ClearTheLobby

It’s a last-minute dash as the end of the parliamentary session looms.

The King’s Speech is set for 13 May. Bills that aren’t passed by then will be automatically dropped unless they’re explicitly carried over. That leaves several major bills now bouncing between the Commons and Lords as MPs and peers quibble over the detail.

The Crime and Policing Bill is probably the most politically charged.

The Lords inserted amendments on revenge porn, AI chatbots producing illegal content, extreme protest groups, and pardons for women convicted under abortion law. The government is expected to push back on several of these.

And the government has shelved the Chagos Islands Bill.

It won’t pursue the bill in this session after the US withdrew its support. TBC whether it’ll come back later in the term.

MONDAY 13 APRIL

No votes scheduled

TUESDAY 14 APRIL

Type 1 Diabetes Screening (Children) Bill
Proposes a national screening programme to test children for type 1 diabetes. Right now there is no routine screening programme in the UK, which means the condition often goes undetected until a child becomes seriously ill. Inspired by the death of two-year-old Lyla, who died from undiagnosed type 1 diabetes in May 2025. Ten minute rule motion presented by Sarah Bool.

Crime and Policing Bill – consideration of Lords amendments
Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland (part), Northern Ireland (part)
A wide-ranging bill that aims to tackle antisocial behaviour, knife crime, assaults on shop workers, and violence against women and girls, among other things. Changes include giving the police powers to tackle antisocial behaviour by introducing respect orders, creating a power to seize blades found on private property, introducing a new offence of assaulting a retail worker, and banning AI models optimised to produce child sexual abuse material.
Draft bill (PDF) / Commons Library briefing

WEDNESDAY 15 APRIL

Creative Arts and Culture (Broadcasting Requirements) Bill
Requires the regular broadcast of creative arts and culture coverage on national news programmes. Ten minute rule motion presented by John Slinger.

Pension Schemes Bill – consideration of Lords amendments
Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland
A wide-ranging bill reforming the pensions system. Requires defined contribution schemes to prove they’re value for money so savers don’t get stuck in underperforming schemes. Merges small pension pots worth £1,000 or less into one pension scheme. Creates multi-employer ‘megafunds’ in an aim to drive down costs, among other things.
Draft bill (PDF) / Commons Library briefing

Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill – consideration of Lords amendments
Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland (part), Northern Ireland (part)
Aims to remove barriers to opportunity in schools and make the education system more consistent for children. Measures include free breakfast clubs for primary schools in England, a limit on branded school uniform items, and strengthening regulation around social care.
Draft bill (PDF) / Commons Library briefing

THURSDAY 16 APRIL

No votes scheduled

FRIDAY 17 APRIL

No votes scheduled

PREVIOUS WEEK'S VOTES

Passed

• Tobacco and Vapes Bill – goes back to the Lords
• National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill – goes back to the Lords
• Personal Protective Equipment (Inclusive Standards) Bill – goes to 2nd reading
• Victims and Courts Bill – goes back to the Lords

Click here to read details of the bills in last week's newsletter.

MPs debate lots of late-stage bills this week.

They'll consider draft laws on banning tobacco products, salary sacrifice pension contributions, and reforming the justice system have come back from the Lords.

Tuesday is an Opposition Day.

It's a chance for the Tories to set the agenda. Their topic for debate is still TBC.

And this is the last week before Easter recess.

MPs head back to their constituencies on Friday and return on 14 April.

MONDAY 23 MARCH

Tobacco and Vapes Bill – consideration of Lords amendments
Applies to: England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland
Aims to create a smoke-free generation while restricting how vapes are marketed and sold to children. Bans the sale of tobacco products to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009. Gives the government powers to restrict the packaging, contents, and flavouring of vaping and nicotine products, among other things.
Draft bill (PDF) / Commons Library briefing

National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill – consideration of Lords amendments
Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland
Introduces a £2,000 annual cap on employer pension contributions made through salary sacrifice that are exempt from National Insurance. Salary sacrifice is where an employee takes a lower salary in exchange for their employer paying the difference directly into their pension – currently the contributions attract no NI at all. The government suffered five defeats in the Lords, and MPs will decide this week whether to accept, reject, or replace those amendments.
Draft bill (PDF) / Commons Library briefing

TUESDAY 24 MARCH

Personal Protective Equipment (Inclusive Standards) Bill
Requires all PPE procured or provided by public bodies to meet the new British Standard 30417:2025, ensuring it fits all workers, regardless of gender, disability or cultural needs. Most PPE is still designed around the male body. Ten minute rule motion presented by Kirsteen Sullivan.

WEDNESDAY 25 MARCH

Victims and Courts Bill – consideration of Lords amendments
Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland
A broad set of measures that aim to restore faith in the justice system. Allows judges to require offenders to attend sentencing, restricts parental rights for child abusers, and expands access to the Victim Contact Scheme so more victims can stay updated about offenders’ cases, among other things.
Draft bill (PDF) / Commons Library briefing

THURSDAY 26 MARCH

No votes scheduled

FRIDAY 27 MARCH

No votes scheduled

LAST WEEK'S VOTES

Passed

• Grenfell Tower Memorial (Expenditure) Bill – goes to the Lords
• Clinical Negligence Bill – goes to second reading
• Ministerial Salaries (Amendment) Bill – goes to the Lords
• Menstrual and Gynaecological Health Bill – goes to second reading

Click here to read details of the bills in last week's newsletter.

