Five key moments for the SNPpublished at 09:56 British Summer Time 15 October 2015
Here's why the SNP is arguably the biggest success story of UK politics in 2015
Read MoreSummary
David Cameron says he will reveal his EU reform demands early next month
The SNP holds its annual party conference in Aberdeen
England is to get its first "new" grammar school for five decades
Collapsed charity Kids Company faces questions from MPs about how it was run
Question Time comes from Dover
Five key moments for the SNPpublished at 09:56 British Summer Time 15 October 2015
Frank Field: We need an English Labour Partypublished at 09:53
Frank Field says Labour gave in to pressure from Scottish Labour to change position on George Osborne's charter. The veteran MP issued this statement this morning;
Quote MessageTwo issues are at stake here. Labour lost heavily in 2015 because it appeared fiscally irresponsible. Signing up to the Charter matters little one way or the other. But it does signify a change in heart by Labour to move towards a balanced budget. That was John McDonnell’s original position and he was right. He has, however, given in to pressure from the Scottish Labour Party that unless Labour in Westminster made a token stand against the Charter, Labour’s hopes in Scotland would be further dashed. But here comes the other crucial finding from the election. Labour lost heavily because it appeared that the Scottish Labour dog wagged the English tail. Let the Scottish Labour Party fight its own battles. We need an English Labour Party to fend off further erosions of our electoral base south of the border."
Kids Company 'had 36,000 clients a year'published at 09:50
Batmanghelidjh says the charity was getting more children self-referring to its street-level centres as word of the charity's work spread.
Quote MessageIn effect we had a fusion of social care, mental health and poverty intervention."
Explaining the charity's work, Camila Batmanghelidjh said it supported 36,000 clients a year, with a range of services including through volunteering and gifts in kind.
She says the most "extreme risk" clients were the ones that cost the most money, adding that they should never have been in care of Kids Company in the first place as they were "statutory responsibility". This category grew over time, she adds.
Batmanghelidjh being questioned by MPspublished at 09:45
House of Commons
ParliamentThe committee hearing into collapsed charity Kids Company is under way. Giving evidence are founder Camila Batmanghelidjh and chairman of trustees Alan Yentob, who is also a BBC executive.
Their appearance before MPs comes a day after documents emerged showing concerns about the charity's management were raised as long ago as 2002.
Kids Company says it disputed the claims at the time.
Boris's sporting mishapspublished at 09:38
Boris Johnson has form when it comes to sporting collisions. Oddly enough, it was almost exactly a year ago that the mayortackled a nine-year-old boyduring a kickabout with schoolchildren at a press event in London - leaving the youngster on the floor.
The mayor immediately apologised to the kid, who was quickly back up on his feet, seemingly uninjured in the encounter.
SNP chairman: Second referendum not off tablepublished at 09:31
The SNP's chairman Derek Mackay has rejected the suggestion that a second independence referendum is off the table for a generation.
Former leader Alex Salmond said last year the 2014 independence vote was a "once in a generation opportunity".
But this morning Mr Mackay said it was now "very much in the hands of the people to decide if the time is right."
"No politician gets to decide that a country can't decide its own future."
Labour criticise grammar school planpublished at 09:24
Speaking to the BBC, shadow education secretary Lucy Powell has criticised the plan for a new grammar school in Sevenoaks, Kent and said grammar schools are "not the vehicle for social mobility they once were". Lucy Powell questioned whether the plan to allow a new grammar school - or annexe to a nearby grammar school - in Sevenoaks would be legal.
Redcar steel: Commons debatepublished at 09:20
Tom Blenkinsop has got an urgent question in the Commons today on the emergency funds to help support the area following the closure of SSI. It should start around 10.30am.
The SNP's 'juggling act'published at 09:10
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End of twitter post 3Boris knocks down kid during street rugbypublished at 08:58
Boris Johnson seems to have got a little overzealous during a game of street rugby in Japan - knocking over a 10-year-old boy.
The London mayor, a keen rugby fan, collided with Toki Sekiguchi has he hurtled down the mini turf pitch in Tokyo.
The schoolboy says he "felt a little bit of pain, but it was OK", adding that it had been "enjoyable" meeting Mr Johnson.
The mayor apologised to the youngster and handed over a 2015 rugby ball when they later posed for photographs.
Image source, PA
Image source, PA
Image source, PANorman's analysis: Referendum a slow-slowpublished at 08:45
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End of twitter postSNP's John Swinney on Scottish independencepublished at 08:40
Today Programme
BBC Radio 4
Image source, PAThe SNP opens its annual party conference in Aberdeen later, with leader Nicola Sturgeon expected to tell delegates the time isn't right to press for a second independence referendum.
