Oral Answers to Questions

Northern Ireland

The Secretary of State was asked—

Fuel Smuggling

Mr. David Jones (Clwyd, West) (Con)
1. What recent assessment he has made of the extent of fuel smuggling in Northern Ireland.

The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office (Paul Goggins)
In February, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State established a new multi-agency group within the Organised Crime Task Force to prepare a detailed enforcement strategy on fuel fraud. Later this week, I will meet my right hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to consider progress.

Mr. Jones
As the Minister will be aware, more than two thirds of illegal fuel seizures in the UK occur in Northern Ireland, yet the conviction rate is declining and forfeiture orders are uncommon. Some time ago, the Secretary of State suggested that he was considering the introduction of a specific offence of fuel laundering. Can the Minister tell us what progress has been made in that regard?

Paul Goggins
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State did suggest that that specific offence was being considered. That is one matter that the working group in the Organised Crime Task Force will consider. I will consider those issues with my right hon. Friend the Financial Secretary when we meet tomorrow and subsequently. It might be that such an offence would help. I am also interested to ensure that we pursue landowners who rent out land and property and then turn a blind eye to the activities that go on there. The hon. Gentleman can rest assured that the full force of law and order in Northern Ireland needs to and will bear down on the issue.

Mark Durkan (Foyle) (SDLP)
The Minister will be aware that there is concern that in future the full force of law will not bear down on those involved in fuel smuggling. With the disappearance of the Assets Recovery Agency and the retrenchment and reduction of already stressed Revenue and Customs services, people are worried that fuel smuggling and other criminal enterprise in the category of level 2 crime will not be pursued. Clearly, the police service will pursue level 1 crime and the Serious Organised Crime Agency will pursue level 3 crime. Who will pursue and have the resources and capacity to pursue level 2 crime in Northern Ireland?

Paul Goggins
What it demands, of course, is a strong partnership among all the forces of law and order and, indeed, legitimate trade. Business partnership is an essential prerequisite of enforcement action, but we need to bring together the Police Service of Northern Ireland, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and also the merged SOCA and Assets Recovery Agency. All those agencies need to work together and I assure my hon. Friend that we will not let up on this. Some £15 million of criminal assets have been taken back from fuel fraudsters in recent years. That effort will be undiminished when the new merged agency comes into operation.

Sir Patrick Cormack (South Staffordshire) (Con)
Does the Minister accept that the effort needs to be increased? It is disturbing that so many people have got away with this crime, which is not a victimless crime, and that those who have been caught have not been adequately punished. Will he redouble his efforts?

Paul Goggins
Of course, the punishment of offenders is in the end a matter for the courts to determine. We are considering whether a new specific offence for fuel laundering should be introduced, but many existing offences can be prosecuted. It is important that Revenue and Customs, the police and the other agencies work together, gather the evidence and bring to justice those who break the law in such a way, because it undermines legitimate trade. That is key at a time when we are trying to build up the economy of Northern Ireland. I know that the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, which the hon. Gentleman chairs, is deeply concerned about the matter. The full force of law and order will continue to bear down on the issue.

Mr. Michael Moore (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk) (LD)
Whether or not the situation is getting worse, the Minister is right to say that it is very serious. Will he give the House an assurance that he is satisfied that the cross-border arrangements are working satisfactorily? Given that some of the worsening situation seems to have been attributed to the merger of Customs and Excise and the Inland Revenue a couple of years ago, will he assure us that the proposed merger between the Assets Recovery Agency and SOCA will not lead to a further problem in this area?

Paul Goggins
I warmly welcome the hon. Gentleman to his new position as his party’s spokesman on Northern Ireland. I look forward to constructive exchanges with him. I assure him that cross-border co-operation on law enforcement is a high priority. Indeed, we are considering including representation in the working group of the Organised Crime Task Force that deals with such issues from the Criminal Assets Bureau, which is based in the Republic of Ireland, and from the Irish Revenue commissioners, who are the equivalent of HMRC. We seek to bring the forces of law and order together.

I repeat the assurances that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Foyle (Mark Durkan). From next month, the Assets Recovery Agency and SOCA will be merged. In my view, that will toughen up our attack line on organised crime rather than diminish it. It will combine the intelligence brought by SOCA with the practical hands-on experience of asset recovery work brought by the Assets Recovery Agency. The combined agency will be even more effective.

Mr. Nigel Dodds (Belfast, North) (DUP)
The Minister talks about the merger of the Assets Recovery Agency and SOCA in glowing terms, but does he accept that, given what people have said today and during the consultation, there is fear that the big fish in Northern Ireland in fuel laundering and other serious crime will escape when we consider the overall objectives and priorities of SOCA? Will the Minister assure us that the godfathers in Northern Ireland and elsewhere will be pursued relentlessly and brought to book and that their assets will be seized?

Paul Goggins
I can give the hon. Gentleman an absolute assurance on that matter. There will be no thresholds imposed on Northern Ireland that relate to the rest of the United Kingdom. We will determine our own local priorities in Northern Ireland. Indeed, as soon as possible after the merger of the Assets Recovery Agency and SOCA, I shall publish a new asset recovery action plan for Northern Ireland, which will lay out what every agency is doing in order to pursue the criminal element and to recover the criminal assets that it has taken.

Mr. Stephen O'Brien (Eddisbury) (Con)
When I used to help run businesses in Northern Ireland, nothing undermined confidence in markets more than smuggling and cross-border illegal trade. Given the single land border in Northern Ireland between ourselves and Ireland, we need a border police force that really operates effectively in order to stop that undermining of confidence. Markets and market recovery in Northern Ireland are one of the best underpinners of peace, and that is why this is so important. Does the Minister agree?