MPs fast-track the Grenfell memorial bill on Monday.

It authorises funding for a permanent memorial at the site of the tower. The bill has cross-party support, so all its Commons stages will be debated in a single day.

On Tuesday, MPs debate raising the number of paid ministers.

Currently, there are some ministers in the Lords who don’t receive a salary. This would allow them all to be paid for their work.

And Wednesday is an Opposition Day.

The Tories have a chance to set the parliamentary agenda. The topic of their debate is still TBC.

MONDAY 16 MARCH

Grenfell Tower Memorial (Expenditure) Bill – all stages
Applies to: England and Wales
Authorises public spending for a permanent Grenfell Tower memorial.
Draft bill (PDF) / Commons Library briefing

TUESDAY 17 MARCH

Clinical Negligence Bill
Caps legal costs for smaller clinical negligence claims (legal cases against medical professionals who make mistakes). Also requires the government to review caps over time and look at options to reform how compensation works in birth injury cases. Ten minute rule motion presented by Catherine McKinnell.

Ministerial Salaries (Amendment) Bill – all stages
Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
Raises the maximum number of ministers who can be paid a salary from 109 to 120. The number of MPs who can be ministers is capped separately, so these ministers will come from the Lords. Aims to fix a situation where peers are currently serving as ministers without being paid.
Draft bill (PDF) / Commons Library briefing

WEDNESDAY 18 MARCH

Menstrual and Gynaecological Health Bill
Requires schools to teach pupils about menstrual and gynaecological health. Teachers must be trained and given resources, including about racial discrimination in menstrual and gynaecological health. Requires the government to tackle misinformation about menstrual health online. Ten minute rule motion presented by Abena Oppong-Asare.

THURSDAY 19 MARCH

No votes scheduled

FRIDAY 20 MARCH

No votes scheduled

LAST WEEK'S VOTES

Passed

• Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill – goes to the Lords
• Domestic Abuse (Pets) Bill – goes to second reading
• Courts and Tribunals Bill – goes to committee stage
• Lord Advocate (Removal of Dual Role) Bill – goes to second reading
• Finance (No. 2) Bill – goes to the Lords

Click here to read details of the bills in last week's newsletter.

MPs will vote on plans to limit jury trials this week.

Supporters say it will cut the enormous backlog of cases clogging up the courts, while critics argue it dismantles a centuries-old safeguard.

The bill that writes the Budget into law finishes its Commons journey.

The chancellor will also give evidence on the Spring Forecast to the Treasury select committee on Wednesday.

And the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill comes back from the Lords.

Peers made 13 amendments for MPs to consider.

MONDAY 9 MARCH

Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill – consideration of Lords amendments
Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland (part), Northern Ireland (part)
Aims to remove barriers to opportunity in schools and make the education system more consistent for children. Measures include free breakfast clubs for primary schools in England, a limit on branded school uniform items, and strengthening regulation around social care.
Draft bill (PDF) / Commons Library briefing

TUESDAY 10 MARCH

Domestic Abuse (Pets) Bill
Extends domestic abuse law to cover pets. Abusers often threaten or harm animals as a way to control victims, and fear of leaving a pet behind can stop people escaping an abusive relationship. Applies non-molestation orders and occupation orders to behaviour involving pets, updates the legal definitions of controlling behaviour and economic abuse to include harm to animals, and extends Domestic Abuse Protection Orders to cover pets. Ten minute rule motion presented by Ruth Jones.

Courts and Tribunals Bill – 2nd reading
Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland (part), Northern Ireland (part)
A wide-ranging justice bill. Removes the right for defendants facing a likely sentence of three years or less to have their case heard by a jury in the Crown Court. Instead, a judge would hear the case alone. Removes a rule in family law that courts must presume a parent’s involvement in their child’s life is beneficial – a change aimed at better protecting children from parents who pose a risk. Reforms the leadership structure of the tribunal system, among other things.
Read the bill (PDF) / Commons Library briefing

WEDNESDAY 11 MARCH

Lord Advocate (Removal of Dual Role) Bill
Allows the Scottish Parliament to split the role of Scotland's Lord Adovcate in two. They are currently head of the prosecution service and chief legal adviser to the Scottish Government. This means they advise ministers while also making independent decisions on prosecutions, which some argue is a conflict of interest. Ten minute rule motion presented by John Cooper.

