Mr Ian Taylor number one Madam speaker Madame speaker I've had various meetings with ministers today to discuss the implementation of our election pledges I will have various meetings later in particular in relation to young people and skills in addition I've attended a meeting of the lab the party's national executive I warmly welcome the prime minister to his role of answering questions and I'm very grateful to him for finding time in his diary to do so at some point he might consult the house about how these sessions change I also wish him well in dealing with
the mass ranks of his own back benches as as they lose their political virginity can the Prime Minister agree today to compensate pensioners for any damage done to Pension funds as a result of the windfall tax and changes in advanced corporation tax which he might put forward well Madam speaker I first of all have to say to The Honorable gentleman yes indeed we have a busy day because this government unlike the last government is actually governing in the interests of the people of this country but secondly in relation to the windfall tax if I may
just say to him the windfall tax ta will not harm pensioners at all what did however harm pensioners was the implementation of the last government putting V8 on fuel precisely for that reason we are proposing cutting it um Jean Co thank you madam speaker it's an honor to be called during the first prime minister's questions to make a serious attempt to question the prime minister in this house given that at present only one crime in 50 leads to a conviction will my right honorable friend recognize the need to have both effective measures to prevent crime
as well as a criminal justice system in which the public can have confidence will he tell us what measures the government will take to prevent crime certainly Madam speaker I will my honorable friend is absolutely right indeed today the Home Secretary is announcing a series of measures that I hope will have a beneficial effect on cutting crime in this country he is a of course announcing first of all that in respect of children between the ages of 10 and 13 then we do say they are able to tell the difference between right and wrong and
the law should be changed in that respect secondly we are going to half the amount of time it takes to get persistent juvenile offenders to court and thirdly he has announced a review of the entire youth justice system now much of the behavior of some of the young terway and thugs in our communities make life hell for people we are committed to taking action and and again unlike the previous administration action we will take uh Mr John swinny yeah yeah will the Prime Minister indicate if the government will be arguing for a zonal lifting of
the European beef ban and if that is the case will he outline a time scale within which we can expect this to be the case and also really give a guarantee that the beef band will be lifted in Scotland at the same time as it is lifted in Northern Ireland well The Honorable member will be aware that we are in negotiation now with the European commission anded with our European Partners to try and get the best possible deal on the lifting of the beef ban and one part of that of course is the certified herd
scheme and it is important that we apply that not merely in relation to Northern Ireland where there's the traceability scheme in place at the moment but important also that we see how we can lift the ban in other parts of the UK as well I do have to say to The Honorable members and and I say to other members in this house we have inherited a quite appalling situation in relation to P not just the expense but the way that these negotiations were handled were a disgrace it will take time to sort it out but
I think that the early indications are that we are able to get a far better deal than the previous government and we shall do everything we possibly can in the interest not just of the farming industry but of the good standing of Britain abroad uh Mr Steven twig is is the prime minister aware of the widespread public concern about the growth of drug abuse in this country country with a five-fold increase in the number of drug offenses over the past decade can he outline what the government's plans are to deal with the drugs crisis in
this country yes uh Madam speaker certainly as my honorable friend may know we are committed to proper testing and treatment for all those offenders that have got a drugs problem but in addition to that as we announced before the general election Madam speaker we are going to set up one particular individual what we call the drugs are that is going to coordinate all aspects of the fight against drug abuse and the link between drug abuse and crime it is the fact Madam speaker that in many parts of this country as much as 50% possibly more
than 50% of crimes are linked to drug abuse it is absolutely essential that we Bear Down on every single aspect of this problem and by having one person who is going to be in charge of all aspects of coordinating government policy in relation to this then responsible to the Home Secretary We Believe that we will give ourselves a far better chance of dealing with this evil in our midst Mr Pat ashown Madam speaker may I first of all welcome the prime minister's attempt to find a new format for prime minister's questions no doubt it was
too bold for some but if the result of that is that we can reach a format for these questions which is a little less confrontational and a little more rational I think that would have been worth it can I ask the uh can I now turn can I now can I now turn to the government's program is it still the government's intention to spend not a penny more on education in the next two years than the conservative government they defeated first of all if I can say the right honorable gentleman I'm delighted for his welcome
