minister's questions from the british house of commons. this week, prime minister gordon brown responded to several questions on president obama speech on not in a stand. . -- on afghanistan. . continuing to press for further climate finance to be made available to help developing countries like bangladesh. >> order. questions to the prime minister. >> question number one, mr. speaker. >> mr. speaker, i'm sure the whole house will wish to join me in paying tribute to acting sergeant john amer from first battalion. we owe him a huge debt of gratitude as we plan a way forward in afghanistan, this

loss in afghanistan reminds us of the risks and dangers our forces to have endure in afghanistan today and every day. and of the importance of securing peace and stability. mr. speaker, after talks with president obama i can also report that the london conference in afghanistan will make decisions on civil coordination in afghanistan. hear commitments by coalition partners on extra troops and from president karzai on afghan reform. this morning i had meetings with colleagues and others in addition to my duties in this house i shall have further such meetings today. >> in associating myself with the condolences by the prime minister for the family and friends of acting sergeant john amer. i know i am speaking for every member in this house. >> yeah. >> following recent events in the hospital trusts, does my right honorable friend agree with me and agree with the secretary of state for health

and with the recent report of the health select committee that the major priority of the national health service must be patient safety? >> mr. speaker, patient safety is and has to be our number one priority. and there is no excuse other than for the best care and no tolerance of the failure of managements. i am sorry when any patient receives less than the best care and help in the nhs. as a result, we have introduced independent regulation and transparency so that information flows to the patients. we have set up the care quality commission, which from next year will register all hospitals and set clear safety standards that they will have to continuously meet. and i can say today that our objective is that that process will start not from april but from january. and we will do everything in our power to have hospitals deal with hospital-acquired diseases and make sure of the best care at all times.

this has been a 7% fall in mortality overall in our hospitals a 50% fall in mrsa. we will do everything on our part to make our hospitals clean and secure. >> david cameron. >> thank you, mr. speaker. can i join the prime minister and everyone in this house in paying tribute to acting sergeant john amer who died this week in afghanistan. he gave his life to protect our country. we should honor his memory. we should care for his family. before i go on to other subjects can i ask a couple questions about afghanistan. following president obama's very welcome speech last night the british people will want to know what the u.s. surge means for british forces. i think we all accept that one of the problems has been that british troops have been spread too thinly over too much ground. will the u.s. reinforcement mean we will be able to have more of our forces concentrated in fewer places so they can protect the population more effectively and

turn the tide against the taliban? >> mr. speaker, i think first of all, the whole house will welcome the announcement by president obama. both of the objectives of the mission in relation to the taliban and in relation to al-qaeda but also the numbers of troops a very substantial part will go into helmand province and will be dealing with the taliban there. i said on monday our troops would go in immediately so that they were more densely concentrated in the areas where there has been the greatest problem. i said that from january some of our troops would be involved in the vital task of partnering and mentoring the afghan forces. i believe that we have a situation where at the moment there are something in the order of 200,000 afghan troops and america and coalition troops in afghanistan by the end of next year, and by the beginning of 2011 that will be in excess of 300,000. it will make it possible for us

to transfer the control of some of the districts and provinces to afghan security control starting in 2010. >> mr. david cameron. >> the prime minister specifically spoke about this transfer of provinces in 2010 and i want to ask him about this because at the weekend he said he was looking at transferring at least five afghan provinces to lead afghan control by the end of 2010 including parts of helmand. this was widely interpreted as a commitment to start the withdrawal of british troops in 2010. well, the prime minister shakes his head but that's how it was reported on every single media -- and this -- this is a -- well, this will be a good opportunity for the prime minister to clarify this issue. president obama said the process of transferring forces out of afghan would not even he begin till the middle of 2011. it is important that we don't give full expectations to british troops or mixed messages to anybody else.

so can the prime minister clarify whether he would expect british troop numbers to start with reducing in 2010 or 2011? . >> mr. speaker, i made it absolutely clear at the press conference that if he read the full transcript of there was no question of us withdrawing our british troops until the point that we were sure that the afghans could take over security control themselves. now, even if one or two parts of a district or a province are transferred in 2010, we will continue to have our troops in afghanistan at that point. my point earlier was that by 2011, there will be over 300,000 troops both afghanistan, american, british coalition troops and that is the point in which the balance of afghanistan forces and british and american and coalition trends will start to trend. it's essential that the afghans

take over and it's crucial that we are assured that the afghan troops are properly trained and, therefore, they are partnered with the british forces. that will happen during the course of 2010. i can assure him that we will stay and do the job that is necessary. i believe that when people see in britain the facts of the taliban threat and equally the problems with al-qaeda, that they will support what we the government have done with 43 coalition partners. >> mr. david cameron. >> thank you, mr. speaker. that does sound more like the 2011 that president obama was talking about. and i think the clarification is welcomed. turning to the economy, will the prime minister confirm that figures this week show that britain is the last country not just in the g7 but in the entire g20 to move out of recession? >> no, they don't confirm that. spain -- spain is a member of the g20 now and it is in recession. six european countries that are part of the european union or part of the continent in britain are part of recession.

