Questions and statements: At 14:30, Defence Ministers will respond to MPs’ questions. Topics include recruitment and retention in the armed forces, availability of ammunition, paternity leave in the armed forces, counter-drone capabilities, the threat from Russia, the defence readiness bill, defence procurement, Armed Forces Day, cadet forces, SME defence companies, sovereign defence capability, and the Strategic Defence Review.

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.

Health Bill (Second Reading): The House will debate the Government’s new legislation to reform the governance of the National Health Service (NHS). (House of Commons Library briefing)

At Second Reading, MPs debate the general principles of a bill rather than its detailed wording. Amendments to the text are not permitted at this stage. Opponents can, however, table a reasoned amendment to the main motion – proposing to reject the Bill while putting their reasons for doing so on the record.

The Bill would abolish NHS England and transfer its functions either to the Secretary of State or to Integrated Care Boards (ICBs). These functions include responsibilities relating to patient choice, research and innovation, workforce planning, commissioning, finance, and the power to direct ICBs. The Bill would also abolish the Health Services Safety Investigation Body, Healthwatch England, and local Healthwatch bodies, transferring their functions either to the Secretary of State or to local authorities.

A further significant provision would empower Ministers to establish, through regulations, a system enabling patient information to be readily accessed by patients and by health and social care providers. However, the Bill itself contains little detail about how this proposed Single Patient Record would operate in practice.

This lack of policy detail has attracted criticism from several organisations. The British Medical Journal has described the proposals as “thin”, noting unanswered questions about how the new system would integrate existing fragmented records, and how access to, and governance of, patient data would be managed. The NHS Alliance and Health Foundation have aired similar criticisms, arguing that the Bill fails to clarify who would control different types of data, who would be legally responsible in the event of errors or misuse, what purposes the data could be used for, what information patients would receive, and whether sufficient resources would be available to support effective implementation.

Given their importance, there is a strong argument that these policy issues should be set out in the Bill, rather than delegated to regulations, which are not amendable by Parliament and are usually subject only to limited parliamentary scrutiny.

After Second Reading, the Bill will be examined in detail by a Public Bill Committee. The Government’s programme motion to be agreed by the House after Second Reading requires the Committee to complete its scrutiny by Thursday 16 July.

Nomination of Backbench Business Committee members: Until recently, the House of Commons Standing Orders required the Backbench Business Committee to be reconstituted at the start of every parliamentary session, with both its chair and members re-elected. This differed from other select committees, whose members are elected after a general election and serve for the duration of a parliament. At the end of the last session, the House amended the Standing Orders so that the Committee is now elected on the same basis as other select committees.

As a result, the chair and members elected at the start of this session will serve for the remainder of the parliament. The chair in the last session, Bob Blackman, was re-elected unopposed by the whole House last week. The Committee’s seven other members, however, are chosen differently: rather than being elected by the House as a whole, they are elected by their respective parliamentary parties. Some of these internal party elections now appear to have taken place.

Today’s motion would appoint five of the seven members, all of whom also served on the Committee in the last session. A further motion will be required to appoint the remaining two members at a later date.

Adjournment: Labour MP Neil Duncan-Jordan will give a speech on Government support for coastal communities. A Minister will then give a response.

Westminster Hall

16:30: MPs will debate e-petition 730605, which calls for mandatory collection and publication of nationality, ethnicity, religion and immigration status data in relation to child sexual offences. The petition has around 261,000 signatures. (House of Commons Library briefing)

Delegated Legislation Committee

18:00: The draft Agriculture (Delinked Payments) (Reductions) (England) Regulations 2026. Details of the Regulations were provided in a previous edition of the Bulletin when the House of Lords debated them.

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Oral questions: At 14:30, Peers will begin the day by questioning Ministers for 40 minutes, on the Sovereign AI Fund; the Supreme Court judgment in For Women Scotland Ltd; business hiring intentions; and funding of devolved public services in Wales.

Social Housing Bill (Second Reading): Peers will debate the Government’s legislative plans to protect social housing stock. (House of Lords Library briefing)

The Bill would reform the Right to Buy scheme with the aim of reducing the number of social homes sold under it. In particular, it would lengthen the time before tenants become eligible, reduce the maximum discount available to tenants, and remove a disincentive for councils to build new social housing. The Bill would also require private providers of social housing to notify the local authority before selling a property. In addition, the Bill includes measures to strengthen protections for social housing tenants who are victims of domestic abuse, particularly where a joint tenancy is brought to an end because of that abuse.

