Summary

  • Foreign Affairs Committee investigate UK-Russia relations

  • Health questions kick off the day in the Commons

  • Main business is debate on leasehold and commonhold reform; and then general debate

  • Theresa May to appear before Liaison Committee at 2pm

  • Peers meet at 2.30pm for oral questions

  • Business includes orders and regulations, and Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Bill

  1. Former education secretary calls for 'constant' reviewing of social mobilitypublished at 18:00 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2016

    Report from the Social Mobility Committee

    House of Lords
    Parliament

    Former Education Secretary Lord Baker of Dorking says he thinks the social mobility committee's report is "good" but he is disappointed it is a one-off event as social mobility deserves "a more constant surveillance by this House".

    Moving on to secondary and grammar schools, Lord Baker says the UK is the only country separating children at age 11 and he believes it is "so much better at 14" because children have a better idea of what they want to do. He says grammar schools are now the enclave of the middle class but tells peers that he's not against grammar schools at 14 when he believes academic skill will prevail.

    Lord Baker says "social mobility has to start in schools" and ends by saying that he hopes the information in the committee's report are not going to "disappear into the sand".

    Lord Baker of Dorking
    Image caption,

    Lord Baker of Dorking

  2. MP speaks about hate speech onlinepublished at 17:59 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2016

    Christmas adjournment debate

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Conservative MP James Berry is speaking about the prevalence of hate speech online, saying it is "a disgrace" that some social media platforms do not delete racist posts.

    Mr Berry says that any MP with internet access will be able to find "copious amounts" of hate speech on social media.

    He also argues that if this problem is not addressed then there is a risk that such hate speech "becomes normalised".

  3. Vocational shouldn't mean non-academic argues Bishoppublished at 17:44 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2016

    Report from the Social Mobility Committee

    House of Lords
    Parliament

    The Bishop of Durham says British young people don't deserve a system in which vocational means non-academic. He says "we can only have upward mobility" if we have some downward mobilty from the top. 

    He goes on to say that downward mobility is not just sometimes desirable but also necessary in a socially mobile society and that at Christmas we "celebrate the God who chose downward mobility" as a way to save humanity. 

    Bishop of Durham
    Image caption,

    Bishop of Durham

  4. Tory MP speaks of 'shameful' DWP assessmentspublished at 17:28 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2016

    Christmas adjournment debate

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Tania Mathias

    The Conservative MP for Twickenham Tania Mathias speaks about the treatment of people in DWP assessments. 

    She says she is grateful for increased employment figures in her constituency but tells the minister that she is concerned by the "nature and attitude" of behaviour in assessments. 

    Ms Mathias says that she and other MPs have seen the "very moving film" I, Daniel Blake, but says that "what is more troubling" for her is when she meets constituents who have been treated worse than the character in the film.  

    She says that if a person has a terminal illness or degenerative condition they "must not" go through an assessment if they have a consultant report.  

    The MP says people must be treated with dignity and that it is "shameful" that people have been shamed in assessments. She argues that assessments should to be recorded to ensure that people are treated respectfully. 

  5. Health Committee chair questions PMpublished at 17:24 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2016

    Committee tweets

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  6. Hammond announces first Budget datepublished at 17:24 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2016

    Chancellor Philip Hammond will publish his next Budget on Wednesday 8 March, the Treasury announces.

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  7. Government's response lacking, says peerpublished at 17:22 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2016

    Report from the Social Mobility Committee

    House of Lords
    Parliament

    Baroness Corston says the government's response to the report did not address 31 detailed conclusions that the report provided. She lists some of the things the government didn't provide, including a solution on ensuring apprenticeships remain high quality and on improving careers guidance for young people.

    She reminds the House of the report's title, Overlooked and Left Behind, which she says is used by commentators every day. 

    Baroness Corston says it was prescient of the committee to use this phrasing because Theresa May was talking about "these very people when she stood on the steps of Downing Street".

    She ends by asking that the government tell the House what kind of priority it now has for these young people.

  8. MP speaks about trying to make a differencepublished at 17:21 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2016

    Christmas adjournment debate

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Jim Shannon

    The DUP's Jim Shannon makes an emotional speech about trying to make a difference in Parliament, even if only in individual cases.

