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Richmond upon Thames Liberal Democrats:Covering the constituencies of Twickenham and Richmond Park |
Swinson and Hames quiz Cameron
March 26, 2011 11:55 AM
• [Mar 23] Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire, Liberal Democrat): OUR hearts go out to the people of Japan as we watch their horror unfold and see warnings today about heightened radiation in Tokyo's water supply. It is not just earthquakes and tsunamis that can threaten the cooling systems of nuclear reactors, so does the Prime Minister agree that what has happened at Fukushima will have consequences for the new nuclear power stations proposed for the UK?
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David Cameron (Prime Minister; Witney, Conservative): I am sure that the whole House will want to join the hon. Lady in sending our condolences to people in Japan and to express our admiration for their incredible bravery and resilience in dealing with this immense crisis. Of course we must learn any lessons that need to be learned about nuclear power, which is why the head of the nuclear safety inspectorate is looking at this issue. As I have said before, the power stations we have in Britain are of a different type from those in Japan. We are not planning to build any like those, and we are not in an earthquake zone or a zone subject to tsunamis, but of course we have always got to test against all eventualities. I am sure that there is further testing we can do on nuclear power.
Japan is doing a good job in dealing with this problem and the signs from the nuclear station are a little better than they were a few days ago, but it is certainly not out of the danger zone. What we should do is make sure that we give the correct advice to all British citizens in Tokyo-that is what we have done and what we will continue to do.
• . . Duncan Hames (Chippenham, Liberal Democrat): The coalition agreement promises the public greater accountability in NHS commissioning through directly elected individuals on the boards of primary care trusts. As PCTs are on their way out, does the Prime Minister accept that the best way now to deliver that commitment is to reserve places on GP consortia boards for locally elected people?
David Cameron (Prime Minister; Witney, Conservative): One of the ways we can make the NHS more accountable is through the better combination of the NHS and local government. That is what our proposals envisage. That is the best way to make sure that there is good democratic accountability for what happens in our NHS.
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