Lords debates free school lunches and milk regulations
21 March 2018
Members of the House of Lords voted to regret the government's introduction of new Universal Credit regulations on Tuesday 20 March.
- Catch up on Parliament TV
- Read the Lords Hansard transcript
- Lords division (vote) result
- What is a statutory instrument?
- What is a parliamentary motion?
This motion does not stop the regulations, which will come into force in April. It provided an opportunity for the House to put on record its regret that the government is making these changes and to ask for the poverty impact assessment.
Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour) proposed a motion of regret for these regulations on the grounds the government is:
- bringing forward changes in entitlement to free school meals which will undermine work incentives in Universal Credit
- leaving up to a million poor children unable to claim free school meals
His motion asked for the regulations not to be implemented until a full poverty impact assessment has been completed and considered by both Houses, and not before six months has elapsed.
Members of the Lords voted on the regret motion, with 167 in favour and 160 against, so the motion was agreed to.
How do these regulations become law?
- Free School Lunches and Milk, and School and Early Years Finance (Amendments Relating to Universal Credit) (England) Regulations 2018 (external site)
These regulations are subject to the negative procedure, meaning they would not normally be debated unless a member objects. These regulations were laid on 7 February 2018, and their provisions come into force on 1 April 2018.
Further information
- Attend debates in the chamber
- Follow @ukhouseoflords on Twitter
- Like House of Lords on Facebook
- Watch House of Lords videos on YouTube
- View House of Lords photos on Flickr
- Connect with Lords on the Lords Digital Chamber