Oral Answers to Questions

John Bercow Excerpts

Wednesday 18th March 2015 Commons Chamber

[Hon. Members]

Hear, hear!

[Mr Speaker]

I think that proposition is widely endorsed throughout the House.

[Valerie Vaz (Walsall South) (Lab)]

Could the Secretary of State go further and make it a condition of aid that those countries eliminate these appalling practices?

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[The Secretary of State for International Development (Justine Greening)]

Last Friday, Cyclone Pam hit Vanuatu, causing widespread destruction.  Working closely with the Governments of Vanuatu, Australia and New Zealand, the UK has made up to £2 million available to UN organisations and relief agencies working on the ground. In addition, the Royal Air Force’s swift action is providing further valuable support, alongside the rapid response facility that we launched.

My hon. Friend will be aware that since the last DFID questions I have been to Sierra Leone to see our work gradually bearing down on Ebola. I am proud that the private Member’s Bill introduced by the right hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (Michael Moore) has completed its parliamentary stages and now awaits Royal Assent.

[Mr Speaker]

That certainly was comprehensive.

[Julian Sturdy]

Volunteers in my constituency who had hoped to visit Sierra Leone to build a new school have, sadly, been forced to postpone their plans owing to the Ebola outbreak. However, will the Secretary of State join me in welcoming the York Circuit Ebola appeal run by those same volunteers, which aims to raise much needed funds for those affected by the epidemic?

[Justine Greening]

I pay tribute to the work of the York Circuit on its Ebola appeal. I know how valuable that work is in helping to set up emergency education programmes. We have worked with UNICEF to set up care centres across the country. I hope the volunteers in my hon. Friend’s constituency can get on with their wonderful work shortly. [Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. It would help the House and people attending to our proceedings if the answers could be heard.

[Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire) (Lab)]

T3. What is the Secretary of State’s assessment of the strength of the Commission on the Status of Women’s political declaration and its implications for women’s rights?

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[The Prime Minister]

There is only one Government in the history of the NHS who have cut the NHS and they were the last Labour Government in the ’70s: they did it because they lost control of the economy. Every forecast the right hon. Gentleman has made about the economy has been wrong. He said there would be no jobs; we have record jobs. He said we would not cut the deficit; the deficit is down. He said there would not be growth; we have the strongest growth of any major western economy. He has made misjudgment after misjudgment on every single question. We talk about our long-term economic plan because it is about changing lives, it is about jobs, it is about livelihoods and it is about giving people the chance of security—that is what will be on the ballot paper in 50 days’ time, and they will never trust him with the future of our country.

[Mr Speaker]

I call Jesse Norman. The hon. Gentleman is not here.

I call Sir Malcolm Bruce.

[Sir Malcolm Bruce (Gordon) (LD)]

Does the Prime Minister agree that the best prospect for the people of Scotland is to be a successful part of a growing United Kingdom, and that Alex Salmond’s mission to shake this House to its foundations will deny recovery, jobs and mortgages, and threaten both the UK and Scotland, which is why the people of Gordon are uniting to deny his return to this House?

[The Prime Minister]

My right hon. Friend makes an important point, which is that what the SNP wants is to break up our country. That is why it is so appalling that although the Leader of the Opposition has now said that he does not want a formal pact with the SNP, he will not rule out a confidence and supply agreement. He will not rule out relying on the SNP in vote after vote after vote, making sure that it would get the advantage and people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland would be let down—[Interruption.] Yes, we rule it out. What I would say to the shadow Chancellor is that his boss threw both his kitchen sinks at the NHS and he still could not win. [Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I say to Opposition Members that the hon. Member for Erith and Thamesmead (Teresa Pearce) must be heard.

[Teresa Pearce (Erith and Thamesmead) (Lab)]

Q2. One in four patients is waiting more than a week for a GP appointment, and some in my constituency are waiting two weeks. A third cannot even get through on the phone, but 23% of London GPs are due to quit the NHS in the next five years. Will the Prime Minister take responsibility for the increasing crisis in GPs on his watch?

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[The Prime Minister]

Everybody in this House, me included, knows people who have been affected by cancer and have died of cancer. This Government have put an enormous amount of effort, as previous ones have done—[Interruption.] I will answer the question. I will answer the question very directly, right? We have made sure—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Members must hear the answer. I said it a moment ago to the other side. The Prime Minister must be heard.

[The Prime Minister]

We have made sure that half a million more people have been referred for cancer treatment, and as a result, cancer survival rates are going up. As well as looking at the national figures, it is worth while looking at constituency figures, and I have the right hon. Lady’s figures here—she is obviously a very effective MP too, because her area is meeting all three cancer targets. That is what is happening in Britain—more people referred, more resources going in, more people surviving, but more to be done—but let me remind her: this can only happen with a strong economy. It is when the Labour party wrecks the economy that it wrecks the health service.

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[Several hon. Members]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

Order.