2017-03-15_PMQs.srt

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>> Huw Merriman (Bexhill and Battle) (Con):
If she will list her official engagements

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for Wednesday 15 March.

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>> The Prime Minister (Mrs Theresa May):
I am sure that Members will want to join me

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in wishing people across the UK and around
the world a happy St Patrick’s day this

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coming Friday. This morning, I had meetings
with ministerial colleagues and others. In

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addition to my duties in this House, I shall
have further such meetings later today.

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>> Huw Merriman:
With my Irish blood, may I also wish people

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a happy St Patrick’s day?

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I welcome the Government’s announcement
that we will abide by the letter of our manifesto

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and also the spirit. Does the Prime Minister
agree that, as we move towards balancing the

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books, we must ensure that we have a fair
and sustainable tax system?

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>> The Prime Minister:
I thank my hon. Friend for his question. We

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made a commitment not to raise tax, and we
put our commitment into the tax lock. The

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measures that we put forward in the Budget
last week were consistent with those locks.

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As a number of my parliamentary colleagues
have been pointing out in recent days—[Interruption.]

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>> Mr Speaker:
Order. This is intolerable. [Interruption.]

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I take no view on the matter, but I do take
a view on the importance of hearing the questions

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and the answers.

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>> The Prime Minister:
As a number of my parliamentary colleagues

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have been pointing out in recent days, the
trend towards greater self-employment does

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create a structural issue in the tax base
on which we will have to act. We want to ensure

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that we maintain, as they have said, fairness
in the tax system. We will await the report

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from Matthew Taylor on the future of employment;
consider the Government’s overall approach

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to employment status and rights to tax and
entitlements; and bring forward further proposals,

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but we will not bring forward increases to
national insurance contributions later in

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this Parliament.

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>> Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North) (Lab):
First, may I wish everyone in my constituency,

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in Ireland and all around the world a very
happy St Patrick’s day on the 17th?

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We have just heard that the Prime Minister
is about to drop the national insurance hike

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announced only a week ago. It seems to me
that the Government are in a bit of chaos

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here with a Budget that unravels in seven
days, a Conservative manifesto with a pensive

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Prime Minister on the front page saying that
there would be no increase, and a week ago

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an increase being announced. If they are to
drop the increase, as they are indicating,

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the Prime Minister should thank the Federation
of Small Businesses and all those who have

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pointed out both how unfair the increase would
be and how big business evades an awful lot

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of national insurance through bogus self-employment.

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>> The Prime Minister:
I do not think the right hon. Gentleman listened

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to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the
Member for Bexhill and Battle (Huw Merriman).

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I normally stand at this Dispatch Box and
say I will not take any lectures from the

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right hon. Gentleman, but when it comes to
lectures on chaos he would be the first person

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I turned to.

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>> Jeremy Corbyn:
I think the Prime Minister should offer an

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apology for the chaos that her Government
have caused during the past week and the stress

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they have caused to the 4.8 million self-employed
people in this country. Will she offer that

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apology? Her hon. Friend the Under-Secretary
of State for Wales did so a week ago; it is

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time she joined him. This measure, if carried
through, will create a black hole in the budget.

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What is she going to do to fill that black
hole?

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>> The Prime Minister:
If the right hon. Gentleman is so concerned

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about balancing the books, why is it Labour
party policy to borrow half a trillion pounds

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and bankrupt Britain?

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>> Jeremy Corbyn:
Given that this Government propose to borrow

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more between now and 2020 than the entire
borrowing of all Labour Governments put together,

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we do not need lectures from them on that.
I hope that in his statement later today the

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Chancellor will address the question of injustice
to many people who are forced into bogus self-employment

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by unscrupulous companies, many of which force
their workers to become self-employed and

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thereby avoid employer’s national insurance
contributions. It is a grossly unfair system

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where those in self-employment pay some national
insurance, but employers do not, and benefit

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from it. That is a gross injustice that must
be addressed.

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>> The Prime Minister:
The right hon. Gentleman obviously has not

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noticed that one of the first things I did
when I became Prime Minister was commission

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Matthew Taylor of the RSA to conduct a review
of the employment market and employment rights

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and status, precisely because we recognised
that the employment market is changing. He

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talks about the self-employed, so let us look
at what we have done for the self-employed.

