Latest news with #CommonsCommittee
The Independent
29-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Question marks over global impact of Trump tariff ruling
Experts are warning of economic uncertainty and confusion for countries negotiating trade deals with the US after a court ruling blocked President Donald Trump 's tariffs. The White House has appealed the decision, potentially delaying trade talks and existing deals, except for tariffs on steel, aluminium, and cars. Experts say the ruling casts a "cloud" over any trade negotiations with the US as the country's legal position is unclear. While some parties see the ruling as beneficial for countries like the UK by preventing the quick imposition of tariffs, others worry about intensified tariffs on sensitive sectors. The uncertainty has already led some UK firms to abandon the US market, and a Commons committee is set to investigate trade with the US, while calls are being made for clarification from the US ambassador.
The Independent
13-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
UK Government no longer ‘global charity', aid minister to tell MPs
The new aid minister will tell MPs that the days of the British Government acting as a 'global charity' are 'over', when she faces a Commons committee on Tuesday. Baroness Jenny Chapman will face the Commons International Development Committee for the first time since taking the aid role in February. Her appointment followed the resignation of Anneliese Dodds, who quit as development minister in protest at the decision to cut the aid budget to fund increased defence spending. She is expected to use her appearance before the committee on Tuesday to set out plans to focus aid spending on sharing British expertise, rather than providing money, telling MPs: 'The days of viewing the UK Government as a global charity are over.' Saying the Government remains 'committed to international development', she will add: 'We need to prioritise, be more efficient and focus on impact above all else. 'We have to get the best value for money, for the UK taxpayer, but also for the people we are trying to help around the world.' In February the international development budget was reduced from 0.5% of gross national income (GNI) to 0.3%. Coming shortly after US President Donald Trump's administration effectively gutted the US agency for international development, opponents suggested the UK cut would lead to lives being lost in the developing world. But Baroness Chapman is expected to say that developing countries want to move from receiving aid money to an approach described as 'partnering, not paternalism', pointing to a deal between the Met Office and its Bangladeshi counterpart to improve flood forecasting. She will say: 'We need to support other countries' systems where this is what they want, so they can educate their children, reform their own healthcare systems and grow their economies in ways which last. 'And, ultimately, exit the need for aid. 'With less to spend, we have no choice. Biggest impact and biggest spend aren't always the same thing.'
The Guardian
08-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
MPs seek assurances from UK equalities watchdog over gender ruling
A cross-party committee of MPs has written to the UK's equalities watchdog to seek assurances that its guidance on how organisations interpret the landmark supreme court ruling on gender issues does not ignore the needs of transgender people. The letter from the Commons women and equalities committee to Kishwer Falkner, the chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), also urged her to extend the two-week timetable for people to submit views on how the EHRC's code of practice for organisations should work, saying this should be at least six weeks. It follows concern from transgender activists and a number of MPs that Falkner and her organisation have thus far taken an overly literal approach to last month's supreme court decision, which ruled that 'woman' in the Equality Act refers only to a biological woman. Immediately after the judgment, Falkner said the ruling meant only biological women could use single-sex changing rooms and women's toilets, or participate in women-only sporting events and teams, or be placed in women's wards in hospitals. Interim guidance from the EHRC set this out more formally, saying also that in some circumstances, transgender men, who were born as women, should not be able to use male toilets, while adding that trans people 'should not be put in a position where there are no facilities for them to use'. While ministers have welcome what they called the 'clarity' of the ruling and guidance, a number of MPs have raised worries about the implications for transgender people, for example whether people who had lived as women for decades would suddenly have to start using men's toilets. Sarah Owen, the Labour MP who chairs the women and equalities committee, has said many transgender people were 'anxious and unsure about where this ruling leaves them'. The letter, sent on behalf of the whole committee, asks Falkner to give information on a number of points, including: 'What steps the EHRC will be taking to ensure that the code of practice is supportive of the rights of all people (as noted in the supreme court judgment).' It also asks 'whether the code of practice will clarify rights of trans people, for example around strip-searching by police officers?'. In the wake of the ruling, the British Transport Police said it had updated its policy so that searches in custody would be conducted 'in accordance with the biological birth sex of the detainee', meaning that trans women will in future be strip-searched by male officers. On the two-week timetable for the consultation, the committee asked: 'What the reasoning was on deciding on a two-week consultation period and how that consultation will work in practice, for example will the EHRC proactively seek input from any particular groups or stakeholders? 'As a committee, we feel that at least six weeks minimum would be more appropriate to allow all stakeholders, including individuals, charities and disability groups, businesses, health providers and local authorities to contribute.' The letter also asks Falkner to set out what advice is being given to organisations who raise queries prior to the new code being available, and when it would be finalised. It also notes that the ruling meant there 'may be legal implications beyond the scope of the issues considered by the supreme court', asking if the EHRC will accept submissions on these. The EHRC was contacted for comment.
