House of Commons
Parliament

SDLP MP Mark Durkan says he has to "decry that Northern Ireland gets very little out of this Budget".

This is not all the government's fault though. "A lot of this is down to a dereliction of responsibility of the devolved executive" who have not applied for a City Deal for Derry, he says. 

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour MP Melanie Onn says the Chancellor's pledge of £110m to end rough sleeping in London "is simply giving with one hand and taking away with the other".

It was a "great pre-Budget story, complete with celebrity endorsement which has turned out to be nothing more than a sticking plaster", she says - which is "typical of this Chancellor".

Homelessness has been increasing because of measures in this, and previous, budgets including a "reduction in the level of social housing affecting the ability to invest in social housing or build new houses".

There is also a "critical shortage for appropriate properties for people suffering with various degrees of disabilities" leaving vulnerable people with "nowhere to go".

"Homelessness is not caused by fluctuations in the economy; it is about support structures for people."

"This is a test for our society," she says. "This about whether we are compassionate enough to make sure we look after people in their most difficult times. This is a test we have failed."

House of Lords
Parliament

Viscount Younger says the Lea Valley charges "a pound a head" of population a year, to council taxpayers in the local region, adding that the Authority is mostly self funding.

He argues that any changes to the funding must be discussed by the local authorities concerned before legislation is considered. He then offers to meet the authorities concerned if they wish to do so.

Lord True agrees to withdraw his amendment.

House of Lords
Parliament

Labour's Lord Harris says the Lea Valley Authority provides facilities for a wide area, and "deserves to be collectively funded across that area".

He concedes the Authority could "be managed more effectively", but notes that it is getting costs under control.

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour MP Jim Cunnigham calls the Budget a "divisive budget which puts the burden for national debt on the poorest shoulders" - and that's him "being charitable".

He asks "if [the Chancellor] had a long term economic plan, how did he get blown off course in 48 hours, or did he not know the implications of the cuts on the poorest in our society?"

The warnings about the unstable state of the global economy from the Chancellor are "preparing the ground work for future cuts", he says.

It is "not an economic strategy to constantly inflict cuts on the poorest people, and local councils", he adds. 

Select Committee
Parliament

Asked if she was surprised by the recent resignation of Iain Duncan Smith, Mrs May says she is "disappointed" by his resignation as he has done a very good job in this government but says that the new Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Crabb will be "excellent" in the role.

Questioned about her decision to back a "remain" vote in the forthcoming EU referendum, she said she "took a logical decision" to wait until the prime minister had reached a renegotiation deal before making a decision on which side to back. 

House of Lords
Parliament

The amendments on accessible housing are withdrawn and peers move on to the next one, moved by the Conservative Lord True.

This is concerned with the Lea Valley Regional Park Authority, which runs open spaces and sports venues in a 26 mile long, 10,000 acre area in London, Essex and Hertfordshire. 

The amendment would prevent the authority from charging authorities in the area, as it can currently do by law.

Lord True argues that the authority runs many potentially profitable assets, but fails to "balance the books", and that it is unfair to ask local council taxpayers to foot the bill. 

House of Commons
Parliament

Conservative MP Chris Philp argues "fiscal responsibility is a very important thing, for the sake of our children".

There is "nothing moral or ethical about consistently spending more than we can afford and sending the bill to the next generation", he says.  

Without "fiscal responsibility", he says, "we cannot deliver the services that are so important", adding that the Chancellor has made "a good start to fixing the deficit". 

House of Commons
Parliament

Conservative MP Maggie Throup says the "shocking events in Brussels are a sharp reminder that the first duty of any government is the protection of its citizens".

But, she adds, it is "rare" for this duty to be considered "from anything other than a security point of view".

Ms Throup, who is also the chair of the all-party group on Obesity, argues that "obesity, and its related illnesses, is becoming a serious issue in our society".

"By introducing the sugar levy, the government is accepting its duty to protect the health of our citizens and future generations to come." 

Select Committee
Parliament

Keith Vaz asks Theresa May whether the COMPASS system - which governs contract provision for asylum support services - is working as she wants it to. 

He also asks whether she has been happy with the response to a recent controversy surrounding alleged housing of asylum seekers in houses with red doors. 

Asylum seekers in Middlesbrough told The Times, external earlier this year that eggs and stones had been thrown at their houses because the doors made them easy to identify.  

