House of Commons
Parliament

Health Minister Jane Ellison says the government is committed to tackling diabetes.

She says: "Everyone with diabetes should receive the best possible care, regardless of age postcode or type of diabetes."

She adds that "there is some way to go" in eliminating regional variations in diabetes treatment.

She says that the government will announce more on a "childhood obesity strategy" in the summer.

House of Lords
Parliament

In order to avoid repetition, related amendments are often grouped and debated together. 

Lists of such groupings are prepared by agreement between the members tabling the amendments and the Government Whips' Office and groupings are informal and not binding.

However, each amendment in the group must be voted on, moved or disposed of separately.

House of Lords
Parliament

Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Doocey tables an amendment to "exempt councils who wish to regenerate estates from the duty to build starter homes".

She argues that if councils are "forced to put starter homes, instead of replacing council homes, resources will be sucked away from replacing council units and price out existing tenants".

This would go against the government's own "stated ambition" to transform 100 of the most run down estates transformed, with tenants protects, Baroness Doocey adds.

House of Lords
Parliament

Labour housing minister Lord Kennedy of Southwark tables an amendment allowing starter homes to be built on "under-used or unviable brownfield sites not currently identified for housing".

This, Lord Kennedy says, returns to the "original concept of starter homes" and leaves "local authorities with greater flexibility to deliver what they think is needed to meet local housing needs".

House of Commons
Parliament

Wales Minister Alun Cairns says he is "optimistic" about the future of Wales.

Responding to criticism of the withdrawal of the Wales Bill, he says the bill was a "draft", and that the government is "determined to get this right".

He argues that government welfare and infrastructure projects have benefited Wales.

On the steel industry, he says the government has been supporting the sector to the best of its ability, and rejects a suggestion made by the Labour MP Stephen Kinnock that not enough is being done at an EU level to place tariffs on Chinese steel.

House of Lords
Parliament

Peers withdraw the group of amendments but indicate that they may return to them later if the government do not make concessions on the first-time buyer scheme.

French President Francois Hollande has said he wants the UK to stay in the EU - and warned of the "consequences" for immigration and the economy of leaving.

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour's Nia Griffith says the Secretary of State for Wales, Stephen Crabb, should be "embarrassed" that he has had to withdraw the Wales Bill, which she describes as a "shambles".

She asks when a new bill will be published, and when the Welsh Assembly will get more powers.

She also says Labour wants "something much more substantial" than a VAT cut to the Severn Bridge tolls.

House of Lords
Parliament

Conservative peer Lord True says that "while this is not the particular instrument" he would pick, peers should respect the government's mandate.

He tells peers that London suffers from an "artificial market at the moment" due to low interest rates and "a growth in population on the London market".

"It's not easy to save when the prices needed for a deposit are moving away from them. It's perfectly logical and understandable [for the government] to introduce such a measure."

House of Commons
Parliament

Liberal Democrat Mark Williams says he has concerns about re-organising rail franchises in Wales.   

He says he hopes the Wales Office will get involved in these discussions, and ensure there is a direct rail link from the Midlands to West Wales.

Jeremy Corbyn has warned the banking industry not to treat people and businesses as "cash cows", as he called for sector reform.

Reality Check

Image source, HM Government

An interesting point from Jon Moynihan who is on the board of Vote Leave and has been speaking at the British Chambers of Commerce conference today.

He says we need to stop referring to the EU as the world's biggest tariff-free trading area, because it is only that if you include the UK.

If the UK were to leave the EU, he says, then the economy of the US would be bigger than the EU.

There is agreement on the figures behind this point, with the graphic above appearing in yesterday's paper from the government on the alternatives to EU membership.

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour's Christian Matheson raises the issue of cross-border working between the North West of England and North Wales.

He says developing better infrastructure is important for developing cross border working.

He calls for the electrification of the North Wales coast railway line.

The World at One
BBC Radio 4

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour's Gerald Jones says "Wales has been hit hard by the austerity agenda of the Tory government".

He argues that Wales is "disproportionately" affected by the so-called bedroom tax.

This refers to a change in housing benefit rules, introduced in April 2013.

Strictly speaking it is not a tax at all, but the removal of a portion of a claimants housing benefit if they are deemed to have a spare room.

The Leave.EU campaign has written to the Electoral Commission requesting '"public clarification" after the Guardian reported , externalanother Out group, Vote Leave, had written to advertising agencies claiming to be the official Leave campaign for the EU referendum.

Vote Leave and Leave.EU-backed Grassroots Out are vying to be designated the official campaign by the commission.

House of Lords
Parliament

Labour peer Lord Campbell-Savours calls Lord Kerslake's amendment the "perfect solution" to the problems he has with the bill.

It "deals with excess profit taking, provides for the discount system and if you're acting honourably you're not penalised in any way," he argues.

Lord Campbell-Savours says the government should be "seriously considering" accepting the amendment.

House of Lords
Parliament

Lord Kerslake, along with crossbench peer Lord Best and the Labour frontbench, have tabled an amendment which would require those using the first time buyer scheme to repay the 20% discount if the property is then sold.

The amount needed to be repaid would be reduced by 1% for each year of occupation by the purchaser, for a period of 20 years .

Lord Kerslake explains that "if someone chooses to leave after 10 years they would effectively pay 10% of the value based on market value at that point".

This money would then go back to the local housing association, "providing an incentive to support starter homes, creating a direct financial leak" he argues

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour's Paul Flynn calls on the government to abandon the Hinkley Point nuclear power station, which has been delayed by a year.

He argues that the scheme makes no financial sense, describing it as "one of the worst financial investments since the building of the pyramids".

He adds that the government should be investing in tidal power instead.