on setting up a $30 billion small-business fund. jobless benefits could be addressed as early as tuesday after clark good one is -- goo dwin sworn in. >> c-span is now available and over 100 million homes, bringing new politics, history and nonfiction books as a public service. created by americans -- america's cable company. >> . .

d. and to be able to show a very significant reduction on what was being spent on the government which was a very little basis. >> thank you mr. speaker. i'm sure the whole house would join me in attribute of the soldiers who died in afghanistan over the last week. they are samuel robinson from

the fifth register. rifles who lost their lives yesterday and their comrades who were injured. we believe this incident was caused by the actions of an afghan soldier betraying his afghan and international comrades. i spoke to president karzai about this issue and the joint afghan authorities and international forces is underway that will cover every aspect of this event and the lessons learned. there should be no knee-jerk reaction or change in our stlath we must continue to work to create a stable afghanistan able to maintain its own security and to prevent al-qaeda from returning. at this very sad time our thoughts should be with the families and friends of all these brave servicemen. what they do on our behalf is brave, is courageous, shows their courageous and professionalism.

mr. speaker, this morning i had meetings ministerial colleagues and others and in addition to my duties in the house i shall have more meetings today. >> i would like to echo the prime minister's comments about the service personnel serving board. will the prime minister join me in praising the counsel for developing 600,000 pound ration plan in my constituency in order to help small business. however, isn't it the case for those who run small businesses the government's v.a.t. increase is the real tax. >> first of all, can i welcome the honorable gentlemen for the house i know he was worked for mr. kumar who was widely respected in the house of commons. what we are doing to help small business is to cut the small business tax that's the best help we can give. and, of course, the future for small business will be helped by our local enterprise partnerships which we think will be much more focused and local and deliver better than the

recreational develop agencies that they replace >> would the prime minister join me graduating the committee who's providing many volunteers to local groups of this year raised any more money in the rank in the company over a million pounds including 34,000 pounds and this is not a big society in action. >> sometimes i think the students can get a bad press for what they do. [laughter] >> they have been focused on doing things for other people raising money for charity and they should be congratulated. >> harriet harman. >> mr. speaker, can i join the prime minister in paying tribute to samuel robinson from fifth regiment royal artillery to marine david heart from 40 commando royal means to the marine from 40 commando royal means who died yesterday and to

the three soldiers from the first battalion the royal rifles who lost their lives yesterday and those who were injured. everyone will share the prime minister's concern about what happened and it's right. we must have a thorough investigation. but as he said we musn't lose sight of the importance of the work our troops are doing in afghanistan. mr. speaker, can i ask him about northern ireland? though it's not highly unusual for people in belfast to see such violence on their streets everyone will be worried about the events of recent days. can the prime minister update the house and can he tell us what discussions he's had with the first minister and deputy first minister. and though it's a devolved responsibility will he join me in paying attribute to the professionalism and bravery of the men and women of the police service of northern ireland? >> well, i certainly join with the right honorable lady in paying tribute to the police service anyone watching the pictures on our television screens last night could see how brave, how restrained they were in the way that they dealt with

frankly completely unacceptable behavior. if i can update the house, last night was the third night of violence. the most serious of which has been in the district in northern belfast. over 80 police officers have been injured after being attacked including by petro bombs, pipe bombs and bricks. the police came under fire on sunday night and shots were again fired last night. the police have been forced to retaliate with baton rounds and water canons and those who have had a briefing like i have from david ward knows they acted with real restraint in what they did. cretary of state from northernhe ireland who has been there to make sure everything is being done. as she knows this is a devolved issue and devolve policing and justice allow david ford to give the lead that they are indeed giving.

>> i'm grateful for the prime minister for his answer and can i reiterate what i said previously that we'll continue to support and work with the government in its efforts to ensure a peaceful future for all the people in northern ireland. mr. speaker, the government published their white paper on the nhs. they say they will get rid of targets. can he tell us will patients keep their guaranteed right to see a cancer specialist within two weeks of seeing their g.p.? >> can i first of all just on the northern ireland issue just make one further response which i think everyone will agree that now we have a police service that is fully representative of the whole community in northern ireland. there is no excuse for anyone not to cooperate with that police force. we all know in the end these things are not dealt with by the police they have to be dealt by the communities as well working with the police to bring people to just for completely unacceptable behavior. on the nhs. what we have decided to do is this.

