say, you know, i feel i've been lucky and landed at the post as an editor and ended up as a reporter. the people at "the post," as carolyn can attest, is a big and competitive place with enormously talented people. it's competitive against its competitors and it's competitive internally, and yet "the washington post" has always been an enormously collegial place to work and i always counted that as one of the lucky things where i landed. you know, you don't know what the inside of an institution is like when you get there. host: dan balz, chief reporter for "the washington post," rosy clausen, head of the political science department at purdue and carolyn curiel and purdue students, thanks very much. [captioning performed by the

national captioning institute] [captioning copyright national cable stat light corp.2012] >> q&a programs are available at c-span podcast. >> coming up on c-span, british prime minister's questions followed by interview with senior obama campaign strategist david axel rod and ben labold at their chicago headquarters and later q&a with dan balz of "the washington post." fred hoffberg delivers an annual competitive report on monday and will focus on obama's efforts to improve

finance options. the bank was re-authorized the end of may after receiving bipartisan support in congress. the obama administration set a goal of doubling u.s. exports to $3 trillion by the end of 2014. join us live at noon eastern on c-span 2. while cameron attend the summit william hague sat in for him. they asked him about housing benefits for low-income families and ways to sperge off poverty. this is a little over half an hour. >> the prime minister, the reverend william mccray. >> number one, mr. speaker. >> sir, mr. speaker, mr. speaker, i have been asked to

reply. my right honor friend the prime minister is attending the g-20 summit in mexico and mr. speaker, i'm sure the whole house will wish to join me in paying tribute to those service men who have lost their lives in afghanistan since the last prime minister's question time. lance corporal james ashworth of the first battalion, and corporal alex guy of the first battalion royal regiment. sincere condolences are with their families and loved ones. last week i visited our armed forces in helmond where i was reminded of their exceptional work on behalf of this country and this workened these sacrifices must never be forgotten. >> william mccray. >> mr. speaker, i join the foreign secretary in expressing our deepest sympathy to the families of our fallen heroes and pray god will comfort them. "belfast international air link to heathrow is an invaluable

asset to the economy of northern island. there are concerns this link is at risk because the landing slots are allocated to carriers rather than to regional airports. will the government public an aviation strategy that ensures our international airports are linked with heathrow? >> the department of transportation will come in the future in our aviation policy in the summer and asks for evidence of options of maintaining the u.k.'s status as an international hub for aviation. he is quite right, the london to belfast link is important to the economy. there are currently more than 18,000 flights per year between the two belfast airports and the five main london airports, and i hope he agrees our steps to divulge power to set air passenger duty rates to long haul flights departing from northern island will also boost investment and tourism. >> steven metcrof.

>> thank you, mr. speaker. >> as my right and honor value friend will note, the situation at the refinery on the thames is becoming increasingly difficult. in an attempt to support manufacturing, secure, well-paid jobs and secure our u.k. fuel supply, will he use the opportunities of the prime minister to secure an urgent summit bringing together the heads of the treasury to explore every single avenue possible to keep this refinery open? >> i know this has been very disappointing news and my honorable friend has been very, very active on this the work force and local community have worked tirelessly to help the administrators secure the long-term future of the refinery. we're keeping in close contact with the administrators who are still looking at further options, working with the task force as well and the minister states has met with representatives of the work force and local community. i will withdraw his remarks to

the prime minister as well. >> can i join the foreign secretary in paying tribute to lance corporal james ashworth of the first battalion glenn deer -- genader cambings and the soldiers died serving our country with the utmost gravery -- bravery and join him in sending our deepest condolences to their families and friends. mr. speaker, we note there's still a long way to go before the people of burma get the democracy to which they're entitled. the fact progress has been made is due to the extraordinary commitment and courage of one woman enduring more than two decades of house arrest. will the foreign secretary join me in expressing our utmost admiration for ung sun su chi? >> i absolutely will and think it's highly appropriate to raise it in prime minister question time.

