Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Iain Stewart and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Wednesday 10th February 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

As I said in my answers to the Leader of the Opposition, we want to support the supported housing projects that work in many of our constituencies. We have all seen how important they are. The changes to housing benefit that we are talking about will not come into place until 2018, so there is plenty of time to make sure that we support supported housing projects.

[Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South) (Con)]

Q10. Next month, Milton Keynes will host the first ever national apprenticeship fair. We have a strong record in expanding apprenticeships, but is there not still a need for a cultural shift in careers advice to show that high-level apprenticeships and university places are equally valid?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The careers advice that we need to give young people is that every school leaver has the choice of either a university place, because we have uncapped university places, or an apprenticeship, because we are funding 3 million of them in this Parliament. We need to go on to explain that if someone becomes an apprentice, that does not rule out doing a degree or degree-level qualification later on during their apprenticeship. The option of earning and learning is stronger in Britain today than it has ever been.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Iain Stewart and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Wednesday 21st October 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The point I would make to the hon. Lady is that those poverty figures come after 20 years of the great tax credit experiment. What we saw was an increase in the cost of tax credits and an increase in in-work poverty. We say that it is time for a new approach: higher pay, more jobs, lower taxes. In her constituency, the claimant count has come down by 10% in the last year. Compared with the time of the 2010 election, the number of people claiming unemployment benefit in her constituency is down 43%. I say let us give people the chance of a job, a salary, a decent wage and lower taxes.

[Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South) (Con)]

Q13. Given Russia’s military expansion and North Korea’s development of a submarine-launched ballistic missile system that can strike the west, does the Prime Minister agree that this is no time to campaign for nuclear disarmament?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. It is right to maintain our independent nuclear deterrent. Anyone who has any doubts about that only has to look at the dangers and uncertainty in our world. Frankly, it is very disappointing for this country that after having a cross-party consensus for so long that the nuclear deterrent was right for Britain, we now have a Leader of the Opposition who is campaigning with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Today, we are celebrating that great film, “Back to the Future”. I am not surprised that many people sitting behind him say that he should get in his DeLorean, go back to 1985 and stay there.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Iain Stewart and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Wednesday 14th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The truth is that, nation wide, 94% of people have so far this year been seeing a doctor within four hours at A and E. But everybody in this House knows, and everybody who is a neighbouring Member of Parliament of the hon. Gentleman knows, that he is absolutely instrumental in spreading disinformation campaign after disinformation campaign about his local hospitals. For once, he should take the truth and put it in a leaflet.

[Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South) (Con)]

Q15. Some people are quick to criticise the NHS when it faces challenges. It must also then be right to celebrate its successes, so will the Prime Minister congratulate Milton Keynes hospital and the university of Buckingham on establishing a new medical school that will not only train the next generation of clinicians but raise standards at our hospital?

[The Prime Minister]

I am very happy to join my hon. Friend in doing that. Making sure that we educate the next generation of doctors, nurses and clinicians is vital. Under this Government, we have 9,000 more doctors and 3,300 more nurses. We are treating 1.3 million more people in A and E, and there are 6 million more out-patient appointments. That is what is happening in our NHS, and all credit to the hard-working staff who are carrying out that vital work.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Iain Stewart and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Wednesday 7th May 2014 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

What matters in our NHS is the quality of provision and parity of esteem between physical health and mental health. This Government have not solved every problem, but we have put proper parity of esteem into the NHS constitution and the NHS mandate. We have also put in proper targets for some of the talking therapies that are absolutely vital in mental health. Measuring the output of our NHS purely by the number of beds is not a sensible approach.

[Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South) (Con)]

Q8. The Government are making a substantial investment in renewing and expanding the nation’s infrastructure. There is, however, a real need to get more young people into engineering so that we will have the long-term skills base for these projects. Will my right hon. Friend assure me that this Government will do all they can to inspire the next generation of engineers?