to the change in the format of question time which I hope will prove in time for the benefit of all parts of the house secondly I would say to him in relation to education spending of course there are differences between ourselves and the previous government in relation to education spending one difference is the phasing out of the assisted places scheme and the C in class sizes for all 5 six and seven year olds that is very important secondly of course the nursery voucher scheme is to be replaced by proper Nursery education for our children again
right and of course in relation to at least the skills and training part of the education budget then of course the windfall tax will have some impact in helping young people back into work through better skills and training Mr ashown Madam speaker um the uh the Prime Minister knows that we believe the figures that they quote on assisted places and its abolition frankly don't add up but even if they do even if they do surely it is the case they are not going to deliver Next Year and may deliver very little in the year following
so is not the consequence of the government's policy this that the teachers who were going to be sacked as a result of the conservative policies are still going to be sacked that class sizes that were going to rise this Autumn are still going to rise and that the serious situation on books and equipment that are now faced in our schools this winter as a result of conservative policies will not get better under this slaver government and may indeed even get worse um no Madam speaker I I don't take accept that at all and I have
to say to the right honorable gentleman that of course as a result of reducing class sizes that will in part be done precisely by employing extra teachers and it is very important he said that those figures do not of course those Figures were checked by the national foundation for educational research which found indeed that the figures did add up indeed that there was money to spare after that and I think what is very important to understand is that for the vast majority of people the parents who use the State education system they understand it is
going to take time to put things right it will take time because of what we've inherited but they know now that they have a government with the right values committed to State education system in this country and we will over time prove it in the way that we have promised uh Mr Stewart Bell uh Madame speaker having fought the general election on a platform of no 100 days of dynamic action the definition of dynamic action changing from one prime minister to another and having introduced a queen speech with 26 bills much to the Delight of
the public having made the bank of England independent having severed the supervision of the bank of England uh from banking having introduced a new regul for the city of London can the Prime Minister tell the house what he proposes as a UNC call well I thank my honorable friend for that question it is of course important that we start to make a difference in those areas where the people of this country elected us to make a difference in our schools in rebuilding our National Health Service in giving hope to our young people and of course
in the measures that that my my honorable friend quite rightly says in relation to the bank of England my right honorable friend the chancellor took decisive action right at the very beginning and I believe he is to be congratulated for that it is far better now that we take the politics out of setting interest rates that we do not play politics with people's mortgages and indeed as the association of estate agents was saying just the other day in the long term that will lead to lower mortgage rates and therefore a better deal for homeowners Mr
John Major Madam speaker in view in view of the apparent confusion in briefings from ministers over recent days can the right honorable gentleman please tell the house which companies and which classes of companies are likely to be liable for the windfall tax and can he also please explain to the house why the chairman of British Telecom apparently felt that his company would not be liable well if I can say to the right honorable gentleman first of all I I mean I did hear what the chairman of British Telecom said the other day and I was
delighted of course that he indicated he had the good judgment to vote labor in the general election but I have to say I have to say that that the the idea that somehow the chairman of British Telecom or indeed anyone else was in any doubt that we were going to introduce a windfall tax I find rather hard to say now the actual companies as the right honorable gentleman knows we said this many times will be decided by the chancellor in accordance with the normal precedent which is to do any moves in relation to the budget
in his budget now that would be the proper way to do it and the companies and the amount of the windfall tax will be decided by him in the normal way Mr major San's vote he seems to be rather regretting that already but I will let that pass for the moment I find it surprising that the House of Commons is to be the last to be told who'll be liable to the tax in view of the private briefings that are going on but perhaps the right honorable gentleman can confirm to the house that no one
acting in his capacity or no one from the labor party when in opposition gave any indication clearly or uh in terms of nod and a wink that British Telecom would not be included in this ta can the Prime Minister be categoric about that please Madam speaker I certainly can be categorical everybody has known that the decisions on who is going to be liable for the windfall tax will be taken by my right honorable friend the chancellor in the normal way and indeed I may say British Telecom and everyone else and indeed if I may say
