Summary

  • Brexit Committee questions David Davis

  • MPs in Commons chamber question Northern Ireland ministers

  • PMQs is at noon

  • MPs consider amendments to Health Service Medical Supplies (Costs) Bill

  • Peers meet at 3pm for questions

  • Main business in Lords is Higher Education and Research Bill

  1. Inquiry into Lords reformpublished at 11:16 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2017

    Committee tweets

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  2. Wednesday in the Commonspublished at 11:10 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2017

    Coming up...

    House of Commons
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    ParliamentImage source, PA

    As usual, all eyes will be on prime minister's questions at midday, which takes place after Northern Ireland questions. 

    There are two urgent questions after that - Labour's Debbie Abrahams on PIPs and Conservative chair of the Women and Equalities Committee Maria Miller on the European Court of Justice ruling on headscarves in the workplace.

    Then there's a statement on operations to combat so-called Islamic State, followed by SNP MP Drew Hendry's ten minute rule bill, which aims to transfer Network Rail's land and assets in Scotland to an agency controlled by the Scottish government.

    MPs will then deal with Lords amendments to the  Health Service Medical Supplies (Costs) Bill, external , and finish off consideration of the  National Citizen Service Bill, external .

    There's also a motion relating to appoint a new set of lay members to the Commons ethics watchdog, the  Committee on Standards, external . They will have the ability to make their concerns known if they believe the committee has, for example, been too lenient on some erring MP.

    Today's adjournment debate is on parental alienation, tabled by Labour's Simon Danczuk. 

  3. Brexit department in recruitment drivepublished at 11:08 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2017

    Brexit committee

    Select Committee
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    Olly RobbinsImage source, hoC

    The Brexit department's permanent secretary Olly Robbins takes his first question after almost two hours.

    He says that the number of staff working in the department is 322, but they are currently on an external recruitment drive and are working with other departments.

  4. Brexit bill to get Royal Assentpublished at 11:05 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2017

    Brexit Secretary David Davis is grilled by MPs about the UK's preparations for leaving the EU.

    Read More
  5. Davis grilled on UK-Scotland negotiating stancepublished at 11:04 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2017

    Brexit committee

    Select Committee
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    Joanna CherryImage source, HoC

    The Brexit secretary is asked by the SNP's Joanna Cherry about whether there has been a meaningful conversation with Scotland about reaching a UK-wide agreement on the country's negotiating stance. 

    David Davis replies "we will do everything to ensure the Scottish people get a good deal, not the Scottish National Party."

    When pushed whether this means there had not been an agreement between the UK and Scottish government, he says that there "were things we agree with and things we don't".

    He says he is "not optimistic" that the Scottish government's request that Scotland gain a special status whereby they stay in the EU or single market whilst the rest of the UK leaves would be successful. 

    He says that the best option will be to ensure the UK as a whole reaches a good agreement with the EU. 

    He says he thinks there will be a "conversation" with the Scottish government about when they will trigger Article 50.

    When asked if the government will write a detailed response to the Scottish government's paper on Brexit demands, he says that they have already had a "detailed response" through meetings. 

  6. Brexit will not 'jeopardise the peace process'published at 10:46 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2017

    Brexit committee

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    Northern IrelandImage source, EPA

    David Davis says "we will not do anything which jeopardises the peace process" in Northern Ireland. 

    He says that his EU counterpart Michel Barnier had highlighted this early in their conversations and that there was a general understanding of the peace process's importance across the EU. 

    He says the aim is to ensure that citizens of Northern Ireland will continue to be able to live and travel in Ireland and vice versa. 

    The HMRC is also working on a similar arrangement for goods as well, he says. 

    The issue of EU funding to Northern Ireland is more complicated, he says, as it is based on long-term distributions but that it is being worked on. 

  7. Davis: new immigration policy will not damage the economypublished at 10:35 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2017

    Brexit committee

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    David Davis says he will be "managing the expectations" of interested parties when it comes to immigration. 

    He says the aim of the government is to bring down net-migration figures, but "won't be done in a way which damages the economy".

    He acknowledges that immigration isn't just an economic issue, but a social one too. 

    He also says that it wasn't just about ensuring skilled and creative figures were considered in immigration rules, but seasonal workers as well. 

    He says that he is not sure whether the UK would focus on reducing migrants from the rest of the world or the EU, stating the policy will most likely be based on "demand" and done in a "humane" way. 

  8. Labour MP's reaction to Davis answerspublished at 10:33 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2017

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  9. McFadden: government has 'mortgaged the country's economic future' published at 10:25 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2017

    Brexit committee

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    McFaddenImage source, HoC

    Labour's Pat McFadden says that the government had "mortgaged the country's economic future for a soundbite".

    He is referring to the 'no deal is better than a bad deal' quote made by the prime minister in her Lancaster House speech, external

    Earlier in the session David Davis admitted that there had not been a "satisfactory" assessment of what 'no deal' meant for the economy. 

    Mr Davis says he has a "good idea of how it will pan out, but hadn't quantified it yet," and that his department were working on contingency plans. 

