel freely in the north of the country. By taking respected organisations such as the BBC, ITV, Sky and Channel 4 directly to the areas affected in Jaffna, they were able literally to shine a spotlight on the things that have happened. He is entirely right to say that what matters now is follow-through, but what is important is that this is now an established part of Britain’s foreign policy—to raise at every international forum, in every way we can, the importance of a strong, united, prosperous and reconciled future for Sri Lanka, and that is exactly what we will do.

[Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley) (Lab)]

The report from the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs on the FCO’s human rights work stated:

“We recommend that the Prime Minister should obtain assurances from the Sri Lankan Government that people who approach him to talk about human rights while he is in Sri Lanka to attend the CHOGM do not face reprisals or harassment by security forces.”

Was he able to obtain those assurances from the Sri Lankan Government, or not?

[The Prime Minister]

I made very clear to all the authorities I spoke to how important it was to be able to visit the north of the country, to meet refugees and displaced people and to raise their cases. That was exactly what I was able to do with the President. The world will now be watching what happens to those people, and I was given assurances that people were being re-housed and given new livelihoods. We will watch very carefully to see what happens to the people I met.

[Mr Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

I congratulate the Prime Minister on going to Jaffna and raising those difficult questions with President Rajapaksa. Does the Prime Minister agree with me that as Sri Lanka will be in the chair of the Commonwealth running up to the Mauritius CHOGM, it is incredibly important that it focus relentlessly on the agenda he encapsulated of good governance, the rule of law, free trade and wealth creation?

[The Prime Minister]

That is absolutely the agenda we should be addressing and pushing for. I would make the point that the role of the Commonwealth chair can be overstated, as it is the Secretary-General who sets the agenda for the Commonwealth. Again, however, the Commonwealth is a consensus organisation. Once the previous Government had signed up to CHOGM’s being in Sri Lanka, the natural consequence was that Sri Lanka would be the de facto chair for two years. That flows from a Labour Government’s decision, not our decision.

[Mr Jack Straw (Blackburn) (Lab)]

May I press the Prime Minister on the question from my right hon. Friend the Member for Cynon Valley (Ann Clwyd)? She asked him whether undertakings were given that there would be no harassment of those he met and had dealings with in the north. Re-housing is one thing, and it is important, but I would be very grateful if he expanded on that.

[The Prime Minister]

The point I was trying to make was that although undertakings that those people should not be harmed were vital, their cases should also be taken up by the Sri Lankan Government. The response of the Sri Lankan Government to such issues is not to say that such people do not exist or that there is nothing that can be done. They are saying, “Please give us time. We are dealing with this.” It is right for the international community to press them on these issues. Yes, there were many more internally displaced people four years ago, but there are still too many today and they need to be properly looked after.

[Mr Lee Scott (Ilford North) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the real issue at stake is the approximately 40,000 women, children and men—innocent people—who were slaughtered at the end of the conflict, and that the robust approach he showed on the visit to Sri Lanka and CHOGM should be carried through, as their memories deserve justice as well as the work that he has done? I have had many e-mails over the past few days thanking the Prime Minister for his robust approach, while also asking him to ensure that we take things forward in March if President Rajapaksa does not take his stance.

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his comments. I challenge almost anyone in the House to watch even part of the Channel 4 documentary about the events at the end of the war—when there were appalling levels of casualties among civilians in the north of the country who were, it seems, targeted—and not to believe that there should be a proper independent inquiry. Of course, dreadful things happened throughout the war and it is for the Sri Lankan Government to decide how they should be investigated. It is clear, however, that those particular events at the end of the war need an independent inquiry so that the issue can be properly settled.

[Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North) (Lab)]

Will the Prime Minister explain how exactly he proposes to follow up his demand for an inquiry? What monitoring and reporting will there be, and what action will the Commonwealth take if and when Sri Lanka does not follow up on the assurances he was apparently given? Many people are dead, and many people are very angry about the abuses of human rights by the Sri Lankan Government.

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for what he says. The key thing is that the UN high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, has made the point that there should be an independent inquiry and has set the deadline for when it should at least begin. If it is not begun, there needs to be, as she has said, an international independent inquiry. We are saying that we support that view and will put behind it Britain’s international diplomatic standing in all the organisations of which we are a member, including, of course, the United Nations.

[Sir Alan Haselhurst (Saffron Walden) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend accept that the fierce reaction in the Government-influenced press in Sri Lanka throughout his visit ensured that human rights in that country was the stand-out issue? Would he agree that in future CHOGMs, a stronger presence on the part of Commonwealth parliamentarians would help the whole matter of the promotion of human rights?

[The Prime Minister]

I certainly agree with my right hon. Friend that links between Commonwealth parliamentarians are very helpful for raising these issues. His first point is absolutely spot-on: because of visiting the north and raising these issues, human rights, and questions about land reform, reconciliation, and investigations, were top of mind for the press, the media, and everyone in Sri Lanka in a way that they simply would not have been.

[Mike Gapes (Ilford South) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Prime Minister says that the Government will press the issue in March next year at the United Nations Human Rights Council. In the light of that council’s woeful record—at one point, it actually praised the Government of Sri Lanka for their internal policies—how confident can he be, given the authoritarian states and friends of Rajapaksa who are on the council, that we will get anywhere on this in the UN?

[The Prime Minister]

I think this is going to be very hard pounding for a very long period of time, but what the Sri Lankan Government need to understand, and I think understand more today than perhaps they did a week ago, is that the issue is not going to go away, and if they do not hold an independent inquiry, the pressure for an international inquiry will grow and grow. Using the UN human rights machinery is the right way to do that.

[Sir Tony Baldry (Banbury) (Con)]

The UN Special Court for Sierra Leone has been sitting in The Hague for some time now. It demonstrates that there is plenty of precedent showing that if the United Nations Security Council has the will, it is perfectly possible to devise mechanisms for independent judicial inquiries into crimes against humanity by UN member states.

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend brings considerable expertise and experience to this area. I would argue that the Commonwealth, like the United Nations, is of course an imperfect organisation, but even with the Commonwealth, it is possible to point to examples where it has stood up for human rights and for democracy —perhaps particularly recently in the case of Fiji. We have to use these organisations to get the results that are right, in terms of human rights and these sorts of issues.

[Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North) (DUP)]

I thank the Prime Minister for what the Government are doing on the Philippines disaster, and pay tribute to the many communities up and down the land who are contributing massively to the public appeal, not least in my constituency, where there is a community sit-out on the Shankill road to raise funds; I pay tribute to those involved.

On the Commonwealth summit, may I press the Prime Minister on the issue of combating poverty? Will he tell us in more detail what has been done to combat corruption and promote good governance?

[The Prime Minister]

First of all, let me join the right hon. Gentleman in praising all those who are raising money for the Philippines Disasters Emergency Committee appeal. I think it is incredibly striking, in all our communities, how many people come straight out on to the streets and are rattling those tins and raising that money; at the weekend in my constituency, I saw rotary clubs doing precisely that.

On the issue of tackling poverty and the link between corruption and poverty, in the report from the high-level panel, which I co-chaired, if we look at the 12 targets that we thought should be set, a lot of those concern things like access to justice, freedom from corruption, absence of press censorship, proper democracy and the rule of law, because those issues are vital in helping countries to move sustainably from poverty to wealth. That, I think, is the great thing about this high-level panel report: yes, it is about aid, and yes, it is about economic growth, but it recognises the golden thread of vital issues to do with democracy and institutions as well.

[Mr William Cash (Stone) (Con)]

Regarding the Philippines, may I congratulate my right hon. Friend, the Government and the British public for their very generous response? In addition, may I say that the Secretary of State for International Development has done the most amazingly sterling work? We owe her and her team enormous thanks for everything that she has done.

[The Prime Minister]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. The Department for International Development and the Secretary of State have done a superb job—in marshalling resources in response to the crisis, in working with the Ministry of Defence to get HMS Daring and then HMS Illustrious alongside, in generating income and money to go directly to the appeal, and in making sure that we work with our partners to do that. There are now two teams out there to assist with the Foreign Office effort, and my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has just told me that some of our experts on victim identification will be part of an Interpol team that will be there soon as well.

[Paul Flynn (Newport West) (Lab)]

The Prime Minister’s call for an inquiry into the terrible events in Sri Lanka would carry a great deal more weight if he had not obstructed the report on the Iraq war. The Chilcot inquiry demanded papers to reach a conclusion on why, 10 years ago, the House made a decision to join Bush’s war in Iraq, with the loss of 179 British lives.

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The hon. Gentleman is on a different ski slope altogether today.

[The Prime Minister]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

It is ingenious and imaginative—the hon. Gentleman is always that—but the Prime Minister is already on his feet.

[The Prime Minister]

I am responsible for many things, but holding up the Iraq inquiry is not one of them. Conservative Members and, indeed, my right hon. and hon. Friends on the Liberal Democrat Benches called for an inquiry, we voted for an inquiry and we worked for an inquiry year after year before one was finally set up. I very much hope that its conclusions will shortly be available for all to see.

[Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the Commonwealth is in many ways uniquely placed to take advantage of the global world in which we all live? Will he say a little more about the opportunities for commercial development between Commonwealth countries, particularly this country and the Commonwealth?

[The Prime Minister]

My right hon. Friend makes a very important point. The Commonwealth brings quite different and disparate countries together—some of the largest on earth, such as India, but also some of the smallest and most fragile island states in the world. It is a forum in which we can discuss issues, share values and perspectives, but also, yes, talk about business and trade, which is why there is a business angle to the events in which we took part. We should use all those forums to push for our agenda of free trade and trade facilitation, and there is an important meeting coming up in Bali very soon.

[Keith Vaz (Leicester East) (Lab)]

I welcome the Prime Minister’s third visit to India, and his first to Calcutta. In Jaffna, he saw the devastation and grief inflicted on the Tamil people by President Rajapaksa. Is he aware that we continue to deport Tamil people from this country to Sri Lanka, where they are tortured? Will he speak to the Home Secretary about updating the advice given on the Home Office website so that we can protect those people, who are genuinely seeking asylum in our country?

[The Prime Minister]

The asylum system should work on the basis of the best and latest information about whether someone genuinely faces a risk of torture and persecution if they return. Of course, I shone a light on some of the human rights abuses that are taking place, but it is also right to point out that in Sri Lanka today warfare, civil war, terrorism and violence of that kind are not taking place, so we should be clear and welcome that.

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for what he said about my third visit to India and my first to Calcutta. This is part of building the special relationship that I believe should exist between Britain and India, and which spans diplomacy, politics, trade and other international relations.

[Mr Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury) (Con)]

I congratulate the Prime Minister on the high impact that he and the British Government have had in relation to the Philippines. That includes not just the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development but the extension resourced through the armed forces, which is most welcome.

In relation to CHOGM, the Sri Lankan President proposes a truth and reconciliation process, but that is not adequate to meet the concerns and anxieties about alleged war crimes. We therefore need to follow the process proposed by the Prime Minister, however good the truth and reconciliation processes have been in South Africa and Mali.