Paul Goggins
The hon. Gentleman makes a very constructive remark. We have to bear down on any organised criminal activity intended to use and manipulate the border to criminal advantage. I say to the hon. Gentleman, however, that the proportion of UK duty-paid petrol that is currently consumed in Northern Ireland is up to 86 per cent. from 82 per cent. just a few years ago. Of course, some of the missing 14 per cent. is legitimate cross-border shopping. We are improving the position, but we need to do even more. He has my assurance that we will do that.

Irish National Prisoners

Mr. Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)
2. How many Irish nationals are held in prisons in Northern Ireland.

The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office (Paul Goggins)
As of today, there are 107 prisoners who have declared themselves to be of Irish nationality—7 per cent. of the total prison population.

Mr. Hollobone
What steps is the Northern Ireland Office taking to return to their country of origin any Irish nationals, as well as nationals of other countries? There is growing concern across the United Kingdom about the number of foreign national prisoners held in British jails.

Paul Goggins
We of course have to be careful as we approach this issue because, as the hon. Gentleman will know, as a result of the Belfast agreement anybody born in Northern Ireland can declare themselves as Irish, British or both. He asks how many prisoners in the Northern Ireland system have a home address in the Republic of Ireland. That figure is 19. We will seek to deport people if it is ordered by the court or if the Secretary of State determines that it is in the public interest so to do. For other foreign national prisoners, of whom there are around 80 in the Northern Ireland system, we liaise closely with the Border and Immigration Agency, which takes the appropriate action when those prisoners are released.

Mrs. Claire Curtis-Thomas (Crosby) (Lab)
Employment remains a crucial feature of keeping young people out of prison. What has my hon. Friend done to ensure that young people in prisons have access to workplace training placements?

Paul Goggins
My hon. Friend makes an extremely important point. The Prison Service of Northern Ireland is absolutely committed to ensuring that we improve educational opportunities and training, so that when prisoners move back into the community they are able to access jobs, have a home to live in and play a purposeful and positive role in the community, rather than return to offending.

Fine Defaulters

Tony Baldry (Banbury) (Con)
3. What percentage of prisoners in Northern Ireland are fine defaulters.

Mr. David Burrowes (Enfield, Southgate) (Con)
6. What proportion of those serving a custodial sentence in Northern Ireland were convicted for defaulting on fine payments.

The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office (Paul Goggins)
Although on average fine defaulters occupy up to 30 prison places at any one time, they represent 30 per cent. of all committals to prison. Ministers have made a commitment to deal with that overuse of custody by a range of alternative community-based penalties.

Tony Baldry
The Minister will be aware that the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, in a report on the Northern Ireland Prison Service, said that the sending to prison of fine defaulters placed an unreasonable demand on the scarce resources of the service, and recommended that immediate steps be taken to ensure that short-sentenced fine defaulters did not abuse the system. What steps exactly are being taken to ensure that?

Paul Goggins
I warmly welcome the report from the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, which put its finger on a number of important issues, including that one. It is quite a misuse of public resources that 2,000 prisoners each year are committed to prison in Northern Ireland because of fine default. They stay an average of four days, and usually their fine is of less than £600. In the new criminal justice measure that I shall shortly bring before the House, a new supervised activity order will put in place unpaid work instead of prison placement. Also, later this year, the fine default working group will produce further recommendations, which will include a proposal to introduce deduction from earnings and benefit, which of course should be in place well before custody is ever considered.

Mr. Burrowes
Does not the presence of fine defaulters in the Maghaberry high-security prison illustrate the Government’s failure to implement the recommendations regarding the treatment of those prisoners who require the lowest level of security management? When will the Government implement those recommendations, which will go some way to dealing with what the Secretary of State said in February was an “outrageous waste” of prison time and resources?

Paul Goggins
The hon. Gentleman suggests that that is an important issue that needs to be tackled, and to that extent I agree entirely. I have said that it is being tackled, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has set out a prospectus to do just that. We are beginning with the supervised activity orders that I have described, which will be followed by deductions from earnings and benefits. We are rebalancing the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland: those who pose the greatest risk of harm to fellow citizens will go to prison for longer than was the case in the past, while less serious offenders will be given robust, community-based punishments.

Dr. Alasdair McDonnell (Belfast, South) (SDLP)
Will the Minister give an estimate of the number of women in prison in Northern Ireland for defaulting on the television licence?

Paul Goggins
I cannot give a precise response to that question, but I shall write to my hon. Friend with the clear answer that he has asked for. However, it would be wrong to hold women or anyone else in prison for the non-payment of the television licence fee, or for any other minor matter. Such people should be dealt with robustly and their fines should be enforced, but they should not be detained in prison.

Mr. Peter Robinson (Belfast, East) (DUP)
What does it say about the Government that they have found time to pass legislation granting amnesties for mass murderers in Northern Ireland, but not for legislation that would deal with fine defaulters and keep them out of prison? Will the Minister look at the legislation that was introduced in the old Stormont Parliament after the Social Democratic and Labour party held a rent and rates strike? The legislation meant that money could be docked from benefits as well as from earnings.

