Questions and statements: At 14:30, Housing, Communities and Local Government Ministers will respond to MPs’ questions. Topics include the proposed visitor levy, Pride in Place funding, homelessness, social housing conditions, family voting, local government funding, leasehold reform, sales commission charges for park homes, Council Tax debt collection, registration of short-term holiday lets, youth services, Local Housing Allowance, and local government reorganisation.

At 15:30, any Urgent Questions or Ministerial Statements will follow. Each Urgent Question lasts around 40 minutes on average, and Ministerial Statements last an average of around 50 minutes. It is likely that the Government will update the House on developments in the Middle East. The Defence Secretary may also make a statement on the month-long Russian submarine operation in British waters, revealed at a press conference last Thursday morning (9 April).

Backbench debate on SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) provision and reform: The House will debate a motion calling on the Government to ensure that “every child, regardless of their needs, has access to the education, care and opportunities they deserve”. It argues that “despite commitments, progress on reform remains slow”, and describes the delay in publishing the White Paper, Every Child Achieving and Thriving, as “bitterly disappointing for families struggling to secure the support their children need”. The motion also stresses that SEND should remain “high on the Government’s agenda”. (House of Commons Library briefing)

The debate was scheduled by the Backbench Business Committee following an application from Conservative MP Gregory Stafford, supported by Conservative MP Sir David Davis, Labour MP Linsey Farnsworth, and Conservative MP Greg Smith. In his application, Stafford noted that there had not been a Chamber debate on SEND for some time, and emphasised that it is one of the issues most frequently raised with both the Government and individual MPs.

As the first sitting day after an extended recess often includes multiple Urgent Questions and Ministerial Statements, the debate may not begin until later in the day. However, the Government has tabled a business motion to ensure the debate runs for at least two hours, regardless of its start time, even if this means continuing beyond the usual moment of interruption at 22:00.

Adjournment: Labour MP Steve Yemm will give a speech on experiences and outcomes for young people with cancer. A Minister will then give a response.

Westminster Hall

16:30: MPs will debate e-petition 732342, which calls for the introduction of statutory menstrual leave for people with endometriosis and adenomyosis. The petition has around 109,000 signatures. (House of Commons Library briefing)

18:00: MPs will debate e-petition 731497, which calls for a new disclosure and safeguarding framework for children at risk from parents or caregivers, known as “Maya’s Law”, following the death of two-year old Maya Chappell in 2022. The petition has around 110,000 signatures. (House of Commons Library briefing)

Delegated Legislation Committee

18:00: The draft Building Safety (Responsible Actors Scheme and Prohibitions) (Amendment) Regulations 2026

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Tributes to former Clerk of the Parliaments and appointment of new House officials: At 14:30, the House will pay tribute to the outgoing Clerk of the Parliaments, Simon Burton, including speeches from the leaders of the various parties and groups in the House.

His successor as Clerk of the Parliaments – the head of the House of Lords administration, in effect its chief executive – is Chloe Mawson, the first woman ever appointed to the role. The Clerk of the Parliaments is formally appointed by the Crown by letters patent (a form of legal document authorised by the monarch to make public appointments, confer honours, or signify Royal Assent to legislation).

The new Clerk must make a declaration at the Table of the House. Until the Promissory Oaths Act 1868 replaced many official oaths with equivalent declarations (but lacking the oath’s religious connotations), Clerks swore an oath to the same effect. According to Erskine May, the earliest record of an oath being administered on the appointment of the Clerk of the Parliaments is March 1531.

The required form of the declaration is:

“I, Chloe Kilcoyne Mawson, do declare that I will be true and faithful and troth I will bear to Our Sovereign Lord the King and to His Heirs and Successors. I will nothing know that shall be prejudicial to His Highness His Crown Estate and Dignity Royal, but that I will resist it to my power and with all speed I will advertise His Grace thereof, or at the least some of His Counsel in such wise as the same may come to His knowledge.

I will also well and truly serve His Highness in the Office of Clerk of His Parliaments making true Entries and Records of the things done and passed in the same.

I will keep secret all such matters as shall be treated in His said Parliaments and not disclose the same before they shall be published, but to such as it ought to be disclosed unto, and generally I will well and truly do and execute all things belonging to me to be done appertaining to the Office of Clerk of the Parliaments.”

The House will then consider the appointment of Duncan Sagar as the new Clerk Assistant, succeeding Chloe Mawson. The Clerk Assistant is appointed by the Lord Speaker, subject to the approval of the House of Lords. The Lord Speaker will therefore move a motion for the House to approve the appointment.

Oral questions: Peers will then question Ministers for 40 minutes, on the impact of AI on employment; battery production; rail freight; and the use of nitrous oxide by young people.

High Speed Rail (Crewe–Manchester) Bill (Carry-over): The House will debate a motion to allow the High Speed Rail (Crewe–Manchester) Bill – legislation that provides the legal basis for Phase 2b of the HS2 project – to be carried over into future sessions of this Parliament if necessary, and potentially as far as the first session of the next Parliament.

The Bill has yet to complete its passage through the House of Commons, which approved a similar carry-over motion earlier this year. In practice, no progress has been made since October 2023 with this Bill, when the previous Government announced the cancellation of HS2’s northern leg. The Bill has not been withdrawn, however, as both the previous and the current Governments have indicated that it could be re-purposed to support Northern Powerhouse Rail, which was intended to share part of the same route as HS2.

