Following his victory in the Clacton by-election, Nigel Farage must be sworn in and take the parliamentary oath before he can participate in proceedings in the House of Commons. The date and time have not yet been announced. However, if he is sworn in this week, it is most likely to happen today, as Reform UK’s national conference begins in Birmingham tomorrow and runs until the end of the week. For more on the legal basis of the parliamentary oath, and the problems it presents, see our Hansard Society blog by former House of Commons clerk, Paul Evans.

Questions and statements: At 14:30, new Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband and his ministerial team will respond to MPs’ questions. Topics include arms trade with Israel, the UK–Mauritius Treaty on the Chagos Archipelago, Israeli settlements in the West Bank, climate change and national security, support for Ukraine, the Strait of Hormuz, UK–China relations, UK–EU foreign and security cooperation, oil exploration in Palestinian waters, the conflict in Sudan, and freedom of religion.

At 15:30, any Urgent Questions (UQs) or Ministerial Statements will follow. As this is the first sitting following an extended recess, there may be several Statements to update the House on domestic and international developments, reducing the time available for the day’s debates. The Prime Minister may deliver one of these Statements, making his first appearance at the Despatch Box since entering Downing Street. If not, his Despatch Box debut will come at PMQs tomorrow.

Presentation of Bills: MPs will present two Presentation Bills:

• Vehicle Emissions Trading Schemes Order 2023 (Revocation) Bill: Introduced by Conservative MP and Shadow Transport Secretary Richard Holden, this Bill would revoke the Vehicle Emissions Trading Schemes Order 2023 which provides the legal basis for the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate.

• Greyhound Racing Bill: Introduced by Liberal Democrat MP Lisa Smart, this Bill would prohibit greyhound racing on racetracks in England, create associated offences, and make provision for the welfare and rehoming of greyhounds retired from racing.

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.

Ten Minute Rule Motion: Labour MP Adam Jogee will seek to introduce a Road Safety Plans 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 local authorities in England to prepare and publish a road safety plan in respect of each school in their area. See our Hansard Society guide for more information about the parliamentary procedure for Ten Minute Rule Bills.

Business of the House motion: The House will be asked to agree a motion setting out the timetable for two later debates:

• Sovereign Grant Bill: The debate will conclude after two hours or at 22:00, whichever is later; and

• Backbench debate on SLAPPs: The debate will conclude after 90 minutes or at 22:00, whichever is later.

Debate on a motion relating to the Sovereign Grant Bill: MPs will debate a motion authorising the Government to introduce legislation to reform the Sovereign Grant – the public funding provided to support the Monarch’s official duties and the Royal Household. (House of Commons Library briefing)

The Government committed to introducing this Bill in this year’s King’s Speech. Once the current renovation work at Buckingham Palace is complete, the Bill would reduce the Sovereign Grant from £137.9 million in 2026-27 to £99.9 million in 2027-28. Primary legislation is required because the Sovereign Grant Act 2011 prevents the Grant from falling from one year to the next. Even after that reduction, the Grant will still be 65% higher in real terms than in 2016/17, reflecting the significant growth in Crown Estate profits. The Bill would also introduce a mechanism allowing the Sovereign Grant to be reduced in future years, helping to prevent funding from becoming inappropriately high without the need for further primary legislation.

Bills concerning financial support for the Sovereign and the Royal Household are a form of ‘Bills of Aids and Supplies’: legislation concerned exclusively with taxation or public expenditure. Other examples include Finance Bills, and Supply and Appropriation Bills.

Before Parliament can legislate on the royal finances, the Sovereign must formally invite it to do so through a message ‘under the Royal Sign Manual’ (in other words, with the King’s handwritten signature at the top). On 15 July, the Speaker read a message “signed by His Majesty’s own hand”, asking the Commons to consider provision for the financial support of the Sovereign and the Royal Household. A corresponding message asked the House of Lords to concur in whatever measures the Commons might propose.

The wording of this message reflects the longstanding constitutional principle governing public expenditure: the Crown requests money, the Commons decides whether to grant it, and the Lords agrees. This is one of the rare occasions on which the Crown’s financial initiative is expressed through a personal message from the Sovereign.

Like all Bills of Aids and Supplies, legislation on the royal finances must originate in the House of Commons and be founded on resolutions agreed by MPs. Today’s debate concerns the founding resolution for the Sovereign Grant Bill. If the motion is agreed by MPs, it becomes a resolution of the House. The Government may introduce the Bill only if the House agrees the resolution.

