2017-01-11_PMQs.srt

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>>Chris Law (Dundee West) (SNP): If she will
list her official engagements for Wednesday

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11 January.

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>>The Prime Minister (Mrs Theresa May): This
morning, I had meetings with ministerial colleagues

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and others. In addition to my duties in this
House, I shall have further such meetings

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later today.

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>>Chris Law: A very happy new year to you,
Mr Speaker, and I would like to extend that

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to everyone in this House.

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It has been more than six months since the
European referendum. Embarrassingly for the

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Prime Minister, the Scottish Government are
the only Administration on these islands to

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have published a plan on what to do next.
Has she read it yet? When will she be publishing

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her own plan?

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>>The Prime Minister: I join the hon. Gentleman
in wishing everybody in the House, not only

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Members, but all the staff of the House, a
very happy new year.

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As I said to the Liaison Committee when I
appeared in front of it before Christmas,

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I will, in a matter of weeks, be setting out
some more details of our proposals on this

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issue. I would like just to remind him, when
he talks about the Scottish Government’s

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plan, that of course it is his party, the
Scottish nationalist party, that wants to

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leave the United Kingdom and therefore leave
the European Union.

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>>Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con): Westinghouse’s
Springfields site in my constituency employs

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more than 1,200 people in highly skilled jobs
manufacturing nuclear fuel, which generates

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15% of the UK’s electricity. Does my right
hon. Friend agree that the nuclear industry

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is of crucial importance to the north-west
economy? Will she continue to support the

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construction of a new generation of nuclear
power stations to guarantee jobs in the region?

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>>The Prime Minister: I certainly agree with
my hon. Friend that new nuclear does have

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a crucial role to play in securing our future
energy needs, especially as we are looking

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to move to a low-carbon society. The industrial
strategy that the Government will be setting

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out will have a strong emphasis on the role
of regions in supporting economic growth and

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ensuring that the economy works for everyone.
Like him, I very much welcome the proposals

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from NuGen and Toshiba to develop a new nuclear
power station at Moorside in Cumbria. The

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Department for Business, Energy and Industrial
Strategy continues to work closely with NuGen

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and other developers as they bring their proposals
forward.

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>>Mr Speaker: I call Jeremy Corbyn.

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[Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!”]

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>>Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North) (Lab): Thank
you, Mr Speaker. It is nice to get such a

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warm welcome, and may I wish all Members,
as well as all members of staff in the House,

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a happy new year?

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I hope the whole House will join me—I am
sure it will—in paying tribute to 22- year-old

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Lance Corporal Scott Hetherington, who died
in a “non-combat” incident in Iraq last

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Monday. I am sure the whole House will also
join in sending its heartfelt condolences

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to the family and friends of seven-year-old
Katie Rough, who tragically died in York earlier

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this week. I think it is right that we send
condolences to her family.

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Last week, 485 people in England spent more
than 12 hours on trolleys in hospital corridors.

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The Red Cross described this as a “humanitarian
crisis”. I called on the Prime Minister

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to come to Parliament on Monday, but she did
not—she sent the Health Secretary. But does

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she agree with him that the best way to solve
the crisis of the four-hour wait is to fiddle

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the figures so that people are not seen to
be waiting so long on trolleys in NHS hospitals?

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>>The Prime Minister: First, may I join the
right hon. Gentleman in sending our condolences

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to the family of Lance Corporal Hetherington,
who, as he said, died in a non-combat incident

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in Iraq? From everything I have seen and read
about Lance Corporal Hetherington, he was

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a very fine young man. He delighted in being
in the armed forces, and we are proud that

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such a fine young man was in our armed forces.
I also join the right hon. Gentleman in expressing

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condolences to the family and friends of little
Katie, who died so tragically.