Paul Goggins
I am always grateful for the right hon. Gentleman’s advice about things that were tried in the past, but I hope that he will agree that committing 2,000 people to prison each year in Northern Ireland for defaulting on fines is entirely wrong. In certain exceptional cases, it may be necessary to use prison as the last resort, but there needs to be a series of alternative, community-based punishments. I look forward to working with the right hon. Gentleman and others to make sure that the necessary reforms are made, so that fine defaulters are dealt with robustly but in the community.

Mr. Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury) (Con)
The House is aware of the problem with fine defaulters, some of whom are in prison for as little as 24 hours, but there is also a problem with the number of remand prisoners in Northern Ireland. They make up 37 per cent. of the prison population there, compared with 15 per cent. in England and Wales, and that proportion is rising. What does the Minister consider to be wrong with the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland, and what can he do about it?

Paul Goggins
As I have said already, we are reforming the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland to make sure that those who pose the greatest risk are dealt with most severely, while less serious offenders are dealt with in the community. The hon. Gentleman rightly states that about a third of people in the prison system in Northern Ireland are on remand. We must speed up the administration of the criminal justice process in Northern Ireland, but we are absolutely committed to doing so and have put in place targets to that end. Also, the criminal justice order that he and I will no doubt be debating soon contains a proposal to introduce electronic tagging to enforce curfews. Where appropriate, that will be another alternative to remanding people in custody, and it shows that we are taking action to rebalance the system to make it work more effectively.

Paramilitary Organisations

Mr. Andrew Mackay (Bracknell) (Con)
4. What recent assessment he has made of the activities of paramilitary organisations.

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Mr. Shaun Woodward)
I am looking forward to receiving the next Independent Monitoring Commission report at the end of April. More work still needs to be undertaken by loyalist organisations, and dissident republicans continue to pose a limited but real threat.

Mr. Mackay
The Secretary of State must be concerned about the apparent increase in paramilitary beatings, especially in some of the most deprived districts across the Province. What action is he taking to ensure that the police get a grip of those areas, and that the paramilitaries do not pose as defenders of local communities?

Mr. Woodward
The police have got a good grip on dissident activity, and they do an extremely brave job. The right hon. Gentleman will know that at the end of last year two police officers were targeted by dissident republicans. I am pleased to report that they have made a good recovery. They do an extremely important and brave job, but the overall crime figures—and we should view that activity in the context of crime—reveal just how successful the PSNI is.

Mr. Eddie McGrady (South Down) (SDLP)
Will the Secretary of State inform the House whether, over the past two years, he has had negotiations or discussions with the Ulster Volunteer Force, the Ulster Defence Association, dissident republicans and other such groups, for the purposes of obtaining ceasefires and decommissioning? If not, what has led to the change of Government policy and strategy?

Mr. Woodward
Again, the figures demonstrate the huge elements of progress that have been made. Whether we are talking about dissident republican activity or dissident loyalist activity, to which the hon. Gentleman referred, regrettably there are still elements out there who wish to behave in a criminal way. There is, of course, as the last IMC report indicated, more that needs to be done through action, and not just words, by dissident loyalist groups, but I look forward to receiving the next IMC report, which I am confident will show that further progress has been made.

Rev. Ian Paisley (North Antrim) (DUP)
Will the Secretary of State make a statement on the serious rioting in Londonderry at the weekend? When illegal parades on the Protestant side of the community take place, an attempt by the police to stop those involved from gathering is usually successful, but it seems that in the incident in question people could gather. In fact, for the first time in a very long time, 40 petrol bombs were recovered by the police, and there was a savage attack on the police in Londonderry. Would the Secretary of State not think it better, at this time, to concentrate on helping the police, rather than to enter into an engagement on whether power should be devolved to Stormont? Any organisation that has an army council associated with violence should not have anything to do with the police.

Mr. Woodward
I think that this is the first chance that I have had since the right hon. Gentleman announced that he will stand down as First Minister in May to put on record in the House what a huge debt the House owes him for the work that he has done, both in leading his party and as First Minister.

On the events that the right hon. Gentleman mentioned in Londonderry, I think that no sensibly minded person would do anything, in any shape or form, other than condemn the behaviour on the streets over the weekend. Petrol bombs and attacks on the police are a thing of the past and should be utterly condemned. I remind all hon. Members that this weekend Sinn Fein were as strong as any in condemning the activity that took place. He is right to talk about the importance of devolution of policing and criminal justice, and to point out the attention that the Government continue to pay to the issue. I just say to him that, while I condemn without reservation the behaviour of those criminals on the streets in Londonderry this weekend, I make no apology for continuing to encourage momentum on devolution, because that is the best way for us to secure long-term peace on the streets of every part of Northern Ireland.

Criminal Justice and Policing

Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York) (Con)
5. If he will make a statement on the progress of devolution of criminal justice and policing to Northern Ireland.

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Mr. Shaun Woodward)
Since May last year, huge progress has been made in Northern Ireland, not least with the publication of the Assembly’s progress report, which I laid before Parliament yesterday. Perhaps there is no better indication of the progress made in Northern Ireland than the visit last week by Her Majesty the Queen, who was able for the first time to attend a maundy service there—and, even more significantly, a maundy service in Armagh.

Miss McIntosh
The St. Andrews agreement is due to come into effect in May, and criminal justice and policing in particular go to the heart of that agreement. We have just heard that there may well be reasons why that deadline is not met. Will the Secretary of State meet that deadline, and if not, what does he expect will happen?

