Select Committee
Parliament

Treasury Committee chair Andrew Tyrie kicks off the proceedings by asking the Chief Executive and Permanent Secretary of HMRC, Jon Thompson, how many reported errors have been overturned by HMRC. 

Mr Thompson tells the committee that the number of reported errors that have been overturned in favour of the customer is just over 90%

Mr Tyrie responds to this figure by saying "That's pretty shocking isn't it?"

The HMRC chief executive agrees and apologises to customers of the organisation for the situation.

Warnings from the General Medical Council that poor morale among doctors could put patients at risk must be taken "very seriously" by government Labour MP Jonathan Ashworth says.

"The NHS is facing a crisis of staffing, morale and funding, all of which are of the Tories' own making," he said.

"You can't slash social care budgets, nurse training places and now student nurse bursaries and expect there to be no knock-on effect on the rest of the staff and services in our NHS."

Lib Dem health spokesman Norman Lamb said the findings were "no surprise" as funding failed to keep pace with demand for NHS and care services. 

If vital services required paying a little more tax, people should pay it, he said.

House of Commons
Parliament

Conservative MP Philip Davies asks what plans there are to commemorate International Men's Day. 

"Some women might be forgiven for thinking every day is international men's day," replies minister Caroline Dinenage, but says the day, which falls on 19 November, will focus on "the very important issue of male suicide" - which Mr Davies also highlights.

The minister adds that it is up to backbenchers to "bid for parliamentary time" to hold a debate to mark the day - as they do to mark International Women's Day.

Mr Davies says the prime minister takes the matter seriously and alleges that the department does not.

Ms Dinenage says the role of the department is to "tackle inequality wherever we find it".

Labour MP Christian Matheson says that International Men's Day could allow "fathers of daughters to express concerns, such as why those daughters might have to wait another 30 years for equal pay" and over violence against women and girls.

House of Commons
Parliament

The first question to the women and equalities minister comes from from Labour MP Vicky Foxcroft, who asks whether the government will "update its guidelines to schools on the provision of sex and relationships education to include LGBT relationship issues and sexual harassment in schools".

Minister Justine Greening says she wants to ensure sex and relationships education "really is fit for the world that we live in today" and is "considering" updating guidance.

Ms Foxcroft urges the government to follow the recommendations of the Women and Equalities Committee, external, update guidance on sexual harassment and work with specialists in the field.

Conservative MP Maria Miller, a former minister for women and equalities, says the report highlighted the "shocking truth that most girls in secondary education have experienced... physical or verbal sexual abuse".

She says many are calling for sex and relationships education to be made compulsory. "What more evidence is the minister looking for?" Ms Miller asks.

Ms Greening says the committee produced an "excellent report that we will shortly be responding to".

Mike Cherry, Federation of Small Businesses, chairman said:

Image source, Bloomberg

Those GDP figures prompted a sharp rise in the pound. As the chart above shows it rose by half a cent from where it was trading before the numbers came out.

A short while ago it was at $1.2255, up about a third of a cent for the session so far.

Chancellor Philip Hammond says the GDP figures show the UK economy is "resilient" and "well-placed" to deal with Brexit.

BBC business producer Mark Broad also has this update from an interview with the chancellor:

House of Commons
Parliament

Questions to the attorney general - the government's most senior legal officer - are on topics including cyber crime and the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.

The attorney general’s office can review very low sentences, external given by the Crown Court in England and Wales if they are asked to.

Select Committee
Parliament

The House of Commons Treasury Committee will meet at 10am to take evidence for its inquiry into tax credits, fraud and error.

MPs will hear from Jon Thompson and Nick Lodge from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

Mr Thompson is Chief Executive and Permanent Secretary of the organisation, whilst Mr Lodge is the Director General for Transformation.

Bloomberg

Global banks will probably lose their current legal rights to provide services in the European Union after Brexit, external, trade minister Mark Garnier has told Bloomberg.

Passporting, which allows London-based lenders and insurance companies to sell their services anywhere in the single market, is unlikely to continue after the UK leaves the 28-nation bloc, he said in an interview. 

He said the touted alternative system of "equivalence" was probably not going to be "good enough" for banks.

Asked whether that meant passporting was likely to end but would hopefully be replaced with something else, he said: "Exactly."

House of Commons
Parliament

Once the Business statement is out of the way, MPs will debate a motion to approve a report from the Committee of Privileges.

The motion "admonishes" former News of the World employees Colin Myler and Tom Crone, accusing them of "answering questions falsely" during the Culture, Media and Sport Committee's inquiry into phone hacking.

There will then be a backbench business debate on mental health services for young people, before Conservative MP Cheryl Gillan leads and adjournment debate on HS2.

Image source, HoC

The writ to hold the by-election prompted by the Heathrow resignation of Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith - or Frank Zacharias Robin Goldsmith as it was put in the Commons - has been moved and agreed in the Commons. The vote is widely expected to be on Thursday 1 December. 

The Times

Lay off Bank of England governor Mark Carney, external, writes Jenni Russell in the Times (£).

Brexiteers have attacked him over his warnings on the consequences of leaving the EU, 

But his role is independent and he should be allowed to continue being "the capable adult with a plan", she says.

The UK economy grew by 0.5% in the third quarter of 2016, down from 0.7% in the second quarter, the Office for National Statistics said. These are the first GDP figures for the period since the vote to leave the European Union and they are slightly higher than had been widely predicted.

The Chancellor of Exchequer, Philip Hammond, said:

House of Commons
Parliament

MPs meet in a few moments to put questions to the attorney general, the minister for women and equalities and the leader of the House.

After that, Leader of the House David Lidington will announce forthcoming business.

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