At Second Reading, Peers debate the general principles of a bill rather than its detailed wording. They cannot amend the text at this stage. The House of Lords does not typically hold a division (a formal vote) on Government bills at Second Reading.

Once the Bill receives a Second Reading, it will proceed to Committee Stage in Committee of the Whole House. The Government has provisionally scheduled two days for this debate, on 15 and 17 June 2026.

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Highlights include:

House of Commons

15:30: Public Accounts Committee – Government compensation schemes: The Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance founder Sir Alan Bates, the Chief Executive of the Haemophilia Society, the Windrush Commissioner, and the Chief Executive of Fighting with Pride 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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Questions and statements: At 11:30, Energy Security and Net Zero Ministers will respond to MPs’ questions. Topics include energy bills, deep geothermal energy, the clean energy transition, energy security, support for businesses, contracts for difference, UK participation in the EU internal electricity market, the use of Chinese-made solar panels by Great British Energy, and heat networks.

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

Armed Forces Bill (Programme Motion): This motion would amend the programme order agreed by the House on 26 January, when it was also agreed that the Bill could be carried over into the new session. Under the original programme order, Committee Stage, Report Stage and Third Reading were all scheduled to take place in a single sitting.

This revised programme order would instead split these stages across two days. Committee of the Whole House would take place on the first day, immediately after the Programme Motion is agreed, with Report Stage and Third Reading following on a second day.

This change is necessary because the Government intends to table amendments to the Bill at Committee Stage. Where no amendments are made in Committee of the Whole House, a bill can proceed directly to Third Reading without a separate Report Stage. As a result, bills that are not expected to be amended are often scheduled so that Committee and Third Reading take place on the same day. However, because the Government intends to amend the Bill, a full Report Stage will be needed, necessitating a second day of consideration.

Armed Forces Bill (Committee of the Whole House): The Bill contains provisions to improve the service justice system, establish a new Defence Housing Service, enable defence personnel to detect and counter drones, and place the Armed Forces Covenant on a statutory footing (as promised in the Labour Party manifesto). It also includes measures in relation to reserve forces, including raising the maximum age at which veterans may be recalled from 55 to 65. (House of Commons Library briefing)

The Armed Forces Bill has particular constitutional importance because it provides for Parliament’s approval of the Armed Forces to continue for a further five years. For more information, see a previous Bulletin.

In line with the practice for Armed Forces Bills, the Bill was initially sent to a specially appointed Select Committee, which scrutinised it earlier this year and subsequently published a special report on the Bill. Some of the Government’s amendments would implement recommendations made by that Committee. Having completed this preliminary select committee scrutiny, the Bill will now proceed to its main Committee Stage, which will take place in Committee of the Whole House.

At Committee Stage, MPs consider whether each clause should “stand part” of the Bill and whether any amendments should be made. In Committee of the Whole House, debate takes place in the Chamber and any MP may participate, in contrast to a Public Bill Committee, where only a small number of selected MPs may participate.

At the end of the debate (19:00 at the latest), the House will vote on any Government amendments and any amendments selected for separate decision by the Speaker, most likely including some of the amendments proposed by the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats (see the latest Amendment Paper here). The House will also vote on whether each of the clauses and schedules should be included in the Bill.

Adjournment: Liberal Democrat MP Wendy Chamberlain will give a speech on the relationship between Social Security Scotland and the Department for Work and Pensions. A Minister will then give a response.

Westminster Hall

09:30: Future of community pharmacies (House of Commons Library briefing)

11:00: Government support for the Glasgow City Region economy

14:30: Government support for children developing essential skills

16:00: Silica dust exposure in the workplace

16:30: Preparedness for national emergencies

Delegated Legislation Committees

09:25: The draft Energy Prices Act 2022 (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2026

14:30: The draft Syria (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) Regulations 2026

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Oral questions: At 14:30, Peers will begin the day by questioning Ministers for 40 minutes, on the discussions with the United States on the situation in Bosnia; automatic mammogram invitations for women over 70; the Windrush Compensation Scheme; and screening for prostate cancer.

