On the Agenda
This page lists the business taking place in the UK's parliaments and assemblies, along with details of other political events.
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In Brief
Prime minister Gordon Brown and foreign secretary David Miliband meet with the Israeli president Shimon Peres.
Speaking at an Asset 08: Managing and Relocating the Government Estate Conference, chief secretary to the Treasury Yvette Cooper is expected to announce a further £4-5bn in efficiency savings.
Work and pensions secretary James Purnell is among the speakers at a Local Government Association public services innovation conference.
Schools secretary Ed Balls visits schools in Birmingham.
Skills secretary John Denham announces areas bidding for new universities.
Transport minister Jim Fitzpatrick publishes a consultation document on road safety.
Care services minister Phil Hope launches guidance on social enterprise and announces an innovation fund for life projects.
Local government minister John Healey is among the speakers at the New Local Government Network's 2008 local area agreements conference in London.
Shadow environment secretary Peter Ainsworth is among the speakers at the launch of the Sustainability and Environmental Education charity at the House of Commons.
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg addresses the Association of Colleges Annual Conference in Birmingham, where he puts forward proposals for 'recession-proofing' further education.
Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesmen Vince Cable and Jeremy Browne hold a briefing on the pre-Budget report.
The chairman of the Commons culture committee, Conservative MP John Whittingdale, is among the speakers at the UK Cinema Industry conference in London.
Labour MP John Smith chairs an all party parliamentary thrombosis group half day conference in the grand committee room.
Writing on the Progress website, Labour MP and former communities minister Parmjit Dhanda calls for powers to enable local authorities to force local developers to fund new public services such as GP surgeries, bus routes and post offices as a quid pro quo for granting planning permission. "True imaginative empowerment of local people means giving their locally accountable leadership power to do better, quicker and more transparent deals," he says.
The Northern Ireland Executive will meet today for the first time since June after the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Fein agreed an end to their stand-off.
Welsh Assembly first minister Rhodri Morgan visits Pontyclun Primary School to mark anti-bullying week.
Welsh Assembly heritage minister Alun Ffred Jones speaks in Welsh at a ministerial meeting of the EU's culture council in Brussels.
Mayor of London Boris Johnson launches his draft housing strategy, outlining how he intends to invest £5bn over the next three years to deliver 50,000 more affordable homes and boost the capital's housing market.
The European Central Bank's governing council meets in Frankfurt.
The Duke of Edinburgh and the Princess Royal launch the new Catch 22 charity for young people.
World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz and around 150 parliamentarians from 70 countries, including senior government officials, attend the annual conference of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank.
Unite union joint general secretary Derek Simpson calls on the government to increase training places for community health workers in a speech in Harrogate.
Westminster Briefing holds its 2008 Third Sector Conference and events on tenant worklessness, sexual health and welfare reform.
The Institute of Economic Affairs holds its political economy conference 2008.
The Institute for Public Policy Research holds an event on class.
The Royal Society of Arts and Vodafone hold an event on young people and technology.
Events take place to mark Social Enterprise Day.
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council unveils £20m of funding for fighting virtual crime, treating an ageing population, and turning research into commercial enterprises.
The British-American Business Council and the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority hold a transatlantic business networking evening reception in London.
Counsel and Care holds an event in London looking at the care and support system.
Reports and Statistics
The Commons public accounts committee publishes a report on compensating victims of violent crime. It finds that ministers have given the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) a "low priority", despite its pledge to place victims "at the heart of the criminal justice system". Committee chairman Edward Leigh said: "The Ministry of Justice's declared objective is to place victims at the heart of the criminal justice system. If the scheme for compensating victims of violent crime is anything to go by, that objective is a long way from fulfilment.
The National Audit Office launches a report on HM Revenue and Customs' management of tax debt. It finds that HMRC has improved how it manages debts owed to it by taxpayers, but that it has yet to introduce some of the measures recommended by the Commons public accounts committee in a previous report on debt. NAO head Tim Burr said: "To manage tax debt more effectively, HMRC should link different debts owed on each tax by the same taxpayer and prioritise debts which are less likely to be paid without action by the department."
The Wales Audit Office publishes a report on Bro Myrddin Housing Association.
The Law Commission publishes a report on anti-corruption legislation. It recommends new offences of bribing a foreign public official, and negligently failing to prevent bribery by an employee or agent. Liberal Democrat justice spokesman David Howarth said: "This report, coupled with the OECD's damning criticism of the government's handling of corruption cases, shows that the government must take immediate action to reform the law."
The Office for National Statistics publishes figures on deaths registered in 2007, financial statistics for Nov 2008 and statistics on: public sector finances and retail sales for October 2008.
The Department for Communities and Local Government publishes statistics on house building from July to September and local authority capital expenditure and receipts for England 2007-08.
The Department for Children, Schools and Families publishes national curriculum assessment, GCSE and equivalent attainment and post-16 attainment by pupil characteristics in England 2007-08.
The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs publishes commodity price movements; the June survey of agriculture and horticulture; UK slaughter statistics and statistics on the utilisation of milk by dairies in England and Wales.
The Department for Transport publishes the 2008 public transport statistics bulletin.
The Department of Health publishes referral to treatment statistics for admitted patients, non-admitted patients and incomplete RTT times.
The Information Centre for Health and Social Care publishes NHS dental statistics.