[The Prime Minister]

My right hon. Friend makes an important point. I accept that the Sri Lankan Government have set up some processes, including the ones to which he referred, but too many of them have been military-led inquiries—basically, private inquiries into events at the end of the war—rather than a proper, independent inquiry, which is what needs to be held.

[Mr Elfyn Llwyd (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)]

I have to confess that I thought it unwise to go to Sri Lanka, but having heard the Prime Minister’s statement and what he now plans to do I am changing my mind—not a bad thing, possibly. As someone who has raised the Tamil question many times in the past 20 years or so, may I urge him and the Foreign Secretary to give due priority to the issue to ensure that at an early stage we will have a just peace and reconciliation on this worried island?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his kind and very generous remarks, and for the way in which he put them. I completely agree. Having made this visit, having taking this important stand and having given the issue the attention it deserves, we must now make sure that we follow through, but we should do so on a basis of huge optimism about the potential future of the country. If proper efforts at reconciliation are made, there is no reason why that country, which is now essentially at peace and is not suffering warfare and terrorism, cannot be an immense success story in the future.

[Simon Hughes (Bermondsey and Old Southwark) (LD)]

As somebody who was very uncomfortable about the meeting happening in Sri Lanka in the first place and very troubled by our participation endorsing President Rajapaksa, may I, too, commend the Prime Minister for being extremely robust and effective on the war crimes issue, and encourage him down that road? Was he able to ask any questions about disappeared people and about assassinations, and is there a chance that the Commonwealth, under its next Secretary-General, will stand up for human rights better than it has been doing?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his very kind remarks and for what he said about my attendance at the summit. I did raise the issue of the disappeared, and at the refugee centre in the displaced persons village I met some people who told me about relatives who had disappeared. The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), held a meeting with families of the disappeared, so the issue was raised at every level in our engagement with the Sri Lankan authorities. We must continue to raise these issues in the months and years ahead. There is much to commend in the Commonwealth, but it is an imperfect organisation. At its best it does stand up for values that we all share and believe in, and the more it does so the better an organisation it will be.

[Siobhain McDonagh (Mitcham and Morden) (Lab)]

In answer to a question, the Prime Minister suggested that he had made a tough and brave decision to go to CHOGM. May I tell him through you, Mr Speaker, that the tough and brave decision was that of those family members of the disappeared who were willing to approach him? They are now at serious risk for their lives, the lives of their families and the future of relatives they have not seen for years. What are the Government going to do, and principally what is the British high commission in Colombo going to do, to ensure the safety of those families?

[The Prime Minister]

I agree entirely with the hon. Lady. The bravery that was shown was by the displaced people who were prepared to meet me and to speak out about their concerns. Bravery was shown by all those who have lost relatives and who do not know where they are. Also, it was incredible to meet journalists who have stood up for freedom of the press and risked assassination, torture and persecution. In the offices of the Uthayan newspaper are pictures around the walls of journalists who died reporting facts and truth in Sri Lanka. We should do everything we can, including through the high commission, to make sure that nobody who spoke out or met me suffers in any way at all. It is now very public who I met and where I went, and our engagement with the Sri Lankan Government could not be clearer about the importance not only of their safety, but of making sure that they are properly housed and have access to a livelihood as part of reconciliation.

[Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) (Con)]

At this time of national crisis for the Philippines, will the Prime Minister join me in calling on the splinter groups of the MNLF and MILF in the southern Philippines to lay down their arms in order that the Philippines army can help the needy throughout the whole of the country, rather than take up arms against rebel groups?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes an important point about the Philippines. The overwhelming priority now must be getting aid to people who need it and trying to put that country back together again.

[Dr Eilidh Whiteford (Banff and Buchan) (SNP)]

In the wake of the disaster in the Philippines, our leading aid agencies have said that the increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events should act as a wake-up call for the international community to do a lot more on climate change. Does the Prime Minister agree, and what does he intend to do?

[The Prime Minister]

I do agree that climate change presents huge dangers for our planet. There is a strong case for saying that there are connections between unusual weather events and the climate change that is taking place. That is why it is important to keep the issue high up the international agenda. At the Commonwealth conference I was able to raise the fact of the international climate fund, to which Britain has made a significant contribution, and how it should be helping these countries. The Commonwealth is a good place to make the point because many members are very vulnerable small island states for whom climate change is literally an existential challenge.

[Margot James (Stourbridge) (Con)]

Manufacturers in the black country will be reassured to hear that the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary used the Commonwealth meeting to promote our trading links with the fastest-growing parts of the world. Will my right hon. Friend update the House on the prospects for more open trade with India following his very successful meeting with Mr Tata?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for that question. We continue to push with India the case for a free trade agreement. With India being effectively in an election year, I am not sure that we will make huge progress now, but we continue to make the arguments and demonstrate the figures for how beneficial it would be for both our countries, and for the EU, to have this agreement go ahead.

[Sandra Osborne (Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock) (Lab)]

What progress can the Prime Minister point to in relation to human rights in the Commonwealth? Is he, for example, aware of the excellent report of the Kaleidoscope Trust, chaired by the hon. Member for Reigate (Mr Blunt), on the state of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people’s rights in the Commonwealth? An incredible 41 countries still criminalise same sex activity by adults. Is not that a disgrace?

[The Prime Minister]

We have a very clear view that there should be proper rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, and we do raise these issues, including at the Commonwealth meeting, as the Minister of State and the Foreign Secretary did. The report that the hon. Lady mentions is an excellent report. It is still depressing that so many countries persecute gay people, but there has in some countries been some progress in terms of greater rights and, as we have done in this country, celebrating gay marriage.

[Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (The Cotswolds) (Con)]

Despite the fact that 53 countries signed up to the communiqué to uphold the Commonwealth’s core values, does my right hon. Friend not think that the Commonwealth has a long way to go to uphold those core values, particularly if some countries thought that Zimbabwe could creep back in?

[The Prime Minister]

I completely agree with my hon. Friend. At its best, the Commonwealth comes together and signs up to important declarations, such as the Perth declaration on human rights, but sadly, at its worst, those values are not always stood up for in every case. We can point to the good places, such as Fiji, excluded from the Commonwealth, given a path back to the Commonwealth if the right things happen, but we can all point to examples where these values have not been properly upheld. But it is an organisation that we should be proud to belong to and want to make it deliver to its best.

[Mr Pat McFadden (Wolverhampton South East) (Lab)]

Given what happened at the end of the war in Sri Lanka and what has happened since, why does the Prime Minister think that the Sri Lankan Government can be trusted to set up a proper independent inquiry? Why is it not right for us to press now for what he said he might press for in March, which is an international inquiry in which the world can have trust?

--- Later in debate ---

[The Prime Minister]

Just to be clear, I have not said we might support it; I have said we will support it. What is required is an independent inquiry, and if there is not a proper independent inquiry, we will—will, not might—push for an independent international inquiry in March. That is the right approach. The Sri Lankan Government need to be put to the test. The war is over. The terrorism is finished. They have this incredible opportunity. It is no good the shadow Foreign Secretary just sitting there. He was the first one who said there was no point going; there was nothing to talk about; nothing Britain could do. It is the sort of stick-your-head-in-the-sand approach to diplomacy that does absolutely no good for this country or for human rights.

[Dr Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)]

Does the Prime Minister agree that the excellent work of the Royal Navy in the Philippines crisis well illustrates its unique capability not only to project power but to provide assistance around the world, and will not that capability be massively increased when we have two fleet carriers providing that sort of potential for the future?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is entirely right that our Royal Navy does have these multiple purposes. One of the strengths of HMS Illustrious is that it has the ability to desalinate water, and it also carries seven helicopters, and the two new carriers will be even more capable of such a role in the future.

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

The Prime Minister looks a little like someone sticking their head in the sand when it comes to the environment. All the world’s scientists are looking at what is happening to our planet’s climate, but I read all the news reports of the conference and saw nothing on the environment, and there was nothing on the environment in his statement today. Global warming is going to destroy our planet. Why did he not take a lead on that at the conference?

[The Prime Minister]

It is obviously quite difficult to take a lead at a conference if one does not attend, which of course is what Members on the hon. Gentleman’s Front Bench were suggesting. In my contribution I talked about the importance of integrating our goals on climate change into our general approach to tackling poverty. I made the point that, with so many small island states in the Commonwealth that are so vulnerable, this is an existential issue for them and we should support them, including through the international climate fund, which is exactly what we are doing.

[Dr Matthew Offord (Hendon) (Con)]

For some time now many Government Members have been privately pressing the Sri Lankan Government to undertake an independent inquiry in order to allay the fears of our constituents, including my constituent, Mr Jana Mahalingam, who regularly corresponds with me on the issue. Does the Prime Minister agree that although peace has come through the ending of violence, the battle is now for reconciliation, which could be achieved through an independent inquiry?

[The Prime Minister]

I completely agree with my hon. Friend. An independent inquiry is essential, but we should be clear that reconciliation is so much more than that. There were issues put to me about restoring land to people who have been moved from their homes, about the army needing to play a reduced role in the north of the country, and about real change being needed with regard to respecting the elected chief Minister in the north of the country. That is both frustrating and yet quite exciting: the country is, at one level, at peace, because there is no more war or terrorism, so the Government there can afford to be generous and magnanimous, and that is exactly what they should do.

[Heidi Alexander (Lewisham East) (Lab)]

Further to the question from the Chair of the Home Affairs Committee, my right hon. Friend the Member for Leicester East (Keith Vaz), does the Prime Minister accept that over the past few years the British Government have forcibly returned Tamil asylum seekers to Sri Lanka, only for them to be bundled into white vans at Colombo airport and subjected to horrific torture? Is he proud of his asylum policies?

[The Prime Minister]

Our asylum polices should be based on the latest information and on proper judgments about whether people are likely to be tortured or persecuted on their return. That is not a decision that is made by Prime Ministers, or even by Ministers, but it is right that those decisions are properly taken account of in each case, and that is the way it should happen.

[Richard Benyon (Newbury) (Con)]

Many people will be really pleased to see something in the communiqué about the illegal trade in wildlife. The Prime Minister and his fellow Commonwealth leaders have grasped that that is about not only the tragic loss of iconic species, but the funding of organisations such as al-Shabaab and the Lord’s Resistance Army. What can he and his Commonwealth colleagues do now to try to influence the demand for those items of trade, which is fuelling the high prices that poachers can get in African countries, for example?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. There needs to be a process of education to try to reduce demand for those products, because that, of course, is what drives the trade in the first place. I am excited that next year we will be having that very important conference in the United Kingdom, bringing all the experts together, when we can really give as big a boost as possible.

[Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab)]

Is it the Prime Minister’s position that the Governments of Canada, India and Mauritius, by deciding not to attend the summit, exercised a serious misjudgment and are sticking their heads in the sand?

[The Prime Minister]

My point is simply this: this country has a unique relationship with the Commonwealth and it would therefore have been completely wrong, opportunistic and irresponsible not to go. I think that has been demonstrated amply this afternoon.

