Select Committee nominations: Today’s Order Paper lists seven motions to appoint new members to Select Committees. Notably:

• Clive Betts is appointed to the Public Accounts Committee. An MP since 1992, Betts brings deep expertise on local government, particularly on the financial challenges, from his previous role as Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee.

• SNP leader Stephen Flynn joins the Scottish Affairs Committee, while DUP leader Gavin Robinson joins the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, and Plaid Cymru’s Ben Lake joins the Welsh Affairs Committee.

• Liberal Democrat Pippa Heylings joins the Environmental Audit Committee. There are still two potential vacancies on this Committee, which are likely to be filled in due course by Conservative MPs to maintain party balance.

• Eleven members of the Procedure Committee are set to be appointed (and, with room for up to 17 members, there may be further appointments to come). Notably four of these 11 appointments are new MPs; will they be open to greater reform of Commons procedures than some of their predecessors? A key question will be how the Committee’s work aligns with the new Modernisation Committee, led by the Leader of the House of Commons, Lucy Powell, with Sir Christopher Chope sitting on both.

• Following the re-appointment of the Petitions Committee, the E-petitions website is live again, and new Labour MP David Baines is joining the Committee.

Questions and statements: At 14:30, Ministers from the Department for Education will answer questions from MPs. Four of the 25 questions on the Order Paper are identical to at least one other, which often indicates co-ordination by party Whips or the Minister’s Parliamentary Private Secretary, as we’ve noted in previous Bulletins. MPs are particularly concerned about support for children with special educational needs and disabilities, with eight of the 25 questions tabled on that topic alone. If the new Shadow Cabinet is in place, a newly designated Shadow Education Secretary may make their inaugural appearance at the Despatch Box.

Any Urgent Questions or Ministerial Statements will follow.

Ten-Minute Rule Motion: The Conservative MP Mark Francois will present a Ten-Minute Rule Bill titled the Roadworks (Regulation) Bill. Francois introduced a similar Ten-Minute Rule Bill in the 2022-23 Session; however, as is common with many Ten-Minute Rule Bills, no time was found for a Second Reading. The Bill aims to give local councils stronger powers to control the granting of permits to organisations that want to dig up the highway network, mitigate the disruption caused by roadworks, and increase the fines for roadworks that overrun. Our guide explains the process for Ten-Minute Rule Bills and why they rarely make it onto the statute book.

Main business: Continuation of the Budget Debate. Typically, a Cabinet Minister and Shadow Cabinet Minister speak on behalf of the Government and Opposition on each day of the debate, but with the Shadow Cabinet set to be reshuffled following the appointment of the new Conservative Party leader it is not confirmed who will speak for the Official Opposition.

Adjournment: The Labour MP for Newport East and chair of the Committee of Selection, Jessica Morden, has the adjournment debate commemorating the Newport Chartists and Government policies to strengthen democracy.

House of Lords: The day begins with oral questions, including one from former Pensions Minister, Baroness Stedman-Scott, about steps to improve uptake of Pension Credit; and one from former Housing and Local Government Minister, Baroness Penn, about the impact of the Budget on taxes and borrowing.

The rest of the day is taken up by debates on three pieces of legislation:

• Committee Stage of the Education (Values of British Citizenship) Bill, a Private Members’ Bill introduced by Crossbench Peer, Lord Harries of Pentregarth, which would require schools to teach certain specified values (democracy, freedom, rule of law, individual worth, and respect for the environment).

• Report Stage of the Bank Resolution (Recapitalisation) Bill, a Government Bill which would amend the UK’s regime for handling bank failures (see this previous edition of the Bulletin for a fuller explanation).

• Committee Stage (3rd Day) of the Water (Special Measures) Bill, a Government Bill which introduces new requirements on water companies and aims to strengthen enforcement against companies that fail to meet environmental, consumer, or financial standards (see this previous edition of the Bulletin for a fuller explanation)

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Questions and statements: At 11:30, Justice Ministers will face questions from MPs. Seven of the 24 questions on the Order Paper are duplicates of at least one other. Questions cover a range of issues, including the court backlog, reoffending rates, and the impact of the early release scheme. Any Urgent Questions or Ministerial Statements will follow.

