House of Commons
Parliament

The Leader of the House Andrea Leadsom is announcing business in the House of Commons.

Next week will see consideration of Lords amendments to the Automated and Electric Vehicles Bill, two EU related statutory instruments and a debate on acquired brain injury on Monday, opposition debates on Tuesday, consideration of Lords amendments to the EU Withdrawal Bill and a debate on Nato on Wednesday and the debates on refugee family runion and the Erasmus scheme on Thursday.

The week after will see MPs debate the Haulage Permits and Trailer Registration Bill on Monday 25 June.

Image source, HoC

House of Lords
Parliament

Lib Dem Lord Wallace of Tankerness says peers have been warned to expect a large number of bills and around 1,000 statutory instruments by November in order to allow Brexit to happen but says details have "not yet reached us".

He asks if contingency plans are being made to allow the House to sit longer over the summer or extend sitting hours.

Lords Leader Baroness Evans of Bowes Park tells peers "we are certainly going to make sure we give Lords ample time to scrutinise legislation" coming forward ahead of Brexit.

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, Reuters

The British manufacturer has announced plans to cut 4,000 jobs over the next two years.

The move is expected to particularly affect its workforce in Derby.

The engineering firm is refocusing its business on civil aerospace, defence and power systems.

It said the restructuring programme would cost £500m to carry out, including redundancies, but would save it £400m a year by the end of 2020.

While true crisis has largely been averted following five successive profit warnings, Today programme business presenter Dominic O'Connell says "big strategic challenges" await.

"There is a big crossroads looming in the shape of a new generation of small aircraft. Rolls-Royce missed out on this market last time round and probably cannot afford to do so again."

Read more about the job losses and analysis here.

House of Lords
Parliament

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Labour's Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale is asking the government about the SOS Méditerranée ship, the Aquarius, and associated rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea.

He says there's pressure on Italy as a result of the "inadequate response of the 27 member states" and asks the government to urge Italy to reopen all ports to rescue boats, pending other countries "stepping up morally and financially".

Foreign Office spokesperson Baroness Goldie says the UK "remains committed to working with European partners" on this and "nobody can be unmoved by the piteous plight" of those making the journey across the Mediterranean.

She points out the UK is a "major contributor" to the EU initiative Operation Sophia and has been "instrumental in assisting the Libyan coastguard service".

Susan Hulme
Parliamentary correspondent

The European Union’s Commissioner for Security, Sir Julian King, has said that the UK cannot participate in EU defence and security programmes such as Galileo until there is an agreement in place.

He told a Lord Committee: “There is a possibility of participation of non-member states with programmes like Galileo subject to an agreement. We haven’t got that agreement.”

Sir Julian said: “The EU isn’t being difficult for the sake of it when it points out that it’s a carefully-crafted, painstakingly-negotiated legal order."

Existing arrangements, he argued, could not simply carry on unchanged when the UK left the EU and became a third country.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Business Secretary Greg Clark is answering an urgent question on the announcement of up to 4,600 job losses across Rolls-Royce.

He says "it's obvious that this news will come as a blow to the workforce" but says the firm has a "growing order book" and that he's had assurances that the company will "continue to recruit engineers, technicians and apprentices".

He adds that the government is creating a "modern economy" that will enable anyone who loses their job to find new ones.

Rolls-Royce says it is restructuring to refocus on civil aerospace, defence and power systems. Many of the job losses will be in middle management and backroom roles at its Derby site.

Derby South MP Margaret Beckett says she can't understate the "economic and social impact" losses will have on Derby. She says the work done at Rolls-Royce is "the kind of industry that we want for the future" and asks what the government's industrial strategy is if it doesn't include partnership with the likes of Rolls-Royce.

Greg Clark again emphasises that the firm is expanding its production and says that those who will lose their jobs will be "highly skilled" and will be in "great demand".

House of Lords
Parliament

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At question time in the Lords, crossbencher and vice-president of the Local Government Association Lord Best asks if there's been any progress with the proposition put forward by the previous secretary of state - Sajid Javid - for tenancies which are offered for four years rather than six months to a year "which is so unsettling".

Housing Minister Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth confirms the new housing secretary, James Brokenshire, backs this idea and is working with the British Property Federation which is "committed to offering three-year tenancies and above".

Labour spokesman Lord Kennedy of Southwark highlights a compulsory landlord licensing scheme in the London borough of Newham which he says has been effective in uncovering council tax fraud, income tax fraud and people-trafficking, and asks if the government will back the wider use of such schemes.

The minister recognises there is "much good work" being done in this area and says the government is doing "much to ensure responsible landlords".

House of Commons
Parliament

Brexit committee chair Hilary Benn says it's "counterproductive" and "insulting" to suggest the UK is a security risk. But he asks if the minister is worried that as a result of the decision high tech and defence manufacturing might move from the UK to the EU.

Minister Guto Bebb says "of course there would be concern" and says the government is in "constant communication" with the defence sector.

So far, the payload of every Galileo satellite has been assembled by British engineers.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Responding to an urgent question on the EU's planned Galileo satellite navigation system Defence Minister Guto Bebb says "negotiations should be allowed to run their course" but that the ESA's decision to exclude UK companies put UK participation "at risk" because it "could not justify future participation" and would not be value for money.

He says that the government will "consider the implications" and that government is looking at "other options including a UK global satellite system".

Delegations to the European Space Agency vote to procure another batch of spacecraft, despite British calls to delay.

House of Commons
Parliament

Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer is asking about an amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill on a "meaningful vote", due to be published later today in response to a near rebellion by Conservative backbenchers.

He asks the Brexit secretary if the amendment will be clear in its wording that, in the event that the Brexit deal is voted down, it "would then be for Parliament to say what happens next, not the executive".

David Davis says everyone "will have to wait to see the document when it's published".

House of Commons
Parliament

Asked what plans there are being made to prepare for a "no deal" Brexit scenario minister Steve Baker says the government can "implement plans for all scenarios".

Pressed further he calls no deal an "unwanted contingency" but says plans for it "will become increasingly visible" in the coming weeks.

House of Commons
Parliament

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SNP Europe spokesperson Peter Grant says that this week the government managed to "force through without a debate" their ability to "unilaterally change the powers" of devolved nations without any vote or consultation.

On Tuesday, there was less than 20 minutes available for debate on any of the House of Lords amendments to the EU Withdrawal Bill relating to devolution.

Brexit Secretary David Davis says the government put forward a "number of proposals" for passing powers from Brussels to the devolved administrations.

He says that the current proposal is supported by the Welsh government and that they are "continuing in our discussions" with the Scottish government about a solution.

It's not been pretty but in the end, the government showed it can just get its way in Parliament, whether by winning the argument, backing down, or postponing confrontation for now.

Calls for the UK to remain in the European Economic Area are voted down, as 90 Labour MPs rebel.

House of Commons
Parliament

Shadow Brexit minister Jenny Chapman says that this week the government has "rightly committed us to no checks, no controls, no infrastructure" on the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

But she asks how that would be possible without "being in, at a minimum, a customs union".

Brexit Minister Robin Walker says "we are committed to ensuring that there are customs arrangements that allow for no physical infrastructure at the border" while adding that even if no further agreement is reached, the backstop would ensure this.

Asked if a customs union backstop would be time limited, Robin Walker says the prime minister has "been clear" that the backstop would be.