Questions. Prime minister boris johnson. Pm johnson thank you very much, mr. Speaker. Yesterday was International Nurses day. I know the whole house would want to thank the nurses and also the care staff and key workers for their tireless work responding to the pandemic. Mr. Speaker, sadly 144 nhs markers and 131 social care workers deaths have been reported as involving covid19. Our thoughts are with their families and friends. Yesterday this house learned of someone whoeath of was abused for doing her job. That is utterly appalling. My thoughts and i am sure the thoughts of the whole house are with her family. Mr. Speaker, this morning i had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others in addition to my duties in the house. Speaker corbyn ruth edwards. Thank you, mr. Speaker. Green investments generated the highest return in the recovery from the 2008 financial crisis. As we restart our economy, will my right honorable fran commit to prioritizing investment in low carbon infrastructure, such as the electric vehicle task Point Network and Renewable Energy production, which will help the u. K. Meet its net zero target by 2050 . Pm johnson to encourage the takeup of electric vehicles, we are putting a further one billion pounds into infrastructure across the country to prevent range anxiety for those who use evs. Speaker corbyn i now call the leader of the opposition. Thank you, mr. Speaker. Can i join the Prime Minister in thanking nurses and those on the front lines . To alld my condolences the families of those who have coronavirus, including the person the Prime Minister referenced, a ticket officer who we learned this week had died from covid19 in awful circumstances. Mr. Speaker, in a speech on sunday, the Prime Minister said that we need to rapidly reverse the awful epidemic in our care homes. But earlier this year and until the 12th of march, the governments own official advice was and i am quoting from it it remains very unlikely that people receiving care in a care home will become infected. Yesterdays ons figures showed that at least 40 of all deaths from covid19 were in care homes. Does the Prime Minister accept that the government was too slow to protect people in care homes . 40 of orders from covid19, the government was too slow to protect people in care homes. It wasnt true the advice said that and we brought the lockdown in care homes. What we have seen is a concerted action plan to tackle what is unquestionably an appalling epidemic in care homes and testing is going, 600 Million Pounds for Infection Control in care homes and it is absolutely true the number of casualties is too high but lasts weekend this week the number of outbreaks is down and the number of fatalities in care homes is well done. There is much more to do. I am surprised the Prime Minister queries the advice, i do welcome the recorded numbers, the numbers are still very high. It carried the following quote from a cardiologist. We discharged known suspected and unknown cases into care homes which were unprepared with no warning that patients were infected. And no way to prevent transmission. We actively seated this into the population speaker corbyn Prime Minister. Pm johnson mr. Speaker, i have the utmost respect for all of our medical professionals. They have done an extraordinary job in difficult circumstances. But i can tell the house that the number of discharges from hospitals into care homes went down in march and april, and we had a system of testing people going into care homes, and that testing is now being ramped up across all the 15,000 care homes in this country. Mr. Speaker, i want to probe the figures the Prime Minister has given us a little bit further. The ons records the average number of deaths in care homes each month. For the last five years, the average for april has been just over 8000. This year, the number of deaths in care homes for april was a staggering 26,000. That is three times the average. 18,000 additional deaths in this april. Using the governments figures, only 8000 are recorded as covid deaths. That leaves 10,000 additional and unexplained care home deaths this april. I know the government must have looked into this. So can the Prime Minister give us the governments views of these unexplained deaths . Speaker corbyn Prime Minister. Pm johnson mr. Speaker, coronavirus is an appalling disease which afflicts some groups far more than others. The whole country understands that, in particular, the elderly. He is right to draw attention to the tragedy that has been taking place in care homes. The office of National Statistics is responsible for producing the data that they have. The government has also produced data which not only shows there has been a terrible epidemic in care homes, but since the action plan began, we are seeing an appreciable and a substantial reduction, not just in the number of outbreaks, but also in the number of deaths. I want to stress to the house and also to the country that solving the problem in care homes is going to be absolutely critical. Not just in care homes, but across the country. It is going to be absolutely critical to our ability to move forward as a nation with a step ed program a stepp that i announced on sunday. We must, and we will. The Prime Minister says solving the problem in care homes is crucial, but that can only happen if the numbers are understood. Therefore i was disappointed the Prime Minister