on the day the chancellor delivers his budget, with a pledge to try to help new home owners. for all first—time buyer purchases up to £300,000 i am abolishing stamp duty altogether. butjeremy corbyn predicts misery will continue for many. it is a record of failure with a promise of more to come. also on this programme, mps warn the uk could be facing an epidemic of opiod abuse. and, in the lords, peers demand action on the plastic going into our seas. can't we have a positive action to cut down the number of plastic bottles, they are a disgrace. but, first, the chancellor philip hammond took the traditional photo call outside number 11 on wednesday morning as he prepared to deliver his autumn budget. as is tradition, the chancellor was flanked by his junior ministers as he stepped into downing street and held aloft the budget box, containing that all important speech. after smiles and photos it was into the official car for the shortjourney to the commons to unveil his plans. and so the nearly hour long speech, in which the chancellor announced he was abolishing stamp duty forfirst time buyers on properties worth up to £300,000 in england, wales and northern ireland. there were also announcements on house building, the controversial new welfare payment universal credit, and funding for england's nhs. but philip hammond began with the preparations for brexit. we have already invested almost £700 million in brexit preparations. and today i am setting aside over the next two years another £3 billion. and i stand ready to allocate further sums if and when needed. but the budget he said was about much more than brexit. a country fit for the future. i know we will not build it overnight but we will lay the foundations. mr deputy speaker, i am being tempted with something more exotic but i will stick with water. i took the precaution. i did take the precaution of asking my right honourable friend to bring a packet of cough sweets just in case. it was he insisted a budget for the future, to prepare to meet the challenges ahead. conservative mps roared, but the next section of the speech was less light—hearted as the chancellor revealed figures from the office for budget responsibility predicting slower growth in coming years. and regrettably, our productivity performance continues to disappoint. the old br has assumed that each of the last 16 physical events that productivity growth would return to its pre—crisis trend of about 2% a year but it has remained stubbornly flat. today the revised down the outlook for productivity growth, business investment and gdp growth across the forecast period. moving on to specific announcements, philip hammond said there'd be a rise in the personal allowance on income tax to £11,850, a 28 pence a packet rise in the cost of cigarettes and a freeze in most alcohol duties. in other measures, he'd look at a tax on single use plastic items, put £540 million into supporting the growth of electric cars, and give schools and colleges £600 for each new pupil taking maths at a—level. and there'd be tweaks to the new welfare benefit universal credit. mps on all sides have warned that the six week wait before new claimants receive their payments was pushing people into debt and rent arrears. first, we will remove the seven—day waiting period applied at the beginning of a benefit claim sole entitlement will begin on the day of the claim. to provide greater support during the waiting period we will change the advances system to make sure any period that needs it can access a film on's payment within five days of applying. we will make it possible to apply for an advance online. we will extend the payment period for the dancers from six months to 12 months, and any new universal credit claimant receipt of housing benefit at the time of the claim will continue to receive that for a further two weeks. england's nhs has lobbied hard for more money and philip hammond said he recognised the system was under pressure. i am therefore exceptionally and it said the spending review process making an additional commitment of funding of £2.8 billion to the nhs in england. he also told mps talks were under way about a pay rise for nurses. but the surprise announcement came at the end of the speech. philip hammond said there'd be £41; billion in overall government support for housing to meet target of building 300,000 new homes a year by the middle of the next decade. with effect from today, for all first—time buyer purchases up to £300,000, i am abolishing stamp duty altogether. when the din had died down, he said that would be a cut for 95% of all first time buyers who pay stamp duty, though the measure doesn't apply in scotland. well, it's down to the leader of the opposition, not the shadow chancellor, to reply to the budget. with little time to absorb the announcements it's seen as on of the toughest parliamentary occasions. jeremy corbyn said the test of any budget was how it affected people's lives. a lot of people will be no better off and the misery that many add—in will be continuing. pay, mr speaker, is now lower than it was in 2010 and wages are now falling again. economic growth in the first three quarters of this year is the lowest since 2009 and the slowest of the major economies in the g—7. it is a record of failure with a forecast of more to come. he argued schools in england would be worse off, and the government had missed the opportunity to act on capping credit card debt and boosting social care funding. jeremy corbyn said over a million older people weren't getting