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The right hon. Gentleman talks about the pressures
on the NHS, and we acknowledge that there

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are pressures on the National Health Service.
There are always extra pressures on the NHS

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during the winter but, of course, we have
at the moment those added pressures of the

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ageing population and the growing complex
needs of the population. He also refers to

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the British Red Cross’s term, “humanitarian
crisis.” I have to say to him that I think

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we have all seen humanitarian crises around
the world, and to use that description of

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a National Health Service that last year saw
2.5 million more people treated in accident

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and emergency than six years ago was irresponsible
and overblown.

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>>Jeremy Corbyn: Some 1.8 million people had
to wait longer than four hours in A&E

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departments last year. The Prime Minister
might not like what the Red Cross said, but

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on the same day the British Medical Association
said that

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“conditions in hospitals across the country
are reaching a dangerous level.”

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The Royal College of Nursing has said that
NHS conditions are the worst ever. The Royal

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College of Physicians has told the Prime Minister
that the NHS is

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“under-funded, under-doctored and overstretched.”

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If she will not listen to the Red Cross, who
will she listen to?

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>>The Prime Minister: I have said to the right
hon. Gentleman that I of course acknowledge

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that there are pressures on the National Health
Service. The Government have put extra funding

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into the National Health Service. The fact
is that we are seeing more people being treated

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in our NHS: 2,500 more people are treated
within four hours every day in the National

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Health Service because of the Government putting
in extra funding and because of the hard work

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of medical professionals in our National Health
Service. It is not just a question of targets

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for the health service, although we continue
to have a commitment to the four-hour target,

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as the Health Secretary has made clear. It
is a question of making sure that people are

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provided with the appropriate care for them,
and the best possible care for them in their

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circumstances.

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>>Jeremy Corbyn: The right hon. Lady seems
to be in some degree of denial about this.

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She will not listen to professional organisations
that have spent their whole lifetimes doing

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their best for the NHS, but will she listen
to Sian, who works for the NHS? She has a

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22-month old nephew. He went into hospital,
but there was no bed. He was treated on two

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plastic chairs pushed together with a blanket.
Sian says that

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“one of the nurses told my sister that it’s
always like this nowadays”.

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She says to us all:

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“Surely we should strive to do better than
this.”

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Do the Prime Minister and the Health Secretary
think that is an acceptable way to treat a

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22-month-old child in need of help?

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>>The Prime Minister: I accept that there
have been a small number of incidents in which

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unacceptable practices have taken place. We
do not want those things to happen, but what

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matters is how you deal with them, which is
why it is so important that the NHS looks

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into the issues when unacceptable incidents
have taken place and learns lessons from them.

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I come back to the point that I was making
earlier: the right hon. Gentleman talks about

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the hard-working healthcare professionals,
like Sian, in the National Health Service,

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and indeed we should be grateful for all those
who are working in the NHS, but on the Tuesday

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after Christmas we saw the busiest day ever
in the National Health Service, and over the

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few weeks around Christmas we saw the day
on which more people were treated in accident

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and emergency within four hours than ever
before. That is the reality of our National

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Health Service.

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>>Jeremy Corbyn: We all thank NHS staff and
we all praise NHS staff, but the Prime Minister’s

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Government are proposing, through sustainability
and transformation, to cut one third of the

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beds in all of our hospitals in the very near
future. On Monday, she spoke about mental

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health and doing more to help people, particularly
young people, with those conditions, which

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I welcome, except that last night the BBC
revealed that, over five years, there had

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been an 89% increase in young people with
mental health issues having to go to A&E

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departments. Does she not agree that the £1.25
billion committed to child and adolescent

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mental health in 2015 should have been ring-fenced
rather than used as a resource to be raided

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to plug other holes in other budgets in the
NHS?