MPs may table amendments to the resolution: for example, to require the Bill to impose further limits or conditions on Sovereign Grant expenditure. Any amendments selected by the Speaker may be put to a vote.

If the founding resolution is agreed, the Government will then introduce the Sovereign Grant Bill at a later date. It will then pass through the standard legislative stages in the House of Commons, potentially on an expedited timetable.

Once the Bill has completed its Commons stages, the Speaker is expected to certify it as a Money Bill. This would significantly restrict the role of the House of Lords. Peers are not debarred from amending a Money Bill, provided that the amendments are passed within one month, but there is no obligation on the Commons to consider any Lords amendments. Consequently, Money Bills normally receive only a substantive Second Reading debate in the Lords. Committee and Report stages are generally dispensed with, and the remaining stages are treated as formalities, often all on one day.

Backbench debate – Impact of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs): Time for this debate was allocated by the Backbench Business Committee following an application by Labour MP Phil Brickell. However, the debate will be led by fellow Labour MP Alex Sobel. Originally scheduled for 9 July, the debate did not take place because the preceding backbench debate occupied almost all the available time. Backbench debates often take place on a neutrally worded “this House has considered” motion. However, this debate will take place on a substantive motion in the name of Alex Sobel.

The House may therefore vote on the motion at the end of the debate. If agreed, the motion will become a formal resolution of the House, although it will not legally require the Government to do anything.

The motion describes SLAPPs as a critical threat to press freedom, research and freedom of speech. It argues that the anti-SLAPP provisions in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 are too complex and apply too narrowly, covering only cases related to economic crime. It therefore calls on the Government to find a suitable legislative vehicle for simpler and more comprehensive provisions, enabling courts to identify and dismiss abusive claims swiftly and fairly. (House of Commons Library briefing)

Two Private Members’ Bills proposing broader anti-SLAPP legislation have been introduced this session: one in the House of Lords by Baroness Stowell of Beeston and another in the Commons by Sir John Whittingdale MP. The latter has a stronger prospect of making progress as Sir John secured sixth place in the Commons PMB ballot for this session, giving his bill priority for debate. Its Second Reading is scheduled for 27 November. However, further progress is still likely to depend on Government support. Today’s backbench debate may therefore provide an early indication of the strength of support for reform among MPs, which in turn may influence the Government’s position ahead of the Bill’s Second Reading.

Adjournment: Conservative MP Greg Smith will give a speech on sudden cardiac death in young people. A Minister will then give a response.

Westminster Hall

11:30: Provision of face-to-face banking services in rural areas (House of Commons Library briefing)

13:00: Future of science facilities and laboratories

16:30: Future of UK financial services (House of Commons Library briefing)

18:00: Impact of local government reorganisation on Cambridgeshire (House of Commons Library briefing)

18:30: Aluminium recycling and local authorities

Delegated Legislation Committees

16:30: The draft Registration of Births and Deaths (England and Wales) (Specified Requirements) Regulations 2026

16:30: The draft Energy Prices Act 2022 (Extension of Time Limit) (No. 2) Regulations 2026

16:30: The draft Inter-American Investment Corporation (Further Payments to Capital Stock) (Amendment) Order 2026

16:30: The draft Armed Forces (Service Complaints Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Regulations 2026

↖ Contents · Skip to Wednesday’s Commons ↘

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

• Alison Lowe (now Baroness Lowe of Armley), a Deputy Mayor of West Yorkshire, will join as a Labour peer; and

• The Rt Hon Kenneth Macintosh (now Lord Macintosh of Eastwood), former Presiding Office of the Scottish Parliament, will join as a Labour peer.

Oral questions: Peers will question Ministers for 40 minutes, on the working-age welfare system; Saudi Arabia’s nuclear power programme and US assistance; the impact of tax measures since July 2024; and the economic benefits of touring and the impact of EU exit.

Sovereign Grant Bill (Humble Address): The Leader of the House, Baroness Smith of Basildon, will move a Humble Address in response to a message sent by the King to the Lords on 15 July, concerning financial support for the Royal Household. The King asked the Lords to concur with whatever measures relating to the Sovereign Grant the Commons might propose. Baroness Smith’s motion thanks the King for his message and assures him that the Lords will “cheerfully concur in all such Measures” as may be necessary to give effect to it.

