Parliament Matters Bulletin: What’s coming up in Parliament this week? 7 September 2026
6 Sep 2026
The Commons considers the Health Bill over two days, alongside Second Readings of the Civil Aviation Bill and the Social Housing Bill. Friday brings the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, while debates cover surrogacy, misogyny-related hate crime, Jewish community safety, policing, and water management. In the Lords, Peers continue detailed scrutiny of the Financial Services, Cyber Security, Armed Forces and Railways Bills, with five Private Members’ Bills on Friday. Select committees hear from Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, two combined-authority mayors, and Syria’s social affairs minister. Committees also examine the Care Quality Commission chair nominee, Northern Ireland reconciliation, votes at 16, youth participation, and armed forces housing conditions.
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Remember, parliamentary business can change at short notice so always double-check the Order Paper on the relevant day if you are interested in a particular item of business.
Questions and statements: At 14:30, Housing, Communities and Local Government Ministers will respond to MPs’ questions. Topics include green spaces, Green Belt land, housing densification in urban areas, private estate management arrangements, infrastructure for new developments, youth participation in democratic processes, new housing, fiscal devolution, support for high streets, local authority Housing Revenue Accounts, and local government reorganisation.
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. The Chancellor of the Exchequer is due to make a written statement on economic growth today, while the Minister for the Cabinet Office will provide an update on artificial intelligence. One or both announcements may also warrant an oral Ministerial Statement in the House.
Presentation of bills: Conservative MP Sir David Davis will present a Military Operations Bill. This is a Presentation Bill to make provision about the authorisation and use of force during or in connection with military operations; to make provision about civil and criminal proceedings, inquests and investigations relating to military operations; to make provision about certain inquiries relating to the use of force during military operations; and for connected purposes.
Under Standing Order No. 57, any MP may introduce a Presentation Bill – a type of Private Member’s Bill – by giving notice of their intention to do so. Presentation is a formality: no debate or decision takes place. The short title is read out, the bill is ordered to be printed, and the MP presenting the bill names a date for its Second Reading. In practice, given the limited time available for Private Members’ Bills, few Presentation Bills actually get time for a Second Reading debate. Our Hansard Society guide provides more information about the use of Presentation Bills and the procedures involved.
Health Bill (Report, day 1): Two days have been allocated for the Report Stage of the Government’s legislation to reform the governance of the NHS, with the second day scheduled for tomorrow. In recent years, Report Stage has typically been limited to a single day’s debate; two-days have tended to be allocated only for especially large or controversial bills. (House of Commons Library briefing)
The House will first be asked to approve a supplementary programme motion setting out how proceedings will be divided across the two days. If the motion is agreed, the timetable will be:
Day 1 (until 22:00 at the latest): Any amendments to clauses 1 to 61 and schedules 1 to 8, together with related new clauses and new schedules. The debate will also cover any new clauses and schedules relating to women’s health, maternity, procurement and trade, and the NHS workforce.
Day 2 (until 18:00 at the latest): Any amendments to clauses 62 to 81 and schedules 9 to 12, together with related new clauses and new schedules, followed by all other outstanding new clauses and new schedules.
Day 2 (until 19:00 at the latest): Third Reading.
The first day will therefore cover many of the Bill’s principal structural reforms, including: the abolition of NHS England and the transfer of its functions; changes to Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) and NHS foundation trusts; and the proposed Single Patient Record.
As we highlighted when the Bill received its Second Reading in June, certain key provisions leave important policy choices to subsequent regulations. This is particularly significant for the proposed Single Patient Record. The Bill would provide the statutory authority to establish the system, but questions about how it will operate, who will have access to patient information, and how data will be governed are largely left to delegated legislation. We argued that more of the policy detail should be set out in primary legislation, which Parliament can then amend. Regulations cannot be amended and they generally receive far less parliamentary scrutiny.
At Report Stage, the whole House debates and votes on proposed amendments and new clauses. At 22:00, proceedings will conclude and the House will vote on any Government amendments and any other amendments selected by the Speaker for separate decision that fall within the programme motion.
Statutory Instrument approval motions: The House will be asked to approve three draft Statutory Instruments (SIs). Because these draft SIs have already been debated in Delegated Legislation Committees, their approval motions may be put to the House without further debate.
Business of the House motion: Leader of the House Sir Alan Campbell will move a motion allowing MPs to table amendments, new clauses, and new schedules to the Sovereign Grant Bill before its Second Reading on 14 September, and allowing the Clerks at the Table to accept them. This is needed because the Bill is expected to pass through all its Commons stages quickly, potentially in a single day. Normally, amendments for Committee Stage cannot be tabled until after Second Reading; without the motion, MPs would have little or no opportunity to propose changes before detailed scrutiny begins.
