Select Committee
Parliament

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Chair Frank Field asks if she has any plans to reflect on the speed of Universal Credit.

Ms Rudd says that "we will learn and see how long we need". She adds that she would rather see people getting "individual care" than having a "prescribed timetable".

Mr Field asks what data she asks for on a week-by-week basis.

Ms Rudd says she has "key elements" on data, including how regular payments are. She says as a constituency MP in Hastings she saw how only 50% of people received their UC payments on time, now, as a whole, the payments are 85% on time.

Select Committee
Parliament

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Chair Frank Field welcomes Amber Rudd, and she responds, saying it is a "pleasure to be here".

She adds that the previous legacy system was "difficult to manage" and that she believes that Universal Credit "is a force for good" but she recognises that it has "problems".

Conservative Nigel Mills asks what Ms Rudd's priorities are.

She replies to say that her priorities are ensuring that people are "secure in their houses" and making sure that "Universal Credit really works for women and their families".

Asked about the UN visit to the UK on poverty, she describes the report as "inappropriately political" and dismisses the quote in the report that poverty was a "political choice" by government.

Select Committee
Parliament

Image source, Reuters

The Work and Pensions Secretary, Amber Rudd, is about to give evidence to the Work and Pensions Committee for the first time as DWP Secretary.

Expect questions on the roll-out of Universal Credit, and what Ms Rudd’s priorities are as she takes over the department from Esther McVey, who quit in opposition to Theresa May’s Brexit agreement.

Welcome back to our coverage of Westminster today, as Amber Rudd prepares to face questions from MPs on the Work and Pensions Committee.

The big event today is at noon, when the prime minister will face the final question session of 2018 at PMQs.

Plenty more from the chambers today - thanks for joining us.

Businesses are told to put contingency plans in motion while 3,500 troops will be put on standby.

House of Commons
Parliament

That's where we're leaving our coverage for today as independent MP Ivan Lewis introduces his adjournment debate on the presidential elections in Democratic Republic of Congo.

The day began with justice questions, before Labour MP Wes Streeting asked an urgent question on the Office for National Statistics ruling on the treatment of student loans.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williams then delivered a ministerial statement on the delayed Modernising Defence Programme, announcing that £160m of the defence budget will be ring-fenced for "new military capabilities".

MPs then took part in a three hour emergency debate on the EU withdrawal agreement and the prime minister's negotiations at the EU Council last week, before moving onto their main business of the day, the second reading of the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill.

Join us tomorrow at 11.30am for questions to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Cabinet Office ministers, before PMQs at midday.

House of Commons
Parliament

MPs are voting on a Labour Party motion opposing the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill at second reading because it "does not put the interest of the cared-for person at the heart of the bill".

Ayes - 229

Noes - 304

Majority - 75

The Labour amendment is defeated, and the bill passes its second reading.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Health and Social Care Minister Caroline Dinenage says that the current approach is a "one size fits all" one which does not work in the best interests of some people.

She says that the changes in the bill are the result of the Law Commission's, external recommendations, and will be compatible with existing children and young people's protections.

Every authorisation must be approved by someone who will not be supplying day-to-day care, to prevent conflicts of interest, she says.

"Through this bill we are making sure that people's wishes are always respected," she states.

With that, the Commons divides to vote on the second reading.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Summing up the second reading for Labour, shadow minister for social care and mental health Paula Sheriff says "the bill has been rushed from start to finish."

"The bill we have before us today is only five clauses compared to the Law Commission's 15," she says, questioning whether the government "think they know better than the Law Commission".

Ms Sheriff says mental health charities and experts should have been consulted at a much earlier stage, and that it is "totally unacceptable" to give independent hospitals alone the choice to say if a treatment of care is in an individual's best interest.

She adds that if the vulnerable individuals were at the heart of the bill, more time would have been taken over it and the Law Commission would have been listened to more closely.

"This bill is not fit for purpose - we cannot rush legislation that deals with fundamental human rights," she adds, calling for the government to stop and think again.

During the debate on the report on Lord Lester's conduct this week, Lib Dem Lord McNally had said of Jasvinder Sanghera - who made the complaint against Lord Lester - that "she waited another seven years [to make a complaint] for political reasons, not for trauma".

This received considerable backlash from peers, who suggested he was "embarrassing himself, you're embarrassing all of us".

You can read our post from the debate here.

