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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Andrew Sparrow

Brexit: Barnier says May’s Chequers plan would give UK 'huge competitive edge' over EU – as it happened

EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Barnier with the’s DUP Diane Dodds and Arlene Foster in Brussels.
EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Barnier with the’s DUP Diane Dodds and Arlene Foster in Brussels. Photograph: POOL/Reuters

Barnier's speech - Summary

Here are the main points from Michel Barnier’s speech.

  • Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, said that there would have be to new checks on goods going between Great Britain and Northern Ireland under the plans being drawn up for an Irish backstop. The backstop is the plan designed to avoid a hard border in Ireland, if the final Brexit outcome does not achieve that. Barnier said that when the UK left the EU, there would have to be new checks on goods going between the two areas.

The UK wants to leave and will leave the single market and the customs union. This means that there must be checks on goods travelling between the EU and the UK, checks that do not exist today - customs and VAT checks and compliance checks with our standards to protect our consumers, our economic traders and to protect your businesses.

He also made it clear that, because both sides have agreed that there must be no hard border in Ireland, those new checks could not take place at the Irish border. Instead, he suggested, they could take place on goods travelling between Great Britain and Northern Ireland backstop.

  • Barnier set out in detail how new checks could be imposed on goods going between GB and Northern Ireland under the backstop plan. There would have to be three categories of checks, he said. On customs and VAT checks he said:

For customs and VAT checks, we propose using the existing customs transit procedures to avoid doing checks at a physical border point ...

Companies in the rest of the UK would fill in their customs declarations online and in advance when shipping goods to Northern Ireland. The only visible systematic checks between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK would involve scanning the bar codes on lorries and containers, which could be done on ferries and in transit ports. These arrangements already exist within EU member states, those with islands for example - between mainland Spain and the Canary Islands.

There would also have to be regulatory checks on industrial goods, he said, but he argued that these could be “carried out be market surveillance authorities”. He went on:

Again, this will not need to happen at the border, but directly in the market or at the premises of companies in Northern Ireland.

He said the third category of checks were health and phytosanitary checks on live animals and products of animal origins. And he acknowledged a problem in this area with the backstop.

  • Barnier said that certain checks on agricultural items going from GB to Northern Ireland could increase tenfold under the plans being drawn up for an Irish backstop. Referring to these animal and phytosanitary checks, he said they would have to be carried out as livestock and goods travelled between GB and Northern Ireland.

EU rules are very clear: such checks must happen at the border because of food safety and animal health reasons ..

Such checks already exist in the port of Larne and Belfast. However they would have to cover 100 per cent rather than 10 per cent of live animals and animals derived products, which would involve a significant change in terms of scale.

Barnier also said that in the future “the island of Ireland will remain and must remain a simple epidemiologic area.”

  • He said that, although the backstop plan would create new rules for goods travelling between GB and Northern Ireland, that was because of a choice taken by the UK. He said:

There will be administrative procedures that do not exist today for goods travelling to Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK. Our challenge is to make sure those procedures are as easy as possible and not too burdensome, in particular for smaller businesses.

I understand why such procedures are politically sensitive but ... Brexit was not our choice, it is the choice of the UK. Our proposal tries to help the UK in managing the negative fallout of Brexit in Northern Ireland in a way that respects the territorial integrity of the UK. Our proposal limits itself to what is absolutely necessary to avoid a hard border.

  • He said Northern Ireland would get unique benefits under the plan.

Our proposal gives Northern Ireland benefits that no part of a third country enjoys, in particular continued access to the single market for goods and continued benefits from EU free trade agreements.

  • He said the Chequers plan would give the UK “a huge competitive edge” over the EU. Mindful, perhaps, of how badly Theresa May responded to EU criticism of the Chequers plan at the Salzburg summit, he said it was useful and that there were many areas where the UK and the EU agreed. But he highlighted two major problems. First the UK wanted to remain effectively in the single market, but only for goods, he said. He went on:

At the same time they wish to remain free to opt out of regulations to do with the production factors, be they services, capital, social standards or environmental standards.

This type of single market system a la carte would be tantamount to giving a huge competitive edge to UK companies with respect to companies operating within the single market.

He also objected to the proposal for the UK to be able to strike its own trade deals with countries like the US and China, while still having its goods effectively in the single market. He went on:

So they will be able to use tariffs that are lower than us at the entrance, all the while remaining in a single market for goods with us, which we believe would create risk of there being commercial flows going elsewhere to the detriment of our companies, all the while collecting European customs duties. That would generate loss of income for us, also VAT income for our member states.

  • He said that, after the UK leaves the EU in March, there will have to be 10 negotiations running in parallel to settle the future relationship.

We need to define and outline the framework, the parameters of our future relationship with the United Kingdom. And then this future relationship will be subject to fresh negotiations, several types of negotiations, 10 negotiations running in parallel, that will commence in April 2019 when the United Kingdom will become a third country.