Mr. Woodward
The St. Andrews agreement began in May last year with the first stage of devolution, and I am pleased to report just how successful in all the areas where devolution has taken place the power-sharing Government have been. There remains the second stage of devolution, which in the agreement was envisaged to take place this year, hopefully in May. However, the hon. Lady rightly asks whether we will be able to complete it. The Government will have completed their promises and their arrangements, so that when the Assembly and the Executive have cross-community support and ask for devolution to take place, the Government will be able to fulfil their promises and objectives.

David Simpson (Upper Bann) (DUP)
The Secretary of State will be aware of the comments made by Mary McAleese, the President of the Republic of Ireland, when she said that Her Majesty the Queen could be invited to the Irish Republic only when policing and justice powers were devolved. Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that that statement was scandalous and shameful?

Mr. Woodward
I understand the emotions that are inevitably raised on the issue, and I understand the comments made by the hon. Gentleman, but the comments made by President McAleese last week must be seen in the context of a reply to a question from a journalist. They were heartfelt and they followed what had been said by the Taoiseach. Let us be clear. A visit by the Queen to the Republic will be agreed between the Palace and the Irish Government, and it will be a matter decided upon by the Queen at a time of her choosing.

Mr. Owen Paterson (North Shropshire) (Con)
The key to devolution of policing and justice is to build cross-community confidence. What discussions has the Minister had with senior members of the republican movement to ensure that the IRA army council is disbanded?

Mr. Woodward
The hon. Gentleman is right to talk about cross-community support. As he knows, recent polls in Northern Ireland have consistently shown that a majority of people not only support the devolution of policing and justice powers, but that they support that sooner rather than later, and that a majority would like it to be in May this year. On the specific question about discussions with republicans about the future of paramilitary structures, let me be equally clear. All the paramilitary structures, the army council included, are vestiges of the past. It would be better if they were gone this afternoon, and the sooner any leaders in any party can bear down on getting rid of the vestiges of Northern Ireland’s paramilitary past, the better.

Mr. Paterson
Actions speak louder than words. What steps is the Minister taking to encourage full republican co-operation, which is essential to solving the McCartney and Quinn murders and would go a long way to encouraging Unionists to support devolution?

Mr. Woodward
The hon. Gentleman is right; actions do speak better than words, which is why we are seeing an unprecedented level of co-operation between the community and PSNI precisely in areas where, for example, the terrible Quinn murder happened, as the hon. Gentleman is aware from his own discussions with the Chief Constable. Further to that, let me say once again to the hon. Gentleman that none of those structures, the army council included, has any place in tomorrow’s or even today’s Northern Ireland, and I welcome his support in joining me to apply pressure wherever it can be applied to ensure that those paramilitary structures belong in the dustbin of history.

Mr. Jeffrey M. Donaldson (Lagan Valley) (DUP)
Surely the greatest leverage that the Government can apply on the republican movement is to insist that the army council is removed before there is devolution of policing and justice. That is the one lever that the Government have, and instead of putting it up to the political parties in Northern Ireland, is it not time that the Government used their position and influence to press for that and insist on it before there is any question of further devolution?

Mr. Woodward
Let me put on record again my thanks to the right hon. Gentleman for the work that he has done with his Assembly and Executive Review Committee over the past six months to prepare the political parties of Northern Ireland for devolution. It is perfectly clear that he shares with all other hon. Members the view that there is no place in the future for any vestiges of paramilitary activity. He knows as well as I do that it is intention that matters. For that reason, I urge him to be careful about setting pre-conditions and to remain focused on intent and on building cross-community confidence. I remind him of what he said about policing and criminal justice only last week:

“I think that indicates that the political parties are almost at the point where they can take on this responsibility”.

Provisional Army Council

Mr. Andrew Robathan (Blaby) (Con)
7. What assessment he has made of the likelihood of the Provisional army council disbanding.

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Mr. Shaun Woodward)
I am sure that everybody looks forward to the day when all vestiges of Northern Ireland’s paramilitary history, including the army council, have been relegated to where they belong: the past.

Mr. Robathan
The Provisional army council is not some branch of the Royal British Legion, but a terror command structure. Given that the Government’s policies have put terrorists and murderers into government in part of the United Kingdom, and given that the self-same people were and may still be members of that terror command structure, how can the Secretary of State even contemplate having them in charge of policing the criminal justice system?

Mr. Woodward
I am sorry to disappoint the hon. Gentleman, but he will know that the Belfast agreement, subsequently built on by the St. Andrews agreement, enables the politicians and people of Northern Ireland to determine their future. As such, we built into the St. Andrews agreement that it would be for the parties to agree on the matter, that it would be an issue of cross-community confidence, and that when a motion was brought before and agreed by the Assembly, it would finally have to come before this House before we could move forward on devolution.

As for the idea of terrorists being put into positions of power, I simply say this to the hon. Gentleman: all those members of the Executive have taken an oath of office, and they are required, both now and in future, to live up to that oath.

Prime Minister

The Prime Minister was asked—

Engagements

Gwyn Prosser (Dover) (Lab)
Q1.  If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 26 March.

The Prime Minister (Mr. Gordon Brown)
This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall have further such meetings later today.

Gwyn Prosser
No one knows better than my constituents the huge effects that cross-channel co-operation and our new border controls have had on clamping down on illegal immigration, but there is more work to be done. What will my right hon. Friend be discussing tomorrow with our new friend, President Sarkozy, to continue the work of improving and reforming our immigration schemes, to strengthen our economies and to get a grip on the militants at Calais—[Interruption.]

Mr. Speaker
Order.

