What's happening in Parliament this week?

Expect 2023 to open on a brutally partisan note in Parliament, with the parties doing battle over the state of the NHS and over the current wave of strike action at every possible opportunity, reverberating through PMQs, Labour Opposition Day debates and even a short debate in the Lords.

Will the government raise the stakes? Watch out for a possible re-jigging of the current Commons agenda (set well before Christmas) to accommodate the Transport Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill.

This has been drafted and available for quite a while, and if ministers decide that this is the moment to bring it in, they will doubtless seek to speed it through both Houses - thus opening the possibility that unions could be sued for damages by operating companies, if they fail to maintain a minimum service during industrial action.

There's also talk of further legislation to extend this principle to other public services.

MPs will also want to probe reports of major changes to government policy on social care, child care, maths in schools and the privatisation of Channel 4.

Elsewhere, it's set to be a quiet week in the Lords, with no votes expected, and select committee action is a little thin as a new set of inquiries gather pace, and several new chairs start to impose themselves in their new roles - but the Transport Committee hearing on the rail strikes (Wednesday) will certainly grab attention.

Finally there's talk that the government plans to postpone the end of the parliamentary year until November, allowing more time to push through the backlog of big bills queued up for consideration in the Lords.

It would certainly have been a rush to hammer them through in time to prorogue or suspend Parliament, and hold the State Opening for a new session, in May. And a delay would also avoid pageantry overload, with a State Opening hard on the heels of King Charles's coronation.

Monday 9 January

Commons (14:30): Levelling Up questions.

Main debate: Initial debate on the Procurement Bill, much amended when it went through the Lords. Watch out for concerns from MPs like Sir Iain Duncan Smith about the security concerns around Chinese made Hikvison CCTV cameras, which are used by many UK police forces - he will be seeking to defend the cross-party amendment on the issue, passed by peers.

Westminster Hall (16:30): debates on two e-petitions. The first, number 607317, would require motorists to report collisions with cats, as they already have to do with dogs.

At 18:00 they turn to e-petition 600593 which calls on the government to ban the sale, use and manufacture of free-running snares under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, putting them in the same category as self-locking snares, which are already illegal.

Lords (14:30): Debate on the Trade (Australia and New Zealand) Bill.

Tuesday 10 January

Commons (11:30): Justice questions - possibly followed by more post-recess statements.

Ten Minute Rule Bill: Labour's Debbie Abrahams wants a statutory code of conduct for elected officials, covering ministers, MPs, peers and local councillors.

Main debate: MPs polish off the Stamp Duty Land Tax (Reduction) Bill, which temporarily increases the amount that a purchaser can pay for residential property before they become liable to Stamp Duty. It also maintains the higher rate of 3% on additional dwellings and increases the residential nil-rate tax threshold from £125,000 to £250,000. The measure means that all purchasers of residential property bought between 23 September 2022 and 31 March 2025 will pay less or no Stamp Duty.

The adjournment debate sees frequent flyer Jim Shannon hosting his own debate rather than intervening on someone else's as he often does - his subject is tidal wave energy in Strangford Lough.

There will also be a motion to suspend Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen from the House for five sitting days, after he lost his appeal against a Standards Committee ruling. He was found to have engaged in paid advocacy and to have put improper pressure on the Standards Commissioner. Under current rules the motion is not debated.

Committees: Public Administration (10:00) has a session on parliamentary scrutiny of international treaties - which, to be sure, is a very techie issue, but an increasingly important one. The witnesses are the two chairs of the relevant Lords and Commons select committees, Labour's Baroness Hayter, and SNP MP Angus McNeil. I doubt either will enthuse about the existing system.

Foreign Affairs (14:00) quizzes experts and former diplomats about the UK's proposed foreign policy "tilt" towards the Indo-Pacific.

Lords (14:30): peers consider important new regulations - Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (Codes of Practice) (Revision of Code A) Order 2022. These set out the rules for the new Serious Violence Reduction Orders created in the Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Act, which caused some concern when they were debated in the Lords. The government agreed to pilot them, before they were rolled out across the country. But now there's a regret motion from Lib Dem former Police Officer, Lord Paddick, because every Police force will be allowed to stop people and question them about whether they're subject to an SVRO - which he argues amounts to a massive extension of Police powers.

The main debate is on the Financial Services and Markets Bill - another mega-measure heading for long and detailed consideration.

Wednesday 11 January

Commons (11:30): Scottish Questions followed by Prime Minister's Questions, then former Environment Secretary George Eustice has a Ten Minute Rule Bill to reduce the duty paid on renewable liquid heating fuel.

Main debate: on two Labour motions, to be announced. One is bound to be on the NHS, I guess.

Westminster Hall: the Green Party's Caroline Lucas leads a debate on fossil fuels and increases in the cost of living (09:20), and Conservative John Baron continues his campaign for more help to bring former British Council contractors from Afghanistan to the UK (14:30).

Committees: Transport (09:30) seeks an update on the rail strikes, with evidence from union leaders Mick Lynch (RMT) and Mick Whelan (ASLEF), followed by Steve Montgomery and Tim Shoveller from the employers' side.

Human Rights (15:00) looks at the human rights of asylum seekers with witnesses including Kent County Council leader, Roger Gough.

Lords (15:00): It's day three on the detail of the National Security Bill , and there will also be a debate on new regulations for the NHS Pension Schemes, with a regret motion from Labour's Lord Davies of Brixton.

There are also motions to suspend two peers, the Earl of Shrewsbury and Lady Goudie, from the House, after the Standards Committee found that they had been engaged in paid lobbying.

Thursday 12 January

Commons (09:30): Environment Food and Rural Affairs Questions - followed by the weekly announcement of the following week's Commons agenda.

Main debates: Two backbench motions - first on the political situation and treatment of protesters in Iran, calling on the government to add the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to the list of proscribed terrorist organisation, and secondly a motion from two veteran ex-ministers, David Davis and Kevan Jones, on Landfill Tax fraud.

Westminster Hall (13:30): Debate on the Royal Mail and the future of its Universal Service Obligation, the rule that it must provide a six-day a week, one price goes anywhere postal service to 30 million UK addresses; and (15:00) debate on skills and labour shortages.

Committees: Public Accounts (10:00) quizzes BBC Director-General Tim Davie on BBC Digital - can the corporation compete against international giants like Netflix?

Lords (11:00): Baroness O'Grady of Holloway, former TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady, is introduced - she will sit as a Labour peer.

That's followed by debates on a series of select committee reports - Conservative Lord Blencathra leads on the report from the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee: Democracy Denied? The urgent need to rebalance power between Parliament and the Executive (Leader of the House Lord True is due to respond).

This will be alongside a debate on the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee report, Government by Diktat: A call to return power to Parliament.

There will also be a short topical debate, led by the Bishop of London, on additional deaths caused by pressures in emergency care.

Then there's a debate on the report of the Risk Assessment and Risk Planning Committee, a special committee set up to examine a specific issue: Preparing for Extreme Risks: Building a Resilient Society. This was a look at how society can prepare for all kinds of risks, everything from a new pandemic to mass flooding or a collapse of infrastructure. The committee even took evidence from science fiction writers about the possibilities. Conservative Lord Arbuthnot leads.

Neither House is due to sit on Friday 13.