Questions and statements: At 14:30, Education Ministers will respond to MPs’ questions. Topics include the International Baccalaureate, free school meal eligibility, the SEND system, youth participation in higher education, sign language education, vocational training, the affordability of childcare, and the school estate.

At 15:30, any Urgent Questions or Ministerial Statements will follow. Urgent Questions typically last around 40 minutes each, while Ministerial Statements usually take around 50 minutes.

Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill (Committee, Report and Third Reading): This Bill gives legislative effect to the UK–Mauritius Treaty on the Chagos Archipelago. In accordance with the Treaty, the Bill terminates UK sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) and amends legislation to reflect that the BIOT will cease to exist as an overseas territory. (House of Commons Library briefing)

By convention, the Government does not ratify a treaty until any necessary implementing legislation, such as this Bill, has been passed. In addition, the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 (the CRaG Act) requires that a treaty be laid before Parliament for 21 sitting days. During this period, either House may resolve that the treaty should not be ratified. If the House of Commons does so, ratification is delayed for a further 21 sitting days, at the end of which another such motion may be agreed, theoretically giving the Commons the power to delay ratification indefinitely.

In practice, however, this power is limited. As the Hansard Society recently argued in evidence to the International Agreements Committee, the Government’s control over the parliamentary timetable means it is not obliged to allocate time for debates on motions opposing ratification. For example, when the Leader of the Opposition, Kemi Badenoch, tabled a motion not to ratify the UK–Mauritius Treaty, the Government failed to provide time for it to be debated, and the Treaty successfully completed its 21-day period without a debate or vote. For precisely this reason, the Hansard Society’s proposals include requiring a parliamentary vote before ratification of any significant treaties.

At Committee Stage – in this case, a Committee of the whole House in which any MP can participate – MPs will consider whether each clause should stand part of the Bill and whether any amendments should be made.

At the time of writing, all amendments and new clauses on the amendment paper are from Conservative Shadow Home Secretary Priti Patel. Her amendments would:

• prevent the treaty coming into force until the Government explains in a memorandum what provisions of international law require it to cede sovereignty to Mauritius;

• remove a power to make statutory instruments to implement the treaty;

• require certain exercises of that power to be approved by both Houses;

• require parliamentary approval of any payments to Mauritius;

• require publication of legal advice and risk assessments on the potential 40-year extension to the lease and the right of first refusal on further use of Diego Garcia;

• require any written instruments on the Marine Protected Area in the Chagos Archipelago to undergo the CRaG Act procedure;

• require the Government to regularly report on the status of the Marine Protected Area;

• require annual reports to the Intelligence and Security Committee on the security of Diego Garcia;

• require the Government to report annually on the impact of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea on the operation of the treaty; and

• require consultation with the Chagossian community and annual reports on the rights of Chagossians.

Under the terms of the programme order agreed at Second Reading, the debate on Committee Stage will end no later than four hours after it begins. At that point, the House will vote on any amendments selected by the Chair for separate decision, most likely including some of the Conservative amendments.

Where a Committee of the whole House has scrutinised a Bill and not made any amendments to it, no Report Stage takes place. Therefore, if no amendments are made, the House will move straight on to Third Reading.

In accordance with the programme order, the Third Reading debate will come to an end no later than one hour after the conclusion of debate in Committee. Divisions on amendments will take up most – if not all – of that one-hour period, so the Third Reading debate will be very short.

Once the Bill receives a Third Reading, it will be sent to the House of Lords to complete all its stages there.

Presentation of Public Petitions: Labour MP Janet Daby will present a public petition on Grove Park Station.

Adjournment: Labour MP Jacob Collier will give a speech on the A50/A500 corridor. A Minister will then give a response.

