and what is ahead for the health care law. and "washington journal" correspondent nick looks at the efforts in the senate to revive the mortgage forgiveness debt relief act, which expired in

december last year. we will take your calls, and you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter. "washington journal," live at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> during "quesion time" this week, british prime minister david cameron answered questions about the privatization of the u.k.'s postal service and a variety of her domestic issues. this is about 35 minutes. >> questions to the prime minister. >> jeremy, question number one, mr. speaker. >> thank you, mr. speaker. this morning i had meetings with colleagues and others, and in addition to my duties in this house, i will have further such meetings later today. >> jeremy corbin, is the prime minister aware that at the 3,956t time in england, 00,000 people are in the

privated cented sector. 2/3 of them feel secure and half of them feel they pay far too much in rent. does he think it is time to end the social cleansing of inner-city britain by bringing in total regulation of the private renting sector to give people people. >> where he and i would agree is building more house us. there is cross party agreement for that. where i think he is wrong is full-on rent control. it has been tried in the past. drive everyone back to the state sector and reduce the quality of housing as a result. >> in the week when our right hobble friend the chancellor has spoken of the importance to the government of securing full employment, can my friend

concern that the record shows that no labor government in history left office with unemployment lower than when it began? does this not illustrate in this area, as in all areas the importance of the principle that what matters is what works. >> my right hobble friend is factually correct. left government has office with higher. what we have seen is 1.7 million more people employed in the private sector, 1.3 million more people employed at a whole. one of the highest rates of employment in our history. we must keep up the work to offer more home and security to more of our people.

>> can the prime minister tell the house what is his excuse for the royal mail fiasco >> what i would say about the royal mail is that taxpayers benefiteded from selling the business for two billion pounds . that of course is two billion pounds that the party opposite never achieved because they were never able to sell the business. >> speaker, here is what his own side is saying about the issue. members said yesterday it was a debacle, unethical and immoral. he sold the show for 330 peas. what are they trading at now? >> they are trading ahead of where they were sold, but the fact is this. hen the right hobble gentleman -- >> order. neither the prime minister orer

of the opposition or any other member of this house will be shouted down. >> when the right hobble gentleman was sitting in the cabinet, this business lost half a billion pounds. it is now in the private sector. it is making profit. it is paying taxes. it is working hard for our country. and more to the point, there are over 140,000 people who work for the postseason, delivering letters, delivering parcells, who own shares in the business they work for. they have a stake in the future of the royal mail. they are collecting dividend as well as may, and that is something we should all be proud of. >> speaker, he can't answer the question because it is such an embarrassment. he sold at 330, and this morning the price was 563 pence.

it is basic math, mr. speaker. not so much the wolf of wall street, more the doubles of downing -- the dunce of downing street. let me ask this. if royal mail was sold at today's price, how much more with the taxpayer of heard? >> i will take a lecture from almost anyone in the country about the sale of royal mail, but not from the two muppets who advised the last chancellor. not a word of apology for nine billion pound wasted. the royal mail privatization has got two billion pounds for the taxpayer, 140,000 employees owning shares, 700,000 members of the public who are now shareholder. this is a great success for our country and something you should be praising. >> mr. speaker, again he can't

answer the question. the answer is for the taxpayer would have gotten 1.4 billion pound less than it is worth today. here is the thing. >> order. when the prime minister was speaking, i said he shouldn't be shouted down, and neither should anybody else. however hard the effort is made to shout one down, it won't work. we will keep going. as soon as the juveniles stop, so much the better. >> a third of the shares were sold to just a number of investors. there was a gentleman's agreed that those 50 investors wouldn't semi-the shares. what happened? within weeks, half of those shares had been sold, and they made a killing worth hundreds of millions of pounds. in other words, his frenched in

