Week ahead

The Speaker was elected last week - and now presides over the House's debate on the Queen's Speech until the deputy speakers are elected

Parliament's back, but not yet firing on all cylinders.

The Commons select committee system will be kick-started with a motion to re-establish it on Wednesday, but the chairs and the ordinary members will not be in place for a couple of weeks yet. With no legislation to be processed, the only real action is in the main chambers with the Commons and Lords' respective debates on the content of the Queen's Speech.

Keep an eye out for MPs auditioning for a variety of roles - aspirant select committee chairs will be weighing in, during suitable sections of the Queen's Speech debate, and those with a hat in the ring for Labour's leadership and deputy leadership, and even the candidacy for the London mayoralty, will all be seeking to cut a dash.

Commons-watchers will also take a keen interest in the elections for the three deputy speakerships - with former Backbench Business Committee chair Natascha Engel joining incumbents Lindsay Hoyle and Eleanor Laing.

Even if there are just three candidates for the three posts, one nuance to watch is that the candidate with the most votes gets the job of Chairman of Ways and Means - which will put them in the chair for the Budget statement in July.....and into pole position to become the next Speaker when John Bercow calls it a day. Nominations close on Monday and the election is on Wednesday.

The heavy legislating starts the following week with the second reading of the Scotland Bill on Monday 8 June and the second reading of the European Union Referendum Bill on Tuesday 9 June. There's also another, as yet unspecified, bill to get a second reading on Thursday 11 June.

Over in the Lords, peers get their first bill - the Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill on Monday 8, then the Psychoactive Substances Bill arrives on Tuesday 9, followed by the Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Bill on Wednesday 10 June.

But in the meantime, here's my rundown of the week ahead:

Monday

The Commons meets at 2.30pm to continue the Queen's Speech debate. The subject du jour is "Britain in the World".

In the Lords (from 2.30pm) the first business is the introduction of two new peers - the pensions expert Baroness Altmann who will sit as a Conservative, and serve as a pensions minister; and Lord O'Neill of Gatley - Jim O'Neil, a former Goldman Sachs economist credited with identifying the group of emerging economies, Brazil, Russia, India and China, aka BRIC.

Having previously led a review into the growing resistance of bugs to antibiotics, he has now been tasked with leading the government's Northern Powerhouse initiative, as Commercial Secretary to the Treasury.

In questions to ministers, Labour's Lord Kennedy of Southwark fires the opening shot in what promises to be one of the party's legislative campaigns, to allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in a referendum on the EU.

The subject for the day's segment of the Queen's Speech debate is Constitutional Affairs, Legal Affairs and Devolved Affairs - which will take place without any SNP voice, because the party refuses to nominate peers.

One interesting feature will be the maiden speech of Sir Robert Rogers, former Clerk of the House of Commons, now Lord Lisvane.

Tuesday

The Commons meets at 11.30am for the first departmental question time of the new Parliament, with Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt at the despatch box. And he will stay in his place as the debate on the Queen's Speech turns to Health and Social Care.

There's an interesting-looking adjournment debate on the creation of a national institute for the study of the sexual abuse of children - led by Labour's Graham Allen. He says the proposed institute would use best evidence and practice to prevent and reduce child sexual abuse.

In the Lords (2.30pm) another pair of new peers take their seats - the Conservative former campaign director Lord Bridges of Headley, who will be a junior minister working with the government's policy czar, Oliver Letwin. Next up is Lord Prior of Brampton - David Prior, son of the Thatcher-era cabinet minister, Jim Prior - who has been appointed minister for NHS productivity.

Questions to ministers include Lord Moynihan asking about the recent arrests of FIFA officials relating to charges of corruption - and then the Queen's Speech debate turns to home affairs, local government, energy, environment and agriculture.

Wednesday

In the Commons (11.30am), the first business is International Development Questions - followed at noon by David Cameron's first PMQs as a majority prime minister.

Then the debate on the Queen's Speech moves on to devolution and growth across Britain - showcasing the Cities Devolution Bill and the Northern Powerhouse agenda.

And the day ends with an adjournment debate on health services in Staffordshire - local MP Jeremy Lefroy continues his long-running parliamentary campaign which grew out of the Mid Staffs NHS Trust scandal.

In the Lords (3pm) the Queen's Speech focuses on health, education, welfare and culture.

Thursday

The Commons meets at 9.30am for the question time debut of the new Culture, Media and Sport Secretary, John Whittingdale.

That is followed (according to the Commons agenda) by questions to the MP who speaks for the House of Commons Commission - which could be rather short, because under the Straw Commission proposals, approved by MPs shortly before the election, much of the Commission will now be elected, and that won't have happened by Thursday. So MPs will have to store up any gripes about offices, computers etc until the Commission members are in place.

And the new Leader of the House, Chris Grayling, had better be in place to deliver his weekly Business Statement slightly earlier than his order paper might suggest.

The subject for the final day's debate on the Queen's Speech is the economy.

In the Lords (11am) questions to ministers include the former Cabinet minister Lord Fowler on consulting the public on the renewal of the BBC Royal Charter, and the Conservative constitutionalist Lord Lexden on postal voting fraud at the general election.

And the Queens Speech debate will cover business, economic affairs and transport.

Neither House sits on Friday - the first Friday sittings will be in the Lords on 19 June and 17 July - the list of private members' bills proposed by peers has now been published.

The Commons is some way from holding its annual ballot for debating time for private members' bills - but their first Friday sitting will be on 11 September.