Keir Starmer wins two-child benefit cap crunch vote despite Labour MP rebellion - live

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Sir Keir Starmer has seen off a small rebellion from Labour backbench MPs in the Commons in a crunch vote over scrapping the two-child benefit cap.

In total, there were 103 votes for the amendment, and 363 against, with the prime minister winning a majority of 170.

Seven Labour MPs broke ranks and voted to scrap the amendment, which included Apsana Begum, Richard Burgon, Ian Byrne, Imran Hussain, Rebecca Long-Bailey, John McDonnell and Zarah Sultana.

But the issue is unlikely to go away with Mr Starmer set to face further questioning on the benefit cap at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.

It follows a night when former home secretary James Cleverly announced his intention to run for leadership of the Conservative party in a video on social media.

A set of new dossiers published by the National Audit Office revealed on Tuesday the real state of government after 14 years of Tory rule.

According to a NAO report, the NHS is at an “unprecedented” breaking point with health workers “working at the limits” of the system.

Key Points

• Starmer sees off scrapping two-child benefit policy
• James Cleverly enters race to become next Tory leader
• NHS at ‘unprecedented’ breaking point, NAO dossiers reveal
• Labour to shut down Bibby Stockholm asylum barge

Children ‘being failed in dual crises of poverty and mental health’

Children are being failed in “dual crises of poverty and mental health”, according to charities which have ramped up calls for the Government to scrap the two-child benefit limit.

The groups said money and mental health are “inextricably linked” and that those children growing up in families facing financial hardship face a knock-on impact throughout their lives.

The report from the Centre for Mental Health, Save the Children UK and the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition recommended the new Labour Government should scrap both the two-child limit and the benefit cap “to ensure all children receive their benefit entitlements”.

The cap, introduced in 2013 under the then-Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government as a way of “restoring fairness to the welfare state”, sees the amount of benefits a household receives reduced to ensure claimants do not receive more than the cap limit.

Any pay deal for junior doctors ‘will be affordable’ – Streeting

The Government hopes to agree a pay deal with junior doctors that “the country can afford,” the Health Secretary has said as official talks began to try and bring the long-running dispute to a close.

Wes Streeting said that junior doctors made a “reasonable case” that their pay had not kept up in line with inflation, but said that their request for a 35% uplift was not affordable.

But addressing the Commons, Mr Streeting insisted that the Government was negotiating with medics from the British Medical Association (BMA) “in good faith”.

Formal negotiations between the new Government and the BMA’s Junior Doctors Committee began on Tuesday with a view to end the long-running dispute over pay.

Dr Vivek Trivedi and Dr Robert Laurenson, co-chairmen of the Committee, refused to answer questions from reporters as they arrived at the Department for Health and Social Care on Tuesday morning.

Mr Streeting was asked about the negotiations during his first Oral Health Questions in the House of Commons.

Shadow health secretary Victoria Atkins said: “In opposition, (Mr Streeting) described the 35% pay rise demand by the junior doctors committee as reasonable. What he didn’t tell the public was that this single trade union demand would cost an additional £3 billion, let alone the impact on other public-sector workers.

“So, will he ask the Chancellor to raise taxes or will she ask him to cut patient services to pay for it?”

Mr Streeting, in his reply, said: “What I said was that the doctors were making a reasonable case that their pay hadn’t kept up in line with inflation, but we were clear before the election that 35% was not a figure we could afford.

“We are negotiating with the junior doctors in good faith to agree on a settlement that we can deliver and the country can afford.”

Wes Streeting launches ‘review’ into cash and timetable for 40 new hospitals

A review of plans for 40 new hospitals could delay projects, a shadow health minister warned, as the new Health Secretary vowed not to give patients “false hope” about when they can expect more up-to-date facilities.

Wes Streeting faced questions in the Commons about the Conservatives’ £20 billion New Hospital Programme – for new and refurbished hospitals by 2030 – and told MPs he has ordered a review into the scheme’s funding and timetable.

He said: “It’s painfully clear that the previous government’s New Hospital Programme, that said they would deliver 40 new hospitals by 2030, is not deliverable in that timeframe.

“I want to see the New Hospital Programme completed but I’m not prepared to offer people false hope about how soon they will benefit from the facilities that they deserve.

“That’s why I’ve asked officials as a matter of urgency to report to me on the degree to which the programme is funded, along with a realistic timetable for delivery.”

In May 2023, the Department of Health and Social Care claimed “the Government is on track to deliver the manifesto commitment to build 40 new hospitals in England by 2030”, in line with a flagship Tory manifesto pledge made in 2019, before former prime minister Boris Johnson led his party to an 80-seat majority.

Watch: Cleverly hints he will launch Tory leadership bid

Cleverly hints he will launch Tory leadership bid

James Cleverly has hinted that he will launch a Tory leadership bid. The shadow home secretary was quizzed on whether he will run for the job, as nominations for Rishi Sunak’s replacement open tomorrow (24 July). Appearing on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday (23 July), Mr Cleverly said: “Of course, I and a number of other people have thought about the future of our country, have thought about the contribution of the party and our personal contribution to those things. “Of course, I don’t think I’m alone in having given that serious thought.”

British army not as strong as it should be because of ‘historic underinvestment’ says defence chief

Britain’s army is not as strong as it should be because of “historic underinvestment”, the head of the military has admitted, with “deficiencies in people, equipment, stockpiles, training and technology”.

Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the chief of defence staff, said there was a need for “humility” to recognise the limitations and “near-term financial challenges” faced by our armed forces.

