Questions & Answers
Q1
Partial Answer
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The Northern Ireland protocol is causing issues for businesses and undermining the Belfast agreement. It restricts free movement within the UK.
The Northern Ireland protocol frustrates business, undermines the Belfast agreement, and restricts the free movement of goods and people within our United Kingdom. What action will my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Union take to reunite the UK and uphold the interests of all its residents, including those living in Northern Ireland?
My hon. Friend is quite right. The protocol does not require, contrary to how it is being applied by our friends, all foods, all medicines and all plants to be systematically checked in the way that they are. We must fix it, and with good will and common sense I believe we can. However, if our friends do not show the requisite common sense, we will of course trigger article 60.
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Assessment & feedback
Specific actions by the Minister for the Union to address these issues were not detailed
Response accuracy
Q2
Partial Answer
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The Business Secretary suggested that fraud is not a common experience in daily life. However, it is a serious issue with many older people being duped out of savings.
Was the Business Secretary right to say that fraud is not something that people experience in their day-to-day lives?
Of course, this Government and this country despise those who defraud people, and that is why we crack down on fraudsters. We have strengthened our anti-fraud taskforce and we are bringing forward an economic crime Bill. We also attach huge importance to tackling neighbourhood crime and crimes of violence, and I am pleased that those crimes are down 17%.
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Assessment & feedback
Specific actions in response to the Business Secretary's statement were not detailed
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Q3
Partial Answer
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The Prime Minister's anti-fraud Minister quit, citing the Government's failure to tackle fraud. Additionally, there are concerns about taxpayer-funded loans being misused.
The Prime Minister's answer has a big hole in it. We have had lockdowns for the past two years; two crimes that people could commit were online fraud and throwing parties. So far as I can see, the numbers for both have gone through the roof. However, I was asking the Prime Minister about the 14,000 cases of fraud a day. Many older people have been duped out of hard-earned savings, but the Business Secretary casually suggests on TV, “Don't worry; it's not real crime.” There is a crime gang in Manchester nicking cars and shipping them around the world, all financed by covid loans from the taxpayer. What is the Chancellor's response? Write off £4 billion in losses, and block an investigation by the National Crime Agency. The Prime Minister's Cabinet is turning a blind eye to scammers.
No, because what we are doing is tackling crime across the board. That is why we are investing more in tackling fraud, but we are also tackling the neighbourhood crime that does such massive psychological damage to people in this country. We are tackling knife crime, burglary and crimes of violence in the street with tougher sentences—which Labour voted against, by the way—and putting more police out on the street. And we are able to afford it because we have a strong economy and we are coming back strongly from covid, and that is thanks to the big calls that this Government got right.
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Assessment & feedback
Specific actions in response to the 14,000 cases of fraud per day were not detailed
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Q4
Partial Answer
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The Prime Minister's anti-fraud Minister quit, citing the Government's failure to tackle fraud. There are concerns about taxpayer-funded loans being misused.
The Prime Minister's anti-fraud Minister quit, saying that the failure of Government to tackle fraud was “so egregious” that he had to smash some crockery to get people to take notice. It seems that the Prime Minister has not noticed the broken plates and shattered glass all around him.
Our plan to tackle the cost of living is faster, more efficient and more generous than anything that Labour has set out. We have lifted the living wage by record amounts, we have cut the effective tax for people on universal credit and we are now setting out a fantastic plan to help people with the cost of energy. It is more generous and more effective than anything Labour has set out. It is £9.1 billion—it is huge sums that we are using to help people across the country—and the only reason we can afford it is that we have a strong economy, the fastest growing in the G7—as I think I may have pointed out to the right hon. and learned Gentleman last week—not just last year but this year as well.
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Assessment & feedback
Specific actions in response to the anti-fraud Minister's resignation were not addressed
Changing Subject
Response accuracy
Q5
Partial Answer
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The Prime Minister's plan is to hand billions of pounds of taxpayers' cash to energy companies, forcing families to pay it off in instalments for years.
The Prime Minister clearly hasn't got the first clue what the Chancellor has signed him up to, so let me help him out. His plan is to hand billions of pounds of taxpayers' cash to energy companies and then force families to pay it off in instalments for years to come. If it sounds like he is forcing people to take out a loan, and it looks like he is forcing people to take out a loan, is it not just forcing people to take out a loan?
We are giving people in bands A to D council tax valuations across the country—27 million homes—the equivalent of a £150 rebate off their council tax. Labour's offer is £89. Ours is faster, more generous and more effective. This is a global problem, caused by the spike in gas prices, but what Labour would do is clobber the oil and gas companies right now—with a tax that would deter investment in gas, just when this country needs gas as we transition to green fuel. It would be totally ridiculous, and it would raise prices for consumers.
