Questions and statements: At 14:30, Education Ministers will respond to MPs’ questions. Topics include education in areas of increasing population, Best Start Family Hubs, apprenticeships, cost of living for students, supported internships, sports facilities in secondary schools, school food standards, schools with falling rolls, the School Rebuilding Programme, fostering, free childcare, and the governance of multi-academy trusts.

At 15:30, any Urgent Questions or Ministerial Statements will follow. Each Urgent Question lasts around 40 minutes on average, and Ministerial Statements last an average of around 50 minutes. The Prime Minister is expected to make a statement about the security vetting of Peter Mandelson.

Victims and Courts Bill (Consideration of Lords Message): The House of Lords made a series of changes to this Government bill to reform the experience of victims in the legal system. These were summarised in a previous edition of the Bulletin (House of Commons Library briefing). The Commons subsequently considered those amendments, and disagreed with all five groups, without offering any alternatives, before returning the Bill to the Lords. The Lords has now accepted the Government’s stance on court transcripts, publication of sentencing remarks, and the Victims’ Code. However, two areas remain unresolved:

• Private prosecutions: The original Lords amendment sought to remove the proposed ministerial power to prescribe, through regulations, the rates payable to private prosecutors. The Commons rejected this amendment and the Lords chose not to press the issue. Instead, the Lords proposed amendments in lieu requiring the Government to publish an impact assessment before exercising the new power. Rather than accept this, the Government has tabled its own amendment in lieu requiring it to consult with the Law Society, Bar Council, and other stakeholders as appropriate, as well as the publication of an impact assessment before regulations are made. In substance, this closely reflects the Lords’ proposal.

• Unduly Lenient Sentences Scheme: The original Lords amendments would have allowed applications to the Unduly Lenient Sentences Scheme to be made beyond the 28-day deadline in exceptional circumstances and imposed a duty on authorities to inform victims and families about the Scheme. The Commons again rejected this amendment and the Lords again chose not to press the issue. Instead, the Government proposed amendments in lieu to allow applications to the Scheme to be submitted up to six months after sentencing where it is in the interests of justice. In addition, a legal duty will be introduced through the Victims’ Code to ensure that victims are informed about the Scheme. As the Lords amendments in lieu came from the Government itself, Ministers in the Commons have tabled motions to accept the Lords amendments, which will thereby resolve the disagreement.

A programme order agreed by the House on 25 March imposes a time limit on today’s debate of one hour, at which point the debate will be interrupted and the House will vote if necessary.

Crime and Policing Bill (Consideration of Lords Message): The House of Lords passed a number of amendments to this Government Bill to reform the criminal justice and policing system. These were summarised in a previous edition of the Bulletin. The Commons subsequently considered these amendments – accepting some, rejecting others and proposing alternatives in some cases – before sending the Bill back to the Lords.

The Lords have now considered the Commons’ response and accepted its position on all but the following five areas:

• Fixed penalty notices for anti-social behaviour: The Lords initially sought to prevent any accredited or authorised person working on behalf of a local authority from profiting financially from issuing fixed penalty notices (FPNs) for breaches of public spaces protection orders or community protection orders. The Commons rejected this approach and instead proposed allowing Government guidance on anti-social behaviour orders to address the issuance of FPNs. The Lords accepted this in principle, but proposed further amendments requiring that the guidance specify how to prevent authorised persons from being incentivised to issue FPNs.

• Seizure of vehicles involved in fly-tipping: The Lords proposed granting police powers to seize vehicles used in connection with fly-tipping. The Commons rejected this amendment. The Lords have since chosen to insist on their original amendment.

• Pornographic content involving children: The Lords sought to extend the offence of making an indecent photograph of a child to include images where an adult “appears to be or is implied to be” a child. The Commons rejected this but proposed an alternative offence with similar effect. The Lords accepted this approach. The Government has since proposed further technical amendments to refine the new offence, which are expected to be agreed by the Commons, thereby resolving this issue.

• Youth diversion orders: The Lords proposed requiring courts to be informed whether alternative interventions had been considered before making a youth diversion order, designed to divert young people at risk of involvement in terrorism. The Commons rejected this and instead proposed that relevant guidance may address matters taken into account before applying for such an order. The Lords have insisted on their original amendment and rejected the Commons’ alternative.

• Iran-related terrorism: The Lords proposed requiring the Government to review whether organisations linked to the Iranian Government should be proscribed as terrorist organisations, and to publish the outcome. The Commons rejected this amendment, and the Lords have insisted on their original proposal.

A programme order agreed by the House on 14 April imposes a time limit on today’s debate of three hours, at which point the debate will be interrupted and the House will vote.

