>> we now come to the prime minister's questions. >> number one, mr. speaker. >> on monday i met the families of those killed. i assured them we would do whatever it takes to get the answers they want. and mr. speaker, although in constructive dialogue i welcome the significant steps being taken. i also think the parties in northern ireland for the patients they have shown. after two years without an executive there is now the prospect of power-sharing backup and running, strengthening our union and giving the people the government they need and offering a brighter future in northern ireland.

i honorable friend will be making a statement shortly. this morning i had meetings with my colleagues. i will have further meetings today. >> last week i met with constituents who were employed by a supermarket offering a franchise post office. she was wrongly accused of dishonesty as a result of a faulty system. this has had an impact on her life. she is not alone. there are others in her position. there is no provision for compensating people that work in franchise post office is like her. will the prime minister give me a commitment to protect these victims in the scandal? p.m. sunak: i'm very sorry to hear about the constituents case. this is an awful miscarriage of

justice and everyone affected deserves not just justice but also compensation. i will make sure that we look into the precise details of that case and i'm sure there will be others like that and i will be sure that the minister gets back in all due haste. >> sustainable aviation fuel plays a significant part in the sectors decarbonization. well my friend, the prime minister, commit to further policies or a mandate to generate greater demand for a support mechanism such as other sectors solar and wind powered generation as well and so that work starts by the end of next year on the five promised aviation plans in the ok? -- in the u.k.? p.m. sunak: we are committed to

ensuring the mandate will be in place by 2025. by mandating the youth of that fuel not only will we be able to deliver carbon saving. it is one step in producing -- we will be conducting -- consulting on how that should work in practice. >> the leader of the opposition, cure starmer. >> can i join the prime minister and welcoming the statement about the return of the northern ireland executive. this is an important moment. we now need all sides to work together to get this back up and running for the people of northern ireland. esther speaker, i also met the families of grace burnaby on monday and it is impossible to express in words the horror that they have been through and continue to go through. we must do everything we can to

help them with their campaign. and of course, mr. speaker, this week, two young lives, a 16-year-old, max and a 15-year-old were taken in bristol and i know the whole house will join me in sending condolences to their families and their friends. mr. speaker, one of the most difficult experiences that any member of this house is speaking to those on the sharp end of this governments cost-of-living crisis. so nobody could fail to be moved by the plight of the member. his mortgage has gone up 1200 pounds a month. he has been forced to quit his dream job to pay for it. a tory mp counting the cost of tory chaos. after 14 years but we have finally discovered what they meant when they said -- we are all in this together. [laughter] >> well, mr. speaker, thanks to

the mortgage charter that the chancellor introduced last year, mortgage holders across the country are benefiting from support for their mortgages. this actually focused on the practical support. and someone on a typical mortgage is now able to save hundreds of pounds of pounds things to those reforms and what we have recently seen is mortgage applications at a multi-month high as a result of confidence returning. it if he really cared about helping people with the cost of living, he would do more to celebrate and acknowledge the fact that thanks to our plan aliens are working people will now start to save hundreds of pounds from this month's list. but we all know that is not a priority for him. he said he wanted to back people with the cost of living.

his colleague is equally confused. in westminster she called it a scorched earth policy. she obviously cannot decide which wikipedia page to copy this week. >> mr. speaker, every 10 pounds he says he is giving back to people he takes it back and higher taxes. from his position people should be dancing in the streets and thanking him. there are 200,000 people coming off fixed rate mortgages paying more each and every month. does the prime minister actually know how much the monthly repayments are going up by? >> as i said, mr. speaker, someone on a typical mortgage of about 140,000 pounds is currently paying about 800 pounds.

they will be able to save hundreds of pounds. and that is someone on an average mortgage. but again, mr. speaker, he says he cares about the cost of living. the thing that will have the biggest impact is the fact that his idea to spend 28 billion pounds which we have just confirmed this morning that they remain committed but they have no plans to pay for this 28 million -- billion pounds. no plans at all and that is typical labor economics. they want to keep the spending and drop the payment plan. i saw over the weekend that his mentor will have tax rises on people. their homes, pensions and businesses. it is the same old labour party. no plan and back to square one

with higher taxes. >> mr. speaker, they crashed the economy, and he thinks he can stand there and lecture other people about fiscal responsibility. but he did not answer the question, hundreds of thousands of people are coming off fixed rate mortgages and seeing huge mortgage increases and the prime minister will not do them the courtesy of answering the question. so i will ask him again, -- >> i was very clear at the beginning and i mean that my constituents want to hear. >> does the prime minister have any idea how much mortgages are going up for this month for those coming off fixed rate mortgages? >> again, i'm just pointing back to my previous answer. everyone's situation will be different. but someone on a typical

