Public affairs, government relations and public relations
Prime Minister's Questions
PMQ’s: Wednesday 18th May 2011
Stephen Hepburn: Is he aware that we are commemorating 75th anniversary of Jarrow March. It is wrong that even today people live in fear of unemployment. Will he support workers? DC: Need to support and help them back into work. We should commemorate the Jarrow March. Public sector jobs have to go down, and we have to encourage private sector jobs. We are seeing them in the North East with BT, Lear Corp, Hitachi etc. I recognise we need to do more.
Oliver Colville: Congratulates him on his joint declaration with the Canadian PM on ocean renewable energy. What does he think Universities such as Plymouth can do to help? DC: Commend him because there are a number of universities that are leaders in marine renewable energy. We will be going ahead with the renewable obligation certificate.
EM: Revelations about what is going on in the MoD are deeply worrying. PM says he and No 10 knew nothing about them. How did that happen? DC: I agree that this is a serious issue. That is why we had a full and proper inquiry, which has been published in full. In this case, the Secretary of State recognised his mistakes and resigned. That didn’t always happen under Labour.
EM: Show a bit of humility. The truth is we still don’t know the full facts about the money trail etc. It is becoming clear that there are a network of individuals, some with close links to Torys and other cabinet members. Can he assure us that over the last 18 months no other minister has engaged in similar activity? DC: He should have a little humility after all their errors. These are questions he was meant to ask last week. Make sure band wagon still moving.
EM: He has no answers. There is a pattern of activity where he doesn’t ask tough questions and when something goes wrong, it is nothing to do with him. He said we must be different in his Ministerial code. DC: The Minister is question has resigned.
Julian Brazier: Will he agree that when Governor of the Bank of England says we are facing crisis, it is a good thing we are still committed to getting debts under control and retaining market credibility. DC: Important point. Listen to King when he says with a lower level of sterling and credible plan we are on track. Problems elsewhere have lengthened period of recovery. Labour would have added £23 billion to the deficit.
Mark Durkin: The Prime Minister acknowledged collusion in murder of Pat Fiduken. We lack confidence in his review. DC: Understand scepticism. What matters is the intent of Government in being frank and apologising. We are going to do that. Have an open mind.
Martin Horwood: Will he congratulate Cheltenham Council on building the first new council housing in 20 years and planning more. They are anxious that the first draft of the Planning Policy Framework attacks the green belt. DC: We are not making changes to the green belt and other protections. I congratulate all councils who build houses we badly need.
Steve Rotherham: Thanks to Home Secretary for their support for Hillsborough families. Will he acknowledge that mistakes have been made, it has taken too long, and justice must prevail. DC: Last week I promised he would have proper time to debate him. We will open up the papers. It is important and there are regrets.
Damian Hinds: Will he join me and commend schools taking part in National Heroes Day. DC: Pleased to do that. It is a remarkable story how that charity has grown.
EM: Last week unemployment was at its highest level, this week inflation up. Does he still think his plan is working? DC: CPI, which we all recognise, was this high in 2008 when he was in government. Inflation is too high. The reason is world prices and the effect of the increase in VAT.
EM: We have highest inflation in EU. Week in week out it shows that his plan is not working. Last week, we saw his National Insurance scheme isn’t working, How is his regional growth fund working? DC: One of the reasons why Britain has inflation issue is that we had biggest boom and biggest bust. The Regional Growth fund will distribute billion and he should support it.
EM: He doesn’t know the answer. They have put out lots of press releases – 22. But how many business have been helped? 2 in 16 months. And how many have gone bankrupt? 16,000. It isn’t working. After 18 months of his experiment, we have more unemployment, and more businesses going bust. DC: Because all he wants to do is talk down the economy, he won’t mention that there are 300,000 new businesses started, 500,000 new jobs created. If he doesn’t like our plan, where is his plan? His plan is to add £23 billion to the deficit this year and £100 billion by the end of this parliament. Not one country in Europe would have such crazy plan.
