Transcripts For CSPAN Question Time 20150126

Other questions focused on changes to the National Health service and unemployment figures. This is 35 minutes. Order. Questions for the Prime Minister. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I have meetings with colleagues and others. In addition to my duties, i will have further such meetings today. Mr. Speaker my son has autism. He needs therapy and routine. Insecure tendency been his and his devoted family has moved 18 times. He has had a breakdown. Can i ask the Prime Minister if he agrees that insecure sixmonth private tendencies are no place for family with children and particularly not children with autism . I agree with you on to with the lady to how security is important. Particularly when youre looking after disabled children and you need that security. Thats why weve been encouraging longerterm tendency alongside the standards sixmonth tendency towards his developed in the market. First, they sold our old reserves at a record low, then they try to freeze our Energy Prices at a record high. Doesnt this latest display of economic illiteracy confirm that only this government can prevent james blunt returning back to bedlam . I think i caught some of that though i may need to buy the album to get the rest of it. The point is a good one. The oppositions policy of freezing Energy Prices at the top of the market will be denying the price cuts that are coming through around this country to customers. But the key to all of this is to stick to our longterm economic plan which, again today, is seeing unemployment all, the number of people in work rise to record levels, something im sure will get a welcome across the house of commons. Ed miliband. Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, let me start by saying on the iraq inquiry, it was set up by six months ago and should be published as soon as possible. On the economy as the election approaches, can the Prime Minister confirm that we now know this will be the first government since the 1920s to leave office with Living Standards lower at the end of the parliament and they were at the beginning . First of all, let me agree with the leader of the opposition, that we want to see this published promptly. If everyone in this house, including members opposite, had voted to set up the iraq inquiry when we proposed, it would have been published years ago. Perhaps he could start by recognizing his own regret that voting against the establishment of the inquiry. Mr. Speaker, the inquiry was established six years ago after our combat operations ended. Frankly, my views on the iraq war are well known and i want the inquiry published. I noticed he didnt answer on the economy. He didnt answer on the economy, and families are 1600 pounds a year worse off. He said in his 2010 manifesto that Living Standards will rise. Can we therefore, agree that tori manifesto promises on Living Standards are worth the paper theyre written on . He voted again and again against establishing the inquiry. But, no apology. Let me deal very directly with Living Standards and what is happening in the economy of our country. The news out today shows a Record Number of people in work, a Record Number of women in work. We are seeing wages growing ahead of inflation, and were also seeing disposable income now higher than any year it was under the last Labour Government. As for his figure of 1600 pounds, it doesnt include any of the tax reduction that we have put in place again and again under this government. That is the truth. And the fact of the matter is, mr. Speaker, he told us they there would be no growth. We have had growth. He told us there would be no jobs, weve had jobs. He told they would be a costofliving crisis, we got inflation north of. 5 . He is wrong about everything. He has raised taxes on ordinary families, raised vat, he has cut tax credits. The reality is that people are worse off on wages and theyre worse off on taxes under this Prime Minister. Now, he thinks everything is hunky dory. Did he even noticed this week the report that came out this that said half of all families where one person is in fulltime work cant make ends meet at the end of the month . You can work hard, play by the rules, but in his britain you still cant pay the bills. Thats a reality. I study to every report that comes out. The rowntree report said this. The risk of falling below a socially Living Standards decreases as the amount of work and household increases. And under this government weve got over 30 Million People in work. Weve got the lowest rates of young people claiming unemployment since the 1970s. Longterm unemployment is down. Womens unemployment is down. Were getting the country back to work. And in terms of Living Standards, we have raised to 10,000 pounds the amount of money people can earn before they start paying taxes, and people who are in work are seeing their pay go up by 4 . If we had listened to the right honorable gentleman nine of none of these things would have happened. If we listened to him, it would be more borrowing, more spending, more debt. All the things they cut us in the mess in the first place. Mr. Speaker, he is the person who has failed on the deficit. And this Prime Minister, and this Prime Minister, and this Prime Minister has never had it so good, and he is wrong. He doesnt notice what is going on because the life is good for those at the top. While everyday people are working, executive earnings have gone up 20 21 in the last year alone. He criticizes me on the deficit. Hes the man who couldnt even remember the deficit. [shouting] and also he has now had four questions and not a single word of welcome for the unemployment figures out today. Behind every single one of those statistics is a family that is has someone who can go