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The Lords have moved onto a debate on violence between communities and armed groups in Nigeria.

You can watch this debate using the links at the top of the page, and it'll be shown on BBC Parliament later tonight.

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Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee Mary Creagh says that poor air quality causes as many deaths as alcohol problems.

She says we are now "waking up" to this public health emergency.

Ms Creagh says there are links between heat waves and air pollution, adding that more deaths will occur as the planet warms.

She says the EU has forced the government to take action and it is of "prime importance" that a post-Brexit watchdog has enforcement mechanisms.

She is glad the government has taken on board the need for legislation.

The Labour MP says the UK is at risk of losing the "global environment race" and adds that the 4th industrial revolution is happening at "technological speed."

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Conservative, Andrew Selous says that even a day's exposure to elevated levels of poor air quality increases the likelihood of a heart attack.

He calls for more education in the medical community.

Mr Selous says that sometimes that this issue is set up as a battle between air quality zealots and motorists. He tells the House that is a "false" premise.

He says that those inside their cars are up to 10 times worse off than those in the street and adds this is the "complete opposite" of what his constituents think.

The MP says part of the increase in NHS winter pressures is from respiratory illnesses caused by poor air quality.

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Chair of the Transport Committee, Lilian Greenwood says this is a "sorry tale of inaction" and that efforts so far have lacked "urgency".

Ms Greenwood says that road transport is responsible for 80% of Nitrogen Oxide concentrations that exceed legal limits in the UK and adds that diesel engines are a "significant contributor".

She tells the House that the number of cars and vans continues to increase as does congestion.

The chair says that collaboration is a problem and that action is too "fragmented", "lacks leadership" and is not costed or resourced adequately.

Local authorities are responsible for air quality limits, however, Lillian Greenwood says that partly because of resources and partly because action is "politically unpalatable", change is difficult.

The chair says there is a danger that the government relies "too heavily" on new technologies and does not do enough to take cars off the road.

She adds public transport and active travel should be at the "heart" of any clean air strategy.

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The Chair of the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs Committee, Neil Parish, is introducing a report on air quality.

He informs the Commons that the UK has failed to meet legal air quality limits since 2010 and adds successive governments have failed "to get a grip" to improve quality.

He states that air pollution is a "silent killer" and is the "largest environmental" risk to public health. He adds that air pollution effects "everyone," especially in inner cities.

He welcomes that the government has taken on some "key" recommendations such as developing a personal air pollution alert system for the public.

However, Mr Parish says "real change" requires "bold and meaningful actions" that are absent in the government's current approach.

The Committee recommends a national support scheme for councils struggling with air quality and a 'polluter pays', external clean air fund to be paid for by the car industry.

He accuses the government of "working in silos" on air quality.

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The first of two backbench debates this afternoon is on improving air quality.

A recent joint committee report on air quality was published earlier this year.

It states that "Air pollution cuts short an estimated 40,000 lives across the country each year, costing the UK an annual £20bn."

The government said in response that quality has improved "significantly" since 2010 and that is has put in place a £2.5bn plan. It added there was more that "needs to be done".

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Labour's Ben Bradshaw says it is ironic that people who campaigned on the sovereignty of Parliament refuses to appear before it. Labour's Mary Creagh agrees with him and says this is a "show of arrogance and contempt that cannot go on unmarked and unpunished".

The motion is agreed to unanimously.

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Parliament

The Leader of the House Andrea Leadsom is presenting a motion to the House asking for Dominic Cummings to be referred to the Privilege Committee.

Mr Cummings was Vote Leave's campaign director, and he has refused to appear before the Culture Committee.

Damian Collins, the chair of the committee, says "these are incredibly serious matters", and he says anyone who holds a position of public trust should respond to a request from Parliament to explain their job.

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Exiting the EU Minsiter Steve Baker says the government is pleased to "welcome" this committee report. He says he will read it in the future and the government will respond later.

The SNP's Europe spokesperson Peter Grant asks if the total Parliamentary scrutiny of trade deals will be less than it is now.

Mr Benn says there is a "growing wish" in Parliaments around the world to have a say on future trade deals. It is important that the future trade deal with the EU is something that Parliament will have a meaningful vote on, he adds.

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Chair of the Exiting the EU Committee Hilary Benn is giving a statement on the 6th report for Parliamentary scrutiny of the withdrawal agreement.

"Time is very, very tight," he says, even if agreement is reached at the October council, this would still take Parliament to at least mid-November, he states.

The government should give Parliament five days to debate the withdrawal agreement, he says, and they are currently consulting on how to let the Speaker select amendments to debate during these days.

He says that without legislation, the UK would be in breach of international law, and the UK is left with only a few months to pass multiple bills before leaving.

The EU is saying that the UK needs to "speed up the process" and wants more clarity on what the country is actually seeking, he states.

He says that today's European Council was "once billed" as the "make or break" day for these discussions.

He adds that national governments still need to vote on the UK's withdrawal agreement before March, and that is only if the European Parliament approves it.

The committee does not accept that MPs rejecting the agreement would see UK leaving without a deal, as the government says. The UK government would have to enter back into negotiations, he states, with approval from Parliament.

The government should be prepared to seek an extension to the Article 50 period, he adds.

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Health and Social Care Minister Caroline Dinenage says that "for too long this issue has been kicked around as a political football" and "successive governments" have failed to address the issue.

The government has said that the social care system should be integrated with the new NHS plan which will shortly be published, she adds.

"This report will be incredibly valued" for the government's green paper, she says

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The SNP's health spokesperson Dr Phillippa Whitford says that overall the system proposed saves money as it stops NHS hospitals from having to deal with the gaps in the social care system.

Mr Betts says that the pressures of the funding gap have to be addressed before the "aspiration" of free care can be moved to in the future.

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Labour's shadow social care minister Barbara Keeley says that the time for reform and change of the system is now, and not years down the road.

Mr Betts says that the Germans did this 20 years ago, the system works and has public support.

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Chair of the Health Committee Dr Sarah Wollaston says "the situation could not be more stark" at a time when the UK is approaching the 70th anniversary of the NHS.

Clive Betts says that if the social care system cares for people with "moderate needs" then that stops them from having to go into hospital, as well as preventing delayed discharges.

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The Health Committee and Communities Committee are presenting their joint report on adult social care in the UK.

The Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee Clive Betts says that in 2017, a report was produced which showed that significant reform was needed from all parties on the matter.

The evidence "was clear" that the rising demand for social care was placing "very great and unsustainable strain" on the system, despite the increase in funding. Local authorities face a funding gap of £2.5bn for social care, he adds.

He says that the government needs to meet the current funding gap and then increase funding for the future.

He adds that it is important that social care providers provide "stable" and "good care" from well paid and trained staff.

The committees are "strongly of the view" that local authorities should remain in charge of care services, as "most people receiving care get it in their own homes".

The committee recommends that a "combination" of different funding models at both a local and national level.

Money should come from the social care precept and public health grants in the short term, but in the longer term there should be reform of council tax bands and valuations. Any extra taxation nationally should be "earmarked" for social care and raised from the highest earners, he adds.

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The Lords have moved on to a debate on the role and responsibilities of Police and Crime Commissioners.

You can watch the debate using the stream above, and on Parliament's own streaming service., externalThe debate will be shown on the BBC Parliament channel later today.