so it is perfectly obvious that that should be the case it would be wholly wrong prior to the budget if my right honorable friend either were to announce the companies or the amounts of the winfall tax and I have to say this in addition to him in following that prestent we are of course following precisely what the last conservative government did in relation to the windfall tax on banks major the house will note that the right honorable gentleman uh replied in the generality but did not reply specifically and provide the house and provide the house
with the categoric assurance that I ask him for perhaps he will do so in just a moment if this tax if this tax proceeds with an extra tax on gas water electricity and telephones may I return to the point made by my honorable friend the member for isher and Walton if that were to give rise to an increase in the bills for many people on low income uh low incomes in this country will the right honorable gentleman follow the president of the previous government and increase the Social Security benefits to compensate for that and if
not if not will he accept that the populist tax he proposes on Fat Cats would in fact be a tax that hits most those that have least no Madam speaker no no no I shall resist the temptation to say that was the sound bite since I know since since I since I have a feeling I used to use a few of those myself at one time uh um Madam speaker no that is not the case at all in fact there is a cap of course on prices indeed some of the Regulators have already said that
they would not consider it right for the windfall tax to lead to any increase in prices I may also say this to the right honorable gentlemen the reason for introducing the windfall tax is clear there is no doubt at all that excess profits vast exess profits were made there is no doubt of that there is no doubt also that it is absolutely essential that we give hope and opportunity to those hundreds of thousands of young people presently without it in our society today and I think there will be a great deal of agreement not just
amongst those that don't have opportunity but even amongst those that are perfectly well off in our society at the moment that if we don't tackle the problems of a growing underclass of people cut off from society's mainstream without any chance of a job with poor Educational Opportunity without the chance to do well in life then we will end up as the previous government did paying more and more by way of welfare bills and having less and less for future investment Jerry Birmingham Madam speaker could I ask my right honorable uh friend just a simple plea
on behalf of St Helens which is an industrial town perhaps he could find time to have a word in the ear of the the chancellor of the excha and suggest to him that the June budget if slanted towards encouraging investment in industry willou undoubtedly help both our manufacturing base both for home consumption and overseas export and thus the welfare of our all our people well I thank my honorable friend for that I've got no doubt at all that the chancell will be receiving a great deal of advice and assistance in uh the weeks ahead and
of course he will have listened carefully to what my honorable friend said and I have no doubt will take it into account Mr Peter L Madam speaker how will the Prime Minister fund his Program for Young People when the money from the windfall tax dries up because all the experts agree it will and he will need extra money Madam speaker first of all first of all can I say to The Honorable gentleman I'm absolutely delighted that he seems to understand as his leader did not that money is needed to tackle this problem and I agree
with him wholeheartedly about that yes the oneoff the the windfall Levy is a oneoff but of course by getting young people off benefit and into work that is precisely what saves us the money in the long term well I have to say that the honorable member and other honorable members shake their head that is absolutely no doubt at all that there are young people in this country who are leaving school without any proper qualifications at all if they don't get the right chances on skills and apprenticeships they'll never make anything of their lives and I
can tell them this I have met in the course of this election campaign some third generation families where the father hasn't worked the son hasn't worked the son isn't going to be working either now unless we try to give them some sort of chance to escape from that welfare dependency we will be in this difficulty forever L fit Sim thank you very much Madam speaker I right honorable friend the Prime Minister um comment on the problems that our communities face not just because of the causes of crime but also because of the underlying aggressive and
louish behavior in some of our communities and what is the government going to do about this yeah well mad speaker of course my honorable friend is absolutely right and that is one of the reasons why the measures that we announced in the speech aren't merely measures that tackle juvenile offending indeed other criminal offenses too they're also measures that tackle disruptive or noisy or antisocial neighbors and I think that all of us who have talked to our constituents in this house will know the misery that is caused by small groups of people that act in an
antisocial way and this government at long last is going to do something about it Mr David Curry does the government intend to limit the amount of time British fishermen can spend at Sea in order to meet Cuts in European quotas as suggested by his Fisheries Minister you no Madam speaker actually what we have tried to secure if I may say so and we're trying to secure it against the background as I say where the negotiations have not been well handled by the previous administration we will try and secure the very best deal for our fishermen
