in the british house of commons, prime minister david cameron answered several questions concerning changes to the national health service. add milk and said medical professional groups believe the changes will jeopardize nhs. they paid terps -- tribute to this week marks sirs 60 years on the throne. "question time" is about 35 minutes. >> questions, mr. in the slaughter. >> thank you. before listing my engagements, i am sure the whole house would wish to join me in paying tribute to the queen in what is an absolutely historic week marking the 60th anniversary of her accession to the throne. her majesty's 60 years of

leadership and dedicated public service are a dedication to was all an something cold country and the whole commonwealth can be immensely proud of. members will obviously have the ability to pay tribute during the debates on -- in march. in addition to my duties in the house, i shall have further such meetings today. >> andy slaughter. >> we wish to join the prime minister in his warm tribute. >> hear, hear! >> and that -- mr. speaker, can the prime minister now confirm the numbers have been cut in 40 out of 43 police forces. >> the proportion on the frontline is up, and i am sure

he will want to join me in congratulating mayor boris johnson. a violent crime is down on buses and tubes. there are thousands more officers on the streets of london at the ending of the term than at the beginning. that is a reminder of the dangers of tweeting. i think that is a good start of the day. >> mr. david amess? >> there was the overthrowing of the democratically elected president of the melodies in a coup d'état. will they do all they can to ensure that no violence in balls with the democratic institutions that remain? >> my honorable friend is right.

we do have a good relationship with the president, but i think we have to be president. the president has resigned, and we have a strong interest in the well-being of several thousand british tourists and in a stable and democratic government in the maldives. our high commissioner is there and meeting all of the leaders. we call on the new government to respect the rights of all political parties and their members and to ensure that the constitution is upheld. we avoid british tourists to avoid non-essential travel, and those there should exercise caution. >> edward ed miliband.

>> i join the prime minister in paying tribute to remand this to the queen anne-marie celebrate the diamond jubilee. this will enable us to celebrate both her majesty and our country. mr. speaker, on the day the prime minister completed his n.h.s. listing exercises, he said this. "some of the people who work in the n.h.s. were skeptical of our changes. today, we are taking people with us." and is in that spirit of unity that we want to continue. why does he think he failed? >> today, 95% of the country is covered by general practitioners who are not actually supporting our reforms, they are implementing our reforms, and just today, --

>> order. the house must calm down. there is a long way to go. let's hear the answers. the prime minister. >> thank you, mr. speaker. just today, 50 foundation trusts have written to the newspaper in support of our reforms and objecting to what they are proposing, and the signature at the top of the list, which remain at noticed, it is the former labor mp for cambridge, anne campbel. that is what they do. they start enabling policy. >> last friday, the royal college of general practitioners said this about his health bill, and i quote. "it will cause irreparable damage to patient care and

jeopardizes the n.h.s.." shouting, it is nice to see him here. mr. speaker, the prime minister says he wants the voice of doctors to be heard in the n.h.s.. why does he not listen to them? >> happy families from the right honorable member. i care passionately about our n.h.s., not the least for what it has done for my family and because of the amazing service that i have received. now, i want to see the excellent service implemented for everyone, and that means two things.

it means we have to put more money in, and we are putting more money in, and it also means we have to reform the n.h.s.. he used to be in favor of the reform. who said this proved to safeguard this and tougher financial times, we need reforms. that was in the last election. and on the issue of money, because the money in the n.h.s. is important, we are committed to 12.5 billion pounds in this parliament, and yet his spokesman, sitting right there, said, and i quote, it would be irresponsible to spend more money on the n.h.s.." they are not in favor of the money. they are not in favor of the reform. they are just a bunch of opportunists. >> mr. speaker, is this not interesting, because he says this is all about reform. the tory reform group has come

out against these proposals. i have to say, mr. speaker, it comes to something when even the tories do not trust the tories on the n.h.s.. now, listen to what the chair of the royal college of gp's, clare gerada, said. listen to what she said, and i quote, "this bill is a burden." it makes no sense. it is incoherent. it will not deal with the big issues, and it will result in a health service that certainly will not match the health service we had 12 months ago." mr. speaker, which part of that does he not understand? >> well, let's look get what has

happened to the n.h.s. over the last 18 months. yes, let's look at it. 1000 more patient -- 100,000 more patients treated every month, 4000 extra doctors since the election. the number of people who are in mixed sexed wards are down by 94%. that is what is happening because you have a combination of money going in and reforms. now, we know what happens when you do not put in the money and do not do the reforms, because there is one part of the n.h.s. that is run by and -- by wales, and one-third of the people are waiting longer than 18 weeks. that is what is happening in their n.h.s., and if you did not put the money in and have the reforms, it would happen right here, too. >> why i am not surprised, mr.

