Questions and statements: At 14:30, Housing, Communities and Local Government Ministers will respond to MPs’ questions. Topics include the methodology for calculating local house building targets, housebuilding in London, the 1.5 million homes target, the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, social and affordable housing, homelessness, sales commission charges for park homes, the property management system, private rent inflation, a statutory register of electricians, damp and mould in social housing, and leasehold reform.

At 15:30, any Urgent Questions or Ministerial Statements will follow. Each Urgent Question lasts around 40 minutes on average, and Ministerial Statements last an average of around 50 minutes.

Finance (No. 2) Bill (Committee, day 1): This legislation gives statutory effect to many of the tax changes announced in this year’s Budget Statement. Not all measures announced in the Budget are included in the Finance Bill, as some will be enacted through other legislation, including future Finance Bills. In addition, the Finance Bill contains measures announced before this year’s Budget, including some introduced in last year’s Budget. A recent edition of the Bulletin included more information on the contents of this Finance Bill. (House of Commons Library briefing)

At Committee Stage, MPs consider whether each clause should “stand part” of the Bill and whether any amendments should be made. Most Committee Stages take place either in a Committee of the Whole House – a debate in the Chamber in which any MP may participate – or in a Public Bill Committee (PBC) – a debate in a committee room where only a selected number of MPs can participate. However, Finance Bills are subject to ‘split committal’, whereby more controversial clauses are scrutinised by the whole House, and the rest of the Bill is scrutinised in a PBC. The Hansard Society’s guide to the Budget gives more detail on the legislative process for Finance Bills.

The Committee of the Whole House will take place over two days, with the second day of debate scheduled for tomorrow. The programme order agreed by the House at Second Reading divides the topics for debate into six, each debate lasting up to two hours, with three topics on each day:

• Monday (first two-hour period): income tax rates, including the increased tax rates on income from savings, dividends, and property;

• Monday (second two-hour period): extension of the tax thresholds freeze to 2030-31;

• Monday (third two-hour period): changes to the agricultural property and business property reliefs from inheritance tax;

• Tuesday (first two-hour period): changes to the application of inheritance tax to pensions;

• Tuesday (second two-hour period): increases to taxes on remote gaming and betting; and

• Tuesday (third two-hour period): increases in the rates of alcohol duty.

At the end of each of those debates, the House will vote on any Government amendments and any amendments selected for separate decision by the Speaker, most likely including some of the amendments proposed by the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. The House will also vote on whether the relevant clauses and schedules should be included in the Bill.

The Government’s concession on the so-called “family farm tax” is set out in amendments 24 to 29. These amendments would increase the planned new allowance for agricultural and business property reliefs from inheritance tax from £1 million to £2.5 million. The House will be asked to decide on these amendments at the end of the third debate on Monday.

Motions: Two motions have been tabled in the name of the Leader of the House, Sir Alan Campbell MP. One seeks the House’s agreement for the Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP, to be absent from the House on Thursday (15 January) to attend the Commonwealth Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers in New Delhi. The second motion proposes the appointment of Labour MP Helena Dollimore to the Speakers Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority to replace fellow Labour MP Leigh Ingham.

A further three motions have been tabled in the name of the Jessica Morden MP, Chair of the Committee of Selection. These propose a change in membership to three select committees: Administration, Finance, and Northern Ireland Affairs.

Adjournment: Labour MP Bayo Alaba will give a speech on Government support for higher education. A Minister will then give a response. (House of Commons Library briefing / Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology POSTnote)

Westminster Hall

16:30: MPs will debate e-petition 727309, which calls for an immediate general election. The petition has over one million signatures. The debate will be introduced on behalf of petitioners by the Conservative MP and shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Commons, John Lamont MP. A previous e-petition calling for a general election was debated by the House in December 2024 having attracted around three million signatures. (House of Commons Library briefing)

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Introduction of new Peers: At 14:30, two new Labour Peers will be introduced to the House:

• Matthew Doyle, now Lord Doyle, who was Keir Starmer’s Director of Communications until March 2025, and whose nomination has attracted some criticism in the press after Doyle campaigned for a councillor charged with sex offences; and

• Len Duvall, now Lord Duvall, the leader of the London Assembly Labour Group since 2004.

