Private members' bills debated in the Commons
First bill to be debated is Mental Health Units (Use of Force) Bill
Calais camp debate
House of Lords
Parliament
Home Office Minister Baroness Williams responds to the debate, describing the UK as "a global leader in responding to those affected by conflict".
She tells the House that 9,000 children have been resettled in the UK since 2010.
She highlights the "comprehensive support" provided by the UK to France in clearing the camp at Calais.
Sexual harassment and violence in schools
House of Commons
Parliament
Image source, HoCReferencing the ongoing crisis in Westminster, Labour's Jess Phillips says "every single argument that has been applied about this place, we could apply to our schools at the moment".
She says there "is not a clear process in place" for dealing with abuse.
She says that the women and equalities committee, of which she is a member, heard from parents "whose children had been left in the same classroom as their perpetrator".
"If it were a teacher doing it to a child, there is a process," she says, "I find the parallel to here painful, in that there is no process, there is no threshold for this place and the people who work here".
She says she "cannot bear to be back here next year" talking about the same problems.
Calais camp debate
House of Lords
Parliament
Image source, HoLLabour's Lord Dubs, who campaigned for a change in the law on child refugees, says the UK committed to bring 480 lone children here but only 200 have been taken in so far.
"Why can't we get a move on? Why must they lie there in Calais or Greece?", he asks.
He goes on to say that local authorities are "willing" to accommodate more young refugees, and Scotland is an "untapped" resource.
He concludes by urging the government to be "flexible" about the cut-off date for the Dubs scheme of March 2018.
HMRC office closures debate
Westminster Hall
Image source, HoCWrapping up the debate from the SNP, Stuart McDonald calls on the government to publish impact assessments on local areas where the closures are planned.
He also asks ministers to "stop and assess what has already happened".
He says that if they are that confident in their work, then they can prove that with "facts, not just with a dodgy business case".
He says he wants the minister to send HMRC back to the drawing board if the plans have so far not been successful.
With that, the debate closes.
Sexual harassment and violence in schools
House of Commons
Parliament
Maria Miller, chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, opens the next debate, on sexual harassment and violence in schools.
"There can never be a more timely debate," she observes.
"Quite frankly, if Parliament can't get it right, what sort of example are we setting to the rest of the country?"
People will be watching to see how Parliament addresses sexual harassment and assault, she tells her fellow MPs.
Turning to schools and colleagues, she says abuse "is not only a workplace problem", with two in three girls under the age of 21 experiencing sexual harassment.
She calls on the government to routinely collect data, which does not happen at present, so that MPs can hold them to account.
HMRC office closures debate
Westminster Hall
Image source, HoCMinister Mel Stride is responding for the government, he says that the National Audit Office figures put the cost of the "investment over the next 10 years will be £582m".
Mr Stride says that the annual savings, compared to current expenditure, of £74m in 2025-2026 rising to £90m from 2026-2027. He says the savings will be ongoing and long standing.
Mr Stride says that working in larger offices with more collaborative working will benefit HMRC.
Working from one larger office in dealing on cases of tax avoidance is better than having multiple small offices, he adds.
He says that HMRC will help staff with additional travel costs for five years after they are moved.
The vast majority of HMRC staff are within reasonable distance of a new regional centre, he says.
Calais camp debate
House of Lords
Parliament
Image source, HoLLib Dem Lord Roberts of Llandudno is opening his debate on the condition of refugees and migrants still in Calais and the surrounding area, one year on from the refugee camp there being demolished.
He claims there's evidence that refugees with grounds to move to the UK under the Dubs amendment or Dublin agreement "are being ignored".
The former was a measure introduced to allow unaccompanied child refugees to come to the UK, and the latter allows refugees with relatives in the UK to join them.
He laments the end of the Dubs scheme, recalling the day when Conservative MPs attempted to vote it down as "one of the saddest days of my life".
Calais and unaccompanied child refugees
House of Commons
Parliament
Minister Brandon Lewis says the UK is "a world leader" in helping people affected by conflict, including in Syria.
"We will resettle 20,000 people in the UK by 2020," he says.
"Over 8,500 individuals are already here, around half of whom are children. We will also resettle 3,000 of the most vulnerable children and their family members from the Middle East and north Africa region by 2020."
But he says that migrants should not go to Calais and try to embark on a dangerous trip to the UK.
"France is a safe country... Claiming asylum in France is the fastest route to safety for those who need protection."
Calais and unaccompanied child refugees
House of Commons
Parliament
Labour "cannot accept" the decision to end the Dubs scheme, says shadow Home Office minister Afzal Khan.
A consultation process calculated only 480 children should be accepted by the UK but, Mr Khan says, "local authorities suggested that up to 4,000 more places could be made available".
He dismisses the argument that the scheme acts as "a pull" for refugees or encouragement to people smugglers, arguing that "the opposite is true".
Children will turn to smugglers "where legal routes are limited".
Brexit must not lead to any loss of rights for refugees, he adds.
Northern Ireland statement
House of Lords
Parliament
Crossbencher Baroness Butler-Sloss asks, with Stormont in deadlock, "what voice will Northern Ireland have on Brexit, particularly in regard to the border?"
