tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span3. the british government apologized this week for its treatment of some immigrants from the caribbean, as reports of residents being threatened with deportation because of a 2012 immigration law. theresa may was asked about this during prime minister's questions at the house of commons. >> order. questions to the prime minister. gabbin robinson. >> question number one, mr. speaker. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i'm sure the whole house will wish to join me in offering our warmest congratulations to their highnesses the duke and duchess of cambridge on the birth of their son earlier this week. i know members across the house will want to join me in marking stephen lawrence's death 25 years ago. for each of those years, the lawrence family have fought heroically to ensure their son's life and death will never be

forgotten. and the government will work with the charitable trust to establish a national annual commemoration of his life and legacy. this morning i had meetings and in addition to my duties in this house, i shall have further such meetings today. >> in behalf of my right honorable colleagues, can we acknowledge the joy that this nation shares on a royal birth. mr. speaker, in 2017, through the confidence and supply agreement, the prime minister not only recognized the need to give northern ireland an economic boost, she agreed a package of measures, including a belfast region city deal, a city deal for others and ultra fast broadband investment that will transform our part of this united kingdom. in responding to the eager anticipation of our communities,

and in reaffirming her commitment will she ensure both in time for the autumn budget. >> he's raised an important issue. he's right, the government has set out several public commitments including in the confidence in supply agreement to work towards a comprehensive and ambitious set of city deals across northern ireland. there is progress being made, which i welcome, and by the belfast city region partners in developing the city deal proposals, i look forward to their submission which would be considered by the government. of course in the absence of an executive there are some issues to work through, but can i assure the honorable gentlemen that the northern ireland secretary is committed to working positively with partners, the uk government, o e progress the city deal. >> andrew bowie. >> thank you very much. yesterday the welsh government reached an agreement with her majesty's government on the withdrawal. does the prime minister agree

with me that's it's in the interest of scottish people that the scottish national leadership should do the same and reach a similar agreement as soon as possible? >> can i say to my honorable forehand, i'm pleased we're making progress with regard to the withdrawal bill. that's been acknowledged by all sides. after many months of negotiation and i pay tribute to my friends the chancellor and dutch of lancaster. we have reached agreement with the welsh government. it's a significant achievement. it will provide legal certainty, increased the power of devolved governments and respect the devolution settlements. we've made consider changes to reflect issues. it's indeed disappointing that the scottish government have not yet felt able to add their agreement to the new amendments and we sincerely hope they will reconsider their position. >> jeremy corbyn. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i join the prime minister in

congratulating the duke and duchess of cambridge on their baby and i wish them well. i think we should also reflect th doreen and neville lawrence fought for years to get justice for the death of their son. the mcpherson inquiry showed institutional racism was a major factor in the inquiry. we need to drive out institutional racism in all its forms, wherever it raises its head within our society. mr. speaker. mr. speaker, we recognize that the home secretary has rightly apologized to the windrush generation and made a commitment to compensate people for the hardship they've endured. the government is committed to compensation in theory, but as yet, nothing in practice. there's an understandable lack of trust by the windrush generation. so can the prime minister today be clear and confirm that those

british citizens who have worked, paid taxes here for decades, wrongly denied pensions and benefits, will be fully compensated? >> can i first of all say is the right honorable gentleman, it is absolutely right, across this house, we should all be absolutely clear in our determination to ensure that we stand power to racism in every form. let me -- but let me set out the house the action that has been taken because my friend did make clear the offering the other day in her statement before the house, that those who came here before the 1st of january '73, from commonwealth countries, as a whole, will be offered citizenship status without paying a fee, without taking the knowledge of life and language in the uk test. and the children of that generation, the windrush generation who are in the uk

will in most cases be british citizens already, but they will also be -- where that's not the case, they'll be able to naturalize at no further costs. we're also taking action in relation to those who made their life here, but retired to their country of origin and have found it difficult to return to the uk and will work with high commissions to make sure they can access the offer of formal british citizenship. they are british, they are part of us. and there will be a compensation scheme which my right honorable friend will set the details of that compensation scheme out in due course but i think everybody will see the action the government has taken is because we know these windrush generation -- oh the labor frontbench shake their heads and go, oh no. they are british, they are part of us and we will ensure that. >> mr. speaker, it's not an act of generosity to waive citizenship fees when they're

