House of Lords
Parliament

Conservative peer Lord Forsyth asks the minister to confirm that the documents released by the Bank of England (BoE) yesterday "are not forecasts".

Instead, he says they are "scenarios" that the BoE uses to make sure banks have enough capital to withstand "extreme conditions".

In reply, Lord Bates says he agrees the analysis should be "placed in the wider debate" and not "taken out of context".

A transition period is needed to adapt to the departure from the EU, the Bank of England governor says.

House of Lords
Parliament

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Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Kramer says the analysis shows that by 2023, the UK's GDP will be nearly 4% below the pre-referendum trends.

She calls for the government to "admit to the public" that "this deal does not just leave the whole country marginally poorer, but significantly poorer."

Labour peer Lord Davies of Oldham says industry will not recover from "the catastrophic results of a no-deal Brexit, but also from the harmful results of this government's deal."

Lord Bates says the Bank of England has to prepare for the worst case scenarios to ensure that the country will be financially stable.

Tory peer Lord Lilley says the report assumes that imports into the country will decline by 15% because of "additional customs checks" which will only apply to 1% of goods.

"There will be no additional checks, because there will be no additional risk attached to imports into this country," he adds.

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Next up in the Lords, there's a private notice question - the equivalent of an urgent question - on yesterday's Bank of England analysis of the government's Brexit deal.

The Bank said a no-deal Brexit could send the pound plunging and trigger a worse recession than the financial crisis.

International Development Minister Lord Bates says the analysis shows an economic partnership with the EU "similar to the government's deal" would allow the economy to improve over the next five years.

"Over the long term, our economy will remain fundamentally strong," he adds.

House of Lords
Parliament

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Labour peer Lord Hunt of King's Heath asks about improving early diagnosis and survival rates for cancer.

Health Minister Lord O'Shaughnessy says the government is rolling out a new plan nationally, aiming to ensure three quarters of cancers are detected at an early stage by 2028.

Lord Hunt says he welcomes the targets, but "early diagnosis rates have been static for the last two years".

Lord O'Shaughnessy says early detection rates have improved in the last year, but "we do still lag behind our continental neighbours, as we have done for decades".

House of Commons
Parliament

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SNP spokesman Pete Wishart says the Brexit deal has already "squawked its last squawk".

He says he's pleased to see ministers have accepted the recommendation from the Procedure Committee that before they vote on the government's motion to approve the Brexit deal, MPs should vote on amendments to the motion first.

He asks Andrea Leadsom to confirm this means MPs won't be making a "binary choice" between accepting the deal or leaving the EU without one altogether.

Mrs Leadsom says the deal is the only one on offer and is therefore worth serious consideration by MPs.

The UK will be well served by the deal, she says, it's the only one available and parliamentarians need to get behind it.

House of Lords
Parliament

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Labour peer Baroness Jones of Whitchurch asks whether the government's 25-year environment plan, external will be underpinned by legally binding targets.

Environment Minister Lord Gardiner of Kimble says an "ambitious environment plan bill" will be brought forward early in the next parliamentary year.

Green peer Baroness Jones says "legally binding targets are pointless if there is no body to hold public and private organisations to account."

Lord Gardiner of Kimble replies: "All I can say is these are issues which will be brought forward in proposals as soon as possible".

House of Lords
Parliament

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The next question is from Labour peer Lord Collins of Highbury, on government support for the global fight against tuberculosis (TB).

His question notes that TB is the leading cause of death globally among people living with HIV.

International Development Minister Lord Bates says the UK is "a global leader" in the fight against HIV.

He adds that it is the second-largest contributor to the global fund which provides assistance for those living with TB and HIV.

But Lord Collins says "there is still a large funding gap" and calls for the Department of International Trade to "step up to the plate".

House of Lords
Parliament

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The first question today is from Labour peer Lord Cashman, on reports from the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV that people are being turned away from sexual health services.

Health Minister Lord O'Shaughnessy says health services have increased to meet growing demands, with investment in sexual health services having increased by 13% from 2013 to 2017.

Lord Cashman says local authorities have "disproportionately cut sexual health services due to their drastic funding cuts from central government".

Lord O'Shaughnessy says local authorities are "providing sufficient services" and there is "cause for optimism, as teenage pregnancy rates are down".