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>>The Prime Minister: If we look at what is
happening with mental health treatment in

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the national health service, we see 1,400
more people every day accessing mental health

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services. When I spoke about this issue on
Monday, I said that there is of course more

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for us to do—this is not a problem that
will be resolved overnight. I have set out

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ways in which we will see an improvement in
the services in relation to mental health,

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but it is about the appropriate care for the
individual. As I mentioned earlier, that is

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not just about accident and emergency. When
I was in Aldershot on Monday, I spoke to service

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users with mental health problems who said
that they did not want to go to A&E. The provision

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of alternative services has meant that the
A&E locally has seen its numbers stabilising

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rather than going up. It is about the appropriate
care for the individual. We want to see that

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good practice spread across the whole country.

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>>Jeremy Corbyn: Nobody wants people with
mental health conditions to go to A&E departments—the

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A&E departments do not want them to go there.
Under this Government, there are 6,000 fewer

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nurses and 400 fewer doctors working in mental
health. It is obvious that these people will

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go somewhere to try to get help when they
are in a desperate situation. Our NHS is under

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huge pressure. Much of that is caused by cuts
to social care, which the Royal College of

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Physicians says

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“are pushing more people into our hospitals
and trapping them there for longer.”

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Will the Prime Minister do what my hon. Friend
the Member for Leicester South (Jonathan Ashworth)

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has called for and bring forward now the extra
£700 million allocated in 2019 and put it

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into social care so that we do not have this
problem of people staying too long in hospital

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when they should be cared for by a social
care system?

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>>The Prime Minister: The right hon. Gentleman
asked me those questions in the last PMQs

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before Christmas. [Interruption.] He may find
it difficult to believe that somebody will

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say the same thing that they said a few weeks
ago, but we have put extra money into social

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care. In the medium term, we are ensuring
that best practice is spread across the country.

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He talks about delayed discharges. Some local
authorities, which work with their health

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service locally, have virtually no delayed
discharges. Some 50%—half of the delayed

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discharges—are in only 24 local authority
areas. What does that tell us? It tells us

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that it is about not just funding, but best
practice. If he comes back to me and talks

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to me about funding again, he should think
on this: we can only fund social care and

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the NHS if we have a strong economy, and we
will only have that with the Conservatives.

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>>Jeremy Corbyn: I am sorry to have to bring
the Prime Minister back to the subject of

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social care, which I raised before Christmas.
The reason I did so, and will continue to

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do so, is that she has not addressed the problem.
The Government have cut £4.6 billion from

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the social care budget. The King’s Fund
says that there is a social care funding gap

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of almost £2 billion this year.

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Earlier this week, the Prime Minister said
that she wanted to create a “shared society”.

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Well, we certainly have that: more people
sharing hospital corridors on trolleys; more

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people sharing waiting areas in A&E departments;
and more people sharing in the anxiety created

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by this Government. Our NHS is in crisis,
but the Prime Minister is in denial. May I

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suggest to her that, on the economic question,
she should cancel the corporate tax cuts,

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and spend the money where it is needed—on
people in desperate need in social care and

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in our hospitals?

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>>The Prime Minister: The right hon. Gentleman
talks about a crisis. I suggest he listens

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to the right hon. Member for Don Valley (Caroline
Flint), a former Labour Health Minister, who

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said that, with Labour,

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“It’s always about ‘crisis...the NHS
is on its knees’… We’ve got to be a

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bit more grown up about this.”

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And he talks to me about restoring the cuts
in corporation tax. The Labour party has already

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spent that money eight times. The last thing
the NHS needs is a cheque from Labour that

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bounces. The only way that we can ensure that
we have funding for the national health service

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is with a strong economy. Yesterday, the right
hon. Gentleman proved that he is not only

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incompetent, but that he would destroy our
economy, and that would devastate our national

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health service.

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>>Mrs Maria Miller (Basingstoke) (Con): Cyber-bullying,
sexting and revenge pornography are part of

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British teenage life today; so is a rapid
increase in mental health problems among our

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teenagers. How is the Prime Minister helping
to tackle the pressures that teenagers face

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in Britain today?