british citizens already, and they should be granted full status immediately. mr. speaker, four years ago, an internal home office memo stated that her hostile environment policies could make it harder for people like the windrush generation to find homes and in its own words, provoke discrimination. why did the home secretary ignore that memo? >> the right honorable gentleman talks about a hostile environment. what we are proposing here will, i think, flush illegal migrants out. we are trying to create a much more hostile environment in this country if you are illegally. those are not my words. they are the words of the right honorable member for birmingham hodge hill when he was labor immigration minister. and the labor leader ought to

know about this bought the right honorable gentleman sits on his frontbench. >> jeremy corbyn. >> speaker, what i'm talking about is the windrush generation of people who came here completely legally. the prime minister herself was warned by my friend, the member for hackney north and south newington who is now the shadow home secretary, directly about these policies in 2014. and when that act was going through parliament, the then community secretary eric pickles, wrote to her warning the costs and risks, considerably outweigh the benefits. why did she ignore his advice as well as the request from my honorable friend? >> i say to the right honorable gentleman, in relation to the windrust generation, we have made absolutely clear, those people who came here from the

queal commonwealth, before the 1st of january 1973, have a right to be here, they are british, they are part of us. the problem at the time was that they were not documented with that right and that is what we are now putting right. he talks about action that the government has taken in relation to those who are here illegally. the windrust generation are here legally. action against those who are here illegally has been taken by successive governments. checks on economic -- on someone's right to work here, came in, in 1997. measures on access to benefits in 1999. civil penalties for employing illegal migrants in 2008. both under a labor government. and why have these actions been taken? because people up and down this country want to ensure that the government is taking action on those people who are here illegally. it is not fair to those people who work hard, who have a right to be here, who's contributed to

this country, if they see people who are here illegally being given the same access to rights and services. >> jeremy corbyn. >> mr. speaker, the prime minister seems to want to get away from the injustice done to the windrust generation. the qualities and human rights commission warned about the 2016 immigration act, saying the bill is likely to lead to destitution and may cause inhuman and degrading treatment in breach of article 3 of the european convention of human rights. they've quite rightly apologized for the scandalous way in which british citizens have been treated, but it was due to the 2014 and '16 immigration act. so will the prime minister now commit to reviewing that legislation to make sure this never happens again? >> as i set out for the house last week, this is a generation

who came here prior to 1973. the labor frontbench say we know this but the questions he's asking suggest that they're ignoring some of the facts. this is a generation who came here prior to 1973. we are not ignoring. we are not ignoring the problems that some members of this generation are facing. that is why my right honorable friend, the home secretary has set out a special team in the office to not just deal with their inquiries, but actively help them find the documentation to clarify their status. that is why we have made the offer that my right honorable friend made of ensuring we can give them formal british citizenship which recognizes they are british, but does so in a formal documented way.

the problem was that back prior to 1973, when the windrust generation came here, they were not given documents that set out their status. we are now putting that right. and we will leave no stone unturned to put that right. >> jeremy corbyn. >> speaker, in 2013, the then home secretary said it was about creating a really hostile environment. and that's why she was introducing the legislation. had the windrust generation not mounted the campaign that they have, had members on this side of the house not raised the matter persistently, there would be no compensation, there would be no review, there would be no apology. but, mr. speaker, any review of legislation needs to be wider than just immigration law. the dismantling of legal aid provision in 2012 made the impact of the 2014 immigration act harder to challenge.

these policies swept up british citizens and legal migrants, causing them immense suffering as she was warned. so can the prime minister send a clear message today and tell us the hostile environment is over. and that her bogus immigration target that have driven this hostile culture, will be scrapped. the windrust generation have served this country and deserve better than this. >> the windrust generation are british. they have contributed to this country. they have made their life here. dealing with those people who are here illegally, not the windrust generation, they are here legally. there are people who are in this country illegally. and i say to the right honorable gentleman again, i've quoted the right honorable member for

birmingham hodge hill when he was labor immigration minister. the leader of the opposition referred to 2013. in 2013, the then shadow home secretary, the right honorable member for normanton pont facton fastelford said we need much more stronger action from government to bring illegal immigration down. that is -- well -- the labor frontbench o frontbench are saying the windrust generation are illegal. they are not illegal! they are here legally! that is why we are providing the support to enable them to get the documents for their status. what we are talking about, what the right honorable gentleman, the leader of the opposition is talking about, is whether or not we should deal with illegal immigration and up and down this country, the british public will tell him we should deal with illegal immigration. >> jeremy corbyn.