  • He said the EU and the UK had made “good progress” in the talks and that 80 to 85% of the withdrawal agreement had been finalised.
  • He said Brexit was a “lose, lose game”. He said:

Brexit brings no added value. This is a negative negotiation. It is a lose, lose game where nobody stands to win.

That’s all from me for today.

Thanks for the comments.

Michel Barnier
Michel Barnier Photograph: Yves Herman/Reuters

Updated

Here is the text of the Michel Barnier speech.

It is as delivered, which means much of it is in French. An English translation should be available later.

Boris Johnson says backstop plan would make UK 'permanent EU colony'

Tweeting after Michel Barnier finished his speech, Boris Johnson, who resigned as foreign secretary because he was opposed to the Chequers plan,

Labour anticipates that the principal vote on the budget - at which the DUP and any Tory rebels would have to stand up and be counted - will take place around 5pm on Thursday 1 November, three days after Philip Hammond’s speech.

Losing a vote on a budget would normally be expected to lead to a vote of confidence given that the government’s authority rests on its ability to get finance bills through the Commons.

But some Labour insiders wonder if the budget could be carefully constructed so that it had no substantive measures that required MPs’ authorisation, making it more in line with now abolished autumn statements. But that would leave Hammond with little to announce, and the technicality may be lost on the public.

Another theoretical possibility is that rebels try to force a vote on budget day itself - by opposing the ways and means resolutions that authorise changes to excise on wines and beers and other similar duties that typically come into force on midnight of budget day itself. That, however, would require some quick decision making, because these resolutions are put to MPs shortly after Hammond sits down and rebels would not know what the changes in duties were until Hammond had told the house in the budget speech.

Labour confirms it would scrap universal credit

Labour appears to have hardened its official position on universal credit, with Jeremy Corbyn’s spokesman telling lobby journalists after PMQs that it “needs to be scrapped’ and that the party’s review would look into “what should replace it.”

A fortnight ago shadow work and pensions secretary Margaret Greenwood told the Daily Mirror that Labour was “sort of in the process of looking into” undoing the whole universal credit system. Asked if she ruled out scrapping UC in its entirety, she said:

We’re not ruling anything out, because we think it’s important to be on top of all of the detail of it before making a decision.

The party then announced at its party conference in Liverpool that it would review the system, which has left thousands of families struggling to afford food and rent.

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell went further at the weekend, saying UC “will have to go” as the system was “just not sustainable”.

Labour consolidated that position today, with Corbyn’s spokesman appearing to confirm that UC would be replaced after the party’s wide-ranging benefits review. He told reporters:

The government is quite clearly unable to cope with the failure of its own benefit reforms. The universal credit system is not working. It is not delivering what it was intended to, and was advertised as doing. As John McDonnell said last weekend this is a system that is not delivering, that isn’t working ad needs to be scrapped and that’s why we’re committed to a review of the whole of its performance and what should replace it.

This is from the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg,

Brexit will weaken the US's influence in Europe, says Joe Biden

America’s ability to play a security role in Europe and influence its thinking will be diminished once UK is no longer totally integrated with Europe after Brexit, according to Joe Biden the former Democratic Vice-President and potential challenger for the Presidency in 2020.

Speaking at Chatham House think tank Biden said, if he had had a vote as an MP or British citizen, he would have voted not to leave the EU, and said the country was now facing an intractable issue. He said:

US interests are diminished with Great Britain not an integral part of Europe and being able to bring to bear influence well beyond the economy on European attitudes on a whole range of subjects. It seems to me there is a growing awareness in Europe as a whole, and around the world, that Britain played a role in Europe the last 30 years well beyond the notion of open borders and trade, being able to influence attitudes.

There is, no matter what we say, a special relationship - we have been locked cheek to jowl on every important issue that exists - so without England being totally integrated into the EU ... [that] diminishes our ability to influence events on the continent.

Revealing he held talks with Theresa May on Tuesday he said Brexit was “an almost intractable problem for any political party”, observing the Labour party is not unified. He said:

I do believe very strongly that the US ability to play a major role in the security of the west, and the prosperity of the transatlantic partnership, rests in part on British influence in Europe, and we lose the extent to which you lose influence.

Joe Biden speaking at Chatham House in London
Joe Biden speaking at Chatham House in London Photograph: Alastair Grant/AP

Here is my colleague Jennifer Rankin on the Barnier speech.

This is from Politico Europe’s Charlie Cooper.

And these are from the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg.

