Questions and statements: At 14:30, Education Ministers will respond to MPs’ questions. Topics include defence technical colleges, sex and relationship education, the Child Poverty Strategy, vocational qualifications, Chinese influence in universities, the national curriculum, teacher and teaching assistant retention and recruitment, pupils with SEND, educational attainment, adoption and guardianship, and child protection services.

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.

Ten Minute Rule Motion: Labour MP Joe Morris will seek to introduce the Iconic Trees and Nature Education 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 establish a register of iconic trees, make provision about their protection, and require a review of nature education. See our Hansard Society guide for more information about the parliamentary procedure for Ten Minute Rule Bills (TMRBs).

Ordinarily, Members may present a TMRB only during Tuesday and Wednesday sittings. However, because a TMRB cannot be presented on Budget Day, an additional slot is added on the following Monday to make up for the lost slot.

Continuation of the Budget Debate: MPs will continue the debate on the Chancellor’s Budget Statement. The theme of today’s debate is ‘Cost of Living and Bearing Down on Inflation’. The debate will be opened by Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and closed by Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander. The debate will continue until 22:00. (House of Commons Library briefing)

Motions to change the membership of Select Committees: Four motions have been tabled by the Chair of the Committee of Selection, Jessica Morden, to replace members of the Education, Finance, Procedure, and Public Accounts Committees.

Adjournment: Liberal Democrat MP Tim Farron will give a speech on temporary slip roads on junction 38 of the M6. A Minister will then give a response.

Westminster Hall

16:30: MPs will debate e-petition 722377, which calls on the Government to withdraw the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill on the grounds that it “downgrades education for all children, and undermines educators and parents.” The Bill was given a Third Reading by MPs in mid-March and is currently awaiting a date for Report Stage in the House of Lords. The petition has around 166,000 signatures.

18:00: MPs will debate e-petition 706513, which calls for every school and college to be obliged to have an evacuation chair and to carry out training on how to use them. The petition has around 104,000 signatures. (Library briefing)

Delegated Legislation Committees

18:00: Four Statutory Instruments to be considered together:

• the draft Double Taxation Relief and International Tax Enforcement (Peru) Order 2025;

• the draft Double Taxation Relief and International Tax Enforcement (Romania) Order 2025;

• the draft Double Taxation Relief and International Tax Enforcement (Andorra) Order 2025; and

• the draft Double Taxation Relief and International Tax Enforcement (Portuguese Republic) Order 2025.

18:00: The draft Judicial Appointments Commission (Amendment) Regulations 2025.

18:00: Two Church of England Measures, passed by the Church’s General Synod:

• the Armed Forces Chaplains (Licensing) Measure; and

• the Abuse Redress Measure.

↖ Contents · Skip to Tuesday’s Commons ↘

Oral questions: At 14:30, Peers will begin the day by questioning Ministers for 40 minutes, on South Sudan; eliminating AIDS as a public health threat; walking, wheeling and cycling paths; and the profitability and viability of small farming enterprises.

Sentencing Bill (Committee, day 2): This is the second of three days currently allocated for the Bill’s Committee Stage when the House must decide whether each clause and schedule should “stand part” of the Bill, and whether any amendments should be made. The final Committee Stage sitting will take place on Wednesday. (House of Lords Library briefing)

Any amendments that are pushed to a vote and rejected at Committee Stage cannot be re-tabled. Many amendments are therefore used as “probing amendments” – proposals intended to test the response of the Government and the wider House. Consequently, divisions at Committee Stage are relatively rare.

The next clauses and amendments to be debated relate to whole life orders for murder of police and prison officers; rehabilitation for offenders on probation; prohibitions during probation on gambling; drinking, driving, public event attendance, and entering restricted zones; private sector involvement in community service; the Sentencing Council; court transcripts of sentencing remarks; and sentencing statistics.