Changes to Select Committee membership: Committee of Selection chair Dame Jessica Morden will move three motions to change the membership of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy, and the Procedure Committee. These changes are needed following the formation of the new Government in July and last week’s Conservative front-bench reshuffle. Further motions to update Select Committee membership are expected in the coming weeks.
Presentation of public petition: Liberal Democrat MP Caroline Voaden will present a petition concerning local government reorganisation in Devon.
Adjournment: Labour MP Danny Beales will give a speech on VAT on drugs provided through compassionate access schemes. A Minister will then give a response.
Westminster Hall
16:30: MPs will debate e-petition 763161, which calls on the Government to change surrogacy law to recognise intended parents from birth. The petition has around 113,000 signatures. (House of Commons Library briefing / Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology briefing)
18:00: MPs will debate e-petition 746640, which calls for crimes motivated by misogyny to be recorded as hate crimes and for greater funding for training and survivors. The petition has around 115,000 signatures. (House of Commons Library briefing / Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology briefing)
Delegated Legislation Committees
18:00: The draft Licensing Act 2003 (Mandatory Licensing Conditions) (Amendment) Order 2026
18:00: The draft Building Safety Levy (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2026
18:00: The draft Digital Government (Disclosure of Information) Regulations 2026
Introduction of new Peers: At 14:30, two new Peers will be introduced:
Christina McAnea (now Baroness McAnea), former UNISON General Secretary, will join as a Labour Peer; and
Tim Smith (now Lord Smith of Ranmoor), former chief executive of the Food Standards Agency and former chair of the Agriculture and Trade Commission, will join as a Labour Peer.
Oral questions: Peers will question Ministers for 40 minutes, on neighbourhood health services; public/private partnerships; funding for creative and performing arts teaching grants in universities; and reducing taxation on rural businesses.
Changes to Select Committee membership: The Senior Deputy Speaker will move eight motions en bloc to make changes to the membership of the following Committees: Economic Affairs, Finance, International Agreements, Liaison, National Resilience, Selection, Services, and Statutory Instruments. As in the Commons, these changes are required following ministerial appointments to the new Government and because the remaining hereditary peers left the House at the end of the previous Session.
Motions to approve Statutory Instruments: Ministers will move three motions for five SIs (three of them en bloc) all of which were considered in Grand Committee last week.
Local Plans (Burial Space) Bill (Committee): This Private Member’s Bill, sponsored by Liberal Democrat Peer Lord Mohammed of Tinsley, would require local planning authorities in England to ensure adequate burial space is provided in their local plans. The Government did not seek to stop the Bill at Second Reading in July but questioned whether primary legislation was necessary. (House of Lords Library briefing)
Although Private Members’ Bills are usually considered on Fridays, relatively uncontroversial bills may progress on other sitting days with the agreement of the Government and the opposition whips (known as the Usual Channels). No amendments have yet been published. If none are tabled before Monday and no Peer signals an intention to speak, Lord Mohammed may move at the start of proceedings “that the order of commitment be discharged”. If agreed, the Bill will bypass Committee Stage entirely. If any amendments are tabled, the Government may reschedule the debate for a sitting Friday. If the House agrees to dispense with Committee Stage, the Bill will go straight to Third Reading on Friday 11 September.
Financial Services and Markets Bill (Report, day 1 of 2): Peers will begin the first of two days of Report Stage consideration of the Government’s legislation to reform the regulation of financial services and markets. The second day is scheduled for Wednesday (9 September). The Bill would, among other things, reform consumer-credit regulation and the Financial Ombudsman Service; abolish the Payment Systems Regulator and transfer its functions to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA); overhaul anti-money laundering supervision; introduce provisional licences for financial firms; reform the Senior Managers and Certification Regime; and make changes to the bank ring-fencing regime. (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 are grouped together for debate, to prevent repetition and create a more focused debate. The House will decide amendments in the order in which they would appear in the Bill. It is at Report Stage that the Government is most frequently defeated on amendments.
Because Committee Stage took place in Grand Committee, no divisions could be held, so amendments could only be agreed if no Peer objected. Report Stage therefore provides the first opportunity for Peers to divide on the proposed changes previously explored through probing amendments in Committee.
One likely focus is clause 3, which would give the Treasury a broad delegated power to make regulations on access to banking services following an independent review. This is a ‘Henry VIII’ power that could be used to amend Acts of Parliament. The Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee (DPRRC) concluded that Ministers were seeking the power before either the problem or the required policy response had been identified. It therefore recommended that clause 3 be removed. The Government defended the provision in Grand Committee and in its recent response to the DPRRC. Report Stage amendments would variously remove clause 3 entirely, prevent regulations made under it from amending primary legislation, or tie the exercise of the power more closely to the recommendations of the review.
