house is wrapping up other business. this is live coverage on c-span c-span2. >> mr. speaker, we'll be announcing details in due course. it would have been very easy to go ahead with just splashing money around but there isn't very much money thanks to the legacy of the government he supported and we need to make sure it is husbanded and spent very wisely. for example, for providing advice for public sector workers of which there are very many and making sure that advice is made available to as many as possible. >> sir allen? >> in his discussion for public sector contracts for small business, will my right honorable friend will talk to the minister of defense talk about his habit of bundling together so the expert calibration firm in my

constituency can offer the specialized service for paper clips and toilet rooms? >> my right honorable friend makes a great point. it's exactly the way the which contracts are bundled up that have squeezed out very really effective businesses from the government market and that's what we want to change. >> questions to the prime minister. >> question 1, mr. speaker. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i know the whole house will wish to join me in paying attribute to allen cameron from first battalion who died thursday the 3 warm-upst of march as a result of injuries he suffered while serving in afghanistan last april and captain lisa head from the ordinance disposal unit who died on tuesday the 19th of april. sergeant cameron was an

inspirational figure to his regiment and he was inspiring while he was being in the hospital. captain head she made safe both her colleagues and the local mopping they will not be forgotten and our wishes and condolences will be with their family and friends. i'm sure the whole house would want to join me to the family, friends of police constable private kerr. those who know want the wishes of a overwhelming those for a who want a peaceful northern ireland. people across the world are getting excited about the events on friday and i'm sure the whole house would wish to join me in sending our best wishes to prince william and to katherine middleton ahead of their wednesday and wish them a happy life together. >> here, here. >> mr. speaker, i had meetings

with ministerial colleagues and in addition to my duties in the house, i shall have further such meetings later on today. >> jim shannon. >> i would like to switch up the comments of the prime minister and for the condolences for those who lost their lives in afghanistan and also welcome home the irish rangers in afghanistan. on easter monday, the republicans had a commemorative and threw in the all the law abiding citizens. and the officers both catholic and protestant and they threatened the churches and they threatened the members of the northern ireland assemblies and mp's in this house. can the prime minister today ensure that the democratic process will be forcefully meant and those terrorists must be brought to justice. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i can give that assurances. i'm sure everyone in this country would agree that scenes of people dressed like that are

completely unacceptable. we have funded the psni appropriately and they are properly working well and i would urge them everything they can to hunt down these people. but above all the words that should ring in our ears are the words of the mother of police constable roland karr whom she would hope this would stop more roman catholics joining the psni and joining northern ireland. >> thank you, did the prime minister recognize lending to banks was down 3.4 billion last month in march and that the construction industry was down in productive terms by 4.7%. did the prime minister see a checks and if he does, what he will do about it? >> well, the honorable gentleman is right in the figures today what's happening in the construction industry is disappointing. we do need to get britain building again and mace why we're introducing the new homes

bonus. but what's encouraging in the figures is the british economy is growing once again. manufacturing is up, exports are up and we're seeing a rebouncing of the economy so we're not overreliant on private consumption. that's good news. and on the banks we have an agreement with them. they must increase their lending to businesses large and small and that needs to happen. >> mr. ed miliband. >> mr. speaker, can i join the prime minister to join in a tribute for cameron and lisa head. both demonstrated enormous courage and bravery and our thoughts are with their family and friends. i also pay tribute to roland kerr who was murdered for simply doing his job and the outrage we have seen across all communities in northern ireland in response to this act. i also join the prime minister in sending best wishes to prince william and kate middleton on their happy day on friday and i'm sure i also speak for him and the deputy prime minister

and myself when i say we will all do our best to be suitably attired for the occasion. [laughter] >> mr. speaker -- mr. speaker, turning to the economy, does the prime minister think it is a mark of success or failure that the economy has flatlined over the last six months? >> well, it's clearly a success. the economy is growing. yes, yes. the figures out this morning show the economy growing in the first quarter of the year. they show manufacturing up, exports up, and we got 400,000 more people in work in the private sector than we had a year ago. but the honorable gentleman predicted a double-dip. he said we were going to get -- >> no. >> perhaps when he stands and talk the economy down. >> mr. speaker, what world is he