Barnier's speech - Snap verdict

That was a much more substantial speech from Michel Barnier than we had been led to expect. He did not announce anything new, and if you’ve followed EU arguments closely, you will have heard most of this before. But, rather than take refuge in platitudes, he did choose to set, with considerable clarity and detail, a) just what the Irish backstop might involve (which won’t please the DUP); b) the full extent of EU objections to the Chequers plan (which won’t please Theresa May); c) quite how provisional the future framework will be (which won’t please the many MPs worried about a “blind’ Brexit, who have now been told that, from April, Barnier envisages 10 negotiations running in parallel, finalising the future relationship - see 3.55pm.)

Overall, it is hard to see this making life any easier for Number 10.

I will post a summary soon.

Updated

Barnier gets a standing ovation.

Barnier says he wants to end on a personal note.

He says the first vote he cast was on the accession of the UK, Ireland, Denmark and Norway to join the EEC. He campaigned for yes. He has always thought that united, we stand strong, he says.

The Brexit vote is a pity, a shame, he says.

Brexit brings no added value. It is a negative negotiation. It is a lose, lose game.

He says he is being as ambitious as he can be by defending the EU.

He will continue to lead for the EU in accordance with the principles he has set out.

He shall do so with serenity, with no spirit of revenge, and with respect for a country that will remain a major ally, he says.

Barnier says the cost of a no deal would be very high.

That is why it has never been what the EU wants, he says.

Barnier says May’s Chequers plan would give UK 'huge competitive edge' over EU

Barnier says, on the economic partnership, there are things in the white paper that “do not tally” with his mandate.

He says the EU is happy to base the future relationship on a tariff-free free trade area.

But there are two problem areas, he says.

He says the UK wants to negotiate trade deals with countries like the US, which would mean lower tariffs for the UK, while the UK was still effectively in the single market for goods.

That would be problematic, he says.

He says the UK must accept the EU wants to maintain control of its external borders and customs borders.

Another problem if the UK proposal to stay in the single market for goods, he says. But the UK wants to opt out of regulations affecting production.

This type of single market system a la carte would be tantamount to giving a “huge competitive edge” to the UK over EU companies.

  • Barnier says May’s Chequers plan would give UK a “huge competitive edge” over the EU.

Updated

Barnier has reverted to French.

He says the EU wants a good relationship with the UK.

After Brexit there will be separate negotiations - 10 negotiations will run in parallel, deciding the future partnership, he says.

He says the EU wants a “very ambitious” partnership with the UK.

He says the EU is taking account of the white paper produced by the UK, the Chequers plan.

All sections have been discussed at a technical and official level, he says.

That is why the white paper is useful. There are lots of areas of convergence, he says.

Barnier says all the transition is conditional on the withdrawal agreement being agreed.

He hopes it will be ratified next year. He says the European parliament will have the last word.

Barnier says all financial commitments made at the level of the EU28 must be honoured by the EU28.

So the UK will be expected to keep contributing to programmes it has signed up to.

Barnier says he can see that these checks are problematic politically.

But he has three points to make.

First, Brexit was not the EU’s choice, he says.

Secondly, he says what the EU is proposing is the bare minimum. He says the UK would not have to accept free movement.

He says the EU proposal includes maintaining the single electricity market for Ireland.

He says he has met Northern Irish political leaders. He is willing to see them again, he says. He says his door remains open.

Third, this is just a safety net, a backstop. It is needed because the trade relationship will be negotiated after Brexit.

He says the EU is still open to having a customs union with the UK. That would reduce the need for further checks, he says.

Barnier says regulatory checks could be carried out by market inspectors. But that would not have to happen at the border.

But sanitary and phytosanitary checks would have to take place at the border.

The island of Ireland would have to remain a single epidemiological area, he says.

He says there would be checks on 100% not 10% of live animals and animal-derived products. That would be a significant scaling up, he says.

He says he wants to ensure that procedures would not be too burdensome on small businesses.

Switching to English, Barnier says the UK will leave the EU in less than six months.

The EU has already respected the UK’s sovereign decision to leave, even though it regrets the decision.

He says they are trying to negotiate an orderly withdrawal.

They have made “good progress”.

Holding a copy of the draft withdrawal agreement, he says 80/85% of it has been agreed.

But there are some areas where there is no agreement, including geographical indicators.

Above all, they need to agree how to avoid a hard border in Ireland.

The UK wants to leave, and will leave, the single market and the customs union.

That means there must be checks “that do not exist today”.

Those checks cannot be performed at the border of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

So the question arises, where will they take place?

He says the EU wants to carry out these checks in the least intrusive ways possible.

He says companies in the rest of the UK would fill in customs forms when delivering goods to Northern Ireland.

The only new checks would involve containers on lorries being scanned, on ferries or at ports.

Barnier says Brexit is “creating a lot of angst, creating a lot of fear, among citizens”.

He will give an update on the state of play, he says.

Barnier says he is going to continue listening in national capitals, not just to politicians but to trade unions. This is the key to unity, he says.

Barnier says since the Brexit talks started they have talked a lot about the “improbable” unity of the 27 member states.

