Select Committee
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Stephen Barclay says the best way prevent a no-deal Brexit and to give certainty to businesses is to secure a deal with the EU.

"If we were to find that we can't secure the deal, then the House ultimately has a question: does it have a no deal, or does it revoke?".

He says a recent EU court judgment suggests that any revocation of Article 50 would be "unconditional, unequivocal" - which ultimately means cancelling Brexit.

In December, the European Court of Justice ruled that the UK government could cancel Brexit without the permission of the other 27 EU members.

He would not support that option, he adds.

Select Committee
Parliament

Mr Barclay says finding a form of Brexit that MPs can support is more complex than might appear.

He says there is a risk that moving towards one position could ultimately lose the votes of others who previously supported the deal.

Additionally, there are certain issues that people will continue to campaign for regardless of changes made, such as for a second referendum, he adds.

Winning support for the Brexit deal shouldn't be considered as a single event in the form of a meaningful vote, he says, as there is further legislation needed.

For this, a "coalition of colleagues" needs to be built, he says.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Labour MP Steve Reed says the framework for fire safety is "wholly inadequate", and the "government collectively is culpable for their failure to act on advice".

He says he believes ministers "did not want to accept responsibility for the death of 72 people at Grenfell", and would be "in the dock for manslaughter" if they were a private company.

A partial ban is welcome but not enough, he says, calling for office blocks and hotels over 18 metres to also be assessed for flammable cladding, which they currently have not been.

He questions whether Mr Malthouse would be comfortable telling a group of parents that each morning they are taking their children to school surrounded by combustible cladding.

He calls for a "perfectly reasonable" complete ban of flammable cladding on all buildings where people live and work, and for flammable cladding to be "stripped from every building where it exists".

"We cannot risk another horror of Grenfell," he adds.

Select Committee
Parliament

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The session kicks off with a question to Stephen Barclay on "areas of concern" expressed over the EU withdrawal agreement.

Mr Barclay says it's "right and proper" to recognise that the government suffered a very significant defeat, which has been shown by a change of tone from the prime minister.

However he says MPs have not given an indication of "what they are for".

He says ministers are meeting with MPs to discuss this, and confirms that - in principle - Labour MP John Mann's amendment on workers' rights has been accepted by the government.

The amendment - to the government's motion to approve its Brexit deal - was not selected for a vote by Speaker John Bercow during the 'meaningful vote' debate earlier this month.

House of Lords
Parliament

Liberal Democrat justice spokesman Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames says people attending court for driving offences are being asked to log in to the DVLA themselves in order to supply documents.

He calls the situation "a farce", and asks or an "urgent and detailed inquiry".

Lord Keen says it is "not true that defendants are having to do their own DVLA checks", and the IT system is back up and running as of this morning.

There is no intention for an inquiry at this stage, he tells peers.

With that, the Lords moves on to day two of their consideration of the Trade Bill.

House of Lords
Parliament

Justice Minister Lord Keen of Elie is repeating as a statement, the earlier answer to an urgent question in the Commons on the failure of the central courts IT system.

Labour's Lord Beecham says that this is a £280m contract, and he asks if the department's performance is rated as better or worse than Chris Grayling's award of a ferry contract to a company with no ships, or the "Windrush debacle".

Lord Keen of Elie replies that he rather fears "the noble Lord's inquiry has taken sail".

This issue is "entirely unaffected" by the recent other changes to courts services, and was due to the "corruption of a routing server, which has now been replaced," he adds.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Intervening, Housing Minister Kit Malthouse says there is a ban on flammable cladding, "but it is not possible as if by magic to make this cladding disappear overnight".

Mr Malthouse says every local fire and rescue service has agreed temporary measures on every building above 18 metres and that it would be "wrong" to alarm the residential population.

Mr Reed says the government has been "complacent" and has not acted with anything like the requisite speed "given the scale of threat to human life".

"The level of stress this is bringing to people is making people ill," he adds.

Select Committee
Parliament

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Members of the House of Lords EU Committee have started hearing evidence from Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay.

This is part of on-going scrutiny of the Brexit negotiations and is likely to focus on:

• Possible changes to the Withdrawal Agreement, following it's rejection by MPs last week
• Government 'no deal' preparations
• UK engagement with the EU and other 27 member states
• Government thinking on future UK-EU relations

House of Commons
Parliament

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MPs are now on the adjournment debate, which this afternoon is led by Labour MP Steve Reed and focuses on fire safety and cladding.

Discussing the Shurgard self-storage fire in Croydon earlier this month, Mr Reed says anyone deserves to know that their items are safe when put in self-storage, and that the government must consider what support is available for individuals affected by the fire.