the city. maybe he can tell us what happened to that gentleman's agreement about those shares? >> mr. speaker, we know why he is asking these questions, because he is paid to by the trade union. yes. yes. mr. speaker, he sat in the privatize wanted to the royal mail. that was the commitment. what happened was the general secretary of the communication workers union said this. in terms of the last labor government, they tried to privatize the royal mail. it was the unions that brought the government to its senses. once again they were weak in government because they couldn't carry out their policies. they are week in on suggestion because they don't support share holding by post workers in the royal mail. they are week because they have no economic policy, and they

are weak because they have no plan. he flogged it off to his friend in his city, and he can't answer the question. now i am going to ask him the question again. there was a gentleman's agreement that these long-term investors, so-called, would not sell their shares, but half of of were sold and hundreds were made. pounds what happened? >> what happened is the taxpayer is two billion pounds better off. he sat in a cabinet that wanted to privatize royal mail. they couldn't to it. >> order. let's hear the answer. >> they couldn't do it because the trade unions wouldn't let them. there are now 140,000 share holders working for the royal michael. there are almost three quarters

of a million members of the public with shares. these are signs of celebration for the country, not talking them down because they are anti-market, anti-competitive, anti-business. for nothing has changed in the labor party. no wonder they have advertised this week for someone to bring some fresh ideas to the leadership. i've got the commercial here. it says this, mr. speaker. you should have the ability to manage the different teams across the labor party. i think that must be the hardest job in britain. no wonder they are looking for a change, because they have a leader who hasn't got a clue. >> mr. speaker, he has gone as red as a post book. 1.4 billion pound for the taxpayer. this is a sale nobody wanted and nobody voted for. a national asset sold at a knock-down price to make a

fortune for a few. it is the symbol of a government who stand up for the wrong people with the british people paying the price. >> mr. speaker, it is a sale nobody wanted. it was in his manifesto. it was in the last government. they worked so hard, mr. speaker. they failed to do it. but this coalition government privatized the royal mail, created thousands of new shareholder, and there is a great business working for britain. we have seen it all from labor this week. they are add tiesing for fresh s idea. people around him are fighting. get this, mr. speaker. their top advisor is called arnie, and he has gone to america, but unlike arnie, he says i am not coming back. they are warring, weak, and they haven't got a plan.

>> thank you very much, mr. speaker. it is as quick to go 225 miles over land and sea from here to brussels as it is on the train to norich. we need investment in better faster rail infrastructure, and they should bring those benefits to norfolk north. >> i pay tribute to the lady for the work they are doing. this is actually a very important project. i welcome the interest shown by business authorities and enterprise partnerships. it is one of the fastest growing parts of our country. it has good universities. i look forward to the task force report that i know she is working on, and i hope this will be used to shape the specification for the long rail franchise that should start in 2016. >> mr. speaker, 35 years ago,

down the to bring labor government and bring in margaret thatcher. today they are united on the side of tax cuts for big business, united on the side of energy companies. doesn't this demonstrate, prime minister, that what people across the u.k. need is not separation between scotland and england, but liberation from right wing toward the economic? >> he has provided a very useful public service. he has reminded me of one useful thing that the s.n.p. have done in their history, which is to get rid of that dreadful labor government. where i don't agree with him -- i agree with him on one very important thing in spite of his views. i do agree that the united

kingdom is much better off together. one of the issues he raised i think he is completely wrong about. this is the week they have cut corporation tax to 21%. that is going to attract businesses into england, wales and scotland. he should be standing up and praising this tax reduction rather than criticizing it. >> martin? >> it was recently said that he would give more weight to consult apt's economic models than 10,000 objections from local people. is that what the national planning framework meant by empowering local people? >> the national planning framework is very clear about the importance of listening to local people in terms of development. actually, my right honorable friend would have received a letter recently to explain some of the changes in the guidance under the framework to make sure that previous housing performance is taken into account and these very

important decisions. >> thank you. at a time of crisis, the prime minister saw first-hand just how good the hospital in my constituency can be. six years into a rebuilding program, that hospital has been plunged into crisis. it is starved with staff and effectively strip of key clinical services. the nearest hospital away is 42 miles away in carlisle. will the prime minister commit today to do everything he can to assist me, local commissions and my community in retaining the consultant services of the hospital. >> first of all, he is entirely right i saw for myself what a job this hospital does and how important it is. but the commissioning group total revenues that are available this year are at and increase of tnt 33%, 663 million pound. that is because this government decided to protect n.h.s. spending and not cut it. that is why important hospital developments can go ahead.

