9 30 a. M. Ning at eastern, live on cspan two, and later, i look at the use of military force around the world by the United States and the terrorist attacks of september 11, 2001. You can watch that at 12 15, also on cspan2, then, the role of health care providers, part of a report from the Robert Wood JohnsonFoundation Commission to build a healthier america. Our live coverage begins over on cspan3. Nancy reagan was the first sitting first lady to address the United Nations and the first to address the nation in a joint appearance with the president. So to my young friends out there, life can be great, but not when we cannot see it. So open your eyes to live, to see it in the vivid colors that god gave us, as a precious gift to his children, to enjoy life to the fullest, and to make it count. Whenes to your life, and it comes to drugs and alcohol, just say no. First Lady Nancy Reagan as our initial series returns monday night live at 9 00 eastern on cspan and cspan three, and also on cspan radio and cspan. Org. The first on cspan, western time of the year with british Prime Minister david cameron, followed by a roundtable discussion on strategies in the 2014 elections, and the agenda this year in congress. And later, another opportunity on the work humility, and unlikely biography of americas greatest virtue. Next, the first british question time of the year, as lawmakers paid tribute to the late labour goggins, who died while jogging. The Prime Minister also addresses housing benefits, gambling, and the scottish referendum. From london, this runs just under 40 minutes. Order. Questions to the Prime Minister. Mr. Simon burns. The Prime Minister. Thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr speaker, i hope you will allow me to pay some brief tributes. Captain Richard Holloway of the royal engineers was tragically killed after being engaged by enemy fire in afghanistan on 23 december. He was a highly respected soldier, and our deepest sympathies and condolences should be with his parents, his brother and girlfriend, whom he left behind. Mr. Speaker our thoughts should , also go to the victims of the Us Helicopter crash in norfolk, about which details are still emerging. And, mr. Speaker, today i know , that the sudden death this morning of paul goggins, mp for wythenshawe and sale east, will have shocked everyone across the house. Hear, hear. He was a kind, brilliant man who believed profoundly in public service. He cared deeply about the welfare of children and the importance of social work, and he brought his own clear experience to bear as an mp and minister. He did vital work as a Northern Ireland minister, playing a quiet but essential role in delivering the devolution of policing and justice powers to Northern Ireland, particularly at the Hillsborough Castle talks. He was liked and admired across the house and always treated everyone, in whatever circumstances, always treated everyone with respect. He will be greatly missed, and we send our condolences to his wife wyn, his children and his family. Hewar, hear. This morning, i had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others, and in addition to my duties in the house, i shall have further such meetings later today. Mr burns. I am sure the house will want to be associated with my right hon. Friends comments. In particular, paul goggins was a good and decent man, and i know that he will be sorely missed on both sides of the house. Hear, hear. Yesterday, the british chambers of commerce found that manufacturing exports and services were growing strongly. Does my right hon. Friend agree that this shows that, even though more work needs to be done, it is crucial that the government stick to their long Term Economic plan . I thank my right hon. Friend for his comments, including those about paul goggins. It is a welcome report from the british chambers of commerce, but there is still a lot more work to do. We must continue to reduce the deficit, create Economic Growth and get more people into work. There should not be one ounce of complacency, but the report did find that manufacturing balances were at an alltime high, that exports were up and that services were growing strongly. If we stick to this plan, we can see this country rise, and our people rise with it too. Mr. Edmund legrand. Ed. Miliband. I join the Prime Minister in paying tribute to captain Richard Holloway of the royal engineers, who was killed in action in afghanistan. His death, just two days before christmas, is a reminder of the risks being taken on our behalf every day by members of our armed forces. He showed the utmost courage and bravery, and all our sympathies are with his family and friends. I also join the right hon. Gentleman in sending condolences to the families of the victims of the Us Helicopter crash in norfolk. I want to pay tribute to our friend and colleague, paul goggins. It shown throughout his career as social worker, councillor, mp , and minister, and it is a measure of the man and his ability that he earned the respect, trust and affection of all sides in Northern Ireland. He owned the trust and affection of all sides in Northern Ireland. The labour party has lost one of its own and one of its best. Our deepest condolences go to his wife, wyn, to his children, matthew, theresa and dominic, and indeed to his whole family. Hear, hear. Speaker, the whole country will be concerned about the price being paid by those in communities affected by the floods and storms. I pay tribute