[The Prime Minister]

I absolutely back what my hon. Friend says. I know he has been campaigning very hard to get the HS2 academy to go to Milton Keynes, because there is a vital bit of skills work that needs to be done. [Interruption.] I am sure there will be a lot of competition. The key thing about these investments, whether it is Crossrail, the Olympics or HS2, is to plan in advance for the skills that we are going to need so that we can fill the jobs with British people leaving school and college wanting to take on those skills. Today the Chancellor and the Minister for Schools have launched the “Your Life, Your Choice” campaign, which is all about encouraging young people to get into STEM subjects—science, technology, engineering and maths—and to stay in STEM subjects, because there is a massive fall-off from GCSE to A-level, particularly in physics among young women, and we need to encourage them to go on studying.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Iain Stewart and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Wednesday 15th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I know how important this issue is and I raised it personally with Indian Government Ministers when I was in India recently. I have discussed it with the Foreign Secretary and I shall go on making sure that we do everything we can. If a meeting needs to be arranged between Members of the House of Commons representing their constituents—I believe that one is a constituent of the Foreign Secretary himself—I am happy to arrange that.

[Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South) (Con)]

Q8. Investing in research and innovation is essential for our economic future. Does the Prime Minister agree that the Open university’s smart city research project to improve infrastructure is just one example of how Milton Keynes is leading the way in securing our long-term economic plans?

[The Prime Minister]

I have visited the Open university at Milton Keynes. It is an extremely impressive organisation that is also leading a very important export drive for our universities. I congratulate Milton Keynes on its representation on the smart cities forum and on what the Open university is doing. There are many opportunities for Milton Keynes, not least those provided by HS2, and I look forward to discussing them with my hon. Friend in future.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Iain Stewart and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Wednesday 8th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The first thing to say to the hon. Gentleman is that he did not mention the fact that recorded crime in the Bassetlaw community safety partnership area is down by 27% under this Government. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!”] Yes, 27%. What is noticeable is that every single Opposition Member is getting up and complaining about the need to make reductions in departmental spending. Frankly, this is like “Back to the Future”—we are back to where we were three years ago, when we said, “You’ve got to make difficult decisions. You’ve got to make some cuts. You’ve got to get the deficit down” and they lived in total denial. They are back to where they were three years ago. It may be the new year, but it is the same old Labour party.

[Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South) (Con)]

The royal pardon granted to Alan Turing two weeks ago has finally meant justice for this national hero. May I thank the Prime Minister, the Justice Secretary and everyone over the years who has paved the way to bring this about? May I invite the Prime Minister to visit Bletchley Park in my constituency to see for himself Alan Turing’s remarkable achievements?

[The Prime Minister]

I absolutely back what my hon. Friend has said. It is excellent news that a royal prerogative mercy, which is very rarely granted, has been granted in this very special case. I would be delighted to visit his constituency to go to Bletchley Park. One of my wife’s family worked there during the war and speaks incredibly highly of Alan Turing and what he was like to work with. Historians can argue about the degree, but there is no doubt that the work done in my hon. Friend’s constituency was vital to winning the war.

Afghanistan and EU Council

Debate between Iain Stewart and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Tuesday 2nd July 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. We must recognise that the Commission has made some progress and we will probably get further if we credit it with that but push it harder for more, which is my tactic. It has consulted business on the top 10 most burdensome regulations. For the first time, it has committed to exempt micro-businesses with fewer than 10 employees from new EU proposals and has also looked through the forthcoming regulation and removed 17 new regulatory proposals. Overall, the burden on business is down by some 25% in recent years. There is some progress, but it is not going fast enough, which is why I am setting up a regulation review panel comprising Marc Bolland from M&S, Ian Cheshire from Kingfisher, Glenn Cooper from ATG Access, Louise Makin from BTG, Dale Murray, who is an angel investor, and Paul Walsh, the former CEO of Diageo. That is a list of very senior businessmen and women, and small businesses can write to them and send in their ideas for what they want changed.

[Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South) (Con)]

I, too, am pleased that my right hon. Friend has been able to establish an early and productive relationship with the new Prime Minister in Pakistan. May I urge him to keep high on his agenda the treatment of the Hazara community, which continues to face severe persecution?

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his comments. One of the advantages of getting in there early as the first Prime Minister to go and meet Prime Minister Sharif is that we can have that sort of dialogue. We have a full strategic partnership with Pakistan and a national security dialogue, so all these issues can be raised.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Iain Stewart and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Wednesday 20th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

First, let me remind the hon. Gentleman that only the Labour party could call a welfare reform a tax. It shows how little they understand how tax and benefits work. We are making available a discretionary fund that is there for the hard cases, but we are also recognising that there is a basic issue of cost—about £23 billion is spent on housing benefit every year—and a basic issue of fairness, not just between the private sector and the social sector but in recognising that there are 1.8 million people on housing waiting lists who would love to have a bedroom.

[Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South) (Con)]

Is my right hon. Friend aware that the Business Location Index has just cited Milton Keynes as the best place in the country to do business and that, with more than 2,000 business start-ups in the past year, it is Milton Keynes that is rebuilding our economy?

[The Prime Minister]

I was aware of that statistic, because my hon. Friend helpfully reminded me of it when we were in Milton Keynes together recently, talking about what a fantastic location for business it is, about how it is encouraging business start-ups and about how it is leading to a growth in employment in the region.

Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust (Inquiry)

Debate between Iain Stewart and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Wednesday 6th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I remember going to the Royal College of Nursing conference at Harrogate in his constituency. Ministers are not saying this to nurses; nurses are saying to Ministers that, as they told me, they want to have this sense of compassion and vocation at the heart of their training. Nurses themselves think that some of the training systems have got too far into the classroom and too far away from the hospital ward, and they are the ones asking us to get that right. It is good to see Health Ministers nodding in agreement as I say that.

[Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South) (Con)]

I welcome the proposals for the CQC to make public judgments about the quality of care, but those judgments must be in a form that is accessible and understandable to the public. Will my right hon. Friend take care to ensure that they are not too general, so that if a specific problem in our wards is rightly identified, it does not cloud the otherwise excellent care that the hospital might be providing?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Iain Stewart and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Wednesday 28th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I think what we can see is a leadership that is drowning. This Government have cut corporation tax, scrapped the jobs tax, introduced enterprise zones, backed the regional growth fund, and funded 1 million apprenticeships, and we are rebuilding our economy so that we see 1 million more people in private sector work. We are putting the country back to work; Labour wrecked it.

[Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South) (Con)]

Q2. Will the Prime Minister join me in congratulating the Milton Keynes-based Red Bull Formula 1 team on winning the world championship for three years in a row? They are another fine example of British technological innovation.

[The Prime Minister]

I am delighted to praise and pay tribute to the Formula 1 team based in my hon. Friend’s constituency, which sadly beat the Formula 1 team—Lotus Renault—based in mine. It is a remarkable fact that almost all of the Formula 1 cars, wherever they are racing in the world, are built, designed and engineered here in Britain. It is an industry in which we lead the world, and we should be very proud of it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Iain Stewart and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Wednesday 21st November 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I enjoyed my visit to Troon. I made the offer to the hon. Gentleman at that time that I would happily share a platform with him to defend our United Kingdom, but for some reason the invitation got lost in the post. I therefore make the offer to him again.

The hon. Gentleman makes a serious point about payday loans. We have seen the preliminary report by the Office of Fair Trading. We need to take action, and that is why we are giving the OFT a new power to suspend a consumer credit licence with immediate effect when there is an urgent need to protect consumers. The report shows that many companies are not sticking to the guidelines, and that is not acceptable.

Engagements

[Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South) (Con)]

Has my right hon. Friend seen the recent Experian study which shows that Milton Keynes is the area of the UK best placed to lead economic growth, with a forecast growth of 3.1% a year?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is a great spokesman for Milton Keynes and has welcomed me there many times. It has a successful economy based largely on small and medium-sized enterprises. One thing we need to do, in Milton Keynes and elsewhere, is to get the housing market moving again. I am convinced that that is an important part of driving recovery in our economy.

G8 and NATO Summits

Debate between Iain Stewart and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Wednesday 23rd May 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I respect the hon. Gentleman’s views, not least because he served in the military and knows about what he speaks. Regarding the political surge in Afghanistan, he is perhaps being a little too pessimistic. In Helmand province, the area for which we have been responsible, we have seen the excellent Governor Mangal make some real steps forward in governance. There are district governors in almost all the province now, and we have seen a huge amount of progress in wheat seed distribution, building schools and hospitals and providing basic levels of service. But clearly we need to do more, and what happens politically and in terms of reconciliation will determine the nature of the outcome we achieve in Afghanistan.

[Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South) (Con)]

I welcome the declaration at the NATO summit on the interim ballistic missile defence system. Russia, however, remains hostile to the scheme. Has progress been made in persuading Russia that the scheme’s primary point is to protect Europe from ballistic missile threats from rogue nations, not from Russia?