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Our increase in the personal allowance means
that they now keep more of their earnings.

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They will have access to both tax-free childcare
and 30 hours of free childcare a week, just

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like employees, and now they have access to
the new state pension, worth over £1,800

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more a year. What we know is that the Labour
party’s policies would bankrupt Britain

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and put firms out of business and people out
of jobs.

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>> Jeremy Corbyn:
We have a Government U-turn, no apology, and

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a Budget that falls most heavily on those
with the least broad shoulders, with cuts

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to schools, cuts to social care and cuts to
support for people with disabilities. That

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is the agenda of the right hon. Lady’s Government,
and everybody knows it.

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>> The Prime Minister:
I do not think the right hon. Gentleman has

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got the hang of this. He is supposed to ask
me a question when he stands up—[Interruption.]

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>> Mr Speaker:
Order. Let us hear the answer.

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>> The Prime Minister:
The right hon. Gentleman talks about schools.

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What have we done? We have protected the core
schools budget and introduced the pupil premium.

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This Budget delivers money for more than 100
new schools, ensuring good school places for

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every child. This Budget delivers on skills
for young people; we want them to be equipped

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for the jobs of the future. The Budget delivers
£500 million for technical education. We

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also recognise the pressure on social care.
This Budget delivers £2 billion more funding

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for social care—funding that would not be
available with Labour’s economic policies.

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>> Jeremy Corbyn:
It would be a very good idea if the Prime

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Minister listened to headteachers all over
the country, who are desperately trying to

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work out how to balance the books in their
schools, but are losing teachers, losing teaching

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assistants and losing support for their children
because school budgets are being cut. She

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knows that. We all know that. Everybody out
there knows that. They also know that, according

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to figures from the Institute for Fiscal Studies,
average working families will be £1,400 worse

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off as a result of her Budget that was produced
last week. What is she doing to help the worst

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off and poorest in our society, rather than
continuing to cut local government and schools

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expenditure, and to underfund social care?

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>> The Prime Minister:
I will tell the right hon. Gentleman what

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we have delivered for the low paid. We have
frozen VAT and fuel duty, and every basic

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rate taxpayer has had a tax cut worth £1,000.
We have taken more than 3 million people out

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of paying income tax altogether. That is what
we have done for the low paid. On schools,

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1.8 million more children are now in good
or outstanding schools. I want a good school

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place for every child. We have done it with
free schools and academies, and with our changes

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to education—all opposed by the Labour party.
Now it wants to oppose our giving every child

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a good school place. What do we know about
the Labour party’s policies? Well, the former

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shadow Chancellor, the hon. Member for Nottingham
East (Chris Leslie) said that Labour’s policies

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would mean doubling national insurance, doubling
VAT and doubling council tax. That would not

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help the low paid or ordinary working families.

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>> Jeremy Corbyn:
The difference is that we want a good school

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and a good place for every child in every
school in every community. Selective education—the

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reintroduction of grammar schools—does not
achieve that. We want a staircase for all,

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not a ladder for the few, which is what Conservative
policies actually are. The Prime Minister

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has also not addressed the unfairness of a
Budget that cuts tax at the top end, continues

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to reduce corporation tax and encourages bogus
self-employment. She has to address the issues

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of injustice and inequality in our society,
and of a Government who are dedicated to widening

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the gap, not helping the hard-up or those
who are working as self-employed, trying to

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make ends meet and not getting access to any
benefits at the same time.

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>> The Prime Minister:
Inequality has gone down under this Government.

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The Budget shows that the top 1% of earners
will actually contribute 27% in terms of the

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income that they are providing. Let me address
the issue of schools. The problem with what

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the right hon. Gentleman says is that the
Labour party has opposed, and continues to

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oppose, every single education policy brought
forward by this Government, delivering more

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good school places for children. The Labour
party’s approach is that parents shall take

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what they are given, good or bad. We believe
in listening to parents.

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Let us look ahead to what the right hon. Gentleman’s
policies would produce for this country: half

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a trillion pounds of borrowing—£500 billion
more borrowing under the Labour party—more

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taxes, more spending and more borrowing. It
would be a bankrupt Britain that would not

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give money for public services or help ordinary
working families. It is the Conservative party

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that is helping ordinary working families.
It is the Labour party that is failing to

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address the needs of the people of this country.
We are delivering. He is just sitting there

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or going on protest marches.

