House of Lords
Parliament

Lib Dem Baroness Smith of Newnham notes that this is fifteenth debate in the House of Lords on the relationships between the UK and the EU since the referendum.

She says there is "no sense" of the government's objectives on the EU other than the foreign secretary's policy on cake. This refers to the Boris Johnson's "cake" quote on the EU: "pro-having it, pro-eating it".

She accuses the government of giving "very vague answers".

House of Commons
Parliament

Melanie Onn says that the debate today is "more pressing than usual" due to the vote to leave the EU in the summer, a decision she says, that will have "far reaching consequences" for the industry. 

"Fisheries may have more at stake over the next few years of negotiations than any other industry," she says.

Ms Onn speaks about a number of prominent Leave campaigners who made many pledges about the future of UK fisheries outside the EU, who are now in positions of power - including David Davis, the new Secretary of State for Exiting the EU. 

"They couldn't be better placed to implement what they promised a few short months ago," she says, continuing that the silence from the government on fishing as regards the EU has been "disappointing" and "worrying".

"The industry needs to be put at the top of their agenda," she says.

Westminster Hall

"We cannot tolerate another day of the danger existing in our prisons today," says Labour's Kate Green.

While prisons must be fully under the control of the staff, Ms Green says the evidence is against simply tougher prison regimes.

The job of prison officers is not respected enough, says Ms Green, and she asks the minister to outline how the government intends to support the professional, high calibre staff that are needed.

Westminster Hall

David Hanson closes by acknowledging the political difficulties in addressing some of the issues facing prisons, such as reducing prison overcrowding by looking again at short sentences and alternatives to prison.

Mr Hanson says "ministerial drive is needed" to address the return of foreign offenders in UK prisons to prison in their own country.

"The government has responded in part" to the challenges in the prison system, he says, and MPs will be holding the government to account for the actions taken to improve the situation.

House of Commons
Parliament

The debate on transgender equality comes to an end and the next backbench business debate begins - this one on the future of the UK fishing industry.

The Labour MP for Great Grimsby, Melanie Onn, is leading the debate which is being supported by MPs from an array of political parties. 

House of Lords
Parliament

Plaid Cyrmu's Lord Wigley says the Brexit result is "an absolute disaster" but that the vote must be accepted.

There is a mandate to quit the EU, he says, but not a mandate for which alternative the government should seek.

He urges the government not to take the UK out of the single market which, he says, would be "the kiss of death" for farmers in Wales.

House of Commons
Parliament

Education Minister Caroline Dinenage concludes the debate for the government, saying that the main aim of the government is to create a country "that works for everyone"; where everyone has a fair chance to go as far as their talents and hard work will allow - "this of course includes the transgender community".

"We want them to be safe, we want them to be healthy and we want them to be free from discrimination," she says. 

The minister goes on to say that she is "very proud" of the strong legislative framework that protects transgender people in the UK, but acknowledges that this has not kept pace "in any way shape or form" with the similar progress and recognition of the lesbian gay and bisexual community. 

Ms Dinenage says the government is committed to reviewing legislation governing hate crimes and that the Crown Prosecution Service is consulting on draft guidance regarding prosecuting cases of transphobic hostility. 

BBC News UK

Image source, PA

Prisons in England and Wales are to see their biggest overhaul in a generation, Justice Secretary Liz Truss has said.

She unveiled a White Paper, external detailing £1.3bn investment in new prisons over the next five years, and plans for 2,100 extra officers, drug tests and more autonomy for governors.

Labour said the announcement was "too little, too late", saying earlier staff cuts had created a "crisis in safety".

Unions have raised concerns about a rise in violence and suicide in jails.

The Prison Officers Association (POA) warned that jails were facing bloodbaths unless more staff were recruited and retained.  

Read more about the government's prison reforms here.

Westminster Hall

David Hanson quotes figures from the House of Commons Library and Ministry of Justice showing a rising number of assaults in prisons and deaths in custody.

He says prisoner on prisoner assaults have increased by 32%, and assaults on prison staff have increase by over 40% in the past year.

Among the statistics, he says, certain kinds of assaults involving dangerous liquids and knives or blades have risen by over 100% over the past year.

Mr Hanson acknowledges there have always been prison disturbances periodically, but that there is evidence of "an increase in pressure" on prisons in recent months.