Northern Ireland Minister Lord Duncan says Northern Ireland's voice is being drawn from "a number of sources - but we would prefer to have an executive as the conduit".
Calais and unaccompanied child refugees
House of Commons
Parliament
Joanna Cherry, the SNP's home affairs spokeswoman, says the UK government has argued that taking in children under the Dubs amendment indefinitely "acted as pull which encouraged people traffickers".
However, Ms Cherry adds, a report by former Labour MP Fiona Mactaggart and crossbench peer Baroness Butler-Sloss found no evidence that the safe transfer of children acted as a pull factor.
The SNP wants to see the Dubs scheme to continue, she says.
Northern Ireland statement
House of Lords
Parliament
Labour former Northern Ireland secretary Lord Murphy of Torfaen urges: "Something dramatic and imaginative must happen - the prime minister and taoiseach must go to Northern Ireland and take charge.
"Otherwise we will drift into direct rule, which would be a disaster."
The minister tells him everything is on the table, but that involving heads of state is not always the answer.
Calais and unaccompanied child refugees
House of Commons
Parliament
Image source, EPALord Dubs was a child refugee in the 1930s
Andy Slaughter, Labour MP for Hammersmith, says that having Lord Dubs as a constituent is "a matter of pride" - and also keeps him on his toes.
The Labour peer, who arrived in the UK as a six-year-old fleeing the Nazis before World War II, gave his name to the "Dubs amendment".
This amendment to the Immigration Act 2016 launched a scheme to enable a number of unaccompanied children to come to live safely in the UK - even if they did not have a straightforward family link.
It aimed to help some of the estimated 90,000 unaccompanied migrant children across Europe but in February this year, the Home Office said it would stop taking children via the scheme from the end of March - and limited the number of unaccompanied children allowed entry to the UK to 350.
A charity, Help Refugees, failed in a High Court challenge to the government's move.
Northern Ireland statement
House of Lords
Parliament
Image source, HoLNorthern Ireland Minister Lord Duncan stresses that budget priorities have been set by Northern Irish officials and "there has been no attempt" by the UK to influence it but "that is clearly not sustainable in the long-term".
He says the government wants to work with all parties to reach a resolution.
HMRC office closures debate
Westminster Hall
Image source, HoCLabour's Peter Dowd asks: "Where do you begin? It's an absolute dog's dinner."
He says that every time the government talks about "modernisation", they really mean "job cuts".
He says recent changes at HMRC have seen taxpayers waiting longer to get through on the phone and waiting longer for letter responses.
He says the National Audit Office says this is costing £600m more than first thought.
"Why the government persists with going on with this dog's dinner, as I said, is absolutely beyond me."
Northern Ireland statement
House of Lords
Parliament
Image source, HoLShadow Northern Ireland spokesman Lord McAvoy responds for Labour, saying it's "profoundly disappointing" that the DUP and Sinn Fein remain at an impasse.
He expresses hope for "a more productive approach", suggesting there may be the need for "outside help".
Any move towards direct rule would be "damaging", he warns.
For the Lib Dems, Baroness Suttie says Northern Ireland "is showing the strains of this political vacuum" and "we owe it to people there to redouble our efforts".
Calais and unaccompanied child refugees
House of Commons
Parliament
Conservative MP Will Quince says he "may even have had a disagreement with the government" over the issue of child refugees.
He jokes: "But we've changed the chief whip and deputy chief whip now, so all is possibly well again."
Former chief whip Gavin Williamson was appointed defence secretary earlier today.
Mr Quince says he is proud of the government's record.
"In 2016, we transferred over 900 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children to the UK from Europe," he tells the House.
"In the same year, the UK settled more refugees from outside Europe than any other EU country."
HMRC office closures debate
Westminster Hall
Image source, HoCIn closing, the SNP's Chris Stephens says that at a time when HMRC may need many more officers "in eighteen months' time", it seems wrong to close the offices.
He says the plans "will be extremely damaging to HMRC operations".
"The failure to understand or take into account the diversity or the needs of the Scottish, or indeed, the UK economy, and have the potential to seriously compromise the ability to collect tax, enforce compliance and close the tax gap," he says.
Northern Ireland statement
House of Lords
Parliament
Northern Ireland Minister Lord Duncan of Springbank is repeating a statement made earlier in the Commons on efforts to restore the executive at Stormont.
Talks between the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin to resolve the crisis broke down on Wednesday.
As a result, the government said it had to step in to set a Stormont budget.
Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire laid out his plans for a budget to MPs on Thursday, but was adamant that it did not mean a return to direct rule from Westminster for Northern Ireland.
Calais and unaccompanied child refugees
House of Commons
Parliament
"We need the UK to be a world leader on this," says Thelma Walker, Labour MP for Colne Valley, adding that it can take up to six months to unite families at present, which is not good enough.
She describes various organisations working with refugees in her constituency, then turns to the plight of unaccompanied children on continental Europe.
"Next time you give your child a hug, think about these children just across the Channel, with no-one to hold them," she says.
"They need our help more than ever. As the UK turns away from the European Union, we need to make sure we don't turn our backs on these vulnerable children."