Westminster Hall: MPs will debate e-petitions 705383 and 718406, which respectively call on the Government to stop financial support for asylum seekers and to shut down asylum hotels. The petitions have around 427,000 and 257,000 signatures respectively. The debate will be led by Tony Vaughan MP on behalf of the Petitions Committee. (House of Commons Library briefing)

Delegated Legislation Committee:

• to consider the Compensation for Miscarriages of Justice (Alteration of Overall Compensation Limits) Order 2025. The Order increases the caps on compensation from £1,000,000 to £1,300,000 for individuals who have wrongfully spent at least 10 years in prison and from £500,000 to £650,000 for any other case.

↖ Contents · Skip to Tuesday’s Commons ↘

Oral questions: At 14:30, Peers will begin the day by questioning Ministers for 40 minutes, on HIV testing rates; the impact of a proposed fee for musical instrument certificates on touring orchestras and musicians; estimates of current GDP per capita; and plans to address inequalities in the provision of healthcare among different population groups.

This is expected to be followed by a repeat of the Government’s answer to a Commons Urgent Question last Thursday on alleged breaches of the Official Secrets Act in relation to China, and motions to approve the draft Building Safety Levy (England) Regulations 2025 and the draft Companies (Directors’ Report) (Payment Reporting) Regulations 2025.

Planning and Infrastructure Bill (Report, day 1): The House will begin consideration of proposed amendments to the Government’s proposals to reform the planning process. Several recent developments have made this stage particularly contentious among Peers. (House of Lords Library briefing)

Several weeks ago, following the conclusion of Committee Stage, the Government announced – having agreed through the Usual Channels – that there would be four days allocated to the Bill’s Report Stage: Monday 20 October, Wednesday 22 October, Monday 27 October, and Wednesday 29 October.

Subsequently, the Government tabled a motion – debated last Tuesday – to allow Report Stage to begin at 11:00 on two of those four days (22 and 29 October), before oral questions at 15:00. The normal practice of the House – as set out in the Standing Orders – is that no bills are taken before oral questions. The Leader of the House explained that she was trying to avoid late night sittings, noting that the volume of amendments – currently 202 – would otherwise make it difficult to complete Report Stage within the allocated four days.

While similar arrangements have been agreed for other bills, on this occasion the Conservative Shadow Leader of the House of Lords, Lord True, tabled an amendment opposing the motion. He argued that “no persuasive case has been put for systematically abandoning the usual conventions governing the sitting times of the House”, objecting that the motion had been tabled without agreement through the Usual Channels and warning that the House was at risk of slipping into “both morning sittings and late nights”. His amendment was defeated and the House agreed to the Government’s motion to allow morning sittings.

Several Peers pointed out during the debate that the decision to allocate four days at Report Stage had been made before the Government tabled 67 amendments, many of which propose significant changes to the Bill. Although some Peers argued that this justified an additional day of Report Stage, no further time has been granted.

The amendments tabled by the Government would:

• grant Ministers new powers to issue ‘holding directions’ preventing councils from refusing planning applications while a Minister considers whether to exercise their call-in powers;

• allow organisations other than water companies to build reservoirs via the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project process rather than the local planning process;

• extend the time limit for implementing a planning permission where the permission is subject to legal challenge, to prevent it from expiring during the proceedings;

• permit the Nature Restoration Fund to support marine development; and

• narrow the current legal duty requiring Natural England to respond to all nature-related queries from local authorities.

One narrower, though still significant, amendment concerns the proposed scheme to provide financial benefits to people living close to electricity transmission infrastructure. In a blog post earlier this year, the Hansard Society criticised this provision for leaving much of the important policy detail to regulations, with all but a few of those regulations subject to the ‘negative’ procedure, which does not require a parliamentary debate or vote. The Government has tabled a welcome amendment to make all regulations implementing this scheme subject to the affirmative scrutiny procedure, ensuring they cannot take effect until each House has debated and approved the regulations.

In addition to the Government’s amendments, other Peers have tabled an unusually large number of their own – 135 in total – which may cause tonight’s sitting to run late into the night. It is at Report Stage that amendments opposed by the Government are most often agreed. During Report Stage, related amendments are grouped together for debate, with the consent of the Peers who have proposed them. The Government Whips will set out how the amendments have been grouped, and which groups will be debated today, shortly before the sitting begins when the daily list is published. Amendments are arranged in the order in which they apply to the Bill, so today’s proceedings are likely to focus on amendments to the Bill’s earlier clauses on Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, electricity infrastructure, and transport infrastructure.