living in? what extraordinary complacency. what extraordinary complacently where his honorable friend asked what happened to small business lending. what terrible complacency from this prime minister. six months ago, what did he get? that we were out of the danger zone. since then, there's been no growth at all in the british economy. and then yesterday, the chancellor was reported to have told the cabinet that the economy was on track. but it's not even forecast to meet the figures published by the office of budget responsibility last month. last month the public figures published last month by the chancellor. isn't it the way that it's his cuts that are too far and too fast, that are squeezing living standards, undermining consumer confidence and holding back growth in our economy? >> the right honorable gentleman was desperate for the economy to shrink today. yes. he had written his questions. he'd come to the house. the only problem was, the economy was growing, not

shrinking. he said, and the shadow chancellor said, there would be a double-dip recession and now the economy is growing. why can't they find it in themselves to welcome the growth in the economy? we should be talking up the fact that manufacturing is increasing. we're exporting more. 390,000 more in private sector jobs than a year ago. these are welcome developments. now he talks about the danger zone. i'll tell him what the danger zone is. the danger zone is countries like portugal, greece, ireland who didn't deal with their debts and as a result, have got interest rates rocketing and real problems. we've got debts tragically because of what we inherited, a deficit, the same size as greece and we got interest rates like germany. so it's time for him to admit he was wrong about the deficit and wrong about the economy. >> ed miliband. >> mr. speaker, first of all, it's not me who's talking down

the economy. it's his austerity rhetoric in the country. and mr. speaker, he's been prime minister for a year. he can't -- he can't blame the greeks. he can't blame the bank of england. he could blame the last government. he can't even blame the snow. why didn't -- why doesn't he admit -- why doesn't he admit the six months of no growth is because of his decisions, his chancellor's decisions and his government's decisions? >> the economy has grown by 1.8% by last year. let me tell you i did a little research. all the time -- all the time the right honorable gentleman was in the cabinet, there wasn't one single quarter when the economy grow more than 9.8%. one. so that is his great record. so let me tell him -- let me tell him something about the need to make public spending cuts. we are now in a new financial year, the year in which the darling plan was going to cut

the deficit and start the process of cutting it by half. so for every 8 pounds we are proposing to cut this year, they would be cutting 7 pounds. have we heard a single sensible proposal for making any cut? or have we just heard blatant opportunism and talking the economy down? i think we know. >> would the prime minister join me in examining this appalling, disgraceful, untruthful misleading leaflet which is being distributed by the yes to fairer votes campaign, which has been shared by the electoral reform survey. it seeks to diminish parliament and, therefore, damaged democracy which given the content of the lever could be the only objective of the electoral reforms society. >> well, i think what matters in this week that we have left before we vote in this vital referendum is to get back to the

real argument about competing electoral systems. i'm very clear that first past the post is simple, is fair, is effective, has worked for our country. and i have to say it's not often i like to look out on a sea of red badges but today it looks quite good. >> evan brenham. >> is the -- is the health secretary's job still guaranteed? he's over there, by the way. [laughter] >> the secretary does a great job. and let me -- and let me -- let me draw -- let me draw a little contrast. >> order! order! it's very unfair. it's unfair on the prime minister. it's unfair on me. i want to hear the answer. the prime minister. >> let me draw a little contrast between what the health secretary is delivering here, real term health increases in spending and what is happening in wales. because what is happening in wales is the labour-led administration is cutting the nhs in real terms.

