Next next, next, british Prime MinisterBoris Johnson fields questions on the governments response to the coronavirus pandemic. This is 35 minutes. We are now moving onto questions to the Prime Minister. Hear hear. And there will be further meetings. I associate myself with those kind remarks on behalf of my honorable friend the member for bolton. My constituents are reeling from the 9 contraction of the economy since march this year. Unemployment has skyrocketed and joblessness in haringey is the highest in the capital. Unfortunately, we are at the same time facing the idea that there could be a congestion tax forced on an extra 4 million londoners by this government. These londoners are already facing the double whammy of covid and financial ruin. Will the Prime Minister please immediately stop the imposition of this dreadful plan . I look forward to his answer. I must respectfully inform the honorable lady that the current mayor of london had effectively bankrupted tfl before coronavirus had even hit and left a massive black hole in its finances. Any need to make up that deficit is entirely down to him. It is entirely his responsibility. Any expansion of the congestion charge or any other measure taken to improve the finances of tfl are entirely the responsibility of the bankrupt current labour mayor of london. People the length and breadth of the country have made many sacrifices over the last few months to try to suppress covid19, but infection rates are increasing fast and buckinghamshire may soon find itself in tier 2. Can my right honorable friend tell the people of my aylesbury constituency how long we would be expected to stay there, what additional help there would be for local businesses, and, crucially, what the route out would be . Thank you. I hope i can reassure my honorable friend by telling him that the incidence in the vale of aylesbury is in fact less than half the england average. The way forward for constituents in the vale of aylesbury and everywhere else is for everyone to keep following the guidance, observing the new restrictions and, obviously, washing hands, wearing a Face Covering in enclosed spaces and keeping a sensible distance. Keir starmer. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I thank the Prime Minister for his remarks about my honorable friend, the member for bolton south east. Prime minister, how does an area which goes into tier 3 restrictions get out of those restrictions . The simplest and most effective way for areas to get out of those restrictions is, of course, to get the r down to 1 or below, and i am very pleased to say that some areas are already having a considerable effect with the measures that they are taking. Can i press the Prime Minister on that answer . If the infection rate, r, in a tier 3 area has not come below 1, will it be possible in any circumstances for that area to come out of tier 3, if the r has not come below 1 . Obviously, the r is one of the measures that we look at. Well take a decision based on a number of things, including the r, also, of course, rates of infection, rates of admission to hospital, and other data. But the most important thing is for areas that do go into tier 3and i am very grateful to local leadership in the areas that have gone into tier 3, because it is the right thing for them to do, the right thing for their constituents, the right thing to save lives, when they are able to make progress, then, of course, they will come out of tier 3. The measures that are put in place are reviewed every 28 days. I am now confused by the Prime Ministers answer. If it is not the r rate under 1, what is it . Millions of people want to know the answer to that question. Millions of them are in tier 3 and millions more are likely to go into tier 3. They really need to know. On friday, the chief scientific officer said that tier 3 on its own certainly is not enough to get the r rate below 1. On the same day, the Prime Minister himself said that there was only a chance of getting infection rates down. That goes to the heart of the issue in Greater Manchester and elsewhere. The widespread fear is that tier 3 is the worst of all worlds. It brings significant economic harm without getting the virus sufficiently under control to exit tier 3. So instead of being a solution, tier 3 is a gateway to weeks and weeks, or more likely months and months, of agony from which there is no likely exit. Can the Prime Minister not see the problem if there is not a clear exit . I am sorry, but i have made it absolutely clear that a part of the country going into tier 3 is in there only for 28 days. We will review it after 28 days. Areas that have gone into tier 3 are, i believe, already making progress, and areas where there are restrictions in place are also showing signs of progress. We are pursuing a local, a regional approach, which is the sensible approach for this country. That is what the epidemiology supports. It is what the deputy chief medical officer supported last night. Again, i want to thank local leadership in merseyside, in lancashire, actually in london, in the West Midlands and elsewhere for what they are doing. It is a bit incoherent of the right honorable and learned gentleman to attack local lockdowns when he wants to plunge the whole country back into a damaging lockdown for weeks on end, and he has no clue about how he would propose to get the country out of that, does he . I appreciate that there will be a review every 28 days, but if the r rate has not come below 1, then the infection rate is still going up, the