PMQs

Answer from Rishi Sunak

I agree with my hon. Friend. It is disappointing that last week the Labour leader allowed the Labour Mayor to introduce ULEZ, charging hard-working people £12.50 every time they start their car, adding to the burden of the cost of living. All I can say is that while we focus on helping hard-working families, all the Labour leader does is punish them.

Answer from Rishi Sunak

I know how concerned parents, children and teachers are, and I want to start by assuring them that the Government are doing everything that we can to fix this quickly, and minimise the disruption to children's education. We make no apology for acting decisively in the face of new information.

Answer from Rishi Sunak

The right hon. and learned Gentleman has now brought up twice the Labour school rebuilding programme, so let us just look at the facts surrounding it, because we do know the truth about that programme.

Answer from Rishi Sunak

This is exactly the kind of political opportunism that we have come to expect from Captain Hindsight here. Before today, he has never once raised this issue with me across the Dispatch Box.

Answer from Rishi Sunak

This is exactly the kind of political opportunism that we have come to expect from Captain Hindsight here. Before today, he has never once raised this issue with me across the Dispatch Box.

Answer from Rishi Sunak

The Department for Education increased capital budget by 25%, investing £7 billion, tripled funding for special educational needs and disabilities, improved further education estate, and invested £5 billion to help pupils recover lost learning from covid.

Answer from Rishi Sunak

Record amounts of funding going into schools, reforms impacting disadvantaged children. Noted improvements in energy bills, inflation, small boat crossings, and economic growth since last meeting.

Answer from Rishi Sunak

My hon. Friend is right; Labour in London are charging hard-working people with ULEZ, and now we see failures in Birmingham losing control of taxpayers' money and driving finances into the ground.

Answer from Rishi Sunak

We had the fastest recovery of any European economy after covid; figures demonstrate this fact.

Answer from Rishi Sunak

Half a typical family's energy bill has been paid over past year, support worth £1,500 benefiting Scotland. Mortgage charter covers 90% of market, saving hundreds per month. Energy support secured for Scottish oil and gas industry.

Answer from Rishi Sunak

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. Solar is one of the cheapest forms of electricity generation, so it is right that we try and see more of it across the country, but we do need to protect our most valuable agricultural land so that it can produce food for the nation and increase our food security. That is why, thanks to our changes, the planning system now sets this out explicitly with a clear preference for brownfield sites. Of course, we want to do more to encourage barn-top solar, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will be updating the House with further information on that policy in due course.

Answer from Rishi Sunak

As the hon. Gentleman knows, there is a formal inquiry regarding covid, which will examine all the decisions that were made, including lockdown, and the impacts of them. But with regard to the furlough scheme, I am proud that, at a time of extreme anxiety in the country, facing an unprecedented situation, this Government put their arms around the British public to ensure that we protected 10 million jobs. As the report from the Office for National Statistics showed last week, those actions, combined with all the other things we did to support the economy, ensured that we had the fastest recovery through the pandemic of any European nation.

Answer from Rishi Sunak

May I thank my hon. Friend for both raising this issue and also his work and expertise in the area? I am proud that, thanks to the actions that previous Governments have taken on things like cat microchipping, the ivory ban and raising the maximum sentence for animal cruelty to five years, we are now the highest ranked G7 nation on World Animal Protection's animal protection index, but we are determined to go even further and deliver on our manifesto commitments individually during the remainder of this Parliament.

Answer from Rishi Sunak

If the hon. Lady reads the full transcript and the full findings, she will see a detailed explanation of what happened, which the commissioner described as a “minor and inadvertent” breach, given that at the time I was not aware of the policy that was being discussed with me, and corrected it later on and could have corrected it with slightly different language. She will also know that I am not the only person across these Dispatch Boxes that has had the same thing happen to them.

Answer from Rishi Sunak

I am grateful to my hon. Friend and the commission for carbon competitiveness for the report that he has worked on and highlighted, and the Government are absolutely committed to putting in place the necessary policies for UK industry to decarbonise successfully. As he will be aware, the Government recently consulted on addressing carbon leakage in particular, with a range of potential options. We are in the process of considering those responses, and will issue a formal response in due course.

Answer from Rishi Sunak

In the comprehensive “Plan for Water” that was published by the Environment Secretary in April, we confirmed our intention to ban wet wipes containing plastic, subject, as is legally proper, to a public consultation. That consultation will be launched in the coming months, in autumn this year, and I know Ministers will keep the House updated on progress.