Announcement of the new Lord Speaker: The result of last week’s vote to elect the new Lord Speaker will be announced, confirming whether Crossbench Peer Baroness Bull or Conservative Peer Lord Forsyth of Drumlean has been elected. The current Lord Speaker, Lord McFall of Alcluith, announced last Autumn that he would be stepping down early to care for his wife, who is ill. The Hansard Society chaired the official hustings for the election last month. You can hear the questions put to the candidates by their fellow Peers – and their responses – exclusively on the Society’s Parliament Matters podcast or watch a captioned version on our YouTube channel. The newly elected Lord Speaker will formally take office on Monday 2 February.

Oral questions: Peers will question Ministers for 40 minutes, on legislation giving effect to the recommendations of the Independent Water Commission; progress made by the Defending Democracy Taskforce on protecting democratic institutions; supporting the heritage craft and building sector; and levels of sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour towards women and girls in educational settings.

Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill (Third Reading): The Government suffered four defeats on amendments to this Bill during last week’s Report Stage. Peers voted to insert clauses to:

• require the Secretary of State to publish a statement setting out the total real term costs of payments to be made to Mauritius and the methodology used to calculate those costs;

• require House of Commons approval of estimated expenditure in relation to the Treaty, regular five-year reviews, supplementary approval of the costs rise, and a Commons vote to cease payments if Mauritius is judged to have breached the Treaty;

• require the Secretary of State to negotiate an amendment to the Treaty so that payments to Mauritius cease should military use of the base become impossible; and

• tie commencement of the Act’s provisions to a referendum of the Chagossian community about whether their rights to resettlement, consultation and participation in decision-making have been adequately guaranteed in the Treaty.

Unlike in the Commons, Third Reading in the Lords takes place in two distinct stages. The House first votes on a motion “That the Bill be now read a third time” which (unlike in the House of Commons) is almost always taken without debate or division. The House then considers a further motion “That this Bill do now pass”. This motion is debatable and provides the opportunity for Peers to oppose a Bill. The debate provides the House with a brief opportunity to review the final text of the Bill without re-opening issues considered at earlier stages.

Conservative Peer Lord Callanan has tabled a regret motion to amend this second motion. While it would not block the Bill or change its provisions, it gives opponents a further opportunity to register their concerns about this legislation and its implications. If Peers pass the Bill, it will have to return to the Commons so that MPs can consider their response to the four amendments sent to them by Peers. (House of Lords Library briefing)

Sentencing Bill (Third Reading): The House of Lords is expected to conclude proceedings on this Government Bill to reform the sentencing system. Third Reading debates in the House of Lords are typically very short. (House of Lords Library briefing)

During last Tuesday’s Report Stage debate, Peers defeated the Government on one amendment, to require sentencing remarks in the Crown Court to be published free of charge within 14 days of a request. The Bill will therefore need to return to the House of Commons so that MPs can consider their response. The Commons can either agree with the amendment, reject it outright, or propose an alternative of its own. Only once both Houses agree the same version of the Bill can it be sent for Royal Assent.

Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill (Report): This is the first and only day of Report Stage for this Government Bill to implement the provisions of the Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement, commonly known as the High Seas Treaty. (House of Lords Library briefing)

At Report Stage, the whole House decides whether any amendments should be made, or new clauses added, to the Bill. Similar amendments and new clauses will be grouped together for debate, to prevent repetition and create a more focused debate. It is at Report Stage that the Government is most frequently defeated on amendments. Once Report Stage has concluded, the Bill will move on to Third Reading, which is scheduled for Monday 19 January.