This exchange forms part of the special parliamentary procedure for legislation concerning the royal finances. The Lords will consider its response to the King’s message on the same day that the Commons debates the founding resolution required before the Sovereign Grant Bill can be introduced (see Tuesday’s House of Commons business above).

The Lords agreed an almost identically worded Humble Address before the introduction of the Sovereign Grant Bill in 2011. When that Bill subsequently arrived from the Commons, Peers held a full Second Reading debate. However, consistent with the Address’s undertaking to “cheerfully concur in all such Measures”, the Bill’s remaining Lords stages were taken formally, without debate. A similar approach is likely this time. The Commons Speaker is expected to certify the new Bill as a Money Bill, further restricting the Lords’ ability to amend it. Peers are therefore likely to debate the Bill at Second Reading but dispense with Committee and Report Stage and treat Third Reading as a formality.

Social Housing Bill (Third Reading): Peers will decide whether to approve the Government’s legislation to protect the existing social housing stock and reform the Right to Buy scheme. (House of Lords Library briefing)

At Third Reading, the House decides whether to pass the final version of the Bill. If it began in the Lords the Bill is then sent to the Commons. A Bill that began in the Commons is returned there if the Lords has amended it; otherwise, it can proceed towards Royal Assent. Unlike in the House of Commons, amendments may be tabled at Third Reading in the Lords, though are limited to clarifying uncertainties, improving drafting, or enabling Ministers to fulfil undertakings given at earlier stages.

The Government was defeated once at Report Stage. Peers agreed an amendment from the Conservative Peer Lord Young of Cookham requiring the Secretary of State to conduct and publish a review of the shared ownership scheme within 12 months of the Bill becoming law. The review must consider issues including affordability, routes to ownership, staircasing, and service charges, as well as whether legislative or regulatory changes are needed.

As the Government introduced the Bill in the House of Lords, it will be sent to the Commons for further scrutiny if Peers pass it today. The Government will usually seek to overturn or revise Lords amendments that it is opposed to when the Bill reaches Committee Stage in the Commons.

Public Office (Accountability) Bill (Second Reading): Peers will debate the Government’s legislation – popularly known as the ‘Hillsborough Law’ – which would impose a new duty of candour on public authorities and officials, and make wider reforms to the law governing ethical standards and misconduct in public office. (House of Lords Library briefing)

The Bill has already completed its Commons stages. Its passage through the Commons was substantially delayed by disagreement over how the proposed duty of candour should apply to the intelligence services. As introduced, the Bill excluded intelligence officials from parts of the duty. The Government later proposed allowing the head of the relevant intelligence service to withhold information on national security grounds. However, this compromise was opposed by some backbenchers and campaigners, including representatives of families affected by the Hillsborough disaster and the Manchester Arena bombing. The Government postponed Report Stage while it sought to resolve the disagreement, and the Bill ultimately had to be carried over from the previous parliamentary session.

The impasse was broken shortly before the rescheduled Report Stage on 14 July, when the Government tabled a substantial package of amendments. Under the revised provisions, the duty of candour would extend to security and intelligence information. However, safeguards would allow the relevant authority to apply for legal restrictions on disclosure or, where appropriate, seek to have an investigation converted into a statutory inquiry. Only the heads of the intelligence services would be directly subject to the duty of candour. Other intelligence officials would be deemed to have complied if they provided relevant information to the head of their service.

The Government announced the rescheduled Commons debate only one day before it took place and published its new amendments on the morning of Report Stage itself. MPs therefore had very little opportunity to scrutinise the revised arrangements. Peers may consequently seek further changes – either through additional Government amendments or amendments from those advocating more substantive reform.

At Second Reading, Peers debate only 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.

If the Bill receives a Second Reading, it will proceed to detailed clause-by-clause scrutiny in Committee of the Whole House. The Government has not yet announced when Committee Stage will begin or how many days will be allocated to it. As no dates have been scheduled before the Conference Recess, Committee Stage cannot begin until at least mid-October when the House returns. Any amendments agreed by the Lords will have to be sent to the Commons for consideration. The Bill will only be eligible for Royal Assent when both Houses have agreed on the final text.

Grand Committee

15:45: Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (Committee, day 1 of 4): Peers will begin detailed scrutiny of the Government’s legislation to update the Network and Information Systems Regulations 2018 and strengthen the cyber security and resilience of essential and digital services. Four Committee sittings are scheduled, for 1, 3, 7 and 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 to add any amendments or new provisions. Amendments are grouped for debate to avoid repetition. As scrutiny is taking place in Grand Committee, divisions cannot be held, so an amendment can be agreed only if there is no objection. Peers may nevertheless use probing amendments to test the Government’s position before deciding whether to pursue an issue at Report Stage.

