Politics live blog: Nick Clegg and Harriet Harman at PMQs 12.37pm: Labour's John Woodcock says the health bill is only going through because the Lib Dems are proping up the Tories. Clegg says he is surprised that Woodcock is not in favour of the govenrment's plans to block sweetheart deals for private sector suppliers in the NHS. 12.36pm: Clegg says more youngsters should study maths and science. 12.35pm: Labour's Stephen Hepburn says a constituent got a letter from his GP recently after taking his daughter to A&E saying the visit was inappropriate and reminding him of the cost. Clegg says the letter was sent out under the current system. The NHS needs reform because health costs are rising, he says. 12.34pm: Edward Timpson, a Conservative, asks about adoption. Clegg says it is a good thing that there is a consensus around the reforms being announced. 12.33pm: Mark Durkan, the SDLP MP, asks about budget measures affecting companies working in developing countries. Clegg says this is an "incredibly complicated" issue. Labour ignored it, but the government is trying to reform the situation. 12.30pm: Labour's Fiona Mactaggart says the Ministry of Justice has today announced two new contracts for A4e. Will the government continue giving public money to A4e in the light of the fraud allegations? Clegg says the fraud allegations being investigated by the police relate to Labour's time in office. If there is any evidence of systematic fraud, the government will cuts its A4e contracts. 12.29pm: Douglas Carswell, a Conservative, asks if the proposed child benefit cut is fair. Clegg says it is fair that the wealthy will pay more. But Carswell is right to say that the cut off point will create anomalies. The government is looking at how this can be implemented "in a sensitive manner." 12.28pm: Jeremy Corbyn, a Labour MP, asks Clegg to consider the case for private sector rent controls. People are being forced out of central London. That is "social cleansing." Clegg says the lack of supply of affordable homes is the key problem. 12.26pm: Martin Horwood, Lib Dem MP for Cheltenham, says the new planning laws have to protect the countryside. Will the new planning framework be truly green. Clegg says the planning system has to promote growth. But it has to protect the countryside too. That balance should be in the planning framework when it is published soon. 12.25pm: David Morris, a Conservative, asks about the future of the Gangmaster Licensing Authority. Clegg says that any review of red tape will have to ensure that the GLA remains effective. 12.23pm: Stephen Hammond, a Conservative, asks if Clegg's tycoon tax will cover Ken Livingstone. Clegg says it is worth dwelling on Livingstone's "exotic" tax arrangements. Livingstone said at the weekend that he gets money and gives it to his accountant. That's modern socialism for you, he says. 12.21pm: Labour's Helen Goodman says Clegg said before the election he was opposed to the closure of Remploy factories. What difference has he made? Clegg says disability organisations support the conclusions of the review into Remploy that found that segregated employment was not the best way to promote the interests of the disabled. 12.19pm: Dennis Skinner says that now that the gang of four Tories are galivanting around America, he has a chance to shine. What does he think of phone hacking, and Cameron riding police horses and letting Andy Coulson into government. Clegg has a chance to separate himself from the Tories. Come on, and be a man. Clegg says we will soon celebrate 42 years of Skinner's presence in the House. I'm delighted to see that in all that time he has not mellowed one bit. (So Clegg avoided the question completely. A shame, because it was an excellent one.) 12.15pm: PMQs Snap Verdict: PMQs as contact sport. Clegg and Harman both gave as good as they got, with the exchange most notable for Harman praising the Lib Dem tradition. When did you last hear a Labour MP call Shirley Williams - one of SDP gang of four that helped keep Labour out of office in the 1980s - a national treasure? 12.11pm: Harman says doctors do understand the bill. It is in Clegg's power to stop the bill. There are 90 Lib Dem peers. Their votes in the Lords will decide whether the bill becomes law. Will Clegg instruct them to block the bill? Clegg says he has three comparisions. Andy Burnham said it was irresponsible to increase NHS spending. But the government will increase spending. Labour had sweetheart deals with the private sector. The government is blocking them. And Labour presided over increasing health inequality. The bill will stop that. Harman says that, in making Lib Dem peers vote for the health bill, Clegg is trashing two national treasures - the NHS and Shirley Williams. The party of Lloyd George and Gladstone is now the party of Clegg. Clegg says that in office Labour ran out of money. In opposition Labour are running out of ideas. 