>> mr. speaker, we're talking about the environment created by her as home secretary for six years when she knew full well, she knew full well of the problems the windrust generation were facing. at last she's been forced to act upon it. last week, the current home secretary admitted, the home office sometimes loses sight of the individual. yet we now know that when she took over from a predecessor, her intent was to harden this cruel and misdirected this policy, pledging to do so ruthlessly. a report last month by immigration officials stated the hostile environment measures were not even having the desired effect. the current home secretary inherited a failing policy and made it worse. isn't it time she took responsibility and resigned?

>> the house must calm itself. we've got a long way to go and a lot of back bench's questions to reach. let's hear the prime minister. >> can i say to the right honorable gentleman that up and down this country, people want to ensure that the government is taking action against those people who are here in this country illegally, those people who are here illegally, because it isn't fair that people who work hard day in and day out, who contribute to this country, who put into the life of this country, are seeing people who are here illegally accessing services in the same way. we are acting to ensure that those people who are here legally, are given the support that they need.

we welcomed the windrust generation those many years ago. we -- they are british, they are part of us, and we are ensuring that they remain here and are able to continue to live their lives here. but it is also right that this government takes action against those people who are accessing services despite being here illegally and not putting in and not contributing to this country. and i say to the right honorable gentleman, if he wants to talk, if he wants to talk about issues of fairness, if he wants to talk about a government that is kind, then let's just look and see what a labor government would be like. because a labor government, a labor government would wreck our economy, would damage people's jobs, that would destroy, that would tax people and end up with debt for future jengdss. it's not a labor government that is kind or fair to anybody.

>> john lemon. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i'm sure the whole house will want to pass on its condolences to the family of matt campbell who sadly died taking part in the london marathon. will the prime minister join me in congratulating the 40,000 members who completed the marathon raising huge amounts of money for local charities and good causes across the united kingdom and in particular, issue wish to thank the volunteers, ambulance and medic staff who made the event as safe as possible. >> he shouldn't be too shy about it. >> first of all, may i join my honorable friend in paying tribute to matt campbell. and i understand his just giving page has now raised over $140,000 for the trust which works to inspire vulnerable young people to make positive changes in their lives. i'm sure members across the house will want to join me in offering condolences to his family and friends. but i'm also happy to join my

honorable friend in congratulating the runners in this weekend's marathon, including those 15 members from this house who competed. and if i may say so, particularly my honorable friend who was the fastest member of parliament. completing it, because we should have it on record, in three hours and 38 minutes, many congratulations to my honorable friend. but it's also right that we pay tribute to the ambulance workers and medical staff who -- for all that they did on the day to enable this to take place. >> ian blackford. >> thank you, mr. speaker. can i on behalf of those of us in these benches, pass on congratulations to the duke and duchess of cambridge on the birth of their son, and i associate myself with the remarks of the prime minister and stephen lawrence. mr. speaker, the cbi, the nfu, the scottish government, the welsh government, the house of lords and overwhelming members of this house want the uk to

remain in the customs union. why is the prime minister on the side of her cynical brexiteers? >> what the british people voted to leave the european union, in voting to leave the european union, they voted to leave the single market and the customs union. we will -- what we want to ensure is that we as a country are able to negotiate, independently negotiate free trade deals around the rest of the world. that we are also able to ensure that we deliver on our commitment for no hard border between northern ireland and ireland. and that we have as frictionless a border as possible between the united kingdom and the european union. what businesses tell me, they want that tariff-free, frictionless border and that's what we're negotiating for them. >> mr. speaker, that answer

isn't good enough. the single market and the customs union quite simply were not on the ballot paper. the prime minister's own government analysis shows almost every sector of the economy and every region of the united kingdom would be negatively impacted if the uk leaves the customs union. negotiations in brussels are effectively at a standstill because the government are bereft of ideas at how to deal with the irish border issue. why is it that jobs, living standards, even the good friday agreement, are all secondary concerns to this government? will the prime minister confirm now that if this place votes in favor of a customs union, that will be the negotiating position of her government? >> can i say to the right honorable gentleman that he is wrong in so many of the statements that he's just made. first of all, this government is not bereft of ideas in terms of how we can approach the issue of the northern ireland border because we have published proposals for dealing with that very issue.