Two Lords committees have raised concerns about the Bill:

• The Constitution Committee has drawn attention to the power for Ministers to issue national security directions overriding other statutory obligations, while potentially withholding the details of those directions from Parliament. It has also recommended that the Bill provide a right of appeal against financial penalties imposed for breaching such directions. In addition, it argues that Ministers should be required to report on the operation of the cyber-security regime more frequently than the current minimum of once every five years.

• The Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee has criticised two unusual Henry VIII powers, each of which would enable Ministers to amend the Bill itself through regulations. The first power, which the Committee describes as “broad and novel”, would allow Ministers to alter – and potentially weaken – the consultation and parliamentary scrutiny requirements governing cyber-security codes of practice. The Committee is particularly critical of the Government’s justification in its Delegated Powers Memorandum, including its claim that this approach “has been taken to prioritise the content of the code of practice, rather than arbitrary requirements”. The second power would allow Ministers to change the matters that must be covered in the Government’s periodic reports to Parliament on network and information systems. Although the Delegated Powers Memorandum focuses on the possibility that the list may need to be updated or expanded, the power could equally be used to reduce the Government’s reporting requirements. The Committee considers both powers unacceptable in their current form. It recommends that they should either be removed or restricted so that the existing scrutiny and reporting requirements cannot be weakened.

↖ Contents · Skip to Wednesday’s Lords ↘

Highlights include:

House of Commons

14:30: Education Committee – The Every Child Achieving and Thriving White Paper: Experts from the education and social justice sectors, and representatives of various trade unions, will give evidence.

House of Lords

14:30: Communications and Digital Committee – Implementation and impact of the Online Safety Act: Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza will give evidence.

14:45: Built Environment Committee – New Towns (Bricks and Mortar): Housing and Planning Minister Matthew Pennycook 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 Wednesday’s Select Committees ↘

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 Wales’ place in the Union, the affordability of housing, child poverty, cross-border rail links, the Deposit Return Scheme, the farming sector, the proposed visitor levy, the rail network, and economic growth.

At 12:00, Andy Burnham will face the Leader of the Opposition, Kemi Badenoch, at his first Prime Minister’s Questions as Prime Minister.

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

Ten Minute Rule Motion: Conservative MP Andrew Bowie will seek to introduce a Climate Change Act 2008 (Repeal) 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 repeal the Climate Change Act 2008 and make provision consequential on that repeal. See our Hansard Society guide for more information about the parliamentary procedure for Ten Minute Rule Bills.

Representation of the People Bill (Report and Third Reading): MPs will consider amendments to the Government’s legislation to reform the law on elections, political finance, and campaigning. The Bill’s key provisions were summarised in a recent edition of the Bulletin. (House of Commons Library briefing)

Several amendments were made at Committee Stage, including provisions to:

• require bank cards used as voter ID to be in date;

• prevent unincorporated associations from making donations to one another to circumvent political donation rules;

• create a criminal offence of knowingly providing an unincorporated association with false information about a gift when the person believes it may be used to make a political donation; and

• repeal the power introduced in the Elections Act 2022. for Ministers to publish a strategy and policy statement for the Electoral Commission.

At Report Stage, the whole House will consider further proposals for amendments and new clauses. One notable proposal is New Clause 31, tabled by Labour MP Alex Sobel and supported by more than 170 MPs. It would require the Secretary of State to report, within three months of Royal Assent, on the feasibility of establishing a National Commission on Electoral Reform. The Commission would review the voting system used for parliamentary elections and recommend possible reforms. Alex Sobel discussed the proposal and other provisions in the Bill in a recent episode of our Parliament Matters podcast.

Report Stage must conclude no later than five hours after proceedings begin. The House will then decide on any Government amendments and any other amendments selected by the Speaker for separate decision. Those are likely to include proposals from the Conservative and Liberal Democrat frontbenches. Given its cross-party support and more than 170 signatures, Alex Sobel’s New Clause 31 may also be selected for a vote.