but i have to -- i have to say to him, the purpose of asking this question must be either policy that he wishes to put forward. so that we can do. -- so that we can do better or that he's talking down britain. >> the fact is that it is his policies that have given us the longest and deepest recession in our history. only this prime minister thinks that we should all be pathetically grateful for this recession when he led the world when he left britain behind. he's normally reading out lists of countries. australia, canada, turkey, brazil, they all went into recession after britain but they came out before britain. france and germany went into recession at the same time as britain. and yet they came out before. can the prime minister answer this. given that all those countries are now in growth and we are not in growth -- can he tell us what on earth he meant when he said

and i quote we were leading the rest of the world out of recession? >> mr. speaker, not one policy from the leader of the opposition -- we have taken action to restructure the banks and nationalize northern iraq opposed by the party adversary. we have taken action for a fiscal stimulus and kept poverty down for jobs opposed by the opposition. they have been wrong on the recession. they will be wrong on the recovery. mr. speaker, the voice may be that of a modern public relations man. the mindset -- the mindset is that of the 1930s. >> i think that one must have sounded great in the bunker. the fact is, the one policy this

country needs above all is a credible program for getting the biggest budget deficit in the g20 under control. that is the view of the governor of the bank of england and he says they haven't a credible plan to get the deficit under control. >> government backbenches need simmer down a little. mr. david cameron. >> it's not just back benches, mr. speaker, the children's secretary is up to his old tricks again. you would have thought -- you would have thought he would spend more time in his ultra marginal constituency. but perhaps he agrees with us that the more he meets people, the more likely we are to win it. the fact is, when you look at the prime minister's three central claims, the claim we were better prepared than other countries, that was wrong. our deficit was worse than other countries. the claim that britain was leading the world out of

recession we're still in recession and the claim to abolish boom and bust absolute rubbish. isn't it the case his three biggest claims are his three biggest failures? >> mr. speaker, the more he talks, the less he actually says. nothing -- nothing -- nothing about policy. we have helped 200,000 businesses in this country. we have helped half a million people stay out of unemployment. we are helping people who have problems with mortgage arrears. mr. speaker, if he wanted to reduce the deficit, if he wanted to reduce the deficit, why does he persist with his inheritance tax policy that would cost a billion pounds? why does he have a domestic tax policy which is to help his friends with inheritance tax cuts and a global tax policy to help nondomicile candidates to avoid any tax, whatsoever.

>> as the prime minister has raised inheritance tax, perhaps he could answer -- perhaps he could answer -- >> order, order. mr. bradshaw, you're a very senior member. i say to thee right honorable gentleman and all the members that the more noise there is, the fewer the opportunities for back benches to take part. mr. david cameron. >> thank you, mr. speaker. that's another one who should be defending his marginal constituency. let the prime minister answer this very simple question. the only person who has made of a specific pledge not just a pledge or promise but in legislation to reduce inheritance tax in the coming budget is the prime minister. he legislated to raise the threshold from 325,000 to 350,000. perhaps he can tell us now is he still planning to do that? we'd like an answer.

>> mr. speaker, it's interesting -- oh, yeah, it's interesting this exchange started with the great ideas of economic policy and he's ended up having to defend his own policy on inheritance tax. mr. speaker, the question he has to answer -- oh, yeah. the issue -- mr. speaker, the issue that concerns the whole country is that inheritance tax cuts to millionaires will be cuts. are inheritance tax cuts for few? i have to say with him and mr. goldsmith, their inheritance tax policies seems to have been dreamed up on the playing fields of eaton. >> order. order. order.

order. i'm glad -- i'm very glad members are avoiding themselves. they do all seem to have had a very hearty breakfast. linda? >> thank you, thank you, mr. speaker. will my right honorable friend congratulate avon international spokesman reese witherspoon who announced their speak out against violence campaign and will he reassure me that this government will continue to concentrate policy and resources to attack this most evil of crimes and cowardly of crimes? >> i'm grateful to my honorable friend. she has led the way in urging us as a government and our country to take seriously the issue of domestic violence. and last week the government launched its strategy to tackle all forms of violence against women and i believe we have made

real progress but a great deal has to be done. there has been a 64% reduction in domestic violation. -- violence. we are bringing more criminal cases to court but weebxm@ @ @ & >> i would like to add my condolences to the family and friends of the man who lost his life in afghanistan on monday. president obama's speech last night is immensely important. he has set a tight timetable indeed for the surge to have an affect. given this, does the prime minister agree it is all the more important not to over- relying on president obama? president obama said the bus way