Lord Lester resigned from the House of Lords and has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

A Privileges Committee report recommended that he be suspended. Peers had decided against his suspension following a previous debate in November.

House of Lords
Parliament

The government has been defeated on a motion concerning changes to probate fees.

Contents: 186

Not contents: 161

Majority: 25

However, this will not have a material impact, because it expresses the view of peers that the measure should not be brought into force.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Labour MP Anneliese Dodds says "there has been no way near enough time dedicated to the second reading of this bill".

She describes the lack of clarity surrounding the bill as "a dog's dinner" and says the government has been "blind to the calls of experts".

Ms Dodds adds that it is "unacceptable" for a lack of a review into someone's mental health for three years, and says it is clear that "this legislation has been rushed through".

She says she is unsure as to whether health ministers will keep their promises and lay amendments to improve the bill before committee stage.

House of Lords
Parliament

The Lords divided to vote on a motion by Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames, which could have prevented reductions in money to charities under reforms of probate fees.

The results were:

Contents: 90

Not contents: 187

Majority: 103

The Lords have now divided to vote on a motion by Lord Beecham to regret to changes to probate fees.

The Institute of Legacy Management has warned, external that the changes could cost the charity sector around £10m in fees.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Liberal Democrat MP Norman Lamb says "there is a real need for robust safeguards to be in place to ensure the least restrictive care possible in all cases".

"There should only be restricted liberty in cases when it is in the interest of the individual," he says.

Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Barker announced that "this is one of the worst pieces of legislation ever brought before this House" when it had its third reading, and it is "critically important that the government collaborates to improve this bill".

Mr Lamb says they will judge the bill based on if it is workable, whether it genuinely safeguards individuals' rights, and calls for health ministers to meet with MPs "well before committee stage" for a beneficial collaborative approach.

He calls for a shorter renewal period, and for a clear definition of "deprivation of liberty".

House of Commons
Parliament

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Conservative Maria Caulfield, herself a part time nurse, says that the current rules are not "responsive to patient's changing needs".

She urges those opposing the bill to table amendments, rather than to try and vote against the bill at second reading.

She says it is "welcome" to ensure that 16 to 17-year-olds will be covered by this legislation, as well as the allowance for family and friends to trigger a review of care.

How is the government getting on with getting ready to leave the European Union?

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Shadow mental health minister Barbara Keeley says the bill has been rushed through without proper scrutiny, and does not focus on compassion and care.

Ms Keeley criticises the fact that the bill was brought forwards with just two days notice and is receiving only two hours debate today.

She adds that mental health charities agree "the bill is deeply flawed", and associations including MIND and Mencap have called for the legislation to be paused.

"We cannot support the bill in its current form as it swaps one deeply flawed system for another," Ms Keeley says.

"The government is more interested in cost saving than the best interests of cared for people."

She adds that the Labour Party's amendment declines to give the bill a second reading as the bill "adds to the postcode lottery of care", and allows for the liberty of a person to be authorised for up to three years without review.

Theresa May wants to give MPs the chance to vote on alternatives to her Brexit plan, sources say.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Health Secretary Matt Hancock says that everyone in the UK deserves to be treated with dignity no matter what their situation is.

"Currently, two million people in this country have impaired mental capacity," he says, adding that hospitals may have to restrain dementia patients to prevent harm, or sometimes restrain vulnerable people to prevent damage to themselves.

"That current system is broken and needs to change," he states. "There are too many people without the protection they need because of a bureaucratic backlog."

He adds that there are 125,000 people in this situation currently waiting for decisions on their care.

"The current system causes unecessary suffering, and the case for reform could not be more urgent," he declares.

"Doing nothing is not an option," he adds.

House of Commons
Parliament

MPs are now on to their main business of the day, the second reading of the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill.

The bill will reform the process in the Mental Capacity Act 2005 for authorising arrangements enabling the care or treatment of people who lack the capacity to consent to proceedings themselves.

The bill has already passed through the Lords, where clauses were added which would ensure that prior to any authorisation of care arrangements, the cared-for individual - or their advocate - are fully informed of their rights, and the responsible body takes necessary steps to explain all possible outcomes and the reasons why the cared-for person may be deprived of their liberty.

Peers also discussed bringing to the attention of the responsible body the wishes of those related to the cared-for individual, along with the meaning of the term 'relevant person'.