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Highlights include:

House of Commons

13:30: Home Affairs Committee – Football Policing: Independent Adviser on Antisemitism Lord Mann, the Chief Constable and Assistant Chief Constable of West Midlands Police, and the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner will give evidence about the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from the Europa League match against Aston Villa.

15:30: Public Accounts Committee – Efficiency and Resilience of the Probation Service: The Permanent Secretary and other senior officials from the Ministry of Justice and HM Prison and Probation Service will give evidence.

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

Help keep this Bulletin free for everyone. The Bulletin is free and we want to keep it that way. But as a charity we rely on donations to fund the research and production costs that make it possible. A small regular donation – even £3 a month, less than a cup of coffee – helps us keep this Bulletin freely available to everyone interested in Parliament. Donate here

↖ Contents · Skip to Tuesday’s Select Committees ↘

Questions and statements: At 11:30, the Foreign Secretary and other Foreign Office Ministers will respond to MPs’ questions. Topics include repatriation of remains, cyber-attacks, support for Ukraine, modern slavery and unethical labour practices in global supply chains, the situation in Sudan, the threat from China, human rights violations in Hong Kong, the situation in Gaza, UK–EU relations, Kashmir, and tax evasion in British Overseas Territories.

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

Ten Minute Rule Motion: Labour MP Dr Simon Opher will seek to introduce the Domestic Energy Efficiency (Call for Evidence) 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 a Government-issued call for evidence on domestic energy efficiency measures and a Government response to the evidence received.

Conclusion of the Budget Debate: Today is the final day of the Budget Debate, which will take place on the theme of ‘Investment and Renewal’. Health Secretary Wes Streeting will open the debate, with Chief Secretary to the Treasury James Murray giving a winding up speech at the end.

Once the debate concludes, the House must vote on a series of Budget resolutions. Most tax-raising measures announced in the Budget – such as introducing a new tax, renewing an annual tax, increasing an existing tax rate, or widening the scope of a tax – require their own ‘Ways and Means’ resolution. These form the ‘founding’ resolutions for the Finance Bill that give statutory authority to the Government’s tax proposals. The Finance Bill can only be introduced once the House has approved these resolutions.

The Chancellor has tabled 101 Ways and Means resolutions in relation to this Budget, and each one will need to be put to the House. The four-day Budget Debate formally took place on the first Ways and Means motion for the charging of income tax. Under Standing Order No. 51, this is the only Ways and Means motion that can be amended.

The decision on the first motion will be taken in the normal way: if the Speaker selects any amendment, the amendment will be put to the House first; afterwards (or otherwise), the question on the motion (or motion as amended) itself will be put.

Standing Order No. 51 requires that the remaining 100 Ways and Means motions be put ‘forthwith’ without further debate or amendment. Because there are so many motions, the Chair may take several consecutive motions together (for example, “that motions 42 to 55 be agreed to”). The House typically only holds a division on a handful of motions, usually where opposition parties have indicated that they wish to have a separate vote. Some of the more contentious motions that could attract a division are:

• Motions 4 to 6: to raise income tax rates on dividend, savings, and property income

• Motion 9: to freeze income tax thresholds at their current amounts until 2030/31

• Motion 44: to give effect to the removal of Winter Fuel Payments from pensioners with an income over £35,000

• Motion 50: to give effect to planned changes to agricultural property relief and business property relief from Inheritance Tax, announced at the 2024 Budget

• Motion 56: to charge VAT at 20% on high-value vehicles purchased via the Motability scheme

• Motion 57: to charge VAT at 20% on taxis and private hire vehicles

• Motions 61 and 62: to increase the rates of duties on remote gaming and betting

Not every measure announced in the Budget is included among the Ways and Means motions. Some may be planned for future Finance Bills or other pieces of legislation – primary or secondary – including the new Electric Vehicle Excise Duty and new ‘Mansion Tax’ surcharge on properties within higher Council Tax bands.