But he said Russia, the main adversary of the West, has been hugely damaged by brutal losses in Ukraine and will take a decade or more to rebuild its military strength to the level it had at the time of Vladimir Putin’s invasion and rectify the shortcomings exposed. Our world affairs editor Kim Sengupta has the full story:

British army not as strong as it should be, admits defence chief

But Admiral Sir Tony Radakin rejects need for conscription as suggested in Tory manifesto

Councils face ‘unsustainable financial pressure’ on homelessness, says watchdog

Councils are facing “unsustainable financial pressure” in dealing with record levels of homelessness, the public spending watchdog has said as it called for a long-term and cross-Government strategy to tackle the problem.

England remains an outlier in the UK as the only one of the four nations without a strategy or target for statutory homelessness, which the National Audit Office (NAO) noted is the case despite its recommendation for one seven years ago.

The NAO report, published on Tuesday, is its first since 2017 on the issue, which covers people considered homeless as they are in temporary accommodation provided by their local authority, rather than those rough sleeping.

The report acknowledged the rough sleeping strategy under the previous Conservative government, but said no such strategy had been formulated to tackle statutory homelessness – something each of the other UK devolved administrations has an overarching strategy or action plan for.

Funding for local authorities to meet their obligations under the 2017 Homelessness Reduction Act, extending local authorities’ statutory duties to include prevention and relief, is a major issue amid rising need, the NAO said.

The report stated: “Funding remains fragmented and generally short-term, inhibiting homelessness prevention work and limiting investment in good-quality temporary accommodation or other forms of housing.

“Until these factors are addressed across government, DLUHC (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities) will not be able to demonstrate that it is delivering optimal value for money from its efforts to tackle homelessness.”

Increasing number of NHS bodies failing to break even, report warns

An increasing number of NHS bodies have been unable to break even, according to a new report on the financial management and sustainability of the health service.

NHS England is facing challenges on an “unprecedented” scale, the National Audit Office (NAO) warned, with its sustainability hinging on how well it manages future demand.

Concerns have also been raised that the health service “may be working at the limits of a system which might break before it is again able to provide patients with care that meets standards for timeliness and accessibility”.

The report is the ninth of its kind by the NAO, and the first to be published since February 2020. Experts said its findings depict “a picture of systemic failures and inefficient decision-making”. It warned that NHS England’s financial position is “worsening” due to a “combination of long-standing and recent issues, including failure to invest in the estate, inflationary pressures, and the cost of post-pandemic recovery”.

According to the NAO, NHS England is expected to spend £153 billion in 2023/24. It said “many NHS bodies failed to break even” during the period and in the previous 12 months, although the NHS calculates it underspent against its overall budget by about £30 million last year after additional cash from Government and reallocation of central funding.

The combined deficit of the 42 integrated care systems (ICSs) – which were introduced in 2022 to bring together the NHS, councils and voluntary sector to create services based on local needs – was £1.4 billion, the NAO said.

This deficit was initially planned to be £720 million for the year.

New poll reveals voters main concerns as Starmer comes under pressure

Public concern about the NHS is at its highest level since the Covid crisis, according to a new poll.

Nearly half, 47 per cent, name the health service as the most important issue - the highest since December 2019, just before the pandemic hit.

Immigration is also a growing issue, at the highest level since January 2017 and cited by 31 per cent of those asked.

It comes as Keir Starmer faces pressure from his own backbenchers over a number of issues – including benefits, Brexit and Gaza.

Poll reveals voters concerns as Starmer faces pressure over benefits, Brexit and Gaza

New prime minister is facing calls to act from his own backbenches

Labour to end use of Bibby Stockholm asylum accommodation barge

The Government will end the use of the Bibby Stockholm barge for housing migrants off England’s south coast as part of an overhaul of the asylum system, the Home Office has announced.

The contract for the barge moored in Dorset will not be renewed past January as demand for such accommodation will be reduced by moves to clear the asylum backlog, the department said.

The vessel was one of several sites, including the military bases RAF Wethersfield in Essex and RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, used by the previous Tory government in a bid to cut the cost of housing migrants in hotels.

But the new Labour Government said continuing the use of the Bibby Stockholm would have cost more than £20 million next year, and that scrapping it forms part of the expected £7.7 billion of savings in asylum costs over the next 10 years.

Dame Angela Eagle, minister for border security and asylum, said: “We are determined to restore order to the asylum system, so that it operates swiftly, firmly and fairly; and ensures the rules are properly enforced.

“The Home Secretary has set out plans to start clearing the asylum backlog and making savings on accommodation which is running up vast bills for the taxpayer.

“The Bibby Stockholm will continue to be in use until the contract expires in January 2025.”

The Government’s efforts to tackle the UK’s asylum backlog include redeploying more than 100 Home Office staff from working on the now-scrapped Rwanda deportation scheme to focus on a “rapid returns unit” to send people with no right to be in the UK back to their home country.

Councils spending half their budgets on homelessness as problem hits record high, damning report finds

Local authorities are spending as much as half their budgets tackling the UK’s homelessness crisis in the UK, a damning new report has found.

In 2022/23, £2.4 billion was been spent on homelessness services, more than twice the amount spent in 2010/11, including £1.6 billion on temporary accommodation alone. The huge sums are putting a massive strain on local authority finances, according to the report published by the National Audit Office (NAO) on Tuesday.

The NAO said there was a £204.5 million gap in the funding local authorities received to cover the cost of providing temporary accommodation and the actual costs needed in 2022-23, up by more than £150 million in a decade.

A number of the councils that spoke to the NAO said they would likely have to issue a Section 114 notice due to the costs, similar to bankruptcy, much like authorities in Birmingham last year.

Councils spending half their budgets on homelessness as problem hits record high

Government has failed to tackle the issue despite higher funding, National Audit Office report says

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