The House will then move directly to Third Reading, which must conclude no later than six hours after the start of Report Stage (that is, just one hour after Report Stage’s scheduled end). As votes on Report Stage amendments will take up most of this remaining time, the Third Reading debate is likely to be very short. At Third Reading, MPs decide whether to approve the Bill in its final form. If they do, it will be sent to the House of Lords for further scrutiny. Any amendments made by Peers will subsequently return to the Commons for consideration, as both Houses must agree on the final text before the Bill can receive Royal Assent.

Adjournment: Liberal Democrat MP Claire Young will give a speech on National Highways and the M49 Severnside junction. A Minister will then give a response.

Westminster Hall

09:30: Impact of the 2016 EU membership referendum on the UK (House of Commons Library briefing)

11:00: Potential merits of removing the qualifying period for Disability Living Allowance for children (House of Commons Library briefing)

14:30: Government support for rural upper tier local authorities (House of Commons Library briefing)

16:00: Impact of changes to employer National Insurance contributions on small businesses in Hampshire (House of Commons Library briefing)

16:30: Impact of levels of global tin availability on the economy

Delegated Legislation Committees

14:30: The draft Nature Restoration Levy Regulations 2026

14:30: The draft Protection Against Detriment (Industrial Action) Regulations 2026

16:30: The draft Plant Health, Seeds, Seed Potatoes and Plant Propagating Material (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2026

16:30: The draft Railways (Interoperability in Northern Ireland) (Convention on International Carriage by Rail) (Amendment) Regulations 2026

↖ Contents · Skip to Thursday’s Commons ↘

Oral questions: At 15:00, Peers will begin the day by questioning Ministers for 40 minutes, on the police and Electoral Commission and investigations in suspected breaches of electoral finance law; the impact of new data centres on water resources; the ‘not seen, not heard’ mobile phone policy in schools; and PTSD among women after childbirth.

Armed Forces Bill (Committee, day 1 of 2): Peers will begin detailed clause-by-clause scrutiny in Committee of the Whole House of the Government’s legislation renewing the principal statutory framework governing the Armed Forces for another five years. Two Committee sittings are scheduled, with the second and final day taking place on Tuesday 8 September. (House of Lords Library briefing)

The Bill has particular constitutional significance because maintaining a standing army in peacetime requires parliament’s continuing consent. The Armed Forces Act 2006 must be renewed through primary legislation every five years, while Parliament must also approve its continuation annually through a Statutory Instrument. This Bill would extend the 2006 Act to remain for a further five years, until the end of 2031. In accordance with the special procedure used for Armed Forces Bills, the Bill received additional Commons scrutiny earlier this year from a specially appointed Select Committee. It took evidence and conducted line-by-line scrutiny before the Bill completed its remaining Commons stages.

The Bill would also strengthen the service justice system, establish a new Defence Housing Service, enable defence personnel to detect and counter drones, extend the Armed Forces Covenant duty, and make changes concerning the reserve forces.

At Committee Stage, Peers consider the Bill clause-by-clause, deciding whether its clauses and schedules should remain and whether amendments or new provisions should be added. Amendments are grouped together for debate where they concern similar issues. Committee is taking place in the Chamber, so – unlike proceedings in Grand Committee – divisions can be held. However, divisions are relatively uncommon at this stage because an amendment that is moved and defeated in Committee cannot be tabled again at Report Stage, where amendments are more likely to succeed.

The first clause to be debated will renew the Armed Forces Act 2006 for five years. No amendments have been tabled to it. Subsequent debate is expected to focus on the Bill’s provisions relating to the Armed Forces Covenant, defence housing, the prevention of drone incursions and similar threats, protection from sexual and violent behaviour, and the service justice system. The precise grouping of amendments will be published before the sitting.

Peers may also raise the concerns identified by the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee. It recommends retaining the affirmative procedure – requiring a debate and approval vote in both Houses – for regulations bringing Armed Forces Covenant guidance into effect. The Bill instead proposes subjecting these regulations to the less rigorous negative procedure. The Committee has also recommended that the proposed victims’ code for the service justice system should receive parliamentary scrutiny equivalent to that applied to the civilian victims’ code, namely the negative procedure.

Statutory Instrument debate – Windsor Framework and plant health: Peers will debate a regret motion tabled by the Conservative Peer and former Brexit Minister Lord Frost concerning the Windsor Framework (Retail Movement Scheme: Plant Health) (Amendment) Regulations 2026. His motion regrets that the Regulations “involve the alignment of Great Britain with European Union law, which the Windsor Framework does not require”.