Statement: Ukraine and wider operational update: At the conclusion of business, the Government is expected to update the House on the international situation, particularly in relation to Ukraine. This statement is likely to build on those made by Ministers in the House of Commons last week and to include any further developments arising in the interim.

Grand Committee

15:45: Pension Schemes Bill (Committee, day 1). Today is the first of five days currently scheduled for Committee Stage of this Government Bill to reform the pensions regime, the provisions of which were outlined in an earlier edition of the Bulletin. At Committee Stage, Peers consider whether each clause should “stand part” of the Bill and whether any amendments should be made. (House of Lords Library briefing)

The first clauses and groups of amendments to be debated relate to local government pension schemes, including the proposal for all local government pension funds to join a centralised “asset pool company”.

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Highlights include:

House of Commons

14:00: Defence Committee – The Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, will give evidence on his work.

15:30: Public Accounts Committee – The financial sustainability of adult hospices in England: Representatives of NHS England, the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Health and Social Care, Hospice UK, and palliative care expert Baroness Finlay of Llandaff will give evidence.

Joint

16:30: National Security Strategy Committee – Defending democracy: Academics and experts from RUSI, Transparency International UK, and Kraken Digital Asset Exchange will give evidence.

A full list of select committee hearings can be found on the What’s On section of the Parliament website.

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↖ Contents · Skip to Tuesday’s Select Committees ↘

Questions and statements: At 11:30, Health and Social Care Ministers will respond to MPs’ questions. Topics include burnout among NHS staff, community hospitals, trials of puberty blockers, access to NHS dentistry, cancer treatment, maternity care, the NHS workforce, the impact of housebuilding, A&E waiting times, the junk food advertising ban, mental health services, and access to GPs.

At 12:30, any Urgent Questions or Ministerial Statements will follow.

Presentation of Bill: The Scottish National Party MP Kirsty Blackman will introduce a Bill titled the Removal of Peerages Bill to make provision about the removal of peerages in certain circumstances, including the consequent removal of any right to sit in the House of Lords. This Bill was scheduled to be presented last week but was moved due to pressures of time. Any MP can present a Presentation Bill – a type of Private Member’s Bill – by giving notice of their intention to do so on a preceding sitting day. However, such Bills very rarely become law without Government support. As last Autumn’s events involving Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (formerly Prince Andrew) made clear, a peerage can only be removed through an Act of Parliament. We explored the historical, legal and procedural background to this process on our Parliament Matters podcast with Dr Craig Prescott, an expert on the monarchy and constitutional law.

Ten Minute Rule Motion: Conservative MP Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst will seek to introduce an Emergency and Life-Saving Skills (Schools) Bill under the Ten Minute Rule which allows MPs to give a ten-minute speech in favour of a Bill before seeking the House’s permission to introduce it. The Bill would require skills relating to emergency situations, including life-saving skills, to be taught in schools. See our Hansard Society guide for more information about the parliamentary procedure for Ten Minute Rule Bills.

Finance (No. 2) Bill (Committee, day 2): Consideration of the legislation giving statutory effect to tax changes announced in the Budget Statement will resume. (House of Commons Library briefing)

As outlined above (Monday’s House of Commons business), today’s proceedings are divided into three debates, each lasting two hours:

• debate 1: changes to the application of inheritance tax to pensions;

• debate 2: increases to taxes on remote gaming and betting; and

• debate 3: increases in the rates of alcohol duty.

At the end of each of those debates, the House will vote on any Government amendments and on any amendments selected for separate decision by the Speaker, most likely including some amendments proposed by the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. The House will also vote on whether the relevant clauses and schedules should be included in the Bill.

Adjournment: Labour MP David Smith will give a speech on freedom of religion or belief in Nigeria. A Minister will then give a response.