If agreed, the motion would allow the Bill to remain before the House of Lords for up to eight years from its introduction in 2022. At a minimum this suggests the Government does not expect the Bill to complete its passage through the House by the end of the next parliamentary session.

As noted in a previous edition of the Bulletin, the House of Commons recently nominated a new Select Committee to consider petitions against the Bill, along with any amendments relating to its proposed re-purposing. After this stage, the Bill will proceed through its remaining Commons stages – Committee, Report and Third Reading – before being sent to the House of Lords.

We discussed the parliamentary progress of the Bill in a recent episode of our Parliament Matters podcast.

English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Report, day 3 of 3): The House will conclude the Report Stage of the Government’s Bill to reform the structure of local government. (House of Lords Library briefing)

At Report Stage, the whole House decides whether any amendments should be made, or new clauses added, to the Bill. Similar amendments and new clauses will be grouped together for debate, to prevent repetition and create a more focused debate. It is at Report Stage that the Government is most frequently defeated on amendments.

The final groups of amendments to be discussed relate to:

• unitarisation of local government: non-Government amendments to remove or restrict the proposed new power for the Secretary of State to require two-tier councils to become single-tier or to require existing areas with single tiers of local government to merge;

• parish and town councils: non-Government amendments to require the Government to review parish and town councils; allow local authorities to facilitate new parish or town councils; require local authorities to secure the continuing role of parish and town councils; require local authorities to co-operate with parish and town councils in neighbourhood governance; and confer a power to initiate a governance review on residents in unparished areas;

• leader and cabinet model: non-Government amendments to remove or limit the requirement for local authorities to have a leader and cabinet structure for local government;

• local government electoral system: non-Government amendments to remove the proposed replacement of first-past-the-post with the supplementary vote for mayoral and police and crime commissioner elections, to substitute the alternative vote system instead, and to introduce the single transferable vote system for the election of all local councillors;

• local election delays: non-Government amendments to abolish the power to delay or cancel local elections, to limit the power to a delay of no more than one year, to require a request from the relevant local authority, or to require consultation with the Electoral Commission;

• online meetings: non-Government amendments to allow local councils to meet online in the event of adverse weather or to enable individual councillors to participate online in the event of illness or disability;

• assets of community value: non-Government amendments to allow local authorities to acquire dormant land of community value; assets of community value (permitted development); and to extend the community right to buy to assets that support environmental or cultural wellbeing, and a Government amendment to extend the period during which an asset of community value can appear on the local authority’s list from five to 10 years;

• statutory trusts and local authority land: an amendment from Conservative peer Lord Banner, supported by the Government, to allow Ministers to make an order to discharge land previously held by local authorities from any statutory trusts relating to open land, as well as a series of amendments to this amendment, proposing restrictions on the power;

• taxi licensing: Government amendments to introduce additional licensing powers over taxis and private hire vehicles, including giving local authorities a power to suspend an operator’s licence in the interests of public safety;

• taxi accessibility: non-Government amendments to impose minimum accessibility standards on taxis and private hire vehicles;

• gambling licensing: a Government amendment to enable licensing authorities to adopt policies designed to address the cumulative impact of multiple gambling premises when considering whether to grant gambling licences;

• planning process: non-Government amendments to designate fire and rescue services as statutory consultees for energy infrastructure; require local authorities to appoint a Chief Planner; and require new strategic authorities to have regard to the needs of rural communities; and

• climate change targets: a non-Government amendment to impose a duty on local authorities to take steps towards climate change targets.

Grand Committee

From 15:45, peers will debate three draft Statutory Instruments:

• the Energy Prices Act 2022 (Extension of Time Limit) Regulations 2026;

• the National Employment Savings Trust (Amendment) Order 2026; and

• the Conservation of Habitats and Species (Offshore Wind) (Amendment etc.) Regulations 2026.

A fourth draft instrument had been scheduled for debate, the Chemicals (Health and Safety) (Amendment, Consequential and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026. But its consideration has been postponed following the tabling of a motion of disapproval by Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle.

↖ Contents · Skip to Tuesday’s Lords ↘

Highlights include:

House of Lords

14:15: Childhood Vaccinations Committee – Representatives from ethnic minority organisations and NHS England 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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↖ Contents · Skip to Tuesday’s Select Committees ↘

Questions and statements: At 11:30, Health and Social Care Ministers will respond to MPs’ questions. Topics include underperforming hospital trusts, maternity care, NHS management, access to mental health services, access to NHS dentistry, access to GPs, anti-Muslim hostility within the NHS, early years funding, the NHS waiting list, support for people with eating disorders, cancer treatment, and acute mental health inpatient units.

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

Ten Minute Rule Motion: Conservative MP Sarah Bool will seek to introduce a Type 1 Diabetes Screening (Children) 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 make provision for a national programme of screening for type 1 diabetes in children. See our Hansard Society guide for more information about the parliamentary procedure for Ten Minute Rule Bills.

Crime and Policing Bill (Consideration of Lords Amendments): MPs will consider Lords amendments to the Government’s legislation to reform the crime and policing system. Before the debate begins, the House will be asked to approve a programme motion setting a time-limit for proceedings. (House of Commons Library briefing)

For each Lords amendment, the Commons must decide whether to agree, disagree or propose an alternative amendment in its place.