>> a record number of small businesses and many more people seeking to become self-employed. can our friend tell the house what steps the government is taking to help first-time prunes into becoming first-time employers and helping people achievement ambitions in life? >> what we need to do is make it easier for someone to take on their first employee. that is why this saturday we are bringing in the 2,000 pound employment allowance. every business that employs someone will see a tax reduction of up to 2,000 pounds. that means that 55,000 businesses will be taken out of paying national insurance contributions altogether. the preart introduced jobs taxes, we are cutting jobs taxes. >> at the weekend, the general warned of reducing the regular arm from 102,000 to 82,000 by 2020 would weaken the armed

forces and was one hell of a risk to take. can the perform tell us why he doesn't think it is one hell of a risk? >> the reason why i think it is the right thing to do is to make sure our armed forces have the best equipment of any armed forces anywhere in the world. i have been out to afghanistan every year since 2006, sometimes twice a year, and i always ask the same question. do you have the equipment you need? is there anything else you want? it is under this government you have seen real improvement in equipment. so what i would say to her is yes, we will have an 82,000 regular army. we will also have a larger reserve force, and we are recruiting that activity. and we will have armed forces and defense equipment that this country can be very proud of. >> following last week's excellent news of the seeman's development in whole, we move quickly with plans for the

south bank. does my friend share my view that all parties must work together to make sure that it becomes the green capital of the u.k.? >> i absolutely afree with my honorable friend. the announcement is a huge step forward because it is going to bring an enormous amount of industry in its wake in terms of supply and complonet manufacture. we have to make sure that colleges are training up apresentses. he knows there are still agreements needed in other parts to make sure that all of the developments necessary go ahead. >> the prime minister will know that millions of people across the country value and love their postseason card account, particularly those who don't have access to banks and don't want to have a bank. they want to get their cash each week. this is renegotiated with the contract. will you give a commitment today that whatever happens,

pensioners or everyone on benefits will be able to access through the postseason to get the money that they need? >> i heard very carely what she said. it is important for people to use the postseason in the way she says. there have been changes in the way the card account works. i strongly support it, but i will look closely at it. >> thank you, mr. speaker. would my right honorable friend accept that on this 100th anniversary of the first world war, the territorial army won 71 v.c.'s and thousands of other derek rations in that war and learning from the lessons from our english-speaking cousinses in martin and the pivotal role the national guard has played in iraq and afghanistan, that is the way to ensure we can afford the equipment we need for our armed forces for the future?

>> let me pay tribute for my friend who has campaigned very hard for the average and the forces. the point he makes is a good one. you can see today a territorial army working alongside the regular army, fighting with them and being deck rated with them. other countries have shown it is possible to have a larger reserve force and that is the way to have a well equipped army, navy and air force in the future. >> mr. speaker, the convention says a standard for the protection of children against sexual exploitation. the u.k. have signed it but have not yet ratified it. following recent episodes in the u.k., will the government now consider ratifying this very important convention? >> what i can say to the honorable gentleman, i absolutely agree with him that child sexual exploitation is an

and hornet crime, and we are going to stamp it out. we have signed this convention. i understand there is a small amount of further assessment to be done before the u.k. is in a position to ratify the convention. i will keep in touch with developments. >> does my friend agree with me that the doubling of capital allowances to half a million pound provide a welcome boost to manufacturing and will increase investment in the manufacturing sector, securing more jobs for british people? >> my honorable friend is absolutely right. this is a key part of our economic plan to make sure we have our businesses investing. one of the remarkable things of the budget was we were going to address some of the perennial weaknesses in the british economy. we need to export more, invest more. we need to improve our performance in those regards.

