Questions and statements: At 14:30, Work and Pensions Ministers will respond to MPs’ questions. Topics include unemployment, statutory sick pay, supporting young people into employment or training, spending on health and disability benefits, child poverty, social security fraud, Personal Independence Payment, young people on welfare, and data sharing between the Department and local authorities.

Any Urgent Questions or Ministerial Statements will follow. It is common on the first day following a parliamentary recess for much of the day to be taken up by Urgent Questions and Ministerial Statements, covering issues and announcements which arose during the recess.

Topics could include:

• court decisions concerning the Epping hotel and the subsequent announcements on asylum policy;

• recent international discussions over the war in Ukraine;

• the humanitarian crisis in Gaza;

• the future of Liberty Steel’s Speciality Steel UK business following its compulsory liquidation;

• the signing of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with India;

• planned changes to sentencing legislation; and

• the dispute over the pricing and approval of drugs for the NHS.

Select Committee Statement: Labour MP Alex Sobel, a member of the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR), will make a statement on the Committee’s recent report, Transnational Repression in the UK. Following his statement, MPs may then ask questions about the report.

Main business: There will be two backbench business debates, the topics of which were chosen by the Backbench Business Committee following applications from MPs. The topics are:

• Regional transport inequality (Catherine Atkinson MP, Labour): In her application, Atkinson argued that access to opportunities “is so frequently dependent upon transport”, but that the “inequality between regions and countries is stark”. (House of Commons Library briefing / Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology horizon scan)

• Devolution in Scotland (Jamie Stone MP, Liberal Democrat): In his application, while noting that he is a supporter of devolution and the only MP whose name appears on the 1989 Claim of Right for Scotland, Stone argued that it was time to “take a look and see whether what we see today was within the intention or the mood in which [the Scotland Act] was passed”. (House of Commons Library briefing)

If Urgent Questions and Ministerial Statements take up a lot of time, the House may not reach the second debate before the sitting ends.

Presentation of Public Petitions: The Conservative MP David Mundell will present a public petition on bank facilities in Moffat.

Adjournment: The Labour MP Kirsteen Sullivan has the adjournment debate, on the potential merits of Government support for a memorial to the Lisbon Maru in Scotland.

Legislative committees:

• Pension Schemes Bill: A programming sub-committee will meet to agree the schedule for sittings of the Public Bill Committee appointed to scrutinise the Bill, as well as agreeing the list of witnesses who will be called at two oral evidence sessions on Tuesday. However, both the schedule and witnesses will have been informally agreed between the Government and Opposition Whips long in advance of today’s meeting.

• Two Delegated Legislation Committees meet today, to consider the draft Local Audit (Amendment of Definition of Smaller Authority) Regulations 2025 and the draft Hovercraft (Application of Enactments) (Amendment) Order 2025.

Oral questions: At 14:30, Peers will begin the day by questioning Ministers for 40 minutes, on the impact of artificial intelligence on civil service productivity; support for the development of the Palestinian Territories; the dangers of screen time for children; and animal welfare regulations.

Main business: Planning and Infrastructure Bill (Committee, day 3). Peers will continue their clause-by-clause scrutiny of the Bill and consider further amendments on the third of eight scheduled Committee days. Committee Stage is currently due to conclude on Wednesday 17 September, but this may be delayed if progress through the Bill is slower than expected.

As in the Commons, related amendments are grouped together for debate at Committee Stage. The next set of clauses and groups of amendments to be debated relate to electricity infrastructure. This includes the regulatory framework for connections to the electricity network, the consent process in Scotland, the planning process for infrastructure upgrades, long-duration electricity storage, benefits for households living near electricity transmission infrastructure, and the use of the forestry estate for renewable electricity.

In a recent blogpost about some of the delegated powers in the Bill, the Hansard Society called on the Government to provide more detail about how the proposed scheme for community benefits would operate and called for more rigorous parliamentary scrutiny of any resulting regulations. The House of Lords Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee also made similar recommendations in a recent report. (House of Lords Library briefing)

There are no select committees scheduled to meet in public today.

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Questions and statements: At 11:30, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Ministers will face questions from MPs. Topics include cuts to overseas aid, the humanitarian situation in Sudan, delivering aid to Gaza, the Chagos Islands, democracy in Georgia, the evacuation of students from Gaza, support for Ukraine, recognition of a Palestinian state, and sanctions on Russia.

Any Urgent Questions or Ministerial Statements will follow.

