The Scottish Parliament has called on the UK government to "maintain Scotland's place in the single market" despite divisions between its parties.

Select Committee
Parliament

Conservative MP Ranil Jayawardena asks if we are seeing a very small number of "very active and very xenophobic" individuals publishing a large number of tweets - rather than an exceptional rise in the volume of people using twitter as a forum for online hatred. 

Mr Miller praises the MP's point and says that "a small number of people are responsible for a vastly disproportionate number" of xenophobic tweets. 

Scottish Secretary David Mundell has said that leaving the EU means leaving the single market. So what might take its place? One option that is being seriously canvassed among those examining this issue is membership of the European Economic Area.

House of Commons
Parliament

Financial Secretary to the Treasury Jane Ellison says the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme is hugely beneficial and that the government is keen for as many charities to benefit as possible.

She says the government will keep payment methods under review and may return to the subject in the future but argues that the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme is not "the right vehicle" to bring about change.

She urges the opposition not to push their amendment to a vote but they do and the result is expected at 5.10pm.

Labour's expelled Midlands Socialists apply to rejoin party

Select Committee
Parliament

Chair of the Home Affairs Committee, Yvette Cooper, is questioning the witnesses on general trends in online abuse.

Carl Miller of Demos tells the committee that their research shows that important events such as the EU referendum often coincide with "spikes in online hate". 

Mr Miller says that social media is incredibly "event specific" and it is often events that happened offline that drive online hate.

House of Lords
Parliament

Committee stage consideration in the House of Lords can often be confusing, so for those who are interested in following today's proceedings the full list of amendments being moved this evening can be found here, external.

The text of the Wales Bill that these amendments relate to can be found here, external.

All documents relating to the Wales Bill, including a House of Commons library research briefing, external on the bill, can be found here, external.

Paint-buyers should be better educated about how much of the product they need, a minister says.

Select Committee
Parliament

Hate crime is defined as any criminal offence which is perceived, by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on a personal characteristic. Hate crime can be motivated by disability, gender identity, race, religion or faith and sexual orientation.

The days immediately following the EU referendum saw a rise in the number of attacks on people from ethnic minorities and of non-British nationality, including on their community centres and places of worship.

The killing of Jo Cox MP has also raised serious questions about how to address the potential for violent action from those holding extremist or fixated views.

The government announced on 30 June 2016 that the Home Office would be publishing a new action plan on hate crime, external.  

Chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall says hotel breakfast buffets are a food waste "nightmare".

Select Committee
Parliament

The second set of witnesses are now in front of the Home Affairs Committee for its inquiry into hate crime and its violent consequences.

• Dr Pete Burnap, Director, Social Data Science Lab at Cardiff University 

• Carl Miller, Research Director, Centre for the Analysis of Social Media at Demos

House of Lords
Parliament

Wales Office Minister Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth gives a very gracious and conciliatory response to the short debate on this amendment, in particular praising Baroness Morgan for her remarks about Labour's record in government on this issue.

Lord Bourne says that this issue was not initially contained in the bill because the subject was not brought up by the all-party Silk Commission.

The minister asks for Lord Griffiths to withdraw his amendment for now and promises to speak to concerned peers about the issue and to return to it at report stage, which is the next stage that the bill will reach after committee stage.

The amendment is withdrawn.

House of Lords
Parliament

A number of peers from across the chamber speak in support of the amendment and now Labour frontbencher Baroness Morgan of Ely speaks about how these machines are "causing social havoc in families and leading to ill health".

She says that evidence suggests these machines are "highly addictive" and are prevalent in areas of high unemployment and under-investment.

Baroness Morgan tells peers that she thinks "deregulating this industry was one of the worst things Labour did in government".

Echoing many similar contributions to the debate, Baroness Morgan asks the government about the disparity in the scope of devolved powers between Scotland and Wales - "if it's good enough for Scotland then why isn't it good enough for Wales?" she asks.

House of Commons
Parliament

MPs vote to reject New Clause 3 to the bill at report stage by 254 to 287.

MPs are now dividing to vote on New Clause 4 to the bill.

House of Lords
Parliament

The statement Q&A comes to an end, and peers return to their core business of line-by-line legislative scrutiny as the Wales Bill returns for its third day of committee stage consideration in the chamber.

Labour peer Lord Griffiths of Burry Port says his amendment is a "tiny contribution to the debate" on a bill that he calls "extraordinary" and "a bit of a dog's breakfast".

Lord Griffiths is moving his amendment 52, which seeks to devolve the authorisation of certain types of gaming machines which he says pose a danger to vulnerable children and young people. 

House of Commons
Parliament

Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Rebecca Long-Bailey pushes New Clause 3 to a vote at Report Stage.

New Clause 3 is a Labour amendment to the bill which would require the Treasury to identify organisations with local or regional branch or group structures in order that those branches can be separately eligible under the scheme.

The division result is expected at 4.26pm. 

House of Commons
Parliament

Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Jane Ellison, winds up report stage of the bill. 

Ms Ellison says the Gift Aid 'matching rule' is the only remaining condition which prevents the system from being exploited fraudulently. 

The 'matching rule' is where the size of a charity's annual claim under the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme is capped by reference to its annual claim under Gift Aid. 

The Minister said she is working on ways to wider promote the scheme to charities not already using it.

She says the amendments tabled by opposition parties are "unnecessary" and urges that they are withdrawn. 

A spokesperson for consultancy firm Deloitte said: “This was a note intended primarily for internal audiences. It was not commissioned by the Cabinet Office, nor any other government department, and represents a view of the task facing Whitehall. 

"This work was conducted without access to No.10 or input from any other government departments.”  

House of Lords
Parliament

Labour's Lord Grocott says that thousands of miles of railway were built in the 1840s with picks and shovels. 

He compares that to the estimated completion of HS2, "a railway of some 300 miles", in 2033.

"What is it that the Victorians had got that we haven't?" he asks.

Transport Minister Lord Ahmad reminds the peer that "planning regulations have moved on since the Victorian age" and also says that effective consultation must be observed in large infrastructure projects. 

House of Lords
Parliament

Image source, PA

Transport Minister Lord Ahmad has repeated a statement made earlier in the House of Commons on the High Speed 2 rail project.

Labour's Lord Rosser responds by saying that his party support HS2 and so welcome the statement, and welcome the plans to connect the line to existing networks outside London. 

But he says Labour does not welcome "the fact that the government seem determined to see HS2 run in the private rather than the public sector" - especially, he says, given the amount of tax-payers' money that will be invested in the project.

Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson Baroness Randerson urges the government to undertake the project with greater urgency, as she says "the great cities of the North and Midlands need this connectivity very much faster than the speed outlined".

She also warns that HS2 might drain resources from the rest of the network where investment is "desperately needed" - especially as several electrification projects have been "permanently put on hold".

Lord Ahmad replies that the government understands the need for speed in the project, and assures the two frontbench spokespeople that around £40bn is due to be invested elsewhere in the network.