everyone in wales needs to know if they get another labour-dominated assembly, she will get cuts in the nhs, whereas in england we'll see increases of the nhs because of the work of my right honorable friend. >> thank you, people have been shot to the extent of phone hacks allegations against some of our most popular newspapers. in order to uncover the truth, will the prime minister instigate a full judicial inquiry, and in particular, look at the relationship between the metropolitan police and news international? >> what's absolutely clear is phone hacking is not only unacceptable. it is against the law. it is illegal and a criminal offense and i would urge the police and the prosecuting authorities to follow the evidence wherever it leads. that must happen first. and we musn't let anything get in the way of criminal investigations. >> could the prime minister

explain why if there's a genuine cause in the enactment of the health and social care bill while the exception cluster pct's which are preceding the greater manchester has been brought forward to the first -- from the first of june to the third of may. isn't this pause nothing more than window dressing? it's political maneuvering before next week's elections? >> no, i think the honorable lady is wrong. this is a genuine exercise in trying to make sure that we get the very best out of these reforms. and this is looking specifically at areas like public accountability, like choice and competition, education and training, the patient involvement aspects of the reforms. of course, we've got to go ahead with driving out the bureaucracy and the additional costs from the nhs. we inherited, i think, rightly, frankly, from labour a 20 billion pound efficiency program. we've got to take that through. but there's a genuine opportunity to make these reforms better still.

>> thank you, mr. speaker. >> the commonly cited final furtive premises beyond the reach of commercial broadband deployment is more like a final with one-third of those receiving sped less than 2 megabytes per second did the prime minister agree with me with investing in broadband will help the general economy. >> we must put this in. we are spending, i think, 530 million pounds investing in broadband. and particularly in rural areas, broadband is going to be absolutely vital in driving the creation of small businesses and growing businesses. they will be so important of keeping the growth of employment in our country. >> can the prime minister tell us why 98.7% of nurses have no confidence in his health

reorganization. >> whenever you make changes in public services, when you make changes in public services as challenge taking people with you. but that is the whole point of pausing the reforms and then trying to get them going again with greater support from doctors and nurses. but what we're finding is that 90% of the country is covered by gp fund holding practices who want to see these reforms succeed. so what i would say to the honorable gentleman, if he wants to make some constructive suggestions, why not have a try? >> ed miliband? >> dearie me, mr. speaker, that wasn't a very good answer, was it? i asked him -- i asked him why 98.7% of nurses have no confidence in his policy because it's a bad policy. it's a policy nobody voted for. it's a policy that wasn't in his manifesto. it wasn't in his manifesto either of the general election. it wasn't even in the coalition agreement. and maybe one of the reasons why they had no confidence in his policy is because two years ago,

he went to the royal nursing and said there will be no more topless top-down organization. why is it the hospital waiting times fell year on year under the last labour government but have risen month on month under this government? >> that's simply the case. if you look at the -- if you look at outpatient waiting times fell in the last month and he should be wrong about that as he usually is. i've looked at in the opportunity to study his representations about the reforms, i've had a good look. he says that we are introducing eu competition policy for the full-time. it doesn't. he says we're allowing gp's to charge, we're not. he says that patients will be left without services, they won't. why doesn't he realize instead of frightening people he ought to make a constructive competition. >> ed miliband. >> another totally hopeless answer. i was asking -- i was asking

about waiting times. the department of health figures are these. waiting times are 20% up for those waiting more than 18 weeks. a & e waits are at record level compared to six years ago. now, mr. speaker one of the reasons why waiting times has gone up is because he's diverting billions of pounds away from patient care into this costly reorganization. let me give -- let me give him this suggestion. just for once, why doesn't he listen to the doctors, the patients and the nurses and scrap his reorganization. >> well, he asked me to listen to doctors. here's one doctor i'm definitely going to listen to. i hope the honorable members opposite will remember who was the member of parliament for dartford. yes, he's no longer -- he's no longer an mp because he lost the election, i'm afraid because of a conservative candidate, because he's now a gp. calm down, dear.