Westminster Hall

09:30: Potential merits of a statutory duty of care for universities (House of Commons Library briefing)

11:00: Academic Technology Approval Scheme

14:30: Potential merits of regulating airport drop-off charges (House of Commons Library briefing)

16:00: The impact of the Arctic and High North on UK security (House of Commons Library briefing)

16:30: Potential merits of reforming Northern Ireland’s political institutions (House of Commons Library briefing)

Private Bill Committee

11:30: Royal Albert Hall Bill (Committee): This is a Private Bill, meaning that it affects a specific group of individuals or organisations, rather than the public at large. Promoted by the Royal Albert Hall (formally “the Corporation of the Hall of Arts and Sciences”), the Bill makes a series of changes to the governance of the Royal Albert Hall, which is set out in legislation and therefore requires an Act of Parliament to change it.

The Bill’s passage thus far has been controversial, with the House of Lords inserting an amendment at Third Reading against the wishes of the Bill’s promoter. Following concerns about trustees who are also seat-holders in the Hall making rules about how often seats may re-sold via third parties, the amendment inserted a new clause which aimed to ensure that such decisions can only be taken by a sub-committee of the council of trustees on which non-seat-holding members form a majority. The new clause also provided that any re-sale of tickets by seat-holding trustees must take place through a scheme arranged by the Hall rather than via lucrative third-party websites.

The Royal Albert Hall published a statement before the Bill’s Second Reading in the Commons, expressing its objections to the new clause and stating that they would propose an alternative version during the Bill’s Committee Stage.

Bill committees for Private Bills must hear from the promoter of the Bill and decide whether the Bill should be approved and whether any amendments proposed by the promoter should be accepted. If any petitions are submitted against a Bill, then an ‘Opposed Bill Committee’ is formed, which can also hear the objections of the petitioners. If no petitions are submitted – as in this case – then an ‘Unopposed Bill Committee’ is formed, which hears only from the promoter. Membership of Unopposed Bill Committees comprises all three Deputy Speakers, as well as four other MPs (without personal or constituency interests in the Bill). Such Committees typically meet only once.

Delegated Legislation Committee

14:30: The draft Local Government (Exclusion of Non-commercial Considerations) (England) Order 2026

↖ Contents · Skip to Wednesday’s Commons ↘

Introduction of new Peers: At 14:30, two new Peers will be introduced to the House:

• Shama Tatler, now Baroness Shah, the head of the Labour Group’s Office at the Local Government Association and Labour candidate for Chingford and Woodford Green at the 2024 general election; and

• Nicholas Forbes, now Lord Forbes of Newcastle, the former Leader of the Labour Group at the Local Government Association between 2016 and 2022.

Oral questions: Peers will question Ministers for 40 minutes, on labelling of meat from non-stun slaughter; the Youth Guarantee scheme; proscription of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps; and the implications for the UK of the withdrawal by the USA from 66 international organisations, conventions and treaties.

Secure 16 to 19 Academies Bill (Committee): This Private Member’s Bill seeks to reduce the minimum notice period for termination of a secure school’s funding agreement from seven to two years and to amend consultation duties under the Academies Act 2010 to be more appropriate for secure 16 to 19 academies. (House of Lords Library briefing)

Although Private Members’ Bills are usually considered on Fridays, uncontroversial bills often progress on other sitting days, with the co-operation of the Government. The Bill had an unopposed Second Reading and no amendments have been tabled so far. If none are submitted by Tuesday and no Peer signals an intention to speak in the debate, the Bill’s sponsor in the Lords (Labour Peer Lord Bach) may move at the start of the debate “that the order of commitment (or re-commitment) be discharged”, as Committee Stage is not needed. If any amendments are tabled before the sitting, the Government may choose to reschedule the debate to a Friday to allow time for fuller consideration.

