Questions and statements: At 14:30, Defence Ministers will respond to MPs’ questions. Topics include innovation in the defence sector, support for veterans, defence spending, women in the armed forces, the use of military assets in the Channel, skills in the defence sector, recruitment and retention, cadets, Ukraine and the Strategic Defence Review.

Any Urgent Questions or Ministerial Statements will follow.

Main business: Renters’ Rights Bill (Consideration of Lords amendments). This legislation, which makes significant changes to the regulation of the rental sector, has now completed its stages in both Houses, having been passed by the House of Lords. However, Peers made a series of amendments to the Bill that the Commons must now consider. For each Lords amendment, MPs will need to decide whether to agree with the amendment, disagree with the amendment outright, or propose an alternative version. (House of Commons Library briefing)

The Government is expected to challenge amendments it opposed in the Lords, where it was defeated on eight key issues:

• Student accommodation: An amendment from Conservative shadow minister Baroness Scott of Bybrook would remove the proposed restriction of the grounds for eviction to properties with three or more bedrooms. This means landlords would be able to evict students and regain possession of properties with any number of bedrooms, not just those with three or more, at the end of each academic year.

• Accommodation for agricultural workers: An amendment from the Crossbench hereditary peer Lord Carrington would expand the ground of eviction that enables landlords to take possession of a property for the purpose of housing an agricultural worker, so that it can be used for agricultural workers who are self-employed, rather than only direct employees of the landlord.

• Accommodation for landlords’ carers: An amendment from the Crossbench hereditary peer Lord de Clifford would introduce a new ground for eviction which would enable landlords to seek possession of a property where it is needed to house a carer of the landlord or of a member of the landlord’s family.

• Pet damages: Another amendment from Lord de Clifford would introduce pet damage deposits, which landlords could use to repair damage caused by a tenant’s pets.

• Limit on renting out unsold property: An amendment from the Crossbench hereditary peer Lord Cromwell would provide for a six-month rather than a 12-month prohibition on renting out an unsold property where a tenant had been evicted on the basis that the landlord intended to sell the property.

• Shared leaseholders: An amendment from the Conservative peer Lord Young of Cookham would protect shared leaseholders from the provisions prohibiting the renting out of unsold property where the sale of property ground of eviction has been used.

• Standard of proof for penalties: An amendment from the Conservative peer Lord Keen of Elie would impose a uniform standard of proof – specifically, of proof beyond reasonable doubt – where local authorities are imposing financial penalties on landlords.

• Service family accommodation: An amendment from the Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Grender would extend the Decent Homes Standard to service family accommodation.

Adjournment: Labour MP Perran Moon has the adjournment debate on Government support for remote coastal communities. (House of Commons Library briefing)

Westminster Hall: MPs will debate e-petitions 727360 and 727356, which call for the Government not to increase the time required for indefinite leave to remain from five to ten years for Skilled Workers and for residents with the Hong Kong British National (Overseas) visa. The petitions have acquired over 163,000 and 108,000 signatures respectively. (House of Commons Library briefing)

Legislative committees:

• Delegated Legislation Committee meeting today: to consider the draft Markets in Financial Instruments (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2025, and the draft Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measures) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2025.

Introduction of new Peer: At 14:30, Sharon White, the former Chief Executive of Ofcom and former Chair of the John Lewis Partnership, will be introduced as Baroness White of Tufnell Park, taking her seat as a Crossbencher.

Oral questions: Peers will question Ministers for 40 minutes, on suicide rates; the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza City; planning delivery; and the labour market.

Main business: Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill (Committee, day 5). This is the fifth of six scheduled days for Committee Stage, with the final sitting due on Monday 13 October. The Government Whips had originally expected Committee Stage to conclude at this sitting, but progress has been slower than planned. At the previous sitting, Peers debated only three out of the 15 groups of amendments that the Whips had hoped to cover. As a result, the Government has added an extra day of debate to complete the stage. (House of Lords Library briefing)

The Committee will debate the clauses and amendments in the order in which they appear, or would appear, in the Bill including:

• amendments to replicate provisions in the Illegal Migration Act 2023, such as the duty to remove asylum seekers, restrictions on interim measures from the European Court of Human Rights, and the detention of asylum seekers;

• amendments to repeal sections of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022;

• amendments to increase the speed of processing for asylum claims;

• amendments to change the time limit on immigration detention;

• amendments to clarify the application of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights; and

• amendments relating to legal aid in asylum cases.

