House of Commons
Parliament

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Andrea Leadsom says the Brexit debate on 29 January will not be limited to 90 minutes.

She says the government will make sure time is available so that the Commons can "fully consider the matter for the whole day", subject to MPs' approval.

There will be an "amendable and debatable" business of the house motion to set out the terms of the debate, she adds.

She says the default is that the UK will leave the EU on 29 March 2019, with no deal unless other alternatives are put in place.

Proxy voting will be bought forward "just as soon as I can", she says, but adds: "there are not clear cut views on this".

House of Commons
Parliament

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Shadow Commons Leader Valerie Vaz says she's pleased the PM will make a statement on Monday about Brexit - and asks for confirmation the motion will be amendable.

She asks Andrea Leadsom to also confirm the debate will last longer than 90 minutes.

She also calls for publication of a list of the senior MPs the government is holding Brexit talks with, warning that ministers are attempting to "divide and rule".

MPs voted against a no-deal Brexit, she says, asking for it to be taken off the table, as well as seeking confirmation whether Article 50 will be extended.

She also raises proxy voting, asking when the issue will be dealt with by MPs.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Andrea Leadsom says she can confirm a "statement and a motion" on the government's next steps on Brexit will be tabled on Monday next week.

She says a full day of debate on the motion will then take place on Tuesday 29th January, subject to the agreement of the House.

House of Commons
Parliament

Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom has now joined MPs to announce next week’s business in the House of Commons.

This announcement, traditionally made on Thursday mornings, is known as the ‘business statement’.

House of Lords
Parliament

The House of Lords sits at 11am today, with oral questions on Brexit, railway services and the withdrawal by companies in nuclear projects, including Hitachi.

This will be followed by three debates:

The first is on the stability of the UK union after Brexit, tabled by former Clerk of the House of Commons and crossbench peer Lord Lisvane.

A second, tabled by Liberal Democrat peer Lord Tyler, will address the legislation necessary to bring about a future EU referendum.

Finally, peers will debate a debate tabled by crossbencher Baroness Kidron, on the relationship between the use of technology and the wellbeing of young people.

House of Commons
Parliament

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SNP MP Alan Brown asks about discussions with the government about the Electoral Commission's investigatory powers.

Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, Labour MP Bridget Phillipson says the Commission has raised the need for a significant increase to its maximum fine of £20,000.

There's an increasing concern that the current limit could be seen as "the cost of doing business", she says.

Labour MP Ben Bradshaw asks about preparatory work for another potential EU referendum.

Ms Phillipson says the Commission has a great deal of experience managing well-run elections, and maintains contingency plans to allow for one to be called at short notice.

House of Commons
Parliament

That’s questions to environment ministers finished.

There will now be questions to MPs representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, Church Commissioners, and the House of Commons Commission.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Shadow environment secretary Sue Hayman asks ministers how they can assure MPs that a 'Green Brexit' will be delivered, if Environment Secretary Michael Gove cannot find time to be in the Commons this morning to address their concerns.

Environment Minister Therese Coffey says the government is "committed to leaving the environment in a better way than we inherited it".

Ms Hayman accuses the government of producing "warm words" but "very little action".

Ms Coffey says just this week the government has launched the clean air strategy, and is preparing a new Environment Bill.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Labour MP Diana Johnson says her disabled constituents with guide dogs are being advised to arrange travel up to four months in advance in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

Environment Minister George Eustice says the advice that has been provided is for a "worst case scenario".

He says there would be "a risk-based approach" adopted for pet travel schemes post-Brexit.

He adds that ministers are in talks with guide dog charities to address the issue.

House of Commons
Parliament

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SNP MP Hannah Bardell asks what steps the government is taking to maintain food and drink standards after the UK leaves the EU.

She calls for an amendment to the Agriculture Bill to ensure the standard of the UK's high food production values "are not diluted".

Environment Minister George Eustice says the government has been clear standards will not be compromised, and any future treaty establishing standards in agriculture would come back to the Commons for discussion and ratification.

"It is possible that we can approve our legislation in a number of areas where EU regulations do not quite work," he adds.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Labour MP Ben Bradshaw asks why the government has not taken a no-deal Brexit "off the table", adding that this has been demanded by farming leaders.

Environment Minister George Eustice says the best way to avoid a no-deal Brexit is to "agree a deal".

He asks MPs to question what deal they think they will receive from the EU if they are "unwilling to countenance no-deal".

House of Commons
Parliament

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Conservative MP Sir Desmond Swayne asks what steps are being taken to maintain animal protection standards after the UK leaves the EU.

Environment Minister David Rutley says the government is "clear" that leaving the EU will not lead to a lowering of UK animal welfare standards.

Labour MP Melanie Onn asks what the department is doing to cut down on companies that are selling items branded as 'faux fur' which are actually made of real fur.

Mr Rutley says this is a trading standards situation and that action has been taken, but the department is focused on ensuring this is not allowed to take place.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Labour's Mary Creagh, who chairs the environment audit committee, asks what ministers have to say to people who are stockpiling food over fears of a no-deal Brexit.

Environment Minister David Rutley says the government is working closely with the National Farmers Union to ensure there is as little disruption as possible for farmers during the Brexit transition.

Labour MP Barry Sheerman says he wants to make it clear that Labour is willing to engage in cross-party talks if no-deal is removed from the table.

Mr Rutley says he "shares the member's concerns on no-deal".

House of Commons
Parliament

Conservative MP Philip Hollobone opens proceedings today, questioning how much the department has spent on preparations for the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Environment Minister David Rutley says Environment Secretary Michael Gove will not be attending environment questions this morning as he is attending "essential cross-party meetings".

Mr Rutley says the government are working constructively to get a deal in place, but preparations are being made for all scenarios.

House of Commons
Parliament

Our coverage of the Commons resumes shortly, with questions to environment ministers.

After this there are questions to church commissioners, the House of Commons Commission, the Public Accounts Commission and the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission.

Then Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom will outline next week's business in the House of Commons.

Business Secretary Greg Clark will then deliver a statement on nuclear power.

This morning Hitachi announced it will suspend work on its new nuclear plant in North Wales.

MPs will then take part in two backbench debates: the first, introduced by Labour MP Luciana Berger, is on mental health first aid in the work place.

Conservative MP Tim Loughton will then open the second debate on children's social care in England.

A guide to what is happening in the Commons ahead of the big vote on Theresa May's Brexit plan.

This page is no longer updating - please visit this page: MPs prepare to vote on EU withdrawal deal for live updates on what's happening in Parliament.

Papers address MPs and the prime minister directly, with the Commons set to vote on Theresa May's Brexit deal.

Tonight's debate looks set to roll on for a couple of hours more, with MPs determined to fill the eight hours protected time, but we'll be leaving our coverage there for this evening.

You can continue to watch the debate on BBC Parliament here

And you can also use the stream at the top of this page, by clicking on the House of Commons live feed.

We'll be back tomorrow morning from 11.30am to bring you updates on the final day of Brexit debate, before the meaningful vote takes place at the end of the day.

It's bound to be interesting, we hope you'll join us.