House of Commons
Parliament

Labour MP Marie Rimmer asks a question about prison officers now being given permission to carry pepper spray on their belts.

Under new plans, prison officers in England and Wales are to be given synthetic pepper spray to help deal with disorder and violence.

Prisons Minister Rory Stewart says that this move gives more protection to prison officers, but is only to be used as a last resort in an emergency situation.

The scheme has been trialled in four jails - Hull, Preston, Risley in Warrington, and Wealstun in North Yorkshire, and after a successful six month trial, pepper spray will be carried by officers in all publicly-run prisons for men from 2019.

House of Lords
Parliament

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Oral questions end, with Lib Dem Baroness Northover now asking what assessment that government has made of media reports of the disappearance and possible murder of the Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey.

Foreign Office spokesperson Baroness Goldie says the government is "very concerned" by the reports, with Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt conveying this to the Saudi Arabian ambassador earlier today.

"We call on the government of Saudi Arabia to support a thorough investigation of Mr Khashoggi's disappearance."

Baroness Northover says the government has "rightly responded very strongly" to Russia's recent actions, stating the reports about Jamal Khashoggi raise "equally important issues." She asks what action will be taken if "no satisfactory assurances are received" from Saudi Arabia.

"We would be very concerned if the allegations were to be substantiated," Baroness Goldie says.

"Friendships depend on shared values and respect for these values."

Labour's spokesman, Lord Collins of Highbury, points to Saudi Arabia's track record on repression and says: "The Opposition condemns it absolutely, and I do hope the minister will today on behalf of the government condemn this outrageous act."

House of Commons
Parliament

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Shadow justice minister Gloria De Piero draws MPs' attention to a story in the Guardian newspaper today, involving a husband who attempted to murder his wife, who is now trying to obtain more than £60,000 from the sale of the family home.

She says there should be an effective ban on those convicted of murdering or attempting to murder their partners from recovering joint assets in probate and family court hearings, and asks for the justice minister to meet her to discuss the issue further.

Justice Minister Lucy Frazer says she will gladly meet the shadow justice minister, and notes that the law needs review.

House of Commons
Parliament

Conservative MP Robert Halfon asks what discussions the justice secretary has had with the secretary of state for education on breaking the link between school exclusion and prison.

David Gauke says he has not personally met but has corresponded with the minister for schools. He says they have been "engaged around an exclusions review".

SNP MP Carole Monaghan says Scotland has led the way in showing how vulnerable people can be protected to ensure that they do not fall through the trap of school exclusion to prisons.

David Gauke says they are looking closely into this and are examining the work done in Scotland on this issue.

House of Lords
Parliament

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Labour's Lord Morris of Aberavon asks what is being done to ensure the NHS receives adequate funding to provide treatment to those with Type 2 diabetes and to manage their increased risk of developing cancer.

The Earl of Courtown returns to the despatch box, stating that "it is for local organisations and commissioned services to meet the healthcare needs of their populations".

He says funding has been made available through to 2020-21 and the government expects this to be spent in line with national health priorities, including on diabetes care.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Plaid Cymru MP Liz Saville Roberts asks what comparative assessment has been made of the levels of violence in public and private prisons.

The justice secretary says the issues of drugs and mobile phones getting in to prisons has aided the increase in violence. He says that the government is investing in more body scanners for prisons to ensure that these items are not able to get in.

Ms Saville Roberts asks whether the minister will commit to a monitoring of violence in private prisons in particular where the levels of violence are often extreme.

The justice secretary says "there are issues with violence in both private and public sector prisons", but that having a diverse mix of both of these is effective.

Richard Burgon, shadow justice secretary, asks Prisons Minister Rory Stewart if he will resign if the worst 15 performing prisons in the UK are not improved in the immediate future. He says the government should not just be focusing on ten prisons.

Rory Stewart says he is "doing his job" to ensure that all prisons are improved where needed.

House of Lords
Parliament

Baroness Neville-Rolfe asks about the proportion of goods sorted for recycling by households in England that eventually end up in landfill.

Responding to the Conservative peer, DEFRA's Lord Gardiner of Kimble says that in 2016-17 English local authorities collected 11.1 million tonnes of waste for recycling, around 90% of which was from households. He says 1.3% of this ended up in landfill, adding that the government will soon publish plans to boost recycling.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe says the figure given is "encouraging", but says the government should also be concerned about how much recycling from England ends up in landfill overseas.

A number of peers ask about the possibility of a national scheme for recycling, rather than being left to different local authorities - Lord Gardiner says that "this is a government that believes in localism".

Select Committee
Parliament

We'll be leaving our coverage of the Home Affairs Committee on this page for the time being.

If you want to continue following it, you can do using the links at the top of the page to watch the live video stream.

We're going to be posting updates on the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee on high streets and town centres in 2030 from around 3:30pm.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Labour MP Christopher Elmore asks what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of sentences of less than three months in reducing reoffending. He notes that the use of community sentences has declined in recent years.

Justice Secretary David Gauke says in many cases prison isn't the right place for offenders involved in drug related crimes, and that community sentences should be explored more. He says there are encouraging pilots ongoing into effective community treatments.

Labour MP Vicky Foxcroft says the government must recognise the importance of early intervention and that there is a high correlation between short prison sentences and reoffending.

The justice secretary says "for some people, prison is the right place, but for many it is not", he notes that the strategy needs to be worked on across the parties.

Conservative MP Philip Hollobone suggests that offenders should spend more time fulfilling manual labour jobs while in prison.

The justice secretary says "people are sent to prison as punishment, not for punishment."