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>>The Prime Minister: My right hon. Friend
raises an important point. One of the things

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I spoke about, when I spoke about mental health
on Monday, was trying to ensure that we can

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provide some better training for staff and
teachers in schools to identify the early

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stages of mental health problems for young
people, so that those problems can be addressed.

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Something like half of all mental health problems
start before the age of 14, so this is a real

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issue that we need to address. We are going
to look at how we can provide that training.

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We will also review the mental health services
provided for young people to ensure that we

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can identify what is working and make sure
that good practice is spread across the country.

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>>Angus Robertson (Moray) (SNP): May I begin
with a tribute to Father George Thompson,

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who died shortly before Christmas? He led
a remarkable life as a teacher, as a priest

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and as the Scottish National party Member
of Parliament for Galloway. We extend our

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sympathies to his family.

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All of us in this House and across these islands
care about the peace process and about the

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democratic institutions in Northern Ireland,
so may I wish the Prime Minister well and

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the Taoiseach, the Northern Ireland Secretary
and the political parties all the best in

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trying to resolve the serious political difficulties
there? Will the Prime Minister tell us what

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the consequences will be if no agreement can
be found?

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>>The Prime Minister: First, may I join the
right hon. Gentleman in offering condolences

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to the family and friends of the Rev. George
Thompson, who, as he says, was the MP for

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Galloway between 1974 and 1979 and, I believe,
was the first former MP in modern times to

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be ordained a Roman Catholic priest.

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On the issue that the right hon. Gentleman
raises about the political situation in Northern

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Ireland, we are obviously treating this with
the utmost seriousness. As he will know, my

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right hon. Friend the Northern Ireland Secretary
made a statement in the House earlier this

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week on this issue. He has spoken to the First
Minister and the former Deputy First Minister,

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and he is urging all parties to work together
to find a way forward. I have also spoken

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to the Taoiseach about this issue, so we are
putting every effort into this. The legislation

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says that if, within seven days, we do not
have a nomination for a Deputy First Minister,

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the matter would go to an election.

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>>Angus Robertson: The Prime Minister has
indicated that she wants to take the views

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of the elected representatives and the devolved
institutions on Brexit seriously. So it stands

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to reason then that if there is no Northern
Ireland Assembly and no Northern Ireland Executive

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for much of the time before the March timetable
that she has set for invoking article 50,

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she will be unable to consult properly, to
discuss fully and to find agreement on the

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complex issues during this period. In these
circumstances, will the Prime Minister postpone

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invoking article 50—[Interruption]—or
will she just plough on regardless?

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>>The Prime Minister: As the right hon. Gentleman
says, we want to ensure that we do hear the

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views from all parts of the United Kingdom.
That is why we have established the JMC European

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committee specifically to take views, and
the JMC plenary, which is also obviously meeting

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more frequently than previously. I am clear
that, first of all, we want to try to ensure

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that, within this period of seven days, we
can find a resolution to the political situation

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in Northern Ireland, so that we can to see
the Assembly Government continuing. But I

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am also clear that, in the discussions that
we have, it will be possible—it is still

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the case that Ministers are in place and that,
obviously, there are executives in place—that

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we are still able to take the views of the
Northern Ireland people.

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>>Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con): What
recent assessment she has made of the (a)

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performance of the economy and (b) adequacy
of provision of public services in Staffordshire;

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and if she will make a statement.

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>>The Prime Minister: The fundamentals of
the UK’s economy are strong, including in

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Staffordshire and the west midlands. Employment
in Staffordshire has risen by over 20,000

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since 2010. We have protected schools and
police budgets. We see more doctors and more

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nurses in the Burton hospitals trust. Of course,
we are going further than this in the west

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midlands by giving new powers to the west
midlands with the devolution deal and with

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the election of a directly elected Mayor.
I have to say that I think Andy Street, with

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his business and local experience, would be
a very good Mayor for the west midlands.

