Commercial Awareness Update – W/C 24th February 2020
February 23, 2020
Stonewall ranks 2020’s most LGBT-inclusive law firms
February 24, 2020
Welcome to our weekly feature courtesy of Sebastian Salek, the brains behind Clear the Lobby, working to bring you all the laws MPs are voting on this week, and explained in plain English!
Hey team.
This week’s biggie is the Environment Bill.
It’s a huge piece of legislation which the government hopes will help deliver the “most ambitious environmental programme of any country on earth”.
You might remember there was an Environment Bill making its way through Parliament before the general election. This one is largely the same, but with a few tweaks.
We also get the first ten minute rule motions of this parliamentary session.
An MP has ten minutes to make the case for their bill. Another MP can oppose it for ten minutes. If it passes, it’ll go to second reading as a private members’ bill.
And Tuesday is opposition day.
That means it’s one of the 20 time per session when Labour sets the agenda.
You’ll be deeply unsurprised to learn that the two topics they’ve chosen are tax avoidance and social care. There’s no material outcome from these debates, but it’s a way for the opposition to make sure their pet topics get some air time in the chamber.
Have a great week, and in the meantime feel free to tweet me, or just reply to this email.
Sebastian (@sebastiansalek)
MONDAY 24 FEBRUARY
No votes scheduled
TUESDAY 25 FEBRUARY
Hong Kong Bill
Gives Hong Kong residents the right to live in the UK. Ten minute rule motion presented by Alistair Carmichael.
WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY
Workers (Definition and Rights) Bill
Establishes a legal definition of employment, which includes zero-hours contracts and agency workers. The aim is to prevent abuse of people working under these arrangements. Ten minute rule motion presented by Chris Stephens.
Environment Bill – 2nd reading
Applies to: England (part), Wales (part), Scotland (part), Northern Ireland (part)
Lays out the legal framework for environmental governance after Brexit. This includes establishing the Office of Environmental Protection to hold public authorities to account, putting the government’s 25 Year Environment Plan into law, and requiring the government to set long-term targets. Also introduces a range of measures, including: enabling charges for single-use plastic items, allowing deposit return schemes (where you pay a bit extra for items like bottled drinks, but recoup that amount when the bottle is returned), and standardising what items can be collected for recycling by local authorities in England.
Draft bill (PDF)
THURSDAY 27 FEBRUARY
No votes scheduled
FRIDAY 28 FEBRUARY
No votes scheduled
Want more?
Check your MP’s voting record and read the day’s debates at TheyWorkForYou.
LAST VOTES
Passed
- Windrush Compensation Scheme (Expenditure) Bill – goes to committee stage
- Prisoners (Disclosure of Information About Victims) Bill – goes to committee stage
- Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) Bill – goes to House of Lords
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