but if he wants to issue to scottish businesses, i suggest he listens to those businesses who just yesterday from the food and drink federation, skish bakers, said scotland benefits benefit from the uk single market. you should listen to that. >> dr. andrew mirson. >> at thursday's recovery meeting in salisbury, the public was told nine hot spots remain in the city and around the city and that the clean-up may take until the end of the year. in thanking the prime minister for her interest in this matter, can i ask who more can be done so life there can return to normal as soon as possible? >> i thank my honorable friend because he's raised an important

issue and i'm happy to update the house on this issue. fofl, can i make it absolutely clear that public health england have said salisbury is safe for residents and visitors. there's no need for anyone to take any additional precautions. cordons are in place to protect the public while decontamination work is carried out on the sites that my honorable friend has referred to. after it's undertaken at each site, sampling will be carried out to ensure that the sites are safe to be released back to the public. i can assure my honorable friend, the need to expedite this work is well recognized, but we want to ensure that it's done in a way that those sites will in the future be available to the public and will be safe for the public. >> neil gray. >> thank you, mr. speaker. around 20 of my constituents, and 4,000 other low-paid workers around the uk are waiting for money that is rightfully theirs. they've been waiting 20 years. some will have died waiting and others are now seriously ill.

you, mr. speaker, represent as to other members across this house, represent constituents waiting for their pay-out from the benefit trust which has been trying to get them to take a decision on ten million pounds wrongly paid to them 18 years ago. will the prime minister join me today in calling on hmrc to finally decide on this case and get the money back to the people who rightly deserve it? >> can i say to the honorable gentleman that i understand he raised this case with the chancellor of the exchequer last week. my honorable friend in the financial sector has offered to meet him to discuss the wider issue. hmrc is working closely with the trustees' representatives to resolve the case. hmrc is operationally independent and i think that is important. they must of course apply the law fairly, collect the taxes

set out in legislation by parliament, but they are working with the trustees' representatives and my friend in the financial sector is happy to meet the honorable gentleman to discuss this. >> richard drax. >> thank you, mr. speaker. can i commend my right honorable friend for reaffirming the government's clear position that we will not be remaining in any form of a customs union. and while on the eu, can she reassure fishermen in south dorset and fishermen around the country, especially the under ten-meter fleet they will not be disadvantaged by any incoming eu policies during the implementation period. >> i say to my honorable friend, this question of fisheries is a matter raised previously. can i reassure him, during the implementation period we've negotiated that the uk's share of catch cannot be reduced. it safeguards the livelihoods of ur fishing communities. there's also an obligation in

the agreement on both sides to act in good faith and throughout that implementation period, and any attempts by the eu to harm the uk fishing industry would obviously breach that obligation. but in december 2020, we'll be negotiating fishing opportunities as a third country, as a fully independent coastal state, deciding who can have access to our waters and on what terms for the first time in over 40 years. >> douglas chapman. >> thank you, mr. speaker. prime minister, you'll be aware in my constituency, we're putting the finishing touches to the prince of wales. as we near the end of that contract, over 400 people are now facing redundancy, with many more job losses in the pipeline. will the prime minister visit them to explain to the workforce face to face why our government intends to award a 1 billion pound ship building contract out with the islands when we have the skills, the talent, and the infrastructure to deliver right

here? prime minister? >> can i say to the honorable gentleman that what we are doing through our national ship building strategy is focusing on giving the royal navy the ships it needs while increasing economic growth across the country and investing in a more skilled workforce. so we are encouraging a more competitive industry in ship building and growing jobs across the country. i think he may have been referring to the future support ships for the royal fleet aux ilary procured through national competition. that's three ships that will be built in the fleet solid support program. they'll be subject to international competition to secure the best possible value for the uk taxpayer. but what we're doing is ensuring that we develop that ship building capability here in the uk in a way that we can encourage all uk shipyards with the necessary skills and expertise to continue to engage in that particular program.