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Assessment & feedback
Whether the Prime Minister's plan is forcing people to take out a loan was not addressed
Changing Subject
Response accuracy
Q6
Partial Answer
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Context
The Prime Minister is not clear on what the Chancellor has signed him up to, regarding handing over billions of pounds of taxpayers' cash to energy companies.
I was always worried that the Prime Minister wasn't one for reading terms and conditions and that he didn't understand what the Chancellor had signed him up to. He has just confirmed my worst fears.
The Labour plan would clobber suppliers. It is an improvement on what I thought the right hon. Gentleman stood for, which was nationalising the energy companies. Maybe he has dropped that one now. I cannot tell whether he has dropped that one; maybe he has. What he would be doing is hitting the energy companies at precisely the moment when we need to encourage them to go for more gas, because we need to transition now to cleaner fuels, and this Government are providing £9.1 billion of support. It is more generous than anything Labour is offering.
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Assessment & feedback
Specific actions in relation to energy costs were not detailed
Changing Subject
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Q7
Partial Answer
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The Labour Party criticises the government for introducing a loan scheme that burdens taxpayers while oil and gas companies report record profits.
On top of Tory tax rises and soaring prices, the buy-now pay-later scheme leaves taxpayers in debt. Oil and gas companies have more money than they know what to do with. Is the Prime Minister worried about everyone seeing this as a scam?
The Government is committed to taking tough decisions for the country, unlike Labour's easy way out. The Government kept going during lockdowns when Labour wanted restrictions. They delivered the fastest booster and vaccine roll-out due to Brexit freedoms.
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Assessment & feedback
Concerns about loan scheme burdening taxpayers while oil and gas companies benefit were not addressed
Bluff And Bluster
Calling Labour Incompetent
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Q8
Partial Answer
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The Government announced a £9 billion plan to help with rising energy bills, but questions remain about future nuclear projects and the enabling fund.
Will the Prime Minister assure that full steam ahead is being taken for new nuclear projects like Wylfa Newydd, supporting UK's energy security, jobs, and investment?
Yes. The hon. Friend was congratulated for her advocacy of nuclear in Ynys Môn. Labour allowed nuclear capacity to decline by 11% during their watch. We aim to support at least one major nuclear project this Parliament with our Nuclear Energy (Financing) Bill.
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Assessment & feedback
The assurance for full steam ahead on new nuclear was vague
Attacking Labour'S Past Record
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Q9
Partial Answer
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The Chancellor's national insurance hike will cause nurses to take a £275-a-year pay cut at the same time as soaring energy bills hit.
While changes in Downing Street continue, people face costs from the Tory leadership. Will the Prime Minister and the Chancellor scrap the regressive hike in national insurance?
We recruit 50,000 more nurses, with 11,000 additional this year. Starting salary for nurses increased by 12.8%. We value our NHS and pay for it.
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Assessment & feedback
The question about scrapping the national insurance hike was not addressed
Changing Subject To Recruitment Of More Nurses
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Q10
Partial Answer
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During the pandemic, nurses sacrificed much while the Government held numerous parties. Now they face a £270 wage cut.
The Prime Minister and his Chancellor tell nurses that their reward for seeing us through the pandemic is a £270 wage cut. Is this fair?
We back our fantastic nurses all the way, recruiting more of them. We increased starting salaries by 12.8%, in addition to bursaries and help.
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Assessment & feedback
The question about fairness of pay cuts was not addressed
Changing Subject To Recruitment And Salary Increases
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Q11
Partial Answer
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Wolverhampton is at the front of the Government's levelling up White Paper, with City of Wolverhampton College leading jobseekers into work.
Will the Prime Minister join me in congratulating the college on its new facility? Will he meet me to discuss how more jobseekers can access skills through the City Learning Quarter and final funding?
I congratulate my hon. Friend, Lady Wulfruna of Wolverhampton. Since April 2020, we have seen 125,000 starts for the sector-based work academy programme due to her lobbying and support.
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Assessment & feedback
The question about meeting was not directly answered
Changing Subject To Recent Achievements
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Q12
Partial Answer
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Janet, aged 74, lost £25,000 to fraudsters. She is one of the 4 million people who fell victim to such scams last year.