12.08pm: Harman says the Lib Dems are complacent on unemployment and the NHS. Why has Clegg failed to persuade doctors to support the health bill? Clegg says Labour used to believe in reform. Labour's manifesto said there had to be sustained reform. Labour was right than and wrong now. Harman says she is proud of what Labour did. No one believes him. No wonder he can't persuade the public; he can't even convince his conference. The bill hasn't changed one bit, she says. This bill is still a top-down reorganisation. It will lead to fragmentation and privatisation. Clegg won't stand up for the NHS. The only time he stands up is when the prime minister walks into the room. Clegg says Labour MPs must think the Lib Dems make a difference because they were lobbying the Lib Dem conference, while Ed Miliband was "pulling a sickie" and going to the football. Labour's health bill was a charter for privatisation, he says. 12.05pm: Harriet Harman starts with her tribute to the solidiers, and her expression of "horror" at the killing of Afghan civilians. On unemployment, she says young people and women are being hardest hit. The Lib Dems say they are making a difference. With more than one million women out of work, what difference is he making? Clegg says this is not a new problem. Youth unemployment and unemployment for women both went up under Labour. Harman says unemployment was falling when Labour left office. For all Clegg's "bluster," having five Lib Dems in cabinet has made "no difference whatsoever." Vince Cable says the government has no vision. These days no one agrees with Nick. But does Nick agree with Vince? Clegg goes back to the unemployment figures. Long-term unemployment is coming down. Labour sucked up to the private sector, he says. 12.04pm: John Redwood, a Conservative, asks Clegg to get rid of unnecessary regulation. Clegg says the government has already started. If there is an opportunity to do more, he will grab it "with open arms." 12.02pm: Labour's Liz Kendall says David Cameron is in America where unemployment is coming down and the economy is growing. In Britain unemployment is rising and the economy is flatlining. What went wrong? What went wrong was that Labour were in power. There must be a tax and benefit system that pays people to work, he says. 12.01pm: Nick Clegg rises to a mixture of jeers and cheers. He starts with a tribute to the soldiers killed in Afghanistan last week. He also says he is "deeply shocked" by the killing of Afghan civilians on Sunday. 12.00pm: Labour"s Jim Murphy is looking forward to PMQs. He has posted this on Twitter. Liberal MPs must have dreamt of one day one of their own doing PMQs; today again with Glegg it's fear not delight 11.59am: Dennis Skinner is down for a question today. Not one of Clegg's biggest fans ... 11.55am: Bear baiting, cock fighting and public hangings have now all been banned. But the onward march of civilisation hasn't stopped Nick Clegg being allowed to take questions from Labour MPs at PMQs. It won't be one for the squeamish. And it's coming up in five minutes ... 11.49am: The Education Department has published details of its Action Plan for Adoption. You can read the full details on the department's news release. The proposals include "adoption scorecards," which will be used to hold local authorites to account. 11.44am: There was a mega row at Labour HQ on Monday about Ed Miliband's plan to create a new executive board. My colleague Patrick Wintour has the full details. Photograph: Mark Makela/In Pictures/Corbis 11.38am: Boris Johnson has published a report today apparently showing that he's delivered on 91% of the promises that he made in his 2008 manifesto. I say apparently, because I haven't seen it yet. It's supposed to be available on his website here, but it's not there now. This is what Johnson is saying about it. I promised to run the most open and transparent administration in Britain, and that is why, with this brutally honest and unprecedented progress report, I am determined to level with Londoners. I have detailed where we have succeeded and if we have not achieved a goal - or not yet - then I am determined to be honest about the reason. 11.28am: More on unemployment. The TUC has published figures showing the worst unemployment blackspots in the country - defined as places with the highest number of jobseekers per jobs available. Here are the worst 10. The figures show place - claimaints - vacancies - ratio West Dunbartonshire, Scotland - 4,010 - 129 - 31.1 Middlesbrough, North East - 7,616 - 319 - 23.9 Blaenau Gwent, Wales - 3,431 - 144 - 23.8 Inverclyde, Scotland - 3,062 - 134 - 22.9 Haringey, London - 10,544 - 507 - 20.8 Lewisham, London - 10,919 - 553 - 19.7 East Ayrshire, Scotland - 4,925 - 259 - 19.0 Isle of Wight, South East - 4,080 - 225 - 18.1 Hackney, London - 11,186 - 638 - 17.5 Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire and Humber - 15,604 - 905 - 17.2 11.23am: What happened to 10-point plans? When Boris Johnson unveiled his mayoral manifesto, it has just nine points. And today Ken Livingstone has published his - with six points. This is what Ed Milband said about them at the launch this morning. Ken's 6 pledges for London include his keynote policy to reduce the burden on London's fare payers, across rail, tube, bus, tram and DLR. He will make a real difference to the lives of millions of people across the capital by cutting the cost of living and putting money back into Londoner's pockets and purses. At the very core of this election is an unbridgeable difference over fares - Ken will cut the fares, Boris Johnson has raised them above inflation every year in the toughest possible times. That's why the London Mayoral Election is a referendum on Boris Johnson's fares policy and a huge opportunity to put in place a positive agenda for the future of the capital. 