Key events
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the DUP leader, asks Sunak if he will continue to press the Irish government to continue to do more to investigate crimes that took place during the Troubles in their jurisdiction.
Sunak says he has spoken to the taoiseach on this. He says he wants families to get as much information as possible about these crimes.
David Davis, the former Brexit secretary, says the government should pay proper compensation, not just to post officer operators who were convicted, but who had to repay money to the Post Office they were wrongly accused of stealing.
Sunak backs Davis for his campaigning on this.
Stephen Flynn, the SNP leader, says the Conservative party in Scotland is furious about Scotland being taxed to fund a tax cut for England. (See 12.01pm.)
Sunak says he won’t comment on the budget. But when he was in Scotland last week, it was clear only the Scottish Conservatives stand up for the energy industry.
Flynn says that is not the case. He says up to 100,000 jobs are at risk. Scotland’s jobs and resources are being lost to help Westminster. Will the PM call an election?
Sunak says, if Flynn supports the energy sector, why has the SNP not backed government moves to help it. And he says Scotland is now the high-tax capital of the UK.
Starmer says the “rosy picture” Sunak paints of the system is at odds with the lack of confidence women have it. And at Westminster the government has not even allowed a vote on the plan to ban MPs from the estate if they have been accused of sex offences. When will that be allowed?
Sunak ignores the question about the vote, but lists other measures the government is taking to help women.
Starmer says that claim will be fact checked. He says victims deserve better than this “nonsense”. When will the government commit to matching Labour’s plans to tackle violence against women and girls.
Sunak says the government has already implemented a rape review plan.
Starmer says this recommendation should be implemented urgently. He asks Sunak to look again at this. The Sarah Everard murder should have been a watershed, he says. But most rape cases do not lead to charges. How can victims have confidence in the system?
Sunak says the rape action review plan is showing considerable progress. Sentences for rape have increased by a third, under a power that Labour voted against. Last year there was a 50% increase in rape charges, he says. And he says while Starmer was at the CPS rape convictions fell.
Starmer says there is a world of difference between a code, and binding national standards. Wayne Couzens was not sacked even though he had been accused of indecent exposure. All indecent exposure allegations against serving officers should be investigated, as the report recommends. Will this happen immediately?
Sunak says indecent exposure is abhorrent. Any officer charged with a sexually motivated crime should be suspended, he says.
Starmer says concerns about police vetting were first raised in 2012. Labour wants mandatory national vetting standards. Why aren’t they already in place?
Sunak says the college of policing has updated its statutory code. And an entire check againt the national police database has been carried out.
Keir Starmer asks about the murder of Sarah Everard. He cannot imagine the pain her relatives are going through. The Angiolini report says there is nothing to stop this happening again, he says.
Sunak says this was an appalling case. He says the largest ever screening of officers has been carried out. All recommendations in the report are being considered, he says.
Kieran Mullan (Con) asks about food security and support for farmers.
Sunak refers to what he told the NFU confernce two weeks ago. One new scheme for farmers opens today, he says. Unlike Labour in Wales, the Tories will not introduce top-down, damaging targets, he says.
PMQs begins
Rishi Sunak starts with the normal spiel about his engagements including meetings with colleagues. But he will be listening to the budget, he says.
Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross says he will not vote for budget plan to extend windfall tax on energy firms
Kevin Schofield from HuffPost UK has a quote from Douglas Ross saying he will not vote for an extension of the windfall tax. (See 11.54am.) In his story Schofield quotes Ross as saying:
The Scottish Conservatives have a clear position. We will always stand up for the livelihoods of the almost 100,000 Scottish workers who depend on our oil and gas industry.
Unlike Labour and the SNP who would stop any new developments, we will not support any action that would put those jobs at risk.
As such, while I support many of the Budget measures, as Scottish Conservative Leader I will not vote for this extension when it is brought before Parliament.
My Scottish Conservative colleagues and I will continue to have robust discussions with the Chancellor on this matter.
The BBC’s David Wallace Lockhart says Douglas Ross, the Scottish Tory leader, will refuse to vote for any extension of the windfall tax on oil and energy companies. (See 11.37am.)
NEW: Scot Tory leader Douglas Ross will not vote for any extension of the windfall tax on the oil and gas industry.
Reports that Jeremy Hunt will announce an extension in his budget shortly.
H/T @KevinASchofield
— David Wallace Lockhart (@BBCDavidWL) March 6, 2024
Rishi Sunak faces Keir Starmer at PMQs
Before the budget we’ve got PMQs. Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question.
This is just the list of backbenchers who won the right to ask a question in the ballot, not the full list of MPs who will speak. That’s because the speaker will also choose people not on the list, to ensure questions come in the government/opposition/government/opposition order.
On Monday George Galloway said he would try to get a question in today. Given that Rishi Sunak described Galloway’s win in the Rochdale byelection as “beyond alarming”, he may feel entitled to a right of reply.
Labour says adopting its plan to abolish non-dom tax status would be ‘humiliating U-turn’ for Tories
Another Labour tax proposal which Jeremy Hunt has lifted for the budget is the plan to abolish non-dom status. The Financial Times has some detail about how Hunt will do this. It says:
The chancellor is looking to scrap the two-century old concept of domicile, and change when individuals receive the tax break, the Financial Times has been told. The Treasury declined to comment.
Non-domiciled people are UK residents deemed to have their permanent home or “domicile” outside the country. They can currently earn money from abroad without paying UK tax on this for up to 15 years, provided they do not bring any income or capital gains into the country.
Hunt will modernise the system, replacing the concept of domicile in tax with a statutory residence test that would define who benefits from a new system of tax privileges.
He will also encourage wealthy people to bring their foreign-held assets and money to the UK. Tax experts have long complained the current regime is complicated and disincentivises non-doms from bringing wealth into the country, as they are taxed when they do so.
Darren Jones, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, has described this as a “humiliating U-turn”.
‘Are they really in a position where they’re so bereft of any ideas of their own?’
Labour’s @darrenpjones says if Jeremy Hunt announces he’s scrapping the non-dom tax status in the Budget, it will be a ‘humiliating u-turn for the Conservatives’ pic.twitter.com/UEhRfscpKR
— ITV News Politics (@ITVNewsPolitics) March 6, 2024
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