Seventy-four-year-old Janet had £25,000 stolen by fraudsters. For Janet, and for the 4 million people who fell victim to fraudsters and online scammers last year, fraud is a crime. So does the Prime Minister understand the hurt that he and his Ministers cause fraud victims such as Janet when they write them out of the crime figures and dismiss fraud as something that people do not experience in their day-to-day lives? Will the Prime Minister correct the record on crime figures, and apologise?
I direct the House to what I have already said to my hon. Friend the Member for Hartlepool (Jill Mortimer). The right hon. Gentleman knows very well that this Government hate fraud and online fraud. We are tackling the scammers by helping people to come forward when they get an email—when they get duped. We are of course helping them in any way that we can, but we are also cutting the crime that affects people up and down our country—the neighbourhood crime—and dealing with the county lines drugs gangs, and the right hon. Gentleman should support that as well. I am proud that those numbers have come down by 17%.
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Assessment & feedback
Did not address the specific ask to correct the record on crime figures or apologise.
Under Review
Response accuracy
Q13
Direct Answer
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Context
No specific background given, but related to global education initiatives.
Twelve years of quality education for every girl in the world is probably the single most transformative thing we can do to improve the world. I remember working with my friend Uhuru Kenyatta on that declaration and we will certainly ensure that everybody at the Commonwealth meeting signs up to it.
I thank my hon. Friend very much for everything she does to support education for girls. Twelve years of quality education for every girl in the world is probably the single most transformative thing we can do to improve the world. I remember working with my friend Uhuru Kenyatta on that declaration and we will certainly ensure that everybody at the Commonwealth meeting signs up to it.
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Q14
Partial Answer
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The MP referenced a photo showing the Prime Minister in Downing Street during lockdown, surrounded by alcohol, food, and people wearing tinsel.
At the height of the lockdown restrictions in 2020, my constituent, who has worked for the NHS for over 30 years, was diagnosed with a tumour on her spine. While she was in hospital undergoing painful surgery, her family obeyed the rules and did not visit her. In the last few minutes, a photo has emerged of the Prime Minister in Downing Street, on 15 December 2020, surrounded by alcohol, food and people wearing tinsel. It looks a lot like one of the Christmas parties that he told us never happened. For the sake of my constituent and the sacrifices she made, will the Prime Minister be referring that party to the police, as it is not one of those already being investigated?
First, I am very sorry about the hon. Gentleman's constituent and for the difficulties she has been through. I understand very much her feelings, but in what the hon. Gentleman has just said I am afraid he is completely in error.
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Assessment & feedback
Did not address referring the party to the police or acknowledging the photo's implications.
Denial
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Q15
Partial Answer
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The Prime Minister visited a building site in Dudley that is now the new Institute of Technology, delivering on skills for future jobs.
On 30 September 2020, the Prime Minister joined me on a building site in Dudley that is now the new Institute of Technology, delivering on skills for future jobs and creating opportunities across the Black Country. Will the Prime Minister join me in congratulating the delivery team—including stakeholders such as Thomas Dudley and Dudley College—that delivered on this amazing project? Will he join me to do so in person at the nearest opportunity?
My hon. Friend is a great champion for Dudley and for the Black Country. I am delighted to hear that the Black Country & Marches Institute of Technology is now open and will certainly keep his kind invitation in mind.
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Assessment & feedback
Did not commit to joining the MP in person at the institute.
Deferral
Response accuracy
Q16
Direct Answer
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The protocol has zero support from Unionists in Northern Ireland. The Irish Government's ambassador is demanding further implementation of the protocol, which would bring more checks on the people of Northern Ireland.
The fact of the matter is that the protocol has zero support from Unionists. The fact of the matter is—I hope the Prime Minister is listening—that in a divided society a solution that attracts the support of only one section of the community will never stand. Will the Prime Minister therefore take the opportunity to speak to the Irish Government, whose ambassador, Daniel Mulhall, is running around Washington demanding further implementation of the protocol on the basis that it will bring further checks on the people of Northern Ireland? Does the Prime Minister accept that he now has the responsibility to bring forward a solution that unites the people of Northern Ireland and that saves the Union that is being undermined by the protocol?
Yes, I agree completely that there must be a solution that commands cross-community support. At the moment, there is no doubt that the balance of the Good Friday agreement is being upset by the way that the protocol is being operated, and we need to fix that. That is what we will do, and, if our friends will not agree, we will, as I said earlier, implement article 16.
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Q17
Partial Answer
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The question suggests a voluntary agreement with oil and gas companies to bring more fuel onto the wholesale market, reducing prices.