11.03am: And here's some other reaction to the unemployment figures. From Liam Byrne, the shadow work and pensions secretary Britain's jobs crisis shows no signs of letting up yet complacent ministers are failing to act. The surge in women's unemployment is reaching shocking levels but instead of helping more families into work, next month's cuts to tax credits are set to make thousands better off if they quit their jobs and start claiming out of work benefits. It is now clear that the government's troubled Work Programme is simply not doing the business. Ministers' welfare to work schemes are just not up to the job. With over a million young people out of work, and long term youth unemployment more than doubling in the last year it is simply unforgivable that two years on, there's still no alternative to Labour's successful Future Jobs Fund. From Brendan Barber, the TUC general secretary The rise in employment is encouraging, but the new jobs being created are mainly part-time. These jobs are not paying enough to replace the full-time earnings that people need. The sharp fall in pay increases is also worrying as it will prolong the painful squeeze on family incomes throughout the year. The jobs news gets worse for young people. We cannot afford to see fresh records broken in youth joblessness with such depressing frequency. Over a quarter of a million public sector jobs were lost in the last year and the private sector recovery we were promised is not materialising. Tackling the jobs crisis should be at the centre of the Chancellor's budget next week. Bold new measures such as a youth jobs guarantee and tax breaks for investment are needed to get our economy growing again. From Dave Prentis, the Unison general secretary This government is continuing to ignore the growing human cost of its economic policies. The figures show that women are still being hit hardest by job losses. It's shameful to see that not only are women bearing the brunt of the recession, they are unemployed in record numbers, and are hardest hit by Tory cuts to public services and jobs. From David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce With economic pressures facing both the UK and the eurozone, these figures are disappointing but unsurprising. One positive feature is that the increase in unemployment was the smallest since the three months to May 2011. Furthermore, in the final three months of last year the number of people employed in the private sector increased by 45,000, while public sector employment fell by 37,000. This shows that the private sector is willing and able to drive the economy forward at a time when the public sector is shrinking. From Andrew Sissons, a researcher at the Work Foundation There are very few signs of the job market picking up in the new year, despite hopes that the economy has turned a corner. The economy added just 9,000 new jobs in the last three months, not enough to prevent a further rise in unemployment. We need to be creating tens of thousands of jobs every quarter if unemployment is to begin falling. The private sector has been replacing the jobs lost in the public sector, but the private recovery is nowhere near strong enough. The drop in full-time work is particularly worrying. There are nearly 1.4 million people in part-time work who cannot find a full-time job, and this figure is rising rapidly. This suggests that companies are still nervous about taking on full-time staff, and leaves many more people looking for extra work. Without a rapid turnaround in the economy, we will see unemployment grow further over the coming months. This unemployment problem will take many years to reverse, and may turn into a long-term structural issue. Stemming the unemployment crisis should the Chancellor's top priority in the budget. 10.54am: This is what the Department for Work and Pensions are saying about the unemployment figures. I can't find their news release on their website yet, and so I'll quote a large chunk of it because it explains why ministers are in "cautious optimism" mode. There are further signs that the labour market is stabilising despite the tough economic climate, according to new figures published by the Office for National Statistics today. Although unemployment showed a rise of 28,000 compared to the previous quarter, it was 5,000 below the headline figure published last month. Private sector job creation also outstripped public sector job losses. An extra 45,000 people are now in private sector employment compared to the previous quarter, while public sector employment fell by 37,000. The number of people in employment rose by 9,000 compared to the previous quarter, with 29.129m people now in work. There are over 250,000 more people in work compared to May 2010. The number of women in work rose 10,000 this quarter to 13.5 million. Female unemployment also rose because more women are entering the labour market having previously been inactive. There was also a small drop in the number of young people claiming Jobseekers Allowance, with 480,300 18 to 24-year-olds now claiming the benefit - 900 fewer than the previous month. Excluding students, the number of 16 to 24-year-olds classed as unemployed on the broader ILO definition was broadly flat at 731,000 ... As the Government continues to reform the welfare system there are about 45,000 fewer people claiming out of work benefits compared to May 2010. In January there were 4.73million people on either Jobseekers Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, Incapacity Benefit or lone parents on income support, down from 4.78million in May 2010. Today's figures show the number of people classed as economically