Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton and Emma Reynolds

Wednesday 22nd January 2014 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I can certainly give my hon. Friend that assurance. It is very important that we make the most out of the asset that is the North sea. That is what the Wood report is all about, and we are putting those proposals in place. I know that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor will listen very carefully to what he says about ensuring that the tax system encourages maximum recovery in the long term.

[Emma Reynolds (Wolverhampton North East) (Lab)]

Q13. Del Singh was an extraordinary person: a warm and generous friend, and a passionate campaigner for peace and justice. He dedicated his life to working for those in need in areas of conflict, including in Afghanistan. Will the Prime Minister assure the House that, after the drawdown of troops this year, the work of people such as Del Singh will continue to be supported by this Government?

[The Prime Minister]

I very much share what the hon. Lady said about Del Singh. It reminds us of the risks that aid workers take on our behalf to deliver vital assistance around the world. I can give her the assurance she seeks. It is very important for everyone to recognise that, while our troops are coming home at the end of 2014, our commitment to Afghanistan will continue: not just our commitment to its armed forces but, with more than $100 million a year, our commitment to its aid and future development. We will need many more brave people such as Del Singh to go on working with the Afghan Government to deliver for the Afghan people.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton and Emma Reynolds

Wednesday 17th July 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend on this issue and the fact that it requires real drive from the centre of this Government. That is why we have held a National Security Council meeting on it and why we are trying to sign compulsory prisoner transfer agreements with countries such as Albania and Nigeria. I make sure that all Ministers raise these issues in all their meetings with other countries where there are foreign national prisoners to be returned to. We should not rule out any steps, including in some cases helping countries such as Jamaica with their own prison regime so that it is easier to return people. This is a major priority for the Government and I want us to do better.

[Emma Reynolds (Wolverhampton North East) (Lab)]

Q5. The Prime Minister claims that he did not know that Lynton Crosby worked for big tobacco, yet Crosby is at the heart of Tory party policy and strategy. Why is the Prime Minister developing a bad habit—perhaps an addictive one—of turning a blind eye to who his advisers actually work for?

Public Disorder

Debate between Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton and Emma Reynolds

Thursday 11th August 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We believe that we have good security measures in place for the Olympic games. We keep them under review. There will be very intense meetings from the autumn onwards to the Olympic games, chaired by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary, to make sure that we do everything possible to make the games not only a success, but a safe success.

[Emma Reynolds (Wolverhampton North East) (Lab)]

As the Prime Minister is aware, businesses in Wolverhampton bore the brunt of the criminal activity on Tuesday night. I am sure he will agree that now is the time for Members across the political divide to work together. I say gently to him that next time he arrives at the train station in Wolverhampton, I will be there ready to welcome him. With regard to what he said to gangs, can he reassure me and my constituents that as well as looking at punitive measures, he will look at measures and perhaps additional resources to strengthen community organisations, which are well placed to reach out to young people to stop them joining gangs in the first place?

[The Prime Minister]

I am sorry I missed the hon. Lady in Wolverhampton yesterday and I will try and make up for that in future. I met the right hon. Member for Wolverhampton South East (Mr McFadden), however, the former Trade and Industry Minister, who is no longer in his place, so it was not any party issue. The hon. Lady makes a good point about what local government can do with voluntary bodies to thicken society in our constituencies, and I applaud that wherever it takes place.

Public Confidence in the Media and Police

Debate between Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton and Emma Reynolds

Wednesday 20th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I think we can come on to that in the debate, but there are some lessons to be learned for competition policy and media policy. I am sure that we will debate those later, and I will have some contributions to make on that.

[Emma Reynolds (Wolverhampton North East) (Lab)]

In her evidence yesterday, Rebekah Brooks stated that it was the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s idea to employ Andy Coulson. Was she right or was she merely trying to protect her friend, the Prime Minister?

[The Prime Minister]

The decision was mine. In politics, in the end, the buck stops here, with the Prime Minister. I made the decision, I defend the decision and I have given a full explanation of it today.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton and Emma Reynolds

Wednesday 23rd March 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes an important representation on behalf of a vital base in her constituency. It gives me the opportunity to pay tribute again to what our brave pilots are doing, whether flying Typhoons in order to police the no-fly zone, or flying Tornadoes in order to carry out vital operations on the ground in Libya. She makes a very strong case, but I know that others will be making a case too. These decisions will be taken in due course by the Ministry of Defence.

