Select Committee
Parliament

Tory MP Sir Bernard Jenkin, asks what the significance is of Theresa May's signature being on the current version of the EU withdrawal agreement.

He asks if Mrs May is working without Parliament's approval to sign the deal.

Sir Mark Sedwill says that many international agreements are signed before being ratified later.

"It has no formal legal status until ratified," he adds.

He uses the example of climate change treaties, which are often signed by leaders before being approved by parliaments.

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SNP MP Pete Wishart says following last night's confidence vote Theresa May is now a "lame duck prime minister".

"Her ability to lead is in shatters, her credibility gone forever," he adds.

He calls for a motion of confidence in the government next week - adding that if Labour does not table this, then other opposition parties will do so.

He also says MPs should get to vote on the Brexit deal on the week beginning January 7th at the latest.

Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom replies: "this side of the house does have confidence in the prime minister", adding that Theresa May won by a "significant majority".

Select Committee
Parliament

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Tory MP Dame Cheryl Gillan asks which departments are best prepared for Brexit.

John Manzoni says there are some departments which are "more affected" than others.

He says that the Environment Department has had "90%" of its work has been affected.

The Home Office, HMRC, Business and Transport departments are also heavily impacted, he adds.

Dame Cheryl asks how prepared the devolved nations are.

Mr Manzoni says that the government has set up "various fora" to make sure that Westminster is notifying the devolved administrations of Brexit-related changes.

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Former work and pensions minister Esther McVey, who resigned over the Brexit deal, asks for a statement next week on preparations for leaving the EU without a deal.

She asks if this could be followed by weekly statements as exit day draws closer.

The government has been "very shy" in setting out what it's been doing, she suggests.

Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom says ministers are doing "everything we need to do for every outcome", with no deal preparation "well advanced".

She repeats that the government does not intend to leave the EU without a deal.

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Parliament

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In response to Valerie Vaz's question about a new date for the vote on the Brexit deal, Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom says the Commons will hold the vote by 21 January at the latest.

The delay is because the prime minister is listening to MPs' concerns, she says.

She adds that Theresa May is seeking "not just reassurances, but legally binding reassurances" on the backstop plan for avoiding a hard Irish border.

In response to Ms Vaz's question about the immigration white paper, she says this will now be published next week, "before Christmas".

This will be "shortly followed" by the immigration bill itself, she adds.

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Parliament

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Shadow Commons leader Valerie Vaz says there was no mention in the business statement of when MPs will get to vote on the government's Brexit deal.

"The government's mantra is nothing is agreed until everything is agreed, it should now be nothing is agreed - ever," she quips.

Ms Vaz asks whether the previous debate on the Brexit deal will be continued, or whether there will be a debate on the new deal if changes are made.

She calls on Andrea Leadsom to say next Monday when the vote will take place.

House of Commons
Parliament

Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom says she is "happy to spread some festive cheer" this morning by announcing that the new edition of Erskine May, the guide to parliamentary practice and procedure, will be available for free online.

Questions to the Attorney General come to an end.

Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom has now joined MPs to announce the future timetable for business in the House of Commons.

This announcement, which normally takes place on Thursday mornings, is known as the ‘business statement’.

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Attorney General Geoffrey Cox has also been asked about this week's ruling by the EU's top court that the UK can cancel Brexit without the permission of the other 27 EU members.

Mr Cox replies that the ruling "clarifies a question of EU law", but does not "in any way" change the government's policy to not revoke its Article 50 notice.

"We intend to leave the EU on the 29th of March", he says.

The SNP's Alison Thewliss asks whether new legislation would be required to revoke Article 50.

Mr Cox says this is "under review", but the issue is not being considered at any length as there's no intention to cancel Brexit.

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Parliament

Attorney General Geoffrey Cox says making government lawyers disclose their legal advice could have a "corrosive effect".

He says the risk that legal advice could be published may mean that the attorney general will not be able to give "frank and full advice" to the cabinet or prime minister.

Labour MP Helen Goodman says it is "credible" that Geoffrey Cox has given the "final" legal advice "but it is not credible that it is the full advice."

But Mr Cox replies that the legal advice he issued last week "was not summarised".