Grand Committee
15:45: Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (Committee, day 3 of 4): Peers will continue their detailed scrutiny in Grand Committee of the Government’s legislation to strengthen the cyber security and resilience of essential and digital services. The Committee will resume consideration of the Bill from the point reached at last Thursday’s sitting. One further Committee sitting is currently scheduled for Wednesday (9 September). (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 or new provisions should be added. Amendments are grouped for debate to avoid repetition. Where Committee Stage takes place in Grand Committee, no divisions can be held, and an amendment may be agreed only if there is no objection. Peers may nevertheless use probing amendments to test the Government’s position before deciding whether to return to an issue at Report Stage.
Highlights include:
House of Commons
13:30: Foreign Affairs Committee – A new Syria: Experts in Syria and British foreign policy will give evidence, followed at 15:00 by Hind Kabawat, Minister of Social and Labour Affairs in the Syrian Government.
15:30: Public Accounts Committee – Devolving power in England: Liverpool Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mayor Paul Bristow will give evidence, followed by the Permanent Secretaries from the Cabinet Office, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and HM Treasury.
House of Lords
14:00: National Resilience Committee – National resilience: Armed Forces minister Louise Sandher-Jones MP will give evidence.
Joint
16:30: National Security Strategy Committee – AI and quantum computing in the national security context: Experts in artificial intelligence and quantum computer from the Alan Turing Institute, the National Quantum Computing Centre, and King’s College London will give evidence.
A full list of select committee hearings can be found on the What’s On section of the Parliament website.
Questions and statements: At 11:30, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Treasury Ministers will respond to MPs’ questions. Topics include economic growth, private investment, business rates relief in the hospitality sector, high street renewal, the Defence Investment Plan, funding for local and regional authorities, fuel duty, public sector productivity, the 2024 Budget, employment opportunities, VAT on defibrillators, and proposals for an anti-fraud levy.
At 12:30, any Urgent Questions or Ministerial Statements will follow.
Presentation of Bill: Liberal Democrat MP Gideon Amos will introduce a Presentation Bill, titled the Illegal Trading (Temporary Closure of Premises) Bill. The Bill would make provision about the temporary closure of premises connected to illegal trading.
Under Standing Order No. 57, any MP may introduce a Presentation Bill – a type of Private Member’s Bill – after giving notice. There is no opportunity for the sponsoring MP to make a speech when the Bill is introduced; the Bill’s short title is read out, it is formally presented and the sponsoring MP names a future Friday for its Second Reading. See our Hansard Society guide to Presentation Bills for more about the procedure.
Ten Minute Rule Motion: Labour MP Alex Sobel will seek to introduce an Artificial Superintelligence 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 prohibit the development, deployment, and operation of artificial superintelligence systems. See our Hansard Society guide for more information about the parliamentary procedure for Ten Minute Rule Bills.
Health Bill (Report, day 2, and Third Reading): MPs will conclude Report Stage and debate the Bill’s Third Reading. (House of Commons Library briefing)
In accordance with the supplementary programme motion agreed on Monday, today’s Report Stage proceedings will cover amendments, new clauses and schedules relating to clauses 62 to 81 and schedules 9 to 12, as well as any other remaining new clauses and new schedules. Clauses 62 to 81 include the Bill’s provisions in relation to NICE, the Care Quality Commission, Healthwatch England and Local Healthwatch organisations, medicines and medical devices, and civil contingencies. These proceedings must conclude by 18:00 at the latest.
At 18:00, the House will vote on any outstanding Government amendments and any other amendments which the Speaker has selected for separate decision. Once those divisions have concluded, MPs will move on to Third Reading, when they debate whether to approve the Bill in its final Commons form. No further amendments to the Bill can be made at Third Reading.
The programme motion requires Third Reading to conclude by 19:00. Divisions on Report Stage amendments will eat into most of the remaining hour, so the time available for the Third Reading debate may be considerably shorter.
Assuming the Bill receives a Third Reading, it will be sent to the House of Lords for further consideration.
Adjournment: Conservative MP Simon Hoare will give a speech on regulation of retirement property management companies. A Minister will then give a response. (Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology briefing)
Westminster Hall
09:30: The safety of the Jewish community (House of Commons Library briefing)
11:00: World Suicide Prevention Day (House of Commons Library briefing)
14:30: The conflict in Sudan (House of Commons Library briefing)
16:00: Vehicle theft
16:30: The Media Green Paper (House of Commons Library briefing)
Delegated Legislation Committee
14:30: The draft ACAS Code of Practice on Time Off for Trade Union Duties and Activities
Introduction of new Peers: At 14:30, two new Peers will be introduced:
Professor Swaran Singh (now Lord Singh of Solihull), a psychiatrist and academic, will join as a Conservative Peer; and
Nick Stace (now Lord Stace), businessman and chair of the Prison Reform Trust, will join as a Labour Peer.