The Prime Minister
Let me first of all thank my hon. Friend for his question, and welcome President Sarkozy and his wife to Britain. I believe that our talks in the next few days will be very constructive. My hon. Friend is absolutely right about illegal immigration and I hope that in our talks today and tomorrow, the President and I can agree to tighten up controls at Calais. I hope also that we can have an agreement that there will be no further immigration centres like Sangatte, and that they will not exist in the future. Given the present global financial turbulence and the fact that in one country in the last day interest rates have moved to 15 per cent., I also believe that it is right that France and Britain agree measures, which we can put to the international institutions over the next few days, that will strengthen the stability of our economies, deal with problems of lack of transparency in financial information and make sure that the European economies can continue to grow together. That is possible only because we want a Britain at the heart of Europe and not detached from Europe.

Mr. David Cameron (Witney) (Con)
I join the Prime Minister in welcoming President and Mrs. Sarkozy to Britain.

It is now nearly eight months since the start of the credit crunch, and one of the key questions is how well prepared we are. Does the Prime Minister now accept that in terms of financial regulation, the UK has been shown to have some serious failings?

The Prime Minister
We have already looked at some of the changes that can be made, both in the Financial Services Authority—there is a report of the Treasury Committee today—and in the Bank of England. But if I may say so, if the right hon. Gentleman now looks around the world and sees what happened to Bear Stearns, sees that three banks have fallen in Germany and sees what happened to Société Générale in France, he will realise that we have been better protected than other countries against the global financial turbulence, and that that is precisely because we did not take the Opposition advice that would have caused instability.

Mr. Cameron
People around the world are making a contrast between Bear Stearns, where a rescue was organised in just a few days, and Northern Rock, where there were months of dithering. I know that the Prime Minister created the regulatory system, but he needs to be frank about its failings. Today’s FSA report is a remarkable report, which says:

“The supervision of Northern Rock revealed the most significant combination of shortcomings”,

yet not a word about that from the Prime Minister. The director general of the CBI says that this was the first new test of the tripartite system, and it failed to deliver the goods. So that we are better prepared in future, does the Prime Minister agree that the Bank of England, not the Financial Services Authority, should be in charge of rescuing banks that fail?

The Prime Minister
First of all, until a few weeks ago the right hon. Gentleman supported what we did on Northern Rock, so it makes no sense for him to criticise now. Secondly, as far as the Financial Services Authority is concerned, it is true that it has been regulating for solvency, and it has done a good job. The problem arose in terms of liquidity, and that is where further efforts have got to be made. That is true, as the President of America’s report is saying, for the American financial system, and it is true of the French and the German financial systems as well. All countries are realising that more has to be done to protect against illiquidity, and they also know that there has to be greater transparency in the financial system. I repeat: the lessons that are being learned are being learned around the world.

The Conservative party published a document in the past two days saying that far from Britain doing badly, real living standards in Britain among pensioners had risen by £1,500 since 2001; for single women pensioners, by £1,000; and for couples, by £700. That is on page 16 of the Conservatives’ own document.

Mr. Cameron
I tell you what that document said: it said that since this man became Prime Minister, the price of milk is up 17 per cent., the price of eggs is up 28 per cent. and the price of bread is up 34 per cent. That is the real cost of living under Labour.

In his answer, the Prime Minister said an extraordinary thing—that the Financial Services Authority has done a good job. What he has not read is the report out today by the Financial Services Authority that says:

“The Financial Services Authority is short of expertise in some fundamental areas, notably prudential banking experience and financial data analysis.”

Are not those the absolutely key things that are needed to be a regulator? Is not that why the Bank of England should be in charge of these rescues rather than the Financial Services Authority? The Chancellor—[Interruption.] They do not like to hear the extent of the failure of the system put in place by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister and the Chancellor have made several U-turns recently; why do they not make one more U-turn and make the Bank of England responsible?

The Prime Minister
I know what the chairman of the right hon. Gentleman’s defence commission, Frederick Forsyth, meant when he said that David Cameron has a

“sketchy grasp of basic arithmetic”,

because he does not understand what is happening. The FSA has admitted that it must do more about liquidity problems, but every financial organisation around the world that is regulating markets is accepting the need to do more. He would be better addressing the real problems that we face—off balance sheet activities, write-offs that have not been properly declared, and credit rating agencies that have done the job of being advisers as well as raters. Those are the problems that have got to be addressed. Instead of just blaming the Financial Services Authority, he should look at the real problems that President Sarkozy and I will address. The real problems will not be solved by someone who has no basic grasp of arithmetic. [Interruption.]

Mr. Speaker
Order. The Leader of the Opposition.

Mr. Cameron
It is time that the Prime Minister and the Chancellor—[Interruption.]

Mr. Speaker
Order. The Leader of the Opposition.

Mr. Cameron
It is time that the Prime Minister and the Chancellor realised that one of the real problems facing Britain is their economic mismanagement. It is frankly pathetic to listen to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom read out quotes from a novelist when he ought to be reading out from the Financial Services Authority’s report. A key point in terms of how well prepared we are is the size of the Government’s budget deficit. Out of 55 major world economies, only three economies have a bigger budget deficit than Britain. That is why he is putting up taxes. Most other countries are helping families with the cost of living; this Government are hitting them. Can he name one other major country that has just introduced a Budget putting up taxes? Name one.