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

I thank the Prime Minister for his statement, which I warmly welcome. I think that he was absolutely right to go to Sri Lanka and demonstrate this country’s commitment to the Commonwealth. Does he agree that one concrete way of demonstrating our continued commitment to the Commonwealth would be to establish dedicated channels of entry at UK airports for Commonwealth citizens, on the grounds that if it is good enough for the European Union it is good enough for the Commonwealth?

[The Prime Minister]

I hear what my hon. Friend says, but I think that my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary might have a few things to say about new, simpler routes for people to come to this country. What we have tried to do is improve our visa system. For instance, in India we have introduced a one-day visa system. Of course, we should look at all countries on the basis of how we can have an improved visa system and encourage people who genuinely want to come here to visit, but we should also ensure that there are not abuses, and I am afraid that we have to apply those rules to Commonwealth countries as well.

[Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab)]

The war may be over, as the Prime Minister says, but there are still many Sri Lankans here in this country, particularly Tamils, who are seeking asylum and are being given first decisions that are so dubious that they have been overturned at appeal. Will the Prime Minister, with the new information that he has personally gained, look again at the way we treat people who are seeking asylum from Sri Lanka in this country?

[The Prime Minister]

As I have said, our work should be based on the latest evidence. It is not the case that every single Tamil who comes here or to another country would be persecuted on their return. We would be making a great mistake if we took a blanket view like that; it should be done on the evidence.

[Craig Whittaker (Calder Valley) (Con)]

Like other colleagues, I thank my right hon. Friend for the tremendous effort that the Secretary of State for DFID and her Department are undertaking in relation to the truly shocking humanitarian disaster in the Philippines. This is of course Britain showing, as always, where we morally belong and should be. I know that it is very early days, but can the Prime Minister update us on whether any longer-term help has been requested or, indeed, offered for when the initial crisis is over?

[The Prime Minister]

We are working on the issue of longer-term assistance. The real need now is to help with the disaster in its recovery phase. That is why the heavy-lift equipment, the planes, the helicopters and the work of the RAF are so vital. That is what needs to be done now, and then we need longer-term planning about the needs of the Philippines and how we can help.

[John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)]

Is the Prime Minister aware of any lobbying activities undertaken by the Sri Lankan Government within Westminster, either directly or through third-party lobbying companies?

[The Prime Minister]

I am frequently lobbied by the high commissioner for Sri Lanka who is here in the UK, and obviously he wants to put the best gloss on everything that is happening in his country, but one of the most important things is going to see some of these things for yourself rather than simply reading about them.

[Mr David Burrowes (Enfield, Southgate) (Con)]

Some hon. Members may recall David Miliband, the chief executive of the International Rescue Committee, saying when Foreign Secretary that the Sri Lankan Government have engaged in a war without witness. Can the Prime Minister assure me that following his visit Sri Lankans can all benefit from a peace with witnesses?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is entirely right. What is required is peace and reconciliation and proper rights for everyone who lives in Sri Lanka. As I said, the fact that the world is going to be watching how this reconciliation takes place is very important.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

Given the defiant tone of President Rajapaksa after the summit, does the Prime Minister really believe that progress on human rights by March next year is possible?

[The Prime Minister]

That decision rests with the Sri Lankan Government. I do not think it is fair to say that they have done nothing in response to the need for action or, indeed, international pressure. As I said, the fact that an election has taken place in the Northern Province and a new Chief Minister has been elected who is part of the Tamil National Alliance is a very positive step forward. We will not get anywhere if we do not point to the positive things that are happening as well as being very tough and firm about where further action is needed.

[Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) (Con)]

Yesterday in church I heard the moving testimony of some Filipino members of our congregation about the effects of the disaster on their families and relatives. Further to the question by my hon. Friend the Member for Calder Valley (Craig Whittaker), does the Prime Minister agree that we should be working very closely with the large Filipino community in the United Kingdom on how we can continue to help in the future development and rescue of the country?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend has lots of expertise in the area of aid and development, and I am sure that he will want to work on this issue with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development, who has recently met the Philippine ambassador here in the UK. We want to bring all these brains to bear to make sure we get the right development and reconstruction effort together.

[Mr Andrew Love (Edmonton) (Lab/Co-op)]

While recognising the good intentions of the Prime Minister in going to the north of Sri Lanka, that action has failed to drag any concessions out of President Rajapaksa or to convince his Commonwealth colleagues to sign a communiqué criticising human rights in Sri Lanka. What confidence does the Prime Minister have that in five months’ time or so action can be taken on its chairmanship of the Commonwealth and on setting up a United Nations investigation?

[The Prime Minister]

As I said, the decision will rest with the Sri Lankan President, but I do not think that anyone can be in any doubt that they are under more pressure today than they were a week ago, or a month ago, because of the international attention that has been shone on these issues—they know that the world will be watching. One only has to watch President Rajapaksa’s press conference, which was dominated by questions about human rights and inquiries into what happened at the end of the war, to see that there is pressure today that there was not a week ago.

[Michael Ellis (Northampton North) (Con)]

Does the Prime Minister know that he was described recently in the Australian press as a

“defender of democratic ideals and confident international statesman”?

Is it not the case that he was right to go to Sri Lanka because of the constitutional obligation of supporting the head of the Commonwealth and her representative the Prince of Wales, and because the concomitant publicity, both in the UK and around the world, has highlighted the issue front and centre?

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. It was right to take that stand and attend, and to stand up for the Commonwealth. Above all, it was an important meeting of a multilateral organisation in which we play an important part. I have been called quite a lot of things in recent days, but let me put it this way: those views are not always necessarily shared widely in the Cameron household.

[Huw Irranca-Davies (Ogmore) (Lab)]

The Prime Minister has made much of the spotlight his visit has shone on human rights abuses in Sri Lanka. What do we make of the fact that not only was there no communiqué, but that in the final statement there was no mention of those human rights abuses, let alone an inquiry into them?

[The Prime Minister]

As the hon. Gentleman will know, one of the strengths of the Commonwealth, but also the source of some of its trouble, is that it is an organisation based on consensus. If someone disagrees with a potential conclusion it is effectively struck out. It was not, therefore, possible to have everything in the communiqué that we wanted. Is there, however, pressure on the Sri Lankan Government to act, to reconcile and to sort these problems out? As I said, there is more pressure today than there has been for a while.

[Rory Stewart (Penrith and The Border) (Con)]

I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development on the work in the Philippines. I encourage the Government to make a clearer commitment over five years to ensure that the assistance in the Philippines does not cease when the headlines cease.

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes the important point that we must be helpful in the long term. I do not think it is possible now to predict exactly what the needs and priorities will be—we are still in the recovery phase—but proper work should be done to see what we can do to help. With our 0.7% of gross national income aid commitment, Britain is in the forefront of doing the right thing internationally. I am sure we can bring some of that to bear in the Philippines.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

The British people, seeing the television pictures from Sri Lanka of the Prime Minister smashing Muralitharan for six, will think that the Prime Minister is auditioning for a role in the England Ashes team. Afterwards, Muralitharan said that the situation in the north was improving. Would the Prime Minister like to comment on that?

[The Prime Minister]

First, I did not hit Muralitharan for six. Secondly, I think he was being quite gentle with me. I certainly could not read which way the ball was going to go and I was fairly lucky to hit it at all. He made a good point that a huge amount of progress has been made in terms of peace, stability and economic prosperity. His organisation is bringing together Tamils, Sinhalese and others to help forge the country together. He is doing amazing work and we should back that work. He also thought I was right to attend and to raise these issues. What he wants, as a proud Sri Lankan, is to ensure that a fair picture is painted of his country, and he is right to say that.

[Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)]

The Prime Minister clearly succeeded in raising concerns about human rights in Sri Lanka. At the Commonwealth summit, did he or his officials get the chance to raise, with the Government of Bangladesh, our Government’s wish for them to address concerns about the International Crimes Tribunal in Bangladesh, the upholding of fair trial standards and the use of the death penalty for those convicted?

[The Prime Minister]

My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary raised those specific issues with the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh. We have a good engagement with that country, and no issues are off limits.

[Dr Phillip Lee (Bracknell) (Con)]

The typhoon in the Philippines is just the latest natural disaster to afflict the globe. In the light of such dreadful events, is the Prime Minister interested in hearing more about my idea for the Government to build a mobile army surgical hospital capability that Britain could deploy swiftly into the field. The deployment of naval forces, although very welcome, can take days, but a MASH unit can be deployed within 24 hours of his decision.

[The Prime Minister]

I would be interested to hear about that idea. As my hon. Friend knows, we have emergency capabilities that can be sent out of the country very rapidly, but there is always room to see whether we can improve such an issue, either at a British level or by doing things with partners.

[Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (Con)]

Amnesty International has welcomed the Prime Minister’s call for

“genuine freedom of expression and…an end to the intimidation of journalists”.

Does my right hon. Friend think that it would have been as easy to speak up for the freedom of the Sri Lankan press had he stayed in London?

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for what he says. Being able to take journalists to the north of the country, particularly to the Uthayan newspaper, so many of whose journalists have been injured or killed in the course of their work, was a very powerful way of drawing attention to the importance of a free press and of freedom from intimidation.

[Neil Carmichael (Stroud) (Con)]

I warmly welcome the Prime Minister’s statement, not least because it rams home the importance of Britain’s involvement in the international community. On trade, does he agree that the welcome news about the Airbus order, worth £5.4 billion, is excellent for the south-west and for Stroud, which supplies parts of the aircraft?

[The Prime Minister]

It is very good news that both Etihad Airways and Emirates airline have effectively ordered 50 aircraft each. Of course, the wings are made in Wales, the landing gear in Bristol and, indeed, many of the engines will be made by Rolls-Royce in Derby. It is really good news. This is the high-end, high-skilled jobs that we need, and it has very much been backed by the Government, because we have put a lot of money into the Aerospace Technology Institute and the Aerospace Growth Partnership that we are building with the industry.

[James Duddridge (Rochford and Southend East) (Con)]

The Department for International Development’s work in the Philippines has been innovative, successful and very popular. Has my right hon. Friend considered supporting disaster resilience programmes similar to the one mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Bracknell (Dr Lee) more broadly, and looking at resilience planning for potential disasters, rather than simply waiting for disasters to happen?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. We are looking specifically at whether we can do even better in the rapid response element. I remember, particularly from what happened in Haiti, that British firefighters and experts can play a vital job in rescuing people in the early stages of a disaster, but only if they get there quickly. There is always room to try to do better, and I know that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development will listen to those suggestions.

[Mr Robin Walker (Worcester) (Con)]

The Commonwealth can be a powerful force for good in the world, as demonstrated by the centrality of human rights and shared prosperity to its charter, but does the Prime Minister agree that it is only as good as the commitment of its members? I congratulate him on showing a real commitment to both the Commonwealth and human rights, rather than taking the easy political option of running away.

[The Prime Minister]

Any institution works only as well as the political will of its members. We can sometimes obsess too much about the precise make-up of the institution, but we need to look at the political will that goes into defending the values to which we have signed up.

[Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

The Prime Minister rightly highlighted the extensive work done by the Foreign Secretary to end the abhorrent practice of sexual violence in conflict. Given the evidence of that having occurred in Sri Lanka, what can our Government do to assist the victims?

[The Prime Minister]

The first thing we must do is to continue the Foreign Secretary’s excellent work to drive the issue to the top of the international agenda. Some really important steps in relation to commitments from other countries and through the UN have now been made. The specific allegations are one reason why the independent inquiry that we have talked about this afternoon is so important.

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

With personal experience of being affected by a natural disaster—I lost 30 relatives, as well as my grandfather, in the Kashmir earthquake in 2005—may I thank the then Secretary of State for International Development and the current Secretary of State for the work done by the UK and the public then and now to help rescue people and save lives? I urge the Government to provide long-term support and assistance to hard-to-reach rural areas whose whole livelihoods have been thrown away. Such people need our help, as I know from experience. Will the Prime Minister make them a top priority?

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for what he has said. He speaks movingly about how his family were affected by the situation in Kashmir. The key thing is to consider what long-term help and development assistance we can provide for rebuilding and to look at resilience against future natural disasters. That is something for which the international climate fund can be used.

[Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) (Con)]

Does the Prime Minister agree that the Leader of the Opposition’s cynical approach to his excellent trip to Sri Lanka contrasts starkly with the incredible—

[Mr Tobias Ellwood (Bournemouth East) (Con)]

May I welcome the statement and the taskings of HMS Daring and HMS Illustrious, which are joining the USS George Washington? This situation underlines why we need both new aircraft carriers and to ensure that one is always available. Does the Prime Minister agree that the new aircraft carriers and the new Type 26s must have the ability to assist in upstream engagement, stabilisation and humanitarian tasks, as well as having the high-end war-fighting capabilities?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is right to raise the importance of the aircraft carriers and the capabilities that they will bring. In particular, they will be used as a platform for helicopters, for desalination and for command and control. They will bring a huge amount of capability to tasks like this one.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

Given the generous response of the great British public to the disaster in the Philippines, it is clear that this is international aid that everyone can support. All of us applaud the efforts of our servicemen and women and British charity workers on the ground. Given that we meet our target of 0.7% of gross national income, that we are one of the most generous charitable donors of international aid in the world and that the defence budget is one of the tightest in Whitehall, how is our military spending on such occasions offset against our international aid target?

[The Prime Minister]

I think that we have the right balance. As a country, we spend almost £35 billion on our defence budget. It is the fourth largest defence budget in the world and it still will be at the end of this Parliament. Under this Government, there is much better co-ordination between international development and defence. That is why we have the conflict pool, which brings Whitehall Ministers and money together to work out how the money can best be spent. Sometimes that involves using our defence assets to help countries that are in need.

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

If you will bear with me for a second, Mr Speaker, I was disappointed that the Leader of the Opposition did not welcome the £5.4 billion order that Airbus gained over the weekend. Will my right hon. Friend join me in welcoming the deal and in congratulating the workers of Broughton, who manufacture the wings? It is their expertise and skills that make Airbus such a world-beater.

[The Prime Minister]

That was extraordinarily skilfully done. My hon. Friend is right to stand up for the workers in Broughton, whom I have visited several times. They have incredible skills and produce incredible technology. We should be proud of our contribution to Airbus’s international success and must do everything we can to back it. That is why I went to the Dubai air show, where far more British companies were holding stands and putting forward their wares. We should be full-hearted in supporting such industries.

[Bob Stewart (Beckenham) (Con)]

Did the Prime Minister detect any signs, even small ones, from the Sri Lankan Government that crimes against humanity might have been carried out by their security forces when operating in the north of the island?

[The Prime Minister]

I obviously discussed that issue with President Rajapaksa, as well as the need for an independent inquiry. The Sri Lankan Government’s current position is that they do not believe such an inquiry to be necessary and that they have their own processes and procedures. However, it is fair to say that they recognise that questions are being asked internationally and that they will have to provide some answers. The answer is that we must keep up the pressure.

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

Many people in our country will be proud of our Government for standing up against mass murder and genocide in Syria and Sri Lanka. The Tamils will be comforted by the Prime Minister’s strong visit to the north of Sri Lanka. Will he continue to ensure that the Sri Lankan regime is held accountable? If there is evidence that any member of the Sri Lankan regime has committed war crimes, whether from a Sri Lankan inquiry or a United Nations inquiry, will he look at bringing them to the International Criminal Court for justice?

[The Prime Minister]

Of course, that remains an option, but the most important thing is to get the independent inquiry under way. I would urge colleagues who have not seen some of the evidence in the recent Channel 4 documentary to look at that, because one really can see the need for rapid answers to the allegations made.

[Mr Julian Brazier (Canterbury) (Con)]

I congratulate my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for International Development and for Defence for a model example of a joined-up government response to the horrors in the Philippines. Did my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister have time, in the margins of the conference, to discuss with President Hussain the dialogue that he has managed—singlehandedly more or less—to get going between himself and President Karzai over the vital future of Afghanistan?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for what he says about the joined-up nature of government between the Ministry of Defence, the Foreign Office and the Department for International Development. That joined-up government is now working well, through the National Security Council and things such as the conflict pool, which brings money together for states, particularly those facing instability. We have massively increased the amount of money going into that pool.

I was fortunate to sit next to the Pakistani Prime Minister during one of the sessions and so had a good conversation about the progress we were making with the trilateral approach and the better relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Both countries recognise their mutual interests in peace and prosperity as democratic states living side by side.

[David Rutley (Macclesfield) (Con)]

I welcome today’s statement and the leadership the Prime Minister is showing in the Philippines, as well as the comments from my hon. Friend the Member for Stafford (Jeremy Lefroy). Will the Prime Minister join us in highlighting the important work that Filipino community groups, such as MaccPinoy in Macclesfield, are doing across the country in raising the important funds, clothing and food required by families and friends back in the Philippines?

--- Later in debate ---

[The Prime Minister]

It is important to recognise that there will be many people from the Philippines here in the UK desperately worried about their relatives back home. We should be with them at this time and praising their efforts to raise money and resources for the disaster recovery appeal.

[Dr Thérèse Coffey (Suffolk Coastal) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend confirm that he will continue to stand up for British values abroad and not play opportunist politics while important human rights issues are being discussed? Many of the people affected by those issues are currently living through a nightmare.

[The Prime Minister]

That is important on two counts. First, this is the Commonwealth, a multilateral organisation, and we should be there making our arguments, because if we do not, we will lose important battles over the issues we care about. Secondly, it provided an opportunity to talk about human rights specifically in Sri Lanka and to raise their profile in a way that would not have been possible sitting at home.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

Human Rights Watch has praised my right hon. Friend for honouring his promise and delivering a strong message on human rights abuses and allegations of war crimes while in Sri Lanka. Does he agree that had he listened to the advice of some political leaders and not attended in Sri Lanka, that message would have gone completely unheard and unreported?

[The Prime Minister]

It is notable that Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, which might have had some doubts about my attending, have made it clear that we put forward human rights in a way that Britain can be very proud of.

[Mr Speaker]

I thank the Prime Minister and all 61 Back Benchers who questioned him.

Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service

Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton Excerpts

Friday 8th November 2013 Written Statements

[The Prime Minister (Mr David Cameron)]

This written ministerial statement confirms that the sponsorship role for the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) and responsibility for contact services and activities will transfer from the Department for Education to the Ministry of Justice on 1 April 2014.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton Excerpts

Wednesday 6th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Steve Baker (Wycombe) (Con)]

Q1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 6 November.

[The Prime Minister (Mr David Cameron)]

With Remembrance day coming, I am sure the whole House will join me in remembering those who have given their lives in the service of our country. Perhaps particularly with the President of the Republic of Korea here, we should remember those who fell in that conflict and all those who served, many of whom are now coming to the end of their lives, and we should again pay tribute to the heroic job our armed forces do to keep us safe.

This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others and, in addition to my duties in this House, I shall have further such meetings later today.

[Steve Baker]

I am sure we all wish to associate ourselves with the Prime Minister’s fitting tribute.

Hard-working businessmen facing tough decisions, decent trade unionists and newspapers including the Daily Mirror will have been appalled by the so-called leverage tactics of Unite in the Grangemouth dispute. Will my right hon. Friend take steps to ensure that families, children and homes are protected from a minority of militants?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. This sort of industrial intimidation is completely unacceptable. We have seen “Wanted” posters put through children’s letterboxes, we have seen families intimidated and we have seen people’s neighbours being told that they are evil. What has happened is shocking. It is also shocking that the Labour party is refusing to hold a review and to stand up to Len McCluskey. At this late stage, it should do so.

[Edward Miliband (Doncaster North) (Lab)]

Let me start by joining the Prime Minister in recognising the enduring importance of giving thanks on Remembrance Sunday to all those men and women who have served our country. This is a moment to remember all those who have lost their lives and to think about their families. That is why I know Members from across the House and people across the country are wearing their poppies with pride this week.

Can the Prime Minister guarantee that there will not be an accident and emergency crisis this winter?

[The Prime Minister]

We will do everything we can to make sure that the NHS continues to perform in the excellent way it does today. Let me give the right hon. Gentleman the latest figures: last week was the 27th week in a row that we met our A and E targets. The NHS is treating 1.2 million more people in A and E than it was when he was in office. But I can tell him where there will be a particular problem. There will not be a winter crisis in the NHS in Wales, where Labour is in control, because there is a crisis every day of the week in Wales, where Labour is in control.

[Edward Miliband]

The Prime Minister is simply wrong about the figures. If we look at what is happening in our hospital A and E departments, we see that the target has been missed for 15 consecutive weeks. The whole country will have heard that he cannot guarantee that there will not be a crisis in our A and E departments this winter, and that is because there already is a crisis. That is what the president of the College of Emergency Medicine says. [Interruption.] I know that Government Members do not want to hear about the crisis in A and E departments. He says that

“there are almost daily instances in most A&E departments of patients facing extended trolley waits.”

The Prime Minister said two years ago:

“I refuse to go back to the days when people had to wait for hours on end to be seen in A&E”.

He has broken that promise, has he not?

[The Prime Minister]

As I said, A and E departments in this country are now treating 1.2 million more patients than they were under Labour. Let me give the right hon. Gentleman one simple fact—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. There is simply too much noise on both sides of the Chamber. I appeal to the House, because I get bucket-loads of letters every week from members of the public complaining about it. Cut it out: it is low-grade, down-market and unnecessary.

[The Prime Minister]

Let me give the right hon. Gentleman one simple fact: today in our A and E departments the average waiting time is 50 minutes. When the shadow Health Secretary was sitting on the Government Front Bench the average waiting time was over 70 minutes. Those are the facts. Because this Government did not take the shadow Health Secretary’s advice—[Interruption.] I would not listen to him, because he is the man who refused to apologise for the mess at Stafford. The NHS in our country is getting better under this Government.