Once the Ways and Means motions are agreed, the Government can immediately present the Finance Bill to the House. When it is presented, the Bill’s long title is read out and a Whip will name a day for ‘Second Reading’. Often, a Whip will say ‘tomorrow’, but this does not mean that Second Reading will actually take place tomorrow. Rather, it is a procedural device to ensure the Second Reading is listed on the Future Business of the House.

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 Provisional Collection of Taxes resolution that was agreed at the end of the Chancellor’s Budget Statement gives temporary legal cover to some of the tax changes pending final approval of the Finance Bill. This resolution remains valid for seven months. However, it is invalidated if the Second Reading of the Finance Bill does not take place within 30 sitting days following the approval of the Budget resolutions. If the Bill is not given a Second Reading before this deadline then the Government would have to return all taxes raised under the temporary authority provided by the resolution. The Second Reading of the Finance Bill might not take place until the New Year. The 30 sitting day deadline, assuming there are no changes to current sitting and recess arrangements, will fall on Thursday 5 February.

The process for considering the Finance Bill is detailed in our Hansard Society guide, “What is the Finance Bill?”

Presentation of Public Petitions: Labour MP Kirsteen Sullivan will present a public petition, on pornography and violence against women.

Adjournment: Labour MP Barry Gardiner will give a speech on Government procurement. A Minister will then give a response.

Westminster Hall

09:30: Adequacy of funding to support homeless people (House of Commons Library briefing)

11:00: Support for people with autism during pandemic-type events

14:30: Reform of gambling regulation (House of Commons Library briefing)

16:00: Government support for women and girls on the Isle of Wight

16:30: Catapults and anti-social behaviour

Public Bill Committees

09:25 and 14:00: Public Office (Accountability) Bill: Popularly known as the Hillsborough Law, the Bill begins the clause-by-clause scrutiny phase of its Committee Stage today. The Committee took oral evidence last Thursday, including from Hillsborough campaigners, legal experts, the NHS and Care Quality Commission, the Chief Coroner, the Independent Public Advocate, and the Mayors of Manchester and Liverpool, Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram.

At Committee Stage, the Public Bill Committee must decide whether each clause and schedule should “stand part” of the Bill, and whether any amendments should be made. The main provisions of the Bill were outlined in a recent edition of the Bulletin. The Committee will begin by scrutinising the first clauses of the Bill (and relevant amendments) which relate to the proposed new duty of candour and assistance.

Delegated Legislation Committees

14:30: The draft Heat Networks (Market Framework) (Great Britain) (Amendment) Regulations 2025.

16:30: Two Statutory Instruments:

• the draft Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (Prudential Regulation of Credit Institutions) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2025; and

• the draft Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) (ESG Ratings) Order 2025.

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Oral questions: At 14:30, Peers will begin the day by questioning Ministers for 40 minutes, on consumer rights to cancel subscription contracts; the impact of online communication by public services for adults with learning and communication difficulties; plans to re-open the British Embassy in Damascus; and overpayments of Carer’s Allowance.

Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill (Second Reading): This Bill will enable the UK to implement the Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction, commonly known as the BBNJ Agreement or High Seas Treaty, which the UK signed in September 2023. The Agreement seeks to strengthen the conservation of areas of the ocean that lie beyond national jurisdiction. (House of Lords Library briefing)

At Second Reading, the House will debate the general principles underlying the Bill. No amendments to the text can be made at this stage. The House of Lords rarely votes against Government Bills at Second Reading, and they therefore usually proceed without a division.

Once the Bill has received its Second Reading, it will be committed to a Grand Committee for detailed clause-by-clause scrutiny at the next stage.