to work, earn a wage, help give the family security. We are the party that is putting the country back to work. Labour are the party that would put it all at risk. Ed miliband. Total complacency about one when you said five years of failure under this government. Now, under him were a country of food banks and bank bonuses. Tax cuts to millionaires while millions are paying more. Isnt his biggest broken promise of all that we are all in it together . [shouting] oh, dear me. You can see the problem that labour have got. They cant talk about the deficit because its coming down. They cant talk about employment because its going up. They cant talk about the economy because the imf, the president of the United States all say british economy is performing well. So what are they left with . I will tell you, mr. Speaker, theyve got an Energy Policy to keep prices high. Theyve got a minimum wage policy that would cut the minimum wage. And theyve got a homes tax that is done the has done the impossible and unite the honorable member for hackley with peter mandelson. To be fair, to be fair to the honorable gentleman we learned over the weekend what he can achieve in one week and in don caster, where he couldnt open the door. He was bullied by small children and he set the carpet on fire but just imagine what a shambles he would make of running the country. Mr. Speaker. This is a Prime Minister order. It may well be the session will take a bit longer but questions and answers [shouting] fine by me. However long it takes. The questions and the answers will be heard. Ed miliband. I have to say to the Prime Minister, if you are so confident about leadership why is he chickening out of the tv Election Debate . This is the Prime Minister who will go down in history as the worst on Living Standards for working people. He tells people that they are corrupt. They know theyre worse off. Working families cant afford another five years of this government. Why dont we leave the last word to the head of the imf . Who often misquoted by the shadow chancellor who today seems to be having a quiet day, and i can see why, because our economy is growing, people are getting back to work. She said this, the uk where clearly growth is improving, the deficit has been reduced where unemployment is , going down certainly from a global perspective this is exactly the sort of result we would like to see. More growth less unemployment, a growth that is more inclusive that is better for us growth that is , sustainable and balanced. That is the truth. Every day this country is getting stronger and more secure. And everyday we see a labour party weaker and more divided and more unfit for office. [shouting] does my right honorable friend fully recognize the contrast inefficiency between the inquiries into the crimean war [laughter] and the campaign . But when compared with his graceful incompetence of the chilcot inquiry into widely held suspicions that mr. Blair conspired with president george w. Bush several months before march of 2003, and then systematically systematically sought to falsify the evidence on which that action was taken . Well, i obviously am bound to the father of the houses knowledge about these previous inquiries. [laughter] the one thing all three have have in common is im not responsible for the timing of any of them. The truth is it is extremely frustrating that this report cannot come up more quickly, but the responsibility lies squarely with the inquiry team. It is an independent inquiry, it would not be right for the Prime Minister to try to interfere with that inquiry but i feel sure when the inquiry does come out it will be thorough and it will be comprehensive. But let me repeat again, if the labour party had voted for this inquiry when we first put it forward the inquiry would be out by now. Mr. Mark reckless. The deputy Prime Minister mr. Bates ive made my views very clear. If we have one minor party, we should have all the minor parties. That when this happens, 1. I will be making his what he said, esther pharos, in 2012 about the nhs in the honorable gentleman comes to this house at his week after week, he said this, we will have to move to an insurancebased system of health care. Privatize the nhs. I say never. Thank you, mr. Speaker. Around about an estimated 13 Million People, 30 of those who should be eligible to vote, are either incorrectly or not registered at all on the individual electoral registration system. In the year of the election, will book Prime Minister ensure that the government fully supports the National Voter registration day on the fifth of february . Will he commit himself to take part in the leadership live event . It help his decision to know may that the greens have agreed to take part in that debate. I think it is important that people register to vote and thats why local authority has been given over 7 Million Pounds to help in the process but if i think the individual Voter Registration will help to cut out some of the fraud and some of the systems we use in previous elections. Thank you, mr. Speaker. This week channel four dispatches an excellent job in extorting the reality of life for millions of people in lowpaid jobs. Cant the Prime Minister see that this is having a job with decent pay is still a fundamental problem for our economy . If you look at the figures, you will see that eight out of 10 of the jobs created in the past year are fulltime jobs. I know the labor party comes youre trying to make a case but i am afraid all of the evidence has moved away from you. Originally, it was said, no jobs would be created. We now see more people in work than ever in our history. Then we were told all the jobs would be parttime. You can now see the majority are fulltime jobs. Then we were told the jobs wouldnt pay more than