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>>Michael Fabricant: I thank my right hon.
Friend the Prime Minister for that answer.

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Unemployment in my constituency—my beautiful
Lichfield constituency—is around 0.7%, and

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that is fantastic, but I want it even lower.
I found out that 24% of my constituents work

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in the area of the West Midlands Combined
Authority, so can I press my right hon. Friend

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just a little further about what she thinks
is needed in the West Midlands Combined Authority

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to improve employment still more?

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>>The Prime Minister: I thank my hon. Friend,
and, of course, I have had the advantage of

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having visited his beautiful constituency.
But in relation to the midlands, we have a

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very strong ambition to make the midlands
an engine for growth in the UK. That is why

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we have plans for the midlands engine that
demonstrate that, when we say we are going

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to build an economy that works for everyone,
we actually mean it. In the autumn statement,

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my right hon. Friend the Chancellor confirmed
things such as the £5 million for a Birmingham

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rail hub and a £250 million midlands engine
investment fund, and we will shortly be publishing

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a strategy for the midlands engine. But I
repeat the point that I made: for the west

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midlands, having the devolution deal, having
the Mayor and having the right person elected

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as Mayor, who I think will be Andy Street,
is absolutely crucial.

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>>Ian Murray (Edinburgh South) (Lab): Happy
new year, Mr Speaker. Sir Ivan Rogers, in

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his resignation letter, said that people may
have to deliver messages to the Government

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that Ministers may find disagreeable. So here
is a message that the Prime Minister may find

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disagreeable: her lack of priority for the
single market is putting jobs in Scotland

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and the economy at risk. That means her Government
are as big a threat to the Union as the SNP.

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Her Government are not worthy of the trust
of Scots, let alone their blind trust, so

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will the Prime Minister take this opportunity
to apologise for threatening the Union and

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give a solemn promise to every single person
in this country that they will not be a penny

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worse off after a Tory Brexit?

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>>The Prime Minister: The hon. Gentleman will
be very well aware that I want to see the

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best possible trade deal for the United Kingdom
with the EU and the best possible deal for

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trading with and operating within the single
European market. When we enter the negotiations,

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obviously, that is one of the issues that
I have said that I want to see, and we will

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be out there and be delivering on it. Unlike
the sort of downplaying that the hon. Gentleman

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does about the approach that we are taking,
I have to say that it is this Government that

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is ambitious for the opportunities that are
available to this country once we leave the

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European Union.

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>>Antoinette Sandbach (Eddisbury) (Con): Cheshire
schools in areas of rurality and areas of

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high deprivation will receive some of the
lowest per-pupil funding rates in the country

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under the new proposed funding formula. Does
the Prime Minister agree that these discrepancies

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must be addressed to ensure that Eddisbury
pupils get the best possible start in life?

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>>The Prime Minister: I think everybody recognises
that the way that schools have been funded

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in the past has been unfair and many pupils
have been missing out. That is why I think

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it is right for us to look at bringing forward
a new fair funding formula, making sure that

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funding is attached to children’s needs.
Of course we recognise the particular issues

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of rural areas in this, and that is why, within
the fair funding formula, additional funding

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for such schools has been included. But, of
course, the Department for Education has this

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out for consultation at the moment, and I
would urge my hon. Friend to make her representations

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as part of that consultation.

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>>Tracy Brabin (Batley and Spen) (Lab): Dewsbury
hospital A&E is set for a downgrade this

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year. Over Christmas, I had constituents who
were waiting 20 hours for a bed in a facility

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that might not even exist next year. Will
the Prime Minister please face reality and

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act now to stop this vital A&E service from
disappearing?

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>>The Prime Minister: What the hon. Lady is
referring to, of course, is the plans that

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are being put forward at local level to consider—[Interruption.]

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>>Mr Speaker: Order. There is far too much
noise. I must say to the hon. Member for Dewsbury

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(Paula Sherriff) that if she were behaving
like this in another public place she would

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probably be subject to an antisocial behaviour
order.

