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Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk is being investigated by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority's compliance officer over accommodation expenses claims, the watchdog said. 

Westminster Hour
Radio 4's Westminster Hour

The former Welsh secretary Cheryl Gillan, a self-confessed Eurospectic, said there were “ominous” signs from the progress of the PM's EU negotiations and she would wait to see if the deal amounted to more than “a row of beans”. She was speaking to Carolyn Quinn on Radio 4's Westminster Hour. 

Image source, PA

One in five Conservative MPs will back Brexit "regardless of the deal brought back from Brussels by David Cameron" according to a poll reported by the Politics Home website, external. Research by Ipsos MORI for University College London found 11% of Conservative MPs would support Britain’s EU membership whatever the outcome of the prime minister’s renegotiation talks. The majority, more than 60%, said their decision would “depend on the terms of any renegotiations of our membership of the EU”.

As officials continue what are said to be "crucial" talks about Britain's relationship with the EU, you might like to find out a bit more about how the EU works. BBC Europe correspondent Matthew Price can give you a tour of the corridors of power in Brussels in his video guide to how the EU works.   

Image source, Getty Images

House of Commons
Parliament

Campaigners angry about the way changes to the state pension age for women are being introduced, are having their case heard at a Parliamentary debate later, after more than 100,000 people signed an online petition, external. The state pension age is no longer 60 for women. It's now 65 and is increasing in stages, alongside that of men, until it has reached 68. The campaigners say many women born in the 1950s have not had enough notice to prepare.

The campaign against the changes has been led by the Scottish MP Mhairi Black and Women Against State Pension Inequality.

Read our full story

Image source, German labour minister Andrea Nahles

A German minister is warning that benefits could be cut from migrants who don't want to integrate into German society, reports the Associated Press news agency. Labour minister Andrea Nahles writes in the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, external that "all people who live in Germany, no matter what their ethnic origin, must make an effort, seek work and support themselves and their families as well as they can". She said "we will cut benefits to those who signal that they do not want to integrate", adding that this could be measured by willingness to abide by German society's rules and to take language classes. 

Glenn Campbell
BBC Scotland Political Correspondent

The "Stronger In" campaign for the UK to remain part of the European Union has appointed John Edward as its chief spokesman in Scotland. Mr Edward is a former head of the European Parliament office in Scotland. The "Out" campaigns - Vote Leave and Leave.EU - have yet to set up Scottish arms. The UK Independence Party leader, Nigel Farage, has described the Leave campaign in Scotland as "a bit embryonic".  

Victoria Derbyshire

The chairman of the MPs' committee which has released a highly-critical report detailing the collapse of the Kids Company charity has called for youth charities to be inspected regularly.

Conservative MP Bernard Jenkin told the Victoria Derbyshire programme Ofsted inspectors had only once been in to the charity - and had not been compelled to do so.

"Youth charities are not subject to any formal inspection and maybe that is something that should change," he said.

Mr Jenkin added that other charities had been "bitterly angry" that Kids Company could apparently "walk in to Downing Street" and "just pull money out" when they needed it, when other charities had to fill in forms. 

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The UK Treasury is to make a revised offer to the Scottish government in an effort to secure a deal over new tax powers for Holyrood, BBC Scotland understands.

Negotiations have stalled over the fiscal framework which would govern the level of spending available to Holyrood.

The new offer is expected to emerge at the latest round of talks in London.

The Scottish government has said it wants an agreement by 12 February.

Read more

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"It's not about blame, it's about learning", says MP Bernard Jenkin, chairman of the MPs' committee which has slammed the management of the Kids Company charity. 

A report , externalfrom the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) said there had been a "catalogue of failures" which had led to the collapse of the charity last summer. The MPs criticised the charity's trustees and the Charity Commission.  

Appearing on Victoria Derbyshire on the BBC, Conservative MP Mr Jenkin said he knew the charity's former chairman Alan Yentob would be feeling under attack today, but the report would help other charities to improve. 