Delegated legislation: MPs will be asked to approve three draft Statutory Instruments which were considered in delegated legislation committees last Wednesday:

• Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) Regulations 2026

• National Employment Savings Trust (Amendment) Order 2026

• Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements (Amendment) Regulations 2026

Adjournment: Labour MP Anneliese Dodds will give a speech on Government support for community-owned assets. A Minister will then give a response. (House of Commons Library briefing)

Westminster Hall

16:30: MPs will debate e-petition 751174, which calls for the appointment of a Maternity Commissioner. The petition has around 154,000 signatures. One of the co-sponsors of the e-petition is the former Conservative MP Theo Clarke, who co-chaired an All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) inquiry into birth trauma during the last Parliament. The inquiry recommended the appointment of a Maternity Commissioner, alongside the development of a National Maternity Strategy. In February 2024, we talked to Theo Clarke on our Parliament Matters podcast about her personal experience of birth trauma, how it shaped her campaigning work, and the wider role of APPGs in driving policy change. (House of Commons Library briefing)

Delegated Legislation Committee

18:00: The draft Train Driving Licences and Certificates (Amendment) Regulations 2026

↖ Contents · Skip to Tuesday’s Commons ↘

Oral questions: At 14:30, Peers will begin the day by questioning Ministers for 40 minutes, on swimming attainment among school children; plans to promote a renewed culture of giving in the UK; punctuality of passenger train services; and digital voting pilots.

Delegated legislation: Peers will be asked to approve without debate seven draft Statutory Instruments which have previously been considered in Grand Committee, to be grouped as follows:

Building Safety (Responsible Actors Scheme and Prohibitions) (Amendment) Regulations 2026, Warwickshire County Council (Adult Education Functions) Regulations 2026, Surrey County Council (Adult Education Functions) Regulations 2026, and Buckinghamshire Council (Adult Education Functions) Regulations 2026

Credit Institutions and Investment Firms (Miscellaneous Definitions) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 and Capital Requirements Regulation (Market Risk Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026

Aviation Safety (Amendment) Regulations 2026

Tobacco and Vapes Bill (Consideration of Commons Amendments): The House will consider a few remaining amendments sent from the Commons. These are technical, drafting changes, and are therefore expected to be approved with little need for debate. Once agreed, the Bill may then be sent for Royal Assent.

Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill (Consideration of Commons Amendments and Reasons): The House of Lords amended this Government bill, as summarised in an previous edition of the Bulletin. After several rounds of ping-pong three issues are still to be resolved:

• Children’s access to social media: The Lords initially amended the Bill to require the Government to mandate that social media platforms prevent children under 16 from using their services. The Commons rejected this approach, instead proposing a series of amendments in lieu that would give Ministers a broad delegated power to restrict children’s access to specified internet services, if they choose to do so. The Lords then insisted on their original amendments and rejected the Commons’ alternative. In response, the Commons has proposed further amendments in lieu. These largely replicate the scope of the original delegated power, but clarify how it may be exercised and require Ministers to take into account that children of different ages may be affected differently by particular services and features. Lord Nash, who tabled the original amendment, has now proposed a compromise. His motion would see the Lords drop its original amendment, accept the Commons’ approach, but make further changes. These would require any regulations made under the new power to include a duty on providers to use highly effective age assurance measures to prevent access by under-16s to specified services or features. They would also require the Government to ensure that the national curriculum explains why such restrictions are in place.

• Power to limit pupil admissions: The Lords initially amended the Bill to limit the circumstances in which the Schools Adjudicator may direct a school to reduce pupil admissions, and to require consideration of alternative measures (including amalgamation or closure) before restricting the intake of oversubscribed schools. The Commons rejected this amendment, but the Lords chose to insist on it. The Commons has now maintained its disagreement, while proposing amendments in lieu. These would require the Adjudicator, when exercising the power, to have regard to the quality of education at the school and to parental preferences. Baroness Barran, who tabled the original Lords amendment, has again tabled a motion that the Lords insist on its position and reject the Commons’ alternative proposals.

• Smartphones in schools: The Lords initially amended the Bill to require schools to ban the use of smartphones during the school day. The Commons rejected this amendment, but the Lords chose to insist on it. The Commons have now insisted on their disagreement, while proposing amendments in lieu. These would enable Ministers to issue guidance on smartphone use in schools, which schools would be required to have regard to. Baroness Barran, who tabled the original amendment, has again tabled a motion that the Lords insist on its original amendment and reject the Commons’ alternative.

Pension Schemes Bill (Consideration of Commons Amendments and Reasons): The House of Lords amended this Government bill to reform the regulatory framework for pension schemes, as summarised in two recent editions of the Bulletin (in March and last week).

The Bill returned to the Commons last week, where MPs rejected the Lords amendments. The only exception was the “mandation” power: while the Government disagreed with the Lords changes, it proposed some alternative wording.

