Select Committee
Parliament

David Davis says on the so-called divorce bill, "the assertion was that it was our legal responsibility - that we owed them the money".

"It was quite a sharp, maybe sour outcome, when we went through the bill line by line."

"If the British public is told some enormous sum is going to be paid to them without a deal they might take a different view than if we have one," he continues.

"It's a political obligation not a legal one."

House of Commons
Parliament

A little earlier in the Commons, MPs rejected a Labour amendment which would have required a review of overseas trusts held by non-doms.

Shadow Treasury minister Peter Dowd accused the government of sending a message of "supine support" to tax dodgers.

"The heart of the disagreement with the government here today is simple: it is whether all UK citizens are to be treated equally under the eyes of the law and for the purposes of taxation - or whether they are not," he said.

Treasury Minister Mel Stride said it was wrong of Labour to suggest that all those with overseas trusts were "tax dodgers" and the vast majority did not have many overseas assets.

The amendment was defeated by 309 votes to 279 - a majority of 30.

Select Committee
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Conservative Dr Caroline Johnson asks about tooth removal in children, and the amount of children who are psychologically affected by having teeth removed at a young age.

She asks Mr Hunt if it is the responsibility of the parents, the school the child attends, or the the NHS.

Mr Hunt replies that it is the combination of all three who have responsibility for children's oral and dental health.

He says the recent introduction of the sugar tax has led to supermarket own-brand drinks to change their formulations.

This will go a long way in fighting childhood obesity, he says.

Select Committee
Parliament

David Davis says the point he made to last week's Brexit Committee was "a historical one - in the past negotiations have gone the whole distance".

At that committee, he said an agreement could be reached a nanosecond before midnight on 29 March 2019.

"If we hit October nobody will be more pleased than me," he says.

Select Committee
Parliament

David Davis tells the committee "we want to strategically accelerate the process and get to the next phase".

He says: "I invited Mr Barnier to come here tomorrow but he couldn't do it" - and it will be the second half of next week instead.

Select Committee
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Labour's Dr Paul Williams says that Nice guidelines says that an autism assessment should begin within three months.

He says that in his constituency, a child will wait nearly four years before a diagnosis. He asks if this is an appropriate waiting period.

Mr Hunt says that the Nice guidance is an acceptable waiting period. He sympathises with the "agony for parents".

Dr Williams asks Mr Hunt what will be done, and he criticises the fragmentation of autism diagnoses in particular, which often also involve local councils.

Mr Hunt says the situation "is not good enough", and he says the "NHS is under a lot of pressure", but this is an area that needs improvement.

He says he recognises the problems raised.

Select Committee
Parliament

Image source, HoL

The Lords EU Select Committee is now hearing from Brexit Secretary David Davis on the prospect of leaving the EU without a deal.

Acting chair Lord Jay asks what he makes of the recent EU Council decision that there was not sufficient progress to move to trade talks.

Mr Davis says he would have preferred "sufficient progress" but "I don't think this decision slows the process down at all".

House of Lords
Parliament

Labour's Lord Stevenson is satisfied by the minister's assurances to return to the terms of the debt respite scheme at third reading, and withdraws the amendment without a vote.

Peers move on to an amendment from Lib Dem Lord Sharkey which seeks to improve the take-up of financial advice.

Select Committee
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Labour's Luciana Berger says people's experience of accessing mental health care falls far short of what they would expect.

She presses for details of his recent claim that 4,000 more people are working in mental health.

Mr Hunt replies that there are 4,300 more people working in mental health trusts since 2010, and there are 2,700 more people working in talking therapies.

Conservative Sarah Wollaston asks Mr Hunt to send a note to the committee with details of where these extra workers are based. Mr Hunt says he'd be delighted to.

The Commons has divided to vote again, so the sitting is once again suspended.

House of Lords
Parliament

Image source, HoL

Work and Pensions Minister Baroness Buscombe defends the government's preference for a call for evidence on the proposed debt respite scheme.