>> as my right honorable friend is aware, according to the world health organization, the second largest medical system in the world, with 300,000 doctors treating 200 million patients every year is homeopathy. and that's the evidence. that's the evidence. will my right honorable friend -- >> order, order! i want to hear the views of the honorable gentleman on this matter. >> will she congratulate the doctors who are members of the faculty of homeopathy on their work in the health service and particularly dealing with cases that are too difficult to treat conventionally? and does she agree with me that homeopathic patients should be able to make up their own mind about it and other treatments as well? >> i say to my honorable friend, he has been a long standing advocate in this house for

homeopathy. and obviously some patients were treated in the nhs and the private sector use complementary and alternative therapies, but it's the responsibility of the local nhs to make decisions on the funding of health care treatments and take account of safety, clinical effectiveness and the availability of suitably qualified pr qualified practitioners. it's right that those who are professionally able to make these judgments are left to make those judgments. >> miss mckinnis. >> thank you. in my constituency of hayward and middleton in rochdale, 1 of 3 of year 6 children are overweight or obese. and with our children being bombarded with junk food ads on their television programs, billboards, and even to bus tickets, will the prime minister take the bold steps needed to tackle junk food marketing and support jamie oliver's latest

campaign and say that she too has had enough? >> can i say to the honorable lady, we already have plans to tackle childhood obesity that are world-leading. no other developed country has done anything as ambitious. our soft drinks industry levy, that's bold action that we're taking. our sugar reduction program is going to cut the amounts of sugar consumed by young people. and of course we're putting in plans in relation to the amount of exercise that primary schoolchildren get every day. physical activity that they get every day. those steps will make a real difference and a real help in reversing a problem that has been decades in the making. but of course we haven't ruled out further action. if the right results aren't seen. >> does the prime minister agree that events since the very powerful debate on anti-semitism

demonstrate that they're not taking action seriously and they need to root out this form of racism from their party? >> can i say to my right honorable friend she raises an extremely important issue. as i said at the very beginning in response to the right honorable gentleman, the leader of the opposition, it is important that everybody across this house takes action to stamp out racism in all its forms, and i include in that, anti-semitism. >> alice thewlis. >> mr. speaker, i see the results of the prime minister's hostile environment in my case work every single day. my constituents, mr. shik and miss gull applied for leave on the same day. he was granted but she was refused. the couple's 5-year-old and their 4-month-old are both british citizens, but miss gull has been told she should be ready to leave the uk. why does the prime minister want to separate this family and will she intervene? >> i say to the honorable lady,

she knows full well that those who are working in the uk visas and immigration section of the home office look at every case very carefully. but she's made her point in this house and i'm sure that the home office will look again at this case. >> sir jeffrey clifton brown. >> thank you, mr. speaker. the city of london has recently topped the worldwide zed yen index supporting 450,000 jobs, and is worth 45 billion pounds to the uk economy. would my right honorable friend agree that it's essential for the eu and the uk final brexit agreement supports these services? otherwise they'll move elsewhere in the world. >> can i say, this is an important issue, i refer to this in my mansion house speech where i said we wanted to ensure that financial services were a part of the deep and comprehensive partnership we want to build with the eu 27.

our gold should be establishing access to each other's markets. that should be based on maintaining the same regulatory outcomes over time with a mechanism that determines proportionate consequences where they are not maintained. that's part of my ambition for an economic partnership with the european union that goes way beyond any existing free trade agreement, covering more sectors and cooperating more fully. and my honorable friend is right, if they're looking to go elsewhere, they're more likely to look to go elsewhere in the world, rather than elsewhere in europe. >> colleen fletcher. >> a stem cell transplant can be a live-saving treatment for people with blood cancer. recent research shows that having a younger stem cell donor improves a patient's chance of surviving post transplant. will the prime minister join me in supporting the upcoming "be a

life saver" campaign, which aims to recruit more young people, age 16 to 30, to the stem cell donor register? and will see congratulate the 1,000 people in coventry northeast and all others, who are already signed up to be donors. >> well, i'm happy to join her in congratulating those people in coventry and elsewhere who have signed up already to be donors. anthony noelen has done excellent work over the years. i wasn't aware of the campaign she referred to, but i will look into it. sounds like a very good campaign and i'm sure she'll be encouraging other members of this house to support it as well. >> mr. speaker, increasing numbers of children of school age are now being educated at home. does the prime minister agree that it's important to ensure that these children receive an education that's appropriate for their needs? >> yes. can i say to my honorable friend, i think this is very important. sometimes for parents deciding to educate their children at home, they have their reasons

for doing so. but it's important those children do get an appropriate quality and level of education, and i can reassure my honorable friend i know this is an issue that the secretary of state for education is looking at. >> lucy powell. >> thank you very much. on saturday a met a couple who had all but given up hope of ever buying their own home, but thanks to an innovative, affordable housing scheme by manchester city council, they have just moved into their own house right near the university. so will she join me in praising manchester labor who despite her -- >> here, here! >> -- who despite her government's planning and funding restrictions have built many hundreds of truly affordable homes in my constituency and will have another 2,000 coming on stream very soon. >> well, i'm happy to say to the honorable lady they think it is important that we are providing homes and building more homes for people. and within that, that we include

