Select Committee
Parliament

Image source, Press Association

The first set of questions comes from Sir Bernard Jenkin, the Chair of the Committee, asking what makes the civil service leak.

Sir Mark says that leaks, such as the Brexit impact assessments, are done for a "political effect".

He adds that he cannot see many circumstances where "a leak is an appropriate" way of dealing with things.

"Every leak is serious," he states.

Sir Jeremy Heywood has previously vowed to "crack down, external" on civil service leaks. A letter sent by Sir Jeremy warning about leaks was then subsequently leaked.

Back in April, former home secretary Amber Rudd was forced to resign following a leak which showed that she did know of Home Office targets for removals. She had previously told the Home Affairs Committee she did not know of such targets.

House of Commons
Parliament

Conservative MP Tom Pursglove asks for confirmation that "internal learning has taken place".

Ms Newton says the permanent secretary has been scrutinized and made improvements to the way the department runs.

She says she intends to visit frontline staff and make clear that the approach should be to "speak up and speak out".

"I will be listening."

House of Commons
Parliament

Chair of the Public Accounts Committee Meg Hillier says she welcomes the action by the minister, but says "the real concern is that there were warnings" from staff at the department as far back as 2013.

Many people have lost out on passported benefits, she says, and asks whether there will be a compensation scheme.

Ms Newton says Ms Hillier raises an important point and that it is vital department staff is listened to. She says processes have been improved to ensure staff are not ignored in future and to ensure mistakes like this don't happen again.

House of Commons
Parliament

Shadow minister Marsha de Cordova questions how many people will be entitled to additional payments, and whether the DWP will pay compensation for those who got into debt as a result of the underpayments.

What measures has the DWP taken to ensure the mistakes do not happen again? she asks.

Minister Sarah Newton says the department is working "at pace" to make sure those mistakes do not happen again.

She says ministers have been "proactive" in attempting to resolve the issue.

Ms Newton says the initial estimate was that 70,000 people were affected, but the department is going back to look at claimants, even dormant accounts, to ensure they have identified everyone.

The department estimates the cost will be £390m, and people will be paid their full arrears.

House of Commons
Parliament

Shadow Disabilities Minister Marsh de Cordova has tabled an urgent question on Employment Support Allowance underpayments.

The Public Accounts Committee said this week that the government had failed disabled people through a "culture of indifference, external".

Work and Pensions Minister Sarah Newton says that "in 2017 the department identified an error that led to some claimants being underpaid... whilst their claim was being converted from incapacity payment."

She says the department "proactively informed the House of this problem" before briefing partners and the media, and set out plans to address the problem.

Yesterday, the department "confirmed that this work is underway... so far we have paid out over £40m in arrears."

"We will now be paying arrears to those affected... we will review these cases again."

Select Committee
Parliament

The Cabinet Secretary is the most senior civil servant in the UK, reporting directly to the prime minister.

Their role involves acting as a policy advisor to the prime minister, and as a secretary for the Cabinet.

Previous role holders include Gus O'Donnell (now Lord O'Donnell), who was in his post 2005-11, and previously by Sir Jeremy Heywood, who was appointed in January 2012.

Sir Mark Sedwill is the National Security Advisor, but has taken over Sir Jeremy Heywood, while he is undergoing treatment for cancer.

The Head of the Civil Service is responsible for around half a million civil servants who do everything from collecting tax to distributing benefits and put government policy into practice.

House of Commons
Parliament

DUP MP Ian Paisley is now making a statement to the House of Commons after being found to have breached parliamentary rules and failing to declare the details of two family holidays in 2013 paid for by the Sri Lankan government.

The MP for North Antrim faces a 30-day suspension.

He says "it is with profound personal regret and deep personal embarrassment" that he makes the statement, and that he had "no ulterior motive for that genuine mistake".

"I accept the report but do so regret its sanctions... I take my duties as a member of parliament seriously."

He apologises to his constituents and says that he hopes they will have confidence with him in future.

"In public life if you make mistakes they are amplified, and rightly so, that's the nature of the job all of us do and I understand that."

Select Committee
Parliament

Sir Bernard Jenkin , external(Chair) Conservative

Ronnie Cowan , externalScottish National Party

Paul Flynn , externalLabour

Mr Marcus Fysh , externalConservative

Dame Cheryl Gillan , externalConservative

Kelvin Hopkins , externalIndependent

Dr Rupa Huq , externalLabour

Mr David Jones , externalConservative

Sandy Martin , externalLabour

David Morris , externalConservative

Tulip Siddiq , externalLabour

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour MP Helen Hayes asks the Brexit secretary about the "hypothetical" situation where a campaign had "lied about its spending and broken UK law" in a referendum and what the consequences should be.

Mr Raab says any allegations need to be followed up by the relevant authorities.

He suggests the question is seeking to "discredit the outcome of the referendum, and I don't think that's going to work."

"The country voted to leave the EU, that's what we're going to do."

Select Committee
Parliament

Image source, Press Association

This session is all about the work of the Cabinet Secretary, who is currently Sir Mark Sedwill, external.

Alongside him, the other witness will be John Manzoni, external, Chief Executive of the Civil Service and Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office.

This is a time for MPs to question how the civil service is carrying out their day to day tasks and work tasked to them by government.

House of Commons
Parliament

Brexit ministers are now taking topical questions from MPs.

Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union Sir Keir Starmer suggests former Brexit Secretary David Davis had threatened yesterday to vote against the white paper, along with others in his party, and asks what evidence is there that there is enough support for the government to get its approach to a Brexit deal through the House.

Mr Raab says he should stop worrying about whipping government MPs and instead get behind the government's attempts to secure Brexit.

House of Commons
Parliament

SNP MP Martyn Day asks what contingency plans the department has made for no deal being reached on the UK leaving the EU.

Brexit Minister Chris Heaton-Harris says significant progress has been made in negotiations and that the government is confident of a deal being reached. However, as a "responsible" government they are preparing for all outcomes.

Asked about the stockpiling of food and medicines, Chris Heaton-Harris says some contingency plans have become evident and more will in the coming weeks. The government "plans are well developed and designed to respond to all scenarios".

SNP MP Alan Brown says a no deal would be financially catastrophic and suggests the government needs to focus more on getting a deal than preparing for failure.

Mr Heaton-Harris says the department is focused on getting a deal, and that a no deal situation would be far more catastrophic for the EU.

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour MP for Bedford Mohammad Yasin asks a question about the future of rights, standards and protections derived from the EU after Brexit.

Minister Robin Walker says "we won't engage a race to the bottom" in terms of rights.

In response to a follow up question on whether the UK will continue to participate in the Human Rights act, the minister simply replies, "yes".

House of Commons
Parliament

Conservative MP John Whittingdale asks Brexit ministers for an update on progress in negotiations with the EU on a withdrawal agreement.

Mr Raab says negotiations are ongoing and following the publishing of last week's white paper the government hopes for an "intensification" of negotiations.

Responding to a follow up question regarding the 'divorce' payments, Mr Raab says the withdrawal agreement must come alongside a framework for the future partnership and that "if one party does not meet its side of the bargain it would inevitably have consequences for the deal as a whole".

House of Commons
Parliament

In a follow up question, shadow Exiting the EU Minister Matthew Pennycook asks what advice the government is giving to financial service providers in the event of a no deal situation.

Mr Raab says that many banks feel they can handle the uncertainty and says his department has been preparing for a no deal situation for some time, with more details to come shortly.

Dominic Raab's arrival in Brussels coincides with an EU paper telling states to prepare for no deal.