    He says he is very aware that he is only one of 650 MPs, but tells the chamber "I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do". 

  9. Whitehall 'leaves behind' 16 yo 24-year-oldspublished at 17:12 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2016

    Report from the Social Mobility Committee

    House of Lords
    Parliament

    Baroness Corston

    Baroness Corston rises to open the debate on the report from the social mobility committee, Overlooked and leftbehind: improving the transition from school to work for the majority of young people, external. She begins by thanking the members of the committee who, she says, are "assiduous" in their work.

    She tells the House the report is about young people and their route from school to university or work and that they found that the majority of 16 to 24-year-olds are left behind by Whitehall

    Baroness Corston says most young people leaving school know they are not work-ready but have to navigate "a confusing landscape".

  10. Date for the diarypublished at 17:09 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2016

    The Chancellor tweets

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  11. Former army colonel speaks against reopening of historic shooting cases in Northern Irelandpublished at 17:06 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2016

    Christmas adjournment debate

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Conservative Bob Stewart, who is a retired Army colonel, speaks about the reopening of historic incidents of fatal shootings in Northern Ireland involving the British armed forces.

    He says that around 1,000 ex-soldiers could potentially be charged retrospectively with manslaughter and murder, and calls this appalling when "so many terrorists from all sides were offered full pardons".

    Mr Stewart says the situation is "wrong and very unfair", and recounts his own experiences in Northern Ireland when soldiers under his command were charged with manslaughter.

    The MP says that reopening all fatal shooting incidents involving soldiers is "iniquitous and possibly even malicious".  

  12. Penalty points regulations approvedpublished at 17:05 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2016

    House of Lords
    Parliament

    Lord Keen of Elie

    The Statutory Instrument on increasing the penalty points for those caught using a hand held mobile while driving is approved without a vote.

    We now move on to the debate of the Legal Services Act 2007 (Claims Management Complaints) (Fees) order.

    This SI changes the level of fees charged to claims management companies. Such companies help customers claim compensation for mis-sold products such as PPI.

    Lord Keen of Elie tells peers that the change will allow the Legal Ombudsman to recover the costs incurred when investigating complaints about the claims management service industry.

    The regulation is approved by peers, again without a vote. 

  13. Desperate measures...published at 16:59 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2016

    BBC journalist tweets

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  14. 'Team UK' in Brexit negotiationspublished at 16:58 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2016

    Scottish Secretary David Mundell calls for a "Team UK" approach to the UK's Brexit negotiations with the EU.

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  15. 'Escalation procedure' not best practice?published at 16:50 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2016

    House of Lords
    Parliament

    Transport Minister Lord Ahmad concludes the debate on penalty points.

    He believes that Viscount Falkland's goddaughter will have learnt a lessons from her experience at the theatre.

    However he is not certain that the Viscount's "escalation procedure" should be taken up as best practice by the Department for Transport.

    He also wonders what it did for Anglo-French relations.

  16. Disruption in Bradley Stokepublished at 16:50 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2016

    Christmas adjournment debate

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Conservative Jack Lopresti talks about infrastructure in his constituency of Filton and Bradley Stoke, to the north of Bristol.

    He says that the proposed Metrobus link to carry 600,000 passengers a year is a key element in encouraging economic growth and unlocking future housing potential, but says that the works have caused "major congestion and disruption".

  17. Self-reform in the Lordspublished at 16:32 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2016

    Labour peer tweets

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  18. Committee aims for smaller Lordspublished at 16:31 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2016

    A cross-party group of peers will look at ways to reduce the size of the House of Lords.

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  19. Then the phone bounced off the head of a Frenchman...published at 16:25 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2016

    House of Lords
    Parliament

    Viscount Falkland

    Viscount Falkland recounts his experience of taking his goddaughter to the theatre.

    He recalls that she kept sending texts even as the play started despite his pleas "for God's sake turn the thing off". 

    He tells peers that on reaching his "breaking point" he grabbed her phone and threw it into the audience where it "bounced off the head of a Frenchman into the aisle".

    From this tale he concludes that "lessons in manners" are needed.

    (Viscount Falkland was talking during discussion of the motion to approve the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1998 (Penalty Points) (Amendment) Order 2016...)

  20. Illuminated fogpublished at 16:21 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2016

    The Times sketch writer tweets

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