The Prime Minister
We are injecting more money into the economy this year. We are not taking money out of the economy; we are cutting the basic rate of income tax to 20p. Let us compare what was happening during the last world downturn: 15 per cent. interest rates, 10 per cent. inflation, 3 million people unemployed, public spending being cut, and taxes rising dramatically with VAT on fuel. Let us compare that with what is happening now: we have low inflation, low interest rates, the highest levels of employment in our history, unemployment at its lowest since 1975 and public services continuing to expand. If the right hon. Gentleman does not accept that today, he should remember that he said on Monday on BBC Radio London:

“Interest rates still look low historically”.

We have kept interest rates low.

Mr. Cameron
Not only has the Prime Minister not read the report from the Financial Services Authority, it is pretty clear that he has not read his own Budget. Pages 111 and 112 of the Red Book show taxes going up in the Budget. Everybody knows that taxes have just gone up. Every time you fill up the car, taxes have gone up; every time you buy a car, taxes have gone up; every time the family goes shopping, and so on. No wonder every pub in Britain is trying to ban the Chancellor from having a pint. The Prime Minister has not answered a single question so let us just try this once again. Can he name one other major country that is responding to the downturn by putting up taxes? Name one.

The Prime Minister
We are injecting more money into the economy—the right hon. Gentleman simply does not understand basic arithmetic. The basic rate of income tax is going down to 20p. Let us look at our record. Inflation in Britain is 2.5 per cent, in America it is 4 per cent. and in the euro area it is over 3 per cent. So which country has the lowest rate of inflation of the major countries? It is Britain. We have kept interest rates low, and whereas unemployment is 8 per cent. in Germany, 8 per cent. in France and rising in America, it is at its lowest in Britain since 1975, at half the rate of our European partners. That is a Government who are better prepared for a world downturn. The problem is that the Conservatives want £10 billion of tax cuts, they want to say that they will raise public expenditure, they want to say that borrowing should fall and they say that they want tax cuts at the moment to boost the economy. That is the same recipe that they followed in 1992, and it led to the worst recession since the war. And who was the economic adviser to the Treasury at the time? None other than the Leader of the Opposition.

Mr. Cameron
The Prime Minister has not answered the question. He cannot name one other major country that is putting up taxes in a downturn. He asked for some basic arithmetic; I will give him some. One Prime Minister plus one Chancellor equals economic incompetence. Every other Government have put aside money in the good years to build up their surpluses. Instead, this Government, at the end of a period of worldwide economic growth, have achieved a unique double: the highest tax burden in our history and the biggest budget deficit in western Europe. Does he feel any responsibility for any of this, or is he totally incapable of admitting his mistakes?

The Prime Minister
The highest tax burden in our country happened under a Conservative Government in the 1980s. The rising deficit in the world is a rising deficit in America, which will be higher than ours. I just wish the right hon. Gentleman had known something about economics when he came to this House and started to tell us what to do. The truth is that we have cut corporation tax from 30p to 28p, and we will cut income tax from the beginning of April from 22p to 20p. All he can give us is slogans and not substance; the Conservatives have learned nothing from their experience of the 1990s.

Alan Simpson (Nottingham, South) (Lab)
Are the Government on course to deliver the Prime Minister’s commitment to take all vulnerable households out of fuel poverty by 2010?

The Prime Minister
In the Budget, we put in more money to help low-income households deal with their fuel bills. We have done more to deal with the problems of homelessness and fuel poverty in the last 10 years than the Conservatives ever did in 18 years. In the Budget, we raised the winter fuel allowance, we raised the amount of money available for insulation and we will continue to do more to meet our social housing targets.

Mr. Nick Clegg (Sheffield, Hallam) (LD)
Home repossession orders now stand at 100,000—the same as in 1990—and house prices are falling faster than they were even then. Does the Prime Minister still deny that the crisis facing British home owners today looks at least as bad as the Tory recession of the early 1990s?

The Prime Minister
I do not know when the Liberal party will ever learn. Interest rates were 18 per cent. at one point in the early 1990s; they are 5.25 per cent. today. The number of repossessions in the last year was 27,000; in the first two years of the 1990s, it was 200,000. We are dealing with a quite different situation and the reason is that we did not take the advice of the Liberal party, but pursued policies for economic stability.

Mr. Clegg
Is complacency the only thing that the right hon. Gentleman has to offer the thousands of British families who are frightened of losing their homes? Will he now instruct the Bank of England to take house prices into account when setting interest rates, to stop the boom and bust in the housing market? Will he also stop banks from repossessing homes at will and force them to explore all other options to keep British families in their homes?

The Prime Minister
But the way to deal with the economic problems is to keep inflation low and to keep interest rates low, and that is exactly what we have done. Inflation is lower than in the rest of Europe and lower than in America. That is why interest rates have managed to come down twice in the past few months, whereas that has not been possible in the euro area. I tell the right hon. Gentleman this: we take seriously our responsibility to home owners in this country. That is why there are 1.5 million more home owners now than there were in 1997, why interest rates are on average half what they were in the Conservative years and why mortgage rates are lower than they were on average in those 18 years. We will continue to ensure that inflation and interest rates are low, to the benefit of home owners. One way we will do that is by not taking the advice of the Liberal party.

Mr. David Chaytor (Bury, North) (Lab)
Q2.  After cancer and heart disease, the fear of falling victim to stroke is one of the greatest anxieties felt by elderly people. In Greater Manchester, the decision will be taken shortly to establish three new specialist stroke centres. The Prime Minister will know of the outstanding work done by the stroke service at Fairfield hospital in my constituency. Does he agree that Fairfield will be an ideal location for one of the new specialist stroke centres?

