hiv/aids epidemic and current treatments with the director of the national institute of allergy and infectious diseases. then peter pantuso discusses tour bus safety standards in the wake of several recent crashes. after that, a presidential historian talks about the significance of the so-called pentagon papers on the 40th anniversary of their being leaked to "the new york times," as well as the recent wikileaks documents releases. as always, your phone calls and questions starr >> connect with c-span on-line, with the latest schedule updates on twitter, continuing conversations on facebook, political faces. programming highlights on our youtube channel. c-span and social media.

connect today. >> now, on "prime minister's questions," from the british house of commons, you will hear from ed miller band, who challenged prime minister david cameron on reforming the national health service and other. this is a little bit more than 30 minutes. but >> questions for the prime minister. jackie doyle-price. >> i am sure the whole house will join me in paying tribute to the following brave servicemen who have died in afghanistan since we last met. all of them were dedicated professionals serving our

country. their deaths are a reminder of the very high price that we are paying to stop afghanistan from being a haven for terrorists. we honor their memory. we support their families and will not forget there's a purse and sacrifice -- their service and sacrifice. i shall have further such meetings later today. >> may i associate myself with the prime minister's tribute to our fallen soldiers? we do, indeed, over them a great debt. mr. speaker, we are reminded on a daily basis that not everyone in the world is as fortunate as we are in respect to the freedoms that we enjoy in the country, and in particular, i would like to highlight the absolute horror of the images of the 13-year-old boy the was tortured by syrian government forces in recent weeks. will the prime minister give me his assurance that he would use every influence he has to ensure that the international community condemns the activities of the

syrian government and demands that their reign of terror ends? >> what she says of those dreadful pictures of that poor boy. there are credible reports of 1000 dead and as many as 10,000 detained. the violence being meted out to peaceful protesters and demonstrators is completely unacceptable. in the year, we have already frozen assets and banned travel by members of the regime, and we have now added president assad to that list, and today, in new york, britain and france will table a resolution at the security council. >> mr. speaker, can i join the prime minister in paying tribute to those lost?

they all showed enormous bravery and courage, and our thoughts are with their families and friends, and as the prime minister said, the number of deaths once again demonstrates the bravery of all of our forces in afghanistan and elsewhere around the world. mr. speaker, we read in the newspapers today that the prime minister has torn up the justice secretary policy on sentencing. has he? >> what we want is tough sentences for serious offenders. this government produced a consultation paper. the consultation paper had widespread consultation and support from many of the proposals that in may, and in the coming needs, we will be publishing our legislation. >> mr. speaker, we read the newspapers today that the prime

minister has torn up the justice secretary proposal, and, frankly, i can see why, because there is widespread public concern about this proposal to cut by 50% this sentencing for those who plead guilty. i just ask the prime minister again, the consultation ended in march. the justice secretary was advocating the policy weeks ago. as the prime minister torn up, yes or no? >> the right honorable gentleman should do something more useful than just read the newspapers. , one response to the consultation paper came from his shattered justice secretary, the man sitting next to him, who said this in response to the consultation paper. he said, "it is a perfectly sensible vision for the sentencing policy, entirely in keeping with the emphasis on punishment and reform pure " --

and reform? " >> just like on all of its other policy. another area where he is in a complete mess. can the prime minister tell us why he has made such a mess of the health plan? >> i am not surprised he wants to move on, because on the first subject, he was found guilty. we all know, on the issue of discounts, it was actually the last government that introduced a 33%, a third discount, on sentences. so there is more than a whiff of jumping on a bandwagon. anyway, bandwagon number one hit the buffers, so let's now turn to bandwagon number two. we are having a review of the plans that we announced in terms of health. we want to get these right, and i have to say, again, again,

there is widespread reports for the review of our health plans, not least from the man sitting four down from the right honorable gentleman, the shadow health secretary. this is what he said. "looking at the evidence of what works, listening hard to those who know the nhs, and learning from the views they get, that is not a rocket scientist -- science. it is simply good government." what he calls a shambles, his shuttle health secretary calls a good government. >> mr. speaker, i asked him why he has made such a mess of this health proposals. the first reason he made such a mess of this of proposals is because of the promises he made before the election. we all remember the prime minister touring around the country, promising no more top- down reorganization. what did he tell the royal college of nursing one year before the election? "there will be no more of those