Crime and Policing Bill (Committee, day 9): This is the ninth of 14 days currently allocated for Committee Stage on the Government’s Bill to reform the criminal justice and policing system. The House has now reached Part 9, which relates to public order. (House of Lords Library briefing)

At Committee Stage, the House examines the Bill clause-by-clause and decides whether each clause should “stand part” of the Bill. The next clauses and groups of amendments to be debated relate to new offences of concealing identity at protests, possessing pyrotechnic articles at protests, climbing on memorials, and new police powers relating to protests at places of worship. Peers are also proposing additional offences relating to disruption of road transport infrastructure, incitement of holy war, or being a member of an extreme protest group.

Because amendments that are voted on and defeated at Committee Stage cannot be moved again at Report Stage, many amendments tabled at Committee Stage are probing amendments, designed to test the opinion of the Government or the mood of the wider House, before deciding whether to put the amendment to a vote at Report Stage.

Dinner-break business: Debate on foreign aid: The debate on the Crime and Policing Bill will be interrupted at around 19:30 for a one-hour debate – known as dinner-break business – on the humanitarian impact of reductions in Overseas Development Assistance. (House of Lords Library Briefing)

The debate on the Crime and Policing Bill will then resume at around 20:30.

↖ Contents · Skip to Wednesday’s Lords ↘

Highlights include:

House of Commons

09:45: Treasury Committee – HMRC’s Chief Executive and other senior officials will give evidence on their work.

10:00: Education Committee – Ofqual’s Chief and Deputy Chief Regulators will give evidence on their work.

10:00: Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee – New towns: Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook MP, and New Towns Taskforce Chair Sir Michael Lyons will give evidence. The Committee is expected to explore how the 12 recommended locations for potential new towns were identified, and what funding is being made available for the development of the three new towns the Government has said it will begin building in this Parliament.

10:15: Committee on Standards – Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Daniel Greenberg and other senior officials in the Commissioner’s office will give evidence on their work.

10:30: Foreign Affairs Committee – Disinformation diplomacy: Founding Chief Executive of the National Cyber Security Centre Professor Ciaran Martin and Electoral Commission Chief Executive Vijay Rangarajan will give evidence.

14:30: Justice Committee – Reform of the Criminal Court: Representatives from the Bar Council, the Criminal Bar Association, and the Magistrates’ Association, and Courts Minister Sarah Sackman MP will give evidence.

House of Lords

10:30: Justice Committee and the Home Affairs Committee – Settlement, citizenship and integration: Professor Thom Brooks will address questions about the Government’s proposals on immigration and asylum, the role of citizenship, and the “Life in the UK” test.

11:00: Constitution Committee – Review of the UK–Overseas Territories Joint Declaration: Minister for the Overseas Territories Stephen Doughty MP will give evidence.

14:00: Communications and Digital Committee – AI and copyright: Leading officials from Google and Charismatic.ai will give evidence first, followed by a panel at 15:00 comprising two Secretaries of State – Lisa Nandy (Culture, Media and Sport) and Liz Kendall (Science, Innovation and Technology) and their officials. The remit of both departments engages aspects of the debate about the rights of creative talent (such as musicians and writers) to reserve and enforce their copyrights in relation to AI systems.

15:00: Economic Affairs Committee – The UK’s fiscal framework: Former Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) Chair Richard Hughes will give evidence. Hughes resigned as OBR Chair last month following the accidental leaking of the OBR’s Budget report prior to the Chancellor’s November 2025 Budget Statement.

A full list of select committee hearings can be found on the What’s On section of the Parliament website.

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Details of Wednesday’s business can be found below.

Questions and statements: At 11:30, Scotland Office Ministers will respond to MPs’ questions. Topics include the cost of living, economic growth, tertiary education funding, child poverty, mountain rescue services, electricity infrastructure development, and the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal.

At 12:00, Sir Keir Starmer is set to face the Leader of the Opposition, Kemi Badenoch, at Prime Minister’s Questions.

At 12:30, any Urgent Questions or Ministerial Statements will follow.