The Prime Minister
I know that my hon. Friend will push the case hard for Fairfield general hospital, which I understand does a very good job. There is a Manchester-wide integrated stroke service strategy to be published. We have already put in £105 million of Government funding to support the general stroke strategy. Up to 6,000 deaths could be avoided as a result, and 15,000 strokes could be averted through preventive work. That is why we will take seriously not only what my hon. Friend says about his hospital, but the need to improve stroke services throughout the country. That is possible only because we are increasing the money available to the national health service.

Rev. Ian Paisley (North Antrim) (DUP)
Would the Prime Minister give to the people of Northern Ireland the assurance today that the Government will not countenance supporting any attempt to use the embryo Bill to legalise abortion in Northern Ireland through back-door legislation, keeping in mind that all parties in Northern Ireland are opposed to this? Surely that decision should be made by Stormont, and Stormont alone.

The Prime Minister
First, this is the first time that the right hon. Gentleman has been in the House since he announced that he was giving up his job as First Minister, and I want to thank him for everything that he has done as First Minister. The whole House—indeed, the whole of the United Kingdom—owes him a huge debt of gratitude for the way he has brought together the parties in Northern Ireland and been a very successful First Minister over the past few months. 

The matter of an amendment on abortion to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill is a matter for this House. I do not believe that the House will wish to change its mind on these issues, but that is a matter of a free vote of the House of Commons.

Dr. Alan Whitehead (Southampton, Test) (Lab)
Q3.  Does the Prime Minister think that energy companies should do more to help vulnerable groups deal with the cost of their fuel? Does he think that they should all introduce standard social tariffs to assist such people, and if they do not, is he prepared to legislate?

The Prime Minister
This is exactly the area where we are working with the energy companies at the moment. We are talking to them, and we have said that they need to deliver a package of social assistance to vulnerable households that will increase their spending from £56 million a year to £150 million a year. We want the energy companies that have benefited from the windfall as a result of the European licence trading in relation to climate change to put an extra £100 million a year into helping the very households that my hon. Friend is talking about. That is on top of the winter allowance, which we have just increased, and on top of the help with insulation that we are giving. I understand how difficult it is for people at the moment. Oil, gas and coal prices have risen by between 60 and 80 per cent. around the world. That is why, with the winter allowance and the extra £100 million that the energy companies will be expected to put in, we will do our best by those people who face, or are threatened by, fuel poverty in this country.

Sir Paul Beresford (Mole Valley) (Con)
Q4.  I have an interest to declare on this question. If the media were to be believed a few months ago, the ravages of dental decay were becoming widespread. The Prime Minister will be aware that fluoridation is generally considered to be the best way to prevent that disease. The Water Act 2003 promised to bring in fluoridation, but not a single water supply has been fluoridated since then. Will the Prime Minister confirm that he agrees with the need for fluoridation, and will he meet a small delegation to discuss the changes needed to implement it?

The Prime Minister
I am personally very sympathetic to what the hon. Gentleman says. I have seen the benefits of fluoridation myself. One reason for us putting extra money from the health budget into fluoridation is to encourage that to happen around the country. I would be very happy to meet a delegation, as the hon. Gentleman suggests. Also, the Health Secretary has just told me that £14 million of extra money is being put in to help with this, and that is one way in which we can encourage local authorities and others to take up fluoridation. It is a good thing for the teeth of the people of this country.

Mr. Denis MacShane (Rotherham) (Lab)
Did the Prime Minister hear the very warm words—almost a love letter—that President Sarkozy sent to Britain via the “Today” programme this morning? When he meets the President, can we reciprocate? Does he agree that the default setting for our political class, for Whitehall and, above all, for the media is often to express contempt and derision for France? Can we not try to turn the entente cordiale of the last century into an entente amicale, or even an entente fraternelle, for this century?

The Prime Minister
My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. President Sarkozy and his French Government and our Government have a great deal in common and a shared agenda for the future. We will be discussing co-operation on matters relating to energy and security. We will also be discussing how we can work together on the environment and the economy. I believe that, coming out of these talks, we will find a shared agreement to move things further. I believe in the international institutions when it comes to the reform of the economy, and we will now vote together on crucial areas in which we must reform the international economy. My right hon. Friend is absolutely right to say that the entente cordiale is moving into a new era, and I hope that Members on both sides of the House will welcome that, but it does require Britain to be at the centre of Europe and not isolated from it.

Castle Point

Bob Spink (Castle Point) (Con)
Q5.  If he will visit Castle Point to review its infrastructure.

The Prime Minister
I have no current plans to do so.

Bob Spink
Such a shame. Canvey Island will soon have 50,000 residents, and we need a new access road from a different point on the island for environmental and regeneration reasons, and particularly for safety reasons, in case we ever needed to evacuate the island again. The Prime Minister will remember that 58 people lost their lives on Canvey Island in the last great flood because they could not be evacuated. Will he join me in pressing Essex county council, which is Conservative controlled, to make that its top priority? If it does, we will get the access road that we need. If it does not, the people will know who to blame.

The Prime Minister
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his question, because it allows me to point out that we have increased spending on roads by 80 per cent. in real terms since we came to power, and that that spending will have more than doubled in real terms in the years up to the next decade. However, it is the responsibility of Essex county council to bring forward a scheme that provides value for money and meets environmental objectives. I know that Essex county council is neither of the hon. Gentleman’s party nor of ours, but I hope that it will listen to his representations.

Engagements

Mr. Robert Flello (Stoke-on-Trent, South) (Lab)
Q6.  Will my right hon. Friend take the opportunity over the next few days to talk to President Sarkozy about working closely and helpfully with the Chinese Government in order to find a peaceful and lasting solution to the Tibet question? Will he do that?