Barnier says the single market is more than an area of free trade. It is an ecosystem that has been built together, with the encouragement of chambers of commerce.

Above all, it has common jurisdiction.

The EU has been building it for 20-odd years, with the UK, he says.

He says he used to be commissioner for the single market.

Barnier says he is a politician, not a technocrat.

Michel Barnier's speech

Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, is giving a speech in Brussels now. He is addressing the European Parliament of Enterprises - a forum for European business figures, meeting and debating in the European parliament chamber.

There is a live feed here.

We’ve told he is not planning to say anything newsworthy (although he may be under-estimating the ingenuity of the British press in deciding what’s newsworthy.)

My colleague Pippa Crerar reports on what Number 10 were saying about being able to rely on the votes of the DUP just before BBC News and Sky broke the story about the DUP threatening to oppose the budget.

Lunchtime summary

  • The DUP has threatened to vote down the budget if Theresa May breaches its “red line” on the Irish backstop in the Brexit talks. It issued the threat in the form of a background briefing to broadcasters, who have quoted unnamed sources. DUP leaders have been more reticent in public about saying what they would do if their “red line” (no new checks on goods crossing the Irish Sea from Great Britain to Northern Ireland) gets breached - the party leader Arlene Foster refused to discuss this at a press conference yesterday - but the party has always said anything that breaks up the UK single market would be unacceptable.
  • May has urged MPs to “put the national interest first” when voting on the Brexit deal. She said:

I would hope that everybody across this whole House will put the national interest first.

  • Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, has said that there must be “decisive progress” in the Brexit talks before next Thursday’s EU summit. He briefed European commissioners in private this morning. Afterwards the commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas told reporters:

[Barnier] recalled that decisive progress must be made in time for the October European council next week. Negotiations at technical level will continue this week.

  • John Glen, a Treasury minister, has told a Lords committee that the UK is expected to lose around 5,000 City jobs by 29 March next year, when it leaves the EU. He said he agreed with the 5,000 figure, a prediction from the Bank of England on the number of jobs that would be lost by Brexit day. But he refused to speculate on how many City jobs might go if there were a no deal Brexit, or on how much that would cost the government in lost tax revenue from financial services.

Updated

The Sky News story about the DUP threatening to vote down the budget if Theresa May breaches their “red line” on the Irish backstop, by Tamara Cohen, includes this quote from a DUP source who told Sky:

It is unacceptable that we would be treated differently to the rest of the UK.

We will not be bounced into anything.

If Theresa May doesn’t take our concerns on board, she may not be the leader to take us through Brexit.

Updated

ITV’s political editor Robert Peston has a good Twitter thread on the latest state of play in the Brexit talks. It starts here. He thinks the Irish backstop proposal being negotiated by Theresa May will be acceptable to the DUP (despite the sabre-rattling we are getting from them this afternoon - see 1.17pm) because it would involve an escalation of existing checks that already get carried out on food and livestock going from Britain to Northern Ireland, not the introduction of a new category of checks. Peston thinks the main problem with the backstop will be that it will unacceptable to hardline Tory Brexiters.

Stride says the government will “of course” be keeping its “allies from the DUP on board” in the Brexit talks process.

He tells the World at One that he expects them to back the budget.

On the World at One Mel Stride, the Treasury minister, is being asked about the latest threat from the DUP.

He says is is “not going to speculate on something that will not happen”.

He says the government will not agree to a border going down the Irish Sea.

Q: But what about new regulatory checks being imposed on goods going across the Irish Sea?

Stride says he cannot comment on the negotiations, but he knows that Theresa May is taking a “very, very firm position” on this.

I’m not going to get into the specifics of what may or may not be going on in the negotiations at the moment, other than to say that I am extremely confident from all that I know, that I have seen and all the discussions that I have had, that there will be a very, very firm position taken on this.

The prime minister made it very clear no UK prime minister is ever going to put him or herself in the position where they start to unpick the economic and sovereign integrity of the UK.

Updated

DUP threatens to vote down budget if May breaches its 'red line' on Irish backstop

The BBC and Sky are both reporting that the DUP will vote down the budget if Theresa May breaks its “red line” on Brexit and agrees to a backstop that would involve new checks on goods going from Britain to Northern Ireland. Newsnight’s Nicholas Watt has more on Twitter.

A government that cannot get its budget through the Commons cannot function. As Watt says, budget votes are traditionally seen as confidence votes, and in the past losing one would trigger a general election. Under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act the situation is different, and the government would have to lose a vote on an actual no confidence motion for an election to be triggered (assuming another government does not win a confidence vote within 14 days.)

The DUP briefing suggests that, if the party were to vote down a budget, it would be doing so not to trigger an election, but to bring down Theresa May and get her replaced by an alternative Tory.