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>> Jeremy Quin (Horsham) (Con):
As the facts change, I change my question.

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May I congratulate my right hon. Friend on
proposing the most radical reform of 

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technical education in a generation and delivering
fair funding for all our schools? However,

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may I ask her, as part of the consultation,
to ensure a minimum level of appropriate funding

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for all schools?

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>> The Prime Minister:
I thank my hon. Friend, because he has raised

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an important point. One of the issues we have
addressed in the Budget is putting more money

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into skills training—into further education
and technical education—for young people.

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I think that one of the most important things
we can do is equip young people for their

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futures, and for the jobs of the future, so
that they can get on in life. We are investing

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an extra half a billion pounds a year, as
I said earlier, in England’s technical education

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system to do this.

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My hon. Friend referred to the issue of a
minimum funding level. My right hon. Friend

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the Education Secretary confirmed last month
that the Department for Education has heard

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representations on this issue. It is considering
these issues, but the funding formula is a

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complex issue that has needed addressing for
some time, and we will be looking at it carefully.

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>> Angus Robertson (Moray) (SNP):
We once had a Prime Minister who said,

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“The lady’s not for turning.”

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My goodness, is it not welcome that the Prime
Minister has today admitted that she is for

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turning, with her screeching, embarrassing
U-turn on national insurance contributions?

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Only days remain until the Prime Minister
is going to invoke article 50 on leaving the

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European Union. Last July, she promised to
secure a UK-wide approach—an agreement between

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the devolved Administrations of Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland and the UK Government—before

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triggering article 50, so when will the Prime
Minister announce the details of the agreement?

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>> The Prime Minister:
As I said to the right hon. Gentleman yesterday,

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and to others asking me questions on the timetable
yesterday, we will trigger article 50 by the

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end of March. There will be an opportunity
for further discussions with the devolved

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Administrations over that period. On the issue
of membership of the European Union, and his

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view on Scotland not being a member of the
United Kingdom, I say this to him: he is comparing

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membership of an organisation that we have
been a member of for 40 years with our country.

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We have been one country for over 300 years;
we have fought together, we have worked together,

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we have achieved together, and constitutional
game-playing must not be allowed to break

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the deep bonds of our shared history and our
future together.

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>> Angus Robertson:
The Prime Minister can wag her finger as much

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as she likes; last year, she made a promise:
she promised an agreement. I asked her about

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it yesterday; she did not answer. I have asked
her about it now; she has not answered. When

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will she reach an agreement—not discussions—with
the Scottish Government before triggering

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article 50? She has another opportunity. [Interruption.]

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>> Mr Speaker:
Order. I recognise the passions—[Interruption.]

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Mr Wishart, calm yourself, man. I am perfectly
capable of doing this without your beneficent

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assistance. The right hon. Member for Moray
(Angus Robertson) will be heard, however long

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it takes. [Interruption.] Yes, he will; he
will continue, however long it takes. Carry

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on, Mr Robertson.

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>> Angus Robertson:
The Prime Minister promised an agreement;

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there is not an agreement. When will there
be an agreement? Does she not understand that

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if she does not secure an agreement before
triggering article 50—if she is not prepared

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to negotiate on behalf of the Scottish Government
and secure membership of the single European

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market—people in Scotland will have a referendum,
and we will have our say?

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>> The Prime Minister:
We have been in discussions with the Scottish

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Government and with the other devolved Administrations
about the interests that they have as we prepare,

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as the United Kingdom Government, to negotiate
a deal on behalf of the whole of the United

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Kingdom—a deal that will be a good deal
for not just England, Wales and Northern Ireland,

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but the people of Scotland as well. As we
go forward in negotiating that deal, I think

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the right hon. Gentleman should remember this:
Scotland will be leaving the European Union,

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either as a member of the United Kingdom or
if it were independent, as it is very clear

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from the Barroso document that it would not
be a member of the European Union. What we

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need now is to unite, come together as a country,
and ensure that we can get the best deal for

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the whole of the United Kingdom.