[Edward Miliband]

Across the medical profession they are saying that there is a crisis in A and E, but the Prime Minister is saying, “Crisis? What crisis?” How out of touch can he be? In the last year, 1 million people waited more than four hours in A and E. A and E waiting times are up, the number of patients kept waiting on trolleys is up, delayed discharges are up, and ambulance response times are up. Why is that happening? It is because of his top-down reorganisation, which nobody wanted and nobody voted for. Can he tell the House how many NHS managers have received a six-figure redundancy package as a result of his reorganisation?

[The Prime Minister]

What I can tell the right hon. Gentleman is that there are now 20,000 fewer administrative grades in the NHS, 5,500 more doctors in our NHS, 1,000 more midwives in our NHS and 1,000 more health visitors in our NHS. Let me tell him why that is the case: his shadow Health Secretary said that it would be irresponsible to increase spending on the NHS, and we rejected that advice. We rejected Labour. We invested in our NHS. We are proud of our NHS.

[Edward Miliband]

What the shadow Health Secretary did was warn against cutting social care, and that is exactly what the Government did. That is the crisis the Prime Minister has produced. Here is the answer to the question he did not answer: 2,300 managers have received six-figure payoffs—[Interruption.]

[Edward Miliband]

The Prime Minister is giving P45s to nurses and six-figure payoffs to managers. Can he tell us how many of the people who have been let go from the NHS have been fired, paid off and then re-hired?

[The Prime Minister]

First, we are saving £4.5 billion by reducing the number of managers in our NHS. For the first time, anyone re-employed has to pay back part of the money they were given. That never happened under Labour. We do not have to remember Labour’s past record, because we can look at its record in Wales, where it has been running the health service. It cut the budget by 8.5%, it has not met a cancer target since 2008, and it has not met an A and E target since 2009. The fact is that the right hon. Gentleman is too weak to stand up to the poor management of the NHS in Wales, just as he is too weak to sack his shadow Health Secretary.

[Edward Miliband]

And we have a Prime Minister too clueless to know the facts about the NHS. Let us give him the answer, shall we? The answer is that over 2,000 people have been made redundant—[Interruption.] The hon. Gentleman says it is rubbish; it is absolutely true—we have a parliamentary answer from one of the Health Ministers. Two thousand people have been made redundant and re-hired, diverting money from the front line as this Prime Minister sacks nurses. [Interruption.] The Prime Minister seems to be saying it is untrue; well, if he replies he can tell me whether it is untrue. We know why the NHS is failing: his botched reorganisation, the abolition of NHS Direct, cuts to social care, and 6,000 fewer nurses. There is only one person responsible for the A and E crisis, and that is him.

[The Prime Minister]

We have taken 20,000 administrators out of the NHS—and I am not going to take lectures from a Government who saw patients drinking out of—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Members are shouting at the tops of their voices at the Prime Minister, and they must stop doing so.

[The Prime Minister]

Let me give the right hon. Gentleman the facts about the NHS under this Government: mixed-sex accommodation down by 98%, 1.2 million more people treated in A and E, and half a million more in-patients. We are doing all that, and we are not following Labour’s advice, which was to cut the NHS. That is the truth under this Government—the NHS getting better. Labour would have cut it, and Labour never stands up for the NHS.

[Edward Miliband]

What the whole country will have heard today is a Prime Minister complacent about the A and E crisis and clueless about what is actually happening in the NHS. What the British people know is that the NHS is heading into winter with fewer nurses, a lack of senior A and E doctors, and a shortage of beds. He promised he would protect the NHS, but it is now clear that the NHS is not safe in his hands.

[The Prime Minister]

Once again, the right hon. Gentleman is just wrong on the facts. Let me give him a simple fact: there are more A and E consultants working in A and E than there were five years ago. That is why we are meeting our targets in England and that is why Labour is missing its targets in Wales. I am clear that my job is to stand up for the NHS and deliver a stronger NHS—when is he going to understand that his job is to stand up to the bully boys of Unite and show some courage?

[Mr Marcus Jones (Nuneaton) (Con)]

Q2. Over the past week we have heard about the Unite union’s attempts and strategy to disrupt business supply chains. Given the Government’s push for inward investment, what signal does the Prime Minister think Unite’s action sends around the world to businesses looking to invest in Britain?

[The Prime Minister]

This sort of industrial intimidation is bad for Britain, and it very nearly cut off petrol supplies to a large part of our United Kingdom. Every week the Leader of the Opposition comes here calling for an inquiry into this, an inquiry into that—he never stops calling for public inquiries, but he has not got the guts to hold one of his own into Unite.

[Angus Robertson (Moray) (SNP)]

People watching these exchanges today will be struck that when nearly 1,800 people have learned that they are to lose their jobs, neither the Leader of the Opposition nor the Prime Minister has seen fit to raise it thus far. I hope that the Prime Minister’s thoughts are with the families of people who are set to lose their jobs. Will he confirm that he agrees with the BAE statement that Glasgow is the best place to build frigates?

[The Prime Minister]

I do think this is a vitally important issue, and that is why the Defence Secretary will be making a statement right after Prime Minister’s questions. These are extremely difficult decisions, and our first thoughts should be with all those who are affected. Frankly, I was surprised that the Leader of the Opposition did not choose to raise this vitally important issue.

Let us be clear about what we need to do here. We want our Royal Navy to have the best and most modern ships and the best technology, and that means we will go on building warships on the Clyde. We will be announcing three new offshore patrol vessels, keeping that yard busy rather than paying it to remain idle, as the previous Government proposed. In Portsmouth, yes, there will be job reductions, but there are many more people involved in ship servicing than in shipbuilding, so the work force will go from 12,000 to 11,000. But no one should be in any doubt of two things. Under this Government, we will have aircraft carriers, Type 45 destroyers, the new frigates, and the hunter-killer submarines; and there is something else they should know: if there was an independent Scotland we would not have any warships at all.

[Mr Graham Brady (Altrincham and Sale West) (Con)]

Q3. As we approach Remembrance Sunday and the centenary of the first world war, will the Prime Minister join me in commending the work of the Victoria Cross Trust? Will he consider how the Government might assist the trust in its important task of restoring and maintaining the graves of some of the nation’s bravest soldiers, sailors and aircrew?

[The Prime Minister]

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for his support for the Victoria Cross Trust and the hard work that he has done. I welcome any initiative that commemorates those who have given their lives in the defence of our country. Many Victoria Cross holders’ graves fall under the protection of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. We will continue to work with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the Victoria Cross Trust to do everything possible to ensure that those people are remembered properly.

[Heidi Alexander (Lewisham East) (Lab)]

Page 47 of the Tory party manifesto says:

“We will stop the forced closure of A&E and maternity wards, so that people have better access to local services”.

How is that going, Prime Minister?

[The Prime Minister]

There are no changes to services unless they are supported by local GPs. That is completely different from what happened under Labour, when there were top-down closures of hospitals. That is not happening under this Government.

[Damian Collins (Folkestone and Hythe) (Con)]

Q4. According to Unite, it is“increasingly recognised that…bullying, harassment and violence are a major problem throughout industry.”Does the Prime Minister agree that the authorities should always investigate allegations of harassment against employees and their families, including when the allegations involve the members of a trade union?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The allegations of industrial intimidation are serious and need to be looked at properly. Because the Labour party is ducking its responsibilities, we will have to consider what we can do to look at the matter. The leader of the Labour party is behaving like the mayor of a Sicilian town towards the Mafia: “They put me in and I don’t want them to take me out.”

[Jim McGovern (Dundee West) (Lab)]

Q5. Last month, I asked a question about zero-hours contracts. I think most hon. Members would agree that the response that I received was a fudge about the determination of employers and employees. I will put it plainly and simply to the Prime Minister: how many people in this Palace and in the Government buildings are employed on zero-hours contracts?

[The Prime Minister]

I do not have those figures to hand. What I can tell the hon. Gentleman is that we are having a review of zero-hours contracts. We are looking particularly at people on zero-hours contracts who are forbidden from working for other employers. This Government will look at the matter. The last Government, who saw zero-hours contracts go through the roof, did absolutely nothing about it.

[Mark Reckless (Rochester and Strood) (Con)]

Q6. The Prime Minister and his Chancellor closed the gaping loophole left by the last Government that allowed the rich to avoid stamp duty. Is it not time to close the other disgraceful loophole that they left, which allows overseas residents to buy up the best housing in London without paying capital gains tax?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. The stamp duty change that we made is vital in ensuring that foreign buyers pay stamp duty in London. That needed to happen. [Interruption.] The shadow Chancellor, who was the City Minister when all these things went wrong, is shouting his head off as usual. It is this Government who have insisted that people pay the taxes that are due.

[Paul Goggins (Wythenshawe and Sale East) (Lab)]

Q7. The Prime Minister is right to extend supervision to prisoners with short sentences and to look for new ways to reduce reoffending, but he must be aware of the growing concern that his Government’s plans will fatally undermine the probation service. Now that a criminal investigation has been opened into G4S and Serco, will he sit down with his Justice Secretary, reconsider the options and at least trial the payment-by-results proposal to see whether it works?

[The Prime Minister]

The right hon. Gentleman has huge experience in this area. I welcome what he says about the importance of ensuring that there is probation support for people as they leave prison, which will happen under the plans that we are putting in place. I think that payment by results can make a big difference in reducing reoffending. The cruel fact is that half of all prisoners are back in prison within two years. It is time to try a different approach and that is what the Lord Chancellor is doing.

[Chris Kelly (Dudley South) (Con)]

Q8. Manufacturing business Petford Tools in my constituency accessed the regional growth fund earlier this year, creating 23 jobs as a result. Will my right hon. Friend join me in congratulating managing director Melvin Sinar and major customers Jaguar Land Rover, Bentley and JCB on that success, and consider visiting the company with me on his next visit to the black country?

[The Prime Minister]

I would be delighted to make that visit with my hon. Friend. I have made visits with him in the past to look at what is happening in the black country in terms of greater job opportunities. That is part of the picture of a country where there are 1.4 million more people in private sector employment. In spite of the predictions that we would lose jobs, 1 million more people are in work in Britain today.

[Mr Pat McFadden (Wolverhampton South East) (Lab)]

It is the first duty of any Government to protect the public. Since the Prime Minister decided deliberately to downgrade the country’s anti-terror laws, two suspects have used their Government-granted freedom to escape, the latest one clad in a burqa. Will the Prime Minister admit that that decision was a hugely irresponsible mistake, and in particular will he revisit the sunset clause that will lift the remaining regime on the remaining suspects in January?

[The Prime Minister]

I do not accept what the right hon. Gentleman says. The facts are these: under the control order regime, seven people absconded under control orders. Control orders were being endlessly hacked away at by the courts, so we needed to put a new system in place—a system that has the confidence of the police and the security services. Of course we will look at every single thing we can do to make sure the system is as good and robust as it can be, but we in this House should be frank that we are dealing with people who we are not able to charge and lock up, many of whom we would like to throw out of our country but currently cannot. We have to have some sort of regime like this, but we will do everything we can to make it as robust as possible.