Updated

Corbyn says May's claim austerity over will be seen as 'great big Conservative con' unless budget reverses cuts

In his final question to the prime minister, Jeremy Corbyn said Theresa May’s claims about austerity ending would be seen as “a great big Conservative con” unless cuts were ended in the budget. He said:

The prime minister declared she is ending austerity. But unless the budget halts the cuts, increases funding to public services, gives our public servants a decent pay rise, then isn’t the claim that austerity is over simply a great big Conservative con?

May said austerity was ending. She told MPs:

I’ve been very clear that there are better times ahead for people, we will see debt falling and we will see support for our public services going up. Austerity is being brought to an end. What is not being brought to an end is fiscal responsibility.

The SNP’s leader at Westminster, Ian Blackford, asked about the welfare system in his two questions to the prime minister. Here is a summary from the PoliticsHome live blog.

SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford wants to know if the PM agrees that MPs should all work to eradicate policies that lead people to believe suicide is their only option...

What could possibly be coming next????

The PM offers some warm words about doing everything they can to prevent suicide.

Surprise, surprise: Blackford notes research showing almost one in two women taking part in the work capability programme have considered suicide. He demands the government looks again at its welfare programme and scrap the work capability programmes.

The PM notes that the work capability assessments were brought in “by a previous government” (ouch!) but she notes that she thinks they should continue.

PMQs is meant to end at 12.30, but today’s ran until 12.51pm - which even by John Bercow’s standards (he always lets it over-run) is pushing it. As the BBC’s Jack Evans points out, towards the end many MPs left. In the past the chamber used to be full for the whole session.

Labour’s James Frith says many children excluded from school have special educational needs. Some of these are categorised as “other” when reasons for exclusion are recorded. Will May stop the use of this categorisation?

May says there are concerns about exclusion. A review is being undertaken by Edward Timpson, the former children’s minister.

Charlie Elphicke, the Dover MP sitting as an independent after being suspended by the Tories, says the Home Office should do more to deal with the “county lines” drug problem.

May says the Home Office is taking this seriously.

Labour’s Chris Bryant says 57 MPs will soon launch a report on acquired brain injury. This is a hidden epidemic. Every primary school class will have at least one child who has someone with acquired brain inquiry, often hidden. He asks May to meet campaigners to discuss the issue.

May says this is an important issue. She will ensure Bryant can raise this with ministers.

Labour’s Emma Dent Coad asks May to appoint a panel to investigate Islamophobia in the Conservative party.

May says every complaint is investigated. In some cases, people have been expelled. But it is also working with Tell MAMA to organise more diversity training. There should be no place for Islamophobia, she says.

Richard Graham, a Conservative, asks about the Indonesian earthquake. He asks May to encourage DfID to do more, including matching the funding given to the DEC appeal.

May says DfID has already made some commitments in relation to matching funding for the DEC appeal, and it will consider doing more.

May says she is very please the Japanese are ready to let the UK join the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade bloc.

Rebecca Pow, a Conservative, says MPs are debating the agriculture bill today. Does May agree it shows the government is leading the way in supporting farmers.

May says leaving the common agriculture policy allows the government to take another look how to support farming.

Labour’s Anna McMorrin says the government must take urgent action to deal with plastic waste.

May says the government is taking this issue seriously. She says it is consulting on its plans, and will consider other proposals from MPs.

James Gray, a Conservative, says he hopes MPs will welcome the soldiers coming to the Commons. And they should remember the families of servicemen and women, and those who have been killed, he says.

May agrees. We should recognise the contribution made by the families. And injured servicemen and women need support, she says.

Labour’s Ronnie Campbell says the national debt was £768bn in 2010. Now the Tories have been in power for eight years, what is the level now?

May says this government is ensuring that debt is going to fall.

The deficit has fallen by three quarters, she says.

She says Campbell should think what a Labour government would do to the national debt.

PMQs - Snap verdict

PMQs - Snap verdict: At exactly this moment a week ago Theresa May was on her feet in Birmingham delivering a conference speech that promised, among other things, the end of austerity. It got a very good reception in the hall, and a fairly good reception from the commentariat generally. But it is increasingly likely that it will be added to the long list of political speeches that succeeded in the short term, but failed dismally in the long term, because this afternoon Jeremy Corbyn shredded it, and left it (metaphorically) in tatters on the floor of the Commons chamber. Repeatedly he challenged May to confirm that the government would end austerity, and repeatedly she was unable to say anything that implied that there is any substance to her breezy conference rhetoric. David Cameron was able to win a political argument with Labour over austerity by saying that spending was out of control, and that the books had to be balanced, but now that May has given up trying to defend austerity in principle, she was left with very little to say in response to the evidence Corbyn was able to produce about ongoing spending restraint. She fired out stats of her own quite forcefully, but they weren’t convincing. (Claims about “record spending” are always a bit bogus because inflation means actual spending is almost always going up; it is real terms spending that counts. And “absolute poverty” is poverty base-lined against income in a particular year; over time, it always goes down.) Corbyn did not produce a zinger that would have made this one of the all-time memorable PMQs, but thoughtful Tories should be worried. If there were to be a general election soon, this exchange would serve as a good dress rehearsal for how the austerity debate would pan out. And the Tories are losing.