Civil Aviation (Consumer Protection and Regulatory Reform) Bill (Second Reading): Peers will debate the Government’s legislation to reform consumer rights and safety in the aviation sector. (House of Lords Library briefing).

The Government argues that much of the legislation governing civil aviation, particularly on passenger rights and airport slot allocation, originated in European Union law, which has been assimilated into UK law. Since leaving the European Union, changes to assimilated EU law on civil aviation have generally been made either through primary legislation, or under powers in the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 which are due to expire on 23 June 2026. The Government therefore contends that new delegated powers are needed to enable civil aviation regulations to be updated in the future.

In particular, the Bill would confer new powers on Ministers to make regulations about air passenger rights, airport slot allocations, and the coordination of aircraft schedules. It would also provide the Civil Aviation Authority with new consumer enforcement powers and a power to make aviation safety rules.

At Second Reading, Peers debate the general principles of a bill rather than its detailed wording. They cannot amend the text at this stage. The House of Lords does not typically hold a division (a formal vote) on Government bills at Second Reading.

Once the Bill receives a Second Reading, it will proceed to Committee Stage in Grand Committee. The Government has provisionally scheduled three days of Committee, on 16 June, 18 June and 23 June.

↖ Contents · Skip to Wednesday’s Lords ↘

Highlights include:

House of Commons

09:45: Treasury Committee – Student loans and taxation of graduates: Sir Philip Augar, Chair of the Augar Review into post-18 education and funding, will give evidence alongside representatives of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Universities UK, the National Union of Students, and other experts. The Treasury Committee invited anyone over 16 to contribute to an online survey as part of its inquiry; it announced last week that it had received over 52,000 responses, which it suggests is one of the highest response rates to a committee inquiry ever recorded.

10:00: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee – The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s investigations into the Charity Commission: The CEO and the Deputy Ombudsman at the PHSO, and the Chair and CEO at the Charity Commission, will give evidence. The session relates to Ombudsman reports about the Charity Commission’s handling of investigations into two charities over sexual abuse, and to the Commission’s decision to initiate legal proceedings allegedly to block the reports from being laid before Parliament. This action raised questions of parliamentary privilege, and in September 2025 the House of Commons responded with a rare privilege motion requiring the PHSO reports to be laid before the House. It also referred the actions of the Commission to the Privileges Committee, whose inquiry is ongoing.

14:00: Education Committee – Reading for pleasure: Minister for Early Education Olivia Bailey MP will give evidence.

15:10: Health and Social Care Committee – Health Bill: Think tanks and representatives of GPs and local government will give evidence.

House of Lords

11:00: European Affairs Committee – Dynamic alignment: Representatives of the steel, energy and manufacturing sectors will give evidence.

14:00: International Agreements Committee – How should the UK deploy its trade instruments: The Commonwealth Secretary-General, Shirley Botchwey, will give evidence.

15:00: Economic Affairs Committee – The Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, will give evidence on the Bank’s work and the UK economy.

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, Northern Ireland Office Ministers will respond to MPs’ questions. Topics include the Supreme Court judgment in the Dillon case, the Defence Growth Deal, the Defence Industrial Strategy, the Troubles legislation, public service reform, links between political parties and dormant paramilitary groups, and fishing visas.

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.

Railways Bill (Report and Third Reading): The House will continue its scrutiny of the Government’s bill to create Great British Railways (GBR), a new publicly owned body intended to bring responsibility for the management and operation of the railway network under a single organisation. The Bill was carried over from the previous parliamentary session and will complete its Commons stages today, with both Report Stage and Third Reading scheduled to take place. (House of Commons Library briefing)

At Report Stage, the whole House debates decides whether to make amendments or add new clauses to the Bill. At Third Reading, the House decides whether to approve the final version of the Bill.

In accordance with the programme order agreed on 9 December 2025, Report Stage will be brought to a conclusion by 18:00 at the latest, at which point the House will vote on any amendments tabled by the Government or selected by the Speaker for separate decision, most likely including some of the 22 amendments from the Conservative frontbench and 20 amendments from the Liberal Democrat frontbench (see the Amendment Paper here). The House will then move on to Third Reading.

The programme order specifies that Third Reading must be brought to a conclusion by 19:00 at the latest. Since much of the time after 18:00 will be taken up by divisions at Report Stage, this Third Reading debate will be very short. Once the Bill receives a Third Reading, it will proceed to the House of Lords to complete its legislative stages there.

