Private Business: At 14:30, the Chairman of Ways and Means – who is responsible for business relating to Private Bills – will present a motion to amend the Private Bill Standing Orders (explanatory memorandum). Private Bills apply to particular individuals, groups or organisations, in contrast to Public Bills, which apply to the public in general.

The proposed changes would replicate similar amendments made in the Lords last week to their Standing Orders, with respect to Hybrid Bills. These Bills are a type of Public Bill which affect the private interests of specific individuals or groups more than others within the same category. For example, a Public Bill to approve a government-funded railway project – such as the legislation to enable HS2 – would affect people living near to the project more than people living elsewhere, and so would be a Hybrid Bill.

Hybrid Bills must comply with the Private Bill Standing Orders, which include a series of date requirements that must be met; for example, they must be deposited in Parliament by 27 November. However, a Public Bill’s hybrid status is only confirmed after it has been introduced and examined by parliamentary officials – a determination that is not always clear in advance. This means a Public Bill may be presented after 27 November and subsequently judged to be 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, usually as a formality.

The motion on the Order Paper would exempt Hybrid Bills 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”.

The motion will be taken in the period for private business, before oral questions. Only unopposed private business can proceed during this time. Any item of private business to which an MP signifies an objection – by shouting “object” – becomes “opposed” and must be deferred.

Questions and statements: Work and Pensions Ministers will respond to MPs’ questions. Topics include the impact of state pension age rises, the Access to Work scheme, post-16 education, supporting people with health conditions into work, Carer’s Allowance, young people not in education or work, child poverty, pension indexation, and the Youth Guarantee.

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. Justice Secretary David Lammy MP may make a ministerial statement to update the House after the convicted Epping hotel migrant sex attacker was mistakenly released from Chelmsford Prison on Friday afternoon.

Victims and Courts Bill (Report and Third Reading): The whole House will debate and vote on proposed amendments and new clauses to the Government’s legislation. The Bill makes provisions relating to victims’ experiences and the administration of justice. (House of Commons Library briefing)

The Government has tabled a number of amendments to its own legislation. It is proposing three significant changes:

• Victims’ disclosures: To amend existing legislation so that victims of criminal conduct can disclose information about that conduct to any person, rather than only to those currently listed as specified persons.

• Parental responsibility over children born as a result of rape: To restrict the parental responsibility of a person convicted of rape in relation to any child conceived as a result of that offence.

• Parental responsibility following child sex offences: To require the court to make an order restricting parental responsibility of any offender sentenced to four years or more for a serious sexual offence against a child. This duty would no longer be limited to cases where the offender held parental responsibility for the victim. This proposal reflects similar amendments previously tabled by the Conservative Shadow Minister Robert Jenrick and by the Liberal Democrat spokesperson Jess Brown-Fuller.

Robert Jenrick has also tabled a number of amendments to:

• require open publication of sentencing remarks within two days of sentencing;

• remove the four-year threshold, so that courts can restrict parental responsibility for child sexual offenders regardless of length of their sentence;

• maintain the restricted parental responsibility if a sentence is reduced below the four-year threshold on appeal;

• increase the application window for the Unduly Lenient Sentences Scheme from 28 to 56 days; and

• increase the window for applying to the Unduly Lenient Sentences Scheme to one year for a victim of a crime or a deceased victim’s next of kin.

Jess Brown-Fuller has also tabled six amendments on behalf of the Liberal Democrats, focused on:

• enhancing provision of victim support services for both victims and caregivers;

• ensuring the presentation of any Government review of victims’ experiences to Parliament;

• making court transcripts available to victims; and

• widening the scope of the Victim Contact Scheme.

Other amendments with broad cross-party support include:

• one from Liberal Democrat MP Joshua Reynolds to require the Secretary of State to add an appendix to the Victims’ Code setting out how the Code applies to victims whose close relative was the victim of murder, manslaughter or infanticide outside the UK.