pointless, a top-down reorganizations that aim for change and instead bring chaos." why did he say that? there will college of nurses said yesterday -- >> the royal college of nurses said yesterday it was welcome for the speech that i made. if he wants to look at what is really happening in the nhs, there is only one part of the country now that is controlled by labour, and that is wales. milliband. >> he is completely shameless

and will say anything. and the second reason is because he did not think the policy through. last june, he ordered the nhs to stop enforcing the 18-week waiting time target, and as a result, the number of patients waiting more than 80 weeks has gone up by 69%. why did he scrapped that instruction to enforce the waiting time target? >> prime minister. >> i think the best that can be said about this performance is, quite rightly, he was not thinking about politics on his honeymoon. but the point i will make is waiting times, what actually matters is the time people wait, and median waiting times are down. that is what is happened in the nhs. that is what is -- >> order. i know the prime minister will be a follower of parliamentary

protocol, and he will not suggest that the leader of the opposition misled the house of commons. i am sure that he will withdraw that remark. >> what i meant was he gave an interesting use a facts on waiting times. what we are seeing today is simply empty opposition and a weak leadership. that is what we get from labour. >> the whole house will note that the prime minister did not withdraw it, he is making a complete mess of the health service, and everybody up and down the country knows it, and what is the most important thing? however much he says, however many times he says it, the truth is, he has got the wrong value. he wants to put a free market free-for-all at the center of our health service, and any changes he makes now are not

because he wants to make the changes but because he has been found out. mr. speaker, we know all we need to know about this prime minister. he breaks his promises. he does not break things through. he is a reckless, and he has got the wrong values. after one year, he has proved the oldest truth in politics. you cannot trust the tories on the nhs. >> 250 million pounds to private-sector companies for doing nothing. that is what happened. what we have heard today is just a series of bandwagons, and anyone who is actually watching this know that it is this government who are boldly making reforms in the public sector, who are dealing with the deficit, who are reforming welfare, and what do we get? what is his plan for reforming welfare?

nothing. all we get is empty opposition and weak leadership, and the country can see it. >> thank you, mr. speaker. mr. robin walker. >> thank you. long-term underfunding from the previous government's blog formula. the money is needed to make ends meet and cannot be spent on deprived peoples. can the prime minister assure both rochester and whitney that the government will not just consult on that formula? -- in both rochester -- worchester and witney? >> at present, you can get a difference of 1,800 pounds per

people between the best funded school and the worst funded school. we want to do it in a more fair and logical way, and i and determined we will make project with this. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i have come here from a meeting with the family of an 18-year- old constituent, who was fatally shot outside his block of flats on monday, and i am sure that the whole house will want to send condolences. i raised a similar case with the prime minister at this time last year. this senseless loss of life is completely and utterly unacceptable. yet, it continues, and rightly or wrongly, there is a perception that, on all sides of the house, we are not getting to grips. can i ask the prime minister what reassurances can give my constituents that the government is doing all that it can to stop the senseless loss of life? >> well, i think the honorable gentleman is absolutely right to bring this case to the house of

commons, and i join with him in sending condolences to his constituents a family for their appalling loss. he is absolutely right. the level of gun crime and knife crime in our country is unacceptable. we have got to make sure police do everything they can to search for guns and knives and have a zero-tolerance policy, but we also bafta look at where these problems are coming from, the growth of gangs in our cities, and the fact that in too many cases, people are looking to be in gangs rather than to the family and to community. >> sir richard harrington. >> will he advise me on who to listen to on the u.k. economic policy? should it be the experts at the international monetary fund, or should it be the letters page of "the guardian"? >> my honorable friend was being shouted down, because the party