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>>The Prime Minister: I return to the point,
Mr Speaker. Decisions about services in the

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local area are rightly taken by the local
national health service, because we believe

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that it is local clinicians, and also local
patients and leaders, who know what is best

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for their areas. So it is about trying to
tailor the services to provide the best possible

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services for the needs of local people, modernising
the care and facilities, and making services

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appropriate to the local area. This trust
has an extensive improvement plan to ensure

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that both hospitals within it can care for
patients attending accident and emergency

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in as timely a way as possible.

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>>Richard Fuller (Bedford) (Con): Next Thursday
evening, I will host the first session of

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the Bedford community business school, free
of charge and open to all, with 250 local

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people sharing a passion for entrepreneurship
and learning tips about business from national

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and local business leaders. Will my right
hon. Friend ensure that her forthcoming industrial

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strategy has at its heart the passion and
the interest of Britain’s small business

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leaders and entrepreneurs?

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>>The Prime Minister: I can absolutely give
my hon. Friend that commitment. What is important

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is that the industrial strategy will be looking
to the economy of the future—what sort of

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economy we want in this country. Crucial to
that will be the growth that is generated

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by entrepreneurs and by small businesses—by
the very passion that he has spoken about.

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We want to see an environment in which those
who can grow can emerge and develop to provide

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future jobs for people and contribute to the
strength of our economy. That is what the

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industrial strategy is about; I absolutely
agree with my hon. Friend.

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>>Norman Lamb (North Norfolk) (LD): The Prime
Minister, I am sure, will understand, despite

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the reassurances, that there are genuine and
really serious concerns among staff across

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the NHS and the care system, and patients
and their families, about the pressure that

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they are under. For that reason, MPs from
her own party, from the Labour party and from

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my party have come together to call for the
Government to establish an NHS and care convention

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to engage with the public, so that we can
come up with a long-term settlement for the

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NHS and care. Would the Prime Minister be
prepared to meet us to discuss it, so that

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she can hear our case?

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>>The Prime Minister: I recognise, obviously,
the interest and the attention that the right

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hon. Gentleman has given to these issues—of
course, he is a former Health Minister—and

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I would be happy to meet him and others, as
he suggests.

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>>Edward Argar (Charnwood) (Con): There can
be nothing as distressing for a parent as

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the death of their child, particularly where
that child has been murdered. That is what

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happened to the two ladies, one of them a
constituent of mine, who set up Justice After

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Acquittal, successfully campaigning for voluntary
national standards of support by the Crown

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Prosecution Service and by the police for
the families of murder victims following an

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acquittal. Those standards are due to be launched
here next Tuesday. Will the Prime Minister

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join me in paying tribute to the determination
and energy with which they have campaigned

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for their cause, and will she continue to
ensure, as she always has done, that the voices

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of the victims of crime and their families
are always listened to?

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>>The Prime Minister: My hon. Friend raises
a very important point. I am very happy to

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join him in paying tribute to these two campaigners.
Indeed, I am sure that the whole House would

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want to pay tribute to the work that they
are doing. As he says, I remain committed

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to ensuring that the voices of victims are
heard. That is what I did when I was Home

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Secretary, if we look at issues such as introducing
new measures to tackle modern slavery, strengthening

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the Independent Police Complaints Commission
and legislating in relation to police complaints

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and discipline systems to strengthen public
confidence in policing, and a number of other

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actions that I took. I am very pleased to
say that my right hon. Friend the current

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Home Secretary is taking that same passion
to ensuring that the voices of the victims

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of crime are heard and is taking that forward.

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>>Joanna Cherry (Edinburgh South West) (SNP):
Across the United Kingdom, many banks are

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accelerating their closure of local branches,
with adverse effects on vulnerable and older

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people and adverse effects on the high street.
The Royal Bank of Scotland is closing down

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branches across Scotland, including those
at Juniper Green and Chesser in my constituency.

