House of Commons
Parliament

SNP MP Alan Brown tells the House that recent judgements from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) suggest that the UK Draft Investigatory Powers Bill could  "violate the European Convention on Human Rights" and be "incompatible with EU Law." 

Solicitor General Robert Buckland replies that the most recent case at the ECJ gave the "provisional view that [the Draft Investigatory Powers Bill] was not incompatible with EU law".

Mr Buckland seeks to "assure" the House that "when it comes to issues of compatibility very anxious considerations is given" to ensure bills comply with the rule of law.

House of Commons
Parliament

But before all that the day will beginning with two shortened questions sessions: the first to the Attorney General Jeremy Wright, then to the Minister for Women and Equalities Nicky Morgan. 

House of Commons
Parliament

At around 11.15am we will have the weekly Business Statement, where Leader of the House Chris Grayling will set out the schedule for debates for the coming weeks.

The day’s big debate will be on “European Affairs”- a rather broad title but it’s expected that MPs will use this as an opportunity to air their views on the renegotiation of the UK’s membership of the European Union (EU) and the upcoming EU referendum.

The day’s final business will be the adjournment debate, expected at around 5pm. The short debate will be on the adequacy of roads and transport infrastructure around Glossop and the High Peak, led by Andrew Bingham the Conservative MP for High Peak. 

House of Commons
Parliament

Hello and welcome to our rolling coverage of today's events in the Houses of Parliament as they happen.

Business in the House of Commons is due to begin shortly.

There’s an urgent question today on whether the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs should seeking assistance from the European Union Solidarity Fund, external for flood-hit communities. 

The question, to be asked by shadow environment minister Alex Cunningham, is expected at around 10.30am. 

Reacting to today's immigration stats, which show net migration at 323,000, UKIP said the government's pledge to cut the numbers down to the tens of thousands "continues to be laughable". Leader Nigel Farage said:

He argued that the only way Britain could  control its borders was by leaving the EU, whole UKIP's immigration spokesman, Steven Woolfe, said David Cameron had "lost control" of the Britain's borders, and "lost the trust" of the public.

Asylum applications were up 20% to 38,878 (including dependants) compared to the previous year. The ONS says this is the fifth successive year of a rise "although the number of applications is low relative to the peak in 2002 (103,081)".

The largest number of asylum applcations came from

• Eritrea (3,756; +465)
• Iran (3,694; +1,195)
• Pakistan (3,254; -722)
• Sudan (3,014; +1,399)
• Syria (2,846; +493)

Under the government's Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme, an additional 1,194 Syrian nationals were granted humanitarian protection.

The Labour Force Survey's employment statistics show the estimated number of EU nationals (excluding British) living and working in the UK was 2 million in October to December 2015 - up 215,000 from the same quarter last year.

Non-EU nationals working in the UK increased by 38,000, to 1.2 million.

The total number of British nationals in employment increased by 278,000, to 28.3 million. 

"Therefore, nearly half of the growth in employment over the last year was accounted for by foreign nationals," says the ONS.

It says the figures represent the net change in the number of people in employment, not the proportion of new jobs that have been filled by non-UK workers.

Net migration is the difference between the numbers coming to live in the UK and those emigrating. Immigration was 617,000 (a 2,000 increase from the previous year) while emigration was down 29,000, to 294,000, according to the ONS.

Image source, ONS

Graph is from the ONS website, external

More stats from the just-published immigration figures: 165,000 EU citizens came to the UK for work-related reasons. Of these, 96,000 (58%) came for a definite job and 69,000 (42%) came looking for work.

Net migration of EU citizens to Britain was 172,000 in the year to September 2015, compared with 158,000 the previous year.

Non-EU net migration was 191,000, up slightly on the previous year (188,000).

The latest immigration figures have just been published, and they show that net migration to the UK has increased to 323,000 in the year to September 2015 - a 31,000 rise on the previous year, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Image source, Conservative Party

Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Conservative MP for North East Somerset, has become a father for the fifth time, to Alfred Wulfric Leyson Pius. In a statement, his office explined the background to the names: 

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Lord Owen also rejected the notion that a Brexit would be disorderly. He says the next general election is not until 2020 so the government would be able to see through a transition period of four years.

He says David Cameron should not have offered to hold a referendum on Britain's membership of the EU if he did not think there was a good future for the UK outside it.

The peer also criticises the EU over Ukraine, saying Britain wasn't properly consulted over the Minsk agreement and the EU-Ukraine association agreement "actually triggered this war". The language on military co-operation was "inflammatory" and "foolish", he says, and adds:

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Image source, Getty Images

More from Lord Owen. Speaking to Today earlier he said a “proper restructuring” of the European Union was “badly needed”, He thinks the PM’s renegotiation has not achieved this, and argues:

The independent peer said the eurozone was too large and needs to be smaller to work more effectively, “and outside we need a wider European trading arrangement”.

Image source, Reuters

London's schools are falling behind many global competitors, according to an analysis of international tests.

The capital's schools have been held up as a showcase of rising standards.

But the University College London (UCL) Institute of Education study, using OECD Pisa test results, suggests they are weaker than those in many Asian cities and the rest of the UK.

However, the OECD's education director, Andreas Schleicher, has rejected the findings as "not credible".

More here

Image source, Getty Images

Communications regulator, Ofcom has told BT to open up its cable network, allowing competitors to connect the internet to homes and offices.

Ofcom also says that , externalthe country is suffering from a digital divide between those who have the latest technologies, and those who do not.

It has proposed that decent, affordable broadband should be a universal right.

It has so far stopped short of demanding a complete break-up of BT, but said this was still an option.

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Former Labour foreign secretary Lord Owen is calling for the UK to leave the EU, saying remaining in the union is "the more dangerous option for British security".

The ex-minister told The Sun, external EU law over-rides UK law and there were "many positive aspects" to leaving.

His intervention comes the day after 12 former defence chiefs said the UK was safer in the EU.

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