House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Lib Dem John Pugh worries that the minister is being complacent

He says that the majority of Ellesmere's exports are left hand drives for Europe.

Would it really make sense for Peugeot to continue left hand drive production outside EU and not in Germany or Poland? he asks.

Greg Clark accuses the MP of "thinking up reasons" why companies should not invest in the UK.

He adds that companies want to invest in Britain because of its efficiency and innovation.

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour MP for Luton North Kelvin Hopkins says the Vauxhall workforce in his constituency are "brilliant" and argues that "today's news is positive". 

He notes that the UK is an exporter of high value added components and urges the government to develop production of such components. 

Greg Clark agrees and says this is a big opportunity to increase the supply chain in the UK.

Select Committee
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Gary Edwards, from SARC, says that the process needs to be more transparent so that people understand what the assessment criteria are.

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Labour MP for Ellesmere Port and Neston Justin Madders says it is "good news" that the production will continue its current run but adds that there is deep concern about "what will happen after that".

He notes that PSA have "made noise" about the importance of efficiency and says that the factory in Ellesmere has "a good case" to make in that regard.

Greg Clark agrees adding that "our automative plants are in the strongest in the world".

House of Lords
Parliament

Education Minister Viscount Younger is responding to a group of amendments aimed at increasing the representation of part-time, long-distance and disabled students. 

He stresses that learners should "get the most from their education whatever their background" and tells peers that offering choice between types of study will be part of the Office of Students' duties. 

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Labour's Rebecca Long Bailey says that the government has little power to ensure that corporate takeovers are in the public interest.

She suggest that the government should change the takeover regime so that the definition of public interest is expanded to include the interest of stakeholders "not just shareholders".

She also asks if PSA has been offered the same post-Brexit deal that Nissan received. 

She urges the government to set out a strategy for the whole sector rather than "enlightening business one crisis at a time". 

Greg Clark replies that the takeover regime would not apply in this situation because both companies are "overseas owned".

Concerning post-Brexit support, he says the automative sector has been succsseful because of government cooperation

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Greg Clark tells the House that he and the prime minister have had discussions with PSA.

He says the company has made a number of commitments:

• The company will honour current agreements with the Vauxhall workforce
• Workers' penions will be in at least as good position as they are today
• The UK will be treated equally compared to other affected countries
• The identity of Vauxhall will be "distinct and prominent"
• The company's strategy will be building on the strength of Vauxhall not factory closures.

Select Committee
Parliament

The Work and Pensions Committee is hearing evidence from:

• Sam Ashton, Senior Policy and Campaigns Officer, Z2K
• Gary Edwards, Manager, Southampton Advice and Representation Centre (SARC)
• Tony Lea, Lead Welfare Rights Officer, Benefit Resolutions CIC  
• Kayley Hignell, Head of Policy (Families, Welfare and Work), Citizens Advice

Z2K, external is a London-based charity advising individuals on their legal, housing and welfare rights. Z2K stands for Zacchaeus 2000 Trust.

The Southampton Advice and Representation Centre, external is another charity offering advice on employment and welfare rights.

Benefit Resolutions CIC, external is an advocacy service based in Truro, Cornwall, offering advice on the DLA and PIPs.

Citizens Advice, external is the nationwide charity offering advice for anyone who needs it. In 2015-16, they helped 2.7 million people face-to-face and their website advice pages received 36 million visits.

Select Committee
Parliament

The committee members are:

• Frank Field, external  Labour (Chair)
• Heidi Allen, external  Conservative
• Mhairi Black, external  Scottish National Party
• Karen Buck, external  Labour
• James Cartlidge, external  Conservative
• Neil Coyle, external  Labour
• Richard Graham, external  Conservative
• Luke Hall, external  Conservative
• Steve McCabe, external  Labour
• Craig Mackinlay, external  Conservative
• Royston Smith, external  Conservative  

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, Getty Images

Business Secretary Greg Clark now gets to his feet to answer an urgent question from Labour’s shadow business secretary Rebecca Long Bailey on the sale of Opel Vauxhall .

