Debate on the Address

Steve Rotheram Excerpts

Wednesday 9th May 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes a very good point. Genuinely to crack the issue, which has dogged Governments for decades, we will need cross-party working to deliver the social care changes we need.

Let me turn to some of the crime measures, as they are extremely important. The police do a fantastic job, and we should pay tribute to their work, but we need to accept that there are some crimes that our existing police forces cannot deal with on their own: the cyber-attacks that threaten our national security, the organised gangs supplying drugs to children on the streets and the massive industry of human trafficking. Today, we have seen the horrific case in Rochdale of children being groomed for sex—modern-day slavery in our own country. That is why we need a national crime agency—a British FBI, if you like—and with this Queen’s Speech we will deliver it.

I want to see tough community sentences that are a real punishment, and we shall be legislating for them as well. Without such measures, we will never convince the police, the courts or the public that these sentences are proper alternatives to prison.

[Steve Rotheram (Liverpool, Walton) (Lab)]

The Prime Minister has mentioned a couple of doubles today. He quite rightly referred to the mover and the seconder of the speech; there was also the double-dip recession.

In 1970, Lynn Anderson sang about promises in a rose garden:

“Smile for a while and let’s be jolly

Love shouldn’t be so melancholy

Come along and share the good times while we can.”

Given that the Prime Minister and his Deputy made promises of transparency in the rose garden, does he now regret not releasing the risk register for the NHS?

[The Prime Minister]

In terms of the money we spend and the decisions we make, this Government have been the most transparent in our country for the last 50 years. That is what matters.