attacks. live coverage begins 9:00 a.m. easter from the memorial in arlington, virginia. later, president biden will deliver remarks live from anchorage, alaska, starting at 4:15 eastern. on c-span on monday, the museum will observe the anniversary of the attacks with a commemoration ceremony. all events are available on c-span now or on c-span.org. >> british prime minister fielded questions from the house of commons during the weekly question time session. they addressed funding for rebuilding public schools, illegal immigration, solar energy infrastructure, the economy, and inflation, and animal welfare.

this will -- you will all enjoy me in sending condolences, a testament to his bravery that he died in the line of duty and a terrible reminder of the work they do every day to keep us safe. this morning i had a >> thank you mr. speaker. that it represents working-class people.

4500 pounds per year, does the prime minister agree with me that is unacceptable for londoners to face the unacceptable task and do everything he can to help working people. >> mr. speaker, it is disappointing that -- charging hard-working people 12 pounds 50, adding to the burden of the cost of living. while we focus on helping hard-working families. >> can i join the prime minister

, think we all speak for the whole house we speak on that subject. i would also like to extend the warmest of him to our new labor member. he's already made history for the labour party but overturning the largest tory majority ever. i would also welcome the honorable members from oxbridge and south raichlen. mr. speaker, the root of single well primary school collapsed, thankfully happened on the weekend and no children were injured. everyone knew the problem existed in other schools. yet the prime minister decided to half the budget for school mountain -- school maintenance just a couple of years later. this he agree that he should be thanked for doing a good job?

>> mr. speaker, i know how concerned parents, children and teachers are but i want to start pressuring them the government is doing everything it can to minimize the disruptions to children's education. we make no apologies for acting decidedly in the face of new information. of the 22,000 schools in england, the vast majority won't be affected. in fact, into thirds of inspections, it is not actually present. each of the schools will have a dedicated caseworker and extra funding to fix the problem. in the majority of cases, children will attend school as normal and the mitigation typically takes just days or weeks to complete.

we will do everything we can to help support teachers and get children back to normal school life as quickly as possible. >> mr. speaker, wood green academy was on the list in 2010. they scrapped it, and now children there are in a public school. the head of the national -- accuses him of taking one approach. he cut 869 million pounds, on monday he said it is utterly wrong to blame him. so why does literally everyone else say it is his fault? >> mr. speaker, the question has

evolved over time and it is something that successive governments have dealt with daily back to 1994, mr. speaker. at some point the government has rightly decided and swiftly acted. he talked about school budgets talked about what i have done, but let me just walk him through the facts of actually what that review did. funding for school maintenance and rebuilding will average 2.6 billion pounds a year over this parliament, representing a 20% increase of the year before. indeed, mr. speaker, far from cutting budgets as he alleges, the amount spent last year was the highest in a decade. mr. speaker, that spending review maintains the tory

building program, delivering 500 jobs over a decade and is completely consistent with what happen previously. it is worth pointing out that during the parliamentary debate on that spending review, the labour party did not raise the issue one single time. before he jumps on the next political bandwagon, he should get his facts straight. mr. speaker, carmel college in darlington was on the building list in 2010. they scrapped it, and now children there are in a crumbling school. on the one hand, we have them saying it is nothing to do with it. on the others we have the facts. there's a simple way to clear this up. why doesn't he commit to publish the request for the department of education for the school rebuilding program, and the risk

he was warned of before he turned them down. >> the honorable gentlemen has brought up twice the school rebuilding program. he has now brought it up twice. let's just look at that and look at the facts surrounding that. they reviewed that program later on, and what did they find? they found the rebuilding program actually excluded 80% of schools. what did they find? that it was a third more expensive than it needed to be, needlessly wasting resources that should've gone to schools. the worst bit is that that program could now be talking about the physical conditions, that program only advocated -- allocated funds solely on the basis of ideology with no regard whatsoever to the physical

condition of schools. mr. speaker, that's why the independent case review described that program is time-consuming and expensive. just like the labor market. >> that is what is going to happen. another school was on the labor building list in 2010. they scrapped it, and now children there are in a crumbling school. the truth is, this is the inevitable result of her teen years of cutting corners, it's a sort of thing you expect from cowboy builders, saying everyone else is wrong, everyone else is to blame, pretending they have done a good job. the difference is that in this

case, the cowboys are running the country. isn't he ashamed that after 13 years of tory government, children are stuck in their classrooms -- >> i understand people are excited to be back in school. >> mr. speaker, this is exactly the kind of political opportunism that we have come to expect from the captain over here. before today he has never once raised this issue with me. it wasn't even worthy of a single -- >> we are going to have a calm

or question time going forward. >> mr. speaker, before today he never once raised the issue with me. it wasn't even worthy of a single mention of his so-called landmark policy on education. he talks about 13 years. see what happens, now it is 90%. today they are 75% more likely to go to university and we now have the best readers in the western world, mr. speaker. that's what 13 years of education reform get you, all of which are posed by the party opposite.