↖ Contents · Skip to Tuesday’s Lords ↘

Highlights include:

House of Commons

• Scottish Affairs Committee (09:30): Senior executives and officials from Glasgow 2026, Commonwealth Games Scotland and Glasgow City Council will give evidence on Glasgow’s hosting of the Commonwealth Games next summer.

• Public Accounts Committee (15:30): The Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office and senior officials from the Treasury and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology will give evidence on identifying costs and generating income in Government services.

Joint

• National Security Strategy Committee (16:30): Experts and former senior diplomats – including former NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller and former Indian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Asoke Mukerji – will give evidence on the UK’s National Security Strategy.

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 vaccine damages, underperforming NHS trusts, maternity and neonatal care, children’s hospice funding, the New Hospital Programme, NHS Online, cancer waiting times, the impact of the National Insurance rise on GPs, support for people with leukaemia, access to GP appointments, public–private partnership contracts, and wasteful spending in the NHS.

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

Ten Minute Rule Motion: Conservative MP Bradley Thomas will seek to introduce the Cyber Extortion and Ransomware (Reporting) 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 certain companies to report any cyber extortion or ransomware attack to the Government within a specified time, including information about any payments made. See our Hansard Society guide for more information about the parliamentary procedure for Ten Minute Rule Bills.

Sentencing Bill (Committee of the Whole House): The Bill would make a number of changes to the sentencing regime, as outlined in a recent edition of the Bulletin. During Committee Stage, the House must agree whether each clause should “stand part” of the Bill and will consider proposed amendments and new clauses. (House of Commons Library briefing)

The Government has proposed 22 amendments to the Bill, most of which are drafting or technical changes.

However, one significant change would be made by the Government’s New Clause 1, which replaces existing clause 42. When the Bill was introduced, the Government described clause 42 as a “placeholder” that it intended to replace with “a substantive provision once further work has been completed”. As drafted, clause 42 would allow the Government to make regulations about the deportation of foreign criminals and the processing of information about foreign criminals. New Clause 1 removes this delegated power and instead provides that, for the purposes of certain legislation relating to deportation of foreign criminals – and the application of ECHR Article 8 regarding the right to respect for private and family life – a sentence of imprisonment is to be interpreted as including a suspended sentence.

In general, the inclusion of placeholder clauses is an impediment to parliamentary scrutiny. Introducing substantive clauses only after a Bill has begun its passage through Parliament reduces both the time and information available for proper examination of its provisions. The Government’s Guide to Making Legislation states that, when a bill is submitted to the Parliamentary Business and Legislation (PBL) Committee – the Cabinet Committee responsible for parliamentary business – for approval to be introduced, the Committee will ask the Bill Minister and Parliamentary Counsel “whether the bill is fully ready to be introduced”. If the PBL Committee is not satisfied, it can and does refuse clearance. The Sentencing Bill, however, proceeded despite the inclusion of placeholder clauses indicating that the legislative draft was not yet complete.

In accordance with the programme order agreed by the House on 16 September, the debate will conclude no later than 19:00. Each clause, the Government’s amendments, and any amendments selected by the Chair for separate decision will then be put to the House for a decision.

If a Bill is not amended in Committee of the Whole House, no Report Stage is required. However, as the Government’s amendments are likely to be agreed, a Report Stage will be necessary. In accordance with the programme order, Report Stage and Third Reading will take place on a second day to be scheduled in due course.

Motions for appointment of Select Committee members: Three motions have been tabled by the Committee of Selection to discharge and appoint members to the Environmental Audit Committee, the Public Accounts Committee and the Work and Pensions Committee. Conservative MP Peter Fortune will step down from the Public Accounts Committee and be replaced by Rupert Lowe MP, formerly of Reform UK and now sitting as an independent. Danny Kruger MP, who left the Conservative Party to join Reform UK, will be discharged from the Work and Pensions Committee and replaced by Conservative MP Joy Morrissey.