i think i was the first european foreign minister to visit her, to visit burma at the beginning of this year and found her not only in reputation but in substance an absolutely inspirational figure. there is still a long way to go as the right, honorable lady says in not only bringing democracy to burma but ending ethnic conflicts and one of those continues in the state. so we look to the government of burma to continue to travel on this road to releasing political prisoners and we look forward to giving her a tremendous welcome tomorrow. >> i thank the foreign secretary for that answer and he was right to visit burma when he did. while we support the suspension of sanctions on burma, will he reassure us the position of the british government will remain that sanctions will be reimposed unless there is sustained progress towards

democracy and the rule of law? >> we argued that restrictive measures should not be lifted unconditionally but should be suspend sod they can be reimposed if necessary and progress comes to a stop so it has been suspended 12 months and we will continue to review progress through that period. i believe, having met the president of burma on my visit that he is absolutely sincere if in his intentions but of course there will be elements within the government of burma who are not so enthusiastic about these changes and who will be alarmed about the success of recent elections of aung sans suu kyi and her party and we'll keep the pressure as well as changes. >> i thank the secretary for that answer and his commitment to keep up the pressure for progress. now can i turn to domestic

issues and specifically the national health service. this week a survey showed 90% of primary care trust because of the financial pressure they're under are restricting access to treatment. this is going to particularly hit older people. how can he justice an elderly person with cataracts in both eyes being told they can only have surgery in one of them? how can he justify that? >> well, mr. speaker, it is totally unacceptable when putting rationing on financial considerations and the n.h.s. medical director has written to tell them the only criteria of decisions must be clinical and not financial. if evidence is found they're ignoring that the secretary of state can intervene. the department of health will look into any cases where they're using financial conditions. allegations have been made before, including under the

last government, but the department of health are very clear about that and that should be welcomed across the house. >> but there is evidence, and he still is not acting, and it's not just cataract operations. there are 125 different treatments being rationed on the grounds of cost, including hips and knee replacements. what does he say to an elderly patient who needs a hip replacement? wait in pain or try to pay and go private? what does he say? >> well, i say three things. i say first of all what i just said before in answering the question about rationing. secondly, that arbitrarily restricting access to operations wasn't just happening under the last government, it was allowed under the last government, such as in 2007, patients in suffolk had to wait a minimum of 14 weeks for routine surgery, york, n.h.s. trust was told by

c.c.c. not to operate on nonurgent cases until they waited a minimum of 20 weeks, and i say a third thing, which is to any of those individuals, their g.p., their doctor should be going to work tomorrow, not on strike. and we on this side of the house encourage them to go to work, and i hope she and all of that side of the house will say clearly today that those doctors should be at work tomorrow. >> harriet harm an. >> we don't want patients to suffer so we don't want the g.p. to be going on strike but with the speaker, we are proud of what we did in the n.h.s. more doctors, more nurses, cutting the waiting list. and it's always the same, neighbor builds up the n.h.s. and then it's drug down. today he is saying he's 100%

behind the government's health plan. but it's a different story in his own constituency, isn't it? the foreign secretary took to the streets marching in protest against the n.h.s. and let's remind ourselves of what the prime minister said about midwives. just before the general election, the prime minister wrote for "the sun" newspaper because professionally of course they were all in it together, and he said in "the sun" he said, we will increase the number of midwives by 3,000 . can he confirm they've broken their promise on midwives? >> well, that was a long question and i congratulate you on not having the shadow chancellor here to help everybody hear and concentrate. he's obviously -- the shadow

chancellor is doing another opinion poll of what people think of him. but on the questions that be asked, and by the way, we could have told him that for nothing. but on the questions that -- more value unto the conservatives. on the question she asked, i'm glad she says g.p. should be at work tomorrow because she should tell that to her own spokesman, the honorable lady, who said she had a lot of sympathy with them and there would be a lot of public support for the action that they are taking, so there is a clear division across the floor of the house. it's perilous for her to go into the affairs of another constituency because what is happening with my consitcy has nothing to do with funding or health reform but i'll tell her all about that separately if she would like.