calm down. calm down. listen to the doctor. calm down and listen to the doctor. it's said my discussion with fellow gn's has overwhelmed enthusiasm -- i said calm down. calm down, i said to you if you'd like. >> order, order. let's have the answer briefly and we'll move on to back beverages. he's right i'm interested in protecting a brief answer of the prime minister. >> it's a very brief quote from a labour gp who said my discussion has overwhelmed enthusiasm to help shape services for the patients they see daily. that is what labour mp's now acting as gp's think of the reforms. that's what's happening. and i have to say -- i'm not going to apologize. you do need to calm down. what i would say to the honorable gentleman in the -- in

the week -- >> order, order. there's far too much noise in this chamber which makes -- order! which makes a very bad impression on the public as a whole and the other people waiting to contribute. i think the prime minister has finished. mr. william cash. >> during the recess, a number of european issues have arisen. the portuguese bailout, increase in the european budget and proposals for cooperation tax at the european level. will the prime minister recoin the phrase simply say to all of those measures, no, no, no? >> well, my honorable friend makes an important point about the european budget. the idea of a 5% increase at a time when member states are having to make reductions in difficult public spending programs at home is completely unacceptable and we'll make sure that it doesn't happen. >> phil wilson. >> they are proposing to build the largest wind farm in my

constituency with 25 wind farms or even more than that. just less than a mile we're from beautiful landscape in the area. what influence will my constituents will have on the funding decision concerning this massive intrusion on the landscape? and will he ask the minister to make a delegation of constituents to discuss this further. >> i'm very happy to arrange that meeting. and i think it's important that local people have a greater say in planning decisions and that is what we're putting in place, but also, i believe, where wind farms do go ahead, local people should see a greater benefit in terms of the finance that goes into the local area. and again, that is what our plans will achieve. >> in 2007, the labour government implemented the medical training application service. the doctors will remember what a

disaster that was. it was destructive and untested system had disastrous consequences for junior doctors in training. but is the prime minister aware that there are concerns that current proposals to reorganize medical training and work force planning could have similar unforeseen consequences? [laughter] >> i have to say to the honorable lady, she is a lot better at getting them to shut up than i am. [laughter] >> and i think the future speaker in the making. i can absolutely guarantee to my honorable friend we are not going to make the mistake that the last government made about medical training where they created an utter shambles. >> bill estherson. >> mr. speaker, eddie kay had excellent treatment when he was in hospital recently, and i'm glad to say he's recovering well. but while he was in hospital, his operation was cancelled four times. he was told also about the closure of beds and the redundancy of nurses onward -- in his ward.

doesn't the prime minister's wrong to claim he was not shut the nhs? >> the claim i would make to the honorable gentleman. of course, there are things that go wrong in our national health service and that's one of the reasons why i think we need to reform and modernize it. but the fact is, there was only one party at the last election that said we're going to increase the nhs in real terms and that is exactly what we're doing. and he should have words if he's worried about nhs cuts, have words with his colleagues in wales who are proposing to cut the national health service, not in cash terms but in real terms now planning to do that and he should help us put a stop to it. >> steven gilbert. >> i'm grateful, mr. speaker. across the country 2 million families are on waiting lists for social housing. almost a million homes lay empty and the average age for a first time buyer is now 37. does the prime minister acknowledge that there's a housing crisis in britain? and will the government have a strategy to tackle it. >> house-building was, you know,

at a 60, 70-year low and so we need to introduce ways to actually make sure that local communities want to see more houses build. the old top-down system didn't work. i believe the new homes bonus and the incentives we're giving to local authorities will mean that extra housing goes ahead. >> jon woodcock. >> will he explain -- will he explain why waiting times have been going up in my constituency and across the country? >> he's simply wrong about waiting times. he's not right. i quoted the figures. i quoted the figures. they've been broadly stable over the last couple of years. that is the fact. and the key point i'd make to him because he's meant to be a modernizer is that if you want to see waiting times come down and stay down, then having a system with greater choice where patients can choose where they're treated and how quickly to get treated, that is the best answer. he used to be a modernizer. there's still time to get on board.