Adjournment: Liberal Democrat MP Dr Roz Savage will give a speech on social housing in her South Cotswolds constituency. A Minister will then respond.

Westminster Hall: There are five debates, on:

• progress on ending homelessness (House of Commons Library briefing);

• the impact of electricity infrastructure on rural communities;

• Government support for the co-operative sector (House of Commons Library briefing);

• funding for local government in the North West; and

• mandatory digital ID.

Public Bill Committee (PBC):

• English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Day 4): The PBC will resume its clause-by-clause scrutiny and consideration of amendments, starting at the point it reached at the previous sitting last Thursday. The next clauses and amendments to be debated concern the functions of the proposed new Strategic Authorities in relation to planning, economic development and regeneration, health and wellbeing, and crime and public safety. (House of Commons Library briefing)

Delegated Legislation Committees (DLCs):

• to consider the draft Companies (Directors’ Report) (Payment Reporting) Regulations 2025; and

• to consider the draft Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (Definition of Relevant Land) (Amendment) Order 2025.

↖ Contents · Skip to Wednesday’s Commons ↘

Oral questions: At 14:30, Peers will begin the day by questioning Ministers for 40 minutes, on the 1.5 million new homes target; a rolling stock strategy for Great British Railways; negotiations to rejoin Erasmus+; and the Chief Inspector of Prisons’ recent report on work and training provision in adult prisons.

Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill (Committee): At approximately 15:15, the House is expected to begin clause-by-clause scrutiny of this Private Member’s Bill to restrict the importation and non-commercial movement of dogs, cats and ferrets. It has completed all its Commons stages and is supported by the Government. (House of Lords Library briefing)

Although Private Members’ Bills are usually considered on Fridays, uncontroversial bills often progress on other sitting days, with the co-operation of the Government. So far, no amendments have been tabled. If none are submitted by Tuesday and no Peer signals an intention to speak, the Bill’s sponsor in the Lords (Crossbencher Lord Trees) may move at the start of the debate “that the order of commitment (or re-commitment) be discharged” enabling the Bill to bypass Committee Stage entirely. However, if any amendments are tabled before the sitting, the Government may choose to reschedule the debate to a Friday sitting instead to allow time for fuller consideration.

Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill (Report, day 2): Likely not long after 15:15, the House will move onto the second and final day of Report Stage, where the whole House will debate and decide on proposed amendments. (House of Lords Library briefing)

The Government has already suffered one defeat during Report Stage, when the House agreed an amendment from Conservative Shadow Minister Baroness Finn. Her amendment will enable Cabinet Office Ministers to initiate proactive investigations or recovery actions into suspected fraud against a public authority without requiring a request from the relevant authority.

At today’s sitting, the House will debate amendments relating to oversight and safeguards for powers to identify and recover money lost to social security fraud by scanning bank accounts, requesting bank statements, or directly deducting funds; the ability of DWP investigators to use force in exercising powers of entry, search and seizure; independent review of the DWP’s investigative functions; the overpayment of Carer’s Allowance; and the facilitation of fraud.

Once again, the Government is making extensive changes to its own legislation at a very late stage in the parliamentary process, with 78 Government amendments tabled across Report Stage.

Deprivation of Citizenship Orders (Effect during Appeal) Bill (Committee, Report and Third Reading): The provisions of this Bill were outlined in last week’s edition of the Bulletin. (House of Lords Library briefing)

On Wednesday 15 October, the House agreed to a Government motion allowing this Bill to complete its remaining stages in a single day, just one week after Second Reading took place. In addition to this expedited timetable, the debate will also be taken as a time-limited one-hour debate scheduled for 19:30 (known as “dinner-break business”).