inflation. You now see wages rising ahead of inflation. And, of course helping that is the cut in income tax that we have made to a people who are low paid and to take the out of income tax altogether. That is the program we are pursuing. Is not an ounce of complacency because theres a lot more work to do but we are on the right track. Jessica lee. Thank you, mr. Speaker. This marks the 800th anniversary of the magna carta. Really will the Prime Minister support programs to make all children aware of this important document and more importantly about the constitutional history of our great country and the rights and freedoms we hold so dear . Lacks i absolutely join the honorable lady in making that point. This is an important anniversary and i think its very important that this country , and our parliament commemorate this. We need to make sure we teach in school how are our constitution has evolved the , rights that we have because in those things is very important for understanding the precious jewel we have been having a functioning democracy under the rule of law. The target for a maximum two months await from urgent referral for suspected cancer to first treatment for all cancers is being breached. Is there a bigger sight of his governments failure, then his inability to uphold key rights for Cancer Patients that are enshrined in the nhs constitution . It will be vitally important that Cancer Patients get treatment. What we are seeing under this government is half a million more people getting referred for Cancer Treatment, and that is why cancer survival rates are going up. Lets give them the figures for his own hospital area. Youve got 96. 8 of patients with suspected cancer seen by specialist within two weeks. Thats an improvement since 2010 , but you have 100 of patients diagnosed with cancer beginning treatments within 31 days. Thats an improvement on 2010. And youve also got 94. 8 of patients beginning Cancer Treatment within 62 days of a gp referral. That again is an improvement on 2010. The reason were able to make these improvements is we put the resources into the nhs when the labour party told that that was irresponsible. And weve also got rid of the bureaucracy in the nhs in england, which is why the nhs in england is performing better than the nhs in wales. I share the Prime Ministers disappointment of the chilcot report particularly when you call the issue in 2009 that what it would be published in time for the 2010 election let alone the 2015 election. Will the Prime Minister agree that the the invitation of afford a testament to sir john chilcot to give evidence to the committee not to point the finger of blame at to but to ensure that the situation never happens again . Honestly, my view is, when asked to appear in public service, they should meet that obligation. Its a matter for the house and for his select committee how he processes that. The most important thing right now for chilcot and his team is to get the report ready and to make sure it can be published as soon as possible after the election. Angela smith. Last summer my constituents suffered a major stroke while out shopping. Emergency call was called in as a priority, but yet it took and the service an hour and four minutes to get to him. This is just one example of the crisis that is now in nationwide. So can ask what is the Prime Minister going to do about this situation . What we are doing in terms of the Ambulance Service is make sure that our there are 1700 more paramedics. We put 50 million more into the Ambulance Service over the winter. Let me to hope that something which all sides of the house can unite over which is , it would be completely wrong for the Ambulance Strike that is proposed to go ahead next week. Now, i unreservedly condemn any attempt to go on strike and to threaten our services, particularly this time of heightened national concern, and i hope members of the labour party a respectable list union they are sponsored by do the same thing. Thank you, mr. Speaker. While the opposition wont come with a trip, britain has the Fastest Growing advanced economy in the world . Would you welcome todays announcement of unemployment falling across britain . Does he agree that we must be doing something right . Well, i thought it was very kind of the president of the United States to make that point about doing something right, and the imf are absolutely clear. What the imf said is this. The u. K. Leads in a very eloquent and convincing way in the eu. If you countries, but only a few, are driving growth. That is what they think about the british economy and about the american economy. Its helping in the over, where the claimant count is down by 28 since election but, frankly, we shouldnt be satisfied until everyone who wants a job in the country is able to get a job in our country and until our Unemployment Rate is the best in the g7. That is what i would define as achieving what we want , which is full employment in our country. Thank you, mr. Speaker. The Prime Ministers crisis and the National Health service has its roots in general practice. The changes this government made to gp pension saw a huge number of gps retire early. In chesterfield, 40 of places on future recruitment of gps were left vacant. How do we expect that they can recruit the gps we need when so few of them have confidence in the National Health service . There are 1000 more gps working in nhs today than when i became Prime Minister. In his own area that are 25 more gps than in 2010. But i agree with him that we need further changes to make sure our gps our our Family Doctor Service Works really well. We already see 4 Million People having access to sevenday opening of gp surgeries. But i want to see that expanded to the whole of the county. This is a step forward after a step back