forward -- over-relying on president karzai. record, given that two of his vice presidents are ex-warlords, does the prime minister not think that it'd be better to have a strategy working around president karzai relying -- relying on local and regional and political leadership instead? >> mr. speaker, president obama will be grateful for his endorsement. [laughter] >> he is absolutely right -- he is absolutely right that we have to both weaken the taliban and strengthen the afghan state. the action we are taking with troops to deal with the insurgency are important. but as he rightly recognizes, so too is building up the strength of the afghan army, its police

and local and national government. and as president obama said last night, there is no blank check for president karzai. he has to take the action as necessary and that's why i said earlier today that the london conference on november the 28th which president karzai will attend will be a chance for president karzai to set out further reforms that he estimates to make the army and police more efficient to make sure that government is free of corruption and to build up stronger, local and provincial government. >> nick clegg? >> will the prime minister confirm at the london conference he just referred to whether the powers around afghanistan, russia, china and, yes, even iran might be involved? without regional backing it will be difficult to create stability within afghanistan. president obama was critical in his speech last night. will the prime minister tell us whether this is being taken forward and perhaps give us a feel for what steps have been taken to involve those other countries in the region. >> as he recognizes the military surge has got to be matched by a

political and diplomatic surge and it will be no use for the future of afghanistan if there is no security around afghanistan with the neighbors of hassling that's why they have an important role in afghanistan's affairs and building up the links that are necessary for afghan trade and industry and afghan's commerce to flourish and stop the weapons into afghanistan. we will invite international powers. >> will the prime minister join with me in marking 60 years since the british surgeon commissioned my company to produce the first inter-occular lens and on friday received the queen's prize for enterprise in restoring sight? >> in her constituency there are many excellent companies and one

of them is reyna and i want to thank all who contributed to the success. the inventions that have come from britain are truly wonderful. we should be very proud of our british scientists and engineers but also very proud of our medical researchers and our medical firms. >> mr. ben wallace. >> thank you, mr. speaker, recently revealed figures showed since 2001 140 inmates were allowed to die of cancer while serving in uk jails. under this government, is it one rule for british inmates and another one for libyan mass murderers? >> mr. speaker, as he knows, the decision on libya was made by the scottish administration. it was their decision to make. it was not our decision to make. >> roger barry. >> mr. speaker, my constituents are extremely concerned about

the impact of global warming and wants speedy action to deal with it members opposite in their european allies. will my right honorable friend assure the house that he has been doing everything possible so that both developed and developing countries can look to a deal at copenhagen? >> well, we are in the happy position of being able to work with the rest of europe to get a climate change agreement and in the position to work as europe with the rest of the world to make sure that we can move forward. and the talks that are taking place now including at the commonwealth conference are a desire to bring together the richest countries who will have to contribute to a climate change deal financially as well as with bold and ambitious targets. and the developing countries whom we want to make progress but whom we will have to be able to help. i'm pleased that we have agreed and i believe america and europe will also agree with the commonwealth on a 10 billion

pound startup to help the poorest countries to move on mitigation and adaptation. we have to make sure that the intermediate targets that the major countries are going to propose are sufficiently ambitious for us to meet our target in 2050, a 50% reduction but to be making big progress through 2020. britain will play its part. i know that the european union will play its part. we look forward to successful negotiations in copenhagen and i hope that despite droughts expressed about some parts of the opposition that there will be all-party support for that deal. >> ms. ann macintosh. >> in july, 2007, the prime minister promised no local authority would be out-of-pocket in recovering from the summer floods. collectively they had a shortfall of 50 million pounds. what promise will he give the people that they will similarly not face a shortfall in the recovery from the floods this year? >> mr. speaker, i understand from the secretary who is with me on the bench that 100% of the

cleanup costs were made available but i also understand the environment agency and the local district council have developed proposals for a flood defense scheme and are working out proposals to secure funding for that scheme. i have to say investment in flood management is higher than ever. we saw the benefits of it in carlisle and in surrounding areas as a result of flood defense investment and the grants that we are making to the environment agency to tackle flooding have increased from 500 million in 2007 to 659 million in 2010, '11. i assure her our constituency case is dealt with but i think she should see the wider investment we are making in flood defenses. >> mr. speaker, does the prime minister agree with me that the policy of growing and not cutting our way out of recession is beginning to show results? and if we are -- i haven't finished yet. and if we adopted the policy of immediate and savage cuts then the economy -- abdicated by the dynamic duo over there the