Grand Committee: Debates will take place on three draft Statutory Instruments:

• the Human Medicines (Authorisation by Pharmacists and Supervision by Pharmacy Technicians) Order 2025;

• the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (Mutual Recognition Agreement) (Switzerland) Regulations 2025; and

• the Private International Law (Implementation of Agreements) Act 2020 (Extension of Operative Period) Regulations 2025.

↖ Contents · Skip to Wednesday’s Lords ↘

Highlights include:

House of Commons

• Science, Innovation and Technology Committee (09:45): The Information Commissioner, John Edwards, will give evidence on information and data security across Government.

• Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (10:00): The chief executives of the Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland will give evidence on animal and plant health.

• Education Committee (10:00): Representatives of the universities sector, the Migration Advisory Committee, and other experts will give evidence on higher education and funding, particularly international students and the threat of insolvency.

• Defence Committee (10:30): Defence manufacturers – including representatives from BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and Babcock – will give evidence on the AUKUS partnership, a trilateral security agreement with the United States of America and Australia.

• Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (11:00): The Director of Value for Money at the National Audit Office will give evidence on public bodies.

House of Lords

• Financial Services Regulation Committee (11:30): Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey will give evidence on the growth of private markets in the UK following reforms introduced after 2008.

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, Scotland Office Ministers will respond to MPs’ questions. Topics include the impact of changes to Inheritance Tax, North Sea oil and gas, the Pride in Place programme, energy prices in Scotland, a referendum on Scottish independence, overseas visits by Scottish Ministers, growth in Scotland, and the impact of net zero.

At 12:00, Sir Keir Starmer is expected to face the Leader of the Opposition, Kemi Badenoch, at PMQs.

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

Ten Minute Rule Motion: Labour MP Laura Kyrke-Smith will seek to introduce the Perinatal Mental Health Assessments 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 the provision of mental health assessments in NHS antenatal care for the purpose of identifying those at risk of perinatal mental health problems and making referrals to appropriate support.

Renters’ Rights Bill (Consideration of Lords Message): Today’s sitting is likely to be the final stage of the Bill’s progress through Parliament. As outlined in last week’s edition of the Bulletin, the Commons and Lords were initially in disagreement over eight groups of amendments. Now, only two outstanding issues remain, both of which are expected to be resolved today:

• Shared owners: The Lords initially agreed an amendment from the Conservative Peer Lord Young of Cookham – which was opposed by the Government – to exempt shared owners from the 12-month restriction on landlords re-letting a property after using the sale-of-property ground of eviction. When the Bill returned to the Commons, the Government removed that amendment, and the Bill returned to the Lords last week. At that sitting, the Lords did not insist on its original amendment. However, with the support of the Government, Peers agreed to a group of alternative amendments from Lord Young, which would exempt shared owners from the restriction if they meet certain criteria demonstrating that the shared owner made a genuine attempt to sell.

• Service family accommodation: The Lords initially agreed an amendment – opposed by the Government – to extend the Decent Homes Standard to service family accommodation. When the Bill returned to the Commons, the Government removed that amendment. At last week’s sitting, the Government tabled a set of alternative amendments to require the Secretary of State to produce an annual report on whether service family accommodation meets the Decent Homes Standard and any ongoing and planned work to maintain and improve that accommodation.

The House of Commons will need to decide whether to agree, disagree outright, or propose an alternative to each of the two amendments. However, since each amendment represents a compromise by the Government, they are not likely to be opposed in the Commons. If MPs accept both amendments, the Bill will be sent for Royal Assent.

Under the supplementary programme order agreed by the House on 8 September, debates on Lords Messages will be subject to a one-hour time limit, after which any questions will be put.

Motion on financial assistance to industry: Under section 8 of the Industrial Development Act 1982, the Government may provide financial assistance to industry if it believes the funding would benefit the UK economy, is in the national interest at the proposed scale, and cannot be provided through other means. For any single project receiving over £30 million, the approval of the House of Commons is required. In this case, the Government is seeking approval to provide up to £520 million in grants through the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund.

