Summary

  • David Cameron defends welfare changes which he says will encourage well paid work

  • Business for Britain report calls for bigger changes to relationship if UK is to stay in the EU

  • Iain Duncan Smith faces regular questions in the House of Commons

  1. 'Raiding the accounts'published at 17.13

    BBC News Channel

    Sir Gerald Howarth

    Sir Gerald Howarth, former defence minister, has commented on news that the government is going to start counting spending on some peace-keeping missions as part of the defence budget. UKIP has already suggested it's just "creative accounting" aimed at meeting Nato's 2% of GDP target for defence spending by the back door.

    Sir Gerald said that while he wants that target to be met, this isn't a "fair" way of doing it.

    Quote Message

    It looks as though what the government is doing is raiding a whole load of accounts... in order to satisfy a lot of people like me... I don't think that's going to allay the fears that are being expressed in the United Kingdom... and also by our American partners [about defence cuts]."

    Sir Gerald said he hoped George Osborne would meet the 2% target properly and "if that has to come out of the overseas aid budget, I think a lot of people in the United Kingdom will be more than content about that".

  2. 'Need to be vigilant'published at 17.02

    BBC News Channel

    Keith Vaz says the country must unite "to deal with this menace". He suggests Muslim community leaders and others should be gathered together, perhaps under the auspices of the prime minister, to work together and "send out a powerful message that parents need to be vigilant, communities need to be vigilant." 

    Quote Message

    To be frank, police and security services can only act after the event."

  3. Missing sisterspublished at 17.00

    BBC News Channel

    Keith Vaz

    Keith Vaz, chairman of the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, has met the husbands of two sisters who are believed to have travelled to Syria with their children to join so-called Islamic State. Lawyers for the men have accused the police of being complicit in their radicalisation.

    Mr Vaz said he'd be meeting the West Yorkshire counter-terrorism command on Tuesday to hear their side of things, although he stressed that a formal inquiry was not being carried out at this point.

    As for what happens now, Mr Vaz said "all lines of communication between the police and themselves need to be cleared, so that they're able to get a meeting with a senior police officer to discuss the non-operational aspects of this case".

    He also said the UK must "up our game" as far as contact with Istanbul is concerned. "There needs to be hotline contact" between London and Istanbul so the authorities there can react quickly when it's feared someone is heading through Turkey to Syria, he added.

  4. Impact on jobspublished at 16:46 British Summer Time 22 June 2015

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  5. Ethnic minority politicianspublished at 16.45

    Business Secretary Sajid JavidImage source, Getty

    The new House of Commons has a record number of non-white MPs, who make up about 6% of the new Parliament, up from just over 4% in 2010. Critics say this is encouraging but goes nowhere near far enough if Parliament is to truly represent all of the population. Jawad Iqbal, the BBC's analysis and insight editor, takes a look at some of the ethnic minority men and women who have risen to the top at Westminster. 

  6. Corporation tax in NIpublished at 16.37

    From BBC NI economics editor John Campbell

    Stormont

    Northern Ireland's Finance Minister Arlene Foster has conceded it is unlikely that Stormont will be able to introduce a reduced rate of corporation tax in 2017.

    The legislation allowing the tax power to be devolved to Stormont was passed at Westminster in January. However, it includes a "commencement clause" which means the power will not be devolved until the Treasury assesses that the executive's finances are on a sound footing. On Monday Mrs Foster told the Assembly that it was "probably not going to be the case" that it would be introduced in April 2017. 

    The main Stormont parties supported the devolution of the tax but in recent weeks Sinn Fein has warned that the NI Executive may be unable to afford the cut. The block grant would fall if the tax is cut because it would mean less revenue is collected for the Treasury, and under European rules Stormont would have to make up the shortfall. 

  7. Analysis: Onshore wind subsidiespublished at 16.33

    Roger Harrabin, BBC environment analyst

    Wind farmImage source, PA

    The Conservatives promised in their manifesto to hold down bills and increase renewable energy.

    But onshore wind is the cheapest readily-available form of clean energy in the UK. That's why some experts have described their decision to kill the onshore wind programme as bizarre and irrational.

    Speaking to business leaders in London, Amber Rudd said it was time to shift subsidies from onshore wind to other technologies that needed them more. But she did not say what those technologies would be, and the government has not announced compensatory subsidies for other forms of energy.

    Some of the business leaders are baffled why ministers will give local people a unique veto over wind turbines, when they cannot veto shale gas fracking or even a nuclear power station on their doorstep.

    The government's policies are seen by green groups as nakedly political. Another reason may be partly at play - the right-leaning think tank  Policy Exchange calculates , external  that the energy subsidies programme has simply run out of cash.

    If this is accurate, it presents a formidable challenge to an energy secretary who  says she is committed  to transforming the UK into a low-carbon economy.

  8. Fossil fuels vs windpublished at 16.23

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Caroline Lucas

    Green MP Caroline Lucas tells MPs that a recent report from the IMF said that Britain subsidises the fossil fuel industry by £1,000 per household, while onshore wind is just £10 per household. She asks that if the secretary of state is serious about tackling climate change why she isn't reducing fossil fuel subsidies.

    Amber Rudd she urges Ms Lucas to take a look again at that report, saying she found those statements "extraordinary". She says she would be happy to have meeting to discuss it but that the report does not describe "a direct subsidy in the way we understand it".