Ten Minute Rule Motion: Labour MP Gareth Thomas will seek to introduce a Banks (Financial Exclusion and Access to Finance) Bill under the Ten Minute Rule which allows MPs to give a ten-minute speech in favour of a Bill before seeking the House’s permission to introduce it. The Bill would require banks to disclose their performance in reducing financial exclusion and improving access to finance for small businesses, establish a system for rating banks based on their performance, and require banks to cooperate with credit unions and community development finance institutions to address financial exclusion and improve access to finance.

Public Office (Accountability) Bill (Report and Third Reading): The main provisions of the Bill – popularly known as the Hillsborough Law – were outlined in a previous edition of the Bulletin. The Government amended the Bill at Committee Stage to extend the proposed duty of candour and assistance to cover certain local authority inquiries. (House of Commons Library briefing)

At Report Stage, the whole House debates and votes on proposed amendments and new clauses. So far, the Conservatives have not tabled any amendments, though they are likely to do so. The Liberal Democrats have tabled 14 amendments.

The Justice Committee Chair, Labour MP Andy Slaughter, has also tabled two amendments of his own, to require the Government to review the merits of establishing a national oversight mechanism for inquests and inquiries, and require public authorities to monitor the standards of officials in response to recommendations from inquests and inquiries.

In accordance with the programme motion, the Report Stage debate will end by 18:00 at the latest. The House will then vote on any Government amendments, as well as any other amendments the Speaker selects for separate decision.

Once the votes have concluded, the House will move on to Third Reading. As set out in the programme motion, the Third Reading debate must conclude no later than 19:00, one hour after the expected end of the Report Stage debate. As divisions on amendments will take up most – if not all – of that one-hour period, the Third Reading debate is expected to be very short.

Once the Bill receives a Third Reading, it will be sent to the House of Lords to complete all its stages there.

Adjournment: Conservative MP Martin Vickers will give a speech on the future of the Lindsey Oil Refinery and the wider UK oil refining sector. A Minister will then give a response.

Westminster Hall

09:30: The future of the Ajax Programme (House of Commons Library briefing)

11:00: Energy pricing for consumers with factored energy arrangements

14:30: The impact of Science and Discovery Centres on national science and technology priorities (Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology POSTnote)

16:00: UK relations with France

16:30: Horse and rider road safety

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Oral questions: At 15:00, Peers will begin the day by questioning Ministers for 40 minutes, on the role of major cities in COP climate negotiations; investment in early years education; and large-scale waste crime. The topic of a fourth question will be decided by a ballot drawn at lunchtime on Monday 12 January.

Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill (Report, day 1): Today is the first of five days currently allocated to the Report Stage of the Government’s Bill to reform schools and children’s social care.

At Report Stage, the whole House decides whether any amendments should be made, or new clauses added, to the Bill. Similar amendments and new clauses will be grouped together for debate, to prevent repetition and create a more focused debate. It is at Report Stage that the Government is most frequently defeated on amendments.

At the time of writing, 241 amendments have been tabled. The House will decide these amendments in the order in which they apply to the Bill, so the first amendments to be debated will relate to the Bill’s earlier clauses on children’s social care, including family group decision-making, child protection and safeguarding, support for children in care and their carers, and the regulation of children’s homes and fostering agencies.

Grand Committee: From 16:15, there will be two debates:

The draft Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2025.

Pension Schemes Bill (Committee, day 2): Today is the second of five days currently scheduled for Committee Stage, where Peers consider whether each clause should “stand part” of the Bill and whether any amendments should be made. The Committee will resume its scrutiny from the point where it concludes at the first sitting on Monday. (House of Lords Library briefing)

↖ Contents · Skip to Thursday’s Lords ↘

Highlights include:

House of Commons

09:15: Transport Committee – Licensing of taxis and private hire vehicles: Minister for Roads Lilian Greenwood MP will give evidence.