Grand Committee: Peers will debate three draft Statutory Instruments:

• Criminal Justice Act 2003 (Removal of Prisoners for Deportation) Order 2025. Automatic release under licence applies generally after 40% of a sentence has been served in prison. Under current rules, the earliest point a foreign prisoner can be released for immediate deportation is the later of 18 months before that automatic release date or after serving 50% of the period before automatic release. This Order loosens the conditions to allow deportation up to four years before automatic release subject to serving only 30% of the period before automatic release. This change will enable foreign nationals to be deported significantly earlier in their sentence.

• Sentencing Act 2020 (Amendment of Schedule 21) Regulations 2025. These Regulations add two new statutory aggravating factors that judges must consider when determining the minimum term for murder sentences: (a) where the murder was connected to an intimate relationship with the victim, and the victim intended to bring an end to that relationship, and (b) where the murder involved strangulation, suffocation or asphyxiation.

• Online Safety Act 2023 (Qualifying Worldwide Revenue) Regulations 2025.

Highlights include:

House of Commons

• Foreign Affairs Committee (13:55): Cabinet Office Minister for European Union Relations Nick Thomas-Symonds MP and Foreign Office Minister for Europe Stephen Doughty MP will give evidence on the UK–EU reset.

• Public Accounts Committee (15:30): The Permanent Secretary and other senior Ministry of Defence officials will give evidence on the UK’s F-35 stealth fighter capability.

Joint

• National Security Strategy Committee (16:30): Journalist and writer Peter Geoghegan, and representatives from Spotlight on Corruption, CryptoUK, and the Electoral Commission will give evidence on defending democracy.

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

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Questions and statements: At 11:30, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and other Treasury Ministers will face questions from MPs. Topics include critical infrastructure, the changes to National Insurance, changes to Inheritance Tax on agricultural property, debt interest payments, planning reform, tax reliefs, and financial services reform.

Any Urgent Questions or Ministerial Statements will follow.

Ten Minute Rule Motion: Labour MP Jon Pearce will seek to introduce a Ten Minute Rule Bill titled the Disposable Barbecues (Prohibition of Use in Public Places) Bill. This legislation would prohibit the use of disposable barbecues in public places. See our Hansard Society guide for more information about the parliamentary procedure for Ten Minute Rule Bills.

Main business: Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill (Second Reading). This Bill gives legislative effect to the UK–Mauritius Treaty on the Chagos Archipelago. In accordance with the treaty, the Bill terminates UK sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) and amends legislation to reflect that the BIOT will cease to exist as an overseas territory.

By convention, the Government does not ratify a treaty until the necessary implementing legislation has been passed. But legislation alone is not sufficient. Under the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 (CRaG) a treaty must be laid before Parliament for 21 sitting days before it can be ratified. During that 21-day period, either House may pass a resolution blocking ratification. If no such resolution is agreed, the treaty may be ratified.

CRaG also provides that if the House of Commons agrees a resolution against ratification, the process is delayed for a further 21 sitting days, during which time the House of Commons can further resolve that the treaty not be ratified. This gives the House of Commons the theoretical power to indefinitely delay ratification of a treaty.

In practice, however, this power is limited. Because the Government controls the parliamentary timetable, it is not obliged to make time for a motion against ratification to be debated. In the case of the UK–Mauritius Treaty, Opposition Leader Kemi Badenoch tabled such a motion, but the Government declined to allocate time for it to be considered. Minsters argued that since treaty ratification depends on implementing legislation, the House would get a substantive debate and vote on the treaty when considering the Bill itself.