The Regulations align Great Britain’s import requirements with those of the EU for certain products from non-EU countries. These include tomatoes and peppers from Taiwan and Israel, and ginger from any non-EU country. The changes respond to risks posed by specified plant pests. The Government says that matching the relevant EU import requirements will allow the affected products to continue moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework’s Retail Movement Scheme, rather than being subject to EU import controls.

The Regulations were made under the negative procedure. This means they become law without first requiring parliamentary approval but could be annulled if either House agreed an objection motion within the prescribed period. Lord Frost’s motion is a regret motion, not an annulment motion. If agreed, it would formally record the House’s criticism of the Regulations but would neither revoke them nor prevent them from remining in force.

Grand Committee

From 16:15, Peers will debate five groups of draft Statutory Instruments:

• the Building Safety Levy (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2026;

• the Digital Government (Disclosure of Information) Regulations 2026;

• the Licensing Act 2003 (Mandatory Licensing Conditions) (Amendment) Order 2026;

• the Building Societies Act 1986 (Assimilation to Company Law and Changes to Funding Limit) Order 2026;

• the Overseas Prudential Requirements Regime (Credit Institutions and Investment Firms) Regulations 2026, and the Over the Counter Derivatives (Intragroup Transactions) Regulations 2026.

↖ Contents · Skip to Thursday’s Lords ↘

Highlights include:

House of Commons

09:15: Transport Committee – Scrutiny of the draft Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement: Economists and transport experts will give evidence. Under the Planning Act 2008, a select committee of the House of Commons should scrutinise proposals for new National Policy Statements and report its conclusions to the House. National Policy Statements, issued by Ministers, set out the Government’s policy on particular infrastructure projects or categories of projects in fields like transport, energy, and water.

09:15: Energy Security and Net Zero Committee – Reviewing the electricity market: Energy Minister Michael Shanks MP will give evidence.

09:30: Work and Pensions Committee – Safeguarding vulnerable claimants: Social Security Minister Sir Stephen Timms MP will give evidence.

10:00: Culture, Media and Sport Committee – Fan-led review of live and electronic music: Review chair Lord Brennan of Canton, and Creative Industries Minister Ian Murray MP will give evidence.

14:20: Women and Equalities Committee – Equality at work, flexible working and disability: Experts in workplaces and inclusivity will give evidence.

14:30: Environmental Audit Committee – The outgoing Chair and outgoing CEO of Natural England will give evidence on their work.

House of Lords

10:00: Financial Services Regulation Committee – Regulation of the consumer insurance market: The Financial Ombudsman and other senior financial regulators will give evidence.

10:30: Constitution Committee – The UK’s constitutional safeguards: Former Cabinet Secretary Lord (Gus) O’Donnell will give evidence.

10:30: International Relations and Defence Committee – Multilateralism: Professor John Bew of 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.

↖ Contents · Skip to Thursday’s Select Committees ↘

Questions and statements: At 09:30, Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Ministers will face questions from MPs. Topics include regulation of short-term lets, accessibility of sport, culture funding, frontier AI, an overnight visitor levy, access to cultural amenities, lidos, the tourism industry, digital inclusion, grassroots sports, broadband provision, and Iran-linked charities.

At 10:10, MPs will question the representatives of the Church Commissioners, the House of Commons Commission, and the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission. Their questions include:

• 10 questions to the representative of the Church Commissioners, Marsha De Cordova MP, including on Christians in Palestine, payments by parish churches to the Commissioners, persecution of Christians overseas, the Lighthouse summer holiday programme, family hubs, community cohesion, Christian nationalism, the cost of living, and the Places of Worship Renewal Fund;

• one question to the representative of the House of Commons Commission, Nick Smith MP, on support for MPs with domestic and sexual abuse casework; and

• one question to the representative of the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, Sir Jeremy Wright MP, on legal protections for the use of minority languages in election materials.

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.

Sporting Events Bill (Second Reading): MPs will debate the Government’s legislation, sent from the House of Lords in July, to create a common statutory framework for major sporting events held in the UK. Ministers would activate the relevant provisions for individual events through secondary legislation. The Government intends to use the framework to support the delivery of the UEFA Euro 2028 men’s football championship and the 2035 FIFA Women’s World Cup. (House of Commons Library briefing)

The proposed common framework would include an offence of unauthorised ticket touting; restrictions on unauthorised advertising and trading around event venues; a prohibition on falsely claiming a commercial association with an event; and measures for transport planning and traffic management.