[David Morris (Morecambe and Lunesdale) (Con)]

Q9. Will my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister join me in congratulating DST Engineering in Morecambe? It exports and fabricates metal products throughout the world and has contributed to the 15% drop in youth unemployment in my constituency. Overall, unemployment has fallen by 10% in the past three months alone. Is that not in stark contrast to the gloomy economic predictions of the Labour party, and will my right hon. Friend visit DST Engineering with me?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend does an excellent job standing up for the people of Morecambe, and across the north-west private sector employment is up by 45,000 since 2010. The number of people claiming jobseeker’s allowance is down by 29,000. He is right that the Labour party predicted we would lose 1 million jobs, but the answer is the complete opposite. There are 1 million more people working in our country, and it is about time Labour apologised for prediction after prediction being wrong.

[Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

Q10. Last month, Tory councillor Abdul Aziz was at an invite-only party at No. 10. Councillor Aziz is subject to an arrest warrant in Pakistan in connection with a brutal murder. After shaking this man’s hand and having photos taken at No. 10 with this gentleman, would the Prime Minister now like to say that he thinks he should return to Pakistan and face justice?

[The Prime Minister]

I am looking carefully into this case and I will write to the hon. Gentleman.

[Sir Peter Tapsell (Louth and Horncastle) (Con)]

May I ask the Prime Minister whether he is of the opinion that the intelligence services of some countries may be dangerously out of political control? Is he confident that he is kept fully informed of all sensitive external initiatives taken by our services?

[The Prime Minister]

I do not want to break the rule of not commenting on intelligence issues, but to answer my right hon. Friend’s question as directly as I can, I have looked very carefully at the governance that we have in the UK for our intelligence services, the work of the Intelligence Services Commissioner and the Intelligence and Security Committee, and the oversight, particularly by the Home Secretary and the Foreign Secretary. I think we have a good system in our country, and to answer my right hon. Friend’s question, yes, I am fully involved in these decisions.

[Angela Smith (Penistone and Stocksbridge) (Lab)]

Q11. Two years ago, the Prime Minister rightly agreed that extra resources should be made available to assist in the search for Madeleine McCann and yet, only months later, he turned down a similar request from Kerry Needham, my constituent, whose son Ben is still missing after 22 years. Will the Prime Minister please think again and respond positively to my recent letter to him by making extra resources available to help a desperate mother to search for her son?

[The Prime Minister]

This is an absolutely heartbreaking case—the whole country has followed it over the years. I will look carefully at the letter the hon. Lady has written to me. Obviously, it is important that the police make such decisions themselves. Governments should always stand by to help, which is what happened in the Madeleine McCann case, but I will look at what the hon. Lady says and see what I can do.

[Mr Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South) (Ind)]

Will the Prime Minister elaborate on his earlier statement on what the Government will put in play in terms of mediation and mitigation of the dreadful effects of the 940 core jobs at BAE in the dockyard in Portsmouth, and the many thousands of jobs in its supply chain, that are going? I should be grateful if he would expand on that fairly rapidly.

[The Prime Minister]

I will expand a little but leave the Defence Secretary to give a detailed answer. As I have said, what is happening in Portsmouth is this: the current work force of 12,000 in defence-related and shipbuilding activities will go down to 11,000. The Ministry of Defence will invest £100 million in Portsmouth in vital ship-servicing work. As the hon. Gentleman knows, many more people have been involved in ship servicing than in shipbuilding. Of course, some of the largest and best-equipped warships we have ever had in our country will be based and hosted at Portsmouth—the two aircraft carriers and the Type 45 destroyers in particular—which will mean a lot of work for Portsmouth and for our naval base there for many, many years to come.

[John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)]

Q12. Many women face discrimination at work when they become pregnant, so how will charging them £1,200 to go to an industrial tribunal help them? Before the Prime Minister has another attack of the Lyntons and starts talking about all the dreadful trade unionists on the Opposition side of the House, I should like to make it clear that I am a trade unionist and damn proud of it.

[The Prime Minister]

Millions of people in our country can be very proud of being trade unionists. The problem is that they are led so badly by bully-boys—[Interruption.] They are led so badly by people who seem to condone intimidating families, intimidating witnesses and intimidating the Leader of the Opposition. That is what we have come to with Unite. They pick the candidates, choose the policy, pick the leader and bully him till they get what they want.

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Actually, I think the question was about tribunals, if memory serves.—[Interruption.] No it is a good idea to remember the essence of the question that was put.

[Charlotte Leslie (Bristol North West) (Con)]

Q13. Judicial reviews can be valuable in enabling communities to have their say, but what steps is the Prime Minister taking to prevent what is happening in Bristol, where a small, unrepresentative group is using judicial review, costing the local taxpayer thousands of pounds, to prevent the building of a badly needed stadium for Bristol Rovers football club, which Bristolians badly want, and which would bring game-changing benefits to our city?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend has been campaigning very hard and relentlessly to provide Bristol Rovers with the ground they need. I commend her for that. Obviously, there has been an issue with judicial reviews. Judicial reviews play a role in holding the Government to account, but I share her frustration that judicial review has become something of an industry. We need to fix that and have taken a series of steps to try to do so.

[Several hon. Members]

rose—

[Mr David Winnick (Walsall North) (Lab)]

Q14. One of the domestic objectives of the second world war was to bring about a fairer society in Britain. Is the Prime Minister aware how wrong it is for him and the Chancellor, who have never had any form of financial insecurity, to pursue policies that hit the most hard-pressed and most vulnerable—the millions of people in our society, many of whom are on low pay, who find it difficult to feed and clothe their children? What is happening is totally unacceptable, and I find it contemptible.

[The Prime Minister]

What I would say to the hon. Gentleman is that we have taken 2.4 million of the poorest people in our country out of income tax altogether. The figures simply do not fit with the story he is trying to tell. Inequality is at its lowest level since 1986—fact. The pupil premium is directing more money to the poorest children in our schools—fact. Applications from disadvantaged children to universities have gone up, not down—fact. There are fewer workless households—[Interruption.] I am keen to answer the question, and it is a very direct answer. Workless households down by 425,000, payday lending regulated properly for the first time and, yes, a proper consultation on zero-hours contracts—those are the actions that we are taking to build a fairer country and instead of complaining about them, the hon. Gentleman should be backing them.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

On 3 September I wrote to the prisons Minister requesting a meeting to discuss the future of HMP Wellingborough. I received no response to that request. This week, I received a letter from the prisons Minister saying that the site of Wellingborough prison was to be sold. I do not understand that, as Wellingborough prison was the third cheapest in the country to run. Would the Prime Minister meet me and concerned constituents to discuss the matter?

[The Prime Minister]

What I will do is arrange very quickly for my hon. Friend to have that meeting with the prisons Minister that he asked for, so that he can discuss the future of the prison estate. It is important that we modernise it and make sure that we get good value for money for the people whom we keep in prison, and for the taxpayer.

[Mrs Sharon Hodgson (Washington and Sunderland West) (Lab)]

The Prime Minister has just been boasting again about 1 million extra jobs. Can he therefore explain why in my constituency the number of people unemployed for more than two years has risen by 350% in the last year alone? It is now the worst figure in the country. Nine of the 10 worst constituencies on this measure are in the north-east, including all three Sunderland seats. Is that because they are the same old Tories, who do not care about the north-east?

[The Prime Minister]

We are seeing across our country, including in every region, more job opportunities, more people involved in our private sector and the claimant count coming down. In the north-east, for example, we have the new Hitachi factory, which will make a real difference, and the expansion of Nissan, which is doing extremely well. But I totally accept that we need to do more to keep our economy growing, to keep people employed and to grow the number of jobs. I am certain about one thing: we will not do that if we put up borrowing or taxes. The fact is that today Labour is the greatest risk to our recovery.

[Sir Robert Smith (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD)]

Can the Prime Minister confirm that in the review of levies on energy bills the fairness of the funding process will be the priority, and that the Government still support vital measures to insulate people’s homes to ensure that the fuel-poor can keep their houses warmer in winter?

[The Prime Minister]

Of course we want to see insulation programmes and of course we want to help people, especially vulnerable households, to keep their bills down. But we should be looking at every subsidy and every levy and ensuring that it is value for money and that it is not in place for a moment longer than it is needed.

[Alison McGovern (Wirral South) (Lab)]

The Chancellor of the Exchequer would not answer this question yesterday, so let me give the Prime Minister a try. How many of the so-called new private sector jobs that he crows about are people on zero-hours contracts?

[The Prime Minister]

I do not have the figure for that, but the fact is that there are more people at work in our economy than ever before, two thirds of those jobs have been full-time jobs, and while we are on the subject of pay, perhaps it is a good moment to recognise that Labour-controlled Doncaster does not pay the living wage, whereas Conservative-controlled London does.

[Peter Luff (Mid Worcestershire) (Con)]

On a difficult day for UK shipbuilding, is it not more important than ever to tell our young people that modern engineering offers varied and rewarding careers, and that we urgently need many more engineering apprentices and graduates—the message both of this week’s “tomorrow’s engineers” week, and of Monday’s report from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills chief scientist, Professor John Perkins?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is right about that, and he has campaigned long and hard to encourage respect for engineering and for more young people to study engineering. We are seeing a growth in the number of young people studying engineering, but it is true that there are still engineering jobs on the skills shortage list of the Migration Advisory Committee. That is a rebuke to our country, and we need to get more young people studying maths and science at school and more people studying engineering at our universities.

[Susan Elan Jones (Clwyd South) (Lab)]

Last year, bankers’ bonuses grew 91% faster than wages for ordinary working people, despite the Prime Minister’s assurances that this would not happen. Will the Prime Minister tell us: is he unwilling to act or just a bit useless at being Prime Minister?

[The Prime Minister]

The point the hon. Lady should bear in mind is that bonuses were 85% higher when the shadow Chancellor was sitting in the Treasury. It is this Government who are making sure that people—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I want to hear the Prime Minister’s answer, and so does the House.

[The Prime Minister]

In fact, we inherited a situation where cleaners were paying higher tax rates than the hedge fund managers they were working for. If the hon. Lady wants to see someone who is useless, she should look at her own Front Bench.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton Excerpts

Wednesday 30th October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Sheryll Murray (South East Cornwall) (Con)]

Q1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 30 October.

[The Prime Minister (Mr David Cameron)]

This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall have further such meetings later today.

[Sheryll Murray]

Under this Government, there are more than 1 million new jobs. That has happened with the help of companies such as Lantoom Quarry in South East Cornwall, which is investing in and training young people. We were told that the Government had a programme that would clearly lead to the disappearance of a million jobs. Is it not time for the Opposition, who said that, to admit that they were wrong and to apologise?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The British economy is on the mend. We see unemployment coming down and the number of people in work going up, and our growth rate is now forecast to be almost three times as fast as the German growth rate. The Labour party and the Leader of the Opposition told us that we would lose a million jobs, but the Leader of the Opposition was absolutely wrong, and it is time that he got to his feet and told us that he was wrong.

[Edward Miliband (Doncaster North) (Lab)]

Having listened to the Select Committee hearing yesterday, will the Prime Minister tell us what is the difference between his—[Interruption.]