During the Bill’s Report Stage in the Lords, the Government was defeated on a significant number of amendments, as summarised in a recent edition of the Bulletin. The Government also suffered a further defeat at Third Reading, when peers inserted amendments aimed at strengthening the provisions requiring social media companies to tackle “revenge porn” (as discussed in more detail in the latest episode of our Parliament Matters podcast). The Government is now expected to seek to overturn or replace these changes.

This will also be the first – and possibly the only – opportunity for MPs to scrutinise a Government amendment that would grant Ministers a broad delegated power to amend the Online Safety Act by regulations in relation to harms arising from artificial intelligence. The Hansard Society raised concerns about this power in a recent briefing, including the late stage at which it was introduced and the limited opportunities for scrutiny by MPs.

Only once both Houses reach agreement on all the amendments will the Bill be sent for Royal Assent. The Bill is therefore likely to be sent back to the Lords after today’s debate.

Adjournment: Conservative MP Dr Kieran Mullan will give a speech on dualling of the A21. A Minister will then give a response.

Westminster Hall

09:30: Hidden credit liabilities and the role of the Financial Conduct Authority (House of Commons Library briefing)

11:00: Carer’s Allowance overpayments

14:30: First anniversary of the For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers ruling (House of Commons Library briefing)

16:00: Government support for businesses implementing National Suicide Prevention Standard BS 30480 (House of Commons Library briefing)

16:30: Alternatives to ground-mounted solar panels (House of Commons Library briefing)

Public Bill Committees

09:25 and 14:00: Representation of the People Bill (Committee, day 4): The Public Bill Committee will continue its clause-by-clause scrutiny and consideration of amendments at today’s sitting. The Committee will decide on the Bill’s clauses and amendments in the order in which they appear, or would appear, in the Bill. (House of Commons Library briefing)

Today’s debate is likely to focus on the Bill’s provisions, and amendments, relating to:

• changes to postal and proxy voting rules, including an Opposition amendment to give political parties access to data on expired postal votes; and

• proposed new limits on campaign and political spending.

09:25 and 14:00: Courts and Tribunals Bill (Committee, day 2): Having taken oral evidence from experts at its first sitting (transcript here), the Public Bill Committee will begin its clause-by-clause scrutiny and consideration of amendments at today’s sitting. The Committee will decide on the Bill’s clauses and amendments in the order in which they appear, or would appear, in the Bill, so today’s debate is therefore likely to focus on the earliest clauses in the Bill. (House of Commons Library briefing)

The first clauses concern the removal of the right to elect for a jury trial and the introduction of a three-year expected sentence threshold for determining when a jury trial is appropriate. The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have tabled a number of amendments, including proposals to remove these clauses entirely. For the Government, the most challenging amendments may come from its own backbenchers. In particular, New Clause 2 (NC2), tabled by Labour MP Charlotte Nichols, has attracted notable support. The proposal would establish specialist courts for sexual offences and domestic abuse cases, with cases heard by a specialist judge and a jury. Supporters argue that similar pilot schemes, such as those trialled in the North West of England, could help reduce the court backlog in rape cases without removing the right to a jury trial. However, Nichols is not a member of the Committee and therefore another MP who is on the Public Bill Committee will have to move it on her behalf at the appropriate time.

Delegated Legislation Committees

09:25: The draft Energy Prices Act 2022 (Extension of Time Limit) Regulations 2026

14:30: The draft Aviation Safety (Amendment) Regulations 2026

16:30: The draft Buckinghamshire Council (Adult Education Functions) Regulations 2026, draft Warwickshire County Council (Adult Education Functions) Regulations 2026, and draft Surrey County Council (Adult Education Functions) Regulations 2026

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Oral questions: At 14:30, peers will begin the day by questioning Ministers for 40 minutes, on the impact of asylum and settlement policies on child poverty and homelessness; the implementation of guidance on single sex spaces; the 80th anniversary of HMT Empire Windrush arriving at Tilbury; and support for the Armed Forces in deterring Russian sub-surface operations threatening Atlantic undersea cables.

Report on access rights for departing hereditary peers: The House will debate a motion to agree the House of Lords Commission report on Access rights for departing hereditary peers. Following the passage of the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026, the report calls for departing hereditary peers to be granted the same access rights as members who retire from the House. Retired members are entitled to access the parliamentary estate, use the Lords Library room, sit on the steps of the Throne when the House is sitting, apply for tickets for state visits for up to three years after retirement, use various dining rooms and bars across the estate, and have their mail forwarded to them for up to three months following their departure from the House. Some of these privileges – including access to the estate, Library, and steps of the Throne – are already extended to hereditary peers who were excluded from the House in 1999.

Report on resignation of peers: The House will then debate a motion to agree the Procedure and Privileges Committee report titled Resignation: New Standing Order. The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026 empowers the House to introduce a new Standing Order, establishing a process by which a person may give notice of resignation on behalf of a peer who lacks the capacity to do so themselves. If the report is agreed, the House will then formally vote on the Standing Order change.