Oral questions: Peers will question Ministers for 40 minutes, on monitoring the security and use of UK citizens’ data under agreements with third countries; the cost of establishing Number 10 North; access to primary and community health services by integrated care boards; and the potential impact of El Niño on climate patterns, flooding, and food security in the UK.
Changes to Select Committee membership: The Lord Privy Seal (Leader of the House Baroness Smith of Basildon) will move a motion to appoint Lond Ponsonby of Shulbrede to the Parliamentary Works Estimates Commission.
Motion to approve a Statutory Instrument: The Minister will move a motion to approve an SI in relation to licensing which was considered in Grand Committee last week.
Armed Forces Bill (Committee, day 2 of 2): Peers are expected to conclude detailed scrutiny of the Government’s legislation to renew the principal statutory framework governing the Armed Forces for a further five years. The Committee will resume consideration from the point reached at last Wednesday’s sitting. More information about the Bill, including its constitutional significance and the concerns raised by the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee, can be found in last week’s edition of the Bulletin. (House of Lords Library briefing)
Committee Stage will take place in the Chamber as a Committee of the Whole House. All Peers may participate and, unlike in Grand Committee, amendments can be put to a division (a formal vote).
At Committee Stage, the House must decide whether each clause and schedule should remain in the Bill and whether any amendments or new provisions should be added. Amendments are grouped for debate to avoid repetition. Peers commonly use Committee Stage to table probing amendments to test the Government’s position before deciding whether to return to an issue at Report Stage.
Today’s scrutiny will largely cover the Bill’s later provisions, which include measures concerning the reserve forces and mobilisation, parliamentary control of Armed Forces numbers and commitments, visiting forces, the Ministry of Defence Police, and the protection of military remains.
Statutory Instrument debate – Plants, seeds and the Windsor Framework: At around 19:30, proceedings on the Armed Forces Bill will be interrupted for a one-hour debate – known as dinner break business – on a motion to approve the draft Plant Health, Seeds, Seed Potatoes and Plant Propagating Material (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2026.
These Regulations would ensure that domestic legislation governing plant health, seeds, seed potatoes, and plant propagating material operates in accordance with the Windsor Framework, including by updating references to EU legislation. The Regulations are subject to the draft affirmative procedure, so they cannot be made unless both Houses debate and approve them.
DUP Peer Lord Dodds of Duncairn has tabled a regret motion arguing that the Regulations implement EU law in Northern Ireland without public consultation and do not resolve the wider problems created by the Northern Ireland Protocol and Windsor Framework. Agreeing to the regret motion would formally record the House’s criticism of the Regulations but would not prevent their approval. Unless the regret motion is withdrawn, the House will decide it first, before voting on the approval motion.
Grand Committee
15:45: Railways Bill (Committee, day 1 of 7): Peers will begin their detailed scrutiny in Grand Committee of the Government’s legislation to establish Great British Railways (GBR), a new publicly owned body intended to bring responsibility for railway infrastructure and most passenger services under a single organisation. (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 or new provisions should be added. Amendments are grouped for debate to avoid repetition. Where Committee Stage takes place in Grand Committee, no divisions can be held, and an amendment may be agreed only if there is no objection. Peers may nevertheless use probing amendments to test the Government’s position before deciding whether to return to an issue at Report Stage.
Peers may examine concerns raised by the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee, particularly about delegated powers relating to railway access agreements. Clauses 72 and 73 contain Henry VIII powers which would enable Ministers to amend primary legislation through regulations. The Committee recommended that the power in clause 73 be removed entirely. It also recommended narrowing the power in clause 72 so that it could not be used to amend Acts of Parliament passed in future Sessions. The second of seven planned Committee sittings will take place on Thursday 10 September.
Highlights include:
House of Commons
10:00: Education Committee – The use of Artificial Intelligence and EdTech in education: The Chief Regulator at Ofqual, trade unionists, representatives of the assessments and examinations bodies, and experts in education will give evidence.
13:50: Business and Trade Committee – Industrial strategy: Minister for Reindustrialisation Blair McDougall MP will give evidence, as well as the Mayors of the West Midlands Combined Authority and the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority.
14:15: Treasury Committee – Bank of England Monetary Policy Reports: The Bank’s Governor Andrew Bailey and other members of its Monetary Policy Committee will give evidence.
14:30: Justice Committee – Children and young adults in the secure estate: Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza and experts in youth justice will give evidence.