Anna Soubry: Yesterday saw a report into failings by Nottinghamshire police to protect a women subsequently murdered by her violent partner. It is iImperative police have the training to prevent violence against women. DC: Agree. Some have made huge steps on domestic violence. Not all though and we need to spread best practice.
Pat Glass: The Association of College Principals have noted a decrease in admissions because of the EMEA scrapping. What will he do? DC: Some enrolments have gone up and our replacement is well funded and better targeted.
Steve Parish: Families facing high fuel bills and little competition. What is he doing about this? DC: We are insisting that they have to make more energy available in pooling so new businesses can come into the business.
Tom Greatrex: Carbon capture and storage. DC: Funding is there.
John Pugh: Given savings made by the Cabinet office, would it be better if politicians managed more and meddled less. DC: Important point. Paid tribute to Francis Maude who does this work. He has reduced management consultants by 70%, and we are spending less on marketing and advertising. Serious changes to provide good value for money.
John Spellar: Why isn’t anyone caught carrying knife under 18 sent to jail. DC: We are creating mandatory sentence for adults.
Andrew Rosindell: British people crying out for a referendum on Europe. Will he make history? DC: I understand his frustration about how the EU works. The key focus here is to get on top of the budget and make sure the single market is working. We are committed to the return of powers and that we will not give them more. I don’t support holding a referendum come what may
Gregory Campbell: Tribute to local soldier who died in Helmand. Will he ensure a review is carried out into the way the MoD compiles its honours list to ensure society notes theirsacrifices. DC: Suggests meeting with Minister for Veterans. Has the highest regard for our forces. The whole country recognises that and are looking for new ways to help them.
Adrian Sanders: Inaccurate reporting and statements about a European directive for insulin dependent diabetics sees them fearing for their driving licenses. It is up to the Ministry of Transport to interpret this. Will the PM clarify? DC: I understand his concern, which is shared by many. I can reassure him that relatively few will lose their licence and the DVLA is going back to check the interpretation of the minimum standards of the directives.
Angus Robertson: BAA to sell Edinburgh Airport. Does he agree we need as many direct roots to Scotland as possible? Why does he not devolve air passenger duty? DC: Investment in facilities is important. We will listen to arguments on duty.
Sam Gyimah: Private schools should support under-performing state schools. They should federate. DC: This should be a cross party issue and I pay tribute to Lord Adonis. There is a role for independent schools to sponsor academies. This is a great way forward.
Graham Stringer: The Emergency Services in Greater Manchester are in disarray. What reassurances can he give that there won’t be a tragic death. DC: I will look carefully at this. We are carrying out £20 billion of efficiency savings. All savings are going back into NHS.
Jason McCartney: An engineering firm in my constituency is getting regional growth fund investment. Does he agree that there are success stories out there? DC: This shows that EM questions are probably wrong.
Ian Austin: There are fewer people caught carrying knives going to prison than before. He has broken his promises on this to Brook Kinsella and others. DC: I am full of admiration for Brook Kinsella and her work. We are having a mandatory sentence for knife crime.
Robert Buckland: Will he support the Giving Voice campaign, emphasising the importance of language in tackling social issues. DC: This is vital for disabled children. There aren’t enough speech therapists and getting them can be tough.
Russell Brown: We know that other Governments have been given the impression that Werrity represented the UK Government. Who exactly was misled? DC: Read the report by the Cabinet Secretary and you will find all details he needs about what Werrity was doing. He then listed Labour ex-cabinet lobbying and speaking engagements.
Mark Pritchard: Returning to Europe, does he accept that moves towards fiscal union within the Eurozone will undermine single market and UK. DC: An important point. The logic of the single currency drives them towards integration. But threats to single market and we must argue for safeguards in the short-term. There may be further moves and at that stage we may be able to bring powers back to Britain. A Referendum shouldn’t be held now.
Michael Meacher: A Statutory Register of Lobbyists. Will PM also ensure that think-tanks aimed to manipulate ministers and the public should also be required to disclose their funding? DC: We are committed to a statutory register of lobbyists and this needs to include think thanks and trade unions.