and we are proud -- we are proud of what's happened in the national health service when we look at average waiting times for both inpatients and outpatients are lower than at the last general election. that the best performance ever has now been attained for patience waiting after 18 weeks to be treated, that the total number of qualified clinical staff is higher than at the election, and there are 3,900 more doctors since the election and that hospital infection levels are at their lowest levels since surveillance of them began. >> hair yat harman. >> and he never answered the question about midwives. because before the election the leader of the opposition was all, yes, we can, as soon as he became prime minister, it's no, we can't. services rationed, patients suffering, and public satisfaction at a new low.

that's the story on the n.h.s. the prime minister once told us he could sum up his priority in three letters, n.h.s. isn't it more like l.o.l.? >> it obviously took a long time to think of that one. and i have sat out the achievements of the government on the national health service, even the king's fund in its latest report which has sometimes been quoted by the opposition, so there's no evidence of a decline in service, quality, or performance. and that infection rates have not noticeably deteriorated and have remained relatively stable in most cases. these are important achievements in the health service. and they are a contrast with the health spokesman of the

opposition, saying in june 2010, it is irresponsible to increase n.h.s. spending in real terms, and they are a contrast with a number of managers doubling under the labor party, a contrast with their last year in power where the number of n.h.s. managers wrote six times as fast as nurses, and a huge contrast with wales where labor is cutting n.h.s. spending. >> mr. peter bohn. >> mr. speaker, given the appalling behavior of liberal cabinet members in not supporting the secretary of state in culture, media, and sport, would my preferred deputy prime minister arrange a default from the yellow peril so we can govern with conservative policies as a minority government?

>> order. i'm sure members having heard the question will wish to hear the answer. >> i'm sure he they will, mr. speaker. and i think, actually, it may find troubling to mrs. bone and we should all assure her immediately he's only talking about a political one but someone who helped negotiate the coalition but values enormously our cooperation with the liberal democrats, i will not be advocating a divorce in the government. >> can the foreign secretary affirm apart from italy, the u.k. is the only country in the g-20 in a double debt recession? >> well, actually, the actual facts of the matter is that the i.m.f. now forecast that in the coming year the british economy -- they may not want to know

what is going to happen with i.m.f., the shadow chancellor is not here with his hand gestures but always said we should take notice of the i.m.f. and they say that in the coming year the british economy is going to grow faster than the german or french economy. that next year, growth in the british economy will be similar of that to the united states and twice that of the euro zone, and that would not be happening had we not brought the excessive deficits and debt to the last government? >> thank you, mr. speaker. in light of the historic signing in china for record investments, also the granting of the turn around cruise terminal in liverpool and the support of the automotive industry for 1,000 more jobs in jaguar, would you say that this government had done more in two years to expand and identify

than the neighbor did in its entire tenure? >> well, yes, i would, mr. speaker? >> i would say exactly that. and i would point out that that success which she described happened in the last two years to british exports to brazil going up 307 -- 37%, british exports to china going up 61%, british exports to india going up 73%, and that is also because the british government is out there championing british business which the other side neglected to do. >> mr. hamilton. >> can the secretary inform the house why the proposals for original fee, why he awards enrichment york hire to be substantial waste and doing the same jobs here? >> this is an issue that the pay review bodies are now

examining, ases honorable member will note, they will report next month, but the case for local pay, and they will make their recommendations, we can all debate that. the debate for local pay was once made by a chancellor, who said it makes sense to recognize a more considered approach to local and regional conditions is the best modern route to full employment in our country. that chancellor was his near neighbor the right, honorable member furcati. >> order! order! and the conservative back benches wish to hear from one of their coalition colleagues? >> thank you, mr. speaker. thank you, mr. speaker. the department of health accepts that radiotherapy is the cheapest and most effective way of treating cancer. despite this, they can't spend over $1.5 billion pounds in cancer drugs this year but less than a 1/3 of that in

