European Council

Fiona Mactaggart Excerpts

Monday 24th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We worked closely with others on a stabilisation and reconstruction plan for Libya. A lot of work went into that. I am optimistic because we have seen how the national transitional council is genuinely national and bringing the country together, not wanting a division between Benghazi and Tripoli. It is transitional, and the clock is now ticking for it to set up a genuine transitional Government within 30 days. Everything that I have seen of the Libyan leadership shows that it wants to get on with rebuilding its country, and because of its oil wealth and the size of its sovereign wealth fund, it has the means by which to do it.

[Fiona Mactaggart (Slough) (Lab)]

In the Prime Minister’s statement, he suggested that the EU economies could be as productive as the US economy if we had the same proportion of women in the work force. However, with unemployment among women in the UK higher than at any point since 1988, will he tell us three things that he has done to increase the proportion of women in the work place?

[The Prime Minister]

We have increased the hours available for free nursery care for three, four and two-year-olds. That is what we have done.