numbers are going up, the admissions are going up, the numbers in hospital are going up and the deaths are going up. Is the Prime Minister seriously saying that he would take a tier 3 area out of tier 3 with the r above 1 . I do not think so. Let me spell out what that means. On friday, thousands of people in Greater Manchester, taxi drivers, pub and hospitality workers, people working in betting shops, the selfemployed and freelancers, will either be out of work or face significant pay cuts. That is the reality on friday in Greater Manchester. But their rent and their mortgage will not be lower. Their food and their heating bills will not be lower, and that could last for months. Why can the Prime Minister and the chancellor not understand that . They should stop bargaining with peoples lives, stop dividing communities, and provide the support that is needed in manchester. I am very proud that this government have already given Greater Manchester £1. 1 billion in support for business, £200 million in extra unringfenced funding, £50 million to tackle infections in care homes, £20 million for test and trace, and another £22 million for the local response that we announced yesterday. And yesterday, the mayor of Greater Manchester was offered a further £60 million, which he turned down, having had no encouragement to support it, i may say, from the right honorable and learned gentleman. I can tell the house today that that cash will be distributed to the boroughs of Greater Manchester. I thank right honorable and honorable members across the house, including my honorable friends the members for heywood middleton, for bolton west and for Bolton North East mark and for bury south christian and for bury north, cheadle, west, altrincham, sale and hazel grove for the support that they have given in this matter. This is a Prime Minister who can pay £7,000 a day for consultants on track and trace, which is not working. Who can find £43 million for a garden bridge that was never built. But who cannot find £5 million for the people of Greater Manchester. I really think the Prime Minister has crossed a rubicon here, not just in the miserly way that he has treated Greater Manchester, but in the grubby takeitorleaveit way that these local deals are being done. It is corrosive to public trust to pit region against region, mayor against mayor, council against council and ask them to trade away their businesses and jobs. We need a one nation approach to replace these endless local battles with clear National Criteria and proper support for jobs. Labours motion this afternoon would do that. Why will the Prime Minister not support it . I am proud of the one nation conservative support that we have given to the entire country, £200 billion in support for jobs and livelihoods across the whole of the country already, and a further £9. 9 billion now for the job support scheme. It is this government who have cut vat for business and deferred business rates. There is no other country in europe where so much support and so much help has been given to the population to get through this crisis, and we will continue to do that. But i think it is the height of absurdity that the right honorable and learned gentleman stands up and attacks the economic consequences of the measures we are obliged to take across some parts of the country when he wants to turn the lights out with a full National Lockdown, taking kids that was his policy last week anyway, wasnt it . Perhaps he could confirm that that is still his policy. Is that what he wants to do . At his press conference yesterday, the Prime Minister produced heat maps across the country, showing that the infection rate was up in all ages and across all regions, and particularly showing regions that have been in the equivalent of tier 2 restrictions for weeks, if not months, moving into tier 3. Country so the infection rate in all ages across all regions particularly showing regions, the equivalent of tier 2 restrictions for weeks if not months moving into tier 3. As they are moving into tier 3, if tier 2 works they should be going to tier 1 so tier 2 goes to tier 3, 23 has no end, no confidence in the are rate coming below one and i do not believe the tier 3 regional cloud of those restrictions unless our is below one across numbers so we now have by the way cornwall is the only place where the infection rate today is less than Greater Manchester when it went into local restrictions so the idea that we are somehow immune is wrong. So carry on with the Prime Ministers approach which will be to weeks and weeks, months and months in all your constituencies for millions of people in tier 2 and 3 with no exit, put in place a 2 or 3 week time limit subject to break the cycle, brings virus back under control, wales, Northern Ireland and scotland have chosen that part. With half turns starting this friday this may be the last opportunity for the Prime Minister to put in place an effective circuit break. The Prime Minister was too slow in the first phase of this pandemic, too slow again. We cannot repeat this mistake. Will react in the Public Interest to take the opportunity to put in place a circuit break this friday . We will do whatever it takes to get this country through the crisis with or without the support of the right honorable gentlemen. I may say i have explained why the policy is the right one for the country because it would involve closing schools, shattering businesses, although psychological, emotional damage lockdowns of that kind bring. You cant say how many Circuit