The original Lords amendments removed the proposed power allowing the Government to direct pension funds to invest in specified asset classes, with the aim of boosting investment in UK assets and private markets. The Commons disagreed with that approach, but put forward revised provisions to limit any such requirement to no more than 10% of a fund’s assets being held in “qualifying assets”, with no more than half of that invested in UK assets. The revised power would also need to remain neutral between different asset classes.

The amendment paper suggests that the Lords will now accept the Commons’ position on most issues, with only two areas of disagreement remaining.

• Mandation: Baroness Bowles of Berkhamsted, the Liberal Democrat Peer who moved the original Lords amendment, has tabled a motion to insist on that amendment and reject the Commons alternative.

• Public service pension schemes: The original Lords amendment required the Government to review the affordability and fairness of public service pension schemes. The Commons rejected this amendment outright. The Conservative Peer Baroness Neville-Rolfe, who tabled the original amendment, has now tabled a motion that the Lords insist on its amendments.

If the Lords insists on its position on either of these two issues, the Bill will return to the Commons. MPs would then need to decide whether to maintain their disagreement, accept the Lords’ position, or propose a further alternative. In the case of public service pension schemes, the Commons would be unable simply to insist on its original position without triggering “double insistence”, which would conventionally result in the Bill falling. A compromise amendment would therefore need to be tabled.

Grand Committee

15:45: Question for Short Debate (QSD) on the UK’s civil preparedness for war. (House of Lords Library briefing)

↖ Contents · Skip to Tuesday’s Lords ↘

Highlights include:

House of Commons

13:30: Foreign Affairs Committee – UK–EU Treaty on Gibraltar: The Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo KC, will give evidence alongside his Government’s Attorney General, Michael Llamas KC. At 14:15 the Committee will then hear from the Minister for Europe, Stephen Doughty MP, accompanied by the head of the Foreign Office’s EU and Gibraltar directorate.

15:30: Public Accounts Committee – Financial resilience of Government-sponsored museums and galleries: Susannah Storey, Permanent Secretary at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, will give evidence alongside other senior departmental officials.

16:35: Home Affairs Committee – Are police doing enough to tackle crime on local high streets? Representatives from the Anti-Counterfeiting Group and the Anti-Slavery Collective will be followed at 17:15 by senior officials from the National Crime Agency and the National Police Chiefs Council to discuss the impact of serious and organised crime on local neighbourhoods.

House of Lords

14:15: Childhood Vaccinations Committee – Professional experts from the Royal College of Nursing, the British Medical Council and the Royal College of Midwives will give evidence.

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

↖ Contents · Skip to Tuesday’s Select Committees ↘

Questions and statements: At 11:30, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Ministers will respond to MPs’ questions. Topics include international economic crime, Interpol Red Notices, settlements in the West Bank, human rights in Iran, financial pressure on Russia, the Strait of Hormuz, the UK–Mauritius Treaty, the UK–EU Treaty on Gibraltar, human rights in Somalia, UK–EU relations, the eradication of polio, death penalty legislation in Israel, and the threat posed by China.

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

Ten Minute Rule Motion: Labour MP Melanie Onn will seek to introduce a Road Surfaces (Maximum Noise Levels) Bill under the Ten Minute Rule which allows MPs to give a ten-minute speech in favour of a Bill before seeking the House’s permission to introduce it. The Bill would prohibit the use of road surfacing materials which generate in-vehicle noise levels above a specified maximum and require the resurfacing of existing roads which generate in-vehicle noise above that maximum. See our Hansard Society guide for more information about the parliamentary procedure for Ten Minute Rule Bills.

English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Consideration of Lords Amendments): MPs will consider Lords amendments to the Government’s legislation to reform the structure of local government. Before the debate begins, the House will be asked to approve a programme motion setting a time-limit for proceedings.

For each Lords amendment, the Commons must decide whether to agree, disagree, or propose an alternative.

During Report Stage in the Lords, the Government was defeated on a number of amendments, which it is now expected to seek to overturn, modify, or replace:

• rural affairs: adding rural affairs to the areas of competence of strategic authorities;

• creation of new authorities: removing the Government’s ability to create or amend the governance or composition of combined authorities without the consent of the councils involved;

• appointment of commissioners: requiring mayors to appoint commissioners through a fair and open selection process, with published criteria;

• Greater London Authority council tax: replacing the current two-thirds majority requirement in the London Assembly for changes to the consolidated council tax with a simple majority;

• greenfield land: preventing mayors and combined authorities from designating for development greenfield land where suitable brownfield land is available;

• local government executives: removing the requirement for local authorities to adopt a leader-and-cabinet governance model;

• parish councils: requiring the Government to develop a strategy to expand parish governance in currently unparished areas; and

• agent of change principle: introducing a principle in licensing and planning decisions, to protect existing businesses and community facilities from restrictions arising from newer developments.

