Select Committee
Parliament

Conservative Alistair Burt says he thinks the secretary of state is on a "sticky wicket" and praises how he has answered the committee so far.

Mr Burt goes on to ask about the importance of mutual benefits on all sides in the negotiations.

Mr Davis agrees that the European nations see themselves as being about more than just trade, and that democracy and other shared values are vital.

Mr Burt asks if its helpful for MPs to "tweak the tail" of European politicians with their own interventions.

Mr Davis says his "sense of self preservation" means he won't answer that last question.

House of Lords
Parliament

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Conservative Lord Lexden is asking the government about proposals to create 10,000 free places at independent schools funded jointly with the government.

Education Minister Lord Nash says he welcomes the "positive way" in which the independent schools council have responded to educational recommendations.

Lord Lexden says the proposals contain plans specifically designed to assist social mobility by providing large numbers of places across age groups based only on need. 

He says he welcomes this new constructive plan for partnership with the state and says such moves could assist the government's agenda for reform.

The minister agrees that "many, probably most" independent schools do valuable work with state schools, but says "we believe more can do more". 

Select Committee
Parliament

Labour's Emma Reynolds asks if Mr Davis thinks a "quickie divorce would be unfeasible".

Mr Davis says he does't believe a good deal could be reached as quickly as six months.

Moving on to the process of setting up new trade agreements, Mr Davis agrees with Ms Reynolds suggestion that the UK wouldn't want to emulate the recent CETA deal, as it didn't cover financial services.

Ms Reynolds says many previous witnesses to the committee have said they do not want the UK to 'fall back' onto WTO rules when it leaves the EU.  Mr Davis says the way the Article 50 letter is worded is critical.

He says the letter will state "objectives" set out in broad terms, but that the government will be clear that it wants to achieve the greatest possible access to trade with Europe.

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Parliament

Liberal Democrat Lord Sharkey is asking the government how many hospitals have challenged NHS England’s recommendation that they cease to provide special surgical services for congenital heart disease, external. 

Minister Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen says that the government has not received any formal challenges but acknowledges that there are some concerns about NHS England's proposals; but she tells peers that no final decisions have been made.  

Lord Sharkey speaks specifically about the Royal Brompton hospital, and says the proposed changes will "destroy" the hospital's world leading project on adult congenital heart disease. 

The minister says that she will not comment on individual cases but insists that where it is decided that changes need to be made these will be carried out "carefully". 

She also says there will be no change on the ground until at least 2018 and also tells peers there will be a public consultation. 

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Liberal Democrat Lord Scriven is asking the government for figures on people who have claimed asylum in the last year on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Home Office Minister Baroness Williams of Trafford replies that the Home Office does not publish statistics on asylum claims and on what basis they are submitted.

She says that the government is looking into ways to publish such data but are waiting to ensure that such data collection can be quality assured to a sufficient standard.

Philip Davies has campaigned for men's rights and now looks set to join the Women and Equalities Committee in Parliament, despite having called it "depressing".

The Conservative MP said he hoped to bring some "common sense", and told Daily Politics presenter Jo Coburn that: "I believe in equality where gender should be irrelevant, and that is what I want to try and bring to the committee."

Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas dismissed his claims of being in a minority, asking: "A white anglo saxon man? I don't think so."

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Parliament

Conservative peer Lord Holmes of Richmond is asking the government whether it has plans to amend the visa requirements for international students and removing them from the immigration figures.

Home Office Minister Baroness Williams of Trafford responds for the government and says that it will be seeking views on a range of proposals to reform the visa system for international students.

She also says that as international students use public services and contribute to population levels, the government and the Office for National Statistics includes them in its net migration calculations. 

Lord Holmes calls international students "one of the most gleaming gems" in the UK's soft power and that there can "only be upside" from a move to remove them from immigration figures.

The minister says that the pilot on new visa rules is intentionally narrow in scope, but says that if it is successful the government will roll it out more widely.

Select Committee
Parliament

Labour's Stephen Timms returns to the question of whether the government will produce a white paper on its plan for negotiating the UK's departure from the EU.

Mr Davis says he is still working out the "content first, the format second", and he can't confirm what form that will take.

He says "the public at large care about the content of what we're saying, where we're going", and he expects the government to state broadly what outcome it is seeking.

Mr Davis won't be drawn further on the content of the published plan, saying that he will judge what information is "not hazardous" to make public.