on quota hopping and on other issues so that we can put in place a long-term framework that actually guarantees their future and offers some stability ill is my right honorable friend aware that there are some an estimated 120 million anti-personnel landmines planted around the world landmines which kill or maim someone every 20 minutes in many cases young children innocent children when does my right honorable friend expect to be able to act to fulfill Labor's commitment to ban these evil weapons for good Madam speaker I can tell my honorable friend that the government will be announcing
later today that we will ban the import export transfer and manufacturer of anti-personnel Landes we will also phase out the UK stocks of such anti-personnel landmines we will in addition make sure that we ban the trade through the United Kingdom of all such landmines they have done enormous Carnage often to wholly innocent civilians including children and the sooner that Britain gives a lead in this the better it is the right and the Civilized thing to do Mr Robert Jackson will the right honorable gentleman undertake a review of the somewhat curious Arrangements that he that he
has inherited for science policy will he consider two points in particular first whether it is right to have the government's Chief Scientific Advisor located not in the center of government but in one of the Departments for which he's responsible for supervising and second whether it is sensible to have two different ministers responsible for the research councils and the universities when research Council funding is integral to the funding of the universities Madam speaker first of all can I thank the uh honorable gentleman for his question and also for the notice that he gave me of it
and can I pay tribute to the amount of work that he did when a minister in the previous government both in education and the science field uh the review that is being conducted Ed by my honorable friend the minister of state will look at both the points that The Honorable gentleman raises I give no undertakings at all as to the outcome of that review but yes it we'll certainly look at those things too Mr David winck as far as Northern Ireland is concerned would my right honorable friend confirm that the framework document remains on the
table and that would provide a fair settlement for both communities in Northern Ireland including crossborder bodies and would not the Prime Minister not also agree that there's a particular responsibility on the part of the IRA to end their murderous and terrorist Campaign which has caused only pain and suffering and numerous deaths during the last 25 years it is it not obvious that no amount of such terrorist activities will in any way change the position in Northern Ireland I agree very much with what my honorable friend has said about the activities of the IRA uh Madam
speaker if I can just say to him that of course all the documents that were negotiated by the previous government remain on the table in relation to Shin Fain as my honorable friend knows my officials are talking to Shin faine but I do say this and I think this should be made very very clear to them that there is no question of shin faine participating in any talks whatever unless there is a clear credible and unequivocal ceasefire and that should be demonstrated in word and deed and they and everybody else should be under no Illusions
about that whatever Mr David trimo uh thank you madam speaker uh I would endorse what the Prime Minister has just said about the terms of entry for shin finin into talks and I'm sure that he will ensure that in any discussions that officials may be having that that will be born home to shinan and that he will ensure that those uh that discussion does not move into negotiation which of course would not be permissible but I'm sure the prime min is bearing in mind the fact that there is an election taking place in North nland
today does he think there in the light of that and in light of the comments which he has commended made by the Irish Prime Minister and by The Honorable member for foil that a vote for shin feain is a vote for murder does he think it was wise for officials in the home office in the northern Island office to arrange for events to take place today which would only boost the standing of shinin well man speaker if I understand rightly the events he's referring to the transfer of the the prisoners perhaps I can just come
to that in a moment but I can say to him in relation to the talks with Shin Fain there is no question of that being about a negotiation of a ceasefire it is to make clear the government's terms and conditions for their entry into any such talks secondly in relation to the prisoners that have been transferred the two prisoners I have made inquiries about this and it is clear that that was something put in train actually before the general election it is something that follows on I think there were some nine such prisoners transferred who
are convicted of terrorist offenses in the last year but it should not be seen in any way as any signal to Shin faine at all Mr Colin vior number seven Madam speaker Madam speaker uh we are doing everything we possibly can to alleviate poverty amongst Britain's pensioners uh there are many hundreds of thousands perhaps millions of Britain's pensioners who enjoy um a good standard of living there are many more who do not and that is one reason why we are looking urgently at the help that we can be given to Britain's poorest pensioners and of
course it is one reason why we are committed to the cut and V8 on fuel Mr Pall would my right honorable friend agree that one of the uh problems of pensioner poverty is caused by the complexities and sometimes by the arbitrary nature of the income support cut off points would he find time unlike the previous government who refused to look at the work done by uh laner County council's welfare rights service who have managed to find ingenious means of getting 15% more pensioners claiming uh Income Support about 7,000 individuals totaling about4 million going into pensioners