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Local convenience stores are taking the strain
of processing bills and often face exorbitant

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bank charges for the privilege of doing so.
Will the Prime Minister meet me to discuss

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how we can realise a situation where banking
across the UK services customers and the real

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economy?

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>>The Prime Minister: The issue of bank branches
and, indeed, of the accessibility of bank

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services is one that is for individual banks
themselves to take and consider, and of course

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there are many ways in which people are now
accessing bank services other than by going

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physically into an actual bank branch, but
I will certainly look at the issue that the

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hon. and learned Lady has raised.

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>>Dr James Davies (Vale of Clwyd) (Con): Building
a country that works for everyone means doing

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even more to tackle the economic and social
deprivation that has come to afflict pockets

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of seaside towns such as Rhyl in my constituency.
Will my right hon. Friend therefore support

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Growth Track 360, a locally developed plan
to invest in rail infrastructure to help unlock

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the true potential of the north Wales and
Mersey-Dee economic region as an integral

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part of the northern powerhouse, connected
to the rest of the country via

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the proposed HS2 hub at Crewe?

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>>The Prime Minister: I welcome the establishment
of the north Wales and Mersey-Dee rail taskforce

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and the work that it is doing. The plan that
my hon. Friend mentions sets out an ambitious

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programme of improvements for the area, and
I am sure it will be prioritising the most

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promising options. I can say to him that the
Department for Transport will continue to

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work closely with the taskforce and with the
Welsh Government to consider what can be jointly

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accomplished.

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>>Alan Brown (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP):
As Pensions Minister, Steve Webb misled the

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public about the value of the single-rate
pension. He also gave us the Pensions Act

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2011. He was rightly booted out by the voters,
yet is now deemed suitable for a knighthood.

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Does the Prime Minister not understand that,
unless this Government take action to help

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the struggling WASPI women, that knighthood
will be the final insult to these women?

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>>The Prime Minister: Action has been taken
on the issue in relation to women’s pensions.

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The Government took action to ensure that
the number of people who were affected and

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the period for which they were affected would
be reduced, and money was put in to ensure

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that that was possible. If the hon. Gentleman
looks at the new structure that is being put

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in place for pensions, he will see that women
will actually be some of the greater beneficiaries

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of the new structure.

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>>Chris White (Warwick and Leamington) (Con):
I welcome the fact that the Prime Minister

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has raised awareness of the importance of
child mental health this week, not least because

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65% of young people requiring mental health
support in south Warwickshire last year had

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to wait over 12 weeks before starting treatment.
Will my right hon. Friend outline how the

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new proposals will improve our support network
for such vulnerable young people?

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>>The Prime Minister: My hon. Friend raises
an important issue, which was of course alluded

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to earlier in this session of Prime Minister’s
questions. We are investing more in mental

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00:32:11,490 --> 00:32:16,300
health than ever before—we are spending
a record £11.4 billion a year—and it was

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of course the Conservative-led Government
that introduced parity of esteem between mental

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and physical health, but as I said earlier,
there is more for us to do in ensuring that

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appropriate care is available for people.
I cited an example earlier of where I saw

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excellent work being done to provide care
and support for people in the community, which

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was relieving pressure on accident and emergency,
but also ensuring that people were getting

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the best possible care for them, and that
is obviously what we want to see.

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>>John Woodcock (Barrow and Furness) (Lab/Co-op):
The strained accident and emergency provision

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in my constituency is under review, and the
community further up the Cumbrian coast risks

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losing 24-hour access to accident and emergency
and to consultant-led maternity from its local

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hospital. I understand that the Prime Minister
will say that these decisions are to be made

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locally, but will she at least say that she
can understand the anxiety of expectant mums

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who face a 40-mile journey on difficult roads,
which are often blocked, if they have a difficult

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birth?