Speaking to Today, John Swinney - deputy SNP leader and deputy Scottish First Minister - said there would need to be strong and consistent evidence that substantial numbers of people have changed their minds on independence.
Quote MessageThat's an approach which is consistent with the respecting of the democratic mandate that took place in September 2014 and acknowledges the fact that the decision about the future of Scotland lies very firmly in the hands of the people who choose to live in this country and to work in this country and to decide its constitutional future"
Listen: Grammar school stats in focuspublished at 08:34
Today Programme
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End of twitter postPowell: Labour was right to oppose fiscal charterpublished at 08:32
Today Programme
BBC Radio 4
Image source, PALucy Powell is asked about last night's Commons vote on the fiscal charter - which saw 21 Labour MPs abstain despite their party leadership telling them to vote against after a U-turn on the policy.
She says "no-one in politics likes to perform a U-turn as they're not the most edifying thing" but she insists Labour has "absolutely done the right thing" in opposing the charter, dismissing it as a political gimmick.
MPs backed the new spending rules - which force future governments to run a budget surprlus "in normal times" - by 320 votes to 258.
'Making life difficult for other schools'published at 08:25
Today Programme
BBC Radio 4Disagreeing with Mr Brady's position, Lucy Powell argues that the focus should be on "raising excellence in all of our schools", warning:
Quote MessageIf you cream off a number of children in a locality who by definition are going to get better results then you make life difficult for all the rest of the schools in that area."
Asked if she'd get rid of grammar schools if in government, the shadow education secretary says she doesn't agree with selection "at all" but it's not Labour policy to get rid of the remaining grammar schools. (Jeremy Corbyn said during the leadership campaign he favoured getting rid of all grammar schools)
Tory MP: Grammar schools 'enormously popular'published at 08:21
Today Programme
BBC Radio 4Graham Brady, Conservative MP for Altrincham and Sale West, endorses the expansion, saying it is a small but good step. But he argues that it would be better if new grammar schools were allowed to be set up.
The chairman of the Conservative 1992 committee argues that remaining grammar schools are "enormously" popular and opinion polls suggest the public support their expansion.
Opponents have forced remaining grammar schools into smaller areas catering for a smaller audience, and then "attack us for failing" to serve a wider audience, he adds.
Grammar school expansion planpublished at 08:17
Image source, PAIn case you've not read the news already, here's the background to the Lucy Powell comments on Today.
England is set to get its first "new" grammar school for five decades after it was agreed an existing school could build an "annexe" several miles away.
Weald of Kent school in Tonbridge will open a girls' annexe in Sevenoaks, Kent, with 450 places, allocated by academic selection - avoiding a ban on opening new grammar schools.
Education Secretary Nicky Morgan is expected to announce the plan later.
Labour described the decision as a "hugely backward step".
The school is due to open in September 2017, after a long campaign by supporters of a grammar school to get the support of ministers.
Labour passed laws in 1998 banning the creation of new grammars - which are selective state schools - but existing schools are allowed to expand if there is sufficient demand.
A previous plan for such an extension of the Weald of Kent Grammar School was turned down, having failed to persuade ministers that it was a satellite of an existing school rather than the creation of a new institution.
Powell: I oppose grammar school expansionpublished at 08:14
Today Programme
BBC Radio 4As mentioned, England is to get its first "new" grammar school for five decades after it was agreed an existing school could build an "annexe" providing 450 new places 10 miles away.
Labour's Lucy Powell, shadow education secretary, says the legal precedent this will set "will open the floodgates" to other existing grammar schools opening "annexes" miles away from campus.
"I'm opposed to this because I think the evidence is really clear," she tells Today, saying fewer than 3% of pupils in today's grammar schools are on free school meals compared with 20% in local community schools. The selection process is more reflective of means than anything else, she adds.
MPs approve Osborne's spending rules after heated Commons debatepublished at 08:12
There's also the fallout today to the vote last night in the Commons on George Osborne's Charter for Budget Responsibility (which commits future governments to spending less each year than they get in tax). There were 21 Labour MPs who defied new leader Jeremy Corbyn's orders and decided to abstain.
Good morningpublished at 08:10
Hello and welcome to what looks like being a very busy political day. The main stories are the start of the SNP's annual conference, the go-ahead being given for a new grammar school (annexe) and Kids Company bosses facing MPs' questions about the demise of the charity.