Inglaterra, The Guardian, Inglês

The Russian foreign ministry has published the list of 30 Britons subject to a travel ban.

It says:

The Russian foreign ministry is once again forced to draw attention to the incessant aggressive anti-Russian rhetoric of the British authorities, the illegitimate unilateral restrictions systematically introduced by London against our country, as well as the thoughtless policy of the leadership of this country to support the neo-Nazi Kyiv regime, pursuing purely selfish geopolitical interests and leading to a senseless prolongation of the Ukrainian conflict.

Russophobic policies, which combine attempts to discredit Russia’s actions and isolate it in the international arena, the dissemination of disinformation about our country, including in the context of a special military operation, coupled with military support for the Ukrainian armed forces, bordering on the direct involvement of Great Britain in the conflict with all the accompanying escalation risks, indicate London’s attitude towards further systemic confrontation with respect to Russia.

And here are the 20 political figures on the list, as set out on the foreign ministry’s website. They are now banned from entering Russia because of their alleged anti-Russian activities.

1) Angela RAYNER, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Housing, Communities and Local Government;

2) Yvette COOPER, Minister of the Interior;

3) Shabana MAHMOOD, Lord Chancellor and Minister of Justice;

4) Rachel Jane REEVES, Minister of Finance;

5) Patrick Bosco MCFADDEN, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster;

6) Edward Samuel MILIBAND, Minister for Energy Security and Carbon Neutrality;

7) Wesley Paul William STREETING, Minister of Health;

8) Steven Mark Ward REED, Minister for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs;

9) Jonathan Neil REYNOLDS, UK Secretary of State for Enterprise and Trade, Chairman of the UK Board of Trade;

10) Elizabeth Louise KENDALL, Minister for Work and Pensions;

11) Bridget Maeve PHILLIPSON, Minister of Education;

12) Hilary James Wedgwood BENN, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland;

13) Joanna Meriel STEVENS, Secretary of State for Wales;

14) Lucy Maria POWELL, Leader of the House of Commons of the British Parliament and Lord President of the Privy Council;

15) Angela Evans SMITH, Baroness Smith of Basildon, Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal;

16) Maria EAGLE, Deputy Minister of Defence;

17) Benjamin William JUDAH, Adviser to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs;

18) Gurinder Singh JOSAN, Labour MP in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament;

19) John Derek TWIGG, Labour MP in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament;

20) Andrew James SNOWDEN, Conservative MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom;

The other 10 people on the list are business, military and media figures.

A ban of this sort may look like a hostile act, but it will have almost no practical impact. It is not likely that any of the people on the list were planning a trip to Russia in the foreseeable future anyway.

Foreign Office travel advice advises against “all travel to Russia due to the risks and threats from its continuing invasion of Ukraine, including: security incidents, such as drone attacks, in parts of the country; lack of flights to return to the UK; [and] limited ability for the UK government to provide support”.

Downing Street has denied allegations the UK diplomat kicked out of Russia was a spy. Speaking at the afternoon lobby briefing, a No 10 spokesperson said:

To be clear, we refute these allegations. They’re baseless. We’re now considering our response.

Downing Street said it would not pre-empt what the UK’s response might be, when asked if a tit-for-tat expulsion would occur.

The spokesperson said:

This is not the first time that [Vladimir] Putin’s government has made malicious, baseless accusations against our staff.

You’ll remember that the Kremlin baselessly curtailed the accreditation of six UK diplomats in Russia earlier this year following action taken by the UK government in response to the Russian state directing activity across Europe and in the UK.

Today’s announcement is no surprise coming from President Putin’s government, which has overseen an illegal war in Ukraine.

The UK government is unapologetic about protecting our national interests and will now respond in due course, and our embassy in Moscow will continue its important work in Russia to support UK interests.

The government has said it is “determined” to ensure earlier intervention for children with special educational needs (Send) after a report found that the crisis in provision has left children vulnerable to exploitation.

Research funded by the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre found a “high proportion” of cases of child sexual exploitation, internal trafficking and modern slavery involve children with Send.

In a statement provided to the Guardian in response to the report’s findings, a government spokesperson said:

Every child and young person deserves the opportunity to achieve and thrive, and we’re determined to ensure there is earlier intervention for children with Send and a greater focus on mainstream provision.

All schools must follow statutory safeguarding guidance, which highlights how some children are more vulnerable to abuse and harm than others, including those with Send.

We are committed to tackling exploitation and are continuing funding for a prevention programme run by the Children’s Society which targets and prevents child abuse in its different forms.

The government says it recognises the ‘immense need’ in the sector, providing almost a £1bn increase in high-needs funding for 2025-2026 to help local authorities with the increasing costs of supporting children and young people with education and healthcare plans.

The Labour manifesto committed to introduce a new offence of criminal exploitation of children, and the Independent Child Trafficking Guardian (ICTG) service has been rolled out to two thirds of local authorities in England and Wales to provide “an additional source of advice and support for potential child victims of modern slavery, regardless of nationality or immigration status, to ensure the child is protected from further harm, prevent possible repeat victimisation, re-trafficking or going missing, and to promote the child’s recovery”, the government has said.

