What's happening in Parliament on Thursday?
- Published
What's on in Parliament on Wednesday?
Thursday 31 March
Commons
(09:30) Cabinet Office Questions.
Main debates: Consideration of any Lords amendments to outstanding bills, followed by a backbench debate on long Covid led by the Lib Dem Layla Moran, who chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Coronavirus. The group has recently published a report on long Covid, calling for the government to double the £50m pledged to fund urgent new research into diagnostics and treatment. It also calls for action to provide guidance, funding and support to employers and to protect children in schools.
That's followed by a debate on the Easter adjournment, which allows MPs to raise any subject they want to talk about.
Urgent questions: The Speaker has allowed three Ukraine-related UQs. Conservative Anthony Mangnal asks about the use of rape as a weapon of war in Ukraine. Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper asks about visas for refugees. Shadow communities minister Mike Amesbury asks about the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Business statement: The leader of the House will announce the Commons agenda for the week after MPs return from their Easter break. Barring an emergency recall, they are due back on Tuesday 19 April.
Lords
(11:00) Question from former Welsh secretary (and Chelsea fan) Lord Hain on the criteria for granting a new licence that would permit the sale of Chelsea Football Club. There are also questions on the late answering of questions, and the effectiveness of support for businesses to increase exports.
Main debates: Third Reading of the Building Safety Bill, followed by consideration of Commons amendments to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.
Report Stage consideration of the Judicial Review and Courts Bill.
Grand Committee: (13:00) Debate on the economy in the light of the chancellor's Spring Statement.
Wednesday 30 March
Commons
Women and Equalities Questions start at 11:30, followed by Prime Minister's Questions.
Government statements: First comes Health Secretary Sajid Javid on the Ockenden Review - the independent review of maternity services at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust.
Then Justice Secretary Dominic Raab has a statement on parole reform for dangerous offenders
And finally, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has a statement on P&O.
Ten Minute Rule Bill: Conservative former cancer minister Steve Brine presents a bill to increase the uptake of appointments for breast cancer screening and to extend eligibility for screening for people with a family history of breast cancer.
Main Debate: Lords amendments to the Health and Care Bill. The key one looks to be the debate on Baroness Sugg's amendment to continue allowing "pills by post" home abortions in England, after the government announced it was scrapping the practice brought in during the pandemic.
Under the scheme, women no longer had to visit a hospital or clinic to take the first of two pills used to induce an abortion within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, and were instead sent the tablets to take at home after an online consultation.
Dealing with this could be procedurally complicated, because the government is seeking to replace the peer's text with an "amendment in lieu", which could mean two votes, and some potential for confusion about what MPs are voting on, in a free vote.
There will also be votes on the care cap, and whether support received in benefits should be counted as money spent on care (the government says it should, the opposition parties say it shouldn't).
With the care cap set at £86,000, which means the state picks up the tab after costs pass that point, this is a crucial issue for people on low incomes.
And there's another attempt by the former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to keep his proposals for NHS Workforce Planning in the Bill.
He tried and failed to introduce a requirement for a twice-yearly report on the number of doctors, nurses, specialists, etc needed back when the Bill was going through the Commons.
But the proposal was eventually added by the Lords, and now the government is seeking to remove it again.
I'm told he's been trying to muster support for an effort to keep the proposal in, but that the numbers don't look promising.
Westminster Hall: Former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith leads a debate on the role of British and overseas judges in Hong Kong from 09:30.
Then from 16:30, Labour's Holly Lynch raises the potential merits of banning disposable barbecues.
Committees
At 15:00, Boris Johnson has one of his twice-yearly sessions before the Commons Liaison Committee (the super-committee of Select Committee chairs).
The questioning will cover Ukraine, with Foreign Affairs chair Tom Tugendhat and International Development chair Sarah Champion probably the lead interrogators.
There will then be questions on the cost of living with Mel Stride (from the Treasury Committee) and Stephen Timms (from Work and Pensions) among the questioners.
After a scathing National Audit Office report, external, which had hardened MPs whistling in admiration, Public Accounts looks at one of the great defence procurement debacles of recent years, the Ajax Armoured Vehicle programme - a £5.5bn contract that is three years late and dogged by technical problems.
The witnesses from 13:30 are top officials from the Ministry of Defence, headed by Permanent Secretary David Williams and Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Lt General Christopher Tickell. Bring popcorn.
At 10:00, Education hears from Thatcher-era Education Secretary Lord (Ken) Baker of Dorking on the future of post-16 qualifications. He's been a scathing critic of the government's record on apprenticeships and training.
Work and Pensions will examine whether the current benefits system is up to the task of assessing the mental and physical health of veteran claimants from 10:15 - for example, probing assessors' understanding of veterans' experiences and conditions, such as PTSD,
Lords
Questions begin at 15:00 on the latest figures on assaults and self-harm in prisons in England and Wales, and on the return of sacred altar tablets from Ethiopia, currently held in the British Museum.
Private members bills: There will probably be a brief committee stage debate on two bills sent from the Commons - the Down Syndrome Bill and the Animals (Penalty Notices) Bill
Main debate: Third Reading Nuclear Energy (Financing) Bill - which will allow the government to raise funds for new nuclear power stations with a levy on energy bills.
Then peers rush through all stages of the National Insurance Contributions (Increase of Thresholds) Bill - the chancellor's measure announced in the Spring Statement and rushed through the Commons the previous week.
Short debate: Plans to support careers in the horticultural sector and the role of the sector in protecting the environment.
And what happened earlier in the week?
Commons (11:30): Business Energy and Industrial Strategy Questions
Ten minute rule bill: Conservative backbencher Sir Christopher Chope has a bill to improve the diagnosis and treatment of people who suffer ill effects from Covid vaccinations, and require a report to Parliament on the merits of a no-fault compensation scheme.
Main debate: A motion to extend Coronavirus regulations on inquests, courts and sick pay, and maintaining the temporary provisions of the Coronavirus Act.
This is followed by a three hour Labour Opposition Day debate on a motion calling for the publication of documents and emails on the advice given to the Prime Minister about the peerage for Lord Lebedev. This is in the form of a Humble Address - the Bercow-era procedural device to make an Opposition motion stick.
Westminster Hall: Another of those debates which reflect local issues that may become national problems - Conservative Andrew Selous leads a debate (09:30) on GP capacity for large scale housing developments.
Labour MP Carolyn Harris leads a debate on Gambling-Related Harm (14:30). She will be calling for the kind of changes the All Party Parliamentary Group have been calling for ahead of the promised gambling white paper - affordability checks, online stake limits, a statutory levy - measures that, they argue, are needed to prevent further gambling harm and save lives.
Committees: After displaying open disbelief at the evidence from civil servants about events during the evacuation from Afghanistan last week, Foreign Affairs have a further session of their inquiry into government policy on Afghanistan (14:30).
Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (14:30) hears from the Australian and New Zealand High Commissioners in its inquiry into the Australia free trade agreement. MPs will explore the impact of the UK's trade deals with both countries for UK food producers, as well as the deals' ramifications for the environment, animal welfare and antibiotic use in livestock.
International Development (14:30) looks at Extreme poverty and the Sustainable Development Goals
Lords: (11:00) Peers meet early, to start work on report stage consideration of the Building Safety Bill. Then at 14:30, questions on returning to normal pre-pandemic GP appointments and hospital visits, and the teaching of creative subjects in schools.
Main debate: A probably brief committee stage for a private members bill from the Commons, the Motor Vehicles (Compulsory Insurance) Bill., after which peers return to the report stage of the Building Safety Bill.