Questions and statements: At 14:30, Home Office Ministers will respond to MPs’ questions. Topics include UK Visa and Immigration processing times, neighbourhood policing, antisocial behaviour, violence against shopworkers and transport workers, visa schemes for the relatives of UK nationals currently in Gaza, fraud, knife crime, illegal working, proposals for a national inquiry into rape gangs, qualification for settlement in the UK, the use of facial recognition and AI by the police, non-crime hate incidents, and protest legislation.

Any Urgent Questions or Ministerial Statements will follow.

Presentation of Bill: The Liberal Democrat MP for North Cornwall, Ben Maguire, will introduce a Presentation Bill, titled the Short-term Lets (Planning Permission) Bill. The proposed legislation would require property owners to obtain planning permission for a change of use converting a residential home into a short-term let. For more information about the procedure for Presentation Bills, read the Hansard Society’s guide: What is a Presentation Bill?

Main business: Bus Services (No. 2) Bill (Second Reading). This Bill proposes a number of reforms to the bus sector, particularly by devolving greater control over the provision of bus services to local transport authorities. At Second Reading, MPs debate the principles underlying the Bill. They do not propose amendments to the Bill’s text at this stage.

If Second Reading is agreed, the House will then vote on the programme order. This sets out the timetable for future proceedings on the Bill and is usually agreed without debate. As is conventional, the programme order sets out that the Bill should be sent to a Public Bill Committee for further consideration and that the Committee Stage proceedings should conclude by Tuesday 8 July.

During its passage through the House of Lords, six groups of amendments were inserted into the Bill against the Government’s wishes, which Ministers are now likely to try to reverse during Committee Stage in the Commons. As outlined in an earlier edition of the Bulletin, these include amendments in relation to the purpose of the Act, the cap on bus fares, village bus services, National Insurance contributions, bus safety, and assaults on buses. If these provisions are indeed removed or replaced, they are likely to be the subject of legislative ping-pong once the Bill returns to the House of Lords. (House of Commons Library briefing)

Statutory Instruments: MPs will be asked to approve the draft Scotland Act 1998 (Increase of Borrowing Limits) Order 2025. The Order has already been debated in a Delegated Legislation Committee so the House will be asked to vote on it without debate.

Presentation of Petition: The Labour MP Liam Byrne will present a petition on parking enforcement measures in his constituency of Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North.

Motions to change the membership of Select Committees: Motions will be tabled in respect of two select committees: it is proposed that Helena Dollimore MP will join the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments, replacing Rachel Blake MP, and Rebecca Paul MP will join the Women and Equalities Committee, replacing Shivani Raja MP.

Adjournment: The Labour MP Steve Witherden has the adjournment debate, on arms and military cargo export controls and Israel.

Westminster Hall: MPs will debate e-petition 700014, which calls on the Government to decriminalise abortion. The petition has acquired around 103,000 signatures.

Abortion is also the subject of discussions in respect of the Crime and Policing Bill. The Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi has tabled an amendment to the Bill that would disapply an 1861 law so that prosecutions can no longer be pursued in relation to women terminating their own pregnancies. Her amendment has support from over 90 MPs on a cross-party basis. Another amendment from fellow Labour MP Stella Creasy, signed by 66 MPs from across the parties, would not only decriminalise abortion, but also establish a human rights framework for abortion rights. The amendments revive similar proposals in the last Parliament that were proposed by Diana Johnson MP, who is now the Policing Minister and one of the named Ministers sponsoring the Bill on behalf of the Government. MPs will consider these amendments at the Bill’s Report Stage (the date has yet to be announced).

Legislative committees:

• Delegated Legislation Committees will consider the draft Human Medicines (Amendments Relating to Hub and Spoke Dispensing etc.) Regulations 2025, and the draft Contracts for Difference (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 2) Regulations 2025.

• The programming sub-committee for the Football Governance Bill’s Public Bill Committee will meet in private to discuss the Committee’s timetable for considering the Bill.

Introduction of new Peers: At 14:30, two new Peers will be introduced to the House:

• Victoria Prentis (now Baroness Prentis of Banbury), the former Attorney General and a Conservative MP from 2015 to 2024.

• Simon Hart (now Lord Hart of Tenby), the former Chief Whip and Secretary of State for Wales and a Conservative MP from 2010 to 2024.

