Week ahead

I'm not sure we're quite into "zombie Parliament" territory, but there's a distinct lull in Westminster this week, as major events like the Budget and the Investigatory Powers Bill, loom on the horizon.

The biggest Commons clash is likely to be over Sunday trading - where a well organised group of Tory rebels looks set to line up with Labour, to try to strike down proposals to loosen restrictions. The SNP look likely to be the swing vote in this particular debate.

Elsewhere, there's a new and multi-faceted crime bill, and in the Lords there's some preliminary sparring over the Trade Union Bill. There may also be votes on the Immigration Bill. But it looks as if the Commons-Lords "ping-pong" on the proposals to reform Employment Support Allowance for some disabled people may be petering out.

Here's my rundown of the week ahead:

Monday

The Commons opens at 2.30pm for Education questions. As usual any post weekend ministerial statements or urgent questions will follow at 3.30pm.

Then it's the launch of the Policing and Crime Bill, a wide-ranging measure which will:

• place a duty on police, fire and ambulance services to work together and enable police and crime commissioners to take on responsibility for fire and rescue services;

• reform the police complaints and disciplinary systems to ensure that the public have confidence in their ability to hold the police to account, and that police officers will uphold the highest standards of integrity;

• increase the accountability and transparency of the Police Federation for England and Wales by extending its core purpose to cover the public interest and making it subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000;

• reform pre-charge bail to stop people remaining on bail for lengthy periods without independent judicial scrutiny;

• stop the detention in police cells of children and young people under 18 who are experiencing a mental health crisis;

• ensure that 17-year-olds who are detained in police custody are treated as children and

• criminalise the live streaming of images of child sex abuse.

In the Lords (2.30pm) after the usual hour of questions to ministers, it's the latest stage of the parliamentary ping-pong over the Welfare Reform and Work Bill. After MPs rejected a Lords amendment for the second time, it's rumoured peers may drop their resistance to the Commons over benefits for disabled people in the "Work Related Activities Group", and content themselves with a "regret" motion. Then peers debate the Tax Credits (Income Thresholds and determination of Rates) Regulations 2016 - where the Lib Dems have put down another "regret motion" but seem unlikely to attract Labour support.

And that's followed by an International Women's Day debate on the progress of women's representation and empowerment in the UK, 150 years after the 1866 petition for women's suffrage. There are 27 peers down to speak, including two notable maidens - the Conservative Baroness Mone and the Bishop of Gloucester, Rachel Treweek, who will become the first woman Bishop to speak in the Lords.

Tuesday

The Commons opens (11.30am) with Justice questions, followed at 12.30pm by a Ten Minute Rule Bill from the Conservative, Will Quince. He's calling for a first aid component to be added to the driving test, continuing the backbench campaign for more first aid training which recently saw a private member's bill which attempted to require First Aid to be taught in schools.

He says this would substantially increase the number of Britons with knowledge of first aid - countries like Germany, Switzerland and the Czech Republic already require evidence of first aid training as a condition of having a full driving licence. Mr Quince claims the support of the British Red Cross and St John's Ambulance.

After that, MPs turn to detailed consideration of the Enterprise Bill - Labour and the Green MP Dr Caroline Lucas both have amendments down on the proposed privatisation of the Green Investment Bank, set up under the Coalition; Labour want to preserve its environmental objectives in the private sector, while Dr Lucas wants buyers to commit themselves to maintaining its existing programme.

And there is a series of amendments on the bill's proposal to cap redundancy payments for public sector workers.

There will also be a backbench debate to mark International Women's Day, led by the former Cabinet Minister Maria Miller, now chair of the Women and Equalities Committee - the motion calls for more progress in electing women to Parliament, pay parity between men and women and more action against FGM.