is that we will only keep targets where they actually contribute to clinical outcomes. we all want to see a higher survival rate in terms of cancer. after 13 years of labour government i'm afraid we have not the best cancer outcomes in europe. we want the best cancer outcomes. that means rapid treatment, yes, but it also means rapid follow-up and it also means getting the radiotherapy and chemotherapy and the drugs that you need. those are all essential. and the one thank we will do on this side of the house is we will tip to put real terms increases into the nhs whereas i understand it it's now labour policy to cut the nhs. >> quite apart from the anxiety of having to wait results are best if treatment starts as soon as possible. that's why it's important to get diagnosed and see a specialist quickly. he hasn't answered the question. the whole house will have seen that.

he's dodged the question just like his health secretary did. this is what the health secretary said when he too was damaging the question. --donning the question. dodging the question. i have not said abandoning the cancer waiting time targets at the moment. so i asked the prime minister to give us is straight answer. will cancer patients keep their guarantee to see a specialist within two weeks, yes or no? >> for some people two weeks is too long. that's the point. if a target -- if a target contributes to good clinical outcomes it stays. if it doesn't, it goes. now let her answer a question. is it your policy -- yes, yes. i know. i know. i know she's not involved in the leadership which basically involves sucking up to the trade unions. but she is capable of answering a question.

is it labour policy to cut the nhs? >> i hope the right honorable lady will confine herself to her role which is not to answer questions but to ask them. the leader of the opposition. >> thank you, mr. speaker and he still hasn't answered -- he's obviously ditching the guarantee for cancer patients but he hasn't got the guts to answer it to the house. perhaps he can be more straightforward with the question. the white paper says that his reorganization of the nhs will mean extra up front administration costs. but it doesn't give the figure. surely he must know the figure. how much extra will it cost next year? >> we are cutting 1 billion pounds of administration from the nhs. we're cutting administration costs by 45% over the next parliament. it's extraordinary -- i mean, obviously they can't answer the questions because they don't

have the answer, mr. speaker. perhaps it's unfair to point that they are now defending the bureaucracy of the nhs. west the primary care trust the strategic world authorities, all the bureaucracy that should go. we want the money to go on treatments, on patients and on nurses and she's left defending the vast bureaucracy that saw the managers go far faster than the number of nurses. is that still labour policy? >> harriet harmon. >> he's talking about longer terms, speculative savings but he hasn't answered my question. and it's no question to his resorting of his usual ploy of asking me questions. i'm asking about the real cost of his reorganization next year. the very time when he says his priority is cutting administration and cutting the deficit. the white paper admits there will be extra cost because of

loss of productivity, staff re-lauck redundancy. does he stand by what he said a few months about nhs reorganizations. he said the disruption is terrible. the demoralization worst and the waste of money inexcusable. >> we are not reorganizing the bureaucracy. [laughter] >> we are scrapping the bureaucracy. is she really going to be left -- is this labour's great new tactic to be left defending the bureaucracy of pcts and shas and all the bureaucrats. they back the bureaucracy, we back the nhs. >> harriet hair machine. order, order. the right honorable gentleman is trying to catch my eye. at this rate he won't do it.

>> charities were not responsible for the banking crisis nor the financial crisis left by the last labour government. as we both value organizations and charities will the prime minister discuss with his treasury colleagues how the increase in those organizations have to pay can be refunded to them? >> i will certainly have those conversations with the treasury. and we will want to do everything we can to help what used to be called the third sector rather consendingly and that i believe that's the first sector and the charities and social enterprises that do so much for our country. one thing we should do is look at funding them on the same basis the government funds itself. the government is always very generous with its own bureaucracy and it needs to recognize so often these first organizations have the right answers to the social problems in our country. >> mr. speaker, will the prime minister guarantee that the

firefighters and police officers whom we all rely on to intercontain dangerous and physically dangerous jobs to work their occupational pensions before reaching pension age. >> i would like very carefully at what she says. as she knows we have a review of pensions taking place being carried out by the former labour minister, the honorable -- former honorable member baron and finesse who has great expertise in this area. he'll be making two reports bup before christmas and another in the new year where we look at the issue of public sector pensions and i think that's something all parties should be involved in. >> would the prime minister consider having another conference with -- conference call with mark zukorman the cofounder of facebook who's society is hosting rip where a whole host of antipolice statements are on there. and if you could have a

conversation with him to take this group down. >> i think my honorable friend makes a very good point. as far as i can see it's absolutely clear that avenues callous murderer, full stop end of story and i cannot understand any wave however small of public sympathy for this man. there should be sympathy for his victims and for the havoc he wreaked in that community. there should be no sympathy for him? >> thank you, mr. speaker. in 2005, the peoples of joseph lackey school made a dvd depicting their crumbling school. the labour government gave them 6 million pounds. morally and legally the legitimate expectation was to have that funding continued. so would the prime minister ask the secretary of state of education to take some time out from his i am sorry tour of the country to meet and explain his decision, the fifth version to