Oral questions: Peers will question Ministers for 40 minutes, on plans to ratify Protocol 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights, which would introduce a general prohibition on discrimination; the BBC World Service; the Protection of Children Codes published under the Online Safety Act; and plans for an international rail strategy.

Members’ Allowances: Peers will be asked to support motions to adjust the allowances that Peers can claim, each one implementing a recommendation made by the House of Lords Commission:

• Overnight allowance: This was introduced in 2024 and enables Peers to claim a contribution towards the cost of hotels or similar accommodation in Greater London for the purpose of attending the House. The Commission has recommended a 21% increase in the maximum allowance, rising from £103 to £125 per night.

• Accommodation costs allowance: The Commission has recommended that the House introduce a new allowance to contribute towards the cost of renting or maintaining a second residence in Greater London, for Peers whose primary residence is outside London. The motion would set the maximum allowance at £63 per night.

• Committee chairs allowance: The Commission has also recommended that the House introduce a new allowance for the non-salaried chairs of three domestic committees – that is, the Conduct, Finance, and Services Committees – in recognition of the extra work involved in dealing with their workload outside of formal meetings.

Main business: Peers will consider two Bills:

Data (Use and Access) Bill (Consideration of Commons Reason). The only remaining point of contention between the two Houses is the issue of AI model transparency.

During the Bill’s initial passage through the Lords, Peers added a new clause to the Bill tabled by Crossbencher Baroness Kidron, a former film director who has been advocating on behalf of the creative sector. Her new clause would have required AI companies to publish monthly reports detailing their use of web crawlers and bots for training AI models. The goal was to help copyright holders identify whether their content had been used in the process.

However, when the Bill reached the Commons, the Government removed this provision.

The House of Lords accepted the removal of its original provision, but proposed a revised version. This further proposal made narrower changes and featured more comprehensive drafting. But the Commons also rejected this revised provision – this time controversially invoking financial privilege, the principle that grants the Commons primacy over matters relating to public finances and expenditure.

In response, the Lords backed yet another revised version of the clause, once again proposed by Baroness Kidron. It passed by an overwhelming majority of 289 to 118, including 18 Labour Peers who defied the party line to support the amendment. This latest version sought to avoid triggering financial privilege by softening the language – stating that any future regulations made under the new clause “may” include enforcement provisions, rather than “must”, as in the earlier iteration. Despite this attempt at compromise, the House of Commons rejected the amendment, again citing financial privilege as the reason.

The House of Commons has now rejected three attempts to include a requirement that would allow copyright owners to know when their work is being used to train AI models. So far, the Government has shown no sign of proposing a compromise or offering an alternative version of its own. The House of Lords must now decide whether to insist on its latest amendment, suggest another variation, or concede that no version is likely to be acceptable to the Government. The Bill cannot proceed to Royal Assent until this dispute is resolved. In an article about the Bill published last week Baroness Kidron made her position clear: “the fight isn’t over yet”. She has tabled another alternative amendment, which would require the Government to publish a draft Bill containing legislative proposals to provide transparency to copyright owners about the use of their works as inputs into AI models, including provision which allows them to identify whether and how their works have been used, which would be subject to pre-legislative scrutiny by parliamentary select committees.

Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill (Second Reading). This Bill would make a number of changes to the UK’s immigration and asylum system; the key provisions were outlined in a previous edition of the Bulletin.

The Bill has already passed through the House of Commons, where a number of significant amendments were made, increasing the Bill’s size by around 40% – from 66 to 91 pages – during its passage through the Commons. Most of these changes were made during the Bill’s Report Stage, including the five significant amendments identified in the Bulletin last month.

At Second Reading, Peers debate the principles and purposes of the Bill and cannot make amendments to the Bill’s text. The House of Lords typically agrees to the Second Reading of a Bill without a division. (House of Lords Library briefing)

Highlights include:

House of Lords

• Autism Act 2009 Committee (14:45): Sir Robert Buckland, the former Lord Chancellor and chair of the Buckland Review of Autism Employment, will appear before the Committee to give evidence alongside several other experts and practitioners.

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

The Hansard Society is a charity. If you find this Bulletin useful 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

Private Business: Royal Albert Hall Bill [Lords] (Second Reading). Sir Christopher Chope has indicated on the Order Paper that he will once again block this controversial Private Bill – for the fifth time – from being approved without a debate (using the procedural mechanism of tabling a motion “That the Bill be read a second time upon this day in six months”). See a previous Bulletin for an explanation of the esoteric procedural rules applicable to Private Bills in general and this one in particular. We also discussed the Royal Albert Hall Bill in a recent episode of our Parliament Matters podcast.