economy would be in an right old eastern mess? >> mr. speaker, the shadow chancellor has already recognized that we need to do more to get ourselves out of recession. and i believe the action we are taking to help small businesses to help those people who are unemployed back into work to advance capital investment so that we have big construction projects going ahead and, of course, to help homeowners is the action that every other country in the world including every other country in europe supports and it's only unfortunate that the leader of the opposition and the shadow chancellor are against the shadow shadow chancellor in trying to deal with this problem. >> malcolm bruce. >> when the prime minister goes to copenhagen next week will he not recognize that securing a commitment to the 100 billion fund that he's looking for in 2020 will be essential to securing a deal from the developing countries? but at the same time will he reflect that given the floods that we have in this country and in my constituency and elsewhere we need a partnership between government and the insurance

industry to ensure we have the means to cope with climate change because local authorities won't be able to do it alone. >> i'm grateful he's chairman of the government select committee and i'm grateful what he says about the conference change conference and the need to help the poorest countries. i believe there should be no doubt about the scientific evidence before us that shows the need to act on climate change. and i thought we had moved beyond that argument to looking at what we need to do. at home we will continue to invest in a low carbon economy. and i believe he will see next week in the prebudget report action to move forward in that investment so that we are a low carbon economy of the future. one that can lead the world. abroad, it is important that we make sure that there is sufficient finance for developing countries to enable them to come to a deal in copenhagen in a few day's time. we've already got agreement on startup finance. we now need to get an agreement how we can move forward that finance over a period of years. >> tom harris. >> thank you, mr. speaker. does the prime minister believe

that every candidate who stands for election to this house should pay taxes to this country? >> yes. >> for the first time in 50 years the key economic portfolio in the european commission has gone to france. president sarkozy has proudly told reuters the english are the big losers in this business. why did the prime minister fail to win it for britain? >> mr. speaker, if he looks at the policy that is being adopted by the european union at the moment and they're discussing today on the policy of financial services and look at the policy that is being adopted on the economy generally, it is british proposals, british influence, british policies that are making a difference. and i say to him that is the advantage of being at the heart of europe. if we took his advice and his party's advice we'd be on the fringe of europe isolated dealing with minority parties and unable to change the course of the debate.

that is not the position we're in. >> my right honorable friend wouldn't know there's a need to change legislation for the civil service compensation scheme. he knows this is also used as an opportunity by the permanent secretary dining club to propose slashes to the entitlement of lower paid civil servants in the event of redundant si. that a strategy instrument which i believe is proposed to be tabled on the last day when we recess for christmas will be introduced into this house to operate such a scheme from the first of january and will he ensure that no legislation is introduced until a new agreement is established with the unions concerned. >> mr. speaker he will find there is indeed extra protection for the lowest paid civil servants as well as ensuring all the savings the government is committed to will be achieved but i cannot defend a system where there are six times the ordinary salary at the very top

of civil servants who take voluntary retirement. that is a system that has got to change and it will change. >> given the 100 million pounds raid on welsh lottery funds and the cost of the olympics, what can the people of wales realistically expect for the 427 million pounds they're paying for the london olympics? >> let me first of all congratulate the new leader of the new welsh labour party and the first minister of wales and i believe he will be an excellent leader. let me say to him over the last 12 years expenditure in wales has grown markedly as a result of the decisions of the labour government and he should be grateful that there is additional expenditure on health, on education, and on sports and on culture in wales. and we will continue to honor our commitments to the people of wales. >> mr. speaker, the bounce back

campaign launched by the telegraphicing aims businesses and organizations so that our area is on the right road of recovery following the recession. will he endorse that initiative and at the same time have a few short words of those opposite who continue to talk down our country? >> mr. speaker, it's important to recognize all the local efforts that are being made including by the business campaign to fight for a recovery for our country. and they are fighting to get local business. they are fighting to invest in future businesses. they're fighting to help young people get jobs and take on more apprenticeship ises. this is what people in britain want to do to help us get through the recession and get to recovery. but it is only possible -- it is only possible by having a policy that says we will invest additional money to take us through our most difficult time when markets fail and banks falter and that is the policy that we have pursued. it is pursued by every other country. it's unfortunate again, i have to repeat. it is not supported by the

opposition party. >> mr. speaker, since next week's prebudget report coincides with the start of the climate change talks in copenhagen, has the prime minister instructed the chancellor to reverse the falling green taxes which took place during the 10 years when the prime minister himself was chancellor. and does he not accept that a tax is only a green tax if it's primary purpose is to change behavior and not to raise revenue? >> mr. speaker, i don't think he's proposing a evat on fuel. -- vat on fuel. what we have done is introduced a climate change levy. and we have taken measures that are necessary to deal with the problems of the environment to reduce carbon emissions and we are taking measures that are in line with what is happening in other countries. if he wants us to put vat on fuel i would oppose him. >> i was pleased to