joseph lucky school and allen business school. >> i'm sure my right honorable friend to welcome the lady to see what he has -- what he has dumb up to. -- up to. [laughter] >> i think there's something quite refreshing about a minister who makes a mistake, comes to this match box and makes an apology. well, they've got their hands in the air. the honorable member has got his hand in the air. can anyone put their hand up if they ever remember him apologizing for anything ever. he can start for apologizing for the last three years he's been telling us that the honorable member is the best thing since white sliced bread and now we're being told he's mad, bad and dangerous. >> mr. nicholas bose.

>> the bbc trust has described bbc1 and bbc2 as boring. does my right honorable friend agreeing that the gaiety of the nation would be measurely enhanced by the televise ed version of lord mandleson playing himself. >> as much as it might be fascinating to hear the prime minister reply i don't think it's a matter of government responsibility at all. mr. hugh bailey. >> taking in account -- i'm over here, david. taking account of the measures of the public and the briefing that the prime minister has received from the treasury, does he believe unemployment will be higher or lower. >> what you can see from the office of budget responsibility forecast is that there's going to be according to them a full unemployment in every year during this parliament.

that is because like others, like the oecd who made so clear yesterday that the budget is both courageous, responsible and right, we are putting this country back on the path to prosperity from the complete picture of ruin the last government left. >> thanks to the massive deficit left by the party opposite all but two departmental budgets are to be cut between 25 and 40%. could the prime minister tell us are we about to see a 40% reduction of the funding sent to brussels? and is the european budget going to be cut also? >> it is very true to say that all international organizations have to recognize that as we make painful budget reductions in this country, that they should be looking to their budgets also. i have to say one thing we won't be doing is giving up part of the rebate for absolutely nothing in return which is what the party opposite did. >> thank you very much, mr. speaker.

phase 2 of the ministry of defense strategic defense review is currently reporting back under consideration for closure and cut back in scotland are two or three of air bases. the only marine base in the country, mine sweepers and carriers and that's not starting with the army where we expected amalgamations functions to go the future of fort george and the t.a. network, does the prime minister not understand that this is a wholesale destruction of conventional defense capability in scotland? >> obviously, we have to have a defense review. the party opposite recognizes that. i always find the position always confusing. i didn't think you were in having in a british army or having a british navy. perhaps if the policy has changed what we will be having is a defense review if the honorable gentleman wants to make a review and he can and we'll take it seriously. >> t.c. davis.

>> thank you, prime minister. as far as i'm aware it's not standard practice in the public sector for workers to fund their offices and equip them out of their open products and negotiate a bureaucratic obstacle course in order to get their money back if they're lucky. can the prime minister tell us this is a good him system of members of parliament or m.p.s from members of this house? >> the honorable gentleman asks a popular and well placed question. and i have to say -- i'm answering seriously. i think it is important. what we wanted to have and what is necessary is a properly transparent system. a system with proper rules and limits which the public would have confidence in and what we don't need is an overly bureaucratic and very costly system. and i think all those to get a grip of what they're doing and get a grip of it very fast. >> thank you. thank you, mr. speaker.

can i along with my colleagues on these benches pay tribute to those who have lost their lives in recent days in afghanistan and join with the prime minister in that and also to the police officers in belfast that have been injured. can i specifically mention one of the gurkas who live in my constituency was killed tragically over the past number of days. i visited the home last night and spoke at length to his family and in particular to his father. i'm very proud of the fact that he had achieved so much and a half short life and his ambition was to be an officer within them. he was commissioned this year. went to afghanistan in march and died in july. can the prime minister assure this house that whatever

investigation is held that it will be thorough and details will be given to the family and can i say this in closing, mr. speaker, this house will know that when it comes to forces or the crime forces young men and women of northern ireland have never been fined. today we have lost another son and we hope it's the last. >> well, i think the right honorable gentleman pays an eloquent speech to his constituent. we have to get to the bottom of what happened to this tragic or i believe isolated case. there's nothing you can say to parents who have lost a child that will help restore the sense of grief and loss. there's nothing you can do. but it is important that they get the information to try and help achieve some sort of closure on what's happened and that's why one of the reasons -- one of the many reasons why this review will be so important. let me just say there are 5,000

