Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton and Alun Cairns

Wednesday 9th April 2014 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My view is an entirely positive one about what this United Kingdom has achieved together in the past and what we can achieve in the future. I think the ones who take a narrow, inward-looking and rather selfish view about the future are Scottish National party Members.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

The surgeon general of the armed forces has raised concerns about the impact of longer NHS waiting times on soldiers based in Wales. Does the Prime Minister agree that NHS outcomes for my constituents, including soldiers, are simply not good enough, and that the Welsh Government could be undermining the operations of the armed forces and are potentially in breach of the military covenant?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. We have seen an 8% cut to the NHS budget in Wales. The last time A and E targets were met was 2009. The last time cancer treatment targets were met was 2008. Over a third of people miss out on access to diagnostic services within eight weeks. There is a truly dreadful record when it comes to Labour’s NHS in Wales. There is a huge contrast now with the NHS in England—properly funded, well run and meeting the key targets—and the shambles in Wales.

EU Council

Debate between Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton and Alun Cairns

Monday 28th October 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

There is no doubt that a more competitive energy market both in the UK and in the EU would put downward pressure on prices. It is the same in every industry. If one sees a tendency towards monopolies and oligopolies, one tends to see higher prices, less competition and less choice for consumers. That is why we see eight new companies coming into the energy market. Is it not good that the Leader of the Opposition has followed my advice and switched to one of the small upstart businesses for his energy supply? The only problem he has is that the new business that is accepting his custom does not support his policy and thinks that it will be a disaster.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

The reformed UK Trade & Investment is making a significant difference in helping British businesses to export at record levels, contributing to last week’s excellent growth figures. Does the Prime Minister agree that UKTI can now focus on a major new opportunity following the EU-Canada agreement?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is right. UKTI now has more areas to look at around the world. It has excellent leadership from Stephen Green, the Trade Minister whom we hired from HSBC, and I am pleased that Ian Livingston, who until recently ran BT, will bring even more impetus to the vital work that UKTI and our trade bodies do around the world.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton and Alun Cairns

Wednesday 4th September 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I agree that the election of a President who has a greater commitment to reform is a positive step, and I have written to President Rouhani to raise a series of issues that need to be settled between Britain and Iran. Above all, we need to see progress on what President Rouhani himself has said is important, which is trying to come to an agreement whereby Iran gives up the idea of nuclear weapons and in return we see some relief on sanctions. That would be major progress, but we should not just do that from a position of hoping for the best. We have seen what Iran has been capable of in the recent past, so we should go into such discussions very cautiously.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

Q3. Does the Prime Minister agree that accuracy of statistics is vital to inform public debate? Is he aware that 4% of people believe that Elvis is still alive? That is double the number we hear today who think that the right hon. Member for Doncaster North (Edward Miliband) is a natural leader.

[The Prime Minister]

I can see that my hon. Friend has certainly put his summer to very good use, and I am grateful for his question. Obviously, we need to see a run of opinion polls before we can see a true trend.

G8

Debate between Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton and Alun Cairns

Wednesday 19th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend has made an important point, but the most important point is that if countries are to be engaged in any way, they must sign up to the Geneva process.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

The G8 tax agreement opens the way to an international tax settlement that is simpler and more transparent. Does my right hon. Friend agree that it has the potential to benefit countries that have reduced their corporation tax rates, such as the United Kingdom?

[The Prime Minister]

I think my hon. Friend would agree that, while low tax rates are good for business and there is nothing wrong with healthy tax competition, when we set a low tax rate we should then say to businesses, “We have a low tax rate; now you must pay the tax.” I believe that the G8 agenda will help us in that regard.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton and Alun Cairns

Wednesday 27th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

GP commissioners are not forced to put services out to competitive tender. We have GP commissioners, and the point is that it is going to be doctors making the decisions about whether they want to expand choice and diversity in the NHS. What is the hon. Lady worried about? What is the Labour party worried about? Is it not the case that lots of voluntary bodies, charities, the hospice movement, organisations like Mind and Whizz-Kidz in Tower Hamlets, which provides an amazing service for children with wheelchairs, are already involved? What are we frightened of in allowing doctors to say, “Let us have some diversity, let us have some choice and let us make sure we are on the side of patients”?