The House treats such motions much like Statutory Instruments. Under Commons Standing Orders, any “proceedings under an Act” – including debates on Statutory Instruments and motions for financial assistance – are subject to a 90-minute time limit.

The National Health Service (Procurement, Slavery and Human Trafficking) Regulations 2025: This draft Statutory Instrument aims to eliminate the use of goods and services tainted by slavery and human trafficking within the NHS in England. It is laid as a result of the Health and Care Act 2022, which requires the Government to introduce regulations to help eradicate such goods and services from NHS supply chains. The regulations impose a duty on NHS procurement bodies to assess the risk of modern slavery and to take reasonable steps to mitigate it. The debate may attract particular attention given the current focus on UK–China relations: nearly half of all NHS suppliers of gowns and uniforms are based in China, and a 2023 NHS supply chain review highlighted the Xinjiang region as an area of concern.

As with the motion on financial assistance, this debate constitutes “proceedings under an Act” and is therefore subject to a 90-minute time limit.

General debate: devolution in Scotland: The subject of this debate was chosen by the Backbench Business Committee. It was requested by Liberal Democrat MP Jamie Stone and Labour MP Patricia Ferguson, both “founder Members of the Scottish Parliament”. In their application, Stone argued that it was an appropriate time to “look and see whether what we see today was within the intention or the mood in which [the Scotland Act] was passed”. In particular, Stone argued that a more robust committee system might have ensured better government in Scotland.

Adjournment: Labour MP Paulette Hamilton will give a speech on mental health and hoarding. A Minister will then respond.

Westminster Hall: There are five debates, on:

• the role of town and parish councils (House of Commons Library briefing);

• financial inclusion (Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology POSTnote);

• the 75th commemoration of the Korean War (House of Commons Library briefing);

• trade union access to workplaces (House of Commons Library briefing); and

• coal tip safety and the prohibition of new coal extraction licences.

Delegated Legislation Committees:

• to consider the draft Financial Services (Overseas Recognition Regime Designations) Regulations 2025; and

• to consider the draft Control of Mercury (Enforcement) (Amendment) Regulations 2025.

↖ Contents · Skip to Thursday’s Commons ↘

Planning and Infrastructure Bill (Report, day 2): This debate will begin at 11:00. The normal practice of the House is for no debates to take place before oral questions, but as outlined in Monday’s section, the House has agreed a motion to set aside the relevant Standing Order in relation to two sittings of this Bill’s Report Stage.

The House will resume its scrutiny of amendments at the point at which the House finished on Monday. At Report Stage, related amendments are grouped together for debate. The Government Whips will announce the grouping of amendments in their daily list shortly before the start of Monday’s sitting, which will include an indication of the groups they expect the House to complete at each sitting.

The debate will be interrupted at 15:00 for oral questions and will resume as soon as they are completed.

Oral questions: At 15:00, Peers will question Ministers for 40 minutes, on the drink drive limit; duty-free goods rules in Northern Ireland; and open access rail services. The topic of a fourth question will be decided by a ballot drawn at lunchtime on Monday 20 October.

↖ Contents · Skip to Thursday’s Lords ↘

Highlights include:

House of Commons

• Northern Ireland Affairs Committee (09:30): Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn MP, Paymaster General Nick Thomas-Symonds MP, and former Northern Ireland Secretary Lord Murphy of Torfaen will give evidence on the operation of the Windsor Framework. Hilary Benn will then give further evidence on the Government’s approach to addressing the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland.

• Welsh Affairs Committee (14:00): Representatives from the Coalfields Regeneration Trust and the Industrial Communities Alliance Wales will give evidence on the environmental and economic legacy of Wales’ industrial past.

• Women and Equalities Committee (14:20): Representatives from the British Beauty Council and the British Association of Beauty Therapy and Cosmetology will give evidence about the health impacts of breast implants and other cosmetic procedures. At 15:00 the Health Minister Karin Smith MP and officials from the Department of Health and Social Care will also be questioned.