Statutory Instrument debate: The House will debate a motion to approve the draft Enterprise Act 2002 (Mergers Involving Newspaper Enterprises and Foreign Powers) (No. 2) Regulations 2025. The newspaper ownership regime introduced earlier this year prohibits foreign states (or ‘state-owned investors’) from owning newspapers or news magazines. However, it currently includes an exception allowing each foreign state-owned investor to own up to 15% of the shares or voting rights in a publication. These new Regulations will amend that exception, by introducing a 15% cap on the combined shareholdings of all foreign state-owned investors, excluding any individual holdings below 5%. This change would prevent, for example, two state-owned investors from different countries each holding 10% percent of the shares of a newspaper, something that is currently permitted.

The House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee has drawn the Regulations to the special attention of the House, deeming them to be politically or legally important or to give rise to issues of public policy likely to be of interest to the House.

↖ Contents · Skip to Wednesday’s Lords ↘

Highlights include:

House of Commons

10:00: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee – Commissioner for Public Appointments Sir William Shawcross will give evidence on his work.

10:00: Treasury Committee – Budget 2025: Chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) Richard Hughes and two other members of the OBR’s Committee will give evidence. Hughes is likely to be asked why the OBR inadvertently published its economic forecast – containing all the details of the Budget – shortly before the Chancellor’s Budget Statement last week.

10:10: Administration Committee – Health and Wellbeing Services in Parliament: Minister Chris Bryant MP, and the Labour MP and sponsor of the assisted dying bill Kim Leadbeater, will give evidence.

14:00: Business and Trade Committee – UK Trade with the US, India, and the EU: Trade Minister Chris Bryant MP and the UK’s Chief Negotiator on the UK–India Free Trade Agreement will give evidence at 16:00, following earlier evidence given by a variety of campaigners and business representatives.

14:30: Education Committee – Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson MP will give evidence alongside her Permanent Secretary, Susan Acland-Hood, about the work of the Department for Education.

14:30: Justice Committee – Access to Justice: Representatives of the Law Society, Bar Council and Legal Aid Practitioners Group will give evidence.

15:00: Defence Committee – AUKUS: Defence Minister Luke Pollard MP, the Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff, and the CEO of the Submarine Delivery Agency will give evidence.

House of Lords

15:00: Economic Affairs Committee – The UK’s Fiscal Framework: Former OBR Chair Sir Robert Chote and former OBR Committee member Andy King 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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Details of Wednesday’s business can be found below.

Questions and statements: At 11:30, Wales Office Ministers will respond to MPs’ questions. Topics include the impact of the Budget, clean energy projects, economic growth, grooming gangs, job creation, the proposed visitor levy, construction of nuclear sites, and cross border transport.

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 Yasmin Qureshi will seek to introduce the Fireworks (Noise Control Etc) 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 impose maximum noise levels on fireworks for sale, require information about noise levels to be included on labels, require a review of the impact of firework noise on veterans, neurodivergent people, people with certain medical conditions, and animals, and empower local authorities to regulate the use of fireworks.

Pension Schemes Bill (Report and Third Reading): The whole House will debate and vote on proposed amendments and new clauses to the Government’s legislation. The Bill makes changes to the regulation of pension schemes, and its main provisions were summarised in an earlier edition of the Bulletin. (House of Commons Library briefing)

Conservative Shadow Minister Mark Garnier MP has tabled five amendments, while 19 have been tabled by the Liberal Democrat Work and Pensions spokesperson Steve Darling MP. The Chair of the Business and Trade Committee, Liam Byrne MP, has also tabled an amendment to require the Government to clarify the investment duties of occupational pension schemes.

Several proposals from opposition and Government backbench MPs have now been announced as new policies in the Budget. These include plans to apply inflation indexation to pensions accrued before 1997 in the Pension Protection Fund and the Financial Assistance Scheme, as well as a commitment to transfer the investment reserve fund of the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme directly to scheme members.

In accordance with the programme order agreed on 7 July, 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. This will most likely include amendments tabled by the Conservative Shadow Minister and the Liberal Democrat Work and Pensions spokesperson.

Once the votes have concluded, the House will move on to Third Reading. In accordance with the programme order, 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.