Finance (No. 2) Bill – report stage and 3rd reading
Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland
Writes into law the measures announced in last October's Budget.
Read the bill (PDF) / Commons Library briefing

THURSDAY 12 MARCH

No votes scheduled

FRIDAY 13 MARCH

No votes scheduled

LAST WEEK'S VOTES

Passed

• Representation of the People Bill – goes to committee stage
• Geotechnical Data bill – goes to second reading
• Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill – became law
• Police (Declaration) Bill – goes to second reading
• Supply and Appropriation (Anticipation and Adjustments) (No. 2) Bill – goes to the Lords

Click here to read details of the bills in last week's newsletter.

Rachel Reeves delivers her Spring Statement on Tuesday.

The Chancellor will set out an update on spending plans, alongside new OBR forecasts. It’s a smaller event than the autumn Budget – no big tax changes expected – but the OBR numbers will set the political weather.

MPs get a say on votes at 16.

The Representation of the People Bill gets its first full debate on Monday. It would lower the voting age for all UK elections, introduce automatic voter registration, and expand accepted voter ID to include bank cards.

And on Wednesday MPs scrutinise government spending.

It’s an Estimates Day, when MPs debate what departments are spending money on. This week the Foreign Office, Ministry of Defence, and Department for Business and Trade are in the spotlight.

MONDAY 2 MARCH

Representation of the People Bill – 2nd reading
Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland
Lowers the voting age to 16 for all UK elections. Introduces automatic electoral registration, so eligible voters are added to the register without having to apply. Expands the list of accepted voter ID to include bank cards. Also tightens rules on political donations.
Draft bill (PDF) / Commons Library briefing

TUESDAY 3 MARCH

Geotechnical Data Bill
When engineers dig into the ground for construction or infrastructure projects, they collect data about what’s down there. This bill would require companies and public bodies to share that data and store it in the National Underground Asset Register, a government database of what lies beneath our streets. The idea is that instead of every new project having to survey the same ground from scratch, engineers can access data that already exists – saving time and money, and reducing unnecessary digging. Ten minute rule motion presented by Mike Reader.

Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill – consideration of Lords amendments
Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland
Guarantees producers of sustainable aviation fuel (a greener alternative to paraffin) a stable price for their fuel, reducing financial risk and making it easier for them to secure investment. The guarantee is funded by a levy on traditional aviation fuel suppliers.
Draft bill (PDF) / Commons Library briefing

WEDNESDAY 4 MARCH

Police (Declaration) Bill
Requires police officers and certain police staff to declare membership of or affiliation to certain societies and organisations. Ten minute rule motion presented by Tonia Antoniazzi.

THURSDAY 5 MARCH

Supply and Appropriation (Anticipation and Adjustments) (No. 2) Bill – 2nd and 3rd reading
Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland
A routine annual bill that formally authorises the government to spend money and draw funds from the Treasury. Passes through all its stages in a single day by convention, with no amendments. Covers the Supplementary Estimates, which reflect revised spending plans for the current financial year.
Commons Library briefing

FRIDAY 6 MARCH

No votes scheduled

LAST WEEK'S VOTES

Passed

• Industry and Exports (Financial Assistance) Bill – goes to Lords
• Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill – goes to Lords

Click here to read details of the bills in last week's newsletter.

Two government bills at committee of the whole House this week.

Usually a small group of MPs will scrutinise a bill at this stage, but for legislation of constitutional or ethical importance it's often open to everyone.

The Lib Dems could pressure the government.

It’s thought they’ll use Wednesday’s Opposition Day to table a humble address forcing the prime minister to publish the legal advice behind his decision to reverse the cancellation of some local elections.

And other than that we have a couple of ten minute rule motions.

One on labelling halal and kosher meat, the other on nominating our chalk streams as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

MONDAY 23 FEBRUARY

Industry and Exports (Financial Assistance) Bill – committee of the whole House, report stage, 3rd reading
Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland
Increases the government’s spending limits for two existing forms of business support. First, raises the amount the government can give to UK companies (e.g. grants and loans). Second, nearly doubles the guarantees that UK Export Finance can give to overseas buyers to convince them to work with British businesses. Allows both of these caps to be increased by a certain amount in future without needing to pass another law.
Draft bill (PDF) / Commons Library briefing

Universal Credit (Removal of two Child Limit) Bill – committee of the whole House, report stage, 3rd reading
Applies to: England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland
Removes the two-child limit on the child element of Universal Credit (the two-child benefit cap), as announced in the November 2025 Budget.
Draft bill (PDF)

TUESDAY 24 FEBRUARY

Food labelling (Halal and Kosher Meat)
Introduces compulsory labelling of products containing halal and kosher meat. Ten minute rule motion presented by Esther McVey.

WEDNESDAY 25 FEBRUARY

Chalk Streams (UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site) Bill
Requires the government to nominate the UK’s chalk streams as a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site. Ten minute rule motion presented by Pippa Heylings.

THURSDAY 26 FEBRUARY

No votes scheduled

FRIDAY 27 FEBRUARY

No votes scheduled

LAST WEEK'S VOTES

Passed

• Eating Disorders (Training) Bill – goes to second reading
• Short-Term Let Accommodation (Data Sharing Requirements) Bill – goes to second reading

Click here to read details of the bills in last week's newsletter.