• Environmental Audit Committee (14:30): The Brazilian Ambassador and the Chair of the Climate Change Committee will give evidence on COP30, which is due to be held in Brazil in November.

• Procedure Committee (14:45): Professor Meg Russell of the Constitution Unit, and academics Dr Marc Geddes and Dr Stephen Holden Bates, will give evidence on elections within the House of Commons.

House of Lords

• Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill Committee (10:15): The sponsors of the Bill in each House – Lord Falconer of Thoroton and Kim Leadbeater MP – will give evidence to the Committee. Evidence will then be given by the Royal College of Physicians, the Royal College of General Practitioners, and the Royal College of Nursing.

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

↖ Contents · Skip to Thursday’s Select Committees ↘

Questions and statements: At 09:30, Cabinet Office Ministers will face questions from MPs. Topics include public sector reform, civil service productivity, security clearance processes, partnership with the voluntary sector, civil service recruitment, pandemic preparedness, national resilience, implementation of the For Women Scotland decision, public procurement, public inquiries, and national security.

At 10:30, 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 responding to Members’ questions about future debates. Any other Ministerial Statements will follow.

General debate: Black History Month: The House in recent years has marked Black History Month with a debate each October – ranging from adjournment debates in Westminster Hall to, as last year, a full day’s debate in the Chamber. This year, MPs will once again devote the main business of the day in the Chamber to the topic. Last year’s debate also took place on a Thursday – typically reserved for backbench business debates – but it was scheduled and introduced by a Government Minister. The Government will once again lead this year’s debate in its own time.

Adjournment: Labour MP John Whitby will give a speech on Government support for the decarbonisation of cement. A Minister will then give a response.

Westminster Hall: At 13:30, the Chair of the Justice Select Committee, Andy Slaughter MP, will make a statement on the Government’s response to his Committee’s recent report Work of the County Court. The House of Commons Liaison Committee chooses select committee reports, including Government responses, about which statements can be made at the start of proceedings in Westminster Hall. The MP making the statement then takes questions from MPs.

At 13:50, two debates will follow, on:

• the impact of NHS workforce levels on cancer patients (House of Commons Library briefing); and

• the performance of the Building Safety Regulator.

Public Bill Committee (PBC):

• English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Day 5): The Committee will continue its clause-by-clause scrutiny and consideration of amendments, resuming at the point reached at the last sitting on Tuesday. Four further sittings are scheduled, with Committee Stage scheduled to conclude on Wednesday 12 November.

↖ Contents · Skip to Friday’s Commons ↘

Introduction of new Member: At 11:00, the Bishop of Portsmouth will be introduced to the House as one of the 26 Lords Spiritual, filling the vacancy created by the retirement of the former Bishop of Bristol.

Oral questions: Peers will question Ministers for 40 minutes, on maternity care; staffing levels in Jobcentres; and the detention, suspension and exclusion of autistic children in schools. The topic of a fourth question will be decided by a ballot drawn at lunchtime on Tuesday 21 October.

Conduct Committee motion: The House will decide whether it agrees with a report from the Conduct Committee, concerning the conduct of former Lord Speaker, Baroness D’Souza.

An investigation by the Commissioner for Standards found that Baroness D’Souza had sought to influence a live police investigation and thereby breached the Code of Conduct. The Commissioner recommended that she be suspended from the House for eight weeks. The Conduct Committee has rejected Baroness D’Souza’s appeal and upheld the recommended suspension. If the House agrees with the Committee’s report, a further motion will be moved to formally suspend Baroness D’Souza for eight weeks.

The Standing Orders of the House of Lords require that any motion on a Conduct Committee report and any subsequent motion providing for a sanction must be taken without debate.

Changes to Standing Orders: Peers will then debate two motions in the name of the Senior Deputy Speaker to make changes to the House’s Standing Orders:

• Leave of absence scheme: The House operates a scheme where, if members cannot attend sittings of the House “for reasons of temporary circumstance”, they can obtain a leave of absence from the House. Amid concerns that “the spirit of the scheme has not always been observed” the Procedure and Privileges Committee proposes that where a member has been on a leave of absence for an extended period and applies to renew the absence, its Leave of Absence Sub-Committee may review the application and decide either to grant or withhold leave of absence.