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>> Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) (Con):
This Government are working with local enterprise

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partnerships, councils and other partners
to grow the economy, but despite being in

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the prosperous south-east, the Isle of Wight
is 339th out of 379 in the UK competitiveness

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index. Will my right hon. Friend ensure that
more growth funding is targeted at rural areas

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such as the island, with its many small and
microbusinesses, to deliver a country that

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works for all?

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>> The Prime Minister:
My hon. Friend speaks well on behalf of his

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constituents, and he is right to do that.
I know that he has consistently put forward

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the unique characteristics of the Isle of
Wight. We have already been able to support

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the island’s economy through the local growth
deal for the Solent—that is £183 million—and

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the Solent local enterprise partnership has
been supporting the Isle of Wight rural small

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and medium-sized enterprise programme; my
hon. Friend particularly referred to rural

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funding. I want to make sure that we make
the best of the diverse strengths of all Britain’s

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cities, regions and islands. I am sure that
on the island, the business community and

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the council will work together to create the
best possible conditions for growth and competitiveness

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in the future.

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>> Stephen Doughty (Cardiff South and Penarth)
(Lab/Co-op):

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Our two single markets are the backbone of
our economy, yet the Prime Minister wants

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to rip us away from one, and the Scottish
National party wants to break up the other.

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Is the risky and reckless approach she is
taking to Brexit really a price worth paying

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to foster the break-up of Britain?

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>> The Prime Minister:
The hon. Gentleman is wrong when he says that

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I want to rip the United Kingdom away from
the single market. What we want to do—[Interruption.]

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I am sorry to say to hon. Members on the Labour
Benches that this is the same answer that

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I have given consistently in this House. We
want to ensure that we get a good free trade

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agreement that gives us the maximum possible
access to the single market, to enable us

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to trade with the single market and operate
within the single market.

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>> Mrs Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet)
(Con):

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I welcome the support on business rates being
given by the Budget to local high streets,

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which are so crucially valued in places such
as my constituency of Barnet. Does the Prime

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Minister agree that we can give more help
to small businesses if we secure the international

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agreement we need to ensure that all big businesses
pay their taxes?

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>> The Prime Minister
This is a very important issue, and one on

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which I think this Government have a record
of which we can be proud, but of course there

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is more to do. Since 2010, through the work
we have done on tackling tax evasion, avoidance

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and non-compliance, we have secured an additional
£140 billion in compliance yield. Internationally,

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we have driven the global agenda. We have
now got 100 countries signed up to the automatic

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exchange of financial account information,
and we have pushed G7 and G20 partners to

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establish registers of beneficial ownership,
but my right hon. Friend is right: there is

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more to do. We will continue to crack down
on big companies not paying their tax. I want

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to see an economy that works for everyone,
and that means that big companies should be

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paying their tax as well as everybody else.

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>> Mike Weir (Angus) (SNP):
In answer to my right hon. Friend the Member

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for Moray (Angus Robertson), the Prime Minister
called for respect, but that is a two-way

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street. Where is her Government’s respect
for the Scottish Government’s compromise

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proposal, which has just been ignored in these
negotiations?

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>> The Prime Minister:
The compromise proposal has not been ignored;

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it has been discussed by Ministers with Ministers
from the Scottish Government. There are many

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areas within that proposal on which we agree,
as I have said before, such as on ensuring

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our security from crime and terrorism, and
maintaining and protecting workers’ rights.

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>> Will Quince (Colchester) (Con):
Colchester hospital’s A and E department

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has excellent staff, but suffers from poor
layout and patient flow. Does the Prime Minister

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agree with me that the £100 million set out
for triage in the Budget last week will enable

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hospitals such as mine to address this issue
and improve patient outcomes?

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>> The Prime Minister:
My hon. Friend is right to recognise, and

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we should all recognise, the hard work and
dedication of our excellent staff throughout

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the NHS. What we are seeing in the NHS is
that A and Es are treating more people than

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ever before. We are spending half a trillion
pounds on the NHS in England during this Parliament,

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and the NHS is going to see an increase in
its funding of £10 billion in real terms,

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but there is sometimes an issue, as my hon.
Friend says, about the configuration of A

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and E and enabling changes to take place to
help the flow, and to help in dealing with

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potential patients as they come in. That is
why my right hon. Friend the Chancellor announced

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last week £425 million in new capital investment
in the NHS, which includes £100 million to

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help manage the demand on A&E services,
enabling hospitals to make changes to ensure

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people are treated in the most appropriate
way possible.