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

Two and a half years ago, nine-year-old Cerys Potter from the Vale of Glamorgan became the ninth person to die in an incident while on a rafting exercise on the Dalaman river. There appears to have been a blatant disregard of common sense and health and safety standards. Cerys’s parents have campaigned tirelessly for a criminal investigation and improved standards, and have even funded witnesses to travel to the Turkish courts, but their efforts have been frustrated, for what appear to be bureaucratic reasons. Will the Prime Minister work with the Turkish authorities to gain justice and to help to warn people of the risks of white-water rafting in Turkey?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is right to raise this tragic case of a nine-year-old constituent of his, Cerys Potter, who died in 2010 in Turkey. I want to send my sincere condolences to the family in these terrible circumstances. I know that he has been speaking to the Minister for Europe about this case, and that our embassy in Turkey is monitoring the case and can again approach the Turkish authorities and ask them to keep the Potter family fully informed of any progress. I am sure that the Foreign Office will have listened very carefully to what my hon. Friend has said today, standing up for this family’s interests.

European Council

Debate between Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton and Alun Cairns

Monday 11th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The conclusions agreed at the Council are that we will open discussions with Japan on its free trade agreement, we are enthusiastic about the potential for an EU-US trade deal, and that we are close to completion on the Canada free trade agreement. The paper submitted to the Council was one of the most pro-trade, pro-reform papers I have seen, and that is thoroughly to the good.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

I, too, congratulate the Prime Minister on the significant success he achieved at the European negotiations. Does he share my confusion regarding the Opposition’s position? The Leader of the Opposition and the shadow Chancellor are seeking to claim to credit, yet the most senior Labour politician in government, the First Minister of Wales, is critical and is calling for a higher EU budget settlement. Does the Prime Minister share my confusion?

[The Prime Minister]

I have to admit that it is confusing, because of course Labour MEPs voted against a freeze in the EU budget when they were given the opportunity. What we need to hear from the Opposition is that they will show some leadership and tell their MEPs that this is a good deal for Britain and that they will back it. Let me give the Leader of the Opposition another chance. Will his MEPs be backing this budget: yes or no? [Interruption.] That was a no. [Interruption.]

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton and Alun Cairns

Wednesday 30th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

What I would say to the hon. Gentleman is that we have put in place a £30 million discretionary fund to help in particular cases such as the one that he raises, but we do have an overall situation where the housing benefit budget is now £23 billion. That is only £10 billion less than the entire defence budget, and it is not good enough for Opposition Members to oppose welfare cut after welfare cut, to propose welfare spend after welfare spend, while they realise that we are dealing with the mess they left.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

Does the Prime Minister agree that when the Leader of the Opposition talks about the economy, he sounds just like a Victorian undertaker looking forward to a hard winter? Does the Leader of the Opposition not accept that we cannot get out of a debt crisis by borrowing more money?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes a very good point. The fact is that the economy that we inherited was completely unbalanced. It was based on housing, it was based-on finance, it was based on Government spending and it was based on immigration. Those were four incredibly unstable pillars for sustained economic growth, and what we have had to do is a major recovery operation. That operation is still under way, but given the new jobs created, the private sector businesses that are expanding, the new people setting up their businesses, we are making progress.

Leveson Inquiry

Debate between Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton and Alun Cairns

Thursday 29th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

As I said, the press, like every other industry, should be fully subject to competition policy and fully competitive. I part company with the hon. Gentleman on one issue—because of the growth of the digital media, the costs of distributing opinion, fact and newspapers online have come radically down.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

Does the Prime Minister agree that statutory underpinning in the wrong hands, possibly in the future, could lead to statutory regulation by the back door?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is right to raise this issue. The point I am making is that putting in place underpinning may well turn out to be not as simple as having a one or two-clause Bill. We would have to start defining what the body is, what the body does, what powers it has and what the extent of it is, rather as there is in the Irish system. Once we have done that, we would be in danger of finding that we have put in place a statutory Act on the press that is then very, very easy to amend. My point is that this House of Commons should pause, stop and think before taking a step of that magnitude.

Informal European Council

Debate between Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton and Alun Cairns

Tuesday 31st January 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We did not discuss the cost of oil. As I have said, Saudi Arabian production is an important issue. The completion of the energy single market should help to bring energy prices down, because it will make the energy markets in Europe more efficient and ensure that there is a proper networked energy grid around Europe.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

More than 1 million people are employed in the financial services sector across the United Kingdom. Does the Prime Minister agree that many of those jobs could have been exposed to a significant degree if he had not used his veto in December and secured the agreement yesterday?