mr. speaker, let us continue. a catholic school was on the labor building list in 2010. now children there are in a crumbling school. >> i think i've heard enough. know that this is the last time. >> mr. speaker, if you can believed it, in april this year, the education secretary signed a contract to refurbish -- it's got her personal stamp of approval. it cost 34 million pounds. can he explain to parents whose children are at school this week, why he thinks a blank check for his tory ministers

office is better use of taxpayers money than stopping schools collapsing? >> mr. speaker, what i think apparently is we have acted decisively to ensure the safety of children. as we have laid out and communicated extensively. i would also point out that while the department of education started this program 18 months ago in spring of last year, as far as i can tell, they still don't know, and again, he brought up this issue of funding. again, let's look back to what happened in that spending review. i increased the capital budget by 25% to a record 7 billion pounds. the amount we spent on children with special education needs and disabilities, improving the

conditions and set the course for per-pupil funding to be the highest ever. crucially, investing 5 billion pounds to help our pupils recover their lost earnings from -- lost learning from covid. we wanted pupils learning, he wanted longer lockdowns. >> i think he just doesn't get that it is all fine out there. mr. speaker, the six schools in a sick from labors building list in 2010, they scrapped them, and now children there are in crumbling schools. the reason he cut the budgets is quitejust like he thought his ts

were for other families to pay, he thinks his school tax are for other families to endure. let me tell you everything you need to know. he is happy to spend millions of taxpayer money sprucing up tory offices, but he won't lift a finger on it comes to protecting other people's schools, other people's safety and other people's children. p.m. sunak: i know he comes here with his prepared script but he hasn't listened to a single factor a single fact. about the record amount of funding's going to schools. about the incredible reforms to education impacting the most disadvantaged children in our society. a record we are rightly proud of. of course he can name the schools, that is because we are publishing that information, mr. speaker. something we are still waiting

for from the government in wales. mr. speaker, of course he wants to try to score political points on something we are dealing with in the right way. i know he has not mentioned a single other thing that has happened since we last met, mr. speaker. he talks about hard-working families across britain, but what has happened? energy bills, down. ? inflation? down. what happened to -- echo down, mr. speaker. and when it comes to economic growth, our -- has gone up. he tried time and time again to talk down the british economy, but people weren't listening, thankfully. his entire economic narrative has been demolished and the conservatives are getting on delivering for britain.

[indiscernible] >> people -- are disappointed to see that -- someone -- no stranger to labor republican script that the prime minister agreed that labor has demonstrated yet again that they always run out of other people's money? p.m. sunak: my honorable friend is exactly right. we started by hearing how labor in london are charging hard-working people. now we are hearing how labor in birmingham are failing hard-working people. losing control of taxpayer's money and driving their finances into the ground. they bankrupted birmingham, we can't let them bank -- bankrupt britain -- london. >> the public need not remind you that today marks a year

since the prime minister's predecessor speaking departure. there were -- there was talk things would get better. food prices are higher. mortgage rates are higher. economic growth is stagnant. prime minister, when is he going to get our pence back safe and do something about it? p.m. sunak: with the gentleman failed to point out is that the amount of time -- from him and his colleagues and somehow we were a laggard when it comes to growth. what he didn't do was correct the record. now that the figures have been published which demonstrate in fact we had the fastest recovery out of any european economy after covid. >> mr. speaker, you would be forgiven for thinking the prime minister thinks everything is all right. but let's look at the package.

