The pick of the coming week in the Commons and Lords

With Prime Minister's Questions degenerating week by week into an exchange of ever more puerile pre-cooked soundbites, this week's highlight may prove to be the more structured interrogation of the PM due to be carried out by the super-committee of Select Committee Chairs, the Liaison Committee, on Tuesday afternoon.

They're experimenting with a new format in which their questioning will be less wide ranging, in the hope of making it more focused. We shall see.

And watch out for a couple of important select committee reports: Energy and Climate Change will pronounce on the Government's approach to electricity markets on Monday, and on Thursday the Culture Committee will give its verdict on the BBC Licence Fee settlement agreed last year - I understand the committee has been split on whether it was too tough, or tough enough.

There's also an interesting-looking new inquiry by the Health Committee, looking at the neglected area of policy promoting public health - they've just issued their call for evidence.

Meanwhile here's the day by day breakdown for next week:

Monday in the Commons kicks off with Defence Questions, followed by a promising looking debate on the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan. After that MPs are expected to approve the report from the Standards and Privileges Committee into the ex-Liberal Democrat minister David Laws. The Committee said he had been guilty of serious breaches of expenses rules in claiming for rent, paid to his partner. It is recommending he be suspended from the Commons for seven days. And farmers may want to take a look at Dr Theresa Coffey's adjournment debate on the effects on agriculture of a potential drought.

In the Lords, peers will have the chance to take another bite out of the Fixed Term Parliaments Bill at Committee Stage, before turning their attention to the European Union Bill. There are also a couple of motions "regretting" changes to the immigration rules - regret motions seem to be providing Coalition peers with regular opportunities to rebel at the moment.

As usual on Mondays, select committee business is pretty sparse - but the committee reviewing the renewal of the Detention of Terrorist Suspects Bill will hear from the Home Secretary Theresa May. And the Public Accounts Committee returns to the evergreen subject of Government IT procurement… always fun.

On Tuesday the Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary Ken Clarke and his team field questions in the Commons, before the House embarks on two days devoted to polishing off the Localism Bill - the mega-bill designed to pass more power to the grassroots, create more elected mayors and enable local referendums and much, much more. The super-wonkish Minister for Decentralisation, Greg Clarke presiding. Peers will be spending the day pondering the detail of the Postal Services Bill - the bill to part-privatise the Royal Mail.

The Committee business is headlined by that Liaison Committee session with David Cameron (see above) - but there's plenty of other high-octane committee business too. Highlights are Education, where the junior minister Sarah Teather will be talking about the Special Educational Needs Green Paper, and Culture Media and Sport with the Mayor, Boris Johnson on the preparations for the 2012 Olympics. And the Business Committee tackles the increasingly fraught issue of the future of Higher Education.

Wednesday as always, will be dominated by PMQs, although given the content-free bickering of recent weeks, it increasingly resembles WWF wrestling, rather than parliamentary debate. Lib Dem patriarch Sir Allan Beith has a ten minute rule bill to require HGVs to be fitted with equipment to eliminate driver blind spots. Then the Commons continues the remaining stages of the Localism Bill. In the Lords Peers continue their detailed consideration of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill, having already excised its central provision, the proposal for directly elected Policing and Crime Commissioners.

The Transport Committee go walkabout with their inquiry into the Coastguard - taking evidence in Falmouth and then heading up to Stornoway. There has been a bit of a spat over this one, with Committee Chair Louise Ellman complaining that the Transport Minister Mike Penning has told regular coastguards to decline the invitation to give evidence - she has written an ominous letter to the minister promising to consider how the matter can be pursued further - and to raise it with him when he comes before them towards the end of the inquiry. Is a caning imminent?

Back on the Committee Corridor the Public Accounts Committee continues its IT theme this week with a look at the National Programme for NHS IT, based on a National Audit Office report.

The Work and Pensions Committee looks at the drive to move benefit claimants from Incapacity Benefit to Employment and Support Allowance - with evidence from Atos Healthcare, the company handling the assessment of people's fitness to work, which is much criticised by disability groups. Given the strength of opinions on this subject, this may be the most closely-watched committee session of the week.

The Committee scrutinising the draft bill to reform the law on defamation hears evidence from Mumsnet (which has to cope with the libel implications of having 25,000 comments posted per day on its website) as well as Which, Liberty and Global Witness. Then they turn to evidence from the former Press Complaint Commission, Lord Wakeham and the former Lord Chancellor Lord Mackay of Clashfern.

And the Defence Committee gets a verdict on the Government's Strategic Defence and Security Review from the former Chief of the Defence Staff Air Chief Marshall Lord Jock Stirrup.

Thursday begins with questions to the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, the Lib Dem Chris Huhne - who can expect plenty of sarcasm about his open rowing with Conservative Cabinet colleagues. That is followed by two big backbench debates. The first is on a motion deploring cuts to the BBC World Service, drawing on the recent Foreign Affairs Select Committee report. The motion is signed by the Committee chair Richard Ottaway and an impressive list of Commons heavyweights including the former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.

The second debate, on a motion signed by a long list of MPs, is on the importance of rural broadband and mobile coverage - the lead MP is the Conservative Rory Stewart. Over in the Lords, there's a Debate on European Convention on Human Rights - opened by the former Lord Chancellor and uber-barrister Lord Irvine of Lairg.

Meanwhile in Westminster Hall, there's another backbench debate - on the implications for Wales of the Government's constitutional reform programme.

Neither House is sitting on Friday.