Oral Answers to Questions

Nick Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 14th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

First of all, I absolutely join my hon. Friend in congratulating everyone who took part in Singing for Syrians. I am sure the whole House welcomes the work that that group is doing and the money that it is raising and putting to extremely good use. The House was struck when she mentioned the number of people who are on the waiting list for prosthetic limbs. Our humanitarian aid support for Syria is the biggest such effort that the UK has made. Of course we are giving money to the refugees who have fled from Syria. We are also working diplomatically to try to reduce the suffering and to ensure that the sort of aid and medical support that she is talking about gets through to the citizens of Aleppo. We will continue to ensure that our humanitarian aid is being put to good use—helping those who are vulnerable and also helping those who need the education and support to be able, in due course, to rebuild Syria when it is stable and secure.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

Q3. Rip-off interest rates on household goods are wrong. Companies such as BrightHouse exploit families who have no other way to furnish their homes. Will the Prime Minister look at capping those interest rates to help those who are just about managing?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Gentleman raises an important issue. I recognise that there are many people who are just about managing and struggling to get by who find themselves having to revert to support from companies that do, sadly, charge the sort of interest rates that he is talking about. Action has been taken in relation to some of those activities in the past, but I will look at the issue that he raised.