taken by the last Labour Government that took gps out of care altogether. The east of england helped boost the nations economic recovery and we can do even more if the east anglian rail manifesto was implement. So will the Prime Minister encourage colleagues to fund this with a modern rolling stop at the mainline Infrastructure Improvements through essex the . I do want to see real improvements in the greater service. He is right about the economy in the Eastern Region of our country, 224,000 more people in work compared to 2010. What the chancellor said in the autumn statement is that we would provide the funding for the improved Rolling Stock they want to achieve as well as improvements in essex, we would help achieve a 90 campaign and we also want to see a service from ipswich and will get to london in under an hour. This will take invested with a part of a longterm economic plan. Diane abbott. [shouting] today, in the publication of the chilcott report, is widely considered to be a scandal. Does the Prime Minister appreciate that it is important to find out exactly what has gone wrong . Because we have a major inquiry into child sex abuse forthcoming and the public would not understand if powerful people who were named in that report were able to delay publication year after year. I agree with the honorable lady that its important these inquiries are done thoroughly and are done rapidly. My understanding is that there is no mystery and why this is taking so long. It is a very thorough report, and you have to give the people who are criticized in the report the opportunity to respond to criticisms. That is what is happening at the moment. I do not believe anyone is trying to dodge the report or put off the report. We all want to see it, but you have to go through the proper processes. There is no question of this report being delivered to me and me deciding not to publish it in terms of the election. The whole report will not reach the Prime Ministers desk until after the election. Angela watkinson. Will the Prime Minister join me in congratulating chamber of commerce linda street whove come together tomorrow evening in an event to promote Employment Opportunities for people with Mental Health problems at . I will certainly do that. I think it is right that Mental Health is getting a much our higher political platform today than it has in the past. In terms of the National Health service weve given it to testing in the nhs constitution but my friend is right. One of the key challenges is helping people with Mental Health conditions get into work. There is a lot more thans nest can do to help people in that situation. As we know, next week it will be 70 years since off schlitz auschwitz was liberated. With issues like this, that should be no excuse for antisemitism is a murderous disease which took the lives of millions of innocent people, in my lifetime. I agree 100 with the honorable gentleman for everything he said. Anyone whos been to auschwitz, and i went recently, you cannot help to be struck by what an appalling and came of the hatred and prejudice fostered across europe. And the sight of all those Childrens Clothing and toys and bags and human hair, those sites stay with you for a very long time. Lets make sure the Holocaust Commission we have established that we take that work forward and continue to make sure young people in the schools are able to make the harrowing but powerful trip to see the concentration camp themselves. May i tell my right honorable friend that someone who voted with colleagues against the iraq war, i have sought to follow the chilcot inquiry very closely. May i tell them that im aware of no evidence that any witness, any witness, has sought to offer the progress of the inquiry by delay . But im aware that there are reports that there have been some illness among the members of the inquiry, and in one case severely so. But the lesson to be learned from this, after the experience of these inquiries, that the proper template for such inquiries in the future should be as of levenson, just judge lead but with a timetable . I think my right honorable friend makes a strong point, particularly from the stance he has taken, and i agree with him i have not heard anything that anyone is trying artificially to delay this report. He is absolutely right about some of the things that have happened to the inquiry members most notably the brilliant biographer of churchill, martin gilbert, best wishes from across the house. I think he makes a point, that as inquiries are set up, we should give thought to trying to make sure they are completed in good time. Thank you, mr. Speaker. The Prime Minister said that his policies would eradicate the deficit in this parliament. Unfortunately he was mistaken. A very large deficit remains. What is the reason in his view why his economic plan has fallen so far short . We inherited from treasury ministers, including himself the biggest deficit of any country in the western world. We have cut that in half. We have done that through a combination of reducing public spending, of making sure we have responsible tax policy and strong economic growth. That is what weve delivered. All the way through, the labour partys proposals have been for more spending, more borrowing and more debt. They havent even got to base camp of working out why the deficit matters. As the member privileged to represent the home of the british army, established as a direct result of the inquiry of the crimean war, may i ask my right honorable friend, Prime Minister, to reassure me that press reports this morning that the discussions about the regular armys alreadylow level of 82000, are totally unfounded and so long as he remained Prime Minister strictly no such , cuts will be contemplated . I can actually give him the