The Prime Minister
I am grateful to my hon. Friend, as this issue concerns not just France and Britain, but the whole world. As I said last week, I have talked to Premier Wen about it. My hon. Friend may know that a human rights dialogue took place with the Chinese Government at the beginning of the year, and officials from Britain visited Tibet and reported on it. We are determined to draw to the Chinese Government’s attention changes that need to be made. We urge restraint where there has been violence and we urge reconciliation where there is a lack of dialogue. I repeat that the authorities in China and the Dalai Lama should, subject to the conditions laid down, get into talks. We are determined to help and facilitate a process of dialogue and reconciliation.

Mr. Gerald Howarth (Aldershot) (Con)
Q7.  Given reports that embassy staff in Washington have been forbidden from using the expression “the special relationship”, will the Prime Minister—for the benefit of the people of this country and perhaps of President Sarkozy—define his understanding of the meaning of “the special relationship” between the United Kingdom and our closest ally, the United States?

The Prime Minister
As the right hon. Gentleman says, it is our closest ally and our single most important partner, so I use the term “special relationship” with pride.

Mrs. Betty Williams (Conwy) (Lab)
Q8.  As my right hon. Friend knows, the Foreign Secretary launched the Government’s annual human rights report at the Foreign Office last night. Will the Prime Minister join me in congratulating the many volunteer organisations that contribute so much to fostering human rights across the world—including my fellow members of Soroptimists International in north Wales, who, through their project Sierra, aim to transform the lives of orphan children following the war in Sierra Leone?

The Prime Minister
I believe that the House should congratulate the Soroptimists and all those who work for human rights in every part of the world, particularly those who work for the achievement of the Geneva convention, but who do so under dangerous and risky conditions that can sometimes threaten their lives. The human rights report published by the Foreign Secretary yesterday draws attention to areas in the world where human rights abuses have to be addressed. One important area that will be in the eye of the world this weekend is Zimbabwe. It is important that we draw attention to the abuses there and call for a restoration—a full restoration—of democracy in that country.

Paul Rowen (Rochdale) (LD)
Does the Prime Minister think it right that the west coast main line should have to wait until 2012 for new carriages? Will he intervene in the dispute between the Department for Transport and Virgin Trains in order to secure a resolution to the problem?

The Prime Minister
I just have to tell the hon. Gentleman that we have spent £7 billion modernising the west coast main line and that no Government could have done more to make it possible for more people to travel on that particular line and on railways more generally. Indeed, the number of passengers using the railways is now more than 1 billion for the first time since the second world war.

Miss Anne Begg (Aberdeen, South) (Lab)
Q9.  What would my right hon. Friend say about a local authority that has slashed services to disabled people in such a cavalier fashion that they are threatening to take the council to court for its failure to comply with its equality duties under the Disability Discrimination Act 2005?

The Prime Minister
It used to be the Conservative councils that were the only ones making huge cuts, but it is now Scottish National party and Liberal Democrat councils, which explains what has happened in Aberdeen. I think that people will be particularly sad to hear that members of the disabled community in Aberdeen are the biggest victims of the cuts being brought in by that administration. I hope that public opinion will express itself and say that disabled people should not suffer in that way.

Mr. Bernard Jenkin (North Essex) (Con)
In the spirit of the entente amicale as well as that of our special relationship with our American allies, may I draw the Prime Minister’s attention to the state of relations between the EU and NATO, which the Defence Committee has urged should be a priority matter for next week’s NATO summit? May I urge him to address what the American ambassador to NATO has called the senseless and frozen conflict between the two institutions and to secure the agreement of President Sarkozy, whom we welcome in London today, to resolve the problem so that neither the EU undermines NATO, nor NATO the EU?

The Prime Minister
I believe that both NATO and the European Union have important jobs to do. In my discussions with President Sarkozy, I believe that we will see him being amenable to changes in NATO that will bring its European members closer to the heart of NATO in the near future. I also believe that a relationship between the EU and NATO in which the EU does more of the civilian reconstruction work, matching the military work of NATO, as is happening in Kosovo, is one of the ways in which we can cement a better relationship between the two organisations. We are proud to be a member of both NATO and the European Union.

Helen Southworth (Warrington, South) (Lab)
Q10.  As science is so important to the north-west and to the UK economy, will my right hon. Friend ensure that the science research council retains key scientific skills at Daresbury laboratory so that we can continue to produce world-leading science there?

The Prime Minister
I can tell my hon. Friend, who has fought hard for all the investments made at Daresbury science park, that the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills is committed to creating a science and innovation campus at Daresbury. That was announced in the Budget of 2006 and confirmed in December 2007. The next step is that Sir Tom McKillop, the chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland, has been asked to include Daresbury in his north-west review. We are committed to additional investment in science and technology in my hon. Friend’s region, and to all the jobs that flow from that, making it possible for the north-west to continue to increase employment during a difficult period for the world economy.

Mr. Nigel Dodds (Belfast, North) (DUP)
In his article in The Daily Telegraph yesterday, on why we must stand up for the Union, with which I heartily agree, the Prime Minister mentioned Scotland, Wales and England. Will he now tell the House what his predecessor once said: that he values the Union between Great Britain and Northern Ireland?

The Prime Minister
Not only do I value the Union but I will work to make that Union strong. If the hon. Gentleman looks at the Daily Telegraph website, he will see that Northern Ireland was included in that article, not excluded.