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>> Nick Thomas-Symonds (Torfaen) (Lab):
Over 200 staff at the Cwmbran pension centre

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in my constituency face an uncertain future,
as they have been told they have to relocate

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to other areas over the next few years. Does
the Prime Minister realise the impact this

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has on staff and the local economy, and will
she meet me and representatives of the workforce

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to see what can be done to save Cwmbran pension
centre?

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>> The Prime Minister:
I recognise the concern that the hon. Gentleman

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has raised for staff at that particular pension
office in—

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>> Nick Thomas-Symonds:
Cwmbran.

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>> The Prime Minister:
Cwmbran. I recognise this is an issue. I am

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sure it is an issue that the Secretary of
State for Work and Pensions will look at very

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closely, but of course the Government are
looking to ensure that we both use our resources

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effectively, but also provide the proper and
appropriate service for the recipients of

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those particular benefits.

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>> Victoria Atkins (Louth and Horncastle)
(Con):

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Last weekend, thousands of people from across
Lincolnshire came to the Revesby races in

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my constituency to enjoy the racing and the
delicious local food, including award-winning

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Lincolnshire sausages. As the Government prepare
to strike new international trade deals, will

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my right hon. Friend ensure that the high
standards we expect of our food producers

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and farmers will be met and maintained in
these deals, and will this Government continue

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to back British farming?

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>> The Prime Minister:
I can assure my hon. Friend that we will certainly

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do that. I remember, when I visited her prior
to the general election in 2015, sampling

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some of the excellent Lincolnshire sausages
that come from her constituency. We have an

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opportunity to build a new future for our
food and farming industry when we leave the

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European Union. We will maintain the UK’s
high standards of food safety and of animal

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welfare; that will be a priority for us. Any
trade deals we enter into will need to be

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right for consumers, for businesses and for
farmers, and will need to ensure our food

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safety and environmental protection, and of
course the animal welfare standards I have

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just referred to. We recognise the need for
certainty for businesses. We have already

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provided guarantees on support for farmers
up to 2020, and I can assure her that we will

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continue to back British farmers.

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>> Callum McCaig (Aberdeen South) (SNP):
The UK has one of the worst performing currencies

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in the world, and it has a trade deficit of
£133 billion and a national debt approaching

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£1.7 trillion. May I ask the Prime Minister:
does she really believe that the UK could

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afford to be an independent country?

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>> The Prime Minister:
If he wants—[Interruption.]

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>> Mr Speaker:
Order. There is too much noise in the Chamber.

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Hon. Members on the SNP Benches are very over-excited
individuals. I want to hear the Prime Minister’s

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reply. Let us hear the reply.

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>> The Prime Minister:
If the hon. Member for Aberdeen South (Callum

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00:26:53,269 --> 00:26:59,179
McCaig) wants to talk about figures in relation
to the UK economy, it is the world’s sixth

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largest economy, and this Government have
reduced the deficit by two thirds. If he would

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00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:08,820
care to look at the employment figures we
see today, employment is at a record high

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and unemployment has not been lower since
1975.

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>> Tim Loughton (East Worthing and Shoreham)
(Con):

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Today is the Ides of March—and, yet again,
Brutus opposite missed badly—so will the

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00:27:28,710 --> 00:27:32,693
Prime Minister take the opportunity to stick
the knife into the ridiculous Court of Justice

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00:27:32,693 --> 00:27:37,409
of the European Union, which ruled yesterday
that employers can ban their staff from wearing

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signs of religious or political belief, and
reiterate that reasonable freedom of expression

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should never be snuffed out by insidious political
correctness?

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>> The Prime Minister:
We have, as my hon. Friend knows, a strong

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tradition in this country of freedom of expression.
It is the right of all women to choose how

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they dress and we do not intend to legislate
on this issue. He raised the broader issue

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00:28:00,719 --> 00:28:06,529
of symbols, but this case came up particularly
in relation to the wearing of the veil. There

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00:28:06,529 --> 00:28:10,200
will be times when it is right to ask for
a veil to be removed, such as at border security

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or, perhaps, in court. Individual institutions
can make their own policies, but it is not

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00:28:14,509 --> 00:28:18,889
for Government to tell women what they can
and cannot wear. We want to continue that

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00:28:18,889 --> 00:28:21,249
strong tradition of freedom of expression.

