House of Commons
Parliament

Sammy Wilson, the DUP MP for East Antrim, says "not all of the blame" should be placed on Concentrix and the firm should not be "made a scapegoat".

Jane Ellison acknowledges that Mr Wilson may represent people who work for the firm.

Later, the minister says that many Concentrix staff will be "transferred to HMRC".

She also says there is "too much fraud and error in the tax credit system" and it is right that the government acts.

Australia's Trade Minister Steven Ciobo is optimistic about a Brexit deal.

House of Commons
Parliament

Minister Jane Ellison says Concentrix's performance "fell below the standard required".

However, she claims the firm did deliver "millions of pounds of savings" for taxpayers.

She confirms that payments to the company will be cut as a result of failings and its contract will not be renewed beyond May 2017.

In addition, the government will not look to employ another private firm to perform tax credit checks "at this time" and HMRC is in negotiations with Concentrix on an "early exit" from the contract.

Plaid Cymru MP Hywel Williams demands a "soft Brexit" deal for Wales at Prime Minister's Questions.

House of Commons
Parliament

Treasury Minister Jane Ellison accepts problems with Concentrix "caused needless frustration and distress".

She tells the House that HMRC staff have "stepped in" to ensure "a quality customer service".

Ms Ellison says the government and HMRC are working to resolve outstanding problems and "close the remaining cases" of people who have had tax credits withdrawn incorrectly.

A London based UKIP leadership candidate has pulled out of the race to put his backing behind UKIP MEP Paul Nuttall.

Andy Beadle, who is vice chair of the UKIP group in Sutton in South London, had been intending to stand in the party’s leadership race.

But he said a better candidate had come forward in Paul Nuttall – and so he was withdrawing his application. Mr Beadle added that he thought it was time for the party to get on with choosing a good leader.

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour and the SNP may be in some agreement in today's debate, but when shadow minister Rebecca Long Bailey criticises the "payment by results" contract that HMRC gave Concentrix, SNP MP Chris Law intervenes.

He says such contracts go back to Labour's last period in government and asks whether "New Labour, or Old New Labour" will take some responsibility for introducing them in the NHS in 2003 and 2004.

Ms Long Bailey says "we can all learn lessons" from payment by results contracts.

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour's Rebecca Long Bailey has indicated her party's welcome for the SNP's proposed amendment to the motion.

The amendment "calls on HMRC to end the financial barriers to justice for those claimants by meeting the costs of querying a claim and applying for a mandatory reconsideration; further calls on the government to bring forward legislation as soon as practicable to amend the compliance regime in respect of Annual Declarations and High Risk Renewals; urges HM Treasury to provide an apology to all those people who were adversely affected by the actions of Concentrix and HMRC; and further calls on the government to ensure that those people are treated by HMRC in future with dignity and respect".

House of Commons
Parliament

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour MP Peter Kyle intervenes on his colleague to say that he was contacted by a woman who had her tax credits cut after Concentrix "accused her of having a lesbian relationship with her sister".

"The term 'it beggars belief' springs to mind," Rebecca Long Bailey says.

The World at One
BBC Radio 4

Michael Gove says Ed Ball's has transcended political "caricature" during his time on Strictly Come Dancing. 

The former justice secretary told presenter Martha Kearney that he had "all sorts of fisticuffs" with his Labour rival in the past. But now he "really respects Ed Balls". 

The Daily Politics

Labour MP John Healey said Jeremy Corbyn was focusing on topics of interest to people "outside Westminster", but admitted this week's PMQ's had been a "low-scoring game".

He also said the Brexit negotiations herald "a new era in international trade deals", and that we will see some trade agreements with other countries changing over the next couple of years. 

The Daily Politics

Asked if he accepted whether the UK staying in the single market's customs union meant the UK wouldn't be able to make free trade deals with other countries, Business Secretary Greg Clark said he didn't want to give "a running commentary". 

The Daily Politics

BBC Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg says "Theresa May is a class act at not answering the question."

She said we didn't learn enough about Brexit, partly because cabinet ministers "can't agree on what it should look like".

House of Commons
Parliament

The first of today's two Labour-led debates begins. It concerns US firm Concentrix, which was employed by HMRC to help cut tax credit fraud and overpayment.

The firm has been accused of incorrectly withdrawing tax credits from hundreds of claimants.

Shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Rebecca Long Bailey tells MPs of a "shocking, yet typical case study" of a single parent on maternity leave who was "accused on two separate occasions of living with an undisclosed partner".

The woman sent documents supporting her case but had her tax credits cancelled and received "a demand to repay £4,100", Ms Long Bailey says. 

It took over three months "on the breadline" to resolve her case, she claims.

The transport secretary says Heathrow's new runway could be built above the existing M25.

House of Commons
Parliament

PMQs is over and Labour MP Steve Reed is introducing a bill under the ten minute rule.

That means he has up to ten minutes to make a speech in support of the Maternity and Paternity Leave (Premature Birth) Bill.

The bill would amend the Employment Rights Act 1996 "to make provision about maternity and paternity leave for parents of babies born prematurely".

House of Commons
Parliament

Tania Mathias, the Conservative MP for Twickenham and an opponent of a third runway at Heathrow, says "legal air quality limits have been breached" and noise pollution has increased in her constituency.

"Environmentally, Heathrow is not good enough and cannot be both bigger and better," she says.

The PM says the government looked at the impact on air quality and "the evidence shows that air quality standards can be met as required".