Only once both Houses reach agreement on all the amendments will the Bill be sent for Royal Assent. The Bill is therefore likely to return to the Lords following today’s debate.

Adjournment: Labour MP Kevin McKenna will give a speech on the preservation of the SS Richard Montgomery masts. A Minister will then give a response.

Westminster Hall

09:30: Potential merits of establishing an independent national review body overseeing wheelchair provision (House of Lords Library briefing)

11:00: Sex trafficking in Scotland

14:30: Windfarm development on protected peatland (House of Commons Library briefing)

16:00: Potential merits of use of alternative measures to GDP within Government

16:30: Future of Hammersmith Bridge

Public Bill Committee

09:25 and 14:00: Courts and Tribunals Bill (Committee, day 4): Clause-by-clause scrutiny and consideration of amendments will continue at today’s sitting. The next clauses to be debated concern the three-year expected sentence threshold for determining when a jury trial is appropriate, the increase in the maximum sentencing powers in magistrates’ court, and the removal of the automatic right to appeal from magistrates’ court. The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have tabled a number of amendments to these clauses, including proposals to remove these clauses entirely. (House of Commons Library briefing)

Delegated Legislation Committees

14:30: The draft Chemicals (Health and Safety) (Amendment, Consequential and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026

16:30: The draft Capital Requirements Regulation (Market Risk Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026, and the draft Credit Institutions and Investment Firms (Miscellaneous Definitions) (Amendment) Regulations 2026

↖ Contents · Skip to Wednesday’s Commons ↘

Oral questions: At 14:30, Peers will begin the day by questioning Ministers for 40 minutes, on the graduate guarantee for newly qualified midwives; marginal pricing for electricity; the establishment of a House of Lords modernisation committee; and the humanitarian crisis in Sudan.

Statutory Instrument debates: The House will consider eight Statutory Instruments, some of which are related and have therefore been grouped together for consideration. All except the last one concerning local elections are draft affirmative instruments, meaning that they cannot be made into law until each House has debated and approved them.

• Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) Regulations 2026: These draft Regulations were debated in Grand Committee last Wednesday and now simply require approval. They would extend the remit of the Care Quality Commission to regulate healthcare at sports venues and events, in line with recommendations by the Manchester Arena Inquiry.

• Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements (Amendment) Regulations 2026: These draft Regulations update and clarify the consumer protection framework for package travel services.

• Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975 (Amendment) Order 2026: This draft Order changes how the salaries of ministers and certain officeholders are calculated. Under the 1975 Act, salaries are adjusted each year in line with the average increase in Senior Civil Service pay bands – a formula introduced in 1997. However, in 2023-24, the Government identified that this formula had been misapplied since its introduction, as the salaries of Permanent Secretaries had been excluded from the calculation despite the legislation not allowing for this. The Order resets ministerial and officeholder salaries to establish a new baseline. It also introduces a new statutory formula that excludes Permanent Secretaries from the calculation, aligning the law with current policy.

• The Criminal Justice (International Co-operation) Act 1990 (Amendment) Order 2026 will be debated with the Controlled Drugs (Drug Precursors) (Amendment and Revocation) Regulations 2026: The draft Order adds 12 new drug precursor chemicals (DPCs), along with certain simple chemical variations, to the list of substances for which it is a criminal offence to manufacture or supply them in the knowledge that they will be used to produce a controlled drug. The Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee (SLSC) has drawn this Order to the attention of the House, noting that the need for the changes has arisen because the Home Office had, since at least 2014, failed to update domestic legislation to reflect amendments to a relevant international convention. The accompanying draft Regulations make broader changes to the DPC regime. These include adding 10 DPCs and 14 variations to the list of substances subject to monitoring and control, enabling future additions to be made more efficiently, and establishing a statutory framework for authorising the movement of such chemicals between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. These Regulations were also drawn to the special attention of the House by the SLSC. The Committee highlighted concerns that some of the legal changes – required following the UK’s exit from the European Union – had taken five years to implement after the end of the transition period. The SLSC also raised concerns that authorisations for GB–NI transfers of DPCs had been taking place without clear statutory underpinning.

• Immigration and Asylum (Provision of Accommodation to Failed Asylum Seekers) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 and the Asylum Seekers (Reception Conditions) (Amendment) Regulations 2026: The first set of draft Regulations would allow the Government to suspend or discontinue asylum support, both accommodation and cash, for failed or inadmissible asylum seekers where there are reasonable grounds to suspect they are working illegally. The SLSC has drawn these Regulations to the special attention of the House and expressed doubt that the measures would have significant practical impact. The second set of draft Regulations would revoke the duty on the Home Secretary to offer asylum support to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute, replacing it with a discretionary power. These Regulations have also been drawn to the special attention of the House by the SLSC. The Committee has raised concerns that the Home Office has not explained how it will manage the risks associated with withdrawing support from the destitute, including potential increases in homelessness, crime and illegal working.

