It most of the time. Does the Prime Minister agree . Prime minister cameron i do not agree. I think that there is a strong case for change, but it is a change that we should allow local authorities to decide on, which is why we will be putting in front of the house, in the bill, the opportunity for that to happen. Let me give the honorable lady and the house two examples of where i do not think the Current Situation works. First, there are these restrictions on Opening Hours for many stores. Someone shouts, what about families . Well, there are ma stores that families would like to shop in, and you have to go to the stores and walk around for hours before they are actually allowed to buy anything. The second point was make i would make is that you can shop on the internet. I think that it is time to modernize our approach, give families more choice and help create jobs at the same time. David burrowes i have here a question from iain of enfield. He says, this is an appeal to help those who no longer have any dignity and selfrespect. The down and outs. He calls for a constructive attempt to tackle this growing urban problem. Those words, which were spoken nearly 50 years ago by the late, great conservative member for enfield west, iain macleod, resonate today, so will the Prime Ministers allout assault on poverty tackle and prevent homelessness . Prime minister cameron i am very grateful to my honorable friend. Iain macleod was indeed a great statesman, a great politician and someone who believed, as i do, that we should be as active in social reform as we are in economic reform. When it comes to tackling homelessness, we have the no second night out initiative, which is working, particularly in london, to find people a home. Frankly, we have to do more, particularly with troubled families who need an , intervention to help them, often in relation to Mental Health issues, and make sure that they get all the help they need to deal with their problems and ensure that they have not only a roof over their head, but a job and a livelihood too. Jeremy corbyn i know that the Prime Minister will absolutely welcome my first few questions, because we are returning to his favorite subject, tax credits. Yesterday, one of his back benchers said too many people will be adversely affected. Something must give. For those of us proud enough to call ourselves compassionate conservatives, it must not be on the backs of the working families we purport to serve. Where was she wrong . Prime minister cameron the tax credit changes are part of a package and a package that includes a Higher National living wage and tax reductions, and i think that is the right approach for our country. Let us make work pay, let us allow people to earn more, let us cut their taxes, and let us make welfare affordable. I am delighted that once again this measure passed the house of commons last night with a big majority. Jeremy corbyn if the Prime Minister is keen on tax credits helping people into work, i have got a question for him from lisette, who says, a lot of people are setting up their own businesses as selfemployed especially in rural areas where Job Vacancies are limited and pay is often low. Tax credits help them until their business becomes established. Cutting tax credits damages her Life Opportunities and the Life Opportunities of anyone she might employ. Does he not see the value of giving support to people trying to improve their lives rather than cutting their ability to survive properly . Prime minister cameron of course we want to help the selfemployed on low incomes, and that is why the people on the lowest incomes will continue to receive the Child Tax Credit at £2,730. But there are other things we are doing to help the selfemployed. We are cutting income tax. That helps the selfemployed. We are introducing the employment allowance to cut the National Insurance budget for the selfemployed. That helps. But above all what we are doing is creating an economy with 2 million more people in work, an economy that is growing, wages that are rising, and inflation that is at zero. All these questions on tax credits in a way come back to the same point, which is how you build a strong and secure economy. You do not do it on the back of a massive deficit and an everincreasing debt, which is what labour left us with. Jeremy corbyn this is all very strange, because the Prime Minister seems to have changed his mind on this subject in rather a large way. John emailed me to say, the Prime Minister solemnly declared on National Television shortly before the last yes, solemnly, and i am solemn as well shortly before the last general election that tax credits would not be affected. Is there any reason why this change has come about or any reason why we should believe the Prime Minister on any assurances he gives in relation to tax credits . Prime minister cameron what we said before the election is that we would reduce welfare by £12 billion as part of getting the deficit down, part of getting the economy growing, and part of creating 2 million jobs. That is what happened at the election, and we are keeping our promises by delivering that stronger economy. He talks about something strange happening. Something quite strange did happen last night. We had a vote on tax credits and the deputy leader of the labour party did not turn up. Can he explain that strange outing . Jeremy corbyn if the Prime Minister cannot answer now on tax credits and the devastation thank you. And the devastation