The Prime Minister has taken time out of his busy schedule running the country to answer questions from

First News readers. So, this was your chance to ask David Cameron about the issues that matter most to you…

 AMY, 12

Are you looking forward to Prince William’s wedding to Kate Middleton?

I certainly am. I think it will be a great and happy occasion, and an opportunity for us all to celebrate.  I camped out on The Mall the night before Prince Charles and Diana’s wedding and loved watching the procession go by. I wouldn’t recommend everyone does that, not least because it would get very crowded, but hope that you will all be using the opportunity of the public holiday to do something to celebrate the occasion in April.

HEATHY, 10

When you were elected in May, what was the first thought that came into your head?

What a huge responsibility this is – and that I hope I don’t let anyone down.

FIRST NEWS READER, 11 

Will bullying punishments get any worse, other than kids being sent off the playground or having their parents come to school?

And CINDY, 9 

What is being done about serious bullying? 

I really want this Government to get to grips with bullying in our schools. It makes so many children’s lives a misery. The biggest single step we can take is to give teachers more power than they have now. When I speak to teachers, and in particular headteachers, they often say they don’t feel they can properly punish the worst-behaved kids. We’re changing that. We’re giving teachers much greater control in the classroom, with more power to discipline bullies, and even search them for any weapons they might be carrying. 

FIRST NEWS READER, 14 

What is your vision for the education of children in this country? 

I want every child to have the best education in the world. I want them to not just learn the basics; I want them to be inspired by learning. And, importantly, I want each child to have an education that suits their needs. Everyone is different; we all have different needs, abilities and interests – and I want schools to cater for them. That’s one of the reasons why we’re making a really big change. We’re letting suitable organisations – whether that’s teachers, a parents group or charity – set up a school. More schools mean more choice and more children getting the education they want and need.

OLIVIA AARONSON

Do you feel that there is a significant threat from terrorist attacks and what plans have you made to combat it?

The threats we face are serious – and the Government is doing all it can to protect people, whether that’s tracking the terrorists who want to do us harm or building a stronger society so people don’t turn to terrorism in the first place. And, of course, we can all do our bit by being alert and looking out for any suspicious bags on trains and buses. 

JADE, 13

How will British children benefit from the 2012 Olympic Games?

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make sure they do. So we’ve announced a new inclusive School Games programme which every school will be invited to sign up to. I hope this series of annual events will excite children across the country and inspire them to get involved in sport. We’re aiming for the first School Games final to take place in the Olympic Stadium in 2012, giving young people an opportunity to feel the power of competing in a world class stadium. We are determined that hosting the 2012 Games will allow us to harness the UK’s passion for sport and increase participation, particularly by young people.  

TOBY, 14

How did you feel after all the World Cup efforts from you, David Beckham and Prince William when we only got one vote from FIFA?

Hugely disappointed, to be honest. The England 2018 team put together a fantastic bid and I honestly believe there was nothing more that we could have done. But I congratulated Russia on being selected and wish them luck for hosting the tournament.

TERRI, 11 

I am a member of the charity Young Carers. What are you going to do about the lack of money for us. The support group for kids is shutting down and we need that support.

The first thing to say is how much I appreciate the work of young carers. A survey carried out by the BBC last year found one in 12 schoolchildren had some sort of caring responsibilities. These people are often unsung heroes – juggling caring responsibilities with their schoolwork and a social life. In return, the Government is trying to do all we can to help carers, in particular by putting a lot more funding into health services to give them the breaks they need.

Your question, though, was about money for your support group. Although I don’t know the details of your specific case, there is no doubt that everyone is having to make cuts at the moment – central government and local councils too – as we try to get to grips with the massive hole we have in the public finances. But what I‘ve said to local councils is they really should cut their bureaucracies and their top pay before they turn to voluntary bodies and charities.  That is the approach we are following in central government.  Despite these difficult times, we’ve actually found new ways to help – including through a new Big Society Bank and, to make it easier before this new money starts to flow, a ‘Transition Fund’ to help voluntary groups grasp new opportunities that open up.

FIRST NEWS READER, 15 

How will the ‘Big Society’ work in poorer communities in Britain? I live in a village where lots of people volunteer and look out for each other but I am not sure that this will work in larger and poorer communities.