In Westminster Hall, the opening debate led by the SNP's Dr Lisa Cameron is on puppy farming and the welfare of young dogs bred for sale (9am-11am). Then Labour's Jo Cox raises the issue of autism diagnosis waiting times - she says many parents are waiting over two years to get an autism diagnosis for their child and says the families should have a diagnosis within a reasonable timeframe.

And at 2.30pm-4pm, the Conservative Simon Hart will lead a debate on the potential economic benefits of the Swansea Tidal Lagoon - a £1bn green energy project, which is one of several such schemes proposed along the south coast of Wales. He will seek to explore the likely impact on the local economy and the number of permanent jobs created in Wales - especially if the Newport and Cardiff Schemes come on line. Early predications refer to a £20bn inward investment, nearly 2,000 new jobs and an unquantifiable impact on tourism and leisure.

In the Lords (2.30pm) there's an International Woman's Day flavour to question time, with questions on: the UN framework preventing violence against women, gender inequality, discriminatory practices and harmful cultural and social norms, from Baroness Kinnock; improving the reading skills of 16 to 24-year-old women, from Baroness Rebuck and on increasing the representation of women in political and public life, from Baroness Gale.

Then peers turn to the detail of the Housing and Planning Bill - in the fourth day of seven of committee stage - and already the debate is lagging well behind schedule, raising the prospect that the bill might not get to its report stage immediately after Easter, as planned.

The sections under scrutiny on Tuesday include right to buy for tenants of housing association properties and high value council property sales. This is the a contentious part of the bill - but, as usual, committee stage debates are preliminary sparring, and no votes are expected; but the debates will foreshadow amendments for report stage, when a serious attempt to re-write these provisions looks likely.

There will also be a short debate on a political solution to the civil war in Syria- led by the Bishop of Coventry.

Wednesday

The Commons meets at 11.30am - for half an hour of questions to the ministers at the Cabinet Office, the government's "engine room," followed, at noon by questions to the prime minister.

Plaid Cymru's Liz Saville Roberts has a Ten Minute Rule Bill calling for the law on cyber-crime to be brought together from around 30 different statutes, and for new duties to be imposed on internet service providers and social media companies, to remove offensive material.

She has cross party support and this looks very much like the start of a campaign, rather in the tradition of her predecessor, Elfyn Llywd, who scored significant success in toughening up the law on stalking.

Then MPs move on to the detail of the Enterprise Bill - where the crunch vote will be on an amendment, spearheaded by Tory backbencher David Burrowes, and signed by 22 Conservatives, to delete the government's proposals to loosen restrictions on Sunday trading.

Labour will be whipped to back it, the Northern Ireland DUP is on board - but it looks as if the SNP will not be. There's also an amendment from the former Cabinet Minister Caroline Spellman which would allow a limited relaxation in Sunday opening hours for larger shops.

The day's Westminster Hall debates cover BT service standards (9.30am-11am); the government's proposals on fixed recoverable costs in clinical negligence claims (11am-11.30am); the contribution of the Scotch whisky industry to the UK economy (2.30pm-4pm); the management of the Health and Safety Executive (4pm- 4.30pm) and competition in the UK energy market (4.30-5.30pm).

In the Lords (3pm) peers launch into the report stage of the Immigration Bill, where votes are expected on amendments dealing with overseas domestic workers and permission to work for asylum seekers. Watch out, too, for an amendment from Lords Alton and Forsyth, and Baroness Cox, to guarantee asylum for people fleeing genocide, as defined in the International Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide; and from Lord Dubs, to allow for asylum for people employed by the UK Government in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The really big clash over this bill, on unaccompanied child migrants, will come the following week - unless the government makes a pre-emptive concession.

There will be a lot of interest on the debate on the report from the special committee set up to examine the impact on trade union political funds and (Labour) party funding (the Burns Report, after the crossbench peer who chaired the committee).

The Committee suggested a number of fixes which would reduce the impact of the current proposals in the Trade Union Bill - which have been denounced as a partisan attack by the government on Labour.