• Local Authorities (Changes to Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) (Revocation) Order 2026: This Order revokes an earlier Order that postponed the May 2026 local elections in 30 councils for one year. Its effect is to reinstate those elections, meaning they will now take place as originally scheduled in May. As the instrument is subject to the negative procedure, it has already been signed into law, and will remain law unless either House passes a motion to annul it. The House will instead debate a motion to “regret” the Order. Unlike annulment motions, a regret motion does not block a Statutory Instrument but allows the House to place its concerns on the record. The motion tabled by Conservative Shadow Minister Baroness Scott of Bybrook expresses regret about the decision-making process that led to the need for the revocation, while affirming the importance of ensuring that the elections now proceed. The Order was drawn to the special attention of the House by the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee, which warned that the late reversal of the postponement could lead to considerable disruption to local election administration, and criticised the Explanatory Memorandum for not making clear that the decision had been made in response to new legal advice.

Grand Committee

15:45: General debate on cancer outcomes in the UK and plans to improve them, including diagnostic care and research (House of Lords Library briefing)

↖ Contents · Skip to Wednesday’s Lords ↘

Highlights include:

House of Commons

10:00: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee – Propriety, ethics and the wider standards landscape in the UK: Cabinet Office minister Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent will give evidence.

10:00: Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee – Modernising elections: Academic experts will give evidence on the first panel followed by representatives from the Association of Electoral Administrators and the Boundary Commission for England at 10:30, before the Chief Executive and other senior officials from the Electoral Commission appear at 10:55.

10:00: Education Committee – Screen time and social media: Representatives from TikTok, Meta, Snapchat and Roblox will give evidence, followed at 11:00 by academic experts in psychology and brain science from UK universities.

10:30: Defence Committee – Afghan data breach and resettlement schemes: Former senior Ministry of Defence official Paul Rimmer will give evidence about the February 2022 data breach that exposed the personal data of thousands of Afghan applicants seeking resettlement in the UK and was then placed under a legal super-injunction. At 11:15 the Ministry’s former Permanent Secretary David Williams will then give evidence.

10:30: Foreign Affairs Committee – Work of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Details of who will give evidence at this session have not yet been confirmed. However, the Committee has invited Olly Robbins to appear, following his dismissal last week as Permanent Secretary at the Foreign Office after it emerged that Peter Mandelson failed his security vetting for his appointment as the UK’s Ambassador to Washington.

14:30: Business and Trade Committee – China and the UK economy: Rain Newton-Smith and Peter Burnett, the respective chief executives of the Confederation of British Industry and the China–Britain Business Council, will give evidence, followed by senior officials from Make UK, Astra Zeneca, Brompton Bicycle, TheCityUK, techUK and the University of Edinburgh.

House of Lords

11:00: European Affairs Committee – Dynamic alignment: Representatives from the CBI and British Chambers of Commerce will give evidence, followed at 11:50 by Sam Lowe, head of trade and the market access practice at Flint Global, and Shanker Singham, chair of the Growth Commission.

14:00: International Agreements Committee – Trade in a turbulent world: how should the UK deploy its trade instruments? Sam Lowe of Flint Global will make a second appearance on the Lords Committee corridor today, alongside Professor Holger Hestermeyer from the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna and Dr Mona Paulsen from the LSE Law School.

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

↖ Contents · Skip to Wednesday’s Select Committees ↘

Details of Wednesday’s business can be found below.

Private Business: At 11:30, business on Private Bills will be considered without debate. Dame Emily Thornberry has given notice of a motion to defer Report Stage of the Royal Albert Hall Bill by “six months”, which is a conventional way of signalling an objection. The effect of this is to prevent Report Stage being taken without debate, and to compel the Chairman of Ways and Means (the Senior Deputy Speaker) to make time available for a debate on another day. A similar tactic was used to secure a debate on the Bill’s Second Reading. The Chairman of Ways and Means is then set to move motions intended to carry over this Bill and the City of London (Markets) Bill into the next Session, so that they are not lost on the forthcoming Prorogation. The carry-over motions must themselves be deferred if any MP objects, as happened when the same motions were moved last Wednesday. See last week’s Bulletin for further details.

Questions and statements: Wales Office Ministers will respond to MPs’ questions. Topics include clean energy, the defence sector, the cost of living, job creation, the rail network, cross-border healthcare, the visitor levy, and World Heritage Sites.

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

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

Ten Minute Rule Motion: Labour MP Sally Jameson will seek to introduce a Criminal Proceedings (Juror Absence) Bill under the Ten Minute Rule which allows MPs to give a ten-minute speech in favour of a Bill before seeking the House’s permission to introduce it. The Bill would provide that any criminal proceedings set down for trial may not be adjourned by reason of absence of or discharge of a juror where the number of members of the jury is not reduced below nine.

If necessary, consideration of Lords Message to the Pension Schemes Bill: As noted in Monday’s House of Lords section (above), if the Lords insists on its position on either the “mandation” amendment or the public service pension schemes amendment, the Bill will return to the Commons today. (House of Commons Library briefing)

In that scenario, MPs would need to decide whether to maintain their disagreement, accept the Lords’ position, or propose a further alternative. In relation to public service pension schemes, the Commons would be unable to simply insist on its original position without triggering “double insistence”, which would normally result in the Bill falling. A compromise amendment will therefore be required.

If the Bill does return to the Commons, it will only be sent for Royal Assent if the Commons accepts the Lords’ position on all outstanding issues. Otherwise, it will be sent back to the Lords again for further consideration.

If necessary, consideration of Lords Message to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill: As explained in Monday’s House of Lords section, the Bill will return to the Commons today if the Lords insists on its amendments relating to pupil admissions or smartphones in schools, or proposes a further amendment on children’s access to social media.

If the Lords insists on its amendments on pupil admissions or on smartphones, the Commons will need to decide whether to insist on its alternative proposal, accept the original Lords amendment, or propose a further alternative.

If the Lords proposes a further amendment on children’s access to social media, the Commons will again have the same options: to insist on its alternative proposal, accept the Lords’ new amendment, or propose an alternative.

The Bill can only be sent for Royal Assent once both Houses agree on all outstanding issues. If agreement is not reached, it will be returned to the Lords for further consideration.

If necessary, consideration of Lords Message to the Crime and Policing Bill: The House of Lords is scheduled to consider the Commons’ message on the Bill earlier today, following the Commons debate on Monday. If the House of Lords insists today on its position on any of its amendments, or proposes any further changes, the Bill will return to the Commons this evening. As set out in today’s Lords’ section below, any remaining disagreement is likely to be limited to four issues: fixed penalty notices for anti-social behaviour, the seizure of vehicles involved in fly-tipping, youth diversion orders, and Iran-related terrorism.

Presentation of Public Petitions: Labour MP Laura Kyrke-Smith will present a public petition, on Aylesbury United Football Club. Liberal Democrat MP Lisa Smart will also present a public petition, on the Stockport Green Belt.

Adjournment: Liberal Democrat MP Olly Glover will give a speech on sudden unexpected death in epilepsy and epilepsy deaths prevention. A Minister will then give a response.

Westminster Hall

09:30: Foundation Programme and its role in supporting and retaining resident doctors (House of Commons Library briefing)

11:00: Army Reserve

14:30: Government support for mountain rescue (House of Commons Library briefing)

16:00: Osteoporosis and bone health

16:30: Fraud in the car insurance industry (House of Commons Library briefing)

Delegated Legislation Committees

14:30: The draft Asylum Seekers (Reception Conditions) (Amendment) Regulations 2026, and the draft Immigration and Asylum (Provision of Accommodation to Failed Asylum-Seekers) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 – see Tuesday’s House of Lords briefing (above) for details

16:30: The draft Provision of Information (Contractual Control) (Registered Land) Regulations 2026

↖ Contents · Skip to Thursday’s Commons ↘

Oral questions: At 15:00, Peers will begin the day by questioning Ministers for 40 minutes, on low carbon heat networks; binding targets to reduce plastic pollution; and the adequacy of burial provision and existing local authority duties. The topic of a fourth question will be decided by a ballot drawn at lunchtime on Monday 20 April.

Motion on introduction of Peers: The Leader of the House of Lords is expected to invite the House to agree a motion providing that, notwithstanding the usual practice, a hereditary Peer who has sat in the House under section 2 of the House of Lords Act 1999 may take their seat as a life peer without a further formal introduction. The effect of this change is to streamline arrangements for hereditary peers who are due to leave House at the end of the Session under the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026 but are subsequently appointed as life peers. In such cases, they would not need to undergo the formal introduction ceremony again upon their return.

If necessary, consideration of Commons Amendments and Reasons to the Crime and Policing Bill: As outlined in Monday’s House of Commons section above, MPs are due to consider their response to the Lords Message on five outstanding issues. One of these is expected to be resolved on Monday, leaving four issues for consideration today: fixed penalty notices for anti-social behaviour, the seizure of vehicles involved in fly-tipping, youth diversion orders, and Iran-related terrorism. These are set out in more detail in Monday’s section.

For each issue, the Lords must decide whether to maintain its previous position, accept the Commons’ view, or propose a further alternative. Only if the Lords accepts the Commons’ position on all the remaining issues can the Bill be sent for Royal Assent.