Ten-Minute Rule Motion: The Liberal Democrat MP Munira Wilson will present a Ten-Minute Rule Bill titled the Poly and Perfluorinated Alkyl Substances (Guidance) Bill. This is likely to focus on the role these substances (‘PFAs’) play in water pollution, and the extent of the health effects caused by PFA pollution. See our Hansard Society guide for more information about the parliamentary procedure for Ten Minute Rule Bills.

Main business: Continuation of the Budget Debate.

Treasury Committee: The reconstituted Treasury Select Committee holds its first public meetings of this Parliament today and, as expected, the hearings focus on the Budget. The first three witnesses, appearing at 10:00, are representatives from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), including its Chair Richard Hughes and two members of its governing Budget Responsibility Committee. Expect questions about the two documents published by the OBR alongside the Budget:

• The Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO), published by the OBR twice a year alongside the Government’s fiscal statements, which outlines its central forecasts for the economy and public finances over the next five years.

• The Review of the March 2024 forecast for departmental expenditure limits, which presents the results of the OBR’s review initiated in July into the alleged £22 billion discrepancy between actual spending pressures and the formal spending limits imposed on Government Departments.

Conservative MPs are likely to echo Rishi Sunak’s stance in critiquing the recent OBR review which did not reiterate the Treasury’s earlier £22 billion “black hole” claim from the July Public Spending Audit. Instead the OBR review points to £9.5 billion in spending pressures that it was reportedly not informed of at the time of the Budget in March.

The Treasury Committee hearings may expose a recurring challenge for the Conservatives in this Parliament due to their limited representation on select committees. With committee seats allocated proportionately to the House, the Treasury Committee includes seven Labour MPs but just two Conservatives. However, those two Conservatives bring considerable experience: Dame Harriet Baldwin is the former Treasury Committee chair, and John Glen was a Treasury Minister for over five years including a spell as Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

This week will also mark Dame Meg Hillier’s debut as the new Treasury Committee Chair. Dame Meg gained a reputation for tough questioning during her time as chair of the Public Accounts Committee in the last Parliament, especially on issues relating to waste in public spending.

The three OBR witnesses will then cross the Palace of Westminster to appear before the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee at 15:00, to talk about economic inactivity, welfare and long-term sickness.

At 14:00, the Commons Treasury Committee has another Budget hearing, with experts and representatives from economic think tanks appearing as witnesses:

• Paul Johnson, Director at the Institute for Fiscal Studies

• Mike Brewer, Interim Chief Executive at the Resolution Foundation

• Andy King, Specialist Partner at Flint Global

• Yael Safin, Vice Chair and Chief Economist at KPMG

Backbench Business Committee: The Backbench Business Committee has its first meeting of the new Parliament, hearing proposals from MPs for backbench debates. Standing Order No.14(4) gives the Committee responsibility for determining what the House debates on 35 days per Session, including 27 in the Chamber (usually on Thursdays). The Committee regularly hears applications for debates from backbench MPs throughout the Session and selects the topics for debate based on topicality, the number of MPs interested in the debate, the breadth of interest, and when a debate was last held on the topic.

Select Committees: The Business and Trade Select Committee is hearing once again from victims of the Post Office Horizon Scandal – including Sir Alan Bates – and their legal representatives, as well as the chair of the Post Office Overturned Convictions Independent Compensation Assessment Panel, whose role is to adjudicate between victims with overturned convictions and the Post Office over contested compensation claims. This time the hearing relates to “fast and fair redress” for victims, rather than the scandal itself. The Committee has said it intends to hold a further hearing on 19 November with the Government Ministers and Post Office executives responsible for administering the established compensation schemes.

