House of Lords
Parliament

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Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Tyler raises her amendment regarding who can be deemed qualified to determine if an individual is of sound mind.

She notes the bill currently says "a medical assessment has to be made", but does not say who can make it.

Baroness Tyler calls for it to be made clear in the bill that only a medical practitioner can carry out mental capacity assessments and determine an outcome.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Shadow minister Steve Reed says loneliness "can affect all of us...and can have a devastating effect on mental and physical health."

He echoes others in paying tribute to Jo Cox, who set up the Loneliness Commission before she was killed, and pays tribute to MPs Seema Kennedy and Rachel Reeves, who have continued her work on the issue since.

He says the government has a vital role to play in beating loneliness, but warns that "too often we see government ignores the impact of decisions that they take on people experiencing loneliness and those organisations best placed to tackle it."

"We have to change that approach if we're going to see the progress we want to make in tackling loneliness."

He points to cuts in local council funding, which have led to "countless" places that have a role to play in tackling loneliness being closed. He adds that a lot of the voluntary sector will also lose funding after Brexit.

He says the opposition welcome the Loneliness Strategy, but warns that that unless cuts are stopped the progress it aims to make will not be possible.

Westminster Hall

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Labour spokesperson Luke Pollard says horse racing makes an important contribution to the economy, providing around 85,000 jobs as well as entertainment.

He says horse riding is "extremely" dangerous for both jockey and horses. He adds it is the duty of parliamentarians to give animals a voice.

He says "every horse matters" and that the government should be "bold, ambitious and demanding" over animal welfare.

Mr Pollard says there needs to be an "integrated welfare component" to all sports.

He says the British Horseracing Authority understands the challenges and has implemented a high standard of care.

He asks if improvement could be faster.

Luke Pollard says animals should not suffer for human entertainment and calls for an animal welfare commissioner.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Speaker John Bercow pays tribute to murdered MP Jo Cox and her family, some of whom are watching from the public gallery ahead of the statement on the Loneliness Strategy, external, telling them "we are proud to see you".

Sport and Civil Society Minister Tracey Crouch then gives a statement on the strategy, tearfully telling MPs "this is actually a really emotional statement to make. I'm standing here with a clean line of sight to the coat of arms representing our colleague who took this issue of loneliness and catapulted it the stratosphere."

"I've dedicated a short nine months to developing this strategy, but Jo Cox dedicated her whole life to tackling loneliness.

"This strategy, which bears her photo - a copy of which I've kept aside for her children - is dedicated to her and I hope she would be proud."

She tells MPs that the UK's work on tackling loneliness has gained global attention, "loneliness is recognised as one of the most pressing public health issues we face across the world," comparing the risks to that of smoking.

Between 5% and 18% of adults are often lonely she says, and the strategy is "a powerful vision for a more socially connected society".

Westminster Hall

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The SNP's Lisa Cameron says the public is "showing great concern" about horse welfare. She adds the UK should be a leader in this field.

The MP says she is not against horse racing, but believes welfare should be at its heart. She calls for more transparency from the British Horseracing Authority, adding that there is a conflict of interest.

She says that improved welfare standards will ensure the sport continues.

House of Lords
Parliament

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The Lords resume committee stage consideration of the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill.

Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Barker asks for the term "cared for person" in the bill to be changed to "P" for person, implying that they are still regarded as a full individual.

Crossbench peer Baroness Finlay, a medical professional, says that all assessment results should be written down so there is a clear baseline against which changes can be measured.

"This would allow care to be made more personalised," she says.

Crossbench peer and professor of learning disability Baroness Hollins puts forward her amendment, which would see individuals allowed to access their own mental capacity assessment forms.

Labour peer Lord Touhig says he cannot recall a time in the chamber when he has felt "such despair" over a bill in its current form.

"This legislation removes so many of the basic human rights of individuals," he says.

House of Commons
Parliament

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SNP environment spokesman John McNally says he "agrees wholeheartedly" that profound changes are needed.

However, he asks: "what is the point in the government launching Green GB Week at the same time as prioritising nuclear over renewables and dragging its feet on climate emissions reduction?"

He says actions speak louder than words, and calls for the UK government to follow the Scottish government's policies on climate change reduction.

The minister agrees that "we do have to work together", but says much of the work done by the Scottish government has been as a result of policies and funding introduced by the UK government.

Westminster Hall

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Labour MP Chris Williamson says there are constituent concerns about horse welfare and describes the Grand National as "gruelling".

He calls the use of a whip "barbaric" and the regulator "useless".

He challenges Mr Davies, who says the whip does not hurt, to allow him to use the whip on the Conservative MP.

Philip Davies intervenes and tells the Labour MP he does not understand horse racing.

Mr Williamson asks why anyone would have a problem with an independent body for animal welfare.

He calls for an independent body dedicated to end the "tide of death and abuse", but not an end to the sport. He says it is "overdue".

House of Commons
Parliament

In response, Energy Minister Claire Perry says Labour is making "the fundamental mistake" of "confusing government spending with results."

She says the government has seen a "dramatic fall in the price of renewable energy", meaning there is no longer a need to "make enormous subsidies with other people's money".

She says fracking creates jobs, and the government's Committee on Climate Change says it is "entirely consistent with our measures".