09:30: Northern Ireland Affairs Committee – Operation Kenova’s final report: The lead officer and former lead officer of Operation Kenova, an independent investigation into the activities of the alleged IRA double agent “Stakeknife” working for MI5, will give evidence.

09:45: Work and Pensions Committee – The Committee will hold a pre-appointment hearing with Emma Douglas, the Government’s preferred candidate to be chair of the Pensions Regulator. She is currently the Non-Executive Chair of Pensions UK and Wealth Policy Director for Aviva.

A full list of select committee hearings can be found on the What’s On section of the Parliament website.

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Questions and statements: At 09:30, Culture, Media and Sport Ministers will face questions from MPs. Topics include funding of voluntary, community and social enterprises; steps being taken to ensure the New Town of Culture and UK City of Culture 2029 competitions support communities; the future of the Listed Places Worship Grant Scheme; spending on gambling advertising; protection of the creative industries in the context of AI; access to sports facilities; improving access to youth activities for young people; support for live music venues; and support for deaf athletes.

At 10:10, MPs will put questions to Marsha de Cordova MP representing the Church Commissioners, and to Nick Smith MP representing the House of Commons Commission and the Restoration and Renewal Client Board.

• Nine of the 12 questions are directed to the Church Commissioners. Topics include the steps being taken to support persecuted Christians in other countries; support for Christians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories; the future of the Listed Places Worship Grant Scheme; the impact of the assisted dying bill on end-of-life ministry; support for small churches; and steps being taken to establish an independent safeguarding system.

• The remaining three questions concern whether the New Palace Yard Project will be completed within its Budget; the steps being taken to increase the proportion of House of Commons purchasing from British manufacturers; and progress made in consulting MPs about the Restoration and Renewal Programme.

Any Urgent Questions will follow.

The Leader of the House of Commons, Sir Alan Campbell MP, will present the weekly Business Statement, setting out the business in the House for the next couple of weeks and answering questions about anything that Members might want debated. Any Ministerial Statements will follow.

General debate on new towns: This debate, which will last for up to three hours, was chosen by the Backbench Business Committee following an application from Labour MP Katrina Murray. In her application, Murray stated that a general debate in the Chamber would give the House “an opportunity to explore the learning” from the New Towns of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. (House of Commons Library briefing)

General debate on financial support for small businesses and individuals during the Covid-19 pandemic: This debate was similarly chosen by the Backbench Business Committee, following an application from the Liberal Democrat MP Manuela Perteghella. In her application, Perteghella argued that the debate would give the House “a chance to reflect on the economic support, or lack of it, during Covid-19” and highlighted the “nearly 4 million businesses and individuals” who were not eligible for the furlough system. (House of Commons Library briefing)

Presentation of Public Petition: Labour MP Chris Bloore will present a public petition on postal services in Inkberrow.

Adjournment: Labour MP Alex Mayer will give a speech on the protection and management of young trees. A Minister will then give a response.

Westminster Hall

13:30: The impact of food inflation on the cost of living

15:00: The impact of gambling harms in children and young people

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Introduction of new Peers: At 11:00, two new Peers will be introduced to the House:

• Sara Hyde, a Labour local councillor and chair of the Fabian Society; and

• Andrew Roe, the former Commissioner of the London Fire Brigade.

Oral questions: Peers will question Ministers for 40 minutes, on pandemic preparedness and Exercise Pegasus 2025; nuclear submarines; and protecting children from harmful in-game purchases. The topic of a fourth question will be decided by a ballot drawn at lunchtime on Tuesday 13 January.

Crime and Policing Bill (Committee, day 10): This is the tenth of 14 days currently allocated for Committee Stage on the Government’s Bill to reform the criminal justice and policing system. (House of Lords Library briefing)

At Committee Stage, the House examines the Bill clause-by-clause and decides whether each clause should “stand part” of the Bill and whether any amendments should be made. The House will continue its scrutiny of clauses and amendments from the point reached by the House at Tuesday’s sitting.