Under the proposed Standing Order, such resignations would be permitted only where the applicant has authority to act on behalf of the peer, and where the peer has lost, and is unlikely to regain, the capacity to give notice personally. Authority may arise through a Lasting Power of Attorney or an equivalent arrangement, or, exceptionally, through another recognised form of authorisation. Decisions on capacity would be based on medical evidence, including professional advice. The scheme will be overseen by the Leave of Absence Sub-Committee of the Procedure and Privileges Committee, which would act as the final decision-maker on applications.

Grenfell Tower Memorial (Expenditure) Bill (All Stages): This Bill would authorise the Government to spend public money on building and operating a memorial to commemorate the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire. It also makes provision for funding to preserve, archive or display parts of the Tower. The Government intends to fast-track the Bill through all its stages in a single sitting, as was also done during its passage through the Commons. (House of Lords Library briefing)

Public expenditure is normally authorised through the annual Supply and Appropriation Act, which implements the departmental spending requests (the Estimates) presented to Parliament during the annual Estimates Cycle. However, as Erskine May explains, when the Government takes on “any new functions which are to be exercised on a continuing basis”, the associated spending should be authorised by specific primary legislation, not solely through the annual Appropriation Acts.

This principle stems from a 1932 agreement between the Government and the Public Accounts Committee, known as the Baldwin convention. Under this convention, legislation that exists solely to authorise spending for a new continuing function is sometimes referred to as a ‘Concordat’ or ‘Baldwin convention’ bill.

Since this Bill establishes a new and continuing Government function – funding the construction, operation and preservation elements of the Grenfell memorial – authorising the spending through the Estimates process would not be sufficient. A specific Act of Parliament is therefore required.

Guidance from the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel notes that bills brought forward under the Baldwin Convention are “typically certified as Money Bills if they are confined to authorising expenditure”. In this case, the Speaker has certified the Bill as a Money Bill. As a result, the Bill will follow an expedited process in the House of Lords, with no amending stage at Committee or Report taking place. For more information, see the Hansard Society’s guide to Money Bills.

Under Lords Standing Order 44, two stages of a bill are not normally taken on the same day. To enable both Second and Third Reading to take place at today’s sitting, the House agreed a motion on 26 March to disapply that requirement.

Ministerial Salaries (Amendment) Bill (All Stages): This Bill will also be fast-tracked through all its Lords stages today. It would increase the maximum number of ministerial salaries from 109 to 120. Since 2010, successive governments have appointed more Ministers than the current salary limit allows. The present Labour Government has appointed 120 Ministers, of whom two in the House of Commons and nine in the House of Lords currently serve without pay. There is no legal limit on the number of peers who may serve as unpaid Ministers, while the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 caps the number of ministers who may sit in the House of Commons at 95. Increasing the total number of ministerial salaries to 120 would therefore raise the minimum number of paid ministerial posts available in the House of Lords to 25, including seven Whips. (House of Lords Library briefing)

The Bill has been introduced in response to an amendment made by peers to the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill, which would have prevented any unsalaried Lords Ministers from continuing to sit in the House. Following the introduction of this Bill, the Lords chose not to insist on that amendment.

The Bill is not expected to have a Committee or Report Stage. As with the previous Bill, Lords Standing Order 44 would normally prevent two stages of a bill from being taken on the same day. To allow both Second and Third Reading to take place today, the House agreed a motion on 26 March to set aside the relevant Standing Order.

Motions relating to Immigration Rules: The House will debate two motions relating to the Statement of Changes to Immigration Rules published on 5 March 2026. The Statement of Changes introduces a range of reforms to the immigration and asylum system, including:

• introduction of a visa brake: the automatic refusal of student visa applications from nationals of certain specified countries identified as having high rates of asylum claims among those granted student visas;

• duration of refugee status: reducing the standard period of leave to remain for refugees from five years to 30 months, meaning claimants would no longer be eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain after a single five-year period;

• disclosure of information: clarifying that the Home Office may disclose the existence of an asylum claim where there is a public interest in doing so, for example where a person has been arrested or charged with a serious criminal offence; and

• Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme: extending the period in which eligible Ukrainians may apply for further permission to remain in the UK from the current 18 months after their previous schemes expired, to an additional 24 months.

The 1971 Immigration Act empowers the Home Secretary to set rules governing entry to and residence in the United Kingdom, known as the Immigration Rules. These Rules may be amended through a Statement of Changes to Immigration Rules. Any such Statement must be laid before Parliament, triggering a 40-day period during which either House may agree a motion to “disapprove” the Statement. However, agreeing such a motion does not automatically annul the changes; the Government can respond by simply laying a new Statement of Changes.

The two motions on the Lords Order Paper do not seek to formally “disapprove” the Statement of Changes but instead express regret. Such motions allow the House to place its concerns on the record without having any legal impact.

The two motions are:

• from Liberal Democrat peer Lord German, arguing that the Statement does not provide a credible plan to reduce the asylum backlog such as safe routes for refugees, risks increasing bureaucracy and costs, disincentivises integration of refugees, and could lead to greater destitution and rough sleeping among asylum seekers; and

• from Labour peer Lord Dubs, expressing concern that the Statement may hinder refugee integration, lacks relevant Impact Assessments, could increase bureaucracy and costs, fails to restart family reunion processes, and may prevent some students from taking up opportunities in the UK.