[Edward Miliband]

Having listened to the Select Committee hearing yesterday, can the Prime Minister tell us what is the difference between his policy on energy and that of the energy companies?

[The Prime Minister]

Not a word of apology for predicting that a million jobs would be lost! The Opposition got it wrong, and they cannot bear to admit it. [Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The questions must be heard and the answers must be heard, however long it takes. Some people need to get used to the fact that that is what the public would like to see from the House of Commons.

[The Prime Minister]

What we need in the energy market is more competition and lower levies and charges to drive profits and prices down, but what we have learnt in the last week is this: competition should include switching. At the Dispatch Box, the right hon. Gentleman said:

“I will tell the Prime Minister what is a con: telling people…that the answer was to switch suppliers”.—[Official Report, 23 October 2013; Vol. 569, c. 295.]

However, what have we found out over the last few days? The right hon. Gentleman switched his supplier. Yes—he went for one of these insurgent companies to cut his bills. Is it not typical? The right hon. Gentleman comes here every week and attacks Tory policy; then he goes home and adopts Tory policy to help his own family.

[Edward Miliband]

The only thing that people need to do if they want someone to stand up against the energy companies is to switch the Prime Minister, and that is what they know.

Perhaps, as the unofficial spokesman for the energy companies, the Prime Minister can answer the question that they could not answer yesterday. Can he explain why, although wholesale prices have hardly moved since a year ago, retail prices are rising by about 10%?

[The Prime Minister]

Because we need both competition and rolling back the costs of charges. Switching is part of competition and the company the right hon. Gentleman switched to has this to say about his energy freeze. Let us listen to the people providing his energy:

“A policy like this is potentially…problematic for an independent provider…bluntly, it could put me under.”

That is the right hon. Gentleman’s policy: not listening to the people providing his energy, but having less choice, less competition, higher prices. It is the same old Labour.

[Edward Miliband]

The right hon. Gentleman had no answer to the question, and I will explain something quite simple to him: most energy companies do not want a price freeze and most consumers do. That is why the energy companies are against a price freeze. He is so on the side of the energy companies that we should call them the big seven: the Prime Minister and the big six energy companies. In Opposition, he said there was a problem in the relationship between wholesale and retail prices, and he went on to say, “The first thing you’ve got to do is give the regulator the teeth to order that those reductions are made and that is what we would do.” Why when it comes to the energy companies has he gone from Rambo to Bambi in four short years?

[The Prime Minister]

Who was it who gave us the big six? [Interruption.] Yes, when Labour first looked at this there were almost 20 companies, but, because of the right hon. Gentleman’s stewardship, we ended up with six players. The Opposition talk about a price freeze but down the Corridor they have been voting for a price rise. That is right: they voted for a decarbonisation target that everyone accepts would raise prices. If he wants a price freeze, why has he just voted for a price rise?

[Edward Miliband]

It is just so hard to keep up with this Prime Minister on green levies. This is what he was saying in January: believe it or not, he was boasting about the size of his green levies. He said—I kid you not: “ECO was many times the size of the scheme it replaced.” So when it comes to green, as short a time ago as January he was saying the bigger the better, and now he says the opposite. Here is the problem: on competition—[Interruption.] Here is the problem: he wants a review of energy policy, but that is exactly what the energy companies want—a long inquiry, kicking the problem into the long grass. How will a review that reports next summer help people pay their bills this winter?

[The Prime Minister]

We want a competition inquiry that starts straight away: that is our policy. On the point about voting for a price rise, the right hon. Gentleman has to answer, because this is what the former Labour energy spokesman Lord Donoughue said in the House of Lords. The right hon. Gentleman should listen to this because Lord Donoughue was their energy spokesman:

“I have never spoken against a Labour amendment in my 28 years in this House, but…I am troubled by the consequence…for ordinary people…The amendment will…raise the cost of living and is in conflict with a future price freeze.”—[Official Report, House of Lords, 28 October 2013; Vol. 748, c. 1357-1359.]

That is it from Labour’s own policy spokesman in the past in the Lords. The fact is that the whole country can see that the right hon. Gentleman is a one-trick pony and he has run out of road.

[Edward Miliband]

If the right hon. Gentleman wants to talk about what people are saying—[Interruption.] If he wants to talk about—[Interruption.]

[Edward Miliband]

If the right hon. Gentleman wants to talk about what people are saying, his own former Tory Environment Secretary, the man he put in charge of the Climate Change Committee, says his figures are false. That is what he says. Instead of having a review, the right hon. Gentleman has an opportunity to do something for the public next week. He has an Energy Bill going through Parliament. Instead of sitting on his hands, he could amend that Bill to institute a price freeze now. We will support a price freeze: why does he not act?

[The Prime Minister]

Because it is not a price freeze—it is a price con. The fact is that the right hon. Gentleman is hiding behind this economically illiterate policy because he cannot talk about the economy, because it is growing; he cannot talk about unemployment, because it is falling; and he cannot talk about the deficit, because it has come down. He has got nothing else to say. He is just a weak leader with no ideas.

[Edward Miliband]

I will tell you who is weak—it is this Prime Minister. He is too weak to stand up to the energy companies. Nothing less than a price freeze will do, because that is the only way we can deal with the energy companies overcharging. It is time he started acting like a Prime Minister and standing up for consumers, and stopped acting like a PR man for the energy companies.

[The Prime Minister]

I will tell you what is weak: being too weak to stand up and admit to economic failures; being too weak to stand up to Len McCluskey, who tried to wreck Scotland’s petrochemical industry; and being too weak to stand up to the shadow Chancellor on HS2—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Mr Gwynne, recover your composure man. You are wholly out of control.

[The Prime Minister]

Let us just examine what has happened on HS2 this week: the shadow Chancellor has been touring the radio studios, telling everyone it will not go ahead; and Labour local authority leaders have been begging the Leader of the Opposition to stand up for this infrastructure scheme. And what has he done? He has cowered in his office, too weak to make a decision. To put it another way: Britain deserves better than that lot.

[Michael Ellis (Northampton North) (Con)]

Q2. Last year, businesses created three times as many jobs in the private sector as were lost in the public sector. So is it not high time that those who made duff mystic predictions that we would not be able to create as many private jobs as were lost in the public sector admit that they got it wrong?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to say that the Opposition should admit they got it wrong. Let us just remember what the Leader of the Opposition said as late as March 2012. He said that we were not going to be able to replace the jobs in the public sector quickly enough with jobs in the private sector. The fact is that we have now got 1 million more people employed in our country—1.4 million private sector jobs—but the Opposition are too weak to admit that they got it wrong.

[Gavin Shuker (Luton South) (Lab/Co-op)]

Q3. Does the Prime Minister believe that the accident and emergency crisis in the NHS has anything to do with the fact that he has cut 6,000 nurses since coming to power?

[The Prime Minister]

What we see in the NHS is 23,000 fewer non-clinical grades—bureaucrats and managers taken out of the NHS—and 4,000 more clinical staff, including over 5,000 more doctors in our NHS. That is the change we have seen. Just imagine if we had listened to Labour and cut the NHS budget. We believe in the NHS and we have invested in it.

[Caroline Nokes (Romsey and Southampton North) (Con)]

Q4. Hampshire chamber of commerce reports, in the last quarterly economic survey, real business optimism, with a rise in the number of local firms employing more staff, an increase in UK orders and a 10% increase in sales. Does my right hon. Friend agree that that is evidence that the Government’s economic plan is working and that the Labour party got it wrong?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is right; we had to take tough decisions, but growth is there, unemployment is falling, the number of people in work is rising and we have 400,000 more businesses in this country. If we had listened to the shadow Chancellor, who said that we were in for a “lost decade” of growth, we would have higher debts and higher interest rates—it would be the same old outcome under the same old Labour.

[Yvonne Fovargue (Makerfield) (Lab)]

Q5. In a recent uSwitch survey, 75% of people said that they switched their heating off on one or more occasions last winter. Does the Prime Minister expect that number to go up or down this winter due to his inability to stand up to the energy companies?

[The Prime Minister]

Fuel poverty went up under Labour. This Government have maintained the winter fuel payments; we have increased the cold weather payments; and we have increased the benefits that the poorest families get in our country. That is the action that we have taken, and we can afford to do that only because we have taken tough and sensible decisions on the economy.

[Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (Con)]

A few days ago, I launched the business case for the electrification of the Harrogate and Knaresborough rail line, which will mean more trains, faster services and better rolling stock. As the previous Government electrified just 9 miles in 13 years, will my right hon. Friend continue to prioritise rail electrification?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes a very good point. The previous Government did just 9 miles of electrification in 13 years, an absolutely pathetic record, whereas we are putting £1 billion into modernising railways in the north of England. Let us look again at HS2: we all know we need cross-party agreement to make that important infrastructure scheme go ahead. What a pathetic spectacle we have seen this week. One minute the Opposition are for it, then they are against it, and the Leader of the Opposition is too weak to make a decision.

[Stephen Doughty (Cardiff South and Penarth) (Lab/Co-op)]

Q6. I have come across a very interesting interview given by the Prime Minister to The Times, during which he had to stop off at his constituency office as, in his words, he needed “to turn the heating on just so it’s a bit nicer when I get back this afternoon”.How many of my constituents does he think will be able to afford such niceties as we approach this winter?

[The Prime Minister]

What the hon. Gentleman’s constituents will understand is that Labour’s price freeze is a price con. Prices would go up beforehand, prices would go up afterwards and as the Leader of the Opposition himself has admitted, Labour would not be able to keep its promise because it does not control gas prices. That is why everyone knows that it is a con.

[Simon Hart (Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire) (Con)]

Q7. My 20-year-old constituent Liam Burgess, from Llansteffan in Carmarthen, left school involuntarily at 16 and was told that the only choice ahead of him was in which prison he might end up. Four years later, he runs and owns one of Wales’s best chocolate brands, nomnom. Does the Prime Minister agree that the record number of new business start-ups and the positive economic signs are as much down to people such as Liam Burgess as they are to the excellent work of the Chancellor?

[The Prime Minister]

I certainly join my hon. Friend in paying tribute to his constituent for how he has turned his life around and is contributing to our economy. We see 400,000 more businesses up and running in our country—[Interruption.] Of course Labour Members do not want to hear about success stories. They do not care about enterprise; they do not care about small businesses. It is this enterprise and this small business that are turning our country around.

[Emily Thornberry (Islington South and Finsbury) (Lab)]

Q8. A new flat has just been launched in my constituency, which has been built partly as a result of public money under the Government’s affordable housing scheme, known as Share to Buy. It is a two-bedroom flat in Pear Tree court and it costs £720,000. Does the Prime Minister believe that to be affordable and, if so, to whom?

[The Prime Minister]

We need to build more houses in our country and that is why we are reforming the planning system, which Labour opposed, why we have introduced Help to Buy, which Labour opposed, and why we have put extra money into affordable housing, which Labour opposed. Labour is now the “build absolutely nothing anywhere” party and as a result housing will become less affordable.