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Labour MP Lyn Brown asks if Attorney General Geoffrey Cox is "ashamed" that government ministers were found to be in contempt by Parliament last week.

Ministers eventually published the government's full legal advice on the Brexit deal after MPs found them in contempt for only issuing a summary.

Attorney General Geoffrey Cox says it is "always a serious matter for any minister to find themselves at odds with this House".

He says that successive governments - including Labour governments - have defended the principle that government legal advice is not normally published.

He asks MPs to "look again" at the procedures relating to the original motion by which they called on ministers to publish the advice last month.

Select Committee
Parliament

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Suspended Labour MP Kelvin Hopkins asks how well the civil service is prepared for a no-deal Brexit.

Sir Mark says he believes the civil service is "reasonably well prepared" for this possibility.

He says that, for example, that HMRC has started contacting businesses which only trade with the EU on changes that could come in to effect on 29th March next year.

John Manzoni says "we've been at this for a while" and "a lot of resources have been poured into this issue".

The civil service has hired around 10,000 people so far and another 5,000 are to come, he says.

"The civil service has been working remarkably quickly, and under the circumstances remarkably well" for the possibility of a no-deal Brexit, he adds.

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That concludes questions to digital, culture, media and sport ministers.

Attorney General Geoffrey Cox will now take questions from MPs as part of a scheduled session.

House of Commons
Parliament

Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright says he is pleased to announce today that the Black Cultural Archives will be given a £200,000 cash boost "to help secure its immediate future".

The Archives collect and preserve items about the history of African and Caribbean people in Britain.

Mr Wright says the government is continuing to work with Lambeth Council and others to ensure there is a sustainable and long-term funding strategy for the Archives.

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Parliament

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Labour MP Diana Johnson asks what recent discussions Jeremy Wright has had with the BBC on the future of free TV licences for people over the age of 75.

Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright says a decision will be made by the BBC in June as to whether TV licenses will remain free, but says he expects the BBC to continue the policy.

Shadow culture secretary Tom Watson says the campaign to end loneliness found that four in ten older people thought that television was their only form of company.

He asks if ministers are pressing the BBC to ensure that free license fees for the over-75s is not linked to pension credit, which he describes as a "pending policy disaster".

Mr Watson asks Mr Wright to admit that the government has broken a manifesto pledge, adding that the BBC should "consider the right way forwards" as "no decision has been made yet".

Select Committee
Parliament

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Conservative Dame Cheryl Gillan says "one of the problems" is the differences between "leaders and elected politicians".

Sir Mark Sedwill says it is important that "rising stars" in the civil service get access to "ministerial private office".

Civil service chief executive John Manzoni adds that it is important that the civil service properly trains new recruits in how to work with ministers.

Schemes which allow civil servants to see different areas of the service is also a "good idea", he says.

Select Committee
Parliament

Sir Bernard Jenkin asks to what extent the civil service should be able to defend itself from attacks on its impartiality.

Sir Mark says the civil service "must be held accountable for our performance" but the "correct way to do it is through sessions like this".

He says he wrote a letter on the matter in The Times, external, something supported by the prime minister, due to anonymous "sniping" against civil servants.

He says that it is important "people remember that the civil service is impartial" and always works to introduce what ministers want, no matter how controversial.

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SNP MP Deirdre Brock asks what steps the department is taking to support the broadcasting of women’s sport.

Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright says "progress has been made" - and he will be meeting with broadcasters in the New Year to discuss how more women's sporting events can be televised "to inspire future generations".

Labour MP Helen Goodman asks why men's gymnastics is more frequently televised than women's gymnastics, while SNP MP Hannah Bardell calls for a 50:50 split of men and women's sporting event coverage by 2025.

Mr Wright says he will be having discussions with broadcasters and event organisers to ensure that women's sporting events are being given equal prominence and will ensure that "these matters are kept under review".

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Lib Dem MP Alistair Carmichael asks what steps the government is taking to improve mobile phone coverage in all parts of the UK.

Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright says the government supports Ofcom's plan to deliver coverage to 95% of the UK's land mass by 2022.

Shadow digital economy minister Liam Bryne says that there is "much more to do", as download speeds are 2,000 times slower in areas such as Gloucester in comparison to Birmingham.

He adds that there should be more investment in "bringing our networks up to speed".