Updated

Corbyn says May should spend some time listening to teachers.

He says the IFS says 75% of benefit cuts already announced have yet to come into force. Can May confirm that the cuts will end.

May says there are £2.4bn of unpaid benefits available under the legacy welfare system left by Labour that will be paid under universal credit.

She says austerity is being brought to an end. What is not being brought to an end is fiscal responsibility.

Corbyn says the poorest household will lose £754 a year if these cuts go ahead. Eight years of painful austerity have taken place. Wages have been eroded. Yet billions were found for tax giveaways and for the super-rich. May said she was ending austerity. But unless the budget ends the cut, the claim that austerity is over will be seen as “a great big Conservative con”.

May says wages are going up, and there are fewer people in absolute poverty. What about the £18bn in income tax cuts? She says 11m household will benefit from the energy cap. And freezing fuel duty has saved people £46bn. She says Labour’s plans would cost £1 trillion. Labour would take us back to square one, she says.

Corbyn says the police are taking the government to court about police funding.

In the last year the education secretary has been rebuked four times for making false claims about education funding. Can May confirm that austerity is over for all teachers, who will now all get the recommended pay rise.

May says the police pay award is the highest consolidated awared for the police since 2010.

School funding is at a record high, she says. She says she recognises the pressures schools are under. The government has improved schools partly through the academies and free schools programme. But Labour is opposed to that.

Corbyn says the Tory leader of Northamptonshire council said they could not cope with the cuts. Will May end austerity as promised last week?

May says there are more teachers in schools now. She says she recognises the hard work down by teachers.

On Northamptonshire, she says an independent report said failures at the council were not due to lack of funding.

Some £200bn was available to help councils deliver their services.

And rural services have had more, she says.

She says the government had to take tough decisions. That was because of the state of the public finances left by Labour.

People have made sacrifices. They need to know that was worth it. She says better times are ahead - under a Conservative government.

Jeremy Corbyn starts by expressing his sympathies to the victims of the Indonesian earthquake.

He says there are 5,000 fewer mental health nurses than in 2010. Last week May said austerity was over. When will it be over for the mental health services?

May starts by backing what Corbyn said about the earthquake, and summarising what the DEC has raised.

This government has raised the esteem of mental health services. It is putting record levels of resources in, she says. But she says more needs to be done. That is what the government is announcing today. She says she has appointed a minister for suicide prevention for the first time.

Corbyn says it was a Labour amendment to the Health and Social Care Act that put parity of esteem in legislation. The government opposed that. He says the income of mental health trusts is lower than it was five years ago. People are being sent 300 miles away from home.

Police numbers have been cut. When will austerity be over for the police?

May says the government will be doing more on mental health. She will be £394m per week into the NHS.

On the police, she says the government has made £460m more available for policing this year. Why did Labour oppose that?

May says the government is committed to supporting the performing arts.

The SNP’s Joanna Cherry asks about an EU constituent who has failed the habitual residency test. Even the DWP could not understand the letter, she says. Is this the fate of all EU nationals staying in the UK?

May says the government has guaranteed the rights of EU nationals in the UK after Brexit.

Theresa May starts by saying that after PMQs she will be watching a parade of 120 soldiers into parliament. This is an opporunity to thank them for their work, she says.

Back to Brussels for a moment.

PMQs

PMQs is starting soon.

Here is the batting order.

PMQs
PMQs Photograph: Parliament

Head of NAO's evidence to MPs about Brexit - Summary

Sir Amyas Morse is head of the National Audit Office, the Whitehall spending watchdog. As he told the committee this morning, he is a chartered accountant by profession, and that may help to explain why he has never been seen as the first person you would turn to in Westminster for hyperbole or headline-grabbing quotes. NAO reports are famously dull (and need quite a lot of de-coding for the stories to emerge).

So, in the circumstances, what he said this morning was actually rather strong.

Here are the key points.

  • Morse said it was inevitable that there would be “points of failure” in government after Brexit. He told the MPs:

There is so much concentrated risk. When you think about it, if you pardon my saying it, you wouldn’t start from here. You have a lot of things going forward in very short timescales. Generally speaking, the civil service is putting a terrific effort behind this. But because of the large number of unresolved risks that will be there at March, some of of those are bound to come to reality. So rather than saying “it will fall apart like a chocolate orange”, what will happen is there will be points of failure.

When asked where the problems would occur, he cited the border as a place where difficulties were likely.