It is notable that the House of Commons has not debated a specific change to a Statement of Changes to Immigration Rules since 2007 and the last time MPs successfully objected to (or “disapproved”) such changes was in 1982. We discussed the parliamentary process for making changes to immigration law with Jon Featonby of the Refugee Council in a recent episode of our Parliament Matters podcast.

↖ Contents · Skip to Wednesday’s Lords ↘

Highlights include:

House of Commons

09:25 and 14:00: Select Committee on the Armed Forces Bill – The next clauses and amendments to be considered relate to the prevention of drones and other uncrewed devices, and to protection from sexual and violent behaviour and harassment in the armed forces.

10:00: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee – Propriety, ethics and the wider standards landscape in the UK: The chair of the Ethics and Integrity Commission, Doug Chalmers, will give evidence.

10:00: Education Committee – SEND White Paper: Evidence will be given by representatives from the teaching unions, the Local Government Association, the National Association of Special Educational Needs and various NGOs whose work focuses on children.

10:30: Defence Committee – Women in the Armed Forces: Minister for Veterans and People, Louise Sandher-Jones MP, and the most senior service officers – the First Sea Lord, the Chief of the General Staff and the Chief of the Air Staff – will give evidence.

10:30: Foreign Affairs Committee – Disinformation diplomacy: How malign actors are seeking to undermine democracy: AI and Online Safety Minister Kanishka Narayan MP will give evidence.

14:30: Business and Trade Committee – Artificial Intelligence, business and the future of the workforce: Dame Wendy Hall, Regius Professor of Computer Science and Director of the Web Science Institute at the University of Southampton, and Professor Neil Lawrence, DeepMind Professor of Machine Learning at the University of Cambridge, will give evidence, followed by panels including representatives from Microsoft, UK Private Capital, and MMC Ventures.

House of Lords

11:00: European Affairs Committee – Dynamic alignment: The Swiss and Norwegian Ambassadors to the UK will give evidence.

14:00: International Agreements Committee – Trade in a turbulent world: how should the UK deploy its trade instruments? Financial Times trade journalist Alan Beattie will speak alongside Sir Simon Fraser, the Chair at Chatham House, founding partner of Flint Global and former head of the Foreign Office and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

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.

Private Business: At 11:30, three Private Bills will be considered before the House proceeds to Public Business. Private Bills affect specific individuals or organisations rather than the general public. Under the Private Bill procedure, motions at Second Reading, Report Stage and Third Reading can be approved without debate in time set aside before oral questions, provided no MP objects. If an objection is raised, the Speaker refers the Bill to the most senior Deputy Speaker, who is formally responsible for the Bill’s progression, to name a new date for consideration.

Cheltenham Borough Council (Markets) Bill (Third Reading): This Bill, promoted by the borough council and considered in an Unopposed Bill Committee, would repeal a provision in the Cheltenham Improvement Act 1852 that prohibits street markets in Cheltenham.

Royal Albert Hall Bill (Report Stage): Promoted by the Royal Albert Hall Corporation, this Bill proposes a series of changes to the Hall’s governance arrangements, which are set out in statute and therefore require primary legislation to amend.

Conservative MP Sir Christopher Chope objected to the Bill’s Second Reading being taken without debate in April 2025 and may do so again.

The Bill has proved controversial. During its passage in the House of Lords, peers inserted an amendment at Third Reading against the wishes of the Corporation. This new clause sought to address concerns about trustees who are also seat holders making rules on ticket resale via third parties. It proposed that such decisions should be taken by a sub-committee of the council of trustees with a majority of non-seat holding members, and that re-sale of tickets by seat-holding trustees should take place through a scheme arranged by the Corporation rather than via third-party platforms.

Ahead of the Bill’s Second Reading in the Commons in January, the Corporation published a statement opposing this clause and indicating that it would seek to replace it at Committee Stage.

Under the Private Bill process, committees must hear from the promoter and decide whether the Bill’s purpose (the ‘preamble’) has been proved, whether its provisions are appropriate and proportionate, and whether any amendments should be made. Where petitions are lodged, an ‘Opposed Bill Committee’ is formed, which can hear the objections of the petitioners. Where none are received – as in this case – then an ‘Unopposed Bill Committee’ is appointed, which hears only from the promoter.

The ‘Unopposed Bill Committee’, chaired by the Senior Deputy Speaker, Nusrat Ghani MP, met on 13 January 2026. The Parliamentary Agent (legal representative) for the promoter proposed two amendments to the Bill:

• a minor correction to the preamble updating the number of seat holders in the Hall; and

• the removal of the Lords-inserted clause (Clause 5), to be replaced with an undertaking that the Council of the Royal Albert Hall would adopt a ticket income declaration policy. This would require all Council members to declare annually the total income they receive from ticket sales.

The Committee recommended strengthening this undertaking by extending the reporting requirement to include income received by family members selling tickets on behalf of Council members. It also required that the Senior Deputy Speaker (the Chairman of Ways and Means) and the Chair of the Charity Commission be notified of any future changes to the policy.

The promoter accepted these recommendations, and the final policy proposal is set out in the Annex to the Committee’s report. The House of Commons will therefore be asked at Report Stage to accept the minor modification to the preamble and the removal of Clause 5 of the Bill.

City of London (Markets) Bill (Suspension motion): This Private Bill, which had its Commons Second Reading in January, will require carrying over into the next parliamentary session to allow time for consideration by the House of Lords. A motion from the Chairman of Ways and Means will allow this to happen.