[The Prime Minister]

It is important to remember that the financial services industry is not just the City of London; it employs 100,000 people in Birmingham and more than 100,000 people in Scotland. It is important that we stand up for those people. Obviously, there is still the danger of eurozone countries going ahead with financial transactions taxes. However, Britain is making the case strongly that there are ways to ensure that the financial services industry pays its fair share through bank levies and the stamp duty on share transactions, without having a financial transactions tax, which would drive these activities to areas of the world that do not apply it. It does not work and the European Commission has said that it does not work. That is why we should reject it.

EU Council

Debate between Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton and Alun Cairns

Monday 12th December 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

There is a growing number, with countries such as Mexico, and now we have the Korea free trade agreement. I am very keen to try to finalise the Japan free trade agreement. Huge effort should be made to have such treaties, because they are good for both sides.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

May I pay tribute to the Prime Minister for his practical approach to the negotiations last week? May I also say that his practical, obvious negotiating style now seems to be supported by the Leader of the Opposition, whose aides are briefing the press that he would not have signed the agreement, in the same way that the Prime Minister did not?

[The Prime Minister]

Ah. Either the Leader of the Opposition has no control over his aides, who are randomly briefing the press about his position, or he failed to tell the House, in his minutes and minutes of speaking, that he would not have signed the treaty. If he would have signed it, he can say I made the wrong decision, but if he would not, he will have to accept that I made the right decision. He either has to have the courage of his convictions or give an answer.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton and Alun Cairns

Wednesday 2nd November 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

On the winter fuel allowance we have kept the plans that were set out by the previous Government and I think that is the right thing to do. On the cold weather payments, we have taken the increase that was meant for one year and maintained it, so if there is a particularly cold winter, people will be getting that help. The other step we are taking is making sure that energy companies give people proper information about the lowest tariffs they can get and that we have proper reform of the energy market—something that the Labour party has now suddenly started to talk about but did absolutely nothing about in government.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

Q3. Public sector pension reform should be achieved through negotiation and compromise. Does the Prime Minister agree that it is wholly irresponsible and downright destructive for senior politicians of any political party to support strike action while negotiations are ongoing?

[The Prime Minister]

I think my hon. Friend is entirely right. It is a very fair offer to hard-working public servants to say, “This is a strong set of pension reforms that will give you pensions that are still better than anything available in the private sector.” Frankly, to have a Labour Front-Bench team who are silent on this issue, with their education spokesman actually encouraging teachers to strike, is the height of irresponsibility.

Public Confidence in the Media and Police

Debate between Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton and Alun Cairns

Wednesday 20th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I simply say to the hon. Gentleman that he should check the transcript of what Sir Paul Stephenson and John Yates said yesterday. They think that Edward Llewellyn behaved entirely appropriately, as do I, and as does the person sitting next to the hon. Gentleman, the right hon. Member for Leicester East (Keith Vaz).

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

In 2006 the Information Commissioner published two reports expressing concerns about the risk of phone hacking. For the sake of the victims, does the Prime Minister regret that no action was taken at that time?

[The Prime Minister]

I think that it is a matter of regret. Frankly, both Front-Bench teams have to accept that warnings from the Information Commissioner and Select Committees were not heeded. We have to recognise that there were issues about relations with media groups that made that happen, and we have to get to the bottom of how we prevent it from happening again. I hope we can address that point in the debate.

Phone Hacking

Debate between Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton and Alun Cairns

Wednesday 13th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Many people on the Press Complaints Commission have tried to make it work. I would argue that it has made improvements in recent years from when it was originally established, but when we look at what has happened and the trail of reports, problems and the rest of it, the conclusion we must come to is that the PCC did not do enough to pick that up. Reform is therefore needed. That is one of the starting points for the inquiry.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

Does the Prime Minister regret the Opposition’s inaction over such serious and grave issues over a number of years? If they are now to succeed and maintain public support, they need to be above party politics, and political opportunism should be shunned and ignored.

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is right. We need an all-party approach, as far as possible. Sometimes all-party approaches can become a bit of a conspiracy, so we have to make sure that that is not the case. A basic level of agreement exists about the inquiry, the terms of reference, and the need to change the regulatory system. If we can push forward in that way, there will not be too much regulatory arbitrage, so to speak, which is a danger in such a situation. I propose to keep in close touch with the leader of the Labour party about this.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton and Alun Cairns

Wednesday 23rd March 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

What we have done in the banking industry is make sure that it is paying a £2.5 billion banking levy, not as a one-off, but every single year during this Parliament, so under this Government, the taxes it pays will go up; the bonus levels have gone down; and the lending to small businesses—and large businesses—will increase. The hon. Gentleman should welcome that approach.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

What conclusions has the Prime Minister drawn from the statement of the secretary-general of the OECD, who recently said

“if you don’t deal with the deficit you can be assured that there will not be growth”?

