House of Lords pauses for recess
11 February 2022
Catch up on a packed start to 2022 in the House of Lords, with highlights of business from 5 January - 10 February:
Jump to:
- legislation
- questions and debates
- Lords committees
- beyond business
- weekly summaries
- returning to business
Legislation
The year opened with members beginning scrutiny of the Nationality and Borders Bill at second reading. It completed its committee stage on Thursday 10 February after members considered almost 300 proposed changes to the draft law. Topics under discussion have included safe routes for unaccompanied children, the number of refugees the UK should resettle each year and accommodation for asylum seekers.
The House of Lords asked the government to think again on multiple topics during consideration of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. Changes made by members include rejecting placing conditions on protests because of noise disruption, increasing stop and search powers and making ‘locking on’ a new offence. Government changes that the House agreed to after earlier campaigning by members include broadening the disregard and pardons scheme for abolished same-sex offences and adding online hate offences as triggers for the use of football banning orders.
Committee stage of the Health and Care Bill began on 11 January and concluded on Wednesday 9 February. Over 65 hours across 9 days, members considered more than 475 changes on topics including NHS waiting times, health inequalities, care and caps on costs, mental health provision, advertising restrictions for less healthy food and drink, and creating a National Plan for Sport, Health and Wellbeing following the Lords Sport and Recreation Committee’s recommendations.
The House of Lords considered the Dissolution of Parliament Bill at committee and report stage. Members voted to make a change to the bill that would require the House of Commons to pass a motion to dissolve Parliament before it can take place.
Members began consideration of the Building Safety Bill with a debate on the main principles and purpose of the draft law at second reading. A range of topics were in the spotlight, including fire safety costs, improving the standards of buildings, and evacuation plans for people with disabilities.
Members also raised concerns on a number of pieces of secondary legislation, including train driver licenses not being inter-operable between the UK and EU like HGV licenses, revision of the Highway Code, and the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice compatibility with human rights requirements.
Questions and debates
So far this year, members have raised issues and pressed the government for action on topics including:
- access to NHS dentistry
- ambulance waiting times
- building safety costs and the impact on leaseholders
- compensation for victims of the Horizon scandal
- cost of living and energy prices
- fuel poverty
- increasing the number of nurses in the NHS
- the ministerial code
- possible foreign interference in the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006
- racism in cricket
- restoring the Northern Ireland Executive following the resignation of the First Minister.
- the role of social media in the deaths of children
- the situation in Ukraine
- supply chain issues in the food and farming sectors
- support for farmers
- support for people with eating disorders
- unusable PPE
Lords Committees
Committee reports published so far in 2022 include:
- The Science and Technology Committee’s report into nature-based solutions for climate change
- The Constitution Committee’s report on building a stronger Union for the 21st century
- The Economic Affairs Committee’s report into central bank digital currencies
- The Built Environment Committee’s report on meeting housing demand
- The Constitution Committee’s reports on the Nationality and Borders Bill and the Health and Care Bill
- The International Agreements Committee’s reports on the UK-Kenya Defence Cooperation Agreement, and the AUKUS agreement.
The Secondary Legislation Committee and Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee also published several reports on new regulations and bills.
Beyond business
LGBT+ History Month
February is LGBT+ History Month in the UK. Discover recent work in the House of Lords to remove barriers and raise awareness for LGBT+ rights across the UK and abroad.
- Read more on LGBT+ History Month in the Lords, including recent changes to the pardons and disregards schemes for people convicted of abolished same-sex offences.
Podcast
In the January episode of the House of Lords Podcast, we talk to Baroness Kidron about her work to protect children online. We also discuss threats to the Union between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with Baroness Taylor of Bolton and Lord Dunlop.
Discover more
Read weekly summaries of business in the House of Lords
Returning to business
The House of Lords returns to business on Monday 21 February, with detailed consideration of the Judicial Review and Courts Bill and Building Safety Bill on the agenda, plus the main debate on the Nuclear Energy (Financing) Bill.