  • He said businesses would find themselves in “a relatively difficult position” after Brexit and that the government should have done more keep them informed about the risks. He said:

Is is a good thing that there hasn’t been clearer communication with business? I think it’s been driven by a desire to not cause uncertainty and concern in the business community, but I think it has carried a heavy price with it. I think government could have told stakeholders more and I think it would have been positive if they had.

But I understand their argument for not doing it, which is that it would only cause ferment in the business community. But I think they underestimate the capability and the maturity of the business community quite a bit. They are actually very good at running their businesses. And if you don’t give them a chance to plan ahead and to solve the problem, you are putting them in a very difficult position. And I think many businesses are going to find themselves in a relatively difficult position.

  • He said he thought Chris Grayling’s Department for Transport was being over-confident about its ability to handle the problems posed by Brexit. He said:

They [the department] are in a fortunate position of having quite a lot of implementation skill on board, and they have made use of that. They are quite confident about getting everything done. I have some concerns that, because they are faced with this task, approaching it very vigorously, and needing to be very positive about it, they have actually convinced themselves that it is less risky than it actually is. And my job is to be on the objective side of that.

If you listen to the department, I think there is more risk than they are saying on some of their timelines and projects.

  • He said there was too much secrecy about Brexit planning within Whitehall. He said:

It has been visible to me that members of the civil service have been using our reports to find out what’s happening on Brexit. I don’t think that’s a good state of affairs.

I am thrilled that I have a wider readership but I actually think, if you are asking people to be behind what you are doing, you need to make sure that they do know what the overall enterprise is and feel really well informed. I think it was all taken a bit too far frankly.

The Labour MP Seema Malhotra, who asked Morse about this, said his answer was “extraordinarily worrying”.

Sir Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office
Sir Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office Photograph: Parliament TV

Updated

This morning Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, briefed European commissioners on the Brexit talks. As my colleague Jennifer Rankin reports, he told them the EU wanted “decisive progress” before the EU summit scheduled for Thursday next week.

Martin Selmayr, the commission’s most senior official, then told the meeting the EU had to prepare “for all outcomes”, the Sun’s Nick Gutteridge reports.

The BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg has a useful Twitter thread on where we are in the Brexit process. It starts here.

Bono has called on artists to celebrate the “romance” of Europe at a time when the value of the EU has come under question, the Press Association reports. Visiting the European parliament in Brussels, the U2 singer hailed the European institutions as both a “brain ... working to improve the lives of Europeans” and a “loudly beating heart” bringing them together. The Irish rocker and anti-poverty campaigner did not mention Brexit in his comments alongside the parliament’s president, Antonio Tajani, but said that pro-European voices were needed at a time when “people are questioning Europe”. As the Press Association reports, Bono said:

As an artist, I think I probably have a role to play in romancing the idea of Europe and seeing it as something warm-blooded. Europe is a thought that needs to become a feeling and I am, as an artist, in service of that ...

If you think about the mythology of America and you think about Hollywood and how Hollywood perpetuated the idea of the American dream... when you think about artists involved in the project that is Europe, it’s not that many. I think we need more as people are questioning Europe.

Bono (left) and the European parliament president Antonio Tajani
Bono (left) and the European parliament president Antonio Tajani Photograph: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images

Hilary Benn, the committee chairman, goes next.

Q: If the UK is not ready by the end of the transition, the no deal planning could then be useful, couldn’t it?

Yes, says Morse.

And he says it is possible that, after the transition, there could be no deal.

He says this autumn the intention is to agree a “statement of intent”.

And that’s it. Benn thanks Morse for his evidence.

Morse says he thinks it is sensible to pay an insurance premium. Preparing for a no deal Brexit was sensible, he says, even if it turns out there is a deal.

The Tory MP Richard Graham says the English civil war was described as the greatest example of “unintended consequences” in history. What are the possible unintended consequences of Brexit?

Morse says that is a policy question, and he does not want to answer.

Morse says much of the work that has been done planning for a no deal Brexit will be quite useful whatever happens.

Business should have been told more about what will happen after Brexit, says Morse

The SNP’s Peter Grant goes next.

Q: Are you confident that, where the government is using non-disclosure agreements when consulting with industry, it is doing so for the right reasons?

Morse says there is a legitimate use for non-disclosure agreements when the government is consulting well ahead of setting policy.

But he says a separate question is whether business should have been consulted more.

He says he understands why government was reluctant to do so; it did not want to cause concern.

But he says that was a mistake.

  • Morse says the government should have given business more information about what will happen after Brexit.

Many businesses will find themselves “in a relatively difficult position” over Brexit, he says.

Morse says there was a period when people thought the risk of a no deal Brexit was remote.

But then it was seen as more of a risk.

Changing perceptions like this affect how departments prepare for risk.

He says it has been “quite disorientating”.