• two amendments tabled by Labour MP Jess Asato to require local authorities, NHS bodies, and police forces to commission support services for victims of domestic abuse, sexual violence and child criminal exploitation, and to require the same for their caregivers.

• an amendment from Labour MP Sarah Champion to extend eligibility for compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme to all victims of child sexual abuse.

In accordance with the programme order agreed on 20 May, the Report Stage debate will end by 21:00 at the latest. When the debate ends, the House will vote on any Government amendments, as well as any other amendments the Speaker selects for separate decision. This will most likely include any amendments tabled by the Conservative or Liberal Democrat spokespersons, but may also include other amendments with broad support across the House.

Once the votes have concluded, the House will move on to Third Reading. In accordance with the programme order, the Third Reading debate must conclude no later than 22:00, one hour after the expected end of the Report Stage debate. As divisions on amendments will take up most – if not all – of that one-hour period, the Third Reading debate is expected to be very short.

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

Statutory Instruments: The House will be asked to approve without further debate four draft Statutory Instruments that have been considered by Delegated Legislation Committees:

• the Companies (Directors’ Report) (Payment Reporting) Regulations 2025;

• the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (Definition of Relevant Land) (Amendment) Order 2025;

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

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

Select committee motions: Last month’s Ministerial reshuffle led to the appointment of several dozen select committee members to ministerial and Parliamentary Private Secretary roles, requiring them to relinquish their committee roles. As a result, 32 vacancies have arisen among the Labour seats on select committees.

In 2010, the House agreed a resolution endorsing the principle that each party should fill its share of select committee places “in a secret ballot by whichever transparent and democratic method they choose”.

The Labour Party has now conducted its internal election process for those select committee seats, and the Committee of Selection has tabled the requisite motions to replace 28 of the 32 committee members with the newly elected nominees. It is understood that there were insufficient Labour MPs standing for places on four Select Committees, and as a result, four vacancies remain to be filled by the party.

Adjournment: Conservative MP Simon Hoare will give a speech on the regulation and inspection of funeral services. A Minister will then give a response.

Westminster Hall: MPs will debate two e-petitions:

• E-petition 700047, which calls on the Government to allow parents to take their children out of school for up to 10 days without a fine, and has around 181,000 signatures. (House of Commons Library briefing)

• E-petition 715292, which calls on the Government to raise statutory maternity and paternity pay to match the National Living Wage, and has around 108,000 signatures. (House of Commons Library briefing)

Delegated Legislation Committee:

• to consider the draft Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (Mutual Recognition Agreement) (Switzerland) Regulations 2025.

↖ Contents · Skip to Tuesday’s Commons ↘

Oral questions: At 14:30, Peers will begin the day by questioning Ministers for 40 minutes, on Iranian influence in the Western Sahara conflict; the national security threat to undersea cables; non-crime hate incidents; and the impact of “no recourse to public funds” on child poverty.

Select committee motion: The House will appoint two new lay members – Alexandra Marks and Sandra Paul – to the Conduct Committee. This Committee reviews and oversees the House of Lords Code of Conduct and is composed of five Peers and four lay members from outside the House.

Planning and Infrastructure Bill (Report, day 3): Today’s debate is the third of four days of Report Stage. At this stage, related amendments are grouped together for debate. The House will resume its scrutiny of amendments with the group that the House reached last Wednesday. As outlined in last week’s Bulletin, the Bill’s Report Stage has proved contentious among Peers, following the Government’s decision to schedule two unusual morning sittings.

Despite the House beginning its sitting early last Wednesday, proceedings on the Bill continued until 22:30, more than eleven hours after the debate began. Towards the end of the sitting, the Conservative Shadow Leader, Lord True, objected strongly to the late finish, remarking that “Ministers have done enough; my colleagues have done enough; the House has done enough; and the staff have done enough.” The House also failed to complete consideration of all the amendment groups intended by the Government Whips, debating only 16 of the 20 planned groups.

The next groups of amendments set to be debated relate to: green belt, recreational areas and agricultural land; the role of Environmental Delivery Plans in planning decisions; design codes, including in relation to accessibility for wheelchair users and older people; employment and commercial land; chalk streams; neighbourhood plans; flood risk; heritage and cultural assets; overlapping planning permissions; the introduction of a Chief Planner for local authorities; climate change adaptation and mitigation; Habitats Regulations; and permission for gambling premises.

It is at Report Stage that the Government is most often defeated on non-Government amendments. Indeed, the Government has already suffered defeats on amendments at the previous two sittings.

Royal Assent: Approval is expected to be announced for the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill, the Deprivation of Citizenship Orders (Effect during Appeal) Bill, and the Renters’ Rights Bill, which are ready to become Acts after being agreed by both Houses.

Grand Committee: Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Committee Stage, day 1). This is the first of six days currently allocated for the Bill’s Committee Stage. It is now six months since the Bill received its Second Reading in the Lords and 11 months since its Second Reading in the Commons, making it a prime example of the ongoing pressures on the Government’s legislative programme in the Upper House.

At Committee Stage, the House must decide whether each clause and schedule should “stand part” of the Bill, and whether any amendments should be made. Proceedings are taking place in Grand Committee, which is held in a committee room (the Moses Room) rather than in the Lords Chamber, though any Peer may participate in the debate.

Because the debate takes place in a committee room, no divisions (formal votes) can occur. Therefore, amendments can only be made, and clauses can only be removed, if the Committee agrees to do so unanimously. As a result, many amendments are likely to be “probing amendments”, designed to test the response of the Government and the wider House with the issues put to the test only later at Report Stage.

The debate will begin with the first clauses of the Bill, which set out its core policy proposal: to make it a criminal offence to sell tobacco or tobacco-related products to, or purchase such products on behalf of, anyone born in or after 2009. (House of Lords Library briefing)

↖ Contents · Skip to Tuesday’s Lords ↘

Highlights include:

Joint

• National Security Strategy Committee (16:30): Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson and First Senior Treasury Counsel Tom Little KC will give evidence on espionage cases and the Official Secrets Act. Tom Little has prosecuted some of the country’s most high-profile cases including those following the murder of Jo Cox MP and Sir David Amess MP. At 17:30, Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service Sir Chris Wormald and Deputy National Security Adviser Matthew Collins will be questioned. This evidence session follows the recent collapse of the China parliamentary spying case. The Committee has published correspondence with the witnesses in advance of the hearing.

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

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

↖ Contents · Skip to Tuesday’s Select Committees ↘

Questions and statements: At 11:30, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and her ministerial team will respond to MPs’ questions. Topics include discussions with the UAE about Sudan; the Gaza peace plan; support for Ukraine; the threat from China; Palestinian statehood; human rights in Hong Kong; organised immigration crime; sanctions against Russia; the BBC World Service; the Chagos Archipelago; families of Brits who have died abroad; and relations with the EU.

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

Opposition Day (Conservative): On 20 days each parliamentary session, the normal precedence given to Government business is set aside, and opposition parties are able to choose the topic of debate. Seventeen days are allocated to the Official Opposition, the Conservatives, and the remainder to the third party, the Liberal Democrats. Opposition parties are not obliged to give advance notice of the topic of their debate, so it may not be known until Tuesday’s Order Paper is published late on Monday night.

Adjournment: Liberal Democrat MP Liz Jarvis will give a speech on support for disabled veterans. A Minister will then give a response.

Westminster Hall: There are five debates, on:

• obesity and fatty liver disease (House of Commons Library debate back);

• the impact of agricultural property relief and business property relief on family farming in Northern Ireland (House of Commons Library briefing);

• connected and automated vehicles (House of Commons Library debate pack);

• lasting power of attorney; and

• World Stroke Day.

Public Bill Committee:

• English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill: The Public Bill Committee appointed to scrutinise the Bill will continue its clause-by-clause examination and consideration of amendments. Debate will resume at the point reached at the Committee’s previous sitting last Thursday. The next clauses and amendments to be debated relate to local audit.

Delegated Legislation Committees:

• to consider the draft Private International Law Implementation of Agreements) Act 2020 (Extension of Operative Period) Regulations 2025; and

• to consider the draft Football Governance Act 2025 (Specified Competitions) Regulations 2025. These set the scope of the new legislative framework for English men’s football. They specify that the regime applies to the Premier League, the Championship, League One, League Two and the National League step 1 competition.

↖ Contents · Skip to Wednesday’s Commons ↘

Oral questions: At 14:30, Peers will begin the day by questioning Ministers for 40 minutes, on offshore oil and gas infrastructure; the built environment sector; plant-based diets; and employment of people with disabilities.

Statutory Instruments: Motions to approve two Statutory Instruments will be put to the House. As both Instruments have already been debated, the motions will be decided without further debate:

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

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

Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) Bill (Committee): The House will begin clause-by-clause scrutiny of this Private Member’s Bill to improve enforcement in response to incidents of livestock worrying by dogs. The Bill would extend police powers to obtain evidence, extend the scope of relevant offences, and increase the maximum penalties. 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 may 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, Baroness Coffey, may move at the start of proceedings “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 reschedule the debate to a Friday sitting to allow time for fuller consideration.

Employment Rights Bill (Consideration of Commons Amendments and Reasons): As outlined in a previous Bulletin, the Government suffered defeats on 12 groups of amendments during the Bill’s passage through the Lords. When the Bill returned to the Commons, MPs disagreed outright with all but one of the Lords amendments (each of which is also outlined in the linked Bulletin above). In relation to an amendment on special constables, the Commons proposed an alternative amendment. The Commons also proposed an amendment to a Lords amendment originally proposed by the Government. A message containing each of these disagreements, and alternative amendments, has been sent to the Lords.

For each area of disagreement or alternative amendment, the Lords must decide whether to agree with the Commons, insist on its original amendment, or propose another alternative. The Bill will return to the Commons unless the Lords agrees with the Commons on every issue.

Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill (Report, day 1): This is the first of two and a half days allocated for the Bill’s Report Stage. At this stage, related amendments are grouped together for debate. The groupings will be announced in the Whips’ daily list shortly before today’s sitting, along with an indication of which groups will be considered today. Since amendments are arranged in the order in which they would apply to the Bill, today’s sitting will focus on amendments to the earlier clauses of the Bill, which concern the proposed new Border Security Command. (House of Lords Library briefing)

↖ Contents · Skip to Wednesday’s Lords ↘

Highlights include:

House of Commons

• Education Committee (09:30): Josh MacAlister MP, Minister for Children and Families, will give evidence on Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) and management of school estates.

• Science, Innovation and Technology (09:45): Science Minister Lord Vallance of Balham, junior Health Minister Dr Zubir Ahmed MP, and the Chief Executive of NICE will give evidence on life sciences investment.

• Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (10:00): The Chief Executive and the Chair of the Environment Agency will give evidence on the organisation’s work.

• Treasury Committee (10:00): Think tanks and representatives of the gambling sector will give evidence on Budget 2025, and specifically on gambling taxation.

• International Development Committee (13:30): Baroness Chapman of Darlington, the Minister for International Development and Africa, will give evidence on the situation in Sudan.

• Home Affairs Committee (14:00): Campaigners, the Metropolitan Police, and the National Police Chiefs’ Council will give evidence on combatting new forms of extremism.

• Justice Committee (14:30): Domestic Abuse Commissioner Dame Nicole Jacobs and Nuffield Family Justice Observatory chief executive Lisa Harker will give evidence on reform of the family court. At 15:30, Sir Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Division of the High Court, will also give evidence.

House of Lords

• Industry and Regulators Committee (10:00): Building Safety Minister Samantha Dixon MP and the new Chair and CEO of the Building Safety Regulator will give evidence on the organisation’s performance.

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

↖ Contents · Skip to Wednesday’s Select Committees ↘

Details of Wednesday’s business can be found below.