Questions and statements: Following Private Business, Scotland Office Ministers will respond to MPs’ questions. Topics include child poverty, Pride in Place, energy prices, cancer research, relations with the EU, economic growth, the oil and gas sector, spending in the Scottish Borders, and the fishing sector.

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 John Slinger will seek to introduce a Creative Arts and Culture (Broadcasting Requirements) 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 make provision about the regular broadcast of news about creative arts and culture.

Pension Schemes Bill (Consideration of Lords Amendments): MPs will consider amendments made by the Lords to the Government’s legislation to reform the regulatory framework for pension schemes. Before the debate begins, the House will be asked to approve a programme motion setting a time-limit on proceedings. (House of Commons Library briefing)

For each Lords amendment, the Commons must decide whether to agree, disagree, or propose an alternative.

The Government suffered defeats on several amendments during the Bill’s passage through the Lords, as summarised in a recent edition of the Bulletin. The Government has subsequently suffered three further defeats:

• public sector pensions: requiring the Government to review the affordability and fairness of public service pension schemes;

• compensation: requiring the Government to bring into force certain uncommenced provisions in the 2004 Pension Act relating to compensation; and

• pension communications and promotion: requiring the Government to review the rules around pension communications and financial promotion.

Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill (Consideration of Lords Message): The Government’s bill to reform the schools and children’s safeguarding and care system returns to the House of Commons, where MPs will consider the Lords’ response to amendments previously proposed by the Commons.

There are six areas of disagreement remaining between the two Houses:

• Contact between children in care and their siblings: The Lords originally amended the Bill to extend requirements on promoting contact between a child in care and their siblings to include those who are not themselves in care. The Commons rejected that amendment outright. The Lords chose not to insist on their original amendment and have instead proposed an alternative amendment in lieu, tabled by the Government. This revised amendment would clarify expectations on local authorities to facilitate reasonable contact between children in care and their siblings, including half-siblings and step-siblings. As the amendment in lieu was proposed by the Government, it is likely to be agreed by the Commons, meaning no further “ping-pong” on this issue is expected.

• Children’s access to social media: The Lords initially amended the Bill to require the Government to mandate that social media platforms prevent children under 16 from becoming users. The Commons rejected this and instead proposed a series of alternative amendments in lieu, granting Ministers a broad delegated power to restrict children’s access to specified internet services, if they choose to do so. The Lords accepted these amendments in lieu but nevertheless insisted on their original amendment for a statutory ban on social media use by under-16s. The Commons must now decide whether to insist on its disagreement, accept the Lords position, or propose a further alternative.

• School uniform costs: The Lords amended the Bill to replace the proposed cap on the number of branded uniform items that a school may require parents to purchase with a monetary cap on the total cost of such items. The Commons rejected that approach. The Lords have chosen not to insist on their original amendment, but have instead proposed an alternative amendment in lieu requiring the Government to review the effectiveness of existing measures to limit the cost of branded uniform items, including whether a monetary cap would be a better mechanism to reduce costs. The Commons must now decide whether to insist on its disagreement, accept the Lords amendment in lieu, or propose an alternative of its own.

• Power to limit pupil admissions: The Lords amended the Bill to limit the circumstances in which the Schools Adjudicator may direct a school to reduce pupil admissions, and to require consideration of alternative measures (including amalgamation or closure) before restricting the intake of oversubscribed schools. The Commons rejected this amendment, but the Lords have now chosen to insist on it. The Commons cannot simply insist on its disagreement without triggering “double insistence”, which conventionally results in the Bill falling. It must instead either accept the Lords’ position or propose an alternative.

• Allergy safety: The Lords initially amended the Bill to introduce mandatory allergy safety policies for all schools in England. The Commons rejected this amendment. The Lords have now chosen not to insist on their original proposal and have instead put forward an amendment in lieu, tabled by the Government. This would require schools to develop, publish and review an allergy safety policy at least annually, and would enable the Government to make regulations imposing further duties in relation to allergy safety. As the amendment in lieu has been proposed by the Government, it is likely to be agreed by the Commons, and no further “ping-pong” on this issue will therefore be required.

• Smartphones in schools: The Lords originally amended the Bill to require schools to ban the use of smartphones during the school day. The Commons rejected this amendment, but the Lords have now chosen to insist on it. Again, the Commons cannot now insist on its disagreement without triggering “double insistence”, which conventionally results in the Bill falling. The Commons must instead either accept the Lords position or propose an alternative.

Adjournment: Liberal Democrat MP Tessa Munt will give a speech on regulation of the marmalade market. A Minister will then give a response.

Westminster Hall

09:30: Government support for the cost of heating oil (House of Commons Library briefing)

11:00: The impact of contactless roll out at railway stations on ticket prices

14:30: Potential merits of creating a single status of worker (House of Commons Library briefing)

16:00: The Access to Work scheme

16:30: The effectiveness of the Police Federation (House of Commons Library briefing)

Delegated Legislation Committees

14:30: The draft Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) Regulations 2026

16:30: The draft National Employment Savings Trust (Amendment) Order 2026

16:30: The draft Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements (Amendment) Regulations 2026

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Oral questions: At 15:00, peers will begin the day by questioning Ministers for 40 minutes, on bottom trawling in Marine Protected Areas; constitutional changes in Zimbabwe; and referrals of young people under the age of 25 to NHS adult gender identity clinics. The topic of a fourth question will be decided by a ballot drawn at lunchtime on Monday 13 April.

