House of Commons
Parliament

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The SNP's Gavin Newlands asks what steps are being taken to prevent disruption to travel in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling says that his department has carried out "comprehensive" work to mitigate the impacts of a no-deal exit.

Mr Newlands says that the ill-fated Seaborne Freight contract was confirmed before Arklow Shipping provided their backing to the company.

Mr Grayling says that the contract was conditional on Seaborne Freight receiving backing from Arklow, "which they did".

House of Commons
Parliament

Transport questions are underway in the Commons.

Conservative Fiona Bruce is asking the first question on the deployment of new rolling stock on railways.

House of Commons
Parliament

The day kicks off at 9:30am with Transport questions.

At 10:30am, the Leader of the House, Andrea Leadsom, will outline future business in the next week. This will be the first opportunity to see what MPs will be up to during their cancelled February recess.

Later today, MPs will debate the motion tabled by Theresa May on the UK's withdrawal from the EU. However, earlier this week it was announced that in fact there will be a further debate and vote in just under two weeks time, so today may not be as decisive an occasion as originally thought.

The adjournment debate today Mineworkers' Pension Scheme, and has been tabled by Labour's Stephanie Peacock.

Theresa May tells MPs not to rely on hearsay, as Brexit dominates Prime Minister's Questions.

Jeremy Corbyn continued Labour’s recent targetting of the Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling, with a series of detailed questions about the Seabourne Ferries saga at PMQs.

BBC parliamentary correspondent Mark D'Arcy says:

Mark D'Arcy also points out:

"Brexiteer Tories rather tiptoed around the reported remarks of the PM’s Brexit advisor, Olly Robbins, overheard in a Brussels bar. But the twin suggestions attributed to him, of a postponement of Brexit day and of the Northern Ireland backstop being a “bridge” to a post-Brexit customs union with the EU, cause them deep alarm.

"Mr Corbyn did not seek to deepen it further, even though it would have been quite easy to segue from Grayling to Robbins, and it was left to the SNP’s Ian Blackford and later the Conservative Henry Smith, to target the alleged bar-room indiscretion.

"The PM’s elegant prepared response: 'What someone said to someone else, overheard by someone else…in a bar' was eventually deployed in answer to Mr Smith, but was probably drafted with Mr Corbyn in mind."

Read more about PMQs here:

House of Commons
Parliament

The day began with international development questions before PMQs, where leader of the Opposition Jeremy Corbyn questioned the prime minister heavily on the scrapped Seaborne Freight contract.

There were then two urgent questions on the replication of trade agreements after the UK leaves the EU and devolution in Northern Ireland.

MPs then paid tribute to Clerk of the Commons Sir David Natzler ahead of his retirement, before voting against a Labour motion to revoke the Securitisation Regulations 2018.

Since then, MPs have been partaking in a general debate on connecting communities by supporting charities and volunteers.

Join us at 9.30am for transport questions before Leader of the House Andrea Leadsom announces the business for the coming week.

Then MPs will debate and vote on a government Brexit motion.

Read more about the vote and what amendments have been proposed here: Brexit amendments: The MPs trying to change Theresa May's course

House of Lords
Parliament

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Crossbencher Baroness Bull raises warnings of the UK leaving the EU and how it will affect the UK's services sector.

Services are responsible "for over 40% of our exports" and 80% of our Gross Domestic Product, she states. The single biggest export for services from the UK is to the EU, she adds.

Much of the future debate on the UK's future relationship with the EU has been on the borders, rather than the rules that will govern the UK "behind the border" and "the withdrawal agreement is silent on services", she says.

"Polls show that public concern about immigration is the lowest it has been for 16 years," she says, adding that eight out of 10 Leave voters want the UK to keep immigration levels as they are now for doctors and nurses, she adds.

She states the government could end free movement of people "just as public concern falls".

House of Lords
Parliament

Conservative Lord Cavendish, a Leave supporter, says that he is in a "tiny minority" in the Lords, as someone who wants to enact Brexit.

The Lords "for the first time since 1910" have departed from the views of the people, he states. He says he is unhappy with the backstop, and he believes that environment, labour law and state aid all have control ceded to the EU under the May deal.

He asks how happy Remainers really are with the EU's youth unemployment, institutions, "corruption" and lack of democracy.

"I cannot remember a time when the political class was more out of touch with the people they claim to represent," he adds.

'Playing games with the British people'

Labour peer Lord Davies challenges Lord Cavendish and says that the EU is better at dealing with corruption than the British government.

He says he "personally" regrets that the EU has not moved to a more democratic model in the past few years, but he is confident that the EU can move quickly on becoming more democratic with the UK no longer in the bloc.

Mrs May is "playing games with the British people", he says, adding that the EU are not negotiating any further with her deal, despite what she says.

"If she had the slightest intention" of speaking to opposition parties, then she'd have done so "two and a half years ago". He adds that she is "gaining a week or two" every time and she hopes that fears of no-deal will prevent MPs from voting against the deal.

"That's the game that's being played, a very ruthless game," he states.

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The PM's critics have a field day on social media after she reportedly offers food advice to the cabinet.

House of Lords
Parliament

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Conservative Baroness Altmann says she is in favour of co-operation and partnership, but "we must take care" that the UK leaves the EU "without checking back with the British people".

"Those people running the Leave campaign had no actual plan for how they would manage the country after Brexit," she says, adding that the "whole Brexit programme" is based on a "fundamental misunderstanding" of how the EU works.

She says she "cannot believe that the principles of the Conservative party, pragmatism, supporting business and jobs, are being sacrificed on the alter of an ideological fantasy and sacred duty to break 40 years of success".