to the work of the Emergency Services. Will the Prime Minister update the house on the number of people affected and on what action is being taken now to ensure areas that could be affected by further flooding have all the necessary support . The Prime Minister. First, i thank the leader of the opposition for his very moving words about paul goggins. And for what he said. The flooding provides an extremely difficult situation for those affected. We should remember that seven people have lost their lives since this began. The right hon. Gentleman is right to pay tribute to the Emergency Services, to the Environment Agency workers, to the flood wardens and to the many neighbours and individuals who showed great bravery, courage and spirit over the Christmas Period in helping neighbours and friends. As the situation is ongoing, let me bring the house up to date with the latest detail. There are currently 104 flood warnings in place across the whole of england and wales. That means, sadly, that more flooding is expected and that immediate action is required. There are also 186 flood alerts, which means even further flooding is possible beyond what we expect to happen more rapidly. Although the weather has improved, river and groundwater levels remain so high that further flooding could come at relatively short notice. There are a number of particular concerns, including dorset, wiltshire, hampshire, somerset and oxfordshire. Given these ongoing threats, which could last for several days to come, i urge members of the public to keep following the advice of the Emergency Services and the Environment Agency in those areas at risk. At a national level, we have co ordinated this response via cobra, which will continue to meet under the chairmanship of my right hon. Friend the secretary of state for environment, food and Rural Affairs until the threat has passed. Edward miliband. I thank the Prime Minister for that answer. I know he and the environment secretary will keep us updated. He will recognise that some people felt that the response was, at times, too slow. In particular, will he explain whether it has become clear why it took so long for some of the Energy Distribution companies to restore power to homes over the Christmas Period . What steps does he believe can be taken to ensure that that kind of thing does not happen again . The Prime Minister. I think he is right. The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. In all these circumstances, no matter how good the preparation, there are always lessons to learn and there are lessons to learn on this occasion. On the positive side, the Environment AgencyWarning Service worked better than it has in the past and the flood defences protected up to a million homes over the december and Christmas Period, but there are some negatives, too, and we need to learn lessons from them. In particular, some of the Energy Companies did not have enough people available over the holiday period for an emergency response, which i saw for myself in kent. We need to learn those lessons, and my right hon. Friend the minister for government policy will lead this exercise. The Energy Secretary is already looking at the levels of compensation and at the preparedness and speed of response from Energy Companies. But i would welcome hearing from members of all constituencies affected by the flooding what they saw on the ground about the lessons that could be learned so that we can ensure that preparedness is even better on a future occasion. Ed miliband. Given the scale of risk exposed by these floods and the expected impact of Climate Change, will the Prime Minister also commit to the department for environment, food and Rural Affairs providing a report by the end of this month, providing a full assessment of the future capability of our flood defences and flood response agencies and of whether the investment plans in place are equal to the need for events of this kind . I am very happy to make that commitment. Currentows, in this fouryear period, we are spending £2. 3 billion, compared with £2. 1 billion in the previous period. The money is going into flood defences. And we saw as i said, in the , early december flooding, about 800,000 homes were protected by previous flood defence work and over the Christmas Period a further 200,000 houses were affected. Whenever there is flooding, it makes sense to look again at the proposals in the programme for flood defence work and to see what more can be done. In addition to government money, we are keen to lever in more private sector and local authority money, which is now possible under the arrangements. I am happy to commit, as the right hon. Gentleman asked for, to the environment secretary coming back to report to the house on the level of expenditure in the years going ahead. Mr. Tobias ellwood. Further to the Prime Ministers remarks on the recent flooding, will he join me in paying tribute to Bournemouth Borough Council and dorset Emergency Services, as well as local residents, in dealing with two evacuations in my constituency, one of which, owing to the river stour bursting its banks, is still ongoing . Given the changing weather patterns we are experiencing, what more can be done in the long term towards improving river and sea defences . As my hon. Friend knows, 290 homes have been flooded so far in bournemouth and the dorset area. I agree with him that the work of the Emergency Services and the Environment Agency has been excellent. Many local