Select Committee
Parliament

Conservative John Whittingdale moves on to ask about Mr Davis's sense of the mood of his European political counterparts.

Mr Davis says most of his European politicians he has met "regret our departure".  

He says they saw the UK as  "a spokesman for a certain mindset inside the EU", one that drove reform and stood against greater integration.

Mr Davis says he feels the European Commission is more concerned about the "risk" of other countries putting membership of the EU to referendums in their own countries.  

He says this fear has driven some of the harder statements from Europe, but that these are coming from the institutions of the EU, not from individual member states.

Select Committee
Parliament

The SNP's Joanna Cherry presses Mr Davis on the government's desire to keep an open border for Northern Ireland.

Mr Davis says he does not want to see a "hard border" in Northern Ireland, and that the EU's negotiator Michel Barnier also sees keeping Northern Ireland's open border as a high priority.

He says he doesn't believe Northern Ireland will become a major route for illegal immigration into the UK, as passport checks would not prevent people entering with the intention to overstay or work illegally.

Select Committee
Parliament

Mr Carmichael moves on to asking about negotiations with the UK's devolved administrations.

Mr Davis says while he can't give a veto to any part of the UK on specific policy areas, all areas will get something out of the negotiations.

On the question of Gibraltar, Mr Davis says the sovereignty of Gibraltar is "written in my blood".

Select Committee
Parliament

Liberal Democrat Alistair Carmichael asks Mr Davis about his statements on the possibility of the UK paying for access to the single market.

Mr Davis says he is not "ruling it out, and I am not ruling it in either".  He says he wants to keep every negotiating position open at this stage.

He goes on to say that he may able to discuss more detail on the government's position closer to the negotiation, but only in a closed session of the committee.

House of Lords
Parliament

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Peers begin their day with half an hour of questions to government ministers on subjects such as students being included in immigration figures, proposals to create 10,000 free places at fee-paying schools, and figures on asylum claims in the last year on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity. 

At 3.30pm there will be a private notice question on conditions for civilians in eastern Aleppo and the prospect for humanitarian relief to reach those people.

After that, Education Minister Lord Nash will repeat a statement made earlier in the House of Commons on the planned national funding formula for schools.

When peers have finished responding to that they will crack on with the first piece of legislation up for consideration today - the National Citizen Service Bill.

The main legislation of the day will be report stage consideration of the Wales Bill.

Today's dinner break business debate will be on updating the law on surrogacy.

Select Committee
Parliament

Mr Lefroy moves on to asking about the government's position on the Open Skies agreement covering EU aviation.

"One thing people did not vote for, was any reduction in ease of travel," says Mr Lefroy.

Mr Davis says aviation is a very high priority and he believes the department is "well across it".  

He says the demand for travel from other EU countries into the UK is one area that gives the UK "leverage" in negotiations.

Select Committee
Parliament

Conservative Jeremy Lefroy asks about the relationships between the department and the EU's negotiators.

Mr Davis says he is "slightly constrained" by the fact formal negotiations cannot start until Article 50 has been triggered, but that he has had some productive meetings with European politicians.

He says "we have every intention to continue to be a good European citizen", listing the UK's involvement in joint security and intelligence, which he expects will assure European politicians of the UK's good faith.

Select Committee
Parliament

Committee chair Hilary Benn asks Mr Davis to outline the four options for Brexit which the government is considering.

Mr Davis says he's considering the option to remain fully in a customs union with the European Union, to negotiate partial access to the customs union, to leave the customs union but with a free trade agreement in place, or to leave all customs arrangements with the EU.

He says the government is not considering making special arrangements for Northern Ireland in terms of customs, but that he is "determined" to retain the open border with the Republic of Ireland.  

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Parliament

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We now come to the opposition day debate tabled by the Labour Party.

The motion notes that the Autumn Statement proposals would disproportionately effect women.

The motion also states that 86% of the savings through tax and benefit changes since 2010 have “come from women”.

Labour is calling on the government to conduct an assessment of the impact of its policies since 2010 and take mitigating steps.

The government has tabled an amendment changing the wording of the bill to celebrate government measures including tax-free childcare, increasing the national living wage, boosting investment in schools and reducing the universal credit taper.

Select Committee
Parliament

Mr Davis says he believes the full negotiation can be done in the 18 months suggested by the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier.

In a statement earlier this month, Mr Barnier warned negotiations would have to be completed well before the two-year process ends to allow time for all the EU member states to ratify the deal with the UK.