PMQs

Question

My son Ben died of an aortic dissection at age 44, leaving a wife and two young children. It is a condition that kills 2,000 every year needlessly—more than those who die on the roads—yet most people do not know anything about it until it devastates their family, as it did mine. So many of these cases are preventable by identifying those at risk and through early and accurate diagnosis. Will the Prime Minister commend the work of the Aortic Dissection Charitable Trust in working with all aspects of the patient pathway for this condition? In particular, will he commit to public funding for research into the diagnosis of aortic dissection and into genetic screening for it?

Question

The typical energy bill is going up by £700 next month, and that is because of pressures before Russia invaded Ukraine. What is the Chancellor's solution? A forced £200 loan for every household, to be paid back in mandatory instalments over five years. The big gamble behind that policy was that energy costs would drop quickly after a short spike. That bet now looks certain to fail. When will the Prime Minister force the Chancellor into a U-turn?

Question

I do not think the Prime Minister understands the mess he is in. Working families are facing a £700 spike in April. They will not even receive their £200 loan from the Chancellor until October. The wholesale price of oil and gas is now ballooning, so by October when the loan finally comes in, household bills are set to shoot up by another £1,000. It is a total mess, so I ask again: when is the Prime Minister going to force the Chancellor to U-turn?

Question

We will see how long that position lasts. Let me try to help the Prime Minister by coming at this from a different angle. Before Russia invaded Ukraine, North sea oil and gas companies were making bumper profits. BP made £9.5 billion, Shell made £14 billion—in their own words,<br/>“more cash than we know what to do with.” Since then, the international price of oil and gas has skyrocketed, and so will their profits. When will the Prime Minister admit he has got this badly wrong, put a windfall tax on those super-profits, and use the money to cut household energy bills?

Question

Protecting energy profits, not working people—doesn't that say it all? Britain cannot afford another crisis like this. We need to improve our long-term energy security. That starts with supporting new nuclear and renewables, but the Conservatives have effectively banned new onshore wind. As a direct result of this short-sighted approach, we are using more gas every year than we import from Russia. That is ludicrous, so will the Prime Minister relax planning laws, end the block on onshore wind, and stop supporting policies that make us so dependent on foreign gas?

Question

Labour set out a plan to upgrade Britain's homes within a decade, saving £400 on energy bills and cutting UK gas imports by 15%, while criticising the government's failed policy as taking 75 years. The Prime Minister must urgently address this issue.

Question

Labour criticises the Prime Minister's failed energy policies that led to dependency on foreign dictators' energy supplies, high bills, and security crises. They propose standing with Ukraine through tough measures and a new era of energy policy.

Question

The company must prove the need for the reservoir, alternatives to it, and its environmental impact before proceeding with construction in Wantage.

Question

Poland has taken over 1.2 million refugees; Hungary, over 190,000; Germany, over 50,000; Italy, over 7,000; and Ireland, three times its population in proportion to the UK's response of only 760 visas. Is this an acceptable record?

Question

We have seen that too many times from a Tory Home Office: the Windrush scandal, the “Go home” vans, and the inhumane Nationality and Borders Bill. The UK Home Office is raising barriers and bureaucracy when we should be offering care and compassion. I say to the Prime Minister that he should not let the history of failure repeat itself. Scotland stands ready to offer sanctuary and refuge, so will he join the rest of the European continent and waive the visa restrictions for refugees fleeing war in Ukraine?

Question

I urge him to look again at resetting our policy and taking control of a more humane approach to those women and men fleeing from Ukraine.

Question

Heating a home has more than doubled for many households in recent weeks. Will the Prime Minister commit to bringing forward a package of measures designed to help households, including a cut in VAT on home heating fuel and reducing or cutting excise duty on fuel for motorists?

Question

Given the importance to our country of this sector and the need to ensure its competitiveness, its resilience and a high degree of self-sufficiency, will the Prime Minister now take the opportunity to review many of the proposed regulatory burdens such as on HFSS products?

Question

In addition to the increase in fuel prices, our constituents are reporting to us that the energy companies are doubling standing charges. In France, energy supply company EDF has had energy price rises to domestic customers capped at 4%, but this Government's price cap allows EDF to increase prices to UK customers by 54%. My question is: why?