>> fiona bruce. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i'm engaged in a consultation process with my constituents on an issue of great concern to them. the commercialization and sexualization of childhood. as a parent, as a parent, does my right honorable friend agree with me constituents that action needs to be taken to find real solutions for this challenging issue, to give every child the childhood that they deserve? >> i completely agree with my honorable friend. as a parent of three little ones, it is incredibly worrying when you start seeing what's available in some shops in some places and we're asking our children effectively to grow up too heller and i do think there's a lot more we can do. that's why we've asked the chief executive of the mother's union to carry out an independent review into this vital area. we're looking at a whole range of specific issues that include television, video, and other pressures that are put on people and we're expecting the report in a few week's time. >> ian lucas. >> thank you, mr. speaker.

the pm has described hossises as one of the great successes of the big society. why is it then of his government's increases in vat and cuts in gift aid that nightingale hospice in my constituency is paying an extra 20,000 pounds this year to his friend the chancellor of the exchequ exchequer. will he give the money back? >> the hospice movement is a fantastic example of the big society and we should see it expand. and what my right honorable friend the chancellor has done is increase gift aid so more people can give more money and make it effective. he's another welsh member of parliament. why is he supporting an nhs cut in wales that will hit not just hospices but will hit hospitals, hit gp's and community services? that is what is coming out of this question time. labour are cutting the nhs. you cannot trust labour with our national health service.

>> jonathan evan. >> thank you, mr. speaker. the whole house will be aware that younger women drivers face a massive hike in their insurance premiums next year. and as a direct result as a european court judgment. in that context, therefore, does my right honorable friend share my disappointment that this judgment has been warmly welcomed by london's labour euro mp mary honeyball who has indicated that she considers it to be admirable and the price of equality? >> well, i have to say to my honorable friend, it shows that some of the lutie left is still alive and well in our country because, frankly, insurance premiums ought to reflect risk. and i think i'd understand that. [laughter] >> insurance premiums ought to reflect risk and my honorable friend as ever is displaying commonsense whereas the european court did not. >> mr. jamie reed.

>> thank you, mr. speaker. it's now almost -- it's now almost 12 months since the prime minister was in my hospital in the wake of the shooting which took place there. it's my profound regret to members and all sides of the house who do nothing on gun loads but while he was there he also visited with the clinicians and other clinical service providers who are now facing their services being removed as a result of gp commissioning. will he do my commissioners a -- >> well, first of all, i will remember visiting the hospital in the honorable gentleman's constituency and it's a fantastic hospital and it did brilliant work during those incredibly tragic times in which to which he spoke. he does not need to worry about the future of the west cumberland hospital. i understand that he's met the minister of state for health to discuss concerns. in agreement decisions need to be done shiftily. they are working with the local nhs to address proposals to redevelop the hospital.

that is what is going to happen. investment going into the nhs because of the commitments we've made. and luckily he's not in wales where they're cutting the nhs but i suspect they'll do the same in london as well. >> richard herrington. >> thank you, my right honorable friend the prime minister will be aware that this country lost 1.7 million manufacturing jobs under the last labour government. key explain to us what plans the government have to make sure this decline is reversed? >> what we're seeing over the last year already is an increase of manufacturing output and increase of manufacturing exports. i was up in bedford last week at the gm plant where they're massively expanding, creating jobs bringing 150 million pounds of offshore contracts back into the u.k. we're backing that with low tax rates, with deregulation, with more apprentices. this is a government that is proenterprise, projobs, promanufacturing, that will dig us out of the last mess that we

were left in. >> doesn't the nightmare of fukushima mean that the planned of nuclear power will be stillborn. shouldn't he be planning of a future for the cost, fear, anxiety of nuclear power and will be rich in renewable that are british, that are green, that are inexhaustible and safe? >> well, what i'm saying to the honorable gentleman, we have to learn from lessons from fukushima. it's a different reactor design in different parts of the world with different pressures. the british have a good safety record and they have to prove it and in the light that comes out of japan. that's what must happen and the new england inspector will do that. >> the prime minister is a