mortgage of her around 100 40,000 pounds currently paying 800 pounds will be able to keep their mortgage payment essentially the same by using the facilitator that the chancellor has put in place. because that is what we have done to help people. but again, it is incumbent on him to explain to the british public how his policy was -- of decarbonizing the grid by 2030 will be funded. he won't give the answers but hopefully the shadow minister popped up over the weekend saying they don't need a plan to pay for it because in his words it will produce real savings and it makes clear economic sense. there shadow leader does not want to talk about it at all but let me tell him, all these years later, it is the same story. the right honorable member has carved a promise in stone and everyone else has just tipped away in embarrassment. >> they crashed the economy,

mortgages skyrocketed, doubling the debt and they say they are going to max out the governments credit card in the next budget -- >> i think he is getting very carried away. >> they have forfeited the right to be lecturing others about the economy. somebody coming off a fixed rate mortgage is going to be paying an average of 240 pounds more each and every month. working people are paying for damage they have done to the economy. this week i met one of the employees in warrington. i am sure -- >> i'm sorry --

>> this will not appear anymore so i'm just letting you know now. >> laughing at an employee, struggling with his mortgage, shame. he told me that his mortgage is going up by a thousand pounds a month. that is what is happening to him. this is a member on a 120,000 pounds cannot afford this, how can people like phil? >> mr. speaker, things to the management of the economy, phil and millions of people like him are now ensuring that inflation is left -- then that was when we were talking a year ago. and, thanks to this government,

he and millions of other workers across the country are benefiting this month in their pay package for a tax cut worth hundreds of pounds to come on an average salary. so i hope he explained to fill the cost of his policy. did he explain to phil how phil is going to have to pay for his 28 billion pounds spending spree? how it will cost fill in higher taxes and more coming out of his pay package and did he explained that he would have been better off with -- then going back to square one? >> i would advise the prime minister get in touch with phil and explain to him how paying 1000 pounds for a mortgage makes him better off. he is so out of touch, he is unbelievable. costing hundreds of pounds extra a month. it might not seem a big deal to a prime minister but let me tell him that most people don't have

that sort of money knocking around. but this week, if that were not bad enough, he told everyone to put their council tax out by the maximum of 5%. that is 26 rises. but he says that everyone -- everything is fine and people are better off. but wait until they say -- they see the food prices going up and taxes going up. who does he believe, those folks or the bank accounts? p.m. sunak: i was puzzled -- but after recently and repeatedly attacking not just me but the government for lifting the bonus cap. i was genuinely surprised to see that the shadow chancellor today has announced she now supports government policy. i don't know if he mentioned that to phil when he was having a chat with him.

but i can tell him that trust and economic credibility come from sticking to a plan but it is becoming clear that you cannot trust a word that he says. and again, when the shadow chancellor claimed that they won't borrow much or raise phil's taxes, we now know that those promises are not worth the wikipedia page they were copied from. >> mr. speaker, i actually did not expect him to be laughing at phil. >> i made it very clear. it is very serious that we make sure that people here listen to you and the leaders of the opposition. it matters to those watching the operation of this chamber. prime minister. p.m. sunak: we forget how hard it is for millions of people

across the country like phil but that is the primary problem, struggling with their mortgages and their bills and the spiraling cost of living. the prime minister does not take responsibility, show contrition or even any level of basic understanding. he is so detached he thinks he can paint a world in which their problems simply don't exist. the problem is he cannot even fool his own mps let alone anyone else. the members says he is exhausted and looking forward to new opportunities outside of parliament. why does the prime minister not do him a favor and call an election so he and the whole country can move on? p.m. sunak: mr. speaker, --, whether it is phil and everyone else across the country, the plan we are putting in place is working to help people. just this week taking action to

stop children from vaping. just this week and sharing people can visit their pharmacy to get the care they need. and just this week, millions of working people starting to save hundreds of pounds delivered in their pay pack. that is a plan that is working and all he is offering is 28 billion pounds of tax rises. and that is a choice. it is a future with us or back to square one with them. speaker hoyle: thank you, mr. speaker. the prime minister likes to attend school so i wonder if he would join me in welcoming the decision of the planning inspector in the rejection of an application for the development of a stadium in my constituency. to keep the doors open, for it to remain a sporting venue so future generations will enjoy the thrills and spills of motorcycle speed and stock cars. >> i join my honorable friend in