when it comes to energy bills as planned -- their plan is to do nothing. and it comes to mortgage bills, his plan is to do nothing. when it comes to student bills, his plan is to do nothing. so when the secretary of state for education said earlier this week that everyone was doing nothing, she was referring to the prime minister, was intrigued? -- wasn't she? p.m. sunak: when it comes to energy bills, what we have done is pay for around half the typical family plus energy bill. 1500 pounds benefiting families in scotland. mortgage -- covers the mortgage market and absorbs -- a typical mortgage owner can save hundreds of pounds a month when i comes to their mortgage refinancing. when he talked about energy, thankfully to the actions of

this government, we are supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs in the scottish oil and gas industry. securing this country plus energy -- energy supply comes them -- something he opposes. i will always do the right thing for scotland and it is about time the empty does the same. >> i was delighted when the prime minister said that on his watch we would not lose twice the farmland to solar applications. instead, rightly arguing for solar to be installed on rooftops. yet my contents -- my constituencies sees a constant flow of applications for solar plants on food producing land. can i ask my right honorable friend, when will his pledge become reality? p.m. sunak: my honorable friend makes an excellent point. -- is one of the cheapest forms of electricity generation. it is wise that we see more of it. but we need to protect our agricultural land so that they can produce food.

that is why, thanks to our changes, the planning situation -- flippantly with a clear preference for -- we want to encourage solar and -- will be updating the house with further information in due course. >> the prime minister stated he was proud of his -- scheme. i wonder, is he proud of the 400 million input on the national debt and the inflation it has caused? is he proud of the jobs lost due to lockdown's? is he proud of the nhs? the one million people now mediate -- donating mental health support. is he proud of the excess -- affecting every one of our constituents? with the give an undertaking for the british public, the solemn undertaking that they will never be -- ever again.

p.m. sunak: there is a formal inquiry regarding covid which will examine all the decisions that were made including lockdown and to the impacts of the. with regards to the furlough scheme, i am proud that in times of extreme anxiety in the country, facing an unprecedented situation from of this government put its arms around the british public and protected 10 million jobs. as the report showed last week, those actions combined with all of the things we did to support the economy insured that we had the fastest recovery through the pandemic as any european nation. >> thank you mr. speaker. as a nation of animal lovers, the conservative government's record on animal welfare is a source of great pride. too many abuses remain. to the smuggling of puppies and pregnant dogs and dogs with their ears cropped, illegal exports to europe for slaughter.

these issues are personal to me and my constituents. can the prime minister reassure the house that animal welfare is a key government priority and that he will bring forward the necessary legislation to tackle these issues as soon as possible? p.m. sunak: i think my honorable friend for raising this issue, but also his work and expertise in the area. i am proud that thanks to the actions the previous government had taken in terms of cat micro-chipping and raising maximum sentences for animal cruelty, we are now the highest ranked nation when it comes to animal protection. but we are determined to go further and to go further and deliver on our manifesto commitment individually during the remainder of this parliament. >> thank you. the prime minister has said, accountability and protect the -- can the prime how he was found

to breach the contract? [indiscernible] p.m. sunak: if the honorable lady reads the full transcript and the full findings, she will find an explanation of what happened. a minor inadvertent breach, given that at the time i was not aware of the policy being discussed. i am not the only person across -- who has had the same thing happened to them. >> can i interest the prime minister and proposals from the carbon competitiveness commission which i chair which would deliver net zero cheaply and without the industrializing economy. it will help manufacturers facing imports from countries with lower energy costs, make exports more competitive everywhere, and cut fuel duty here at home.

it has a strong backing from heavy industry come across party support. with the prime minister consider adding his name to this as well? p.m. sunak: i am grateful to my honorable friend and the commission for carbon competitiveness for the reforms he has worked on. the government is absolutely committed to putting in place the necessary policies for u.k. industries to date have a nice -- p.m. sunak: a range of potential options we are in the process of considering and will issue a formal response in due time. >> every year, billions of work rights go into our rivers and oceans and clog our sewers. i have been campaigning for years to ban plastics and the government has finally promised to ban plastics in wet wipes, but that was five months ago and there has been nothing since.

will the prime minister, today, finally give a date for when the band will come into force and make a difference to our environment or is this another broken promise from his zombie government? p.m. sunak: in the plan that was published in april, we did confirm our intentions to ban wet wipes containing plastics. subject to come as is proper, to public consultation. that consultations will be launched in the coming months and i know our ministers will keep the house updated on process. >> small notes. has my right honorable friend considered the incongruity and the fact that a u.k. dinghy manufacturer tried selling to the eu market has to abide by customs, codes? in similar -- but none of this applies,

seemingly, when these huge supersized dangerous dinghies are taken in from turkey -- turkiye across the border into greece. is he as confused as i am that he used double standards on the matter? p.m. sunak: my friend is right, 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 the continent is a vital element of the smuggling tactics. that is why specifically we are setting up joint operations with turkiye. i raised this with the president when we spoke, so we can tackle organized immigration, crime, and disrupt supply chains being used for dangerous crossings. i will keep them updated on our program. >> thank you. two years ago in plymouth, we lost five people in the worst mass shooting the country has seen for a decade. the government has finally