pockets in laner and would he use his immense influence to ensure that the uh government's program for ending pensioner poverty Begins by getting pensioners their rights and the benefits to which they're entitled well I should say to my honorable friend that I'm very happy to congratulate the work of those that are bringing home to pensioners the entitlements that they have I would say two other things to him as well that of course the review of Pensions that's been undertaken by the Department of Social Security will include how we help those pensioners in greatest poverty and
in addition to that I hope that he can say to his constituents as I would say to the country that previous labor governments have done well by Britain's pensioners always and we will do well by them again and well we have we've done well we have done very well as indeed they know and though no doubt there will be different ways of doing well for a different age we shall continue to do our best by Britain's pensions James Wallace Madam speaker if it's a prime minister indicated some moments ago a lifting of the beef export
ban isn't exactly imminent is he able to IND indicate what kind of approximate time scale our beef producers might reasonably expect and in the meantime what steps is his government taking to restrict Imports into the United Kingdom of beef products which don't meet the same very high standards of of our domestic producers well Madam speaker we obviously want to do everything we possibly can to encourage and bring about the lifting of the beef ban and I say to The Honorable gentleman with a greatest respect I don't think plucking out arbitrary timetables is a very good
history in this matter we remember what happened before however I do actually believe I I don't I'm sorry to bring back bad memories but uh uh but I do have to say to them I do have to say to them that I believe that we can make progress and I am hopeful that progress is being made and I think the very fact that we have a government that is arguing the case sensibly and constructively gives us a far better chance than the previous administration Gordon Apprentice yes does the Prime Minister appreciate the feelings of indignation
and outrage amongst bus passengers in Northeast Lancashire who've been left high and dry by stage coach and that even as I speak bus faires are going up services are being cut drivers are leaving in droves and the situation is in crisis and is it not a shaming indictment of the policies of the previous government that been left with this situation where private monopolies have driven out the public interest well um in the interest of uh non-confrontational uh exchanges across this dispatch box shaming indictment well we will leave that to others to judge but I have
to say to them the one thing that I think is quite clear is that there are severe problems with the regulatory system that exist at the moment that is why uh the Deputy Prime Minister in addition to his uh his rainmaking duties is also undertaking is also undertaking a review of regulation and we are well aware of the need to make sure particularly for people in rural communities that they get the bus services that they need Mr James Gray yeah yeah will the Prime Minister find time to visit those Employers in my constituents of North
Wilshire who tell me that they will lay off workers the morning after he brings in the minimum wage and would he not would he not agree I would he not agree that The Tragically high level of youth unemployment in the continent of Europe is not least because of the job destroying minimum wage in Europe well I have to say to The Honorable gentleman first of all that the United States for example has a minimum wage and has a lower unemployment rate than here and I think that in contradistinction to the position here that is a
matter now of agreement between the Republican party and the Democrats it's a Pity we can't get the same agreement about decency I say also to him in respect minimum wage that employers will of course be fully consulted about the level at which it's set and how it is implemented that is very important but I really do not believe that the conservative way of competing on the basis of low wages and low skills is the right future for Britain the way that we will compete in the future is by investing in our people and by employers
recognizing that if you treat people fairly you get the best out of them and if that is one change that an incoming labor government can bring about we will done a service to the whole country Maria five thank you madam speaker my right honorable friend noticed that in this first session of Prim questions we have already got through more questions than we would have done in two quarter hour sessions it has been a more civilized and informative event than ever before and look forward to this in the future and on the question of a national
minimum wage many of us take get pride and the fact that the libber party stuck through thick and thin to this policy and intends to implement it as early as possible Madam speaker I thank my honorable friend for those comments and I I hope that people will understand that it is a better way of organizing prime minister's questions of course it is the case that the select committee on procedure that my right armor friend is establishing will look at ways that this can be improved in the light of the experience that we have and on
the minimum wage I would simply again not to repeat what I've just said now there are some 800,000 people in this country paid 250 an hour or less I think there are reasons of efficiency for introducing some basic minimum threshold of pay but I also think there are reasons of decency and fairness too and we shall do it thank you time's out