Rather than a compulsory windfall tax so favoured by the Opposition, will my right hon. Friend take an alternative view: summon a high-level meeting with the oil and gas companies with the aim of a voluntary agreement to bring more oil and gas on to the wholesale market to reduce oil and gas prices to help hard-pressed people deal with the cost of living problems?
I thank my hon. Friend for that suggestion, which is both interesting and ingenious. The oil and gas companies create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the UK, and they are very important to our economy. I will do what I can to take forward his request for a meeting with them, but I remind him and the House that we have frozen fuel duty for 12 years in a row, saving people £15 in the cost of filling up their tanks, compared with 2010.
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Assessment & feedback
Did not commit to having a high-level meeting specifically.
Considering
Response accuracy
Q18
Partial Answer
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The MP referenced a past statement made by the PM regarding Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, which led to her being condemned to an extended prison sentence in Iran.
I understand that the Prime Minister has been heard singing “I will survive” in recent days. I suggest that he would be better off singing “Careless Whisper” instead, because, in 2017, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was condemned to an extended prison sentence in Iran because of the careless words of this Prime Minister. Now, in 2022, this week, my friend, the Leader of the Opposition, was hounded by thugs outside this Parliament because of the careless, disgraceful words of this Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister do the decent thing? Will he reconsider his words, repent and resign?
I do not think that the hon. Lady should let the thugs and yobs who bullied and harassed the right hon. and learned Gentleman off the hook, because they are culpable, any more than she should let the Iranian Government off the hook, because they are culpable.
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Assessment & feedback
Did not address the request to reconsider words or resign.
Shifting Blame
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Q19
Partial Answer
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Referrals for children's mental health have increased by 60% since 2017, with eating disorders among young girls up by 400% post-lockdown. Social media platforms like TikTok are seen as harmful due to adult content and addictive algorithms.
Since 2017, referrals for children's mental health have gone up by 60%. Eating disorders among young girls have gone up by 400% since lockdown, and we know that social media companies play a huge part in that. Given that social media platforms such as TikTok are providing “crack for kids” in terms of adult content, negative imagery and addictive algorithms, will my right hon. Friend consider implementing a 2% levy on social media companies, which would raise £100 million to fund mental health resilience programmes for children?
I know that my right hon. Friend has campaigned on this issue assiduously, and he is quite right about the psychological damage that social media can do. I have heard what he has had to say recently about TikTok. We will see what we can do to address all these issues in the forthcoming online harms Bill.
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Assessment & feedback
The 2% levy on social media companies and raising £100 million for mental health resilience programmes was not addressed directly
Will See What We Can Do
Forthcoming Online Harms Bill
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Q20
Partial Answer
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Bradford is the UK's youngest city with a GDP of £11.6 billion, bidding to be the city of culture. The government failed to carry out detailed analysis on long-term economic benefits of investing in Bradford through the integrated rail plan, resulting in missed growth potential.
Bradford is the UK's youngest city and has the 10th largest city economy, with a GDP of £11.6 billion, and is bidding to be the city of culture. Now, it comes out that no detailed analysis of the long-term economic benefits of investing in Bradford and the north through the integrated rail plan was carried out. This Government's failure has robbed Bradford of £30 billion-worth of growth over the next 10 years. When will the Prime Minister match action to rhetoric on levelling up and give Bradford the investment that it deserves?
I am afraid that the hon. Lady is wrong in what she says, because we are investing massively in Yorkshire—investing in 640 more police in Yorkshire and investing in education in Yorkshire—but she has misunderstood what we said at the time of the £96 billion integrated rail plan. What we are saying is that we will look at ways in which we can ensure that we protract the eastern leg of High Speed Rail from north of Birmingham to Bradford. What we are not doing is coming up with a scheme before we have decided exactly what to do and how to fund it, but we are not ruling it out.
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Assessment & feedback
Specific actions for levelling up in Bradford were not outlined
Massively Investing In Yorkshire
Not Ruling Out
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Q21
Direct Answer
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The Prime Minister has brought out a veterans' strategy that the questioner welcomes. However, it is unclear if this will be at the heart of government strategy going forward.
I served my country with pride in the Royal Green Jackets. I will always be a rifleman and a veteran. I welcome the veterans' strategy that the Prime Minister has just brought out, but I ask him whether veterans will always be at the heart of this Government's strategy and whether everything will be done to see that they always get what they need and are honoured?
Yes, that is why we have set up an Office for Veterans' Affairs and have ensured that veterans get preferential treatment on public transport, which was one of the first things I did when I became Prime Minister. It is why we ensure that veterans receive particular support and encouragement in employment, and we encourage employers to take on veterans as well.