Presentation of Public Petitions: Labour MP Sharon Hodgson will present a public petition, on pornography and violence against women.

Adjournment: Liberal Democrat MP Charlotte Cane will give a speech on the potential merits of Government support for the Ely Area Capacity Enhancement Scheme. A Minister will then give a response.

Westminster Hall

09:30: The future of local media (House of Commons Library briefing)

11:00: The supply of veterinary medicines to Northern Ireland

14:30: The Oxford to Cambridge Growth Corridor

16:00: Government support for the advanced ceramics industry in north Staffordshire

16:30: Mental health support for people with terminal illnesses (House of Commons Library briefing)

Delegated Legislation Committees

14:30: The draft Infected Blood Compensation Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2025

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Oral questions: At 15:00, Peers will begin the day by questioning Ministers for 40 minutes, on social mobility in the arts and creative industries; the construction of high-rise buildings; and the supply of blood and blood products. The topic of a fourth question will be decided by a ballot drawn at lunchtime on Monday 1 December.

Sentencing Bill (Committee, day 3): This is the third and final day of the Bill’s Committee Stage when the House must decide whether each clause and schedule should “stand part” of the Bill, and whether any amendments should be made. (House of Lords Library briefing)

As outlined in Monday’s section above, divisions are uncommon at Committee Stage, and any amendments are likely to be “probing amendments”, designed to test the response of the Government and the wider House.

The House will resume its scrutiny of clauses and amendments from the point it reached at Monday’s sitting.

↖ Contents · Skip to Thursday’s Lords ↘

Highlights include:

House of Commons

09:30: Science, Innovation and Technology Committee – Secretary of State Liz Kendall MP will give evidence, alongside her Permanent Secretary, about the work of the Science, Innovation and Technology Department.

14:15: Treasury Committee – Budget 2025: Helen Miller, Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), and Ruth Curtice, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation, will give evidence. Economic experts from investment company PIMCO and the Productivity Institute will also give evidence.

14:30: Environmental Audit Committee – The Seventh Carbon Budget: Former Liberal Democrat MP Chris Huhne, now Chair of the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association, will give evidence, as will witnesses representing the National Energy System Operator, the International Airlines Group, UK Steel, Electric Vehicles UK, and others.

14:45: Procedure Committee – The sub judice resolution in the House of Commons: Former Attorney General Baroness Scotland of Asthal and the Law Commission’s Criminal Law Commissioner will give evidence.

15:00: Energy Security and Net Zero Committee – Building support for the energy transition: The Chief Executive of the Climate Change Committee and two academics will give evidence.

House of Lords

10:00: Environment and Climate Change Committee – The Climate Change Committee (CCC): The Chair of the CCC Nigel Topping will give evidence. The CCC is not a parliamentary select committee, but an independent public body that provides advice on and scrutiny of the Government’s progress towards net zero emissions.

Joint

14:30: Joint Committee on Human Rights – Justice Minister Jake Richards MP will give evidence on his work. His ministerial responsibilities include sentencing and youth justice.

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

↖ Contents · Skip to Thursday’s Select Committees ↘

Questions and statements: At 09:30, Cabinet Office Ministers will face questions from MPs. Topics include negotiations with the EU on a sanitary and phytosanitary agreement; the role of trade union recognition in public procurement; proposals for a youth experience scheme with the EU; digital ID; the Plan for Change; the proposed new Chinese Embassy; the National Youth Strategy; national resilience; Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects; UK–EU relations; food security; and relations with devolved administrations.

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 other Ministerial Statements will follow.

Debate on a motion on the War in Ukraine: Four MPs – former Liaison Committee chair Sir Bernard Jenkin, Labour MP Alex Sobel, Defence Committee chair Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, and Foreign Affairs Committee member Sir John Whittingdale – applied to the Backbench Business Committee to hold this debate.

