What's on in the Lords 20-24 March

Catch up

Monday

Questions

Members pressed the government on:

• making the best use of community pharmacies
• talks with Police and Crime Commissioners for Cleveland, Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland
• the UK’s position on the death penalty and membership of the Council of Europe
• the impact of costs pressures on the supply of medical devices and equipment.

Private notice question 

Members quizzed the government in an urgent question on the of the impact of strike action in April on passport applications and ensuring people with delayed applications can vote in elections on 4 May.

Legislation

Members ‘tidied up’ the Trade (Australia and New Zealand) Bill at third reading.

Line by line check (committee stage) of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill continued.

Second reading (the main debate) and all remaining stages of the Social Security (Additional Payments) (No. 2) Bill took place.

Regulations

In Grand Committee, work away from the chamber, the Lords considered regulations on:

• medical devices and blood safety and quality
• the Special Immigration Appeals Commission
• electricity supplier obligations (green excluded electricity)
• electricity supplier obligations (excluded electricity)
• home detention curfews
• judicial pensions.

Tuesday

Questions

Members quizzed the government on:

• funding for the European Structural and Investments Funds and the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund
• the decline in international higher education students
• travel between the UK and the EU
• the British banking sector.

Statements

The Lords questioned the government following three statements on: 

• the security of government devices
• the Baroness Casey Review
• Rail services.

Legislation

Two bills returned to the Lords for consideration of Commons amendments:

• Seafarers’ Wages Bill
• Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill

Away from the chamber in Grand Committee, committee stage of the Financial Services and Markets Bill continued.

Motions to regret

Building safety regulations

Put forward by Baroness Pinnock, members debated a motion to regret regulations relating to building safety and leaseholder protections. The motion regrets that the government has not published data on the number of landlords who have benefited from an error which allowed landlords to transfer costs of remedying historical building defects on to their leaseholders and that those affected have not been identified to advise them to appeal to recover costs. 

Health Education England regulations

The Lords debated a motion to approve and a motion to regret regulations on the transfer of functions conferred on Health Education England to NHS England. Put forward by Baroness Merron, the motion regrets that the regulations do not offer sufficient evidence to support the change and that the information provided on the potential costs and savings from this reorganisation are unspecified and vague and have not been published alongside the government’s promised NHS Workforce Plan. 

Wednesday

Questions

Members pressed the government on:

• regional representativeness of the membership of the House of Lords
• the welfare and environmental standards of imported beef
• staffing and facilities shortages in stroke rehabilitation services
• the social care workforce. 

Legislation

Third reading of the Electronic Trade Documents Bill took place.

Committee stage of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill continued.

Motion to regret

Members debated a motion to regret regulations which make changes to how local Housing Benefit and Universal Credit allowance is determined. Raised by Baroness Thornhill, the motion regrets that the regulations will freeze Local Housing Allowance (LHA) at the levels applied in April 2020 and therefore fails to account for inflationary increases in rent, resulting in vulnerable claimants spending a greater proportion of income on rent.

Thursday

Questions

Members quizzed the government on:

• bringing the delivery of prison education into the public sector
• ending the residential leasehold system
• UK’s data protection framework
• Avanti West Coast.

Legislation

Committee stage of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill continued.

In Grand Committee, committee stage of the Financial Services and Markets Bill continued.

Urgent question repeat 

Members pressed the government in an urgent question on food inflation prices. 

Friday

From 10am

Legislation

Members debated the following private members’ bills at second reading:

• Co-operatives, Mutuals and Friendly Societies Bill
• Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Bill
• Shark Fins Bill
• Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Bill.

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Watch

Questions, debates and scrutiny of legislation are streamed live online for free. Watch chamber and Lords committee meetings on Parliament TV.

Read

All business in the House of Lords chamber and in Grand Committee is transcribed and available to read from around three hours after it happens. Read it free online in Lords Hansard.

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Image: copyright House of Lords / photography by Roger Harris