She describes it as "extensive", arguing it will help achieve the "best possible design".

"We want to get it right," she emphasises, and the amendment as drafted could "jeopardise its effectiveness".

House of Lords
Parliament

Lib Dem Lord Sharkey offers his party's support to Labour's amendment on the debt respite scheme.

He says while questions remain over whether utility bill arrears should be included in the scheme, the government is "avoiding the simple question of 'when'".

He rejects the idea that the legislative agenda is too full for this measure.

Conservative ex-minister Baroness Altmann also confirms her backing for the amendment.

House of Lords
Parliament

Image source, HoL

Peers move on to examination of the Financial Guidance and Claims Bill, external, which creates a single financial guidance body and transfers claims management regulation to the Financial Conduct Authority.

Today is the second day of two days' scrutiny of the bill at report stage - the final chance for peers to force votes on changes they believe should be made to the bill.

Labour spokesman Lord Stevenson of Balmacara is introducing an amendment with cross-party support which would set out the details of a debt respite scheme, or "breathing space".

The government has already agreed to a respite scheme in principle, but Labour's amendment requires it within a year of the bill's passage.

Select Committee
Parliament

Labour's Diana Johnson continues her questioning, this time turning to GPs and their staffing levels.

She asks Jeremy Hunt why GPs at the BMA are going to vote on opting out of the NHS and setting themselves up as private practitioners.

Mr Hunt says workload has become too high, the job has become too stressful and sometimes they feel as though they are on a "hamster wheel of 30 or 40 ten-minute appointments every day".

He says the Department is planning to hire 5,000 more GPs.

Select Committee
Parliament

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Labour's Diana Johnson is asking about the short-term problems in staffing levels within the NHS.

"There isn't a silver bullet", says Jeremy Hunt.

He says the department has to do everything it can to help with short term needs, in the past five years the NHS has 6,500 more doctors, and 11,000 more nurses.

He says that overall, workforce numbers are going up, and that the NHS is trying to recruit internationally.

Select Committee
Parliament

Lord Darling is asked if people understand WTO rules.

He says he hasn't been stopped in the street to discuss it, and like the customs union, it's "not the sort of thing you tend to talk about in polite company".

The session is then suspended until 4pm, when David Davis will give evidence.

House of Lords
Parliament

Peers give their approval to the final stage of the Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing Bill, external, before Culture Minister Lord Ashton of Hyde repeats the answer to an urgent question on the review of gaming machines given earlier in the Commons.

The government has announced it is considering dropping the maximum stake for fixed-odds betting terminals to as little as £2.

Currently, people can bet up to £100 every 20 seconds on electronic casino games.

The consultation, external aims to reduce the risk of people suffering large losses and to tighten up advertising rules.

Select Committee
Parliament

Image source, HoL

Lord Darling says on other side of the Channel he's asked "what do you guys want?" and "the answer is we don't really know".

Labour's Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws asks about the scenario in which the UK leaves the EU but things remain essentially the same.

He says he can't discount that, observing: "We've always been a pragmatic nation."

Select Committee
Parliament

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The SNP's Dr Lisa Cameron asks about the increases in NHS managerial roles, rather than front-line roles.

Mr Hunt says that "the direction of travel" under the current government has been to reduce NHS managers, and to increase the number of front-line hospital staff.

Referencing England, Mr Hunt says that there are 30,000 more clinically trained staff in the NHS compared with 2010, and 18,000 fewer managers. He says the government wants to invest its resources in front line positions.

With that, the Committee goes into suspension while the Commons divides to vote on the Finance Bill.

Select Committee
Parliament

Lord Darling returns to his theme of needing an idea of where we're going, as "transition by definition requires a different destination".

He predicts: "We will not sort this out in 18 months - we need three or four years."

In 1972, he says there wasn't a fixed timetable as there is now, adding: