Questions and statements: At 14:30, Work and Pensions Ministers will respond to MPs’ questions. Topics include increasing economic growth, Pension Credit take-up, unemployment, child poverty, pensioner poverty, and benefits fraud.

Any Urgent Questions or Ministerial Statements will follow.

Main business: Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill (Second Reading). The Government has introduced this Bill to strengthen efforts to tackle public sector fraud and error.

Key measures include:

• Enhanced bank scrutiny: Banks could be required to examine their datasets for potential breaches of benefit eligibility rules, similar to a controversial provision in the previous Government’s Data Protection and Digital Information Bill.

• Compulsory financial disclosure: New powers would compel bank statements from those suspected of having enough money to repay welfare debts.

• Driving licence suspensions: Courts could suspend the driving licences of people owing over £1,000 in welfare debt if they ignore repeated repayment demands.

• Direct debt recovery: The DWP could recover money directly from the bank accounts of people with outstanding welfare debts who are no longer receiving benefits or in employment, without a court order.

• Expand search and seizure powers: The DWP would gain powers to conduct searches and seizures without relying on police assistance.

• Extended time limits for civil claims: The deadline for taking civil action against Covid-related fraud would increase from 6 to 12 years.

• Stronger investigatory powers: The Public Sector Fraud Authority would gain compulsory information-gathering powers and the ability to apply for search warrants in relation to public sector fraud.

At Second Reading, MPs will debate the general principles of the Bill. While no direct amendments to the text of the Bill can be made at this stage, the Opposition may propose a ‘reasoned amendment’ outlining their objections and reasons for rejecting the Bill. The SNP has tabled such an amendment, urging the House to decline to give the Bill a Second Reading. They argue that, among other concerns, the Bill "represents a continuation of the previous Government’s approach of imposing unreasonable and disproportionate requirements on vulnerable members of society". The Speaker will decide whether to select the amendment for debate. Reasoned amendments proposed by the Official Opposition or those with cross-party backing are more likely to be chosen than those from smaller parties. If the Bill passes its Second Reading, it will proceed to a Public Bill Committee. According to the Government's programme motion, the Committee stage must conclude by 20 March 2025.

• Commons Library briefing

Motion for Adjournment (recess dates): MPs will be asked to formally approve the recess dates previously announced by the Leader of the House of Commons. The motion will be put "forthwith", that is without debate. The proposed recess dates are as follows:

• February: rise on 13 February, return on 24 February;

• Easter: rise on 8 April, return on 22 April;

• May Day: rise on 1 May, return on 6 May; and

• Whitsun: rise on 22 May, return on 2 June.

Adjournment: The Conservative MP Greg Smith has the adjournment debate on energy development proposals in his Mid Buckinghamshire constituency.

Westminster Hall: MPs will debate e-petition 638449, which calls on the Government to require employers to offer career breaks for parents of seriously ill children. The petition has acquired over 102,000 signatures. To support this debate, the Petitions Committee conducted an online survey, receiving 9,609 responses, and has summarised the findings in a briefing paper. The debate will be led by Conservative MP Robbie Moore on behalf of the Petitions Committee.

Legislative committees:

• A rare meeting of the Ecclesiastical Committee will take place today – the first since November 2023. This joint committee of MPs and Peers was established by statute under the Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919, rather than by the usual Standing Orders that govern committees in both Houses. Its role is to review and report on a special form of legislation known as ‘Church of England Measures’, which are made by the General Synod of the Church of England. The Committee will take oral evidence on two Measures:

  • the Chancel Repair (Church Commissioners’ Liability) Measure – this concerns chancel repair liability, a controversial arrangement of feudal origin that holds certain landowners – often unknowingly – responsible for financing church repairs;

  • the Church Funds Investment Measure – this makes changes to the Church of England’s investment arrangements.

• Delegated Legislation Committees meet today to consider the Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 and the Space Industry (Licence Exemption for Military Activities of Allies) Regulations 2025.

Introduction of new Peers: Two new Peers will be introduced to the House:

• the Chair of English Heritage, National Savings and Investments, and the London Institute of Banking and Finance, Gerard Lemos (now Lord Lemos); and

• former Assistant General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Kay Carberry (now Baroness Carberry of Muswell Hill).

Oral questions: Peers will begin the day by questioning Ministers for 40 minutes, on plans to make council tax more progressive; the economic impact of uncertainty surrounding major defence contracts; waiting times for mental health treatment; and legalising humanist weddings in England and Wales.

Main business: Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill (Committee, day 1). Popularly known as Martyn’s Law, this Bill requires certain public venues and events to take steps to reduce the risk of terrorist attacks. Having already passed through the House of Commons, it now enters Committee stage in the Lords, with four days of scrutiny scheduled: today, Wednesday 5 February, Monday 10 February, and Wednesday 12 February.

There are currently 47 amendments on the marshalled list, including several which seek to limit the number of premises subject to the Bill’s duties, mirroring earlier proposals put forward by Conservative MPs in the House of Commons.

A set of amendments that will surely attract attention are those tabled by Lord Anderson of Ipswich, a crossbench peer and former Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation who was commissioned by the Government earlier this month to lead a review of the Prevent programme. His amendments would eliminate two ‘Henry VIII’ powers – that is, powers granted to Ministers to amend or repeal primary legislation – which would otherwise allow the Government to impose more onerous procedures that premises would need to put in place to reduce the risk of harm in the event of a terror attack. Two further amendments would require the Government to justify any extension of the Bill’s obligations to smaller venues.

• House of Lords Library briefing

• Amendment paper

The Committee-stage debate will be interrupted by a one-hour “dinner break” debate on plans to encourage first-time investors in the stock market.

Grand Committee: Peers will debate six draft Statutory Instruments:

• Heat Networks (Market Framework) (Great Britain) Regulations 2025

• Separation of Waste (England) Regulations 2025

• Armed Forces (Court Martial) (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2024

• Register of Overseas Entities (Protection and Trusts) (Amendment) Regulations 2025

• Procurement Act 2023 (Consequential and Other Amendments) Regulations 2025

• Community Radio Order 2025

House of Commons

• Public Accounts Committee (15:30): The Committee will hear evidence from senior Government and Homes England officials, alongside representatives from local government, housing associations, developers, and the End Our Cladding Scandal campaign group. The session follows the publication of a National Audit Office (NAO) report last November, which highlighted significant shortcomings in the Government’s response to the cladding crisis. The report concluded that “the scale of the cladding crisis has proved much bigger than the government initially understood” and that “[of] all the buildings that may be in scope…” – that is, buildings where cladding remediation work is required – “…work has completed on only 12–16%.”

The Hansard Society is a charity. If you value this Bulletin please help us cover the research and production costs. A small donation of just £3 per month – less than the cost of a cup of coffee – will help us keep you up-to-date on the issues that matter in Parliament. Donate here

Questions and statements: At 11:30, Energy Security and Net Zero Ministers will face questions from MPs concerning the Warm Homes Plan, support for consumers during winter, off-grid energy communities, home insulation, and fuel poverty.

Any Urgent Questions or Ministerial Statements will follow.

Ten Minute Rule Motion: The Labour MP Will Stone will introduce a Ten Minute Rule Bill titled the Road Traffic (Unlicensed Drivers) Bill. This proposed legislation would establish that an unlicensed driver who has never held a valid driving licence and who causes the death of another person by driving would be guilty of the offence of careless driving. See our Hansard Society guide for more information about the parliamentary procedure for Ten Minute Rule Bills.

Main business: The House will debate motions to approve four draft Statutory Instruments that will alter the levels and thresholds for social security benefits and pensions for the next financial year.

• Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2025: This increases the rates of State Pension and several social security benefits, such as Universal Credit, Statutory Maternity and Paternity Pay, Housing Benefit.

• Guaranteed Minimum Pensions Increase Order 2025: This increases the minimum pension which an occupational pension scheme must provide to employees contracted out of the now-abolished State Earnings Related Pension Scheme.

• Social Security (Contributions) (Rates, Limits and Thresholds Amendments, National Insurance Funds Payments and Extension of Veteran’s Relief) Regulations 2025:This instrument gives effect to the annual re-rating of various National Insurance contributions rates, limits and thresholds.

• Child Benefit and Guardian’s Allowance Up-rating Order 2025:This increases the rates of Child Benefit and Guardian’s Allowance.

Adjournment: The Liberal Democrat MP Caroline Voaden has the adjournment debate on birth certification for bereaved parents.

Westminster Hall: There are five debates, on the value of apprenticeships and National Apprenticeship Week; the potential merits of free-to-view access for the Six Nations Rugby Championship in 2026 and beyond; the UK–US bilateral relationship; Government policy on children in care; and accessibility of radiotherapy.

Legislative committees:

• A Public Bill Committee meets today to consider the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

• A Delegated Legislation Committee will consider the draft Online Safety Act 2023 (Category 1, Category 2A and Category 2B Threshold Conditions) Regulations 2025. These regulations define the threshold conditions for user-to-user services (such as social media platforms) and search engines to be classified under the different regulatory categories within the Online Safety Act 2023.

• Another Delegated Legislation Committee will meet to consider the draft Electricity Capacity (Amendment) Regulations 2025.

Introduction of new Peers: Two new Peers will be introduced to the House:

• founder of Faith in Leadership – an inter-faith relations organisation – and chair of Labour Indians, Krish Raval (now Lord Raval); and

• former Labour MP, Kevin Brennan (now Lord Brennan of Canton).

Oral questions: Peers will begin the day by questioning Ministers for 40 minutes, on the impact of public spending on pension fund reliefs on the economy and financial markets; the outcomes of the UK–China Economic and Financial Strategy Dialogue in January; mental health problems in primary schools; and car parking charges.

Main business: Renters’ Rights Bill (Second Reading). Having passed through the House of Commons, the Bill will now be scrutinised by Peers. The Bill seeks to abolish no-fault evictions, clarify landlords’ grounds to evict a tenant, strengthen tenants’ rights to challenge rent rises and rental bidding wars, give tenants the right to request a pet, apply a Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector, and extend Awaab’s Law to the private rented sector.

The speaker list indicates that several housing sector experts intend to contribute to the debate, including representatives associated with the National Housing Federation, Local Government Association, Shelter, and the Property Ombudsman, as well as the founder of the Big Issue magazine.

Grand Committee: National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill (Committee, day 3). Government Whips originally planned to complete the Committee stage of this Bill within two days. However, slower than expected progress meant that by the end of the second day, only nine out of 19 amendment groups had been debated. As a result, an additional two days have been scheduled for further scrutiny.

The groups of amendments set to be debated concern:

• a phased rather than immediate increase in National Insurance thresholds;

• an increase in the allowances for employers in the early-years, hospice, retail and hospitality sectors; and

• a delay in commencement of the legislation pending an impact assessment in relation to those sectors.

Highlights include:

House of Commons

• Education Committee (10:00): Experts and education sector representatives, including former policy advisor Sam Freedman and National Education Union General Secretary Daniel Kebede will give evidence on the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

• Treasury Committee (10:00): The National Statistician and Office for National Statistics officials will give evidence on economic statistics, including on the effect of declining response rates on the reliability of the Labour Force Survey.

• Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee (10:00): The Electoral Commission, Association of Electoral Administrators, Transparency International, and experts in electoral legislation will give evidence on electoral policy and reform, with a focus on party funding transparency and foreign interference in elections.

• Culture, Media and Sport Committee and Science, Innovation and Technology Committee (14:00): The two Committees will host a joint session on the future of artificial intelligence and copyright law, first questioning AI entrepreneurs, followed by individuals from publishing, journalism and the music industry.