inactive - meaning they are not employed or seeking work - fell again this quarter, down by 27,000. These figures come at a time when lone parent and sickness benefits are being reformed to support people to move back into the labour market. Unemployment in the UK remains below the European Union average while employment remains above the EU average. While ILO unemployment is 8.4 per cent in the UK, it is 10 per cent in France, 23.3 per cent in Spain and 10.1 per cent across the EU as a whole. Chris Grayling, the employment minister, has put out a statement. "This is a more encouraging set of figures, with signs that the labour market is stabilising, but there is clearly still a big challenge ahead to bring down unemployment and get people back to work," he says. 10.45am: For the record, here are the YouGov GB polling figures from last night. Labour: 43% (up 1 point from Monday night) Conservatives: 36% (down 1) Lib Dems: 9% (no change) Labour lead: 7 points 10.35am: You can read all today's Guardian politics stories here. Benedict Brogan in the Daily Telegraph says that David Cameron wants to focus on policy and steer clear of politics as much as possible and that he does not think he has any insurmountable political difficulties. [Cameron] tells friends how united the parliamentary party is and how little difficulty he faces from that quarter. He relies too on his polling, which shows the wider party, its membership and Conservative voters as a whole are overwhelmingly supportive not just of his leadership but also of the Coalition and what it is trying to do. He finds little difficulty in preferring the views of the party majority over a minority of backbenchers sent "loopy" - his word - by the Westminster hothouse. Andrew Grice in the Independent says George Osborne is seriously considering Nick Clegg's "tycoon tax" proposal. On Monday the Financial Times said Osborne was not looking at the idea. Mr Clegg floated the idea of a "tycoon tax" at the weekend but it appeared to have been shot down by critics in his own party and scepticism at the Treasury. However, the issue was discussed on Monday by the Coalition's key decision-making body, the Quad: Mr Cameron, Mr Osborne, Mr Clegg and Danny Alexander. "A minimum tax rate is still on the table," one Whitehall source said yesterday. Mr Clegg is said by colleagues to be confident of seeing some progress on his idea in the Budget. One option is for Mr Osborne to announce a study into whether a "tycoon tax" would work in Britain. But Mr Clegg is pressing the Chancellor to go further - for example, by announcing his backing for the idea in principle so that it could be introduced next year or the year after. The Financial Times (subscription) says James Murdoch has written a lengthy letter to the Commons culture committee expressing deep regret for the phone hacking scandal. James Murdoch has written a lengthy letter to a parliamentary committee expressing deep regret for the phone hacking scandal but reiterating his innocence ahead of a crucial report that could determine whether he stays chairman of BSkyB. Mr Murdoch's last-ditch attempt to protect his reputation comes as the culture media and sport select committee prepares to issue a report into phone-hacking following testimony from dozens of witnesses including Mr Murdoch and his father Rupert Murdoch. If the report challenges Mr Murdoch's version of events or criticises his handling of News International, the UK arm of his father's News Corp media group, the independent directors at Murdoch-controlled BSkyB could feel obliged to ask him to step down. 10.11am: Here are regional unemployment figures, showing - unemployment between November and January - the change from the previous three-month period - and the percentage. I've taken the figures from the Press Association. North East - 138,000 - minus 11,000 - 10.8% North West - 317,000 - plus 16,000 - 9.3% Yorkshire/Humber - 261,000 - plus 9,000 - 9.8% East Midlands - 187,000 - plus 5,000 - 8.2% West Midlands - 241,000 - minus 1,000 - 9.1% East - 208,000 - minus 10,000 - 6.8% London - 433,000 - plus 11,000 - 10.2% South East - 287,000 - plus 14,000 - 6.5% South West - 169,000 - minus 8,000 - 6.3% Wales - 134,000 - plus 1,000 - 9.1% Scotland - 234,000 - plus 6,000 - 8.7% Northern Ireland - 56,000 - minus 4,000 - 6.5% 10.01am: Here's the top of the Press Association story on the unemployment figures. The unemployment rate increased to a near 17-year high today after another rise in the jobless total to almost 2.7 million. The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance increased for the 12th month in a row, up by 7,200 in February to 1.6 million, the worst figure since the end of 2009. But the number of people in work increased by 9,000 in the quarter to January to 29.1 million, while the 28,000 increase in unemployment was the lowest for almost a year. Other figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that public sector employment fell by 37,000 in the final quarter of 2011 to just under six million, while the numbers employed in private firms increased by 45,000 to 23 million. Public sector employment has fallen by 270,000 in the past year following the Government's spending cuts. Local government employment fell by 33,000 in the last three months of 2011, central Government by 3,000 and Civil Service by 9,000. Youth unemployment increased by 16,000 to reach 1.04 million, a jobless rate of 22.5%, while the number of unemployed women jumped by 22,000 to 1.13 million. Average earnings increased by 1.4% in the year to January, down by 0.5% on the previous month. In the public sector the figure fell from 1.7% to 1.3%, the lowest since comparable records began in 2001. The number of people working part-time because they could not find a full-time job increased by 110,000 to 1.3 million, the highest since records began in 1992. Part-time employment rose by 60,000 to 6.6 million, while self-employment fell by 52,000 to just over four million. The unemployment rate is now 8.4%, up by 0.1% from the previous quarter, the highest since the end of 1995. 