English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Third Reading): The House is expected to conclude proceedings on this Government Bill to reform the structure of local government in England. Third Reading debates in the House of Lords are typically short. (House of Lords Library briefing)

During the Bill’s Report Stage, peers defeated the Government on some amendments. Ministers are expected to try and reverse or replace these changes when the Bill returns to the Commons. At the time of writing, however, the Lords Report Stage is still ongoing, with a final sitting scheduled for Monday 13 April, where further amendments may be agreed.

Victims and Courts Bill (Consideration of Commons Reasons and Amendments): This Government Bill to reform the experience of victims in the criminal justice system was originally introduced in the Commons. The House of Lords has since made a number of amendments. In particular, peers defeated the Government on five groups of amendments, which were summarised in a previous edition of the Bulletin.

The Commons has now considered the Lords amendments, and disagreed with all five groups, without offering any alternatives. The Lords must now decide, for each group, whether to insist on its original amendment, accept the Commons’ position, or propose alternatives.

The Bill can proceed to Royal Assent only once both Houses reach agreement on all the outstanding issues. If the Lords does not accept the Commons’ position on every point, the Bill will return to the Commons for MPs to consider their response.

Grand Committee

From 16:15, peers will debate eight draft Statutory Instruments in five groups:

• Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) Regulations 2026

• (a) Credit Institutions and Investment Firms (Miscellaneous Definitions) (Amendment) Regulations 2026; and (b) Capital Requirements Regulation (Market Risk Transitional Provision) Regulation 2026

• Aviation Safety (Amendment) Regulation 2026

• (a) Warwickshire County Council (Adult Education Functions) Regulations 2026; (b) Surrey County Council (Adult Education Functions) Regulations 2026; and (c) Buckinghamshire County Council (Adult Education Functions) Regulations 2026

• Building Safety (Responsible Actors Scheme and Prohibitions) (Amendment) Regulations 2026

↖ Contents · Skip to Thursday’s Lords ↘

Highlights include:

House of Commons

14:00: Treasury Committee – An appointment hearing with Katharine Braddick, the Government’s appointee to be Deputy Governor for Prudential Regulation at the Bank of England and Chief Executive of the Prudential Regulation Authority.

14:45: Procedure Committee – Written Parliamentary Questions: Alex Burghart MP, Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Wendy Chamberlain MP, Liberal Democrat Chief Whip, will give evidence.

House of Lords

10:00: Financial Services Regulation Committee – Growth and proposed regulation of stablecoins in the UK: Economic Secretary Lucy Rigby MP and senior Financial Conduct Authority 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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Questions and statements: At 09:30, Culture, Media and Sport Ministers will face questions from MPs. Topics include UEFA Euro 2028, the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, grassroots sport, visual effects companies, press malpractice, support for the BBC, grassroots music venues, fans attending the World Cup, access to community spaces, the videogames industry, and the tourism sector.

At 10:10, the representative of the Church Commissioners, Marsha de Cordova MP, and the representative of the Restoration and Renewal Board, Nick Smith MP, will face questions from MPs:

• 10 of the 12 questions on the Order Paper are for the Church Commissioners, covering topics including support for Christians in Palestine, activities for children and young people, Project Spire, tackling child poverty, protection from extremism, the Places of Worship Renewal Fund, the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, the priorities of the new Archbishop of Canterbury, and support for small churches; and

• two of the 12 questions on the Order Paper are for the Restoration and Renewal Client Board, covering topics including the acquisition of the QEII Centre and progress on the Restoration and Renewal project.

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 on access to the House of Commons and its procedures: The House will debate the first report of the Modernisation Committee, Access to the House of Commons and its Procedures, as well as the response from the House Administration.

The Committee examined three areas: the accessibility of the physical estate for disabled MPs, staff and visitors; the accessibility of the House’s procedures and practices; and the accessibility of the House’s communications.

On physical accessibility, the Committee recommended:

• the creation of a new External Accessibility Advisory Group, including organisations representing disabled people, to advise on visitor access, experience and participation in parliamentary business;

• inclusion of a summary of progress against accessibility audit recommendations in the House Administration’s Annual Business Plan;

• prioritising announcements on the intranet and annunciators when accessible entrances or exits are out of use;

• enabling reports of urgent security or safety concerns to be circulated by text message;

• improved staff training on supporting disabled people and those with learning difficulties, with mandatory training for line managers and leaders;

• making accessibility an explicit strategic priority for the House Administration, alongside security and safety;

• asking visitors on arrival whether they have any disabilities or access needs and offering appropriate support, including the use of a Sunflower lanyard scheme alongside standard visitor passes;

• improving signposting to accessible routes and toilets; and

• running an internal communications campaign to promote accessibility and disability awareness.