House of Commons
Parliament

The debate on the Brexit legal advice comes to an end, and Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom is now outlining future business in the House of Commons.

She confirms to MPs the debate on the government's Brexit deal will begin next Tuesday, and last for five sitting days with the vote on the 11th December.

Labour's Valarie Vaz says the runup to the debate has been "chaos", and asks for clarification about how voting on the deal and amendments to the deal will work.

Mrs Leadsom confirms that MPs will vote on amendments to the deal first before taking the full vote, as recommended by the Procedure Committee.

House of Commons
Parliament

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DUP Westminster Nigel Dodds says ministers are simply repeating the offer that was made, and rejected, during the debate on the motion earlier this month.

The DUP supported that motion - despite its confidence-and-supply voting deal with the government.

He asks why the solicitor general and the government don't listen, and what ministers have to hide.

Robert Buckland says MPs will be able to ask the attorney general questions when he gives the statement on legal advice next week.

"This is not an instance where the government seeks to delay or hide", he insists.

House of Commons
Parliament

Lib Dem Brexit spokesman Tom Brake - who is also a member of the House of Commons Commission - says a majority of MPs would argue that the government's response shows contempt of a parliament.

Would the government fight any contempt proceedings, he asks?

He says the action leaves MPs with a "sneaking suspicion" that the government will "play fast and loose" with normal procedures.

In reply, Robert Buckland says he won't comment on something that may not happen.

He says the action is "no snub" to Parliament, and to suggest otherwise detracts from the real issues.

House of Commons
Parliament

In response to a question from Conservative MP Sir Desmond Swayne, Solicitor General Robert Buckland says the decision for MPs on the Brexit deal is "ultimately political".

To dress it up as a issue of legalese and legal matters "does not help anyone", he says.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer says the minister's response is "not good enough".

"Nobody could be under any doubt about what the House was asking for", he says.

He adds that Parliament's motion earlier this month required the publication of "full legal advice on the withdrawal agreement", not just a summary of it.

"That was offered and rejected", he says - adding that to continue to offer it shows contempt for Parliament.

Robert Buckland replies that Sir Keir's request is "wholy premature", and the attorney general will come to the Commons, will make a statement, and will answer questions from MPs.

House of Lords
Parliament

Business will shortly be getting underway in the House of Lords.

First up, peers are going to be questioning ministers about sexual health services, tackling tuberculosis, the government’s environment plan and cancer survival rates.

This afternoon they will be debating school funding and ways to tackle violent crime.

Select Committee
Parliament

The session ends, with chair Sarah Wollaston thanking the PM for her time and saying she hopes the committee can hear from her again soon "should the vote not pass and we are in uncharted waters".

Mrs May leaves, saying she thinks there are "arrangements for the number of times I come to the committee in any year".

She is now heading off to get a flight to Buenos Aries for the G20 summit.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Solicitor General Robert Buckland says the government will publish a "full reasoned statement" on the legal advice, setting out legal basis of the withdrawal agreement.

This will be in addition to information already published, he says.

He adds that the attorney general will make a statement on the effect of the agreement on Monday, and take questions from MPs.

House of Commons
Parliament

Environment questions finish, and MPs have turned their attention to Labour's urgent question on the legal advice on the Brexit deal given to the government by the attorney general.

Earlier this month, Labour used a parliamentary procedure - known as a humble address - to try to force the government to publish the full legal advice given to the government regarding Brexit.

An offer from the government to publish "detailed legal analysis of the meaning and implications of the agreement", was rejected by MPs.

Labour went on to win the vote with the support of the Democratic Unionist party (DUP), as Conservative MPs abstained to avoid defeat.

Theresa May said yesterday during PMQs that MPs would be able to see a "full reasoned position statement" on the advice.

But she added: "As regards publication of the full legal advice, the advice any client receives from their lawyer is privileged, that's the same for government".

Select Committee
Parliament

There's some disagreement between the PM and her party colleague Sarah Wollaston over the merits of a further EU referendum.

Dr Wollaston likens going ahead with Brexit to "wheeling someone into the operating theatre based on a consent form they signed two years ago, without knowing what the operation was".

Theresa May says that in the event of another vote, "we would simply find ourselves in a period of more uncertainty and more division".

She adds that it is "time for this country to come back together and to look to our future outside the European Union".