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>> Ms Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh (Ochil and South
Perthshire) (SNP):

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Our First Minister was elected with the largest
vote in Scottish parliamentary history, on

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00:28:40,509 --> 00:28:41,509
a manifesto that stated that the Scottish
Parliament—[Interruption.]

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>> Mr Speaker:
Order. The question will be heard.

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>> Ms Ahmed-Sheikh:
Thank you, Mr Speaker. I will start again.

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00:28:43,609 --> 00:28:50,539
Our First Minister was elected with the largest
vote in Scottish parliamentary history, on

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00:28:50,539 --> 00:28:55,429
a manifesto pledge that the Scottish Parliament
should have the right to hold an independence

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00:28:55,429 --> 00:28:56,429
referendum

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00:28:56,429 --> 00:29:01,960
“if there is a significant and material
change in the circumstances…such as Scotland

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00:29:01,960 --> 00:29:03,779
being taken out of the EU against our will.”

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My question to the Prime Minister is simple:
does she agree that Governments should stick

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00:29:09,840 --> 00:29:17,319
to their manifesto promises? If so, she cannot
object to the First Minister sticking to hers.

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00:29:17,319 --> 00:29:23,020
>> The Prime Minister:
I of course recognise that a vote took place

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00:29:23,020 --> 00:29:26,720
for the Scottish Parliament, and that the
First Minister was returned as the First Minister

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00:29:26,720 --> 00:29:38,590
of a minority Government, but I refer the
hon. Lady to two other votes that took place.

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00:29:38,590 --> 00:29:43,309
In September 2014, the Scottish people were
given the opportunity to vote on whether or

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00:29:43,309 --> 00:29:49,109
not they wished to remain in the United Kingdom.
They chose that Scotland should remain part

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00:29:49,109 --> 00:29:55,330
of the United Kingdom. That was described
by the right hon. Member for Gordon (Alex

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00:29:55,330 --> 00:30:03,850
Salmond) as a “once in a generation” vote.
The other vote to take note of was on 23 June

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00:30:03,850 --> 00:30:07,941
last year, when the people of the United Kingdom
voted to leave the European Union, and that

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00:30:07,941 --> 00:30:09,549
is what we are going to do.

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>> Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (The Cotswolds)
(Con):

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00:30:12,700 --> 00:30:20,110
With 80% of small and medium-sized enterprises
reluctant to export, does my right hon. Friend

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00:30:20,110 --> 00:30:24,549
agree that the prospect of Brexit gives those
firms—particularly those from Scotland—a

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00:30:24,549 --> 00:30:30,529
golden opportunity to use the great British
entrepreneurial spirit to go out into the

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00:30:30,529 --> 00:30:32,649
world and succeed?

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00:30:32,649 --> 00:30:40,470
>> The Prime Minister:
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Small

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00:30:40,470 --> 00:30:44,789
businesses and entrepreneurs are essential
to an economy that is working for everyone.

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00:30:44,789 --> 00:30:51,379
The opportunity that comes from Brexit is
to see those firms go out and export across

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00:30:51,379 --> 00:30:56,769
the world, and to do those trade deals that
will be of benefit to them, to their communities

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00:30:56,769 --> 00:31:01,869
and to our economy. We want to encourage more
businesses to go out there and export. That

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00:31:01,869 --> 00:31:06,559
is exactly what my right hon. Friend the Secretary
of State for International Trade is doing.

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00:31:06,559 --> 00:31:10,919
This is an important part of building a stronger,
fairer Britain for the future.

