Select Committee
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Mr Parish jumps in to say that many statutory instruments are non-amendable, but can be voted down.

Mr Gove points out that under EU law, these laws are non-amendable, but they cannot be voted down.

He adds that the bill is important, but it is not the only thing that will bind government on matters relating to farming.

Select Committee
Parliament

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Labour's Angela Smith says this bill introduces Henry VIII powers , externalfor ministers, and that the previous comparisons the witnesses gave to other agriculture bills are not relevant as they did not contain so many enabling powers.

Mr Eustice says that the majority of this bill is actually based on dealing with payments for those in agriculture, rather than the wider agriculture business.

Ms Smith says that the National Farmer's Union and other bodies are just asking for "certainty".

Farmers in the EU do not know what their CAP payments will be after 2020, Mr Gove says.

Ms Smith says this is a "nonsensical argument".

Mr Gove replies that it is not, as farmers are currently waiting to see what the future of CAP payments are in the EU.

Select Committee
Parliament

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Chair Neil Parish asks what the purpose of the bill is.

Michael Gove says the bill will allow a transfer of powers to come back to the UK. He says that while the UK was able to have a say in laws that governed it before, there were always compromises and agreements from the EU Council.

Mr Parish asks why there is a "great deal of flexibility" in the bill, giving the secretary of state extra powers.

George Eustice, Environment Minister, says that previous bills have allowed these kinds of powers in the area of agriculture.

Mr Parish asks how "bulletproof" the bill is to future tampering from other governments.

Mr Gove replies that all governments are subject to scrutiny, and the UK cannot guarantee what shape the Common Agricultural Policy will take in the EU in the future.

Select Committee
Parliament

• Michael Gove, external, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
• George Eustice, external, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

Select Committee
Parliament

Neil Parish, external (Chair) Conservative

Alan Brown, external Scottish National Party

Paul Flynn , externalLabour

John Grogan , externalLabour

Dr Caroline Johnson , externalConservative

Kerry McCarthy , externalLabour

Sandy Martin , externalLabour

Mrs Sheryll Murray , externalConservative

David Simpson , externalDemocratic Unionist Party

Angela Smith , externalLabour

Julian Sturdy , externalConservative

Select Committee
Parliament

The government has published a new Agriculture Bill for the farming sector after the UK leaves the EU.

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee is currently holding a short inquiry on the bill, looking at the scope, powers and provisions proposed within it. The committee is looking at the practical implications of what the government wants the bill to do.

The bill will continue agriculture payments to farmers who currently receive EU farming subsidies for an amount of time. The bill also seeks to introduce data collection on food sources, and allows powers to change retained EU law after the UK leaves the EU.

The bill also allows for the UK to reach World Trade Organization rules on agriculture.

Welcome to our coverage of another day in Westminster.

We're crossing over to the committee rooms soon - where we'll be following Environment Secretary Michael Gove's evidence to the select committee on the Agriculture Bill.

The immigration minister says a no-deal Brexit will present "an enormous challenge" to employers.

That's where we're leaving our coverage of the House of Commons and House of Lords.

Join us tomorrow for continued debate on the 2018 Budget - and Prime Minister's Questions at noon.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Concluding for the government, Financial Secretary to the Treasury Mel Stride says "this Budget is the start of a new era for this country".

He says the Budget offers "significant investment for our health service, for carers, for schools and our police".

And he says the government is listening to concerns, while being committed to giving children the greatest possible start in life.

"We know school budgets do not often stretch as far as we would like, that is why in this year's budget we have provided more.

"We showed the British people that their hard work has paid off...this Budget is a demonstration that we are coming out of austerity and into a brighter future."

The Budget debate adjourns for the day, to be continued tomorrow.

House of Lords
Parliament

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Wrapping up the second reading of the Northern Ireland Bill, Northern Ireland Minister Lord Duncan says "this is the last moment now that something can be done and this bill is vital".

"The spirit of cooperation needs to be there in this bill, without spirit you can't get the engine of this bill working," he says.

Lord Duncan says "an executive must be functioning and stable, or it is no use at all".

"There are wounds which cannot simply be healed by additional money in the Budget," he says, "but we hope this bill will create a window of opportunity for negotiations."

Lord Duncan says he wants to "reassure peers that civil servants will not be able to take bold decisions".

He says the civil service is not to be criticised as "they are doing a brilliant job".

Lord Duncan says the abortion amendment "was not sought by the government", but "has not come through my illegitimate means".

"It does not allow civil servants to upset the current law," he says, "it is not our desire to move into an area of conscience."

He says he hopes the legislation is able to move forwards without dividing the House.

The bill passes its second reading.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Wrapping up for the opposition, shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth says "we know austerity has not ended...because that is the headline" of former Conservative chancellor George Osborne's Evening Standard newspaper.

He says the health secretary "forgot to tell us what eight years of austerity has done for our NHS" in his speech, including 84,000 cancelled operations in the last year.