Russia has banned a string of Britain’s cabinet ministers from entering the country in response to what it called London’s “Russophobic” policies, the Associated Press news agency reports.

Among those it was targeting included chancellor Rachel Reeves, deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, home secretary Yvette Cooper and more than a dozen other senior politicians in the new Labour government, AP says.

Andrew Sparrow

It’s Andrew Sparrow, picking up again from Sammy Gecsoyler.

The former prime minister Tony Blair is evangelical about the possible benefits of using technology more effectively in healthcare and, in a statement on today’s Get Britain Working white paper, his thinktank, the Tony Blair Institute (TBI), says the government could save more than £10bn a year by making workers healthier.

In a statement TBI said:

The key to getting Britain back to work is to keep our working age population healthy for longer. This means shifting to preventative-health measures, made possible by advances in screening, digital tools and early interventions.

TBI estimates that even a 20% reduction in the incidence of six major disease categories that are keeping people out of work – cancer, cardiovascular disease (CVD), chronic respiratory illness, diabetes and mental-health and musculoskeletal disorders – would have significant macroeconomic benefits. A comprehensive programme of preventative medicine could raise GDP by an estimated 0.74% within five years – an annual boost of £19.8bn – and by 0.98% within ten years, equating to £26.3bn annually. Annual fiscal savings from increased tax revenues and reduced benefit payments could amount to £10.2bn and £13.0bn by 2030 and 2035, respectively.

The evidence is undeniable – shifting healthcare towards prevention would save lives and save money.

In the Commons, Liz Kendall is facing more questions about the newly announced Get Britain Working white paper.

Kirsty Blackman, the SNP MP for Aberdeen North, asked:

Many disabled or ill people were terrified by the Tories’ proposals to cut £3bn from the sickness benefit.

Given that Labour are continuing along this cut, will the secretary of state today promise to sign up to the principle of ‘nothing about us without us’, and ensure that disabled people, those with ill health and those with lived experience of these systems are round the table?

Kendall said:

We do need change. I understand how worried people are when they hear about change, but they themselves I think would also say the change needs to happen.

Nadia Whittome, the Labour MP for Nottingham East, told the Commons:

Barriers to employment and a lack of workplace support for disabled people remain persistent challenges, as well as inadequate social security payments for everyone regardless of employment status. Can [Kendall] reassure disabled people that the government’s new support measures will not be conditional on being able to work?

Kendall said:

I understand why disabled people, when they hear talk about helping people into work or reforms to sickness and disability benefits, why they’re worried because of what happened over the last 14 years, we are determined to break down those barriers to work.

I think many disabled people, given the right help and support and the right flexibility to work, could work and want to work.

John Swinney to urge Scotland to ‘pull together in spirit of collaboration’ ahead of Scottish budget

Libby Brooks

The Scottish government is coming under pressure from all sides ahead of its budget next Wednesday.

On Monday, the UK Treasury was briefing it was offering a further £300m to the SNP government to cover the rise in employer national insurance contributions for public sector staff – but the Scottish finance secretary Shona Robison has warned this is not enough, estimating that at least £500m is required to pay for staff directly employed in the public sector.

This adds to the squeeze on Scotland’s finances, which are already under severe constraints because of public sector pay deals – making up almost half of the budget – and rising inflation.

Meanwhile a new campaign group of 50 civil society groups is urging first minister John Swinney to make bold reforms to Scotland’s tax system, calling on him to increase wealth taxes and scrap the outdated council tax – which remains frozen, putting local authority budgets under extreme pressure too.

Indeed, new research out today from Local Government Information Unit Scotland reveals that 70% of all councils believe they will be unable to pass a balanced budget within the next five years without immediate changes.

Tomorrow Swinney delivers a keynote speech ahead of the budget calling on the country to “pull together in the spirit of collaboration” – but as cuts bite and with more coming down the line that goodwill he seeks will be thin on the ground.

Back in the Commons, Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, said the government wants to “drive down” economic inactivity caused by poor health, adding work is under way but ministers want to go “much further and faster to tackle this issue”.

She told the Commons:

To meet the scale of the challenge, we will devolve new funding, new powers and new responsibilities to tackle economic inactivity to mayors and local areas because local leaders know their communities best.

We’ll support all areas in England to produce local ‘Get Britain Working’ plans, joining up work, health and skills support. Today I’m announcing eight trailblazer areas backed by £125m of additional funding in South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, the north-east, Greater Manchester, Wales, York and North Yorkshire, and two Greater London areas.

In three of these areas – South and West Yorkshire and the north-east – this will include dedicated input and £45m of funding for local NHS integrated care systems.

And we’re funding a new supported employment programme called ‘Connect to Work’ backed by £115m of initial funding for next year. This will be included in the integrated settlements for combined authorities, starting with Greater Manchester and the West Midlands.

