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Richmond upon Thames Liberal Democrats:Covering the constituencies of Twickenham and Richmond Park |
George and Munt quiz Cameron at PMQs
January 22, 2012 11:01 AM
• [Jan 18] Andrew (St Ives, Liberal Democrat): A YEAR ago the Prime Minister told me that the reason for the, at the time, new Health and Social Care Bill was "simply that this country now has European levels of health spending but does not have European levels of success".-[Hansard, 19 January 2011; Vol. 521, c. 831.] Now that we know that that is not the case, will the Prime Minister shelve this disruptive and destructive Bill, which is struggling in another place, go back to the coalition agreement and build from there?
David Cameron (Prime Minister; Witney, Conservative): I have great respect for my hon. Friend, but I do not agree with him on this one. With the Health and Social Care Bill, a huge exercise was undertaken, in which the Deputy Prime Minister and I both played quite a large role, of actually listening to health professionals-to doctors, nurses and associated health professionals-to understand what they most wanted to see in the NHS reform Bill, and that is what we are delivering. My hon. Friend says that it is not the case that we have outcomes that are less than some parts of Europe; I am afraid it is the case. In some cases we could be doing a lot better. To argue just that the NHS simply needs money and not reform, I do not believe is right.
• . . Tessa Munt (Wells, Liberal Democrat): I was shocked to discover that mainstream terrestrial television carries adverts for online bingo at 5 o'clock in the afternoon and that 31 hours and 55 minutes each week is dedicated to live casino betting and gaming, which has been classified as teleshopping since 2009. At a time when there is £1.45 trillion of personal debt in this country and when we are encouraging people to be moderate in their expectations and behaviour, will the Prime Minister please protect consumers, children and the vulnerable from this kind of activity by asking for a review by Ofcom-
• John Bercow (Speaker): Order. The question was too long.
David Cameron (Prime Minister; Witney, Conservative): The hon. Lady raises an important issue about gambling advertisement on television. I am all in favour of deregulation and trying to allow businesses to get on and succeed. Gambling programmes and betting advertising were not permitted until the last Government allowed them in 2007 and they are strictly regulated by Ofcom and the Advertising Standards Authority. It is not just a question of regulation, as it is also a question of responsibility by the companies concerned. Anyone who enjoys watching a football match will see quite aggressive advertisements on the television, and I think companies have to ask themselves whether they are behaving responsibly when they do that.
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