The motion – which is non-binding, but would become a resolution of the House if agreed – states that the House condemns the war in Ukraine and atrocities committed by Russia; supports increased economic sanctions; expresses support for NATO and UK allies under attack from Russia; urges more military support for Ukraine; calls for the release of frozen Russian assets to finance military spending in Ukraine; reaffirms support for the Government’s refusal to recognise the annexation of occupied territory; and calls for the expulsion of Russian forces from all Ukrainian territory.

In his application to the Backbench Business Committee, Jenkin noted that while the issue of Ukraine has been debated by MPs, there “has not been a debate [on Ukraine] where a motion was tabled and agreed by the House, setting out a statement of policy, since 2023”. He stressed that it “is long overdue that the House of Commons signals its determination and support for the Government” on this issue and that it is “very important that the House of Commons makes a clear statement of intent that unites the whole House and represents the whole nation”. He pointed out that Ukraine has asked all national Parliaments to make a statement about the non-recognition of annexed territories, missing children, the release of frozen assets to enable Ukraine to spend the money on its own protection, the need for long-range weaponry, and the intensification of oil and gas sanctions.

Adjournment: Labour MP Connor Rand will give a speech on support for victims’ families in cases of domestic violence. A Minister will then give a response.

Westminster Hall

13:30: The potential merits of a comprehensive acquired brain injury action plan (House of Commons Library briefing)

15:00: Seafarers’ welfare

Public Bill Committees

11:30 and 14:00: Public Office (Accountability) Bill: The Public Bill Committee appointed to consider the Bill – known as the ‘Hillsborough Law’ – will continue its clause-by-clause scrutiny and consideration of proposed amendments. The Committee will scrutinise the Bill’s clauses and amendments in the order that they appear, or would appear, in the Bill. It will therefore resume its scrutiny from the point that the Committee reaches during its sitting on Tuesday.

↖ Contents · Skip to Friday’s Commons ↘

Oral questions: At 11:00, Peers will begin the day by questioning Ministers for 40 minutes, on the use of virtual private networks to avoid age verification; the use of electric shock collars for animals; and the UK’s EU data adequacy status. The topic of a fourth question will be decided by a ballot drawn at lunchtime on Tuesday 2 December.

Budget Debate: Peers will hold a general debate on the Budget on a neutral motion to “take note of the Autumn Budget 2025”.

The debate will be led by Treasury Minister Lord Livermore. So far, 70 members of the House have indicated that they wish to speak in the debate, including former Work and Pensions Secretary Baroness Coffey and former Permanent Secretary to the Treasury Lord Macpherson of Earl’s Court. A full running list of speakers can be found online.

Grand Committee: From 13:00, there will be debates on six draft Statutory Instruments:

• Health and Care Act 2022 (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2025

• Online Safety Act 2023 (Priority Offences) (Amendment) Regulations 2025

• Motor Fuel Price (Open Data) Regulations 2025

• Immigration Skills Charge (Amendment) Regulations 2025

• Unmanned Aircraft (Offences and Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2025

• Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 (Permitted Disclosures) Regulations 2025

The House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee has drawn the Immigration Skills Charge (Amendment) Regulations 2025 to the special attention of the House, on the ground that they are politically or legally important or give rise to issues of public policy likely to be of interest to the House. The Regulations would increase the Immigration Skills Charge, a fee that employers must pay when sponsoring a person for a skilled worker visa, by 32%, which is the rate of inflation since the fee was last amended in 2017.

↖ Contents · Skip to Friday’s Lords ↘

Highlights include:

House of Commons

10:00: Public Accounts Committee – Tackling fraud and error in benefit expenditure 2024-25: Sir Peter Schofield, Permanent Secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), and other senior DWP officials 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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The House will not be sitting.

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

Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) Bill (Third Reading): This Bill, which has been passed by the Commons and had no amendments tabled in the Lords, is set to have its final stage prior to becoming law. (House of Lords Library briefing)

Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Committee, day 3): This is the third day of Committee Stage for the Bill to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales.