Starmer in ‘listening mode’ at unpublicised meeting with farmers union, NFU head says

Peter Walker

Keir Starmer has held a meeting at Downing Street with the head of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) to discuss continued worries among farmers about changes to inheritance tax announced in the budget.

While the government still has no plans to offer any concessions over the changes, the NFU president, Tom Bradshaw, said the prime minister “was very much in listening mode”, and that he hoped ministers could still change course.

The meeting, held on Monday but not publicised by No 10, came six days after thousands of farmers gathered in central London to protest against the decision to levy inheritance tax on some farms for the first time.

Previously, farmland had not been subject to inheritance tax, with ministers saying this has often been used as a tax loophole by wealthy people who buy up agricultural plots. Under the new plans, from April 2026, farmland worth more than £1m will be taxed at 20%, half the usual inheritance tax rate.

Last week, Bradshaw called the tax a “stab in the back” for the sector, saying: “I don’t think I have ever seen the industry this angry, this disillusioned, this upset.”

In a video update to members after the meeting with Starmer, Bradshaw took a more measured tone, while saying he had still pressed the case over the tax changes. He said:

The PM was very much in listening mode, and I hope that he’s able to act on what he’s heard this afternoon, and really understand that when we talk about the very real human impacts.

When we talk about the viability of our family farms, the low returns from producing the country’s food, these are all conversations that we’ve picked up this afternoon.

Saying the conversation also took in food security and trade deals, he added: “The prime minister engaged with us and made time to hear our story. And I really hope this marks a moment where we can move forwards and get to an outcome that works for everyone.”

Kendall told the Commons that 2.8 million people are out of work due to long-term sickness, and almost one million young people are not in education, employment or training.

She said the situation is “far worse in parts of the country – in the Midlands and the North – that were deindustrialised in the 80s and 90s, the very same places that have lower life expectancy and chronic poor health, areas which the party opposite [the Conservatives] repeatedly promised to level up, but repeatedly failed to deliver”.

She continued:

And the result is an economic but above all social crisis, paid for in the life chances and living standards of people right across this country, and by a benefits bill for sickness and disability that is set to rise by £26bn by the end of this parliament.

Helen Whately, the shadow works and pensions secretary, accused Kendall of “pinching our ideas”.

Responding to Kendall’s statement in the Commons, Whatley said her government counterpart had rebranded the WorkWell programme, which was introduced under the Conservatives, “as her own Connect to Work scheme”.

She said:

Far from being cross that the government is pinching our ideas, I welcome the right honourable lady taking our work forwards and that she’s making the right noises about how important this is to fix economic inactivity, which is a big problem for our economy and for each and every individual who risks being written off to a life on benefits.

I am disappointed in the substance of what she is announcing today, because far from matching her rhetoric, this appears to be little more than a pot of money for local councils, some disparaging language about the work of jobcentres and a consultation which will be launched in the spring. Given that they have had 14 years to prepare for this moment, where are the reforms to benefits which will actually make material savings to the taxpayer? Like the £12bn we committed to save in our manifesto. Where are the reforms to fit notes which we had handed over already to go?

Where is her plan for reforming the workplace capability assessment? She has banked the £3bn savings from our plan but fails to set out her own and her big announcement on making benefits for young people conditional. Did she forget that they already are? The fact is, the secretary of state has dodged the tough decisions every day she kicks the can down the road.

Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall has begun her statement in the Commons outlining the Get Britain Working white paper.

She told the Commons that young people “have a responsibility” to take up new opportunities. She said:

This comes alongside our commitment to provide mental health support in every school, our work experience and careers advice offer, and our plans to reform the last government’s failed apprenticeship levy to give more young people the opportunities they deserve.

But our new Youth Guarantee will go further, bringing together all the support for 18 to 21-year-olds under the leadership of mayors and local areas so all young people have access to education, training and employment opportunities, and so that no young person misses out.

She announced eight Youth Guarantee “trailblazers” in the Liverpool City Region, West Midlands, Tees Valley, East Midlands, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, West of England, and two areas in Greater London, backed by £45m. (See 12.22pm.) She continued:

I can also announce a new national partnership to provide exciting opportunities for young people in sports, arts and culture, starting with some of Britain’s most iconic cultural and sporting organisations including the Premier League, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and Channel 4, building on the brilliant work they already do to inspire and engage the younger generation and get them on the pathway to success.

Kendall later said:

In return for these new opportunities, you have a responsibility to take them up, because being unemployed or lacking basic qualifications when you’re young can harm your job prospects and wages for the rest of your life, and that is not good enough for young people or for our country.

Her measures were reported ahead of her Commons statement.

Andrew Sparrow

Paul Brand from ITV News says he thinks turnout for the assisted dying debate on Friday will be particularly high.

Think turnout on Friday will be unusually high for a private members bill.

I had wondered whether undecided/unsure MPs would stay away. But I’m hearing that many feel – because the issue has punched through so significantly – that they can’t hide from and have to vote.

Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, is just starting her statement about the Get Britain Working white paper. My colleague Sammy Gecsoyler is taking over for a bit, but I will be back later.