House of Commons
Parliament

Brexit minister Robin Walker is winding the debate up for the government. He says that he hopes he can provide "reassurance".

He says that the government "wants to protect the rights" of EU citizens in the UK and that the "only circumstance" where they wouldn't do that would be if UK citizens' rights in the EU were not respected. This is not an outcome he believes will happen.

He adds that "the government want the same fair treatment for EU and UK citizens" which is a "priority".

He also wishes to clarify that the status of EU nationals will not change while the UK remains a member of the EU, as it still is.

The chancellor breaks with past and says the assumptions behind the Treasury’s gloomy prognosis of the economic shock if Britain voted to leave the EU is now “partially invalid”.

That's all for the Treasury committee hearing looking at the Chancellor's priorities.

Kamal Ahmed
Economics editor

House of Lords
Parliament

Liberal Democrat peer Lord Paddick introduces an amendment which would stipulate that warrants for the bulk acquisition of data should not include internet connection records.

He gives an example to illustrate his argument that powers requiring internet service providers to keep a record of websites their customers visit are intrusive.

He describes such powers as "the online equivalent" of allowing stop and search without reasonable suspicion, which the government concluded was "disproportionate".

Mr Hammond is optimistic a good Brexit deal can be reached. 

He says there has been a lot of "position taking" at this early stage of debate, but that he believes there are a lot of "deeply pragmatic leaders in the EU" who have shown they could find solutions to difficult problems in the past.

"Pragmatism and engagement will deliver us a mutually beneficial agreement as that would be in the interest of every one in the EU."

Select Committee
Parliament

SNP Phil Boswell quotes the author of the evaluation report Jonathan Portes: "The programme was a perfect case study of how manipulation and misrepresentation of statistics by politicians and civil servants leads directly to bad policy and the wasting of taxpayers' money"

"Would you agree with that?" asks Mr Boswell.

Louise Casey replies that police calls to the identified families fell by 77% but acknowledges this can't yet be attributed to the programme.

She adds that she feels some of the criticism in the report is "quite personal".

Mr Hammond has said his decision to support more quantitative easing after the Brexit vote was right. He also reiterated the Bank of England's independence.

However, he says looser monetary policy has benefited some and not others - pushing up the price of housing for example, and curbing interest rates for savers.   

But he says the Treasury "has other tools to deal with distributional consequences of monetary policy", and says easier monetary policy has had benefits.

"It has delivered us 2.7m jobs over last six years. We need to see benefits in round."

Speaker John Bercow had to step in as MPs roared with laughter after Prime Minister Theresa May's innuendo-laced response to a question from MP Peter Bone.

House of Lords
Parliament

Report stage debate on the Investigatory Powers Bill resumes for a third and final day.

The bill would enact powers on the interception of communications, equipment interference and the acquisition and retention of communications data.

Peers begin with a group of amendments, including a government amendment requiring a judicial commissioner to review the home secretary's grounds for granting an interception warrant.

Kamal Ahmed
Economics editor

Mr Hammond's says the large amount of public spending ring-fenced is "not up for reconsideration any time soon", suggesting Brexit-linked cuts are not on the cards this autumn statement. 

However, he says the government is committed to returning the country to a point of "fiscal balance" in a proportionate way. He also accepts the UK's high public debt is "not a trivial sum".  

Norman Smith
Assistant political editor

The Chancellor says it was a sensible decision to "move" his predecessor's previous target of achieving a budget surplus by 2020.

The government is "not abandoning fiscal discipline", but it has to get a balance, he says.

So when will the target be moved to? Mr Hammond says there will be an announcement at the Autumn Statement around future fiscal plans.

The Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness says he does not trust the Secretary of State to negotiate on Northern Ireland's behalf on Brexit.

The chancellor sums up the government's target to increase export sales to £1trn by 2020 in one word: "Stretching".

"I would readily admit we are a long way from delivering that target," he says.

However, he adds, he hopes the recent decline in sterling will stimulate UK exports.

Will EU citizens be deported after Brexit? Mr Hammond says the government "very much hope we can reach an agreement" that gives reciprocal rights for EU citizens in the UK and UK citizens in the EU.

But if the UK and the EU fails to reach such an agreement "then under a migration regime that was unilateral... we would have choices to make about how we would choose to deal with those EU nationals in the UK - it would be a matter for the UK to decide."

Kamal Ahmed
Economics editor

The Chancellor reiterates his support for the Northern Powerhouse project, saying he's been "a strong backer from its inception".

Improving the productivity of businesses in the north of England is crucial for the future of the economy, he says.

The gap in productivity between London and the UK's second, third and fourth cities is "without parallel" in other developed economies, he adds.