does not have an answer to the pretty obvious those 10,000t are unexplained deaths . Mr. Speaker, yesterday the overall figures given by the government at a press conference for those who have died from covid19 was 32,692, each one a tragedy. For many weeks, the government has compared the u. K. Number against other countries. Last week, i showed the Prime Minister his own slide showing that the u. K. Now has the highest death total in europe and second highest in the world. A version of this slide has been shown at the number 10 press conference every day since march 30. Thats seven weeks. Stoppedy the government publishing the International Comparison and the slide is gone. Why . Speaker corbyn Prime Minister. Pm johnson mr. Speaker, as he knows very well, the u. K. Has been going through an unprecedented, once in a century epidemic, and he seeks to make comparisons with other countries, which i am advised are premature. Because the correct and final way of making these comparisons will be when we have all the thess debt totals for all relevant countries. We do not yet have that data. Mr. Speaker, i am not going to try to pretend to the house the figures when they are finally confirmed are anything other than stark and deeply, deeply horrifying. This has been an appalling epidemic. What i can tell the house is that we are getting those numbers down. The numbers of deaths are coming down. The numbers of hospital admissions are coming down, thanks to the hard work of the british people in reducing the numbers of fidelitys. Of fatalities. We are in position to make some modest steps to come out of the very restrictive measures. I think people understand what we are trying to do as a country. As for the International Comparisons he seeks to draw, i think he will have to contain his impatience. It is not me seeking to draw the comparisons. These are the governments slides they have used for seven weeks to reassure the public. And the problem with the Prime Ministers answer is it is pretty obvious that for seven weeks, when we were not the highest number in europe, they were used for comparison purposes. As soon as we hit that place, they have been dropped. Last week, he quoted in defense professor spiegel holter. What the professor said at the weekend was days, and we need to think about it. We should use other countries to try and learn why our numbers are so high. So dropping the comparisons means dropping the learning, and that is the real risk. I want to talk to the Prime Minister about the changes coming into effect today. A real concern for many people is childcare. I want to quote a mother of a young child. Is a littlethat it lengthy, but it reflects the queries all members of this house will have been getting. She says this. As boris said in his speech, people are encouraged to go back to work, meaning my partner, because he works in construction. My partner has explained to his boss this cannot happen because we have got no childcare. He also rang the nursery, but they are not open. I work as well, but my boss is having none of it. I hope i can get some advice. Me and my partner have been so stressed all day. What advice would the Prime Minister give them . Speaker corbyn Prime Minister. Pm johnson thank you very much, mr. Speaker. Just on his earlier point about not learning from other countries, nothing could be further from the truth. We are watching intensely what happening in other countries, and it is very notable that in some other countries where relaxations have been introduced, there is signs of the r going up again. That is a clear warning for us not to proceed too fast and too reckless. I hope the country does understand that. On the specific point that he rightly raises about peoples anxieties about getting back to work when they dont have adequate childcare, i think i was very clear both with him and with the house earlier in the week that insofar as people may not be able to go back to work because they dont have the childcare that they need, then their employers must be understanding. It is clearly, as i said, an impediment, a barrier to your ability to go back. Ability to go back to work if you dont have childcare. I would be very happy to look into the specific case he raised, if there is anything more we can do to shed light on the matter. I am grateful to the Prime Minister for taking a look into that particular case. It is one i think of very many. These are not easy decisions. I recognize that. They are very difficult, balanced decisions that the Prime Minister and the government has to make. After the confusion of the last couple of days, gaining Public Confidence is crucial. The Prime Minister says his decisions were, and i quote, driven by the science, the data, and Public Health. So to give the Public Confidence in the decisions, can the Prime Minister commit to publishing the scientific advice that the decisions were based on . Speaker corbyn Prime Minister. Pm johnson mr. Speaker, all sage advice is published in due course, as the right honorable gentle man knows. Let me be absolutely clear with sage has been involved in every stage. Our scientists and medical officers have been involved in every stage of this strategy. I want to remind the houses, what we are doing is entirely conditional and provisional. The u. K. Has made a huge amount of progress. The people of this country have worked incredibly hard to get the r down. We cannot now go back