Summary

  • Peers are debating private members' bills

  1. 'Last call' for Brexit deal, Tusk warnspublished at 17:22 British Summer Time 29 June 2018

    The EU tells Theresa May she must "lay the cards on the table" if a Brexit deal is to be done in time.

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  2. Bill passes second readingpublished at 13:04 British Summer Time 29 June 2018

    Parental Bereavement Bill

    House of Lords
    Parliament

    The bill is given its second reading in the Lords, and now goes on to committee stage.

    That wraps up proceedings in the Lords for today. Peers will be back on Monday at 2.30pm for questions to ministers.

  3. More about what the bill would dopublished at 12:36 British Summer Time 29 June 2018

    Parental Bereavement Bill

    House of Lords
    Parliament

    Statutory parental bereavement pay is predicted to cost between £1.3m and £2m annually - small employers will be able to recover all statutory bereavement pay, while larger employers could recover most of it.

    During debates in the Commons there have been calls to also include foster and adoptive parents in the bill.

    The bill provides for parents to take a minimum of two weeks leave within a period of eight weeks after the bereavement

    The law states if an employee suffers a stillbirth after 24 weeks they are still entitled to full statutory maternity leave - but existing provisions do not guarantee all employers will grant compassionate leave for bereaved parents.

  4. Peers debate parental leave billpublished at 12:28 British Summer Time 29 June 2018

    Parental Bereavement Bill

    House of Lords
    Parliament

    Peers are now debating a bill which would give employees leave and pay if they have lost a child.

    The bill creates a statutory entitlement to parental bereavement leave and pay.

    The bill is supported by the government and so has a greater chance of becoming law.

    Introducing it, Labour's Lord Knight of Weymouth says many people are shocked that there is currently no legal requirement for employers to give parents leave - although Lord Knight says it is obvious that many companies go above and beyond what the bill requires.

  5. Assaults on emergency workers bill passes stagepublished at 12:24 British Summer Time 29 June 2018

    Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Bill

    House of Lords
    Parliament

    Peers approve the bill at second reading and it moves on to committee stage.

  6. Former police officer highlights need for lawpublished at 11:54 British Summer Time 29 June 2018

    Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Bill

    House of Lords
    Parliament

    Lib Dem Lord Paddick recalls working as a police inspector, working with a new constable, and being attacked by someone - which was a deliberate assault on the police, not to do with drugs or anything else, he says.

    Our injuries were only minor, he says, so "we needed this sort of sentencing powers for the courts to punish these individuals for that sort of attack."

  7. Quick work on bills today...published at 11:29 British Summer Time 29 June 2018

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  8. May warns EU: Put citizens' safety firstpublished at 11:28 British Summer Time 29 June 2018

    A close security relationship must be maintained after Brexit, the prime minister warns EU leaders.

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  9. Marriages bill - what happened today?published at 11:28 British Summer Time 29 June 2018

    Summary

    House of Lords
    Parliament

    Proposals to include mothers' names on marriage certificates in England and Wales have moved a step closer to becoming law.

    The Registration of Marriage Bill cleared committee stage in the House of Lords in little more than 30 minutes after peers approved a series of technical amendments, including curbing the powers of ministers over how to implement the changes.

    The Bishop of St Albans's bill introduces reforms to move from a paper-based system to an electronic register.

    This would make it possible to included mothers' details, with the system since 1837 only providing space for the name of the father of each of the couple to be recorded.

    Home Office Minister Baroness Williams of Trafford said all the different family circumstances of society would be provided for under the new registration system, including same-sex parents.

    What next?

    The bill still has report and third reading stages to complete in the Lords before then moving to the House of Commons, where it will need to secure time on a Friday sitting to be considered by MPs.

    Conservative former minister Dame Caroline Spelman, the Church of England's official representative in the Commons, has moved an identical bill as the campaign for change seeks to achieve its aim as quickly as possible.

    The government supports the changes, so it's more likely to be considered and become law.

  10. What's the bill about?published at 11:04 British Summer Time 29 June 2018

    Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Bill

    House of Lords
    Parliament

    The legislation will cover attacks on police, prison officers, the fire service and search and rescue services, as well as certain healthcare workers including ambulance staff.

    Chris Bryant has said: "The way our emergency workers are treated is a national disgrace.

    "They are spat at, punched, attacked or even stabbed whilst they are trying to save other people's lives. We have all seen the horrific images on TV.