Questions and statements: Shortly after 11:30, Justice Ministers will face questions from MPs. Topics include reoffending by young offenders, the court backlog, domestic abuse and violence victims, reoffending by people on probation, locked Child Trust Funds, early release of prisoners, high street crime, victims of sexual abuse, the sentencing of peaceful protesters, humanist weddings, rehabilitation, and immigration offences.

Any Urgent Questions or Ministerial Statements will follow.

Ten Minute Rule Motion: The Labour MP Jayne Kirkham will seek the House’s permission to introduce a Ten Minute Rule Bill titled the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (Report on Commissioner) Bill. This legislation would require the Government to produce a report on the potential merits of appointing a commissioner to investigate and make recommendations to address welfare issues faced by personnel serving in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. See our Hansard Society guide for more information about the parliamentary procedure for Ten Minute Rule Bills.

Main business: Armed Forces Commissioner Bill (Consideration of Lords Amendments). Only one group of amendments – tabled by the Conservatives – was inserted into the Bill by the House of Lords against the Government’s wishes, to introduce a whistleblowing function into the functions of the Commissioner. The Government is likely to seek to remove this provision. Once this final point of disagreement between the two Houses is resolved, the Bill can receive Royal Assent. (House of Commons Library briefing)

“If necessary, consideration of a Lords Message”: This provisional item of business is likely to relate to the Data (Use and Access) Bill. If the House of Lords agrees to Baroness Kidron’s new amendment when it considers the Bill on Monday (see above), MPs will have to debate the House of Commons’ response to that amendment. The programme order agreed on 14 May restricts the length of any debate to just one hour.

General debate on dementia care: This backbench debate was recommended by the Backbench Business Committee and proposed by the Liberal Democrat MP Caroline Voaden. It was originally due to take place on Thursday 22 May, but was crowded out by three Ministerial Statements, an Urgent Question, two Select Committee statements, and the need to consider Lords amendments to the Data (Use and Access) Bill, and has therefore been rescheduled for today.

Presentation of public petitions: Labour MP Liam Byrne is scheduled to present a petition concerning waste collection on Lea Hall Road, located in the Garrets Green Ward of his Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North constituency. The Liberal Democrat MP Calum Miller will also present a petition, calling for the construction of an underpass at the Bicester level crossing, in his Bicester and Woodstock constituency.

Adjournment: The Liberal Democrat MP Adam Dance has the adjournment debate, on the closure of Yeovil Hospital’s maternity unit.

Westminster Hall: There are five debates, on:

• the Groceries Code Adjudicator (House of Commons Library briefing);

• leasehold reform (House of Commons Library briefing);

• animal welfare standards in farming (House of Commons Library briefing);

• the impact of inheritance tax on family-owned businesses (House of Commons Library briefing); and

• the Serious Fraud Office and tackling fraud and economic crime (House of Commons Library briefing).

Legislative committees:

• Football Governance Bill: The Public Bill Committee appointed to examine the Bill in detail will hold its first meeting. It will debate the clauses and any proposed amendments in sequence, starting with the first clauses of the Bill which relate to the Bill’s overall purpose, the interpretation of key terms, and the creation and objectives of the new Independent Football Regulator.

• A Delegated Legislation Committee will consider the draft Investigatory Powers (Codes of Practice, Review of Notices and Technical Advisory Board) Regulations 2025.

Introduction of new Peer:

• Eleanor Shawcross (now Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson) will be introduced to the House. The Director of the Number 10 Policy Unit under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak MP and an adviser at the Treasury during George Osborne’s time as Chancellor, she is married to fellow Conservative Peer Simon Wolfson, Lord Wolfson of Apsley Guise.

Oral questions: Shortly after 14:30, Peers will question Ministers for 40 minutes, on the competitiveness of English farming; the health risks associated with ultra-processed food; the potential contamination of reservoirs by malicious or hostile actors; and human rights safeguards in trade agreements with Gulf states.

Main business: Employment Rights Bill (Committee, Day 6). Progress on the Bill so far has been slower than the Government anticipated. On the first day in Committee, only five groups of amendments were disposed of, well short of the nine groups the Government Whips had hoped to cover. Although proceedings kept pace on day two, momentum slowed again on subsequent days: just five of ten planned groups of amendments were addressed on day three, four of ten on day four, and five of eight on day five.

