Westminster today: Government announces pay rise for NHS staff after seven year cap - as it happened

All the live updates from Westminster

Bizarre exchange between Tom Pursglove and Theresa May at PMQs

The Government has announced a pay rise for NHS staff, seven years after the 1 per cent pay cap was introduced.

Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, told MPs that staff will see their salaries increase by between 6.5 per cent and 29 per cent, with the lowest paid workers benefiting most.

Earlier, Theresa May clashed with Jeremy Corbyn at the penultimate session of Prime Minister's Questions before Parliament's Easter recess.

The issue of council funding was at the centre of the heated exchange, with Mr Corbyn challenging the Prime Minister to explain the collapse of the Conservative-run Northamptonshire County Council.

As it happened...

Key Points

Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn clash over local government funding

[21 March 2018 11:43 · Kristin Hugo]

One SNP staffer has reported Nigel Farage for fly-tipping after the former Ukip leader dumped a tray of haddock in the Thames as part of a protest this morning...

[21 March 2018 12:04 · Kristin Hugo]

PMQs is underway. Theresa May starts by paying tribute to those killed in the Westminster terror attack last year, the first anniversary of which is tomorrow.

She also sends condolences to the Red Arrows engineer killed in a crash yesterday. 

[21 March 2018 12:15 · Kristin Hugo]

Theresa May says a report into the problems encountered by Northamptonshire council found they were "not a result of underfunding".

"We are ensuring that councils are able to provide good services up and down the country, and that's what we see with Conservative councils up and down the country costing people less than Labour."

Jeremy Corbyn says the Northamptonshire collapse was "caused by the Conservative government and the Conservative council".

Government cuts mean councils in England face a £5.8bn funding gap, he adds, asking if the Prime Minister believes it was right to "prioritise tax cuts for the super rich and big business" over "funding for social care, libraries, repairing potholes, street cleaning and bin collections".

He asks: "Does the Prime Minister really believe that the slash-and-burn model for local government is really a good one?"

[21 March 2018 12:20 · Kristin Hugo]

Corbyn now asks about the pressures facing small shops, accusing Theresa May of 

"presiding over a Government that is tearing the heart out of our high streets".

The Prime Minister says two Labour councillors in Ashfield defected to the Tories yesterday. She quotes one as saying:

"Both locally and nationally the Labour Party has been taken over by the hard left, who are more interested in fighting internal and ideological battles than standing up for the priorities of working men and women."

[21 March 2018 12:22 · Kristin Hugo]

Jeremy Corbyn wraps up with his usual social media-friendly monologue. He says:

"This Conservative Government has slashed public services. They've cut funding and expect councils to pick up the pieces.

"The result of this is children's centres are closing, schools are struggling, fewer police on the streets, older people being left without care or dignity, and refuges turning women away.

"The Tory's own head of local government says it's unsustainable, and doesn't it tell you everything you need to know about this Government that it demands households and businesses pay more to get less."

[21 March 2018 12:24 · Kristin Hugo]

SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford asks about links between the Conservative Party and Cambridge Analytica.

May responds: "As far as I'm aware the Government has no current contracts with Cambridge Analytica."

It's right that the company is being investigated, she adds.

[21 March 2018 12:30 · Kristin Hugo]

Labour MP Louise Ellman asks about the bombing of Afrin, Syria. She asks the Government to ensure there is "urgent humanitarian relief for those in such despair". 

Theresa May says the Government is taking the issue "very seriously indeed" and that the issue has been raised with the UN. 

"We will continue to press the case" for ensuring humanitarian aid is allowed to reach those who need it, she says.

[21 March 2018 12:33 · Kristin Hugo]

The SNP's Drew Hendry accuses the Government of breaking a promise to leave the EU's Common Fisheries Policy by next March, calling the current proposal "the worst deal imaginable".

Theresa May replies: "We will be working with the fishing industry to ensure that we do see a bright future for the fishing industry."

She says this involves three things: "taking back control" of our waters, ensuring British fisherman aren't "unfairly denied" access to other waters, and "rebuilding our fishing industry". She adds"

"That is a Conservative Party that is committed to coming out of the Common Fisheries Policy."

[21 March 2018 12:35 · Kristin Hugo]

Labour's David Crausby asks what measures are being taken to protect England fans travelling to this summer's World Cup in Russia.

The Prime Minister says the Foreign Office is continuing to monitor the situation and will be issuing advice to travelling fans. 

[21 March 2018 12:37 · Kristin Hugo]