authorities, including my own, have developed very good plans and carried them out very competently. However, not every authority is doing so well, and there will be lessons to be learnt. As for the bournemouth and poole area, about £14 million will be invested over the next five years under the bournemouth Beach Management scheme. That should protect about 2,500 properties by 20182019, but i would be interested to hear what he thinks can be done. Abbott. Iane the Prime Minister will be aware that the majority of new housing benefit claimants are in work. He will also be aware that private sector landlords are increasingly refusing to take tenants who are on benefit, or are evicting them. What does he say to hardworking families who face losing their homes because of his housing benefit cuts . What we say to hardworking families is, we are cutting taxes. In april this year, we will raise to £10,000 the amount of money that people can earn before they start paying income tax, and i think that that will make a big difference. For instance, someone earning the minimum wage and working a 40hour week will see his or her tax bill fall by two thirds. But we must take action to deal with the housing benefit bill. Housing benefit now accounts for £23 billion of government spending. When we came into office, there were some families in london were receiving housing benefit payments of £60,000, 70,000 or £80,000. How many . But,ey shout how many, frankly, one was too many, and that is why we have capped housing benefit. Mr. George hollingbery. If the government decided to mitigate the scale of the cuts that they plan for the next parliament, can my right hon. Friend tell me how i would explain to the students in meon valley receiving personal, social, health and Economic Education why they should make every effort to spend within their means to avoid taking on debt, but it is quite all right for the government to ignore the same advice . My hon. Friend has made an important point. We have made difficult decisions to get the deficit down and to get the country back on track. Difficult decisions in terms of departmental spending, and also welfare. The labour party is now back where it started. Labour members are saying that they want to mitigate the level of cuts, and therefore they want to spend more, they want to borrow more and they want to tax more. We may be at the beginning of a new year, but they have gone completely back to where they were three years ago. Ed miliband. Does the Prime Minister recognise the concern of families and communities about the impact of fixed odds betting terminals, Gaming Machines on which people can gamble up to £300 a minute on our high streets . I absolutely share the concern noi absolutely share the concern, about that issue, and i welcome the fact that we shall be debating it in the house today. There are problems in the betting and gaming industry, and we need to look at them. I think it is worth listening to the advice of the right hon. Gentlemans own shadow minister who said, i accept the argument that empirical evidence is needed before makingany changes, because it might just create another problem somewhere else. However, this is a problem, and it does need to be looked at. We have a review under way. We are clearing up a situation that was put in place under the last government, but i think that if we work together, we can probably sort it out. Ed miliband. The gambling act 2005 limited the number of machines to four per betting shop, but it did not go nearly far enough. More action should have been taken. The Prime Minister asked about evidence. Local communities from fareham to liverpool are saying that these machines are causing problems for families and communities. Local communities believe that they already have the evidence. Should they not be given the power to decide whether or not they want these machines . The right hon. Gentleman has made a reasonable point, but let me first deal with the facts. The first fact is that fixed odds betting terminals were introduced in 2001 after the Labour Government had relaxed gambling regulations. The second fact is that there are fewer of these machines now than there were when labour was in office. And, of course, to the point he just made, i believe councils and should make full use of that power. I am not arguing that that is a job done, but we have a review under way. This is an issue for the the department for culture, media and sport. If he has an idea, i would ask that he put these into the review. I think you should listen to his own shadow minister, where they said there is no evidence to support a change to stakes and prizes for fobts. There seems to be something of a change here, but if he has got extra evidence, he should put it into our review, and i think that we can then sort the matter out. Ed miliband. Our ideas are in todays motion, and if the Prime Minister wants to vote for it, we would be very happy for him to do so. He says there are already powers in place, but the mayor of london and the conservative head of the local Government Association have said that local authorities do not have the power to limit the number of machines. One in three calls to the gambling helpline are about these machines and they are clustered in deprived areas. For example, there are 348 in one of the most deprived boroughs in the country. Newham. Can the Prime Minister at least give us a timetable for when the government will decide whether to act . We will be reportin