9.51am: The Cabinet Office has announced its Diamond Jubilee civic honours. Chelmsford, Perth and St Asaph now have the right to call themselves a city, while Armagh will from now on have a Lord Mayor. Here's an extract from the Cabinet Office explanation. The decision to award a new city in England, Scotland and Wales, and a Lord Mayoralty in Northern Ireland, was made in recognition of the significance of every part of the United Kingdom in the Diamond Jubilee year; and reflects the high quality of the bids submitted ... The awards of city status and Lord Mayoralty or Provostship are purely honorific and confer no additional powers, functions or funding. The last civic honours competition was held in 2002 to mark the Golden Jubilee when Preston, Stirling, Newport, Lisburn and Newry were awarded city status and Exeter was awarded a Lord Mayoralty. 9.32am: Here are the headline unemployment figures. Unemployment increased by 28,000 between November and January to 2.67m. The number of people claiming jobseeker's allowance last month increased by 7,200 to 1.61m. Average earnings increased by 1.4% in the year to January, 0.5% down on the previous month. Here is the Office for National Statistics summary of the key points. And here is the ONS statistical bulletin with the full details (pdf). 9.16am: The Times has a good story today. Here's the start of its splash (paywall). Medical research is being put at risk because Britain's ferry operators and airlines have capitulated to the demands of animal rights activists not to allow the transportation of mice, rabbits and rats into the country for testing, The Times can reveal. Fears are growing that the few remaining foreign airlines still carrying test animals could also pull out, threatening research as well as the competitiveness of an industry in which Britain is a world leader. Only a small proportion of the animals used in Britain are transported from abroad, but scientists say that those which are imported are often the most important. Mainly mice, they are bred to model genetic diseases that affect humans, such as muscular dystrophy, Alzheimer's and motor neurone disease. David Willetts (pictured), the universities minister, told the Today programme that this was a "serious problem." But he said he hoped the two industries involved could achieve a solution. We have two large grown-up sectors here, the pharmaceutical sector and the transport sector. What we have been trying to do since this problem arose in January is work very closely with both of them. We are trying to hammer out a deal in which both the life sciences industry agree a code of conduct as to how animals - mostly mice - will be transported, and in return the transport industry would all agree they would continue to transport animals. That is what we are still working on. It is not right to say it has failed. That is what we still hope we can put together because it makes sense for everyone. 9.00am: All the best action is in the US today, where David Cameron and Barack Obama are holding a press conference this afternoon. My Guardian America colleagues will be covering it live. Back in Westminster, we haven't got Cameron and Obama, but we have got Nick Clegg and Harriet Harman, so we can't complain. Clegg's appearances at PMQs have always been rumbustious affairs and, given the contortions the Liberal Democrats have been performing over the health bill, Labour should be able to have some fun at his expense. But there's quite a lot of heavy stuff in the diary too. Here's a full list. 8.45am: Tim Loughton, the children's minister, publishes the government's action plan for adoption. 9am: Ed Miliband and Ken Livingstone launch Labour's London election pledges. 9am: Damian Green, the immigration minister, gives a speech at the UK border security conference. 9.30am: Unemployment figures are published. 9.30am: The Cabinet Office announces the results of the Diamond Jubilee Civic Honours competition. 10am: Four crime reporters give evidence to the Leveson inquiry. They are: Jeff Edwards, formerly of the Daily Mirror, Sandra Laville, of the Guardian, Paul Peachey, of the Independent, and Jonathan Ungoed-Thomas, of the Sunday Times. 10am: Lynne Featherstone, the equalities minister, speaks at the Acpo hate crime conference. 10am: Lord Turner, chairman of the Financial Services Authority, gives evidence to the Commons Treasury committee on the mortgage market review. 10.30am: Christopher Graham, the information commissioner, gives evidence to the Commons justice committee on the Freedom of Information Act. 12pm: Nick Clegg and Harriet Harman clash at PMQs. Around 4pm: David Cameron holds a press conference with Barack Obama in the White House. I won't be covering it on this blog, by my Guardian America colleague Richard Adams will be covering it live. I'll post a lunchtime summary at around 1pm.