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00:31:10,919 --> 00:31:15,659
>> Hannah Bardell (Livingston) (SNP):
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs employs

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00:31:15,659 --> 00:31:21,259
more than 1,000 vital staff in my Livingston
constituency. Despite widespread criticism

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00:31:21,259 --> 00:31:25,029
from the National Audit Office and the Public
Accounts Committee, and despite Livingston

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00:31:25,029 --> 00:31:29,320
having the most engaged and productive staff,
the Prime Minister’s Government are determined

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00:31:29,320 --> 00:31:33,549
to move jobs from Livingston to Edinburgh.
Staff do not want to move there and rental

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00:31:33,549 --> 00:31:38,570
costs will be higher. To compound that, last
week Ethicon announced that 400 jobs are set

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00:31:38,570 --> 00:31:44,729
to go at its Livingston site. Will the Prime
Minister therefore change her mind on HMRC

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00:31:44,729 --> 00:31:49,520
jobs in Livingston, and meet me to ensure
that public sector jobs that are vital to

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00:31:49,520 --> 00:31:53,639
Livingston stay in Livingston?

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00:31:53,639 --> 00:31:57,419
>> The Prime Minister:
HMRC is indeed relocating from 170 outdated

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00:31:57,419 --> 00:32:03,969
offices to 13 large, modern regional centres.
The new centres will be equipped with the

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00:32:03,969 --> 00:32:07,620
digital infrastructure and facilities that
are needed to build a more highly skilled

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00:32:07,620 --> 00:32:13,159
and flexible workforce, to enable the modernisation
of ways of working, make tax collection more

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00:32:13,159 --> 00:32:19,259
efficient and effective, and bring significant
improvements to HMRC’s customer services.

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00:32:19,259 --> 00:32:24,809
>> Dr Caroline Johnson (Sleaford and North
Hykeham) (Con):

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00:32:24,809 --> 00:32:31,279
The people of Sleaford and North Hykeham voted
strongly in favour of Brexit, and I was very

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00:32:31,279 --> 00:32:34,889
proud to be here in the House on Monday to
vote in support of the European Union (Notification

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00:32:34,889 --> 00:32:39,879
of Withdrawal) Bill. Will my right hon. Friend
the Prime Minister confirm that she shares

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00:32:39,879 --> 00:32:49,609
my commitment to a Brexit that works in the
best interests of everyone in our country?

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>> The Prime Minister:
I have to say—[Interruption.]

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>> Mr Speaker:
Order. The hon. Member for Perth and North

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00:33:03,429 --> 00:33:13,460
Perthshire (Pete Wishart) was shouting from
beyond the Bar, which is very disorderly.

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00:33:13,460 --> 00:33:24,909
On top of that, a few moments ago he was gesticulating
in a most eccentric manner. I am becoming

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00:33:24,909 --> 00:33:27,959
concerned about the hon. Gentleman, who must
now calm himself.

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00:33:27,959 --> 00:33:29,950
>> The Prime Minister:
Thank you, Mr Speaker. My hon. Friend the

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00:33:29,950 --> 00:33:33,759
Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham (Dr
Johnson) is absolutely right. As she says,

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00:33:33,759 --> 00:33:38,450
her constituency voted overwhelmingly to leave
the European Union. The point is that the

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00:33:38,450 --> 00:33:43,330
people of the United Kingdom voted by a majority
to leave the European Union. As we do that,

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we will ensure that the deal we achieve in
our negotiations is the right deal for the

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whole of the United Kingdom—for people in
England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

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>> Yvette Cooper (Normanton, Pontefract and
Castleford) (Lab):

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The Prime Minister has just made a £2 billion
Budget U-turn in the space of a week. Last

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00:34:08,090 --> 00:34:13,790
year, the Government made a £4 billion U-turn
in the space of five days. Is that why they

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00:34:13,790 --> 00:34:20,140
want to abolish spring Budgets—because they
just keep ripping them up?

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>> The Prime Minister:
I welcome the measures in the spring Budget

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00:34:32,580 --> 00:34:37,859
to improve school places for children, and
to ensure that we put money—[Interruption.]

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00:34:37,859 --> 00:34:39,620
>> Mr Speaker:
Order. The hon. Member for Lichfield (Michael

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00:34:39,620 --> 00:34:44,010
Fabricant) is another very eccentric fellow
shouting very loudly. You must not shout down

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00:34:44,010 --> 00:34:46,730
your own Prime Minister! Let us hear the Prime
Minister.