Public Bill Committees (PBCs): The Renters’ Rights Bill is back in Public Bill Committee. Since commencing its work last week, the Committee has considered 83 out of the 146 clauses in the Bill, leaving 19 of the 32 pages of amendments to work through. The Committee is scheduled to conclude its deliberations by 28 November at the latest.

Statutory Instruments: There are four draft Statutory Instruments scheduled for debate in Delegated Legislation Committees today. One of the draft SIs is the Franchising Schemes (Franchising Authorities) (England) Regulations 2024, which will extend bus franchising powers to all local transport authorities in England, beyond the current limitation to Mayoral Combined Authorities.

Need to keep up with legislative changes? The Hansard Society's Statutory Instrument Tracker® provides quick and efficient access to the latest updates. It covers consultations on Statutory Instruments (SIs) and tracks every stage of the parliamentary process in both Houses. With the SI Tracker®, you can customise alerts and updates based on your specific policy interests and compliance requirements. Save time and reduce risk by subscribing to our intuitive online app to stay ahead of the latest legislative developments.

Adjournment: The Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Gibson has the adjournment debate on NHS dentistry in rural areas.

Westminster Hall: There are five Westminster Hall debates: on leaseholders and managing agents; inequalities faced by women in the North; the future of fishing after 2026; Government support for Scotland’s architectural heritage; and funding for policing.

House of Lords: The day begins with four oral questions, including on educational inequality, data on gender identity from the 2021 Census, and the Barnett Formula for devolved funding.

Peers will then consider two bills:

• Committee Stage of the Refugees (Family Reunion) Bill, a Private Member’s Bill introduced by Baroness Hamwee that seeks to broaden the definition of those family members who qualify for reunification with refugee or asylum seekers in the UK.

• Report Stage of the Crown Estate Bill a Government Bill which proposes to widen the borrowing and investment powers of the Crown Estate to facilitate the faster development of wind power projects.

There will also be a short one-hour debate on the Government’s assessment of the threat from Hezbollah to the United Kingdom.

Alongside the business in the Chamber, four debates on draft Statutory Instruments will take place in Grand Committee: one of the four is the draft SI to extend bus franchising powers that is also being debated in the Commons.

A summary of Wednesday's parliamentary business continues below!

Questions and statements: At 11:30, Ministers from the Wales Office will face questions from MPs. Four of the 13 questions on the Order Paper are duplicates.

Prime Minister's Questions: At 12:00 Kemi Badenoch will make her debut at PMQs as the new Leader of the Opposition. Known for her assertive and combative style at the Despatch Box, Badenoch's approach stands in stark contrast to Prime Minister Keir Starmer's more measured demeanour. Will this divergence in styles invigorate PMQs in the coming weeks?

Ten-Minute Rule Motion: The Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Dyke will present a Ten-Minute Rule Bill titled the Horticultural Peat (Prohibition of Sale) Bill. See our Hansard Society guide for more information about the parliamentary procedure for Ten Minute Rule Bills.

Treasury Select Committee: At 14:30 the Committee will question the Chancellor Rachel Reeves MP about the Budget. She will be accompanied by the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury and two other Treasury officials.

Main Business: Conclusion of the Budget Debate and Budget Resolutions. At the end of the Budget debate, the House of Commons must approve 62 "Ways and Means" motions. Once MPs approve these motions, they become formal resolutions of the House and lay the foundation for the Finance Bill. This Bill is essential, as it provides the legal framework to implement the Budget’s proposals. Each change in tax or duty – such as adjustments to income tax, corporation tax, capital gains tax, stamp duty land tax, inheritance tax, and duties on alcohol and tobacco – requires a specific Ways and Means motion to proceed. However, changes to employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) will need separate legislation. The Finance Bill makes provision for spending and expenditure for central government as a whole, not for particular items or purposes. But the money raised by NICs is allocated specifically to the National Insurance Fund which disburses it primarily for contributory benefits; the money in the Fund cannot be spent for wider Government purposes. Hence the need for separate legislation. Only the first of the Ways and Means motions – the Income Tax (Charge) motion – is amendable and is the motion on which the Budget debate has been conducted. Once this motion is decided, the remaining 61 motions are presented “forthwith,” meaning they proceed without amendment or debate. These additional motions are typically voted on together, or “en bloc,” in numerical order unless opposition parties call for a separate vote, or division, on a specific motion. Typically, MPs approve these en bloc motions “on the voices” – with MPs expressing their stance by calling “aye” or “no,” and the Speaker determining the outcome based on the louder response. For certain motions, however, opposition parties may insist on a division, requiring MPs to record their votes formally by walking through the “aye” or “no” voting lobbies beside the Chamber. While technically any MP could call for a division on any en bloc motion, practical considerations often limit this. With dozens of motions to approve and each division taking up to 20 minutes, only a handful typically face a formal recorded vote.