to square one. We cannot risk a second outbreak, and we will do everything to avoid that. I think that actually when they look at what we are advocating steppeday forward, the process that we have set out, i think people can see exactly what we are trying to do as a country, and they can see that everybody is still required to obey the social distancing laws, the social distancing rules. The common sense of the british people got us through that first phase of this disease. I am absolutely confident they will get us through the next as well. Speaker corbyn going across to philip dunne. My right honorable friend is well aware of air pollution, the effect on health outcomes, particularly with respiratory diseases like covid19. Will he therefore reaffirm his commitment to taxing global emissions to help protect our people and our planet in the future . Speaker corbyn Prime Minister. Pm johnson yes, and i think my right honorable friend for what he does to champion the environment and the cause in reducing co2 emissions. We have had to postpone the summit that was to take place in glasgow at the end of this year, but our determination to get the net zero by 2050 remains undiminished. Speaker corbyn we now go across to the leader of the s p, and ian blackburn. Can i begin by thanking all of our nurses in their efforts of keeping us safe and looking after us . And applaud yesterday as the International Nurses day. Mr. Speaker, last week the Prime Minister, in response to my questioning, noted the ability of the governments of all four nations to come together and deliver a clear message to our people. Events on sunday could not have been more disastrous for this government. The Prime Minister has made confusion costly. ,dministration shut out widespread confusion among the public, and a total disregard from this government for worker safety. Many, sadly, have seen the images of london buses being packed this morning. Mr. Speaker, will the Prime Minister accept that the clear message in scotland is stay home to protect the nhs to save lives . Speaker corbyn Prime Minister. Pm johnson mr. Speaker, indeed the message throughout the country is of course that you should stay at home, if you can. Unless there are specific circumstances that we have outlined that apply. I dont accept the characterization of the cooperation we have had across the four nations that the leader of the s p makes. It has been intense. It has been going on for days and weeks. If you look at the fatality of the measures we are taking as a country, there is much more that unites us than divides us, and we go Forward Together the reality is the Prime Minister has failed to deliver a clear message. He did not address the point about london buses being packed this morning. The Prime Minister is putting worker safety addressed by calling on those who cant work at home to go to their jobs without any guidance on health and safety. Only last monday, the Health Secretary launched a test. On sunday, the Prime Minister appeared to leapfrog any success by using restrictions. Andre any lockdown easing to avoid progress made so far, the Prime Minister must make sure there are sufficient levels of Testing Available and the ability to isolate this fully in operation. Why is the Prime Minister throwing weeks of progress against this virus into jeopardy, undermining the work of our outstanding nhs . Speaker corbyn Prime Minister. Pm johnson mr. Speaker, he makes a point about london buses which is quite right. I dont want to see crowding on mass transit in our capital or anywhere else, and we are working actively with tsl to ensure that what we do is we have more capacity. We discourage people from going to work during the peak. And that the operators, in particular tsl, lay on more to ube drains re t trains when those are necessary throughout the day. A huge amount of work is being done. We also want to see proper marshaling to prevent crowding of trains. I must say that on his point about test, track, and trace. That will be a huge operation for this entire country, and i think actually he should pay tribute to the work of all those, the hundreds of thousands of people who are now responsible massively escalating our test, track, and trace operation. We now test more than virtually any other country in europe, and the rate of acceleration has been very sharp indeed. We will go up to 200,000 by the end of the month. But he is absolutely right that this should be entirely the success of this program is absolutely vital if we are to be able to move on to the second and third steps of our roadmap. We now go ton yorkshire to julian smith. The 5000 er, of 90 of the population of the homeless of the u. K. Are in temporary accommodation as a result of the actions taken by the government at the start of this crisis. Will the Prime Minister commit to providing all funds necessary and all action needed to ensure that this positive dealing with the homelessness crisis can be made permanent and each of these individuals can be given a longterm home . Speaker corbyn Prime Minister. Pm johnson i thank my right honorable friend. As you knows, it is this governments ambition to end homelessness by 2024. It is great to see the progress being made even in this difficult time. As he says, 90 are now in accommodation or have been weered accommodation, and will be investing considerable sums to make sure we build the housing and address social