consulted on firearms reform, but as pressure from shooting groups, even the sensible measures but looks like they could be watered down. willow prime minister bow down to the shooting industry or will he stand with grieving families and those in plymouth who wants to see no other tragedy like this ever happen again with stronger gun laws? p.m. sunak: mr. speaker, i know how important this issue is, following the horrific shooting in his constituency. my thoughts are with the family of all those killed. firearms are subject to stringent controls, and controls are kept under review. we have taken action to improve information sharing between gps and the police to make sure people are not given access to firearms without their medical being checked and the best guidance the police has been improving as to how people can apply for firearms. including checks on social media paid with regard to the matter

from the home office is in the process of considering responses to that consultation and we will respond in due course. >> later today i am bringing forward a 10 minute rule bill to include the provision of automated external defibrillator's and all new housing developments with 10 dwellings or more. will my right honorable friend support this decision and ask his cabinet colleagues to engage with me to ensure these life-saving pieces of equipment can become commonplace where they can have the most impact close to people's homes? p.m. sunak: my honorable friend is right to highlight the importance of these lifesaving devices. that is why the national planning policy framework -- decisions to promote public safety. but it is also way recently the government launched a 1,000,000 pound fund which will place 1000 new defibrillators across england to improve the quality of access.

>> in 2019 -- free school approved for its first year, intake arriving the following year. that has happened every year since, but still no new building. i have no response to my question for a meeting with the secretary of state. with pupils being shunted around old buildings, talk of leveling up and addressing the gap will follow. with the prime minister and his education secretary get off their derrieres and solve this problem? p.m. sunak: i am happy to ensure the gentleman get -- but more generally, about what the government is doing to support education with the recent announcement of new -- but also

an education improvement area we are receiving extra funding and that is why we are seeing standards increase significantly and we are determined to keep going. >> is the prime minister aware of how issues have really affected schools in essex. we set a 150 schools impacted and he rightly said today the government is doing everything it can. can he try to commit later today to fully funding the capital revenue costs which are associated with getting children back into school? i would hope you would commit to meeting essex county council because they are pioneering some great reforms right now where they are looking to support academy trusts. i think the government could get some good insights. [indiscernible] p.m. sunak: can i start by thanking my right honorable friend and pay tribute to her

school leaders. i'm happy to give her the reassurances that new funding will be provided to schools to deal with this issue. but also, to ensure we can get through this as quickly as possible, her constituents and everyone are in the process of increasing the number of dedicated caseworkers from 50 to 18. 35 project directors on the ground. we have increased the number of survey firms by more than double so that we can rapidly fully assess all of the relevant schools and have a mitigation plan in place. >> steelworkers in my constituency have watched in frustration as other governments have pumped investments into decarbonization. when will the prime minister guarantee there will be a matching level of investment

with what other european governments are doing on decarbonization? will he guarantee the conclusion will be based on serious engagement, comprehensively with steel unions? p.m. sunak: steel is absolutely vital to the u.k. this is something that is of interest, something i have discussed extensively. the industry supports local jobs and economic growth. in conversations with companies like carter, they are ongoing but they are commercially sensitive. we do share the ambition of securing a decarbonized become sustainable future for the industry. in the meantime, we are exported -- we are supporting discounted energy bills and the industrial energy transformation fund which supports steel company with their energy bills and the transition for capital to a greener future. >> two weeks ago, the government

announced the bulldozer school's bid for a six form in my constituency has been successful. 52% of school leaders, 16 years old, go on to a six form. in balls over commit is 53%. in scheier brooks, 7%. will the prime minister joined me in thanking the red hill academy trusts, matthew hall the head teacher, and all of those who have helped bring -- to -- p.m. sunak: can i congratulate everyone involved with the successful bid for the new six form. i am delighted the bid was successful. my friend shares our desire for a world-class education because that is the best way to provide the opportunity for a better life.

