Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rosie Cooper and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Wednesday 11th March 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

May I once again commend my hon. Friend on the consistency of his campaign to see Southend recognised in that way? He asked me what policies will make a difference and continue to bring businesses to Southend. We are cutting the jobs tax for businesses and charities, and that is helping; we have got the lowest rate of corporation tax in the G7, and that is helping; we are abolishing national insurance contributions for under-21s; and we are extending the doubling of the small business rate relief. All of these things, sticking to our long-term economic plan as the OECD, IMF and others have advised us to, can make sure that Southend can continue to grow and perform well.

[Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire) (Lab)]

Q10. In protecting universal benefits, the Prime Minister said that pensioners “deserve dignity” when they retire. Retired constituents in West Lancashire say, “What’s the point of a bus pass when there are no buses?” [Interruption.] There are not even trains, as the Conservative borough council has pocketed the additional money that would have been used to allow pensioners to have access to trains. Will the Prime Minister do the right thing—[Interruption.]

[Rosie Cooper]

Will the Prime Minister do the right thing and ensure that concessionary travel for all pensioners is fair and equitable?

[The Prime Minister]

Of course, buses are the responsibility of the county council, so I think the point made was a fair one. I have talked about dignity and security in retirement, because we have kept our commitments and upgraded the pension by the triple lock, so pensioners in the hon. Lady’s constituency will have £950 more in terms of the basic state pension than when I become Prime Minister in 2010. We committed to keeping the free bus pass, keeping the free television licence, keeping the freedom from prescription charges. We have kept each and every one of those promises. We have gone beyond that by saying to pensioners that they do not need to buy an annuity: it is their money, their savings, and they can spend it as they choose. This has been a Government who have recognised that people deserve that dignity and security, and we have delivered in full.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rosie Cooper and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Wednesday 3rd December 2014 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. We now see a record number of small businesses in our country—a total increase of 760,000 over this Parliament. Small business Saturday is an excellent event, by which we can boost small businesses and draw attention to the work they do. We will kick-start this event on Friday with a small business fair in Downing street. Now is a good moment to make sure that small businesses are benefiting from all the changes that we have made, such as the cut in the jobs tax of £2,000 for businesses and charities, the abolition of national insurance contributions for under-21-year-olds when they employ them, the doubling of the small business rate relief and, of course, the cutting of corporation tax for small business as well. This Government have a very strong record for saying to small business, “We respect what you do in creating the jobs, the wealth and the prosperity that our country needs”.

[Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire) (Lab)]

Q12. Skelmersdale in my constituency is the second largest town in the north-west without a railway station—a station that would bring social and economic benefits to the town, as we have heard happened in Shrewsbury. As the Prime Minister is in spending mood, albeit a little bit further south, I wonder whether he could give the people of Skelmersdale an early Christmas present with the promise of a railway station.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rosie Cooper and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Wednesday 26th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire) (Lab)]

Q1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 26 March.

[The Prime Minister (Mr David Cameron)]

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.

[Rosie Cooper]

What assurances can the Prime Minister give to residents in West Lancashire that localism will give them a fair chance against greed and profit when it comes to their wish to end hazardous waste dumping at Whitemoss landfill site? Given that there is no evidence of need and a promise that it would end in 1995, and that the community, including its MP, are saying “No more dumping” time and again, does the Prime Minister really believe in localism?

[The Prime Minister]

I do believe in localism. That is why we got rid of a lot of the regional spatial strategies and a lot of the regional organisations, and returned power to local government. We did a number of things that local councils had been asking for in terms of empowering them, not least giving them a general duty of competence so that they can act when they think it is necessary to act. I will look closely at the specific issue the hon. Lady raises and write to her.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rosie Cooper and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Wednesday 5th February 2014 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

It was a huge pleasure to go to Crawley with my hon. Friend and see that company, which makes ventilation equipment, bringing jobs from China back to the UK. That is a small trend at the moment, as 1,500 jobs in manufacturing have been reshored since 2011. If we manage to ensure that our energy market is competitive, if we keep our labour markets flexible and competitive and if we make this a friendly country for business with low tax rates, including low corporate tax rates, there is no reason why we should not see more companies coming back to Britain. We will not get that with an anti-enterprise, anti-business, anti-growth Labour party.

[Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire) (Lab)]

Q10. Last week, the Care Quality Commission issued an appalling and damning report on Liverpool community health. Will the Prime Minister undertake to have the historic HR practices, the disciplinary actions and the subsequent pay-offs that were used as a mechanism to bully staff forensically examined and to ensure that the executive team and the board are held to account, making the huge statement that bullying is not acceptable in the NHS?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right to raise both the specific case and the general lessons it brings. Of course, we still have more to do, but I think the CQC is a hugely improved organisation. We now have a chief inspector of hospitals. It is all much more transparent than it was in the past, but I am very happy to look at the hon. Lady’s specific concerns about bullying and to ensure that the CQC deals with that. This week is the anniversary of the dreadful report into Stafford hospital and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health is absolutely committed to ensuring that there is a change of culture in the NHS so that we do not put up with poor practice, so that when there are problems we are not afraid or ashamed to surface them, and so that we do not just talk about those problems but deal with them.

Algeria

Debate between Rosie Cooper and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Monday 21st January 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes an important point, which is that in drawing up our national security strategy, we should be listening to the settled communities here in the UK that have a huge amount of knowledge and expertise about the countries that may be causing us concern. That is very much the case with the Somali community, and I am sure the points that he makes about the Algerian community are right, too.

[Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire) (Lab)]

Mindful of the distress caused, will the Prime Minister ensure that each family is told before names are released by the Government, and undertake, where the families wish it, to give them the fullest possible information about when, where and how their loved ones died?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady makes an extremely important point. We do a lot of thinking and a lot of work to try to get this impossibly difficult decision right. That is what the police liaison teams do, and the Government should always be asking, “Can this be handled even more sensitively in the future?”

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rosie Cooper and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Wednesday 21st November 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I will look very carefully at what my hon. Friend raises and the specific case he mentions. I will also look at the issue of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act. It is always important that all information that possibly can be put in front of a court is put in front of a court, so that it can reach the correct decision.

[Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire) (Lab)]

Q3. Cuts in front-line policing, together with cuts to police pensions and conditions in service, have led 96% of the police force to believe that this Government do not support them. Does the Prime Minister think that that is a problem and, if so, what will he do about it?

[The Prime Minister]

This Government strongly support our police service and what it does. These are people who go out every day and put their lives on the line to keep the rest of us safe. Frankly, whoever was in government right now would have to be making cuts to police budgets, but if we actually look at what is happening in policing, we see that the number of neighbourhood police has gone up, the percentage of police on the front line has gone up, the number of police in back-office roles has gone down and, crucially, that crime is down and satisfaction with the police is up.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rosie Cooper and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Wednesday 1st February 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Gentleman is right to raise this issue. I am proud of the fact that we have taken 1.1 million people out of tax. Those are some of the lowest paid people in our country, and the majority of them are women. We are committed to making further progress during this Parliament with this policy.

[Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire) (Lab)]

Q14. Before the general election, the Prime Minister told midwives that he would make their lives easier and that he would recruit 3,000 more of them. Since the general election, nurses and midwives have been down-banded, working harder for less, and midwives in training have been reduced by 3% a year. Were the British people wrong to take him at his word?

[The Prime Minister]

I am very sorry, but the hon. Lady’s figures are, in fact, wrong. Compared with the time of the election, there are over 620 more midwives working in the NHS and there are record numbers in training. We want to do more, but we will be able to do more only if we keep funding the NHS; the hon. Lady’s party is committed to cutting it, saying that NHS funding increases are irresponsible. We will be able to do that only if we keep cutting back on the bureaucracy, which we are doing very successfully with our reforms, and making sure that the money goes into the front end. But there are more midwives. There are more in training. I am afraid that the hon. Lady’s figures are wrong.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rosie Cooper and Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

Wednesday 15th September 2010 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes an important point about an absolutely tragic case. As he knows, local authorities are responsible for licensing houses in multiple occupation, and they have the power to prosecute landlords who fail to apply for a licence—and they should do so. There have been too many cases like this. The law is there; it should be used. Our whole approach is to give local authorities the power they need, and the discretion they need, to take action for the good of their communities; that is the change we want to bring.

[Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire) (Lab)]

Q10. Building work is already under way on a new campus for Skelmersdale and Ormskirk college in my constituency, so it was a real shock to find that £4 million committed to the project will now not be available because of the Government’s decision to stop the budgets of the regional development agency with immediate effect. Will the Prime Minister please meet me and those at the college to try to find a way through? The building is already going up, and this would be a real embodiment of a hand up to the young people of Skelmersdale and the start of the regeneration of Skelmersdale.