Prime Minister's Questions
May 18, 2011
PMQ’s: Wednesday 18th May 2011
DC: Tribute to Marine Nigel Mead who was killed by an explosive device in Afghanistan on Monday.
EM: Also pays tribute to Nigel Mead. Bringing attention to the Justice Secretary’s recent interview on Five Live this morning, does the Prime Minister agree with such comments said about ‘classic’ and ‘serious’ rape and the allowance of shorter sentences for rapists that admit to their crime. If not, then Justice Secretary Ken Clarke should not have a job by the end of the day.
DC: Have not seen this interview, and it should be down to the court to decide how long a sentence is given. What is more important is the conviction rate- during the last government numbers declined and currently only 6% of allegations lead to prosecution and conviction. This is what we need to focus on!
EM: Justice Secretary was asked about the average time rapists get, some as little as 15 months. This is not right, the Prime Minister must distance himself from these comments and the discretionary plea bargaining system must be abolished.
DC: Accuses EM of ‘jumping on the bandwagon’ by attacking the Justice Secretary. There is merit in having the discretionary plea bargaining system and EM must wait for the results of the consultation on the policy. The most important factor is getting rapists off the streets and convicted.
EM: Before the election a whole host of promises were made on crimes that are now being broken. The Prime Minister is cutting 12,000 police officers, this is not acceptable.
DC: A serious alternative needs to be proposed before such accusations are made.
Simon Kirby: Will the Prime Minister show support to Tony Blair’s former speech writer, Peter Hyman, who is now a teacher at an inner London school and wants to take advantage of a flagship government policy and set up a ‘free school’. DC: I welcome the free school policy, it is an excellent policy.
Nigel Dodds: Does the Prime Minister agree that the Queens recent visit to Ireland prove that there is an improvement in the relationship between the UK and Ireland, and that it demonstrates courage. DC: I agree, this visit will heal the wounds of the past and the relationship is stronger than ever.
Alan Beith: Shouldn’t people be getting rewards from the banks that they are paying so much into? DC: We are looking into more ways of getting publicly funded banks into the private sector to allow for the possible release of shares.
Rachel Reeves: There are hundreds of women in their 50s outside parliament today protesting about their pensions. Why the U-turn? DC: We are linking pensions back to earnings, which has been proposed before, to allow a more sustainable way of living.
James Gray: Should everyone in the UK get to vote on Scottish Independence, not just those in Scotland? DC: If a referendum is demanded for independence then a referendum will happen; but only Scotland will be able to vote and I will lead the campaign to keep our United Kingdom together.
Michael Connarty: Reports of human trafficking, especially in Scotland have been brought to attention. When children are involved, this needs to stop. What is the Prime Minister going to do about it? DC: I am deeply concerned about human trafficking and the UK must do all it can to stop this repulsive practice.
Oliver Colville: Paying tribute to Nigel Mead, who was a constituent. Asks about the recent rise in inflation and the causes of the credit crunch and what is being done to counter it. DC: the causes are poor regulation of banking and the financial sector, we have already taken steps to amend this by putting the Bank of England back in charge of monetary policy and central power.
Jessica Morden: Because of the cuts to the Department of Work and Pensions, my constituents with health problems on benefits are being targeted. DC: Tests have shown that it is wrong to leave people on benefits for too long without assessment.
Sir Peter Tapsell: Recently, the case of Madeline McCann has been reopened and a full investigation is taking place. I am asking for other cases to be re-opened, like that of the death of weapons scientist Dr David Kelly. DC: It is good that the Metropolitan Police have decided to look back into the case of Madeline McCann. However, as for the case of Dr David Kelly, previous inquiries were sufficient and the case is now closed.
Dennis Skinner: Since the conservatives have been in power, the number of billionaires has risen by 20% and the rate of inflation has also risen. The recession is only getting worse and the rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer. DC: In the real world, the levels of unemployment are down and the levels of employment in youths are on the rise. These are the facts that are important, not those taken from the ‘dinosaur world’.
Julie Elliott: My Constituency, Sunderland, is a large and thriving town. It has been brought to our attention that the Olympic Torch relay will not be stopping here in 2012. Why is this? DC: I was not aware that the torch was not planned to stop in Sunderland, but I will look into this.
Barry Gardiner: House of Lords Reform? DC: There is clearly a massive division in the House over this matter. Having some elected members would be a step forward, and a change is in all parties interests’ so hopefully an agreement can be reached.
Jenny Chapman: Many people agree that giving reduced sentences for early guilty pleas is abhorrent. DC: This is not what the government is trying to do at all- we take rape seriously and have increased funding in rape crisis centres.
Aidan Burley- A question about the union funding for the Labour party: DC: Labour doesn’t want any examination of the issue.
Ian Lavery- Why hasn’t the NHS adviser Mark Britnell been sacked? DC: I am glad you have brought up this matter. I have never heard of Mark Britnell who is supposedly advising me on NHS matters. When I researched this, it turns out he was actually the health policy adviser to the previous government!