opposite do not want to hear what the international monetary fund said about the british economy, and they said this. "strong fiscal consolidation is under way and remains essential to achieve a more sustainable budgetary position." members asked me to read the rest, and i will read the rest. this raises the question whether it is time to adjust macroeconomic policies, the question put by the party opposite, and they say this. "the answer is no." they could not be more clear. they're backing policies we are pursuing to get this country back on track. >> thank you, mr. speaker. what message does the prime minister have for the hundreds of women in my constituency in their mid-50s and feel they have been unjustly thwarted by the extension of their retirement age, contrary to the coalition agreement? >> what i would say is this. the first decision was taken in 1995, when there was an all-

party agreement, that we should equalize men and women's pension ages. i think it is right to lift the pension ages of men and women to a higher level. a higher level more rapidly than the last government decided. the key fact is that 85% of the women affected are going to lose one or less in terms of their pension. because we have a link to the pension to earnings, people who retire to they will be 15,000 pounds better off than they were under the policies of the last government. >> why do magistrates have to retire at the age of 70, when the lord chancellor, who appoints them, it is 71 this year? [laughter] >> the point i will make to my honorable friends, it is

important that you get turnover in the magistrate so that new people come in, and to be fair to my right honorable friend, the lord chancellor, he has only been in his job for a year. he is doing a superb job, and i can tell the house that there is plenty more fuel in his tank. >> the prime minister has an aspiration of making his government the green as ever. meantime, proven energy, a small wind turbine company in my constituency, is making a 10% of its staff redundant, not because it does not have a great company, but because planning applications for its product are stuck in town halls and bureaucracy. can we discuss this on how to find a solution? >> i am very happy to make sure that someone from the department of business speaks to the company in the gentleman's constituency. we want to speed up the processes and make sure that local people benefit when turbines are built so they have

a share in the success of that scheme, and also, the government is taking action to attract manufacturers of wind turbines in the u.k.. i am talking to the manufacturers to try to bring them to britain. >> mr. speaker, notwithstanding the prime minister's previous answer, i would, as a woman, and somebody not affected by the current pension proposal. i like to ask him personally to review this particular proposal because of the injustice and discrimination to win. the group of women affected who were born between 1953 and 1954 will be asked to work up to an extra two years over and above what they had planned for, whereas men will be asked only to work an extra year. it is the discrimination that disturbs me. >> i do understand the point that the right honorable lady makes. in general, the reason for raising pension ages is twofold.

one is we are seeing a huge increase in life expectancy, but the other is we want to make sure that we can find a really good pension provision for the future, and if we do not do this, we will not be able to. let me repeat this statistic. four fifths of the women affected by the proposal will have their state pension age increased by one year or less. the reason, as she says, that there is difficulty is that those two things are coming together. they will be 15,000 pounds better off than they were under the plans of labor --labour. >> will the prime minister meet with the task force chaired and to understand how this government can help them face these demands positively

and respond positively to future challenges? >> i am very happy to do that because i am very disappointed, as i know the gentleman is and others are. i spoke personally to ratan tata about the decision. we must do everything we can to bring this task force together, which i know my right honorable friend the business secretary is doing, to make sure we do everything we can to mitigate the impact on local jobs and local companies -- communities. >> i am sure the prime minister agrees with me that there should be no corruption in football, given that the reelection has brought fief but even further into disrepute. -- has brought fifa even further into disrepute. >> i have seen football

governance at the international level, and i was not that impressed by what i saw. reputation is at an all- time low. it has to become more transparent and more accountable. they have got to prove, that they are capable of doing the job. alternately, changes have to come from within football, and i'm sure there'll be a very major role in bringing that. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i love the nhs, and i love my local hospital, ealing hospital, and i was delighted to learn that the prime minister also thinks highly of that hospital and that he chose it as the place in which to deliver his speech on the government's nhs reforms. can he give the assurance that faced with the budget pressures and merger proposals that it does not close or lose its

accident and emergency and other key services? >> i.t. joined my visit to that hospital and was impressed by what i saw. a new urgent care center is due to open in july, and the maternity unit has a phased redevelopment program in process. public and patient engagements, seconds clinical -- sound clinical evidence, the process that needs to be followed. >> thank you, mr. speaker. the prime minister will be aware that one out of seven couples in the u.k. suffer from infertility problems. notwithstanding that fact, as three-quarters of primary care trusts do not provide the recommended three cycles of ivf treatment. will the prime minister join main in calling on them to follow the nice guidelines and