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 the time of writing, around 1,095 amendments have been tabled and Peers may continue tabling amendments right up to the final sitting. As we outlined in our recent blog, this is an unprecedented volume of amendments for any Bill in the past 20 years.

Four sitting Fridays were initially allocated for Committee Stage, with the final one scheduled for next Friday 12 December. However, following concerns about the exceptionally high number of amendments and the slow progress made during the first two sittings, the Government Chief Whip, Lord Kennedy of Southwark, announced last week that ten additional sitting Fridays will be provided in the New Year.

Three of these dates were already pencilled in as the Lords’ usual monthly sittings for Private Members’ Bills, and these have now been assigned to the assisted dying bill, along with a further seven newly allocated Fridays. In total, the Bill will have been considered on 16 sitting Fridays in the Lords: two for Second Reading, four for Committee Stage in November and December, and ten more between January and April 2026.

The Government has not yet clarified how the extra ten days will be distributed – whether they will be used solely for Committee and Report Stages or whether they are also intended to cover Third Reading and any subsequent consideration of Commons amendments (ping-pong).

The new sitting dates are: Friday 9 January; 16 January; 23 January; 30 January; 6 February; 27 February; 13 March; 20 March; 27 March; and 24 April.

Assuming these additional days cover just Committee Stage and Report Stage, then Committee Stage may conclude after nine or ten sittings, with Report Stage taking up perhaps a further four sittings. If so, this would be broadly comparable with the amount of time dedicated to much longer bills running to hundreds of pages (the assisted dying bill is 51 pages long, comprising 59 clauses and three schedules).

However, if the House continues at its current pace – debating only one or two groups of amendments per sitting – even the additional time will not be enough to complete scrutiny within the available window. The Bill’s sponsor, Lord Falconer, has committed to meet with Peers who have tabled amendments to discuss how the remaining time up to the end of April might be allocated. Whether the House increases the pace of its scrutiny today will offer an early indication of the intentions of the Bill’s opponents.

At Committee Stage, amendments can be grouped and debated together to keep the discussion focussed and coherent and to avoid repetition.

So far, the Government Whips have organised the amendments into roughly 80 groups. Across the two sittings held so far, only three of those – covering just 28 amendments – have been debated. Of those 28 amendments, the House has taken a formal decision (to agree, disagree, or withdraw) on only three.

The next groups of amendments to be considered relate to:

• Group 4: proposals to change the minimum age for eligibility;

• Group 5: drafting changes in the name of the Bill’s sponsor, Lord Falconer;

• Group 6: the requirement that a person be ordinarily resident in England and Wales;

• Group 7: proposals to prevent a person who has been recently deprived of liberty under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 from being regarded as having capacity;

• Group 8: persons resident in England registered with a GP in Scotland;

• Group 9: proposals to require an eligible person to have met with their GP twice in the last year, and allow GPs to consult with family members or professional agencies; and

• Group 10: proposals to require an eligible person to have an established relationship with their GP who has good knowledge of their personal circumstances.

Finally, the decision to add new Friday sitting dates in the New Year offers the strongest indication yet about the likely end of this parliamentary Session. Until last week, the Government had said only that the Session would run “into the Spring”, without giving any further detail. The announcement that Friday 24 April will be a sitting Friday now suggests that the new parliamentary Session is unlikely to begin until after the local elections on 7 May.

↖ Contents · Skip to Looking ahead ↘

Both Houses will resume at 14:30 on Monday 8 December 2025. Our next Bulletin will therefore be published on Sunday 7 December.

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Help keep this Bulletin free for everyone. The Bulletin is free and we want to keep it that way. But as a charity we rely on donations to fund the research and production costs that make it possible. A small regular donation – even £3 a month, less than a cup of coffee – helps us keep this Bulletin freely available to everyone interested in Parliament. Donate here