affordable homes too. i'm pleased to say, since we came in 2010, we've delivered more affordable homes in the last seven years than the last seven years of the last labor government. but i'm happy to, it is in fact the government working with manchester and with the mayor of manchester and the combined authority to ensure that we are supporting in certain areas with funding and encouraging that building of affordable homes and indeed ensuring there are homes young people can aspire, so they can get their foot on the property ladder for those who never thought they'd be able to do so. >> andrea jenkins. >> thank you, mr. speaker. the academy in morly scored outstanding. can the prime minister confirm to the house that under this conservative government since 2010, an additional 1.8 million children are now taught in good and outstanding schools? and i hope the prime minister will join me in congratulating the principals, teachers, staff

and students at the two schools for their hard work to achieve this admirable achievement. >> can i say to my honorable friend, i'm very happy to join her in congratulating the teachers and heads and all the staff of the two schools that she has mentioned in the achievements that they have got as a result of the work that they have been doing. she asked me to confirm that there are now 1.8 million more children in good or outstanding schools. i'm afraid i'm not able to confirm that. because in fact, there are now 1.9 million children in good or outstanding schools. >> thank you, mr. speaker. my constituent antony who lives with a chronic, disables illness, has worked all his life until finishing on medical grounds three years ago. since 2002, he's received disability living allowance, but last year was transferred to pip, and his mobility allowance was cut. yesterday antony handed back his

mobility vehicle he's had for 16 years. and today he is house-bound and fearful for his future. the total injustice of the system means that he now faces a nine-month wait for his appeal at liverpool tribunal services. what message does the prime minister have for antony as he adjusts to his new life as a prisoner in his own home? >> can i say to the honorable gentleman i'm sorry to hear the case he has raised. as all members of this house will know, there are cases where people have had to appeal against judgments that have been made in relation to this. but i will ensure that the department of work and pension system aware of the particular case he has raised in this house. >> will quints. >> in october last year, the national bereavement care path was launched in 11 pilot sites. last week, it launched in a further 21 sites.

and yesterday i'm delighted to announce that the government has set aside funding for a national rollout. will my right honorable friend join me in welcoming this funding which will make such a difference to bereaved parents up and down this country. >> this is a subject he has campaigned on with great personal commitment to this. and i recognize the prns and that's why the government is putting the funding in of providing this bereavement counselling and supporting parents in the most difficult circumstances. >> sir vincent cable. >> the prime minister will be aware of the concern that if the home office cannot deal humanely and efficiently with the immigration status of 50,000 uk residents of caribbean origin, they will seriously struggle to deal efficiently and humanely with 3 million european national registration. can she address the particular

concern that under the data protection bill, the home office is now taking powers to cover up future mistakes by blocking access to individual files, sought by individuals and their lawyers to check the accuracy of their data? >> the interpretation that the right honorable gentleman has put on that is not correct, in that it will be possible for people to access information that they need to have available. what i would say to him, he's referred to the issue about eu citizens. there is a real difference between a situation where people came to this country, but were not given documented status in this country. and that is the issue that we're dealing with, with the windrust generation. they've contributed to this country, they've lived here. but at no stage -- when they came here, they were not given that documentary evidence. there's a difference with the system we're putting in place for eu citizens, where eu citizens are being encouraged and asked to apply for that

settled status so that they have the evidence of their status. we are making sure that this is a problem -- the problem will not occur in relation to the eu citizens. >> ben bradley. >> we've been talking about higher education in this place. does my honorable friend agree that the action we're taking as a government show that a conservative government is committed to delivering for students working with them and treating them as adults in stark contrast with members opposite who look to win votes from young people by offering undeliverable items. >> he's absolutely right. the review we're bringing in on tertiary education, is about not just assuring the funding is right, but also that young people have access to the roots through education, be it technical or university, that suits their particular needs. and last year, the right honorable gentleman, the leader of the opposition, said he would deal with student debt.

