House of Lords
Parliament

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The Ulster Unionist Party's Lord Empey says that not too long ago, "it [the House of Lords] was 50% bigger than it is now".

He says that the "truth of the matter is that the general public have got an idea in their head"; and he believes that a cap is the "only way to shift it".

"It is more complicated" for those coming from further afield, he says.

He says it is a privilege to work in the Lords, but the daily allowance does leave very little money at the end of the day once London travel costs have been taken into account.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth tells the House that research shows there are currently vacancies for 100,000 staff, amounting to "a national crisis", and bed occupancy is at an average of 94.5%.

He describes the NHS as "understaffed and over-stretched".

Jeremy Hunt replies that restructuring to provide more nurses and mental health workers will create vacancies, and highlights his department's workforce plan, which he says the Welsh Labour government "hasn't found time" to implement yet.

Select Committee
Parliament

Chair Yvette Cooper welcomes "a significant shift in attitudes" compared to the last time the committee took evidence from the social media companies.

However she also expresses "immense frustration" at "the scale of the problem".

"You are some of the richest companies in the world," she says and urges them to accelerate progress.

And there the committee comes to an end.

House of Lords
Parliament

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Baroness Boothroyd, former Speaker of the House of Commons and now a crossbench peer, says the report "opens up yet another phase in the long struggle to defend the integrity of this House and maintain the authority of our bicameral Parliament".

She says she supports the report, but does have concerns about some of its proposals; adding that she would prefer an age of retirement to be very clear cut.

The House should seize the opportunity the government gave the Lords "to put our own House in order without legislation", she says.

She says that the Lords should encourage a faster rate of retirement, and bring forward the recruitment of new members whose suitability and experience from a more authoratative Lords Appointments Commission.

She says she would like to see a cap on the Lords size of 400.

House of Lords
Parliament

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Lord Beith, Liberal Democrat member of the committee, says that the current system works against "those who are distant from London".

He says the Lords need to maintain the size of the House in order to protect its reputation.

Prime ministers always remain under pressure to appoint peers, he says, but he hopes that "strong pressures can be resisted" once there is clear understanding, and wide support.

Support for the proposals may not be unanimous, but sentiment is widespread, he adds.

It's the only show in town, he says, "so let's go for it".

House of Lords
Parliament

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Lord Wakeham, a Conservative member of the committee, says that Bishops are always "extremely co-operative" when trying to find a way forward.

"Getting the numbers down is pretty useless unless we have a plan to keep them down," he says.

He says he has been on a "good" number of committees during his Parliamentary career, but enjoyed serving under the chairmanship of Lord Burns.

"A voluntary system of retirement is essential if we don't have legislation," he adds.

He says that he had come to the conclusion that "if you've been in this House for 20 years, and you're over 80, maybe in the next five years, you ought to think about retiring."

House of Commons
Parliament

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Shadow health minister Julie Cooper says 1,300 full-time GP equivalents have been lost in the last two years, and there is a "retirement time bomb looming".

She claims steps taken so far are ineffective and "patients are waiting longer than ever".

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt responds that these figures don't take account of locum doctors.

But he acknowledges it is "a very big problem" and the answer lies in encouraging more medical students to specialise in general practice.

Select Committee
Parliament

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Labour's Preet Gill asks about videos of people threatening to self harm.

Simon Milner says Facebook consulted groups such as the Samaritans about Facebook live videos of people threatening to take their own life.

He says they were advised such content should not be taken down.

"As long as they are alive someone can help them," he adds.

House of Lords
Parliament

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Convener of Lords Spiritual, the Bishop of Birmingham, says that a side-effect of the committee making non-legislative recommendations is that Bishops cannot be changed in number. He says that the current figure is 26, and is capped.

By contrast, he says, had the Victorians changed the proportions, there would now be 46 Bishops in the Lords.

"We have no wish to be a distraction to the House on this urgent work," he says.

He says the House has to go back 30 years to find the last time three quarters of the House voted in a single division, which was on Sunday trading laws.

The proposals in the Burns report suggest reducing the House to three quarters of its current size, to 600.

Although he is convener, he is "neither a leader, nor a whip," he says.

Overcrowding in the House is not generally caused by too many Bishops, he adds, but they are happy to engage if this discussion comes up, he says.

Select Committee
Parliament

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Labour's Stephen Doughty asks why it took so long to respond to his queries about the verification of Britain First's Twitter account.