16:00: Transport Committee – Scrutiny of the draft Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement: Experts in aviation, the environment and climate change will give evidence. Under the Planning Act 2008, proposals for new National Policy Statements should be scrutinised by a House of Commons Select Committee, which report its conclusions to the House. Issued by Ministers, these statements set out the Government’s policy on particular infrastructure projects or categories of projects in fields such as transport, energy, and water.
House of Lords
10:15: Science and Technology Committee – Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA): The Chief Executive of ARIA will give evidence.
15:00: Economic Affairs Committee – Fiscal devolution in England: The Local Government Association, County Councils Network, and Local Councils Network will give evidence.
A full list of select committee hearings can be found on the What’s On section of the Parliament website.
Details of Wednesday’s business can be found below.

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Questions and statements: At 11:30, Women and Equalities Ministers will respond to MPs’ questions. Topics include the adequacy of employers’ shared parental policies, the potential impact of camera-enabled smart glasses on women’s privacy, social cohesion, contacting Government departments by those with accessibility needs, steps to ban conversion therapy, public toilets for people with disabilities, removing children from poverty, participation of women and girls in sport, and tackling violence against women and girls.
At 12:00, Andy Burnham 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 Dame Chi Onwurah will seek to introduce a Personal Data (Digital Twins) 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 regulate software or algorithms which use or hold personal data for the purpose of modelling the preferences or behaviours of a person.
Civil Aviation (Consumer Protection and Regulatory Reform) Bill (Second Reading): MPs will debate the Government’s legislation to reform consumer protection and regulation in the aviation sector. The Bill, which began its passage in the House of Lords, would give Ministers new powers to make regulations on air passenger rights, airport slots and schedules; strengthen consumer-enforcement powers of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA); reform the process for making airspace changes; and transfer responsibility for making detailed aviation safety rules from Ministers to the CAA. (House of Lords Library briefing)
At Second Reading, MPs debate the Bill’s general principles and purposes. They cannot amend its text at this stage, although opposition parties may table a ‘reasoned amendment’ setting out why the House should decline to give the Bill a Second Reading.
The Government suffered one defeat in the House of Lords. Conservative Peer Lord Moylan secured an amendment requiring the Secretary of State, within six months of Royal Assent, to conduct and publish a review of the impact of airport drop-off charges on passengers. The amendment now appears as clause 7 of the Bill. The Government may seek to remove this provision during the Bill’s Commons stages.
The Government also made changes in the Lords in response to concerns raised by the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee about the proposed transfer of aviation rule-making powers to the CAA.
If the Bill receives a Second Reading, MPs will be asked to approve a programme motion setting the timetable for its remaining Commons stages. The Bill will then proceed to detailed scrutiny in Public Bill Committee. Any changes made by the Commons will have to be considered by the Lords before the Bill can receive Royal Assent.
Adjournment: Labour MP Dr Rupa Huq MP will give a speech on the regulation of ticket prices for live events. A Minister will then give a response. (House of Commons Library briefing)
Westminster Hall
09:30: Government support for public confidence in the police (House of Commons Library briefing / Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology briefing)
11:00: Standards for bus stops
14:30: Government funding for local pharmacies
16:00: Government support for the UK Youth Parliament
16:30: Pica training within SEND provision (House of Commons Library briefing)
Delegated Legislation Committees
14:30: The draft Code of Practice on the Right of Trade Unions to Access Workplaces, and the draft Trade Unions (Right to Access Workplaces) Regulations 2026
Oral questions: At 15:00, Peers will begin the day by questioning Ministers for 40 minutes, on the regulation of funeral directors; the impact of devolution powers on national infrastructure projects; and reducing reliance on agency medical staff in the NHS. The topic of a fourth question will be decided by a ballot drawn at lunchtime on Monday 7 September.
Financial Services and Markets Bill (Report, day 2 of 2): Peers will conclude Report Stage of the Government’s legislation to reform the regulation of financial services and markets. (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 are grouped together for debate, to prevent repetition and create a more focused debate. The House will decide amendments in the order in which they would appear in the Bill. It is at Report Stage that the Government is most frequently defeated on amendments.
The House will resume consideration of amendments from the point reached at Monday’s sitting. If Report Stage concludes today, the Bill will then proceed to Third Reading on Tuesday 15 September.
Grand Committee
16:15: Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (Committee, day 4 of 4): Peers are expected to conclude their detailed scrutiny in Grand Committee of the Government’s legislation to strengthen the cyber security and resilience of essential and digital services. (House of Lords Library)
At Committee Stage, the House must decide whether each clause and schedule should remain in the Bill and whether any amendments or new provisions should be added. Amendments are grouped for debate to avoid repetition. Where Committee Stage takes place in Grand Committee, no divisions can be held, and an amendment may be agreed only if there is no objection. Peers may nevertheless use probing amendments to test the Government’s position before deciding whether to return to an issue at Report Stage.