The French company that owns Peugeot and Citroen has reached a deal to buy General Motors’ European unit (which owns Vauxhall) for £1.9bn.

The UK Vauxhall factories employ 4,500 people in Ellesmere Port and Luton.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Theresa May told the chief executive of General Motors that she wanted jobs at both plants to be secured for the long term.

House of Lords
Parliament

Universities Minister Jo Johnson is at the bar of the House of Lords, as peers discuss the need for part-time and long-distance learners to be represented by the Office for Students.

House of Lords
Parliament

Education Minister Viscount Younger of Leckie insists the Office for Students is appropriately named, saying the bill "places a clear duty on it to consider the interests of students".

Lord Lipsey agrees to withdraw his amendment without a vote. 

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Shadow home office minister Lyn Brown says the Chancellor promised to protect police funding. She argues that police in England and Wales face a real terms cut of £200m.

And there's consequence, she says: "Violent crime has been deprioritised, domestic violence ignored and neighbourhood policing eroded."

She says this has been documented in a report by the HMIC (Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary) and asks whether the public should believe them or "the minister of broken promises".

Brandon Lewis replies that the HMIC report identified the problem as not the amount of funding but how that funding was used.

He adds that overall the police are seeing an increase in resources.

House of Lords
Parliament

Peers move on to report stage of the Higher Education and Research Bill, which sets up new universities and is intended to promote choice and competition across the sector.

First, peers are considering an amendment in the name of Labour's Lord Lipsey, which suggests creating an Office for Higher Education Standards rather than an Office for Students.

He objects to what he calls the "disease of statutory bodies being named after propaganda rather than descriptive terms".

The Office for Students introduced in the bill would become the regulator and teaching funding body for the sector, with a duty to give due regard to choice and the provision of a range of different types of learning.

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Home Affairs Committee Chair Yvette Cooper notes that closing the Dubs scheme  will increase the risk of trafficking.

She adds that her committee has collected evidence from local councils that "thousands more" places for migrant children could be provided "if the right funding was in place".

Minister Robert Goodwill suggests that the methodology "won't bear scrutiny".

Select Committee
Parliament

Image source, Press Association

At 3:45pm, the Work and Pensions Committee will meet for an evidence session into Personal Independence Payments. 

In April 2013, the government introduced the Personal Independence Payments system, replacing the previous Disability Living Allowance. The original plan was to have all DLA claimants moved to PIPs by the end of 2017. 

The session this afternoon will hear from welfare rights organisations on issues with the PIP application, assessment and appeals process.

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

SNP MP Martyn Day asks if the home secretary will safeguard the rights of EU nationals living in the UK.

Reciprocity is an important part of securing the position of UK citizens who live in the EU, replies Amber Rudd.

Conservative Sir Edward Leigh suggests that the government should guarantee the rights of EU nationals now but reserve the right to change its mind "in the extremely unlikely possibility" that EU countries deport UK nationals. 

House of Lords
Parliament

Labour's Baroness Andrews says after Brexit "we're probably going to need to grow a lot more of our own food" and will need more allotments.  

She asks if this is on the agenda of the Department for Exiting the EU. 

DCLG Minister Lord Bourne says he's not sure, but that growing our own food is important in any case. 

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour's Chris Leslie argues that ditching the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) would turn the UK into "a honeypot" for criminals "on the run from justice".

Home Secretary Amber Rudd replies that it is a government priority to remain part of the EAW and adds that EU partners "want to achieve that too".

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Labour's Kelvin Hopkins asks how effective new legislation to tackle controlling and coercive behaviour has been.

He notes that measures allowing the police to remove perpetrators of domestic violence from their homes have not been widely used because of cuts to public finances.

Home Office Minister Sarah Newton replies that the legislation only came into force in 2015 and that the level of uptake won't be reported on until later this year. 

Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott argues that cuts to local government have meant women are being turned away from refuges.

This government has done more than any other to keep women and children safe, replies Sarah Newton.