students thought he was going to abolish student debts. what happened after the election? he goes back on his promise. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i was not going to raise this, but the prime minister quoted me. let me say to the prime minister. do not try to hide behind me or the labour party, when she was warned repeatedly that the damage her obsession with her net migration target was doing. do not try to hide behind the cabinet when they don't agree with you on this and are trying to clear up the mess, and do not try to hide behind civil servants -- >> order. i'm not having the questioner interrupted. it will be heard and it will be heard in full. that's the end of it. >> do not try to hide behind civil servants when she sets the policy instilled in them the culture of disbelief, and when the high commissioners told us this morning that they had warned the foreign office about the windrust generation immigration problems in 2016.

what did she do? because a few years ago, the prime minister said, i'm actually sick and tired of a government minister who simply blames other people when something goes wrong. what's changed? >> can i say to the right, i say to the right honorable lady, nobody is trying to blame anybody else. this -- the issue -- the question of the windrust generation, arises from the fact that when they came here, when they came here, they were not documented. their status to live here was not documented. over the years, yes, there have been individual cases over the years, of people who have had to regularize their documentation and have done so. we have now seen cases of people in difficulty because they have not been able to do that. that is why the home office is

taking action to deal with that. but for governments of every color, including the government in which the right honorable lady served, action has been taken against illegal immigrants. this does not apply to the windrust generation. they are here, they are british, they have a right to be here. but under labor, action was taken to -- for a compliant environment. under the conservatives, action has been taken to deal with illegal immigrants. that's what we're doing. i have apologized to the windrust generation, and i do so again. we are doing everything we can to ensure that they are reassured, that they do not have the anxiety that some of the generation have had. but we also owe it to them and to the british people to ensure we deal with people who are here illegally.

>> julian lewis. >> does my right honorable friend still subscribe to her excellent maxim that no deal is better than a bad deal, and does she acknowledge that locking ourselves into a customs union with the eu after brexit, would be a very bad deal indeed? >> well, i'm very happy to confirm what i've always said, no deal is better than a bad deal. as regards a customs union, being in one, means we would not be able to negotiate our own trade deals around the rest of the world, and that's what we want to do, to do that. as i saw last week with the commonwealth heads of government, there's considerable interest around the rest of the world in being able to have those independent trade deals negotiated between the rest of the world and the uk. >> david leming. >> in 2011, i wrote to her then immigration minister, the member for ashford, about my constituent who came here in

1956, aged 4, and in 2011, was told that he could no longer work, and he did not have british citizenship. her minister wrote to me and basically said tough. can she now explain in a little more detail what compensation will be available for my constituent who has been unable to work since 2011, for seven years? and will she also importantly, for many people who are feeling vulnerable and scared, assure them that if they ring her hotline, they will see no enforcement action to remove them from the country because they are scared when ringing that hotline? >> can i say to the right honorable gentleman, as i said earlier, obviously individual cases will have different circumstances. but my right honorable friend

the home secretary will be setting out the compensation scheme and she will do that shortly. can i also say to the right honorable gentleman on the second point that he raised. the home secretary has made this clear on a number of occasions. the hotline is there to help people to be able to document -- get the documents they need to be able to clarify their status, such that they don't suffer from the problems that the constituent of the right honorable gentleman has suffered from in the past. she has also made it clear that there is no question of taking enforcement action when people ring that hotline. we actively want people to be ringing that hotline, to be bringing their cases forward, so that the home office can help them to ensure that they've got the documents needed. so that they can be reassured and will not see any problems in the future. >> let's hear from a barron. john barron. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i thank my friend for a positive

meeting about the need for nhs england to release the 200 million pound funding. however, since then the system has been painfully slow in following through on what was agreed at that meeting. if this continues, will the prime minister meet with me so that we can unblock this log jam on behalf of cancer patients and their families? >> i say to my honorable friend that i'm sorry to hear there has still been some slowness in the system relating to that. i will look into this matter and i'm quite happy if we're not able to unblock it, to meet him again. >> thank you. >> order. >> connect with c-span to personalize the information you get from us. just go to c-span.org/connect and sign up for the e-mail. the program guide is a daily e-mail with the most updated primetime schedule and upcoming live schedule. word for word gives you the most interesting daily video

highlight. in their own words, with no commentary. the book tv newsletter sent weekly is an insider's look at upcoming authors and book festivals. and the american history tv weekly newsletter gives you the upcoming programming exploring our nation's past. visit c-span.org/connect and sign up today. next, house minority leader nancy pelosi talks to students at georgetown university. she covered a number of topics, including the upcoming 2018 midterm elections, immigration, taxes and social media data. [ applause ] >>