Questions and statements: At 11:30, Wales Office Ministers will respond to MPs’ questions. Topics include the impact of changes to Inheritance Tax, economic growth in Wales, the cost of living in Wales, overhead pylons and underground cabling, the adequacy of asylum accommodation, England and Wales rail connectivity, strengthening the Union, and clean energy projects in Wales.

At 12:00, Sir Keir Starmer is set 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: Reform UK leader Nigel Farage will seek to introduce a European Convention on Human Rights (Withdrawal) 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 the UK to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights. Following its introduction, another MP may make a ten-minute speech opposing the Bill. A division may then take place if any MPs object to the Bill being introduced. See our Hansard Society guide for more information about the parliamentary procedure for Ten Minute Rule Bills.

Sentencing Bill (Report and Third Reading): At Report Stage, the whole House will debate and vote on proposed amendments and new clauses to the Government’s legislation.

No Government amendments have been tabled, but the Conservative Shadow Minister Dr Kieran Mullan has tabled 10 amendments and new clauses, to:

• require all Crown Court sentencing remarks to be published;

• require the Government to provide access to the Offender Personality Disorder Pathway to all eligible prisoners serving sentences for sexual offences;

• require the Government to publish a report on mandatory chemical suppression for certain sex offenders;

• abolish the Sentencing Council and transfer the power to publish sentencing guidelines to the Secretary of State;

• expand the circumstances in which it is appropriate to apply a whole life order for murdering a prison or police officer, to include murder motivated by the victim’s current or former duties;

• create notification requirements for people convicted of child cruelty, analogous to the Sex Offenders Register;

• remove clause 1, which creates a presumption of suspended sentences for sentences under 12 months;

• remove clause 2, which increases the maximum suspended sentence from two to three years;

• remove clause 20, which makes changes to the automatic release points for offenders; and

• remove clause 38, which repeals the Lord Chancellor’s power to appoint certain Parole Board members.

The Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Jess Brown-Fuller has also tabled 13 amendments, on imprisonment for public protection, funding for victim support, probation caseloads, rehabilitation services, digital tracking of offenders, high-risk offenders on probation, domestic abuse, traumatic brain injuries, and the suspension of driving licences.

In accordance with the programme order agreed on 16 September, the Report Stage debate will end by 18:00 at the latest. When the debate ends, the House will vote on any Government amendments, as well as any other amendments the Speaker selects for separate decision. This will most likely include any amendments tabled by Kieran Mullan or Jess Brown-Fuller, but may include other amendments with broad support across the House.

Once voting on the amendments has concluded, the House will proceed to Third Reading. Under the programme order, the Third Reading debate must conclude no later than 19:00, one hour after the expected end of Report Stage. As divisions on amendments are likely to occupy most or all of that hour, the Third Reading debate is expected to be very short.

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

Adjournment: Labour MP Mary Glindon will give a speech on Government support for the offshore wind supply chain in Tyneside. A Minister will then give a response.

Westminster Hall: There are five debates, on:

• funding for the International Baccalaureate in state schools (House of Commons Library briefing);

• the potential merits of banning plastic in wet wipes;

• Government support for independent lifeboats (House of Commons Library briefing);

• the Civil Justice Council’s review of litigation funding; and

• the potential merits of a new standard for vehicle headlight glare (House of Commons Library briefing).

Delegated Legislation Committee:

• to consider the draft Broadcasting (Regional Programme-making and Original Productions) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 and the draft Broadcasting (Independent Productions) Regulations 2025.

↖ Contents · Skip to Thursday’s Commons ↘

Planning and Infrastructure Bill (Report, day 4): 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 last week’s Bulletin, 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. The House is expected to conclude its scrutiny of amendments at this sitting, though slower than expected progress at previous sittings may require the House to sit later than normal.

The debate will be interrupted at 15:00 for oral questions and will resume as soon as they are completed at approximately 15:45.