    He says that he was working hard to ensure that the UK had the best possible deal with the EU, minimising the need for a 'no deal'.

  10. Davis unsure of future of EU-UK university cooperationpublished at 10:18 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2017

    Brexit committee

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    UniversitiesImage source, HoC

    Brexit Secretary David Davis says that the government has taken very seriously the future of UK universities relationship with Europe. 

    The government, he says, has been ensuring that applications for studying and research continue in the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote. 

    But he says in the long-term he doesn't know what relationship UK universities might have with research projects such as Horizon 2020 or exchange programs such as Erasmus. 

    He says that the UK is a "science superpower", and he has no intention of letting Brexit stop this. 

    He says he will argue further down the line for students, and in particular researchers, are given preferential access in any immigration agreements made with the EU. 

  11. Davis: most EU countries will be 'sympathetic'published at 10:06 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2017

    Brexit committee

    Select Committee
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    David Davis says that he thinks many EU countries will be "sympathetic" to the UK, but will not want to "break the solidarity of the EU-27".

    On the EU's negotiating stance, he says we should wait until the bloc releases its first official guidelines on the issue. 

  12. Coming up todaypublished at 10:04 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2017

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  13. EU nations will become 'warmer' towards Brexitpublished at 10:02 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2017

    Brexit committee

    Select Committee
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    Brexit committeeImage source, HoC

    Conservative Dominic Raab highlights that for the manufacturing sector, one risk is that tariffs will make it more expensive and difficult for parts needed for their products to reach the UK.

    David Davis says that companies will be able to reach long-term arrangements on a case-by-case scenario which will allow these parts to flow with greater ease. 

    He says that many EU partners will "become warmer" to Brexit as they realise the "symbiotic relationship" with the UK, citing in particular the manufacturing and financial sectors. 

    Until recently, he says, many countries simply thought it wouldn't go ahead and hadn't seriously assessed this. 

  14. Will UK be able to sign free trade deal with EU in two years? published at 09:59 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2017

    Brexit committee

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    On suggestions that a free trade deal with the EU could take longer than two years, David Davis says that the UK already meets most of the criteria needed for one with the bloc, such as standards. 

    He also states that the EU will want to take advantage of the simplicity of doing a deal with a country they have an established trading relationship with. 

    He says that the UK might have to seek ratification of a trade deal with the 38 national and regional parliaments of the EU-27 countries, but that they has a "vested interest in signing it". 

  15. Davis: No need to rush Article 50published at 09:45 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2017

    Brexit committee

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    Emma ReynoldsImage source, HoC

    Labour's Emma Reynolds asks for the contents of the letter which will trigger Article 50 and start the UK's negotiating process with the EU. 

    David Davis says that it is not something he will outine. 

    He says on speculation that Article 50 would be triggered this week that "we're not a source of that guess work", adding that there is no need to rush the process. 

    He says that an implementation phase, which will allow industry to adapt to the new relationship with the EU, will depend on the eventual agreement. 

    If the deal includes an agreement not to impose tariffs, the implementation phase will be shorter, he adds. 

  16. UK not ready to give Brexit economic assessmentpublished at 09:40 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2017

    Brexit committee

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    Brexit Secretary David Davis says that there has not been an economic assessment of the impact of Brexit to his "satisfaction", but that it was too early in the process to fully predict it. 

    He says that the process was being done "piece by piece" and that forecasts could not be made until they understood what arrangements would be made for sectors such as agriculture and finance. 

    He says, however, that the situation is not "as frightening as some people think, but also not as simple as some people think." 

  17. David Davis asked to outline consequences of 'no deal'published at 09:27 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2017

    Brexit committee

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    David DavisImage source, HoC

    Brexit committee chair Hilary Benn starts with a quick-fire round on what a no-deal could mean for the UK, starting by asking whether it would mean there would be tariffs with the remaining EU-27 countries. 

    This would mean tariffs of products such as cheese and meat would be around 40%, whilst cars would be 10%, he says. 

    The Brexit Secretary David Davis says that is "probably right". 

    He also signals that if there was a no deal, there would probably be "customs checks" at the Northern Ireland border. 

    The UK would not be part of the EU-US free skies agreement, but says there would probably be a "successor" to it, he adds. 

    He also agrees that there would probably be border checks for UK passengers to EU countries and EHIC cards would no longer be valid for UK citizens. 

  18. Brexit secretary to give evidence on negotiationspublished at 09:07 Greenwich Mean Time 15 March 2017

    Brexit committee

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    EU UKImage source, Getty Images

    For the second time, Exiting the European Union Secretary David Davis will shortly give evidence to the Brexit committee.

    With the government’s invoking of Article 50 due by the end of the month, Mr Davis will be grilled on the UK’s objectives for withdrawal from the EU.

    The inquiry has so far heard evidence from groups as varied as businesses and expats living in the EU.

    Yesterday, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan told the committee that London's financial sector faced "catastrophe" if the UK "fell of the cliff edge" into WTO rules in the case of a non-deal.