Ten Minute Rule Motion: The Labour MP Becky Gittins will propose a Ten Minute Rule Bill titled the Babies and Infants (Allergy Guidance) Bill. The Bill would make provision for a review of allergy guidance relating to the feeding and weaning of babies and infants. See our Hansard Society guide for more information about the parliamentary procedure for Ten Minute Rule Bills.

Main business: English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Second Reading). This Bill would make significant changes to the structure of local government in England (House of Commons Library briefing). The Bill’s central provisions include:

• Strategic authorities: The Bill would create a new category of “strategic authorities” (SAs) responsible for strategy development and programme delivery across large areas. These roles would be taken up by combined authorities, combined county authorities, the Greater London Authority, and in some cases individual local authorities. Three levels of SA are proposed, each with varying powers, including revenue-raising, imposing a community infrastructure levy, licensing micromobility schemes, producing local growth plans, and establishing key route networks. Ministers would be able to create or expand an SA even without local agreement, and could require SAs to have a mayor.

• Streamlining of local government: The Bill will amend the process for establishing unitary local authorities in areas with two-tier local government structures, by allowing the Government to direct a local authority to submit a proposal for unitary reorganisation. All local authorities will also be required to move to a “leader and cabinet model”, unless they already have an elected mayor in place.

• Local government elections: Mayoral and Police and Crime Commissioner elections will revert from First Past the Post back to the Supplementary Vote system, including for the election for the Mayor of London.

• Community right to buy: Community groups will gain first refusal on the purchase of assets listed as being of community value, such as football stadiums.

• Reform of local audit: A new Local Audit Office will be established to oversee local audit.

• Commercial renting: The Bill will ban upwards-only rent review clauses in commercial leases.

• Disqualification from elections: MPs and members of devolved legislatures will be ineligible to also hold office as mayors of SAs.

At Second Reading, MPs will only debate the general principles underlying the Bill. No amendments to the text can be made at this stage. However, MPs opposed to the Bill could table a “reasoned amendment”, which, if agreed, would constitute a rejection of the Bill while putting on record their reasons for doing so.

If the Bill receives a Second Reading, it will proceed to Committee Stage. Under the programme motion, which will be put to the House without debate after the Second Reading debate, the Bill will be committed to a Public Bill Committee which is scheduled to sit until 11 November 2025 at the latest.

Adjournment: The Conservative MP and Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick has the adjournment debate on large-scale solar development in his Newark constituency. It is unusual, but not prohibited, for Opposition frontbenchers to lead an adjournment debate. The MPs’ Guide to Procedure states that “Ministers can’t apply for adjournment debates. Principal Opposition frontbenchers shouldn’t ordinarily apply. Other Opposition frontbenchers can, as long as the debate isn’t on a subject on which they are spokespersons.” As Shadow Justice Secretary, Jenrick would normally be considered a “principal” Opposition frontbencher. However, since the subject of his debate lies well outside his shadow portfolio, it is unlikely to have raised concerns with the parliamentary authorities. (Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology horizon scan)

Westminster Hall: There are five debates, on:

• defibrillator access (House of Commons Library briefing);

• the regulation of pony and trap racing on public roads;

• commemorating the Battle of Britain (House of Commons Library briefing);

• the impact of pornography and prostitution on violence against women and girls; and

• the prevention of deaths from eating disorders (House of Commons Library briefing).

Legislative committees:

• Pension Schemes Bill: The Public Bill Committee appointed to scrutinise the Bill will meet today to take oral evidence from witnesses. The list of witnesses has not yet been made public but will have been informally agreed by the Whips some time ago.

• Three Delegated Legislation Committees will meet today, to consider five draft Statutory Instruments: – the Free-Range Poultrymeat Marketing Standards (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2025; – the Limited Liability Partnerships (Application and Modification of Company Law) Regulations 2025; the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (Consequential, Incidental and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2025; and the Register of People with Significant Control (Amendment) Regulations 2025; and – the Online Safety Act 2023 (Qualifying Worldwide Revenue) Regulations 2025.

Main business: Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill (Committee, day 9). Unusually, the House will sit from 11:00, before oral questions, to continue consideration of this Bill. Normally, Standing Orders prohibit substantive business being taken before oral questions. However, just before the summer recess, the Government put a motion to the House to set aside the relevant Standing Order, allowing Committee consideration of the Bill to begin early before oral questions on Tuesday 2 September, Wednesday 10 September, and Tuesday 16 September.