british troops that are fully partnered with afghan forces working together day and night. and when you hear their stories about how well they're working together it does give you hope we're building an afghan army that we will be able to hand over too and we must not lose sight of that even in the most difficulties. >> three years ago the consve council in my constituency recognized the need for a new primary school. they identified the sight and having sorted out the next of the labour council left before them in financial terms committed the funding. despite being left the funds, the labour council now is failing to commit to build this school. does the prime minister conclude that this is the labour party is sane thing and doing another and endangering school children's education? >> the honorable gentleman not only makes an important local point but there is a very important national point which is building schools for the future did nothing for primary schools. and actually there's a growing

problem of a shortage of primary school places which wasn't being addressed by the last government which will be addressed by this government. >> thank you, mr. speaker. the right honorable gentleman of the prime minister will be aware of members of his open party using parliamentary rules to try to undermine the national minimum wage. can he dedicate in obtaining the national minimum wage not only to ensure its support but it does increase with inflation in the years to come? >> i can give him the assurance. we support the national minimum wage and its regular updating and that is one of the many good things set in and out our coalition agreement. >> thank you, mr. speaker. the community forum is piloting an extremely good scheme called generations together. it's all about encouraging each generation to pass on their own school sets to each other basically getting the community to help itself. would the prime minister agree

that this is a really excellent example of what the big society is all about? >> i have to say honorable members opposite who sort of sigh every time an honorable member actually motions a worthwhile charity or voluntary body or a project that is doing something in their communities, we are going to change the way we do politics in this country instead of endlessly talking about the money that goes in. let's talk about the outcomes that comes out. i think that's a better way of doing things. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i'm delighted to report the pass rates have doubled in westminster and four brand-new schools have opened. this week the prime minister was closer to saying he was terrified of his children attending a local school but may i ask him to swallow his fear and instead join me in acknowledging the enormous progress that has been made particularly in london secondary schools in recent years? >> i'm pleased to say that my children attend a local school

in conservative-controlled kensington and also the other part of our constituency conservative-controlled westminster so, of course, there are good schools in london and, of course, there is progress being made but like any parent looking at the state of secondary education you want to know that there's going to be really good schools, really good choice and a diversity of provision. that's what we're going to ensure and i hope that you'll vote for it when the time comes. >> thank you, mr. speaker. is the prime minister aware that i and colleagues this week had the privilege of a visit from the royal regiment and will he join us in thanking them for their amazing professionalism and for the work they do for us? >> i will certainly do that. they have actually served in afghanistan up a number of occasions. on one occasion i actually met them in helmand province and heard them speak about some of the incredibly difficult decisions they had to take and some of the very brave things that they have done. we should recognize that we've now been in afghanistan in one form or another since 2001.

many soldiers are going back again and again. that puts pressure on them and on their families. and it just means we need to redouble everything we do to support their families and our brave service men and women. >> russell brown. >> thank you, mr. speaker. the director of parkinson's u.k. has been on the bbc this morning discussing the start of a clinical study in oxford using skin cells. i think all of us in this house want to see ongoing research into finding answers to degenerative conditions like parkinson's and alzheimer's. will the prime minister give appear assurance to the house that despite the global economic conditions this government will not cut back on its funding for medical research? >> well, no one wants to see reductions in those programs. they're very important but like everything else, there is a comprehensive spending review. it's no good honorable members opposite making this point.

whoever was standing here right now would have to look at public spending programs and make sense of them and i have to say -- i have to say that maybe they should listen to the speech that the trade industry shadow minister is going to make this afternoon where he's going to say fighting the cuts is a tempting slogan in opposition but if that is all we're saying the conclusion will be drawn we are wishing the problem away. we have a new problem in british politics. it's called deficit deniers and i'm looking at a whole he row of them. >> does my right honorable friend agree that him and his favor who have moved into 2,000 pound a week in a house in kensington is the sort of thing the coalition was elected against? >> my honorable friend is absolutely right the housing benefit particularly in central london has gotten completely out of control. the idea a family should be able

to claim 2,000 pounds a week for their house i think is an outrage for people who go to work every day, pay their taxes and try to do the right thing for their family. that is why we will cap housing benefit levels from april next year so the maximum that can be claimed will be 400 pounds a week for a property with more than four bedrooms even 400 pounds a week, many people on ordinary incomes will look at that and find that very, very generous for how we help people and every penny of that comes out of hard earned taxes. >> thank you very much, mr. speaker. the coalition agreement makes mention of delegations. my constituents pay more fuel tax per liter than anybody in the u.k. but there was no mention of v.a.t. in the coalition agreement. surely then it's reasonable to ask for a delegation before january when the v.a.t. comes in and interest of respect and fairness? >> well, we are looking at the rural fuel issue.