G4S - the firm responsible for housing asylum seekers in the area - said there was no policy to house asylum seekers behind red doors but its subcontractor would be repainting them.  

In reply, Mrs May says that the Home Office have made sure housing providers are "not doing anything to make asylum seekers identifiable".

Asked whether she has ever visited asylum accommodation since being home secretary, she replies that she has not - adding that she has visited a range of Home Office families, but not asylum accommodation.   

House of Lords
Parliament

Minister Viscount Younger responds to the amendments on houses with access for the disabled.

He says the government already requires local planning authorities to meet the needs of the area, and says it is not necessary to place new requirements on them.

He accepts that more accessible housing is needed, that this is a result of "historical failure", and that the government is tackling this by changing building regulations, although local authorities can vary these. 

Read more about the shortage of accessible housing here. 

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour MP Roberta Blackman-Woods says that while she's "not sure" she "buys everything [Iain Duncan Smith] said" she thinks he was right when he said the Budget was "unfair and widely perceived to be so".

She adds "we still don't know where the £4.4bn will come from" to make up for the PIP reversal "let alone the £3.5bn of efficiency savings".

It would be "irresponsible to go through the lobbies to support a Budget when they know so little about the details of where the cuts are gong to be made".

House of Lords
Parliament

Labour's Baroness Morgan says that "more needs to be done" to increase the number of houses accessible for the disabled.

She raises last week's Budget, which was criticised for making cuts to disability benefits, and says that by accepting the amendment, the government "might make up some of the territory it has lost" with disabled people. 

House of Commons
Parliament

SNP MP Phil Boswell complains that no one has yet addressed the "worrying" Office for Budgetary Responsibility (OBR) figures on inflation, published alongside the Budget. 

"Uncertainty over the EU referendum" has led to sterling depreciation, he argues, and the OBR has predicted CPI will rise from 0.7% to 1.6% next year, while RPI will rise from 1.7% to 3.2%.

"Such a spike in inflation can impact negatively across the economy," he says.

"Many houses across the country already struggling will see the price of necessities rise."

Exports will also "likely be hit", he says, noting that total exports fell from £521bn in 2013 to £513bn in 2014.

House of Lords
Parliament

Liberal Democrat Lord Greaves rises to support the amendments requiring planners to ensure there is enough housing for the disabled.

He says "we should all be very ashamed" that there is not enough housing which is adapted to the needs of the disabled and the elderly.

Select Committee
Parliament

Committee chair Keith Vaz begins the session by asking the Home Secretary to update MPs on the latest following the terror attacks in Brussels. 

At least 31 people have been killed and dozens injured following attacks at Brussels international airport and a city metro station this morning.    

The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for the attacks this afternoon in a statement issued on the IS-linked Amaq agency.  

Theresa May replies that full details of the incidents are not yet known and the situation is very fast moving. 

She tells MPs that the threat level to the UK remains at severe, external - meaning that an attack is "highly likely" but not expected imminently. 

Mrs May says that she offers her "thoughts and prayers to those who have been killed and injured", adding "we stand together against the terrorists and they will not win". 

House of Commons
Parliament

Conservative MP Richard Fuller complains that John McDonnell "spent 20 minutes of his speech trying to hold the Chancellor to account for something he's no longer doing" with PIPs, but not holding him to account for "things he has done".

Mr Fuller says the planned tax on the sugary drinks industry - widely referred to as a "sugar tax" - is in fact "not a sugar tax", as it does not cover sugar in milk or fruit. 

Instead, he argues the levy is effectively a tax on "just five companies" including Coca-Cola, Britvic and Suntory - who he points out were operating "way before this issue of obesity was a problem".

"I would say on that point, parliament ought to be very careful about very specific taxes on very specific companies as they will be open to challenge". 

House of Lords
Parliament

The sustainable development amendment is withdrawn and peers move on to the next group, which is concerned with wheelchair accessible homes.

The amendments would place a legal requirement for planning authorities to ensure an adequate number of wheelchair-accessible homes when granting planning permission. 

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour MP Susan Elan Jones raises two issues she says were left out of the budget.

She complains there were no measures to stop the "insidious closure of banks across our country". 

"In Wales, 130 bank branches have closed or will close over five years" she says, adding that "banks who do this have nothing to pay back to wider society".

There were also no measures to encourage philanthropy, she argues. "It's time we consider this in greater detail", she adds.