The final sitting was originally scheduled for Thursday 5 June. However, due to slower than expected progress, 60 groups of amendments remain to be debated in just the final two sittings. As a result, the Government Whips have arranged an extra sitting on Tuesday 10 June. Even so, if the current pace continues, further extensions may be necessary to complete the Committee Stage.

The next groups of amendments to be debated cover a wide range of issues, including unpaid work experience; disabled workers; independent advisers for workers; impact on the farming sector; notice periods; unpaid trial shifts; and the introduction of a “right to disconnect” outside working hours.

Highlights include:

House of Commons

• International Development Committee (14:00): Baroness Chapman of Darlington, the Minister for International Development, will give evidence on the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s approach to supporting displaced people as well as on its strategy to ensure value for money.

House of Lords

• International Agreements Committee (09:00): Clerks from the Australian Parliament will appear before the Committee as part of its review of treaty scrutiny. Members are expected to focus on the role of Australia’s Joint Standing Committee on Treaties which reviews all treaty actions proposed by the Australian Government. Of particular interest will be the Committee’s sifting mechanism, which allows it to re-categorise treaties designated by the Government as major, minor or technical.

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, Scotland Office Ministers will face questions from MPs. Topics include North Sea oil and gas, the National Wealth Fund in Glasgow, veterans in Scotland, higher education, the impact of the UK–India free trade agreement, school standards, cooperation with Northern Ireland, town centres in Scotland, and the Barnett formula.

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: The Independent MP and former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn will seek the House’s permission to introduce a Ten Minute Rule Bill titled the Gaza (Independent Public Inquiry) Bill. The Bill would establish an independent public inquiry into UK involvement in Israeli military actions in Gaza, including arms sales and political cooperation.

Main business: Product Regulation and Metrology Bill [HL] (Report and Third Reading). This legislation grants Ministers a series of broad new powers to make regulations relating to the marketing and use of all products – both consumer and industrial – except for a few specially excluded categories, such as food, animal products, aircraft, military equipment, medicines and medical devices. The powers may only be exercised for certain purposes, though these purposes are noticeably broad: to reduce or mitigate risks associated with the products, or to ensure they function efficiently and effectively. Controversially, the Bill empowers Ministers to specify in regulations that compliance with certain EU product requirements will be deemed sufficient to meet UK standards. This approach – known as “dynamic alignment” – would mean that UK product standards would automatically track and adapt to future changes in EU law. However, this alignment is not mandated; it is left entirely to ministerial discretion.

Several parliamentary committees, including the Lords Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee (DPRRC) and the Lords Constitution Committee, have strongly criticised the breadth of these powers, labelling the Bill “framework” or “skeleton” legislation. Because the Bill does not specify if and how the Government intends to change product requirements, leaving the details to be determined through future regulations, it is difficult to assess how Ministers intend to use these new powers. This kind of framework legislation, which provides broad powers without outlining clear policy, is difficult to scrutinise. The Hansard Society has echoed these concerns, warning that they are exacerbated by the limited ability of Parliament to scrutinise the resulting Statutory Instruments.

In response to criticism from the House of Lords committees, the Government introduced a number of limited amendments to the Bill before it left the Upper House. These included a new requirement to consult on certain future regulations, an extension of the affirmative procedure to a broader range of cases, and the removal of a series of so-called “Henry VIII powers” that would have allowed Ministers to amend Acts of Parliament through regulations. However, the DPRRC described these as “limited changes that do little to address our significant concerns”, warning that the Bill still allows for politically or legally significant changes to product regulations to be made through delegated legislation without meaningful parliamentary scrutiny.

At Report Stage, MPs will vote on any amendments or new clauses that have been tabled.

The Conservatives have tabled a series of amendments, which would variously leave out provisions enabling dynamic alignment with EU product standards; prevent EU alignment where it would undermine the UK’s other trade agreements; limit alignment with EU standards to laws as they stand on a specified date, requiring new EU product requirements to be approved by Parliament before they come into effect; remove the Bill’s central power to make product regulations; require regulations to be aimed at promoting investment and economic growth; and require all “Henry VIII powers” in the Bill to be subject to the affirmative procedure.