Unions have said they will fight the government 'tooth and nail'

This will be the first chance to debate them and to get a response from ministers. And the committee report will tee up a series of amendments when the bill comes to report stage, on Wednesday 16 March. Opposition parties are waiting to see the colour of the minister's money on this issue - but even if the government signs up to the Burns Report compromise, there's still plenty left in this bill to argue about - not insisting on postal ballots and allowing e-voting for union ballots, the "check-off" system for deducting union subs from pay-packets, facility time for union reps and much more.

The various sides are still circling each other and we could still see a long drawn-out bout of trench warfare when report stage commences.

Thursday

The Commons opens (9.30am) with Transport questions, followed by the weekly Business Statement from the Leader of the House, Chris Grayling. He will be under considerable pressure to announce the dates of forthcoming parliamentary recesses, and of the next Queen's Speech. MPs are particularly keen to know whether there will be a recess covering the EU Referendum and whether the the start of the next parliamentary year will be put back until after the referendum, implying a State Opening ceremony in July.

Then MPs turn to the report stage and third reading of the Northern Ireland (Stormont Agreement and Implementation Plan) Bill 2015-16, which implements the latest deal on the powers of the Northern Ireland Assembly. The scheduling implies that the powers that be don't expect any great controversy over this measure, and that the debate will be fairly brief.

The decision to end the centuries-old practice of recording Acts of Parliament on vellum - treated cow skin - will be raised in a Backbench Business Committee debate. James Gray, a member of the House of Commons Commission, which signed up to that decision (which came from the Lords) wants to carry on using vellum - and it may all come down to how much it would cost to keep it, and who pays.

In the Lords (from 11am) peers debate the detailed provisions on "pay to stay" and ending secure tenancies, in the Housing and Planning Bill (see Tuesday, above).

There will also be a short debate on the renewal of the BBC's Charter, led by the Liberal Democrat Baroness Bonham-Carter. As I write there are 16 peers are down to speak, which is quite a turnout for a short debate on a Thursday - suggesting there's a considerable level of interest in this issue in the Upper House.

Friday

The Commons meets (9.30am) to debate private members' bills - I'll list what's down on the Order Paper at the moment, but it's an increasingly inaccurate guide to what actually happens on the day. The main reason for this is that we're now approaching the end of the parliamentary year, where cunning operators like the wily Peter Bone angle to get second reading debate on issues they want to raise - although they then have little prospect of becoming law.

But the announcement of the date of the EU referendum has put Mr Bone, one of the prime movers in the increasingly important Grassroots Out organisation, into campaign mode, and he has not been able to be in the Chamber to move some of the many bills he has put down for debate.

His close ally, Christopher Chope, has stepped into the breach to move some of those bills - specialising in the ones with an EU dimension. But sadly we're unlikely to get a debate on the Prime Minister (Temporary Appointment) Bill, which would have provided a mechanism, in case the PM was run over by a bus.

For the record, the current batting order is: Foreign National Offenders (Exclusion from the UK) Bill (Peter Bone); National Health Service Bill (Caroline Lucas); Criminal Cases Review Commission (Supplementary Powers) Bill (Andy McDonald); Regulation of Enforcement Agents (Collection of Council Tax Arrears) Bill (Yvonne Fovargue); Health Services Commissioning (Equality and Accountability) (No. 2) Bill (Rehman Chishti); Perinatal Mental Illness (NHS Family Services) Bill (Rehman Chishti); Scotland Act 1998 (Amendment) Bill (Angus Brendan MacNeil) and the House of Lords (Parliamentary Standards Etc) Bill (Sir Edward Leigh).

There are many more bills listed, and if some of those above are not moved, they may even be debated - if their movers are there to do so.

It's also private members' bill day in the Lords (10am) where peers will consider the Gambling (Categorisation and Use of B2 Gaming Machines) Bill and the Criminal Cases Review Commission (Information) Bill. More bills may be added to this list.