House of Commons
Parliament

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The SNP's Martin Docherty-Hughes points out that many aspect of charities and volunteering are devolved but adds that there is overlap.

He says that around the UK the vast majority of voluntary organisations are small with no employees and that the sector plays a "central role" in "people-centred services".

Mr Docherty-Hughes states that right to form voluntary organisations is a "fundamental pillar of a modern liberal democracy" but adds "charity is no replacement for good government".

The SNP MP calls for clarification over the shared prosperity fund and dormant assets distribution.

House of Lords
Parliament

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Crossbencher and former head of the Civil Service Lord Wilson warns that the Henry VIII powers, external being proposed by the government are "worrying".

He says he also worries that the civil service is not prepared for Brexit; and that the EU "permeated every aspect of our daily life" in government.

He adds that trying to plan for two outcomes, of no-deal and a deal, is something "no civil service could do".

"There will be some awful things that go wrong," he warns, adding that the service shouldn't be blamed when things go badly.

"Business will find themselves without the certainty they need" and immigration will not be curbed in the ways people wanted, he adds.

"We are spending far too much time" on things "which are not of major importance". He adds that the main issues facing the country are the NHS and Universal Credit.

"Nothing is going on in government" to tackle these big issues, he states.

House of Commons
Parliament

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Shadow culture minister Steve Reed says we will hear about the "gap between the rhetoric and the reality" of the government's approach in today's debate.

He accuses the government of "under-funding" and "sidelining" the sector.

"A decade of austerity has ripped the heart out of communities," he adds.

Mr Reed says that civil society offers a way for people to participate and connect communities.

He believes that community level organisations are a "key part" of making the system more democratic by rebuilding politics around people.

The Labour MP says the Conservatives' big society project has "withered".

He says that a month and half away from Brexit and the government have not said how they will replace lost EU funding for charities or how the shared prosperity fund will work.

Mr Reed calls for a more open politics, "embracing the collaboration and kindness that all of us as MPs see in our constituencies".

"This is how we can genuinely let people take back control," he concludes

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MEPs give their initial backing to legislation to allow hauliers licensed in the UK to carry freight into the EU for a nine-month period in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

They approve some amendments, including calling for the exemption to cover hauliers that transit through an EU country while travelling between different parts of the UK.

The exemption would be granted provided the UK provides equivalent rights to EU road hauliers and subject to fair competition rules.

They decide to enter informal negotiations on the proposal with national ministers, who will also have to approve the law for it to come into effect.

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Parliament

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MPs are now onto the general debate on connecting communities by supporting charities and volunteers.

Opening the debate, Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Minister Mims Davies says the UK has a proud record for supporting charities and volunteers and that it is important that this continues.

The London 2012 Olympics showed that we can create the right opportunities and environment for volunteers which is vital for a happier and healthier society, Ms Davies says.

There must be plenty of opportunities for young people to contribute to their communities, she adds, noting that this is a focus of the government.

The public donated £10.3bn last year, and millions of people volunteer across the country. British people are the most generous and enterprising people in the world, she concludes, "civil society is the best tool we have to connect our communities, to boost our economy and make us happier."

House of Lords
Parliament

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Convenor of the crossbench peers, Lord Hope, says that those who promoted Brexit without even a "sketch of a plan" of how to do it "safely" have a lot to be accounted for.

Parliament is being "fed on a diet of no-deal SIs" which he hopes will never be used, as implementing them in the event of no-deal is an "enormous waste of time and money".

Arguing for the "solutions" of a unilateral exit clause from the backstop, or for it to be time limited, is not as difficult as some may think, he adds.

"Surely the exit date must now be postponed," he says, adding that any extension must be done with a clear idea as to what the next steps are for the UK.

House of Commons
Parliament

The result of the division on the Securitisation Regulations sees 263 vote in favour of Labour's motion, but 306 - so the government wins with a majority of 43.

It means MPs have voted not to revoke the Securitisation Regulations 2018.

House of Commons
Parliament

The front benches wind up the debate.

Economic Secretary John Glen says that the Treasury has not undergone a formal consultation as changes to domestic legislation is minor.

He adds that this SI (statutory instrument) is a "business as usual SI".

Mr Glen says there will be more financial services legislation in future sessions and concludes that he hope MPs will oppose the motion against this SI.

Shadow Treasury inister Anneliese Dodds says this regulation dis-applies existing regulation and pushes her motion to a vote.

The House divides on the issue.

House of Lords
Parliament

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Leader of the Lib Dem Peers Lord Newby says that the UK has the power "unilaterally, to revoke Article 50".

He says that the country now believes that leaving the EU "on any terms would be worse for them" and for their future.

He asks what parliamentarians are "scared of" when it comes to voting to continue Brexit, against their own knowledge and views.

Businesses are viewing the current situation in the UK in "horror," he states, 10% of food and drink manufacturers have warned that they will go out of business under a no-deal Brexit.

House of Lords
Parliament

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Shadow leader of the Lords Baroness Smith says this debate could have been had at any point during the past two years. She adds that the motion "says nothing, does nothing".

Her motion calls for no-deal Brexit to be ruled out and for a meaningful vote to take place by the end of February.

The motion from the government today is "inadequate" as it calls for ongoing discussions to be taken note of, but, she asks "what discussions?". She states that the EU are no longer getting involved in negotiations with the UK.

She says that ministers and civil servants are devoting resources to an outcome which would "actively harm" the UK.

"The consequence" of crashing out without a no-deal "is not project fear, it is project reality," she adds.