Labour Ministers had objected to this approach when they were in Opposition in the last Parliament. In evidence recently submitted to the House of Lords International Agreements Committee, the Hansard Society argued that the Government’s case against providing a parliamentary vote on the treaty is weak. Scrutiny of the detail of a legal text is a distinct exercise from scrutiny of a public policy decision. That is one of the reasons why we called for all significant treaties to be subject to a parliamentary consent vote, alongside an enhanced role for Parliament in influencing the negotiating mandate and monitoring the progress of negotiations.

The House of Lords International Agreements Committee has published a report on the UK–Mauritius treaty, which will be relevant to this debate. It stressed that ensuring the long-term viability of the base on Diego Garcia is critical and warned that failing to ratify the Agreement could increase the risk of the UK facing successful legal challenges in international courts. Nevertheless, the Committee drew attention to the facts that the treaty does not guarantee that Chagossians can return to the Archipelago, that it involves a significant cost to UK taxpayers, and that there is no guarantee of extension of the treaty beyond its initial term. (House of Commons Library briefing)

Adjournment: Labour MP Helen Hayes has the adjournment debate, on accessibility of railway stations in her Dulwich and West Norwood constituency.

Westminster Hall: There are five debates, on:

• hydrogen supply chains (House of Commons Library briefing);

• the condition of natural trails;

• supporting neurodivergent people into employment (House of Commons Library briefing);

• housing developments in North Staffordshire; and

• the impact of free-to-air broadcasting on cricket participation.

Legislative committees:

• Pension Schemes Bill: The Public Bill Committee will continue its clause-by-clause scrutiny and consideration of amendments. Upcoming clauses and amendments focus on the consolidation of small dormant pension pots, and a requirement that multi-employer defined contribution pension schemes hold at least £25 billion in their main default arrangement by 2030. Yet again, a striking feature is the extent to which Ministers intend to introduce changes to their own Bill during this Committee Stage, and not just in response to the critique from MPs at Second Reading. The Pensions Minister, Torsten Bell, has tabled 255 amendments. (House of Commons Library briefing)

• Delegated Legislation Committee meeting today: to consider the draft Data Protection Act 2018 (Qualifying Competent Authorities) Regulations 2025.

Oral questions: At 14:30, Peers will begin the day by questioning Ministers for 40 minutes, on opening more child houses like The Lighthouse to provide services to child victims of sexual abuse; the role of Bureau Veritas as cladding examiner and lift inspector at Grenfell Tower; pension fund investment in UK-listed companies; and the current state of negotiations for ending the war in Ukraine.

Main business: Planning and Infrastructure Bill (Committee, day 5). This is the fifth of eight days scheduled for Committee Stage, with the final day set for Wednesday 17 September.

The next clauses to be considered relate primarily to the local planning process, with amendments on the following topics:

• green spaces and allotments;

• social and affordable housing;

• climate change and overheating;

• time limits on planning decisions and legal challenges;

• the enforcement of planning decisions; and

• the use of mediation.

Some topical amendments from the Conservative Shadow Housing Minister, Baroness Scott of Bybrook, are also likely to be discussed. These would require planning permission to be obtained before asylum seekers can be housed in hotels or Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs), and would make it easier for councils to act against hotels and HMOs being used for this purpose without planning permission. (House of Lords Library briefing)

The debate on this Bill will be interrupted for a one-hour debate – known as “dinner break business” – on the adequacy of the respiratory syncytial virus vaccination programme. (House of Lords Library briefing)

Grand Committee: There will be debates on two select committee reports:

• Public Services Committee, 2nd Report: Lost in translation? Interpreting services in the courts (Government response / House of Lords Library briefing)

• Joint Committee on Human Rights, 2nd Report: Accountability for Daesh Crimes (Government response / House of Lords Library briefing)

Highlights include:

House of Commons

• Treasury Committee (09:15): The Chief Executive and the Chair of the Financial Conduct Authority will give evidence on the organisation’s work.

• Science, Innovation and Technology Committee (09:30): The economist Lord (Jim) O’Neill of Gatley and a group of health and international development charities will give evidence on science diplomacy.

• Culture, Media and Sport Committee (10:00): The Director General and the Chair of the BBC will give evidence on the work of the BBC.

• Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (10:00): Emma Hardy MP, Minister for Water and Flooding, will give evidence on reforming the water sector.

• Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee (10:30): The Institute for Health Equity, the Centre for Better Ageing, Disability Rights UK, the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health and Building Research Establishment will give evidence on housing conditions in England.

• Defence Committee (10:30): Experts in foreign and defence policy will give evidence on AUKUS, the trilateral security partnership between Australia, the UK, and the USA.

• Health and Social Care Committee (12:30): The Interim CEO and other senior officials will give evidence on the work of NHS England.

• Justice Committee (14:30): Minister of State for Justice Alex Davies-Jones MP, the Victims’ Commissioner, the Crown Prosecution Service, the Criminal Bar Association, and the Government’s Independent Adviser on Criminal Justice Responses to Sexual Violence will give evidence on pre-recorded cross examination.

• Speaker’s Conference (15:05): Baroness Jones of Whitchurch, Minister for Online Safety, will give evidence on the security of candidates, MPs and elections.

House of Lords

• Industry and Regulators Committee (10:00): The Building Safety Regulator will give evidence on building safety regulation and the role of the Regulator.

• Communications and Digital Committee (14:30): Legal experts and the Internet Watch Foundation will give evidence on the Online Safety Act.

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, Science, Innovation and Technology Ministers will face questions from MPs. Topics include steps to reduce digital exclusion, the effectiveness of the Online Safety Act in reducing children’s exposure to harmful online content, adoption of new technologies in the workplace, improving technological innovation, holding technology companies accountable for the content on their platforms, and the adequacy of rural broadband.

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

Any Urgent Questions or Ministerial Statements will follow.

Ten Minute Rule Motion: Liberal Democrat MP Adam Dance will seek to introduce a Ten Minute Rule Bill titled the Neurodivergence (Screening and Teacher Training) Bill. This legislation would make provision about screening for neurodivergence in primary-school-aged children and about teacher training relating to neurodivergence.

Main business: Bus Services (No. 2) Bill (Report and Third Reading). This legislation proposes a series of reforms to the bus sector, particularly by devolving greater control over the provision of bus services to local transport authorities.

At Report Stage, the whole House votes on proposed amendments and new clauses. (House of Commons Library briefing)

The Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander MP, has tabled 28 amendments to the Bill, though most are technical or drafting amendments to tidy up the Bill rather than alter its substance.

Conservative Shadow Ministers have tabled several amendments, to: allow local authorities to make byelaws prohibiting people from playing music aloud on buses; remove provisions making it easier for local authorities to franchise bus services; require a review of floating bus stops; require a review of village bus services; require a consultation on a proposed bus funding formula; require the Government to produce a statement of how it would intervene on persistently failing franchised bus services; require the Government to have regard to the performance, accessibility and quality of bus services; and require an assessment of the end to the £2 bus fare gap. The Conservatives may seek a division on some of these amendments.

The most widely supported amendment is from the Liberal Democrat MP Tom Gordon, to remove the time restrictions on use of concessionary travel passes for disabled people. Other notable amendments include two tabled by Labour MP Marsha de Cordova and signed by Treasury Committee chair Dame Meg Hillier MP, to require an equality impact assessment and independent review in relation to floating bus stops and shared-use bus boarders.

Under the programme order agreed at Second Reading, this Report Stage debate will last until 18:00 at the latest. At that point, the debate will be interrupted and votes may then take place. Only Government amendments and those selected for separate decision by the Speaker – most likely amendments tabled by the Official Opposition – will be put to the House. Once voting is concluded, the House will move on to Third Reading, which will last until 19:00 at the latest, at which point the question on Third Reading will be put.

The Bill has already passed the House of Lords but several Lords amendments were removed by the Government during the Commons stages. As outlined in an earlier edition of the Bulletin, these included 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.

Once Third Reading is agreed, the Bill will be sent back to the Lords, who must decide whether to accept the Commons removal of these earlier Lords amendments.

Adjournment: Conservative MP David Simmonds has the adjournment debate, on the future of urgent care centres in Hillingdon.