speaker, he is getting so agitated, because he thought that the n.h.s. was his way to modernize the conservative party, and i am afraid it is coming apart, and i will tell you why it is coming apart, because the promises he made before the election are coming back to haunt him. we all remember the promise. no more top-down reorganization, and now he says he knows better than the doctors, better than the nurses, better than the midwives, better than the patient associations, people who day in and day out rely on and devote their lives to the health service. now, mr. speaker, this is a matter of trust in the speaker. can you look people in the eye and say that he has kept his promise of no more top-down reorganization? >> what we are doing is cutting the proper see in the n.h.s..

we are taking out 4.5 billion pounds of denmark -- -- if you do not support the reform, you will not see that money going to operations, doctors, nurses, health-care assessments. that is action what is happening in the n.h.s.. there was one group of people i will not listen to, and that is the people who ran the n.h.s.. they wasted money on the computer, millions of pounds is spent on private-sector operations that were never carried out. we have still got private finance agreements where we pay 300 pounds every time someone changes a light bulb. that is what we got from labour. the n.h.s. is improving, and that is the way it is going to stay. >> the shortest waiting time in

n.h.s. history. more doctors and nurses than ever before. the highest level of patient satisfaction ever in the health services, but everyone will have heard the prime minister unable to defend the promise he made. the promise of no more top-down reorganization. a prime minister who has broken his word, and the reality is this. all of his attention is on this pointless top-down reorganization, and the frontline is suffering. the number of people waiting more than 18 months are up under him. targets are being missed. mr. speaker, why will he not give up and stop wasting billions and drop his bill? >> if the record was so good, why were they throw out of the last election? let me just -- let me --

>> order. i am sorry of opposition members. they must call themselves. the prime minister. >> let me remind the right honorable gentleman what he set. he said the test was whether waiting times or lists would come down. let me know give him the figures. the figures are these. in patient waiting times down. outpatient waiting times down. the number of people waiting more than a year down to its lowest ever. the number of people waiting for six months down to its lowest level, and, indeed, the number of people on the waiting list, where he said was the clear test, that is down. that is what it proves about his leader. even when he moves the goal posts, he cannot put it in the back of the net. >> ed miliband. >> the person moving the

goalposts is the prime minister. the reality is the key test that was set for the health service was the number of people waiting more than 18 weeks, and that number is up 43% since the general election, no matter how much she twists and turns. that is the reality. mr. speaker, he knows in his heart of hearts that this is a complete disaster. this is what they are saying the house secretary should be taken out in shot, because they know this is a disaster. -- taken out and shot. the patients know it is bad for the n.h.s.. every day, he fights for this bill. every day, trust in him on the n.h.s. beds away, and every day, it becomes clearer that the health service is not safe in his hands. >> it i have to say that my career prospects are much better than his. this is not a campaign to save

the n.h.s.. this is an am -- a campaign for leadership. i make this prediction. the n.h.s. will go on getting better, and his prospects will go on getting worse. >> gordon birtwistle? >> when a drug program was introduced in burnley, in october 2010, 66% of the people there were economically active. since then, the number has jumped to 75%. willie congratulate the people? >> i will. i think what we are seeing is more people actually becoming able to work and therefore able to enter the work force and to raise not only the country's living standards but raise their own living standards, too. >> mark hendrick?

>> mr. speaker, the prime minister goes on repeatedly about the british economy. this is a major blow to manufacturing in the country. others can go and help their countries. why have we not got this contract? >> well, the honorable gentleman ought to think about the fact that all european leaders are actually backing this project. it is a german project, an italian project, and spanish project, an italian project, and that is what it should be. i am very disappointed about what has happened in india, but

eurofighter is still viable. i think we should be getting behind our great defense producers. >> penny mordaunt? >> in order that a constituent of mine that access drugs and treatment, she had to ride 70 appeal letters. when will professionals be able to decide what treatments their patients get rid >> a the honorable lady brings an important point, which is such an introduction of the cancer drug program under this program, of thousands of more people up and able to get the cancer drugs that are so essential, and there is one thing to affect the cancer treatment in this country, and that is to cap and fought% any private-sector involvement in the hospitals, and one of the best hospitals in the country, they would have to cut by one-quarter the services that they deliver. what a crazy left-wing plan that

only the honorable gentleman could come up with. >> geraint davies? >> in three months' time, just before the olympics, abu qatada, and to be dangerous man, will be running the streets. how can it justify putting lives at risk? >> the situation with him is completely unacceptable. as i said, when i went to make a speech on this issue, it is not acceptable that we end up with a situation where you have someone in your country that threatens to do you harm that you cannot try, you cannot attain, and you cannot deport. and that is what the government will do everything it can, working with our jordanian

friends and allies to make sure that he can be deported. this whole house ought to unite. >> dr. julian lewis? >> only a tiny handful of the 165 acute mental health adult inpatient beds in hampshire were vacant, and yet, they propose to cut those 165 beds to 107, replacing them with something called a virtual ward. given that i believe the statistics on which this is based are and consistent and unreliable, might they call for independent experts from the audit commission to work at those figures before those beds are closed? >> i think the honorable

