Oral Answers to Questions

John Bercow Excerpts

Wednesday 17th December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Several hon. Members]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Members must stand if they wish to ask a question. They must not simply gesticulate. I call Mr Barclay.

[Stephen Barclay (North East Cambridgeshire) (Con)]

May I return the Secretary of State to the issue raised by the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent (Nick Smith)? As she will know, the Government of the 14 overseas territories were in London last week, and published action plans last year. The British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands, for instance, have delayed any action in relation to their own action plans for more than 300 days. When will we see any implementation of the commitments that they have made?

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[Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley) (Lab)]

What happened to the 700 women and children who were abducted some months ago? There was a big fuss about that in the Chamber. What has happened to them and what is your Department doing about it?

[Mr Speaker]

My department is doing nothing about the matter, but I think the Minister’s is.

[Mr Swayne]

Of the girls who were abducted in Chibok, 219 remain missing. Since then another 300 have been abducted elsewhere. We are providing a joint intelligence cell, together with our allies in France, the United States and Nigeria, based in Abuja, and all the technical assistance that we can give.

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[Justine Greening]

We are aware of those serious allegations. I expect SOCO, as a British-listed company, to adhere to the highest standards. In June this year, SOCO and the WWF announced that it would complete the existing programme of work at Virunga and then not undertake or commission exploratory or other drilling within the national park unless UNESCO and the Government of the DRC agreed to it. [Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. There is far too much noise in the Chamber. It is quite difficult to hear the Secretary of State’s replies. We want to hear them and the questions.

[Mary Creagh (Wakefield) (Lab)]

The Prime Minister co-chaired the United Nations High Level Panel on sustainable development goals, yet last month Tory MEPs joined forces with UKIP to vote against the sustainable development goals to tackle climate change, tax avoidance and inequality. Will the Secretary of State join me in condemning them for doing that?

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[Justine Greening]

The hon. Lady will be aware that the Government were represented by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change. I should also like to update the House. Since Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines last year, we have done a huge amount of work with the Government there, and that is one of the reasons that they were better prepared to cope with the storm that came in recently. I am proud of the work that our DFID staff have done. [Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. We need some respectful quiet for a military man. I call Mr Robathan.

[Mr Andrew Robathan (South Leicestershire) (Con)]

T3. Following the appalling atrocity in Peshawar yesterday, will my right hon. Friend pledge that any aid that we give to Pakistan will be directed towards improving governance, ending corruption and fighting the root causes of radicalisation in madrassahs and elsewhere?

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[Richard Drax (South Dorset) (Con)]

Q2. Thank you, Mr Speaker. [Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The voice of South Dorset must be heard.

[Richard Drax]

First, may I concur entirely with the Prime Minister’s words about the appalling tragedies that have unfolded around the world?

Bearing in mind the continuing success of our long-term economic plan, can my right hon. Friend please reassure the House that there will be no further cuts to our armed forces under a future Tory or coalition Government?

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[Michael Connarty (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (Lab)]

Q11. The most recent OECD report, No. 163, on income inequality, shows that the UK economy would be 20% bigger if tax policies had redistributed income to the bottom 40% of citizens. Can the Prime Minister resist the temptation to waffle and consider seriously his policies and those of Chancellor Scrooge over his five years, of rewarding the rich with tax cuts and hammering middle and low-income people with rises in the cost of living, not only—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I call the Prime Minister.

[The Prime Minister]

I was just about getting the hang of it. The problem with the Labour party’s attemptive narrative is that it simply is not true. Labour Members talk about inequality, but inequality is lower than it was at the election. They talk about poverty, but there are 600,000 fewer people in relative poverty than there were at the election. They talk about child poverty, but there are 300,000 fewer children in relative poverty than at the election. This afternoon we will be talking about children, and there are 390,000 fewer children in households where no one works than there were in 2010. Those are the facts. They may be inconvenient, but Labour ought to have a look at them.

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[Michael Connarty]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker.

[Mr Speaker]

Points of order come after statements, and we have a statement. The hon. Gentleman ought to know that by know, with the greatest of respect. We will come to the statement in a moment.