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00:33:25,310 --> 00:33:32,200
>>The Prime Minister: The problems that are
facing the health service in Cumbria are widely

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recognised, and I do understand the concerns
of local people about the services that will

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be available for them. We have put robust
national support in place to address some

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of the long-standing challenges in Cumbria,
and we are developing a lasting plan to deliver

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the high-quality, sustainable services that
patients rightly expect.

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The hon. Gentleman is right that these specific
decisions are being taken locally, and no

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final decisions have been taken. I recognise
the concern that he has raised previously,

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particularly about services at West Cumberland
hospital. There will be considerable involvement

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in taking those decisions, but as I say, we
do recognise the local concerns about some

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of the long-standing challenges for health
service provision in Cumbria.

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>>Dr Caroline Johnson (Sleaford and North
Hykeham) (Con): I know from my career in medicine

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that the men and women of our East Midlands
ambulance service do a brave and sterling

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job for the people of Sleaford and North Hykeham
and others, saving people’s lives every

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day. East Midlands ambulance service responded
to a total of 11,662 999 calls over the Christmas

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bank holiday weekend alone, 2,500 of which
were in Lincolnshire. Will the Prime Minister

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join me in paying tribute to their dedication,
particularly over the busy winter period,

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and tell the House what more the Government
can do to support our ambulance services and

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improve response times in rural areas such
as Sleaford and North Hykeham?

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>>The Prime Minister: May I thank my hon.
Friend for her question, and also for bringing

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her personal experience as a medical professional
to this issue? I am very happy to join her

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in paying tribute to the men and women of
the ambulance service for the dedication and

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commitment that they show. She asks what the
Government have been doing. We recognise that

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ambulance services are very busy, which is
why we see over 2,000 more paramedics now

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compared with 2010, and we are increasing
paramedic training places by over 60% this

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year. Also, the Department of Health, NHS
Employers and ambulance unions have agreed

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changes to the compensation for paramedics,
potentially giving them a pay increase of

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up to £14,000 as they progress. We recognise
the excellent work that they do.

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>>Gavin Robinson (Belfast East) (DUP): May
I commend the Prime Minister for her considered

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statement last night and, indeed, for the
words that she has given this afternoon? She

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knows our commitment to the institutions in
Northern Ireland, but would she agree that

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nothing can be, or should be, gained from
threatening the peace process, the progress

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that we have made or the institutions that
we have fought so hard to sustain in Northern

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Ireland?

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>>The Prime Minister: The progress that has
been made in Northern Ireland has been hard

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won, and we must all recognise that we do
not want to put that progress in jeopardy.

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That is why it is so important for the Government,
and for all parties, to work as hard as we

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can to see a resolution to this issue, so
that we can see a return to the power-sharing

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institutions and ensure that the hard-won
progress can be continued.

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>>Nicky Morgan (Loughborough) (Con): I warmly
welcome what my right hon. Friend said about

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children’s mental health earlier this week,
but may I draw her attention to another burning

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injustice? My constituent Paula Edwards has
been battling cancer for four years. She is

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recovering from an operation and has taken
28 weeks off work. She is still employed and

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is on half pay, yet her working tax credits
have been stopped, which means that she is

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worrying about how to make ends meet rather
than focusing on her recovery. Will my right

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hon. Friend ask the Treasury to look at this,
perhaps in the course of Budget preparations?

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>>The Prime Minister: I thank my right hon.
Friend for her comments about the mental health

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announcements that I have made. I am sorry
to hear of the particular difficulties that

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her constituent is experiencing and the distress
that they have caused her. Of course, working

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tax credits provide support for low-income
families in work and are designed to incentivise

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people to increase their working hours. With
the new universal credit system, we will obviously

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have a system of benefits with single, streamlined
payments that encourages work, but I am sure

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the Financial Secretary to the Treasury would
be happy to look at the individual case that

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my right hon. Friend has raised and the issue
that she has set out.