the care they needed and he reacted angrily to a heckle from a conservative mp. over 6 billion will have been cut from social care budgets by next march. i hope the honourable member begins to understand what it is like to wait for social care, stuck in a hospital bed, with other people having to give up the work to care for them. the uncaring, uncouth attitude of certain members... and on housing jeremy corbyn reckoned we'd heard it all before. the government promised 200,000 starter homes three years ago. not a single one has yet been built in those three years. we need a large scale publicly funded house—building programme, not this government's accounting tricks and empty promises. we back the abolition of stamp duty for first—time buyers because it was another labour policy in our manifesto injune, not a tory one. people he concluded had been let down by a government that was weak and unstable and in need of change. the snp westminster group leader was equally gloomy saying there'd been a "shredding" of growth forecasts." and it's a threat to the wages, to the living standards and to the job prospects are people up and down the united kingdom. frankly, it is a government that should be ashamed of itself. and he insisted scotland would be worse off. before the winds of brexit head is, the starting position for millions of people is that by then we will already have been struggling with nine years posterity. the cuts being imposed on public services mean service delivery is impacted and public service workers in particular are feeling the squeeze. this is a budget that choose the chancellor is either blind to what is going on or he is behaving like a frightened rabbit caught in the headlights. ian blackford and debate on the budget continues for another four days. well, the big moment on a wednesday is usually prime minister's questions. on budget day, though, it is merely a curtain—raiser for the chancellor. but despite second billing, pmqs did deliver a surprise of its own — the leader of the opposition‘s six questions are almost always a brexit—free zone, but not this time. mr speaker, the irish prime minister who has discussed brexit with the british government says sometimes it doesn't seem like they have got all this through. so can the prime minister reassure him by clearly outlining the government's policy on the irish border? we are very clear, first of all that in relation to the movement of people the common travel area will continue to operate as it has done since 1923, and on trade and movement of goods across the border we will not see a hard border being introduced. we have been very clear. yesterday, the foreign secretary said there could be no border, that would be unthinkable, and that may be but they have had 17 months to come up with an answer to this question and that is still no answer to the question because they have not engaged with the negotiations properly. we have been engaged fully in the negotiations in relation to northern ireland and other issues, and indeed significant progress has been made, and that is why for example i have said that we have got agreement on the operation of the common travel area for the future. he says we haven't put forward any ideas about the board that aren't actually we published a paper in the summer about the possible custom arrangements. the eu's chief negotiator said this week the uk financial sector will lose its current rights to trade with europe. it seems neither eu negotiators nor the government have any idea where this is going. last week the brexit secretary said he would guarantee free movement for bankers post brexit. are there any other groups to whom the prime minister believes freedom of movement should apply? nurses, doctors, teachers, scientists, agricultural workers, who? i'm very interested the honourable gentleman has found that his appearances at prime ministers questions have been going so well he's borrowed a question from the leader of the liberal democrats which he asked me last week. perhaps the leader of the opposition should pay a little more attention to what happens in prime minister '5 questions. we have been absolutely clear that we will be introducing new immigration laws and as we introduce those we will take account of the needs of the petition economy in doing so that is why my friend mike the home secretary has asked the migration advisory committee to advise those areas where we need to pay attention to migration. we want to get on to deal with the question of the future trading relationship that we have with the european union but we also... i am also optimistic about the opportunities that will be available to this country and about the deal they can get from the negotiations we are having. the honourable gentleman can't even decide whether he wants to be in the single customs union or out of it, he needs to get his act together. isn't the truth this government has no energy, no agreed plan and no strategy to deliver a good brexiter britain? i'm optimistic about our future. i'm optimistic about the success we can make of brexited. i'm optimistic about the well—paid jobs that will be created. i'm optimistic about the homes we will build. that is conservatives building a britain fit for the future. canny brahman is to tell the house how manyjobs have been lost this week with the departure of the european medicines authority and the european banking authority from london? we are seeing those particular two agencies leave the united kingdom and go elsewhere in the eu. when he talks about the