• Home Affairs Committee (14:30): The Committee will question the Home Office Permanent Secretary and Second Permanent Secretary about the department’s work, including the delivery of asylum, immigration, policing and counter-terrorism policies, as well as its operational responsibilities.

• International Development Committee (15:00): The Minister for Development, Anneliese Dodds MP, will give evidence on the Government’s contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goal to eliminate hunger by 2030.

House of Lords

• European Affairs Committee (16:00): The former Permanent Secretary at the Department for Exiting the European Union, Philip Rycroft, and other former civil servants will give evidence on the UK–EU reset.

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

Details of Wednesday’s business can be found below.

Questions and statements: At 11:30, Women and Equalities Ministers will face questions from MPs. Questions on the Order Paper cover topics including domestic violence prevention, workplace sexual harassment, the gender pay gap, and special educational needs provision.   Any Urgent Questions or Ministerial Statements will follow.  

Prime Minister’s Questions: At 12:00, Sir Keir Starmer will face the Leader of the Opposition, Kemi Badenoch, at PMQs. 

Ten Minute Rule Motion: The Labour MP Lee Pitcher will introduce a Ten Minute Rule Bill titled the Water Safety Bill. This legislative proposal seeks to improve the installation and maintenance of safety equipment at reservoirs, create an offence of damaging or destroying such equipment, and enhance water safety education in schools.  

Main business:   

• Police Grant Report (England and Wales) 2025-26: MPs will debate a motion to approve this Report which sets out the proposed grant allocations for local policing bodies. The Government has indicated that funding for Police and Crime Commissioners will see a 6.6% cash increase (or 4.1% after inflation) compared to the current financial year. 

• Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025/26: MPs will then debate a motion to approve the allocation of funding to local authorities in the next financial year. A provisional version was published on 18 December 2024 and was subject to consultation until 15 January 2025. However, as of 31 January, the final version has yet to be published but must be laid before the House before Wednesday’s debate. It is anticipated that this will be done on Monday (3 February) as that day's Order Paper states that there will be a Written Statement on this issue by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. According to the House of Commons Library, if the provisional settlement is approved, overall core spending power would rise by 6.0% in cash terms (or 3.5% after inflation) compared to the current financial year. 

  • House of Commons Library briefing 

Adjournment: The Labour MP Mark Ferguson has the adjournment debate on children’s social care in the North East. 

Westminster Hall: There are five debates, on the closure of high street services in rural areas; maternal mental health; gambling harms; Government support for high street retailers; and tax transparency in the Overseas Territories. 

 Legislative committees: Delegated Legislation Committees meeting today will consider two draft Statutory Instruments: 

• the Community Radio Order 2025; and 

• the Procurement Act 2023 (Consequential and Other Amendments) Regulations 2025. 

Oral questions: Peers will begin the day by questioning Ministers for 40 minutes, on engagement with armed forces personnel whose children are educated at fee-paying schools, about the impact of imposing VAT on school fees; plans for citizenship education to accompany a reduction in the voting age; and whether the Government expects to receive a report from the Covid Counter-Fraud Commissioner. The topic of a fourth question will be decided by a ballot drawn at lunchtime on Monday 3 February.  

Main business: Peers will debate four Government bills that have reached their late stages:  

• The Data (Use and Access) Bill (Third Reading): If passed, the Bill will proceed to the House of Commons, with Second Reading provisionally scheduled for Wednesday 12 February. Peers have made several amendments to the Bill, including a number against the wishes of the Government. The most notable amendments were a package tabled by crossbench Peer and digital rights campaigner, Baroness Kidron. These require AI crawlers (used to gather data from websites to train ‘large language models’ such as ChatGPT) to comply with UK copyright law, be transparent about their identity and purpose, and notify creators when their copyrighted works have been scraped by AI. The amendments marked a significant backbench victory, passing despite resistance from both the Government and Opposition front benches. Other Government defeats included a Crossbench amendment requiring scientific research to be conducted in the public interest to qualify for exemptions on personal data reuse. Additionally, Conservative amendments were passed mandating cybersecurity guidance for organisations accessing the National Underground Asset Register and ensuring consistency in defining personal attributes, such as sex and gender, across digital verification services. 

• Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) (Transfer of Functions etc) Bill (Report Stage): This Bill would abolish the Institute and transfer its functions to the Secretary of State, in preparation for the establishment of Skills England, a body that will consolidate existing statutory functions into one organisation. There are a small number of amendments for Peers to consider. 

• Water (Special Measures) Bill (Lords Consideration of Commons Amendments): Because the House of Commons amended the version of the Bill that had earlier been approved by the House of Lords, a process – commonly known as ‘ping pong’ – is required to reconcile the text of the Bill between the two Houses. The two most contentious elements are likely to be Commons Amendments 1 and 2, which reverse two Government defeats in the House of Lords outlined in a previous edition of the Bulletin. 

• Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill (Committee stage): Peers will continue scrutiny of the Bill commonly known as Martyn’s Law, on this the second of four days for scrutiny agreed between the party Whips.  

Highlights include: 

 House of Commons 

• Northern Ireland Affairs Committee (9:30): Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Birney, journalists recently found by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal to have been unlawfully spied upon by the Police Service of Northern Ireland, will give evidence on the surveillance of journalists and press freedom in Northern Ireland. 

• Health and Social Care Committee (9:30): Policy experts will give evidence to the inquiry into the cost of inaction on adult social care. 

 House of Lords 

• Financial Services Regulation Committee (10:15): The Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Emma Reynolds MP, will give evidence on the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority’s secondary competitiveness and growth objective. 

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

Questions and statements: At 9:30, Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Ministers will face questions from MPs. Topics on the Order Paper include sewage and rivers, flooding, encouraging public bodies to purchase British produce, and accountability for water company executives. 

At 10:10, MPs will then put questions to the Solicitor General. Topics on the Order Paper include prosecution rates for violence against women and girls, efficiency in the criminal justice system, economic crime, and ensuring adequate numbers of Crown Prosecution Service prosecutors.

Four of the 12 questions on the Order Paper focus on conflicts of interest in the Attorney General’s Office, likely centring on recent allegations regarding Attorney General Lord Hermer’s potential conflicts of interest stemming from his earlier legal career.  

Any Urgent Questions will follow.  

The Leader of the House of Commons, Lucy Powell, will present her weekly Business Statement, setting out the business in the House for the next couple of weeks. Any other Ministerial Statements will follow.  

Main business: Two backbench business debates on: 

• Government support for coalfield communities: this debate was requested by Labour MP Adam Jogee who represents the coalfield constituency of Newcastle-under-Lyme. In his application to the Backbench Business Committee he acknowledged the progress made on issues like the mineworkers’ pension scheme, but emphasised that significant challenges remain such as the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme.  

  • House of Commons Library briefing 

• Financial education: This debate was originally scheduled for Monday 20 January, but had to be postponed due to time constraints on that day. The topic was requested by the Conservative MP Jerome Mayhew, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Financial Education for Young People. In his application to the Backbench Business Committee requesting time for this debate, he set out the importance of improving financial literacy for young people as early as possible and noted the relevance of this debate in the context of the Government’s review of the national curriculum. 

  • House of Commons Library briefing 

Adjournment: Democratic Unionist Party MP Jim Shannon, a frequent intervener in other Members’ adjournment debates, has his own adjournment debate on Government support for the manufacturing and engineering industry in Northern Ireland.  

Westminster Hall: There are two debates today, on open access operators for rail services and debt cancellation for low-income countries.  

Legislative committees: The Public Bill Committees meeting today will consider the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill and Crown Estate Bill. 