Because amendments that are voted on and defeated at Committee Stage cannot be moved again at Report Stage, many amendments tabled at Committee Stage are probing amendments, designed to test the opinion of the Government or the mood of the wider House, before deciding whether to put the amendment to a vote at Report Stage.

↖ Contents · Skip to Friday’s Lords ↘

One Select Committee is scheduled to meet today:

House of Commons

10:00: Public Accounts Committee – Government use of data analytics on error and fraud: The Chief Executive of the Public Sector Fraud Authority and the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology will give evidence.

A full list of select committee hearings can be found on the What’s On section of the Parliament website.

↖ Contents · Skip to Looking ahead ↘

The House will not be sitting.

↖ Contents · Skip to Looking ahead ↘

Private Members’ Bills (PMBs): The House will meet at 10:00 to further consider non-Government Bills.

Unauthorised Entry to Football Matches Bill (Third Reading): This Bill, which has been passed by the Commons, had no amendments to it tabled in the Lords, so is set for its final stage prior to becoming law. The debate is expected to be very short. (House of Lords Library briefing)

Rare Cancers Bill (Second Reading): This Bill to make provision to incentivise research and investment into the treatment of rare types of cancer will have its first debate in the House of Lords. How long this debate lasts will depend upon how many Peers seek to speak. (House of Lords Library briefing)

Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Committee, day 6): This is the sixth day of Committee Stage for the Bill to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales. (House of Lords Library briefing)

At Committee Stage, the House must decide whether each clause and schedule should remain in the Bill, and whether any amendments should be made or new clauses and schedules added.

At Committee Stage, amendments can be grouped and debated together to keep the discussion focussed and coherent and to avoid unnecessary repetition. To date, the Government Whips have organised the amendments into 84 groups, of which just 12 have been debated.

• First sitting (14 November 2025): 2 groups;

• Second sitting (21 November 2025): 1 group;

• Third sitting (5 December 2025): 3 groups;

• Fourth sitting (12 December 2025): 4 groups;

• Fifth sitting (9 January 2026): 2 groups.

Nine further sitting Fridays have been scheduled for consideration of the Bill between now and April (every Friday up to 6 February, then continuing on 27 February, 13, 20 and 27 March and 24 April.) However, at the current rate of progress these additional days will not be sufficient to complete consideration of the remaining groups.

Lord Falconer of Thoroton moved a motion last Thursday (8 January) proposing that further time be provided for consideration of the Bill to enable the Bill to be returned to the House of Commons “in reasonable time before the end of the current parliamentary session”. Following a debate, the House supported Lord Falconer’s motion. The Government clarified following the House’s vote that the Usual Channels – that is, the business managers and whips from each of the main parties in the House – would meet this week to discuss how best to find additional time for the Bill. The Government Chief Whip made clear that time that would otherwise be allocated to Government legislation would not be diverted to the assisted dying bill. As a result, the remaining options for securing additional time are:

• longer sitting times on Fridays;

• morning sittings, some time between Mondays and Wednesdays;

• further sitting days, either by shortening recesses or adding yet further sitting Fridays; or

• Thursday sittings that would otherwise be used for non-Government business.

It is possible that the Government or Lord Falconer may put forward a further motion on the specific option agreed through the Usual Channels. The use of morning sittings, for example, would require a motion to suspend certain Standing Orders.

A new marshalled list (a numbered list which sets out all the amendments to reflect their position in relation to where they apply to the Bill) will be published before today’s sitting starts (under the Amendment Paper section of the Publications tab on the Bill page on the parliamentary website). An updated list of the groups of amendments to be debated today may also be published and Lord Falconer will indicate how many of these groups he hopes will be debated today.

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Both Houses will resume at 14:30 on Monday 19 January 2026. Our next Bulletin will therefore be published on Sunday 18 January.

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