What's happening in Parliament on Thursday?

The Lords is the only House sitting this week.

Thursday 7 April

Questions: Rethinking defence policy in the light of the Ukraine invasion (from Conservative former Defence Minister, Lord Lancaster) and on the proposals of the Dasgupta Review on the Economics of Biodiversity.

Private Members's Bills: Brief committee consideration of the British Sign Language Bill and the Pensions Schemes (conversion of Guaranteed Minimum Pensions) Bill.

Main debate: Consideration of Commons amendments to the Skills and Post-16 Education Bill - the outstanding issue here is that critics believe the government is trying to move too fast in replacing B-Tecs with a new qualification, the T-level; more than 200,000 young people took B-Tecs, and only 5,000 T-Levels last year. So Labour's former Education Secretary, Lord Blunkett and others want the government to continue funding B-Tecs for another three years. Watch out for a compromise on this one.

Next is consideration of a Commons amendment to the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill - this is not expected to be controversial, although there is opposition concern that the government is backing away from other animal welfare commitments, and Environment Minister Lord Goldsmith, an enthusiastic advocate, will doubtless be questioned about his position on issues like banning foi gras imports.

Wednesday 6 April

Questions: On recognising Palestine as a state and on amending the bread and flour regulations (from former minister Lord Rooker - who has long pressured the government about the fortification of UK flour with folic acid to help prevent birth defects in babies). And there's a question about the whereabouts of the Employment Bill, promised in the 2019 Queen's Speech.

Private Members' Bills: perfunctory committee stage debates on the Cultural Objects (Protection from Seizure) Bill, the Approved Premises (Substance Testing) Bill and the Motor Vehicles (Compulsory Insurance) Bill.

Main debate: the first of two report stage days on the Elections Bill - this is a highly controversial measure, even after a significant concession from the Cabinet Office Minister Lord True on its provisions on party funding. The changes he announced seem to have dealt with concerns that the bill would have undercut the Labour party's financing from trades unions.

Even so, significant concerns remain over the proposals on voter identification - there were attempts to remove these in the Commons, but in the Lords there may now be compromise proposals to allow a polling card to be used for identification, or a Canadian-style system which would allow someone with ID to vouch for someone without it - one married partner for another, for example.

There is also strong resistance to the plan to give powers to allow ministers to direct the work of the watchdog body, the Electoral Commission - look out for amendments to water this down.

And there is considerable resistance to the bill's proposal to replace PR voting for city mayors with first past the post system.

Finally, there's a regret motion against the order to make Alterations to the Highway Code (rule 149) from the Conservative Baroness McIntosh of Pickering, who makes the point that they do not extend a ban on the use of handheld devices while driving to people on bicycles, e-bikes and e-scooters.

Tuesday 5 April

Questions: At 14:30, ministers will take questions on abuse of NHS nurses and on energy storage in the UK.

Private Members' Bills: A brief third reading for the Motor Vehicles (Compulsory Insurance) Bill.

Main debate: Consideration of Commons amendments to the Health and Care Bill. This might be a bit less confrontational than Their Lordships' reaction to the Nationality and Borders Bill - and the main point of contention looks to be the powers of ministers over NHS reconfiguration (code for hospital closures) in England.

But still in play is the issue of the £86,000 Care Cost Cap - the point at which the state picks up the cost of care, and in particular whether local social services funding for care costs would count toward the cap.

And there could be another outing for the former health minister Baroness Cumberlege's amendment on workforce planning, attempting to establish a two-yearly process for assessing the NHS's staffing needs, for doctors, nurses, specialists, etc. It was proposed in the Commons by the former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

One amendment which might attract a lot of support in the Commons if it is pressed again is Lord Blencathra's (the former Home Office Minister David Maclean) to stop the NHS buying products which might come from areas where modern slavery and genocide are being committed.

He points to a recent parliamentary question which reveals that that a billion lateral flow tests were procured from China and feared they could be the product of Uighur forced labour in Xinjiang province. This is an issue that has been raised by a number of influential government backbenchers - and sending it back to the Commons

Finally there's consideration of Commons amendments to the Professional Qualifications Bill

Monday 4 April

Questions: At 14:30, questions begin with one on government policy on the Falklands (from the longest serving peer and Thatcher-era defence minister, Lord Trefgarne), and the College of Policing guidance on the use of live facial recognition technology - an issue examined in a recent Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee report.

Main debates: a brief third reading for the Building Safety Bill - which will then head back to the Commons after four government defeats on issues around who pays for post-Grenfell safety improvements. MPs will decide whether to accept or reject them on Wednesday 20 April.

The big event will be consideration of Commons amendments to the Nationality and Borders Bill - this is being spoken about in semi-apocalyptic terms, after the Commons rejected the phalanx of changes made to the bill in the Lords; there's talk of an angry mood among peers which could see 10 or more amendments fired back for MPs to consider again, when they reconvene on Tuesday 19 April.

This would probably cover amendments on offshoring (sending asylum seekers to a third country while their cases were considered), the amendment from the former Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, which says that nothing in the bill should conflict with the UK's obligations under international refugee conventions, and the amendments dealing with the bill's proposals for differential treatment of asylum seekers, dependent on their mode of arrival, and criminalising entering the UK without permission.

Watch out too for Lord Dubs' amendment on reuniting unaccompanied child refugees with their families.

There will also be a short debate on the assessment of state sanctioned political violence, voter roll irregularities and the intimidation of voters ahead of recent local by-elections in Zimbabwe, led by the Lib Dem, Lord Oates.

Committees: the Land Use Committee (15:30) quizzes expert witnesses on how the targets for nature and biodiversity should be integrated into a wider land use strategy. And the committee reviewing the Children and Families Act 2014 takes expert evidence (15:15).