Sinead McSweeney acknowledges that the verification process is "broken" and that a new policy will be announced in the new year.

Mr Doughty suggests that either the organisation "can't cope or doesn't care".

"I could not work for people I did not respect," replies Sinead McSweeney and adds: "I believe out teams want to make the internet a better place."

She says there if it wasn't for a recent "sea change" in the company she wouldn't still be working for Twitter.

House of Lords
Parliament

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The Convener of the crossbench peers, Lord Hope of Craighead, says that "as so often in life," the problem is easy to identify, but a solution is not so easy.

He says that "on any given day", no more than half of the crossbench peers are usually present.

He says that the "ever-increasing size" is an "embarrassment".

It is not for him to express the views of the crossbench peers as a group, as he says that is not how the group works.

He says the House must make an effort to balance the regions, to remove the tendency for appointments to come from London and the South East.

House of Commons
Parliament

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The first question is from Conservative Glyn Davies on the evidential basis for presumed consent for organ donation.

He asks if we are moving towards "state control" of donation.

Health Minister Jackie Doyle-Price rejects this characterisation, telling him that evidence suggests a system of presumed consent "can be associated with higher donation rates".

House of Lords
Parliament

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Liberal Democrat leader Lord Newby says that cynics originally said that this report would not really do anything, but the report that has been published has proved them wrong, he adds.

He says that Lord Burns have suggested "a very British way forward," he says that the Liberal Democrats have no objection to the current suggestions, despite the negative effects it will have on their numbers, he adds, to amusement from other peers.

He says the Liberal Democrats understand that the changes still do not lead to elected party political membership of the Lords, but it is a step forward, he adds.

He says that Labour and the Conservatives will permanently benefit from the changes, and the Liberal Democrats remain unhappy with the keeping of hereditary peers.

He expresses worry that the government could be about to introduce new peers, giving them an advantage for the coming years in the House, he adds.

House of Lords
Parliament

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One committee member, Labour's Baroness Crawley, says that not every member will agree with everything, but hopes that there is agreement on a "fair and sensible" set of suggestions for sustainability.

She believes that this is the "best shot at reform for a generation", she adds.

"To put it mildly, my Lords, we are not loved," she says - and she hopes that the report "goes some way...to healing that disconnect," referring to public perceptions of the House.

No party will ever have an overall majority, ensuring balance of the House, with 20% always reserved for crossbenchers, she adds.

She says that waiting for legislation to force changes is not politically "practical".

House of Commons
Parliament

MPs kick off at 11.30am with health questions, followed by ministerial statements on the Local Government Finance Settlement and policing.

The ten minute rule motion is on protections for emergency response drivers, before continuation of committee-stage debate on the Finance Bill, which enacts the Budget.

MPs will then be asked to approve statutory instruments relating to terrorism and European documents concerning the Schengen information system.

The adjournment debate is on the Roadchef employees' benefit trust.

House of Lords
Parliament

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Leader of the Lords, Baroness Evans of Bowes Park, encourages members to ask questions and debate the report. She says if further questions are raised today, then the committee are happy to reconvene and discuss those issues.

She says that whatever happens, it is important that the House of Lords continues to use a wide breadth of experience, to scrutinise and revise.

"House of Lords reform is a complex, difficult, and constitutionally sensitive area," she says.

Total membership has decreased since July 2016 under the current prime minister, she says. She adds that the report has tried to make suggestions which do not require legislative change.

In all, 78 peers have chosen to retire since 2014, when the option became available, she says.

House of Lords
Parliament

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Lord Burns, Crossbench peer and chair of the Lord Speaker's committee on the size of the House, starts the debate, to approval from the Lords.

The report, he says, is unanimous, and it can be read online, external.

He says while a lot of the focus is reducing current numbers, the committee wished to look at the "historic tendency" of governments to appoint members.

The report is trying to make areas of agreement possible, he adds.

"Fixed terms are the only solution," he says, suggesting the idea of peers only being allowed a single, fixed term of 15 years.

He says the committee also recommends mirroring general election results, once "the House has reached a steady state".

The report recommends making a reduction of membership from 834 to 600, in the meantime, the report says that half of departures from the Lords should remain unfilled, the other half should be replaced.

Replacement rates would vary between parties, and would be decided by the results of the most recent election.

The hereditary by-elections would remain intact, as will the Bishops seats, as changes to this would require legislative change.

Diversity of new members is still down to the party, he adds.