The Liberal Democrats have also tabled amendments, seeking to introduce specific requirements related to product recall, online marketplaces, reductions in per-unit product quantities, and country-of-origin labelling. They also call for guidance and support on the impact of the Bill to be provided for small and medium-sized enterprises. Other amendments would make online marketplaces liable for defective or unsafe products; require the Government to justify, in a statement to Parliament, any decision to align with or diverge from EU law before laying regulations; add lithium-ion batteries to the scope of the Bill; prohibit regulations from being made unless Ministers are satisfied they will not reduce consumer protection or standards; and make all regulations under the Act subject to the affirmative scrutiny procedure.

At Third Reading, MPs will vote on whether to pass the Bill. If Third Reading is agreed, the Bill will be sent back to the House of Lords. The Government made only technical drafting changes during Committee Stage in the Commons, so Lords consideration of Commons amendments is likely to be relatively straightforward. (House of Commons Library briefing)

Adjournment: The Labour MP Peter Swallow has the adjournment debate, on street parking on estates in Bracknell Forest.

Westminster Hall: There are five debates, on:

• Government support for disadvantaged communities (House of Commons Library briefing);

• the performance of the Environment Agency in the East of England;

• the impact of changes to business rates relief on high street businesses (House of Commons Library briefing);

• Government support for prosecutions relating to violence against women and girls in the West Midlands (Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology briefing); and

• Government support for swimming facilities.

Legislative committees:

• Licensing Hours Extensions Bill: This is a Private Members’ Bill introduced by the Labour MP Andrew Ranger. It would amend the law governing licensing hours orders – regulations that permit the relaxation of licensing hours for events of exceptional national significance. The Bill proposes changing the procedure for making such orders from the affirmative to the negative scrutiny procedure. Under the negative procedure, a Statutory Instrument (SI) can be signed into law by a Minister immediately, prior to being laid before Parliament, and can remain in force unless a motion to reject it is agreed by either House within 40 days. In contrast, the affirmative procedure requires the SI to be actively approved by both Houses before it can be signed into law. This Bill seeks to resolve issues highlighted during the Women’s World Cup in August 2023, when Parliament’s summer recess prevented timely approval of licensing extensions to mark England’s appearance in the World Cup final. The Bill is concise, containing just one substantive clause, and the fact that the Home Office has produced the accompanying Explanatory Notes indicates the Bill has Government support. The Committee is therefore expected to conclude its proceedings in this one sitting. Meanwhile, because the House did not complete the Report Stage of the assisted dying bill on Friday 16 May, the second day of that bill’s Report Stage has been scheduled for Friday 13 June. However, the rules on the use of time on Fridays dedicated to Private Members’ Bills require that Bills about to enter Report Stage take precedence over Bills whose Report Stage has been adjourned and needs to be resumed. This means that if the Licensing Hours Extensions Bill completes Committee, and Andrew Ranger selects Friday 13 June for its Report Stage, it will have priority on the Order Paper ahead of the assisted dying bill. His choice of date, therefore, will be worth keeping an eye on.

• Delegated Legislation Committee meeting today: to consider the draft Payment Services and Payment Accounts (Contract Termination) (Amendment) Regulations 2025.

Oral questions: Peers will begin the day at 15:00 by questioning Ministers for 40 minutes, on the Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019; the impact of environmental, social and governance rules on the defence sector; and the nutritional content, labelling, and promotion of convenience food for children. The topic of a fourth question will be decided by a ballot drawn at lunchtime on Monday 2 June.

Main business: Statutory Instruments (Amendment) Bill (Report). This Bill – a Private Member’s Bill introduced by Lord Thomas of Gresford – proposes to introduce a new “think again” procedure for Statutory Instruments (SIs). It would give the House of Lords the power to formally request that the House of Commons reconsider specific concerns before deciding whether to approve or reject an SI. The Hansard Society proposed a similar mechanism in our Delegated Legislation Review. But while the Society supports the underlying “think again” principle, we believe such a procedure would be more appropriately introduced through changes to the Standing Orders of both Houses rather than through primary legislation. No amendments have been tabled for the Bill’s Report Stage so far. (House of Lords Library briefing)

Sentencing Guidelines (Pre-sentence Reports) Bill (Report). This Government Bill aims to block the proposed new guideline on the imposition of community and custodial sentences published by the Sentencing Council. Specifically, it would prohibit any sentencing guideline being framed by reference to an offender’s personal characteristics, particularly race, religion, and cultural background, when determining the need for a pre-sentence report.