    "But the shocking fact is that such appalling acts of violence attract no harsher penalty than an attack on an ordinary member of the public - and often no prosecution is brought."

    In June, South Wales firefighters announced that assaults on staff had almost trebled in a year. Hospital staff in Wales were physically attacked more than 18,000 times at work over five years.

    You can read the bill here, external.

  11. Assaults on emergency workers bill now debatedpublished at 10:42 British Summer Time 29 June 2018

    Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Bill

    House of Lords
    Parliament

    Committee proceedings on the Registration of Marriage Bill concludes, and peers move onto the second reading of the Assaults on Emergency Workers Bill.

    The bill was introduced as a PMB by Labour MP Chris Bryant - and had been introduced originally by Labour's Holly Lynch as a Ten Minute Rule Bill.

    The bill makes it an aggravated offence to commit assault on emergency workers or staff assisting them.

    It also creates an offence to refuse to provide intimate samples in certain types of assaults against staff - for example, spitting.

    The bill's being introduced into the Lords by Labour peer Baroness Donaghy.

  12. Cross party support for changes proposed - ministerpublished at 10:27 British Summer Time 29 June 2018

    Registration of Marriage Bill

    House of Lords
    Parliament

    Baroness WilliamsImage source, hol

    Minister Baroness Williams says there has been growing pressure from the public to allow mothers' names on marriage certificates.

    She points to a petition which has been signed to make these changes. You can find out more about it here and read about the petition here, external.

    She tells peers the changes are not controversial and have cross party support.

  13. 200 years oldpublished at 10:26 British Summer Time 29 June 2018

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  14. What's the bill about?published at 10:17 British Summer Time 29 June 2018

    Registration of Marriage Bill

    House of Lords
    Parliament

    The Registration of Marriage Bill received its first reading in the House of Lords on 29 June 2017, introduced by the Bishop of St Albans.

    The bill aims to reform the marriage registration system in England and Wales from a paper-based system and to include the names of both parents of the married couple.

    The new system, as proposed by the bill, would introduce electronic registration. In 2015, Second Church Estates Commissioner Dame Caroline Spelman said moving to electronic registration would cost £3m.

    The bill also proposes making it a criminal offence to not supply a signed marriage certificate to the registrar.

  15. Purpose of bill 'straightforward and clear'published at 10:17 British Summer Time 29 June 2018

    Registration of Marriage Bill

    House of Lords
    Parliament

    Bishop of St AlbansImage source, HOL

    The Bishop of St Albans, the Rt Revd Alan Smith, tells peers he is grateful for responses to the bill.

    The purpose of the bill is straightforward and clear, he says.

    It is to "enable the system for registring marriages to be flexible enough to include the names of each of the couple's parents, whilst taking the opportunity to introduce a secure and reliable digital system of registration."

  16. Good morningpublished at 09:52 British Summer Time 29 June 2018

    We're covering the House of Lords today, as peers debate private members' bills.

    There are three under discussion today - first, the Registration of Marriage Bill at committee stage. This would require marriages to be registered electronically and proposes making it a criminal offence to not supply a signed marriage certificate to the registrar - and to put the names of both parents of the married couple on the certificate.

    Then peers turn to two private members' bills send over from the Commons. First, the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Bill , external- which makes attacks on them an aggravated offence, which can lead to a tougher punishment.

    Then the Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill , external- which deals with leave and pay for employees whose children have died.

  17. Brexit talks to move faster, May sayspublished at 21:43 British Summer Time 28 June 2018

    The European Commission president says UK cabinet splits are making negotiations difficult.

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  18. Committee calls for five days in Brexit withdrawal debatepublished at 17:18 British Summer Time 28 June 2018

    Today in the Commons

    House of Commons
    Parliament

    Chair of the Exiting the EU committee Hilary Benn called for five days of debate on the EU withdrawal agreement when it comes before Parliament.

    He said, during a statement to the Commons, that the government must accept that if Parliament rejects the final Brexit deal, then it must be prepared to go back to the negotiating table, and not accept that no deal should be the default in that scenario.

    He added that the government should consider seeking an extension to Article 50 if necessary.

    You can read more about the committee's findings here, external.

    The Commons returns on Monday at 2:30pm, with Work and Pensions questions. The Lords sits on Friday, for private members' bills.

  19. MPs demand five days to debate Brexit dealpublished at 17:13 British Summer Time 28 June 2018

    The Brexit committee says it will be "the most significant parliamentary debate in a generation".

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