The week ahead in Westminster

With a new Labour leader taking over, the second week of Parliament's short September sitting will see a series of new duelling partners for Government ministers in the Commons, especially if Jeremy Corbyn is elected. A number of leading Labour figures have said they would not serve in his team.

On which subject, it appears the Parliamentary Labour Party's rules provide a possible mechanism for an alternative Shadow Cabinet to operate - through departmental groups shadowing each department of Government, which must be chaired by backbench MPs.... here's the rule which piqued my interest:

"K12.When the Party is in Opposition, the Departmental Group Chairs may, when appropriate, speak from the Front Bench on a particular item of parliamentary business and/or undertake representative functions when the Shadow Cabinet so decides on the recommendation of senior Front Benchers."

One reading of this is that it would provide a means for a shadow cabinet in exile to put its views in the Commons - although it would be quite an escalation to dramatise Labour's internal divisions so sharply.

'political tests'

Meanwhile, the Government is providing the new Labour team with a series of exacting political tests; how should it respond on trade union reform and benefit cuts? Both are issues which polls suggest influenced swing voters in May. And, spookily enough, both are prominent on the Order Paper for next week.

Here's my rundown of the coming week's events:

Monday September 14

The week begins in the Commons at 2.30pm, with Communities and Local Government questions.

Then comes an early test of the new Labour leadership, in the shape of the Second Reading of the Trade Union Bill - a measure which will put strong constraints on political spending by Unions, with considerable impact on the finances of the Labour Party, so expect a pretty noisy, partisan occasion. Watch out for Conservative MPs pushing for tougher rules around public sector strikes, as opposed to those in the Private Sector.

The 4.30pm Westminster Hall debate is the first offering from the Commons new Petitions Committee - after 220,000 people signed an e-petition calling for a vote of no confidence in the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt. It accuses him of alienating the entire workforce of the NHS by threatening to impose a harsh contract and conditions on first consultants and soon the rest of the NHS staff in England. The Government has responded to the petition by saying it is committed to delivering seven day services to make sure that patients get the same high quality, safe care on a Saturday and Sunday as they do on a week day.

MPs do not, however, vote on the issues raised in Westminster Hall debates.

In the Lords, from 2.30pm there's the third reading of the Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Bill, where the key issue is charity fund-raising, that debate is expected to last an hour or so. The main business is the third committee day on the Energy Bill: here the big bone of contention is Labour's accusation that the Government has failed to provide the expected information and amendments on the Renewables Obligations -- designed to encourage the generation of electricity from renewable sources. There are also issues about wind turbines and decentralised decision-making.

Tuesday 15th September

The Commons meets at 11.30am for Business, Innovation and Skills Questions, after which the Conservative Andrew Rosindell will present a bill on United Kingdom Borders (Control and Sovereignty).

MPs then move on to the Second Reading of the National Insurance Contributions Bill - which sets a ceiling on the percentages and the upper earnings limit for National Insurance Contributions. But the really key vote will be the one which follows; on Tax Credits which implements the cuts signalled in the Budget, if passed claimants will get letters in December explaining the implications for them, and the reductions will kick in next April.

This was one of the key measures in the Chancellor's post-election budget. George Osborne is pledging a new 'national living wage' to partly compensate, and responding to it will provide an early test, if a new Shadow Chancellor is appointed in the wake of the Labour Leadership election

Finally MPs will debate a routine motion on changing the instructions given to the Bill Committee looking at the detail of the HS2 rail scheme, the aim is to tweak the remit of the Committee to allow it to consider changes in the proposed scheme, and in particular the redesign of the terminal at Euston Station. I say routine, but these occasions always provide HS2 sceptics with a chance to make merry.

The day ends with an interesting-looking adjournment debate on adult stem cells and life sciences - led by the Conservative David Burrowes, who wants to highlight the potential for stem cells derived from umbilical cords to be used in life-saving medical treatments; he'll call for a national clinical network to provide more cells for transplant and boost research. This seems to be an attempt to suggest an alternative to cells taken from human embryos.

There are several eye-catching debates in Westminster Hall, starting with prospective Tory mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith's (9.30 - 11am) on the Future of black cabs in London - he warns that if current trends continue, black cabs have no future and believes London would be poorer without them.

Next up (11 - 11.30am) SNP MP Peter Grant raises the Scotland Office's response to Freedom of Information requests - he's annoyed at their response to questions he's raised about the memo leaked during the election by the then Scottish Secretary and Liberal Democrat, Alistair Carmichael.

And at 4 - 4.30pm there's a short debate on the Shoreham air show crash, in which eleven people died. Local MP Tim Loughton wants to take the opportunity to praise the work of the emergency services. He also wants to reinforce the case for training for emergency planning for events like air shows, and to urge people not to rush to judgement on the causes of the accident. He believes changes may have to be made to the safety rules around air shows, but notes that until the Shoreham tragedy, air shows had been relatively safe occasions.

In the Lords (from 2.30pm) the main event is a debate on a series of motions around the latest wave of appointments to the Upper House. UKIP Peer Lord Pearson of Rannoch has one on peerages conferred under the Life Peerages Act 1958. That is followed by a motion on retirement from the House from Lord Steel of Aikwood - "It is really building on my successful 2014 bill," he told me. "Having got the statutory right to retire I argue that the House can, by resolution, encourage an age cut-off and get the numbers down to nearer the Commons."

So many Peers want to speak on Lords Reform that the scheduled debate on the role and capabilities of the UK Armed Forces in the light of global and domestic threats to stability and security has been bumped to the Moses Room. Defence Minister Earl Howe leads for the Government.

Wednesday 16th September

The Commons meets at 11.30am for Welsh questions, followed by PMQs at Noon, a first outing for the new Labour leader. Then MPs deal with the remaining stages of Education & Adoption Bill. This is quite a narrow measure, allowing failing schools in England to be converted into Academies. It also allows for joint arrangements with private agencies for local authority adoption functions in England.

In Westminster Hall 2.30pm - 4pm the Conservative Richard Drax will be raising the case of Sgt Alexander Blackman (Marine A) - he was jailed for life for killing a wounded Taliban insurgent, but there are now calls for his case to be re-examined.

In the Lords (3pm) Peers will polish off the Third Reading of the European Union (Approvals) Bill (expected to be another pretty routine exercise), followed by a debate on the (highly critical ) report from the Economic Affairs Committee on the economic case for HS2.

Next comes a debate on the report from the Extradition Law Committee, Extradition: UK law and practice - among other things this report noted: "Some of the accounts we received from those who had been extradited to the US were, in places, quite moving. The risks of such experiences are inherent to extradition to any foreign jurisdiction, although we are concerned that some conditions and procedures in the US may not always be worthy of the tacit approval that extradition implies".

And the day ends with a debate on the humanitarian impact of developments in the Middle East and North Africa.

Thursday 17th September

The Commons meets at 9.30am for Energy and Climate Change Questions, followed by the weekly business statement from the Leader of the House, Chris Grayling.

The main debate will be on a subject chosen by the Backbench Committee - there's some irritation in BBCom about this; having been told they had no time to allocate, they had to call an extra meeting when they were suddenly told this afternoon was theirs' to fill.

In the Lords (11am) there are two Liberal Democrat debates - on the summit on Sustainable Development Goals and on the treatment of LGBTI citizens worldwide.

Then, Peers will consider the Draft Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 (Risk of Being Drawn into Terrorism) (Guidance) Regulations 2015 - This looks at the PREVENT strategy as well as aspects that affect Universities.

Neither House sits on Friday 18th - which marks the start of the Parliamentary break for party conferences. MPs and Peers return to their respective chambers on October 12th.