provide sufficient treatment for infertile couples >> i will certainly do that, and i think my right honorable friend is right to raise that this is an issue that affects a huge number of people in our country. what is going to happen is the deputy chief executive of the nhs is writing to all of the primary care trusts, reminding them of the nice guidance and its recommendations, and i think that is very important. it is a more difficult process to follow, but we want to make sure that everyone has access to this treatment. >> after four years, a 15-year- old who lives in my constituency is losing her battle against cancer. she has posted online her bucket list, a simple wish list of things she wants to do before it is too late. that, toto meet takem

own a purple ipod, and to enter her dog and a labrador show. but at the top of the list as a call for everyone to sign up to be a bone marrow donor. will the prime minister work with the leader of the opposition and me to find out why to a few people are currently on that life-saving register? >> i will certainly do that. we want to get people as many as possible on to the bone marrow register. >> thank you, mr. speaker. the prime minister will be aware of the terrible explosion at the chevron refinery last week, a result of which four people died and one was seriously injured. will he join me in extending condolences? it was the safety record of chevron and its new owner. >> i will certainly do that. this was an absolutely tragic

incident, and on behalf of the whole house, can i join him in paying tribute to his constituents and expressing our deepest sympathies to the families of those who have been affected? it has had a good safety record and a good safety record in an industry where there are really some inherent risks, and i am happy to discuss the issue with him. >> if mr. russell brown. >> thank you, mr. speaker. what does it say about our society when a bbc documentary on child poverty ends with the words of a child, when she says, "and i do not want to grow up to speed? >> it says, frankly, that we need to do far more, not just here in the u.k., but around the world. we have maintained the pledge, and we are keeping the pledge, so we increase our budget of the gross national income by 2013. that is a difficult pledge to

make, but i think even at times of difficulty, we should not break up promises to the poorest people in the world. in terms of child poverty is not just looking at benefit levels but actually at mobility. how do we help people get out of poverty and stay out of poverty? that is what this government is putting so much emphasis -- that is why. >> mr. speaker, i had the honor to represent the only tend to have given its name to international sport, rugby football. will the prime minister join me in expressing gratitude to the new zealand authorities for proceeding despite the recent earthquake, and will he also join me in hoping that at the end of the tournament, the trophy will be making its way back home?

>> i will be doing everything i can to support our rugby team. i very much hope the trophy will be coming home, and i very much hope the trophy will be coming back home for one of the nations of the united kingdom. when i met the prime minister of new zealand, he very kindly gave me an all black shirt, but his advice was "whatever you do, do not be seen wearing this." i think i will take that advice. >> as the prime minister daily said, the hacking increase should go where evidence takes it. jonathan rees was targeting members of the royal family, senior politicians, and high- level terrorist and former is. this may be outside, the

evidence may be outside the terms of reference of the inquiry. prime minister, i believe powerful forces are involved in a cover-up. please, please tell me what you intend to do to make sure that does not happen. >> the point i would make to the honorable gentleman, and i take a close interest in this, a police inquiry does not need terms of reference. the police are free to invest in the evidence and take that wherever it leads them and then mount a prosecution if the evidence supports that with the crown prosecution service. in the case of telephone hacking, which is illegal and wrong, there have been prosecutions and imprisonments, and if that is where the evidence takes them, that is what will happen in the future. >> thank you, mr. speaker. the prime minister will recall visiting a town center on several occasions, and he will be glad to hear that surviving well with a comparatively low level of vacant premises, our

town centers are facing a vital and difficult challenge from out-of-town stores and the internet. given those challenges, will my right honorable friend assure the house that this government will be a keen supporter of our town centers? >> i can, and i think my right honorable friend speaks powerfully not just for them but for all town centers. we want to keep those rather than see everything go to out of town, and there are two steps we need to take. one is that we need to make sure that people have a real say in the planning process, so they can decide where future development goes, and, secondly, we should continue the steps that my right honorable friend the chancellor has been pioneering in terms of rate relief to help local shops in our high streets, so we do not end up with these high streets