number ofjobs being created we have seen under this government 3 millionjobs being created. that is a record i would've thought he would be willing to welcome. you're watching wednesday in parliament, with me, alicia mccarthy. the uk could be facing an "epidemic" of opiod abuse. that was the warning from an mp following thousands of deaths in the united states linked to the synthetic opiod, fentanyl, a painkiller many times stronger then heroin. the threat was raised in a debate in westminster hall. the epidemic of drug overdoses in america is killing people at almost double the rate of both firearm and motor vehicle related deaths. between 1999 and 2015 it is estimated that fentanyl and those type of derivatives have killed approximately 300,000 people in the us during that time. these numbers are of virtual biblical proportions. my concerns are... somewhat with that old adage, which is usually related to the markets — when the us sneezes the uk catches a cold, soi am concerned we may be on the brink of a fentanyl outbreak here. but mr mackinlay opposed any liberalisation of current drug laws. i feel that we should be upping our game in three strands of work. that is certainly education in schools, colleges and universities. i'd like to see significantly increased sentences for drug supply. and i feel that we should be giving some thought now, as we cope or potentially have to cope with fentanyl and similar lethal derivatives. perhaps by creating a new class, a double—a class of these really truly lethal drugs. other speakers recognised the threat, but a former justice minister said the so—called war on drugs had been an unmitigated disaster. so, i say to my honourable friend, instead of doubling down on a failing policy and demanding yet more higher sentences for particular parts of the supply chain... the failing policy, an example he gave, has led to the highest level of opioid drug deaths since records began. we should be learning from decriminalisation and public health approaches in other countries. in portugal for example where the possession of small amount of drugs has been decriminalised since 2001, a step well short of licensing and regulation, usage rates are amongst the lowest in europe. let's treat it as a health issue not a criminal justice issue. let's accept across our country the principle of safer drug consumption rooms. they are already saving lives in eight european countries. in canada, australia it is endorsed by the bma. no one dies of an overdose in a drug consumption room. let's accept that evidence and apply it in this country before we continue the carnage of loss of life that we are experiencing now. regulation doesn't mean a free for all where drugs are available. current laws have already achieved that. we have to take the control away from the criminal fraternity. the war on drugs has killed the innocent and made the guilty rich. it has destroyed communities and compounded the difficulties faced in addressing addiction problems. the uk government spends £1.6 million a year and drug law enforcement and this was pointed out earlier will stop —— in drug law. the minister cannot come before us today and honestly believe his government are improving services and seriously addressing this issue when they are overseeing such a significant cuts that are rolling back provision and addiction services. replying the minister said an ambitious drugs strategy had been unveiled earlier this year. deaths linked to fentanyl contaminated heroin have been seen in parts of the uk and he gave us a graphic illustration of the impact in certain parts of the us which i agree with him is extremely worrying. these underline the importance of vigilance and strong enforcement action by the police and national crime agency as well as accessible treatment and the availability of life—saving treatments. philip dunne. five people with disabilities and long—term illnesses have been sharing the difficulties they've experienced when applying for benefits. the work and pensions committee is examining the assessment process for employment and support allowance and personal independence payments, for people with disabilities and long—term illnesses. i got run over by a car and had major nerve damage in my left leg. it has caused me a disability. i have got age fused hip. i struggle with that. —— i have got a fused hip. i went to a tribunal, was only scored seven points, and then i got reassessed within three weeks and was granted pip. amanda browning was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome in 2008. when i first applied for benefits, it was 2009, and over the years, i've had half a dozen plus assessments. my last two have been very difficult. the esa assessment i had in 2016 initially saw me taken off benefits. and i won my appeal in 2017 and put back on. i've got multiple sclerosis. i have had it since 1993. and i was receiving disability living allowance at the higher rate for both. she was reassessed when dla was replaced by pip. i received higher rate mobility standard rate care. denise martin hasn't worked since 2011. ialso, like my colleague, moved over from dla to pip last year and i lost my mobility element. i didn't say, i'm sorry, i've got fibromyalgia, bipolar crone's disease and spinal issues. iama i am a childhood cancer survivor with dual sensory loss. i previously lived in northern ireland for many years. and i didn't have any difficulties with my benefits there. i received dla and esa. when i moved over to birmingham, i applied for esa and pips. and i applied