"It is shocking that these facilities are built without a method to prevent the rapid spread of fire," he says, suggesting that storage companies are compromising on security and safety in favour of lower prices.

Moving on to the wider issue of flammable cladding on buildings in the UK, Mr Reed says there are concerns that unsafe cladding is on school buildings as well as residential flat blocks.

"We run the risk of further fires if this is not corrected," he adds, calling for a ban on all forms of flammable cladding. The government has been "negligent", he says.

House of Lords
Parliament

Government Chief Whip Lord Taylor tells the Lords that their Easter recess will take place between 5-22 April inclusive.

The Lords will continue to sit during the Commons February recess, from the 14th to 25th.

House of Lords
Parliament

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Crossbencher Lord Harries of Pentegrath asks what the government is doing about Christians facing persecution around the world.

Foreign Office Minister Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon says UK supports Christians "in the best possible way", and a review has been commissioned on this by the foreign secretary.

Lord Harries warns that Christians are facing particular problems at the moment, and he is "dismayed" to find that India is number ten on the list for crimes against Christians.

Lord Ahmad says the government will continue to "stand up" for "all persecuted" people around the world, including those of no faith. He adds that ministers will continue to make representations to all countries, including India, on freedom of religion.

House of Lords
Parliament

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Liberal Democrat Lord Teverson asks what the government is doing to improve rail service reliability this year.

Transport Minister Baroness Sugg says the government will "continue the current record level of funding" in railways, and is delivering the "biggest rail modernisation programme for a century".

Lord Teverson says that more money is being put in, but he asks how the improvements are being sought. "Who is responsible, who is in charge?" he asks.

Baroness Sugg admits that rail was a "difficult year" last year.

Previous investment was on capacity improvements, but now the government is focusing on increasing reliability by replacing worn-out parts of the rail network, she says.

House of Lords
Parliament

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Conservative former foreign minister Baroness Anelay of St Johns asks about potential risks to the UK from the Chinese ownership of technology infrastructure.

Cabinet Office Minister Lord Young of Cookham says that the government takes "seriously" any risks which arise, which are assessed on a "case by case" basis.

He says the government is now "considering carefully" the response to the consultation on Chinese infrastructure.

Baroness Anelay says that "our closest security allies" are taking steps to ban technology made by Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, and asks if the UK will follow suit.

Lord Young says that the US has banned Huawei technology, but the UK will not go "as far as that".

He adds that Huawei equipment is being excluded from certain projects, but the government wants to get the "balance right" and the best "digital infrastructure" possible.

House of Commons
Parliament

Following points of order, MPs approve several statutory instruments - pieces of secondary legislation - to amend UK law in preparation for Brexit.

Lastly this afternoon, Labour's Steve Reed has a short adjournment debate on fire safety and cladding.

House of Commons
Parliament

MPs have finished their examination of Lords amendments to the Tenant Fees Bill.

After this, the government decides not to move a business motion which would have allowed bills from backbench MPs to be debated on five Fridays in the near future.

House of Lords
Parliament

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Over in the House of Lords, the day gets underway with a question from Labour's Baroness Kennedy of Cradley on protections to stop shop workers being abused.

Home Office Minister Baroness Williams of Trafford says she has "tremendous sympathy" for shop workers receiving abuse, and the government is seeking evidence on the matter.

Baroness Kennedy says the call for evidence is a "step in the right direction" but there needs to be a "specific offence" of abusing a shop worker.

She asks why the government isn't accepting that new legislation is required in this area.

Baroness Williams says that "attacking a person serving the public" is "already an aggravating factor in sentencing guidelines".

She says that the government does not have a "closed mind" on "steps forward".

House of Commons
Parliament

By 293 votes to 220, MPs approve a Lords amendment to the bill that reduces the maximum tenancy deposit that can be requested for certain properties.

Under the change, the maximum deposit would now be set at five weeks' rent instead of six on properties with an annual rent of less than £50,000.

The bill is subject to double majority voting - those MPs representing constituencies in England voted 265 in favour, and 193 against.

In a later correction, it is announced that there was a mistake and the real result was 261 in favour and 194 against.

House of Commons
Parliament

Housing, Communities and Local Government Minister Heather Wheeler thanks the civil servants who have worked on the bill.

She says "improvements have been made to the Bill thanks to the work of many people on both sides of the House".

With that, the Commons agrees with Lords amendment 1 without division, and with amendments 2-25.

MPs divide to vote on Lords amendment 36.

The result of the vote is expected at around 2:50pm.

House of Commons
Parliament

Lib Dem spokesperson Wera Hobhouse says for "too long renters have been treated as second class citizens".

Her party welcome the bill, as it goes some way to addressing this, but ultimately more homes need to be built, she adds.