issues to tackle that problem for good. Speaker corbyn we go over to sir edward davey. Pm johnson can i thank the government can i thank the government for to representations from liberal democrats and others to protect jobs by extending the plan. But now will the government do the same for the selfemployed . People like cleaners, child minders, taxi drivers, and hair dressers have seen their incomes devastated and are only now able to apply for help for the past three months. Millions of these families now have no help in the future. Charlie selfemployed people must surely selfemployed people must have their support extended, too. Pm johnson i admire the right honorable gentlemen. Gent to take the credit from my right honorable friend, the chancellor, for the extension of the coronavirus Job Retention scheme, which i do believe has been one of the most extraordinary features of this country, our collective response to the crisis. We are looking after he is right to draw attention to the position of the selfemployed. We are making sure they get payments over three months as of up to 7500 pounds as well. Speaker corbyn we go to dr. Jamie wallace. Thank you, mr. Speaker. May i congratulate the Prime Minister on spelling out a clear and cautious measures to end lockdown measures in england . Unfortunately for my constituents, the Welsh Government has not set out any such plan or vision. Does he agree with me that the people of wales deserve a government that is honest and clear with them about the road ahead . Speaker corbyn Prime Minister. Pm johnson i thank my honorable friend very much, and i would agree with him. Whatever the defects of the males ernment in wales, my experience is it has been working very well together across all four nations and will continue to do so. About fusion talk or mixed messages are grossly overstating the physician. The common sense of the british people is shining through the argument. They can see where we want to go. They can see where we need to go. Speaker corbyn we go to we go to john stella. Prime minister, at the end of march, i asked you to help the thousands of our people stranded abroad, notably in south asia. Grudgingly and much slower than other countries, the Foreign Office organized flights back, but there are many still stranded. Furthermore they now seem to be washing its hands for those who are indefinitely remaining, even andgh they may have lived worked here for years and are parents and grandparents of british citizens. Indeed, some have described this as another wind rush waiting to happen. Prime minister, will you sort this out . Pm johnson i thank the right honorable gentlemen. We estimate that 1. 3 million british nationals have now been returned. I know he would like the raf to be more involved, but i can tell him we put in 75 Million Pounds into a charter arrangement and a whole range of airlines have signed up. We are doing everything we can to bring people back. Thank you, mr. Speaker. Last week, the arrogant, incompetent, and vindictive Electoral Commission suffered its final humiliation. For four long years, it has investigated and pounded four people from four different legal organizations, making their lives and their families lives hell. Last week, the police said they were totally innocent and had done nothing wrong. Prime minister, for the sake of democracy, will you ensure that that politically corrupt, totally biased, and morally abolished . Is hearhnson mr. Speaker, i what my honorable friend says about the Electoral Commission. What i can say is of those who were investigated, i hope all those who spent so much time and energy and effort drawing attention to their supposed guilt will now spend as much time and energy and airtime drawing attention to their genuine innocence. Speaker corbyn we go across to david linda, north of the border. Thank you you, mr. Speaker. Some from glasgow were moved hotels,ommodation to where social distancing is hard to enforce. They are not doing enough to look after them. [indiscernible] jeff to make sure they are not left destitute once the lockdown is lifted. Pm johnson the honorable gentleman draws attention to a very important issue. We will make sure nobody, let alone asylumseekers, are ill treated, and i will be investigating the matter he referred to. Thank you, mr. Speaker. Next week should have been the beginning of the victory festival. As we are currently closed, they have shown true welsh innovation by moving its festival online this year. Will the Prime Minister join me in thanking the taurus businesses that have acted the tourist businesses that have acted in the National Interest to protect Public Health and remind our visitors that once the Welsh Government publishes its exit plan, we will be able to welcome you back again very soon . Pm johnson mr. Speaker, i am sorry that wonderful festival has had to be postponed this year. I thank my honorable friend for what she is doing to promote it tonight and congratulate them on their typical welsh ingenuity in making it into hail wifi. [laughter] thank you, mr. Speaker. Both covid19 and brexit is suppressing trade, damaging jobs and the economy. While we hope as covid ends, global trade will bounce back, there is no guarantee that will happen quickly. The Prime Minister could mitigate some of this damage by seeking an extension to the brexit transitional period. Can he explain to the house why he has been so negligent in