The Committee will resume consideration of the Bill from the point reached at Monday’s sitting. If Committee Stage concludes today, the Bill will then proceed to Report Stage.
Highlights include:
House of Commons
09:00: Energy Security and Net Zero Committee – National Planning Policy Statement on Nuclear Fusion: Energy Minister Michael Shanks MP and representatives of the fusion energy sector and the Environment Agency will give evidence.
09:15: Transport Committee – Scrutiny of the draft Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement: Representatives of airlines and airports will give evidence.
09:30: Northern Ireland Affairs Committee – Reconciliation: Representatives of the victims and survivors, as well as the Commissioner for Victims and Survivors for Northern Ireland, will give evidence.
09:30: Health and Social Care Committee – Work of the Care Quality Commission (CQC): The Committee will hold a pre-appointment hearing with the Government’s preferred candidate to chair the CQC, Crossbench Peer Baroness Neuberger.
10:00: Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee – Modernising elections: Election administrators from Scotland and Wales, and experts on youth political engagement and citizenship education, will give evidence on votes at 16, citizenship education, and youth participation.
14:15: Treasury Committee – Work of HM Revenue and Customs: HMRC’s Chief Executive and other senior HMRC officials will give evidence.
14:30: Environmental Audit Committee – Progress on climate change mitigation: The Climate Change Committee’s Chief Executive and its Acting Director for Net Zero will give evidence.
House of Lords
10:00: Environment and Climate Change Committee – Office for Environmental Protection: The Chair of the Office for Environmental Protection and its Chief Executive will give evidence.
A full list of select committee hearings can be found on the What’s On section of the Parliament website.
Questions and statements: At 09:30, Cabinet Office Ministers will face questions from MPs. Topics include the Ethics and Integrity Commission’s report into lobbying, steps to improve national resilience, discussions with EU counterparts on the future EU–UK relationship, co-ordination of cross-government work to strengthen the UK’s long-term economic capabilities, the review of arm’s length bodies, the Civil Service Pension Scheme, creation of new jobs in the AI industry, and the revocation of honours for disgraced individuals.
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.
Social Housing Bill (Second Reading): MPs will debate the Government’s legislation to protect the existing social housing stock and reform the Right to Buy scheme. The Bill, which began its parliamentary passage in the House of Lords, would extend the qualifying period for a social tenant to exercise the Right to Buy from three to 10 years; reduce the maximum discount available; exempt newly built social homes from the scheme for 35 years; require private registered providers to notify local authorities before disposing of homes outside the regulated social housing sector; and strengthen protections for social housing tenants who are victims of domestic abuse.
At Second Reading, MPs debate the Bill’s general principles and purposes. They cannot amend its text at this stage, although opposition parties may table a ‘reasoned amendment’ setting out why the House should decline to give the Bill a Second Reading.
The Government suffered one defeat during the Bill’s passage through the House of Lords. At Report Stage, the Conservative Peer Lord Young of Cookham secured an amendment requiring the Secretary of State to review of the operation and effectiveness of the shared ownership scheme in England and to publish the findings within 12 months of Royal Assent. The review would have to consider affordability, staircasing, service charges and other housing costs, barriers to achieving full ownership, and whether legislative or regulatory changes are required. The Government may seek to amend or remove the provision during the Bill’s Commons stages.
If the Bill receives a Second Reading, MPs will be asked to approve a programme motion setting the timetable for its remaining Commons stages. The Bill will then proceed to detailed scrutiny in Public Bill Committee. Any amendments ultimately made by the Commons will have to be considered by the Lords before the Bill can receive Royal Assent.
Adjournment: Liberal Democrat MP Gideon Amos will give a speech on water management. A Minister will then give a response. (Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology briefing)
Westminster Hall
13:30: The potential merits of reform of the vascular sector (House of Commons Library briefing)
15:00: The contribution of fathers and positive male role models to families and society (House of Commons Library briefing)
Introduction of new Peers: At 11:00, two new Peers will be introduced:
Parvais Jabbar (now Lord Jabbar), co-founder of the Death Penalty Project, will join as a Labour Peer; and
Marcus Davey (now Lord Davey of Chalk Farm), arts administrator, will join as a Labour Peer.
Oral questions: Peers will question Ministers for 40 minutes, on merging Jobcentre Plus and the National Careers Service; progress towards spending 3% of GDP on defence by 2030; and the withdrawal of UK Research and Innovation funding for Jodrell Bank Observatory. The topic of a fourth question will be decided by a ballot drawn at lunchtime on Tuesday 8 September.