[The Prime Minister]

Obviously, it is still a difficult discussion between NATO and Russia, but I think there is a level of understanding that the point of having a ballistic missile defence shield is to protect Europe from potential threats, including, for instance, Iran. It is important to remember that this is not instead of nuclear deterrence—it sits along side nuclear deterrence, which remains a key part of our defence posture.

Public Disorder

Debate between Iain Stewart and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Thursday 11th August 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The time that I spent in Croydon with the right hon. Gentleman was incredibly powerful. I heard about the immense frustration, and the anger, that those shopkeepers, householders and tenants felt. Let me say this to the right hon. Gentleman, however. The problem was that the police were not on the streets. The problem was not about police budgets in four years’ time, but about the availability of the police right now. There are 32,000 officers in the Met. We needed to get more of them on to the streets more quickly, and more of them to Croydon. It is about now: it is not about the budgets of the future.

[Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South) (Con)]

I welcomed the Prime Minister’s comments about the role of social media. May I urge him to look into what might be called the internet equivalent of hoax 999 calls? It would seem that the police have had to waste considerable time dealing with false and malicious rumours about mob activity, and the law and penalties must be fully up to date with that.

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes a very good point. Just as the police have been using technology more effectively, so the criminals are now using technology more effectively. An awful lot of hoaxes and false trails were laid on Twitter, BlackBerry Messenger and the rest, and we need a major piece of work to make sure the police have all the electronic capabilities that they need to hunt down and beat the criminal.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Iain Stewart and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Wednesday 22nd June 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

It would probably also help if Members did not read out the Whips’ bit at the beginning of their question, so that we could hear the second part of the question, which in this case was, I think, about the important issue of women and pensions. I do think it is right to equalise the pension ages of men and women at 65, and that is going ahead, and I also think it is important to raise the pension age to 66, because the fact is that people in our country are living longer. That is a good thing, but we have to make sure we can pay for good and decent pensions for the future. The alternative is that we stick our head in the sand and end up either cutting pensions or building up debts for our children, which, frankly, would be irresponsible. This Government are taking difficult decisions, but they are the right ones.

[Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South) (Con)]

Does the Prime Minister agree that there is still too much homophobia in sport, especially football, and that the event he is hosting today in Downing street will go some way towards tackling that prejudice?

[The Prime Minister]

I completely agree, and I am delighted to be hosting a party for Britain’s lesbian, gay and transgender community at No. 10 Downing street today. That there are so few out players in all sports is an issue. I applaud those who have come out and will be attending my party tonight, and I hope that that will encourage schoolchildren to recognise that homophobic bullying is completely unacceptable in our society today.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Iain Stewart and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Wednesday 15th December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South) (Con)]

Q3. The Bletchley Park Trust in my constituency hopes to buy for the nation the personal papers of Alan Turing, the heroic wartime code breaker. It is confident of raising the funds to buy the papers, but there is a danger that the auction might take place before it has the chance to do so. Will my right hon. Friend do all he can to give Bletchley Park a fair chance to secure those important documents for the nation?

[The Prime Minister]

I would certainly like to do that, because I think my hon. Friend is entirely right—Alan Turing was a remarkable man. Many of the people who worked on cracking the enigma code at Bletchley Park during the war are still alive and we owe them a huge debt of gratitude. They made a decisive difference in winning the second world war and we should praise all of them. Of course I hope that private donors will generously support the fundraising campaign and I am very happy to work with my hon. Friend and do anything I can to make that happen.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Iain Stewart and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Wednesday 15th September 2010 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I will obviously listen very carefully to what the hon. Gentleman says, and perhaps he would like to set out in detail why he thinks this is so important. The point is that the UK’s victim care arrangements are already in line with internationally agreed standards, as set out in the Council of Europe convention on trafficking. The UK already does what is required by the proposed directive on assisting victims, so the proposed directive would not improve the provision of victim care. Those are the facts, and Opposition Members need to engage with that point.

[Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South) (Con)]

If the Prime Minister were invited to lecture at Harvard university, like the right hon. Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (Mr Brown), on what subject would he care to speak?

[The Prime Minister]

I hope that my days on the international lecture circuit are some way in the future.