Select Committee
Parliament

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Labour's Kate Green says that even where low skilled workers come to the UK and perform low wage jobs, those workers are meeting a need. She asks if the MAC is confident that this kind of work will be able to attract the people it needs.

Professor Manning says that 3% of migrants work in social care, for instance, but migrants don't find this kind of work attractive.

He says Canada used to have a live-in carers visa, and after a decade only 10% of those who originally came to the country on that visa were still living and working in Canada.

Ms Green asks why the MAC has ruled out a special scheme for social care.

Professor Manning says that such schemes are often used for cover and not to solve the underlying problems.

House of Lords
Parliament

Labour peer Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale asks the second oral question in the Lords, regarding the government's review of progress in achieving the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, which is due to be presented to the United Nations in September 2019.

International Development Minister Lord Bates says preparations are under way for the review, with a website launched yesterday setting out plans and requesting input from people and organisations from across the UK.

Lord McConnell stresses the need for more action on disaster resilience - which he says were a key focus of the goals - and references the recent tsunami in Indonesia, stating that it's vital that the UK works with countries affected to help them prepare better for such events, as well as supporting them after disasters.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Labour MP Alex Cunningham asks the justice secretary if he will take steps to return all probation services to the public sector.

Prisons Minister Rory Stewart says this is not an ideological divide between the public and private sector, but they are looking at different relationships. He says the public sector focus on the highest risk prisons, and private sector focus on the lowest risk prisons is delivering innovation across the country.

Conservative MP Robert Courts asks what guarantees can be provided that these private companies are working.

The prisons minister says private companies are being monitored closely, but there is still more to do to ensure the services they provide are sufficient.

House of Lords
Parliament

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The Lords begin their week, with Labour peer Lord Jordan asking a question about the implementation of the forthcoming National Accident Prevention Strategy - which seeks reduce the number of accidents.

The Earl of Courtown says the government will carefully consider the report on the strategy by National Accident Prevention Strategy Advisory Group.

Lord Jordan says there has been an increase in deaths through accidents in recent years, and asks whether the strategy will be linked to the NHS 10 year plan.

The government spokesman says no decisions on how additional funding that has been announced will be spent have yet been made.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Conservative MP Stephen Crabb asks what steps the government is taking to help offenders find employment immediately after they leave prison.

Justice Secretary David Gauke says the prison education employment strategy introduced in May will help prisoners to find work as soon as possible after their release.

Conservative MP James Heappey suggests there is an issue with prisoners not having bank accounts on their release from prison.

The justice secretary says this is a matter that needs considering, and provisions are in place to ensure that prisoners can set up bank accounts in the final six months of their sentence.

Select Committee
Parliament

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Conservative Tim Loughton says he doesn't understand why it would be difficult to remove students from the net migration target of under 100,000 per year, as the MAC says.

Professor Manning says there is a "reasonable measure" of when students leave, arrive, and transition from a student to a non-student. He says this is "technically difficult".

He adds that it makes "almost no difference" to the net migration target if students are excluded.

Madeleine Sumption says that the net migration target is based on the International Passenger Survey, which she says does not accurately measure students. She says it would be "almost guaranteed" to produce a figure which would be "nonsense" and "wrong".

The net migration target was introduced in 2010 by then Home Secretary Theresa May. It was an aim for the government to have migration to the UK under 100,000 per year. There have been calls to have international students removed from the net migration target, as many are short term residents in the UK during their studies only.

House of Commons
Parliament

The sitting begins with the Speaker John Bercow expressing his gratitude to the actions of PC Keith Palmer last year during the Westminster terror attack following the conclusion of the inquest this week.

The first question is asked by Labour MP Yvonne Fovargue who asks what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the regulation of bailiffs.

Justice Minister Lucy Frazer says in some areas bailiffs are not operating as they should and this is being dealt with, but reminds the MP that not all bailiffs are acting inappropriately.

Yvonne Fovargue says this industry needs more regulation, as one person had an issue with bailiffs every three minutes last year. She calls for an independent body to police the situation properly.

Select Committee
Parliament

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Yvette Cooper says "it is fair to assume" that the MAC did not consider all policy options for immigration after Brexit.

Professor Manning rejects this, and says it is "not fair" to look at the report like that. He says the report looks at "one scenario" and the evidence on it.

Madeleine Sumption, of Oxford University, says the big challenge is the emergency brake on immigration.

She says the policy can become "symbolic" and barely ever used, or it becomes "damaging economically" if it is used regularly.

Select Committee
Parliament

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Committee Chair Yvette Cooper asks what the impacts will be on the UK labour market if the country were to follow the advice of the Migration Advisory Committee on Brexit, external.

Professor Alan Manning, of the Migration Advisory Committee says that, in many cases, immigration to the UK is not controlled by the UK itself, rather it is problems or opportunities in another country.

Ms Cooper says that Guy Verhofstadt, the EU Parliament's Brexit negotiator, that any EU trade deal will include some kind of agreement on migration. She asks why the MAC is not considering that this will be included in trade discussions.

Professor Manning says that most of the discussion hasn't been about migration, it is more about the Single Market and Customs Union. He says it is "too messy" to consider these extra scenarios.

House of Lords
Parliament

The main focus for the House of Lords today is the second reading of the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Bill, external, which passed through the Commons shortly before the break for conference.

Coming before then, however, there are oral questions on the implementation of the National Accident Prevention Strategy and the government's review of progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals. That's followed by further questions on recycling in England and NHS diabetes funding.

Liberal Democrat Baroness Northover will then ask a Private Notice Question regarding the disappearance and possible murder of the Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey, before peers move onto the day's legislation.

Business begins from 2.30pm.