Breakers would be necessary or how long they would go on or how much damage they would do to the uk economy and peoples mental health. We on the other hand want a common sense approach which is a local and regional, keeping our economy moving because that is the way to get the whole of our country through this crisis to gather, so its is under tier 3 restrictions. Lets head to cheshire with edward simpson. Thank you very much. After recent positive progress covid19 has disproportionately and adversely affected occupation levels in female school and physical activity. To reverse this will my right honorable friend lend his support to the first developed of the first ever womens and Girls FootballNational Center of excellence in my constituency, 70 Million Pound project he previously expressed enthusiasm for, help build female grassroots support . I think my honorable friends was i welcome cheshires commitment for a new worldclass facility for women and girls and propose opening the center in winston. The leader of the smc, ian blackburn. My thoughts are on the recovery. Next week the pandemic is worsening, the tory government will move mass redundancies across the United Kingdom, meanwhile the Prime Minister is complaining, he cant get by 150,000 pounds but i ask the Prime Minister if he finds life such a struggle how does he expect many workers to get by with this furlough to sink in . Mister speaker, i am proud of what weve done to support low incomes, this government raised the living wage by record amounts, increased universal credit by 1000 pounds a year and he makes the point about furloughs and as he knows, combined with universal credit, the Job Support TeamJust Announced workers will be getting 80 , we will get this country through this crisis and support people of low income throughout the period. Ian blackburn. Im afraid the Prime Minister just doesnt get it. Yesterday we saw his disregard for the people of Greater Manchester, the people of scotland are all too familiar with millions of family struggling to get by and this tory government in the middle of a pandemic, the Prime Minister letting unemployment soar like the 1980s. Time is running out with one week left. With the premise are finally invest in our communities, need millions of people on the scrap heap . I must reject what the right honorable gentlemen said. The reality of what the government is doing to support people across the country, not just the 200,000 pounds investment in jobs but we are engaged, in help and housing and infrastructure throughout the United Kingdom for a generation. I congratulate the Prime Minister for the strong stance in negotiation with the eu. Not treating as an independent state to deliver a freetrade agreements, to leave the Withdrawal Agreement and make its own arrangements regarding the uks marketing. Whatever the effect of the Withdrawal Agreement, i can assure her the uks internal market which everybody on both sides of the house values is protected and upheld by the internal market which goes through another one and protecting the good friday agreement. The key is savings, turned 18 last month, one of the first to see the Child Trust Fund mature. But he cant manage his own finances and cant access the savings. Government rules mean his parents cant either meaning legal fees. He wants to use it to buy specially adapted, willful Prime Minister look at proposals to end this injustice for disabled young people . I will do what i can to help in that particular case. I dont know if it is comfortable for a number of schemes but if he cares to write to me i will answer. Bob blackman . Thank you, my right honorable friend will be aware of negotiations going on, on further bailout. The current mayor is demanding 5. 65 billion pounds to keep running for the next 18 months. If he refuses to accept any economies. Can my right honorable friend confirm the current mayor of london to expand the charge to the circular one. As i said in my answer to the first question, the finances, in robust financial help by the previous mayor. It certainly was entirely the fault of the current mayor of london with his grossly irresponsible fallacies that were never pursued, and the fault lies entirely, i trust my honorable friends will make that cliff. Financial support packages, nationalization, what the government has done on covid19 but no end to the virus incite can i ask if he has to reconsider many of his schemes sentiments ago with all of this and the minimum income in 6 months, 3272 cases in his own state in the balance can he start tonight . Prime minister, Prime Minister, please, weve got to help each other. The honorable lady is right to call attention to the difficulties facing many families because of the crisis we have been in, is to keep kids in school as we possibly can, vitiated by the series of lockdowns being proposed. Dont want to go down that route and what i want to do is make sure we continued to support families throughout the crisis to have the cash available. I would be delighted, to be part of the biggest Hospital Building the infrastructure, delivering the infrastructure program. I think the Prime Minister in february, the wonderful work being done by local medics and staff. The hospital expedited that spaces ambitious plans but only if the time taken to regulate appearances for nhs is dramatically shortened. Will the Prime Minister, have the improvements as quickly as possible. I hope i can reassure him by saying the modeling work is completed and the development is underway as we speak. On the sixte