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Q22
Partial Answer
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In a Downing Street reshuffle, the Prime Minister appointed someone who recently lobbied for Huawei to a senior role. The question raises concerns about vetting processes.
In the panicked Downing Street staffing reshuffle at the weekend, the Prime Minister appointed to a senior role a man who recently lobbied the Government on behalf of Huawei Technologies, a hostile state vendor that this House legislated to exclude entirely from this country's 5G networks. Given that the No. 10 director of communications has by definition access to some of the most sensitive Government information, will the Prime Minister tell the House whether Mr Harri's present role requires enhanced developed vetting and STRAP clearance and whether he went through the necessary checks to provide that level of clearance before he took up his post?
That is a curious question to come from a Member on the Benches that contain someone who took, I think, £586,000 from the Chinese Government to support his office. I can tell the hon. Gentleman that this Government took the brave and necessary step of making sure that we excluded Huawei from our critical national infrastructure, and that was the right thing to do, whatever he says.
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Assessment & feedback
Vetting procedures for Mr Harri's appointment were not addressed
Curious Question
Took £586,000 From The Chinese Government
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Q23
Partial Answer
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The Prime Minister has been asked about the publication of Sue Gray's report but did not provide a clear commitment last week.
May I ask the Prime Minister a question about Sue Gray's report—[Interruption.] Colleagues may groan, but I am only asking it because I asked the Prime Minister this question last week and did not get a straight answer. It is important, because it is about those who make the law obeying the law. The Prime Minister wants to be judged on the facts, and that is right, so may I ask him for a commitment at the Dispatch Box? On conclusion of the Metropolitan police investigation, will he ensure that Sue Gray's final report is published immediately and in full?
With the greatest respect to my right hon. Friend, I believe that I did answer that question last Monday, or whenever it was—possibly last Wednesday as well. I will repeat for the benefit of the House that as soon as all the inquiries are concluded I will immediately publish in full whatever Sue Gray gives me.
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Assessment & feedback
Immediate commitment to publishing Sue Gray's report upon completion of police investigation was not given
Repeated Answer
All The Inquiries Are Concluded
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Q24
Partial Answer
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The UK Government signed an agreement with Iran that fell through, resulting in a £400 million debt unpaid and the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe not secured. Urgent personal intervention from the Prime Minister is sought.
I understand that the UK Government signed an agreement with the Iranian authorities last summer that would have resulted in the payment of the £400 million that we owe Iran and the release of my constituent Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. That agreement fell through and the debt still has not been paid. The case urgently needs the Prime Minister's attention and personal intervention, so may I ask the Prime Minister to meet personally with me and Richard Ratcliffe? I do not want to meet his colleagues; I want to meet him personally to find out why the agreement fell through and why Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is still not home after six long years.
I thank the hon. Lady for that question and for all the hard work she does on behalf of Nazanin. We remain committed to securing the release of Nazanin and all the very difficult consular cases that we have in Iran. As the hon. Lady knows, the International Military Services, or IMS, debt is difficult to settle and square away for all sorts of reasons to do with sanctions, but we will continue to work on it and I will certainly make sure that we have another meeting with Richard Ratcliffe in due course.
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Assessment & feedback
Personal meeting requested was not committed to immediately
Will Continue To Work On
Another Meeting
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Q25
Partial Answer
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Dover faces traffic jams along motorways, affecting residents and local businesses. The question asks for a meeting to discuss investment in roads and reduction of red tape.
Dover is once again beset by miles of traffic jams along the motorways, affecting residents and local businesses alike—not because of Brexit but because of Brussels bureaucracy and red tape. Will my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister meet me to discuss how we can invest in our local roads, the M2, the M20 and the Dover traffic assessment project to unclog those roads once and for all, and how we can get rid of the unnecessary red tape for a trading global Britain?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right in what she says. As the economy rebounds, we are seeing all sorts of pressures. We need to ensure that we clear bottlenecks everywhere in our system and that is what we will do.
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Assessment & feedback
Meeting requested was not committed to immediately
Seeing Pressures
Clearing Bottlenecks
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Q26
Direct Answer
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Context
A photograph showing the Prime Minister is circulating on social media, raising concerns about potential misconduct.
I would like to refer to the Prime Minister's answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds North East (Fabian Hamilton). The photograph referred to is all over social media; everybody can see the photo; the Prime Minister is in the photo. Can I ask him again, will he refer the matter to the police, because it is not one of the parties that are already being investigated by the Metropolitan police?
That event already has been submitted for investigation.
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