>> the northeastern -- in terms of transport and bensman -- investment. >> [indiscernible] take pressure off the east coast mainline and maintain economic movement of passengers and freight services in the northeast of england? p.m. sunak: what i would say, it wouldn't be right for me to comment on specific projects, but to give a sense of our commitment what i can tell him is that in real terms commit since 2010, we have spent over

one third more in central capital investment in northern transport every single year. compared to labors lost six years in government. that is what we are doing for northern transportation. when it comes to reopening and restoring rail lines, what was the first one we did? from ashington to blythe. >> i have a cheerful question that the prime minister will find impossible to resist. he will be aware of the work i have been doing with mental health. to establish intervention hubs across the country. we got the pilot, which is lost somewhere between the treasury into the department but he will sort that problem out. i would if he will able to meet dr. alex george and myself to discuss things further because these hubs can make a massive difference. we all know the perverse situation where children and young people have to get progressively worse before they get the treatment they need.

p.m. sunak: the right honorable friend is right in passionately advocating mental health for young people, something we are doing. i am proud of our record increasing the number of mental health support teams that work with schools and expanding community services. i know dhs eat is looking at the role that support hubs might play, but i am happy to meet my friend personally to discuss how we can move things forward. >> would pay far too much -- about ministerial posteriors and very little about prosperity for the country. even in the dying days of the lame-duck government. will the prime minister's stop -- and subscribe to the horizon program for the sake of prichard science, innovation and cancer research? p.m. sunak: this government is

investing record sums in british science, research and development. we believe it is critical to address -- trickled to a bright future. our preference is to associate with the horizon but we want to make sure that is on terms that are right. both for the british taxpayer and british research. we have been extensively involved in discussions. i hope to them -- i hope to conclude this successfully i do hope she will be the first to stand up and congratulate the government. >> cancer awareness month, two years since the death of my constituent stacy farrell, only 10 years old. every day in the u.k., 10 young people will be diagnosed with cancer and two will not survive. those that do face a licensed -- face a lifetime of side effects from treatments not designed for small bodies. when will the prime minister publish the childhood cancer action plan? p.m. sunak: can i hank by

honorable friend and extend my sympathies to her constituent's family. she is right to continue campaigning in this important area. i hope you will understand i cannot preempt the contents specifically of the strategy but it will draw on previous work including submissions from childhood cancer charities and stakeholders to our recent course of evidence. of course we want to hear from them to highlight and get a sense of the issues she specifically raised but i am sure we will write her to give her a sense of timing. >> every year they have sent this -- the scottish government the cruelest of westminster forces supporting hard-working families against the brutal bacon tax and 6.2 million pounds to cover the -- astonishingly, we learned over the summer the leader of the opposition is in support of

these tory welfare forces. you turn after you return from the labour party. given that the tories and labor are two -- of the same -- offering new vision, no hope, does the prime minister agree the only way scottish -- >> order. >> let's think about language. let's be more tempered. [indiscernible] >> how could you change the -- >> two -- two cheeks of the same bottom. just a prime minister agree that the only way for scottish waters to -- in his policies is to put s&p to leave westminster forever? p.m. sunak: obviously not but i

think the crux of that question was directed to the opposition rather than me. i don't want to get in the middle of that. we want to ensure welfare systems that are compassionate while supporting those who can enter work to do so because that is fair for everyone else. i believe that is a system we are achieving and right now we are providing support to help the villages in scotland and we will continue to do so. >> that completes the prime minister's questions. >>ongress returns this week, facing the september 30 deadline to fund the government in order to avert the shutdown. they are back at 3:00 m. eastern, and senators will vote

to advance tonya bratcher to be the next deputy v.a. secretary. she would be the first woman to serve in the second-highest post in the department. then they plan to work on three bills funding the agriculture, housing, transportation, and veterans affairs department for next year. the house returns tuesd at noon eastern time, where members will work on 2020 for federal spending legislation, funding r the homeland security and defense departments, and you can catch this all on c-span, and c-span2, and watch all of our congressional coverage with our free video out, c-span now, or online at c-span.org. >> c-span shop all sale is going on right now, at c-spanshop.org. save up to 20% on apparel, drink ware and bedding. there is something for every c-span fan and every c-span --

purchase helps support our nonprofit operations. our fall sale is going on right now, scan the qr code to shop at c-span.org. >> a healthy democracy does not just look like this. it looks like this. where americans can see democracy at work. where citizens are truly an influence, the republic thrives. stay informed straight from the source on c-span. unfiltered, unbiased, word for word. from the nation's capital to wherever you are. because the opinion that matters the most is your own. this is where democracy lives. c-span, powered by cable. >> their eyes were watching god, written by zora neale hurston, is one of the books that shaped america in our new series starting september 18. a panel of black women writers talk about zora neale