[Emma Reynolds (Wolverhampton North East) (Lab)]

Q10. Last week the Prime Minister told the House that people here are twice as likely to die from a heart attack as people in France, but is not the truth that survival rates are improving, we will have a lower death rate than France by next year, and we have record levels of satisfaction with the NHS? When will he stop talking down the NHS and distorting the figures?

[The Prime Minister]

The NHS has done extraordinary things for me and my family. I am passionate about the NHS. I passionately want it to remain free at the point of use on the basis of need and not related to people’s ability to pay. The point of reforming the NHS is to safeguard it for the future. That is what everyone in the House wants. I will never talk down the NHS, but if we really believe we cannot do better on cancer, heart disease and stroke, we are fooling ourselves. We must do better, and that is the aim of our reforms.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton and Emma Reynolds

Wednesday 8th December 2010 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. The tables published today make depressing reading. We are falling behind countries such as Poland and Estonia, which we should be well ahead of. Frankly, this comes down to the choice we have to make. We made the choice of putting an extra £3 billion into the schools budget during this Parliament, because we want more done in early years and primary education so that we get the social mobility about which the Leader of the Opposition was posing earlier.

[Emma Reynolds (Wolverhampton North East) (Lab)]

Q5. Over half the students at the university of Wolverhampton come from disadvantaged backgrounds. This morning, the University and College Union said that Wolverhampton was one of the universities at high risk, owing to the Government’s massive 85% cuts to its teaching grant. Will the Prime Minister explain to students and local businesses exactly why he is putting Wolverhampton university at risk in that way?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady stood for election on a manifesto that supported the Browne commission—[Interruption.] She did; she can deny it now, but that is what the manifesto written by the Leader of the Opposition said. The fact is that we have to make a decision. Is it right for taxpayers to continue providing the predominant support for university education? [Hon. Members: “Yes.”] They say yes now, but that is not what they stood on at the last election. Many taxpayers do not go to university or benefit from a university education, so it is fairer and better to ask students to contribute, but only when they are successful. No one will contribute until they earn £21,000, which is £6,000 more than under the system that the hon. Lady’s party introduced.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton and Emma Reynolds

Wednesday 3rd November 2010 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes a very good point. Let me first pay tribute to the outgoing Chief of the Defence Staff, Sir Jock Stirrup. He was a dedicated public servant who has done an extremely good job for our country. He made an important point: it is important not that politicians agree with the chiefs of staff on every occasion—there should be a lively debate between them—but that we should not, as politicians, put off essential decisions that need to be taken. In our defence review I think we have taken the tough and difficult decisions that were necessary.

[Emma Reynolds (Wolverhampton North East) (Lab)]

Q10. It has recently been announced that there will be 300 job losses at New Cross hospital in Wolverhampton. Can the Prime Minister explain exactly how that squares with his promise to protect the NHS, or is this just another broken promise?

[The Prime Minister]

The promise that we made is a promise that has been delivered, which is to make sure that NHS spending, when we combine capital and current spending, is going to increase in real terms every year. That is not a promise that has been backed by the Opposition, so if the hon. Lady is worried about NHS cuts, she should start talking to the shadow Health Secretary.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton and Emma Reynolds

Wednesday 27th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

As my hon. Friend probably knows, we will bring forward the localism Bill. It is important, as I have said before, that everyone obeys the law of the land, including that on planning. That should apply to Gypsies and Travellers as well. In the localism Bill we will make sure that it is worth while for local authorities to go ahead with development—they should see a benefit when houses are built, whereas at present there is so little benefit for local areas in getting businesses in and getting homes built. There should be a benefit where they make available sites for Gypsies and Travellers, but that should not be done on the basis of lawbreaking, which it all too often is at present.

[Emma Reynolds (Wolverhampton North East) (Lab)]

In July the Education Secretary promised that Wolverhampton’s Building Schools for the Future programme would be unaffected by cuts. Can the Prime Minister confirm that the much needed refurbishment of secondary schools across the city will go ahead as planned, and not suffer devastating cuts of 40%?

[The Prime Minister]

I am afraid that what happened was that the previous Government set out 50% cuts—[Interruption.] I know the Opposition do not like hearing it. They set out 50% cuts in capital spending, but did not tell us where one penny piece was going to come from. That is what happened. We have had to scrap the unaffordable and badly put forward Building Schools for the Future programme, but in the spending plans for the next four years are £15 billion additional capital for school building, so there are plenty of opportunities for additional school building, and not just secondary schools, but primary schools as well. That is what we will be making available.