She adds that although some opposition MPs would "love us to be sending more hard currency to Russia", it "seems crazy" not to explore how to exploit a "resource beneath our feet".

House of Commons
Parliament

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Shadow energy secretary Rebecca Long Bailey says she is pleased that the minister has sought advice about setting a date for achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions.

However, she adds that government policy is "demonstrably incompatible" with the goal, with a "dramatic and worrying collapse" in levels of investment in green energy.

The industry, she says, risks "almost total collapse".

She adds that ministers have pursued fracking "at any cost", warning that shale gas would be "displacing genuinely low-carbon energy".

The government, she says, doesn't expect to "actually implement any real measures needed to avert dangerous climate change".

Westminster Hall

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Conservative MP Philip Davies commends the British Horseracing Authority on horse welfare.

The former horse owner says promoting the sport and animal welfare "go hand in hand", and that horses love jumping.

He adds that a horse weighs half a tonne and a jockey cannot force a horse to do something it does not want to do.

He describes the horses as "intelligent" and says they are at the racecourse of their own "volition".

He says the authority put animal welfare at the "heart" of what they do. He adds that the industry is the "best in the world" but "accidents happen" to horses.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Energy Minister Claire Perry is now making a statement on Green GB Week, external, a week of activities to "celebrate clean growth" in the economy, beginning today.

She tells MPs that last week's report from UN climate scientists, which called for drastic action to limit global warming, was "sobering", and "profound changes" need to be made.

She says she has sought advice on how the UK could meet a net zero target for greenhouse gas emissions, and whether "this is the right time" to do so.

She says that the UK is "one of the greenest" nations in the world...but adds: "we cannot be complacent."

House of Lords
Parliament

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Lords leader Baroness Evans is now reading Theresa May's Brexit statement made in the Commons earlier this afternoon.

In response, leader of the opposition Baroness Smith says time is running out "for both the prime minister and for the government to get Brexit right for the people of Britain".

Lord Newby, who leads the Liberal Democrats in the Lords, says the implication of the statement is that the UK is waiting for the EU to resolve the issue of the backstop to avoid a hard Irish border.

"It's hardly surprising that there are struggles, and it is only the splits in the Conservative party which have made this statement today necessary," he says.

Westminster Hall

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Labour MP Rachael Maskell says she visited a racecourse in her constituency at the weekend, and paid particular attention to the "welfare" of horses.

Ms Maskell says she saw new showers and a new hospital for horses on the site in York. She also spoke with vets and was "reassured".

However, she adds that twelve horses have died in seven years, despite flat racing in York.

She says the deaths are to "feed a gambling industry" and calls for more research. A new independent authority investigating horse injuries would be "invaluable", she tells MPs.

Vicki Young
Chief Political Correspondent

BBC Vicki Young says the PM has little room to manoeuvre, with the DUP threatening to bring down the government and Cabinet ministers considering their position.

"The only thing we can say about the arithmetic is that there are hundreds of MPs who do not want a no deal," she says.

And then we don't know where we are at that point, she says, if the PM's deal does not get voted through by MPs.

Vicki Young says it's hard to see what the government's strategy will be going into the EU summit.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Conservative Brexiteer Simon Clarke says the PM "has failed to reassure the House that we will definitely be able to leave the backstop by 31 December 2020".

"She continues to argue for a common rulebook that many of us on this benches will not be able to support."

He calls for her to change policy towards "a Super Canada Policy...before it is too late."

Theresa May says one area where discussions are on-going is the temporary nature of the backstop, and ensuring it is only temporary. She adds that there would be a parliamentary lock on any common rulebook, and "these are rules that our manufacturers tell us they would apply in any case."

She says the only offer the European Union made similar to the Canada agreement was one that would "essentially carve Northern Ireland away from the United Kingdom".

The government has pulled the rest of government business today in the House of Commons.

MPs had been expected to discuss the Offensive Weapons Act this evening.

The DUP had abstained on the bill last week and there was speculation of a government rebellion on a vote today.

House of Lords
Parliament

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Shadow minister for health Baroness Thornton says "there is a misconception that all individual care homes already have their own mental capacity assessment forms", and notes "this is simply not the case, which reflects the importance of this bill."

She says the bill is "crucial to society" as it "cuts across health, justice and liberty".

"We may increase the bureaucracy and delays in this system if we don't get the pre-assessment right, and more emphasis needs to be placed on this," she says.

In response, Health Minister Lord O'Shaughnessy says care home managers "will not be responsible for filling out this forms" as those who fill out mental capacity assessment forms "must also be medical practitioners".

He says in terms of safeguarding, forms may not be filled out by someone involved in the day to day care of a specific individual.

Westminster Hall

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Conservative MP Laurence Robertson says Cheltenham Racecourse in his constituency is one of the "greatest" in the world.

Mr Robertson says he is an "animal lover" and says he wants to build on the welfare of horses during and after their careers.

He says the British Horseracing Authority is doing "a good and improving job" of looking after the welfare of horses. He adds they are independent of racecourses.

Mr Robertson says racing captures the interests of people across the world and contributes around £3.5bn to the economy. He adds the industry does "a lot" for rural areas.

He is not convinced by the argument for another body and says there are too many bodies already in racing.