Adjournment: Labour MP Laurence Turner will give a speech on commemorations for the centenary of the General Strike. A Minister will then give a response.

Westminster Hall

09:30: Transport links for small towns

11:00: Youth mental health support (Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology briefing)

14:30: Improving the UK visa system (House of Commons Library briefing)

16:00: Role of rail freight in the transport

16:30: Government support for seasonal hospitality businesses in coastal areas

Delegated Legislation Committees

14:30: The draft Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Amendment and Revocation) Regulations 2026

16:30: The draft Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Regulations 2026

16:30: The draft Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (Amendment) Regulations 2026

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Oral questions: At 15:00, Peers will begin the day by questioning Ministers for 40 minutes, on Cabinet Manual guidelines on hung parliaments; Alzheimer’s diagnosis and experimental drugs; and an access to nature Green Paper. The topic of a fourth question will be decided by a ballot drawn at lunchtime on Monday 1 June.

Sporting Events Bill (Second Reading): Peers will debate the Government’s bill to establish a common legislative framework for major sporting events in the UK. (House of Lords Library briefing).

The Bill would establish a framework for the regulation of major sporting events, which could be applied to specific events through delegated legislation. This common framework includes a new offence of ticket touting, restrictions on advertising and trading within designated zones around event venues, a prohibition on “unauthorised association” where a business implies a commercial link with an event without permission, new traffic management powers, and requirements to prepare transport plans. Ministers could have discretion to determine which elements of the framework apply to each event.

At Second Reading, Peers debate the general principles of a bill rather than its detailed wording. They cannot amend the text at this stage. The House of Lords does not typically hold a division (a formal vote) on Government bills at Second Reading.

Once the Bill receives a Second Reading, it will proceed to Committee Stage in Committee of the Whole House. The Government has not yet specified how many days the Committee Stage will last but has indicated that it will begin on Monday 22 June.

↖ Contents · Skip to Thursday’s Lords ↘

Highlights include:

House of Commons

09:30: Science, Innovation and Technology Committee – The science and regulation of hair and beauty products and treatments: The Minister for Secondary Care, Karin Smyth MP, and the Minister for Employment Rights, Kate Dearden MP, will give evidence.

09:30: Health and Social Care Committee – Food and weight management: The Minister for Public Health and Prevention, Sharon Hodgson MP, will give evidence alongside senior officials from her Department.

14:15: Treasury Committee – Defence spending and finance: Experts in defence and public spending will give evidence.

14:30: Environmental Audit Committee – Extreme weather and heat: The Met Office, UK Health Security Agency, Climate Change Committee, Adaptation Committee and National Heat Risk Commission will give evidence.

14:45: Procedure Committee – Written Parliamentary Questions: Seven backbench Members of Parliament will give evidence.

House of Lords

10:15: Constitution Committee –Minister for the Constitution Nick Thomas-Symonds MP and junior Scotland Office Minister Kirsty McNeill MP will answer questions about their work in a one-off evidence session.

16:00: International Relations and Defence Committee – Multilateralism: Two former UK Permanent Representatives to the United Nations – Sir Mark Lyall Grant and Sir John Sawers – will give evidence.

Joint

14:15: Joint Committee on Human Rights – Human rights of children in the social care system in England: The Minister for Children and Families, Josh MacAlister MP, will give evidence.

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

↖ Contents · Skip to Thursday’s Select Committees ↘

Questions and statements: At 09:30, Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Ministers will face questions from MPs. Topics include fuel costs for farmers, intervention on food prices, the UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement, the farming sector in Wales, training for the farming sector, chalk stream restoration, the cost of fertiliser, wildfire risks, water quality, food welfare labelling, and access to nature.

At 10:10, the Solicitor General (on behalf of the Attorney General) will face questions from MPs. Topics include diversity in the legal profession, the Victims’ Right to Review scheme, prosecution of domestic abuse and violence against women and girls, reforms to jury trials, prosecution of fraud, prosecution of hate crime, and prosecution of corporate manslaughter.

Any Urgent Questions will follow.

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

General Debate – Pride Month: This debate is being held in Government time rather than from the time set aside each Session for the Backbench Business Committee, which schedules debates proposed by backbench MPs. The Government previously provided time for a similar debate in June 2025. (House of Commons Library briefing)

The debate will last for a full sitting, concluding by 17:00 at the latest. It will take place on a neutral motion, enabling MPs to debate the subject without the House being asked to take a decision at the end of the proceedings.