Oral questions: At 15:00, Peers will question Ministers for 40 minutes, on proposals for a youth mobility scheme with the EU; prosecution of UK residents who have profited from corruption abroad; and the private ownership of water companies. The topic of a fourth question will be decided by a ballot drawn at lunchtime on Monday 27 October.

↖ Contents · Skip to Thursday’s Lords ↘

Highlights include:

House of Commons

• Treasury Committee (14:15): The Institute for Fiscal Studies, Child Poverty Action Group, and an academic will give evidence on child poverty in relation to the forthcoming Budget.

• Procedure Committee (14:45): Five senior House of Commons officials, including the Clerk of the House, the Clerk of Legislation and the Speaker’s Counsel, will give evidence on the House of Commons’ sub judice resolution which prevents parliamentary discussion of live court cases.

• Energy Security and Net Zero Committee (15:00): Representatives of the oil and gas sector, the North Sea Transition Authority, and a trade union official will give evidence on UK refineries and the role of oil and gas.

House of Lords

• Environment and Climate Change Committee (10:00): The UK’s Lead Climate Negotiator at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero will give evidence on COP30.

• Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill Committee (10:15): Hospice UK, Care England, the Association for Palliative Medicine, AgeUK, and the British Geriatrics Society will give evidence on the assisted dying bill. The Committee will meet again at 14:15 to hear from Courts and Legal Services Minister Sarah Sackman MP and the Bill lead at the Ministry of Justice.

Joint

• National Security Strategy Committee (09:45): Attorney General Lord Hermer and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Darren Jones MP will give evidence on espionage cases and the Official Secrets Acts. This follows the recent collapse of the prosecution of two men, including a parliamentary researcher, accused of spying for China.

• Human Rights Committee (14:30): Amnesty International, Privacy International, Big Brother Watch, and Glitch will give evidence on human rights and the regulation of artificial intelligence.

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, Peter Kyle MP and his Business and Trade departmental ministerial team will face questions from MPs. Topics include support for the hospitality sector and pubs; fair pay agreements in business sectors; discussions with Global South experts on responsible business conduct; encouraging business investment and supporting growth; industrial strategy and manufacturing; supporting the high street; and improving the UK’s trading relationships.

Any Urgent Questions will follow at 10:30.

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

General debate: Property service charges: This debate was scheduled by the Backbench Business Committee at the request of Conservative MP Rebecca Paul, who highlighted the concerns of many of her constituents about excessive service charges. While acknowledging that these charges are often legally permitted, though not always thought fair or moral, she described the debate as an opportunity for MPs from all parties to share experiences, exchange ideas, and examine the issues in the context of the Government’s housebuilding programme.

General debate: The ageing community and end of life care: This debate was originally scheduled for 17 July but did not take place due to time pressures on that day’s parliamentary business. The debate was requested by Jim Shannon MP of the Democratic Unionist Party, whose application to the Backbench Business Committee emphasised that palliative and hospice care are increasingly central to discussions about assisted dying. He also drew attention to the significant challenges facing hospices, including funding shortages, growing demand and workforce pressures. (Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology POSTnote; House of Commons Library briefing planned)

Adjournment: Conservative MP Edward Argar will give a speech on provision of GP services in his Melton and Syston constituency. A Minister will then give a response.

Westminster Hall:

• 13:30: Statement by Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee chair Florence Eshalomi MP on the Committee’s imminent report on delivering 1.5 million new homes and land value capture.

• 13:50: Debate on histological testing of excised moles (House of Commons Library briefing).

• 15:10: Debate on the fourth report of the Education Committee on children’s social care and the Government’s response, to be led by the Committee’s chair, Helen Hayes MP.

Public Bill Committees:

• English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill: The Public Bill Committee appointed to scrutinise the Bill will continue its clause-by-clause scrutiny and consideration of amendments. It will resume consideration of clauses and amendments at the point that the Committee reached at its sitting on Tuesday.

↖ Contents · Skip to Friday’s Commons ↘

Oral questions: At 11:00, Peers will begin the day by questioning Ministers for 40 minutes, on religious education; productivity; and plans for a Heathrow third runway. The topic of a fourth question will be decided by a ballot drawn at lunchtime on Tuesday 28 October.