The Government’s decision reflects the significant delays the Bill has faced at Committee Stage. The Whips had expected to conclude within seven sittings, but progress has been slow. At the previous sitting, for example, the Whips set a target of dispensing with 20 groups of amendments; but only seven of them were reached. Such delays typically arise when large numbers of amendments are tabled; opponents insist on splitting up groups of amendments, so that each is debated in individual or small groups; speeches last for longer than necessary; and large numbers of speakers contribute to each debate. As a result the Committee is now on its ninth sitting, and even with the additional time granted by the Government’s motion, the Whips still anticipate at least three further sittings.

The next clauses and groups of amendments to be debated relate to children who are not in school. These include proposals for a register of children not in school, and new school attendance orders. Peers have tabled 241 amendments to these provisions alone, including 111 amendments to the register clause.

Proceedings on the Bill will be interrupted at 14:30 for the usual 40 minutes of oral questions. Committee Stage will then resume and continue until approximately 22:00.

Oral questions: Peers will question Ministers on the recruitment of young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds to the Civil Service’s summer internship; parliamentary application for Friendly Wi-Fi certification; review of public order legislation regarding clarity, efficacy and compliance with fundamental rights and freedoms; and the recent rise in gilt yields and contingency plans to manage any further rise.

Highlights include:

House of Commons

• Business and Trade Committee (14:30): representatives from HM Revenues and Customs, the Confederation of British Industry, E.ON UK, Citizens Advice, the Association of Convenience Stores, USDAW, and the City of London Police’s Business Crime Centre will give evidence on small business strategy.

House of Lords

• Industry and Regulators Committee (10:00): Local Authority Building Control and the Association of Building Control Approvers will give evidence on the Building Safety Regulator.

• Justice and Home Affairs Committee (10:30): Former Lord Chancellor Alex Chalk and former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Lord Hogan-Howe will give evidence on electronic monitoring. The Probation Institute and Centre for Crime and Justice Studies will also give evidence.

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. Topics include the merits of creating new domestic abuse aggravated offences, support for trans people following the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling, violence against women and girls in the home, maternity care standards, and inequalities faced by young disabled people in the labour market.

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

Any Urgent Questions or Ministerial Statements will follow.

Ten Minute Rule Motion: Conservative MP and Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott will propose a Ten Minute Rule Bill titled the Methanol Poisoning (Travel Advice) Bill. The Bill would require travel advice issued by the Government to include guidance about the risks of methanol poisoning. See our Hansard Society guide for more information about the parliamentary procedure for Ten Minute Rule Bills.

Main business: Opposition Day (Conservatives). This is the tenth of 20 Opposition Days scheduled this Session – days when Government business does not have priority and precedence is instead given to motions tabled by opposition parties. As this is a Conservative Opposition Day, the subject will be chosen by the Leader of the Opposition, Kemi Badenoch. However, Opposition Day topics are often not announced in advance, so the motion may not be known until Wednesday’s Order Paper is published.

Adjournment: The Labour MP Chris Bloore has the adjournment debate, on diabetes in sport.

Westminster Hall: There are five debates, on:

• the use of drones in defence (House of Commons Library briefing);

• Government support for people harmed following Covid-19 vaccinations;

• duty of candour for public authorities and legal representation for bereaved families (House of Commons Library briefing);

• living standards in the East of England; and

• electrification of the Midland Main Line.

Legislative committees: No Delegated Legislation Committees or Public Bill Committees are scheduled to meet today.

Oral questions: At 15:00, Peers will begin the day by questioning Ministers for 40 minutes, on implementation of the Football Governance Act 2025; Sovereign AI; and UK/Ireland defence cooperation. The topic of a fourth question will be decided by a ballot drawn at lunchtime on Monday 1 September.

Main business:

Employment Rights Bill (Third Reading)

The Bill has had a difficult passage through the Lords, with the Government defeated on 12 separate amendments, which Ministers may seek to reverse or counter-amend when the Bill returns to the Commons if it receives a Third Reading today:

• Guaranteed hours: Making guaranteed hours a right to request (by the employee) rather than a duty on employers to offer.

• Short notice: Clarifying that if notice of a shift change is given more than 48 hours in advance, the right to a payment for cancelled, moved and curtailed shifts will not apply.

• Special constables: Giving employees who serve as special constables the right to time off to carry out their police duties.