Question

Soon after I was elected, an eight-bed community hospital at Shotley Bridge was replaced by a zero-bed unit. A new 16-bed unit is in the final stages of planning and confirmed as part of this Government's hospital building programme. Can you confirm that the new community hospital will proceed with full steam ahead? Will you commit to coming to Consett to kick off the building works if the plan goes ahead by the end of next year?

Question

I have just had a meeting with families whose loved ones are in care homes and hospitals, facing unjustifiable denial of access. Is the Prime Minister prepared to introduce legislation to make it legal for people to visit their loved ones in such facilities?

Question

The Government have stopped issuing golden visas to prevent exploitation by oligarchs and crime lords. Will the Prime Minister pledge that anybody put on the sanctions list who is already in the UK will have their golden visa revoked?

Question

As energy costs rise, people with disabilities or serious medical conditions are facing debt or going without food. Why is the Prime Minister not considering tapping into North Sea oil and gas company profits to help these vulnerable families?

Question

Residents in the village of Hamble are facing planning permission for a quarry with 144 daily lorries. Will my right hon. Friend agree to meet me to discuss how we can tighten regulations on where quarries can be built, considering health implications and local communities?

Question

With Russia's covert influence being dangerous, has the Prime Minister ever overruled Security Service advice when appointing a peer?

Question

Yesterday President Zelensky referenced Churchill here. Meeting the courage of Ukrainians reminds us that our freedom today comes from a generation who defended against annihilation. My friend Flight Lieutenant Colin Bell flew 50 missions over Nazi Germany during WWII and is with us today for his 101st birthday. Will the PM join me in wishing him a happy birthday?

Question

People across these islands have displayed remarkable generosity, including in Argyll and Bute, where Oban Helps Ukraine has been overwhelmed by donations of money, clothes and offers of shelter. Sadly, the Government's reluctance to allow fleeing women and children to come here lags far behind the desire of the people here to provide them with a roof and a bed. Does not the Prime Minister fear that, when this war is concluded, and despite whatever else they may have done, his Government will stand accused of lacking the one thing that the Ukrainian people needed most: basic humanity?

Question

We were pleased to welcome both the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to Blackpool the day after the launch of the levelling up White Paper. Will he meet me to discuss how we can ensure that Blackpool is not just a testbed for innovation in many areas of levelling up but a showcase for the impact that it can have on the community that I represent?

Question

In the months before world war two, the UK took in more than 60,000 Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution. Over half a century ago, we took in more than 27,000 Ugandans expelled by Idi Amin. Since then, we have taken Tamils escaping civil war, Bosnians escaping genocide and Syrians escaping Assad. But this week, the Home Office turned away hundreds of Ukrainian refugees escaping Putin's bombs because they did not have the right paperwork. Can the Prime Minister not see that that flies in the face of our country's proud tradition of providing sanctuary? Since the Home Office is clearly not up to the task, will he send in armed forces personnel to speed up the process so that Ukrainian refugees can come here quickly and safely?

Question

My community in Tipton came together on Sunday to commemorate the 100 years since the devastating explosion at the Dudley Port munitions factory and the 19 girls who were recklessly murdered by the owner of that factory. In the Black Country, it is vital that we acknowledge both the pride and the pain of our industrial heritage. May I ask my right hon. Friend, therefore, to reaffirm his commitment today to the Black Country to ensure that we honour the legacy of those girls from that factory in Dudley Port 100 years ago? The one way that he can do that for my community in Tipton is to come to Tipton to see that beating heart of the Black Country, and we will welcome him with open arms.

Question

I have a constituent whose elderly parents are seeking refuge in the United Kingdom from Ukraine. Her parents are both in their 80s. They have made it to Hungary. They went to the visa application centre, as instructed by the Home Office hotline, and they were told, “Come back on 22 March.” Then, and only then, will their biometrics be processed. That is the harsh reality—no spin, no subterfuge. Prime Minister, when will refugees from Ukraine be welcomed into the United Kingdom?