Q&A: Prime Minister David Cameron answers Echo readers' questions on the EU referendum

We submitted a selection of your responses to Number 10, and now Mr Cameron has responded with his answers on the topics you wanted to know about.

Q: Our local hospital, Southend, is in black alert again. If we’re forced to stay in the EU, will you be building new hospitals, police stations, dentists and GP surgeries to cope with the inevitable influx of more migrants? (Natalie Harriman)

A: I know that people have concerns about the effects immigration from the EU has had on their communities. That is why I negotiated a deal to tackle this problem.

I feel strongly about the need to end the idea of ‘something for nothing’ welfare for migrants. So I’ve made sure new arrivals from the EU will not be able to get access to full benefits for four years and child benefit will no longer be sent home at UK rates.

All this means that migrants who do come to the UK will be paying their taxes and contributing to our economy, helping to fund – and in many cases, work in – those important public services on which we all rely.

Q: Could you tell me why we cannot go back to the common market, where we were with Europe but not dictated to by them? Was it not a better place to be? (Gloria Darling)

A: Inside the EU, we have all of the economic benefits of a common market – now called the Single Market – meaning we can sell our goods and services to 500 million consumers.

That means more jobs, lower prices and financial security for British families. But common markets do need some common rules.

The point is: if we’re inside the EU, we get to help set those rules. But if we’re outside, we’d still want to do business with EU countries, and therefore would have to abide by the rules, but would have no say at all over them.

Of course the EU also allows us to do other things, like working together to tackle terrorism and taking action on climate change – issues that can only be effectively tackled through international cooperation.

But our special status in the EU means we are permanently out of “ever closer union”, will never be part of European superstate, will never join the Euro, and will never be part of the Schengen no borders zone.

We’ve got a special status that means we’re out of the parts of Europe that don’t work for us, but can enjoy all of the economic and security benefits that EU membership brings.

Q: There are so many claims being made by one side of the EU debate which are totally contradicted by the other. How are we supposed to decide the best course without indisputable facts? (Alan Hart)

A: This is a huge decision our country is taking on June 23. As people make their minds up, they want the facts. The government has a duty to provide them. Over 3million jobs in the UK are linked to EU exports, 300,000 of them in the East of England.

Over 44 per cent of all our exports go to EU countries. European companies invest £68million a day in Britain, creating jobs. These are all facts. These are all examples of the way we benefit from being part of the EU – things that can’t be guaranteed if we left.

I’d also encourage people to look at who is putting forward the facts. On the Leave side there is barely a credible economist, business organisation or international body who supports their claims.

On our side, however, we have a collection of independent experts, trustworthy organisations and friends of Britain from around the world.

Whether it is the International Monetary Fund, the CBI, leading businesses and employers, the trade unions, President Obama, our allies in NATO or the Commonwealth, their message is the same: Britain is better off in Europe.

Q: Why has the EU never produced "audited accounts" to prove transparency, when they are in a position of trust? Charities have to comply, so what makes the EU so special? (Peter Lovett)

A: On the EU accounts, it is in fact the spending of EU funds in member states that has not been signed off, rather than the EU budget itself. But I will always fight to get the best value for money from the EU budget. That’s why I secured the first ever cut to the budget.

Q: How much do we pay in per day to the EU and how much do we draw out per day? (Chris Walker)

A: Just over 1p in every £1 of tax paid goes to the EU, but the benefits derived from this significantly outweigh the cost. Treasury analysis has shown that, after 15 years, Britain outside or the EU would be £36 billion short in terms of tax receipts because of the impact leaving would have on our economy. It also shows our GDP would be hit by the equivalent of £4,300 per family.

That means we’d have far less money to spend on public services like the NHS and schools, not more.

Q: Your renegotiation of the UK’s status in February included opt outs from the single currency and ‘ever closer union’. As these are principles in the founding Treaty of Rome isn’t the UK already excluded? (David Stansfield)

A: The renegotiation puts it very much on record that we have a special status and are out of these parts of the EU for good.

Britain was not previously carved out of ‘ever closer union’ – now we very much are.

But we achieved more than that. We got an agreement within Europe that there will be stronger roles for national parliaments, and that a lot of red tape, particularly affecting small businesses, will be tackled.

I also secured commitments for the EU to work harder on securing new trade deals and completing the single market, all of which is very much in Britain’s interests.

We have new powers to tackle the drivers in our welfare system that attract migrants, measures like ensuring that people coming to Britain from the EU can’t fully access benefits until they have been here for four years.

This is a good deal for Britain, and one I believe the British people can support.

Q: If we vote to remain on the basis of the deal you obtained, what will you do if the European Parliament refuses to approve that deal? (Paul Nash)

A: In the words of the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, the deal is legally binding and irreversible. That means the choice in this referendum is between staying in a reformed EU which offers us the best of both worlds, or walking away for good and taking a leap in the dark.

Q: How do you justify spending £9 million on a pamphlet just before the selected groups on each side of the debate were given a limited budget for publicity? (Alan Hart)

A: This referendum is the most important decision the British people will make on a political issue in their lifetimes. Independent polling carried out on behalf of the government showed that 85 per cent of the public wanted more information from us – and so I think we have a responsibility to provide that.

The government is not neutral in this debate – we decided to strongly support the case for remaining. And I want everyone to know why we believe Britain would be stronger, safer and better-off in a reformed EU. What I certainly wouldn’t want is for people to complain after the referendum that they didn’t fully understand the government’s position.