Following amendments made in the Lords, regulations applying the framework to a particular event would be subject to the ‘affirmative’ procedure. They would therefore normally have to be debated and approved in draft by both Houses before being made and taking effect. In urgent cases, Ministers could instead use the ‘made affirmative’ procedure: the regulations could take effect immediately but would lapse unless both Houses approved them, retrospectively, within a specified period.

The Government suffered one defeat in the Lords. Peers removed a proposed restriction under which the framework could be applied only to events not regularly held in the UK. Governments often seek to overturn or revise defeats suffered in the Lords when a Bill reaches Committee Stage in the Commons.

At Second Reading, MPs debate the Bill’s overall principles and purposes rather than its detailed wording. The Bill cannot be amended at this stage, although opponents may table a reasoned amendment seeking to reject it while placing their objections on the record.

If the Bill receives a Second Reading, MPs will be asked to approve a programme motion setting the timetable for its remaining Commons stages. It will then proceed to detailed, clause-by-clause scrutiny in Public Bill Committee.

Adjournment: Labour MP Dr Allison Gardner will give a speech on masterplans for large scale developments. A Minister will then give a response.

Westminster Hall

13:30: Vaccination rates in England

15:00: The nature security assessment on global biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and national security, published in January 2026

↖ Contents · Skip to Friday’s Commons ↘

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

• Ruth Mackenzie (now Baroness Mackenzie of Sherwood), an artistic director and new Minister for the Arts, who will join as a Labour Peer; and

• Anas Sarwar (now Lord Sarwar), former Leader of the Scottish Labour Party and new Minister for Trade, who will join as a Labour Peer.

Oral questions: Peers will question Ministers for 40 minutes, on opt-out collective court actions and connected litigation funding; power to investigate academic misconduct; and compulsory voting. The topic of a fourth question will be decided by a ballot drawn at lunchtime on Tuesday 1 September.

General debate – Skills, training and education: 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. A Question for Short Debate is normally scheduled between two such debates.

The general debate, led by the Labour Peer Baroness Morgan of Huyton, will consider how improvements to skills, vocational training, and further and higher education could expand opportunities for people from deprived and disadvantaged communities and support regional economic growth. 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 – Parcel delivery services: A Question for Short Debate (QSD) is scheduled between the two main Chamber debates. These debates are strictly time-limited to one hour. Proceedings begin with a speech from the member who tabled the question and conclude with a response from the Minister; the remaining time is divided among the other Peers who wish to speak.

Today’s QSD, tabled by Liberal Democrat Peer Lord Pack, asks what plans the Government has to improve the quality and reliability of parcel delivery services, particularly their impact on small businesses and vulnerable consumers. (House of Lords Library briefing)

General debate – Government’s political priorities and legislative agenda: The second general debate today, led by the Labour Peer Lord Hunt of King’s Heath, will consider the Government’s political priorities and legislative agenda. 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)

Statutory Instrument debate – Nature Restoration Levy: The final main Chamber debate today will be on the draft Nature Restoration Levy Regulations 2026 which provide the statutory framework for the Nature Restoration Levy established by the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025.

Under the new system, Natural England will prepare Environmental Delivery Plans (EDPs) setting out strategic conservation measures to address the environmental effects of development. Developers using an EDP will pay the levy to Natural England instead of undertaking certain site-specific environmental assessments and mitigation measures.

The House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee has drawn the Regulations to the special attention of the House. It suggests that Peers seek greater clarity about the extent of Natural England’s discretion under the new system. The Committee also warns that, without the promised guidance, important practical details about how the system will operate remain unclear. It nevertheless welcomes the commitment to consult publicly on every Environmental Delivery Plan and to make a statement to Parliament setting out the lessons learned from developing and implementing the first EDPs.

The Regulations are subject to the draft affirmative procedure and cannot become law unless they are debated and approved by both Houses. The debate is limited to one hour. The Conservative Peer Lord Roborough has tabled a ‘regret’ motion, expressing concern that the Regulations do not require Natural England to consider the financial viability of developments, particularly alongside demands for developer contributions towards affordable housing, education, health, and infrastructure. If agreed, his motion would formally record the House’s criticism but would not prevent the regulations from being approved.

The debate is strictly time-limited to one hour. At the end of the debate, the House will vote first on Lord Roborough’s motion (unless he withdraws it), before voting on the main motion to approve the Regulations.