Introduction of new Peers: Two new Peers will be introduced to the House: 

• The Chief Executive of Camden Town Unlimited, Simon Pitkeathley (now Lord Pitkeathley of Camden Town), who is the son of Baroness Pitkeathley, a current and long-serving Deputy Speaker in the House of Lords; and 

• The former President of the TUC and General Secretary of the National Education Union, Mary Bousted (now Baroness Bousted).  

Oral questions: Peers will begin the day by questioning Ministers for 40 minutes, on teacher recruitment; Russian interference in Moldovan politics; and assistance for Syria’s transition to representative government. The topic of a fourth question will be decided by a ballot drawn at lunchtime on Tuesday 4 February.  

Main business: Three backbench debates take up the rest of the day, on: 

• the contribution of creative industries to growth;  

• ensuring fines paid by water companies are used to repair the damage done by sewage pollution (1 hour); and 

• the social, economic and personal value of lifelong learning.  

Grand Committee: National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill (Committee, day 4).  

Highlights include:  

House of Commons 

• Public Accounts Committee (10:00): The Permanent Secretary and senior officials at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero will give evidence on energy bills support. The hearing builds upon a November 2024 National Audit Office report which found that the Governments support schemes cost an estimated £44 billion, and was two thirds less than originally estimated.  

The House will not be sitting.

Private Members’ Bills: Six Private Members’ Bills will be considered today: two will have a Third Reading debate and four a Second Reading debate.

• Non-Consensual Sexually Explicit Images and Videos (Offences) Bill (Third Reading): This Bill, sponsored by Baroness (Charlotte) Owen of Alderley Edge, a former special adviser at Number 10, seeks to criminalise the creation of non-consensual sexually explicit material. The Bill’s Committee stage was discharged on 20 January after no amendments were proposed, eliminating the need for debate. As a result, the Report Stage was also bypassed, allowing the Bill to progress straight to its Third Reading. The Labour Party’s manifesto included a commitment to tackle this issue, but the Government had yet to identify a suitable legislative vehicle for action. During the Bill’s Second Reading, some Peers urged the Government to support it as a means to achieve this goal. However, weeks later, it remains unclear whether Ministers will formally back the Bill if it gains sufficient support to advance to the House of Commons for further consideration.

  • House of Lords Library briefing

• Public Authority Algorithmic and Automated Decision-Making Systems Bill (Third Reading): Sponsored by Liberal Democrat Peer Lord Clement-Jones, this Bill aims to regulate the use of automated and algorithmic tools in public sector decision-making. With no amendments proposed, the Committee stage was discharged, fast-tracking the Bill’s progress straight to its Third Reading. However, during the Second Reading debate on 13 December 2024, the Minister voiced “reservations” about the legislation. While the Bill may advance to a Third Reading and reach the Commons, its chances of further progress remain slim without Government backing.

  • House of Lords Library briefing

• Permitted Development Rights (Extension) Bill (Second Reading): This Bill is sponsored by the Conservative Peer Lord Lucas and is designed to “extend permitted development rights to allow householders to improve and extend their residential properties”.

• Crown Estate (Wales) Bill (Second Reading): this Bill is introduced by Lord Wigley, the former leader of Plaid Cymru, and seeks to transfer responsibility for the Crown Estate in Wales to the Welsh Government.

• Mortgage Prisoners Inquiry Bill (Second Reading): Introduced by Liberal Democrat Peer Lord Sharkey, a former Chair of the Hansard Society Board of Trustees, this Bill calls for an inquiry into the circumstances that led to the creation of “mortgage prisoners” – homeowners trapped in high-interest mortgages after their loans were sold to inactive firms, particularly following the 2008 financial crisis. While previous Governments have pledged to address the issue, and the Financial Conduct Authority has expressed concern and taken some action, Lord Sharkey argues that further support is needed.

  • House of Lords Library briefing

• Education (Assemblies) Bill (Second Reading): Introduced by Liberal Democrat Peer Baroness Burt of Solihull, this Bill seeks to amend the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 to change the rules around assemblies in state schools without a designated religious character in England. Specifically, it proposes removing the legal requirement for these schools to hold collective worship.