for esa and pips. and i applied for esa and pips. and i applied for both of those injanuary this year. and the process for both of them was extremely frustrating and very disappointing, a lot of problems, different problems with both of them. then it was the turn of mps to introduce themselves. frank field. member of parliament for birkenhead. i represent south cambie anne main sofa being laid. the trains were very late. —— i represent south birkenhead and i'm very sorry for being late. can we accept heidi's apology because if she was sent to a jobcentre... she would have been sanctioned. turning to the application process, frank field asked about filling the forms in. how many of you sought help and what sort of help did you get? i sought help. i looked at it and cried. it was so daunting to be frightened about what to put down. after the application comes the assessment. natalie mcginn sid she was "absolutely appalled" by her pip assessor. it was very, very obvious to me that the assessor had no deaf awareness. she didn't strike me as being very professional and having very good disability awareness. she didn't seem to be very understanding or experienced of the difficulties that i had. the problems i've had with esa, she was almost like a smiling assassin. she was saying "i'm here to help you, to do this and do that." my father push me into the examination room in a wheelchair. she then said i could walk 50 metres from there. i endeavoured to work most of my life. then i began to wield to work. —— then became too ill. this isn't a choice that we make easily. it is all stacked against us, you know? and predominantly i've a mental illness that affects me quite severely. it's really, really tough. now, in his budget the chancellor said he and the environment secretary, michael gove, would look at how the taxes and charges could be used to reduce plastic waste. it follows the introduction of a 5p charge on single use carrier bags, which is credited with driving down use by 85%. now there are calls to bring in a levy on plastic drinks bottles and disposable coffee cups. in the lords, peers reckoned that couldn't come too soon. did you see the alarming findings of the bbc‘s programme into the disposal of plastics and the effects described in the blue planet programme on marine life? what advice is the government giving to local authorities and others to deal more creatively with the disposable of plastics and the replacement of plastics by materials that can be recycled more easily? my lords, i didn't have the privilege of seeing that particular programme although i hear it was extremely good sol regret not seeing it. the noble lord is right to focus attention on some of the challenges that are being faced. we are improving our position as a nation. there is much to do. we are in favour of upping the targets that are being looked at. and not yet announced to what that will be, that improvement. 60% is the target but that will be upped. he's right about the problem with marine challenges which is something we are looking at and also black plastic two which is a particular problem which we have a working group looking at. could the minister say something about the millions of plastic bottles that can't be recycled and are simply being put into waste ? can't we have positive action to cut down the number of plastic bottles ? they are a disgrace. my lords, the noble lord will be aware of the fact that the chancellor has announced we will be looking at how we can tackle the particular problem perhaps through taxation in relation to single use plastics. in relation to bottles come there is a challenge there. we beat ourselves up to much. in 2000, 13,000 tonnes of plastic wattles were recycled. in 2016, that was 343,000 tonnes. there is much to do but we are on track my lords. and that's it from me for now, but do join me at the same time tomorrow for another round up of the day at westminster as that budget debate continues, but for now from me, goodbye. hello. some much colder weather on the way for the uk in the coming days, especially this weekend. that said, the colder air is already trying to push its way into scotland at the moment and we will see some snow and potentially troublesome snow for northern scotland by the time we get into the morning rush—hour. this area will pull away to the east in the morning, but wintry showers will follow in the morning. that cutting wind will make showers possible for northern ireland in northern england. actually feel here. still some mild air in the south. 1a is possible in london. that mild air is shortly lead, with the cold air pushing across the british isles. you notice goes into europe for the weekend. so no chance of us getting warmer in any harry in the next two days. friday each of the next two days. friday each of the day, with more wind, and some outbreaks of rain will make for some chilly rain with a high ofjust nine degrees. for scotland and northern ireland, 11—5 at best, and some sows. —— showers. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: ratko mladic — known as the butcher of bosnia — is convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity. emmerson mnangagwa, the man set to take over as zimbabwe's president, says his priority is rebuilding the country's economy. papua new guinea police move into the manus detention centre to evict hundreds of refugees and asylum seekers. the new nasa time—lapse video that crams 20 years of life on earth into just a few minutes.

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