radiotherapy. in the southwest, several of hour hospitals rely on charity to fund radiotherapy services. the cancer drugs -- >> order! order! a one sentence question and a short sentence, tessa munt. >> the right honorable gentleman speak for the prime minister of the unused money to radiotherapy so hospitals in my region? >> my hop honorable friend is right to point to the importance of radiotherapy, of course it's also important to stress decisions on treatment should be made by clinicians based on whatever is most appropriate for their patients, but we are investing over $150 million pound more over the next four years to expand radiotherapy capacity. and i know my honorable friend will welcome that as well as the fact that at the same time over 12, 500 patients have benefited from the 650 million

pound cancer fund produced by this government. >> mr. adrian bailey. >> thank you, mr. speaker. the regional growth fund is the government's flagship scheme for boosting jobs and growth in the region. the recent national audit office report criticized it for spending too much money on projects creating too few jobs, in some cases 200,000 pounds per job. what is the government doing about it? >> well, the member's own region will benefit from the regional growth fund including 235 million pounds from the regional growth fund. of course it is important that that money is spent effectively. and my colleagues will do their utmost to ensure that is happening, but it's also important to remember that his region benefits in so many other things the government is doing, including infrastructure projects to support growth in the west midlands and enterprise in birmingham center

and enterprise zone for the black country and these measures are more likely to get regional growth going than the excessive tax and spending of the opposition. >> thank you, mr. speaker. my constituency has now lost 300 calves. would my colleague recognize the work the government has done. would my friend ensure my livestock farmers when it comes to disease control regulations there will be proportionality? >> yes, my honorable friend rose with a very important issue, bovine t.b. is a devastating disease and is one of the most serious challenges facing the cattle farming industry and last year around 26,000 cattle were slaughtered in england alone. we will be making an announcement tomorrow about how they intend to proceed on this subject. cattle measures continue to be the foundation of our t.b.

control program but it's clear in some areas these alone are not sufficient. so i invite him to stand by for further announcement on that tomorrow. >> mr. speaker, the foreign secretary will be aware his holiness, the 14th dawley of tibet is in lond -- dalai lama is in london and will visit this afternoon and will use this opportunity to restate his government's commitment to the human rights of tibetans within china. >> we believe in this country and in this house and the universality of human rights and that is a point i often make to chinese leaders, including in the strategic dialogue that i conduct with china on an annual basis. we also have a formal human rights dialogue with china which we do not shy away from raising any of these cases. of course we do see, as did the last government, we see tibet as part of the people's

republic of china but we also look for meaningful dialogue between representatives of the dalai lama and the chinese authorities and will continue to support that. >> the government has made clear its commitment to rout out tax avoidance by public officials and civil servants. can the foreign secretary make clear that the government will be equally robust in rooting out tax avoidance by the corporate sector who do jobs for government or are employed by the government? >> yes, absolutely. and i won't mention to the deputy prime minister his flip now. it's entirely between ourselves. and these four walls. and yes, absolutely. the chancellor sat out very clearly in the budget his absolute determination to deal with tax avoidance and to do so without warning in future and i

know further if the chancellor were here he would say that applies to the corporate sector as well. >> closed question, jim fitzpatrick. >> the government believes it is not reasonable or fair that households should receive a greater income from benefits than the average weekly wage for working households, in some cases it can be more than double the average household income, and changes will mean no family on benefits will earn more than an average salary 26,000 pounds a year for couple and single parent households and this strikes the right balance between supporting families and providing incentives to work. >> jim fitzpatrick. >> mr. speaker, my constituency are reportedly high and 900 families in my constituency who have between them 2,000 to 4,000 children and their benefits will be cut on average by 200 pounds a month.