[The Prime Minister]

The OECD was in town last week and gave the clearest possible message: if we do not deal with the deficit, we will not get any growth. That is what it said, and it is about time that the Opposition started listening to it.

Libya and the Middle East

Debate between Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton and Alun Cairns

Monday 28th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes a good point, although we should not be pessimistic about the effect of greater democratisation in the middle east and the Arab world on the prospects for Arab-Israeli peace. Some of the more autocratic regimes use the Arab-Israel conflict as a way of keeping their own populations happy without having democracy. So, yes, the road between here and there may be quite bumpy and difficult, but in the end, deals between democracies will be stronger.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

My constituent, Richard Foscolo, was stranded in the desert in Ghani in an oilfield. He returned home last Friday. Initial contact with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office was naturally difficult, partly because of the circumstances on the ground, but the family feel particularly let down by his employers, OPS International, which did not make all the information available to the embassy or to the FCO, so that co-ordination could be brought about effectively. What action will the Prime Minister take to ensure that information is shared as efficiently as possible?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes a good point, and there are lessons to learn about how information is shared. It is a difficult and ever-changing picture. Let us just look at the numbers of people who we think are in Libya and who want to come out. Even in the age of the internet, the mobile phone, computer databases and the rest of it, getting a real grip of those numbers, as I believe we now have—we will go on publishing more granular information about that—is difficult, but companies working with the Government is clearly an essential part of that process.

EU Council and North Africa

Debate between Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton and Alun Cairns

Monday 7th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I do not accept what the hon. Gentleman says. At a European level, this is going to be helpful for the onshore and offshore wind industry and other renewable industries in this country. Also, here in the UK we have provided specific grants to ports to update their infrastructure so that large manufacturers can come here and manufacture wind turbines and provide offshore wind. I have spoken personally to companies that are coming to do that in parts of the UK. We will go on supporting the growth of this very important renewables sector.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

The Prime Minister has highlighted some significant inconsistencies between what the previous Administration stated publicly and what was released by Sir Gus O’Donnell earlier today. Obviously, the focus should be on the victims of this horrendous crime, but what assessment has the Prime Minister made of the effects on the relationship with some parts of the US Administration?

[The Prime Minister]

The relationship is extremely good, and I think it will go on being good. I discussed this issue with Hillary Clinton when we met at the weekend. I think that the Administration have been grateful for the very strong and clear view that the Government have taken about the events surrounding the release of al-Megrahi and the fact that it was wrong. This point also goes back to what was said earlier. Of course, we want to have good relations not just with America but with Libya and with other countries, but we have to have some pretty clear lines in our minds about what is going to be part of that relationship and what is not. Frankly, I think it is perfectly possible to have good relations if we are clear about those things.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton and Alun Cairns

Wednesday 27th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Do your maths. You’ll find out that’s the case.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

Q13. Figures published this week show that four fifths of economic growth is coming from the private sector. Does the Prime Minister accept that it is wrong to say that public spending is propping up economic development? Does he further recognise that more work needs to be done in supporting the private sector throughout the United Kingdom?

[The Prime Minister]

This is the news that the Opposition do not want to hear. Four fifths of that growth was coming from the private sector, and that is an encouraging sign that we should celebrate rather than look miserable about.

Strategic Defence and Security Review

Debate between Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton and Alun Cairns

Tuesday 19th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The answer to the second half of the hon. Gentleman’s question is yes. On the carriers, it will not delay their manufacture and production. What it means is that as the first is produced, the most logical step would be to fit the “cat and trap” to that carrier, which will therefore come fully into service when the carrier version of the joint strike fighter arrives at the same time. We will have solved one of the inherited problems of bringing the two things together. Clearly, an alternative would be to fit the “cat and trap” to the second carrier, but the most logical way ahead is the one that I have set out.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

My constituents and I—and, it seems, many other Members in the Chamber—are naturally disappointed that the Metrix proposal for St Athan will not go ahead. Will the Prime Minister confirm that St Athan remains central to defence training and will he make available some of his officials to provide a detailed breakdown of why Metrix was not suitable?

[The Prime Minister]

I am very happy to do that. I know how strongly people feel about this in south Wales and I know how important this decision is, so I am happy to make officials and Ministers available to meet my hon. Friend to explain the thinking. As I have said, this is not the end of the road for St Athan. There are many opportunities to concentrate training at that excellent resource and so, I think, he can continue to fight hard for his constituents.