• Unfair dismissal: Replacing the Government’s proposal to abolish the two-year qualifying period with a reduction from two years to six months.

• Whistleblowers: Requiring the Secretary of State to make regulations to strengthen whistleblower protections by broadening unfair dismissal grounds and obliging certain employers to take reasonable steps to investigate protected disclosures.

• Right to be accompanied: Extending the right to be accompanied at disciplinary and grievance hearings to include persons certified by a professional body, with the Secretary of State empowered to authorise such bodies by regulations.

• Seasonal work: Requiring the Secretary of State to have regard to the specific characteristics and requirements of seasonal work and introducing a baseline definition.

• Consultation on employment rights: Mandating consultation on new employment rights, including at least 500 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

• School staff terms and conditions: Preventing the new School Support Staff Negotiating Body from blocking employers who wish to adopt new or improved employment terms and conditions.

• Young volunteers: Exempting voluntary work on heritage railways from restrictions on the employment of children.

• Trade union political fund: Replacing the clause allowing trade union members to opt out of political fund contributions with a requirement for contributors to have opted in.

• Threshold for industrial action: Reinstating the requirement that at least 50% of eligible trade union members must vote for industrial action.

Unlike in the House of Commons, amendments are permitted at Third Reading in the House of Lords. These, however, are strictly limited: they may only be used to clarify uncertainties; improve the drafting; or allow the Government to fulfil commitments made earlier in the Bill’s passage. So far, no such amendments have been tabled.

Once the Bill is passed by the Lords, it will return to the House of Commons. MPs will then consider how to respond to the amendments made by the Lords; they must either agree with each amendment, disagree with them, or propose an alternative. (House of Lords Library briefing)

Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill (Committee, day 4)

Peers will continue the clause-by-clause scrutiny of this Bill and consideration of proposed amendments, starting at the point where the House finished at its sitting on Thursday 10 July. Peers do not normally make amendments to a Bill at Committee Stage, principally because if any amendment is rejected it cannot be proposed again at Report Stage. One further day is scheduled for Committee scrutiny but with over 90 pages of amendments still awaiting debate more time may have to be allocated by the Whips. (House of Lords Library briefing)

The debate on the Bill will be interrupted by a one-hour debate – known as dinner break business – on steps being taken to ensure that GPs proactively discuss prostate cancer with men at the highest risk; and inform them of their right to a free prostate specific antigen test. This question for short debate (QSD) was tabled by Lord Mott, the former Chief Executive of the Conservative Party. (House of Lords Library Briefing)

Grand Committee: Peers will debate four groups of draft Statutory Instruments:

• the Buckinghamshire Council, Surrey County Council and Warwickshire County Council (Housing and Regeneration Functions) Regulations 2025;

• the Local Audit (Amendment of Definition of Smaller Authority) Regulations 2025;

• the Warm Home Discount (Amendment) Regulations 2025;

• the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measures) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2025; and the Markets in Financial Instruments (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2025.

Highlights include:

House of Commons

• Science, Innovation and Technology Committee (09:45): The Chair and the CEO at the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) will give evidence about the organisation’s work.

• Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (10:00): Jesse Norman MP, Shadow Leader of the House of Commons, will give evidence on Ministerial Statements and the Ministerial Code.

• Speaker’s Conference (16:00): Representatives of Ofcom will give evidence on the security of candidates, MPs and elections.

House of Lords

• Constitution Committee (10:30): Shabana Mahmood MP, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, will give evidence on the rule of law.

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

Questions and statements: At 09:30, Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Ministers will face questions from MPs. Topics include the potential impact of climate change on food security, steps being taken to prevent financial rewards for water company executives responsible for poor environmental performance, water bill increases, protection of moorland, water pollution on the Dorset coast, reducing pollution in bathing waters, access to the Sustainable Farming Incentive, and protection of communities vulnerable to flooding.

At 10:10, the Solicitor General will face questions from MPs on behalf of the Attorney General’s office. Topics include the prosecution of people smugglers, prosecution for grooming gang offences, the use of technology to improve efficiency in the criminal justice system, support for victims of crime, economic crime, the backlog of court cases, and the upholding of international law.

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: House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill (Consideration of Lords Amendments). This Government Bill to remove the remaining hereditary peers from the House of Lords returns to the House of Commons, where MPs will consider the amendments made during its passage through the Lords.