Spending readjustments do not add up to much, he says, as "there's no new money for this winter for the NHS, and health bosses are already warning of an even tougher winter".

He criticises the health secretary for suggesting staffing was his priority, as with 107,000 vacancies across the NHS, "training budgets were excluded" from the Budget yesterday. He says there is "no plan to increase staffing for the NHS".

He says the chancellor is claiming to give more to social care, but is actually cutting local council funding, with the money that was offered forcing councils to "choose between children for social care and adults for social care".

"The record will say yet again that you simply cannot trust the Tories with the NHS," he concludes.

House of Lords
Parliament

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Labour peer Lord Murphy of Torfaen says: "The opposition will not oppose this bill as it is important that civil servants are given more powers due to the current situation in Northern Ireland."

Lord Murphy says it's important that public appointments can be made, as they are currently frozen.

"We're not happy with the situation we're now in with regards to the lack of negotiations," Lord Murphy says, and adds that "the government have shown little urgency to solve the problem".

Lord Murphy says "the DUP and Sinn Fein's actions have both led to this" and calls for "greater acceptance and communication" between the two parties.

"The problem is we cannot legislate for trust, that is something for Sinn Fein and the DUP to sort out themselves."

He calls for a "greater sense of urgency" from the government, and calls for "the prime minister and first minister to take more responsibility over the talks".

"If this does not happen, we will be heading for direct rule," he says.

House of Lords
Parliament

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Crossbench peer Lord Kilclooney says "there is a great division between communities in Northern Ireland".

Lord Kilclooney says: "Restoration in Northern Ireland will not be resolved until after the election in the Republic of Ireland."

"This bill is an interim measure and I welcome it," he says.

On the abortion amendment, Lord Kilclooney says "on the rare occasion that Protestants and Catholics agree on something, the English want to ruin it."

"It would be wrong to impose English moral standards on the people of Northern Ireland," he says.

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour MP Alex Sobel says he expected the Budget to have delivered on improving air quality, but instead "this is a Budget of abject complacency in the face of climate catastrophe".

Air quality contributed to 40,000 deaths in the UK, he says, with air pollution costs expected to rise to £18.6bn by 2085.

"This is not cost effective...this is short sighted austerity politics yet again."

"When will the government wake and realise we are in the midst of an environment and public health crisis?" he asks.

House of Lords
Parliament

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The DUP's Lord Hay says the bill is "a poor substitute for democratically elected politicians in Northern Ireland".

"The bill is very limited in what it can actually do," he says. "It will not make civil servants true law makers."

Lord Hay says "it's difficult to see how the bill will solve some of the grave issues Northern Ireland now faces", and he draws attention to strains on the health service and schools lacking supplies.

"There needs to be real policy changes made by ministers," he says.

Lord Hay says the bill is "not ambitious enough" and that he wishes "the government had gone further".

House of Lords
Parliament

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Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Barker says she echoes Lord Hayward's speech.

"This amendment allows the courts to rule on the capacity of our laws with convention rights," she says.

Baroness Barker says: "The need for such an amendment is eminent."

She says this amendment was passed by a majority in the House of Commons by people "extremely committed" to devolution "because they never saw devolution as a reason to deviate from human rights".

"This amendment is needed because it will simply allow women in Northern Ireland to have their human rights taken into consideration more."

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Labour MP for Kingston Upon Hull West and Hessle, Emma Hardy, says "one child in three lives in poverty in my constituency", yet her constituency has been disproportionately affected by austerity.

"The budget for Hull has been hit by a third, compared to the national average of just over a quarter. Only one unitary authority has been hit harder than Hull."

Actions have consequences, she says, "and in this case, the government's inaction has a consequence".

"It is time for chancellor to think again, the cost of austerity is already too high."

House of Lords
Parliament

Image source, HoL

Conservative peer Lord Hayward says: "We must rock the boat because the issues of abortion and same-sex marriage change peoples lives on daily basis.

"We cannot just sit back, especially if we don't actually know when there will be an assembly or an executive."

Lord Hayward says alongside Labour MP Conor McGinn he is "drafting a private member's bill on this matter".

"It is about time the laws changed," he says. "It is not right that we can say to a person you can get married to a person of the same sex here, but cannot go back home to Northern Ireland."

"Passing clause 4 will have relatively little direct impact, but will have an impact in that it will show we still care and want equality to be achieved."

Lord Hayward says "it's not a question of human rights, it's our human duty to provide equality throughout the United Kingdom, and this must go further than this clause in the bill today."

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

SNP MP Alison Thewliss says the end of austerity cannot come soon enough, but the chancellor has "merely kicked the can down the road".

"Acknowledging that austerity should be over, but taking no measures to end it, is disappointing," she says.

She takes issue with the suggestion that the Budget was "for hard working people", rather than "strivers and skivers" - as many of those who have most felt the effects of austerity are disabled or unable to work, "people are feeling punished for being disabled".

"The government has to make a choice between this and big businesses and tax cuts, and their priorities have been made perfectly clear by this Budget," she concludes.