At Report Stage, the whole House of Lords debates and votes on amendments to the Bill and it is often the stage at which the Government suffers the most defeats. The amendments tabled so far would seek to: grant more discretion to the Sentencing Council in preparing sentencing guidelines; encourage the increased use of pre-sentence reports; and clarify that nothing in the Bill prevents the Sentencing Council from issuing guidance about pre-sentence reports that reflects existing case law. (House of Lords Library briefing)

Malvern Hills Bill (Second Reading). This is a Private Bill, meaning that it affects a specific group of individuals or organisations, rather than the public at large. Promoted by the Malvern Hills Conservators, the body responsible for the care and management of the Malvern Hills, the Bill proposes renaming the organisation as the Malvern Hills Trust, reforming its governance structure, and expanding its powers in relation to land management and access. Key changes include reconstituting the Board, reducing the number of trustees and allowing half of them to be appointed by the Trust rather than elected or nominated by the local authority.

Second Readings for Private Bills typically follow oral questions and are normally agreed to without debate. However, in this case, a Peer has indicated an intention to speak. Unlike Public Bills, a Second Reading of a Private Bill does not signal the House’s endorsement of its principles; it is largely a procedural formality.

The Bill has attracted opposition, with 50 petitions lodged against it – an indicator of local controversy. When petitions are received, the Bill is referred to a select committee, which hears directly from the petitioners. If no petitions were lodged, then the Bill would be considered by an ‘unopposed bill committee’.

In addition, the Conservative peer Earl Attlee has tabled an ‘instruction’, a motion intended to guide the committee’s focus, enabling it or compelling it to consider a specified matter. The most common type of instruction for Private Bills is a cautionary one, to ensure that the committee considers matters which might not be raised by parties appearing before it. Earl Attlee’s instruction would allow the committee to consider provisions relating to the levy paying area, the composition of the Trust’s board, and the proposed arrangements for electing and appointing trustees.

Once the legislative business is completed there will be a short debate lasting no longer than 90 minutes, led by the Crossbench Peer Baroness Bull, on the provisions in place in schools for identifying and supporting students who have special educational needs, particularly dyscalculia. (House of Lords Library briefing)

Grand Committee: Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill (Committee, Day 1). This Bill would make a number of changes to the treatment of public sector fraud and social security fraud; the main provisions were outlined in an earlier edition of the Bulletin. This is the first of six days scheduled for the Bill’s consideration in Grand Committee. The Committee will go through the Bill clause-by-clause and consider amendments. It will begin with the first clauses of the Bill, which relate to the key concepts of the Bill and proposed new investigatory powers in relation to public sector fraud. (House of Lords Library briefing)

Committee Stage taken in Grand Committee differs in two important respects from Committee Stage taken in the House of Lords Chamber. First, while any Peer is entitled to attend, the debate takes place off the floor of the House in a committee room. Second, because the debate is not in the Chamber, no divisions can take place, so any amendments can only be agreed if they are unopposed.

Highlights include:

House of Commons

• Work and Pensions Committee (09:30): Torsten Bell MP, the Minister for Pensions, will give evidence on pensioner poverty.

• Scottish Affairs Committee (09:30): The Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Neil Gray MSP, and the UK Minister for Crime and Policing, Dame Diana Johnson MP, will give evidence on Glasgow’s Safer Drug Consumption Facility.

• Treasury Committee (14:15): The First and Second Permanent Secretaries at HM Revenue and Customs will give evidence on the organisation’s work.

• Procedure Committee (15:00): Steve Reed MP, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, will give evidence on his Department’s performance in answering Written Parliamentary Questions.

• Speaker’s Conference (15:40): The chair of the Parliamentary Lobby Correspondents, David Hughes, and the chair of the Parliamentary Press Gallery, Anushka Asthana, as well as a number of academics and experts, will give evidence on the security of candidates, MPs and elections. Speakers’ Conferences are typically used to find cross-party agreement on a subject, particularly on constitutional and electoral matters.

House of Lords

• Constitution Committee (10:30): Lord Reed of Allermuir and Lord Hodge, respectively President and Deputy President of the UK Supreme Court, will make their annual appearance before the Committee.

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, Cabinet Office Ministers will face questions from MPs. Topics include emergency preparedness, cyber security, joined-up government, sustainability targets, relations and trade with the EU, relocating civil service jobs outside London, engagement with the Intelligence and Security Committee, security in government procurement, and infected blood compensation.

