House of Commons
Parliament

Norman Lamb tells MPs that the consequence of the NHS's status as a "national religion" means anyone who comes up with a proposal gets "condemned from on high".

However he argues that people and government need space to think afresh about how the system can be sustained.

He sets out the country's choice: 

Image source, AP

A government pledge of an extra £2 million to boost tourism in the North following recent floods "is a drop in the ocean", shadow environment secretary Kerry McCarthy has said.

David Cameron is visiting parts of Lancashire and Cumbria hit by floods. He said it's important to ensure that visitors aren't put off.

But Ms McCarthy commented: “With water levels rising again and more homes and businesses at risk, all resources are welcome.

"But with damage in the county estimated at in excess of half a billion pounds, this is a drop in the ocean."

Esther Webber
BBC News, London

Last night Havering Council held a symbolic vote in which they passed a motion in favour of leaving the EU. 

Records seen by the BBC show council projects have been awarded over £1.9m in EU funding since 2005. 

But UKIP group leader Lawrence Webb argued all funds had been match-funded by the council and "if we cut ties we'd have more say over how to spend that money".  

The borough's sole Labour councillor, Keith Darvill, said it had been "wrong" to hold the vote since it "sidelined" more important issues

Downing Street says it won’t put a figure on the number of unaccompanied refugee children who may be settled in the UK - as it’ll be guided by the UNHCR.

The Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman said the UNHCR would judge on a “case by case” basis whether it was better for children to be resettled in the UK or remain in the region, taking into account things like family links.

He said the government wanted to support refugees in the region to discourage people from making the “perilous & dangerous” journey across Europe - but would be guided by the UNHCR.

The government will also work more “proactively” with counterparts in Italy and Greece to identify children who might have family links in the UK.

A £10m aid package will be used to support children already in Europe, with things such as blankets, food and access to education.

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House of Commons
Parliament

Norman Lamb expresses disappointment that MPs are not seeing data on A&E pressures over the winter especially at a time when many hospitals were on "black alert".

He notes that this is at a time when there was "no epidemics, no outbreaks of flu" over the course of a very mild winter.

The SNP's Philippa Whitford intervenes to agree and asks why people in the NHS can access the data but not MPs.

The Daily Politics

The Daily Politics

A Metropolitan Police investigation into allegations of abuse at the UK charity Kids Company has found no evidence of criminality.

Officers carried out "detailed and extensive inquiries" into reports of physical and sexual abuse linked to the south London charity, but found no evidence to reach the threshold for criminal prosecution, a statement said.

No-one was arrested or questioned under caution in relation to its inquiries, it added.

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The Daily Politics

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour's Louise Haigh asks about for a debate on government plan's to "strip local authorities of their ability to ethically procure".

Chris Grayling replies that if Labour feel so strongly about the issue they can use their opposition day debate time to debate it.

House of Commons
Parliament

Earlier, at business questions in the Commons, the shadow leader of the house Chris Bryant opened with "enormous thanks" to Robin Fell, the Principal Doorkeeper, who arrived in October 1969. (see pic below)

He moved on to acknowledge criticism from his colleagues who had said he has been too cruel to the Leader of the House in past weeks.

He therefore promised to stick to straightforward questions including calling for debates on funding for those hit by flooding and asking for a statement on reports that the government was giving information that could have prevented the 1993 Shankhill Road bombing.

Image source, Reuters

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has been asked to help resettle hundreds of unaccompanied refugee children from conflict regions in the UK, Immigration Minister James Brokenshire has announced.

The UNHCR, which has experts working in the countries surrounding Syria and other war zones around the world, has been asked to identify exceptional cases of unaccompanied children whose best interests would be served by coming here.

The Department for International Development will also create a new fund of up to £10 million to support the needs of vulnerable refugee and migrant children in Europe.

The fund will include targeted support to meet the specific needs of unaccompanied and separated children who face additional risks.

It will be used to identify children who are in need, providing safe places for at risk children to stay, a database to help trace children to their families and services, such as counselling and legal advice.

The UK Government will also commit to providing further resources to the European Asylum Support Office to help in “hotspots” such as Greece and Italy to identify and register children at risk on first arrival in the EU.

The UK has already sent experts to both countries to assist with the ongoing situation - and the Home Secretary has asked Anti-Slavery Commissioner Kevin Hyland to visit the area and assess what more can be done to ensure unaccompanied refugee children are protected from traffickers.

"The UK government takes its responsibility in cases involving children very seriously - ensuring their welfare and safety is at the heart of every decision made," said Mr Brokenshire. "The crisis in Syria and events in the Middle East, North Africa and beyond has separated a large number of refugee children from their families.

“The vast majority are better off staying in the region so they can be reunited with surviving family members. So we have asked the UNHCR to identify the exceptional cases where a child’s best interests are served by resettlement to the UK and help us to bring them here.”   

House of Commons
Parliament

Leader of the House Chris Grayling argues that Chris Bryant never calls for debates on "what the Labour Party is up to"

He notes that there were no requests for debates on shared sovereignty of the Falklands or on turning our borders "into floodgates".

He concludes that the opposition are "a bunch of spineless individuals who don't have the courage to stand up for what they believe in".

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, BBC Pictures/Atlantic Productions

House of Lords
Parliament

Labour's Lord Beecham says power in education has been centralised to such an extent that we're in a "ridiculous" position that "councils cannot build new schools" themselves, even when an area "desperately" needs new school places. 

He says in education "ultimate power resides with the secretary of state to an unprecedented degree".

House of Lords
Parliament

Peers move on to a debate on local democracy. 

Lib Dem Communities spokesperson Lord Shipley says there has been a "creeping centralisation" of government under the "guise of devolution" that is "dis-empowering people".

He says the question of "who is in charge" is one that applies across the UK, and calls for a "constitutional convention" for local government.

House of Lords
Parliament

Labour's Lord Rosser asks about a story this week about asylum seekers in Cardiff being forced to wear wristbands to be entitled to food at their accommodation. He wants to know why it's taken news stories for the government to find out what's happening in services it has outsourced to the private sector. 

He says they "can't outsource their direct responsibility".

Government spokesman Lord Bates says he agrees that the government has "an obligation" to place asylum seekers in situations where they are "cared for, and are safe". 

He says the wristbands were in use to distinguish people entitled to three meals a day from those who were receiving a financial payment and so weren't entitled. He adds that the policy has been dropped. 

He says asylum seeker's accommodation is inspected regularly and that "our position is that safety, security and dignity" are "paramount".

House of Commons
Parliament

SNP Carol Monaghan asks the minister to comment on reports that he lobbied Saudi Arabia to promote its "so called" human rights successes.

Tobias Ellwood denies the report noting that his words had been mistranslated using the Google translate tool.

He seeks to assure her that he raises human rights issues at every meeting he has with the Saudis.

House of Commons
Parliament

The SNP's Brendan O'Hara asks what British military advisers are doing in Saudi Arabia given reports that Yemeni people are being starved as part of military tactics.

Tobias Ellwood is disappointed that the SNP is willing to take what they hear in the media and "take that to be British policy".

He tells MPs that the government often refuse licenses for arms sales because of the situation in a country but that they do this "based on evidence".