that the cuts are causing to many peoples lives, can i ask him to deal with another subject, the Steel Industry . Does he appreciate the devastating effects that the governments nonintervention in the Steel Industry is having on so many people . I have got a question from a maintenance fitter at the tata steelworks in scunthorpe. He is helping to produce steel for network rail and Many Companies that were exporting it. He wants to know what the Prime Minister is going to do to support the Steel Industry and its workers facing redundancy. Is it not time to walk the walk rather than talk the talk about an industrial strategy . Prime minister cameron we do want to help our Steel Industry, and we recognize well, i will set out exactly how we will help the Steel Industry. It is in a very difficult situation. World prices have collapsed by more than half, and the surplus capacity in the world is more than 50 times the uk output, but our plan is to take action in four vital areas in procurement, in energy costs, in unfair competition and dumping, and in tax and government support. Honorable members opposite are asking, what have you done so far . Well, let me take one example. On procurement, we changed the procurement rules so that it was easier to source uk steel. That is why crossrail, 26 miles of tunnels, the biggest construction project anywhere in europe is using almost exclusively british steel. That did not happen under the last labour government. It does happen now. Jeremy corbyn isnt the real problem that the government does not actually have an industrial strategy to protect this countrys most Important Industries . If they had, they would not have had to be dragged kicking and screaming to this house three times in the last eight days. Thousands of jobs have already gone or are at risk in redcar, scunthorpe, rotherham, motherwell, cambuslang, wrexham and across the west midlands. Isnt it time for concrete action today so that there is Government Intervention and support for our industry and so that we have a viable Steel Industry for the long term, which this country desperately needs to have . Prime minister cameron we do want a strong and viable Steel Industry, and that means taking action across all the areas that i mentioned. Let me mention another one energy costs. We have already put £50 million into Cutting Energy costs, and our plans will mean hundreds of millions of pounds extra to cut energy costs. Members opposite mr. Speaker order. I apologize for having to interrupt the Prime Minister. Mr. Blenkinsop, a statesmanlike demeanor is what i would hope for from someone who has served with distinction in the opposition whips office. Calm yourself or take a sedative. Prime minister. Prime minister cameron on energy, we will save hundreds of millions of pounds. I say to the leader of the opposition that last week in the house of lords the labour party voted to add to energy bills by opposing the measures we are taking on wind power. So, yes, we do have a strategy. We do have a plan and we should be working across the parties to deliver the plan. I met with the member of parliament for scunthorpe and neighboring mps back in november last year to make sure we could take all the action necessary, and across each of these areas that is exactly what we will do. Jeremy corbyn , well, he met those members to discuss the issue 11 months ago, but he has yet to go to the European Union to discuss how the British Government could intervene to protect our industry. The final question i want to put to the Prime Minister comes from louis. This is deeply embarrassing to all of us in this house and, indeed, to this country as a whole. The United Kingdom is currently being investigated by the un committee on the rights of persons with disabilities because of allegations of grave and systematic violations of disabled peoples writes. This is very sad news indeed, but it is even sadder that we need to be investigated because of violations that have occurred. Will the Prime Minister commit to cooperate fully with the inquiry and publish in full the governments response to it, so that we can ensure that people with disabilities are treated properly and legally and given full respect by and opportunities in our society . Prime minister cameron first, let me take up the honorable gentleman on the point he made about intervention in europe. We have been doing this for months, making sure that there is proper action against dumping in the European Union. We have taken the cases to the European Commission and will continue to do so. On the issue of helping disabled people in our country, tens of thousands more disabled people have got into work under this government. Because of legislation passed by a previous conservative government, we have some of the strongest equality legislation when it comes to disability. Anywhere in the world. Of course i will look at any United Nations investigation, but sometimes when you look at these investigations you find that they are not necessarily all they are originally cracked up to be. There are many disabled people in our world who do not have any of the rights or any of the support that they get here in britain, and i think we should be proud of what we do as we cooperate with this report. Andrea jenkyns Bruntcliffe School in my constituency was a struggling school, but it recently achieved its second best results in its history. The school reopened this september as part of the highly successful Gorse Academies trust