Answer from Rishi Sunak

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that we must do all we can to stop the boats and tackle illegal migration. We know that the export of small boats across parts of Europe is a vital element of the smuggling gangs' tactics. That is why, specifically, we are stepping up joint operations with Turkey—I raised this with the President when we spoke—so that we can tackle organised immigration crime and disrupt the supply chain of boat parts used for dangerous crossings.

Answer from Rishi Sunak

I know how important this issue is to the hon. Gentleman, following the horrific shooting in his constituency, and my thoughts are with all those who were killed. Firearms are subject to stringent controls and these are kept under review. We have taken action on information sharing between GPs and the police, improving statutory guidance for proper assessment of firearm applications including social media checks.

Answer from Rishi Sunak

My hon. Friend highlights the importance of these lifesaving devices. The national planning policy framework already expects planning policies and decisions to promote public safety, but recently a million-pound fund was launched placing around 1,000 new defibrillators in communities across England.

Answer from Rishi Sunak

I am happy to ensure that the hon. Gentleman gets an answer to his specific question on that school, but more generally I am proud of what we are doing in Teesside and Tees Valley with extra funding for education, resulting in increased standards in reading and maths.

Answer from Rishi Sunak

First, I thank my right hon. Friend for her constructive engagement. I pay tribute to her school leaders and local authority. The Chancellor has said new funding will be provided to schools dealing with this issue. We are increasing dedicated caseworkers from 50 to 80, have project directors regionally on the ground supporting, and more than doubled survey firms.

Answer from Rishi Sunak

Steel is absolutely vital to the UK. This matter is of course of interest to the hon. Gentleman, but I have also discussed it extensively with my hon. Friend the Member for Scunthorpe (Holly Mumby-Croft), and that is because the industry supports local jobs and economic growth. Conversations with specific companies, such as Tata, are ongoing, but they are understandably commercially sensitive. We share the ambition of securing a decarbonised, sustainable and competitive future for the industry in this country. In the meantime, we are supporting the sector with our energy-intensive industries exemption, which provides discounted energy bills. We also have the industrial energy transformation fund, which supports steel companies with their energy bills and the transition through capital to a greener future.

Answer from Rishi Sunak

I congratulate Redhill and everyone involved with the successful bid for the new sixth form in Bolsover. I am delighted that the bid was successful. I know that my hon. Friend shares my desire to ensure a world-class education for every single one of our young people across the country, because that is the best way to provide them with the opportunity for a better life. The new programme of sixth forms will deliver that in his constituency and many others across the nation.

Answer from Rishi Sunak

Obviously, it would not be right for me to comment on specific projects, but to give the hon. Gentleman a sense of our commitment, what I can tell him is that in real terms since 2010 we have spent over a third more in central capital investment in northern transport every single year compared with Labour's last six years in government. That is what we are doing for northern transportation. Specifically, when it comes to reopening and restoring railway lines, where was the first one that we did? From Ashington to Blyth.

Answer from Rishi Sunak

I know that my hon. Friend is rightly a passionate advocate for improving mental health support for young people, which is something I know we are doing, and I am proud of our record, particularly in increasing the number of mental health support teams who work with schools and expanding community services. I know that the Department of Health and Social Care is looking at the role that early support hubs might play in this plan, but I am happy to meet my hon. Friend personally to discuss how we can push this through.

Answer from Rishi Sunak

This Government are investing record sums in British science and research and development, because we believe that is critical to a brighter economic future and spreading opportunity. Our priority and preference is to associate to Horizon, but we want to make sure that that is on terms that are right both for the British taxpayer and for British science and research. I can commit to the hon. Lady that we have been extensively involved in discussions. I hope to be able to conclude those successfully and, when we do, I hope she will be the first to stand up and congratulate the Government.

Answer from Rishi Sunak

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue. I extend my sympathies to her constituent's family, as she raised. She is right to continue campaigning in this important area. I hope she will understand that I cannot pre-empt the specific contents of the strategy, but I can tell her that it will draw on previous work, including submissions from childhood cancer charities and stakeholders to our recent calls for evidence. Of course, we want to hear from them to highlight and get a sense of the issues that she specifically raised, but I will ensure that we write to her to give her a sense of the timing.

Answer from Rishi Sunak

I do not agree. The question was directed at the Leader of the Opposition, and I would avoid commenting further on that matter. Our welfare system aims to be compassionate while supporting those who can work into employment. We provide thousands of pounds in support for energy bills and other expenses to people in Scotland.