Westminster Watch

Here is a look in brief at some of the main news from Parliament during the week beginning 5 January.

Monday 5 January:

• Traffic wardens will be able to impose fines for minor motoring offences under legislation debated by MPs on Monday. Transport Secretary Alistair Darling dismissed Conservative claims that the Traffic Management Bill would increase motorists' cynicism about safety and congestion measures.
  
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• Libyan Foreign Minister Abdulrahman Shalgam will visit London for talks soon after Tripoli's decision to abandon its weapons of mass destruction programmes. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told MPs last month's decision by Libya was an "important step" towards improving world peace and security.
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• Almost £597.2m of National Lottery winnings has been left unclaimed, Arts Minister Estelle Morris revealed. The biggest single unclaimed prize was worth more £3m. Ms Morris said good causes stood to gain a lot if no winners came forward.

• Closing Crystal Palace sports centre would send "the most unfortunate signals" about London's bid to host the 2012 Olympics, said Tory spokesman Nick Hawkins. Bromley Council takes back ownership of the complex on 31 March but says it cannot afford to run it. Sports Minister Richard Caborn said: "We are working very hard to try to make sure a deal is done."

• A "major public health crisis" has been caused by an increase in HIV/Aids and other sexually transmitted diseases (STD), former Tory cabinet minister Lord Fowler warned. He argued Labour had seemed "almost embarrassed" to explain the extent of the problem after taking four years to unveil a strategy document. But Health Minister Lord Warner said the government had invested £35m in specialist STD clinics over the past two years.

• The BBC should have to broadcast as much women's sport as men's, said Labour MP Derek Wyatt. Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell described the idea as a "very interesting proposition".

Tuesday 6 January:

• "Confusion" has been created by the government's plans to put sky marshals on UK flights, said the Conservatives. Transport Secretary Alistair Darling instead insisted the move was a "responsible and prudent step".
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• The prison and probation services are to be merged, Home Secretary David Blunkett told MPs. In a Commons statement, Mr Blunkett said the aim was to "reduce crime by radically transforming the performance of the prison and probation services".
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• Penalties for employers who flout their duty to protect workers' rights to sick and maternity pay are being changed.

• The National Insurance Contributions and Statutory Payments Bill, which won an unopposed second reading, replaces the current criminal laws with a civil one.

• Nearly £20m has been spent on investigating suspected fraud on claims from contractors to deal with the foot-and-mouth outbreak, MPs were told. More than £55m is being withheld until inquiries into the issue are finished.

• The man who gave his name to the system for sharing out state funds to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland has again called for it to be scrapped. Ex-Labour cabinet minister Lord Barnett said it was an "embarrassment" to be associated with "so unfair a system".

• British police officers should not carry more guns, ex-Metropolitan Commissioner Lord Condon has said. "International experience shows routine arming of all police officers leads to additional police deaths," he argued.

Wednesday 7 January:

• Tony Blair came under pressure from Tory leader Michael Howard at question time over his role in the naming of Iraq weapons expert Dr David Kelly. Mr Blair said he would resign if he had lied but urged people to wait for Lord Hutton's report into Dr Kelly's death.
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• Cabinet Office Minister Douglas Alexander unveiled new powers within the Civil Contingencies Bill to tackle emergencies and major terror attacks. Liberties groups said they were pleased some of their concerns had been met.
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• The Tories called for an inquiry into claims Alan Milburn interfered with the rating of a hospital serving constituents of his and Tony Blair's. Health Secretary John Reid rejected the attacks on his predecessor in the post, calling them politically motivated.
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• More than 1,000 fresh reservists will be called up "shortly" to go to Iraq, Defence Minister Ivor Caplin said in a written Commons statement. The next round of reservists will start work in early April.

• Ken Livingstone's readmission to the Labour Party was branded a "dodgy deal," by Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy in the Commons. The prime minister countered that the electorate would decide.

• There could be news "shortly" on the future of British terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay, Tony Blair told MPs. Mr Blair argued information obtained from the detainees had proved of "immense importance" in the fight against terrorism.

Thursday 8 January:

• Students from poorer homes could receive up to £3,000 a year to help cope with new university tuition fees. The move was one of several concessions to Labour rebels outlined by Education Secretary Charles Clarke.
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• The House of Commons' new working hours are set to examined again just over a year since the last review. The move comes after around 200 MPs signed a motion asking for a rethink because members sitting on key committees found their duties clashed.
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• Nearly 300 Home Office staff security passes were reported lost or stolen last year, Home Office Minister Fiona MacTaggart revealed. In a House of Commons written answer, Ms Mactaggart said the losses were a "nuisance rather than a threat".

• Conservative MP Andrew Mackay claimed Tony Blair would be "on the run" if he failed to stay for the full debate on the Hutton inquiry report. Commons leader Peter Hain said Mr Blair had stated he would answer questions.

• A list of airlines from eight countries which are banned from flying in UK air space has been published. The move follows the Flash Airline crash in Egypt last week, and the revelation the Swiss had banned Flash.
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• Warnings that global warming could make a million species extinct within 50 years are not over-blown, Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett told MPs. A new report about the fears was "within the expected impact" of climate change in the coming years, she said.
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  Friday 9 January:

  House of Commons

  The House will not be sitting

  House of Lords

  The House will not be sitting