this allows them to have to move. the mayor boris johnson -- >> one sentence. >> says he will not preside over the removal of them from london. [inaudible] >> i know the honorable member has long-running concerns about this and has frequently expressed them. and i think it's important to stress that for all but the most expensive parts of london, at least 30% of all private rental properties will be affordable in london under the system that we inherited, 150 families were receiving housing benefit of over 50,000 pounds a year, and that is not acceptable to the taxpayers of this country in general. our reforms are fair. housing benefit will still be paid to meet rents of almost 21,000 pounds a year. there is also 190 million pound fund for discretionary payment to help local authorities with

the changes, and including assistance to renegotiate lower rents with landlords. but the principal remains tonight, saying it is not fair that people on housing benefit can afford to live in streets and homes that people out working hard are unable to live in themselves. >> thank you, mr. speaker. wales is the only nation in the u.k. without a single quard of -- yard of electrified rail thanks to the party, as a former secretary of state for wales we could see the secretary persuade the government that extending the track as far as swansey and would be great for wealth. >> i know my friend is working hard on this and we are committed to electrifying more than 300 miles of railway routes which compares actually with nine miles electrified under the less government, an interesting contrast in infrastructure investments. the department for transport is currently considering a

business case for electrification to swansey prepared in wales and i understand the decision will be made by the summer and of course will depend on whether it's affordable and on the assessment of competing priorities as well. >> mr. robertson. >> there's more work to do but for the third month unemployment has reduced in scotland and for the second year in a row, scotland is the best performing location for foreign investments in the u.k. would the foreign secretary take the opportunity to congratulate the scottish government and scottish development international which is the lead agency that secures foreign direct investments? >> he is right to draw attention to the employment figure which is we never can be complacent about and there is so much work to do but the right, honorable lady didn't ask of those and show a fall in employment of 51,000, and they do show the rate of unemployment coming down and

importantly, youth unemployment coming down by 29,000 in the last quarter, but long-term unemployment is still rising and that remains a challenge. of course scotland, as part of the united kingdom, is an attractive place to invest in and i congratulate many scottish people and investments on their work and would have harder work to do if scotland were not part. >> thank>> thank you, mr. speak. overseas students coming to this country come here to get a world-class education. would you look skeptically on vice-chancellor's who believe that they cannot compete and students would be given an incentive to stay in this country legally or illegally? the students were granted the right to extend their stay here. >> the government has radical

reforms to stamp out abuses. it is an art of control students visa system, making it more difficult for students to operate. we are closing a bogus colleges. we are restricting the right to work here and make sure that all of the very best go home at the end of their studies. on that basis, talented students from around the world are welcome here in the united kingdom. >> can i welcome the fact that the right honorable gentlemen have his ambition thwarted in 2001 as the chairman of the clattering trade. would he take this opportunity as we have two asian nobel prize winners to invite a third,

currently right -- rotting in a chinese gulag, coolidge won the nobel peace prize last december. invite him here to london. >> nice words are being exchanged at prime minister's question time. i welcome the questions. we do raise individual cases with the chinese and do so publicly. i will assess which ones to raise and when to do so. the human rights dialogue we have with china is very important. it is important that in china there is an understanding about our deep concerns. and you can rest assured i will be raising them. >> in the court of reduction, the government is reducing funding to the police by 50%

over four years. can my right honorable friend assure me that in the cause of deficit reduction that he will be insisting on the european union's budget by more than 20%? >> my honorable friend is aware that that is not decided by a single decision of government. it is a balance between two large figures determined in other ways. he can rest assured that we would be far better negotiating at this that the shadow foreign secretary sitting there. when he was minister for europe, the party gave away 7 billion pounds. for nothing in return. that was an abject failure of negotiation and leadership that we will not repeat. >> does the foreign secretary agree that when he was called in

the custom general that there was an economic argument? >> i think there is a variety of views of our regional local pay and all political parties. i pointed out earlier that the views of the local leader of the labor party. it is also worth pointing out that the last government in 2007 introduced local pay into her majesty's courts and tribunals service. >> would my right honorable friend agree with me what a wonderful announcement it was to invest in rolls royce, and future engineering jobs? it should come by it -- down by 115 in the last few months. >> and this is good news for my right honorable friend. it is good news for the it is good news for the