Westminster Hall: There are five debates, on:

• the impact of the Equality Act 2010 on British society (House of Commons Library debate pack);

• the Windsor Framework Internal Market Guarantee;

• humanitarian access to the Occupied Palestinian Territories (House of Commons Library briefing);

• playgrounds in Bournemouth East constituency; and

• the heritage festival of the 200th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway (House of Commons Library briefing).

Legislative committees:

• Delegated Legislation Committee meeting today: to consider the draft Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019 and the Terrorism Act 2000 (Port Examination Codes of Practice) Regulations 2025.

Main business: Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill (Committee, day 10). For the second time since the summer recess, the House will sit from 11:00, before oral questions, to continue consideration of this Bill. Normally, Standing Orders prohibit substantive business before oral questions. However, a Government motion agreed before the summer recess set aside this rule, allowing early sittings for consideration of this Bill on certain dates. The same arrangement will apply again on Tuesday 16 September.

As outlined in last week’s Bulletin, this change reflects the significant delays the Bill has faced at Committee Stage. The Whips had expected the Committee to conclude within seven sittings, but now expect that at least 12 sittings will be needed, even with the extended hours. However, progress at the last sitting was much quicker: the House considered more than 20 groups of amendments, raising the possibility that the Committee could finish before the twelfth sitting if this pace is maintained.

The next clauses and amendments to be considered relate to the regulation of independent educational institutions. (House of Lords Library briefing)

Oral questions: At 15:00, proceedings on the Bill will be interrupted for 40 minutes, so that Peers can question Ministers on the UK’s nuclear regulatory system; child poverty strategy; and reinstating in-person interviews for sickness benefits. The topic of a fourth question will be decided by a ballot drawn at lunchtime on Monday 8 September.

Committee Stage debate on the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will then resume.

Grand Committee: The House will debate seven draft Statutory Instruments split into four groups:

• the Hovercraft (Application of Enactments) (Amendment) Order 2025;

• 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 Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025; and the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) (Amendment) (Extension to the Social Rented Sector) Regulations 2025.

Highlights include:

House of Commons

• Transport Committee (09:15): Maritime Minister Mike Kane MP and representatives of the ports and shipping sectors will give evidence on the National Policy Statement for Ports.

• Health and Social Care Committee (09:30): Baroness Merron, the Minister for Mental Health, will give evidence on community mental health services.

• Education Committee and Work and Pensions Committee (09:30): The Children and Young People’s Commissioners for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will give evidence on the Child Poverty Taskforce.

• Culture, Media and Sport Committee (09:45): Lisa Nandy MP, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, will give evidence on her Department’s work.

• Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (10:00): The Committee will hold a pre-appointment hearing with Claire Bassett, the Government’s preferred candidate for the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists.

• Welsh Affairs Committee (14:45): The Chief Executive of the Crown Estate will give evidence on the organisation’s work in Wales.

• Energy Security and Net Zero Committee (15:00): The Office for Nuclear Regulation, the Nuclear Industry Association, Sizewell C, the Planning Inspectorate, and the National Infrastructure Planning Association will give evidence on planning for nuclear energy generation.

House of Lords

• Financial Services Regulation Committee (10:05): Former Bank of England Governor Lord King of Lothbury will give evidence on the growth of private markets in the UK following reforms introduced after 2008.

• Constitution Committee (10:30): The Attorney General, Lord Hermer, 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, Transport Ministers will face questions from MPs. Topics include passenger rail performance, local bus services, the role of the transport system in supporting economic growth, inclusion of ferry services in the Integrated Public Transport Strategy, the availability of driving tests, and support for the aviation sector.

Any Urgent Questions will follow.

The new Leader of the House of Commons, former Chief Whip Sir Alan Campbell MP, will present his first weekly Business Statement, setting out the business in the House for the next couple of weeks. Any other Ministerial Statements will follow.