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.

Select Committee statements: There will be two select committee statements:

• Justice Committee: Andy Slaughter MP, chair of the Committee, will make a statement on the Committee’s latest report, Leadership of the Criminal Cases Review Commission. The Committee concluded that the leadership of the CCRC has “continually failed to learn from its mistakes” and said they no longer felt it was tenable for Karen Kneller to continue as Chief Executive.

• Environmental Audit Committee: Toby Perkins MP, chair of the Committee, will make a statement on the Committee’s latest report, Governing the Marine Environment. The report has not yet been published; it will need to be released in advance of the statement.

Select Committees can ask the Backbench Business Committee for time to make a statement announcing the launch of an inquiry or the publication of a report. These statements are usually delivered in the Chamber during backbench business time on Thursdays. The statement, presented by the Committee Chair or another designated member of the Committee, consists of a 10-minute speech during which interventions are not permitted, followed by 10 minutes of questions from MPs, to which the Select Committee member responds.

Main business: There will be two debates, the subjects of which were chosen by the Backbench Business Committee:

• High street banking closures and banking hubs (Ian Lavery, Labour): MPs will consider a motion expressing concern about the decline in banking facilities, particularly the closure of local branches. The motion calls on the Government to launch a review into the impact of these closures on communities and to change the relevant regulations accordingly. (House of Commons Library briefing)

• Safety regulations in the construction and planning of battery energy storage sites (John Milne, Liberal Democrat): This debate is on a motion acknowledging the challenges posed by lithium-ion fires at battery storage sites. It calls for the introduction of national regulations governing the safe design and construction of these facilities. (House of Commons Library briefing)

Adjournment: The Conservative MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith has the adjournment debate, on applications to the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme.

Westminster Hall: There are two debates today, on:

• police presence on high streets (House of Commons Library briefing); and

• the contribution of maths to the UK (House of Commons Library briefing).

Legislative committees:

• Football Governance Bill: The Public Bill Committee for this Bill will continue its clause-by-clause scrutiny.

Oral questions: Peers will begin the day at 11:00 by questioning Ministers for 40 minutes, on the AI Opportunities Action Plan; security guarantees for Ukraine; and in vitro point-of-care diagnostics. The topic of a fourth question will be decided by a ballot drawn at lunchtime on Tuesday 3 June.

Main business: The Committee Stage of the Employment Rights Bill is expected to continue.

Grand Committee: There will be debates on four groups of draft Statutory Instruments:

• the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) (Amendment, Surrender and Compensation) (England and Wales) Order 2025, which proposes to add ninja swords to the list of prohibited offensive weapons and establish a surrender and compensation scheme for current owners;

• four sets of regulations laid under the National Security Act 2023, in relation to the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme established by the Act;

• the Pension Fund Clearing Obligation Exemption (Amendment) Regulations 2025, which seek to make permanent (indefinite) a previously temporary exemption that allows pension funds to avoid certain clearing obligations related to derivative contracts; and

• the Payment Services and Payment Accounts (Contract Termination) (Amendment) Regulations 2025, which seek to strengthen consumer protections when payment service providers terminate contracts – requiring providers to give more detailed reasons for termination, extending the minimum notice period, and ensuring that customers are informed of any rights they may have to make a complaint.

Highlights include:

House of Commons

• Public Accounts Committee (10:00): The Chief Executive at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the Permanent Secretary at the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, and the lead for the Independent review of UK Research and Innovation, will all give evidence on UKRI’s work. This hearing follows a report from the National Audit Office published a few weeks ago into the grant support for UKRI.

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.

Main business: There will be a debate on a report from the Preterm Birth Committee, titled Preterm birth: reducing risks and improving lives. The Committee was established in January 2024 to “consider the prevention, and consequences, of preterm birth”. (House of Lords Library briefing)

The House will then debate the Committee Stages of two Private Members’ Bills:

• Complications from Abortions (Annual Report) Bill (Lord Moylan, Conservative): This Bill would require the Government to publish an annual report on complications from abortions in England. (House of Lords Library briefing)

• Crown Estate (Wales) Bill (Lord Wigley, Plaid Cymru): This Bill would transfer responsibility for the Crown Estate in Wales to the Welsh Government. (House of Lords Library briefing)

The Hansard Society is a charity. If you find this Bulletin useful 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