General debate – UK’s fiscal outlook: Typically, every Thursday from the beginning of each Session until the end of January, time is set aside for general debates in the name of opposition frontbenchers, backbenchers or Crossbenchers. The allocation of these debates is decided via the Usual Channels, that is, the business managers from the Government and other parliamentary groups in the House. Two such debates are scheduled to take place today, either side of a Question for Short Debate (QSD).
The first general debate, led by Conservative Peer Lord Bridges of Headley, is on the UK’s fiscal outlook. The debate will take place on a neutral motion to “take note” of the issue and will therefore conclude without a division (a formal vote). (House of Lords Library briefing)
Short debate – Patient data for research: Questions for Short Debate are selected by ballot, and only backbench and Crossbench members are eligible to enter. These debates are strictly time-limited to one hour. Proceedings begin with a speech from the member who tabled the question, followed by a response from the Minister. The remaining time is divided equally among the other members who wish to speak. Today’s QSD, tabled by Crossbench Peer Lord Patel, asks what assessment the Government have made of the use of patient data for research. (House of Lords Library briefing)
General debate – Home ownership: The second general debate, led by Conservative Peer Baroness Eaton, is on homeowners and levels of home ownership. As with the first general debate, the discussion will take place on a neutral “take note” motion and will conclude without a division. (House of Lords Library briefing)
Grand Committee
12:15: Railways Bill (Committee, day 2 of 7): Peers will continue detailed scrutiny in Grand Committee of the Government’s legislation to establish Great British Railways (GBR) and to reform the structure and regulation of the railway. The Committee will resume consideration from the point reached at Tuesday’s first sitting. (House of Lords Library briefing)
At Committee Stage, the House must decide whether each clause and schedule should remain in the Bill and whether amendments or new provisions should be added. Amendments are grouped for debate to avoid repetition. As scrutiny is taking place in Grand Committee, no divisions (formal votes) can be held, and an amendment can be agreed only if there is no objection. However, Peers often use probing amendments to test the Government’s position before deciding whether to return to an issue at Report Stage.
The next Committee sitting will take place on Wednesday 16 September. The final Committee sitting is scheduled for 26 October.
Highlights include:
House of Commons
10:00: Public Accounts Committee – Armed forces housing and Annington Homes: The Permanent Secretary and other officials at the Ministry of Defence give evidence.
A full list of select committee hearings can be found on the What’s On section of the Parliament website.
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Second Reading): At 09:30, MPs will debate Labour MP Lauren Edwards’s Private Member’s Bill (PMB) to legalise assisted dying for terminally ill adults in England and Wales. Edwards came second in this Session’s PMB ballot and is in effect reintroducing the Bill sponsored by Kim Leadbeater in the previous Session. The Government remains neutral on the Bill and all MPs are expected to have a free vote. (House of Commons Library briefing)
The previous version of the Bill in the last Session was approved by the Commons at Third Reading in June 2025 but did not complete Committee Stage in the House of Lords before the end of the 2024-26 Session. As Private Members’ Bills cannot normally be carried over from one Session to another, it therefore fell. Edwards has now reintroduced the Bill in the same form as that previously passed by the Commons, a decision with potentially important implications for the use of the Parliament Act 1911.
As we explain in our briefing on the Parliament Act, the Act provides a mechanism through which, in certain circumstances, the Commons can enact a bill without the consent of the House of Lords, if Peers reject it in two successive Sessions. One of the conditions is that the bill passed by the Commons in the second Session must be identical to that passed in the first, subject to a small number of exceptions. We examined one of these – the “suggested amendments” procedure – in a recent blogpost. The Bill must also be sent to the Lords at least one month before the end of each Session.
The Parliament Act has never been used to enact a Private Member’s Bill, although nothing in the Act prevents it from being used for this purpose.
Today is the Bill’s Second Reading, when MPs will debate its general principles and purposes. As on previous occasions, the debate is likely to be oversubscribed and to occupy the full sitting. Proceedings will begin with an MP moving “That the House do sit in private.” This motion will be moved solely to demonstrate that a quorum is present and to prevent another MP from moving it later in the debate. The sitting will end at 14:30. To ensure a decision before then, a supporter of the Bill will need to move a closure motion – “That the Question be now put” – towards the end of the debate. If the House agrees to the closure, MPs will then vote on whether the Bill should receive a Second Reading.
If the Bill receives a Second Reading, attention will turn to how its remaining Commons stages are handled. Under the usual procedure for PMBs, it would be committed to a Public Bill Committee for detailed consideration and possible amendment. However, any amendments would render the Bill non-identical to that passed in the previous Session and thus ineligible for enactment under the Parliament Act. Where the Commons intends to rely on the Parliament Act, it has therefore often been the practice to dispense with Committee and Report Stage to preserve an identical text. Doing so would, however, require Government cooperation, which is not currently thought likely.