we need to make sure the investment is spread around the country, and we are not going to be satisfied with an unbalanced recovery. >> mr. speaker today the ford motor company agreed to a multi-million pound contribution toward the pension fund of former ford employees. will the prime minister congratulate, unit the union -- ss a cross-party group who have struggleled to get a fair deal for former ford workers and agree to what other pensioners who have the same polite -- >> i didn't camp the end of his question, but i wholeheartedly agree with him. this is a good development for pensioners and all those who played a role. there are colleagues on all side of the house who have been involved in this. they are all to be credited for the work they have done to get this justice. >> while i welcome the

government's intervention on fuel bills, many rural people have to depend on more expensive fuels. will the government investigate way in which they can benefit these things that lead to poverty. >> there are many people who are off main gas. i think there are things we can do, not east in encouraging the power of group purchases by encouraging communities to come together and buy oil and gas together so that actually you can drive down prices. i am sure that he will be looking at the options that are available in his constituency. >> thank you, mr. speaker. three months ago i asked the ime minister about his 1,000 pound bobby tax that anyone joining the police has to pay. 1,000 pounds might not be much to him, but it is having a huge impact on others like that.

there are 2,000 officers under strength and finding it impossible to recruit. we all know the bobby tax is wrong. >> order, order. this question will be heard. braying, sneering and making rude remarks is the sort of thing the public despise. the honorable lady will be heard and the person sneering, if he has any sense of shame, ought to be ashamed of himself. >> mr. speaker, this is an important issue to anybody who lives in this country. we all know that bobby tax is wrong. will the prime minister also now accept it is not working and polish it in order that our police get back to strength to depend the people in my constituency? >> well, first of all, it is not a tax. second of all, it is not a barrier to recruitment. and third of all, recruitment is taking place in the metropolitan police. yes of course we have seen reductions in police funding.

but we have also seen significance cuts in crime. the metropolitan police are recruiting, and they are confident they will be able to get good recruits. >> bringing super fast broadband to rural areas is important, and the government is rightly spending over a billion pound on this. but my constituents are frustrated that b.t. can't tell them when or even if their home will be connected up. that makes planning impossible. will the prime minister tell b.t. to produce clearer plans for the billions of pounds of taxpayer money they are getting? >> i have had this discussion with them, and i am happy to hold it again. i know my honorable friend will take up this specific point. we have asked b.t. to give more detail about which homes and areas will get broadband in their roll-out plan so that then other companies and other organizations are able to see whether there are different ways of filling in any potential gaps. but i don't agree with some who

think that somehow b.t. haven't been put are their shoulder to the wheel. there is a massive investment going on in terms of broadband. 10,000 homes and businesses are connected every week. >> mr. speaker. of the royal mill share price remains about 70% above the flotation price. does the prime minister rule t a four million pound bonus from taxpayers to government advisors? >> what i would say to the honorable lady is the taxpayer is two billion pound better off because we were able to put this business in the private sector where as previous governments failed to dismally. >> mr. speaker, ply constituent is seeking the right to be treated by the english grand. will the prime minister investigate what could be done to help her and other n.h.s. refugees who is seeking the highest standard and lower

waiting times which are being delivered by had government? >> my honorable friend is right to raids this. frankly what is happening in our n.h.s. in wales is a scandal, and it is a scandal that is entirely the responsibility of the labor part running the government. they made the decision to cut n.h.s. spending by 8% in wales. as a result they haven't met a target since 2009. the last time -- i don't know why the leader of the opposition is laughing. it is not funny, the state of the n.h.s. in wales. if he had any gumption or backbone, he would get hold of the first minister in wales and tell him to start investing in the n.h.s. in wales. >> 25 years ago yesterday, a patch was imposed on the people of scotland. a prime minister was kicked out