Question for Short Debate on the clean energy: There will be a short debate on the impact of the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan upon rural communities. (House of Lords Library briefing)

If necessary, consideration of Commons Amendments and Reasons to the Pension Schemes Bill: The House of Commons is scheduled to consider the Lords’ message on this Bill earlier today, following the Lords debate on Monday. If MPs insist on their position on any of the Lords amendments, or propose further amendments, the Bill will return to the Lords this evening for further consideration. As explained in today’s Commons section above, this is likely to be limited to two issues: mandation, and public service pension schemes.

↖ Contents · Skip to Thursday’s Lords ↘

Highlights include:

House of Commons

09:30: Science, Innovation and Technology Committee – Pre-appointment hearing for Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, the Government’s preferred candidate to chair UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

14:20: Women and Equalities Committee – Female entrepreneurship: Blair McDougall MP and Lord Stockwood, Ministers in the Department for Business and Trade, will give evidence alongside officials from their Department and the British Business Bank.

14:45: Procedure Committee – Written Parliamentary Questions: Alex Burghart MP, Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Wendy Chamberlain MP, Liberal Democrat Chief Whip, will give evidence again after their session was interrupted last week by Commons votes. We submitted written evidence to this inquiry outlining the Hansard Society’s analysis of the rise in Written Parliamentary Questions during this parliamentary session, along with the factors driving this increase.

House of Lords

10:30: Constitution Committee – Annual evidence session with Lord Reed of Allermuir, President of the Supreme Court, and Lord Sales, Deputy President.

11:00: Public Services Committee – The role of ambulance services in supporting accident and emergency departments: Senior representatives from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, the Royal College of Paramedics, and Healthwatch England will give evidence.

Joint Committee

14:15: Human Rights Committee – Legislative Scrutiny of the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill: Hilary Benn MP, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, will answer questions about this legislation to replace the previous Government’s 2023 Legacy Act.

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

↖ Contents · Skip to Thursday’s Select Committees ↘

Questions and statements: At 09:30, Cabinet Office Ministers will face questions from MPs. Topics include the Ministerial Code, the creation of a sovereign database, public procurement, the Civil Service Pension Scheme, insourcing in the public sector, contaminated blood compensation, UK–EU relations, performance management plans in the civil service, and national resilience.

Any Urgent Questions will follow.

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

Select Committee statements: Environmental Audit Committee chair Toby Perkins MP will give a statement on the Committee’s imminent report, Addressing the risks from Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS). This will be followed by a statement from Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee chair Florence Eshalomi on her committee’s forthcoming report, Housing conditions in temporary accommodation.

Select committees can ask the Backbench Business Committee for time to make statements on the launch of inquiries or the publication of a report. A statement consists of a 10-minute speech from a member of the select committee, during which interventions are not permitted, followed by 10 minutes of questions from MPs, to which the select committee member responds.

General debate on the contribution of allied health professionals: Sonia Kumar MP, a former physiotherapist, secured this debate through the Backbench Business Committee. The debate will focus on the role and work of the 14 allied health professions which together make up around a third of the NHS clinical workforce. (House of Commons Library briefing)

General debate on reform of the Drivers and Vehicles Licensing Agency: Vikki Slade MP applied to the Backbench Business Committee for this debate in November after receiving a high volume of constituent complaints. These included issues affecting both learner drivers and those seeking to renew their driving licences.

Adjournment: Conservative MP Bob Blackman will give a speech on implementation of the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023. A Minister will then give a response. (House of Commons Library briefing)

Westminster Hall

13:30: Access to education and training for young adult carers (House of Commons Library briefing)

15:00: Gambling advertising (House of Commons Library briefing)

Public Bill Committee

11:30 and 14:00: Courts and Tribunals Bill (Committee, day 5): The Public Bill Committee will continue its clause-by-clause scrutiny and consideration of amendments, and the debate will resume from the point reached by the Committee at Tuesday’s sitting. (House of Commons Library briefing)

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Oral questions: At 11:00, Peers will begin the day by questioning Ministers for 40 minutes, on investment in and the competitiveness of the steel sector; home ownership for first-time buyers; and Sustainable Farming Incentive funding for flood prevention and drought resilience. The topic of a fourth question will be decided by a ballot drawn at lunchtime on Tuesday 21 April.

Motions on Private Bills: The Senior Deputy Speaker will invite the House to agree two motions to suspend proceedings on the Malvern Hills Bill and the Cheltenham Borough Council (Markets) Bill at the end of the current Session. The motions would allow both Bills to be carried over into the next Session, should their promoters wish to continue with them.

Motions to approve recommendations of the Procedure and Privileges Committee: The Senior Deputy Speaker will then invite the House to agree the recommendations set out in the Committee’s recent report.