On the House’s procedures and practices, the Committee recommended:

• that guidance to Members should clearly reference the informal and formal routes for requesting reasonable adjustments;

• that the House Administration should explore moving deferred divisions to a digital system, such as the pass-reader system used for formal votes, rather than relying on paper slips;

• that the configuration of the Reasons Room – adjacent to the Commons Chamber – should be reviewed to better support disabled MPs who may find divisions difficult;

• that party whips should continue to make use of informal arrangements such as “nodding through” and pairing; and

• that the Speaker and Sergeant at Arms should consider introducing a “reasonable adjustments card” scheme for MPs who require specific seating for access reasons, rather than using the daily prayer cards.

On communication and public engagement, the Committee recommended:

• reviewing the placement of speakers and annunciator screens in the public gallery, alongside improved subtitling of proceedings;

• making greater use of Parliament’s glossary in official documents and guidance, including explanations of parliamentary terms and procedures; and

• establishing a working group within the House of Commons Administration to assess whether the production of accessible communication formats should be brought in-house.

The House Administration’s response accepts a number of the Committee’s recommendations. In particular, it commits to establishing an External Accessibility Group, monitoring progress against accessibility audit recommendations, and improving communication when accessible entrances or exits are unavailable. It also agrees to explore the introduction of a text-based system for reporting non-emergency concerns, to provide enhanced disability training for customer-facing staff, and to improve signage and messaging – both at entrances and online – to encourage visitors share any access needs.

On procedural accessibility, the response includes plans to add guidance to the MPs’ Guide to Procedure explaining available reasonable adjustments and how Members can access them. It also commits to exploring how the existing pass-reader system might be adapted to accommodate deferred divisions. Finally, the House Administration will explore opportunities to expand the use of glossaries and explanatory material in its publications to make parliamentary procedure more accessible and easier to understand.

The House Administration’s response also emphasises that accessibility is an important objective of the proposed Restoration and Renewal (R&R) of the Palace of Westminster. The programme is expected to deliver significant improvements, including step-free access, upgraded working spaces, enhanced environmental controls and acoustics, and an accessible visitor arrival area.

Adjournment: Labour MP Dr Scott Arthur will give a speech on improving awareness, diagnosis and outcomes for neuroendocrine cancer. A Minister will then give a response.

Westminster Hall

13:30: Dame Chi Onwurah MP, Chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, will make a statement on the launch of the Committee’s new inquiry into neuroscience and digital childhoods. Select Committees can ask the Backbench Business Committee for time to make statements on the launch of inquiries or the publication of a report. A statement consists of a 10-minute speech from a member of the Select Committee, during which interventions are not permitted, followed by 10 minutes of questions from MPs, to which the Select Committee member responds.

13:50: Housing needs of young people

15:10: NHS Federated Data Platform (House of Commons Library briefing)

Public Bill Committees

11:30 and 14:00: Representation of the People Bill (Committee, day 5): The Public Bill Committee appointed to consider this Bill will continue its clause-by-clause scrutiny and consideration of amendments. The Committee will decide on the Bill’s clauses and amendments in the order in which they appear, or would appear, in the Bill. The debate will resume from the point reached by the Committee at Tuesday’s sitting. (House of Commons Library briefing)

11:30 and 14:00: Courts and Tribunals Bill (Committee, day 3): The Public Bill Committee will similarly continue its clause-by-clause scrutiny and consideration of amendments, and the debate will also resume from the point reached by the Committee at Tuesday’s sitting. (House of Commons Library briefing)

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Oral questions: At 11:00, peers will begin the day by questioning Ministers for 40 minutes, on the 25-year Farming Roadmap; energy demand from data centres; and Local Resilience Forums. The topic of a fourth question will be decided by a ballot drawn at lunchtime on Tuesday 14 April.

Crime and Policing Bill (Consideration of Commons Reasons and Amendments): On Tuesday (14 April), the Commons will consider the amendments made to the Bill during its passage through the Lords. For each Lords amendment, MPs may agree with the Lords, disagree with the Lords amendment outright and offer a reason for doing so, or propose an alternative. The Commons will then send a message to the Lords setting out its decisions, including any reasons for disagreement and any amendments in lieu. It is this message that the Lords will consider today.

While the outcome of the Commons debate cannot be predicted with certainty, today’s Lords proceedings are likely to focus on those amendments originally made against the Government’s wishes, as these are the ones the Commons is least likely to accept. These amendments were summarised in an earlier edition of the Bulletin.

Where the Commons disagrees with a Lords amendment outright, the Lords can either insist on its original amendment, accept the Commons’ position, or propose an alternative. Where the Commons has instead offered an alternative amendment, the Lords can likewise choose to insist on its original amendment, accept the Commons’ alternative, or propose a further alternative.

If the Lords does not accept the Commons’ position on every issue, the Bill will return to the Commons with a further message setting out any reasons for disagreement and any alternative amendments. Where the Lords has insisted on an amendment that the Commons previously rejected outright, the Commons cannot then insist on its disagreement, as this would result in “double insistence” and cause the Bill to fall. Instead, it must propose an alternative for the next round of “ping-pong”.

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Highlights include:

House of Commons

11:30 and 14:00: Select Committee on the Armed Forces Bill – The Select Committee appointed to scrutinise the Bill will continue its clause-by-clause scrutiny. The debate will continue from the point reached by the Committee at Tuesday’s sitting.

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

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Neither House is scheduled to sit on Friday 17 April 2026. Both Houses will resume at 14:30 on Monday 20 April. Our next Bulletin will therefore be published on Sunday 19 April.

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