paying tribute -- the crown has an important history in that sector. the state is a historic motorsport venue and it was a shame to see it fall into discs -- into disrepair. i hope stock-car racing can return and i know my right honorable friend will continue to champion the cause. >> mr. speaker, when the tory scalped the banking bonuses, the labour party opposed it and yet here we are just three months later and the labour party supports scarfing the cut. shameful. prime minister, he is comforted by the fact that he is no longer alone in this house on being

completely -- of public opinion. >> well, mr. speaker, as i said at the time, the decision of the independent regulator was the right decision for independent -- for financial stability. but we have a plan and we stick with that but he is right to point out that there are no convictions from the party opposite. >> scarfing the cap on banker bonuses was due to brexit. but it is all key for bankers to have unlimited bonuses but for the public sitting at home and struggling to feed their families, they have had to suck up and deal with additional food price cost -- that is the reality of broken brexit. isn't it the case that the

achievement of this tory government --a bleak future. >> prime minister, we are delivering benefits to people across scotland. including opening markets. new jobs and investment. when he talks about the cost of living, the thing that he could do most to help is to make sure that scotland is the highest -- in the united kingdom. and it is not just the high earner. it is everyone earning 28,500 pounds -- >> mr. speaker, -- three children left without a father. a four year sentence handed down and one raving mother has to

live a life sentence of agony. this is not working in this country. does the prime minister agree that now is the time to introduce a specific offense and have a minimum sentence? >> i pay tribute to my right honorable friend and what she has done in bringing the attention to this manslaughter case and highlighting as she knows well the anguish caused to the family of the victims. i know the ministry of justice has looked carefully at the amendment that my right honorable friend has proposed and i know she will be meeting short side -- shortly to discuss and address the wider issue. >> mr. speaker, -- speaker hoyle: order! >> my constituent, millie, had a

serious accident at a sporting event. she is a wheelchair user and she was left on the floor in pain for over two hours before an ambulance arrived. during her month in the hospital she had been dropped badly multiple times, left stuck in her bed for days, and she has even been told so soiled herself when there was no one to take her to the toilet. before all this millie was living independently and working. the prospect of her returning to work is being destroyed by the crisis in the care system. i am sure the prime minister will agree that no one should ever have to go through what millie has so will he look again at our proposal to make sure that every patient gets the high quality care they need? speaker hoyle: prime minister. p.m. sunak: mr. speaker, i'm very sorry to hear about millie's case. i'm sure the health secretary will follow-up with the right

honorable gentlemen and more generally take sure that everyone gets the care that they deserve. ensuring there is a record number of doctors and nurses. although this is showing that -- are lower this time then they were last year. >> the number one reason for children's hospitals are for dental treatments. we have no orthodontist. the emergency dental plan seems to be stuck in the treasury forever. my constituents and i would be ever so grateful. p.m. sunak: my honorable friend is right to champion this provision of dentistry. we are investing 3 billion pounds a year and the reformed contract in dentistry from the nhl's has improved access while

ensuring the remunerations suggested. around half the cost of treatment last year was delivered. but yes, more needs to be done and that is why our dentistry recovery plan will be published shortly. >> more than two decades ago that then prime minister tony blair misled this house on promoting and endorsing the post office horizon i.t. system as perfect. protecting the large corporation that created it and causing untold harm and damage and misery to and is in people. to the current -- can the current prime minister think of anything he has promoted in partnership with huge businesses that have harmed the british people? and will he use this opportunity to correct that statement or will he choose the same line as tony blair -- sit back, do nothing and let the misery continued to pileup? p.m. sunak: the horizon scandal

is a terrible miscarriage of justice and we are doing everything we can to make it right. and what you are more broadly insinuating, let me be unequivocal that covid vaccines are safe. >> thank you, mr. speaker. the shocking revelations of the verizon scandal highlighted post offices financial incompetence. my right honorable friend will know that the public confidence in the institution is at an all-time low. does the prime minister agree with me that -- we should look at new community banking solutions rather than getting the post office all responsibility for providing access to cash and other services in poorly served neighborhoods. >> i think my honorable friend for the question but i will say that we should not mistake conflating the scandal with many

hard-working local postmasters to the couple that can access cash. including a contract with the post office which does provide a valuable channel. i agree with her though that access to cash -- i agree with her, however, on the importance of access to cash, which is why the government have legislated to protect that as part of the recent financial services and markets act 2023, to ensure that the vast majority of people should be no more than 3 miles away from such a cashpoint. >> one of the nolan principles, integrity, states that holders of public office should not act to gain material benefits for themselves, their family or their friends. prime minister, on six january you tweeted a link to the conservative party website that seem to scrape people data and place unwanted cookies on their machines. the good law project is now pursuing this.