  9. 'Damaging decision'published at 16.20

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Stewart Hosie

    "They simply don't like renewables," says the SNP's Stewart Hosie of the government. He says the statement and decision on onshore wind is "simply wrong", and that his party is worried about the "damage the decision will do". It will have a "disproportionate affect on Scotland", and put at risk £3bn of onshore projects already in the pipeline in Scotland, he adds.

  10. 250 projects axedpublished at 16.17

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Onshore wind farmImage source, PA

    As we continue to listen to the response to Amber Rudd, just a bit more detail from her statement itself. Around 250 onshore wind projects already in development are likely to be cancelled because the government is ending subsidies early, she revealed. That translates into some 2,500 turbines which were due to be built being scrapped.

  11. Labour response on wind farmspublished at 16.15

    Caroline Flint

    Shadow energy secretary Caroline Flint thanks Amber Rudd, slightly sarcastically, for giving her advance knowledge of her statement "at 2:22pm". 

    Ms Flint tells MPs that onshore wind is very popular with the public and says it's understandable Scotland will be worried considering it is most affected by the move. She asks the secretary of state what she can do to calm their fears, and concludes by saying: 

    Quote Message

    This parliament has hardly begun, but already the cheapest form of renewable energy is under attack and other renewable investors are worried that they are next... This debate is not about hot air. It is about jobs, manufacturing and investment opportunities at risk across the sector. The secretary of state needs to convince us she understands what's at stake in her answers today."

  12. Disagreement over food bankspublished at 16.05

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Earlier in work and pensions questions, Employment Minister Priti Patel told the Commons there was no reliable evidence to show that benefits sanctions fuel food bank use.

    However, a short time later one of her fellow Tory MPs, Andrew Percy, disagreed, telling the House a food bank in his constituency had told him "benefit sanctions are driving people to use them".

    "I support the benefits sanction system," he said, "but one issue that does seem to be a problem is the consistency in which benefit sanctions are applied.

    "Can we have a review of this and ensure that the recipients of these sanctions understand the consequences properly?"

  13. 'Enough in the pipeline'published at 15.50

    Amber Rudd says government support is designed "to help new technologies stand on their own two feet, not to encourage a permanent reliance on subsidies".

    "We now have enough onshore wind in the pipeline" to meet targets, she says. By not ending the subsidy early "we could end up with more onshore wind projects than we can afford, which would lead to either higher bills for consumers or other renewable technologies such as offshore wind losing out on support", the energy secretary argues.

    "We need to continue investing in less mature technologies," she adds.

  14. Onshore wind statementpublished at 15.48

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Amber Rudd

    Energy and Climate Change Secretary Amber Rudd is making a statement to the Commons on ending the government subsidy for onshore wind farms earlier than planned. She says bringing about the switch to a lower carbon economy is one of the government's priorities, but the cost of doing that must be kept low in order "to ensure we maintain public support".

  15. 'Creative accounting'published at 15.38

    UKIP defence spokesman Mike Hookem MEP has called the decision to count some peacekeeping missions as defence spending  "little more than creative accounting". He says it's simply the government having "another go at trying to cover up defence cuts by fudging the figures".

    Quote Message

    They tried to make up the 2% target with foreign aid and with the military pensions and now it's the turn of peacekeeping. Our view is that the defence budget should be spent on troops, equipment and essential care such as decent housing and healthcare for personnel and their families. Anything else is an insult to the Armed Forces and the voters' intelligence."

  16. New arrivalpublished at 15.31

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Ed Miliband and Rachel ReevesImage source, AP

    In the middle of Commons questions, Labour's Stephen Timms announces to MPs that shadow work and pensions secretary Rachel Reeves gave birth to a boy last week. He says mother and baby are doing well. Iain Duncan Smith slightly awkwardly passes on "our thanks" to Ms Reeves before correcting himself and offering a more traditional "congratulations" instead.

  17. Ofsted clear-outpublished at 15.26

    Pupils in a classroom

    David Cameron touched on his plans to improve inadequate and coasting schools in his speech earlier. His comments came as it emerged that Ofsted is ditching 1,200 school and college inspectors after assessing them as not good enough to judge schools. The move by England's education inspectorate is part of its plan to improve quality and consistency, and bring inspections in-house.

    But National Association of Head Teachers general secretary Russell Hobby said: 

    Quote Message

    You look back and say, for the last few years we've been inspected by a group where 40% weren't up to the job."

  18. 'Buying votes'published at 15:20 British Summer Time 22 June 2015

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  19. Call for the living wagepublished at 15.19

    Jeremy CorbynImage source, AFP

    Labour leadership contender Jeremy Corbyn has given his view on today's debate about welfare cuts.

    Quote Message

    In the face of huge opposition to austerity policies on the streets this weekend, David Cameron says his government remain committed to austerity and have no plan for prosperity or economic growth. Why do Cameron and Osborne refuse to get the huge body of evidence that introducing the living wage is the surest, most effective method of ending benefit pay outs to the in-work but still poor? Billions would be saved by the public purse if the UK's nearly five million low paid workers received a raise to the living wage of £9.15 an hour in London and £7.85 outside London."

  20. 'Weak attempt'published at 15:13 British Summer Time 22 June 2015

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