• Hybrid bills: There are three categories of bill: public, private and hybrid. Public bills implement public policy or apply to everyone or to broad classes of people or organisations. Private bills affect only a limited set of private interests, such as a specific body, and are sponsored by persons or organisations outside Parliament, not by the Government or Private Members. Hybrid bills are technically public bills but affect the private interests of specific individuals or groups more than others within the same category. For example, a bill to approve a specific railway project affects people living near to the project more than people living elsewhere, and so would be a hybrid bill. Private bills have their own Standing Orders, which include a series of date requirements that must be met. For example, private bills must be deposited before 27 November each year. The Standing Orders for private bills, including their date requirements, currently also apply to hybrid bills. While private bills can easily comply with these deadlines, a public bill only becomes hybrid once it is deemed so by parliamentary officials – a determination that is not always clear in advance. As a result, a public bill may be presented after 27 November and later deemed hybrid, rendering it non-compliant with the Standing Orders. When this occurs, the Standing Orders Committee must meet to decide whether to dispense with the Standing Orders, which it invariably does; such meetings are typically a formality and therefore brief. The Committee recommends that hybrid bills be exempt from these date requirements, provided that any required actions have been completed by “a date that is appropriate, having regard to the purpose of the Standing Order in question”.

General debate: the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025: The House will hold a general debate on the Act that gave the Government powers to intervene in any steel undertakings at risk of temporary or permanent closure. Parliament was recalled on Saturday 12 April to enable the Bill to be fast-tracked through both Houses so that the Government could prevent the closure of British Steel blast furnaces in Scunthorpe. The debate fulfils a commitment from the Government to have a full debate on the Act within six months of its passage. (House of Lords Library briefing)

↖ Contents · Skip to Friday’s Lords ↘

Highlights include:

House of Commons

• Public Accounts Committee (10:00): The Permanent Secretary and other senior civil servants from the Ministry of Justice will give evidence on various topics, including legal aid and prison estate capacity.

House of Lords

• Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill Committee (10:15): The Royal College of Psychiatrists, the British Association of Social Workers, the Royal College of Pathologists, NHS England, and the former Chief Coroner of England and Wales will give evidence on the Bill.

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

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The House will not be sitting.

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Private Members’ Bills (PMBs): Peers will debate four Private Members’ Bills that have already completed all stages in the House of Commons.

• Absent Voting (Elections in Scotland and Wales) Bill (Third Reading): This would amend electoral law to make it easier for voters in Scotland and Wales to apply for postal and proxy voting, including by enabling online applications and by aligning postal voting renewal cycles. Since the Lords has made no amendments to the Bill, once it receives a Third Reading it will be sent for Royal Assent. It will also become the first Private Member’s Bill to reach the statute book in this session. (House of Lords Library briefing)

• Licensing Hours Extensions Bill (Second Reading): This would amend the law governing licensing hours orders – regulations that permit the relaxation of licensing hours for events of exceptional national significance. Specifically, it would change the procedure for making such orders from the affirmative to the negative scrutiny procedure, thereby removing the requirement for a debate and vote in Parliament. (House of Lords Library briefing)

• Unauthorised Entry to Football Matches Bill (Second Reading): This would create an offence of unauthorised entry at football matches for which a football banning order can be imposed. (House of Lords Library briefing)

• Secure 16 to 19 Academies Bill (Second Reading): This would reduce the minimum notice period for termination of a secure schools funding agreement from seven to two years and amend the consultation duties under the Academies Act 2010 to be more appropriate for secure 16 to 19 academies. (House of Lords Library briefing)

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Both Houses will resume at 14:30 on Monday 27 October 2025. Our next Bulletin will therefore be published on Sunday 26 October.

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