and continues to grow from strength to strength. What is my right honorable friend doing to ensure that all pupils have access to a great education and that no school is left behind . Prime minister cameron i thank my honorable friend for that question. We are always happy to hear positive news from morley and outwood. It was not always that way. She makes an important point, which is that in school after school in our country, and often in some quite challenging neighborhoods, we are seeing inspirational teachers using the new tools we have given them and driving up standards. Measuring the percentage of those children getting good gcses is a key way to measure progress. I have myself been to schools where i have seen a 10, 20 or sometimes even 30point improvement. Often, schools in innercity areas are doing better than many schools in rather more wellheeled suburban areas. That shows that, with the right teaching and the right leadership, we can have real social opportunity right through our country. Angus robertson information has recently been released that a coroner has found that a 60yearold disabled father of two from north london, mr. Michael osullivan, committed suicide following his Work Capability assessment. The coroner warned that there is a risk of further deaths. The department for work and pensions has reportedly undertaken 60 investigations into suicides that occurred after benefits were withdrawn or reduced, but it has so far refused to publish what it has learned. Will the Prime Minister publish these findings . Prime minister cameron i am aware of the case the honorable member raises, although i am sure he will understand that it would not be appropriate for me to discuss the specifics of the cases. Suicide is always a tragic and complex issue. We should take these matters incredibly seriously. I will look very carefully at the specific question he asks about publication. We have changed the Work Capability assessment to lead to significant improvements, following a number of independent reviews, to make sure that people get the support that they need, and i think that is vitally important. Angus robertson under the Prime Ministers plans to cut tax credits, a couple with two children living in a Council House who both earn just above the minimum wage stand to lose more than £2,000. That is the equivalent of their basic rate of income tax rising a staggering 90 . Does the Prime Minister have the faintest idea of the human cost of his plans . Prime minister cameron the point i would make to the honorable gentleman is this. First of all, if the couple live in a Council House, they are actually seeing a cut in their social rent, because of the plans set out in the budget. If that couple have children, they will have support in terms of childcare. If that couple are working for a small business, they will have the opportunity of the enhanced employment allowance. If that couple are earning just above the minimum wage, if they are earning, for instance, £7 an hour and working a fulltime working week, they will see a huge benefit as we increase the income tax allowance to £12,500. They will almost be paying no income tax at all. What we are doing is introducing higher pay and lower taxes, and that is the way to Better Family finances and a stronger economy. David jones given the increasing violence in israel and the occupied palestinian territories, will my right honorable friend wish the United Nations secretarygeneral well on his visit to jerusalem today . Does he agree with him when he says that walls, checkpoints, harsh responses by the Security Forces and house demolitions cannot achieve the peace that israel desires . Prime minister cameron i would agree that of course those things do not lead to peace, and what is required is a Peace Process to deliver a twostate solution. We have all seen on television appalling murders on our knife stabbings of entirely innocent people in jerusalem and elsewhere in israel, and that is completely unacceptable. We need to make sure that this Peace Process gets going on a genuine basis of a twostate solution. Jo Stevens Food Bank use has risen by 1,665 since the Prime Minister took office in 2010. In cardiff central, i meet people every week who rely on food banks to feed their families. Does the Prime Minister know how many more families will be relying on food banks as a result of his governments cuts to tax credits, and does he care . Prime minister cameron what is happening in the honorable ladys constituency is that the number of people claiming unemployment benefit is down 20 in the last year, the youth claimant count has fallen almost 20 in the last year, and longterm youth unemployment has fallen in the last year by 38 . That is what is happening. Of course, i do not want anyone in our country to have to rely on food banks, but the right answer is a growing economy, creating jobs, higher wages, the National Living wage and cutting taxes. That is what we are delivering and that is how to help britains families. Neil carmichael does the Prime Minister agree with me that the key to getting higher wages and improving our export drive is actually tackling the productivity gap between ourselves and our European Partners . Does he think that providing more skills for our manufacturing and engineering sectors is essential to that and will help us to deliver that mission . Prime minister cameron my honorable friend is absolutely right. Britain has had an excellent record in recent years on