He cites incidents at Lewis prison and Bedford prison where serious disorder broke out.

Read more about recent disturbances in prisons here.

House of Commons
Parliament

Shadow women and equalities minister Sarah Champion responds to the debate and says she is "shocked" to hear that this is the first debate on this subject in the chamber. 

Ms Champion says that it is important to have "proper data" on the numbers of transgender people in the country and the situations they are facing, so that there can be a "properly resourced response".

She speaks about the Labour Party's legacy on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights, but says "there is always further to go". 

Ms Champion says the House should be proud of the progress made on LGB rights, but says that "to our collective shame the same cannot be said of the rights of the transgender community.

The Labour MP says that despite the diverse nature of the transgender community "more often than not" what brings the community together is "stark experiences" of inequality, discrimination, transphobia, abuse, and violence.

"The consequences of this relentless hate are clear to see," she says.

Westminster Hall

Image source, AP

The debate on prison safety and security in Westminster Hall is just beginning, led by Labour's David Hanson.

The debate follows a number of serious incidents in prisons and government announcements on prison reforms.

A Sitka Spruce tree from a Northumberland forest is put up in front of the Houses of Parliament.

BBC News cameras watched the men at work erecting the 50ft (15m) tree that will end up on many tourists' photos.

House of Commons
Parliament

The motion on the order paper that is being debated this afternoon on transgender equality reads as follows:

House of Lords
Parliament

Labour's Baroness Crawely says she is tempted to suggest that the best thing the UK can do for its future relationship with the EU is to hold a second referendum. 

The Leave vote has given royal assent to the law of unintended consequences, she says.

One example of an unintended consequence, she offers peers, is that the UK will now have to leave Euratom - the body regulating the nuclear industry. 

She asks what will happen to the 3,000 cubic metres of radioactive waste that will be produced by the EU-owned nuclear tokamak machine in rural Oxfordshire, external.

House of Lords
Parliament

Crossbencher peer Lord Ricketts, a retired British diplomat, now makes his maiden speech.

He praises the staff for their help but admits to feeling lost. He says that he has considered wearing a Paddington Bear style tag around his neck: "If found wandering, please return to Lord Jay."

He tells peers his career at the Foreign Office started the year after the UK joined the EU and ended the year we left.

He admits to feeling worried about "the damage" Brexit will cause but  "passionately" believes that the future of the UK will be "inextricably linked" to its neighbours.

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour's Lyn Brown focuses on the problems transgender people face in accessing the NHS, which, she says, is letting them down.

A specialist psychiatrist has told the equality committee that the "casual, unthinking trans-phobia continues to be striking" in the NHS, she says.

There are gasps in the chamber when Ms Brown goes on to quote a witness to the committee who reported being told their request for gender reassignment surgery "would take money away from cancer treatment".

House of Lords
Parliament

Conservative Lord Blencathra urges "embittered Remainers" to have confidence in the UK's future.

He says unemployment is down, exports are "surging" and, as the world's fifth largest economy, he argues that the UK is "indispensable" to Europe's defence and economy. 

He tells peers that people voted to take back control of "money, borders and laws" and that staying in the single market would "thwart those aims". 

He urges peers not to sabotage Brexit - "The people have spoken and we should know our place."

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour's Ruth Cadbury congratulates a number of media and arts organisations that have begun casting transgender actors in roles, including the character played by Riley Carter Millington in EastEnders.

House of Commons
Parliament

Conservative Ben Howlett says he has long been a campaigner on LGBTI issues, but says the lesbian and gay community has not always "gone out and celebrated the 't' part of the LGBTI" community, and this needs to change.

He moves on to speak on the issue of transgender people in the prisons system, citing the case of Tara Hudson.  

Ms Hudson was sent to a male prison despite having lived as a woman all her adult life, and having undergone gender realignment surgery. 

House of Lords
Parliament

Crossbench peer and chair of Migration Watch Lord Green of Deddington says it is "quite clear" that immigration was major factor in the vote to leave the EU.

Therefore a satisfactory outcome on immigration is essential, he says.

He wants to see continuation of free movement for all EU citizens "unless they wish to work". He argues that this would allow tourists, students and self-sufficient pensioners to come to the UK.

"Let them all come," he says but adds that if they want to work they need a work permit. Such a move, he estimates, would reduce  net EU migration by 100,000 per year.