HM Revenue and Customs publishes statistics on betting and gaming; insurance premium tax; VAT and public sector finances.
The Ministry of Justice publishes statistics on time intervals for criminal proceedings in magistrates' courts in September 2008.
The Welsh Assembly government publishes ophthalmic statistics for 2007-08 and statistics on time spent in NHS accident and emergency departments in October 2008.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders publishes its latest lending statistics.
The Agenda in Westminster
Commons Chamber
10.30am: Innovation, universities and skills questions (topical questions at 11.15am).
11.30am: Business statement.
Main business
General debate: Fisheries.
Adjournment debate: Liquidation of Bank of Credit & Commerce International (Keith Vaz).
Westminster Hall
2.30pm: General debate on organ donation.
Commons Select Committees
Health committee (10.00am, Wilson room).
Subject: Patient Safety.
Witnesses: Professor Richard Thomson, Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Newcastle, and Professor Alastair Gray, Professor of Health Economics, University of Oxford; Mr Martin Bromiley, Chairman of the Clinical Human Factors Group, Ms Josephine Ocloo, World Health Organization Patient Safety Champion, and Mrs Clare Bowen (at 11.15am).
Public administration committee (10.00am, Thatcher room).
Subject: Official Statistics.
Witnesses: Sir Michael Scholar KCB, Chair, Karen Dunnell, Chief Executive, and Richard Alldritt, Head of Assessment, UK Statistics Authority.
Home affairs (10.30am, Grimond room).
Subject: Draft Immigration and Citizenship Bill.
Witness: Phil Woolas MP, Minister of State, Home Office.
Business and enterprise committee (11.00am, room 16).
Subject: Creating a higher value–added economy.
Witness: Technical Strategy Board.
Commons General and Bill Committees
Public Bill committee
Political Parties and Elections Bill committee (9.00am and 1.00pm, room 11).
Subject: Further to consider the Bill.
Lords Chamber
11.00am: Oral questions:
Lord Judd - what support and encouragement they are giving farmers in poor countries in view of the pressures on world food demand;
Lord Harrison - what plans they have to reduce the incidence of diabetes amongst children;
Lord Roberts of Llandudno - what steps they are taking to enable the Watoto Children’s Choir from Uganda to visit the United Kingdom;
Topical question: Lord Forsyth of Drumlean - whether their proposals to help small businesses maintain employment will include retaining after 1 April 2009 the Staff Hire Concession, which prevents value added tax being charged on the wages of agency workers.
Main business
Debate on the prospects for the future of the United Kingdom's railways (Lord Adonis).
Debate on the report of the European Union committee on The EU's Target for Renewable Energy: 20% by 2020 (Lord Freeman).
Lords Committees
European Union sub-committee G (Social policy and consumer affairs) (10.10am).
Subject: EU Commission's proposals for a directive on patients' rights in cross border healthcare.
Witnesses: General Medical Council; and Nursing and Midwifery Council.
European Union sub-committee C (Defence and development policy) (11.30am)
Subject: EU and Russia follow-up inquiry.
Witnesses: Evidence will be heard from Sir Mark Lyall Grant, Political Director, Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
The Agenda in the Scottish Parliament
In Parliament
9.15am: parliamentary bureau motions.
followed by: Scottish government debate on Scotland's looked-after children.
11.40am: general question time.
midday: first minister's question time.
2.15pm: themed question time on finance and sustainable growth.
2.55pm: Scottish government debate on Scottish aquaculture.
followed by: parliamentary bureau motions.
5.00pm: decision time.
followed by: debate on Gaelic language development.
In Committee
9.00am: Sustainability committee takes evidence on its inquiry into carbon reduction in Wales.
9.30am: Equality of opportunity committee considers accessibility in Wales.
12.30pm: Petitions committee considers new petitions, provides updates on previous petitions and reviews progress.
The Agenda in the Northern Ireland Assembly
In Plenary
The Northern Ireland Assembly is not sitting in plenary.
In Committee
10.30am: Committee for the environment receives a departmental briefing on the Budget stocktake.
10.30am: Committee for enterprise, trade and investment visits the Health and Safety executive Northern Ireland headquarters.
10.30am: Committee for culture, arts and leisure takes evidence on public service broadcasting.
11.00am: Committee for social development takes evidence on the compact between government and the voluntary and community sector.
2.00pm: Public accounts committee meets in public.
time tbc: Committee for health, social services and public safety visits Wales.
The Agenda in the European Parliament
In Parliament
9.00am to 11.50am: presentation of the court of auditors' 2007 annual report.
followed by: report on the amendment of regulations concerning investigations conducted by the European Anti Fraud Office.
followed by: report on the organisation and operation of the Publications Office of the European Union.
midday to 1.00pm: votes.
followed by: report on the future of social security systems and pensions: their financing and the trend towards individualisation.
followed by: report on protecting the consumer: Improving consumer education and awareness on credit and finance.
followed by: report on the consumer markets scoreboard.
followed by: report on supporting early demonstration of sustainable power generation from fossil fuels.
followed by: special report from the European ombudsman to the European Parliament following the draft recommendation to the Council of the European Union.
followed by: texts on which debate is closed.
3.00pm to 4.00pm: debates on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
4.00pm or at the end of the preceding debates: votes.
followed by: motions for resolutions concerning debates on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