can the prime minister assure the house that no laws have been broken by his party? p.m. sunak: mr. speaker, of course our party follows all laws. speaker hoyle: robert generally. -- robert jenrick. >> three years ago we dragged house building in this country up to the highest level since 1987, after the last labour government left it at its lowest level since the 1920s. but house building is weakening and we need to do more. will my right hon. friend consider using the budget to do as he and i did together during the pandemic and cut stamp duty to boost housing starts, reignite the economy and support thousands of businesses across our country? speaker hoyle: prime minister. p.m. sunak: my right honorable friend is right to point out that since 2010 we have delivered 2.5 million additional homes, and we are on track to deliver 1 million just in this

parliament and help over 850,000 families into home ownership through schemes such as help to buy and the right to buy. obviously, tax decisions are a matter for the chancellor, but i would point out that our existing stamp duty relief for first-time buyers ensures that the vast majority of first-time buyers in our country pay absolutely no stamp duty. speaker hoyle: marsha de cordova . >> the all-party parliamentary group on eye health and visual impairment has today published polling that found that nearly half of employers exclude blind and partially sighted people from their workplaces and that one in four said that they would not be willing to make workplace adjustments. the disability employment gap remains stubbornly at 30% and the pay gap means that blind and partially sighted people effectively work for free for 47 days of the year. will the prime minister meet me and sight loss organisations to discuss how we can create a more inclusive workforce? speaker hoyle: prime minister. p.m. sunak: i shared the right

honorable ladies ambition for an inclusive workforce. the record in supporting those with disabilities into work over the past several years has been incredibly strong. i know my right hon. friend the secretary of state for work and pensions is actively looking at that and making sure that our accessibility plan is up to date and inclusive. and i will ensure that she gets a meeting with the relevant minister. speaker hoyle: sir michael ellis. >> having visited recently, i know that israel remains in shock following the rape, murder and butchery carried out by hamas. all of us want to see a peaceful and demilitarised palestinian state. however, hamas remain in control in large parts of gaza, support for them is growing in the west bank, polls show that nearly two thirds of palestinians reject co-existence with israel and the palestinian authority has continued to promote hatred of jews. does my right hon. friend agree that any recognition of a palestinian state must address these issues and can come about only as part of a negotiated settlement between israel and the palestinians? speaker hoyle: prime minister. p.m. sunak: mr. speaker, the

government's position is clear. my right hon. and learned friend is right that steps and conditions need to be put in place on this journey: first and foremost, the removal of hamas from gaza; a palestinian-led government in gaza and the west bank; a concrete plan to reform and support the palestinian authority; a reconstruction plan for gaza; and a two-state solution, which we have long supported. let me be clear: we stand with israel. the terrorist threat it faces must be illuminated and israel's lasting security must be guaranteed. speaker hoyle: neale hanvey. >> on 15 november last year, i appealed to the prime minister to choose de-escalation and peace over violence, death and destruction, but he called me naïve. so far, over 26,000 souls have perished in gaza. in a powerful and moving open letter in monday's new york times, the jewish voice for peace rabbinical council cited deuteronomy -- i have put before

you life and death, blessing and curse. choose life. accused president biden of choosing death. if the prime minister will not listen to me or the international court of justice, will he listen to the rabbinical council or will he call me naïve also? >> i have been clear multiple times that we are deeply concerned about the impact on the civilian population of the fighting in gaza. too many people have lost their lives and there is a desperate need for increased humanitarian support in gaza. i will not go over all the debates we have had about the conditions that are necessary for an immediate pause leading to a sustainable ceasefire, but i assure the house that we are doing everything we can to get more aid into the region as quickly as possible. speaker hoyle: kelly tolhurst. >> chatham docks support over 800 local, high-value jobs which are at risk because the owners are continuing in their pursuit to displace successful businesses, such as arcelormittal kent wire. the labour council is failing to honour the commitment it made

before the local elections to protect the docks and the jobs. even their leader, the right honorable member said he was proudly backing save chatham docks campaign. will my right hon. friend meet me to see how we can protect the docks and save those meet with me to see how we can protect the dogs and is those jobs of my constituents? is this not just another example of how -- and is this not just another example of how labour and its leaders change their position depending on which way the wind blows? >> my right honorable friend has been a constant champion of chatham docks and i am disappointed to hear that the local labour council is failing to honour the commitments it has made. as she points out, i am not surprised that the leader of the

opposition has said one thing and then consequently done another. the docks support hundreds of jobs and i join her in calling on the council to rethink its approach. speaker: that completes the