In fact it’s in precisely these communities that the old approach – of everything being controlled from the centre – has been the greatest failure. So one of the reasons I’m so passionate about the Big Society is that it’s in these areas where a new approach could make the biggest difference.  Empowering people to improve the lives of their communities – not only through volunteering, but also by giving them a greater say over the public services they receive and the decisions which are taken – works wherever people live.  This is because the people who live in an area are more likely to know about the area, and are more likely to care about their area, than officials living miles away.  

Let me give you an example.  Balsall Heath in Birmingham was once a place full of crime and drugs. Now it’s a great place to live. And the change happened because local people decided they’d had enough and took a stand to drive out crime and clean up their neighbourhood, with residents groups, street stewards and the like working in partnership with the police and council. The Big Society is about learning the lessons from this and applying them elsewhere too. That doesn’t mean sitting back and hoping – we are actively trying to make it happen. For example, we are going to be training 5,000 community organisers to help bring about social action in areas where it is needed most. And we are setting up a Community First fund which will support the growth of community groups in areas with significant deprivation. 

FIRST NEWS WEBSITE MEMBER, 10

Do you think we should put up the age limit for smoking and drinking? And how can we have more protection for schoolgirls as there are loads of weird people out there?

The age limit for cigarettes already went up a couple of years ago to 18 and I don’t think it should go higher. I do think, however, we should protect children from smoking. One way a lot of teenagers get cigarettes is from vending machines, so we are banning them from being sold in these machines later this year. When it comes to alcohol, again, I think people are old enough at 18 to make their own decisions. But we have got to do more to stop underage drinking. For example, we are doubling the fine for those shopkeepers who sell alcohol to young teenagers. 

You’re right about protecting children. One particularly important thing we’ve seen in recent months is more help for children and young people using social networking sites, like the ClickCEOP app for Facebook. It’s vital we spread the word on this,
so children and teenagers can report any suspicious behaviour and get the help, advice and support they need.

RAY, 12

You increased VAT to 20% but it has an effect on many things I buy everywhere, including at school. What are you willing to do about things that children buy?

This was a really tough decision. Believe me I don’t like putting up taxes. But this country is massively in debt, so we have to do something about it. The biggest part of the answer is cutting spending. But we also need to get more money in, and that, unfortunately, means increasing some taxes. 

However, not everything children need has VAT added to it. For instance, no one pays any VAT on children’s clothing or books.

AYESHA, 11

Will university fees decrease considering the number of protestors you got? If not, what will happen to people who can’t afford the fees? Will they not have a university education?

I think there’s been a lot of misunderstanding about our plans. No one will have to pay any fees up front – not a penny. The only time people will pay anything back is when they graduate, have a job and earn over £21,000. That is much better than the present system, when people start paying back if they earn just £15,000.  Under the new system everyone will pay less per month than they do now – and the less well-off will pay almost two thirds less per month than now.

We’re also launching a National Scholarship Programme which, by 2014, will help support around 100,000 students from the poorest families – every year.

So, no student should be put off going to university by the thought that they can’t afford the fees. This is really important. I want more people from a wider variety of backgrounds to get into our best universities, and that will only happen if people understand the measures we are taking to help those on the lowest incomes.

EVE

We had lots of snow this year, last year and it is thought that, in the future, we will have much more snow around winter. Is the Government going to provide solutions to the snow because the country seems to collapse (trains stop running, no grit on
the roads) whenever we have snow?

I wouldn’t say Britain collapses when there’s snow, but I do agree we should do all we can to make our response better. We’ve not traditionally spent as much on snow protection measures as some countries with much colder winters, because the measures wouldn’t be used as often. You’re right, though, to say we’ve now had a couple of years of problems with snow. In fact, this winter was the coldest for over a century, and countries elsewhere in Europe had similar problems. But we’ve certainly got to do all we can to be as well prepared as possible. For instance, we currently have more than a million tonnes of salt stored across the country, nearly four times as much as we had a year ago.

JULIEN, 16

How do you decide how much aid to give to people living in desperate need in poverty around the world, compared to how much you spend on people in the UK?

It’s a good question, and one of the great things about our politics in recent years is that all three main parties now pretty much agree on the answer.  We’ve all made a promise to achieve the target the United Nations set for spending on aid – 0.7% of UK gross national income.  Despite these difficult financial times, we are going to keep that promise.  We’re one of the countries leading the way on this.  I think that says a huge amount about our country and
the values we stand for.

Of course, it’s a small proportion of our budget compared to what we spend here in the UK, but well-spent aid can achieve miracles. The need is huge: more than a billion people around the world try to survive on less than a dollar a day. UK taxpayers have already helped