The House of Lords Act 1999 removed the automatic right of hereditary peers to sit in the Lords, except for 92 “excepted” hereditary peers. These were divided between the parties in the same proportion as the original hereditary peers (predominantly Conservatives and Crossbenchers). When one of the 92 seats became vacant through resignation or death, a by-election was held. In those by-elections, any non-sitting hereditary peer could stand as a candidate, but only sitting hereditary peers from the same party group as the departing peer could vote. By-elections have been suspended in this Session while Peers consider this Bill which will end the hereditary arrangements by removing the remaining 90 hereditary peers from the House at the end of the current parliamentary session.

The House of Lords made four amendments to the Bill, the first of which would significantly alter its effect:

• Retain the excepted peers: An amendment from the Conservative peer Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay would allow the current hereditary peers to remain in the House of Lords, but abolish by-elections. This would mean hereditary peers would leave only through resignation or death, leading to their gradual rather than immediate removal from the House.

• Salaries for Lords ministers: An amendment from the Conservative peer Lord True would make unpaid ministers ineligible to sit in the House of Lords, thereby requiring the Government to ensure all Lords ministers are paid.

• Life peerages without sitting rights: Another amendment from the Conservative peer Lord True would clarify that the Monarch may appoint life peers, but without the right to sit in the House of Lords.

• Power of attorney: A Government amendment, made at Third Reading, would allow people who hold power of attorney on behalf of a member of the House of Lords to sign the necessary papers to enable that peer to retire from the House.

For each amendment made by the Lords, the Commons must decide whether to agree, disagree, or propose an alternative. The Government is expected to disagree with the first three Lords amendments to the Bill. (House of Commons Library briefing)

Adjournment: The Conservative MP Sir Julian Lewis has the adjournment debate, on the future of the BBC Monitoring Service.

Westminster Hall: There are two debates today, determined by the Backbench Business Committee, on:

• the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (House of Commons Library briefing); and

• the future of terrestrial television (House of Commons Library briefing).

Legislative committees:

Pension Schemes Bill: Following its evidence session on Tuesday, the Public Bill Committee begins its clause-by-clause scrutiny and consideration of amendments. The Committee will consider the clauses and amendments in the order they appear, or would appear, in the Bill. The first chapters of the Bill include provisions in relation to:

• local government pension funds, requiring all such funds to join centralised “asset pool companies” responsible for investment strategy, and giving Ministers the power to set rules and conditions for how these companies operate; and

• “defined benefit” (final salary) pension schemes, allowing the trustees of those schemes to release surplus funds back to their sponsoring employers, with the intention of boosting business investment. (House of Commons Library briefing)

Introduction of new member: At 11:00, the new Bishop of Coventry, Sophie Jelley, will be introduced to the House of Lords as one of the 26 Church of England bishops entitled to sit as Lords Spiritual. Under the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015, any vacancy among the Lords Spiritual up to 2030 must be filled by a female bishop, provided one is eligible.

Oral questions: Peers will question Ministers for 40 minutes, on the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership; protest movements targeting defence facilities; and the draft European Framework Programme 10. The topic of a fourth question will be decided by a ballot drawn at lunchtime on Tuesday 2 September.

Main business: Planning and Infrastructure Bill (Committee, day 4). The House will continue the consideration of clauses and amendments to the Bill, resuming at the point where it concluded its deliberations at Monday’s sitting.

Highlights include:

House of Commons

• Public Accounts Committee (10:00): The interim Permanent Secretary and other senior officials at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will give evidence on resilience to threats from animal disease. The session builds on a recent report by the National Audit Office.

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

The House will not be sitting.

Private Members’ Bills (PMBs): The House will debate the Second Readings of four Private Members’ Bills which have been sent to it by the House of Commons. Each of the bills is supported by the Government. The four bills are:

• Absent Voting (Elections in Scotland and Wales) Bill: 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. (House of Lords Library briefing)

• Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill: This would restrict the commercial import and non-commercial movement of dogs, cats and ferrets into the UK on grounds of animal welfare. (House of Lords Library briefing)

• Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) Bill: This would amend the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953 to improve enforcement in response to incidents of livestock worrying by dogs, including by extending the powers of police to obtain evidence, extending the scope of relevant offences, and increasing maximum penalties. (House of Lords Library briefing)

• Space Industry (Indemnities) Bill: This would require spaceflight operator licences to specify a limit on the amount of the licensee’s liability to indemnify the UK Government and other persons against any claims brought against them for losses and damages. (House of Lords Library briefing)

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