of office by her own party. would this prime minister take this opportunity to apologize for that? >> i didn't catch the beginning of the question. i don't know if it would be possible for him to ask it again. i know it was the same as the scottish national party person. >> 25 years ago yesterday a poll tax was s -- on the people of scotland. will the prime minister take this opportunity to apologize for that? >> i have made clear my view about this issue many times over many easy. i think the council tax is a much better replacement. the key is to keep the levels of the council tax down. that is why on this side of the house we support a freeze. >> in 2012,000 people pecksed this house to stop charitable air ambulances have to pay the b.a.t. i would like to thank the prime

minister for his budget, meaning more missions are flown and more lives are saved. they are yg it for good purposes because we have a good long-term economic plan. >> my honorable friend is right and i pay tribute to him because he is the chairman for the air group ambulances. he led a debate in the house in 2012. i am delighted about the result achieved in the budget. i think it will lead to an expansion of this service. he is right that you can only make these decisions if you look at the nations resources, get the spending down, in short an economic plan. >> thank you. why has it taken four years to recruit just 41 teachers into the 10 million pounds radio troops to teachers program? >> we support the troops to teachers program.

will look carely at what the gentleman says. it is a good proposal. i what unto make sure it is working. >> mr. speaker it appears on my council tax bill that the lancaster scheyer and district council have raised the council tax by 2%. yes, very shocking. would the prime minister help me in finding out what has gone on? is it really 2% and help me sort this matter out? >> what i would say to my honorable friend, and he can say to lancaster council and district council. this government is making the money available so the councils can freeze their council test. they should help people keep their bills down and make sure that the council tax is frozen. >> mr. speaker, the high school community in my community was left devastateded when

14-year-old jaymee skinner died played futbol. i am sure the prime minister and the whole house would wish to send their condolences to the head teacher, the staff at the school, her friends and to school sent her yesterday morning, never to return home. >> this was an absolutely shocking accident that people would have seen across the country. our hearts go out to all those involved. clearly the lessons will be learned to make sure that accidents like this can never happen again. is he chancellor's cousin great news for brignac -- britain. will do nothing to help the large companies.

will he now tackle the problem by getting rid of the p ump bco price escalator. >> i thank my friend for what he said about the cut in beer duty. this is about making sure this industry creates job and supporting the public trade. we announced 3,000 additional jobs. we want to look carely about what is happening in pubs and the activities of some public companies. it has been debated and we are looking closely as what more we can do to make sure there are fair outcomes for britain's public goers. >> could i ask the prime minister what plans he has got to reform higher education loans so the system works for students, works for all universities and also works for the country? >> the biggest plan we have in this space is to expand the number of people going to higher education by taking the

cap off the numbers who can attendant. there are plans in terms of fees and repayments, are clearly set out. it is encouraging that it has not put off people from going to university. nor has it put off people from low income backgrounds going to university. i would make this point to him. someone said in june of 2010, a graduate tax would replace up front tuition fees. i would culled before publishing detailed plans later this year. that was the leader of the opposition in june of 2010. now i know we are dealing with a blank page and an empty head, but for heaven sake, get on with it. >> would the prime minister agree that it is the skill enterprise and shared hard work of all the staff of special foods in conjunction with our economic plan that is driving the economy forward. this is a company that created

200 jobs last year, another 75 , is year, exported to india making them the crumpet capital of evening anderson. >> i am delighted it is taking on that label. >> it is an important week for british families. this week corporation tax is being cut it making our businesses stronger. 10,000 personal allowances are being introduced to make our families stronger. and we have the 2,000 pound employment allowance. we have three million people who have been taken taken out of income tax altogether. our economy is getting stronger, and everyone can see labor's arguments are getting weaker all the time. >> order. >> you have been watching questions questions from the british house of commons. "quesion time" airs live on