Once passed, these Ways and Means motions become the House’s Budget Resolutions, serving as the ‘charging’ or ‘founding’ resolutions necessary for the Finance Bill. This Bill can be presented for its First Reading immediately after the House has reached a decision on all the Ways and Means motions. In parliamentary terms, the House will order that the Bill be “brought in upon the foregoing Resolutions”. At this stage, the Bill and its Explanatory Notes will be printed, and a date will be set for the Second Reading. MPs will also be informed that the “King's recommendation” has been signified. This phrase reflects the constitutional principle that any proposal for public expenditure must be initiated by the Crown, represented by the Government of the day. The Second Reading of the Finance Bill must occur within 30 sitting days following the approval of the Budget resolutions, and the Bill must complete all its parliamentary stages and receive Royal Assent within seven months to become law. The process for considering the Finance Bill is detailed in the Hansard Society’s guide, “What is the Finance Bill?” It is not yet clear whether the Government intends to introduce a National Insurance Contributions Bill at the same time as the Finance Bill or later. As Erskine May makes clear, NICs are “not regarded as charges upon the people or as subject to the rules of financial procedure” and an increase in the rate of contributions therefore “does not by itself require authorisation by a Ways and Means resolution.” However, a Ways and Means motion is required to authorise an increase in the National Health Service allocation (the sum deducted and retained by the Secretary of State before the remainder of the contributions is paid into the National Insurance Fund) which has historically protected the NHS from NICs increases. The Government may therefore introduce a further set of Ways and Means motions to pave the way for a Bill to make the changes to National Insurance contributions (NICs). When the Bill is presented to Parliament, it must also receive Royal Assent in a timely way, sufficiently early to ensure the changes can take effect at the beginning of the next financial year in April 2025.

Adjournment: The Labour MP Graeme Downie has the adjournment debate on adequacy of the road fuel market.

Westminster Hall: There are five Westminster Hall debates: on UK supply chains and Uyghur and Turkic Muslim forced labour in China; funding for Peak Forest and Macclesfield Canals; Government policies on tackling fuel poverty; potential merits of energy rebates for the Highlands and Islands; and furniture poverty.

House of Lords: Peers will consider three further pieces of legislation:

• Third Reading of the Arbitration Bill, a Government Bill which would implement proposed reforms to the Arbitration Act 1996 recommended by the Law Commission. Assuming the Bill is supported by Peers at Third Reading, it will be sent to the House of Commons for scrutiny by MPs.

• Report Stage of the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill, the Government’s legislation to bring railways services back into public ownership at the point that their franchises expire.

• Second Reading Committee of the Property (Digital Assets etc.) Bill, another bill proposed by the Law Commission, which would confirm in law the existence of a third category of personal property – distinct from physical assets and rights-based assets such as debts and securities – into which crypto-tokens and other assets could fall. Second Reading Committees take place off the floor of the House and are almost exclusively used for Law Commission bills, which tend to be uncontroversial.

Recess: Both Houses will rise for a brief recess at the conclusion of business on Wednesday and will return on Monday 11 November. Keep an eye out for the next edition of this Bulletin on 10 November to find out what’s planned when Parliament returns!