Main business: There will be two general debates, the subjects of which were chosen by the Backbench Business Committee following applications from backbench MPs:

• Regional transport inequality (Catherine Atkinson MP, Labour): This debate was originally scheduled for last Monday, 1 September. However, the inclusion of three significant Ministerial Statements on that first day back after the recess meant that the House did not reach the debate before the end of the sitting. It was therefore rescheduled for today. 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)

• Suicide prevention (Lee Pitcher MP, Labour): In his application, Pitcher noted that Wednesday 10 September is World Suicide Prevention Day, with the theme of “how to change the narrative”. He argued that MPs across Parliament are “in a unique position to start that discussion and change the narrative”.

Adjournment: Labour MP Irene Campbell has the adjournment debate, on male chick culling.

Westminster Hall: There are two debates today, on:

• regulations for non-surgical aesthetic and cosmetic treatments; and

• consumer affairs (House of Commons Library debate pack).

Legislative committees:

• Pension Schemes Bill: The Committee will continue its scrutiny of the Bill, resuming at the point where it finished at the end of Tuesday’s sitting.

Oral questions: At 11:00, Peers will begin the day by questioning Ministers for 40 minutes, on the global plastic pollution treaty; UK–EU trade in the arts and creative industries; and youth unemployment. The topic of a fourth question will be decided by a ballot drawn at lunchtime on Tuesday 9 September.

Main business: Planning and Infrastructure Bill (Committee, day 6). The Committee will continue its scrutiny of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, resuming at the point where it finished at the end of Tuesday’s sitting.

Highlights include:

House of Commons

• Public Accounts Committee (10:00): The Permanent Secretary and other senior officials from the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England will give evidence on reducing NHS waiting times for elective care.

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 entire day will be dedicated to Second Reading of the assisted dying bill, formally the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. Kim Leadbeater MP passes the baton for the Bill to Lord (Charlie) Falconer of Thoroton who will now act as its sponsor throughout all its Lords stages. (House of Lords Library briefing)

The Second Reading debate had originally been expected to conclude today. However, with more than 200 Peers indicating their wish to speak, time pressures became unmanageable. Even with strict limits, each Peer would have had no more than four minutes to make their contribution, resulting in a debate of around 13 hours and any vote being pushed late into the evening. A second day of debate, on a new sitting Friday, has therefore been added and Second Reading will therefore conclude next Friday, 19 September.

Today, to open the Second Reading debate, Lord Falconer will formally move the Second Reading motion. Other Peers will then be able to contribute to the debate. The order in which Peers speak will be determined by the Government Whips, in consultation with whips from the other parties and groups in the House, and published early on Friday as part of Today’s List. Debates on legislation in the Lords are not time-limited, nor do any time limits apply to individual speeches. However, the Government Whips are likely to indicate an advisory speech limit that reflects the number of expected speakers.

The procedures in the House of Lords are less formal and predictable than those in the Commons, so several uncertainties remain. It is unclear how long the debates will last – both at today’s sitting and on the following Friday. At today’s first sitting, proceedings will end when the House votes to adjourn. While the Lords normally rises around 15:00 on Fridays, it is expected to sit several hours later into the evening.

It is also unclear what form opposition to giving this Bill a Second Reading might take. If a Peer wishes to oppose the Second Reading of a bill and put the matter to a formal vote, it is conventional for them to give notice to their colleagues by tabling a “fatal” amendment to the approval motion in the form “that this House declines to give the Bill a Second Reading…”. No such amendment has yet appeared on the Order Paper. Rejection of a bill at Second Reading in the House of Lords is rare; the last time it happened was in 2007. Indeed, even divisions on Second Reading (or on fatal amendments to the Second Reading approval motion) are rare, with only two such divisions in the last decade.

Opponents may look to the 2006 Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill as a precedent. That Bill was rejected at Second Reading, and remains the last time a Private Member’s Bill was defeated at this stage. However, important differences apply: the 2006 Bill originated in the Lords and had not yet been through the House of Commons, unlike the present Bill. In addition, the 2014 Assisted Dying Bill preceded without a division at Second Reading.

As an alternative, Peers could table a “non-fatal” amendment, which allows the Bill to proceed but places the House’s concerns on record. Such amendments normally take the form “that the Bill be now read a second time, but that this House regrets that…” and are a more common means of registering opposition.

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