The Bill is therefore likely to be committed once again to a Public Bill Committee. Under Standing Orders, only one Public Bill Committee may consider a Private Member’s Bill at a time. There is also a strong convention that Private Members’ Bills enter Committee Stage in the order in which they received their Second Reading. Last Friday, the House gave a Second Reading to the Infants, Parents and Carers Bill, presented by Sir Desmond Swayne MP. It also gave the Child-like Sexual Abuse Dolls (Offences) Bill a Second Reading without debate, because no MP objected when it was called after 14:30. Both bills would therefore ordinarily complete their Committee Stages before the assisted dying bill could enter Committee. To accelerate its consideration, the House would need to agree to set aside the relevant Standing Order and permit a second Public Bill Committee to consider a Private Member’s Bill. There is precedent for doing so.
Other Private Members’ Bills: Because the assisted dying debate is likely to occupy most or all of the sitting, there may be little time for the other PMBs listed below it on the Order Paper. Next in the queue is Jeremy Corbyn’s Gaza (Independent Public Inquiry) Bill, followed by Conservative MP Harriet Cross’s Environmental Impact Assessment (Downstream Emissions) Bill and several other bills awaiting Second Reading.
If proceedings on the assisted dying bill conclude before 14:30, the House will move immediately to the next bill and debate it for whatever time remains. At 14:30, however, the normal Friday ‘moment of interruption’ arrives. Bills awaiting Second Reading can then progress only if no MP objects. The Chair will call each bill in turn. If an MP shouts “Object!”, the bill’s sponsor must nominate another PMB Friday for Second Reading. If nobody objects, the bill may receive a Second Reading without debate and proceed to Committee Stage. A rescheduled bill joins the queue on its new date. As such a bill will usually be listed behind bills with higher priority, its prospects of securing time for debate, and therefore making further progress, are generally poor.
The Hansard Society’s guide to Private Members’ Bills explains the different types of PMBs and how their legislative passage differs from that for Government bills.
Adjournment: Conservative MP Alan Mak will give a speech on the 25th Anniversary of 9/11. A Minister will then give a response.
Private Members’ Bills: The House will meet at 10:00 to consider five Private Members’ Bills:
Local Plans (Burial Space) Bill (Third Reading): Sponsored by Liberal Democrat Peer Lord Mohammed of Tinsley, this Bill would require local planning authorities to make provision for adequate burial space when preparing or reviewing their local plans. Third Reading is the Bill’s final stage in the Lords; if it is passed, it will be sent to the House of Commons. (House of Lords Library briefing)
Leaseholder Remediation (Building Safety) Bill (Second Reading): Sponsored by Liberal Democrat Peer Baroness Pinnock, this Bill would prevent developers and building owners from recovering remediation costs for systemic defects from protected leaseholders in residential buildings containing any leasehold properties, with no minimum height or storey threshold. (House of Lords Library briefing)
Creative Education Access Bill (Second Reading): Sponsored by Liberal Democrat Peer Baroness Featherstone, this Bill would establish a minimum entitlement to creative and cultural education for pupils in state-funded schools in England, including minimum weekly teaching hours, and require schools to take reasonable steps to develop partnerships with the creative sector. (House of Lords Library briefing)
Youth Justice Board for England and Wales (Restoration of Powers and Responsibilities) Bill (Second Reading): Sponsored by Liberal Democrat Peer Lord Oates, this Bill would make the Youth Justice Board primarily responsible for certain youth justice functions, give the Welsh Government a formal role in some youth justice decisions, and restrict Ministers’ ability to alter the Board’s functions through secondary legislation. (House of Lords Library briefing)
Microplastic Filters (Washing Machines) Bill (Second Reading): Sponsored by Conservative Peer Lord Randall of Uxbridge, this Bill would require new washing machines to have filters to capture microfibres and would impose a duty on Ministers to promote awareness of microfibre pollution. (House of Lords Library briefing)
At Second Reading, Peers debate the general principles of each Bill and decide whether it should proceed to Committee Stage.
Private Members’ Bills in the Lords are often given a Second Reading even when the Government does not support them. However, few Lords PMBs ultimately become law. Securing debating time in the Lords is relatively straightforward, but a Lords PMB receives no priority when it reaches the Commons. It must compete for limited time allocated to PMBs on Fridays and will usually be placed behind Commons PMBs already in the queue.
Both Houses will resume at 14:30 on Monday 14 September 2026. Our next Bulletin will therefore be published on Sunday 13 September.
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