not seeking that traditional extension now . Speaker corbyn Prime Minister. Pm johnson mr. Speaker, i think one of the most remarkable things, as i said to the right honorable gentleman, one of the most remarkable things about this crisis has been how the country has come together to deal with it. There is a spirit of unity and sharing i didnt see for a long time. I think a lot of people in this country dont want to see the brexit argument reopened. They want to see it settled, cf done. And that is what this government intends to do. Speaker corbyn simon bates. Pm johnson thank you, mr. Speaker. The hospitality and tourism businesses of my constituency are vital for the health of its local economy, of which a good example is the steam railway. Would the Prime Minister join me in congratulating them on the current restructuring and Fundraising Campaign designed to see them through the Coronavirus Crisis . And after the crisis is over, would he please hop on board one of their steam trains when he is next there . Speaker corbyn Prime Minister. Pm johnson mr. Speaker, i have a picture at home of myself and William Haynes aboard the steam rail they. Railway. I am proud to say, and i congratulate them on what they are doing to raise funds. I have no doubt they have a glorious future ahead with his support. Go up to neil gray. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I have a number of cases where employers are refusing to furlough staff because they dont understand or are willing to follow the guidance. 17yearold edgar found himself without a job or furlough support, and has been cast as ineligible for Social Security because of his age. Employers are refusing to engage with my correspondence. For cases like this, with the Prime Minister consider an appeals process to assist employees and to ensure people are treated fairly, according to the guidance, to save unnecessary redundancy and hardship . I think you make an excellent point. I would be happy if you could send me details. We will be very happy to take up the case you described. We go to k griffiths. Throughout the country, we are seeing nhs workers dealing with covid19. This devastation has tragically cost them their lives. What are we doing to make sure that [indiscernible] and make possible arrangements. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I thank my honorable friend, i think i understood very clearly what she was saying. It is obvious from the data that coronavirus, as i said earlier on, it is falling disproportionately on certain groups, not just the elderly. We need to examine exactly what is happening, protect the most vulnerable groups and take steps to ensure that nhs and others are properly protected and advised and screened. Thank you, mister speaker. Last week, climate experts reported green economic recovery blockages packages deliver higher returns than conventional stimulus spending and also warned that how we emerge from the Coronavirus Crisis mustnt be in a way that deepens the nature of the emergency. Does the prime does the Prime Minister a great and will he commits to action that will help us build that back better . Prime minister . The best answer i can give is that we totally understand that the Aviation Industry will reduce its co2. She is right that we need to entrench those aims. I do not want to go back to an era of the kinds of emissions we have had in the past. But aviation like every sector must keep its carbon low and we are working on solutions to ensure that we do that. We come to the final question. Will the Prime Minister join me in paying tribute to the staff at the hospital particularly those caring for patients with covid19 . And what he recognize that many have not been attending hospital as usual . Will he be helping hospitals like stepping hill to ensure that people have health care as usual . I think it is one of the most important features of the way this country responded to the epidemic that we did protect the nhs and we maintained capacity. No one went without a ventilator. We have a situation now as he rightly said where too many people are not going to hospital , to the doctor to seek the treatment they need. And i would encourage people with conditions that need medical treatment to go and get that treatment now and that will help us reduce deaths this year and survive the crisis. You have been watching Prime Ministers questions from the british house of commons. The next question time is wednesday, may 20 and you can see it live on cspan two at 7 00 or watch it next sunday night here on cspan. You can also go to cspan. Org and find video of past Prime Ministers questions and other British Public affairs programs. Cspan has unfiltered coverage of the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic. Updates from governors and congress and our daily call in program, washington journal, hearing your thoughts about the Coronavirus Crisis. If you missed any of our coverage, watch ondemand at cspan. Org coronavirus. International Monetary Fund antigen direct predicts the Global Economy will rebound after the coronavirus pandemic with a partial recovery in 2021 and a full recovery in 2022 or 2023. She spoke with politico for about a half hour. Ryan good afternoon. Good evening. Good morning. Ryan good afternoon. Good evening. Good morning. Wherever you are in the world, welcome to this virtual interview from politico. My name is robert heath and i am