Delegated legislation: The House will debate motions relating to six pieces of delegated legislation. Some of the instruments are subject to the affirmative procedure and some the negative procedure:

• Affirmative: The instrument may not be signed into law until it has been debated and approved by both Houses of Parliament.

• Negative: The instrument is signed into law prior to being laid before Parliament and remains in law so long as neither House agrees a motion to annul the instrument within 40 days.

For each instrument, the House will debate up to two kinds of motion:

• Motion to approve: For each affirmative instrument, the House will debate the motion to approve it, without which it cannot become law.

• Regret motion: As well as a motion to annul an instrument and thereby prevent it becoming law, it is also possible to table a motion which registers concerns about an instrument without blocking its passage. Such a motion is called a regret motion and can be tabled for both affirmative and negative instruments.

The House will first vote on a motion to approve the draft Human Medicines (Authorisation by Pharmacists and Supervision by Pharmacy Technicians) Order 2025. Since this Order has already been debated in Grand Committee, the question will be put to the House without debate.

The remaining five instruments will be debated:

• The Town and Country Planning (Crown Development Applications) (Procedure and Written Representations) Order 2025: This Order is subject to the negative procedure. The House will debate a regret motion, which criticises the fact that planning permission for Crown developments of national importance will be determined by the Planning Inspectorate rather than local planning authorities.

• The draft Protection of Children Code of Practice for Search Services: This Code of Practice is subject to the negative procedure. The House will debate a regret motion, which expresses concern that the Code does not deliver the level of protection for children envisaged by the Online Safety Act 2023.

• The draft Extradition Act 2003 (Amendment to Designations) Order 2025: This Order is subject to the affirmative procedure. The House will debate a motion to approve the Order, as well as a regret motion expressing concern that the Order makes changes to the extradition arrangements with Hong Kong at a time when a fair trial cannot be guaranteed.

• The Heather and Grass etc Burning (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2025: These Regulations are subject to the negative procedure. The House will debate a regret motion, which expresses concern that the Regulations will increase the likelihood of wildfires in upland areas.

• The draft Control of Mercury (Enforcement) (Amendment) Regulations 2025: These Regulations are subject to the affirmative procedure. The House will debate a motion to approve the Regulations, as well as a regret motion expressing concern that the Regulations place the provision of NHS dental services in Northern Ireland on an uncertain constitutional foundation.

The text of each motion can be found on the House of Lords Business Paper.

Grand Committee: Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Committee, day 2). The Committee will continue its consideration of clauses and amendments, resuming at the point the Committee reached at its last sitting on Tuesday.

↖ Contents · Skip to Friday’s Lords ↘

Highlights include:

House of Commons

• Public Accounts Committee (10:00): Sir Peter Schofield, Permanent Secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions, accompanied by the Director General of Operations and the Chief Digital and Information Officer will give evidence about the performance of the Department particularly in relation to jobcentres, customer service, and the use of machine learning and AI.

House of Lords

• Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (10:15): the Chief Executive of Mind, the Chief Executive of Standing Together Against Domestic Abuse, and the Professor of Public Protection at the University of Gloucestershire will give evidence on the first panel about the assisted dying bill. At 11:30, Baroness (Tanni) Grey-Thompson, Disability Research Professor Tom Shakespeare, and National Down Syndrome Policy Group founder Ken Ross will set out their perspectives on the Bill.

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

↖ Contents · Skip to Looking ahead ↘

The House will not be sitting.

↖ Contents · Skip to Looking ahead ↘

General debate: The situation in Ukraine: Defence Minister Lord Coaker will lead the debate. It is now relatively common for the House to hold general debates on significant topics of political importance during Friday sittings.

↖ Contents · Skip to Looking ahead ↘

Both Houses will resume at 14:30 on Monday 3 November 2025. Our next Bulletin will therefore be published on Sunday 2 November.

↖ Contents

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