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00:34:46,730 --> 00:34:51,610
>> The Prime Minister:
Thank you, Mr Speaker. I welcome the measures

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00:34:51,610 --> 00:34:58,490
in the spring Budget to ensure we put money
into schools, skills and social care. I would

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00:34:58,490 --> 00:35:01,720
have thought the right hon. Member for Normanton,
Pontefract and Castleford (Yvette Cooper)

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00:35:01,720 --> 00:35:05,210
would have accepted that putting money into
schools, skills and social care is good for

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00:35:05,210 --> 00:35:06,470
this country.

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00:35:06,470 --> 00:35:14,980
>> Rebecca Pow (Taunton Deane) (Con):
Will the Prime Minister join me in welcoming

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00:35:14,980 --> 00:35:20,870
the news today that Sergeant Blackman’s
murder conviction has been downgraded to manslaughter,

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00:35:20,870 --> 00:35:26,130
in part thanks to the release of previously
unheard evidence? That is fantastic news for

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00:35:26,130 --> 00:35:33,621
his wife Claire, who lives in my constituency
and who has campaigned so unstintingly. My

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00:35:33,621 --> 00:35:38,110
hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset (Richard
Drax), who I believe is returning from chambers,

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00:35:38,110 --> 00:35:43,070
proved a very worthy advocate in this case,
and I commend his hard work. Does the Prime

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00:35:43,070 --> 00:35:48,910
Minister agree that, within the correct legal
framework, those who defend our peace and

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00:35:48,910 --> 00:35:53,490
protect our world from evil should be treated
with fairness and understanding and given

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00:35:53,490 --> 00:35:59,480
the adequate resources, including mental health
support, that they deserve?

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00:35:59,480 --> 00:36:02,700
>> The Prime Minister:
Of course we respect the court’s decision.

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00:36:02,700 --> 00:36:07,800
The Ministry of Defence will be looking very
closely at the judgment. I assure the House

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00:36:07,800 --> 00:36:12,260
that the Ministry of Defence has co-operated
fully at each stage of Sergeant Blackman’s

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00:36:12,260 --> 00:36:16,530
case. It will continue to provide support
to the family, as it has done since the charges

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00:36:16,530 --> 00:36:21,710
were first brought. I would just say, on the
general point, that our Royal Marines have

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a worldwide reputation as one of the world’s
elite fighting forces. They make an incredible

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contribution to our country and we should
pay tribute to them all.

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>> Stephen Twigg (Liverpool, West Derby) (Lab/Co-op):
The Disasters Emergency Committee has launched

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its east Africa crisis appeal. In the context
of that crisis, does the Prime Minister share

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my concern that President Trump is considering
major cuts to spending by the US on aid? Will

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the Government take every opportunity to press
the Americans to remain fully part of the

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global humanitarian system?

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>> The Prime Minister:
I assure the hon. Gentleman that we recognise

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the severity and urgency of the crisis taking
place in east Africa. More than 20 million

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people face the risk of dying from starvation
because of war and drought. Again, it is this

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country that is leading the way in delivering
life-saving support. We have announced that

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we will match, pound for pound, the first
£5 million donated by the public to the Disasters

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Emergency Committee’s new east Africa crisis
appeal, to which he referred. I assure him

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that we take every opportunity to ensure that
countries around the world recognise the importance

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of international aid, and of supporting countries
when we see terrible disasters such as this

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famine coming into being. The UK’s record,
and what we do, enable us to say to others

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that they should do more.

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>> Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con):
It is my honour to chair the all-party parliamentary

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group on blood cancer. Today we launched an
inquiry into greater awareness of the condition

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and the patient experience. I seek assurances
from my right hon. Friend that the additional

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£10 billion going into the NHS in this Parliament
will in some way be spent on ensuring that

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we tackle this third-biggest cancer killer.

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>> The Prime Minister:
My hon. Friend is right to raise this subject.

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Many people have not heard much about this
particular cancer, and are probably not much

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00:38:20,651 --> 00:38:27,560
aware of it as an issue. I can assure him
about what the NHS is doing. Over the last

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few years, we have seen a significant improvement
in cancer survival rates. We have seen an

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00:38:34,070 --> 00:38:38,970
increase in the number of people being referred
on because of potential cancer cases, and

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00:38:38,970 --> 00:38:42,770
an increase in the number of people being
treated for cancer. This is a record on which

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we want to build.