Trustees, he said, had to set the tone and create an environment of trust where employees could bring their concerns to them - and that had not been the case at Kids Company. 

Camila Batmanghelidjh, the charity's founder, said the report was "a product of bias and rumour".  

University leaders are to meet ministers to discuss ways to secure more places for black students. They were calls for talks with Business Secretary Sajid Javid after the prime minister said black people were "more likely to be in a prison cell than studying at a top university". David Cameron has warned universities in England they will be forced to disclose what proportion of ethnic minority applicants get places as part of a drive against discrimination. University leaders say the school system is letting some pupils down. 

Image source, Getty Images

As talks between the UK government and the EU reach what's said to be a "crucial" phase, a reminder that a breakdown of all you need to know about the UK's EU referendum can be found here.

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Government plans to force internet service providers to store everyone's internet activity are vague and confusing, says a committee of MPs.

Police and security services will be able to see names of sites visited in the past year without a warrant, under the draft Investigatory Powers Bill.

The science and technology Committee says its requirements are confusing, and firms fear a rise in hacking.

The Home Office said it would study the report's findings, external.

Read more.

Image source, Telegraph

The newspapers have various views on the progress of the EU talks.

The Financial Times reports, external that France has warned it will block any attempt on Mr Cameron's part to secure new rights for non-euro countries.

The Sun says Mr Cameron secured a "victory" and that the European Council president has been "taken to Tusk" over migrants' rights to benefits. Downing Street is claiming to have won a concession to impose a four-year ban on EU migrants claiming in-work benefits, the paper says. The Daily Express is unimpressed, external.

Other papers focus on what Mr Cameron's MPs think of the deal, with the Mail quoting, external former Defence Secretary Liam Fox urging cabinet ministers to "put their consciences ahead of loyalty" by coming out in favour of a "Brexit". In the Telegraph, external, political academics Philip Cowley and Tim Bale say a poll of Conservative MPs revealed only a quarter can see any great benefits from EU membership.

"Wogan's spirit marches on" in the political world, according to Guardian cartoonist Martin Rowson, external. He interprets the attempts to renegotiate the UK's relationship with the EU as a sort of Eurovision Song Contest. 

More here.

Black workers earn much less than similarly qualified white workers, at all levels of education, research suggests.

Analysis of pay data by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) suggests that the difference in average pay rates amounts to a gap of 23%.

Black graduates earn on average £14.33 an hour, compared with £18.63 earned by white graduates, the TUC says.

The average pay gap between black and white workers with A-levels is 14%.

Read more. 

Image source, AFP

The collapse of the Kids Company charity was a result of an "extraordinary catalogue of failures", a committee of MPs has said.

The Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) also criticised the charity's trustees and the Charity Commission in its report, external.

Kids Company closed in August after questions over management and finances.

Camila Batmanghelidjh, who founded the charity in 1996, said the report was "a product of bias and rumour".

Read more.

Norman Smith
Assistant political editor

Downing Street say they are "cautiously optimsitic" over securing a deal on the Prime Minister's EU reforms following talks with the EU council President Donald Tusk last night.

EU and UK government officials will continue talks today but Number Ten are hopeful it will be possible to publish the details of the reform package tomorrow.

Privately sources are encouraged that it will be possible to put the package to the EU council meeting later this month.

However the package will still have to be approved by the other 27 EU countries - some of whom have signalled their strong opposition to British moves to curb in-work benefits for EU migrants.

Although no final agreement has been reached on any of the four areas - immigration, sovereignty, competitiveness and protection for non euro countries - sources suggest this is because of the complexity of the deal and the need to make sure it is legally "water tight".

No 10 suggest one of the main areas of dispute at the moment centres on plans to give the UK and other non euro countries greater safeguards.

It is thought No 10 want to have the right to seek an EU council meeting to consider any changes that might harm non euro countries. This would give the UK an effective block over any changes since such meetings require unamnimity to approve changes.

There is also no agreement  yet on the length of time any "emergency brake" on welfare benefits could stay in place.