Grand Committee

12:15: Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (Committee, day 2 of 4): Peers will resume their clause-by-clause scrutiny of the Bill from the point reached at Tuesday’s first Committee sitting. As outlined in Tuesday’s Lords section above, because the scrutiny is taking place in Grand Committee all Peers may participate but no divisions (formal votes) can be held and amendments can be agreed only if there is no objection. Amendments are therefore generally used at this stage only to probe the Government’s position before Peers decide whether to pursue the issue at Report Stage.

Two further Committee sittings are scheduled, for Monday 7 September and Wednesday 9 September.

↖ Contents · Skip to Friday’s Lords ↘

Highlights include:

House of Lords

10:35: Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Committee – Domestic Abuse Act 2021: Victims Minister Alex Davies-Jones MP, Homelessness and Communities Minister Florence Eshalomi MP, and Children and Families Minister 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 Looking ahead ↘

Private Members’ Bills (PMBs): Today is the first of 13 Friday sittings this Session in which Private Members’ Bills take precedence over Government business. Each Friday sitting runs for five hours, from 09:30 to 14:30. The first seven PMB Fridays are primarily allocated to Second Reading debates. On the remaining six, priority shifts to bills that have already progressed beyond Second Reading. The Hansard Society’s guide to Private Members’ Bills explains the system in more detail.

At the beginning of each Session, 20 MPs are selected in the Private Members’ Bill ballot. Their Bills have priority over other types of PMB when securing time for Second Reading. In practice, the MPs drawn in the first seven places in the ballot have the best prospects because each can claim the opening slot on one of the first seven Fridays.

Conservative MP Sir Desmond Swayne, who came first in the ballot, selected today for the Second Reading of his Infants, Parents and Carers Bill. His Bill is therefore listed first on the Order Paper and is the only one guaranteed debating time before the sitting ends at 14:30.

It is followed by other Ballot Bills, including Conservative MP Lincoln Jopp’s Northern Ireland Troubles (Criminal Investigations etc) Bill and Liberal Democrat MP Munira Wilson’s Child-like Sexual Abuse Dolls (Offences) Bill, as well as a long list of other PMBs.

PMBs are not programmed, so the five-hour sitting is not divided into fixed periods for each of the bills listed on the Order Paper. If the first debate ends early, the House can move to the next bill. But a lengthy debate on an earlier bill may prevent those further down the list from being reached, particularly because, by convention, the Chair does not impose time limits on speeches during PMB proceedings.

Supporters may try to end a debate on a bill by moving a closure motion – “that the Question be now put”. However, the Chair must agree to put the closure motion to the House, which is unlikely if there has not yet been a long debate, and then at least 100 MPs must vote in favour of the closure motion and be in a majority for it to succeed.

At 14:30, the ‘moment of interruption’ is reached. If debate on a bill is still ongoing and has not been brought to an end through a closure motion, proceedings stop. Its sponsor must then nominate a later PMB Friday on which debate might resume.

The Clerk then reads out, in order, the titles of the remaining bills on the Order Paper that have not been reached. If a sponsor wishes to proceed, the Question on Second Reading is proposed. A bill may receive its Second Reading without debate if no MP objects, but a single Member can prevent this by shouting “Object”. A Government Whip will usually object where the Government does not support a Bill.

Any bill receiving a Second Reading will proceed to Committee Stage, normally in a Public Bill Committee meeting on a Wednesday. Ordinarily, only one Private Member’s Bill can be considered in Committee at any one time, with bills generally proceeding in the order in which they received their Second Reading.

Adjournment: Labour MP Catherine West will give a speech on social care and mental health services in her Hornsey and Friern Barnet constituency. A Minister will then give a response.

↖ Contents · Skip to Looking ahead ↘

Select Committee report debates: The House will debate three Select Committee reports and the Government’s response to each. Such debates are normally held on neutral “take note” motions, enabling Peers to consider the findings and the Government’s position without a division (formal vote):

• the Economic Affairs Committee report, Preparing for an ageing society, and the Government’s response (House of Lords Library briefing);

• the Social Mobility Policy Committee report, Social Mobility: Local Roots, Lasting Change, and the Government’s response (House of Lords Library briefing); and

• the Joint Committee on Human Rights Committee, Forced Labour in UK Supply Chains, and the Government’s response (House of Lords Library briefing).

↖ Contents · Skip to Looking ahead ↘

Both Houses will resume at 14:30 on Monday 7 September 2026. Our next Bulletin will therefore be published on Sunday 6 September.

↖ Contents

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