Morse says departments know they will have to recruit more staff to deal with Brexit, and in some cases quite a lot more people.

Will they be successful in getting qualified people? That’s another question, says Morse. He says a lot of other people are fishing in the same poll.

  • Morse suggests government departments could have difficulty hiring qualified staff to deal with Brexit.

Q: Why would we have to start inspecting agricultural goods coming into the UK?

Morse says he is not an expert on WTO rules. But there are some rules requiring consistency of approach.

(What he means is, if the UK were to waive checks for EU goods, other countries exporting to the UK would, under WTO rules, demand the same leniency.)

Morse says Defra recognises it cannot get some contingency plans in place by March.

But it is doing its best in the circumstances.

He says he is not seeing people act “in a silly way”. He is seeing departments make practical decisions.

Q: Is it plausible that airplanes could be grounded?

Morse says this could happen intentionally, or it could happen by mistake.

It is not hard to imagine a scenario where the EU would not be well disposed towards the UK.

The UK is relying on goodwill, he says.

For example, the UK has considerable chemical exports going to Europe. Those will just stop if no arrangement is in place, he says.

He says the government is relying on goodwill to get those arrangements in place.

Peter Bone, the Conservative Brexiter, goes next,

He says Morse is being unusually frank for a civil servant. He is answering questions.

Morse says he isn’t a civil servant. He works for the House of Commons. (The NAO reports to parliament, not to government.)

Q: Is a two year transition realistic?

Morse says he can see the case for a clear goal.

But one of the interesting features of government is the interaction between what is desirably in management terms, and political forces.

He says having an 18-month transition is better than trying to do everything by March.

But will everything by finished after 18 months? “I don’t think it will,” he says.

But “sensible” solutions should be available by then, he says.

(Actually, it is a 21-month transition.)

  • Morse suggests the transition may not be long enough to sort out all Brexit issues.

Morse says there will be a sense of urgency later as MPs realise how much secondary legisalation they need to pass.

MPs will have to consider the need for extra sittings, he says.

  • Morse suggests Commons might have to extend its sitting hours to pass the necessary legislation before Brexit.

Morse says Department for Transport is underestimating risks of Brexit

Morse says transport is inevitably going to be an area where, if there are risks that have not been addressed, “it will be highly visible and there will be very significant consequences”.

He says the Department for Transport is “quite confident” about getting everything done.

But he says he is worried they have “convinced themselves it is less risky than it actually is”.

  • Morse says Department for Transport is underestimating the risks of Brexit.

NAO chief says Brexit so complicated that some 'points of failure' in government inevitable

Labour’s Stephen Kinnock goes next.

Q: In the summer you said if things went wrong the government could fall apart “like a chocolate orange”. How worried are you about that now?

Morse says the government is doing better now than when he made that remark.

He says you would not start from here.

He says the civil servants are putting in a tremendous effort.

But given the large number of risks, “there will be points of failure”, he says.

  • NAO chief says Brexit so complicated that some “points of failure” in government inevitable.

He says the areas under most stress will be at the border.

Morse says at some point in the past he was worried about a lack of urgency in government about Brexit planning.

Some departments have been better than others, he says.

He says he has seen reprioritisation in some departments, like HMRC and Defra (the Departmenr for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs).

Q: Which departments are you worried about?

Morse says there is a difference between being concerned and critical.

Defra is one of the departments with the most Brexit issues to address, he says.

Brexit committee questions NAO chief, Sir Amyas Morse

The Brexit committee hearing with Sir Amyas Morse, the head of the National Audit Office, has started.

You can watch a live feed here.

Theresa May faces MPs for the first time today since her party conference with just a week to go until the start of the EU summit billed as a “moment of truth” for Brexit. But before that Sir Amyas Morse, the head of the National Audit Office, will be questioned by MPs about the government’s preparedness for leaving the EU. I will be covering the hearing in detail.

Here is the agenda for the day.

9.15am: Sir Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office, gives evidence to the Commons Brexit committee.

12pm: Theresa May faces Jeremy Corbyn at PMQs.

3pm: The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, the Road Haulage Association, the Federation of Small Businesses and the British Retail Consortium give evidence to the Commons Brexit committee.

3pm: Andrea Leadsom, the leader of the Commons, gives evidence to the Commons finance committee about the restoration of the Palace of Westminster.

3.20pm: Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, gives a speech in Brussels.

As usual, I will also be covering breaking political news as it happens, as well as bringing you the best reaction, comment and analysis from the web. I plan to post a summary after PMQs and another when I finish, at about 5pm.

Here is the Politico Europe round-up of this morning’s political news. And here is the PoliticsHome list of today’s top 10 must-reads.

If you want to follow me or contact me on Twitter, I’m on @AndrewSparrow.

I try to monitor the comments BTL but normally I find it impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer direct questions, although sometimes I miss them or don’t have time.

If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter.

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