There are proposals in four areas:

Changes to Grand Committee sitting times:

• that it should normally sit for a maximum of five hours;

• that it should commence proceedings on a Thursday at 12:15; and

• that it should have an additional sitting on Tuesdays for the consideration of delegated legislation only, starting at 11:00 and lasting for up to three hours.

Changes to delegated legislation debates:

• to introduce a time-limit of 60 minutes on delegated legislation debates in the Chamber, with the option for the Usual Channels (the party Whips and business managers) to agree a limit of 90 minutes or longer in exceptional circumstances;

• to introduce speakers’ lists for debates on delegated legislation; and

• for the clocks in the Chamber to record the length of each speech in debates on delegated legislation and flash when the speaking time limit is reached.

Amendments to Standing Orders and the House of Lords Companion to reflect consequential changes arising from the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026:

• removing obsolete provisions concerning how “peers by descent” join the House, by-elections for hereditary peers, and disputed peerage claims; and

• reflecting the House’s recent agreement that hereditary peers leaving the House be entitled to the same access rights as members who retire under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014.

Highlighting International Agreements Committee (IAC) Reports in House business:

• that IAC reports should in future be “tagged” as annotations to relevant Bills listed in House of Lords business papers, which would apply where the Committee has published a scrutiny report on an underlying treaty that is subsequently implemented through primary legislation before the House.

English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (Consideration of Commons Amendments and Reasons): The Commons is due to consider Lords amendments in eight areas on Monday (see the Commons section above).

The Government has tabled motions to disagree with the Lords on seven of the eight issues. On parish councils, it has instead proposed to disagree while putting forward an amendment in lieu. This would allow any new “neighbourhood governance” structures to include representatives of parish councils.

If the Commons agrees to these motions, the Bill will return to the Lords later today. Where the Commons has disagreed with a Lords amendment, the Lords must decide whether to insist on its original amendment, accept the Commons’ position (and any amendment in lieu), or propose a further alternative of its own. Only if the Lords accepts the Commons’ position on each amendment will the Bill be sent to receive Royal Assent.

If necessary, consideration of Commons Amendments and Reasons to the Victims and Courts Bill: The Commons is due to consider a Lords Message on this Bill on Monday, with two outstanding issues remaining: private prosecutions and the Unduly Lenient Sentences Scheme. These are outlined in more detail in Monday’s Commons section above.

The Commons is expected to accept the Lords position on the Unduly Lenient Sentences Scheme, meaning no further Message is likely to be required on this issue. On private prosecutions, however, the Commons is likely to disagree with the Lords previous amendment in lieu and instead propose an alternative amendment of its own. If so, that Commons amendment in lieu will be the only issue returned to the Lords.

The Lords will then need to decide whether to accept the Commons amendment in lieu, insist on its own previous amendment in lieu, or propose a further alternative. Given the close similarity between the two approaches, the Lords are expected to accept the Commons’ amendment. If they do, the Bill will be sent for Royal Assent.

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Highlights include:

House of Lords

10:30: National Resilience Committee – National resilience: Edward Lucas, the Times commentator who specialises in European and transatlantic security, will give evidence alongside Deborah Haynes, security and defence editor at Sky News, and Elisabeth Braw, Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council. A second panel at 11:30 will explore the role of civil society organisations with representatives from the Young Foundation, the Salvation Army, Re:act, and the VCS Emergencies Partnership.

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

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The House will not be sitting.

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Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Committee, day 14): From 10:00, the House will resume its consideration of the Private Member’s Bill to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales. At this Stage, the House must decide whether each clause and schedule should remain in the Bill, and whether any amendments should be made or new clauses and schedules added. (House of Lords Library briefing)

To manage proceedings, amendments can be grouped for debate to ensure discussion remains focussed and repetition is avoided. The Government Whips have organised the amendments into 80 groups, of which just 39 have been debated so far.

This is the final day of debate allocated to the Bill, and it is now accepted that the Bill will not pass before the Session ends with Prorogation, which is expected to happen on a day between 29 April and 6 May.

The Lords’ failure to pass the Bill has given rise to the suggestion that the Parliament Act might be deployed in the next Session to bring the Bill into law without the consent of the House of Lords. A recent episode of our Parliament Matters podcast explores how the Parliament Act works and how it might be utilised for this Private Member’s Bill.

Ahead of today’s sitting, a new marshalled list of amendments (a numbered list which sets out all the amendments to reflect their position in relation to where they apply to the Bill) will be published (under the Amendment Paper section of the Publications tab on the Bill page on the parliamentary website). An updated grouping list may also be published, and the Bill’s co-sponsor, Lord Falconer of Thoroton, may indicate how many of these groups he hopes will be debated today.

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Both Houses will resume at 14:30 on Monday 27 April 2026. Our next Bulletin will therefore be published on Sunday 26 April.

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