[Paul Uppal (Wolverhampton South West) (Con)]

Over the past few decades, hundreds of millions of people have been lifted out of poverty in India and China. As those people have increased their living standards, their energy demands have increased, too. Does my right hon. Friend agree that if we are to have sustainable, long-term and cheap energy, the innovative deal that the Chancellor heralded a few weeks ago through the Chinese initiative is crucial and much better than short-term political gimmicks?

[The Prime Minister]

That was an important step forward in encouraging inward investment into our country to help fund our nuclear programme. That means that we will have dependable supplies of low-carbon electricity long into the future. People might oppose foreign investment—it sounds now like the Labour party opposes foreign investment and with all the flip-flops the Opposition have done this week, I would not be at all surprised if they did not start to oppose nuclear energy, too—but getting that foreign investment means that we can use our firepower to build hospitals, to build schools, to build roads and railways and modernise our country.

[Katy Clark (North Ayrshire and Arran) (Lab)]

Q9. Does the Prime Minister believe that Royal Mail was undervalued?

[The Prime Minister]

Considering that Royal Mail in the past was losing billions of pounds, the whole country is far better off with Royal Mail in the private sector. I just talked about flip-flops and here is another from the Labour party. Who said that we needed to privatise Royal Mail in the first place? Anyone? Where is Peter Mandelson when you need him? Labour said that we needed private capital—I agree; they said we needed private management—I agree. It has taken this Government to deliver the policy.

[Mr Robin Walker (Worcester) (Con)]

With 1.5 million jobs created by business and 400,000 new businesses, last month’s figures in Worcestershire showed the biggest monthly fall in unemployment on record. Unemployment is now down more than 30% since its peak under Labour. Does the Prime Minister agree that by backing business and supporting businesses to grow, we can undo Labour’s legacy of unemployment?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Whoever was in government right now would have to make difficult reductions in the public sector, and obviously that leads to the reduction of some public sector jobs, so we need a strong private sector recovery. That is what we have seen—1.4 million more jobs in the private sector, meaning that overall there are 1 million more people employed in our country. That is 1 million reasons to stick to our plan and reject the medicine suggested by the Opposition.

[Jim Sheridan (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (Lab)]

Q10. Current legislation to protect agency workers was designed to stop the exploitation of migrant workers and also to protect the wages and conditions of our indigenous workers. I know that the Prime Minister has been lobbied on this issue, but can he reassure the House that he will resist any temptation to dilute even further the protection for agency workers?

[The Prime Minister]

What I want to see are more jobs in this country, and that means making sure we keep our flexible work force. What the hon. Gentleman did not tell us, of course, is that he chairs the Unite group of Labour MPs. Perhaps he ought to declare that when he stands up. While he is at it, perhaps he could have a word with Mr McCluskey and say that we need a proper inquiry into what happened in Unite and a proper inquiry into what happened in Grangemouth, because we all know that the leader of the Labour party is too weak to do it himself.

[Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)]

Q11. The economy has grown 1.5% in the past six months, during which time in the Chippenham constituency the number of jobseekers has fallen by a fifth. Raising living standards requires greater productivity from a work force who are highly skilled, but in Chippenham hopes were dashed five years ago when the national college building programme ran out of money. Will the Prime Minister join me in backing Wiltshire college’s bid to the Skills Funding Agency to rebuild our Chippenham campus to make it fit for local students to gain the skills that employers demand?

[The Prime Minister]

I very much agree with what my hon. Friend says. We all remember the huge disappointment when Labour’s planned investment in so many of our colleges collapsed. I saw exactly the same thing at Abingdon and Witney college, and it is this Government who are now putting the money in to see that expansion and improvement and to put quality colleges in place. I am sure that that can happen in Wiltshire as well as in Witney.

[Mr Peter Hain (Neath) (Lab)]

Since two thirds of the green levies on people’s energy bills were established under this Government, why has the Prime Minister been attacking himself?

[The Prime Minister]

The right hon. Gentleman is wrong. [Interruption.] The fact is that many of the green levies were put in place by Labour. Let me remind him that one of the first acts of this Government was with the £179 renewable heat initiative, which the leader of the Labour party wanted to put on the bill of every single person in the country—and we took it off the bill.

[Heather Wheeler (South Derbyshire) (Con)]

Q12. Will the Prime Minister join me in congratulating the work force at Toyota in my constituency, as well as manufacturers across the country, whose hard work has ensured that car production went up by 10% in the past year?

[The Prime Minister]

I certainly join my hon. Friend. I remember my own visit to Burnaston in Derby—[Interruption.] Again, Opposition Members do not want to hear good news about manufacturing. They do not want to hear good news about our car industry. The fact is that this country is now a net exporter of cars again and we should be congratulating the work force at Toyota. We should be congratulating the work force at Jaguar Land Rover. We should be praising what they are doing at Nissan. These companies are leading a re-industrialisation of our country. I was at the Cowley works on Monday, where the Mini, which is doing brilliantly, is leading to more jobs, more apprenticeships, more employment, more skills—all things that we welcome under this Government.

[Natascha Engel (North East Derbyshire) (Lab)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker, for launching our report on electoral conduct yesterday, which found some shocking examples of racism and discrimination during election campaigns. Will the Prime Minister back our call to get political parties, the Electoral Commission and the Equality and Human Rights Commission to work more pro-actively now in areas of tension so that the next general election can be a battle of ideas, not race hate and discrimination?

[The Prime Minister]

I very much welcome what the hon. Lady says and the report of the all-party parliamentary inquiry into electoral conduct, which I will study closely. If there is anything we can do on a cross-party basis to ensure that we keep that sort of disgusting racism out of politics, we should certainly do it.

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

Q13. Thanks to the Government’s regional growth fund, £8.8 million is being spent reopening the Todmorden curve rail link, which will cut travel times between Burnley and Manchester in half. However, better rail connections to the south of England are also vital. Does the Prime Minister agree that it is absolutely outrageous for the Labour party to be challenging HS2 at the present time, putting in jeopardy jobs and investment in the north of England?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to stand up for his constituents and for the north of England, because there is a real danger with Labour’s antics that it is letting down the north of England and the midlands. Let me remind the shadow Chancellor what he said about these transport investments:

“Nowhere is…consensus more essential than on our national infrastructure…successive governments…have ducked or delayed vital decisions on our national infrastructure, allowing short-term politics to”

get in the way. By his own words, he is found guilty of short-termism and petty politicking, rather than looking after the national interest.

[Mrs Siân C. James (Swansea East) (Lab)]

I am surprised that the Prime Minister, along with the Justice Secretary, is prepared is gamble on his proposals for the probation service, especially given that the early tests and trials have been called to a halt. Is he prepared to gamble with the lives and daily safety of my constituents and others in this country, and will his gambling luck hold out?

[The Prime Minister]

What we want is a probation service that is much more focused on getting results on stopping reoffending and making sure that we give people rehabilitation services from the moment they leave prison, which does not happen today.

It is interesting that at 26 minutes past 12 we have not heard one question from Labour Members on the economy. They have nothing to say and nothing to offer. They are embarrassed that prediction after prediction was completely wrong.

[Mr Lee Scott (Ilford North) (Con)]

rose—[Interruption.]

[Mr Scott]

Q14. Like my right hon. Friend, I welcome the fall in unemployment, which is down to 3.7 % in my constituency, but does he recognise, as I do, that one of the biggest problems is getting young people with special needs, particularly autism and Asperger’s, into work, and will he congratulate the London borough of Redbridge and the Interface parents group, where the project I initiated has now started and the first young people with special needs are in work?

[The Prime Minister]

I know of my hon. Friend’s close attention to this issue and his deep care about it. I certainly pay tribute to Redbridge and all those who help children with special needs. Through our reform of special needs, we have tried to focus the help on those who need it most to ensure that they get the help they need.

[Lucy Powell (Manchester Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

I have a question on the economy for the Prime Minister. Does he agree with his own advisers that the Government’s Youth Contract is failing to tackle

“the appallingly high levels of youth unemployment”?

[The Prime Minister]

What we have seen with the Youth Contract is thousands of young people getting work through our work experience scheme. It has been more successful than the future jobs fund but has cost six times less. Through the Youth Contract we have also seen more than 20,000 young people get work opportunities. That is why we see the youth claimant count coming down so rapidly in our country. There is still far more to do to get young people into work, but the fact that we have backed more than 1.5 million apprenticeships is a sign of how much we care about getting young people into work.

[Dr Julian Huppert (Cambridge) (LD)]

Q15. Does the Prime Minister agree with President Obama that additional constraints on how we gather and use intelligence are needed and that we need to weigh the risks and rewards of our activities more effectively? Will he follow the President’s lead?

[The Prime Minister]

What I have said in the House and will repeat again is that obviously we will always listen to what other countries have to say about these issues, but I believe that in Britain we have a good way of having intelligence and security services, having them overseen by a parliamentary Committee, having their work examined by intelligence commissioners, and ensuring that they act under a proper legal basis. I take those responsibilities very seriously, but I believe we have a good system in this country and we can be proud of the people who work in it and of those who oversee it.

[Mr David Anderson (Blaydon) (Lab)]

We have recently learned that energy security in this country is being outsourced to the Chinese and the French, that the lights may go out, that pensioners will freeze this year, and that we have no control over the big six. Does the Prime Minister have any regrets about the cack-handed privatisation of the utilities by the former Tory Government and the decimation of the most technically advanced coal industry in the world?

[The Prime Minister]

What I would say to the hon. Gentleman in terms of energy security is that he backed a Government who in 13 years never built a single nuclear power station. Oh, they talked about it—boy, did they talk about it—but they never actually got it done. In terms of Chinese and French investment, I think we should welcome foreign investment into our country, building these important utilities so that we can use our firepower for the schools, the hospitals, the roads and the railways we need.

[Andrew Percy (Brigg and Goole) (Con)]

In my constituency there are shortly to be more than 100 wind turbines and there are about 30 or 40 more in the planning system. These turbines are paid for by constituents but they are not constructed here or creating any jobs in my constituency. When the Prime Minister rightly reviews green taxes, will he ensure that the changes to green subsidies ensure that jobs in that energy sector are here in the United Kingdom?

[The Prime Minister]

I know how hard my hon. Friend has worked with other MPs on a cross-party basis right across the Yorkshire and Humberside region to try to attract investment into our country, and we should continue to target that investment.

[Ian Lucas (Wrexham) (Lab)]

Will the Prime Minister join me in paying tribute to the positive role played by trade unions in the work of the Automotive Council, which has brought about the renaissance in the UK car industry?

[The Prime Minister]

The Automotive Council has been extremely successful. Where trade unions play a positive role, I will be the first to praise them, but where, frankly, we have a real problem with a rogue trade unionist at Grangemouth who nearly brought the Scottish petrochemical industry to its knees, we need to have a proper inquiry—a Labour inquiry. If Labour Members had any courage, any vision or any strength of decision making, they would recognise the need to have that inquiry and get to the bottom of what happened.

[Several hon. Members]

rose—