Adjournment: Conservative MP Steve Barclay will give a speech on the performance of the General Medical Council. A Minister will then give a response.

Westminster Hall

13:30: Home-to-school transport (House of Commons Library briefing)

15:00: Government support for high street businesses

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Oral questions: At 11:00, Peers will begin the day by questioning Ministers for 40 minutes, on skilled worker visas for creative occupations; Britain’s military presence in the Persian Gulf; and cultural exchange arrangements between the UK and EU creative sectors. The topic of a fourth question will be decided by a ballot drawn at lunchtime on Tuesday 2 June.

Balloted debate – The regulation of fertility treatment: One Thursday each month, from the start of the session until the end of December, is set aside for two balloted debates. Only backbench and crossbench members may enter the ballot for these debates. Balloted debates are held on neutral ‘take note’ motions, allowing members to debate a particular issue without the House being asked to reach a decision.

The first balloted debate, secured by Baroness Deech, a Crossbench Peer and former Chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, concerns the adequacy of the legal framework governing fertility treatment. (House of Lords Library briefing)

Short debate – Birth rates and ageing population: Every Thursday from the start of a session until the end of January, a topical question for short debate (sometimes referred to in Lords papers as the QSD) is scheduled between two general debates. The topic is selected by ballot, and only backbench and Crossbench members are eligible to enter. These QSD 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, with the remaining time divided equally between the remaining speakers.

Today’s QSD, tabled by the Labour Peer Baroness Nargund, asks what assessment the Government have made of declining birth rates and an ageing population in the UK, and the implications of these demographic trends for the workforce, demand for public services, and economic growth.

Balloted debate – Atrocity crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide: The second balloted debate today, secured by Lord Alton of Liverpool, the chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, focuses on the role of government policy in combatting atrocity crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. As with the first balloted debate, the discussion will take place on a neutral motion with no division. (House of Lords Library briefing)

Grand Committee

Once every five sitting weeks, the Grand Committee sits for four hours on a Thursday to consider four questions for short debate (QSDs). These QSDs are selected through a ballot held on the same five-week cycle, open only to backbench and Crossbench Peers. The first four entries drawn in the ballot are scheduled for debate in Grand Committee on the relevant Thursday. The remaining successful entries are placed on a reserve list and may be debated during lunch or dinner breaks, or as the last item of business on a sitting day.

From 12:15, Peers will consider the four questions for short debate drawn in the latest ballot, with each debate limited to one hour:

• Abuse and intimidation of local councillors: To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of increasing abuse and intimidation on the recruitment, retention and wellbeing of local councillors; and what action they intend to take in response. (House of Lords Library briefing)

• National arts bank: To ask His Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to establishing a national arts bank to act as a guarantor lender for those theatres, performance venues, galleries and arts teaching colleges which require capital funding in order to operate. (House of Lords Library briefing)

• Electricity prices: To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of why UK electricity prices are among the highest in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

• AI regulation: To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for a cross-sector AI regulation bill. (House of Lords Library briefing)

↖ Contents · Skip to Friday’s Lords ↘

Highlights include:

House of Commons

10:00: Public Accounts Committee – Government compensation schemes update: The Permanent Secretaries at the Cabinet Office, Home Office, and Ministry of Defence will give evidence alongside the Chief Executive of the Infected Blood Compensation Authority and the Director of Post Office Policy at the Department for Business and Trade.

House of Lords

10:50: Numeracy for Life Committee – The Committee will hear from former Cabinet Minister Lord Baker of Dorking, alongside representatives of the education sector and experts in education.

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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General debate – Impact of artificial intelligence on human relationships and society: From 10:00, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullally, will lead a general debate on artificial intelligence and its impact on human relationships and society. This will provide the House with an opportunity to discuss Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, published last week, which explores how to preserve the dignity of the human person in the age of artificial intelligence, including the role that politics must play in orientating this new technology for the common good. The debate will take place on a neutral motion to ‘take note’ of the issue. The House typically adjourns at around 15:00 on Friday. (House of Lords Library briefing)

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Both Houses will resume at 14:30 on Monday 8 June 2026. Our next Bulletin will therefore be published on Sunday 7 June.

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