gentleman makes an important point. we are putting the extra resources in the n.h.s., and there needs to be a clear series of tests, as there is in our plan, before facilities are change or close, and that is to make sure a general practitioner is backing it and to make sure that the changes would improve the health of that area. i am very happy to look at the issue he raised. >> andrew miller? >> four police authorities, including one that i share with the chancellor, had just started buying imported cars from korea. when will we see some leadership of >> in terms of police procurement, the most important thing is that the police department procure together to cut their costs. i think we have all lost count

of the times of wandering through police stations and seeing callas types of vehicles all costing a large amount of money. what the public's -- public want our police on the streets and not money spent on unnecessary procurement. >> there was a report on libya. dan my right honorable friend so they what steps he is taking to make sure that we can reduce our reliance on civil chartered aircraft? >> this has brought home to was the importance of having transport aircraft in the raf, and because the finances are now better run and better managed, because we have found savings, we will be able to purchase an additional aircraft that is becoming an absolutely brilliant work course for the

raf in terms of bringing men and materiel into a war zone like afghanistan but also been evacuating civilians in times of need. it is an important investment to the country, and i am pleased that we can announcement today. >> man first associate myself with the tribute to her majesty the queen -- may i first associate myself? there was a report. the prime minister knows my interest in the subject. the government consultation concluded yesterday. will he now please meet with myself and a small group of all party members to discuss the urgent need for a stock being locked -- a atalking law? >> i know he has had conversations with the home office. there will be opportunities in the next session for that type of criminal justice legislation, and i will be happy to meet with them about it. david rutley?

>> apprenticeships have been increased, and the government has increased their apprenticeships says in the last year alone. does my right honorable friend agree with the importance and the commitment needed to give apprenticeships is the recognition they deserve? >> i think my honorable friend is entirely right. i think it is one of the most important investments we can make it, and helping young people, investing in apprenticeships. the number is up this last year by 60%. thousands of people starting to produce chips, -- apprenticeships, and we need to make sure there are more more easily had by small businesses, by the payment of a simple feat, making sure we have more high

level apprenticeships, and also cutting the democracy by allowing big businesses to actually run there's themselves rather than doing it else. all of these things would make a very big difference. >> what has the government not launched an appeal against the abu qatada judgment? are we not being dangerously complacent? >> we are doing everything we can. the court on human rights has made a very clear judgment on that. i believe this is the wrong judgment. i regret that judgment. this man should have been deported years ago. nonetheless, if we can get that agreement with jordan, he can be

on his way. >> would the prime minister agree we need a simpler alternative for our smallest firms for dismissal? >> type in my honorable friend is right to raise this issue. if every small business in the country hires one additional worker, that would go along way to procuring total employment at one stroke. we have got to make it easier for businesses to take people on. one of the key issues is how difficult it is to let someone go if it does not work out, and that is why extending for two years you have to work before you get access to a tribunal i think will make a difference in terms of small-business employment. >> how the italian government's, and german governments are out there fighting for british jobs. can the prime minister tell us exactly how many telephone conversations he had directly with the prime minister about

the typhoon bid? >> i raised this issue with the indian prime minister repeatedly on my last visit. who was and who attacked me? who was it that just does not stand up for british industry, a british defense companies, and british jobs? it is labour. >> to hear what my constituents have been saying about proposed changes to health services and a hospital, and i can tell the prime minister that there is distrust and despair. does he agree with me that the right way to have accountability and health care --

>> i think my honorable friend is entirely right. the whole point of reforms is to put the power in the hands of local doctors so that they make decisions on behalf of patients and what is good for health care in their local area, and we melt -- we may find that they are repeatedly undermined by the party opposite and may get a boost from the local doctors who want to see them succeed. >> 40,000 women sick with anxiety because of faulty medical products, and now they are being failed by private clinics as they are dithering about what to do with them. that we can see the future of a privatized n.h.s.. will the prime minister pledged to support those women in the n.h.s. now?

and will be dropped this bill so we do not have this again? >> britney take the honorable lady's question in two parts. i think -- let me take the honorable lady question in two parts. we will offer everyone of those women a free consultation and making sure that in the n.h.s., we do everything we can to help them. it is an absolute scandal. they should feel the maximum pressure to undo the harm that they have done, but let me just say to her about the issue of greater competition and choice within the n.h.s.. i think she should listen to pass politicians who had set themselves a greater choice, greater competition, the involvement of the private sector, that can help raise standards in our system, and that is why we should support it. >> thank you, mr. speaker. at the shipyard, a question over not only the 1500 level in its

but also thousands of jobs in the wider regional supply chain. i know that the prime minister shares my concerns about this, but will he commit to do we can to protect this side or they have been building ships or over 500 years? >> i think the honorable lady is absolutely right, to speak up for her constituency and to speak up for shipbuilding. bae, as far as i am aware, there have note -- there have been no decisions made. we are building the global combat ship and a submarine. there is a plan for replacing tridents, and there are plans well under way for having aircraft carriers. that is a major punch for the royal navy, which i strongly support. >> mary glindon? >>